Fangzhou Xier, starting with failing the art exam

This was the power she had always dreamed of, the shovel that allowed her to bury the past with her own hands.

"It is my honor, Your Excellency Lacey."

"I guarantee I'll make those parasites of the old era suffer!" Her tone was so cold that Taylor's legs trembled.

Finally, Lacey's gaze fell on Arturo.

This brilliant cellist had been in a detached state since the beginning, as if this meeting, which concerned the future of a region, had nothing to do with her.

"Arturo."

"Hmm?" Arturo looked up as if waking from a dream, his eyes full of confusion.

"I appoint you as Minister of Culture."

"Huh?" Arturo was completely dumbfounded.

"Ministry of Culture...? What does that do?"

"To employ a bunch of court painters and poets to sing praises every day? I would never do that."

Her bluntness drew a soft chuckle from Gertrude.

Lacey smiled too. He walked up to Arturo and said gently, "No, of course not."

"I don't need hymns, nor do the people. What I need is art that can truly touch the soul."

He lowered his voice: "Arturo, your music has the power to liberate people's hearts."

"I hope you can create songs that belong to us, songs that will give miners strength while they work, and songs that will make children proud of their hometown in school."

"I hope you can organize a theater troupe to perform our story, the story of the people's resistance against tyranny, for everyone to see."

"Culture is the adhesive that binds together the spirit of a nation."

"I hope you can use your art to give the newly born Wasser territory a completely new soul, is that alright?"

Arturo looked into Lacey's sincere eyes, and she nodded as if she understood.

“I…I’m trying Liu Yao Qi Ying Er Xia, is it VIII Yue Yi?”

Lacey nodded in satisfaction and stepped back to the map.

"Ministries such as Agriculture, Industry, Medicine and Education, Taxation, and Law will be established one after another."

"The reconstruction of Vaser Territory shall now begin!"

The meeting ended, and everyone left carrying their own weighty missions.

Lacey was the only one left in the throne room.

He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the brightly lit city below.

From a failed art student to an elector who held the lives of tens of thousands in his hands, it only took a short year.

His life trajectory in this simulation has been completely changed.

However, this is not enough.

The Vassehr region is just the beginning.

What he wanted was for that flag of the sickle and hammer to be planted on every inch of Letania's land.

He picked up his pen and wrote the first line on a brand new document.

Decree No. 1 of the Electoral Government of Vaser: Provisions Concerning Land and Tax Reform

He laid the foundation for the new era.

……

……

……

Holy Lytanian Empire: Chapter 53: The Workers' Party's New Deal, Lynia's Arrival

The new policies in the Vase territory are in full swing.

(|Three/)O Qi Er Er Si Ba~ The newly established departments have all begun to implement the new policies.

That morning, a motorcade, so extravagant it seemed completely out of place in Essenveld, pulled up in the square in front of the tower, under the watchful eyes of the surrounding crowd.

The lead carriage was made entirely of precious black wood, with silver family crests inlaid on its body, and four pure white horses snorting restlessly.

The car door opened, and a foot encased in a long boot stepped out gracefully. Then, Countess Lenia's smiling face appeared before everyone.

Behind her followed a long line of servants carrying boxes.

"Lady Lexi! My friend! I've come to congratulate you!" Lenia's voice arrived before she did.

Lacey went down to greet her personally.

The nobleman who first extended an olive branch to him in Salem is now bringing her investment and dividends.

“Welcome, Countess Lenia, my friend.” Lacey shook her hand, his gaze sweeping over the trunks behind her.

"Just a small gift," Lenia said with a smile.

"Some supplies, some fabric, and a few top accountants."

“I know that’s what you need most right now.”

Lacey did not refuse and invited Lenia into the throne room in the tower.

Looking at the empty and somewhat shabby room, Lenia's eyes showed a hint of surprise, but she quickly concealed it.

"It seems that His Excellency Lacey is practicing frugality, which is a quality of a wise ruler."

“I just don’t have time to buy those useless things.” Lacey gestured for her to sit down.

"Waseer territory is in dire need of reconstruction, and every penny must be spent wisely."

"Well said!" Lenia clapped her hands in approval.

"That's why I brought my most capable finance team from Salem."

"If you're willing to trust me, how about I manage the treasury for this territory?"

"I guarantee that within a month, I can make your coffers even fuller than Otto ever was at his wealthiest!"

She made no secret of her ambition; what she wanted was control of the finances of the Vase territory.

Lacey looked at her.

This profit-driven countess, though her motives were impure, was undeniably capable.

At this moment, the Workers' Party has members who understand political propaganda, military affairs, and diplomacy.

