Darkstone Code-Chapter 776 - 0774 Collision
Sometimes His Majesty Emperor Gafura harbors some resentment towards his father, his grandfather, and those so-called ancestors.
Clearly, there was a chance to make this country a toy in the hands of the Imperial Family, but these people foolishly chose the most irrational method to rule the country.
By distributing power to the nobles, allowing the nobles to restrain the power of the Imperial Family, it seems like a balanced approach.
The power of the nobles won’t become overly inflated, and the Emperor’s power won’t go unchecked due to dictatorship, but as an Emperor, he is now very unhappy.
The Minister of Defense’s request was quite reasonable. A nation’s finance is a critically important task, and now the position of Minister of Finance is vacant, with specific issues being decided through consultation.
At first glance, this approach seems quite good; the outcome of everyone’s consultation will surely not lean towards one side, and each person... at least the majority of people will think this is appropriate, thus making similar decisions.
But the fact is, this kind of interference gravely disrupts the normal operation of fiscal work, and without a new Minister of Finance to fill the position, it’s inappropriate to randomly place someone in the financial system.
If future circumstances and current situations change, those inserted in various positions might be ousted, which won’t look good for everyone; so far, it’s still the deputies who are presiding over the work.
A regulation must be quickly devised to select a new Minister of Finance, to prevent small issues stemming from non-content factors like stance from severely affecting the speed of work.
But the problem is that asking at this time, in this place, doesn’t seem like a discussion. Instead, it feels like they are forcing His Majesty the Emperor to make a decision. Whether good or bad, these people are pressuring him, unwilling to give him more preparation time.
After a brief silence, His Majesty the Emperor said, "Do you have any good suggestions for the candidate for the new Minister of Finance?"
By using the new Minister of Finance to stabilize other ministers, the Emperor gave the nomination right to the ministers. His intention was clear: to keep the Minister of Finance relatively neutral; for now, he doesn’t want to fall out with these ministers.
The Minister of the Navy remained silent, looking down at the ring on his finger, seemingly in thought.
For the Minister of the Navy, no matter who becomes the Minister of Finance, the Navy’s various budgets cannot be insufficient. Gafura’s currently strongest force, and the only military power worth mentioning, is the Navy.
Not allocating funds to the Navy is akin to stabbing oneself, and right at the most painful spot. Whoever becomes the Minister of Finance will surely be like in the past, having friendly interactions with him.
The Minister of the Army looked up at the frescoes on the ceiling of the hall, just like a scholar obsessed with studying various arts, immersed in an ocean of art.
Strengthening the construction of the Army was the result of everyone’s discussion, and with the strategic focus shifted, the value of the Navy in the Amelia Region has, in fact, diminished.
It’s impossible for them to bombard their own cities, the deterrence of the Navy is virtually nil, and the Army is the most crucial force.
The "Giant Land Country" plan has entered the implementation stage, the role of the Army is becoming increasingly apparent and increasingly important, he is not worried that anyone would dare to cut off the Army’s funds, that would be akin to seeking their own demise.
Most of the other ministers either experienced fluctuations or remained silent, showing little interest in who could be proposed as the Minister of Finance.
Some people’s sights already turned towards the Prime Minister, who remained silent as if all the people in the hall had lost their ability to speak.
After an unknown period, perhaps two or three minutes, or maybe a bit longer, the Prime Minister suddenly broke the silence in the hall.
"It seems that no one has a suitable candidate in mind. Why don’t I temporarily take on this work, and when everyone thinks of a suitable candidate, we can redistribute the work."
He said it without hesitation, looking straight at His Majesty the Emperor, the two of them staring at each other across more than ten meters.
The Emperor looked down from a high position, while the Prime Minister looked up, both of them maintaining eye contact.
The Prime Minister’s gaze was warm and not at all aggressive, with a hint of a smile and a ministerial deference towards the Emperor in his eyes.
The Emperor’s gaze was somewhat sharp, seemingly questioning the Prime Minister on what grounds he dared to propose this, and even dared to act on it?
Neither of them backed down. After a moment of eye contact, His Majesty the Emperor shook his head, "The Prime Minister has a busy schedule, and lately you haven’t been looking well. If you were to also take on the role of Minister of Finance, I wouldn’t want... a phone call blaming me for exploiting her husband."
The woman His Majesty the Emperor referred to is the Prime Minister’s wife, also a noblewoman with some blood relation to the Imperial Family.
Her father’s aunt is the granddaughter of His Majesty the Emperor’s grandfather’s grandfather, which seems to imply she should be considered one of the Emperor’s grandmothers.
According to relations, this is indeed the case, but in reality, when the Imperial Family and nobles discuss these matters, the "nobility" they speak of always relates solely to lineage.
