"Calis, I understand your thoughts. You and your family have long been loyal to the Kingdom, and you are the true pillars of the Rhine. Without the long-term efforts of you and your ancestors, the prosperity of the Rhine today would never have been possible. ”

"I hate the northern giants as much as you do. They occupy too much land, but we have too many people to feed. I'm in favor of war, and I like to chop off the heads of giants and make their mandibles as souvenirs. I also love watching them kill each other like dogs in the gladiatorial arena, which is the most fun game in the world. ”

"But Calis, you have to understand that sending troops is not as simple as you think. It takes money, food, armor and guns. I'll do the math for you! The last time the troops were sent, two-thirds of the money in the treasury was consumed. This year's harvest since the summer has not been good, which has a direct impact on business taxes. According to the million people you just said, I really can't come up with this military spending. ”

Calis swallowed the food in his mouth and threw his neck back to drink a large mouthful of milk in front of him. He looked at the king with an inquiring gaze and thought for a moment, "Nine hundred thousand people, this scale should be maintained, right?" ”

Henderson replied with a wry smile, "It's winter, not the normal tax season." In a few months there will be spring, and all aspects of the country will need to be spent. Road construction, the need for new warships for the navy, health and infrastructure expenditures in cities everywhere, and the continuous diversion of rivers...... Running the country is not only about the military, but also about other aspects. The current tax rate is already very high, and if new taxes continue to be added, it will cause a series of problems. ”

The Duke frowned slightly, and quickly released it after just a few seconds. He is not a reckless and rude man who does not know the severity of the matter, but he must argue with reason on relevant issues: "Your Majesty, I can understand all these difficulties you said. You're right, a tax hike is not a good idea, it will only make things worse. ”

The wry smile on Henderson's face turned into a smile: "I'm glad we can reach a consensus on this issue." ”

"But I thought of a solution." Calis is not so easy to throw in the towel.

Henderson cursed in his stomach for the dirty duke, who was rude in his eating and basically had no hygienic practices. He crossed his white chubby hands in front of him: "Okay, let me hear your opinion. ”

"We can only make up for our losses through war." This is the conclusion that Calis has long thought about: "The giants of the north possess staggering wealth. Gold, silver, and diamonds...... As long as this battle is won, all problems can be solved. ”

"I know." The king repeated these three words again, and he accentuated his tone: "But after fighting for so long, we have not been able to break through the Lock Dragon Pass. ”

As he spoke, he reached out and picked up the knife, and lightly scratched a shallow mark on the surface of the napkin on the flat table: "We can't get in, they can't get out." Calis, this has been the case for thousands of years. ”

"This time it's different." The duke's attitude was very resolute: "His Majesty the Pope personally promised that as long as we send troops, we will definitely conquer the Dragon Pass." ”

Pope?

Henderson's mind subconsciously conjured up an old and frail figure. He was tempted to pull that damn old bastard out of Gabriel, strip him naked, and shove the Pope's ass hard with a barbed stick...... A strong sense of revenge has been around since Henderson was a child. When he was only six years old, he was forced to kneel in the snow and bow to the Pope in the cold of winter.

No way, the clergy is higher than the king. Although Henderson had never seen the Holy Lord coming, and he was full of doubts about the so-called Holy Bishopric, he was unable to spread the same ideas to others, including the people of the Rhine Kingdom.

If you raise your arms and shout revolutionary slogans such as "The Holy Lord is scum", then don't think about becoming a king, and flee to some uninhabited desert island as soon as possible, and rest your life.

The chubby Henderson pretended to be very interested and at the same time deeply shocked: "Are you sure? ”

The Duke nodded vigorously: "I'm sure." ”

"Alright then!" The king spread his hands and made a compromise: "600,000 people, no more." ”

Calis was stunned, it was too different from his psychological expectations. After a short gap in thinking, the Duke couldn't help but be anxious, and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, this ......"

