Part 1: The Throne, Pages 49 - 56 Summary and Analysis

After the Hour of the Cashbox was the Hour of Ministers. During this time the Emperor met with his various ministers, who were invariably close at hand, to discuss matters related to their posts. The Emperor showed a special favor to incompetent ministers because it made his own magnanimous works stand out. The Emperor actually had made a number of truly humane reforms for the country. For example, he abolished many of the laws that existed in rural areas which called for cruel and severe punishments of crimes. One of his reforms turned out to be somewhat imprudent as far as protecting his power. He decided to begin sending some youths abroad for college. When the students came back and had a point of a reference to compare Ethiopia with, they immediately started...