Chapter 578 Government Reorganization
"Financial... Chancellor of Finance?"
Mason never expected that he was not the prime minister, but the second-in-command in the government after the prime minister. Originally, he thought he would be the Minister of the East or the Minister of Commerce at most, but he turned out to be the Minister of Finance.
"This was recommended to me by the prime minister, saying that you will definitely be qualified for this job. Your work in Dalmatia is very good, and you also contributed a lot to the previous peace treaty negotiations. This position belongs to you."
In fact, Mason's performance in the past ten years has been completely qualified, not only in government affairs, but also in diplomacy. The province of Dalmatia is responsible for providing low-priced grain to Switzerland every year, and it is remarkable that Mason can strike a balance between maintaining profits and maintaining relations with Switzerland.
Upon hearing this, Mason knew that he was about to enter the Senate and quickly expressed his allegiance to Peter. "I am willing to sacrifice my life for His Majesty and fight for the empire."
After so many years, he finally entered the center of the empire. He originally thought he would go down in history as a brave explorer, but now it seems that he should be added as a great statesman.
Peter smiled and continued: "There will be a banquet held in the palace in a few days, so come with your family. Theodore is also coming back. He was supposed to come back a few days ago, but who knew something happened in Sicily."
Mason heard what it meant. Something happened in Sicily, which meant that there was a sudden increase in pirates nearby. It must be Tunisia's fault, and there should be shadows of other countries behind it.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will leave first."
"Um"
Mason left the palace, unable to conceal his inner excitement any longer, and hurriedly asked the coachman to rush back. He wanted to explain the great news in person.
News of personnel changes in the Senate has spread, and it is not known who will enter and who will become the new prime minister. Parliamentarians also began to place bets. After various analyses, many people believed that Baptiste would become the new prime minister. However, other ministers had no specific ideas yet. After all, anyone was possible.
Listerine resigned as prime minister after giving his last report to Peter, eight years after he became prime minister.
Subsequently, Baptiste took over as prime minister, and Mason, a former high-ranking official in Dalmatia, became minister of finance. There were other changes in members, with Mason's brother Charles joining the Oriental Department to take charge of colonial affairs in Africa.
This series of changes allowed everyone to see that the power of a family continued to rise. Now it had entered the center, and it was not allowed to impact the position of prime minister in the future. Their minds began to be active again to see if they could rely on Mason to obtain an official position.
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In the evening, a banquet was being held at Listerine's mansion, and everyone came here to send blessings to the former prime minister. May he continue to perform well in his post in the Kyiv Province.
In a small room, Listerine and Baptiste, the former prime minister and the current prime minister, were talking.
"Baptiste, you came tonight, aren't you worried about your work report tomorrow?" Listerine asked with a smile.
"There is nothing to worry about about the report. The empire has developed more prosperously in recent years. Your Majesty will know that I have a lot of credit for this!" Baptiste was quite confident and said straightforwardly: "Okay. , stop pretending, you know why I came here to see you tonight! I want Ernest to be a high-ranking official in Dalmatia, and I need your support!"
Ernest was a friend of Baptiste's and had previously passed the exam to enter the imperial bureaucracy. Now the mayor of Belgrade, Baptiste wants to promote him to a high official, but this cannot be done without Listerine's help.
"Dalmatia, the situation there is more complicated than here. Although it is only done with His Majesty's permission, we must also listen to the opinions of former senior officials. Why don't you ask my dear Minister of Finance?"
"Do you support it? Or don't you support it? Speak frankly and don't be so long-winded." Baptiste said impatiently.
"Since you want this, don't be anxious. We will analyze the situation slowly and clearly before we can discuss a good countermeasure." Listerine said dissatisfied: "If you just want a happy word from me, fine! I agree, you can go back!”
"Okay! Okay! I was wrong, you say, you say." Baptiste had no choice but to give in.
"Ernest did a good job in Belgrade. Logically speaking, with such qualifications and political achievements, it shouldn't be a big problem to become a high-ranking official..." Listerine said.
"That is, Ernest not only made Belgrade the most populous city in the western part of the empire, but also turned in a lot of taxes every year. Isn't this a talent?"
Listerine suddenly grinned: "What do you think of Syria Province?"
"Syria... If we talk about the few years after the empire first conquered it, it was still very difficult to govern the people there. Now more than ten years have passed, and it has long been governed like other regions. There is no difficulty. As a result, it has no characteristics among the provinces of the empire.
The population in this area is not large, and the land area is not large. There is some fertile farmland, but the output is not ranked high. There is also some good livestock, and the land and sea trade is very good, but there are still a lot of pagans in the area.
"Syria has a characteristic that other regions do not have." The other party smiled mysteriously, and then said seriously: "It is closest to Mecca, close to the center of the pagans!"
Hearing this, Baptiste already knew what Listerin meant. The Empire's plan for Mecca was set in stone, but it was expected to be ready in ten years, and it was estimated that it would have to be set off in advance. Because the current international situation is changing too fast.
"If it is Syria, then it is probably OK. The Empire has invested millions of lei in the east in the past few years, and now it should have some effect. Moreover, if it is a direct attack, Syria is also an important logistics supply hub. Isn't this status important?"
Baptiste was tempted by this. Now officials go to good places to work. There are also people in the eastern region who want to take up the position, but it is still not as popular as the western region. Now he takes the initiative to fight for it, and His Majesty will definitely appreciate them.
"In this case, there should be no problem. I will also let someone say good things to His Majesty, but I hope you can do this job well."
Baptiste heard the words inside and said confidently: "Don't worry about this. The subsidy for Kiev Province will be approved first."
The two reached a deal here, and outside, more negotiations were going on.