Chapter 35: Eldest Brother's Ambition Below

  As soon as they heard about displaying their talents, the two scholar-like men were so excited that they forgot what they wanted to say!

  "Is the Duke going to let us handle state affairs? Great! I can finally put all my learned talents to use! Are we going to be executive officials or advisors to the court?"

  "Oh dear, I should have dressed more formally! As an imperial minister, dressing like this will make people laugh at me!"

  The conversation between those two people made me laugh. They both treated handling state affairs as if it were something trivial. I said irritably, "You two don't have to worry that you'll be ridiculed for dressing simply; in the archives room of the government office, apart from the files, I think there aren't any big shots who will meet with you."

  "What is it, Duke? What are we going to do?"

  "Aren't you suggesting that we review and verify the number of people on the payroll? Let's go now, I'll take you with me! We'll find those who are falsely reporting! And severely punish them!"

  Verifying this kind of thing is very dull. Dozens of people hold a notebook and guard the various provincial warehouses in the political affairs courtyard, narrowing down the search scope to the town level according to the registration area divided by the political court, and then verifying the registered postal workers from the local name and age. Compared to accounting, this task is only slightly easier and simpler, but it's not much better either.

  No sooner had I done so than I too was working diligently, while those two postal ministers with hearts higher than the sky and who thought themselves extraordinary were getting impatient!

  "Your Excellency, as your advisors, our duty is to devise strategies for the great affairs of state! Summoning us to this archive room is a misuse of our talents!"

  "Right, people of our caliber can't be confined to this place! For trivial matters like auditing, you can just leave them to others!"

  "People who can't even handle small matters, yet they dare to think they can do great things? Not even begging would be possible for you, no one would want you!" I said with a cold smile.

  "Young man! Do you know who you are talking to? I am the greatest scholar in the Constantinople University district! My articles, my research, all of them are full of wisdom! You just insulted me! You'd better come over and apologize to me right now!"

  "Right, I sincerely apologize!"

  Two people quarreling loudly in the archives room made everyone stop what they were doing.

  "Older male cousin." I nudged Big Fatty with my arm, "Their salaries are issued together by the postal court, right?"

  Marcus's face was a little embarrassed, he nodded: "Two, one hundred and seventy soris in total."

  "Alright, the first two to be laid off from the Postal Court are you two. You two can get out of here, the Postal Court is too small and cannot afford to keep two great talents." I waved my hand at the guards by the door, "Take those two people away."

  "Your Grace!" The two scholars shifted their angry gaze from me to Marcus.

  The guard looked at me and then glanced at the duke.

  The latter glared at him: "What are you still dazing about? Take those two noisy guys out!"

  Those two guys with high eyes and low hands spent 170 Soris, which is the monthly salary of a team leader who manages 1,300 people in an imperial main force legion. The fat man really has enough to spare!

  After sending the two away, the corridor still kept coming with scolding and shouting. I said to Big Fatty: "I'm very curious, how did you invite those two idiots?"

  Fatso was very embarrassed. Because his three-entering-thatched-cottage journey was not particularly full of destiny. Simply put, Fatso passed by the university district wanting to find a few truly talented advisors, but passing by a cafe heard them talking about unclear but fierce things, just thought they were very fierce and opened hundreds of Solari's high salaries. But who knew, these two idiots couldn't do anything except brag!

  Marcus grew more and more indignant, more and more heartbroken: "To think I actually considered them to be real... Ah, never mind, I was blind!"

  I was just teasing this old brother, it turned out that he found me because I said a lot of unclear but powerful things at the meeting: "Give everyone who comes to work today a raise, add six aspers per person every day. If all the work is completed within twelve days, each person will be added three dinars, and fifteen days later, only one dinar. Exceeding this deadline, sorry."

  Six ars per day plus three dinars, which is more than one soris. For this type of clerk, the monthly salary will not exceed seven or eight soris, accounting for one-sixth of the salary, which is considered a high overtime pay.

  "You all heard that! Anyone who wants money had better get their spirits up! For the Empire!" Marcus bellowed, a thick, meaty arm shooting out into the air!

