Chapter 177 It's Time to Tax
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After inspecting these manors, Edward started back to London with Little Lolita and his party.
This return, the London City Government began preparations early in the morning, and the entire street was cleaned again. Members of the London City Government and the Privy Council ministers all came outside London to welcome His Majesty Edward.
This grand ceremony was held by the unanimous decision of the Privy Council. One is to welcome the return of His Majesty the King, and the other is to celebrate the formal conquest of Scotland by England. The establishment of the United Kingdom of Scotland and England is imminent.
This joyful atmosphere has also brought to the people of London, the citizens, the nobles and the rich celebrated this rare prosperity for hundreds of years, and sales of all kinds of alcohol and commodities were booming.
The poor and beggars at the bottom, although they don't understand why this is, and what is a national event, they are also very happy.
Because many nobles and merchants were generous once in a while and began to donate bread, so they also rejoiced along with the whole city.
From this point, it can be seen that England is different from most countries in Europe. At the beginning, the English people have initially awakened their national consciousness.
The religious reform not only brought huge financial income to the Tudor royal family, but also allowed the rise of the bourgeoisie.
More importantly, it loosened the ideological **** of the English people, allowing businessmen and nobles throughout England, as well as some commoners, to begin to identify with and be proud of this country.
It is the Tudor royal family that plays a representative role. Unlike the previous royal family, the Tudor royal family fully recognizes themselves as the king of England, instead of thinking of themselves as the king of France as before. The king of England is just a crown that is forced by the situation.
Since Henry VII, the Tudor royal family has started to manage England, from the establishment of sheriffs, hundred-household districts, and the encouragement of commercial development, and a mode of restraint on the enclosure movement.
And the efforts of the Tudor royal family have achieved results. The English nation began to be born, the national consciousness was awakened, and they recognized the king as the representative of the English nation.
So, after Princess Mary came to the throne, the fact that he married the Spanish king was so difficult for the English to accept that a man who did not belong to England became the king of England.
And this is also an important reason why Elizabeth I did not marry later. She chose rights and gave up marriage, just the opposite of her sister. This is also the key to her being loved by the English.
The streets are full of energetic boys and girls, bouncing children, peddlers hawking, troubadours playing and singing by themselves, and jugglers performing arts. It's a lively scene.
Edward did not start patrolling London as stipulated after everyone greeted him. Instead, he lay on the bed and began to sleep soundly.
I slept until night, only to wake up in a daze, and eat a hot and freshly cooked dinner.
Braining up his spirits, Edward began to meet with the Privy Council Minister in London.
This time, Faris Alexander, the head of the Privy Council, came to report the specific situation to Edward.
"Your Majesty, since you set off for Scotland, the reform of the central government has been adjusted. According to your reform content, all departments and personnel have been basically replenished, but..."
Facing Edward, Alexander, the first president of the Privy Council, began to hesitate while speaking, and Edward couldn't help feeling suspicious.
"What's the matter? My Excellency Dean!"
"Your Majesty, it's just that there is not much money left in the treasury!" Alexander was a little embarrassed, and his head began to bow.
"Didn't I leave 10,000 pounds when I went to Scotland? Why did I spend it so quickly?" Edward was speechless at this speed of spending money. In less than a month, 10,000 pounds were gone, but you must know It only cost him 10,000 pounds a month to support 3,000 guards, how did the Privy Council spend it all.
Regarding the matter of spending money, Faris Alexander has every reason to support it. Immediately, he took the time to explain one by one:
"Your Majesty, since you reformed, due to the expansion of a large number of central manpower, you have taken the initiative to pay the salary!" As he spoke, Alexander began to complain, with an expression on his face that you were taken advantage of.
My heart was churning, how good it was before, you served me, I gave you rights, and from time to time, the king rewarded you with some money for a good job, and it was not bad to pay a visit to the house.
At that time, those who could become members of the royal family were either local nobles or monks. Few of them were short of money, and all they cared about were rights.
Besides, if you lose your rights, are you still afraid of running out of money? Therefore, in the Middle Ages, it is a tradition to be greedy even if you are greedy, and the king will not condemn you for it.
"Now, there are hundreds of people in the court, with a monthly salary of 1,500 pounds, plus more than 400 people from various departments of the Privy Council, whose salary is more than 5,000 pounds, plus three from the navy. Thousands of pounds, plus the annulment and consolidation of some small courts, the ten thousand pounds you gave will be gone in half a month."
As for money, Alexander came here casually. After all, he had worked as the Minister of Finance and was familiar with it!
Looking at the helpless President of the Privy Council, Edward couldn't help feeling sorry for him.
I was very happy when I co-authored the reform, but the labor pains afterwards were so uncomfortable. Originally, the entire central government could not spend much money in a year. All the expenses of the entire country, except for the enjoyment of the king, are wars, and wars are currently the largest expenditure of the government.
However, if you want to centralize power, you must establish a bureaucracy throughout England, so that the rule can be stabilized, and the power of the entire country can be quickly concentrated, so that it can have greater war potential.
However, if local reforms continue, then the annual salary paid to bureaucrats will be a large number, and Edward can't afford it now!
Without reform, Edward’s dream of conquering France, defeating Spain, and dominating Europe will be delayed for decades.
So, at present, if Edward wants to get out of the predicament, there is only one word—money.
And relying solely on the royal family income, it is impossible to continue to support the reform. Besides, he is not willing to take his money all the time!
For the current plan, we can only collect taxes, and it is time for the parliament to open for a while.
At this time, the parliament did not meet frequently like it does now, and only the king can convene the parliament. Therefore, the members spend most of their time resting at home, and the king will call them when he has something to do.
During the period of Henry VII, during the decades of ruling England, only seven parliaments were held, and Henry VIII had only thirteen times.
"Your Excellency Alexander, I think it's time to collect taxes!" Thinking of this, Edward stood up and said solemnly.
(end of this chapter)
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