"According to the proposal given by Earl Dawn Drake, the empire will continue to conduct in-depth research in various emerging military fields."
"We estimate to invest 7.2 million gold, focusing on large-scale elemental weapons, long-range weapons of destruction, and tracked armored combat vehicles"
"I object!"
The clear female voice echoed in the hall, causing everyone to turn their attention
I saw the lady with silver hair and blue eyes raised her delicate hands and stood up from her seat.
She was wearing a solemn and elegant long dress. There was a hint of suspense on her delicate and pretty face, and there was no fear in her blue-gray eyes.
——That is Olivia, now the Imperial Councilor.
She pushed up her silver-framed glasses on the bridge of her nose, flipped through the paperwork in her hand, and continued to speak loudly:
"According to data from the Department of Statistics, military spending has accounted for 20% of the entire empire's budget. This scale of military spending is a huge burden on the people of the empire."
"I not only oppose Duke Doro's further increase in military expenditures, but also believe that the empire should reduce military expenditures and invest more funds in education, medical care, poverty relief and other fields."
"I have a new proposal here, which details the measures the empire should take in these areas and re-divided the budget."
There was an uproar in the hall and there was a lot of discussion.
"It's Congresswoman Olivia again! How dare she say that?"
"This is irritating the military."
"Tsk, tsk, you dare to refute Earl Daun's proposal head-on. How brave you are."
"Human beings are human beings and they will only waste resources. Investing money in those who are weak is worse than pouring it into the river!"
The imperial citizens in the hall had different expressions. Some sneered, some were silent, and some praised with emotion.
This hall is the famous Imperial Council Hall, the main venue for the Imperial Congress.
The hall is mainly divided into two floors. Each floor of the hall has neat rows of red seats and can accommodate tens of thousands of people.
The upper four walls are decorated with stained glass and seven murals reflecting the history of the Burning Ember Empire and showing the emperor's achievements.
A majestic dragon head is carved in the center of the dome. The pair of pale golden vertical pupils overlook everything in the council hall, symbolizing the emperor's supreme authority.
At the south end of the hall is a golden throne and canopy. The emperor can come and sit at any time.
In front of the throne is the imperial prime minister's seat, a huge golden-red soft seat with no backrest and stuffed with wool. Trump is sitting here, with an expression of watching a good show.
"Tsk."
"The people in the military are probably going to be unlucky. It just so happens that some of them are a bit in need of a beating recently."
The corners of the ogre's mouth raised slightly, revealing a smile.
If an ordinary person raises objections, Doro will not let him end badly - but the identity of this Miss Olivia is really too special.
Silver Dragon.
I have a close relationship with His Majesty.
He still lives in the auxiliary hall of the Iron Dragon Wing Palace, so in theory he can bring matters to His Majesty's side directly.
After the system reform, the empire adopted a "bicameral system", consisting of the lower house composed of civilians and the upper house composed of dragon-blood nobles, also known as the "dragon-blood parliament".
The House of Lords is composed of more than 600 dragon-blood nobles and enjoys legislative and financial powers during the Imperial Congress.
The Lower House mainly plays a supporting role in the Imperial Council, supervising the work of the Upper House, assisting the Upper House in legislation, and amending or vetoing bills through the exercise of "power of deferment" and "power of inquiry".
Although this is the case in theory, members of the House of Commons rarely exercise their power to directly conflict with dragon-blood nobles. They often only put forward some irrelevant opinions.
It was already clear who actually held power in the country—or rather, the class to which Cassius had temporarily given power.
At this time, the Imperial Council Hall was turbulent.
The members of the House of Lords, that is, the dragon-blood nobles, attended the meeting on the three-sided ring-shaped red bench on the upper floor of the hall. They looked at Olivia with quite unkind eyes.
"Who is she?"
"They don't need to take care of the military's affairs!"
"As a human being, she also gives advice on Count Daun's proposal? That was ordered by Duke Doro!"
"Yes, Count Daun is the apparent manager of the Klaubewu Military Industrial Group."
Members of the House of Commons sat on simple chairs on the lower floor. Many of them did not dare to take a breath and could only discuss in low voices for fear of offending the Duke.
But many MPs with academic backgrounds expressed support for her.
"She, who is she?"
"Why is this lady so reckless?"
"But I think what she said is correct. The empire has indeed invested too much in the military, to the point where it has wasted people and money."
But Olivia was holding the document, standing in her position, looking directly at the dragon-blood nobles without fear, her eyes burning.
"As a member of the Imperial House of Commons, I am qualified to question Duke Doro's proposal and even delay it."