  The dozen or so clerks present were all stirred to enthusiasm by the big fat man's words: "Long live Rome! Long live Rome!"

  Mobilize the enthusiasm of subordinates, it's time to catch Big Fatty and redraft a proposal. His original one was all talk but no action, overly flattering, not practical at all. But even if it's rotten, it still has some use.

  "Let's keep the item of reducing personnel from the original proposal and delete all the other contents."

  "Is that it?"

  "What else do you want?"

  "Come up with something that's at least earth-shatteringly shocking!" Marcus said, immediately correcting himself, "Not asking for much, just shaving off a million or two soruds."

  "We'll talk about it later."

  It's better to open up than to block the flow. As for this fledgling postal region, I have some ideas of my own, but with the intention of letting this big guy suffer a bit before settling down, I won't say anything for now.

  To be honest, I wasn't quite clear about the magnitude of a beauty's energy. But after running into Big Fatty, I think it's necessary! The Empire really needs to launch a nationwide research project on morale-boosting topics, and beauties are naturally among the objects of study.

  So when the beauties of the Roman Empire introduce themselves, they have an extra title. This may not be a big deal for noblewomen, but for commoner beauties, I think they would be thrilled to tell their dates that they are research subjects at the Spiritual Quality Special Strategic Court Research Center of the Ministry of Military Affairs of the Roman Empire! Hmm, this is definitely more impressive than saying "I'm the daughter of some farmer", and it's enough to scare foreigners to death!

  Too happy, pay tribute to Da Vinci, the pioneer of human research...

  This idea has been lingering in my mind, but I really admire Big Fatty's affection for that lady he had never met. For several days in a row, he worked overtime and his excess fat seemed to have decreased significantly. And I, because of my frequent contact with this elder brother, was asked by the cheap old dad about the reason, I shared my thoughts in mind, and this guy immediately gave me the title of Assistant Consultant to the Minister of Posts. Along with that, he also threw over the Executive Officer of the Audit Court and two deputy hands.

  With the support of cheap old dad, big fat brother now has more reason to strive! Although before this, he didn't even know how many people were under him, how the whole department operated, or what the monthly expenses were.

  Fortunately, the Ministry of Posts had been roughly established by my grandfather in his time and recently several capable people were arranged by Old Cheap to be in charge of all matters in the department. Otherwise, it is hard to imagine what a mess the postal service of the whole empire would have become.

  The current Ministry of Posts has one court, two bureaus, and a total of 19,317 registered employees. This large-scale organization is the largest among all departments, but it includes more than 17,000 postal workers, with monthly expenses of only over 700,000 sols, and annual basic expenditures maintained at around 8.6 million, including miscellaneous expenses of no more than 9 million. However, if the expenses of long-distance postal workers in various places are added, this number will reach 11 million.

  It's not necessary for a keen-eyed person to see that there is something fishy going on. Compared with the annual expenditure of nearly 30 million by the Ministry of War and 18 million by the Navy, this amount is hardly worth mentioning, let alone compared with the annual expenditure of nearly 70 million by the Imperial Household Department. Even the Emperor's annual expenses are two to three times that of the entire department, totaling over 3.7 million.

  Seeing him so motivated, this kind of injustice is really not wasted. I went back to dig out a few reforms for the empire that I wrote idly and recalled how the postal service used to operate. The next day, I gave this old brother a reform plan that wasn't even considered a postal reform.

  I don't have the skill to write out a grand strategy like the Longzhong Plan or the Ten Strategies of Zhuge Liang, this reform plan is simple, put bluntly it's about opening up sources.

  In later generations, the post office was responsible not only for mail delivery but also for developing the philatelic and greeting card industries. Popularizing philately was too unrealistic, as the cost of paper and processing alone exceeded the consumption level of ordinary people. On the other hand, greeting cards had great potential. A few skilled painters were found from the university's art department to create samples, which were then printed on cardboard. The products were divided into three categories based on craftsmanship, aesthetics, and blessing messages, with the main consumers being wealthy individuals and nobles. New styles were released during holidays and special events, and limited editions were sold for major events. After auditing, the profits were offset against postal expenses, with excess funds surrendered to the imperial treasury and deficits supplemented by the imperial finance court. However, all initial costs were borne by this individual, and if the post office had a surplus profit each year, it could be used to repay his expenses.

