Chapter 455: Official System

The atmosphere inside Brambleford government office was now somewhat relaxed and cheerful.

Three consecutive military orders had finally eased the financial constraints of the domain, much to the relief of the administrative officials led by Baldwin Atwood.

One thousand five hundred cannons and twenty-eight thousand flintlock guns, these arms orders would bring in more than ten million caps of silver in supplies.

"Don’t celebrate too early," Simon quickly reminded them. "These supplies haven’t arrived in our hands yet. You need to coordinate with the court, Dornhal and Ravencrest to properly handle the transfer of materials to their respective domains.

Just like the previous deal with Prince Valeric, in these trades silver, gold, and copper were only part of the payment. Most of the money was offset by materials.

In the Eldorian Empire, Ravencrest had the most warhorses. After the discussion, he contributed 100,000 caps of gold, 1 million caps of silver, 120,000 pieces of brass, 92,000 pieces of iron, 1 million bags of wheat, 5,000 bags of silk, 50,000 bolts of cloth, 300,000 strings of currency notes, and 20,000 warhorses.

Dornhal territory was rich in open-pit coal mines, so he offered 50,000 caps of gold, 900,000 caps of silver, 62,000 pieces of brass, 108,000 pieces of iron, 1.2 million bags of wheat, 1 million pieces of coal, and 600,000 strings of currency notes.

Compared to Dornhal and Ravencrest, the court’s materials were the most diverse, including 200,000 pieces of saltpetre and 160,000 pieces of sulfur.

Though the quantities sounded huge, when converted, they were not so large. For example, Dornhal’s 1 million pieces of coal were only 500 tons; his 62,000 pieces of brass were about 31 tons.

One cast-iron cannon alone weighed at least 500 pieces; heavy siege cannons weighed over a thousand.

"Yes, Your Highness, I will have Brambleford treasuries prepare to receive these materials immediately," Baldwin said.

Compared to the silver caps, Baldwin preferred tangible goods like food, iron, and copper, which were real hard currency during wartime. Having silver didn’t guarantee purchasing power in wartime.

Also, even if paid in silver, they still had to exchange it with merchants for these goods. Bartering was more convenient and quicker, but the quality of materials had to be strictly controlled.

Prince Simon nodded and continued, "Our arms trade will only grow. Brambleford’s treasury will likely be insufficient, and the old way of piling everything together needs to change. We need specialised warehouses for different materials to be stored properly."

Before, Baldwin hadn’t thought much about this. But as trade increased daily, the government warehouse was indeed getting full. He said, "Your Highness is right. Speaking of which, I recently read some of Your Highness’s governance books from Oxford Academy. They were quite insightful. I think it’s time to reform the government affairs of our domain. With growing tasks, governance should be refined and modelled after the court’s official system."

"Official system?" Prince Simon smiled playfully. It seemed Atwood had really learned some advanced governance ideas from the books in Oxford Academy.

Baldwin’s usually expressionless face showed slight embarrassment. Though he hadn’t cared much about those books before, after reading through them, he found many useful ideas and reviewed Simon’s governance books from Oxford Academy again.

"Yes, Your Highness. I believe we should reform the government office so that the prefectures and counties under our domain can implement your policies from top to bottom while handling various local affairs," Baldwin said firmly.

"Hm, you’re right. I’ve been busy with the affairs of Ashenford lately and neglected this. Since that’s the case, put it on the agenda," Simon said.

Overall, his domain was a vassal state, and as such it needed a complete official system. Only then could he manage it effectively.

Also, establishing a full official system would allow him to take control of the newly acquired lands at any time, like Split Rock.

In the future, Prince Simon would have more colonies, so the ability to establish government offices quickly in unfamiliar places would be crucial. A mature official system was essential.

Because it was not just for managing the current Domain but to prepare and reserve officials for future needs.

With that settled, Baldwin ordered the chief officers of all prefectures and counties to immediately report to the Brambleford government office for a meeting. Meanwhile, he and Simon spent several days drafting the structure and responsibilities of the new institutions.

Five days later, all the chief officers arrived in Brambleford for the meeting as planned.

At the Brambleford government office, Prince Simon sat at the main seat, with officials arranged below him like a court session.

Baldwin Atwood, as the head official, stood at the front, followed by the individual officials of each city. Brambleford (Aiden Smith), Ashenford (Monti), Dunmere (Viktor Laplace), Greybrook (Adrian Neville), Oakridge (Rogers Benito), West Hollow (Ambrose A), and Westham (Pedro Mande’s).

Below the city’s leaders were their respective county magistrates, over a hundred officials in total.

Some officials were appointed by Baldwin Atwood, some promoted locally, and others assigned from Oxford Academy.

Looking at the gathered officials, Prince Simon smiled faintly. At this moment, he somewhat understood the Emperor’s obsession with imperial power.

Imagine so many officials standing before you. Anyone would feel a bit like ruling the world.

"Everyone has come to discuss government reform. You must have heard about it. Our domain affairs are increasing and changing rapidly. Each prefecture and county office must prepare to adapt to future development. This meeting is also to clarify the official system so that in the future, everyone knows who handles which affairs, preventing shirking responsibility."

Seeing everyone present, Prince Simon spoke loudly.

"Yes, Your Highness," the officials bowed immediately.

Prince Simon continued, "In that case, I hereby inform you of the governance and official system of our domain. From today, I appoint Baldwin Atwood as the Chief Minister of the Vassal State Cabinet, which will be established immediately. The cabinet will have nine ministers, including the Chief Minister, responsible for reviewing prefecture and county affairs and discussing matters with me. Under the cabinet, six departments will be set up, with responsibilities like the six ministries of the court. Additionally, a Supervisory Court will be established independent of the six departments, overseeing judicial and criminal matters and supervising officials..."

Recalling the official system design, Prince Simon explained his ideas one by one. From now on, his vassal state would escape chaotic governance and have a thorough management system like a small court.