Sangis stood in the center of the hall, holding a stack of documents in her hands. Her posture was very standard, with her back straight, her feet together, and her hands holding the stack of parchment.
Her voice echoed in the empty hall. It was not loud, but every word was pronounced clearly, like an announcer who had practiced repeatedly.
"--About the Noble Academy's application for expansion. The dean of the college proposed that the existing school building can no longer meet the enrollment needs, and requested the empire to allocate funds to build a new teaching building, a library and a student dormitory.
The budget totals 120,000 gold coins, which will be allocated in three years. It is accompanied by detailed engineering drawings and budget details, as well as the joint signatures of all members of the Academy Council."
King Ghidorah The middle head is slightly tilted.
"--Lord Antioch City of the Eastern Province reported that the city's recent continuous rainfall has caused the drainage system in the city to be overwhelmed, and many blocks have become severely waterlogged.
The lord requested the empire to allocate funds to repair the drainage system, with a budget of 23,000 gold coins. Attached is the engineer's survey report."
King Ghidorah The head on the left side yawned. It's not really sleepy, it's just boredom.
"--The lord of the northern mining city Tharsis reported that the workers in the city's mines demanded higher wages and have been on strike for several days.
The lords have sent troops to maintain order, but the workers' representatives refused to negotiate and asked the empire to send commissioners to mediate. A petition from the striking workers is attached."
King Ghidorah The head on the right side began to wander, and his eyes were attracted by the luminous gems on the dome.
"--Imperial Dragon Cavalry Corps The captain of the third brigade reported that a pterosaur knight in the brigade accidentally lost his mount pterosaur during his vacation, and it has not been found yet.
The knight requested permission from the empire to enter Royal Dragon Garden and claim a pterosaur again. A letter of apology from the knight himself is attached."
"Stop, stop, stop." The head in the middle of King Ghidorah raised its head, and its six golden vertical pupils looked at Sangis at the same time.
Sangis stopped reciting, hugged the document to his chest, and bowed slightly. "Your Majesty?"
"What the hell is this?" King Ghidorah's tone was not angry, but confused like "are you sure you got the wrong document?"
He quickly ran through what he had just heard in his mind - Noble Academy was going to be expanded, the drain in a certain street was blocked, the miners were on strike demanding higher wages, and the pterosaur was lost.
"Why do you even have to report this kind of thing? Is your country so idle?"
Sangis was silent for two seconds. Her expression did not change, but she lightly dug her fingers on the back of the document. It was a small subconscious action she made when she felt embarrassed. After picking it, she remembered that the person opposite may not be able to understand complex human expressions, but he must be able to sense all her small movements.
"Your Majesty." Sangis's voice was still so steady, but his speaking speed was a little slower, "That's all the affairs that need to be dealt with on a daily basis..."
King Ghidorah stared at her for a few seconds. Sangis did not avoid his gaze, nor did he deliberately meet her. He just stood quietly, holding the pile of paperwork, waiting for his next question.
"By the way, aren't there any corrupt officials among your nobles?" King Ghidorah asked. He had been curious about this question when he was reading history books in his previous life. The rise and fall of those dynasties was inseparable from the word "corruption" eight times out of ten.
An empire can operate for more than a thousand years, either because its system is so perfect that no one can take advantage of it, or its rulers are so bloody that no one dares to take advantage of it.
Sangis's fingers dug at the back of the document again.
"This..." She was thinking about what to say. Telling the truth might expose the dark side of the empire, and telling lies might be exposed - no, it's not "may be exposed", but the person in front of her who can even telepathize. Once she lies, the other party will definitely know.
So she took a deep breath and decided to tell the truth.
"Caesar Your Majesty. In fact, most of the people who dared to disrupt the balance of the empire were dealt with by the Lord Protector."
King Ghidorah's three heads turned at the same time. "The Protector of the Country?"
"Yes." Sangis nodded, his tone was steady, but there was a subtle awe in his eyes that only appeared when "that person" was mentioned, "He is an ancient black dragon, and the strongest dragon in the empire besides His Majesty Valerirus.
