Chapter 604

The sudden reversal shocked many people. Even the initiator, Franz, suspected that there was something wrong with his senses.

Fortunately, after many years as an emperor, Franz had developed a strong heart and quickly recovered.

"Frederick The Great, what do you understand after reading these files?"

Based on the principle of recycling waste, Franz did not let go of this classic case and used it to train his son.

Anyway, as long as he did not say it himself, no one would know that it was a coincidence. The outside world would only think that the emperor's methods were brilliant.

Frederick The Great, who had not recovered from the shock, was confused by Franz's question.

"What did I understand?"

The emperor's methods were brilliant?

No!

This was the answer in the minds of the officials. It was used to flatter. Frederick The Great did not think that his father's question was to listen to his flattery.

The Government of Austria had a serious governance problem?

That was not right either!

Corruption was a problem that existed in every dynasty. Whether it was horizontally compared to European countries or vertically compared to historical dynasties, Austria's current governance was considered good.

Although the officials were also making money, they knew how to pay attention to their table manners.

The means of corruption had evolved to power and money transactions. There was no embezzlement of government funds and no private imposition of taxes. This was a kind of progress.

For a ruler, as long as the people below could complete the tasks assigned on time, were not ambitious and wanted to rebel, and did not make the people angry, it was acceptable.

Putting an end to corruption was just a beautiful dream that could only be realized when one was asleep. Otherwise, when humans evolved to a higher level, they would no longer pursue material things.

…

This question was too broad. For a moment, answers emerged in Frederick The Great's mind, but they were rejected by him. He did not know how to answer for a moment.

Facing Franz's encouraging gaze, Frederick The Great answered with uncertainty, "People are self-interested. They just choose the most beneficial path for themselves."

Franz nodded with satisfaction, "That's right. People are self-interested. This was true for most people, and the rest were saints.

As a ruler, we can only use the method of ruling ordinary people to manage the country. We can't gamble on the small probability of becoming a saint.

Wittes and the others are just representatives of the masses. They are also greedy, but at the same time, they maintain a clear mind.

Frederick The Great, if I let you handle this matter, what are you going to do now? "

After some thought, Frederick The Great answered firmly, "Add fuel to the fire. I will use this opportunity to carry out a big purge of the bureaucracy and get rid of all these parasites."

"And then?" Franz asked.

Frederick was silent. He knew very well that it was easy to purge the bureaucracy, but corruption would still grow after the purge. It was impossible to solve the problem once and for all.

One had to know that Austria's anti-corruption efforts were already very strong. In order to combat corruption, the law allowed officials to accept money without doing anything.

To put it simply, it was not a crime for an official to receive money without doing anything. As long as he reported it to the department in charge within three days, the money would become legal income.

After reporting, the official could get rich with a clear conscience, and the briber would be done for.

Vice versa, the briber could also report the officials, and they could be absolved of responsibility if they did so.

Because of this, except for a group of bribers who were cheated at the beginning, everyone's trust was lost.

There was even a saying among the people, "Don't take money unless it's a life-and-death friendship."

In a sense, this law was also the source of the rise of the power and money transactions in the dark.

With the current productivity, it was too difficult to monitor the power and money transactions in the dark.

Some of the well-hidden ones could not be found even if they were discovered.

Most of the money transfers went through many turns, and there was no direct exchange of benefits between the parties.

If it wasn't for Wittes and the others who uncovered the inside of the money chain, it would be difficult for the government to find anything even if they wanted to investigate.

Even now, knowing that there were tens of thousands of officials involved, there were still many who slipped through the net.

As long as they did it covertly and didn't directly show their faces, including the transfer of benefits, it would be impossible to find evidence of their transfer of benefits if they abandoned the relevant industries at this time.

In the era of cash, there were no bank transfer records. The simplest way to launder money was to directly take unmarked gold bars and bury them in a hole. After a few years, they would be excavated and it would be their ancestral property.

If it wasn't for this exposure, Frederick The Great would not have known that there was such a magical operation. However, this was still a primitive method.

At a higher level, for example, the white gloves of the officials investing in the stock market would double in ten days to half a month.

Another example would be that any random item from the house would be a priceless antique.

Alright, let's not talk about antiques. The old aristocratic families really did not lack them.

These things were not fake. The ancestors of the aristocratic families were awesome. As long as they were old enough, they could say that the ancestors had personally used them, and their value would double immediately.

Even if the ancestors were not awesome, there would be some awesome relatives who would give them to them. Anyway, it didn't matter if people would believe a story that would raise their value, as long as someone paid for it.

The buyer could not be the capitalist who needed to ask for help. Usually, the buyer would pay for the buyer today, the buyer would pay for the buyer tomorrow, and the buyer would pay for the buyer the day after.

Anyway, there was absolutely no intersection of interests between the buyer and the seller. Even the capitalists who cooperated with each other did not know each other on the surface, nor did they have any business dealings.

This was not the end. Even the person who sold the goods was not the official himself, not even the close family members. Usually, it was a registered legal company.

If there was a problem, they could just abandon these properties. There was no internet in this day and age, and many businesses were under the names of dead people.

The dead would not speak. Even if the government wanted to pursue responsibility, they could not go to God to ask for the person. At most, the government would confiscate the property as an ownerless property.

