Doctor Amnesiac, but not completely amnesiac

Nicholas nodded and remembered the name.

"I-I don't understand, if this matter is harmful to the empire, then why would Witte support me in doing this?"

Anatoly was clearly in a state of confusion, but this meant that he was awakening from Beiwirt's bewitching state.

"You shouldn't ask why he supports you in doing this, but what benefits will this bring to him. The answer is very simple. Mr. Speaker, who comes from a commoner family, hopes to take this opportunity to become a [new noble]."

"...New nobles?"

Anatoly muttered.

"When the late emperor was at the height of his power, why did he insist on forcibly elevating the status of the Imperial Parliament? Why did he insist on supporting Witte as the Speaker of the Parliament, and maintaining the opposition between the civil servants and the nobles, so that one side would gain while the other would lose, and they would check and balance each other?"

"The answer is that he must leave a balanced political template for future emperors of Ursus, and cannot go back to the past, where nobles chose to be loyal to or play their own games depending on the strength of the emperor, which only increased internal friction."

The so-called parliament is the art of compromise. Only through mutual opposition and compromise between the two parties can they continuously promote the development of their respective ideas.

Of course, if one had the same outstanding abilities as Vladimir, he would naturally be able to integrate the two originally conflicting parties and use them all for his own benefit.

"There are no available people around the emperor now. The army is in the hands of your father. Civil servants of common origin gather around Speaker Witte. There are also nobles who have never been on good terms with the emperor. Grand Duke Nicholas must maintain the military's position as an opposition party. Therefore, Speaker Witte discovered an opportunity."

The man pointed to the portrait of Vladimir behind Nikolai.

"In the original parliament, it was Witte and his people who needed Vladimir's public support to fight against the nobles. Now, it is the emperor who needs their public support to fight against the nobles. This change in relationship is the most direct reason why he has become what he is now."

【Ambition.】

Kosice hit the nail on the head.

"So, he wants to obtain the status of a noble and complete the class leap from a commoner?"

"No, no, no, you underestimate him, Grand Duke Nicholas. What he wants is not status, but the qualification to sit on an equal footing with the nobles. He wants to be truly qualified to propose his own bills, rather than just being the emperor's mouthpiece in parliament."

"Merchants have enough money, so they are more eager for political status, just like Casimir. Do you think Witte and those people gathered around the emperor to protect the empire? No, they gathered around His Majesty to make the empire theirs."

Qiao Yelan laid out Witt's plan openly in front of everyone.

This was indeed the seed he planted, but he did not expect that the one who would bear fruit would be Witt, the person Vladimir once valued.

It was as if he thought the rebellion was started by nobles who were dissatisfied with the status quo, but in the end it was the troops who were ultimately loyal to Vladimir who raised the banner of rebellion.

But for Qiao Yelan, the difference is not that big——

After all, just use the backup plan.

"This is the real situation the empire is facing right now. It's not that the empire has no money, but that the central government simply can't collect it. And the empire is not short of money. At least Witte and the nobles can still spend a lot of money to play political games."

"From the beginning to the end, the only one that lacked money was the imperial military. This is because both the nobles and the civil service groups, although they were fighting for power, they also hoped to weaken the power of the military. This is their common demand at the moment."

This sentence made the blood vessels on Nikola's head thicker.

"Is there any way to solve this problem?"

"Yes - order each army group to reduce its size and pay them strictly according to the number of troops after the reduction, as a gesture of compromise."

what?

Nicholas was stunned.

"Let me put it this way - are your Second and Seventh Armies now fully staffed?"

"The staffing is insufficient and the gap is huge."

"Is the First Army now fully staffed?"

“It’s a complete empty shell.”

"So, after the Great Rebellion, which armies were fully staffed?"

"During the Great Rebellion, many people promoted by the late emperor personally took up arms. Only in the armies controlled by the nobles, the number of rebellious troops was very small, or there was no rebellion at all—"

Nicholas paused.

According to this statement, the downsizing plan that Qiao Yelan mentioned doesn't seem to have any impact on him at all?

Even after being downsized, the First, Second and Seventh Army Groups will still not be fully staffed, and the amount of military pay will only increase, not decrease, whereas those aristocratic armies will actually be downsized.

"Now the nobles and the civil servants want to suppress the military. This is not okay. We cannot become the target of public criticism. Therefore, the first thing to do is to destroy the tone of unity between the two parties."

"You took the initiative to propose a reduction in the number of troops, which is a gesture of goodwill to Witte and his men. Now that you have made a concession, these people will certainly accept it. Moreover, they can see that this proposal not only weakens the military, but also the nobles, so they will definitely support it with all their strength."

Qiao Yelan laughed.

