As an emperor, Cohen has many offices, but for matters such as troop mobilization, Cohen still prefers to handle things on the ninth floor of the Royal Assembly Building because the space there is large enough and there is a large map to use.
When the General Staff Officer arrived at the ninth floor, he found that his emperor was staying with several "officers" who were making sandboxes. Those college teachers who had previously been forcibly recruited into the army had new partners-others from the Holy Capital College
Geography, hydrology, and even horticulture teachers, all of whom were sent by Abbot Lorenzo to work for the emperor as soldiers.
His Majesty the Emperor was holding a book in his hand, standing on several half-made sand tables, watching a quarrel among the "officers". A geography teacher raised objections to the height and direction of a mountain, and the sculpture teacher waved
Holding the map in his hand, he insisted in a strong tone that he was right. They were so immersed in the argument that they did not even notice the arrival of the General Staff Officer.
Cohen nodded to Carlos and said calmly: "Shut up."
The scene immediately returned to calm.
"From my standpoint, it doesn't matter if you make a big fuss." Cohen threw aside the book in his hand and said softly: "But you must pay attention, there is not much time left for you. Before I take the throne, you must
Give the correct sand table of the entire Sibia Empire."
"Your Majesty, there are still many things we don't understand..."
"That's your business. Do you think I will do everything personally? I have given you the most complete information, and you will do the rest." Cohen smiled slightly, turned around and walked towards Carlos: "That's it."
The people present knew that Cohen had finished speaking, and they quickly saluted: "Send it to Your Majesty."
"General Staff Officer, let's move to another place!" Cohen patted Carlos on the shoulder: "This place will be noisy again soon."
Carlos smiled and followed Cohen to the garden outside.
The garden outside the ninth floor has been renovated and has completely restored the old landscape. An artificial stream flows in the garden, and various rare flowers and plants are scattered on both sides, colorful and fragrant.
"Isn't this garden pretty good?" Cohen walked in front and said in a very dissatisfied tone: "But I just can't figure out why we need to build this thing on the roof of the building? Just the water in the stream needs to be spent.
It takes a lot of manpower to do it, and the annual maintenance cost of the garden is a lot. Is this the only way to show the extraordinaryness of the royal family?"
"Maybe!" Carlos looked around: "Your Majesty, you have to know that the royal family and the nobility have completely different treatment."
"When there is no one around, you should call me sir." Cohen sat down on the wicker chair next to him: "I have been studying these days. Although I have only read a few books, I found that the royal family has many bad habits.
Like mosquitoes in summer."
"Sir, you don't want to eradicate these traditions, do you?" Carlos sat down on the other side of the wicker chair.
"It's not that I don't want to, it's just that it just doesn't work." Cohen shook his head: "If I don't want to enjoy these royal treatments, how can the nobles feel at ease? Only if I enjoy these things can they enjoy the various treatments that belong to the nobles.
...In the current empire, from the lowest candidate knight to the highest first-class duke, there are more than a thousand people with noble titles, many of whom are from prominent families. No matter what I want to do, I must first
Consider their feelings."
"Sir, I feel very relieved when I can think of this." Carlos chuckled: "As for the noble matter, sir, you can take your time!"
"I have a lot of laws and announcements that need to be promulgated here, but I know that the nobles will object, so I have to shelve these things for now, but I won't let this situation last too long." Cohen exhaled: "Card.
Ross, in this war of rebellion, how many of our officers are qualified to be promoted to general?"
"Now it seems that nearly ten people can be promoted to major general or above, and nearly twenty people can be promoted to brigadier general."
"Think of a way to expand the army as soon as possible." Cohen looked at Carlos and emphasized: "In two months, I will need twenty major generals and forty brigadier generals. In two years, I will need ten lieutenant generals.
Fifty major generals and one hundred brigadier generals, please help me arrange it and be more flexible."
"This is a bit troublesome. Even if we promote officers, we still don't have that many troops now!" Carlos scratched his head and said in embarrassment: "Sir, we can't change so many soldiers."
"I don't need you to change. I will soon be dealing with the nobles in the empire. I need a large number of upstart officers to achieve a balance of power with the nobles." Cohen gave Carlos a meaningful look: "First, let's get the numbers of each army together.
Once the number is established, personnel can be added later."
"Yes, sir. That's no problem."
"Complete it as soon as possible." Cohen nodded: "By the way, we must also dispatch troops to other provinces that have just surrendered to us. Don't send too many people in advance, so as not to make the governors wary."