Henderson raised his right hand and stopped the words behind him: "Six hundred thousand is the limit of the kingdom's financial resources that can be maintained at present. Calis, you should understand that we are not in a very good situation right now. If in three years, or five years, don't say a million, even if you ask for 1.2 million troops, I will agree. But now is different, and I can't give up the whole country and all my plans for the future because of a war. ”

"But the Pope has promised that the Holy See's holy army will attack the Dragon Pass, and this battle will be won." The duke repeatedly emphasized, and even forgot the etiquette between the monarch and the courtier.

Henderson sighed: "The Pope is the Pope, and I am me." In the same way, this is the Rhine, your country and mine. The soldiers had to eat, and the bread had to be cultivated by the peasants, and the flour was obtained and turned over to the state treasury. On the surface, it is said that the Holy See Holy Army, but every time it sends troops, the Holy See only sends a few thousand people, or even less. Otherwise, let's make a bet———— the Holy See will definitely not send more than 10,000 troops this time. Bet however you want. ”

Calis was silent.

He knew Henderson was telling the truth.

"Can we really win against the northern giants? Sorry, my friend, I don't have doubts about your abilities, but I have seen too many failures. Not only me, but also the Saxon kings, the Plantagenet kings, the Vikings, and the man in the Lord's Kingdom who claims to forever refuse to eat pork, they all have doubts about this. If it weren't for the fact that the land issue directly affected the political situation of various countries, the war would definitely break out between us first, and then choose to attack the north of the continent. Henderson said in a low voice. He sat in a high-backed chair, his small eyes crammed into the depths of his fat face, and his gaze pierced Calis like an awl.

The Duke was speechless. The king was talking about the truth, and he was not exaggerating.

"And it also involves a very important issue, which is the distribution of benefits after the war." Henderson's fat lips squeezed out a hint of affection, and he stared at Calis, with a sly light in the depths of his eyes: "The five kingdoms have not signed an agreement on the distribution of land on the northern continent so far. Of course, this is because it has not been possible to conquer the Lock Dragon Pass, and it is impossible to enter the next stage of the issue. ”

"Calis, you are very sure of what you just said. You are a duke with noble qualities. I never doubted your ability and honesty. But you have to look at the problem in two parts. Hypothesis...... Yes, suppose that the Holy See did use the secrets they had hidden for many years and had absolute certainty about the war itself. But who will lead the way? Papal Guard? Or other kingdoms? As long as it is a person with a normal brain, he will take the initiative to stand up and accept this task. ”

"Alright! I continue to assume that we have won the war, captured the Suolong Pass, and dragged the northern giants around like rabbits, and nailed them all to death by hanging them on rice frames. According to past experience, the proportion of casualties after the end of the war is about 30%. According to the one million army you just mentioned, at least 300,000 people must die. ”

"Then the new problem arises. You know very well our strength, and a million men means that the regular army from all parts of the country must be drained. In the event of victory, we will have to add additional forces to the occupied territories of the northern continent. The Giant of the North is not an idiot, he can stand there stupidly and fight whatever you want. They have brains, they will resist, and if they can't fight head-on, they will go into the deep mountains and old forests, and run out at the right opportunity to give you a few blows. This style of play is the most troublesome because we are not familiar with the terrain and there is nothing we can do with them. ”

Calis subconsciously shook his head: "This is not difficult to solve. Just kill them, catch them one and kill them all, and wipe them out completely. ”

"Of course I knew it was the best thing to do. But have you calculated the amount of time it takes? Henderson rubbed his round chin: "It will take at least half a year for the first batch of immigrants to pass, which will directly affect the domestic economy and tax revenues." Sending a large number of troops to the north meant reducing the domestic garrison. The difference between a recruit and a veteran is very large, and the domestic defense at this stage will become empty. If other kingdoms take the opportunity to send troops and declare war on us...... What should I do, you say? ”

"That shouldn't be the case." The duke's brows furrowed tightly, and he slowly shook his head: "His Majesty the Pope will not sit idly by, the northern giants are our common enemy." ”

Henderson pouted, looking like a baby who was angry at something that didn't go his way: "You're so naïve. The strength of the army directly affects the area of control of our northern continent, and it is also related to the stability of the Rhine. 600,000, no more. Otherwise, we'll have nothing to offer. ”

The duke weighed the king's words: "You mean that the country is given priority before the northern lands?" ”

"So to speak." Henderson replied vaguely: "I may not be a good king, but I know what it takes to keep a country running." ”

Calis thought for a long time, and finally nodded slowly, agreeing in silence.

