244 – Invasion of Warsaw (1)
When I mentioned the gift, His Majesty could not hide his happy expression.
“You destroyed 40 warships in Warsaw, burned the entire port city area, and even brought gifts with you. As expected, you are the greatest loyalist! So, what gift did you bring?”
“These are 8 enemy battleships, 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 packed and taken with you when you evacuate…”
“These are valuables that were obtained illegally. If you take them carelessly, wouldn’t you be trampled on? “Corrupt officials secretly hide these things in places like walls or floors, and I found 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 is spending too generously, it is rare to think, ‘That bastard is doing well these days, what good has happened?’ Most people think like this.
‘It’s disgusting to see that kid doing so well these days, isn’t it? Should I give it a try?’
In this prejudice-filled state, relevant public officials are dispatched to investigate taxes and assets, and in the process, the corrupt public officials’ illicit accumulation of money is revealed to the world, and in the end, the successful public officials cannot avoid being caught and left in disgrace. Do.
So, 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 raise an army of 110,000 and go to attack Stockholm, this is an act of an official serving the cowardly Archduke of Warsaw, who declares a marriage alliance and deploys an army of 50,000, saying that this is an opportunity. “You are truly petty and cowardly.”
“If the lord is a fool, doesn’t his subordinates naturally also be fools? 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 a good idea seemed to come to his mind… The evil smile that comes from planning something appeared on his face.
Probably, seeing the atrocities committed by the Warsaw idiots, it must have been frustrating to think about what the civil servants of the Empire had done so much to before or after.
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 more valuable than the eight 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 would think that it would be better to defect to an enemy country, receive recognition for their achievements, and live comfortably with a pension rather 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 country in which they were born and become successful.
Even within the empire, there are people who sell their country’s information, castles, and troops in other wars, and in return, they do not receive public office, but they receive pensions and undeserved treatment and live in luxury.
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 corrupt person.
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 the desk.
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 as if they were eating, and are arresting many corrupt officials.
Is there 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, Anya, and Laura, so I don’t have time to commit ‘corruption’, so there’s no problem.
Still, large-scale inspections right now with war on the horizon are 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.”
After hearing my words, the emperor sighed deeply and said,
“Why on earth are they 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.”
The words contained a stern warning, but the voice and expression showed genuine concern for me and a message telling me to keep talking.
“Isn’t the Warsaw expedition 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 good things to return in the long run.
All administrative systems and measures have distinct advantages and disadvantages.
If the hard-line policy of large-scale inspection is used, corrupt officials will disappear, administrative efficiency will increase, 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 person had to handle 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 although the emperor’s power is very strong.
The power struggle among civil servants is always happening under the water, so when given the opportunity to conduct large-scale inspections, it is no joke that they fight and bite each other like crazy.
“It is necessary to monitor corrupt officials, but losing a war is more damaging than the illicit wealth of a thousand corrupt officials. At other times, this may be seen as interfering with the realm of civil servants, but when it comes to the supply and execution of war operations, I understand.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
“Then let me ask you again. “What are your plans?”
With 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?”