Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 301 - 296 Political System

Chapter 301: Chapter 296 Political System

"It’s no wonder Tassera says it’s difficult. Before settling in Watchtower Port, she lived in the desert her entire life. Occasionally, she’d travel outside, and she had been to the Human Empire before. However, she never had any opportunity to engage with political systems, nor had she come across any book that detailed them. At most, she’d hear bits and pieces from some noble in passing."

"Tassera is confident that with a few months, or even half a year, she could cobble together a decent political system. She couldn’t stand how Leon kept insisting it wasn’t hard."

"Who do you think came up with stamp duty and deed tax..." Leon shrugged off Tassera’s assurances. His taste leaned toward minimalism, and Tassera had always been cooperative. He simply couldn’t tolerate her underestimating him. "You can talk about magic, and I’ll admit I know nothing about it. But when it comes to politics, I do have some understanding."

Leon furrowed his brow, muttering to himself, "Let me think, what kinds of political systems are there? Democracy, absolute monarchy, autocracy, confederacy, plutocracy, oligarchy, commercial republic..."

"Democracy, absolute monarchy, autocracy..." Tassera, standing nearby, looked utterly confused. "What you’re saying makes absolutely no sense to me."

"Even this confuses you?" Leon thought he was already putting it in layman’s terms, but evidently, he had overestimated Tassera.

"Democracy means the people manage the government directly or through elected representatives, participating in political decision-making," Leon explained. "Absolute monarchy is when a hereditary ruler holds absolute power. The difference between autocracy and absolute monarchy is that the supreme ruler in an autocracy doesn’t necessarily establish a hereditary dynasty."

"I don’t know much about the Empire, but the Talia Alliance consists of many small countries and city-states, and quite a few of those belong to commercial republics."

Leon nodded and continued, "In these commercial republics, the leaders are usually a council of merchants whose primary responsibility is to increase the collective wealth of the city-state. Militarily, they focus on opening or protecting trade routes. Diplomatically, their main concerns revolve around tariffs, import taxes, and similar issues."

"Feudalism, also known as the enfeoffment system, involves the monarch directly governing the core territory, while delegating land outside of it to vassals, granting them titles and allowing them to establish fiefdoms to protect the central authority." Leon pursed his lips. "Feudalism feels like it would suit us, but the ’sub-vassal of my vassal is not my vassal’ concept is rather foolish."

"’Under heaven, none of the land is not the king’s; within the seas, none of the people are not the king’s subjects.’" Leon said passionately, raising his hand. "Prefectural administrative system! We must implement a prefectural administrative system!"

Leon pondered further: the Ming Dynasty abolished the position of Prime Minister, creating the framework for monarchic autocracy. It dismantled provincial-level governments and replaced them with three separate commissions, further weakening local power. They also established secret police agencies and implemented the "Eight-Legged Essay" system for civil service examinations, an outstanding manifestation of centralized autocracy. The Qing Dynasty followed the Ming system, pushing centralized despotic rule to its peak.

This was a world with supernatural powers, where the strength of an individual could surpass that of an army. Leon wasn’t sure if grafting familiar political systems onto this world would work seamlessly. After thinking it over, he concluded that any issues that arose could always be resolved later. He said, "I’ve figured out how to establish the nation. Listen and see if it’s feasible."

Just as Leon began to speak, he remembered that historically, the dynasties he was referencing governed massive territories. For instance, the population of the Ming Dynasty likely exceeded a hundred million. In comparison, the territory he ruled was no larger than a province, with Watchtower Port as its only city. Including the monsters, the total population might at best reach several hundred thousand, or barely a million. For now, his focus should just be on setting up the government framework.

In sum, Leon began eloquently outlining his plans.

He decided to adopt an absolute monarchy, granting the monarch supreme authority. The will of the monarch would act as the law, unrestrained by any other force.

The Royal Advisory Council would have no decision-making power and would report directly to the King, offering advice and consultation on matters within their respective areas of expertise.

The Chief Justice would handle drafting decrees and formulating policies. The Minister of Seal would review the Chief Justice’s decrees and policies, holding a limited veto power. Finally, the Prime Minister would execute policies and manage the nation’s administrative affairs... These three positions would balance and check each other to ensure the scientific and rational nature of government policies.

The Personnel Department would oversee the selection, appointment, and evaluation of officials. The Civil Affairs Department would manage the nation’s finances, taxes, and economic matters. The Culture Department would handle ceremonies, rituals, education, and other cultural affairs. The Military Affairs Department would focus on army development and warfare. The Justice Department would handle judicial matters, including trials and punishments. Lastly, the Engineering Department would take care of public works, water management, and other infrastructure tasks... Each department would perform its duties to ensure the state operates smoothly.

A royal council meeting would be convened every fortnight.

The prefectural administrative system would centralize local authority under the central government, effectively preventing the rise of regional separatist forces and maintaining national unity.

For certain monsters, establishing autonomous regions could be considered, as long as they submitted to the central government’s authority.

Noble titles would only be granted for military merit. Titles would only be bestowed under a special decree. Titles would be divided into two categories: those granted for a lifetime only, and those that could be hereditary. Hereditary titles would further fall into two subtypes: those allowing continuous inheritance and those where the title would degrade with each successive generation.

Unified script, standardized vehicles, consistent measures and weights, and uniform moral conduct.

The civil service examination system would be a means of selecting officials through competitive exams.

...

Leon spoke endlessly, continuing for most of the day until he was parched and utterly satisfied. When he finally looked up, he saw Tassera staring at him, entirely dumbfounded.

Leon raised his hand, waved his five fingers in front of Tassera’s eyes, and asked, "I’ve talked so much—don’t tell me you weren’t listening."

"I was listening, the whole time," Tassera swallowed hard, her face full of disbelief.

"Do you believe now that I’m capable of creating a political system?" Leon asked smugly.

Tassera didn’t argue and said, "I believe you."

"Just a moment ago, didn’t you say that if I could put together a feasible political system within a month, you’d go along with whatever I wanted to do after that?" Leon narrowed his eyes with a grin. Although he didn’t particularly care about Tassera’s promise, that didn’t mean he’d let it slide. "Now I just need to decide... what exactly do I want from you?"

"I’ll keep my word, but at least wait until tomorrow," Tassera instinctively took a step back. "Fiora’s too dense for you; what about Salovis?"

"Are you insane? She’s my sister." Leon rubbed his hands together. "Alright, enough dodging."

What happened to Tassera was uncertain for the time being, but Leon now had a clear plan for nation-building. He believed it wouldn’t take more than six months to establish the new state.

Now the only question was, should it be named Shenzhou, Zhen Dan, or Dragon Court? His lack of talent for naming things had always been his Achilles’ heel.