Iron Powder and Spellcasters

  Chapter 481 Blazing Furnace (5)

  [Empire]

  [Worryless Palace]

  People say that the long corridor leading to the emperor's private office is the most "difficult" road in the empire.

   Only those who have really walked this road know that "difficult to walk" is not only a metaphor, but also the most objective and accurate description.

  In order to highlight the authority and power of the emperor, the architect of Mad Emperor Richard specially set up a grand corridor in the office area of ​​the Sansou Palace.

  The audience must walk tremblingly on the mirror-like smooth marble floor tiles. Looking up, you can see the towering dome like a temple; looking forward, you can see the empty and solemn corridor.

  The huge glass windows are bright and bright, but it makes the corridor even more secluded and quiet; the stone wall should be airtight, but it makes people feel cold unconsciously.

   Rather than saying that the terminus of this long corridor called "Ice River" is the emperor's private office, it is more like a road leading to the dragon's lair.

Considering that no matter the status of the imperial nobles, they all prefer to refer to [Henry III] with some kind of mythical creature that can breathe fire, has scales, fangs and claws, is extremely dangerous but occupies supreme wealth, "the ice river's The saying that the end point is the dragon’s lair” is not unfounded, and it always makes the audience smile at the reception.

  However, even if it is a "difficult" glacier, some people can make some unusual movements.

  In the emperor's private office, [Count Narzia], who was helping the emperor open the letter, could not help but raise the corners of his mouth when he heard the muffled sound of "dong dong" coming from the direction of the corridor.

   "Your Majesty." Count Narzia put down the letter cutter in his hand and said with a smile, "General Arakcheyev is here."

  The emperor sitting on the only chair in the room nodded, and gently put the quill back into the ink bottle.

  The Earl of Narzia understood and helped the emperor tidy up the table with his hands and feet, and then consciously stepped aside, waiting for the arrival of the most popular figure in the imperial political arena—Minister of War Alexei Arakcheyev.

  …

   In every sense of the word, Alexey Arakcheyev is a figure who should not be found on top of the imperial political building.

  He is just the son of a poor little noble in the Far East provinces. The property granted by his ancestors has long been squandered in the alternation of generations, leaving him with only a much-mocked noble status.

  However, it was by virtue of his "noble" status that Arakcheyev entered the Royal Children's Arms School, and then relied on his ability to enter the highest military academy in the Empire located in the Eternal City.

According to common sense, the best way out for this kind of provincial aristocratic officer without foundation is to be assigned to the Northern General Army or the Eastern General Army, starting as a small-scale officer at the grassroots level, accumulating meritorious service in the ice, snow and yellow sand, and striving to be a military officer at the age of forty. In the past, they were transferred back to the inland provinces, and spent the rest of their lives in a relatively good province with fat jobs—or they were put into coffins and sent back to their hometowns before that.

But the emperor lifted Alexei Arakcheyev from this fate, made him his aide-de-camp, and at the right time sent the latter out, when he had obtained enough After his military exploits, he was immediately transferred back to the center of power.

  In the Eternal City, any individual who obtains such a blessing will attract countless criticisms and envy. Not to mention that Arakcheyev was a provincial aristocrat without any roots and unpopularity.

   Amid the extravagant and hedonistic splendor of the Eternal City and Imperial court, he is a strange and out-of-place figure.

  Everyone knows that Alexei Arakcheyev gets up at four o'clock every day and arrives at the work place at six o'clock every day, and requires all his subordinates to arrive before he arrives. Violators will receive a warning for the first offense, a fine for the second offense, and dismissal for the third offense. Even the prince cannot be exempted.

   In terms of personal life, Alexey Arakcheyev's stinginess is even more famous in the Eternal City.

He never went to the theater or dance, and he was very cautious in eating and drinking. He only occasionally played minimum-stakes poker at home with the few friends and comrades in arms. Seeing off the guests with a livid face.

  When most people meet him, they always see a cold, gloomy, bitter look. It might have improved if he was always smiling or joking, but he rarely did.

Many of the Eternal City nobles regarded him as an enemy, and when the Emperor appointed him as the new Lord of War, those who opposed the appointment included, but were not limited to, the Duke of Lothar, the Earl of Finlay, all the Emperor's lieutenants, and the Empress—that is, every An important and influential figure in the court.

  But Alexey Arakcheyev still took office, and single-handedly started a large-scale **** liquidation of the Southern General Army.

  The Earl of Narzia stood with his hands down, holding his breath as he listened to the muffled "dong dong" sound that was getting closer.

   On the glacier promenade, where everyone else had to do their best not to fall, Alexei Arakcheev was the only one who could hit a heavy echo every time his heel landed.

  While other court nobles were trying their best to exert influence and try their best to prevent Alexei Arakcheyev's new appointment, Count Narzia also publicly expressed his uneasiness about this appointment.

   But that was just to avoid being squeezed out by others. Count Narzia knew very well from the beginning that the appointment of Alexei Arakcheyev could not be dismissed.

