People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

It's no wonder Ernst was so angry. If the figures reported by the three families and the statistics of the Manju Institute were not significantly wrong, then the government's expenditures during the entire Shaylag Manju Institute era were divided into four categories.

Religious and sacrificial expenses account for about 60 percent of the total government budget, building and maintenance expenses account for about 30 percent, support for scientific research, investment in industry and development accounts for 8 percent, and defense spending accounts for 2 percent.

Even someone completely unfamiliar with politics and economics can sense just how outrageous this number is!

But the head maid, Ya'er, who claimed to be "ordered by the saintess to assist Ernst," seemed completely bewildered, tilting her head in surprise:

Is there anything strange about this?

"Isn't this strange enough!" Ernst sat down against the corner of the wall and covered his face.

He anticipated that as an agricultural haven completely untouched by modern industrial pollution, Shelag's government finances wouldn't be very good, and he was mentally prepared accordingly. But he didn't expect that income wasn't the most important thing; the distribution was the real game-changer.

"For example, the Ursus Empire's annual defense spending used to account for more than 50 percent of the government's budget. Although it has decreased in recent years, it has stabilized at around 40 percent. In contrast, Colombia allocates more than 30 percent of its annual budget to support scientific and technological development, and also allocates special innovation support funds to reward companies and individuals who have made significant breakthroughs in scientific research."

"How big is Columbia? How big is Ursus? Imagine if they were to compete or clash with Sherrag in scientific research and military affairs, would Sherrag have any chance of winning?"

Ya'er nodded in sudden understanding, but then seemed a little unconvinced and asked doubtfully:

"However, I think the Perroch family's army and the various technological inventions of the Kalan trade are quite impressive."

Ernst looked up and rolled his eyes at Ya'er:

“You’re right, but putting aside the question of how strong the fighting capabilities of those militias who have no modern weapons at all are, can the Perroch family represent Sherag?”

"No matter how strong the Perroch family's soldiers are, they are still the Perroch family's private army. Just as they haven't asked the Manju Institute for a single penny, if they are truly in danger, the Shelag government has no right to command them. To put it bluntly, the Perroch family is actually a warlord family, but for now they are still under the command of the Shelag government."

Ya'er was somewhat dissatisfied with Ernst's statement and retorted:

"How can you say that about the Perroch family? For thousands of years, it has been the Perroch family that has been loyally protecting Sherag's safety!"

Ernst pursed his lips. He knew that what Ya'er said was an indisputable fact, and also the common thought in the hearts of almost all the people of Sherag. But that was the truth. If Sherag wanted to achieve complete modernization, then the Perroch family would be the ones that had to be incorporated into or even eliminated.

This is a fact, a fact that everyone will eventually understand.

"Just because it's always been this way, does that mean it's right?"

Ya'er choked for a moment, unable to speak.

Ernst did not force her to understand or accept his ideas, as this would take time. The immediate issue was more about finances.

The world's fiscal problems can be summed up in four words: increase revenue and reduce expenditure.

Cutting spending is always going to offend people, especially now that religious affairs make up a large portion of the Shelag government's budget. It definitely needs to be cut, but how to do it is a tricky matter.

Jeragand is the faith of all the people of Sherag. Even a rebellious person like Ensiodis must obediently bow and keep his distance before the saintess, otherwise he will be attacked by all of Sherag. This means that the feasibility of Ernst using methods like the swindling of the Kalan trade to shift the blame to a particular family or individual is extremely slim.

There's no way around it; the ritual of offering sacrifices to Jeragund is an ancestral custom, and anyone who breaks the ancestral custom will lose their head.

After much deliberation, Ernst decided to temporarily set aside cost-cutting and focus on increasing revenue.

Compared to cost-cutting, there are far more open-source methods.

There are many ways to increase government revenue, such as tourism, mining, and land sales. Ernst ruled them all out and finally chose the simplest, most convenient, and even one that required little upfront investment.

However, he couldn't do this alone; he needed to find help!

"Head Maid, may I take this ledger?"

Standing up, brushing the dust off his trousers, Ernst looked at Ya'er, who seemed somewhat downcast, thought for a moment, and decided to take responsibility, offering a few words of comfort:

"Actually, you don't need to take what I say too seriously. Building up the army or developing scientific research are things that I, as the Prime Minister of Sherag, should worry about. They don't really have much to do with you and Sister Enya. Besides, I'm still a lone commander right now, so what I just said was just empty talk."

