Chapter 452 Privy Council

The biggest change in this financial meeting is that the Eastern Yamen has received an investment of nearly 500,000 lei in the next three years. It is also the largest allocation.

The allocation here includes the cost of colonial governance, expansion, immigration, and exploration of southern Africa, Southeast Asia and other regions.

The people in the Household Registration Department plan to do a big job. Their goal is to increase the number of immigrants from the current 1,200 to 10,000 per year. To this end, they have promoted the benefits of the Eastern colonies and promised that anyone who arrives there can get a piece of land. Some people who can't make a living are ready to sign up with their families.

Rome's actions made the three countries in the western Mediterranean jealous. Portugal, Castile and Aragon all began overseas exploration, but their achievements were insignificant compared to Rome. They only colonized the Canary Islands, and there were no other discoveries.

King John I of Portugal was later called the founder of Portugal's heyday, but now he is still worried about his already meager income.

Portugal has basically completed the Reconquista, which should be a happy thing, but the land in Portugal has been distributed, the population is still increasing, and the king dare not fight the local tyrants of the church, so he can only turn to the blue land - the ocean for development.

In fact, he has not thought about land development, but he gave up because he felt that he could not beat Castile. He just wants to gain wealth for Portugal now, but it seems that it is not possible now?

The King of Castile also thinks so, or more accurately, the Regency Council thinks so, because the new king is less than two years old. Their ministers have to temporarily serve as regents. Although they have colonized the Canary Islands, they have not received any rewards.

For their mortal enemy in the Mediterranean, Rome must be contained. Especially after the other party occupied Rome, this has risen to the level of religion, and the recovery of Rome has become the ultimate goal of these Catholics.

A few days later, Prime Minister Listerin also took out his own plan and handed it to Peter. In this plan, he planned to combine service and taxation, collect money uniformly, and use part of the money to hire people to work. At the same time, all taxes paid will be changed to currency, and in-kind taxes will be abolished.

The Senate is going to implement it in a pilot program around Constantinople, and then gradually spread it to other places. For economically backward areas, in-kind taxation will still be used as a transitional stage.

In response to the population problem that the emperor is concerned about, the prime minister came up with a very epoch-making idea, which is to abolish the head tax.

Since the head tax suppresses the fertility rate, it should be abolished. I have to admit that this idea is really epoch-making. But now it is really not possible. The head tax is one of the important taxes of the empire and cannot be easily abolished.

"Prime Minister, I am very satisfied with yours, but I don't know if you are tired in the Senate?"

Peter suddenly asked about Listerin's health. The prime minister thought that this was the emperor's concern for him and said quickly.

"Your Majesty, don't worry, I am in good health."

But obviously this is not the emperor's ultimate goal. Peter is ready to let the prime minister take a rest.

"Really? That's great. After all, the prime minister is the center of the empire. I don't know what to do without the prime minister."

Hmm? There is some gunpowder in the air. Listerin was a bureaucrat who had been working for more than a decade, and he immediately heard the hidden meaning in the emperor's words.

"Your Majesty, I think there are more and more things to deal with now, and the Senate is no longer able to handle all things."

"Well, go on."

"Now the empire not only has to deal with Western affairs, but also Eastern affairs. This will make the Senate more and more bloated, and will reduce efficiency over time. I think another institution can be established to make decisions on military and political affairs, but this institution only has the right to consult, and the final decision is still in the hands of Your Majesty."

This touched Peter's heart. He did not expect the East to be centralized to the degree of abnormality, but at least he had to ensure efficiency and the degree of local rebellion. Otherwise, how could he do the next thing if the efficiency was not improved?

"Well, I am very pleased."

In fact, the emperor could directly announce the establishment of a new institution, but doing so might cause discomfort among the ministers below. Therefore, it is better to discuss it with the prime minister.

Peter and Listerin kept writing on paper, including the number of members and rights of the institution, and finally asked the emperor to name the institution.

"Since it is responsible for advising His Majesty, let's call it the Privy Council."

"The Privy Council... this name is good", Peter agreed with the name and prepared to set it up. In addition, a new institution, the Senate, was established to share the work of the prime minister, and Listerin did not say anything.

After leaving the palace, Listerin looked at the sky, which was originally clear but now cloudy.

"It seems that the empire will have a big move next."

This emperor is more enterprising than Mircea. I have to go back and read some oriental books to learn how to get along with the emperor.

In any case, the new policy has begun to be implemented, and pilot projects have begun in Constantinople, Adrianople, Wallachia and other places.

According to the decree, from now on, local people do not have to serve in the army, and service will be incorporated into taxation. And it is divided into several levels according to the quality of the land, and taxes are paid according to the degree. At the same time, the in-kind taxes such as economic crops such as grapes and flax are changed into monetary taxes, simplifying the tax types and processes.

Some rich peasants near Adrian and Constantinople agreed with this decision. They didn't want to serve anyway, so they might as well pay more money. The local tax collectors were also happy to reduce their workload, and the local area had long stopped using in-kind taxes, and all became monetary taxes, which made it easier to implement policies.

A major event also happened at the government level. The emperor suddenly ordered the appointment of the heads of the three departments of finance, military affairs, and foreign affairs as the first, second, and third deputy prime ministers, and asked them to discuss matters with the prime minister.

The heads of the three departments did not expect that they would be promoted in just a few days. This was actually Listerine's suggestion, saying that he was the only one who was a little too busy, so he promoted a few to share the burden. Who made Peter's desire for power stronger than Mircea? The prime minister's monopoly of power began to weaken after only a dozen years, but it also increased the stability of the government. Queuing by seniority can reduce the hostility of some officials to the new prime minister.

Because of the increase in population and the expansion of territory, the members of the Boyar Conference expanded again, and there were also members of the White Party (sugar cane). They basically submit proposals to the Senate and argue in the parliament. Now that the country is economically prosperous, it seems that there is nothing important to discuss, and they only have the right to inquire about the monarch's orders, not the right to veto. Moreover, the victory of the empire in the war with Venice fully demonstrates the great advantages of the current system. Do you want to change it to be like Venice?