This was His Majesty the Emperor's first legitimate dietary request. More than thirty imperial chefs, like dew after a long drought, tried their best to prepare a sumptuous "breakfast" for His Majesty and senior officials. When His Majesty and a group of generals had finished dressing, they arrived at the restaurant
After that, the snacks that were passed down like a stream were already placed on a long dining table for thirty people. Although it was just a snack, it was twice as much as the total amount of three meals for an ordinary nobleman. On the long table, there were cups
, cups, plates, spoons, all well-proportioned and dazzling.
Cohen looked at the civil and military officials around him and sat in the middle of the long dining table facing the door. He asked the civil servants to sit on his left and the military attache to sit on his right, so as to reduce possible quarrels between the two parties - although this was of little use.
It just prevents them from being sprayed by each other's saliva for a while.
Seeing that His Majesty and the ministers were already seated, the chamberlain quickly signaled the maids to pour wine. Since His Majesty Cohen likes to discuss military and state affairs during meals, the chamberlain and the thirty or so maids all came from the Sibia Palace.
The dispatched, all female elves can not only serve at the banquet, but also serve as part-time bodyguards. It is impossible for others not to overhear His Majesty Cohen's words, but even to get a little closer to the restaurant. As for whether the ministers are used to it.
, that is not within the scope of consideration.
His Majesty Cohen picked up a piece of delicate pastry, looked at it for a long time, shook his head again before putting it in his mouth, then picked up the wine glass and the dinner officially began. More than a dozen senior generals have completed the training of campaign-level command, but obviously no one has
Complete table etiquette training, because they eat as if they are directing a war - fast, thorough, and efficient, which makes the civil servants reluctant to eat.
"Okay! Tell me." His Majesty Cohen put down the wine glass and wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin, "What have you prepared for me."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The accompanying Finance Minister immediately stood up and flipped through the pamphlet in his hand. "I am about to report back to Your Majesty about the financial situation of two special provinces. We have investigated it in detail."
"Sit down and talk." Cohen nodded and replied, "Are you standing so high to put pressure on me?"
"I don't dare." Although he understood that His Majesty was joking, the Minister of Finance was still a little afraid, so he sat down obediently and said, "Your Majesty, after our investigation, we found that the economic situation of the two special provinces is not very good because of the large number of nobles.
The priests of the Demon Temple took away a large amount of cash when they fled. Currency circulation in various places has almost come to a standstill, and gold coupons can no longer be exchanged for cash. In addition, the circulation of goods is also a problem. There are no goods for sale in the shops, and urgently needed supplies everywhere cannot be
Buy it.”
"Have you come up with any countermeasures?" His Majesty Cohen picked up the knife and fork and was about to take action.
"We have taken over seven large gold mines in two provinces and are now fully engaged in mining and smelting. If it is issued urgently, it should be able to survive this period. Although there are some shortcomings that cannot be made up, the loopholes are not very big.
"The financial officer replied: "We have already formulated the issuance quantity in various places, and are preparing to establish an official credit circulation agency, which can be implemented as long as His Majesty agrees."
"Seven big gold mines!" His Majesty Cohen inserted his knife into the barbecue, raised his head and sighed, "Isn't that a lot of money?"
"Ah? Ah! Well...my majesty." The Minister of Finance was not sure how to comment, "For a person, that is an unimaginably huge amount, but for a country, it is just a little bit.
"
"You know it's just a little bit!" His Majesty Cohen used the knife in his hand to make a big hole in the fragrant barbecue. "I plan to use this little bit of money to save the actual situation of two special provinces."
A collapsed economy?”
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for being stupid. This is your duty and the only way at the moment!" The Minister of Finance looked troubled and said in his heart: It's not like your Majesty refused to allocate even one cent and rejected seven of my applications for financial aid.
I only have this little money in my hand, what else can I do?
"The economic credit system has collapsed, that is to say, it has been eliminated by history. Why should we save it? Is it necessary?" His Majesty Cohen smiled slightly, "Remember, reconstruction is much more convenient and efficient than saving."
"Your Majesty understands what your Majesty means," the Finance Minister replied, "but you do not have enough funds to rebuild."
