The sky was blue, with a few white clouds floating in the air, and the temperature was pleasant, and the rainy season ended in early May, and the temperature in Serves rose rapidly. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 infoSebastian finally took off his cashmere cape and put on a wool-blend suit. He stood in front of the window of the Prime Minister's Tower, breathing a sigh of relief. The rain has finally stopped, and the rain of nearly half a month has delayed the construction of the expansion project of Thunder Castle, and now it can enter the final stage.

There was a knock at the door, and he turned to answer, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Krauser Wiggins, walked slowly.

"Dear Lord Wiggins, welcome to me. Sebastian pretended to be relaxed and poured Wiggins a glass of freshly squeezed strawberry juice, "There's juice here, sorry, I don't usually drink during the day." As soon as he saw Krause's face, he remembered what Olaf had said, that spending his own money was like a lifeless.

"Prime Minister, I didn't expect your taste to be so special. Krauser took a sip of strawberry juice, a grin barely forming on his face.

"Fresh strawberries, good for health. Do you have something on your mind?" asked Sebastian tentatively.

Krauser pinched his eyebrows: "I won't tell you, it's not because of money." Years of war, imperial celebrations, and the magician's solace money made me overwhelmed by money. I don't know how the former Chancellor of the Exchequer did it, as if he could make a lot of money at the touch of a finger. As a result, it was my turn, and the treasury was empty. ”

Sebastian pretended not to know and asked, "Is the treasury empty?"

"Yes, sir. I had to go into debt everywhere. In the Dogo Free Trade City, the merchants' association agreed to provide a loan of 5 million Reichsmarks at a frighteningly high interest. I negotiated with the credit of the Thunder Throne, and after several rounds of bargaining, the interest was discounted by 3%. Krauser held out three fingers, "Every year the Imperial Treasury will repay them 14% of the interest until the principal is paid off." ”

Sebastian burst into flames and blurted out, "It's a robbery." ”

"We don't have a choice. Most of the nobles in Orlando were wealthy, but the Ministry of Justice amended the gold-related tax law in order to enforce the law fairly, and at the request of His Majesty the Emperor, raised the gold mining tax, the gold ornament processing tax, and the gold business tax, which was applied to all gold mine owners. They were very dissatisfied, especially the Dietrich family, who had just died Robert Dietrich, and the 300,000 Reichsmark pension had not yet been warmed up, and they had not stopped paying taxes. The Dietrich family took the lead and refused to borrow money from the state treasury. Krauser sighed and shook his head, "If you want to blame, the Prime Minister can blame Fred Mann." ”

"He's a nerd!" Sebastian put down his glass heavily, strawberry juice dangling in the cup, "I heard the festival budget is overrun again?"

"Your Excellency, the celebration is imminent, and His Majesty the Emperor refuses to cut the budget. There are also surprises outside of the budget, such as your urban expansion plan, which, to be honest, is a lot of work and the materials are too good. After a pause, Krauser continued, "And there are many additional projects, and the budget is frequently exceeded for the urban expansion project alone. ”

Your ability to fight a rake is not small. Sebastian shook his head, resisting the urge in his heart, and explained: "The size of Thunder Castle must be expanded, and there are 200,000 civilians, neither roads nor drainage facilities. If you want to expand, of course, the materials must be selected, Krause, I will do the conscience project, and by the next hundred years of the empire, Thundercastle will still be as solid as a rock. ”

Krauser sighed and took a sip of strawberry juice: "You're a perfectionist, Prime Minister. In times of peace, there is nothing wrong with your thoughts. However, shortly after the end of the one-year war, the population plummeted, and now materials and labor are rising. ”

"Shut up! Krause!" Sebastian couldn't bear it, "the master craftsman Philip Walzer is falsely reporting the amount of work! he's deducting wages! And you, your Treasury officials, are all pretending to be deaf and dumb when they audit!"

He slapped the table hard, stood up, and took out a stack of drawings from the bookshelf: "I have a good idea of these quantities, and I also asked the workers to break the granite and mix it into the cement to cut the budget." But what he reported and what you reviewed was an amount that exceeded my original programme budget. ”

Krauser looked innocent: "Prime Minister, you can go and ask the master craftsman, why blame me? The market is like this, your budget can't keep up with the market." Those material dealers and craftsmen, who heard that it was an expansion of Thundercastle, sat on the ground and started to pay the price, and they knew that the project was urgent and had to be completed. ”

"Then give them a whip!" Sébastian roared, "those despicable profiteers dare to blackmail the head of His Majesty the Emperor!And you, Krause, are you also pretending to be deaf and dumb?, to be honest, have you been filling your pocket?!"

Krauser blushed to the neck and slapped the table, the cup of strawberry juice was knocked over, and the strawberry juice flowed like a faint stream of blood.

"Sebastian, shut up! you slander," Krauser roared, "watch your words!"

