Eric stared at Wen Jiàn in his hand, his brows furrowed.

After a long while, he let out a long sigh, put down the text, closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose with his hand, allowing himself to relax a little.

He had been reviewing the text for a whole afternoon, and he didn't have any time to rest except for going to the toilet once, so he naturally felt very tired.

Glancing at the still stacked tall Wen Jiàn on the table, Eric couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Before he ascended the throne, he had always fantasized about how satisfying and pleasant it would be if he really became the king of this kingdom.

But when he really ascended to the throne, he was only happy in the first few days, and for nearly half a year, he was always entangled in annoying work, and he couldn't have any free time at all.

His busy and stressful life makes him often miss the time when he was a prince.

At that time, he didn't need to think about so many messy state affairs, he could eat when he wanted, sleep when he wanted, and play as much as he wanted.

But after becoming the king, because he was too busy, he not only couldn't sleep well, but even ate every day, and he was not free at all.

As for playing, even when he was dreaming, he was reviewing official documents!

He didn't pay much attention to it when he saw his father's busy appearance of reviewing official documents, but when he came to do it himself, he completely understood that being a king was really not a comfortable thing.

In fact, he knew very well that the reason why he always felt tired was entirely because he was not satisfied.

Why do you want to be king? Of course, because the king has the most power in this kingdom.

But after he became king. only to find that he has no control over the kingdom at all.

Whether it's what is said or what is ordered. No one cares. So what's the point of this king?

"Tuk-tuk—"

There was a sudden knock on the door, and before Eric could speak, it was pushed open and an unusually familiar figure walked in.

Looking at the middle-aged man who was always walking with an unusually steady step, and every step seemed to be accurately measured with a ruler, slowly walked in front of him, Eric barely squeezed out a smile.

"Duke Stark, is there something wrong?"

Count Stark bent slightly, saluting Eric.

"陛xià. I'm here to bother you now for the budget meeting of the military department that will be held in three days. ”

Count Stark's tone was calm, without a hint of fluctuation, and then hearing it in Eric's ears made his heart skip a beat.

After a long silence, Eric asked, "Duke Stark, do you have any comments on this?"

"Yes. Duke Stark nodded. "I heard that His Majesty intends to increase the budget of the military department this year, especially the budget of the Zhenbei Army, right?"

Eric frowned, thinking that he had only revealed a little. This Duke Stark found the door, and really didn't give himself any space.

But he was only thinking about it. On the surface, he still kept smiling: "Well, I have this plan." According to the intelligence, the kingdom of Sark seems to be on the verge of moving again. In order to prevent the encroachment of the Kingdom of Sark, it was also necessary to appropriately raise the budget of the military department. And if nothing else, the kingdom's fiscal revenue is not bad this year, and it should not be a problem to increase some budget. ”

Earl Stark pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Your Majesty, have you ever thought about a very important question?"

"What's the problem?"

"At the beginning of next year, your loans to many nobles in the kingdom will be due. If you don't pay this amount by then, I'm afraid you'll lose a lot of important supporters. ”

"Arrears?" said Eric, frowning deeply.

This so-called arrears are actually the various investments of the nobles in the kingdom who supported him before he ascended the throne.

It's just that the guys called it a donation, and when he ascended the throne, they immediately counted the donation as a debt and demanded that Eric pay it back.

The ten chambers of commerce designated by the Magical Industry Administration, these are actually these guys standing behind them.

Eric has always looked at the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce as unpleasant, and in the name of this, not only has the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce been rectified, but it can also be used as an exchange for arrears, which is really a double win for him.

Moreover, it is very beneficial for the entire kingdom to have those technologies not only in the hands of the New Flying Chamber of Commerce.

Therefore, Eric has been conniving at the various small actions of the Magic Industry Management Department against the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce, and the main purpose is actually to snatch away the income that originally belonged to the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce.

It's just that the time is still short after all, and the impact of those ten chambers of commerce on the market is still far less than that of the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce, so it can't generate much income from it for a while, and the arrears that those nobles say are still a headache for Eric.

"But if the money is paid off from the kingdom, the kingdom will be very nervous in all respects next year. Eric said helplessly.

In the six months since he ascended the throne, Eric has found himself more like a merchant than a king.

Because every day, almost all the time, he was worried about money, even for a small amount of gold coins that he would not have paid attention to before.

It was only when he truly became king that he understood how embarrassing the current kingdom of Lampari was.