His Majesty Cohen started another piece of barbecue, "Do you need funds? How about we take a gamble? Not only will I transport the gold coins from these seven gold mines back to the Holy City, but I will also use this matter to make a big fuss and let the two
The residents of this special province are grateful to me, but they hate the nobles and the priests of the Demon Temple to their core.”
The Minister of Finance blinked and couldn't think of any way to achieve the effect His Majesty said, so he took a copper coin in his pocket, put it on the table solemnly and said: "Your Majesty, I want to bet."
"Okay, listen, all the gold produced in the big gold mine will be collected by the public, half of it will be transported back to the Holy Capital, and the other half will be purchased from various nearby demon countries. I know that I can't buy much now, but in three months,
You can definitely buy it and the price will not be too expensive." His Majesty Cohen said, swinging the barbecue fork back and forth, "Before this, we can use other channels to purchase scarce supplies."
"Then, Your Majesty, through what channels will the purchased materials be circulated and decentralized?" The Minister of Finance did not easily admit defeat because the other party in the bet was the emperor. "How to make up for the huge gap in circulation funds in the two provinces?"
"What do our soldiers use to pay for things in the military camp?" His Majesty Cohen smiled sinisterly, "Do you use gold coins?"
"Of course soldiers use vouchers to buy things..." At this point, the Minister of Finance opened his eyes suddenly and almost shouted, "Your Majesty's intention is to implement vouchers in these two special provinces?"
At this time, not only the interior ministers were surprised, but also the generals who had nothing to do with themselves and were just eating their meals also raised their heads and looked at their emperor.
"Of course, those used by the private sector cannot be called vouchers. You can name them whatever you want. The denomination should not be too large. It can be used to buy things. It is convenient and practical. Isn't it a good idea?" His Majesty Cohen finally put the barbecue on the table.
into his own mouth.
"But Your Majesty... that's just a piece of paper. Gold and silver coins are real precious metals. What do people think when they hold a piece of paper in their hands? Use this thin piece of paper as currency.
, they will not feel safe!" A layer of fine beads of sweat appeared on the forehead of the Minister of Finance, "The reason why gold and silver coins can be used as currency is because gold and silver veins are rare, and it is very difficult to mine and smelt.
A manifestation of value that will not depreciate due to too much, and currency made of paper..."
"That's your duty, I don't care. You have to make them feel that this piece of paper is both light and strong, and they can buy things at any time, because on this piece of paper, there is Sibia's empire's credit and my imperial power's credit."
As a guarantee." His Majesty Cohen chewed barbecue and said slowly: "As an empire, it is very stupid to use gold, a metal that is difficult to mine, as a currency. This situation must be corrected now. As long as you keep it in your hand
A certain amount of gold can be used as an emergency exchange fund, and other circulation must be gradually replaced by currencies similar to vouchers. This is an order, do you hear it?"
"But, but Your Majesty... there are not enough goods in the market. No matter how good the empire's credit is, this settlement currency will become a piece of waste paper..." The sweat on the forehead of the Minister of Finance became more, "Besides,
Once such a decree is issued, many people will hoard gold, and public acceptance will pose a problem..."
"This is indeed the crux of the problem, so I do not intend to completely replace the circulation of gold immediately. What you have to do is to let these two circulating currencies coexist, and let the people find that the circulating currency we advocate is better and more convenient!
"His Majesty Cohen was cutting the second piece of barbecue, "Speaking of currency depreciation, if there are not enough goods, won't gold still depreciate?"
"My Majesty." The Minister of Finance almost fainted, "Can you finish the sentence at once? I am very impatient!"
"Okay! Seeing that you are very open-minded, I will tell you the overall plan." His Majesty Cohen put down his knife and fork, "First, we now have the conditions to implement such a currency, because in the two provinces now, almost
All food and daily necessities are in our hands, and the food reserves in the hands of the people cannot last long. The Ministry of Interior has even made a plan to provide free food aid. We only need to slightly change the way these supplies are decentralized.
, just change and receive cash to buy it. This gives the public a general understanding of this currency."
"Second, I have prepared a plan to win over the people." His Majesty Cohen tilted his head and looked at his royal financial officer. "How much money do I have now, and how many bribes have I received in the past few days?"