First half, then a quarter, then an eighth, a sixteenth, a thirty-second, by family lineage, the Prime Minister should still be the Emperor’s "brother."
Despite seeming to have some kinship, once matters involve power, everyone in this hall is ready to harm their kin if necessary.
To them, anything can be discarded, except for power.
Just like the capitalists of the Federation, they can discard everything people consider valuable, except they won’t let others touch their wealth.
The principle is the same: having power or wealth is equivalent to having everything. The rest are merely "illusions" of life, used to adorn their dull lives.
The Emperor’s evasive attitude gave the Prime Minister some ideas. He could feel that the Emperor was avoiding exacerbating the issue. Under normal circumstances, if the Prime Minister yielded, he would let it pass, but this time he couldn’t yield.
"Your Majesty, some matters can be postponed, but with this kind of issue, the sooner we have a result, the more responsible we are to ourselves, to the country, and to the people."
The Prime Minister looked at the Emperor and said what he wanted to say, "If Your Majesty doesn’t have a suitable candidate, why not let the nobles of the Secretariat discuss it together..."
This has been a tradition for many years; when the ministers and the Emperor disagree, the Secretariat can intervene.
In the early days of the Dynasty, perhaps the founding Emperor’s vision was that the imperial authority, the ministers, and the Noble Group would be three opposing yet mutually supportive interest groups, ensuring none would surpass the other two.
But in later execution, the Secretariat and those nobles who should have been like the Federation’s Members of Parliament gradually became bystanders.
Now, the Prime Minister’s proposal to let the Secretariat discuss complies with Gafura’s laws and policies, but... the Prime Minister’s intention is also too obvious.
The Emperor hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "Alright, let the Secretariat discuss it."
The Emperor took a step back, and so did the Prime Minister. They moved the main battleground from the Ruler’s Hall to the Secretariat, and next, they would try to win over the nobles as much as possible.
From the Emperor’s perspective, he felt he had a natural advantage over the Prime Minister.
This was not just because he was the Emperor of the Empire, but because of the "Minister of Finance’s personal" advantage.
If the Prime Minister were to also take on the role of Minister of Finance, the Finance Department would be flooded with personnel from the Prime Minister, reducing a position for a Powerful Minister.
But if the Prime Minister were not to take the role, and someone else did, more nobles in the Secretariat could grasp power, and some could directly become the next Powerful Minister.
This temptation is indeed more attractive than the Prime Minister doubling as the Minister of Finance.
Their gazes parted, and everyone began discussing other matters, such as... some aftermath issues with Yuanrong Capital.
With over a billion in funds and a billions-worth black hole, the whole world is focused on this case, causing significant headaches for the Emperor and the ministers.
If handled poorly, it would become an international laughingstock, something no one wants to bear.
"Your Majesty, the issue with the Gold Certificates is easy to solve..." Entering work mode, the Prime Minister’s attitude was completely different from before, becoming serious and responsible.
He adjusted his sitting posture; the "morning meetings" between Gafura’s ministers and the Emperor are more like a morning tea that might not be so leisurely at times.
"We’ll refund the Gold Certificates by distributing different nominal values depending on the batches. The Gold Certificates are the only credential, and before, many people tore theirs apart, which saves us some funds in our refund processes..."
After Yuanrong Capital was defined as a fraud, Yuanrong Gold Certificates immediately became worthless. Once, they were willing to spend money on these financial products, but they became worthless instantly.
Many people, out of frustration, tore up those Gold Certificates. Together with the Prime Minister’s refund strategy, although some funds were secretly transferred by Richard in various ways and could not be retrieved,
Overall, the loss from refunding the Gold Certificates is not a significant issue. Everyone will lose a little, but as long as not all is lost, it will be acceptable.
"The most troublesome issue now is the stocks of Yuanrong Capital, which is the disaster area. Many people have invested in it, and they think their loss should be borne by the Empire."
If we had to use our own money to compensate for these people’s losses, it is obviously impossible. But if they do not receive compensation, they will keep making trouble."
"Therefore, we should come up with a countermeasure to solve these issues, to at least prevent them from continuing to cause trouble." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
Currently, the public believes that the Minister of Finance colluded with Richard, the Chairman of Yuanrong Capital, engaging in some behind-the-scenes money and power transactions to illegally list Yuanrong Capital.
Thus, shareholders believe their losses should be borne by two parties: Yuanrong Capital and the state represented by the Minister of Finance.
Yuanrong Capital is already finished, and asking them for money won’t work, but the Empire is still here, and those people think they should at least get back a little, fifty percent would be fine.
It’s easy to say, but hard to do.
With a black hole of billions, even fifty percent is still one or two billion, and this money is not easy to compensate for!
At least, the treasury certainly can’t cover it!
