For the next three days, with the support of the Knight King Laing, the acting mayor of Örengrád, Vladimir, didn't meet any worthy opponents in the referendum. He won with 87% of the votes and was successfully appointed as the Grand Duke of Örengrád and the Mayor of Örengrád.
With his hand on the Kislöw Codex, Vladimir was sworn in as the Grand Duke of Örengrád on the stage. He said to everyone: "Give me 20 years, and I'll return you a miraculous Kislöw"
This was basically the same as being a lifelong Archon.
The first thing Vladimir did after taking office was to rebuild the bureaucracy with the help of Laing. All of the old Duma councilors and Örengrád bureaucrats who survived were not recognized by Vladimir. He announced that the entire bureaucracy would be reorganized. Taking advantage of this opportunity, a large number of low-level technocrats, low-level military officers and citizens who didn't have a chance to show their talents were promoted and selected to form a new Duma council. The originally bloated and slow palace became clean and efficient again. The number of people decreased, but the efficiency increased. Vladimir also didn't make things difficult for the old bureaucrats. Among them, the qualified and capable ones were reinstated after being inspected, while the rest retired.
The second thing was to reorganize the Hilavek group. He announced the national policy of "horse-racing", and at the same time, he dealt a heavy blow to the "mountaineering" in the military. With the help of Laing, the entire Hilavek group was reorganized. Those who were brave and courageous during the defense of Örengrád and the Bagration operation were promoted to important positions, while the incompetent ones were all dismissed.
The Poillé excitedly danced the "Kassa Dance". Good times, come to us!
The third thing was to officially sign a loan agreement and free trade agreement with the Knight King Kingdom and Nur. The agreement was signed under the witness of the Bear God Essun, Impartial Goddess Valentina, and the Lake Nymph.
After this reorganization, the whole city suddenly had a new atmosphere.
At the same time, the clean-up of the remaining forces of Chaos in Growald Forest continued. Originally, the Nur Empire General and Grand Marshal Urlstein, who were fighting in the forest, had arranged a detailed artillery support plan and were ready to deal with the enemy. The Old Guard and the Armoured Nur were also ready for battle.
However, the clean-up operation was very successful, and the human alliance basically did not encounter any decent resistance. As the forces of Chaos were gradually eliminated from Örengrád, the weather finally showed signs of warming up, and Laing began to prepare for the withdrawal of the army.
That day, in the afternoon of Örengrád, Laing and Talleyrand were strolling around together.
Knight King complained casually, "I'm always tired of dealing with bureaucrats, and I'm even more tired of the series of things after the war. But I know that war is often not simple. Many times, the most important thing is the arrangements after the war."
Laing knew very well that war was the continuation of politics. Take a look at the comparison between Caesar and Emperor Nassau.
In terms of military command and tactical battle ability, Caesar was definitely not as good as Napoleon. He had made many mistakes in the Gallic War and the subsequent Roman Civil War, while Emperor Nassau had never had any major problems with tactics and command. However, the two of them had different endings.
This was because every war that Caesar won for Rome allowed him to make a fortune in wealth, diplomacy, or politics. Relying on political means and very powerful diplomatic means, he finally ruled the entire Rome. Emperor Nassau kept winning, but under the circumstances of his personal ambition and insufficient diplomatic skills, he had fewer friends and more enemies. His First Empire of France gradually became the public enemy of Europe, and a country had to fight against a continent.
"Hahaha …" Talleyrand leaned on his crutch. The April Örengrád was slightly warmer, but the ground was still very cold. The lame man walked slowly, and he knew that Laing slowed down because of him. "Your Majesty, the bureaucratic system is indeed very annoying, but this is the best way to rule after thousands of years of exploration. What else can we do? Feudal nobility? Or tribal slavery? Or return to fists and savagery? If you really want to put it this way, the rule of the undead is the real deal. They are all dead, they are all tools. There is no exploitation, no oppression. It is the true meaning of democracy and freedom. "
"Hahahaha!" Laing was directly amused by Talleyrand. Knight King thought about it carefully and felt that it was true. The Lord of the Undead, Nagash, was simply a beacon of freedom and democracy! Because he controlled all the undead alone, he was a democracy.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I want to say that you are really a capable person." Talleyrand took the opportunity to say. The lame man leaned on his crutch and said, "You know very well how to control your desires. You know where the limits of your kingdom are. You know very well how to deal with the bureaucratic system. You have the power to crush it and then rebuild it. You are like the sun, and I, Talleyrand, am your loyal servant. You are responsible for warming the earth, and I am responsible for praising the sun!"
After saying that, Talleyrand put down his crutch and made a "Y" gesture. Not only did it not have any sense of sacredness, but it also looked very funny.
"Hahaha." Laing could not help but laugh at Talleyrand's flattery. After a series of military victories and political and economic gains, Knight King could not help but feel a little bloated. He was already thinking about how to hold a celebration when he returned. After listening to Talleyrand's flattery, Laing could not help but laugh and said, "Talleyrand, you should say these words to Finnuba, or to the High Lord Of Tyrion that you speak of."