"In this way, the suppression of the military has been accomplished in the eyes of the civilian officials. They no longer have any reason to cooperate with the nobles. On the issue of downsizing, they are on the same side as us."

"But the nobles will certainly object."

"Yes, they will definitely oppose it, and even point the finger at you. At this time, you have to learn to pass the buck and say that the Imperial Treasury cannot pay enough military salaries and that they have no choice but to do this, and throw the blame back."

Nicholas' eyes lit up. You know, the current Finance Minister Igor is on the noble side.

Either the nobles had to grit their teeth and let Igor cut off more interests and transfer them to the military in order to maintain their organization, or they had to accept the reality of downsizing.

People who are good at uniting are naturally also good at dividing. After all, this matter is worthless when it comes down to it - it's nothing more than a transfer of interests and contradictions.

Before Nicholas proposed downsizing, the nobles and civil servants stood together. After he proposed downsizing, they parted ways and turned to win over the military, which had chosen to show weakness.

The civil servants needed the military to stick to the downsizing plan, while the nobles needed the military to stop the downsizing plan - thus the situation changed from resistance from both sides to wooing both sides at the same time.

"In this case, we will eventually have to choose a side. After all, such a big thing will not be delayed for too long, otherwise they will become suspicious again. Should we support the downsizing and stand on the side of the civil servants, or resist the downsizing and stand close to the nobles?"

Nicholas looked at Qiao Yelan with eager eyes.

"It is imperative to reduce the army. The reason is very simple. There are no enemies around Ursus that can be easily defeated. In addition, it will take some time to recover from the domestic unrest. The next twenty years will be a peaceful truce. If we still maintain an overly large army, it will only drag down the empire."

The old man sighed softly. He knew that Ursus was indeed in a state of militarism, and the state of the army did not support a new war.

"In other words, we will stand on the side of the civil servants in doing this, reject the solicitation of the nobles, and firmly implement the downsizing?"

"It's right to firmly promote downsizing, but why should we choose one side? Since both sides want to win us over, we should naturally take this opportunity to get enough benefits from both sides - don't forget, we also represent an important political force in the empire, we are also [one side]."

Qiao Yelan bluntly rejected Nikola's words, but the other party did not take it as an offense at all, but nodded in agreement.

"But what should we do?"

"Talk to Speaker Witte. I think even if Fyodor doesn't tell him, this fox should be able to discover your true attitude. After all, you have worked together for so many years before. Therefore, you can make it clear to him that you are loyal to His Majesty and let Witte think that he can use you to do things for him."

"When someone feels that he can manipulate and use you, he will be more biased towards you in everything he does. This means that if the nobles want to make trouble for you and drive you out of office, Witte will definitely protect you because he is not sure whether the next person to come up will continue to support the emperor and him."

Qiao Yelan smiled.

"As for what we want from them - do you think an army group is enough?"

"what?"

This time Nicholas really jumped up.

"Can they promise to allow us to expand an army group while we are reducing our forces?"

"Of course there will be some exchange - we can give up the number of the First Army and exchange it for the number of the Sixth Army."

The corner of the man's mouth curled up in a sinister arc.

"The First Army belongs to His Majesty the Emperor, and now neither you nor His Majesty has the spare capacity to rebuild this army. Mr. Speaker is so smart that he will naturally understand whether the army I sent back should be given to His Majesty or to him."

Chapter 55: The Arrangements Are Clear

"Leave the transaction with Witt to me. It seems that I am the only one who can handle this position."

Qiao Yelan took over half of the work.

"As for the nobles, I'll leave it to His Excellency the Grand Duke."

"Okay, I'll negotiate over there. Anyway, I'll just pass the buck and complain, and see if we can get some money out of the Ministry of Finance."

Nicholas nodded.

"However, since we have to reduce our forces eventually, how can I appease those nobles who control the army?"

"It's very simple. The matter of downsizing still needs to be handled by the military. When the time comes, you just need to hint to them during the inspection. You can help them get away with it, and these nobles will be able to figure out what's going on."

This operation was familiar to Nicholas - Qiao Yelan meant to let Nicholas allow the nobles to draw salaries without doing anything.

In other words, the nominal organization of the group army will definitely be reduced, but this only determines the amount of military pay paid by the Ministry of Finance. As long as you have money, it is your own business how many troops you want to support, and the military will turn a blind eye.

To put it bluntly, these are essentially troops that were transformed from private armies to regular armies that received state pay, and then turned back into private armies again.

"Originally, the troops under these nobles were transformed from private armies to group armies in order to gain military merit during Vladimir's time. Now they are just back to square one. We just need to make it clear to them that the basic policy of [the military does not encourage the disbanding of the army] should be maintained."

