After the Pri Minister made a round in the Secretariat, he entered a more inner eting room.
Since the Secretariat is an administrative institution, there certainly must be distinctions between superiors and subordinates.
In the past, when the Secretariat could still fulfill its duties, the highest authority of the Secretariat was called the "Elder."
There was also a period when the Secretariat was referred to as the "Senate," implying that the institution was the territory of the "Elders," and everything had to be according to them.
Beneath the Elders were the "Elders," and the thod of distinguishing between them was quite simple. At that ti, nobles weren’t as particular about their appearance as they are now.
Back then, it was popular among the nobility to wear linen robes, so the Elders’ robes would have golden barley spikes, while the Elders’ robes had silver wheat spikes to distinguish their status.
The rest were ordinary nobles who also wore robes, but with only their coats of arms and no spikes.
Later, as the power of the Secretariat gradually waned, the Elders began to drop their airs to unite all the nobles. Unfortunately, changes in the political system and shifts in power ant that even if they did, it had little significance.
This eting room was for the use of the Elders and Elders, while the nobles in the outside hall were not allowed to enter without permission.
The Pri Minister wasn’t a mber of the Secretariat, but he could enter directly without anyone’s permission. This is the nature of power; it can ignore most rules.
After everyone sat down, the Pri Minister looked around at the grand nobles, his smile vivid, "Have you reached any conclusion about who should take on the role of Minister of Finance during this ti?"
The grand nobles around the conference table exchanged simple glances, and the grand noble in the principal seat lightly cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention.
"Your Excellency the Pri Minister, we have been discussing this issue during this ti, but since it involves an important position and we don’t have enough ti,"
The Pri Minister directly shook his head and said, "So you have no results, is that right?"
The surrounding nobles nodded one after another, and soone explained, "There are too many excellent candidates, and it’s challenging for us to make a decision. There’s only one position, and if we choose this one, we overlook that one."
"At that ti, soone will surely argue, or even question whether our selection was fair and just. You know, those who lose always have many reasons."
After listening, the Pri Minister did not deny it, just like gamblers, anything could be a reason for their losses.
"Bad luck today, didn’t wash hands after using the bathroom, facing the window or turning away, soone borrowed money and didn’t return it..."
"Those gamblers can easily find dozens or hundreds of reasons for losing money, and the sa goes for the unsuccessful nobles, coming up with things like shady dealings without even thinking about it."
That’s why selecting this candidate takes a long ti.
The Pri Minister knitted his brows, "What we lack most now is ti. We cannot keep the position of Minister of Finance vacant, waiting for you to choose soone before arranging the work. This would hold us back from many things."
"This is not just any position; it concerns the entire national financial budget planning and allocation, and we cannot give you so much ti."
"You must choose a candidate by the end of the month."
At this ti, one of the nobles suddenly reminded, "Your Excellency, it is already the end of the month."
"It’s already the end of the month?" The Pri Minister was montarily taken aback. He looked down at his watch, which had a small calendar window.
Watches with calendars like this are very popular now, with key technologies mastered by only a few companies, making them scarce on the market.
He glanced at the calendar and sighed, "It really is the end of the month, I didn’t even feel it!"
He shook his head as he spoke, "I’ve been so busy lately, with so many things to handle, I really miss the calm days from before."
"Though boring, at least I had plenty of personal ti."
The nobles in the room just laughed it off, not taking it seriously, just like how the things they’re discussing now are just discussions and don’t necessarily have any direct relation to the outco of the matters.
"A few days is indeed a bit tight, should we give it a try?" the Pri Minister asked again.
He seed to indeed be asking about this matter, but in reality, everyone knew what he was asking and how to answer.
"Your Excellency, although the Secretariat is mockingly called a nursing ho, that does not an we lack responsibility. We can’t select a suitable candidate in such a short tifra, perhaps..."
The chief grand noble glanced at the nobles around him and softly said, "Why don’t you temporarily take on this role?"
The Pri Minister was sowhat astonished. He looked at the nobles in front of him and then smiled wryly while shaking his head, "That’s not possible. I previously suggested to His Majesty that I temporarily take on the role, but... he refused."
The chief grand noble smiled and said, "This ti, we will personally discuss this matter with His Majesty, and surely His Majesty will agree."
The Pri Minister seed tempted but showed so hesitation, "But those outside..."
