Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 387 Civil Service System
It's no secret that the prince sometimes stands alone on the deck, admiring the scenery or even talking to himself.

Since reaching an agreement with Hughes, the prince has been eager to board the ironclad ship to return to Castells.

The reconstruction and restoration of Blood Harbor are still in the early stages. The victims need to be comforted, and the extent of the disaster needs to be assessed. Logically, the prince should not be taking over the territory at this time, but he did just that.

The prince gave only brief instructions before handing the work over to Galahad and the bureaucrats he had promoted, and boarded the ironclad warship without even a servant.

Hughes couldn't tell whether it was bravery or recklessness. If he had even the slightest idea about this Grand Duke Tiss, he could have made him die in Castel without leaving any evidence.

Later, Hughes thought about it and realized that perhaps it was his refusal to swallow Blood Harbor that inexplicably earned the prince's trust. Who knows what this guy, whose actions were always unpredictable, was thinking?

The guards on board deliberately kept their distance from the prince, after all, this was Castel's ship, and getting too close could easily be mistaken for surveillance.

But the prince always took the initiative to contact the Guardians of the Church, chatting with them whenever he had the chance, and occasionally borrowing holy books to read.

He never discussed sensitive topics, never asked about weapons or equipment, but was very interested in Castells' system.

Hughes did not follow the imperial civil service system on the island. The thirteen-rank civil service system was extremely advanced for the time, providing a path for talented people at the bottom to move up.

But it was not advanced enough because it did not completely remove the nobles from the bureaucracy.

The thirteen-level civil service system ultimately left a way out for the nobility.

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, nobles were able to exploit various loopholes. For example, civil officials of the eighth rank or above could receive titles and rewards. So how could one be promoted from the eighth rank to the seventh rank?

Seniority alone won't cut it; you have to produce results.

However, civil servants at this level are not qualified to act as independent councilors, so they are not given any work that can produce results, which is a vicious cycle.

But nobles are different. They can help each other within the system, and things that are insurmountable for ordinary people can be solved by nobles with a flick of their fingers.

If this continues, the aristocratic families will inevitably regain control of the empire.

Why not resolve this? Is it because the Empress doesn't want to?

These paths were deliberately left behind by the Empress. It's simple: the foundation of her rule was the nobility. Without the nobility, no one would carry out her orders. She didn't leave any way for the nobility to cooperate, and even the civil service system couldn't be implemented.

The empire belongs to the nobles, not the commoners. She is the empress of the nobles, and giving the commoners a path is already a huge compromise for the nobles.

As long as she remains on the throne, she will never be able to resolve this matter.

Unless it's all started from scratch.

The reason she was able to kill all the nobles in Blood Harbor was because these restrictions were no longer in place. The thirteen-level civil service system had cultivated a large number of low-level bureaucrats with management experience. Even without noble management, these people could still maintain the operation of the territory.

Of course, this civil service system has made Blood Harbor what it is today, but it has also shackled its future.

The empress was willing to fake her death and start over, so naturally she wouldn't allow the nobles to regain power. But how to reform them was something she didn't know either; this was something that had never happened before in history.

But Castel was different.

From the very beginning, Hughes never engaged in the system of aristocratic enfeoffment.

He is a border count with a high degree of autonomy; Castells is his country.

Hughes also had no historical baggage or resistance to reform. As long as he didn't want to be an aristocrat, no one in the world could use the aristocracy to pressure him. His experiences before transmigrating had taught him how destructive a system could be once a loophole was opened.

Hughes directly regarded the examination as the most important indicator for the selection of civil servants.

To climb the ranks within the civil service, one must possess both grassroots management experience and advanced training; to wield power in a particular area, one must have relevant work experience.

For example, Gaia was in charge of managing the explosives production line, so she had to have worked on that production line before she was allowed to take on a superior position in that area.

Even though Alexei had personally led troops into battle, he was only allowed to serve as a military officer in the Christian Guard.

The only exception might be Chloe, who did not die before becoming a representative of the casualties.
This set of rules was somewhat complicated and cumbersome, but people didn't complain much—Castel was Hughes's fiefdom, an absolute one-man show, and no one could say anything even if he wanted to act against the tide, let alone a slightly troublesome system.

After all, it has given people at the bottom a way to move up in society.

The people of Castells did not understand the deeper meaning behind Hughes's actions, but Isabella did not.

As the empress of the empire, she was constantly thinking of ways to save this vast empire, and even went so far as to fake her death and give up her power and status to start over.

The system designed by Hughes may seem unremarkable at first glance, as if it were something the lords came up with on a whim, but the more carefully you examine it, the more you discover its ingenuity.

The greatest advantage of this civil service system is its stability; the bureaucrats selected must be proficient in practical matters and possess considerable scientific literacy.

However, its drawback is a lack of initiative; it does not encourage risk-taking through institutional means.

This part was supplemented by Hughes himself. The research directions he set were often unexpected, but in the end, they always proved to be correct.

Moreover, judging from the evasive attitude of those guardians of the faith, Castell must have another system in place to maintain checks and balances, just like the Empire's alchemist system, and scientific research should have its own independent operating mechanism.

Isabella had come to the conclusion that he was unwilling to reveal this to her, based on several days of casual conversation.

Why can't it be made public? There's no need to guess; it must involve some taboo. It's said that an evil god is burning in the furnace on the island, and there might be another one being worshipped.

It's even possible that Hughes established a new cult around himself; she wasn't entirely unaware of the Secret Order's affairs.

But none of that matters. The corrupt system is more dangerous than the evil god. Isabella would rather cooperate with the evil god than trust those nobles.

Castel, how many more surprises can you give me?

Thinking of this, her gaze slowly fell on the transparent spirit beside her.

“Prince, I have only one request of you.” She lowered her voice.

"what?"

"Listen carefully, there must be many amazing things on that island. You've already heard what Galahad said. When you see it, don't make any embarrassing noises like you did when you saw the airship."

"W-what! I'm not that weak. Besides, you haven't even been to the island. You might end up just as pathetic as Galahad!"

"Ha, how could that be?" Isabella sneered. "I am the Empress of the Empire. What haven't I seen?"

(End of this chapter)