The Golden Throne

Chapter 248: The state of the kingdom

Liu Feng was in a well lit room. All around him, there were documents, and stacks of paper that completely covered him. As for Liu Feng himself, he was not exactly in the best state of mind.

“What the hell is happening here? Why is the king responsible for all this stuff? Why isn’t an official responsible for this? This is getting worse and worse by the minute.” Liu Feng raged.

He threw the documents that he had in his hand onto the ground.

“Your Majesty! Those are the city affairs! If anyone were to get hold of them-“

“They would laugh at the city for its pathetic state. The sewers are a mess, there is dung everywhere, and the slums are the worst place to live in the entire world. This is the capital for christ’s sake. Anyone who comes here should be grateful to this city. They shouldn’t be crying because they made the wrong choice. The money that we get from the city shall be put back into the city.” Liu Feng said coldly.

“But Your Majesty. The treasury can only hold on so long. We cannot afford to increase the taxes on the people. They will revolt.” an old man said.

“Minister. I am well aware that we cannot tax the citizens. But that does not mean that we cannot make any money. It is time that the government actually starts making some money. I have no idea why no one did this. The government shall start its own merchant troupe, and shall be buying all products from the farmers and artisans aggressively. We must work hard to get a monopoly.” Liu Feng said.

“But it will be very difficult to match the well established merchant troupes. They have much bigger manpower, and they have more resources.” the minister said.

“We have so much more power than them. The only thing that they possibly have over us is that they have a much bigger network. Do you know the hardest thing to do when putting up a merchant troupe? It is standing tall until that network is built up. And for that, you need money. The problem is, all the money in the kingdom is concentrated among the royalty, nobility, and merchants. The nobles couldn’t care less about how well the people are faring. The merchants also care about only themselves. It is upon us to create a competitor so that both the kingdom benefits and the people also benefit.” Liu Feng said.

“But Your Majesty, the problem is that we do not have enough money, is it not?” the minister asked.

“We have people. We can start paying them little by little, and there are so many people who would do anything as long as they get money. We will use them to start working on the most basic things of the city. Also, start requiring fees for anything that is considered a luxury. The ones who want it will be rich enough to pay.” Liu Feng said.

“Yes, Your Majesty. I only hope that you know what you are doing. At the rate that the kingdom is going, we can only go on for ten years. There are a lot of fixes that need to be made.” the minister said.

“I honestly don’t care about how long the money will last. At times like this, money will always come. I have ways to get money. That is not a problem. It is sustainability. And for something like that, we need people who can manage the money of the kingdom, and people that the kingdom can rely on. We need more educated people. The reliance of people on magic, something most of them can’t even use, is pathetic. We need to change things up a little.” Liu Feng said.

“Your Majesty. Magic devices are the only mass producible items that can sustain the lifestyle of so many people. I implore you not to ban any of the magic devices.” the minister said.

“Do you think I am an idiot? I might not like magic devices that much, but I know that we cannot do without them. Even I use them. I am saying that we also need an alternative. And for that, we need a rigorous education system. For the next week, send the most renowned and educated scholars to the palace. I will need to discuss some very important things with them.” Liu Feng said.

“As you wish, Your Majesty. No one will dare disobey your command.” the minister bowed.

“Good. Now that is done, let us talk about delegation. Why the hell am I taking care of such unimportant things as a sewer malfunction. That should all be taken care of by a lower official. Please don’t tell me that we are understaffed at such a time.” Liu Feng said.

“We are not understaffed, Your Majesty. It is just that the previous king wished to do all of these on his own. There was little else that he did. Rarely did the city ever increase its borders, and have any big changes. Generations of gradual change made the city what it is right now.” the minister said.

“Well, I know better than to just let stagnation occur. I would rather see the treasury empty than to see that nothing is happening. The role of a king is to make the citizens live better. And for that to happen, I should give them a chance to get better housing, better food, and better everything. I am sure that for the scholars to come to the palace, it will take some time. Just slot in a meeting with whoever is in charge of building in the city. The capital. I will focus on the capital first, and then take care of other cities and rural areas.” Liu Feng said.

“Your Majesty. The building work is undertaken mainly by two merchant groups. The Silver Moon group, and the Rock Tyrant group. I can arrange for their leaders to arrive here tomorrow.” the minister said.

“Good. Do that. I want to have a good talk with them.” Liu Feng smiled.

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