"Bold!"
A bugbear count stood up and glared at Olivia who was chatting in the audience.
"This is a decision jointly made by Duke Doro and six hundred dragon-blooded nobles. It has the highest effectiveness under the emperor's decree. Can you question it?"
Olivia said calmly: "But this is in line with the rules and regulations of the empire."
Doro, who was sitting on the soft seat of the "senator", was not angry. He just waved his hand and motioned for Earl Daun next to him to speak.
Earl Dawn stood up immediately and said in a deep voice: "Congressman Olivia, it seems that you have never worked in the government, so you must not understand the operation of the empire."
"Increasing investment in the military industry will not only cause no financial burden, but will also bring us generous returns and create a large number of jobs."
"Haven't you seen the empire's financial report? The Klauba Military Industrial Group is an important pillar of the empire's finances! If we don't continue to increase investment in military industry, where will we have the money to invest in education, medical care and other fields?"
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"This is sophistry."
Olivia retorted.
"The assets of the empire are not owned by the military. They are the result of the hard work of countless people in the empire, and they should enjoy corresponding rewards!"
"Continue to use this money in the military industry, and those gold coins will only flow into the pockets of your dragon-blooded nobles!"
One stone stirred up a thousand waves.
The people in the Imperial Council Hall were in an uproar. They really didn't expect that someone would dare to openly "declare war" on the dragon-blood nobles!
While scholars and citizens admired each other's courage, they also sighed secretly and felt sorry for this lady as beautiful as the stars.
You must know that the dragon-blood nobles are behemoths in the political, military and even economic fields of the empire.
If she offends them, this lady will definitely find it difficult to move within the empire, and may even be killed.
Earl Dawn said: "As far as I know, according to the Imperial Charter, the power of the House of Commons must be approved by more than 60% of the members to take effect."
The Earl of the Hobgoblin looked around, looked down at the congressmen in the hall, and said calmly: "Congressmen, do you support the behavior of this congressman Olivia?"
"If you support, please raise your hands."
There was dead silence in the hall.
The air around him seemed to freeze. The congressmen who had previously said they would support him were silent now.
They are not idealists either.
No one wants to risk offending the military by supporting an ordinary congressman with a weak foundation for an unrealistic proposal.
Olivia looked anxious and clenched the hem of her skirt with her left hand, but there was nothing she could do.
Because the other party did act according to the regulations.
This is what she thinks is the irrationality of the imperial system. Power is actually in the hands of military aristocrats.
And MPs like her don't seem to matter.
Dawn's expression remained unchanged, but there was still a disdainful smile on his lips. He put away the paperwork in his hand: "Since no one has any objections, then..." "I have objections."
A dull voice came.
Dawn looked at the source of the sound, and her expression suddenly became extremely exciting, even stunned.
“Didn’t the people in your military department read my statement on “Beware of Barbaric Development”?
"The people of the empire have indeed not received the treatment they deserve. His Majesty Cassius once said: 'It is unrealistic to want horses to run and not eat grass.'"
"If this continues, the efficiency and quality of their labor will be reduced. Reasonable and reasonable, the imperial officials should give them the welfare benefits they deserve."
I saw Imperial Prime Minister Trump sitting up straight on the golden-red soft seat that symbolized administrative power, with an ugly smile on his face.
"Since that's what you mean."
Dawn lowered her head and her voice became softer and softer. She was not as confident as before.
That was the Prime Minister of the Empire. When His Majesty Cassius was resting, he was the symbol of the highest power.
In other words, Trump has the power to veto the bill.
"The Prime Minister is right!"
"Duke Trump is really kind-hearted. If you ask me, the welfare benefits of the empire should have been improved long ago."
"Yes, the last workers' uprising was not caused by the military's excessive oppression?"
Suddenly, as the Prime Minister spoke, the council hall became lively again, with all parties involved.
The MPs who had been silent before began to speak enthusiastically, quoting scriptures and supporting the Prime Minister's remarks.
And Doluo, who was also sitting at the senator's table, had an extremely gloomy face, almost dripping with ink.
At his signal, the military generals also stood up eagerly and tried their best to refute.
"Did the military cause that incident?"
"You are throwing dirty water! Those mobs took gold coins from the nobles of the North! They planned to subvert the empire and started this riot!"
"The current situation on the mainland is not optimistic. If we give up the development of the army, how can the empire gain a foothold in the south?"
“But from the perspective of long-term development, welfare and medical care are essential!”
The two sides were quarreling and arguing, and the atmosphere in the council hall became more and more intense.