Sebastian narrowed his eyes, "I'll look it up." ”

"Check, check, Sebastian, I'm not afraid of you!" Krauser stood up and slammed the door.

Sebastian couldn't contain his disgust and anger, and he smashed all the cups on the table to the ground.

The Minister of Justice, Fred Mann, came in through a door at the back of the Prime Minister's Reception Room, looked at the mess on the floor, and comforted: "Your Excellency, are you too excited, not good for your health? ”

Sebastian slapped the table: "Check it out for me! Minister of Justice, I want you to immediately start an investigation into the Great Craftsman and the Chancellor of the Exchequer." ”

Fred Mann blinked and looked dazed: "But without the documents signed by His Majesty the Emperor, I can't use my power to investigate them." ”

"Damn it, I told you to investigate and gather evidence. Sebastian glared at Fred Mann. Among the people Olaf reminded him of was none of the ministers of justice, and this nerd seemed honest and could perhaps be his arm. He needs allies.

The Minister of Justice smacked his lips: "In my opinion, it was Bill Newton's job." ”

Sebastian roared again: "What I need is hard evidence! Not the gossip of the intelligence chief! I warn you, Fred Mann, don't tell Bill, don't ask him for help, I take a good look at you, don't let me down." ”

"I can only ...... Exert oneself. Fred Mann looked embarrassed, grabbed his hair, and bowed in his hand.

Seeing off the Minister of Justice, Sebastian slumped in his chair. His head hurts again, and since becoming prime minister, he has slept less and less and his spirit is tense. He suspects that if he continues like this, he will not live to the age of the former prime minister.

At the afternoon imperial meeting, His Majesty the Emperor was unsurprisingly absent again. The great craftsman Walzer took a leave of absence as usual, saying that the finishing touches of the project were imminent.

Sebastian sat in his seat. The Chancellor of the Exchequer gave him a blank look. Fred Mann looked at the Chancellor of the Exchequer one moment, then at him, then lowered his head and scribbled on the paper. College scholar Winston Groom was drowsy. The commander of the military headquarters, Ludwig von Himmler, had a tense face and a pale face. Surprisingly, Intelligence Director Bill Newton attended the meeting.

"The celebration is just around the corner, and I want to take care of the preparations. Sebastian took out a quill pen and pointed to a stack of papers, and asked, "Scholar, how is the feedback from the invited governors, lords, and nobles?"

The scholar wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth and said slowly: "Lord Hui, all the governors and lords of the provinces will be present, and those famous nobles are coming, and the Ministry of the Interior is stepping up to check the attendees. I dare say that the momentum is huge, the imperial celebration, the world's attention. ”

The more people, the more hidden dangers. Sebastian thought to himself, nodded and asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer: "My biggest headache is money." How is the Imperial Celebration funded?"

Krauser gave Sebastian a blank look, he seemed to hear Sebastian's subtext, and said angrily: "You're questioning me." Your Majesty has said that the budget for the celebration will be quadrupled, and I will try to meet the requirements and do my duty, hoping that the money will be used wisely. ”

"Yes, I want the money to be used wisely, and the surplus will be kept in the treasury. Sebastian coughed lightly, "After the celebration, the legal department stepped in and calculated the money. ”

Fred Mann shrunk his neck and remained silent.

He looked at Ludwig, and the poor commander replied tremblingly: "Cassius has been expelled from the army and went to the Rangers of Gasganik. Hugo has been investigating the 'Misty Valley Incident', but ...... If you want me to say, Your Majesty, Prime Minister, what Your Majesty wants is a celebratory gift. Find a few people, make up a good story, and send them to the gallows. ”

"Daring! Ludwig!" Sebastian slapped the table, "Take back your words!"

Fred Mann's eyes widened and he said, "You're a bully!

Bill Newton blinked and looked at Sebastian: "Prime Minister, I actually think the Commander is right. Just find a few prisoners who should have been hanged, you don't have to be serious. His Majesty asked for a 'ceremonial gift', and when the time came, he was happy, and the matter was over. The military department can continue the investigation in secret. ”

Sebastian shook his head, his head aching more and more, he couldn't stand the royal council. Your Majesty is surrounded by such people, and the empire will collapse.

He sighed: "Indeed, half a month is not good. I even think that Kajielun Young is right when he says that celebrations should not be bloody. Since the murderer could not be caught, the execution of the prisoner was simply canceled. ”

"Be careful, Prime Minister, Kajielun has been whipped, and it is a question of whether he can attend the celebration. As the head of the company, you don't want to spend the celebration in bed, do you?" Bill Newton touched his round belly, "Whoever achieves great things is not informal." ”

"My head hurts. Sebastian shook his head, staggered to his feet, and roared, "Get out of here!"

This is the third time he has roared today. He has always been gentle and elegant, and he can't stand it anymore.