She's young and smart.

At the beginning, Wu Ji actually had the idea of "dedicating" this woman. But Wu Ji couldn't figure out the situation, he always thought that the reason why Tianhao chose Ayi was because there was really no woman who had a good impression of Tianhao in the rock village at that time...... This kind of thinking can't be said to be wrong, after all, Tianhao had no power and no power at that time, just a child.

Wu Rong's cleverness is not only reflected in the handling of government affairs, she has been observing words and feelings, and has found what she thinks is correct, and it is also Tianhao's true sense of aesthetics.

She has been working dieting and physical exercise, her fat figure has become slim, and her dress has too many overlapping parts with Ayi, light and transparent, especially the kind of underwear that is highly sought after among dragon women as the lady's side of the queen spreads rapidly, and many special parts that are the same as the civilized era have also appeared under Wu Rong's transformation.

Wu Rong now walks around in front of Tianhao in high heels every day. The ever-getting hot weather seemed to her to be very good for her, and that meant being able to wear shorter skirts and more form-fitting clothes.

It's just that the reality has disappointed her a little, and the young regent has never shown interest in her.

……

The Saxon kingdom, with its capital at London.

King George sat in the beautiful handmade wooden high-backed chair in the small living room, staring at the Marquis of Brackbarne sitting opposite, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Count Laurent, his lips pursed and he did not say a word.

News of defeat came from the front.

"You said at the time that the Holy See had developed a new weapon, and this battle would definitely be won." George's eyes were a little red, and although he was old, and his golden hair was mostly white, it gave him a special elegance, and even when he was angry, he had a unique masculine charm.

The Marquis of Brackbarn, a representative of the Saxon army, was about the same age as the king, his right hand was always pressed on the button at the end of his clothes, his fingers gently rubbed the surface of the smooth round silver button, and his tone of voice, although humble, was a little vaguely tough: "Your Majesty, I must correct this, neither I nor Laurent have said such things. It was you who personally received the emissary of the Holy See, and we were all there, and we all heard the damn liar say that they had developed a new weapon that would allow us to take the Lock Dragon Pass without losing a single soldier. ”

The king glared angrily at the Marquis of Brackbarne, who refused to admit defeat and looked him directly. The reason why the Marquis of Brackbarn was chosen by the military as a representative is not for nothing, he is stubborn, he will never turn in a certain direction, and more importantly, he never bows his head in the face of pressure from the king, and tries his best to fight for interests from the position of the military...... Although he was not a good general, he was trusted by the army and navy of the Saxon kingdom.

"Capturing the Lock Dragon Pass has been our wish for many years." The king's eyes glistened with remorse: "As a mortal, it is impossible to be omniscient and omnipotent in everything. So I need your help to make the right choice for me at this critical time. 600,000 ...... That's 600,000 people! Whining...... Brackbarne, and you, Laurent...... Whining...... You guys...... Give me back the army, give me back ......"

The small parlor was the king's private space, no one would normally come in unless invited, there were loyal servants to the king in the corridor outside, in front of two trusted subordinates, George felt that he was completely defeated by the terrible bad news, and his emotional thinking became uncontrollable, he sat on the chair and spread his legs, bent down, covered his face with both hands, and cried in a low voice.

As king, George faced many problems during his decades-long reign. Famine, flood, drought, pestilence, war...... He gritted his teeth and stood up, and was also given the title of "wise king" and "great monarch" among the people. In fact, many people in positions of power will be ruthless, and George is no exception. During the famine, he sent large quantities of grain to the south to protect the peasants and fields there, resulting in 400,000 people starving to death in the barren provinces of the north and west. In the fourteenth year of the kingdom, according to the time of each king's accession to the throne, the flood in the southeast was raging, and George ordered the forbidden army to dig the downstream dikes to release water, which could ensure the safety of the capital, but caused more than 500,000 civilians downstream, and as many as 220,000 people were drowned.