"Maybe all my talk now will amount to nothing when I actually do it, and I'll just end up with a lot of trouble."

Ya'er raised her head, her deep blue eyes gleaming with a searching light:

"If that's the case, would you still try your best?"

Ernst nodded without hesitation: "I will."

Ya'er gave a kind and charming smile and nodded slightly, saying, "Then Yeragand will protect you."

The smile was so stunning that Ernst was momentarily captivated. But he quickly realized his rudeness, blushed slightly, rubbed his eyes, and said to cover his embarrassment:

"Thank you for your blessing, may Jeragund bless you."

After saying that, he turned around and strode out of the Holy Records Hall, his steps even seeming to indicate a hasty retreat.

...........

The headquarters of Kalan Trade is nearing the end of the workday.

Enciodes was unusually busy today because of Nosis's matter. The temporary personnel reassignment took up a lot of his time; normally, he would be at home at this time, sipping red tea and contemplating the future.

But he wasn't tired; on the contrary, he was in high spirits today, and even in a better mood than usual.

The reason was simple: he won a bet with his old friend, and his younger brother gave him a pleasant surprise.

I originally thought that as a lone commander, being put in the positions of Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament, his younger brother would be in a bit of a mess for a while.

"We just need to tell him that he can't do this kind of bad behavior of betraying his brother anymore."

Thinking this to himself, Enciodes looked up when he heard cheerful footsteps outside the office door. Before he could say "Come in," he saw a silver figure burst through the door and leap toward him.

The news of Ensiodes' assassination will likely spread throughout the north and south of Shelag by the next day.

"elder brother!"

Encia climbed off Enciaodis and shouted loudly,

"Sorry sorry!"

Ensiodis rubbed his chest and stomach, reluctantly got up from the ground, and looked at his most lively younger sister.

The Shivaesh family has four siblings. The eldest brother is him, the current chairman of Kalan Trading. The second sister, Enya, is now the saint of Kalan. The third brother, Ernst, has just become the prime minister and speaker of the Sherag Parliament. And this fourth sister has perfectly inherited the athletic genes of her three older brothers and sisters and is determined to become an extreme sports master!

"Next time, knock before entering. Even if you don't knock, at least don't just barge in; you could easily get hurt."

Enciodes ruffled Encia's hair, offering a gentle reminder. Only in front of his little sister would he show his tender side.

Encia also cooperated by rubbing her head against Enciaodis's large hand as an apology gift.

"Speak, what do you want from me? What kind of exercise equipment do you need me to buy in Victoria this time?"

Hearing Enshiodis's words, Enshia pouted in dissatisfaction:

"Can't I just want to see you?"

“Then you can wait for me at home. I’ve been in Sherag for the time being.” Ensiodis said with an air of self-awareness, “You wouldn’t come here to see me without a reason.”

"I can't hide it from you." Encia shrugged helplessly. "But you're wrong about one thing. This time it's not that I want to see you, it's that someone wants to see you."

“Who?” Ensiodis raised an eyebrow.

“Brother Ernst,” Encia replied.

Enshio Dison was momentarily speechless, both amused and exasperated: "Then why doesn't he come to find me himself?"

"He said he just offended you and asked me to sound you out. If you're angry, he'll reschedule." Encia shamelessly blurted out Ernst's instructions.

“This guy,” Ensiodis sat back down in his chair, “did he say why he wanted to see me?”

Encia replied, "Make money."

After saying that, as if she felt it wasn't enough, she emphasized her words, drew out her tone, and exaggerated her expression, saying again:

"Make a big sum of money!"

Chapter Eight: The Branch Will Not Break in the Chameleon's Hands

From an economic perspective, what is the fastest way to make money?

Some might answer finance, some might answer real estate, and some might answer cryptocurrency.

But Ernst argues that these methods are too superficial and fail to grasp the essence of economics at all.

What is the essence of the economy? It is circulation! It is the transfer of money from one person to another, thereby achieving the circulation of social wealth and promoting social fairness and development.

Once you understand this principle, the fastest way to make money becomes clear.

"borrow!"

How should the economy of Shelag develop? The answer is just one word: borrow!

What does Shelag have? First, no industrial base; second, no experience in the service sector; and third, no stable and unified government or environment. How can a country like this possibly develop secondary or tertiary industries and become wealthy? They simply don't have the capability, you know? Look at Karan trade; setting up a factory or building a road is met with constant complaints, and they frequently face military and psychological threats from warlords like the Perroch family and opportunists like the Blantau family. Yet they persist, truly disregarding all shame, desperately trying to build Shelag!