"In this case, we can send out new establishments that are not full of personnel. Each province can send at least one regiment, but only two to three thousand people." Carlos thought for a moment: "Erect the frame first, and then gradually add more.
Soldiers, so that the local area will not be wary."
Cohen lowered his head and thought about it, then asked someone to bring him a map.
"How many troops do we have now? Where are they located?" Cohen spread out the map.
"We have three legions, as well as some other troops. Lieutenant General Martin Luther's troops are guarding the border of the Riva Empire." Carlos pointed to the map and said: "All three wings of the First Legion are in the Holy Capital.
; One regiment of the second legion is guarding the roads to each province, one regiment is chasing the rebels, and one regiment serves as the general reserve; one legion of the third legion is near the Holy Capital, one is returning to the Dark Moon, and the other is in
Rush to the border with the Pota Empire to deploy defenses."
"Look! All our troops have been dispersed. This approach will definitely not work." Cohen shook his head: "The three armies are completely disrupted. If there is a war, communication between the various armies will not be smooth, and the master and slave will not be known.
, it’s easy to get confused.”
Carlos has also been troubled by this problem in the past few days: "Sir, we can't come up with a better plan yet. Each legion is good at different things, and it is already very difficult for us to retain the complete First Legion."
"I do have a way to free the three major legions from defense, but it is not possible yet." Cohen leaned back in his chair and played with the ring on his hand: "I want to set up war zones in areas bordering other countries."
"I think I heard you say it last time..."
"Yes, but this idea is not yet mature, and I have only thought about half of it...Each theater is roughly the scope of two to three provinces. The theater commander has full jurisdiction over all troops in this area, including defense, training, combat readiness, etc.
Wait." Cohen pointed to the map: "For now, I want to set up two war zones first, one bordering the Riva Empire and one bordering the Pota Empire... As for the direction of the dividing line between gods and demons, I don't know yet.
Why worry."
"Sir, according to you, this theater commander will have great power." Carlos looked up at Cohen and expressed his concerns: "Of course, our officers have no problems now, but in the future, such a big
The power will bring great hidden dangers to the rule of the empire."
"I thought about this question. You see, all military forces in theaters are defensive in nature. I will not easily assign offensive troops to any theater." Cohen smiled with relief: "Logistics is in our hands, and military law is also in our hands.
, and there is a complete intelligence system, so I don’t have to worry about someone turning the knife on me.”
Carlos shook his head: "Sir, I don't quite understand..."
"I plan to separate the three armies as pure strategic offensive forces. Within a year, I want you to recruit 200,000 new soldiers." Cohen patted his forehead and explained to his staff officer again: "At the same time, I
If we have to leave the heavy burden of border defense to the local provinces, I cannot raise so many soldiers."
"But sir." Carlos clapped his hands: "The local provinces can't support the army either!"
"But they have a lot of prime-age people. You also know that people have eight months of free time in a year. This time is enough for training. I want them to be organized and go to the military camp for at least four duty days a year.
"Month." Cohen directly pointed out the important point: "In this case, we will have enough reserve soldiers in the event of a war, and there will be many fewer people fleeing to the interior - more importantly, these soldiers have families and careers, and will not easily cause chaos.
."
"All I can say is, let's give it a try!" Carlos laughed dryly: "Sir, do these people need to be paid military pay?"
"Do you want military pay to defend your homeland?" Cohen raised an eyebrow: "It's good to give them food. The weapons and equipment they use don't have to be too good. Use the ones we captured from the rebels first, and the defense equipment will be gradually transferred later.
"
"Okay! I suggest establishing the battle zone in Pota first, because the rebel skirmishers have fled to Pota, and there will probably be trouble there." Carlos agreed with the emperor's idea: "Sir, about the military academy.
We are almost ready for the matter. There are a total of twelve colleges, and the candidates for deans and instructors have been finalized. Do you need to listen to my report now?"
"I'm not busy at the moment. We'll talk about this matter after I ascend the throne." Cohen waved his hand: "Let the person in charge come to the Holy City first, and the deans will give him the rank of major general... By the way, aren't your new uniforms ready? Why are they missing?
wear?"
"The staff department is busy. How can we have time to wear new military uniforms?" Carlos opened his eyes very hard: "Sir, look at it! My eyes are all bloodshot..."
"If you don't do this to me, how can you be busy with the war now? I think you've relapsed into your old habit, and you want to catch the problem again." Cohen said angrily: "You have a good rest tonight, and you can go there for me tomorrow morning.
Attend the funerals of fallen soldiers and tell the officers to dress neatly."
"Then why don't you go and attend, sir?"
