It has to be said that although the empire has experienced many crises until now, including the current invasion of criminals.

But since the decades of the reign of Augustine VI, the great old emperor, countless wars, large and small, have been waged against foreign countries, regardless of the outcome, although they cost the country, but at least one thing has been successful: he has accustomed the people of the empire to a philosophy: tough!

Externally, whether it is the grassland people or the South Seas, just one word: hit!!

It can be said that the top of the empire, even when the empire's national strength is weak, is dominated by hawks!

As for the Minister of Ceremonies, this kind of courtier does not have much say and real power in national affairs. Because there is only one empire on the continent: the Roland Empire.

There are no neighboring countries around, so the work on "diplomatic etiquette" is basically blank. As for the steppe people, they are just steppe barbarians in a corner.

Therefore, the Minister of Etiquette of the Empire, Ping Rìli really has no real power in his hands, and only occasionally some national celebrations, festival celebrations, and so on, will let him have something to do.

Therefore, although nominally a high-ranking official of the first rank of the empire, most of the time it is almost an empty shelf.

Today, it is rare to have the opportunity to show the value of his existence, and this old minister is even more upright, and the military is also opposed. For the Navy. When did this group of natives also be qualified to send envoys to the palace and become guests?

What do you want? Won't you drive a warship and grab it with a sword!

Both the military and the Minister of Ceremonies spoke, but Prince Chen still did not express his position. Charlie, the little emperor next to him, seemed to have a faint leap on his face, and there was some excitement in his eyes.

Although he is already the emperor, he really rarely has the opportunity to participate in discussing the affairs of the state. Most of the time, although he has been crowned emperor, but too much. In fact, there is not much difference from the life of the prince in the past: he still studied with the court teacher every day, and rode horses and played in his spare time.

The only difference is that the palace maids and envoys around them no longer call themselves "His Royal Highness", but call themselves "Your Majesty".

Can...... This...... Seem...... It seems like...... Let the young Charlie. There seems to be some emptiness in my heart, and there is a faint feeling of dissatisfaction!

Today!

Sitting on a high throne and watching the powerful ministers of the empire below arguing with each other, each of them was like a peacock opening the screen, trying their best to exert their eloquence and hard performance in front of themselves!

This...... A sense of "control". It filled Little Charlie's heart with unprecedented joy and satisfaction.

This is the emperor!!With the ultimate supreme power, the ministers argue no matter what, and finally ...... You can decide your fate with your own words!!

Thinking of this, Charlie's little face flushed with excitement. He immediately subconsciously glanced at his father beside him......

This glance made Charlie's heart eagerly darken a little.

He told himself: It's not me! They are now fighting for the red face, but they want to get the right to adjudicate the land, but it is not in my hands!

These guys peacock open the screen, but they are desperately trying to behave ...... It's his own father!

Not yet myself...... It's not your turn yet......

A subtle and eccentric uncomfortable feeling. Charlie couldn't help but feel a little dazed......

This dark emotion. It's quietly breeding.

Emperor Chen's face is very quiet, he is a monarch. Knowing the way of being a king, he will not express his position easily, but will only let his courtiers show it to their heart's content, and strive to understand the position and ideas of each courtier!

He refused to express his position lightly, because he knew that if he easily and prematurely revealed his attitude, then many flatterers would speak according to their own intentions - and even other suggestions that might have been good would be deliberately suppressed.

If you are in a high position, you must stay awake and be able to read the minds of those below, otherwise, once you are blindfolded and deaf, then ......

Prince Chen glanced at his son.

He was the one who asked Charlie to come to this meeting today. He deliberately wanted to gradually cultivate his son, although he was still a little younger, but let him participate in this kind of meeting occasionally, even if he didn't have to speak, he didn't have to make decisions, but he should be able to gain a lot from listening to it - such a close observation of the rulings of national affairs is far more intuitive than those court teachers in the palace.

Pity...... Even if he was as wise as the prince of Chen, he didn't notice the subtle emotions in his son's heart.

Seeing that the "hawk" faction of the empire had finished speaking, Prince Chen still did not speak. The ministers, who were already well acquainted with the habits of the regent, understood: apparently, His Highness had not heard enough, and he hoped for more different opinions.

So, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, walked out.

"Colleagues. The Chancellor of the Exchequer first bowed to his colleagues around him, his tone was very calm and sincere, this old man usually speaks at meetings, he is eager to roll up his sleeves and fight hard with other ministers, but today he is so calm, it makes others a little strange.

"I'll start by...... There is nothing to question about my loyalty to the Empire. Therefore, what I say next is just that as the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the Empire, I will only make some calculations and considerations from the fiscal side. ”

Chancellor's speech. No one interrupted him.

Recently, the position of the Chancellor of the Exchequer has been improved a few points compared to before, especially since the younger brother of the Duke of Tulip has come of age to Dìdū. And the granddaughter of the Chancellor of the Exchequer is about to become the wife of the Count of the House of New Lorraine. This is tantamount to bringing the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the most powerful tulip family in the empire into a blood bond!

Even the former political enemies of the Chancellor of the Exchequer have to look at Duke Tulip on the ground, and they have to respect this old man on the surface.

