Chapter 1446: Chapter 1363: A Different Kind of Hardship

It must be said, the Prime Minister of a proper empire is indeed very capable. In terms of governance, Chu Muzhou is indeed stronger than Roger. As long as Tang Mo mentions a policy, Chu Muzhou can roughly understand the logic of it and offer some unique insights.

After the Great Tang Empire introduced some old bureaucrats from the Dahua Empire, it did not become slow and decayed; instead, it moved towards maturity and efficiency.

This is the power of monarchy–when the Emperor is strong enough and shows ambition, the bureaucratic group tends to develop positively.

As for when the Emperor ages or passes away, and the progressive energy begins to dissipate, the entire institution will start to deteriorate, lose its edge, and eventually collapse into a cycle.

Therefore, monarchy is not entirely bad, and autocracy is not unworkable to some extent. However, facts have proven that the greatest flaw of this system is its inability to maintain efficiency.

The problem with the entire system is that it cannot always be maintained at a level acceptable to everyone, which is why it’s destined to be eliminated by a more consistent “rule of the competent” system.

That’s right, ruling by the competent; this is a more efficient “governing solution” summarized by humanity throughout the long evolution of systems. In a sense, feudal monarchy is also another model of ruling by the competent.

Through decay and collapse, a dynasty is replaced by another, the corrupt and degenerate king is overthrown, and a more capable one reshuffles things–this is essentially a form of “election.”

It’s just that this type of election is too bloody and causes significant damage to productivity, so people started using a more civilized way to change dynasties: voting.

Tang Mo is impossible to relinquish his power willingly, nor will he conduct any voting within the Great Tang Empire. He will only extend the monarchy, even seeking the “eternal” for his posterity to some extent.

He is a vested interest, while also bringing technology and progress to this world. By relying on these technological advancements, he maintains a certain degree of “feudal regression” characteristic.

However, compared to the original purely semi-slave, semi-feudal system played in this world, his semi-capitalist, semi-feudal system is evidently more advanced.

Under the guidance of his new system, the old bureaucratic group once again burst into life. They fulfilled their political ambitions in governance, cultivating new fruits in the wasteland Tang Mo had already burned.

The Great Tang Empire untied the shackles on these old bureaucrats, destroyed the “gentry system,” “old commercial model,” and “feudal-slavery shackles” constraining people like Chu Muzhou, giving them an almost spotless new world.

Now, this new world has begun to show its power. It effortlessly gives the entire Great Tang Empire the ability to self-innovate and self-evolve.

“His Majesty is in the office.” The secretary from the Emperor’s Secretarial Office greeted Chu Muzhou politely before making a gesture of invitation.

Chu Muzhou thanked him gratefully and then followed him to the room where Tang Mo was. Here, as always, was bright and clean, with sunlight shining on the huge world map, making everything warm.

“Prime Minister, you’ve worked hard.” Tang Mo did not put away a technical drawing spread out on the table, adjusted the glasses on his nose, and made a gesture of exemption from formalities.

Even though Tang Mo has a professional medical team ensuring his health, years of writing and drawing have still started to affect his eyesight.

As the Emperor of an empire, the official business he had to handle daily piled up like mountains–wanting to hold all power, after all, comes with a price to pay.

The good news is that internal affairs are helped by Imperial Concubine Yulin, and financial matters are managed by Princess Alice, which frees up some of Tang Mo’s time.

However, he still has to address all problems because if power slips away, he might lose control over the Empire: historically and globally, all emperors, through self-indulgence and laziness, gradually began to be deceived by subordinates, fell into passiveness, and eventually lost their grip on the nation.

That is precisely why Tang Mo carefully checks the work of each Minister, controls the operations of the Empire, and integrates his own will into every decision.

“Your Majesty overpraises me; it is merely my duty,” Chu Muzhou did not know why Tang Mo’s words of praise made him more excited than receiving a reward from Zhao Kai.

Since coming to the Great Tang Empire and reaching Chang’an, he realized that the work of the Prime Minister differs significantly from his past work. For instance, the workload is heavier but feels more rewarding; it is more challenging but easier to handle…

In the Great Tang Empire, work no longer required intrigue, or wasting energy pleasing the Emperor’s personal preferences… Hence, for Chu Muzhou, this work state suited him very well.

“No, I need to thank you.” Tang Mo set down his drawing pen and sincerely expressed gratitude: “Without you and others, the Empire would not be as strong today, and the people would not be as happy as they are now.”

He truly meant it; it was precisely because of Prime Ministers like Chu Muzhou and Roger, along with Yulin, Alice, Chen Jing, Mathews, Parker, and Li’ao… that he could control such a massive empire.

This year, the Great Tang Empire has not been entirely smooth. Firstly, there was an earthquake in the northeastern Qi region, and local disaster relief was needed; secondly, the goblin migration work in areas like New Island was troublesome.

Along with tax collection, agricultural work, and corruption self-checks… the empire’s work is truly all-encompassing and overwhelmingly enormous.

Despite efforts from all departments, no major issues arose, yet countless little details still posed a headache.

Vice Premier Chu Muzhou essentially has been handling the work of the Prime Minister; Roger mostly deals with agricultural production issues, and he is more concerned about Great Tang Empire’s “food security” than anyone else.

And Chu Muzhou, who takes charge of other problems, indeed greatly assisted Tang Mo with his abilities. He managed everything in an orderly manner, saving Tang Mo a lot of work time.

Tang Mo is quite satisfied with his decision to invite many old bureaucrats from the Dahua Empire to preside over the Great Tang Empire’s work, and gifting Chu Muzhou with a Dragon Banner car is the best proof.

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A chapter update