Above the mage!

Chapter 383: Political Discussion
With a whoosh, Anna slipped into Goder's arms.

Gao De, who had several days of experience in taking care of babies, easily picked up the little girl with one hand.

Anna put her arms around Goder's neck and looked very happy, as if she was excited because she hadn't seen Goder for a long time.

But if you look closely, you can find that in her extremely clear eyes, there is a flash of cute cunning that is unique to children.

"How is it? Are you used to living in Phoenix? The conditions here are not worse than those outside, and..." God paused and smiled, "It's also colder than outside."

It's more than just a few. Elsa thought to herself, and quickly responded, "I can be very satisfied to have such a safe environment where Anna and I don't have to worry all day long."

She actually wanted to find out what the "King of the North" was and why Gode was here.

But firstly, I felt that asking such a question had no sense of boundaries, and secondly, Sunaifa was still standing to the side.

This is the "Five-Ring Wizard". No matter how young and beautiful she is, Elsa is full of awe for her.

"Would you like to invite us in and have a seat?" Gao De asked with a smile.

Elsa finally came to her senses and quickly led the two people into the house.

But of course there was no tea or other drinks offered.

Goder sat down at the stone table and let Anna sit on his lap.

Anna was like a docile kitten, nestling in his arms obediently, but her eyes were rolling around.
"What do you think of this place?" Then, without paying attention to Elsa's thoughts, he asked directly.

"How is it here?" Goder's question was obviously a little unexpected to Elsa, so she was stunned for a moment, and then answered hesitantly: "It's completely different from my impression of the North. It's full of vitality."

"Do you think there is any problem with Phoenix at the moment?" God interrupted Elsa's polite words and said directly: "From the perspective of a ruler."

Gao De asked directly, and Elsa did not try to be polite any more. She thought about it carefully and said cautiously, "In my opinion, the biggest problem of Phoenix right now is that it is developing too fast and the management level cannot keep up."

"As far as I know, the system of the Zhenbing tribe has always been the war mother system, and then many elders discuss matters together. This system is actually a bit primitive, and no one has real city management ability and experience."

"This was not a big problem in the past. After all, most of the people in the city were from the Zhenbing tribe, and the entire structure was still close to the tribal system. This extensive management level was sufficient."

"But now Phoenix is ​​developing so fast, and more and more other tribes are joining in, which has gradually transformed it from a tribe into a city, or even a small country, and the management level requirements for Phoenix have also increased accordingly."

After Aisha finished speaking, she carefully glanced at Sunaifa, who had remained silent the whole time. Seeing that the other party did not show any dissatisfaction, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"In your opinion, is there any suitable way to make the management level keep up with the development speed of Phoenix?" Gao De asked again.

Elsa suddenly fell into deep thought.

This question is not easy to answer because it depends on the actual situation in the North.

The reality is that even a good cook cannot cook without rice.

Just like you want to find a pure girl in a brothel, that is simply unrealistic.

The same is true in the North.

The tribal system has been passed down for so many years, where can we find people with the ability to manage cities or even countries?

"As of now, the best way is to absorb the chiefs of the many new tribes that have joined Phoenix, let them join the management system of Phoenix, and let them select suitable people from their tribes to form a team of officials that is sufficient for the time being to solve the current problems first." After thinking for a long time, Elsa spoke.

This method naturally has many shortcomings, but it is undoubtedly the most suitable method for Phoenix at the moment.

At least that's what Elsa thought.

"The clan leaders of each tribe will select people from their tribe to form a management team. Will they listen to their own clan leaders or us? And in handling various affairs, will they not favor their own tribe?" Gao De asked calmly.

"These are inevitable, but there is no better way." Elsa naturally knew what Gode said.

But as she thought, this was the best solution at the moment after weighing the pros and cons.

"If," Gao De paused and said slowly, "I divide all aspects of a city's management into different departments.

