My British Empire

Chapter 133 Central Reform

Although the local administrative power is no longer under Edward's control, Edward's power is much greater than that of the kings of other countries.

For example, France at this time is still a country of the aristocratic alliance. The king can only show off his prestige in his own territory, and other places are dominated by the aristocrats.

But in England, Edward has the diplomatic power, judicial power, legislative power, and military power in England, as well as certain local administrative power.

The officials in the local county are basically held by famous local gentlemen. They are all voluntary labor and help Edward manage local affairs for free.

We need to figure out who was a gentleman in Tudor times.

Squires Generally speaking, they are the middle class who own medium-sized land properties, and their estates are between the nobles and the Yeomans.

The annual income is generally more than two hundred pounds, including local knights, quasi-knights, and squires.

This does not mean that you can be a gentleman as long as you earn more money. It can be said that a gentleman is the reserve of the nobles. Their energy is very great, such as the justices of the peace during the British occupation of Hong Kong.

The symbol of a gentleman is blood lineage and character quality.

If you are an ordinary person in this period, if you want to enter the gentleman class, you must go through three generations of "blood purge". class, and must be recognized by the Bureau of Heraldry.

Such strict standards guarantee the overall quality of the gentleman class, and also protect the interests of the gentleman class.

And the gentlemen volunteer to help Edward manage the place, which is also in demand.

The first one is to speak for the interests of one's own family. Only in the center of power can one accurately and safely **** one's own family.

Besides, being an official can't support people. For example, if people live on wages, how can anyone be a civil servant.

Second, it is to let oneself get a family and get promoted.

Gentlemen are preparatory nobles. They hope that they can make achievements in the local area, so as to be valued by the king, get a title, and become the top of the society - the lord.

This is the highest requirement of gentlemen, and only they can become nobles. Ordinary people, such as blacksmiths and businessmen, cannot become nobles, nor can they directly become nobles.

And Charles I of the Stuart dynasty was sent to the guillotine because of the taxation of these people, and the gentlemen were the new nobles in the future.

They are the real masters of England, just like the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties in China. They are local families, and Edward is the agent of the family.

For example, the Kent County Sheriff’s Committee (Magistrates), they are composed of more than 20 local small gentleman groups, basically since the 13th century, they have held this position, inherited from father to son, continuously.

Then, of course, how does the central government implement government orders? Negotiate!

That’s right, it’s negotiation. The central government sent people to the local area to discuss with those gentlemen.

The extent to which they implement the decrees issued by the London government depends on the extent to which London discusses with them, and they will only be implemented after a consensus is reached.

It can be said that England and Wales have a total of more than fifty counties, not in the hands of the central government and Edward, but in the hands of five thousand gentleman families, who are the real masters of England at this time.

So, if Edward wants to regain the management rights of the place, it will be very difficult.

Fortunately, this is the Renaissance era, and the capitalist class is starting to rise, which is a force that can be harnessed.

Thinking like this, Edward fell asleep.

Woke up in the evening, Edward accompanied Little Lolita to dinner, and chatted with his sisters Elizabeth and Mary about Princess Mary's marriage for a while.

Then, while the two were shy, Edward finished the day.

The next day, Edward woke up early today, and started discussing the appointment and dismissal of the Sheriff with the President of the Privy Council and the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The position of county chief was originally to replace the earl. In France, it refers to the senior lord who used feudal power in the place. In the feudal era of France, an earl was often the supreme ruler of the earl country (with royal power). As the Earl of Anru, he can completely rule over Anruyi.

But that never happened in England. All dominions in England are granted by the king. It is a feature of English law that the people in the domain owe their allegiance to the king, not to the lord.

In order to divide the power of the nobles, the king appointed the sheriff, who was initially responsible for the county's security work and presided over the county court.

Therefore, the sheriff has become the representative of the local royal power and has great influence. In order to worry that the sheriff was too powerful, the king even stipulated that the term of the sheriff was only one year! And if the king dies, the sheriff must step down automatically.

Recently, with the period of the Tudor Dynasty, the power of the aristocracy has basically been defeated, and the royal power used the jurisdiction of the royal court to expand the judicial power of the royal court (stipulating that lawsuits over 40 shillings should be under the jurisdiction of the royal court), thereby depriving the power of the county court and rebuilding the county courts. The militia, commanded by a full-time magistrate, deprived the sheriff of military authority—then the sheriff became an almost purely ceremonial office.