This is what Qiao Yelan planned. After the great rebellion, in fact, more than half of Ursus’ military expenditure was paid for this group of aristocratic troops. Now it is difficult to increase revenue, so naturally they have to cut costs.

"But this matter cannot be covered up. After all, the number is too large and the scope is too wide. It will definitely be reported to the civil servants in the end. Will they take this opportunity to strangle us with financial means?"

"That's why we have to exchange the First Army's number for the Sixth Army's number."

Qiao Yelan laughed.

"Once, the army was only in the hands of you and the nobles. Witte and his men did not have a well-organized army, so they could use all the means to suppress the army, because this would only weaken your strength. But what if they also had an army group? Would they be willing to weaken it like this?"

Let me say it again, Qiao Yelan is very good at both unity and division.

"Yes, you condoned the nobles' behavior of not reducing the size of the army they controlled. This also means that you would condone the invisible expansion of the First Army under Witte's control. After all, the unspoken rule is to treat everyone equally. At most, you would collect money from both sides during the inspection."

Nicholas suddenly understood after hearing these words.

"I understand. We just need to keep the nobles stable. The rest of the problems will naturally be solved by the civil officials. What about us? We will also follow the unspoken rules and only carry out nominal downsizing?"

"How many of the armies can you sustain with the financial revenue you have, based on the original army organization? Don't forget, I still have to replace you with the Sixth Army."

The old Duke's expression froze, as this sentence hit the nail on the head - if he could figure out the economic issues, Vladimir would not have only let him be in charge of the military, and instead promoted Islam Witt.

"So just honestly restore the organization of your Second and Seventh Armies according to the new organization you made, and then rebuild the Sixth Army first. Having three armies is always better than one empty shell and two bloated ones."

Qiao Yelan waved his hand.

"If we expand, there will be opportunities in the future."

"still have a chance?"

"Of course, your proposal to downsize now is in line with the wishes of the civilian group. It can reduce military expenditures and weaken the military and the nobility, so they support it. But when the reconstruction of the First Army is completed, when the maximum invisible expansion cannot satisfy their desire for military power, what do you think they will do?"

The man yawned. He had been very busy today.

"Of course, they will come back to you and hope that you can come up with a plan to expand the army so that they can continue to expand their army - because at that time, expansion will be more in their interest."

"That's why I asked you to wait and rebuild the Sixth Army first. At least the staffing should be filled first. Then Witte and his First Army will almost reach its limit. Then you can naturally propose an expansion plan again. At this time, the expansion is in the interests of all three parties, so naturally no one will object."

The man smiled and spread his hands.

How can we make the policies proposed by the civilian groups less targeted at the military?

Just generously give them a portion of the troops.

When dividing the cake, as long as everyone has a share, everyone who gets the cake will take the initiative to protect it.

Qiao Yelan snapped his fingers, which not only helped himself wake up, but also woke up the two people who were immersed in fantasies about the outside world.

"Of course, that's all in the future. We have to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time. For now, what we need to do is to stop this action first."

"Chairman Witte and His Majesty have their own plans, and they will not let this plan be implemented for too long. However, I think this loophole cannot be opened, so I am determined to implement the blocking plan in advance. The most important point is that when this plan is launched, Anatoly must be the first to stand up and oppose it."

Qiao Yelan pointed at Anatoly.

"I understand. I will definitely cooperate with you."

Anatoly straightened his back.

"Just be careful - but even if this matter is prevented in advance, the nature of it is very bad, so we must choose someone with enough weight to be the scapegoat. Let me think... Well, the police chief sitting next to you, this position is not bad, the position is high enough, and it is just right for him to be the scapegoat."

"he is--"

"You don't have to tell me the name. I usually don't remember guys whose value has been exhausted."

The man interrupted Anatoly.

"Well, that's just right. The position of Police Chief has more dealings with the nobles and will help them deal with many shady jobs. After this person is used as a scapegoat, the military can use this position to make another new deal with the civil servants."

"Having someone from the Witte faction become the chief of police means that the nobles will easily have conflicts of interest with them. They can also use this position to disgust the nobles desperately, and it will be easy for them to clash with each other."

Qiao Yelan quickly divided the chain of interests.

"It just so happens that the downsizing will give way, so that the military will have made enough sacrifices. And after receiving your goodwill and cooperation, our dear Speaker Witte will definitely become the vanguard against the 'old aristocracy' - because suppressing you is also suppressing the power in his own hands."

"And Your Excellency the Grand Duke can take advantage of this window of opportunity when no one is looking for trouble to properly adjust the status of the Ursus army, cut down on what needs to be cut, rebuild what needs to be rebuilt, and then quietly wait for the empire's national strength to recover. Only then will the military really start to exert its strength."

Qiao Yelan coughed lightly and looked around.