"Alright! 600,000, no less. He sighed, stood up, saluted the king, and turned to leave the dining room.

Looking at his distant back, Henderson sat there motionless with a gloomy face. After a few minutes of this, he suddenly became very angry, jumped up from his chair, grabbed the table with both hands and pushed it upwards with all his might, but the marble table did not move. The king's anger rushed over his head again, and he grabbed the tablecloth and swept his hands from side to side, throwing out the various utensils and food that were placed on the table, creating a large mess in the chaos of noise.

Henderson pursed his lips and didn't speak, but his mind was madly cursing the departed Duke of Calis.

"This damn bastard doesn't wash his hands when he eats, and he actually behaves such a filthy act."

And his saliva...... Bastard! Bastard! Bastard! That's simply the dirtiest substance in the world. He dipped his fingers in honey in front of me. Is this an act that a nobleman should have? It's simply uneducated. ”

"How dare he threaten me. I am a king, my king! ”

At this time, a young man in a black robe, aged thirteen or fourteen, wearing a black robe, came in through the side door, and couldn't help but be stunned when he saw the messy tableware and food everywhere.

"Father, what's wrong with you?" The boy hurried up to Henderson, anger rising on his handsome face: "Who made you angry?" Tell me, and I'll send someone to arrest him and ask him for his guilt. ”

In this world, the person who can make Henderson feel at peace the most is his son. He quickly controlled his emotions and put his arms around the boy's shoulders hard, holding him in his arms like he could hold as a child, and sobbing quietly.

The maids left the dining room one after another. They were familiar with the scene and knew that there was no need for outsiders to be present at such times.

King Henderson is a man who always has a smile on his face, but that doesn't mean he doesn't turn his face and doesn't kill.

The Father and the Son embraced each other like this. The king sits, and the prince stands in front of him, looking from the side, the latter, who has developed early and is tall, is more like the elder of the former.

"Isn't it the Duke of Calis?" The prince put his hands around his father's shoulders and asked softly behind his head.

“…… He's a jerk. The king stopped sobbing with a palpable cry in his voice: "He's always been a damn bastard. Mokell, my child, only you can understand my pain. ”

For a long time, Henderson didn't feel like a real king.

He can't do what he wants in a lot of things.

Members of the royal family usually marry very early, and Henderson is no exception. When he was still nineteen years old, he was married under his father's arrangement. His wife was a princess of the Plantagenet dynasty. Although she was not pretty, at least she looked very different from Henderson's beauty, but he could not resist his father's orders, not to mention that this political marriage also involved the multiple interests between the two kingdoms.

She was a short-lived woman who died of tuberculosis three years after she was married.

My father also died. Because of his honest obedience to the arrangement in matters of marriage, Henderson was listed as the first in line of succession among many contenders, and received the coveted crown.

Henderson will never forget the moment he saw Elaine.

According to the custom, people who have important positions in the royal family, such as queens and princesses, must leave at least one portrait oil painting as a permanent memorial for posterity.

Although Henderson didn't like his deceased wife, he didn't skimp on the woman's aftermath and related issues, and it could even be said that it was quite grandly arranged.

He ordered the best painters in the country to be transferred to the palace, modeled on the portraits he had painted before, and left at least ten oil paintings for his wife, who died young.

This was a difficult problem for the painter. Because the subject has long since been buried, it is difficult to capture its charm with just an old painting.