The decision to build a defensive line was made not only by the southeastern provinces, but also by almost all the border provinces in the south, in the shortest possible time -- to build a defensive line.

I have to admit that the crisis consciousness of the nobles of the Alpha Kingdom is strong.

At the slightest sign of the enemy, they were not even sure who the enemy was, so they spontaneously began to prepare for war one by one.

The assassination of Eucalyptus, before the clue has been found, the defense line construction plans of the provinces have already appeared in front of Caesar IV.

According to the custom, the nobles did not need to report to the king to build military defenses on their own territory, and even the kingdom encouraged the border nobles to build more castles and fortresses.

Such a well-behaved request is naturally not that the nobles respect the king more, and everyone's main purpose is one - to ask for money!

"Prime Minister, in the past, when the provinces built defense lines, was it also allocated by the kingdom?"

Caesar IV asked with concern.

The current financial situation of the Alpha Kingdom, if there is one word to describe it, is: poor!

Very poor!

Very poor!

……

As long as it is a money-related issue, Caesar IV did not have a headache. Even the recent assassination of Prince Claude is far less difficult than the kingdom's financial problems.

After all, it is on his own territory, and if he wants to figure out the life and death of Prince Claude, Caesar IV can still do it.

If the person does not die, the follow-up questions will be easy to discuss.

In a few days, a cult organization will announce its responsibility for the assassination, and then the kingdom will organize a manpower to encircle and suppress him, and finally the two sides will exchange interests.

The process is ready-made, just follow the template and prepare. If you have done enough work on the face, you will be given a certain amount of compensation in the inside, and the matter will be considered in the past.

In contrast, the fiscal hole is the unsolvable problem.

The funeral of the old king that has just ended, and the accession of the new king to the throne is also a large expense, which makes the already deficit of the kingdom's finances even worse.

"Your Majesty, there is no clear decree in the kingdom that regulates this.

However, in the past, when each province built a defensive line, the kingdom would subsidize different amounts according to the actual situation.

Except for the large amount of subsidies in northern Xinjiang, the subsidies in other provinces are all symbolic, and the main form of compensation is tax reduction. ”

As soon as the Archduke of Newfoundland finished speaking, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Marquis delgado, stood up and unceremoniously refused: "No! There is absolutely no tax deduction now!

Your Majesty, due to the impact of the war, the northern region of the kingdom has been greatly reduced in taxes, especially in the seven newly recovered provinces, and not a penny of taxes have been collected.

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At present, the kingdom's finances are mainly provided by the central and southern provinces. The southern provinces that now proposed to build defensive lines were the most tax-paying provinces of the kingdom, accounting for almost one-third of the revenue.

In particular, the repayment tax that has just been levied, these provinces have contributed nearly forty percent. Once they are exempt from taxes, the kingdom's finances will collapse immediately! ”

The figures are not deceiving, because the financial contribution of the border provinces is significantly higher than that of the inland provinces because of the ability to collect tariffs.

There is already a shortage of money, and if the most important financial revenue is cut again, it will be a problem not to go bankrupt.

"The financial problems are really serious, but we have to consider the proposals of the provinces to build defensive lines.

With the changes in the international situation, these provinces have changed from a large rear area into a new national defense center.

Even if the treasury can't come up with the money, we have to show a gesture to give the local nobles a certain amount of reassurance, and it is best to encourage them to complete the construction of the defense line alone. ”

Archduke Ephiero proposed.

Frankly, this is a difficult proposition.

However, there was no way, as the military minister of the kingdom, when the treasury was empty, he could only rely on the local nobles to complete the construction of national defense projects.

Theoretically, they could also convene a council of nobles to raise funds for construction from across the country.

It is a pity that the financial pressure of the major provinces of the kingdom is not small, and one by one is still in the period of economic recovery, and continuing to raise taxes is forcing the small nobles to go bankrupt.

"Are these provinces capable of completing these projects on their own?"

Caesar IV asked with concern.

To defend their homeland, they are not afraid that the nobles of this province will not help, or they will be powerless.

"Your Majesty, it depends on the determination of those great nobles. Most of the provinces that needed to build defensive lines were relatively wealthy.

If a few big nobles are willing to spend their money and gather the strength of the whole province to build a strong defense line, it should not be a big problem.

Considering that the current threat of war is not great, we still have enough time to allow them to determine the construction period according to the actual situation. ”

Marquis Delgado hurriedly replied.

In order to save the kingdom's finances, he also did his best. Now the places that can be saved must be saved, and the places that cannot be saved must be saved.

In order to cut expenses, the salaries of the officials of the kingdom could only be 70%, and even the king's annuity was suspended by the Ministry of Finance.

Of course, this was not given by the Marquis of Delgado, but by the reign of Caesar III, in order to unite the people.

For various activities, the cost reduction is even more severe. The most typical was the convening of a council of nobles, and the standard of food provided by the kingdom plummeted.

The original Warcraft meat, spices, delicacies from the mountains and seas, as well as all kinds of snacks and fruits provided around the clock, are now all gone, only ordinary beef and mutton + bread remain.

The most direct consequence is that the nobles did not come to dine, and opened their own small stoves one after another.

Seeing this scene, the Marquis of Delgado was not only not annoyed, but smiled and cut this part of the budget, forcing the council to directly cancel the food supply.