Then they will select people from the entire Phoenix, including the Zhenbing tribe and even those from other tribes that have just joined Phoenix, and let them enter the city hall and these departments to serve as so-called officials.
Well, in Phoenix, they'll be called civil servants, what do you think?"

Elsa was stunned for a long while before she widened her eyes. "You mean, in an open selection, everyone can become an official? Including civilians?"

"If they have the ability, why not?" Gao De asked in return.

"Moreover, in the North, at most there is a distinction between mages and ordinary people, but there is no distinction between nobles and commoners," he reminded, "In the North, there has never been a distinction between nobles."

"But." Elsa thought for a long time but still couldn't figure out what "but" meant.

Her experience told her that what Gode said was "irrational".

As an outstanding royal child (once), Elsa received systematic education in state administration and national system.

She had a fairly thorough understanding of the national systems of many countries on the Norland continent, including the two most powerful countries, the Plantagenet Dynasty and the Holy Empire.

In addition, she even had a certain understanding of the state system of the Mishir Dynasty, which was far away on another continent.

Therefore, no matter how Gode plans to manage Phoenix, she should not be surprised and may even be able to offer some suggestions.

This is the normal situation.

But what came out of Gao De's mouth was something she had never heard of or even thought about.

The management system that Gaode described as he envisioned for Phoenix was something completely new and a fundamental subversion.

What is the root?

Just like the Plantagenet dynasty and the Holy Empire, one is a monarchy and the other is a parliamentary state, they seem to be two completely different state systems.

But this is really just a layman’s opinion.

Essentially, the basic logic of how they operate is the same:

The monarch or parliament, that is, the highest ruling class, issues decrees, and then the ministers who receive the decrees begin to implement them.

The implementation of the decree was carried out by the ministers themselves, and there was no unified standard. Apart from private agreements or interests, there was no connection between the ministers.

The reason for this situation is that ministers are appointed by the monarch or parliament, but their team is formed by the ministers themselves.

In this regard, ministers have a high degree of autonomy.

Of course, in order to prevent ministers from abusing this autonomy, the appointment of candidates to some important positions needs to be reported to the monarch for approval.

But most positions, especially those directly serving ministers and lower-level positions, can be appointed directly by ministers.

There is no doubt that these ministers will inevitably employ a large number of their confidants, family members and even members of vassal families to form a huge "political" interest group with themselves as the center.

The price behind the great autonomy is the "salary" of these teams, which is also the responsibility of the nobles themselves rather than issued by the state.

Of course, compared with the huge benefits that political parties can obtain, these "salaries" are actually nothing.

Power and wealth, power and wealth, the two are inseparable. When you have power, wealth will gather around you like bees smelling nectar.

However, this also meant that if one wanted to become a minister and hold power, one had to be of noble birth, or already be a high-level wizard with the financial resources and reputation to attract a group of followers.

An inevitable result of this system is that the longer the country lasts, the more fixed the classes become.

Those important positions in the country, the so-called "minister" positions, will be firmly controlled by the nobles, and grassroots civilians have basically no hope of breaking through the shackles of this system.

This underlying political system logic has continued since the establishment of the first human dynasty, the Plantagenet dynasty.

No matter how the times change, no matter how much trouble the country has suffered because of the chronic diseases caused by this system, nothing has changed at all.

——It can’t be changed, and no one has thought about changing it.

This seems to have become the default truth.

However, what Gaode wants to build now is undoubtedly a brand new political system that is completely different from any other country in the world.

According to Gold, in Phoenix, in the future, not only the "ministers" but also the "team" of the "ministers" will be recruited and paid by the City Hall.

In this case, they can no longer be called the ministers' team. They all belong to Gaode and Sunaifa's team, but with different levels of power.

That is to say, if a minister did not perform well, Gao De could directly appoint or dismiss a new minister, or directly promote someone from the bottom.

This was something that was simply unimaginable before.