The chief grand noble raised his hand for silence, "Grasping for power is never as important as the stability of the Empire!"
This matter is essentially just a process, as Lynch and others have said. From the very beginning, the Emperor never intended to fight the Pri Minister to the end; he was making concessions from the start.
However, these concessions did not give away everything, and the Pri Minister also did not receive everything without giving anything in return.
If these conversations were to leak out, most of the nobles outside would inevitably feel resentful.
They have been busy forging connections, hosting secret etings, and working tirelessly everywhere for the sake of that position.
If they can’t get that position, they should at least gain so benefits.
But what they didn’t expect was that the major nobles in the Secretariat would turn around and betray them, helping the Pri Minister claim this financial power, leaving them happy about nothing and even losing sothing. If at this ti, the Emperor shows so goodwill, so of these nobles would unhesitatingly side with His Majesty.
In other words, the Pri Minister essentially pushed so of the Noble Group toward the Emperor as a cost to gain the opportunity to concurrently hold financial power, realizing his plan for power.
Did the Emperor lose out?
It seems so, but not entirely.
Although he lost financial power, the developnt plan for the whole country is already there, and the Pri Minister cannot arbitrarily violate it. Moreover, everyone agrees on the general direction, which is for the country.
The Emperor lost so power but gained the support of a large number of nobles. These nobles will beco the cards he regains in the future.
It’s known that the Pri Minister is quite old, and no one knows how many more years he can sit in this position.
Three to five years, at most ten years!
Ten years later, a new war will inevitably break out, affecting the entire world. By then, the Pri Minister’s physical, ntal, and intellectual capacity will be declining; how could he possibly continue to cling to this position?
Once he steps down, with the Noble Group’s support, His Majesty the Emperor will have a certain level of opportunity and possibility for dictatorship. As long as enough nobles support him, he could even concurrently serve as both Pri Minister and Minister of Finance during the war!
Plus, with royal permission for his military control, administration, finance, and military governance highly unified, a dictatorial Emperor will be born!
Even if those nobles do not support him in achieving his dictatorial dreams, he at least has the chance to reclaim financial power. As long as he holds financial power, even if the choice of Pri Minister is compromised, he still wields great power.
By exchanging the current opportunity for infinite future possibilities, the Emperor has not made a loss in this deal.
The Pri Minister is well aware of His Majesty the Emperor’s intentions, but he doesn’t mind; he even cooperates. They are both gambling, gambling on who will reveal flaws first!
The contents of the eting room have not been leaked in the short term, but it won’t be long before they do.
In three days, at next Monday’s morning assembly, it will inevitably be known across the nation!
By then, a grand drama will unfold with His Majesty the Emperor as the "victim," starting to pull those resentful nobles to his side.
Of course, the Secretariat will also try to unite the nobles as much as possible. They can’t just allow all the nobles to side with His Majesty the Emperor; that would be irresponsible.
The Pri Minister stayed at the Secretariat for less than an hour before leaving. Shortly after he left, so rumors began to flow into the Secretariat from the outside.
People sohow heard about so things related to Lynch.
They heard that Lynch plans to take the money they’ve earned and invest in the Alie Province, with so preferential policies being granted by His Majesty the Emperor.
If this news concerned soone else, it would just be ordinary news, but since it’s about Lynch, it must capture people’s attention.
It’s known that not long ago, Lynch, along with his group of useless nobles, swallowed billions in profits in the financial market, leaving other nobles still green with envy.
Those major nobles might not care, but not all nobles are that wealthy; there will always be so nobles who only retain the facade of nobility without much wealth.
Just as everyone was preparing to leave for lunch, several nobles approached Lynch.
"Mr. Lynch, I heard you plan to invest in the Alie Province over there?"
Lynch looked at these people. A young Count deftly introduced Lynch to them; they were all minor nobles, most of whom had varying degrees of connection with the Imperial Family, such as close blood ties.
The Emperor, though brutal, is still human, and like any human, he has so "small problems," such as preferring to trust blood relatives over strangers.
Thus, among the current minor noble group in the Gafura Empire, about half have ancestors who were once mbers of the Imperial Family or closely connected to it, earning favor consequently.
After the young Count finished introducing these people to Lynch, Lynch smiled and nodded, "Indeed it is so!"
The leading minor noble appeared very humble, "Could you talk to us about the matters concerning Alie Province?"
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