The special envoy sent by the royal court soon arrived at the royal city of Polyvicia. He was a serious-looking old man in his fifties with a standard Mediterranean hairstyle. Coupled with his bitter and vengeful expression, it was as if everyone owed him money.
He was Dombagiro Ai Davidd, a viscount of the kingdom.
It was said that he was related to King Frederick I and His Majesty had to call him uncle. He was the deputy director and chief inspector of the kingdom's justice department.
The envoy had brought a regiment of royal guards with him to escort the gold and silver reserves from the Nasrian treasury back to the royal capital, which were worth more than a million crowns.
Claude and General Bolonik gave the usual ceremony and a banquet in honour of his arrival.
What Claude found strange was that Dombagiro seemed a little distracted, as if he had something on his mind. He quickly excused himself with the excuse that he couldn't handle the alcohol.
The next afternoon, the two sides began the handover. Claude provided the accounts of Nasri's treasury and the list of gold and silver reserves to show that he hadn't falsified the information.
The value of the gold and silver coins and ingots in the treasury should be around 1.89 million crowns. Based on the distribution of spoils from the treasury, the autonomous region would receive 30% of it, leaving 20% for local expenses and 50% to be handed over to the imperial court.
However, Dombagiro dismissed his attendants and made a private request to Claude and Bolonik. He hoped that he could bring back 1.5 million crowns worth of gold and silver to solve the kingdom's financial crisis.
The royal guards stationed in the royal capital were already three months behind on their salaries and the local administrators hadn't been paid for at least half a year. The royal court was relying on the funds from Nasri's treasury to keep itself alive.
"No way, the royal court is that poor?" Claude was shocked.
Dombagiro explained to the two generals with a bitter smile. The last year, the Alliance's army was sent out of the royal capital. The enemy took all the valuables they could with them when they retreated from the royal capital and even destroyed all the mining bases in the eastern part of the kingdom.
When King Frederick I and the royal court returned to the royal capital, they found that they were left with nothing but an empty shell.
There wasn't even a single curtain cloth in the palace. They had all been destroyed by the enemy.
After years of war, the people of the kingdom were in dire straits and the merchants weren't doing well.
The taxes collected by the Royal Capital were only enough to feed the people. Without money, the Royal Court would not be able to implement even the best economic recovery plan. Just like the mining bases in the Eastern Region that had been destroyed, two of the large gold and silver mines that had been buried had to be reopened with a capital investment of hundreds of thousands of gold and silver coins. Only then could the gold and silver be used to make coins.
However, the national treasury was currently out of money, and the royal court was helpless. The overseas autonomous region had money, but the royal court had already overdrawn the taxes and tributes that the overseas autonomous region had to pay for the next ten years. If they wanted to overdraw any further, the overseas autonomous region parliament would not allow it.
It was fine to overdraft during the war, but now that the war was over, it was unacceptable to overdraft. The parliament said that they could lend money to the royal court, but they had to pay interest.
The royal court didn't mind borrowing money from the autonomous region. Although the interest was high, it wasn't a loan shark.
However, the old noble families of the kingdom weren't happy. They thought that the autonomous region was deliberately expanding their influence in the royal court with ill intentions.
The royal court could borrow money from them. With their wealth, they could still provide a few million crowns.
But they were real loan sharks. Eight out of eight was thirteen, and the interest was compounded.
This time, His Majesty was angry. Borrowing money from the autonomous region was like taking a loan. It didn't matter if the interest was high, as they could repay it in two years.
On the other hand, the old noble families were taking out high-interest loans. The millions of crowns they borrowed might not even be repaid in a hundred years. It was simply preposterous.
That was why borrowing money from the autonomous region was unanimously opposed by all the nobles and ministers. However, His Majesty wasn't a fool. He knew it was a trap, but he still jumped into it. So, if they didn't have money, then so be it.
While Viscount Tangbagiro was sent as the royal court's envoy to transport the funds, the one who was most anxious about it was the prime minister, Blancarte.
He hoped to be able to transport 1.5 million crowns of gold and silver back. That way, the royal court would be able to solve their problems.
Five hundred thousand crowns of it would be used to pay the salaries of the royal guards and the civil servants in the capital.
The other five hundred thousand crowns would be invested in the capital to repair the damaged business districts and roads to attract merchants back to the capital.
As long as the business thrived, the treasury would receive more taxes. That was a good way to govern.
The last half a million crowns were going to be used to rebuild the mines that had been destroyed by the Alliance. Once the two large mines resumed production, the treasury would have a few hundred thousand crowns every month. That would give them more time to do more practical things.
Viscount Tangbagiro spoke earnestly and laid out the entire financial predicament of the royal court before Claude and Bolonik.
Claude, on the other hand, felt rather regretful. Had he known earlier, he would've sent his troops to harass the main camp. At the very least, he wouldn't have let the highest commander of the alliance … what was his name again?
It was said that he was the duke of Shiks. He was able to easily bring back the wounded soldiers and looted loot from the royal capital.
