After returning from Aaliyah's place, Chen Xing suddenly remembered that the No. 89 Citizen Cemetery where Su Xuefei was located was too dilapidated and planned to ask the finance department to allocate a sum of money for repairs.
Although he put all the responsibility on Ricardo, in fact he was very self-blame. If you didn’t treat others well when you were alive, whatever you do after death will be a drop in the bucket, but what you can do counts.
So he asked Lao K to call the Minister of Finance and ask him to allocate 10,000 gold coins.
The Minister of Finance hesitated a little, "Prime Minister, we can pay for this money, but, but"
He hesitated to speak, looking like he was in a dilemma. Chen Xing couldn't help but frown, and said with some displeasure, "It's not straightforward to allocate 10,000 gold coins. Are your finances so tight?"
"No, it's not." The finance minister waved his hand quickly, but in the second half of the sentence, he began to hesitate again, "It's just, it's just."
"It's just nothing!" Chen Xing became impatient and raised his voice, "If you have any questions, just say it, don't act like a woman!"
The finance minister was trembling with fear. He took out his handkerchief and repeatedly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Prime Minister, I, I" he held it in for a long time, and finally said it out under Chen Xing's increasingly darker expression, "I am A subject of the Red Dragon Principality"
This sentence seemed to be wrong and the answer was wrong, but Chen Xing immediately woke up.
He is the Prime Minister of the Northern Alliance, not the Prime Minister of the Red Dragon Principality.
The feudal enfeoffment system has the most famous saying: "The vassals of my vassals are not my vassals." This means that although the Red Dragon Principality is a vassal state of the Northern Alliance, Aaliyah, as the lord of the Northern Alliance, has no authority to govern the officials of the vassal state and can only issue orders through the Red Dragon Duke.
Even Aaliyah didn't have this power, and Chen Xing, who was given the power by her, certainly didn't either.
Therefore, the Finance Minister of the Red Dragon Principality has the right to reject Chen Xing's request. But after all, he is a superior, so even if he refuses, he dare not say it openly, not to mention that ten thousand gold coins is not a large amount. It's just that the teacher has no name and can't keep accounts.
Thinking a little deeper, Chen Xing suddenly realized that he had overlooked a very important thing.
That is, Aaliyah and Trilis are in completely different situations.
Cuilisi's southern government sits on the Ice Blue City and has a directly governed Golden Powder Port. Although most of the fiscal revenue will be used to raise the Dragon Scale Guards and the Imperial City Guards, both places are very wealthy. One is the thousand-year imperial capital, and the other is the largest port in the kingdom, with generous taxes. Excluding military expenditures, there is more or less a surplus.
Aaliyah's Northern Alliance is a wandering government that has no territory at all and lives in a vassal country.
Although Cuilisi made a mess and made the Ice Blue City into a mess and everyone was in danger. When Chen Xing took over, the government was in a state of semi-paralysis and the economy was in a mess. However, with the help of A Qiaomu's black prison troops to purge the old power dignitaries, She collected a large amount of property and enriched her small treasury.
But Aaliyah couldn't do this. Even if she wanted to kill the goose to lay eggs and purge the powerful people in the Lizard City, it would be the Red Dragon Archduke who would do it, and the profits would belong to the Maris family.
What's more, the dignitaries in Lizard City are far less rich than the dignitaries in Ice Blue City. They amass wealth in the center of power, and the wealth they accumulate is not of the same level at all.
In comparison, Alia's Northern Alliance is dirt poor. Although the vassal country pays tribute regularly, it is now a war period. The economies of various countries have been affected to varying degrees, and tax revenue has dropped significantly. Moreover, she also expects the vassal country to send troops to fight for her. War costs money, so we can't expect them to pay much tribute.
"I'm sorry, it was my lack of consideration. You should go back first." Chen Xing said, rubbing his brows. Even if he is the prime minister who is inferior to one person and superior to ten thousand people, he must admit when he has made a mistake, otherwise he will not be able to convince the public.
"Prime Minister, it's actually no problem for us to contribute this money. Even if I contribute the money alone, or find a few friends to chip it in together, it's no problem." The finance minister said flatteringly.
Chen Xing waved his hand and refused, "Thank you for your kindness, I will solve it."
The finance minister wanted to say something else, but Chen Xing ordered him to be kicked out. "If there is any need in the future, I will come to you. I still have things to do, so you should go back first."
Although the other party has good intentions, as the Prime Minister of the Northern Alliance, it is impossible for him to owe a favor for a mere 10,000 gold coins.
"Yes, yes." The finance minister nodded and bowed out.
After the other party left, Chen Xing thought about it carefully and found that the situation was worse than he expected. In the entire Northern Alliance, not to mention a bunch of bureaucrats like Ice Blue City, there are only a few people available.
Lacey and Yeyang Bailiu can only be counted as half.
In addition to being the chief guard of the Northern Alliance, Lacey is also the eldest princess of the Red Dragon Principality.
Ye Yang Bailiu has two identities, one is the great priest of the Northern Alliance, and the other is the branch president of the Iron Sisters.