There are many similar operations. It is rumored that the Marquis of Delgado has gotten into the eye of money.

Such frantic throttling was only to ensure that the kingdom's finances could be sustained.

"Prime Minister, what do you think?"

Caesar IV asked with emotion.

It's not that I don't trust it, it's mainly my own chancellor, and there are too many ways to save money. Most of them succeeded, but there are always times when they make mistakes.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, I will come forward to coordinate this matter. When it comes to their own safety, I'm not afraid that they won't do their best.

Southern Xinjiang is different from northern Xinjiang in that it does not need to travel thousands of miles to transport grain and grass, and the cost of building a defensive line here is not so terrifying.

However, in order to build a complete fortification on their own, there were still certain difficulties in individual provinces, and it was necessary to coordinate with other provinces to provide support. ”

The Archduke of Newfoundland said stiffly.

There is no doubt that coordinating the relations between the parties is a proper chore, but there is no way, if he is not the prime minister, the king himself will have to do it, and no one else will have enough weight.

Since Caesar IV succeeded to the throne, although he has performed well, it is still unknown whether he has the ability to coordinate the relations between all parties.

In case things are messed up, the aftermath will only be harder. simply went up by himself, with the prestige of being the prime minister for many years, everyone had to give some face.

……

Seeing the griffon cavalry flying from the sky, Prince Claude wandered around the garden, and hurried back to the ward.

If you claim to be recuperating from your injuries, you must look like you are recuperating from your injuries. If people see him jumping around, how can they rip off the bamboo?

Politics is the most magical, if the Alpha Kingdom is really ready to turn against the Hessian Kingdom, it will bite him back and say: The assassination of Eucalyptus was directed and acted by him.

Of course, the probability of this happening is low. The assassins were infiltrated as nobles of the Alpha Kingdom, and this alone was doomed, and they couldn't get rid of it no matter how much they shook the pot.

The nobles of the continent of Aslant are very conscious of their own image, and no one wants to wear the hat of a rogue state.

It is a common thing to wage war for honor. Playing tricks at such times is about the same as directly fighting against the Kingdom of Hesse.

"Count Tatara, how are you talking with Arfa?"

Prince Claude asked with concern.

Trapped in the house every day, walking around the garden has to worry about being seen by the griffin cavalry in the sky. But in the past few days, there are a lot of griffon cavalry above his head.

Someone was sent to inquire, and the reply was that in order to protect his personal safety, the patrol force was specially strengthened.

"Your Highness, it's not going very well. According to the information gathered, the Alpha Kingdom has begun to prepare for war, and several southern provinces are preparing to build defensive lines.

The province that is progressing most smoothly is said to have completed the preliminary planning of the defensive line. It is planned to invest 300,000 laborers and build a steel defense line in three years......"

Before Count Tatara could finish speaking, Prince Claude interrupted: "Alpha is crazy!

We didn't do anything, they started preparing for war. Just finished the war with the orcs, where did they get the money to carry out these projects? ”

It's not that he's making a fuss, it's really that the Alpha Kingdom's reaction is too abnormal. War is never about being fought and being able to start immediately.

Mo said that it was two big countries, even if it was a fight between two nobles, they had to prepare for a while.

It is usually a time and battlefield that is mutually agreeable to both sides, and when everyone is ready, they will lead the team to fight.

If there is something to do, it can also unilaterally announce the extension. Most of the time, this request will be accepted.

Although wars between countries are not so disciplined, there are still many things that need to be prepared.

If there is no need for a national conscription, then it is very simple, the strategic materials are ready, and the king can go to the battlefield at the sound of an order.

If it was necessary to mobilize the private armies of the nobles to fight, things would become troublesome. In the event of an invasion by a foreign enemy, this kind of mobilization is faster, and it is estimated that it will be about the same for a few months.

If you take the initiative to wage war with the outside world, it will take at least half a year to coordinate the relationship between the internal princes, and it will take at least half a year to prepare strategic materials and recruit troops.

This is still theoretical, but in practice, there will be more problems. After all, the Kingdom of Hesse has not fought a major national mobilization for hundreds of years.

The only countries that really have the highest mobilization efficiency are those that directly confront foreign races. The specific mobilization efficiency depends entirely on the frequency of wars with alien races.

This is also the reason why many countries have an advantage in population, economy, number of masters, and weapons and equipment, but they lag behind others in the ranking of powerful countries on the mainland.

"Your Highness, I heard that the cost of building a defensive line in the southeastern province will be completed by the local government.

A fundraising meeting will be held tomorrow at the Dalton family's residence. Whether it's a bluff or a real start to construction will be known when tomorrow's meeting ends.

However, the two powerful factions of the Southeastern Province, Governor Pierce and Earl Hudson, were the driving force behind the project. As long as the two of them are determined to build it, even if others oppose it, it will be invalid. ”

Count Tatara patiently explained.

The way of thinking determines the outcome.

The nobles of the Alpha Kingdom are still pursuing the extreme law of the jungle that competes with the orcs, and if they relax their vigilance, they will be killed.

The subconscious subjective influence makes them ignore the fact that the enemy has changed. is still holding the same concept of dealing with orcs, coping with the current international situation, wishful thinking and treating their neighbors as imaginary enemies.

This deviation of perception fell into the eyes of Prince Claude, that is: the Arfa are a bunch of crazy people.