The sudden reversal of events stunned many people. Even Franz, the instigator, doubted his own senses. Fortunately, years of being Emperor had forged a strong heart in Franz, and he quickly recovered. “Frederick, after looking at these case files, what do you understand?” Adhering to the principle of making the most of everything, Franz didn’t let this classic case slip by and immediately used it to train his son. After all, as long as he himself didn’t say anything, no one would know it was a coincidence. The outside world would only think the Emperor’s methods were brilliant. Frederick, who hadn’t yet recovered from the shock, was confused by Franz’s question. “Understand what?” That the Emperor’s methods are brilliant? No! That was the answer in the ministers’ hearts, used for flattery. Frederick didn’t believe his father’s question was just to hear him flatter the latter. Is the Austrian government’s officialdom seriously corrupt? Also not right! Corruption is a problem that has existed in every dynasty. Whether compared horizontally with other European countries or vertically with historical dynasties, Austria’s current officialdom is considered relatively good. Although officials are still making money, they know how to be more discreet about it. The methods of corruption have evolved to power-for-money transactions, without embezzling government funds or privately increasing taxes. This is a form of progress. For the rulers, as long as those below can complete the assigned tasks on time, have no ambitious thoughts of rebellion, and don’t cause widespread anger and popular resentment, then it’s acceptable. Eliminating corruption is just a beautiful dream, achievable only if one is asleep. Otherwise, we’ll have to wait until humanity evolves to a higher level and no longer pursues material possessions. ... This question was too broad. For a moment, one answer after another flooded Frederick’s mind, only to be negated by himself. He didn’t know how to answer for a moment. Meeting Franz’s encouraging gaze, Frederick replied uncertainly, “People are selfish; they simply choose the path most advantageous to themselves.” Franz nodded with satisfaction: “Exactly, people are selfish. This applies to the majority while the rest are saints. The way of a ruler is to govern the country using methods that manage ordinary people, not to gamble on the small probability of saints. Witters and the others are just representatives of the masses. They are equally greedy, but while being greedy, they also maintain a clear head.” “Frederick, if I were to entrust this matter to you, how would you handle it now?” After a moment of thought, Frederick replied firmly, “Fan the flames and take the opportunity to conduct a major purge of the bureaucratic group, eliminating these parasites in one fell swoop.” Franz pressed, “And then?” Frederick fell silent. He knew very well that carrying out a major purge of the bureaucracy was easy, but corruption would still breed after the purge. It was impossible to solve the problem once and for all. It’s important to understand that Austria's anti-corruption efforts are already extremely tough. To combat corruption, the law even allows officials to accept money without actually doing anything in return. Simply put, if an official takes money but doesn’t do anything in return, it is not considered a crime. As long as the official reports it to the relevant authorities within three days, the money becomes legal income. Once reported, the official can profit with a clear conscience, while the person who offered the bribe is doomed. Conversely, the briber can also report the official, and doing so grants them immunity. As a result, aside from a few people who were caught in the early days of the law’s implementation, trust between the two sides quickly collapsed. There’s even a popular saying among the public: “If it’s not a life-and-death friendship, don’t take the money.” In a sense, this very law became a driving force behind the rise of covert power-for-money transactions. With the current level of productivity, trying to regulate these shadowy dealings is extremely difficult. Some are hidden so deeply that even if discovered, no evidence can be found. Most of these transactions involve multiple layers of transfers, with no direct exchange of benefits between the parties involved. If people like Witters hadn’t exposed the system from within the chain of interest, the government would have struggled to get to the bottom of it, no matter how hard it tried. Even now, despite knowing that there are tens of thousands of officials involved, many of them can still slip through the cracks. As long as they operated discreetly in the past, never showing their faces directly, and all benefit transfers were handled through intermediaries, they could simply abandon any associated industries at this point, leaving no evidence of corruption behind. In the era of cash, there weren’t even bank transfer records. The simplest method of money laundering was to directly accept unmarked gold bars, bury them in a pit, and dig them up years later, claiming them as ancestral property. If it hadn’t been exposed this time, even Frederick would not have known that such clever tricks existed. And this was still considered rather primitive. At a higher level, for instance: an official’s frontman might invest in the stock market, and within just ten days to half a month, the investment would double. Or, for example: casually pulling something out from home that turns out to be a priceless antique. Well, when it comes to antiques, it is better not to overthink it. Old noble families genuinely did not lack such things. There was no need to fake it either. If an item was old enough, they could simply claim it had been used personally by some distinguished ancestor, instantly boosting its value. Even if the ancestor wasn’t particularly impressive, there was always a famous relative to point to—this or that person gifted it. At the end of the day, it was all about appearances. As long as someone was willing to pay, it didn’t matter. Those capitalists, eager to seek favors, would often cover each other which usually goes like this: today I pay for you, tomorrow you pay for him, and the day after tomorrow he pays for me. In any case, there was absolutely no direct link of interest between the buyer and the seller. Even the collaborating capitalists did not appear to know each other publicly and had no visible business dealings. And that was not all. Even the people selling the goods were not the officials themselves. Usually, they operated through legally registered companies. If anything went wrong, they could simply abandon these businesses. At that time, without networked systems, many companies were registered under the names of deceased individuals. The dead would not speak, and even if the government wanted to pursue accountability, they could not demand people from God. At most, the property would be confiscated as ownerless assets. In reality, there was not much worth confiscating either. Most of these companies had little actual value. Aside from a few employees who knew nothing, the company’s profits came entirely