Even though it was late at night, the purple palace was still brightly lit. The young and thin eunuch had just come to report on John's itinerary with a pinching of his throat, but Evie, who was dressed in a nightgown, was accompanied by two maids and came to the front hall first.

As soon as Constantine XI raised his gaze, and after seeing a touch of purple in his eyes, he hurriedly put down the scepter in his hand and personally helped Evie to sit down beside him.

Of course, His Majesty Basilius, who is rich in honor and prestige, did not deliberately make such a gesture in an uncrowded situation, but a few days ago, when the Jewish theric doctor was in the palace of Barcelissa, examining the so-called "gastrointestinal discomfort", he unexpectedly brought good news to Constantine XI.

The Jewish therapist didn't dare to speculate too much, but honestly reported the news that Evie was pregnant. It's not a big deal, but it's definitely not a small matter. The whole world knows that the crown prince of the Roman Empire is John, but the whole world also knows who is the real nobleman of the purple family.

In order to avoid the situation of fighting in the same room directly ruined the current life of the Roman Empire, Constantine XI did not even have time to communicate with Evie, and issued an edict again to determine the legitimacy of John's succession.

"Father's ......"

John yawned and entered the front hall, only to see Evie, who was already standing beside Constantine XI with a contoured pregnant belly. So he also reciprocated with a kind smile - he didn't have the talent to fight in the nest, and he didn't have the mind to fight in the nest.

It's just that Constantine XI saw the document from the God's Wish Chapel held by the little girl next to him, and his right eyelid suddenly jumped. His two unconscious sons and nieces, for the past two years, Constantinople have always been able to throw the few gold coins that he had saved in the treasury into the furnace. Even under the banner of God, in the center of several statues of Bo Fili in the Constantinople Racecourse, the population of Constantinople is much larger than in previous years, but the tax revenue will never reach the level of satisfaction of His Majesty the Emperor, most of which is the credit of the John brothers and sisters.

"You seem to have been in a hurry." His Majesty the Emperor pretended to be enthusiastic and greeted him warmly, and at the same time hurriedly gave his attendants a look and asked them to call Jin Qi and old Agrippa over.

"Father, Sophia and I have a great idea to share with you."

"The treasury has no money...... The restoration of the city of Athens and the port of Piraeus will require significant follow-up investment. Hadrianpolis's inventory of the Ottomans had already been consumed, and the tax pressure was great. If you and little Sophia have nothing to do, you can send me a few more tax collectors to see if we can increase the income of the newly occupied territories. "His Majesty the Emperor quickly preempted the strike.

In the past few days, John has shown interest in the Mittal mercenary group, and as emperor, Constantine XI has certainly heard of it. The Imperial Garrison and the Imperial Navy were arguing about the distribution of military expenses at the Imperial Council all day long, and he didn't want to drill a third party.

"This part is also planned." John nodded happily, "Father, this matter has nothing to do with war and the army. Perhaps knowing Constantine XI's financial constraints, John deliberately avoided the topic.

"I can give you a lot of military expenses for the Phoenix Legion, whether it is for the army or not, the treasury can't be squandered like this. The usury of the Venetian merchants, I don't want the empire to borrow a second time in my life. ”

Even though the night was quite dark, John's proposal was still on the table of the Imperial Council.

"Unrealistic." Jin Qi rubbed his hands and forced his eyes open, obviously not recovering from his deep sleepiness, "Your Majesty John, it's not that I don't know that expanding the talent pool is a lucrative investment for the empire, but opening similar so-called academies in various places, it is a trivial matter to work hard and lose money, and it will eventually evolve into a situation, which is very likely to make the royal family balance before...... Or rather, all efforts to weaken the power of the aristocracy were in vain. ”

Agrippa took John's idea from Kinchi's hand, and after a few cursory glances, nodded faintly in agreement.

The Council of Kings was only loyal to Palaiologo, and the first consideration was, of course, the royal family. Although John did not have the luxury of universal education, it was easier for the few educational resources he had to become the plaything of nobles and merchants with a certain amount of capital. This is tantamount to a disguised increase in the influence of these forces that have been gradually marginalized within the empire.

The sons and daughters of these aristocratic merchants received the best education in the empire, and naturally held official positions in the core institutions of the empire, whether it was military power or political power.

"Mr. Kinch, your views and suggestions are very reasonable. But I think what the royal family needs to do is not to blindly suppress the rise and fall of a certain force in the empire, but to make the empire get the most out of it through a delicate balance. John leaned back in his chair and said lazily.

He had a premonition of the opposition of the Imperial Council, and this trip was naturally prepared. His words also made Constantine XI, who was originally noncommittal on the Holy Seat, sit up straight.

"John, what are you going to do?" His Majesty the Emperor directly interrupted Jin Qi's speech just about to exit, leaned forward, and asked John directly.

"It was the nobles of Epirus who had nothing to do and wanted to get some old privileges......"

"John, you know it's impossible."

"Of course I do, father." John pinched his eyebrows, "But we can use the needs of these old nobles to make a heavy enough weight, so that even if they get the right, they will be constrained by the imperial power." The administrative system of the empire in Constantinople is still relatively complete, but with the exception of Latius's fiefdom in Athens, the situation of the other domains of the empire in terms of autonomy and taxation is not optimistic. That being the case, we can subdivide these regions and appoint them as non-hereditary appointments to the heirs of nobles and merchants who had distinguished themselves after receiving imperial education. ”

"It doesn't sound much different from the military district system." Agrippa was clearly not happy with this approach, as subdividing the districts would make the bureaucracy bloated and administratively inefficient, and the maintenance of such a government would require considerable expenses.

Jin Qi shook his head again and again, at first sound, this is a copy of the imperial examination of the Eastern Empire, this system may still be barely usable at present, but in the future the expansion of the empire's territory, Constantinople's radiation and control over the local area will inevitably be weakened, and the corruption of local bureaucrats and the ratio of military and political power are stubborn diseases that have not been solved by the Eastern Empire for thousands of years.

"Two, I'm not done yet."