His duty is to isolate all dangers from outside the country, and to execute all heretics and scourges within the country. His methods..." Sangis paused, as if looking for a word that would not be too bloody or too hypocritical, "Very thorough."
King Ghidorah I probably understand. A black dragon, the strongest person under the emperor, is responsible for assassinations and purges. The stability of the empire does not depend on the system, but on this black dragon to remove the unstable factors one by one.
The corruption of the nobles, the greed of the merchants, the incompetence of the officials, and those "guys who dared to destroy the balance of the empire" - were all dealt with.
"Oh." King Ghidorah said. He changed his position, stacked the three heads again, and continued to ask, "Then when the red dragon was beaten just now, why didn't he come out?"
Sangis's mouth twitched. It wasn't a smile, it was the kind of twitch that said, "I don't know how to answer this question but I must answer it."
"Uh, this..." Sangis's fingers dug at the back of the document for the third time, "The black dragon's movements were too fast. The Lord Protector should... haven't reacted yet."
"You haven't reacted yet?" King Ghidorah repeated the word, not in a serious tone, but the meaning of "your excuse is too perfunctory" was obvious on all three heads. "Why is your Lord Protector still reacting selectively?"
Sangis's mouth twitched again. She moved the pile of documents from her left hand to her right hand, and then from her right hand to her left hand.
She felt that she might be the first palace manager since the founding of the empire who had to explain to the dragon "why my Protectorate Guild reacted selectively".
She took a deep breath and decided to skip the topic.
"Your Majesty." Sangis took out a document from the bottom of the pile, held it in both hands, and handed it to King Ghidorah.
This document is thicker than the previous ones. The cover is dark brown and bound with red silk thread. There is no writing on the cover, only a dark red paint seal.
The fire paint print is a pattern that King Ghidorah has never seen before - a mountain with a door on the mountain and a headless dragon standing in front of the door.
"There is another important event.'Forbidden Land'." Sangis's voice was a little lower than before.
"This area was once the... key protection area of His Majesty Valerirus. It is also the most mysterious and inaccessible place in the empire."
King Ghidorah's eyes fell on the fire seal. "How inaccessible is it?"
"Anyone who approaches Forbidden Land without permission will be executed." Sangis said, "There is no need for trial or reporting. The guards can shoot them directly."
This order was personally signed by His Majesty Valerirus and has not been changed for more than a thousand years."
The three heads of King Ghidorah raised their heads at the same time, looking at the luminous gems on the dome. "Forbidden Land." He read the word in his heart.
There are places like this in any empire - places where secrets are hidden, places that cannot be known. Some are military secrets, some are royal scandals, and some are ancient relics that even the emperor himself cannot figure out and can only seal up.
He is not very interested in Forbidden Land itself, but he is a little curious about "something that Valerirus has protected for more than a thousand years." If a giant dragon can protect it for more than a thousand years, at least that thing is not boring.
"It's unguarded right now." Sangis said, "Do you want to send someone to take a look?"
King Ghidorah thought for a moment. Send someone to see it? Who? When humans go to a place like this, they will most likely die.
Did he go by himself? It was too troublesome. He was the emperor now, and the emperor couldn't do everything himself. He thought about it and thought of a suitable candidate.
"I'll send Voraksa to take a look later." King Ghidorah said.
"By the way, Voraksa." King Ghidorah's telepathy spreads. He doesn't need to shout loudly or search with his eyes. He just extends his consciousness outward to make the other party feel his call.
There was a burst of rapid, heavy footsteps, like someone's running, in the distance. Voraksa ran out of the arch of the side hall, with four eyes lit up. The newly grown buds on the left wing trembled slightly in the wind. He ran so fast that he almost couldn't keep up with the rhythm on the right wing.
He ran up to King Ghidorah, braked suddenly, and plowed four shallow claw marks on the ground with his front paws.
"Your Majesty, you are looking for me." Voraksa's voice was breathy, not because he was tired, but because he was nervous. He thought King Ghidorah called him over to see that he was not doing his job well and wanted to scold him.