Not to mention a mere 600,000, even if a million people were killed in battle, it was normal in the eyes of King George, and this was the price that must be paid in order to win.

However, this time the loss was different from the past, it was an elite army of 600,000 troops that had been war-hardened, rigorously trained, and spent a lot of money to pile up.

No matter how many civilians die George, he will not be moved. They are like ants, they give birth every day, and they don't have to spend a penny on their own.

The total number of Saxon kingdoms' army is several million, and the real first-line elite is less than 800,000. To put it bluntly, this is the difference between a "combat unit" and a "replenishment of personnel". In order to maintain the strength of the combat force, George would allocate a large amount of money from his inner treasury every year to military spending. He knows very well that an elite professional soldier is far superior to ordinary reservists in terms of combat effectiveness and comprehensive values. What's more, they are very loyal to themselves and there is little chance of betrayal.

George is confident that the Holy See will not lie about the crucial issue of "capturing the Lock Dragon Pass". For many years, countless popes have been exchanged in that honorable position, and only the current pope has said such firm words. The land in the north of the continent is so attractive, and there are countless precious products there. The reason why George did not use the Saxon Kingdom reserves, but directly sent a line of elites, was that only an army loyal to himself would ensure the interests of the king, as for the reserves...... There are too many aristocratic dopings in it. Once they enter the Lock Dragon Pass, whether it is the loot or the land, they will be divided among them at the first time, and all that is left for them is leftovers.

In fact, the total number of personnel lost by the Saxon Army in this war was more than 1.5 million. In addition to the 600,000 elite troops, there were as many as 500,000 of the first batch of baggage soldiers and engineers, and the subsequent logistics and transportation personnel sent from the kingdom to the north, as well as the part of the troops stationed at the fortress of Shenwei.

But in King George's view, except for the 600,000 elites who were really valuable, the rest of the war dead or captured were not worth mentioning.

The Marquis of Brackbarn and the Earl of Lawrence looked at each other, and they remained silent in unison, until the king had been sobbing for several minutes like a helpless girl who had been humiliated, and then the cry gradually became low, and then the marquis opened his mouth to persuade: "Your Majesty, please mourn." ”

The king raised his head and vigorously wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and face, and a fierce light shone in his moist eyes: "Shouldn't you give me a reasonable explanation?" ”

The Marquis of Brackbarn's eyes were slightly glazed, he thought for a moment, and said seriously: "This is a tragedy that no one wants to see. Your Majesty, our priority now should be to take measures to stabilize the mood of the people in the country and to minimize the negative effects of the defeat as much as possible. ”

The Chancellor of the Exchequer nodded hurriedly and agreed: "According to the previous statistics, at least 1.6 million families have lost their loved ones in this war, and they need to be comforted and condoled. ”

As if the king had not heard them, his face flushed with weeping, and his old and mournful voice was full of sarcasm: "Sure enough, you are dutiful, and that's all you can think of?" Why not talk about the Holy See and the clergy with whom you are in close contact? Without their encouragement, I am afraid that you would not have agreed to send troops, nor would you have signed my edict to increase the annual military spending. ”

Marquis Brackbarn's face sank, and he tried to control the urge to attack, trying to maintain his manners and calmness in front of the king as much as possible: "Your Majesty, things are not what you imagined. ”

The king seemed to see through what the marquis was thinking, and he tapped his forehead a few times with his finger: "I have eyes, and I have brains. I confess that I was a bit greedy in sending troops, and I regret why I didn't see through the papal conspiracy sooner. But you ...... Although you have the same thoughts as me at some times, your purpose is not pure. ”

Brackbar did not answer, nor did he excuse himself. Not because of panic, but because of disdain, and arrogance from the bottom of the heart. Kingship was an indispensable respect for him, however the kingship of this era was very different from the past, at least the king's power was limited, and he could decide the life and death of a chamberlain, or a commoner, when he was "needed". For example, cutting off the person's head, or inflicting torture...... But in any case, the king did not have the right to execute a high-ranking nobleman with a special status like himself.

