The King

  Chapter 346 Spoiler

   "Count, the palace is here!"

  Hearing the guard's reminder, Hudson poked his head out of the carriage when he was confused by the scene in front of him.

  Crown Prince Caesar came to welcome us in person!

   You must know that the two of them have no friendship, and even a short contact broke up. It's not normal to be so enthusiastic now.

  Being courteous to others, one must ask for something.

  After the simple greetings, Hudson immediately realized that something was wrong. The performance of Crown Prince Caesar was too eager.

   It was as if a big event had happened and supporters were urgently needed. Even nobles like him, who had had language conflicts, became the target of wooing.

  As the only son of the king, he also serves as the bond of marriage with the Principality of Moxi. The status of Crown Prince Caesar can be said to be almost unbreakable.

  There is only one explanation for being so eager now—Caesar III will die soon!

  The most important thing for successive new kings to take office is to stabilize the situation.

  As an important figure in the military and the fourth dragon knight in the mainland, as long as Crown Prince Caesar is not stupid, he will definitely win over Hudson.

  Compared with the overall stability of the kingdom, the little conflict that occurred in the Principality of Moxi is not worth mentioning at all.

  Followed into the hall, after greeting the first few nobles, Hudson took a seat in his seat, quietly waiting for the meeting to start.

  …

  "Three hundred and twenty-six years have passed since the ancestors founded the Alpha Kingdom, all the way to the present.

   Everyone is called here today, mainly to discuss the future development of the kingdom.

  The orc empire has declined, and the international situation has undergone earth-shaking changes. The kingdom's previous national policy is no longer suitable.

  This matter not only involves the future of the kingdom, but also the future of your families. If you have any suggestions, please speak up! "

  The hero is late. Looking at the trembling Caesar III, everyone couldn't help feeling sad.

   Regardless of everyone's position, in everyone's mind, Caesar III is a qualified king.

   "Your Majesty, although the international situation has stabilized, it does not mean that the crisis is over.

   While the kingdom's vitality was seriously injured, the three major kingdoms in the central region made more and more small moves, and their tentacles continued to extend to the northern continent.

  The civil war broke out in the Warhammer Kingdom, and it was very difficult to suppress the group of ancient survivors in the ice and snow world, not to mention the group of elves in the Norwegian forest.

  Once the situation gets out of control, the entire northern continent will fall into chaos. As the strongest country in the north, we are obliged to maintain the stability of the regional situation.

   Now is the year 99991 of the sacred calendar, and the next ten thousand years of catastrophe is close at hand. How restrained everyone is now, how violent it will be when it erupts in the future.

  In this context, the kingdom must have a strong standing army in order to be invincible in the changing situation in the future! "

   While speaking, Grand Duke Afiero turned his attention to Hudson. Among the feudal nobles, Hudson, who had served as the commander-in-chief of the army, had the closest connection with the military.

  In the past, this kind of position was usually held by the nobles of the royal capital or members of the royal family.

  Hudson, who came to power by chance, has been labeled as the spokesperson of the military since he took the position of coach.

   "Your Excellency is right, the current situation, the Kingdom is indeed not suitable for excessive reduction of armaments.

  The mainland seems to be calm, but in the dark, the arms race has already kicked off a few years ago.

  Because of the orcs, the kingdom has fallen behind in many fields in a new round of military technological change.

  If we want to catch up now, it is not something we can do with our efforts. We must unite and cooperate sincerely.

  I propose to set up a special research and development fund for the research and development of magic crossbows, magic crystal cannons, magic devices, monster breeding, and various magic potions.

  Regarding the source of funds, I personally suggest extracting part of the tithe. If the amount is insufficient, taxes on luxury goods such as spices and tea can be levied.

  Considering the actual situation, I think the investment in these projects should not be less than three million gold coins.

  In a short period of time, the kingdom has no war pressure. The number of the standing army can be reduced, but considering the actual situation, it is not appropriate to do it in one step before the formation of the Warcraft Legion is completed.

  The current standing army of the kingdom has dropped to 260,000, which is relatively reasonable. Even if you want to continue to reduce, there is not much room for compression.

  Who made us the third kingdom on the mainland?

  If the number of the standing army is too small to deter those wolves, tigers and leopards, wouldn’t it be that cats and dogs will bully you! "

  Hudson's voice immediately caused an uproar among the fief lords. One's own interests must be safeguarded, and the interests of the kingdom cannot be ignored either.