No matter in terms of interests, emotions, or responsibilities, they cannot fully serve the Northern Alliance, so they can only be counted as half.
Then there’s the Princess Guards.
According to Chen Xing's memory from his previous life, the Princess Army is an idol group composed of a group of beautiful girls, and its viewing effect is greater than its actual combat effect.
You have to be young, you have to be beautiful, and you have to have a certain amount of talent. These three conditions are already harsh enough. If you add administrative ability to the list, you probably won't be able to recruit people.
Facing the current situation of the Northern Alliance, Chen Xing was so worried that he didn't sleep well all night. He woke up Margulies, the intern secretary of the Prime Minister's Office, early in the morning and rushed to the Guard's Camp to convene a meeting.
"Margulies, starting from tomorrow, you will stay at the guard's office as an intern." Chen Xing ordered halfway.
"Master, why do you keep kicking me around!" Margulies said with some dissatisfaction, "I was an intern in the Staff Department before, yesterday I was an intern secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, today I am an intern in the Guards Department, and tomorrow I will be an intern in the Security Department." Where are you going to kick me?"
"Isn't this because I value you?" Chen Xing coaxed, "You are one of the people I trust most. Wherever there are difficulties, you are needed."
"Really!" "When did master lie to you?"
Under Chen Xing's coaxing, Margulies was filled with joy and happily agreed to change departments.
Since Lacey went to Wuwuxu to take over the territory, and Yeyang Bailiu was dealing with the internal affairs of the Great Holy Church, both of them were away, so Ye Yangqingyan, the head of the logistics guard, was responsible for receiving him.
When she saw him again after an absence of half a year, Ye Yangqingyan acted a little coy, her eyes flickered, and she did not dare to look directly into his eyes.
The other party had broken up with him before, and even said a very classic saying, "I didn't expect you to be such a person." It would be strange if it wasn't embarrassing.
Chen Xing called Ye Yangqingyan in front of him, stared at her with squinted eyes for a while, and said, "Let's have a meeting today, and I'll settle the score with you later."
Ye Yang Qingyan didn't dare to look into his eyes, lowered her head, nodded obediently, then twisted her buttocks and went to notify the female officers at the guard's office.
Since the Guard's Office is a military camp, everyone lives here, and it didn't take long for everyone to arrive.
They all looked like they had just finished washing up, with blurry eyes. It seems that the guards are usually pampered masters who have more money and less work.
However, these female officials were still very polite when they saw Chen Xing, saying "Good morning, Prime Minister", bowing at ninety degrees, and their attitude was very enthusiastic.
In the conference room, Chen Xing sat at the top, flanked by Ye Yang Qingyan, the chief of the logistics guard, Lan Xueqi, the messenger of Qianzhu, Ryoko Ito, the medical officer, the twins Hitomi Shiraishi and Ying Shiraishi, and the newly appointed interns from the guard department. Margulies.
"Today's cabinet meeting of the Northern Alliance is held to understand the organizational structure of the Northern Alliance and to arrange future work." Chen Xing announced.
Probably because they were used to leisure, except for Margulies, the women in the guard's office all looked confused when they looked at me.
Seeing that several women did not understand, Chen Xing asked about the affairs that each of them was usually responsible for.
The result is that you won’t know if you don’t ask, but you will be shocked if you ask.
Bai Shitong and Bai Shiying were not officers, but they were called to make up the numbers because they knew Chen Xing, so that the conference table would not look empty.
Ryoko Ito is a military doctor in the Guards Department. She usually adjusts the diet and performs physical examinations on the girls to ensure their health and beauty.
As a logistics officer, Ye Yangqingyan is even more extreme. Apart from playing with cars, he occasionally takes everyone out to eat, drink and have fun, and knows nothing about politics.
Lan Xueqi is a little better and has a more stable personality, but the scope of her job is very small, which is to convey the orders of the Northern Princess. To put it bluntly, she is just a messenger.
After working on it for a long time, it turned out that they were just a group of little girls who were just having fun, just like the canaries raised in the royal garden. They don't know anything about the internal affairs of the Northern Alliance.
If they have any merit, it is that they are generally young and beautiful, and have strong publicity capabilities. What's more, with the Northern Princess's investment regardless of cost, all kinds of precious materials can be obtained on demand, so everyone is very powerful.
But it is really against the law to ask these delicate and beautiful girls to go to the battlefield. Compared with the general army, the Princess Guards is more like an incubation pool for future strong men.
Perhaps in the near future, a group of strong men from the holy realm will be born among them, even legends, but for now, they are just a department that burns money and does not work.
Chen Xing asked how much money was left in the Northern Alliance's treasury. Ye Yangqingyan couldn't tell clearly. The person in charge of the money was the chief of the bodyguard.
Lacey gave her a fixed amount of expenses every month based on the number of people in the guard department, as well as the evolution potions and undercurrent relics in the material warehouse, as well as various valuable vehicles and military supplies.
Ye Yangqingyan is a typical moonlight person who uses up her budget every month. Chen Xing visited the garage and dormitory and found that they were all luxury goods.
Even Margulies, who was born as a noble lady, was a little surprised that some things were used better than hers.
