At five o'clock in the afternoon, the imperial capital is the first auxiliary mansion.

Located on the west side of the Imperial Palace, across the river from the main meeting of the two houses, the annex covers an area of less than 5,000 square meters and is the official residence of the Imperial Cabinet.

The courtyard is not large, the garden occupies more than half of it, there are no exotic flowers, just dozens of towering pines and cypresses, and under the dense canopy are a few scattered bungalows.

If you haven't been here, you will think of it as the garden of a large family.

It's just that no one dares to deny that it is the most powerful people in the world who live here.

For the first twenty years, the cabinet was more of a staff body, with the main responsibility of advising the founder of the empire, the Emperor Shimu, and recommending executive orders on his behalf. In times of war, it was transformed into a logistics organization with full responsibility for the work in the rear.

This situation lasted until the constitutional reform, that is, the constitutional reform.

Emperor Shiwu's prestige in the empire was extremely high, and it was absolutely unmatched, not only because he created the empire with his own hands, but also because through constitutional reform, he abolished the imperial government that had been passed down from all dynasties, achieved democracy, and based on this, the empire embarked on the path of stable development.

The most direct result of constitutional reform is to allow the first assistant to gain real power.

Although nominally, the empire practiced a parliamentary cabinet system, with the head of the cabinet holding the ruling power and being the head of government. The Emperor is the nominal head of the Empire, and the first assistant is accountable to the Emperor and is appointed by the Emperor. In reality, however, the Imperial system is closer to the President's Parliamentary System of the Nuland Federation, in which the power of the first assistant is above the parliament, and he is not necessarily the leader of the ruling party, nor does he need to have a majority in the parliament.

The point is that the first and second ministers are elected through general elections, not by the two houses of parliament.

After all, in the years when the constitutional reform was promoted, the people were familiar with the first assistant who had assisted Emperor Shiwu in founding the empire, not the president of the country on the other side of the Guia Ocean, and few people knew what a "president" was.

Besides, the emperor must be retained, and it is impossible to set up a president.

Inside the study, a middle-aged man in his fifties was on the phone.

That's right, this person is the current head of the empire, Xue Yuanzheng.

Although his international popularity is not as good as that of the lame president of the Newland Federation who had to be in a wheelchair because of polio, and who implemented the New Deal and regarded Keynesian economic doctrine as an oracle, the prestige of Xue Yuanzheng in the empire was not that of any of the previous chiefs.

First of all, he was an army general before he entered politics, and twenty years ago he was a household name and a war hero admired by everyone.

Of course, in the Empire, as well as in other countries, it is not unusual for generals to enter politics after retiring, and several generals of the Newland Federation have become presidents.

The point is that in the last war, Xue Yuanzheng almost single-handedly saved the empire.

In the summer of 76 of the new calendar, a few months before the entry of the Sayi Imperial State into the war, Xue Yuanzheng, who was then the commander of the frontier defense in the northeast, was prepared, not only repeatedly submitted reports to the army headquarters of a possible surprise attack, but also asked the border guards to begin preparations for war.

It was in these months that the border guards doubled the depth of the defensive line.

After that, in the case of a sudden attack by the narrow army, the border guards of the Imperial Army relied on the reinforced border defense line to block the narrow army, and held out until the harsh winter. In the spring of the following year, they also relied on the border defense line to fight several beautiful counterattacks.

If it weren't for Xue's far-sightedness, not only would the Ice Storm Peninsula be occupied by the enemy, but even the imperial capital would be threatened.

Secondly, Xue Yuanzheng has a strong sense of honor and principles.

At the end of the war, he originally had the opportunity to become the commander-in-chief of the army, but there was a premise that Marshal Ma Zhongyi, the commander-in-chief during the war, needed to take the blame for the defeat, that is, he had to step on Ma Zhongyi's body and climb up. As a result, Xue Yuanzheng submitted an application for retirement.

It's not that Ma Zhongyi is not responsible, but Xue Yuanzheng does not use such despicable means.

This move made Xue Yuanzheng admired by almost all army officers and soldiers, and laid the foundation for his later entry into politics.

Afterwards, he was also exceptionally promoted and retired as an army general.

However, the most important thing is still his performance after entering politics.

Although Western reporters often compare him with the iron-blooded prime minister of Wilder I, the number one hero who founded the Manman Empire, and refer to him as the iron-blooded chief assistant of the Liangxia Empire, but except for serving in the army and being a general, Xue Yuanzheng is more similar to the lame president of the Nuland Federation.

If you want to say anything, it's actually a lame president like him.

Ten years ago, in the 89th year of the new imperial calendar, that is, the year of the outbreak of the Great Depression, Xue Yuanzheng was elected as the first assistant of the empire in the midst of all expectations. This year, the lame president of the Union of Nuland had just emerged from the shadow of his disability and was elected governor for the first time.

Almost everyone believes that this iron-blooded chief will lead the Liang Xia Empire on the road to expansion.

It seemed that only a build-up of armaments would be able to withstand the tsunami-like Great Depression.

But this is not the case.

Xue Yuanzheng did not engage in an arms race, at least not to expand the army for no reason, but to promote the construction of infrastructure mainly by railways and highways throughout the country. The key is to focus on the northwest and southwest regions of the empire, and to promote the economic development of the remote inland areas through infrastructure.

Since then, President Nuland has followed this path!

In addition, Xue Yuanzheng took the lead in proposing the concept of "global free trade", advocating that all countries abandon tariffs, establish a global trade organization, formulate basic trade principles that are helpful to all participating countries, and use extensive and comprehensive trade to overcome the Great Depression.

Under his facilitation, the Liangxia Empire established mutually beneficial trade relations with numerous countries.

It is precisely in this way that in the past ten years, the empire has not only withstood the impact of the Great Depression, but also gradually broken through the shackles of the peace of Seba.

So far, no one can deny that the Liangxia Empire has once again become the most powerful country in the world!

In fact, the Liangxia Empire has always been the most powerful country in the world.

What Xue Yuanzheng did was only to bring the empire out of the haze of defeat, cheer up hundreds of millions of imperial soldiers and civilians, and re-establish the confidence of invincibility!

It's just that few people know that he was the first assistant of the empire during the Great War, that is, Tang Zude's nephew, and his mother was Tang Zude's sister.

There is no doubt that his relationship with Don Zude was a stepping stone for him to enter politics.

In Ma Zhongyi's matter, he was able to adhere to his principles, and he also relied on this relationship.

It is also undeniable that Xue Yuanzheng's political achievements are related to Tang Zude, but it is not necessarily causal, after all, Tang Zude has been dead for more than ten years.

After the secretary came in, he cautiously closed the door, and then stood by the door, without disturbing Xue Yuanzheng.

"Let them all wait, and when I'm done, I'll pass. Nothing else, that's all. If there is new news, contact again. ”

After finishing speaking, Xue Yuanzheng waited for a while, and only two seconds before putting down the microphone.

Although he is the most powerful person in the world, it does not mean that he can do whatever he wants without any troubles.

"It's all here?"

"It's all here, and we're waiting for you in the conference room."

Xue Yuanzheng didn't say much, and straightened his bow tie.

As he walked over, the secretary pushed the door open.