"Ahem, guys. The Chancellor of the Exchequer smiled and said slowly: "The first word I want to say is...... Cost. Hehe, this funny word was not spoken by me, but was the first to be used by His Excellency Duke Tulip. Let's first talk about the letter of state brought by the envoy from Nanyang this time. ”

said. He took out a piece of paper from his bosom: "This is the copy I have got, I will read out to you the list of what they are willing to worship, note that the content of this list is their annual offering to the empire." It's every year!"

The Chancellor of the Exchequer then read aloud in a subdued voice: "Two thousand catties of spices from the South Seas, and precious stones of each sè South Seas, are to be offered at the official price of the Empire, and the amount of gold coins worth about 300,000 is to be offered every year, and the price of the gems is according to the market price of the Empire, that is. The value is determined by us! Even if it is a gemstone worth 300,000 gold coins, we say that it is only worth 30,000 gold coins, and it is up to us! Also, ten boxes of high-grade pearls. Twenty boxes of medium-grade pearls. 500 ivory. 300 sets of fine sea shark skins......"

As the Chancellor of the Exchequer read it, there was a hint of pride in his voice, and finally, after the list had been read, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced: "According to this list." I asked the clerical staff of my subordinates to do the math. About every year, they offer something to worship. Worth about two and a half million Imperial Gold Coins, this is only a preliminary conservative estimate. And what they demanded was just that our Imperial Navy stopped plundering the South Seas, and the so-called spending money to buy peace was just that. ”

"Two and a half million gold coins, so what. A military general said disdainfully: "As long as our fleet drives to their doorstep, we will not move as much as we want!"

The Chancellor of the Exchequer was not angry, and smiled faintly: "You are right...... Theoretically, this is true, but only theoretically. ”

He took out another list from his bosom: "This is my calculation...... We're going to spend a military expedition on the South Seas Expeditionary Fleet! Ships to build -- oh, of course, the existing naval fleet is big enough that we don't need to build new ships. However, when a fleet goes on an expedition to sea, the cost of repairing and maintaining the entire fleet is many times higher than that of stopping in a port! In particular, it is an expedition to the South Seas, a long-distance voyage! The soldier's salary when he goes out to war is also higher than in peacetime, and the officer's allowance, the consumption of food, the renewal and repair of military equipment, the maintenance and renewal of weapons, and the time we spend...... Wait, wait, I calculated, even if the fleet of this kind of South Sea expedition was limited to a very small size, for example, only about one-third of the size of each of our previous South Sea expeditions. However, the military expenditure must reach at least 500,000 gold coins each time! This figure cannot be reduced any longer!

And, guys, I'll give you another number. Here I have here the settlements of our last three expeditions to the South Seas -- well, after deducting the consumption of military expenses and other expenses, we got the final results, and the figures were: 360,000 gold coins, 210,000 gold coins, and 130,000 gold coins. ”

"Impossible!!" As soon as the figure of the Chancellor of the Exchequer came out, the generals of the military immediately boiled!

There are even more people who burst into flames, and immediately shouted at the Chancellor of the Exchequer desperately: "Corruption!"

"The soldiers are bleeding ahead!!We have conquered the entire South Seas, and every time we return with a full load, how can there be only such a small number!!"

In the face of everyone's accusations, the Chancellor of the Exchequer was calm, and he waited quietly for the crowd to scold until his voice gradually became quieter, and then he turned around and bowed to the high Lord Regent and Little Charlie.

"Your Highness, Your Majesty. The Chancellor of the Exchequer said lightly: "Don't say it...... I myself have been Chancellor of the Exchequer for less than 15 years. And the earliest of the three South Sea expeditions I am talking about was the one led by the late Count Raymond, the last member of the Rollin family, fifteen years ago...... I'm not the Chancellor of the Exchequer yet! If I was corrupt, it wouldn't have been on my head at that time!"

His voice was calm: "As the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the Empire, the carriage I am riding in was given to me by His Royal Highness the Prince Regent a few years ago. And before, the carriage I rode in was an old guy who had been in use for twenty-three years. The house I live in now was given to me by His Royal Highness the Prince Regent two years ago. And before...... My house has only four courtyards, and I have less than ten servants! My granddaughter is about to get married, but I'm still struggling to make up the dowry. Of all the ministers of the Empire, my life can be described as the most shabby...... Excuse me, if I embezzle, where does the money I embezzle?!"

The Chancellor's face was full of righteousness, and his eyes swept around, and everyone who touched his eyes involuntarily turned their heads sideways.

Even the reckless general, who had just accused him of corruption, could not help blushing - for he lived in a house six times larger than the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and had nearly a hundred servants in his house.

The regent finally spoke, he looked at the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and said warmly: "There is no need to be so, I know that your hard work is high! If you are corrupt, then there is no one who is honest in the whole empire! You don't have to be angry about it......"

As he spoke, the regent's eyes swept to the military, his tone was a little dissatisfied, and he said lightly: "Generals, be careful!!" Several generals quickly stood up and bowed down to apologize to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The old man smiled and returned the salute one by one, before continuing: "I know that everyone is a little skeptical about the figures I have reported...... But as I said, those figures are settled after deducting military expenses and other expenses...... That is, the cost of deduction. ”