After all, ever since King Ghidorah gave him the task of "curing the red dragon", he has been trying to keep Red Dragon Emperor alive with his little healing skills.
"Where's the red dragon?" King Ghidorah asked.
Voraksa was stunned for a moment, and then realized that what King Ghidorah asked was not "Where is the red dragon?", but "Has the red dragon been cured?". His four eyes blinked once, and then blinked again.
"It should... be recovered soon." Voraksa said, with a guilty conscience in his voice: "I'm not sure, but I think it's almost done." "I'll bring him over right away."
Voraksa turned around and trotted back all the way, faster than when he came, and disappeared in the shadow of the arch.
Sangis stood there, watching the legendary black giant beast that could only appear in myths run around like a summoned dog.
She took out another document from the document and carefully held it in front of King Ghidorah.
"Your Majesty, the Lord Protector, the Commander-in-Chief of the Forbidden Army and several Grand Dukes want to see you." Sangis's tone was very calm, but these words made several eavesdropping waiters in the hall hold their breath at the same time.
"They also brought several treasures, which they said were presented to His Majesty as a meeting gift."
King Ghidorah nodded his head in the middle. "Okay, let them come over."
Sangis turned around and walked towards the door. Her pace was a little faster than usual, but still steady.
Her long skirt was dragging on the ground, rustling. When she walked to the door, she turned sideways and whispered a few words to the guard at the door. The guard nodded and ran out quickly.
King Ghidorah sat on the throne, his three heads turning slightly. He thought of one thing - he is the emperor now, but he knows nothing about the administrative system of this empire.
"By the way, tell me, what other official positions are there in the empire?" King Ghidorah asked.
Sangis walked back, stood under the throne, slightly raised his head and looked at King Ghidorah.
She quickly sorted through the empire's bureaucracy in her mind, from the highest to the lowest, from the central to the local governments, from the big and named positions to the small positions that even she couldn't remember clearly.
She compressed the huge administrative structure of the empire into a list of key points that she could recite on the spot, and began to talk.
"The supreme head of the empire is His Majesty the Emperor -" Sangis paused and continued, "It is subordinated to Senate. Senate is composed of nobles and is responsible for reviewing major bills and electing some officials.
The chief elder of Senate is called the 'first elder', who is elected internally by Senate and serves a term of one year."
King Ghidorah Listen, this structure feels a bit like ancient Rome.
"There are two 'consuls' under the emperor." Sangis stretched out two fingers and gestured in the air, "One governs the interior, and one governs the exterior."
The internal consul is responsible for administration, justice, and finance, while the external consul is responsible for diplomacy, borders, and war. The two consuls check and balance each other and have equal power. In terms of military affairs, there is a 'Commander of the Imperial Guard' who commands the capital garrison and the emperor's guard.
In the financial aspect, there is a 'financial officer', who is responsible for treasury revenue and expenditure, and tax supervision. In the judicial aspect, there is a 'supervisor', who is responsible for hearing major cases and supervising the behavior of officials.
In addition, there are 'municipal officers' responsible for public facilities and public security in the capital, and 'legal officers' responsible for legal interpretation and litigation guidance."
Sangis After saying this, he paused for a moment.
"In terms of local administration, the empire is divided into three levels: provinces, regions, and cities. Provinces are managed by 'provincial governors', who are directly appointed by the emperor and have an indefinite term.
Regions are governed by 'regional governors', appointed by provincial governors. Cities are governed by 'mayors', elected by citizens."
"There is also the Lord Protector." Sangis added, with a slight change in tone, "The Lord Protector does not belong to any administrative hierarchy. He is not subject to Senate's supervision and is not under the jurisdiction of the consuls. He is only responsible to the emperor.
His duty is to keep the enemies of the empire out of the empire."
King Ghidorah Listening, three heads clicked one after another. The official system of the empire is much more complete than he imagined. It is not a makeshift team, but a precision machine that has been polished for more than a thousand years.
"Okay." King Ghidorah said, "Let them come in."