The Marquis knew that the king was purely for venting, and that no matter how heavy he spoke, these words could not cause damage to himself. However, the anger from the depths of his heart intensified, and the Marquis clasped his hands as if he were a sculpture in the center of a storm, ready to unleash its strength and ferocity.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer reached over and slapped him on the thigh a few times at the right time. With a smile on his face, he was neither humble nor arrogant in the face of the angry king: "Your Majesty, we have never had anything to do with the Holy See. Believe it or not, we are Saxons of pure blood. ”

This phrase is a mantra that often hangs on the lips of the Earl of Larens, and has worked as it should have been on countless occasions. This time was no exception, King George's anger gradually subsided, and his mind gradually returned to normal in his calmness.

"Our losses are too great." The king let out a long sigh: "The cause of the explosion in the port of Sester has not yet been ascertained, the first fleet of the kingdom has suffered heavy losses, and it is not difficult to replenish the lost supplies, the key is the construction of new warships, as well as the training of sailors and soldiers, plus the failure of the army...... What's next? ”

He was not an ignorant king, and he knew the importance of comforting the bereaved people. In fact, since the explosion of Port Seist, the king has been trying to fill the funding gap in the fleet. On the one hand, new taxes were added to the wealthy provinces of the south, and on the other hand, large amounts of borrowing from bankers. Although the former was opposed by the commoners and the minor nobles, the king's proposed levy was only two years, so there would not be much opposition. The latter was different, the bankers were not philanthropists, and they were willing to lend money to the king, of course, for profit. On the loan contract, two extremely important loan guarantees are clearly written.

If the war is won, the bank will buy the loot at a slightly lower market price than the market to offset the money borrowed.

If they lose, the moneylenders will become the tax regulators of the southern and coastal provinces of the Saxon kingdom on the day of the defeat.

In short, it is to get cash from the bankers against the taxes of the richest provinces of the kingdom.

With his devotion to the Holy Lord, King George did not put a word of this money into his personal pocket, and it was indeed spent on what it should have been.

It was originally intended to wrap up the explosion at Port Seist. All the families of the victims of the bombing received a pension, only a small amount, but the Admiralty and the King promised that such a pension would be issued six more times in the next few years.

This explanation is reasonable, and the cumulative total is satisfactory. The families of the deceased have expectations in their hearts, and there are not so many complaints...... In fact, King George had his own plans: the First Fleet suffered heavy losses, and if it wanted to restore its strength, it would have to invest a lot of money. By comparison, the question of pensions for the dead was insignificant, and in any case a large sum of money was allocated to the Admiralty, which ordered the construction of new ships within a time limit, and at the same time increased the scale and speed of the training of sailors. As for the amount of pension that had to be paid in the later period, it seemed to the king at that time that it could be fully offset by the wealth from the north.

After all, the Suolong Pass has been captured, and the northern giants have been defeated by the kingdom coalition army. Every time he thought of the trophies that had been brought in from the north in "carts", George would smile with joy in his dreams.

The shattered reality was so cruel that the king's heart was completely cold since receiving the report of defeat from the front.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer pushed his eyes on the bridge of his nose and reminded earnestly: "Your Majesty, we must issue pensions to two million people in two weeks. ”

It was the only thing that would distract everyone and calm the anger between the Marquis of Brackbarn and the king.

George looked at him deeply, "Do you have any good advice?" ”

At five gold pounds per soldier, at least ten million are needed. Before the next tax season, there was no money in the treasury and in the treasury, and the king had spoken to Lawrence alone the day before yesterday on this matter, and the only way to do so at present was to call for the contingency funds of the provinces, which amounted to about four million pounds.

How to fill the huge gap?

"We can borrow." The Chancellor of the Exchequer had a calm face, as if it didn't seem to him to be a problem at all.

：。 ：m.x