Not to mention the various top-notch luxury cars in the garage, not to mention the seven or eight sets of customized military uniforms, shoes, and accessories from world-famous brands per person, not to mention the customized skin care products from West Africa Pharmaceuticals. Even the daily mouthwash cups, toothbrushes, and even sanitary napkins are all custom-made by famous brands, with the small logo of the guard office printed on them, which is extremely luxurious.
Compared with the rustling grass in Su Xuefei's cemetery, it really feels like the stench of rich wine and meat, and the feeling of freezing to death on the road.
There was no way, there was no one in charge among this group of people, so Chen Xing had to ask them to bring the holographic projector to the conference room and let Lacey participate in the meeting.
When asked about the financial situation of the Northern Alliance, Lacey spread her hands and said just two words, "No money!"
The reason is that all the donations from various countries have been used to raise the Princess Guards, and there is not a single pawn surplus in the treasury. Chen Xing estimated that Lacey was corrupt. No matter how extravagant the Princess Guards were, there were only more than 200 people. It was impossible to spend all the offerings from the four principalities of Red Dragon, Black Feather, Silver Claw, and Water Weasel.
Lacey most likely used the money to help support her Second Red Dragon Army. In addition, Ye Yang Bailiu may also participate in it, take a share of the pie, and help his own steel sisters.
But there was nothing he could do against these two big corrupt officials. Unlike Aqiaomu, they could grab each other's pigtails and scrape oil hard. They are not only important ministers of the Northern Alliance, but also have their own forces behind them, unlike Aqiaomu who can only rely on Trilis. Once you lose power, you can only be at the mercy of others.
After some talking, Chen Xing learned that the Northern Alliance currently has only two sources of income.
One is the tribute from the vassal country, but as Lacey said, they are all used to raise the Princess Guards.
Another option is to let Aaliya go hunting in the Zero Zone to help supplement the expenses. Last time, because of the failure of the Red Dragon Third Army to attack Chiyan, Aaliyah had to find a way to solve the problem by herself because she was saddled with a heavy pension.
But the last time she came back, Aaliyah was injured. Although it was not serious, just some superficial injuries, she also recovered for a period of time.
Due to the conservation of energy, Ye Yang Bailiu's great healing technique was somewhat limited to use on Aaliyah, as if raindrops fell into the dry desert and were absorbed in an instant. During this period, if a king's war breaks out, the consequences will be disastrous.
"It is really the minister's sin to let the master take risks because of his own lack of ability."
"The Prime Minister has one city and one port, so his treasury should be quite full, right?"
Lacey's words hinted that Chen Xing would use funds from the southern government to help here.
But this is absolutely impossible. Although Chen Xing is playing chess on both sides, the boundaries between Chu and Han still need to be clearly distinguished. Using one woman's money to help another woman, there is no way he would be able to do this kind of scumbag behavior.
When there is a financial problem, it is necessary to increase revenue and reduce expenditure.
The issue of saving money seems to be a bit difficult. It is not that easy for either Lacey or Ye Yang Qingyan to get money from a woman's fingers.
Since reducing expenditure is not enough, start with open source.
Chen Xing thought for a long time, looking at the beautiful faces, and suddenly an idea came to him.
"You can sing, dance and perform, right?" Chen Xing asked.
The girls looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what the Prime Minister was selling in his gourd, but they all nodded.
Women are all born actors, the more beautiful they are, the better they are.
"In this way, I thought of a good way to make money." Then Chen Xing expressed his thoughts in detail.
"concert tour!"
After hearing his description, Ye Yang Qingyan covered her mouth and looked at him in shock.
"To be precise, it's the tour performance of the super girl group." Chen Xing added.
Not to mention anything else, more than two hundred beauties stood on the stage, and the tickets were not received. They may not be good at anything else, but flirting and selling sweetness are the unique skills that the guards are good at.
"Wow, it seems very exciting!" "Shiraishi Hitomi, don't make such a fuss!" the two Shiraishi sisters shouted.
"Where are you going to perform?" Lan Xueqi asked calmly. Now that there is a state of war everywhere, who is still in the mood to watch the show?
"Ten city-states!" Chen Xing designated the country, and everyone fell into thinking. During the Red Civil War, the ten city-states stayed out of the conflict and were in a period of peace.
In the end, even Lacey admitted that this plan was feasible.
It's really unreasonable to raise a group of beautiful girls with such a huge expense and not have any income.
Next, the beauties expressed their opinions and discussed the specific implementation plan of the tour.
After a few hours, the meeting ended. Before the meeting ended, Chen Xing thought about the renovation of the cemetery again, and was about to talk to Ye Yang Qingyan, but when he looked at the other party's big eyes with water flowing and stars rippling, he suddenly felt at a loss for words.
He was certain that if he dared to ask the other party to pay for repairs to Su Xuefei's purpose, he would probably be jealous on the spot and fall out with him regardless.
So in the end, this matter could only be paid for by himself.
Returning to the Prime Minister's Office, he transferred 10,000 gold coins to Lao K and asked him to handle the matter. The matter of repairing the cemetery has come to an end.