"Your Majesty has received all the assets of the original royal family in the two special provinces, plus the total amount of gifts received in recent days!" The royal family's financial officer felt that he was not suitable to tell the amount of the emperor's property in public.
, had to answer vaguely, "For a person, that is an unimaginably huge amount, but for a country, it is only a little more than a little bit. Nine out of ten of them are gold."
The royal financial officer was immediately despised. Dean Lorenzo glared, "Why nine out of ten? Eight is eight, nine is nine!"
"Master Dean, please listen to my explanation." The Royal Financial Officer replied humbly, "It is not certain that the one-tenth of the gold is various products, including art products, daily necessities, walls, pillars, decorations
, these are indeed gold, but they cannot be used immediately as currency."
Nodding apologetically to the royal treasurer, Lorenzo added with emotion, "It's so extravagant that suicide really makes it easier for them!"
"It is enough to have this gold. I will allocate all of this gold to you as currency to guarantee exchange."
His Majesty Cohen said to the Minister of Finance: "I want you to implement a plan. In this plan, all civilian families in the two provinces can report to me when they encounter large expenditures, such as weddings, funerals, house construction, and diseases.
When they apply for a loan, what they receive is paper currency, which can be used to buy what they need at special shops. But the premise is that the necessary daily necessities are exclusively authorized by the royal family, and other merchants cannot interfere, and these
Authorized private shops only use paper currency as settlement currency."
"In addition, my Majesty." The Finance Minister became bolder now that he had gold in his hand, "We can use some methods to make the gold currency... um... slightly change. In this case, everyone will feel that paper currency is more
trustworthy."
"Yes, but you don't want to overdo it, so as not to cause a large outflow of gold." Cohen smiled slightly. "One more thing, for those who hoard gold or counterfeit paper currency, whether they are nobles or commoners, if you catch them, kill them all.
Killing one family at a time, you must not be lenient!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The two provincial justices and two officials from the Liaison Department sitting at one end of the table replied at the same time.
"There is one more question, Your Majesty." The Finance Minister asked softly but extremely seriously, "The loan Your Majesty just mentioned is indeed a very important plan, and the results will be very fast. However, every loan will have a problem.
Interest, I wonder what range of interest your Majesty wants to set?"
"To be honest, I am already the emperor, what is the use of holding all this gold? As an empire, gold is just one of the important resources. The key is to put these things to use, rather than sleeping with gold.
, used properly, it can ensure the prosperity of the country and the people." His Majesty Cohen smiled, "If the interest rate is set high, it will be a heavy burden for the people; but if it is not set, the people will regard this loan as insignificant.
My plan has lost its meaning. As the Minister of Finance, you can decide the interest on your own, settle it once a year, and incorporate it into the principal. I don’t care how much interest they can pay me back, I just want to give the people who took the loan a proper
pressure, a pressure that does not damage my prestige - but there must be no situation where the whole family commits suicide because the money is not paid. My loans are to help the people, not to exploit them."
"I understand your Majesty's intention. I will come up with a plan within three days and send it to your Majesty for review." The Minister of Finance nodded and said, "It will take some time to implement it, because the new currency system must have two lines of money."
It requires the support of the provincial exchange agency and a royally authorized specialty store. Once these two steps are completed, and the garrisoned army uses this currency, circulation and promotion will not be a problem."
"Then there is one more thing you have to do in the near future." His Majesty Cohen looked at the royal financial officer, "Liquidate those items that cannot be used as money, and then calculate them at 50% of the pre-war market price and reward Xiang Xiang.
I will reward the noble officials who I bribe as much as they bribe them. Then the Ministry of Internal Affairs issues an order asking each noble family to use gold to purchase various non-living necessities of equal value in the market within two months.
Temporarily boost the economy."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Several more people answered in unison.
"Then you have already lost this bet!"
The beautiful maid brought the bet to the emperor, and His Majesty Cohen, who used his supreme imperial power to win the bet, completely ignored what he had just said about the uselessness of money to him, pointed the bet with one finger, and scratched the copper plate.
In front of him, he sighed with satisfaction, "I accept this without any courtesy."