The only area where we lack a true expert is the complex management of finance and the economy.

Moreover, he always remembered the help the other party had given to the Workers' Party in Salem.

"it is good."

Lacey nodded in agreement.

"From today onwards, you will be the Minister of Economy in the new government of Vaser."

"The mess Otto left behind is now yours to clean up."

"It's my honor!" Lenia's smile grew even brighter.

……

The new official took office three fires.

Lenia, accompanied by a team of skilled accountants and clerks, seized all of Otto's ledgers.

After several sleepless days of work, a shocking report landed on Lacey's desk.

“Your Excellency Lacey, the situation is more serious than we thought.” Lenia’s voice was somewhat excited.

“Otto’s corrupt system wasn’t just limited to him and his few confidants; almost all the major merchants, guild leaders, and even some wealthy farmers in the Vase territory were deeply involved!”

“They bribed officials in exchange for tax breaks and market monopolies, and then passed the costs on to the lower classes.”

"The people on this list, their wealth, every single gold coin is stained with the blood of workers and peasants!"

She handed over the thick report.

Lacey picked up the report and turned to the first page.

He only glanced at it, but his brows immediately furrowed.

The contents of the report are shocking.

As Lenia reported, almost all the well-known merchants, guild leaders, farmers, and mine owners in the Vase territory were deeply involved in this spoils-sharing system.

The report was followed by a long list, with each name followed by a detailed account of how they bribed which of Otto's officials in exchange for tax breaks and market monopolies.

The lumber merchants' guild in Essenville, through bribery, monopolized the lumber supply across the entire territory, tripling prices and leaving countless commoners unable to afford charcoal for warmth during the harsh winter.

The brewing associations in the south colluded with tax officials to pay taxes on their high-end spirits at the rate for inferior ale, while small family workshops were heavily taxed and went bankrupt.

Even worse, a farmer who controlled several large farms hoarded grain during a famine year, colluded with officials to create the illusion of a food shortage, and while receiving government relief, sold the grain to starving people at exorbitant prices.

Like a flock of greedy vultures, they perched on the corpses of the Vaser tribe, frantically pecking at the flesh and blood.

The costs that are passed on are ultimately borne by the people at the very bottom of society.

Otto's imposition of birth and death taxes was undoubtedly the final straw that broke the camel's back.

But before that, the camel had already been eaten away by these termites until it was skin and bones.

"I suggest establishing a 'liquidation tax'!"

Seeing that Lacey had finished reading the report, Lenia excitedly offered her suggestions.

"Anyone who has a deep collusion with the Otto regime and profits from its tyranny must pay a high liquidation tax based on their illegal gains!"

"This money can quickly replenish our empty treasury for military construction and improvement of people's livelihood, and it can also politically eliminate these opportunists, killing two birds with one stone!"

Lenia opened her arms and said in a passionate voice:

"As long as we implement the liquidation tax, we can completely seize control of the economic lifeline of the Vase territory in the shortest possible time! Only then will we have the real capital to compete for control of Letania!"

This woman's ambition seems to have been completely ignited by him...

Lacey didn't reply, her fingers tapping lightly on the table.

He was weighing the pros and cons.

Just as he was deep in thought, there was a gentle knock on the door of the throne room.

"Please come in."

Gertrude pushed open the door and entered, saying bluntly, "Lady Lexi, I disagree with Countess Lenia's plan."

Lenia frowned immediately.

Although they were both counts, she still looked down on Gertrude, thinking she was just a shameless woman who had risen to power through nepotism.

She said rather bluntly, "Then, Minister Gertrude, what are your thoughts? Are we just going to let these vampires go?"

“It’s not about letting them go, but that we can’t do it this way.” Gertrude placed a piece of intelligence on the table.

"This is intelligence that my people gathered from the Haydenschwell and Kepranja regions."

"The nobles and merchants there are watching our every move closely."

“They spread rumors everywhere, saying that we were ‘a mob more brutal than Otto’ and that we ‘plundered private property in the name of the New Deal.’”

She looked at Lacey earnestly: "If we actually implement the liquidation tax, it will be tantamount to confirming these rumors."

"This will create enormous panic."

"It will not only affect the Vase territory, but also the entire merchant class of Letania."

“They would see us as disruptors of order, enemies of all propertied persons.”

"At that time, we will not only be facing a few old nobles, but the hostility of the entire old world," Gertrude concluded.

"Womanly compassion!" Lenia scoffed.

"A bloodless new policy is just child's play! Hesitation and timidity will only lead to missed opportunities!"

“That’s political wisdom!” Gertrude retorted without backing down.