Chapter 44 Being a King Is Not a Happy Thing

Eric stared at the document in his hand, frowning.

After a long while, he sighed deeply, put down the document, closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose with his hands, and let himself relax a little.

He has been reviewing the documents for an entire afternoon, and apart from going to the bathroom once, he has no time to rest, so he naturally feels very tired.

Glancing at the documents still stacked high on the table, Eric couldn't help but wryly smiled.

Before ascending the throne, he had been fantasizing about how satisfying and joyful it would be if he really became the king of this kingdom.

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

The busy and tense life made 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 as he wanted, sleep as he wanted, and play as he wanted.

But after becoming a king, because he was too busy, he not only couldn't sleep well, but even had to squeeze out time for eating every day, so he was not free at all. As for playing? Even in his dreams, he was reviewing official documents!

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

In fact, he is very clear that the reason why he always feels tired is entirely because he is not satisfied.

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

But after he became king, he found that he had no control over the kingdom at all.

Whether spoken or commanded. No one would care, so what's the point of being a king?

"Tuk-tuk--"

The door was knocked suddenly, and before Eric could speak, it was pushed open, and an unusually familiar figure walked in.

Looking at this, he always walks with unusually steady steps. Every step seemed to be accurately measured with a ruler. The middle-aged man slowly walked in front of him, and Eric forced a smile.

"Duke Stark, is there something?"

Earl Stark bent slightly, as a salute to Eric.

"Your Majesty, I'm here to disturb you now because of the military budget meeting that will be held in three days." Earl Stark said calmly. There was no fluctuation, and then he heard it in Eric's ear, but it made his heart jump.

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 to increase the budget of the Zhenbei Army, isn't it?"

Eric frowned, thinking that he just revealed his tone a little, and this Duke Stark found the door, really didn't give himself any space.

However, he was just thinking about it in his heart, and he still kept smiling on the surface: "Well, I have this plan. According to the intelligence, the Kingdom of Sark seems to be about to move again. In order to prevent the invasion of the Kingdom of Sark, the military department should be raised appropriately. A budget is also necessary. And if there are no accidents, the kingdom’s financial revenue this year is pretty good, and it shouldn’t be a problem to increase some of the budget.”

Earl Stark pondered for a moment. He asked again: "Your Majesty, have you ever thought about a very important question?"

"what is the problem?"

"At the beginning of next year, your loans from many nobles in the kingdom will be due. If you don't pay the debt by then, I'm afraid you will lose many important supporters."…

"Arrears?" Eric frowned 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 before called it a donation, and after he ascended the throne. However, these donations were immediately counted as debts, and Eric was required to repay the arrears.

The ten chambers of commerce designated by the Magic Industry Administration. Those guys standing behind are actually these guys.

Eric has always been displeased with the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce, in this name. Not only has the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce been rectified, but it can also be used as a replacement for the arrears, which is really killing two birds with one stone for him.

And letting those technologies not only be in the hands of the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce, but also very beneficial to the entire kingdom.

Therefore, Eric has been conniving at the various small actions of the Magic Industry Administration against the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce. The main purpose is actually to take away the revenue that originally belonged to the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce.

It's just that the time is still short after all, and the influence of the ten chambers of commerce on the market is still far less than that of the Xinfei chamber of commerce, so there won't be much profit from it in a while, what the nobles said The arrears are still a very headache for Eric.

"But if funds are allocated from the kingdom to repay the arrears, all aspects of the kingdom will be very tense next year." Eric said rather helplessly.

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

Because every day, almost all the time, he was worrying about money, even worrying about a small amount of gold coins that he didn't care about at all before.

Only when he really became a king, did he understand how embarrassing the current Lampari Kingdom is.

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

If you put this money in a city, it is still considerable, but if you put it in the whole country, it is simply extremely pitiful.

Not to mention anything else, just count military expenses.

Based on Eric's previous financial statistics when he led the Zhenbei Army and the Sak 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 one million gold coins have already been spent.

And these battles are not very intense, if a full-scale war is really launched. I am afraid that military expenditure will more than double.

Of course, at that time, in order to create 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 consumed by the Zhenbei Army before.

But even according to the military expenditure standard of the Zhenbei Army in the past, at least one year of military expenditure of more than 100,000 gold coins was guaranteed during non-wartime.

Plus the other armies in the kingdom. The military budget of 300,000 gold coins per year was simply stretched.

Eric has personally been on the battlefield and seen the ferocity of the soldiers of the Sark Kingdom with his own eyes. He naturally understands that the strength of the Zhenbei Army must be improved to ensure the safety of the Lampari Kingdom.

But the problem is... money.

The kingdom's annual fiscal revenue is calculated at three million gold coins, excluding the basic administrative expenses of one million gold coins. Coupled with various preferential subsidies for nobles, it will cost close to one million gold coins.

If there is one million gold coins left, part of it must be used to build the infrastructure of the kingdom.

For example, a few days ago, the Agricultural Department proposed to carry out rectification similar to that done in Bangta City on several farmlands in the kingdom, and the initial cost is expected to be 200,000 gold coins.

Counting other messy things, there are not a few gold coins left.

I want to squeeze out what Eric thinks is the minimum military expenditure of 500,000 gold coins. It's easier said than done.

"Your Majesty, I understand your worries." Seeing the embarrassed look on Eric's face, Duke Stark smiled and said, "It is of course necessary to give priority to ensuring the kingdom's military strength. But you don't actually need to deliberately increase military expenditures." Shouldn’t the budget be used to increase the military’s strength?”

Eric was stunned: "How can the strength of the army be improved without increasing the military expenditure? I have been in the Zhenbei Army. I understand very well that if there is no money, the soldiers can't even eat enough. How can there be any money?" What combat power?"

"That's right. But Your Majesty. Have you ever thought that the kingdom's military expenditure is limited and it is difficult to improve. So instead of using the limited military expenditure to support a large number of troops, these armies actually cannot get combat power at all. For security, it is better to reduce the number of troops and take the route of elite soldiers, but it is easier to improve combat effectiveness." Duke Stark said.

"Simplify the army?" Eric frowned. "Duke Stark, the total number of troops currently being assembled in our kingdom is less than 50,000. Such a number is already very difficult to defend the entire kingdom. If it is reduced further, wouldn't the kingdom be full of loopholes? Even if It can defend against the Kingdom of Sark. What about other aspects?"

"It's very simple." Duke Stark was clearly prepared, and continued with a smile: "The king's team is only responsible for the main defense target. As for the secondary defense tasks, nobles like me naturally have the ability to assist in the defense. obligation."

Eric was stunned: "What do you mean?"

"Take the Northwest Province where the Northern Zhenbei Army is mainly stationed as an example. At present, in order to guard against the invasion of the Sak Kingdom, the Northern Zhenbei Army not only garrisons the northern border of the entire kingdom, but also deploys heavy troops in the Northwest Province. In my opinion, it is completely useless. Necessary. Northwest Province currently has a total of seven noble private territories, so these seven noble families all have the responsibility of defending the territory, and it is entirely possible for them to help share some of the defense tasks."

Eric shook his head: "How can that be done? This is the responsibility of the royal army. The private guards of the nobles are only responsible for defending their own private territories. How can they 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 private guards sent by many nobles. Why don't you allow them to do their part now?" See Eric Still hesitating, Duke Stark added. "The most important thing is that all the expenses of these nobles' private guards are settled by the nobles themselves, and the kingdom's finances do not bear it. Wouldn't this save a lot of military expenses?"

Eric frowned, lost in thought.

After a long while, he unconsciously patted the table with his right hand, and said softly: "This... seems to be a way..."