——Soon, this matter has surpassed the matter itself and gradually evolved into a political struggle, a game between the military and government management.
"This"
Olivia held her thick pile of paperwork and looked at the quarreling people. She opened her mouth and felt a little overwhelmed.
"No matter what, I will insist on fulfilling my responsibilities."
"This country is not what it is, it can be better."
Olivia pursed her lips and secretly made up her mind.
But she felt deeply powerless, as if she couldn't change anything.
Although the empire's system claims to be "democratic and egalitarian," it is actually a tool for gaming among various interest groups.
A congressman like her who has no backing or money cannot really make her voice heard and change the empire's decision-making.
The righteous and kind-hearted Silver Dragon hates this atmosphere.
Wait——
Backstage?
In the Burning Ember Empire, who has the biggest backstage?
The answer is no doubt.
Olivia's blue-gray eyes suddenly lit up, but then showed hesitation and hesitation.
Is this really good?
But in the end, Silver Dragon made up his mind and decided to do his best to complete this matter - even if it seemed to be disrespectful to his dignity.
Olivia looked towards the palace in the distance and whispered: "Maybe, I can talk to Cassius."
On the outskirts of Beifeng Castle, there is the Iron Dragon Wing Palace.
This palace built on the mountain and shaped like a dragon's wings is still so majestic and magnificent.
This is the residence of the legendary Ember Emperor, the Red Emperor, the Scourge of Purgatory, and the Soul-eating Dragon - Cassius Claudius Norixius.
In the minds of many people of the empire, the palace where the red dragon lives is so sacred that it can be compared to the Kingdom of God on earth.
In the minds of the vast number of humans, elves, dwarves and other intelligent creatures on the Fianso continent, this palace is a treasure house that symbolizes endless wealth.
Yes, this emperor is also quite famous on the mainland.
But what everyone knows about is not the impressive record of defeating Oszedro—it’s the empire’s merchandise.
Products painted with dragon heads and stamped with the words "Made in the Empire" are famous in the mainland for their novelty, usefulness, high quality and low price, and have penetrated into every aspect of the people of Fianso.
On the cruel battlefield, soldiers shot at each other with firearms made by the Empire; on cold winter nights, farmers slept peacefully wearing cotton coats made by the Empire.
People say by word of mouth that the Red Dragon Emperor made countless gold coins by selling guns, woolen sweaters, tobacco and other products with the words "Made in the Empire" printed on them.
According to rumors, the Red Dragon Emperor hollowed out the mountain next to the palace and filled it with all his 100 million gold coins.
Many adventurers covet it, but no one dares to try it. Even the brave ones basically die within the empire.
Therefore, in the stories spread across the mainland, this giant dragon with endless wealth sleeps in the golden mountains and golden seas every day.
But in fact, Cassius did not sleep for long in the past year. Instead, he was obsessed with studying spells and digesting his own power.
In the main hall of the palace, an extremely huge red dragon was lying on the ground. He stretched out his claws, and flames and thunder and lightning intertwined at the tips of his claws and collided with each other.
But the lightning became increasingly dim, and was eventually lost in the flames.
"Is that true? It's a pity that according to the characteristics of the element master, it is impossible to coordinate two elements at the same time."
"Do we still need to go to the quasi-elemental plane of lightning?"
Cassius sighed with regret, bursts of sulfur-smelling smoke emitted from his mouth.
The red dragon slowly climbed up from the ground, supported by its strong forelimbs, but its long and thick tail touched the wall behind it.
"Some activities are really closed. We will expand it in two days."
The main hall of the palace seemed to Cassius now to be increasingly restrictive and narrow.
Today's red dragon is more than forty meters long from head to tail. According to the panel classification, it is a proper "super giant dragon".
This has exceeded the physiological limits of most ordinary red dragons. Even those ancient dragons that have lived for more than 1,200 years rarely have such a size.
What's even more frightening is that this is not the end for Cassius, but only the beginning: this red dragon is still growing rapidly at the standard growth rate of a teenage dragon, and no one knows how big it will be.
Could it be the ancestral dragon?
Even Tiamat, Bahamut, Sadivo and other dragon gods are paying close attention.
But their eyes can no longer penetrate the realm of the empire to see all this. In the empire of the red dragon, even the gods will be blindfolded.
Suddenly, Cassius felt a familiar breath of rain, and he sensed the outside world with the authority of the imperial realm - he saw a former temporary resident appearing outside the palace.
"Olivia?"
“What a rare visitor.”
——Asking for monthly tickets——(End of chapter)