But Edward must take it seriously. The county sheriffs are almost the embodiment of the king. They have no rights, but their existence represents the infiltration of the king's rights.

"Your Majesty, this is the list drafted by me and the ministers, please have a look!"

Chancellor of the Exchequer Faris held the list of personnel in his hand, and handed it to Edward respectfully, and then sat upright with a smile on his face, looking gentle and elegant.

Edward took a closer look and found that these people were basically the same people, but they just moved to another place.

Edward didn't say anything either, these were just conventions, and the king didn't have any talents in his hands, and the sheriff didn't have any power in his hands, so the importance was not high.

"Very good, the one drafted by the Privy Council is very good, let the Minister of Seals seal it!"

Edward looked at it scribbled, and within three minutes, he spoke.

"Yes, Your Majesty. As long as you are satisfied, this is the happiest thing for our Privy Council colleagues!"

Minister of Finance Faris showed a gratified smile and said sincerely.

Then, when he put away the list and was about to leave, Edward Pudd stopped him.

"My lord minister, I don't know what happened to the recent local riots?"

Edward took a sip of strong tea, his fair and tender face gradually turned rosy, and then he said in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, due to the resignation of Duke Edward and God's blessing, the riots in the counties have subsided a lot this year!"

"England's tax revenue may be normal this year, and the financial pressure will be greatly reduced!"

Faris looked relieved, and his whole body seemed to have been reduced a lot.

"Yes! The local riots last year were really surprising!"

Edward also had an uncomfortable look on his face. Riots broke out frequently, businesses withered, and his treasury was struggling to support.

You know, he not only has to feed the 3,000-man Guards, but also the court staff, and the debt left to him by Henry VIII.

All of these need money, and it is still a bit difficult to support the central government of London.

"Faris, I am still not satisfied with the administrative efficiency of the Privy Council. This needs reform!"

Edward sighed, lowered his eyes, and said earnestly.

"This, Your Majesty, is not very good!" Faris looked a little embarrassed, looked at Edward carefully, and said word by word, hesitating.

"However, your suggestion is very insightful, and it should be!"

Seeing Edward's eyes getting sharper and sharper, Faris quickly changed his words, and his tone became more humble.

"Presumably you already have some dissatisfaction, this is our responsibility, you say!"

Seeing the Chancellor of the Exchequer who changed his attitude instantly, Edward couldn't help but sigh in his heart, his father is really good at employing people.

Faris Alexander was not from aristocratic background, at most he was a small local gentry. He was able to defeat such nobles and become the Minister of Finance, which was entirely dependent on the king's power to secure his position.

Leaving the king, he has no family background, how many people still care about him.

Low status and great power are indeed a good way to control ministers in this era.

Subsequently, Edward and Faris made some discussions to establish a complete central system based on the situation and facts in England.

The next day, Edward convened a meeting of the Privy Council. After a morning discussion between the ministers and Edward, the following reforms were made.

Under the king, the Privy Council, the Royal Court, the Star Court, and the Military Council were established.

Privy Council: Responsible for consulting the king and implementing the king's decrees.

Establish one president of the Privy Council, two vice-presidents, and several ministers. The number is not limited, and the time is not limited.

Under it, there are nine departments: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Financial Revenue and Expenditure Management, the Ministry of Religious Reform, the Ministry of Social Security, the Department of Supervision and Management, the Ministry of Construction Engineering, the Department of Official Position Management, the Ministry of Agriculture and Business Management, and the Ministry of Education.

Each department has a minister and two deputy ministers, and eight departments are set up under it, and each department is responsible for a set of things.

England was divided into eight parts by Edward: Northeast England, Northwest England, Yorkshire and the Humber, West Central England, East Central England, East England, South West England, and South East England.

Each department has a director and two deputy directors, as well as several personnel.

You must know that at that time the Chancellor of the Exchequer had his own independent Finance Department, which was responsible for collecting and managing His Majesty’s taxation and finances.

So the Finance Department is independent from the Privy Council, and the function of the Finance Revenue and Expenditure Department is to plan the government revenue and expenditure for the second year, and to keep the funds that Edward transferred to the government.

Let me explain again that the Privy Council is an advisory body established by the King of England. He can withdraw, delete or delete at will, and no one can obstruct it.

(end of this chapter)

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