Although the overall fiscal revenue of the Lampari Kingdom has been growing continuously and heavily in the past two years, according to statistical estimates, the fiscal revenue for the whole of this year may not exceed three million gold coins.

If you put this money in one city, it is considerable, but in the whole country, it is simply pitiful.

If nothing else, just military spending.

Based on Eric's financial statistics when he led the Zhenbei Army and fought against the Sark Kingdom, the average daily cost was between 50,000 and 70,000 gold coins.

The war with the Kingdom of Sark lasted less than a month, and more than a million gold coins had already been spent.

And these battles are not very fierce. If it is really a full-scale war. I am afraid that the consumption of military spending will more than double.

Of course. At that time, in order to create a momentum for Eric, the nobles who supported him in the kingdom invested a lot in the Zhenbei Army, which was much higher than the military expenditure of the Zhenbei Army before.

However, even according to the previous military consumption standard of the Zhenbei Army, at least 100,000 gold coins must be guaranteed for a year in non-war times.

Coupled with the other armies in the kingdom, the military budget of the military department was simply stretched thin with 300,000 gold coins per Chinese New Year's Eve.

Eric had personally been on the battlefield and seen the fierceness of those soldiers in the Sark Kingdom, so he naturally understood that he must improve the strength of the Zhenbei Army. in order to ensure the safety of the Lampari Kingdom.

But here's the problem...... Money.

The annual revenue of the kingdom is calculated at three million gold coins, and the cost of one million gold coins is close to one million gold coins, excluding the basic administrative expenses of one million gold coins, plus various preferential subsidies for the nobility.

If you have one million gold coins left, you will have to use some of it to build the kingdom's infrastructure.

For example, a few days ago, the Department of Agriculture proposed to carry out rectification of farmland in several parts of the kingdom similar to the previous one in Bangta City, and the initial cost is expected to be 200,000 gold coins.

Add in the rest of the mess, and there aren't a few gold coins left.

It is not easy to squeeze out the military expenditure that Eric thinks is a minimum of 500,000 gold coins.

"Your Majesty, I understand your concerns. Seeing the embarrassed look on Eric's face, Duke Stark smiled and said, "Priority is given to ensuring the military strength of the kingdom." This is certainly necessary. But you don't really need to deliberately increase your military budget to increase your military power, do you?"

Eric was stunned: "If you don't increase military spending, how can the strength of the army be improved? I understand it very well. If there is no money, the soldiers will not even have enough to eat, so how can they have any combat effectiveness?"

"That's right. But Your Majesty, have you ever thought that the kingdom's military spending is limited and difficult to raise. Then, instead of using limited military spending to support a large number of troops, and the combat effectiveness of these armies is not guaranteed at all, it is better to streamline the number of troops and take the route of elite troops, which is easier to improve combat effectiveness. Duke Stark said.

"Downsizing the army?" Eric frowned. "Duke Stark, the total number of troops in our kingdom is less than 50,000, and it is already very difficult to defend the entire kingdom just by defending such a number, if it is reduced further, won't the kingdom be full of loopholes?

"It's simple. Duke Stark was obviously prepared, and continued with a smile: "The kingdom army is only responsible for the main defense objectives, and as for the secondary defense tasks, nobles like me naturally have the obligation to assist in the defense. ”

Eric was stunned, "What do you mean by that?"

"Take the northwest province where the Zhenbei Army is mainly stationed as an example. At present, in order to prevent the invasion of the Sark Kingdom, the Zhenbei Army not only garrisons the northern border of the entire kingdom, but also deploys heavy troops in the northwest province, which is completely unnecessary in my opinion. At present, there are a total of seven noble private territories in the Northwest Province, so these seven noble families all have the responsibility of defending their territories, and they can completely help share some of the defense tasks. ”

Eric shook his head, "How's that going to work?" This is the duty of the kingdom's army, and the noble private guard is only responsible for defending their own private territory, so how can it be involved in the defense of the kingdom's territory. ”

"Your Majesty, when you led the Zhenbei Army to counterattack the Sark Kingdom, you also received the help of the personal guards sent by many nobles. Now why don't you allow them to do their part?" Seeing that Eric was still hesitating, Duke Stark added. "The most important thing is that the expenses of these nobles' personal guards are paid by the nobles themselves, and the kingdom's finances are not covered. Wouldn't that save a lot of military spending?"

Eric frowned, lost in thought.

After a long time, he unconsciously patted his right hand on the table and said softly, "This is ...... It seems to be a way to ......" (to be continued......