What a loss. The amount of loot the alliance took from the royal capital wasn't a small amount.
No wonder that fellow was so generous, leaving behind so many rations, military supplies, weapons, and ammunition in the allied army camp. He didn't destroy or burn them, just so that we could easily give up on chasing after their retreating troops.
Obviously, this duke knew that if he burned all these resources, the Thundercrash army would never let these retreating soldiers go. Even if they had to chase them all the way to the Mambamark Kingdom, they would kill them all …
What a cunning fellow. It was precisely because he left behind the main camp, supplies and ammunition that Claude didn't feel the need to chase after them and let them go just like that.
Only now did he find out that the duke took all the loot from the royal capital with him when he retreated. It was too late for regrets now.
Claude could only think that he had suffered a huge loss.
"What are you thinking about?"
Bolonik nudged Claude, knowing that he was spacing out again. "I just agreed to the envoy's request to let him take away 1.5 million crowns to solve the kingdom's financial predicament."
"Don't worry, the kingdom won't forget your loyalty and dedication.
The prime minister told me before I left that the kingdom doesn't have enough money to reward your brave soldiers. So, he wants to give you the mining rights for the seven small and medium-sized mines in Nasrian for half a year.
You only need to hand over a third of the mined resources to the royal court. The rest will be used by the two corps of the autonomous region.
"You should know that the kingdom's policy towards gold and silver is to split it seventy to thirty, with seventy going to the national treasury and thirty to the private sector.
"However, the royal court will give you seventy percent for the next six months. That's already an exception," Viscount Dombagiro hurriedly tossed out the compensation plan that he had prepared beforehand.
There were seven small and medium-sized mines in Nasrian. They were the original source of the kingdom's gold and silver reserves.
As for the copper, they were minted into coins at the mining base and put into circulation in the market.
Claude looked at the accounts and saw that the seven mines would bring about 1.4 million crowns to Nasrian every year.
A third of the 1.4 million crowns would be 400,000 crowns. That meant that the autonomous region would still have a million crowns left.
However, it was only for half a year. The most they could earn would be 600,000 crowns.
"What a good plan. You don't even have to fork out a single black penny and you can just sit back and enjoy the fruits of others' labor.
You gave us the seven mines and we still have to recruit miners, repair the machinery, and equip them with refining equipment. We'll have to invest a hundred thousand crowns to mine the gold and silver, "Claude said, shaking his head.
"Also, why is it only for half a year? That's too short. We'll need at least a year."
Dombagiro smiled bitterly. "To be honest, I'd like to give you more time, but neither the prime minister nor I know what will happen in half a year.
Who knows, we might not even know who owns the seven mines by then. We'll have to sign a new mining agreement with the owners of the mines.
As for handing over the rights to the mines to you, you should start mining as soon as possible. Send more people and dig as much as you can.
If we don't notify you when the deadline is up, you can continue mining.
Even if these mineral resources already have an owner, they will only take over these mineral resources after half a year is up … "
Claude found it strange. "There seems to be some other meaning behind this half a year. Can you tell me what's going on?
Or are you saying that the Imperial Court is going to sell all these resources in exchange for funds? "
"Forget it. You two aren't outsiders. You're also the kingdom's new hereditary nobles. I'll tell you what's going on." Viscount Dombagiro looked around and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that there was no one else in the room.
"Don't worry, no one will dare eavesdrop on our conversation," Bolonik assured the envoy.
"It's like this. Prime Minister Blancarte submitted a plan for the kingdom's revival and it was unanimously approved by the assembly. Even the noble assembly believes that if the plan is implemented, the kingdom will return to its peak in the shortest time possible and become one of the strongest nations on Freia.
In this plan, Prime Minister Blancarte hoped to import trains from the autonomous regions and build railways to connect the entire eastern region with railways. This would speed up the transportation of goods and make it convenient for people to move between.
"We'll also rebuild the kingdom's waterways and irrigation systems to ensure stable agricultural production and good harvests.
"We'll also support the manufacturing of various products that benefit the people and speed up their development so that they can compete with the products of the region.
"Also, we'll reorganize the kingdom's military and upgrade the equipment of the three corps. We'll also learn new tactics from the two corps of the region and strive to become a reliable military force for the kingdom.
"At the same time, we'll build a new fleet of the most advanced ironclad ships and work with the region to build new ironclad warships to protect the kingdom's shipping interests and the safety of the eastern coast.
"There are also many other details regarding the development of the economy and local tax revenue, which I won't go into for now.
This plan for the revival of the kingdom was very detailed and considered the kingdom's current situation and difficult situation. It also proposed various targeted solutions.
There was only one problem that couldn't be solved: the kingdom's treasury was empty. They didn't have the funds to implement the plan.
Even the most conservative estimate of the plan would cost more than 50 million crowns.
Blancarte hoped to complete all the projects in the plan within five years. That way, he wouldn't miss the best opportunity for development.