"As for the deployment of internal affairs officials." His Majesty Cohen continued without waiting for the civilian officials to ask questions. "The current system will last for three months to half a year. During this period, the nobles from the two provinces will be gradually converted into officials.
I will buy the land in cash. If you are willing to sell it, you can sell it. If you are not willing, don’t force it. After half a year, we will gradually transfer local officials from the two provinces to each other to separate them from the local hereditary subjects to facilitate our management. This plan is very important.
, but there is an inevitable process in the middle, no one can be anxious, and the conditions must be more generous. If anyone fails, please bring it up yourself."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Upon hearing that their lives were in danger, everyone here braced themselves and answered very quickly.
"On the domestic side, you must work harder and don't be careless. I have made arrangements for the army. It is impossible for the demon alliance to come in, so everyone should do their best! I have prepared a lot of rewards, antiques, calligraphy and paintings,
The beauties of officials and nobles are just waiting for you to come and get them." His Majesty Cohen's eyes passed over the faces of the young officials, "I have seen the useless princesses of Wells and Camp, and each one is more beautiful than the last."
"Your Majesty!" As soon as he saw that the emperor was not serious, Dean Lorenzo immediately spoke, "We cannot allow the deposed royal family of Wells and Camp to have a chance to stand up - the blood of Sbia officials has become the most noble and pure on the continent.
Blood!"
"Why have they become noble and pure? Is it because they have been repaired by me?" His Majesty Cohen gave Dean Lorenzo the face and replied calmly, "Don't worry, my Dean, you are a beautiful woman.
You don’t have to be an official’s wife, it’s quite stylish to have a beautiful useless princess who looks after the gate... Don’t talk about the outdated bloodline theory in front of me, but in other situations, this theory is still worth promoting.”
"Speaking of this, Your Majesty, I still have some gifts that I have received. I don't know what to do with them." The Minister of Ceremonies coughed dryly and took out a long list-like thing from his pocket. "First of all, I would like to declare to you all.
, I did not play any role in this matter, but starting from the third day after His Majesty’s dinner, I received these... and they continued."
"Since you can't make up your mind about something, you should discuss it with us!" Another minister took over, "Can't we let us know?"
"In addition to His Majesty the Emperor, anyone who consults with me will be looked down upon." The Minister of Ceremonies looked pitifully at His Majesty Cohen, "Your Majesty, the nobles, aristocratic families, powerful people, and tribes from all over the world in Wales and Camp, in these days
A total of them have been delivered..." "What have been delivered?" His Majesty Cohen was concentrating on cutting a bird into bite-sized pieces. He didn't even pay attention to the words of the Minister of Ceremony. "Just accept the ones you don't need.
Pile them in the warehouse first!"
There was a funny element in the face of the Minister of Ceremonies, "But... Your Majesty, these gifts cannot be piled in the warehouse!"
"Will it rot?" His Majesty Cohen finally turned his head, "What is it?"
"It will not rot, but will grow." In order to prevent himself from laughing, the Minister of Ceremony pinched his thigh, "My Majesty, they sent a total of more than fifty beautiful girls to sleep with Your Majesty.
use."
"Pfft..." With a sound, the bird meat in His Majesty Cohen's mouth flew far away with the soup and water. Fortunately, there was no one in front of His Majesty, "What, woman? Get back!"
"Yes, every one of them is very beautiful, even more beautiful than the useless princesses... I am talking about the majority. There are a few women of foreign races, but they are also very healthy, well-educated, and behave dignifiedly."
Although His Majesty said to withdraw, the Minister of Ceremonies still introduced the general situation, and finally said: "I have also thought of withdrawing, but for these girls, if Your Majesty withdraws, the only way is suicide."
"Who cares about them! Their only option is suicide?" His Majesty Cohen snorted heavily, "Wouldn't it be worse for me to let these women stay than to commit suicide?"
"Well...actually...Your Majesty." The Minister of Ceremony paused for a moment, lowered his head and did not dare to look at Cohen again, and answered in a low voice, "It's not all girls..."
Immediately, His Majesty Cohen dropped the fork in his right hand and smacked it down with his palm - when the ministers saw His Majesty's angry expression, they knew that the meal was almost over, and everyone would be in trouble... (To be continued)