Cardinal Richelieu assisted King Louis XIII in ruling and governing over France as the chief minister beginning in 1624. Richelieu tried to increase the income of the monarchs by selling political offices to, I assume, the highest bidder. This was an easy way to make a quick income but he faulted in his thinking as it appears that he didn’t think of what the future consequences of having more people in political positions could result in. The monarchy still had to pay these politicians, so by selling positions to them the monarchy actually wasn’t gaining much more money.
Richelieu also aimed to enhance the power of a monarch so that he or she could have more extended control and therefore be able to get more revenue.