"I'm just asking for a favor. Didn't you see the bloodshot eyes in my eyes?"
"can not tell."
"That's because you're not smart enough, get out!"
After Carlos left, Cohen pondered in the garden for a long time. He didn't get up until just before dinner and went downstairs to the rooms of the internal affairs supervisors.
The room where the Imperial Internal Affairs Supervision Office is located is on the seventh floor. To facilitate communication, the four imperial concubines are all in the same hall, plus twenty secretaries and chamberlains, making this floor very lively.
When Cohen walked into the hall, the internal affairs supervisors were listening to a report from the director of the finance department. The official was holding an account book in his hand and spitting out a series of long numbers. Any one of them could make Cohen dizzy.
There are four imperial concubines in Cohen to help, so there is no need to worry about these things... He made a continue gesture to his wives, then found a place to sit down, smiled, and watched them handle official duties.
"The enthronement ceremony requires three thousand imperial flags and three thousand royal flags. Because the previous ones are no longer used, they have to be redone. The cost of each flag ranges from three to five silver coins...the flags used in the imperial palace are relatively large.
, the cost of each side is seven silver coins..."
"Isn't there an imperial flag in the warehouse? It should be brand new." Dill Merlin interrupted the financial director: "Why not use it?"
"Those flags were made during the reign of the late Emperor Creamer Charme. Can they still be used?" The treasurer was confused.
"The emperor has an order. Although the Keda family is now in power, the Sibia Empire is still the same one, so the imperial flag remains the same." Dill explained: "You only need to order three thousand of the Keda family.
banner."
"Yes, then here are the officials' salaries, clothing, and return gifts prepared for envoys from various countries..."
"Okay, I'll handle these things. If you keep talking like this, when will I wait..." Cohen couldn't help but walked over: "The salary ratio for officials is as usual. There will be no adjustments before taking the throne. The clothes will be made for two months."
Set, a return gift from the envoys of various countries... just give them a few flags of the Demon Alliance, and share in the most perfect victory of the God Alliance, what an honor it is!"
"Yes, Your Majesty. It is of course an honor to reciprocate with the flag of the demon alliance, but the enemy flags we captured are definitely not enough..." With this stingy emperor, the finance director knew that he had no room for bargaining.
"Not enough? Not enough. You don't know how to make a few new ones?" Cohen casually knocked the financial director on the head: "The other gifts in return are hundreds of gold coins at least, but making a flag only costs three to five silver coins...will you?
Can you settle accounts?"
"His Majesty the Emperor, you are the Emperor!" Hearing Cohen's words, the financial director almost burst into tears: "We are going to make the flag of the Demon Alliance. Is it okay if people know about it?"
"Indeed, if this matter is known to others, the consequences will be very serious, so I decided to let you take the blame once the news is leaked." Cohen was indifferent to his pleading expression: "Remember, in the future, not only will you have to spend less money, but you will also be responsible for it.
We must stand firm in principle and don’t let others grasp the sore point.”
"Understood."
"If you understand, let's do it." Cohen waved away the financial manager and came to the table of the four wives: "My dear concubines, let's talk!"
The four internal affairs supervisors were all laughing at what had just happened, and none of them had yet to catch their breath.
"What are we going to talk about?" Feilin asked softly after a while.
"I want to know about the important affairs in recent domestic affairs, so that I can arrange several things." Cohen grabbed a chair and sat on it upside down: "Besides the coronation ceremony, what other important things are there?"
Feilin smiled and asked the maid to close the hall door to prevent the emperor's indecent actions from being seen by others.
"Among the things we have to do recently, the most important thing is to re-establish the tax system, slightly modify the tax methods of the Dark Province and the Dark Moon Province, and then implement them nationwide." Kelly flipped through the thick official document: "
This matter is very difficult, and many nobles will be dissatisfied if we do it too hastily."
"What's the difficulty? Every move in the empire requires a lot of money. Of course, it would be better to enact the tax system as soon as possible." Since entering the palace, any number Cohen has heard is more than ten times larger than before, so what he is most worried about now is
Money, as soon as I heard that I was in trouble with money, I immediately became anxious: "Isn't the dark tax system perfect?"
"Husband! The people of darkness only need to pay taxes to the governor, and there will be a lot of savings. But as far as the entire empire is concerned, there is a layer of lords between the people and the monarch!" Kelly explained angrily: "
Royal tax, governor's tax, lord's tax, and after paying these, how much can a person leave behind to support his family? We must at least let the people leave enough money to live on!"