Under the old system, if you wanted to remove a minister, it was not a simple matter of moving that minister alone, but rather the entire "team" had to be reshuffled and reorganized.

Moreover, the replacement of ministers often leads to drastic changes in policy direction, and the change of team is the core link in the transition of power.

This undoubtedly directly broke the restriction that only nobles and high-level mages could serve as ministers and possess power.

There is no doubt that such a system cannot be successfully implemented in any country.

Because the nobles and high-level wizards are the "foundation" of a country, and this system is the foundation of the nobles.

If you disturb their foundation, they might just start by raising their hands and knock you over.

But after thinking about it carefully, Elsa found that Gode's idea was not a fantasy, and it might even have a chance to take root only in the soil of the North.

Because there are no nobles in the North, and they have a reverence for the War Mother and God that is almost like personal worship.

In this situation, no matter what systems and policies Sunaifa and Gode want to implement, they will not be opposed.

Another point is that all officials and civil servants are recruited by the city hall, and the extra salary costs are a heavy burden for the rulers.

But for Phoenix, at least for the moment, this is not a problem - there is currently no monetary system in the North, let alone the payment of so-called salaries.

However, there are still problems.

"Given the conditions in the North, it's impossible to pick enough suitable people to serve as civil servants." Elsa, who had already entered the "deliberation" state, temporarily forgot the difference in status and discussed seriously with Goder.

"So, Phoenix currently has a total of three departments. One is the Ministry of Agriculture, which is related to food, one is the Public Security Bureau, and the other is the Ministry of Education."

"Ministry of Education?"

"I will be in charge of education. I want to promote universal education in Phoenix. I don't want everyone to become successful, but at least reading, writing and arithmetic will become the basic skills of the people in the North. The more outstanding ones can further their studies."

"As long as everyone can read and write, I can always find a large number of suitable civil servants no matter how many I want to recruit. At that time, it will not be a lack of talent in the city hall, but a lack of jobs for talent."

"And this system will in turn promote the universalization of education for all."

"Because currently, most people in the North do not correctly understand the importance of receiving education. They are only willing to send their children to school out of awe and trust in Sunaifa and me."

"It's actually very difficult for them to understand and accept the truth. But as long as they know that if they receive education and study hard, they will have the opportunity to work as civil servants in the city hall in the future, which will improve their status and even earn them generous rewards after the future monetary system is established, then..."

"Then they will face up to and attach importance to education, and even take the initiative to tell their children the importance of receiving education." Aisha continued.

What a terrible "conspiracy". Anna, who was not very fond of studying, sat on Gaode's lap, listening to the conversation between her sister and "Brother Gaode" with her eyes blinking, and felt "the hairs on her head stand on end".

"Do you think it's feasible?" Goder asked Elsa with sharp eyes.

"It's feasible!" Aisha nodded heavily.

This system may sound shocking at first, but if you think about it carefully, you can imagine its advantages if it is actually implemented.

Both the quality and speed of implementation of government orders can be improved by leaps and bounds.

When everyone has the opportunity to become a "civil servant", the entire "country" will present a positive outlook and have unlimited vitality.

Under the premise that any official can be appointed or dismissed at any time, corruption, oppression of civilians, violation of laws and regulations, etc. will be greatly reduced.

The monarch's ruling power will also reach a peak.
In short, if she thinks about it casually, Elsa can list a lot of advantages.

"As you said, Phoenix is ​​seriously lacking in management talents. As far as I know, you, as the princess of the Principality of Xidian, had rich experience in governing before the Principality of Xidian was destroyed by the Principality of Ovoga, and you were well recognized by the people of the Principality of Xidian." Gao De finally revealed the purpose of his trip:
"This is exactly the talent that Phoenix needs most right now, so I would like to hire you as the head of the new department that the City Hall is about to set up: the office, that is, the director of the office, and the deputy minister of the Ministry of Education. Are you willing?"

(End of this chapter)