Chapter 3

Honestly, getting to the final round of the exam was a total nail-biter.

After all, I'm from the modern age, so my historical writing skills looked like straight dog water. But hey, I played it smart. Years of surviving the modern school system wasn't just for show. Even though the examiners roasted my writing style as "utterly crude and unrefined", the management concepts I threw in were so far ahead of their time that I literally clutched my way into the final round of the selection.

On the day of the final round, I finally saw her—the legendary cold-hearted empress, Catherine Alden.

She was breathtakingly gorgeous but completely aloof. There was a deep, unshakeable exhaustion written all over her face. The Alden Empire was dealing with disaster on both the domestic and international fronts, and the treasury was so broke it was growing cobwebs.

"Lately, the treasury has been running on empty, and our border troops are facing severe supply shortages," The Empress’s crisp, cool voice echoed through the grand hall. "Do any of my ministers have a real plan to bring in funding?"

Prime minister, Victor Hoyle, immediately stepped forward. "Your Majesty, I believe we should raise the agricultural taxes on the peasants while cutting back on all unnecessary spending."

The rest of the court officials nodded along like mindless drones, spouting nothing but pure, useless filler.

A flash of disappointment crossed Catherine’s eyes as her gaze swept over our group of top candidates. "What about the rest of you?"

I took a deep breath and stepped right out of the lineup. "Your Majesty, I think Prime Minister Hoyle's plan is absolute garbage. It’s short-sighted and completely brain-dead!"

The second those words left my mouth, the entire hall gasped.

Victor practically shook with pure rage. "Watch your mouth! You’re just a clueless kid. What do you know about running a country?!"

I let out a cold laugh. "Raising taxes on the peasants will only cause them to lose everything. It'll ruin families, and ultimately spark a massive revolution! However, I have a real strategy."

I threw my shoulders back, delivering a loud, confident pitch that blended modern macroeconomics with historical insights.

"First, we completely scrap the poll tax and switch to a land-acreage tax system! We will tax people based on the actual size of the property they own. That will force the wealthy, elite families who hide their massive estates to finally cough up the money they've been hoarding!

"Second, we implement a tax leverage! We will place hefty luxury taxes on the mega-rich merchants while lowering taxes on agriculture and small businesses. This will encourage trade and funnel tax money to support our farmers!

"Third, we issue government bonds! The crown borrows money from wealthy businessmen, backed by the credit of the empire, and promises interest returns. It turns stagnant money into active capital!"

The entire hall went dead silent.

The scholars who usually loved talking in fancy circles just stood there completely shell-shocked, their brains totally melting trying to process it.

Victor was sweating bullets trying to find a counterargument, but my logic was an absolute iron fortress, leaving him zero room to argue.

Up on the throne, a brilliant spark erupted for the very first time in Catherine’s perpetually cold eyes.

She stared intensely at me. She clearly thought I was arrogant, maybe even way too obsessed with money, but every single one of those three strategies struck directly at the worst corruption plaguing the Alden Empire.

"Brilliant! A land-acreage tax and using commercial taxes to fund the farmers!"

The empress suddenly stood up, absolutely thrilled. Shutting down all objections on the spot, she loudly announced, "Asher Valerius, I am personally naming you the top candidate of the selection! Effective immediately, you are appointed as the Vice Minister of Finance, with full authority to fix our national treasury!"

I bowed to accept the honor, my lips curving up into a smirk. Step one of building my empire was officially locked in. I just got a whole lot closer to that hundred-million-dollar prize!