"Your Majesty, your suggestion is too harsh for me." Talleyrand smiled helplessly and said, "I was able to make a difference in the Old World because I had the opportunity and was lucky. But in Ossouin, I'm just a nobody. The High Lord Of Tyrion never lacks people who can talk, but what he wants is a warrior who can fight and charge. Do I look like a warrior to you? As for His Majesty Finnuba, staying by his side is really not a good idea. There are some things that I'm not willing to say. You know, Your Majesty, other than the fact that I'm from a humble background and destined to have few opportunities, I also don't like that kind of environment. I really don't like it. After thousands of years, it's rigid and decaying. "
"Why?" Laing's interest was piqued. Knight King motioned for Talleyrand to say more. "Speaking of which, I don't know anything about how Finnuba operates his court."
"Hmm …"
Talleyrand tapped his crutch on the frozen ground a few times. "Let me tell you two jokes, Your Majesty. They're classic jokes in Assur's court."
"The first joke is that as everyone knows, Phoenix King Finnuba really likes Brittany desserts, almond meringues. He especially likes to eat them, so when trade with the Old World was reestablished, and Brittany began to appear in the foreign activity area, Finnuba ordered his courtiers to say that he wanted to eat this dessert and arrange for it to be sent over."
"The one in charge of this matter is my distant relative, Minister Ciel. When he heard about this matter, he attached great importance to it. After a few days of observation, Minister Ciel submitted three large, twelve-foot-long parchment scrolls, 'Draft for Comments on the Management of Introducing New Desserts to the Phoenix King's Court.'"
"His Majesty Finnuba attached great importance to it. He looked at the parchment, and the specific content was simply that since he wanted to eat almond meringues, the court would have to import ingredients, hire a chef, and create a set of cooking utensils. At the same time, they would have to set up a brand new kitchen. After doing some calculations, they would have to spend 900 Assur gold sovrin a year (the current exchange rate is about 6,000 Brittany crowns). After that, they would have to pay 150 Assur gold sovrin a year as well as request for His Majesty the Phoenix King's approval."
"His Majesty Finnuba wasn't willing to fork out so much money. He said that one silver coin could buy three almond meringues on the market. Why did the price increase by at least two hundred times?"
"Our quick-witted Phoenix King immediately said that he knew of a Brittany dessert shop in the foreign activity area that sold them. One silver coin could buy three or four pieces. You can just order them there."
"Minister Ciel didn't dare to delay and immediately went to the dessert shop. The next day, Ciel replied to the Phoenix King and said that the Brittany dessert shop no longer sells such desserts. This matter was then left unsettled."
Laing sneered, and just as the Knight King was about to speak, Talleyrand extended his hand to signal Laing to let him finish. "The second joke is that one day, His Majesty Tegris returned from the Old World. He brought back some of the Empire's superior Thuringian honeyed charcoal sausages and offered them to Finnuba to taste. However, this action was obstructed by the courtiers. The courtiers' reason was simple. Who knew if there were any problems with such special food? What if the Witch King or the Witch Empress poisoned it? Even if there wasn't any poison, what if Finnuba got a stomachache from eating it? "
"Even if he didn't get a stomachache, what if His Majesty the Phoenix King liked it and suddenly wanted to eat it? Where would the court find such sausages at the last minute? By then, wouldn't we be accused of incompetence? "
"Everyone was trying to disrupt this matter, but the High Lord Of Tyrion finally decided to offer these Thuringian sausages. As expected, Finnuba liked them. The courtiers held a grudge, but they couldn't do anything to the Tai brothers. They could only tell Finnuba that one Thuringian sausage was worth one gold soffrin. If His Majesty liked it, they could buy some for him. When Finnuba heard that it was so expensive, not only did he feel apologetic, he never ate it again."
After Talleyrand finished speaking, he looked at Laing with a faint smile. "What do you think?"
"I understand." Laing laughed. "Safety is the most important thing. I think that most people's reaction after hearing about this matter would be to criticize the Phoenix King's court for being corrupt, but that's not the case. Finnuba has traveled to the Old World before. How could he not know the prices in the Old World? But he had no choice because he needed to be safe. The courtiers and eunuchs needed to be safe. All the High Elves in Ossouin also needed the Phoenix King's' safety. '"
After saying that, the Knight King took two steps forward. His smile gradually disappeared, and his expression gradually turned cold. "So, a 'system' has to be added to ensure safety. It has to ensure that after the pot is divided, from the preparation of the ingredients to the final table, there can't be any mistakes. I think that Finnuba's court can't wait for the Phoenix King to eat the exact same food every day of the year, right?"
"Stability trumps everything, Your Majesty." Talleyrand nodded in satisfaction. Cripple slowly said, "The more important something is, the more it has to be 'systematized' to ensure safety and that there is no need to take responsibility if something goes wrong."
