"Your Majesty, these railways and roads, once they are built. The Empire's control over these eastern territories will become very tight. At the same time, it will also play a great role in promoting the economic development of these regions. However, these railways and roads will require significant funding if they are to be completed as planned. The Chancellor of the Exchequer said.

Everyone's eyes fell on Qin Tian, the reason why the Ministry of Communications came up with such a plan was to get as much money as possible. The power of the German emperor, although not as unspoken, as in the Eastern Empire. However, Qin Tian was different from others. His abilities, as well as the exploits he led his troops on the battlefield, gave him a high reputation in the country. Plus the army is almost under his control. Therefore, the parliament will basically not put any restraint on him. In fact, those members of the parliament, unless their brains were caught by the door, they would never oppose Qin Tian.

It is in this way that Qin Tian has become the most powerful of the German emperors. The distribution of the war reparations that Germany obtained during the war was basically Qin Tian's final say. The Cabinet hopes that the war reparations will be used to pay for the construction of the transportation facilities.

"How much does it cost?" Qin Tian asked.

"Preliminary estimates show that at least 12 billion marks will be needed. It would be best if there were 15 billion marks. Said the Minister of Transport.

Qin Tian couldn't help but gasp, he really didn't expect that he needed so much money. Although a large amount of war reparations were obtained this time, a lot of money needed to be used to pay off the debts incurred in the war. In addition, the pension of the wounded and wounded soldiers also requires a lot of funds. Not to mention that after the end of the war, the army had to be reformed and redressed. Those are those that require a lot of money.

The 10 billion marks from Russia, the 55 billion marks from France, and the 20 billion marks from Italy add up to only 85 billion marks. This may seem like a lot of money, but if you want to do all these things, I'm afraid it's not enough.

"One and a half billion, that's too much, isn't it?" Qin Tian said.

"Your Majesty, the railroad we have built is too long. It is not surprising that so much money is needed. Said the Minister of Transport.

Qin Tian thought for a while: "I think that eight to ten billion marks should be enough. ”

The Minister of Transportation's face suddenly turned unpleasant, isn't this typical of asking horses to run and not giving them grass?

"The labor force for the construction of railways and roads was all done by prisoners of war. Except for professionals in the necessary positions, all others used prisoners of war. I think that alone can save a lot of money. Those prisoners of war can be used as they please, and they don't care about their life or death. As the Army exterminated the guerrillas and other resistance forces in the east, the number of prisoners of war would increase. So, there is no need to worry about running out of labor at all. Qin Tian said.

"Yes, Your Majesty. In this case, 10 billion marks is probably enough. Said the Minister of Transport.

"In addition, these railways and roads will take 10 years to complete. Then, these funds will not be allocated to the Ministry of Transportation in a lump sum. It is disbursed once a year, and the plan is disbursed every year. Qin Tian said.

Naturally, the pressure to allocate 10 billion marks at once is much less than the pressure to allocate 1 billion marks a year and pay it in 10 installments.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Although the Minister of Communications was a little unwilling, he could not find a reason to refute it, so he had to give up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the plan for the construction of transportation in the east. If nothing else, then that's the end of the meeting! Qin Tian said.

"Your Majesty, there is one more matter. According to our treaty with Russia, Finland and Ukraine will stand on their own with our support. However, the importance of the geographical location of these two places cannot be overstated. In the event of a war with Russia, these two places will become the front line. Therefore, we must strengthen our control over these two places. Foreign Minister Vahit said.

Qin Tian nodded, supporting the independence of Finland and Ukraine is just a cover. Germany did this in order to weaken Russia's strength on the one hand, and to prepare for a future war with Russia.

"However, the people of these two places are probably not very welcome for us to enter these two countries directly. So, we had to adopt a different strategy. Vahit continued.

"What are you going to do?" Qin Tian asked.

"Your Majesty, the Finns and Ukrainians, have long been enslaved by the Russians. This makes them full of hatred for Russians. If we can start with this aspect, we should be able to do more with less. Prime Minister Billo said.

"Yes, than the Russians enslaved them, and we treated them well. In contrast, they will naturally make a choice. Qin Tian said.

After Finland was annexed by Russia, the Finns have been seeking independence, but Russia is too strong and Finland is too weak. Without the help of external forces, they would not have been able to stand on their own.

The same goes for Ukrainians, although the Ukrainian soil is fertile. Ukrainians are a powerful ethnic group second only to Russians. However, they don't even have enough to eat all year round. The main culprit for all this is the oppression and exploitation of the Russians. Let them build their own country, and they will definitely agree to it.

"Your Majesty, in order to strengthen control over Finland and Ukraine. We hope that Your Majesty will be able to hold the title of King of both countries. The affairs of the state are handled by the Finns and Ukrainians themselves. But in military and diplomatic affairs, they had to be in line with the Empire. In other words, after the outbreak of war, the army was to obey the command of the empire. Prime Minister Billo said.

For the king of two countries at the same time, Qin Tian did not have any reluctance. This is the norm in Europe. Didn't the King of England also serve as Emperor of India? The Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Emperor of the Austrian Empire, the King of Hungary, the King of the Kingdom of Bohemia, etc., have many titles.

"Finns and Ukrainians, will they object?" Qin Tian was a little worried about this.

"Your Majesty, neither the Ukrainians nor the Finns will object. The Empire is the number one power in the world, and the Emperor of the Empire is also their king, which is an honor for them! Washitt said.

Qin Tian nodded: "Then let's do it!" ”

Soon, in addition to the Emperor of the German Empire, Qin Tian's title had to be added to the King of Finland and the King of Ukraine.