   In the big circle of aristocrats, you still have to have a card. The same is true for nobles. When a noble from a strong country goes out, he speaks harder than the nobles from a weak country.

  Especially for some large families engaged in international trade, they need a powerful kingdom to back them up.

  Alliance is temporary, but interests are eternal. It seems that Hudson just said some unnutritious truths, but it is actually a split in the noble camp.

  The Great Noble Alliance, which was temporarily established due to interests, instantly split into two factions. Several great nobles engaged in international trade, forced by their own interests, have become hesitant at this moment.

   "Earl Hudson, everyone understands the truth. If conditions permit, even if the kingdom forms a standing army of one million, we will support it.

   But the real problem is: no money!

  The huge debt has overwhelmed the kingdom. Continuing to maintain high military expenditures is bound to drag down our fragile finances.

  Three consecutive years of war have exhausted the kingdom's strength. Now not only the kingdom is poor, but the people are even poorer.

  Your southeastern provinces are rich and rich, and you cannot understand the suffering of our northern Xinjiang region. In order to complete the taxation task of the kingdom, nobles from all over the world are worried.

  In order to support this war, several provinces in northern Xinjiang have reached the brink of collapse. If you don't expect to gain the support of the kingdom, you can't continue to increase our burden! "

   Duke Torsten took the lead in firing.

   Hatred is one aspect, and conflicting interests are the core factor. International trade has little to do with their group of landlubbers from northern Xinjiang.

  Even if the kingdom artificially opened a port in the north, it was only used for military purposes before. Although it was opened to the private sector after the war, maritime trade cannot be involved in a day or two.

   Not long ago, they lost a large sum of money. In addition to the consumption during the war, the pockets of the five major families in the Northland were not rich.

  In particular, the Kingdom has also canceled their military subsidies, and now they have to figure out their own way for every expenditure, but the north is not as rich as the south.

  Even if they want to get involved in ocean trade, they can only slow down and accumulate capital slowly. When it develops, I don't know what year and month it will be.

  Originally, the establishment of the Seven Prairie Kingdoms was an opportunity, but unfortunately there are several provinces further north in the middle.

  The nobles who have just migrated here are all so poor that their eyes are red-eyed, how can they let them go and get a piece of the pie!

  Since I am not the beneficiary, why should I pay?

  "Duke Torsten, the Alpha Kingdom is a whole, and it is absolutely not allowed to form small groups in private and attempt to split the kingdom!

  When you faced the threat of orcs back then, how did everyone support you with all your strength? You won’t forget it so quickly, right?

   Now the northern border is safe, but this safety is also achieved through the joint efforts of the whole kingdom! "

   Hudson counterattacked sharply.

  Frankly speaking, Hudson didn't want to do this kind of publicity, but someone gave too much.

  Although Hudson has obtained a lot of technical information through various secret transactions, sailors and boatmen are still a big problem for the Koslow family to set foot in the ocean.

  The obvious problems cannot be hidden from the wily Caesar III. Just last night, an uninvited guest suddenly came to the door and changed Hudson's mind, who was about to paddle.

  An offshore fleet, a large shipyard, and supporting sailors and shipbuilders are the price offered by Caesar III.

   Of course, these things are not free. All personnel and equipment have to be bought with money.

  Different from the era when capital prevailed, any commodity could be bought and sold. If you can't buy it, it must be that the bid is not high enough.

  In the continent of Aslante dominated by nobles, the most important means of production have never been for sale.

  In the entire Alpha Kingdom, there are very few families that own these things, and the royal family happens to be one of them.

  After weighing the pros and cons, Hudson chose to cooperate. As for the issue of the noble alliance, I haven't looked for him beforehand, so I don't know.

  In order to reduce hatred, Hudson pretended to be confused when he came up, never mentioning that everyone paid taxes on war bonds, and only discussed the military budget.

  As the spokesperson of the military, if he doesn't ask for an increase in the military budget, he is taking the overall situation into consideration. You can't expect him to propose a reduction in the standing army, right?

   "Hudson, don't talk nonsense! Our North..."

   Before Duke Thorsten could continue speaking, Duke Rodriguez hurriedly pulled him back.

   If you go on like this, you will really fall into the trap.

   It doesn’t matter if you do things like forming cliques in private, and it doesn’t matter if others talk about it. If you publicly bring it up on the stage, it will really be a big hat that Hudson buckled.

   Besides, it doesn't make any sense to mention the contributions of the nobles of the Northland. Who made them overturn at the last moment?

