The letters on the table were piled up, and in the silent hall, there was only the rustle of pens rubbing against paper, and the occasional crunch of an envelope being torn. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoEveryone is busy reading cover letters or letters of recommendation. Sebastian, the current members of the Council, and the governors of the provinces were all selected as judges to select the candidates for interview.

Sebastian noticed that some of the letters were in the same handwriting, and it was impossible to tell who copied whom, some of the letters held the candidates to the sky, and some of the letters directly and explicitly expressed advantages to the examiners. He frowned, crumpled the letter offering a bribe, threw it aside, and didn't even give the other party an interview.

"Oh my God, look at this one, from Qingquan Town, who has been a professional iron striker for thirty years. Bill Newton read aloud, his voice excited, "and he thought that the great craftsmen were blacksmiths." ”

"You're good, look at me, if you are elected Chancellor of the Exchequer, you will cut taxes by 20% nationwide to celebrate the birth of a new Imperial Council. The governor of the province of Gascanic, Hugh Torres, shook his head, "Lord Krauser will be mad when he hears this. ”

Everyone laughed. Sebastian couldn't laugh. Every letter they read, every decision they make, decides the fate of a person in an instant, the fate of the empire.

He coughed and said, "Seriously, you're selecting talent for the Empire. ”

Dio Vinscut, the governor of the province of Tux, shrugged his shoulders, stretched his hands, and said, "Your Majesty the Regent, if you want me to say it, we are wasting our time. Candidates for the Imperial Council should be promoted directly from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Craftsmen Affairs. ”

Commander Ludwig cast a malicious glance at Governor Dior.

The Minister of Justice, Fred Mann, coughed lightly and took the quill in his hand and toyed with it: "So what are we doing now? His Majesty the Prince Regent has announced all the plans for the open campaign.

"What's not to do?" Dior took over in a daze, "The people from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Artisan Affairs are here to take over, and they are proficient in the business and familiar with the situation. ”

Krauser and Walzer are leading the way in corruption, and I haven't fully investigated the people below. Sebastian looked at Dior. Dior is only 30 years old, full of energy, with a somewhat childlike personality and lack of experience. He did not understand why Emperor August had chosen such a man as governor.

Olaf Krueger folded the letter in his hand into a flower and played with it in his hand: "If the top card of the brothel is gone, you will pick the one from a bunch of mediocre girls who are not ugly, and it will be the top card? ”

Dio blushed and coughed.

University scholar Winston Grum glanced at Olaf, and the old voice sounded: "Governor Olaf, please respect yourself, this is the talent selection of the Empire. ”

Bill Newton glanced at Sebastian: "Governor Olaf is not rough. As the saying goes, when you look outside through a window, you can only see the same size of the sky as the window. Step out the door and you can greet the whole world. The selection of imperial talents should be expanded. ”

Sebastian is not interested in their gags, and a cover letter catches his eye. The self-nominator protested against the various crimes of the imperial tax system, and the criticism was heartbroken and patriotic.

"After screening, there were eight people who were shortlisted for interviews. The scholar put together the eight letters.

"There's one more. Sebastian raised the letter in his hand, "Adams Bradley from the Qingting Islands. ”

Interviews were soon held in the long hall, and the candidates came in one by one to be talked.

The position of master craftsman is too specialized, resulting in few competitors. Sebastian's questions mostly involve construction materials, construction technology, project management, etc.

As he asked, Bill Newton drank from a cup, the Secretary of Justice scribbled crappy drawings on paper, the scholar fell asleep, and Olaf Kruger yawned like a cat with an impatient expression.

He smiled as much as he could, and behaved relatablely, but some of the candidates were still fighting with their teeth and too nervous to stand, while others were full of holes in their answers, so he threw the bombastic envelopes into the garbage heap, along with the candidates' futures.

Eventually, Anthony Bell, president of the Artisan Guild of Menor, who had helped build Karen Madison's capital city, Fort Lion, was confirmed, as confirmed by Governor Schumacher von Fergert. Lieutenant General in charge of logistics in the military department, favored by Commander Ludwig, only knew about the construction of fortifications, and Sebastian directly failed to do so. Ludwig's face turned pale.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer race is fierce, and the examiners are keen to ask questions. Olaf Kruger did not leave the woman in three sentences, and he asked how to get the top of the best brothel in Castle Thunder with the least amount of money, and swore that it was a serious question. Sebastian had to stop his nonsense to get the whole campaign atmosphere serious.

Eventually, the two were selected for the second round of interviews, and the Queen's cousin, Isaac Graf, a young man, 26 years old, was a good-looking man who was always even-handed, and the Council and the Doge gave him high marks along the way.

Adams of the Qingting Islands stood out among the many candidates for his eloquence and adaptability. He said that Olaf Kruger's question was very serious, and that when the empire was short of money, it was necessary to consider the lowest cost and strive to get the most out of it. This surprised Olaf and gave Adams a perfect score.

"It's only been three years since the one-year war, and the imperial celebrations cost enormously. What should you do with the future Chancellor of the Exchequer?" Sebastian looked at the two in front of him.

Isaac thought for a moment and replied, "Your Majesty the Regent, with the arrival of peace, the harvest will slowly improve. Those aristocrats, merchants, can hoard more goods for the same amount of money, and I propose to maintain the tax rate, or even increase it year by year. ”

"Why?" Sebastian wondered.