  The emperor wanted to use a character like Alexei Arakcheyev who was vigorous, unselfish and unconditionally obedient to orders.

   In other words, Arakcheyev was the thug sent by the emperor to solve the problem, and he was also a problem-solving expert.

For a figure like Alexey Arakcheyev who ruled a vast empire of complex interests, infighting and infighting through an enormously large, inefficient and overwhelmed bureaucracy, Can be considered the most valuable asset.

And for the invisible patron-patron network throughout the imperial government and army, Alexey Arakcheyev, who does not belong to any political faction and is promoted all the way through the appreciation and support of the monarch, is undoubtedly A **** sharp knife.

   "Alexi who rose to the top because he didn't have a faction." Count Narzia thought to himself quietly: "When will it become Alexei who fell into the abyss because he didn't have a faction?"

Although he had no intention of questioning His Majesty's trust and sincerity in Alexei Arakcheyev, Count Narzia did not think that the Emperor was unaware of this—a "thug" who had no roots and connections among the upper-class nobles, If necessary, it can also be thrown to the wolves without any burden.

  As the dull footsteps disappeared, the door of the office opened a palm width, and the attendant asked outside the door: "Your Majesty, General Arakcheyev is here."

   Earl Narzia made a small gesture.

  The door closed silently, and after a moment of silence, it opened completely.

  Aleksei Arakcheyev, tall, round-shouldered, and long-necked, walked into the office with his cap between his hands, and the floor was still shaking in just a few short steps.

   Arakcheyev stood still in front of the desk, put his heels together, bowed deeply and saluted.

Looking at the war minister's sunken cheeks and sparse head with pity, Earl Narzia couldn't help but wonder: "Does this sharp sword who serves the emperor with 'loyalty and self-restraint' also know that one day he may be unburdened? throw it to the wolves?"

  …

  The distribution of power is like sitting around a fire, position is everything, the closer you are to the flame, the warmer you will be.

  So having access to the emperor's private office was not only a privilege, but also a great power-Aleksey Arakcheyev knew this very well.

   But even so, Arakcheyev did not abuse this privilege.

  Different from Earl Narzia who "wanted to squat next to the emperor for twenty-four hours", Arakcheyev only saw him once a week at a fixed time.

   And today's audience is not on his schedule.

  After the regular work report, Arakcheyev learned the reason why the emperor summoned him alone:

  An unprecedented new institution will appear at the core of the empire's political ecology, and its name is the [State Council].

   And the emperor offered his sword a choice: either to remain as minister of war, or to serve as the chairman of the military affairs committee under the newly established council of state.

  According to Earl Narzia's explanation, the function of the State Council will be to debate all legislative and budgetary matters, provide suggestions to the emperor, and at the same time undertake certain supervisory functions.

  Arakcheyev is no stranger to all kinds of "committees". In fact, the core of the empire's governance system is built on a series of large and small staff groups, councils, and committees.

  The emperor set up multiple councils for different areas of responsibility and ruling areas.

  The members of the council review and discuss all the letters, reports and memorandums in their respective areas of responsibility, and submit them to the emperor after they are annotated to provide suggestions for the actions that the emperor should take.

   This system was established by the grandfather of the current emperor. At that time, the power of the imperial emperor was far from what it is today. The imperial power exists in the cracks of the nobles, and the area that the emperor really rules is like an isolated island in the principality.

  The council system has significantly improved the efficiency of the imperial bureaucracy, enabling the emperor to extract more power from a limited territory and continue to win internal struggles.

  However, with the expansion of imperial power and the refinement of the imperial government's unification, the council is no longer sufficient to cope with the massive reports from inside and outside the empire.

  So the mad emperor Richard IV established a series of permanent institutions on the basis of the parliamentary system to deal with matters within a specific scope of responsibility—the concept of "government department" thus entered imperial politics.

  However, the redistribution of power will inevitably lead to the counterattack of vested interests. Richard IV's reform measures to establish a "permanent department" naturally aroused strong dissatisfaction from the "robed nobles".

  In order to gain enough support to carry out reforms, Richard IV made a compromise and placed the permanent department under the council.

  From then on, letters, reports, and memorandums from all corners of the empire were first handled by various government departments, and each department submitted the content that needed to be decided to the relevant council, which was then discussed by the relevant council with suggestions attached, and then submitted to the emperor for decision.

  Although this design has caused a series of problems such as overlapping powers, unclear responsibilities, and inefficient communication, but so far, this administrative system is operating fairly well.

   Over the past thirty years, a series of glorious victories in the empire's foreign wars are proof.

   So, what's up with the "Conference of State" that sounds so Southern-sounding?

  Since the current emperor came to the throne, although the kind of drastic reforms implemented by his grandfather and father have never happened, the small-scale soft innovations have never stopped.

  The structure and powers and responsibilities of various councils, committees, and government departments are constantly changing, so Alexei Arakcheyev is not sure, which institution will the real power fall into in the future?