But what could he do if he didn't have the money? Moreover, the investment in the first year was more than 10 million crowns. Where could he find such a huge sum of money?
The prime minister decided to break down some of the projects in the plan, with the railways and trains being the biggest expense. The construction of the railways throughout the eastern region would require at least 20 million gold crowns. Blancarte hoped to learn from the overseas dominions and raise funds for the construction of the railways from the people and issue shares in the railways.
However, there was still a big part of the plan, which was the cost of upgrading the armaments and the establishment of the ironclad fleet. For this part, Prime Minister Blancarte was prepared to issue state bonds. The bonds would have a maturity of three, five, eight and ten years, and the interest rate would increase by 5%.
For example, if you bought a 10-year bond with 100 crowns, you'd get 120 crowns in ten years.
The prime minister hoped to use the bonds to raise 15 million crowns for armaments, but his proposal was ridiculed by many.
Many economic experts were pessimistic and felt that the interest rate was too low.
A noble once told the prime minister that if he didn't earn 300 to 400 crowns in ten years with 100 crowns, then his business would be a failure. That was why the bonds weren't attractive at all.
Even if Blancarte managed to raise enough funds by issuing national bonds, there would still be a shortfall of 15 million crowns for the restoration of the kingdom.
He originally hoped to use the rapid economic growth and tax revenue in the next few years to make up for the shortfall, but it wasn't possible. After the war, the entire eastern region's economy was in a slump and it wouldn't recover in a few years.
The prime minister's proposal was perfect, but it couldn't be implemented due to the lack of funds. That was why Blancarte was ridiculed by many nobles, who thought that he was a daydreamer.
The reason the plan was unanimously passed by the parliament and the nobles was because everyone knew it couldn't be implemented. That was why they didn't want to waste their saliva on it.
So, the unwilling Prime Minister secretly submitted another secret plan to His Majesty. This secret plan was only known by a few people.
The plan proposed that the kingdom adopt the feudal system of feudal lords, in other words, the feudal system of feudal nobles. The nobles would be granted hereditary fiefs in exchange for the support and funding of the old noble families. "
"Wait, no way. Granting hereditary fiefs to nobles? Isn't that regressing the kingdom's system?
The late king, Stellin IX, fought a six-year civil war to get rid of the hereditary fiefs of nobles. Isn't restoring the feudal system the same as going back to the old ways? "
Bolonik and Claude looked at each other blankly. Bolonik snapped out of his daze and stood up agitatedly, interrupting the viscount.
"No, no, no, General Bolonik, don't misunderstand. Don't be so agitated.
The prime minister has his reasons for proposing this secret plan and it has already been approved by His Majesty. Listen to me carefully. "
Viscount Tangbagiro gestured for Bolonik to calm down. Claude got up and pulled Bolonik back to his seat.
"Come to think of it, I have to thank you two generals and the soldiers of your autonomous corps for your bloody battle to destroy the kingdom's mortal enemies, Nasri and Canas. You also recovered all the lost lands and allowed the kingdom to unify the entire eastern region.
It was because you laid a solid foundation for the kingdom's revival that the prime minister proposed to grant hereditary fiefs to nobles. "
The viscount pointed at his feet. "This time, the prime minister proposed to grant hereditary fiefs to nobles here, not in the kingdom itself."
Claude looked at the ground the emissary was stepping on and immediately understood. "You mean this Nasrian region?"
The viscount nodded approvingly. "Nasri has always been a feudal system of feudal fiefs to nobles. The people here are used to being subjects and living off their lords.
If we want to implement our four-citizen system here, we'll have to invest a lot of money in education. It'll take two to three decades to see results.
But the kingdom doesn't have the money and the people here have always been hostile to us.
Under such circumstances, it wouldn't be a good thing for us to implement the same policy as we do in the kingdom itself. It'll make it easy for the people here to rebel.
Back then, the four commanderies that were forcibly taken over from Nasri didn't suffer from the same civil unrest. That's a good lesson for us.
So, since the people here rely on their lords, we'll give them one. In the future, the peace and development of these fiefs will be taken care of by these lords. It'll also reduce the burden on our kingdom.
The kingdom will implement a tithe system for these fiefs and levy a 10% tax and tribute. The tax for each fief will be assessed once every ten years.
Additionally, only hereditary fiefs will be granted. They'll be granted lands of equal size according to their rank.
It's fine if you want to choose your own fief, but you'll have to pay a land selection fee first.
Additionally, if third generation nobles and honorary nobles want to obtain hereditary fiefs, they'll have to pay a promotion fee to the royal court to become hereditary nobles.
For example, if an honorary baron wants to become a hereditary baron, he'll have to pay 100,000 crowns to become a third generation baron. Then, he'll have to pay 200,000 crowns to become a hereditary baron. That way, he'll be granted a hereditary fief by His Imperial Majesty.
The two of you are already hereditary nobles of the kingdom, so you'll be granted hereditary fiefs.
But if you want to choose a good fief, you'll have to pay a land selection fee. "