"This way, we can explain the dessert incident. Because the Phoenix King's court didn't want Finnuba to eat the Brittany's desserts at all, but this kind of thing couldn't be said openly, so they simply offered a 'sky-high price dessert' to make Finnuba back off. Sure enough, the Phoenix King backed off, but what if Finnuba really wanted to bite the bullet? That's fine. 900 gold soffrin, 150 gold soffrin every year. This large sum of money is enough to let everyone in the court have a share of the benefits, so it's naturally worth it for everyone to take a little risk. Even if someone investigates, they won't be able to find any problems at all. " Talleyrand nodded, a genuine and sincere smile appearing on his face. "I really like to communicate with Your Majesty, because it's very easy. Very few people will take the risk to do something that will harm their own interests. This is the nature of mortals, even if it may be beneficial to the country."
"Then, at the same time, we can also explain why the dessert shop no longer makes that kind of dessert." Laing stroked his chin. "The desserts sold outside are very cheap, but the risk is very high. The ready-made desserts bought separately can easily be poisoned by the dark elves, and even if it's done, there is no benefit or credit to speak of. This is a classic example of a huge risk with very little profit, so these palace attendants and ministers would rather solve the problem directly from the source, telling the shop to close down and be done with it once and for all."
"Once you understand all of this, you will understand why His Majesty Finnuba can only accept all of this despite knowing everything. It's because His Majesty Finnuba understands that he doesn't want 'safety' or 'loyalty'. His Phoenix King doesn't have enough confidence in his own ability, and it's even more impossible for him to change his entire court. As for why, you know, he also wants his own 'safety'. "
"I understand. So, Talleyrand, why are you telling me all of this?" Laing nodded slowly. He couldn't help but recall Kelda Duck's dull expression and empty gaze on the throne.
Tragic, Finnuba, tragic.
In the end, the existence of the Tai brothers became Finnuba's external aid, giving him a chance to breathe the fresh air outside?!
"What I want to say is, Your Majesty, the bureaucratic system is a strange thing. It's slow to react, but it has a terrifying ability to mobilize and execute. You kicked its butt today, and it might take a year or two before it starts to say 'Ouch, it hurts', and another year or two before it starts to try to counterattack 'Taste this'. But you can't ignore it, because once it counterattacks, it will be extremely fierce and violent!" Talleyrand was silent for a while before he said, "Just like how we all know that Her Majesty Katarina's diplomatic skills are good, but her internal and military skills are a mess, but no one has ever thought about why she is like this. Hmm? Imbecile? She's a Divine Warrior. "
"The answer is that the root cause is her father, the Red Tsar Boris. The Red Tsar's forceful reforms and centralization of power have touched the 'sweet spot' of too many people, including the local Poillé, the Ice Witch Sisters, the court officials, and the Duma."
"Everyone knows that the Red Tsar Boris is very powerful, and he can't be deceived. But they can work together to deceive Katarina. The Tsar has been leading troops in wars all year round, and neglected Katarina's education. Katarina grew up surrounded by this group of people, and she has completely forgotten the root of the problem."
"Everyone also knows that Boris left behind a rich military legacy, and the powerful army he left behind for his daughter is difficult to defeat. But they can make the new Tsar have a legitimate reason to exile and arrest them."
"Sigh!" Laing let out a long sigh. He completely understood.
"Katarina will definitely go on an expedition to the North! As for her and her army, they will be defeated without a day to live!
… I'm the dividing line of the sweet spot …
Just as Laing completely understood the root of the problem with Talleyrand's explanation, in the temporary palace of Kislöw, Becafen, Katarina's private bedroom.
Holding the parchment brought by Tsar's envoy, Katarina's face was ashen. She slammed the parchment on the table.
The Örengrád group's demands were very harsh. The Örengrád Group led by Vladimir had made very excessive demands. Katarina understood after a brief glance. If she agreed to these conditions, she could only be a puppet in Örengrád.
But if she didn't agree to these conditions, Örengrád would be independent!
In a rage, Katarina tore the parchment to pieces!
"Guards!"
"Here!" A Romanov Guard walked in from outside.
"Gather all the Duma, generals, and Poillé for an immediate meeting!"
"Yes!"
Tsar took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. Before that, there was still one more thing that needed to be resolved.
The 3000 Gold Dukat and 5000 Silver Dukat from the Empire were now in her hands. Katarina felt the hardships of the White Guard and immediately allocated 800 Gold Dukat to the current Minister of Finance, Dmylov, to improve the food of the White Army.
But today, she had received a small slip of paper from a logistics officer of the White Army, who had painstakingly asked a guard to deliver it to her.
When the logistics officer received the goods, the food given to the White Guard was only half a bottle of Empire beer, a bowl of buckwheat porridge, and a piece of barley bread. The total value was less than 120 Gold Dukat!
Where did the money go?! Katarina was furious. She suddenly realized that she might have been fooled for a long time!
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