Isaac scratched his head and blushed: "Originally, they had 10 Reichsmarks, and they could only buy 100 bags of wheat, but when the harvest is good, they can buy 150 bags of wheat for the same money." We should tax more so that their money can only buy 105 bags of wheat for a while. ”

"And why?" Sebastian wondered.

"Let those nobles, propertied knights, and merchants keep their incomes slightly higher, and let them see the hope of increasing the income of their fiefdoms, and they won't make a fuss. They will work harder to make money, and the income of the treasury will continue to increase. "If their income is higher than the treasury, as in the case of the Golden Families in Orlando, they will financially suppress the royal family and threaten the security of the Empire." ”

Sure enough, it was the queen's cousin, and as soon as he said it, he thought about how to keep the throne. Sebastian sighed secretly in his heart, perhaps it was taught by the queen, and when he said this, he blushed and was still childish.

Sebastian looked at the scholar and the Governor Dior, the scholar pretended to sleep and betrayed him with his shaky feet, and the Governor of Dior smiled and shrugged as he looked at Sebastian.

"I had different ideas. The temporary tax increase in the imperial celebration is full of discontent, and the temporary tax should be exempted at this time. Adams' voice was loud as he looked around, "It's not the aristocracy that threatens the empire, it's the people. Lower the tax rate to lighten the burden on them, and when they work, they will be grateful, and when they pay their taxes, they will be willing. ”

"You are questioning the authority of the laws of the Empire. Fred Mann jumped to his feet, "These taxes and rates were promulgated by His Majesty the Emperor, and all the members of the Imperial Council can prove it. Without those taxes, the Imperial Celebration would have disappointed His Majesty and made the people laugh. ”

"So I said it was time to abolish the temporary tax. Adams was undaunted by Fred Mann, as if he were already Chancellor of the Exchequer, "After the empire cut taxes, those craftsmen and merchants reduced the cost of doing business, which helped them to provide better goods, and the empire's economy gradually recovered." When the people are rich and the people of the empire are desirable, the treasury will naturally grow. ”

Well said!Sebastian picked up the pen, and when he saw Olaf glancing at him, he secretly raised an index finger and shook it.

"You bullshit! The Empire's treasury is empty, how much do you know?" Isaac asked, "The interest rate of the Doge trading city-state is as high as 14%!" he suddenly realized that he had leaked his mouth and quickly shut up.

It seems that the members of the Imperial Council have revealed a lot of information to him. Sebastian suddenly thought: in the previous round of interviews, Isaac's answer was leaky, a bit like an endorsement. Damn, someone must have leaked the exam questions.

"I can guess by the market. Adams said proudly, "Before the imperial celebrations, expensive jewelry, precious liquor, silk, and spices were brought into the city in large quantities, and the merchants sat on the ground and raised their prices, but now the prices have been cut in half." This shows that the demand is not strong, and there is no more money to buy. ”

Bill Newton knocked over his glass, red wine stains on the silk robe, and exclaimed, "Oh my God, oh shit, my robe is worthless?"

Sebastian is so angry that Bill secretly drinks while he is an examiner.

"Enough! Live scoring! Live judging!" Sebastian yelled.

The members of the Council unanimously gave Isaac a high score.

The reason for the scholar is that Isaac is personable and has aristocratic blood, and he deserves a plus. Fred Mann's argument is that Isaac's economic policies are in line with current laws and have legal support. Commander Ludwig was silent and gave full marks directly.

Bill Newton praised Isaac for his political wisdom and for always thinking about the royal family. Sebastian was the only one who gave Isak a 6 and Adams a 9.

When he scored the score, he saw Olaf's disappointed look in his eyes.

Several governors scored their scores, with Isak leading the way and being elected as the new Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Adams' face turned red and white, and he stood there at a loss.

Isaac won without honor. With his status as the queen's cousin, he got the exam questions and answers in advance. The examiners took care of the queen's face and sent Isaac to the Imperial Council with high scores all the way.

They took my words as a deaf ear, the empire needs real talent. Traps, they made me think that it was fair to run openly, secretly decided on the candidates, and made me speechless.

Looking at the examiners and candidates in the audience, Sebastian squeezed the armrest of the lion head on the Throne of Thunder and raised his voice: "I announce that according to the open election, the new master craftsman is Anthony Bell from the Lion Castle, and the new Chancellor of the Exchequer is Isaac Graf, the cousin of Queen Ivana. ”

As soon as these words came out, the other losers exchanged their heads and talked about it.

Isaac's face flushed. Fred Mann was stunned like a nerd, and the scholar coughed violently, pretending not to hear. Bill Newton wiped the wine stains from his clothes and stole a glance at Commander Ludwig. The Commander's face turned pale, and he glared at Sebastian.

I ripped off their fig leaf. Sebastian was not relieved enough, and after waiting for the herald to tap his scepter to silence the audience, he announced another decision: "The governor of Orlando Province is Adams Bradley from the Qingting Islands." ”

For a moment, the Thunder Throne was silent, and even Adams himself dropped his jaw in shock.

Sebastian was triumphant, and he loved to see the harlequins look surprised.

His gaze met Olaf Kruger, whose eyes were filled with despair.