"I understand, the problem lies with the lord." Cohen tapped his fingers on the back of the chair and looked left and right: "Based on the current progress, how much money can we save this year?"
"If we control it well, our savings this year... If there is no savings, we will pay 500,000 to 700,000 gold coins so that we can have a slight savings next year." Dill gave the most charming smile: "We have done our best.
We have worked so hard, even counting the five thousand gold coins you just saved for us, husband."
"What? Still losing money!" Cohen immediately jumped up from his chair: "Tell me, how much money did the lords take to leave?"
"Yes! Of course we have the exact number." Dill shook his head gently, his sapphire earrings shining brightly: "If you promise not to get excited, I will tell you."
"Okay! I'm definitely not excited!" Cohen expressed his thoughts very excitedly, trying to make everyone believe that he was calm now: "Feline, my dear, your hairstyle today is my favorite; Kelly,
You look so elegant with your dagger; Dill, your elegant look with sapphire jewelry is my favorite; Winsly, where are your wings?"
"Put it away, doesn't it look good?" Wen Sili was very happy that her husband noticed her: "Bai Ying taught me the magic!"
"Beautiful - but spreading your wings is another kind of beauty!" Cohen chuckled: "Dil, tell me how much money they took?"
Dill and Feilin looked at each other with helpless expressions.
"Although this year's harvest is good, due to the scourge of war, the lords will probably collect nine...million gold coins from it." Dill said angrily: "This is an optimistic estimate. We hope to increase this number next year."
Reduced to seven million...Cohen? You promised not to get excited."
"I'm not excited, I'm not excited at all..." Cohen laughed dryly and shook his head from side to side: "After the rebellion war, they will take away nine million gold coins, and my wife must use private money to make up for the income and expenses.
There are loopholes in it... When I was governor, I never had more than ten gold coins in my pocket. Does it mean that after I became emperor, I didn’t even have a copper in my pocket? I didn’t even buy it for my wives.
What kind of gift..."
"My husband." Kelly raised her hands and exposed Cohen's lie with a smile: "I think the last point has nothing to do with money."
"I agree." Wen Sili agreed while writing something on the document.
"Sorry, it was my negligence." Cohen nodded: "But I can't spare them, I'm not excited at all!" After shouting this, His Majesty Cohen turned around and walked away, slamming the door.
The four internal affairs supervisors looked at each other and smiled, shook their heads and continued with what they were doing, but before they could write a few words, His Majesty Cohen strode in again.
Facing the puzzled looks of the four wives, Cohen winked and shook a large bouquet of flowers in his hand.
"Ladies, this is my greeting from my husband." Cohen handed out flowers and said a lot of compliments: "Feline, your beauty has shocked my heart; Kelly, your face is more beautiful than any flowers.
Be delicate and charming; although Dill, you are already my wife, I still want to take you away again... Winsly, give me a kiss quickly, or I won't be able to breathe."
The internal affairs supervisors took the flowers, feeling the tenderness that their husbands seldom showed, and smiled.
"Look, I'm not excited." Cohen accepted the passionate kiss from the imperial concubines and took a step back, making a gesture that everything would be fine: "I haven't ascended the throne yet, I have to act with caution... I won't embarrass them now, don't worry.
alright."
"Just calm down." Feilin nodded and said, "We can come up with a good solution."
"Then I'll go upstairs and write something. See you in the evening."
"See you tonight."
When Cohen went out again, Feline sighed and sat down discouraged.
"What's wrong, sister, isn't there any problem?" Kelly smelled the flowers in her hand: "This flower is so beautiful."
Feilin smiled bitterly again, shook her head and said nothing.
"Do you know why this flower is so beautiful? This is the flower of elves' meditation." Wen Sili explained with a smile: "I gave it to Feilin, and Feilin brought it from the darkness. Feilin has been taking care of these flowers for three years.
It was opened for the first time this morning! He also said that he would bring it to my mother tonight to make her happy."
"Could it be that Cohen went out and picked them casually?" Dill said in surprise: "I just said these flowers looked familiar. I saw them in the morning."
"Then sister, why were you smiling so happily just now?"
"Cohen is so dedicated to doing something, I can't bear to ruin this rare good atmosphere."
"why?"
"Have you not noticed? My husband's whole body seems to be shining from the inside out. His words, movements and postures are all so smooth and smooth. I haven't seen him like this for a long time. I miss him very much. As long as he is happy, I will
Well, what does a pot of flowers mean?" After saying this, Feilin picked up the pen and said: "Let's do something! My husband is still waiting to have dinner with us!" (To be continued)