A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 232 Financial Report to the King

"In summary, the nobles spare no effort to protect all their special interests, and the church is basically in agreement. The only ones willing to cooperate with Minister Necker's proposal are us mages."

Ironically, on the eve of the High Council, leaks of information about the mining company from the Magic Guild caused Necker's plot to fail; but at the High Council, only the archmages of the Tower of Stars and the Tower of Thunderstorms cast their votes in his favor from beginning to end.

Duplesci, however, used his influence among the nobility and the Church of Order to persuade them to continue paying taxes to keep the kingdom afloat. He was not against reform, but his demands for higher transaction and stamp duties clashed with those of the robed nobles, so he had to win over the sword-wielding nobles and the Church, making compromises and sacrificing Necker.

With the Finance Minister's "radical" proposal preceding it, his proposal was more "amiable".

Paulina was somewhat puzzled: "Looking at the meeting minutes, I think Mr. Necker's plan is very good. He neither blindly favors the king nor completely eliminates the interests of the nobility, and he leaves more room for commercial development and the common people."

"If this can be implemented, it will not only improve the kingdom's dire finances, but also make the kingdom's administration more efficient."

"Because the nobles and archbishops are all bastards!" Pascal first threw out the conclusion he'd heard from the club: "These people complain about losses just because they earn a little less, and they claim they'll starve to death if they eat a little less, completely ignoring how many people really can't afford bread!"

Rorschach shook his head: "But I think many nobles are really in a situation where 'eating less will starve to death.' His Majesty the King himself is running out of money, and the other nobles aren't much better off."

From the reign of Charles XIV onwards, the kingdom's extravagance intensified, a trend that became a burden not only on the Holy Kingdom but also on many nobles. To maintain their lavish lifestyle, their expenses grew ever larger, leading many traditional landed nobles to experience financial imbalances and resort to high-interest loans from merchants.

"Mr. Pierre told me that many minor nobles and even counts were on the verge of bankruptcy. Reducing their income from woodlands and serfs would have a huge impact. They had to firmly protect their special interests, even by constantly encroaching on rural commons and extorting money from trading companies, in order to maintain the nobles' expensive food, clothing, housing, and social life."

Extravagance and financial crisis permeated the kingdom's overall climate, as well as the local climate among the landed nobles, affecting every level of the kingdom.

"Judging from the composition of the attendees, the church should be divided into two parts. One part consists of bishops and other high-ranking church officials, whose interests are aligned with those of the nobility and who are essentially of the same ilk. The clergy representatives, on the other hand, are more inclined towards the poor and are willing to relinquish church interests, but they dare not voice any dissenting opinions from the bishops. They need Deplesi to stand up and support them."

This can be seen from the speech given by the clergy representative.

After finishing organizing, typing, and proofreading, and reviewing the entire meeting, Luo Xia concluded: "Neither the Prime Minister's compromised plan nor the issuance of new currency has truly defused the 'crisis' bomb; it has merely attached a longer fuse."

The next day, in a mansion, the "Friends of Fraternity and Equality" club.

"(Same as above, omitted). It's just connecting a longer fuse." Pascal brought firsthand news of the high-society meeting, along with his own insightful commentary.

The club erupted in enthusiastic applause, and even Maxim put down his orange to listen attentively to Pascal's report and applauded him.

"The inside information Thor brought us is very important; his analysis of the various factions at the meeting is extremely thorough." The club president's two "extremely" statements were a high affirmation of Thor's membership, making everyone else look at this guy who liked to doze off in a new light.

"Why isn't there an analysis of the mage representative's position? I think that proposal from the Star Tower chief is quite interesting." Floran, still wanting more, asked if he could have some more.

Uh... Rorschach didn't say that! Pascal regretted not talking more with his junior; otherwise, he might have been the star of the club today.

"I have my opinion," came Karal, a lawyer struggling financially, even though he had passed the exam to represent clients in the Supreme Court.

The reason for this is that he has the most unacceptable flaw in this profession—a stutter! This man often goes to the club with his fierce-looking friend, and today he's unusually quiet:

"The magic guilds are not only composed of spellcasters, but also include a large number of businesses that generate wealth for spellcasters. Although they enjoy preferential tax rates within the kingdom, the landed nobles and the church hinder their development. They urgently need a more just government and are confident that they can defeat other market and political rivals in a fairer environment."

"You mean to say that the two high-ranking monks attending the meeting are not only representatives of monks, but also representatives of businessmen?"

Floran shook his head: "I think it's just part of the deal. The magic guild has always provided protection to its affiliated trading companies."

Although Karal's speech was not very fluent, his thinking was still clear. He saw through Kano's attitude and position, and his analysis coincided with the Archmage's speech at the Magic Guild.

The workshop owners and other merchants in the club were more concerned with something else: "Thor, could you explain the regulations governing the distribution of new goods?"

But before Pascal could recall his junior's comments, an intruder interrupted his thoughts.

The young man who burst in held up a small booklet, its ink still wet: "Sorry I'm late. Did you read it?"

"What are you looking at?" Maxim took the new printed material brought by the latecomer. It wasn't from any activist, but from the resigning former Finance Minister, Necker.

"A financial report to the King? Why is it in your hands?" Holding such a royal secret is a bit too hot to handle.

"No, you've misunderstood. This was commissioned by Necker and published in large quantities. You could jump into the Seine and see people reading it!"

This is certainly an exaggeration, but it is true that the book spread like wildfire in the capital as soon as it was published.

At the council of dignitaries, the meat-eaters present demanded that Necker disclose the kingdom's finances to them. Necker did half of that: he did disclose everything, but to all the people!

Although the inscription was addressed to the King, Necker took it upon himself to distribute it throughout the kingdom.

"I hope to awaken all the people of the kingdom, to make them aware of the calamity facing the kingdom and the small efforts I have personally made. I wish to make all the details public so that His Majesty and the kingdom may understand my actions and my ideals."

Maxim calmly read the "last words" on the title page, quickly scanned the table of contents, turned to the sections on "Royal Expenses" and "Peerless Pensions," and read them aloud to all the members:

"Royal expenses amount to 22 million lang, with 10.6 million lang in royal stipends and annuities for nobles. Interest to be repaid amounts to 41 million lang, while this year's projected tax revenue is only around 100 million lang. To cover public expenses, at least 20 million lang will need to be borrowed in new debt!"

Maxim's face turned pale with anger: "The farmers have a bountiful harvest but cannot fill their stomachs, the laborers have a sick body but cannot get medical treatment. They have given everything to Valois, yet more than half of the money is used for the enjoyment of those who do not work!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, anyone with a conscience and common sense can see from the numbers above who the parasites of the kingdom are. The irrefutable evidence is in my hands!"

Thank you to readers "理心" and "千金散尽红袖招" for the monthly tickets!

Thank you to the readers "Red Cell 2002", "Naming is Really Difficult", "Tree Cat Andy", "Luoyan Lingxinghua", "rcliu", "k3620455", "The Missing Person", "A Thousand Faces of a Common Man", and "Thirty-Six Pigeons" for their recommendation votes!

(End of this chapter)