In fact, there was nothing to confiscate. Most of these companies had no value. Other than a few employees who knew nothing, the company's profit depended on the transfer of benefits.

…

Looking at his son who was deep in thought, Franz chose to wait patiently. He knew that this question was too difficult. Even he himself had only figured it out after being the emperor for many years.

However, as a member of the royal family, these problems had to be thought through. Only by looking at the problem thoroughly could he choose the most beneficial plan to implement.

That's right, it was not to solve the problem. Being responsible for solving the problem was the job of the ministers. The emperor only needed to guide, and the frontline work had to be handed over to his subordinates.

After a while, Frederick The Great said slowly, "Father, do you mean that even if you know there is a problem with the rules, you have to act according to the rules?"

Franz shook his head. "This is not a problem with the rules. In fact, there are no perfect rules in this world. The real test is the ability to adapt.

While abiding by the rules, we also have to use the rules to serve us, and not become the slaves of the rules.

We must always remember that we are the ones who make the rules, and we are also the ones who uphold them.

Unless it is really necessary, it is best not to easily try to change the rules of the game, because before changing the rules, you must first bear the consequences of the rules. "

There was no other way. Franz wanted to cultivate a king who maintained the status quo. Too active thinking and ambitious were not qualities that a king who maintained the status quo should have.

Relatively speaking, being more conservative was the best choice. Anyway, Austria was so large, and the accumulated wealth was so strong, the tolerance rate was already very high.

As long as the future king did not make trouble, the status of a large country was stable. If the country was stable, the royal family would naturally be stable.

After thinking for a while, Frederick The Great said slowly, "Father, I understand. There is no black and white in politics, only the need.

Witters and the others are not good people, but what they are doing now is beneficial to the Empire, so we must use them.

And now, the officials and capitalists who have been found to have committed crimes, no matter how many they are, or how strong they are, they are all criminals.

Since they are criminals, they must be punished by the law. Anyone who obstructs the justice of the law will be our target.

Witters and the others are the knives in our hands, helping us to clean up the rotten meat of the Empire. As for their character, it is not important!

If this knife continues to sharpen, then we will protect them and let them become the pillars of the country that will be respected by the people.

On the other hand, if this knife is bent or rusted, then let them bear the consequences themselves. "

There was nothing wrong with this. If they found evidence of crimes, they would be severely punished. If they couldn't, then they would pretend that nothing had happened.

Although it was not ideal, and they could not catch all the parasites in the country, this was the rule of the game.

Protecting the dignity of the law was the first priority. As for the fish that escaped the net, there would be opportunities in the future.

Franz was very satisfied with the way Frederick The Great handled the matter. Coldness was the basic quality of a ruler.

Although Franz seemed to be easy to talk to and had not done anything over the years, this was all based on the fact that his subordinates were well-behaved.

In reality, there were even more followers behind the bright and beautiful scene, but because of their improper conduct, they had fallen on the way.

However, on account of their past contributions, Franz chose to be lenient and seemed merciful.

Moreover, this lenient punishment was carried out within the scope of the rules. For example, those who should have been stripped of their titles were instead directly inherited by their descendants, and those who should have been exiled to a better overseas colony.

No matter how they were taken care of, they would still be kicked out of the circle of power. However, they were not stripped of their family property, leaving behind hope for a comeback.

Killing people did not exist. Europe did not have the tradition of killing nobles. Unless they had done something infuriating, they would not be executed.

This kind of treatment was something that Wittes and the others could not enjoy.

They had the credit, but unfortunately, they had committed a big taboo by colluding with the Jewish capitalists. It was Franz's magnanimity that he did not look for trouble with them.

From the beginning, Franz was prepared to let them perish together with the Jewish capitalists. He did not expect these guys to be so ruthless. They fought their way out of desperation.

Stepping on the bones of their colleagues, they forged a good reputation for themselves. It turned out that a good reputation could really save one's life.

Now all the Austrian people thought that they were honest officials. No matter how much evidence the Jewish capitalists brought out, it could all be attributed to them being framed.

As the price of escaping, Wittes and the others would have to worry about revenge for the rest of their lives. If they wanted to continue in the officialdom, they could only rely on the reputation of "honest officials" who hated evil.

Thinking of this, Franz sighed helplessly. He thought to himself, "I don't know if this counts as turning black and white upside down?"

"Probably, maybe, probably not. Using a group of vermin to get rid of another group of vermin, it could barely be called fighting poison with poison.

No, it should be said that it saved the officials who made mistakes and pulled them back on the right track … "

No matter how he comforted himself, he could not change the bullsh * t fact. It was people that he did not want to use, but because of political needs, he had to use them.

As if thinking of something bad, Franz continued, "Frederick The Great, remember. The bottom line of Wittes and the others is too low. Do not let them be in high positions.

If you encounter someone that you need to use, then use them with caution. Their limit is the director of the anti-corruption bureau or vice ministers of various departments.

Before you use them, you must also prepare checks and balances. Once they discovered any bad signs, they would immediately suppress them.

The candidates for the Cabinet and the various ministers must be people with a certain bottom line. They don't have to be too strong. As long as they are above average, it is enough.

Especially the prime minister, try to choose the oldest one. Suppress the young ones, no matter how strong they are. "