The King

   Those who decided to build a line of defense were not only the southeastern provinces, but almost all the border provinces in the south made the decision in the shortest possible time to build a line of defense.

   I have to admit that the nobles of the Alpha Kingdom have a strong sense of crisis.

   Just a little bit of signs appeared, and even the enemy was not sure who they were, so they started preparing for battle spontaneously one by one.

  The assassination case has not yet been found out, and the defense line construction plans of the provinces have already appeared in front of Caesar IV.

  According to the usual practice, nobles do not need to report to the king when they build military defense lines on their own territory. The kingdom even encourages border nobles to build more castles and fortresses.

   Such a well-behaved request for instructions is naturally not because the nobles respect the king more. Everyone's main purpose is to ask for money!

   "Prime Minister, did the kingdom allocate funds to build defense lines in the past?"

   Caesar IV asked concerned.

  The current financial situation of the Alpha Kingdom, if one word can be used to describe it, it would be: poor!

   Very poor!

   Very poor!

  …

   As long as it is a matter related to money, Caesar IV has no headaches. Even the recent assassination of Prince Claude is far less troublesome than the kingdom's financial problems.

   After all, he is on his own territory. To find out the life and death of Prince Claude, Caesar IV can still do it.

  If the person is not dead, follow-up issues can be discussed easily.

   In a few days, a cult organization will announce that it is responsible for the assassination, followed by the Kingdom organization manpower encirclement, and finally the two sides will exchange interests.

  The processes are all ready-made, just follow the template to prepare. If you have done enough for the face, and given a certain amount of compensation in the face, the matter is considered to be over.

   In contrast, financial holes are unsolvable problems.

  The funeral of the old king just ended, and the enthronement of the new king is also a big expense, which makes the kingdom's financial deficit even worse.

   "Your Majesty, the Kingdom does not have a clear decree to make regulations in this regard.

  However, in the past, when the provinces built defense lines, the kingdom would provide subsidies of varying amounts according to the actual situation.

   Except for the large amount of subsidies in the northern Xinjiang region, the subsidies in other provinces are all symbolic, and the main compensation method is tax reduction or exemption. "

  As soon as the Grand Duke of Newfoundland finished speaking, the Minister of Finance, Marquis Delgado, stood up and refused politely: "No! There is absolutely no tax reduction or exemption now!

  Your Majesty, due to the impact of the war, tax revenues in the northern part of the kingdom have been greatly reduced, especially in the newly recovered seven provinces, which have not received a penny of tax.

  The current kingdom's finances are mainly provided by the central and southern provinces. The southern provinces that proposed to build a defense line are all major tax-paying provinces in the kingdom, accounting for almost one-third of the fiscal revenue.

  Especially the newly levied repayment tax, these provinces contributed nearly 40%. Once tax exemption is given to them, the kingdom's finances will collapse immediately! "

  The data will not lie. Because of the ability to collect tariffs, the financial contribution of the border provinces is obviously much higher than that of the inland provinces.

  Already short of money, if the most important financial revenue is cut off, there will be a problem not to go bankrupt.

  "The financial problem is indeed severe, but we have to consider the proposals of the provinces to build defense lines.

   With the changes in the international situation, these provinces have changed from the rear to a new defense center.

  Even if the finances are unable to provide money, we have to take a gesture and give some appeasement to the local nobles. It is best to encourage them to complete the construction of the defense line alone. "

   Grand Duke Afiero bit the bullet and suggested.

  Frankly speaking, this proposal is really embarrassing.

  But there is no way, as the Minister of Military Affairs of the Kingdom, with the treasury empty, he can only rely on the local nobles to complete the construction of national defense projects.

  Theoretically speaking, they can also convene a noble council to raise construction funds from across the country.

  Unfortunately, the major provinces of the kingdom are under a lot of financial pressure at present, and each of them is still in the economic recovery period. Continue to raise taxes, which is to force the small nobles to go bankrupt.

   "Are these provinces capable of completing these projects alone?"

   Caesar IV asked concerned.

   To guard your own homeland, you are not afraid that the nobles in this province will not do their best, but you are afraid that they will be powerless.

   "Your Majesty, it depends on the determination of the great nobles. The provinces that need to build defense lines are mostly richer in economy.

  If a few big nobles are willing to spend their money, gather the strength of the whole province, and build a solid line of defense, it should not be a big problem.

  Considering that the current threat of war is not great, we still have enough time for them to determine the construction period according to the actual situation. "

  Marquis Delgado hurriedly replied.

  In order to retain the kingdom's finances, he also tried his best. Now it is necessary to save where it can be saved, and try to save where it cannot be saved.

  In order to reduce expenses, the salaries of kingdom officials can only take 70%, and even the king's annuity has been stopped by the Ministry of Finance.

  Of course, this was not stopped by the Marquis Delgado, but was proposed by Caesar III in order to unite people during his reign.

  For various activities, the budget cuts are even more severe. The most typical is the holding of the noble council, and the standard of food provided by the kingdom plummets.

  The original Warcraft meat, spices, delicacies from mountains and seas, as well as all kinds of snacks and fruits available around the clock, are all gone now, and only ordinary beef and mutton + bread are left.

  The most direct consequence is that the nobles stopped coming to eat, and one by one started their own small stoves.

  Seeing this scene, Marquis Delgado was not only not annoyed, but cut off this part of the budget with a smile, forcing the council to directly cancel the food supply.

