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Chapter 1007 - 1007 130 Commander Qualities Seeking Monthly Votes

1007: Chapter 130: Commander Qualities (Seeking Monthly Votes) 1007: Chapter 130: Commander Qualities (Seeking Monthly Votes) “Piloting a program means actually putting up cold, hard cash.”

“The Alpha Kingdom is not the Chongzhen Dynasty; its internal cohesion is much stronger.

Especially when facing the Orcs, unity usually gets a +120 boost.”

“Everyone present has a dual identity: they are both managers of the Kingdom and shareholders of it.”

“As the leading figure, it is certain that one must lead by example in purchasing bonds.

If the upper echelons lack confidence in winning the war, those below will have even less.”

“As the Marshal of the Kingdom and the initiator of this plan, I will set the example by subscribing to six million acres’ worth of land bonds.

Moreover, I’ll convert the two million and three hundred thousand Kingdom bonds I hold, along with several other debts owed by the government, into land bonds, to alleviate the financial pressures on the Kingdom and spare our Minister of Finance from his constant complaints about high interest rates,”

Hudson said cheerfully.

When it’s time to lose money, one cannot be penny-wise but pound-foolish.

Having just returned from the front lines, everyone knew that Master Hudson had made a fortune.

Moreover, the Kingdom aristocrats weren’t wealthy for nothing; Ha’s Potion had played a significant role.

The exact profits from the Potion sales were unknown, but one could make preliminary judgments from the war fortune declared by the Warhammer Kingdom.

If the people below have made fortunes, it would be impossible for the Commander in Chief to be poor.

In cash and various goods, after conversion, three to four million Gold Coins were definitely there.

Given the obscene profits from Magic Potions, if someone said he had not made a few million Gold Coins, it was unlikely anyone would believe it.

Rather than have people covet it, it was better to put it out there.

After all, the Kingdom truly was out of money now.

If the major shareholders didn’t want the Kingdom to go bankrupt at this time, they had to inject capital.

For Hudson to dump all of his high-interest bonds was a move made out of necessity.

Since the start of the war on the Continent, the Ministry of Finance had announced that bond interest payments would be postponed until after the war.

Post-war payout would only be possible if the Kingdom’s finances could hold out that long.

No matter how high the interest gains, bankruptcy of the finances could not be offset.

Rather than waiting for the Kingdom Government to default on its bankruptcy, it was better to take the initiative to exchange for land bonds and incidentally to gain a good reputation for being considerate of the bigger picture.

The issue of the land price being slightly high was entirely a false proposition.

Large tracts of land bonds held by the major nobles would definitely yield only arable land areas in the future, and the other miscellaneous lands would likely become freebies.

If the bonds were in the hands of minor nobles, there wouldn’t be as many freebies, but the calculations for poor land would most likely be discounted.

If the bonds ended up in the hands of merchants, then there was nothing to discuss.

Whether good land or poor, the exchange would be made honestly.

Crossing class boundaries also requires paying a price.

How could granting land through mere monetary expenditure be possible without a premium?

There’s no need to explicitly state the unwritten rules.

Those who know already understand, and those who don’t needn’t.

“Since Marshal Hudson has set an example, we cannot fall behind.

The Royal Family will subscribe to seven million Gold Coins’ worth of land bonds.

Moreover, all debts owed by the Ministry of Finance to the Royal Family, amounting to over eight million, will also be converted into land bonds,”

Caesar IV said with feigned joy.

Obviously, making this decision was heart-wrenching for him.

But there was no choice; if the Marshal could contribute so much, how could he, as the King, be stingy?

Purchasing land bonds seemed like a good deal, but the problem was that the Royal Family didn’t lack land at all!

They had three provinces in the north undeveloped and had no urgent need to scramble for the prairie.

Land is only an asset when developed.

Land that cannot be developed is worthless.

Thankfully, the Ministry of Finance owed the Royal Family a substantial debt, so he could swap these likely dead-end debts for land bonds to make the numbers more eye-catching.

As painful as it was, he bore no grudge against Hudson.

Issuing land bonds was undoubtedly the best tool for the Kingdom to quickly escape its debt crisis.

With the King and Marshal leading in exchanging debts for land bonds, did the major nobles still have the face to press the Ministry of Finance for repayment?

A simple exchange altered the creditor-debtor relationship.

The massive debts pressing on the Ministry of Finance were directly wiped out for the most part.

With greatly reduced financial pressure in the short term, Marquis Delgado could also catch his breath.

Otherwise, should the Minister of Finance truly collapse, they could not find a suitable successor in the short term.

Besides, purchasing land bonds did not necessarily require direct payment; equivalent strategic materials could also be cashed in.

In times of financial difficulty, when the Kingdom obtained supplies from the Royal Family and major nobles, it was already like writing IOUs.

Traditionally, once the debt increased to a certain level, surpassing the financial repayment limit, creditors would voluntarily step forward to forgive portions of the debt.

Usually, it was the Human Alliance calling the shots, with international creditors announcing debt reductions, and domestic creditors naturally actively responding to the call.

But that was predicated on the threats from different races being formidable, with the various parties needing the Alpha Kingdom to block the Orc Empire.

Now, with the Human Race’s advantage becoming more apparent, hoping for such luck no longer worked.

Compared to the last Orc invasion, the Kingdom Government’s difficulty in borrowing from the outside had increased by more than a notch.

Not only did interest-free loans become interest-bearing ones, but they also came with a slew of additional conditions, many of which exceeded the Kingdom’s acceptable bottom line.

If external reliance was not an option, then internal potential had to be tapped.

In simple terms: those with money would pay, those without would fight.