  Now everyone only remembers their fault of reselling military supplies. As for the previous meritorious service of defending the kingdom, it has long been wiped out.

   Perhaps realizing that the situation was about to get out of control, Caesar III took advantage of the situation and said, "Okay, today's discussion is about the kingdom's future development outline, not a place to settle personal grievances.

   If the political opinions are still controversial, then vote directly, there is no need to intensify the conflict. "

   It seems that each of them is playing 50 big boards, but in fact they are more inclined, which can be seen from the gloomy face of Duke Torsten.

  If his companion hadn't caught him in time, he would have stepped on a huge thunder today. Not to mention that there will be no redemption, at the very least, he will be disgraced.

  If it weren't for his own strength, he would have jumped out and challenged Hudson to a duel. It was so insidious that he didn't even forget to dig a hole for him even when discussing matters.

   "Your Majesty is right!"

   "Dear Duke Torsten, I am very sorry. I was too impulsive just now, please forgive my rudeness!"

   Hudson said sincerely.

  If it weren't for the episode of digging a hole just now, maybe everyone would really believe it. But aristocratic demeanor, that's what it is.

   No matter how much you want the other party to die in your heart, you have to hold it on your face. Especially in meetings of this level, it is necessary to be personable throughout.

   "It doesn't matter, everyone is young. Now that His Majesty has spoken, let's vote on the military expenditure according to the rules!"

   Duke Thorsten, who had calmed down, responded with restrained anger.

  Deep in his heart, Thorsten comforted himself: It doesn’t matter if you fail in the bickering, the key still depends on the final voting result. He doesn’t rely on lip service to make a living!

   "Prince Torsten's suggestion is good, just go through the process, and this time it's okay for the two of us to jointly initiate the proposal."

   Hudson said with a smile.

   Regardless of what Duke Torsten thinks, Hudson is in a good mood now anyway. After being disturbed by him, the situation has already changed.

  Families with a relatively large proportion of international trade, there is a high probability that they will rebound at this time, and the rest depends on the means of Caesar III.

  The king can buy him, and naturally he can also buy others. Hudson did not believe that Caesar III would pin all his hopes on him.

  Push him out as the early bird because of his proper status. Even if there is no Hudson, there will be other fief nobles who will come forward. Anyway, it is impossible for Caesar III to end up arguing with everyone in person.

  Looking at the two, seeing that Duke Torsten had no objection, the prime minister, the Grand Duke of Newfoundland, slowly got up and said: "The two representatives jointly initiated the proposal, and the content of the proposal is valid.

   It is related to the future of the kingdom, please choose carefully. Still the old rules, there are three options: support, oppose, abstain.

  Voting now: Proposers of the nobles who support the Earl of Hudson's proposal, please raise your hands now. "

   As soon as the voice fell, Hudson raised his hand first. At this time, one cannot be modest. As one of the representatives of the meeting, his statement is also counted in the votes.

   Immediately afterwards, more than 30 hands were raised in unison on the scene. Just looking at the number of supporters, the number of supporters has exceeded half, but unfortunately there is also a gap between hands.

   One vote for a medium-sized nobleman is one vote, and one vote for a big nobleman starts with three, and Caesar III, who has the most, represents the right to speak of more than a dozen votes.

  Seeing that the counting of votes was about to end, Earl Pierce, who was hesitant at first, slowly raised his hand, and then several nobles from the frontier provinces followed suit and voted in favor.

   There is no way, no matter how good the talks are in advance, it cannot meet the needs of interests.

  Because of the orcs, the Alpha Kingdom, which is in a special position, has always had a good relationship with its neighbors. Even in the period of decline, no one reached out to the kingdom's sphere of influence.

  After a long time, everyone gradually forgot the threat of foreign enemies. Now being reminded by Hudson, these nobles with relevant interests have to think more.

   It is one thing to fight for the cubs of the monsters. If the standing army is reduced too much, in case of international conflicts in the future, they can only rely on the private army support of the nobles of the kingdom.

   Thinking about it with your toes, you know that the reinforcement speed of the standing army is definitely not comparable to that of the private army of the nobles.

  If the central government happens to be in a weak period, the efficiency of this reinforcement will be even lower. Maybe just because of such a little efficiency, he will kill himself.

   "With more than half of the votes in favor, Earl Hudson's proposal is approved!"

   After reading the comments, I was sprayed so badly! Well, the author with few updates, dare not speak

  (end of this chapter)