  This old brother listened, gritted his teeth and did it! He actually took out 330,000 Sol as start-up capital in one breath! I didn't let him take action immediately. Let him contact a good painter, and then I'll let him wait until I contact him.

  As I watched Big Brother handle the audit alone, I slacked off a bit and sent Lyon with Hypatia and Crian to wander around, letting them arrange a meeting time with the literary girl on the way. Without phones or mobiles, it's just inconvenient, everything has to be dragged out, of course, I also let them keep an eye on the literary girl. Because I always feel like something bad will happen to her. Not only as the matchmaker for the guys hooking up with Constantinople, but also because Hecar's plan in the future needs to use her, I have to ensure the literary girl's safety.

  On the thirteenth day of returning to Constantinople, Krien appeared in the archives room of the political court on the fifth day I sent him to monitor Wen Yishao, looking flustered.

  Kerian beckoned me urgently from the courtyard.

  I put down what I was holding and handed it to the fatty, who gave me a look that made him suspiciously walk to the door. He whispered in my ear: "Something big has happened! Your Highness, something big has happened!"

  "Lionel told me to come tell you! The Holy Spirit's Sanctum from the Church has been mobilized! They say they're going to purify the entire Elyse Club! And throw all the blasphemers into the religious prison!" Klien exclaimed in a panic.

  The Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office, a place that claims to protect the spiritual purity of mortals, is actually engaged in a most unglorious activity - burning and destroying books. In plain words, it is a vanguard of religious power, consolidating the authority of the Church. As long as they feel that certain books harm the authority of the Church, they will try every means to erase the author and his works!

  I couldn't help but exclaim in surprise: "How did they offend the bunch of psychos at the Holy Spirit Institute? Ah, what is the Elysee Club?"

  "I don't know either, that's what Leon-sama said."

  "I thought for a moment and said: 'Let's not say anything else, let's go there and take a look at the situation first.'"

  I had two horses ready in front of the building.

  Kelian led the way in front, and the two of us rushed all the way to the university district. On the road, we successively met several of our own people who had also received the news.

  The outer woods surrounding the Elysian Building were quiet, and as I gazed at the elegant buildings inside, I drove my horse closer, only to hear occasional sounds of objects being moved around inside.

  "Oh God, those are my gold and silver plated vase, blue and white peony shield-shaped badge plate, Far Eastern blue and white gold-plated tea cup, these are all my personal belongings, they belong to me! You, you can't take them away!"

  "Silence! The bishop suspects that this is a vessel used for your wicked rituals! It must be taken back to the church for examination! If it's guilty, it will be destroyed!"

  "You're talking nonsense! Even if it were an evil ritual, where would these things be used?! These are cups and plates, we use them to drink coffee and tea! And that vase! What could a vase possibly be used for in a ritual?"

  "Exactly! Bloody hell! That mural was just bought from an auction! What does it have to do with the ritual, return it to me at once!"

  "Oh, you're so familiar with the evil ritual tools! Come on in! Have these two ladies used them before? Come on in! I suspect that these two so-called noble ladies have been possessed by an evil spirit. Take them back to the religious prison and let the Cardinal use the ritual tools to exorcise them!"

  "Don't come over! We haven't had that kind of ceremony! Really haven't!"

  "Take whatever you want and go..."

  "Don't touch us!!!"

  I stepped out of the path and saw a monk in black and gold robes scanning the chests of the noble ladies embracing each other, his eyes flashing with excitement as he spotted brooches and other small ornaments. He shouted to the stout priests on either side: "I sense an evil aura emanating from these brooches! Everyone put down your work and come take them off!"

  "Alright!"

  Several priests quietly put the heavy objects in their hands onto the large cart pulled by Mala, rubbing their hands as they approached the group of more than a dozen noble ladies, while behind them, many precious items were already piled up on the cart.

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