from hidden benefit transfers. ... Watching his son deep in thought, Franz chose to wait patiently. He knew this was a difficult problem. Even he himself had only understood it after being emperor for many years. However, as a member of the royal family, such issues had to be thoroughly considered. Only by seeing through the situation clearly would one choose the course of action most beneficial to oneself. That was right. The goal was not to solve the problem. Solving problems was the ministers’ responsibility. The emperor only needed to guide the way, while charging into battle was the duty of subordinates. After a while, Frederick slowly said, “Father, do you mean that even if we know the rules are flawed, we still have to act according to them?” Franz shook his head and said, “This is not a problem with the rules. In fact, there is no such thing as perfect rules in this world. What truly tests a person is their ability to adapt. While obeying the rules, we must also know how to use the rules to serve us, rather than becoming slaves under them. Always remember, we are the makers of the rules, and we are also the guardians of them. Unless it is absolutely necessary, it is best not to easily attempt to change the rules of the game. Because before you change the rules, you must first be prepared to bear the backlash from them.” There was no other way. Franz needed to cultivate a ruler who would preserve the empire, not one driven by restless ambition. An overly active mind or grand ambitions were not qualities a ruler focused on stability should have. By comparison, a conservative mindset was the better choice. After all, Austria was vast and had accumulated a strong foundation. Its margin for error was already very high. As long as future rulers did not recklessly make changes, Austria’s status as a major power would remain solid. With a stable nation, the royal family would naturally remain stable too. After thinking quietly for a moment, Frederick slowly said, “Father, I understand now. In politics, there is no black or white—only what is necessary. Witters and the others are not good people, but the work they are doing now benefits the empire, so we must make use of them. As for the officials and capitalists who have been exposed for committing crimes, no matter how numerous or powerful they are, they are criminals. Since they are criminals, they must be subjected to the punishment of the law. Anyone who obstructs justice becomes our enemy to be dealt with. Witters and the others are the knives in our hands, helping us cut away the rot from the empire. As for their character, it does not matter at all! If this knife remains sharp, we will protect them and let them become revered pillars of the nation. If the blade dulls or rusts, then they will have to suffer the consequences themselves.” There was nothing wrong with this. Anyone caught with criminal evidence will be severely punished. If no evidence can be found, then they will act as if nothing happened. Although this is far from ideal and we cannot root out every parasite in the country, these are the unwritten rules. Upholding the dignity of the law is the top priority. As for cleaning up those who slipped through the cracks, there will be plenty of opportunities later. Franz was very satisfied with Frederick’s way of handling things. Cold-bloodedness is a fundamental trait of a monarch. Do not be fooled by Franz’s seemingly easygoing manner. The fact that he has not resorted to “using and then discarding” his subordinates over the years is only because they have kept themselves in line. In reality, behind all the pomp there have been many followers who fell by the wayside because of dishonorable conduct. Out of respect for their past merits, Franz chose to treat them leniently so that he would appear merciful. That leniency was still carried out entirely within the bounds of the rules. For example, those who should have lost their titles instead passed them straight to their descendants, while the individuals themselves were exiled to relatively comfortable overseas colonies. No matter how much care was shown, they were still expelled from the circles of power. Their family estates were not confiscated, leaving them hope of a future comeback. There is no execution involved. Europe has no tradition of killing nobles. Unless someone has committed an outrage that shakes Heaven and Earth, nobles are very rarely put to death. This kind of treatment was something people like Witters would never enjoy. They had achieved merits, yes, but their prior collusion with Jewish capitalists had touched a major taboo. The fact that Franz had not gone after them for it already counted as an act of great magnanimity. From the beginning, Franz had intended for them to go down together with the Jewish capitalists. He had not expected these men to be so ruthless, managing to carve a bloody path out of a desperate situation. By stepping over the corpses of their colleagues, they built themselves a good reputation. And as it turned out, a good reputation really could save your life. Now, the Austrian public believed them to be clean officials. No matter how much evidence the Jewish capitalists presented, it could all be dismissed as framing or slander. But in exchange for escaping punishment, people like Witters would have to spend the rest of their lives constantly looking over their shoulders in fear of revenge. If they wanted to remain in politics, they had no choice but to rely on their reputation as upright, incorruptible officials who loathed evil. Thinking of this, Franz let out a helpless sigh. He thought to himself, “I wonder if this counts as turning black into white?” “Maybe, probably, hopefully not. Using one group of parasites to eliminate another could barely be called fighting poison with poison. No, maybe it is more like saving wayward officials and pulling them back onto the right path…” No matter how much he tried to comfort himself, it did not change the absurdity of the situation. These were people he had not wanted to use, yet political necessity forced him to do so. As if something unpleasant had crossed his mind, Franz gave a further reminder: “Frederick, remember this. People like Witters have extremely low moral bottom lines. They must never be allowed to hold high office. If there comes a time when it is absolutely necessary to use them, do so with extreme caution. Their ceiling should be no higher than Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau or a Deputy Minister. Before giving them such positions, you must also prepare effective checks and balances. The moment anything suspicious arises, suppress them immediately. When choosing cabinet members and departmental heads, you must prioritize people with strong principles. Their skills do not need to be exceptional, as long as they are above average, that is enough. And especially the position of Prime Minister, pick someone older if at all possible. Keep the younger ones on hold, no matter how capable they are.” *** https://postimg.cc/gallery/PwXsBkC (Maps of the current territories of the countries in this novel made by ScH)
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