Ernst praised his courage, but he had no desire to learn from him.

Starting a factory requires capital. Whether in his past life or this one, he was a proper civil servant, with neither experience nor ability in the business world. Not to mention, the scale of Silver Grey's Kalan Trading Company is inseparable from the network of contacts he built during his years of study in Victoria.

But the government also has its own solutions.

Ernst bluntly stated:

"Given the current situation in Sherag, it will be extremely difficult to raise enough funds through normal means in a short period of time to recruit suitable talent and build a complete government agency."

So you're thinking of borrowing money?

Enciodes rested his hands on the table, clearly already in working mode, seriously considering the feasibility of Ernst's proposed plan.

Ernst continued:

"The essence of the economy is circulation. Shelag has no money, but other places have money. So all we need to do is get that money flowing in from other places. The means don't matter. Actually, robbing money would be faster, but we are a legitimate company and a legitimate government. We don't do illegal or criminal things. Since we can't rob, we can only borrow."

Enciodes frowned, instinctively feeling that something was amiss with Ernst's assertion, but unable to pinpoint the problem, he could only follow Ernst's lead and ask:

"Didn't you ever think that someone would lend you money?"

Ernst smiled, crossed his legs, and looked confident.

"Yes, not only do they exist, but there are many!"

"When it comes to borrowing money, it's easiest to get a loan from someone who's borrowing for the first time or someone with good credit. Shelag falls into the first category. My government is Shelag's first government, and in such a valuable, undeveloped territory, there's no shortage of people willing to spend lavishly on me!"

Ensiodis leaned back tactically, and for a moment he realized that he had made a huge mistake by neglecting to educate his younger brother.

While that makes sense, where did you learn such vulgar language?

Rubbing his temples, Enciodes asked the question that concerned him most:

What do you plan to use as collateral?

Borrowing money requires collateral. As Ernst said, the Scherrag government is now penniless and can't even pay salaries. Ernst, the prime minister, is still a figurehead. What can he use as collateral to borrow money from foreign countries?

Ernst fell silent as soon as Ensiodis spoke.

Ensiodes assumed Ernst was thinking, so he wasn't in a hurry and waited quietly for him to speak. But after a while, he found that Ernst's eyes were still fixed on him, his gaze incredibly clear, without any hesitation or doubt.

Ensiodis shuddered and couldn't help but raise his voice a few decibels:

"You wouldn't be thinking of taking over the trade with Kalan..."

Ernst pursed his lips. "Otherwise, why do you think I came to find you?"

Of course, this was just a joke. The Kalan Trade was Ensioudis's foundation and his greatest asset for reforming Sherag in the future. He could not agree to Ernst using the Kalan Trade for such a political risk, even if Ernst was his own brother.

Ernst knew this too, so he denied it:

“Of course not. I want Turikam. To be precise, I want that undeveloped land northeast of Turikam.”

The town Ernst mentioned, Turikam, is located in the territory of the Shivaish family in southern Kjerag. It is currently Kjerag's only gateway to the outside world and the only modern city in Kjerag actively developed and built under Ensioudis's leadership of the Kjerag trade. Of course, it is not yet at the level to become a mobile city-state.

The so-called undeveloped land northeast of Tukarim, covering approximately 6 square kilometers, is a hilly and plain area with a slight but not large slope and great development potential.

In Ensiodes' original plan, this area was intended to be the new urban expansion area of ​​Tukarim. However, given the current obstacles to modernization in Shelag, this plan remains a distant dream.

When Ernst mentioned this land, Enshio Dist. immediately understood his intentions:

"You're planning to use the land as collateral? Are you aware of the risks involved? If you can't repay this money, a piece of land in Shelag might end up belonging to another country."

"Pay back the money?" Ernst suddenly stood up in shock and asked, "Why should I pay back the money?"

"We've given them the land, signed the contract, and now I still have to pay back money. All the benefits have been taken by outsiders. Why should I?"

These words almost left Ensiodes speechless.

Borrowing money and not paying it back? Isn't that robbery? Didn't we just agree that we're dealing with legitimate government and legitimate businesses, not stealing or robbing?

But Ernst smiled slightly and began to explain his plan in a serious manner:

“I never intended to repay this money from the beginning. This pledged land is definitely going to be taken away.”

He raised his hand, stopping Enciodes from speaking, signaling him to calm down.