King
Chapter 568 - 568 124 The Struggle of the Commander _2

568: Chapter 124, The Struggle of the Commander _2 568: Chapter 124, The Struggle of the Commander _2 With no money left, he as the Minister of Finance is extremely helpless.

Even if the materials for building the defense line are sourced locally, civilians need to eat.

Affected by the war, the domestic grain production has plummeted, unable to meet the needs of all citizens, and can only be purchased from overseas.

The Alpha Kingdom is not just a little short of funds.

The funding gap of the kingdom is in tens of millions, which is more than the annual fiscal revenue, and it is not something that the Ministry of Finance can squeeze out by wishful thinking.

“Delgado, do not be too anxious.

We just recently levied a war tax, didn’t we?

Hold your head high, there must be a way out.

For the overall situation, everyone should tighten their belts and experience some tough years.

I’ll take the lead.

Until the kingdom’s finances improve, I won’t draw my salary.

Pay for the high-ranking officials of the kingdom will be temporarily suspended, and the pay of middle and lower-ranking officials will be reduced by three to five percent discretionarily.

The budget of each department should be reduced as well; the rewards for meritorious officials will be only given to minor nobles, and the rest will be kept on credit!”

Said Prime Minister Duke Newfoundland calmly.

Undoubtedly, this is an unpopular proposal.

Since the outbreak of war, the various welfare benefits of officials have dramatically shrunk, and with this cut, those in hand will be even fewer.

As for the department budget, it goes without saying.

After the outbreak of war, except for the increasing expenditure of the Military Department, all other departments are tightening their belts.

On the contrary, the issue of military rewards is the easiest to solve.

Due to the war, not only do the rewards all remain on paper, but even the pensions for the fallen nobles have not been distributed in time.

Knowing it’s a thunderstorm, he has to bite the bullet because he is the prime minister of the kingdom.

As the highest-ranking official, at this critical moment, if he does not dare to offend people, surely they cannot let King Caesar III do it personally?

“Prime Minister, this is still far from enough.

The majority of the kingdom’s officials are voluntary, there weren’t many needing the Ministry of Finance to pay salaries, and the Ministry of Finance has already owed everyone two months’ wages.

The budgets of various departments are being constantly pressed, and unless you can suppress the expenditures of the Military Department, we could only squeeze a few hundred thousand gold coins at most.

The rewards for the nobles have already been used up by the Ministry of Finance.

The few million gold coins left on the account are for emergencies.

The crisis we are facing now can’t be resolved by saving money.

The only way is to increase revenue, such as: re-levying a war tax or borrowing money from other countries in the alliance!

Frankly speaking, these are not good choices.

We levied a war tax three times last year, and once again at the beginning of this year.

If we collect again now, many small nobles might not be able to support it.

If we borrow foreign debt, I think Count Francis has more say.”

Delgado shrugged.

The kingdom’s finances have persisted until now and have not gone bankrupt.

As the Minister of Finance, he can proudly announce to the world: he is worthy of the kingdom.

“The Minister of Finance is right, borrowing from various countries is not a good choice.

Looking back at our past borrowing cases, this process is not pleasant.

Some days ago, a war bond appeared in the Moxi Duchy.

I think the Ministry of Finance can learn from it.

Compared with negotiating with the governments of various countries, it is actually easier to raise funds by selling war bonds with interest directly to major nobles at home and abroad.”

Count Francis said calmly.

The Moxi Duchy has been selling war bonds everywhere and has been causing quite a stir on the continent.

The reason they didn’t sell war bonds to the Alpha Kingdom is that everyone is “brother in a mess”, and no one is having a good time.

As the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Count Francis naturally needs to understand what is happening in neighboring countries.

“Our current funding gap is as high as over thirty million gold coins.

Can so much money be borrowed by issuing war bonds?

I declare in advance that we can’t resort to usury.

The kingdom’s financial resources are limited and we cannot afford too high interest.

Even normal private loans are unbearable for us!”

Marquis Delgado, the Minister of Finance, said seriously.

Wanting to borrow money but unwilling to bear high interest is in itself a contradictory proposition.

The major nobles were indeed patriotic, but how many gold coins this sentiment was worth remained to be seen.

Moreover, the war had depleted the nobles’ wealth, so not many might be in a flush state right now.

Even if everyone was willing to support the kingdom, it was unlikely that they could afford to buy war bonds in bulk because they needed to keep some money for post-war reconstruction.

“Take into account the interest rate set by the Moxi People and our actual situation, we should print and sell a batch of war bonds immediately for an emergency.

However, the specific amount must be strictly controlled by the Ministry of Finance, and it must not exceed the repayment ability of the kingdom!”

King Caesar III immediately decided.

The money that should be spent must be spent.

Even without the expedition of the Human Alliance, the seven newly taken provinces would still need to be incorporated into the kingdom’s defensive line after the war.

Even starting now, we could shift the border northwards.

After so many years, the specific boundary line had become a mystery.

If we aren’t relying on the power of the Human Alliance to take as much territory as possible, we’d be fools.

By taking actual actions that create a status quo, as long as the Human Alliance acknowledges it, it becomes legal territory of the Alpha Kingdom.

This is not a worry, the continental hegemon also needs face.

Having its own members give up benefits that they have swallowed would lead to the Human Race being looked down upon by the other races, wouldn’t it?

As long as one doesn’t go too far and beyond one’s ability to digest, causing jealousy among the allies, then it’s not a big problem.

…

“Your Majesty, Marshal Campbell unfortunately died.

We have gathered so many armies on the front line, we need to appoint a new commander.

Who do you think should assume this position?”

Duke Aefero asked tentatively.

Frankly, there aren’t many officers in the Alpha Kingdom Army who are eligible enough to be appointed as the front-line commander.

The Southern major nobles are essentially excluded from the nominee list for a simple reason – they lack adequate military achievements.

The Northern nobles, on the other hand, have acquired more military achievements due to their constant battles with the Orcs, and their influence in the army is also greater.

This is their advantage but also their disadvantage.

From the King’s perspective, it’s not just about who has the most military achievements or highest prestige, who is the most suitable commander.

Various balance issues need to be considered.

“Who are the candidates from the Military Department?”

King Caesar III asked with interest.

Such a procedure is necessary, even if his mind has its preferred candidate, he has to see the reactions of his ministers first.

It’s best to let his subordinates do the nominating.

If he personally nominates a candidate and gets rejected by his ministers, that would be embarrassing.

Such a thing is not unusual in court.

King Caesar III, though a strong monarch, still needed to discuss important personnel appointments with everyone.

“The Military Department has recommended six people: Duke Pias, Duke Yagailong, Duke Dias, Duke Cavadia, Earl Hudson, and Marquis James.”

No sooner had Duke Aefero’s voice fallen than King Caesar III’s brows furrowed.

In the list of six candidates, the first four belong to the five major families in the North.

If Duke Arondo hadn’t been killed by the Orcs and his successor’s prestige wasn’t enough, presumably, all five major families in the North would have been on the shortlist.

Almost without thinking, he ruled out the first four candidates.

There was no choice.

The influence of the Northern nobles in the army was too great; if their men became the commander, would the position of the Standing Army Commander in the future also have to go to them?

The Standing Army is stationed in the North for many years, the Northern nobles have a lot of influence in the army.

If another Northern Noble were to become a commander, the military powers could eventually fall into the hands of the Northern nobility.

With no doubt, this is a situation where the tail wags the dog, something any monarch would hate to see.