EP.244
When I mentioned the gift, His Majesty could not hide his happy expression.
“You destroyed 40 warships in Warsaw, burned the area around the port city, and even brought gifts, so you are the most loyal subject! So what gift did you bring?”
“These are 8 enemy warships, 120,000 gold worth of gold and silver accessories and jewels taken from the village, and the ledgers here.”
“I have already heard that you encountered the navy of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, fought a naval battle, and won. But how on earth was it possible to obtain 120,000 gold items? Normally, gold, silver, and other valuable accessories would be taken with you when evacuating…” “
These are valuables that were taken illegally, so if you take them carelessly, you could end up getting trampled on, right? “Corrupt officials secretly hide these things in places like walls or floors, and they come looking for them.”
In fact, the financial status of public officials who do not even have land can be seen clearly.
However, if a public official suddenly has a lot of wealth compared to his or her position or spends it too generously, ‘That kid is doing well these days. What good is there?’ I rarely think this way, and most people think this way.
‘Does it make you sad to see that kid doing so well these days? Should I give it a try?’
In this prejudiced state, relevant public officials are dispatched to investigate taxes and assets, and in the process, the corrupt public officials’ illegal accumulation of wealth is revealed to the world, and in the end, the successful public officials are caught and left in disgrace.
Therefore, it would be best to hide it in a secret place, hoping that the enemy will not find it.
If you were kind and kind, you wouldn’t have been robbed, you idiots.
“When we raised an army of 110,000 to attack Stockholm, he said that this was an opportunity, declared a marriage alliance, and deployed an army of 50,000 men. This is the behavior of an official serving the cowardly Archduke of Warsaw. “You are truly petty and cowardly.”
“If the master is an idiot, doesn’t that mean his subordinates are also idiots? And here is a gift prepared for Your Majesty by the magistrates attached to Warsaw. Please read it. “There are dozens of books like this.”
After saying that, I immediately selected the most meticulously written account from the ledger and gave it to His Majesty.
His Majesty received it and read it slowly. At first he sighed as if he was dumbfounded, but then he seemed to have a good idea… and the evil smile that comes from planning something appeared on his face.
Perhaps, seeing the atrocities committed by the Warsaw bastards, it must have been heartbreaking to think about what the civil servants of the Empire had done so much to before or after.
Then, after understanding the value of this ledger and thinking about how to use it, I think I was excited about how I would cook His Highness the Archduke of Warsaw.
“I think the information contained in these ledgers is worth more than the 8 captured ships and 120,000 gold worth of accessories and valuables. “What do you think?”
“I thought so too. Based on this, we can threaten the officials in Warsaw into surrendering to us, or we can use methods to force them to follow espionage practices, such as opening the castle gates.”
“How many people think that it would be better to defect to an enemy country, get recognition for their achievements, and live comfortably with a pension than commit corruption and lose their heads?”
In Confucian cultures such as Joseon, China, and Japan, loyalty was revered as an absolute value, but in the Europa continent, loyalty is a give and take.
It is the proper duty to be loyal to what you have received, and so among truly outstanding lower-level officials, there are sometimes those who move to countries other than the one in which they were born and become successful.
Even within the empire, there are people who sell their country’s intelligence troops in other wars and live in luxury by receiving pensions and undeserved treatment, although they do not receive public office in return.
So, there must be as many people in the sky as there are stars in the sky who would think that it would be better to sell their country and live comfortably than to die in their country as a corrupt criminal.
And if common incompetent and greedy people open the gates for the empire or betray them at a critical moment, the effect is not a joke.
“How would you like to use these ledgers, Your Majesty?”
“Didn’t you already say that? After we invade Warsaw, we will attract bureaucrats and officers to our side and have them take on the role of stabbing the Archduke. “I agree with that opinion.”
“That’s a good idea, but I have a slightly better plan.”
“I have never once failed by listening to you. “Tell me anything.”
Except for the ledger I gave to His Majesty, I placed all the secret ledgers I had obtained while robbing numerous villages on my desk.
Even if you just roughly count the number, there were over 30 to 40, and the thickness of the book was about 20cm on average.
When His Majesty saw that, his expression went from startled to disgusted.
“The Reich Empire may be in a much better situation than Warsaw, but I see that there are not one but dozens of ledgers containing details of corruption. It got me thinking, shouldn’t we first inspect the imperial officials before going on an expedition to Warsaw? “I think it would be much more helpful to the empire to purge the corrupt officials and soldiers before going on an expedition.”
In running a country, purging corrupt officials is an important task that must be done.
Because not only do dozens, if not thousands, of the people of the empire suffer due to one corrupt official, but there are also countless instances where the taxes collected go into the cleavage of prostitutes in the back alleys instead of going into the national treasury.
That’s why the Imperial Intelligence Department and the Inspection Department are always working overtime and on weekends to catch many corrupt officials.
There is a joke that one of His Majesty’s morning duties is to read resignation letters from the Inspection Department and the Intelligence Department and put them in a shredder.
Even if the inspection is conducted like that, if you try to shake off the dust, rainwater will continue to come out. If His Majesty decides to do so and starts to shake it off, a purge on an unimaginable scale will occur.
Unlike other guys, I don’t have time to properly spend money at night, and I’m caught by Louise Charlotte and Laura, so I don’t have time to commit ‘corruption’, so it’s no problem.
Still, large-scale inspections right now with war on the horizon would be crazy.
“It’s not that I don’t understand your Majesty’s anger and concern. However, please postpone the full-scale inspection for a while.”
When the emperor heard me, he sighed deeply and said:
“Why on earth are you asking for the inspection to be postponed? This is not your job to command an army. “I don’t care, but if the imperial ministers find out, a mountain of impeachment petitions may flood in front of you.”
Although his words contained a stern warning, his voice and expression showed genuine concern for me and a message telling me to keep talking.
“Isn’t the trip to Warsaw starting in a few months? In this situation, if corrupt officials are caught and purged through inspection, a vacuum will be created in administrative personnel. Then, no matter how much His Excellency the Minister of Military Affairs does his best to support us, the processing speed may be slowed due to administrative gaps, and a disaster may occur where less supplies arrive than necessary or the arrival of the supplies is delayed.”
It is true that large-scale inspections are often a good thing to return in the long run.
All administrative systems and measures have distinct advantages and disadvantages.
If a hard-line policy of large-scale inspection is used, administrative efficiency will increase as corrupt officials will disappear, and the administrative situation of the empire will become much sounder.
However, the downside is that, as I said, there will be empty positions until manpower is added.
In that case, about 8 to 9 people will handle the work that used to be done by 10 people, and the work that the missing people had to do will be passed on to the remaining people.
Work processing speed becomes slower and mistakes occur.
In addition, His Majesty was elected with an overwhelming approval rating compared to other previous emperors, so the emperor’s power is very strong.
The power struggle between civil servants is always happening under the water, so when given the opportunity to conduct a large-scale inspection, it is no joke to see them fighting and biting each other like crazy.
“It is necessary to monitor corrupt officials, but losing a war is more damaging than the illicit accumulation of a thousand corrupt officials. At other times, this may be seen as interfering with the realm of civil servants, but I understand when it comes to the supply of war and the execution of operations.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
“Then ask me again now. “What are your plans?”
At those words, I handed one of the ledgers to the emperor and said with an evil smile:
“How about handing over this ledger as is to the Archduke of Warsaw?”
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