  But compared to those court jesters who racked their brains to speculate on the holy will, Alexei Arakcheev had a very simple way to get the answer.

"Your Majesty, please forgive my stupidity." Arakcheyev frowned, and asked the emperor bluntly: "Isn't this so-called 'State Council' overlapping with most of the existing councils? Do you mean To establish a committee of all councils?"

  The Earl of Narzia looked at his nose, his nose, his mouth, and his heart. He stood lifelessly in the corner like a sculpture, but his ears were pricked up.

   "As expected of you." Earl Narzia's heart was pounding, and he couldn't help thinking: "As expected of you."

  Arakcheyev could easily ask the question that Earl Narzia would never be able to ask.

  The emperor watched Arakcheyev calmly, and behind him, the mad emperor Richard was also watching Arakcheyev.

   "is the committee that replaces all councils," said the emperor.

  Replaces all council committees?

   Replaces all council committees!

  A sentence that is as light as a feather falls into the right ear, but it weighs more than a thousand catties.

   There was a dead silence in the office, and Count Narzia swallowed subconsciously. He felt sincere remorse, and he regretted staying here, listening to the emperor's conversation with Alexey Arakcheyev.

  From this moment on, he must pray that Arakcheyev will keep his mouth shut until the emperor makes his intentions known to the imperial subjects.

  Before that, Earl Narzia didn't dare to think about what would happen once a fourth person uttered the words "committee to replace all councils".

   On the other side, Arakcheyev's boot heel bumped hard.

  He replied bluntly: "Understood, then I will go to the State Council. Rather than being supervised by others, it is better for me to supervise others."

  The emperor nodded slightly.

  Arakcheyev asked again: "Your Majesty, who will take over my position?"

   "Barclay de Tolly."

   Arakcheyev frowned. This is a Castilian with less seniority than when he was appointed Minister of War.

   "The case of the Southern Army." Arakcheyev continued to ask: "Should I bring it to the State Council?"

   "No need."

   "Barclay." Speaking of his successor, Arakcheyev spoke with a hint of contempt: "I'm afraid I don't have the guts to track it down."

   "There is no need to investigate further." The emperor paused for a moment: "The case of the Southern General Army ends here."

  Count Narzia's heart began to beat violently again, because the emperor's simple sentence meant that the fraud case of the Southern Army that had everyone terrified could finally come to an end.

   "Sir Arakcheyev." The emperor rarely called out the minister's name.

   "Your Majesty." Arakcheyev heeled his boots again.

"As the chairman of the Military Affairs Committee." The emperor patiently explained: "Your primary task is to end the chaos exposed in the military supplies and food and fodder departments in the southern border and restore the order of the military administrative system. Recruit enough recruits and horses to supplement the northern general army losses in war and prepare for the losses that will be incurred in future wars."

  Arakcheyev listened to every word, thought for a moment, and shook his head: "It's too hasty. If you can clean up the Southern Army and rebuild it, it will be much easier to do anything."

  Count Narzia's heart tightened. After beheading so many people and dismissing so many people from their posts, doesn't this **** Arakcheyev think it's enough? After finally seeing the cruel liquidation of the head, is it going to continue?

  The emperor did not respond to Arakcheyev's complaints.

  He looked out the window and tapped on the armrest.

  One click, two clicks, three clicks...

   "Time waits for no one," said the emperor.

[Happy New Year! ]

   [I wish everyone a safe and healthy New Year! ]

   [The part about the imperial regime in this chapter refers to [The decisive battle between Russia and Napoleon] and [Emperor: Charles V]. Since there are real materials of historical empires, the author thinks that it is better not to create something out of nothing]

   [Supplementary Note: Regarding Winters’ nickname]

   [Winters' nickname, different in different people's mouths]

   [Inside the Vineta Army, the earliest known nickname was [Bloody Montagne] or [Bloody Montagne]]

   [The nickname [[Wolf Blood] or [Blood Wolf] comes from Lieutenant Colonel John Jessica. In a sense, Winters at that time hadn’t been regarded as one of his own, otherwise Lieutenant Colonel Jesska would have given him a better nickname]

   [So at present, the Iron Peak Army generally refers to Winters as [Tribune], and only in special cases, in order to strengthen the tone, will they call Winters [Blood Wolf]]

   [Friendly soldiers and civilians will not shy away from it, and usually call [Blood Wolf]]

   [On the contrary, the Hurd people actually respect Winters the most. They call Winters [Warrior]/[Champion]/[Batu]]

   [Mr. Leo's so-called [Blood Wolf is the honorific title given to Winters by the Hurds] is a nonsense]

   [Herd people seldom call [wolf] directly as [wolf]. They will use words like [grey head] [long teeth] [mountain king] to refer to wolves]

   [Like some places don’t call [Tiger] by its name directly, but call it [Tiger]]

   [Regardless of the region, people generally feel that calling bad things by their names will attract bad things]

  (end of this chapter)