   There are many other similar operations. It was rumored in the outside world that Marquis Delgado got into the eyes of money.

   Such frenzied throttling is only to ensure that the kingdom's finances can be maintained.

   "Prime Minister, what do you think?"

   Caesar IV asked quite emotionally.

   It’s not distrust, it’s mainly my own finance minister who has too many great ways to save money. Most of them are successful, but if you do too much, there will always be mistakes.

   "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will come forward to coordinate this matter. When it comes to their own safety, I am not afraid that they will not do their best.

  Southern border is different from northern border, there is no need to transport food and grass for thousands of miles, and the cost of building a defense line here is not that scary.

   However, relying on their own strength alone, there are still certain difficulties in individual provinces in order to build complete fortifications, and they must coordinate other provinces to provide support. "

  The Grand Duke of Newfoundland said bravely.

   There is no doubt that coordinating the relationship between all parties is a proper chore, but there is no way, if he is not the prime minister, the king has to do it himself, and no one else is enough.

  Since Caesar IV succeeded to the throne, although he has performed well, it is still unknown whether he has the ability to coordinate the relationship between all parties.

  If something goes wrong, the aftermath will only be more difficult. Simply go in person, relying on the prestige of serving as prime minister for many years, everyone has to give some face.

  …

  Seeing the griffin cavalry flying by from the sky, Prince Claude, who was wandering in the garden, hurried back to the ward.

   If you declare to the outside world that you are recuperating, then you have to look like you are recuperating. In case people see him alive and kicking, how can he be ripped off?

  Politics is the most magical thing. If the Alpha Kingdom is really ready to turn against the Hesse Kingdom, it might bite him back and say: The assassination was directed and acted by himself.

   Of course, the probability of this happening is very low. The assassins came in as aristocrats of the Alpha Kingdom, and this alone was doomed, no matter how hard they tried to shake the blame, they couldn't get rid of it.

  The nobles of the continent of Aslant are very concerned about their own image, and no one wants to wear the hat of a rogue country.

   It is common to start wars for honor. Playing tricks at this time is equivalent to directly fighting against the Kingdom of Hesse.

   "Count Tatara, how are you talking with the Alpha people?"

  Prince Claude asked concerned.

   Trapped in the house every day, strolling in the garden has to worry about being seen by the griffin cavalry in the sky. But in the past few days, there are a lot of griffin cavalry above his head.

  Sent someone to inquire, and the answer they gave was: In order to protect his personal safety, the patrol force was specially strengthened.

   "Your Highness, the progress is not very smooth. According to the collected information, the Alpha Kingdom has already started preparing for war, and several southern provinces are preparing to build defense lines.

   Currently, the southeast province is progressing the most smoothly. It is said that they have completed the initial planning of the defense line. It is planned to invest 300,000 laborers and build a steel defense line in three years..."

   Before Count Tatara could finish speaking, Prince Claude interrupted: "The Alpha man is crazy!

  We didn't do anything, they started preparing for battle. The war with the orcs has just ended, where do they have the financial resources to carry out these projects? "

   It's not that he made a fuss, it's that the Alpha Kingdom's reaction was too abnormal. War has never been said to be fought, and it can be fought immediately.

   Not to mention two big countries, even if two nobles are engaged in a fight, it will take some time to prepare.

  Usually choose a time and battlefield that both parties agree on, and wait until everyone is ready before leading the team to fight.

  If something happens, you can also unilaterally announce the extension. Most of the time, this request will be accepted.

  Wars between countries, although not so disciplined, there are still many things that need to be prepared.

  If there is no need to conduct national recruitment, it is very simple. The strategic materials are prepared, and the king can go to the battlefield with an order.

  If you need to mobilize the private army of nobles to join the war, things will become troublesome. In the event of foreign invasion, this kind of mobilization is faster, and it is estimated that it will take a few months.

  If you take the initiative to launch a war abroad, it will take at least half a year to coordinate the internal relations between the princes, and it will take at least half a year to prepare strategic materials and recruit troops.

  This is still in theory, but in practice, more problems will arise. After all, the Kingdom of Hesse has been around for hundreds of years and has never fought a national mobilization war.

   The mobilization efficiency is really high, and there are only a few countries that face aliens. The specific mobilization efficiency depends entirely on the frequency of wars with alien races.

  This is also the reason why many countries have advantages in terms of population, economy, number of masters, and weapons and equipment, but they lag behind others in the ranking of powerful countries on the mainland.

   "Your Highness, I heard that the cost of building the defense line in the southeastern province will be fully raised by the local government.

  The fundraising meeting will be held tomorrow at the residence of the Dalton family. Whether it's a bluff or if construction is really going to start, we'll know when tomorrow's meeting ends.

   However, the two powerful factions in the southeastern province, Governor Pierce and the Earl of Hudson, are both promoters of this project. As long as the two of them are determined to build it, other people's opposition will be invalid. "

  Earl Tatara patiently explained.

  The way of thinking determines the result.

  The nobles of the Alpha Kingdom still follow the extreme law of the jungle to compete with the orcs. If you relax your vigilance, you will die.

  The subjective influence in the subconscious made them ignore that the enemy had changed. Still holding on to the set of concepts of dealing with orcs, facing the current international situation, wishful thinking regards neighbors as imaginary enemies.

  The deviation of this concept fell into the eyes of Prince Claude, that is: Alpha people are a bunch of lunatics.

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