Conley ignored the reactions of the two, and continued, "Third, I need a sum of money, not much, 200,000 golden lions are enough." ”

"Are you kidding?" Allister was dissatisfied, "It's not just you who will send troops to deal with Ireya, we will also send people to form an alliance, why should we pay you extra." ”

Claudio also said, "You own the Red Plains and occupy Lionheart, how can you be short of money?" ”

Conley's face was very ugly, he thought the same thing before he lived in Lionheart, how could he not have heard of the prosperity and extravagance of that city as an Empire.

But when he got there, he realized that Lionheart was extravagant, but it was also a bottomless pit.

Previously, when the Vespasian family was there, a steady stream of goods and goods from other parts of the empire were sent to Lionheart, which supported the prosperity of the largest town on the continent and the luxurious life of the royal family and nobles in the city.

But now that there is a war going on the continent of Bratis, although Conley occupies the Red Plains, the access to other places is almost blocked, and the supplies there naturally cannot be transported over.

However, the consumption habits of the nobles in the city will not change for a while, which makes the price of goods begin to rise, and for those wealthy nobles, such an increase is not unbearable, although it makes them a little painful.

However, the common people at the bottom felt that they could not survive, and some of them chose to leave Lionheart and go to other places to earn a living, which further reduced the number of producers, so that prices continued to rise.

Conley is aware of the attrition problem, but neither he nor Lanita are financial or economic talents, and neither of them has faced such a complex and tricky economic environment before.

So Conley just ordered that ordinary civilians were forbidden to leave Lionheart at will.

This alleviated the problem of loss of people to a certain extent, but it did not solve the problem of rising prices, and at the same time made the law and order in the city deteriorate with it.

Ordinary people who can't bear the rise in prices can only steal and grab to fill their stomachs.

Conley also had to recruit more guards to maintain law and order, but this was another big expense.

And worse was yet to come, when Conley checked the treasury to find that there was not a penny left in it.

Conley initially thought that Solomon had emptied the treasury when he occupied the area, but when he found Lanita and the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, he realized that it was empty.

Not only was it empty, but the Vespasian family also left him a big gift, a huge arrears of up to 2.6 million golden lions.

They are all holes left by previous emperors, and the good news is that most of them are no longer needed to be returned due to the war.

And Conley didn't plan to pay back the rest of the part, so he wasn't so kind to clean up the mess for the Vespasian family.

But this raises a new problem, and Conley can't borrow any money.

Because no one wants to lend money to someone who doesn't pay it back.

And this is different from Solomon's time, Conley has two more competitors (not counting Irea), and he can't be too strict with the nobles below, blatantly scraping oil and water from them, otherwise he will be too ruthless, and those people will run to support Allister and Claudio.

To sum up, Conley really has no money now, so he thinks about taking care of Allister and Claudio when he comes over this time.

But it wasn't easy, and Allister and Claudio's money wasn't blown by the wind, and it was given to their competitors.

Conley could only retreat, "If you don't want to give it, you can borrow mine, and I'll pay it back to you in a year." ”

The trio discussed Conley's conditions for two days, during which Allister and Claudio each made their own demands.

In the end, after a long debate and bargaining, the three of them concluded an alliance, swore in the honor of their respective families and the gods behind them to temporarily cease fighting, gather all the forces at hand, and defeat Ilea as a formidable enemy.

Lanita also promised to send two dragons and two hundred WingClan warriors to the battle, which was basically all she could muster.

After the three of them agreed on the date of the expedition and the meeting place, Conley and Claudio went back to prepare.

On Allister's side, Duke Schroeder also returned to the North to recruit troops, but Allister himself stayed in Bobtail, and he waited for the returning Priest of Cornelia four days later.

However, the latter brought back bad news for him, "I'm going to be away for a while." ”

"How long is a period of time, ten days, half a month?" Allister asked.

"I don't know, but it should be at least two or three months before I get back."

"Are you serious?" The smile on Allister's face froze, "The great war is about to begin, Priest Cornelia, you should know that we need you, the goddess of life behind you.

"Is there anything more important than defeating Ilea?"

Cornelia was a little silent when she heard this, and silence itself represented an attitude.

Allister was also a little angry, "You go, without your help, I can still defeat the country queen of the West, but when the time comes, I will have to reconsider my faith and that of my people."

"Duke Schroeder has always wanted me to convert to Fingal, the god of storms and ice."

Cornelia sighed, "I'll send two of my disciples to help you. ”

"But your people have already lost to Merlin and his Shuangxiu once again." Allister raised his voice.

"I'm starting to suspect now that you're not going with us to attack Ilea because you're worried that you'll have to face Merlin, and you know you're no match for him."

"Watch your words, Your Majesty, and don't forget who took the Crescent Land for you." Cornelia's expression became serious.

"You have your mission, I have mine, and the goddess of life has arrangements for each of us."

Allister wanted to say something more, but he didn't dare to say anything after seeing her pale face, he just snorted and turned to leave.

Cornelia looked a little tired when she looked at his back, but she had only rested for half a day in Bobtail before she hurried out of the city again.

When Allister heard that Cornelia had left again, his dissatisfaction with her became even stronger, and he simply refused to ask for the two disciples sent by Cornelia and turned them away.