Pope Augustus

After finishing this book, Augustus flipped through the title pages of other books. There were writings about all sorts of countries, even the Ottoman Empire's fratricide inheritance law, which was only abolished in 1603.

Given Katerina's writing style, she's probably offended all the European countries by now. If he guessed correctly, now that she's in Rome, the next thing she'll write about is the Papal election system.

He had worried before that Katerina was just a pretty face, but looking at the current situation, she's a granite block! It's a miracle she's survived until now.

The content of these books could easily be deemed an insult to ancestors by the monarchs of various countries. If they were all published in the Papal States at once, he would probably become King Xuan of Qi. Augustus had no intention of declaring war on all European countries immediately.

Full publication is impossible, but selecting some less offensive ones for publication should still be feasible, and he believed Katerina would understand his difficulties. The others could be published later at an opportune time, which would have an extraordinary effect.

Augustus now understood why Katerina had agreed so readily; she probably wanted a platform to freely criticize people for a long time. Although he couldn't let her fully indulge herself now, it was much better than being banned everywhere.

Even if some books couldn't be published temporarily, as the editor-in-chief of Europe's most influential newspaper, she wouldn't have to worry about her voice not being heard or her ideas not spreading, would she?

Katerina's ability to criticize national systems and the flaws of rulers in this way was undoubtedly a double-edged sword. Used well, it could be used to launch public opinion attacks against other countries at the state and ruler level; used poorly, it would backfire.

Therefore, Augustus decided he couldn't let Katerina act entirely on her whims. He would have to keep a close eye on her at first, and once the newspaper was on track and confirmed to be fine, he would slowly let go. During this period, he also needed to further understand Katerina.

Otherwise, if Katerina got carried away one day and wrote a scathing article criticizing all the European powers, which then became widely known through the newspaper, he wouldn't be able to salvage the situation.

Katerina, accompanied and assisted by Faol, spent the rest of the day at the Rome Newspaper, thoroughly understanding every detail of it. Early the next morning, she arrived at the Papal Palace again.

"Good morning, Your Holiness," a refreshed Katerina greeted a sleepy-eyed Augustus.

"Good morning. How did you rest last night?" Because he had stayed up late thinking about Katerina's books, Augustus suppressed his sleepiness and feigned concern.

"I rested very well, thank you for your concern," Katerina replied respectfully.

"Hmm. How well have you understood the newspaper's situation?" One or two polite phrases were enough; more would easily annoy people, so Augustus asked directly.

"I've understood most of it."

"Tell me your thoughts."

"I found that the newspaper has significant problems in terms of staffing. Many people previously held nominal positions, drawing salaries without doing any work. Only a very small fraction of people actually worked.

The newspaper's organization is complicated and redundant, its scale is large, and its efficiency is low, yet its salary demands are very high. To my knowledge, many of them were forced in through connections. If the newspaper's system and personnel don't undergo major changes, the prospects are not optimistic."

"Indeed. So what should we do?" Identifying problems is often not difficult; how to solve them is the key. What solution Katerina proposed was what Augustus cared about most.

"My plan is to fire everyone first," Katerina said expressionlessly.

"Everyone? You also said that some of them are working; are they also being fired? Not all of these existing people came through back doors, and compared to others, they all have some work experience," Augustus asked, very puzzled.

"It's time-consuming and labor-intensive to distinguish who among so many people is working, and it's difficult to guarantee accuracy. Furthermore, air-dropping a newspaper editor-in-chief from outside the existing system will take some time and effort to gain acceptance.

Rome wasn't built in a day. Under such circumstances, if we want to carry out drastic reforms, all the original staff of the newspaper will unite to obstruct, and the resistance will be very great.

Given this, it's better to abandon the entire system, start fresh, build a new framework, and then set standardized criteria for recruiting people.

With a significant reduction in staff, salaries can naturally be increased, so we won't worry about not attracting people. As for those who previously worked at the newspaper, they can still apply to the newspaper later; with some work experience, they will also have an advantage in the competition. Those with insufficient ability will certainly be filtered out if they apply again," Katerina analyzed logically.

"I will fully support your plan. What about the appeasement of the dismissed newspaper staff?" It didn't matter if her ideas differed from his, as long as they were reasonable.

"According to the signed contracts, compensation should be paid. The amount may not be small, but short-term pain is better than long-term pain. If we save on this matter, there will be hidden dangers."

"No problem. Just compile whatever you need and give it to me; I'll approve everything." Augustus wouldn't care about this amount of money. He already had ample funds, and he had just made a fortune.

"For the rebuilt newspaper, I thought about it last night and came up with a framework. Most of it is here, and some minor details might still be changed later," Katerina said, pulling out a piece of paper covered in writing.

"That fast?" Augustus took the paper and observed it for a moment. He didn't understand it, but it all seemed very reasonable.

"Good, we'll do as you say. You mentioned setting standardized recruitment criteria; do you have any specific plans?"

"I haven't thought of the specifics yet. The needs of each position are different, so they can't be exactly the same. What I'm thinking now is that the scope should be as wide as possible, without considering background, using uniform standards, and selecting the best. Also, I don't want anyone to be able to get in through connections, including…" As she spoke, Katerina looked at Augustus.

"I have no problem. I will fully support you." Augustus certainly wouldn't mind this. Not to mention that he didn't plan to place anyone in the newspaper in the first place, even if he did, he wouldn't be able to find anyone.

"Thank you for your understanding. May I ask what your main expectations for the newspaper are?"

"It's not for profit anyway, and losing money is fine. You can do your work boldly and without worry."

"I understand. If you have no other questions, may I start the reform work for the newspaper now?" Katerina asked, full of anticipation.

Reform? It should be called reconstruction. But that wasn't the point, just a way of saying it. Whether it was reform or reconstruction, as long as it benefited the newspaper's development, Augustus would fully support it.

"Of course, you can come to me with any problems you encounter." Being proactive was a good thing, and it should certainly be encouraged.