Back to Ming Dynasty with Industrial Revolution System

Chapter 1580 Sophia's determination to change
"I have just returned to England, and I feel familiar and unfamiliar with everything here. If I oppose the parliament, then I may face the same fate as my brother. If I support the parliament, the king may become a show in the future, just A false identity. I want to learn from you."

Sofia, annoyed by the fiscal changes proposed by Parliament, called in a few directors of Occidental for advice.

The Western Company is a combination of bureaucratic businessmen and private businessmen sent by Chu Yun to trade in Europe. Some of them are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Households and are not affected by the English Parliament. Therefore, after the Parliament put forward financial reform opinions, she had to Turn to the directors of Western companies.

Huang Xiushan was among them, and he was deeply surprised to be invited by the Queen to consult on England's fiscal reform.This is a major event in England, which determines the power of the king and the parliament. The consultants are not the veterans of James I and Charles I, but a few outsiders!

"This matter is of great importance. Is it too hasty for Her Majesty to ask us outsiders for advice?" Huang Xiushan hesitated.

Several other directors also held the same opinion as him and nodded slightly.

To be honest, several of their merchants from China have always held a neutral attitude. They just want to make good money and don't want to be involved in the conflict between the parliament and the king!
"My experience in economics can be said to be blank, but some of you used to be bureaucrats, and some of you have studied economics in the Imperial University, so you should have your own understanding. Don't you want to help me?" Sophia said.

"Don't dare... It's just a contest between the king and the council. We are also afraid of the consequences in our eyes. If the military leader is held accountable in the future, won't it be blamed on us?" Several directors of Huang Xiushan are afraid, if it is because of them Her few words caused Queen Sophia to collapse in England, and civil war broke out again. They probably also have an inescapable responsibility.

"In the future, your lords will investigate the responsibility, and I will bear it. Before he left, he told me that even if I made people angry here, he would take me in." Sophia's fearless character once again It is revealed that it is obvious that it wants to make a big move to resolve the conflict between the king and the parliament throughout the ages.

If she was still cautious in the face of an unfamiliar council, then Chu Yun's words gave her another way to retreat.

"We heard Her Majesty's explanation, it seems that the kingdom's finances are tight, so the Congress wants to put pressure on Her Majesty to limit the power of the royal family and enhance the legislative power of Parliament, so they are willing to legislate and collect more taxes. If they just want to raise military expenses , so there are many ways, such as establishing banks to issue bonds to the private sector, or expanding trade and developing agriculture to obtain more and continuous tax revenue. But if this matter ultimately involves the appeal of the parliament, then it may need to be clarified The distribution of power between the Crown and Parliament," said one of the directors, who was a former imperial bureaucrat.

Sophia thought of what she had seen and heard during her study tour in the East. It is true that financial instruments such as national debt can be used to raise funds, and developing the economy to increase tax revenue is the most stable approach.

She was pleasantly surprised and then asked: "How to clarify the power of the royal family and the parliament?"

"From my observation, power can be roughly divided into executive, legislative, judicial, and military powers. If the ownership of power can be more accurately divided, each department should be able to perform their duties and check and balance each other. The result should be that Congress I would like to see it." The director put forward a little bit of his own opinion.

Although these businessmen held a neutral attitude, they had observed the contest between the king and the parliament as bystanders in the past few years. The bystanders could clearly see that the contradiction between the two was actually a struggle for power.

Sophia was thoughtful, and then said bitterly: "It would be great if I could directly ask for advice from your adults..."

In the past, Sophia and Chu Yun only talked about leisure time in life. She never thought that she would face such a troublesome decision after assuming the throne—in order to solve the conflict between the parliament and the king and develop the economy, she had to start a reform .

And all of this has to be decided by a novice like her.

Huang Xiushan and the other directors smiled bitterly. They couldn't help Queen Sophia communicate with Chu Yun who was far away in the east.

"I have some ideas, but I still need your help, I need to set up an advisory committee, someone to provide me with suggestions for change, and those people in Congress, for their benefit, will definitely fight for them when they change. It would be unfair. I hope you can serve as advisors to the royal family and work with the ministers of the Privy Council to build a new Britain." Sophia said an idea that surprised Huang Xiushan and others.

Sophia has just returned to Britain to govern, and she is about to make changes. It is really hard to imagine what kind of disturbance it will cause.

In fact, it’s not that Sophia is willing to change easily. On the one hand, Congress has put forward its own demands on the new queen. On the other hand, she has seen the continuous development of modern cities in the capital, and when she returns to London, she naturally feels that there are some slightly backward places here. , the idea of ​​​​changing here was born.

So a change is imperative.

"Your Majesty, are you serious? If you are serious, the conflict in the transformation may lead to a new war." Several directors admired Sophia's courage, but they were a little worried that the outbreak of a new war would affect the They're here for business.

"Of course I'm serious. I sincerely invite you to serve as advisors. Even if the Bank of England is established in the future, I can let your businessmen become shareholders." Sophia knew that if she didn't offer some benefits, it might not be easy to get support.

Sure enough, several directors heard that if the Bank of England is established, the East can also inject capital into it, which is a good thing.

"Maybe we can serve His Majesty." Several directors said immediately.

Now that Sophia is not afraid of the consequences, it shouldn't be a problem for them to be a little more cautious.

Soon Sophia brought in the ministers of the Privy Council.The Privy Council is the king's advisory body, and this time Sophia wants to form an advisory committee with the Privy Council and some Chinese people to jointly draft a reform plan.Of course, this plan also needs to satisfy Congress without losing the majesty of the royal family.

Members of the parliament heard about Queen Sophia's determination to change from the Minister of the Privy Council, and suddenly became nervous. It was hard for them to guess what kind of plan the Queen planned to come up with.

(End of this chapter)