King

The chaotic situation in the Papal States has made the continent's pattern become increasingly clear. People who originally had hopes for the Holy See's rebirth have now become pessimistic.

When all countries began to snatch people, large areas of the originally prosperous Papal State were directly reduced to no man's land.

The most direct impact is that the price of slave transactions continues to fall in the international market.

The aristocratic men who were short of people took it upon themselves to grab it, and the customer base of buyers shrank rapidly.

Xueyue Ling, watching everyone busy in the Papal State, and Hudson, who was hiding behind the scenes and making a fortune, was leisurely basking in the sun at home.

In recent times, good news has been coming to the Kingdom.

First, the orcs took the initiative to retreat and gave up a large area of ​​grassland. The kingdom's army easily completed the 800-mile eastward march.

Of course, these lands were only controlled in name. In fact, once the kingdom's army retreated, the orc tribes came again to graze.

Before the defense line is completed, the kingdom will not be able to truly control these areas.

However, nominal control was also a great strategic victory, which meant that the offensive and defensive dynamics of both sides were reversed.

The orc tribe immediately fled when they saw the kingdom's army, which was impossible in the past.

If these benefits are long-term gains, then the actions of the noble private army in the Papal States will bring immediate benefits.

A large amount of loot was transported back to the kingdom ship after ship.

In just two months, the Near East Development Bank issued 15 million in physical mortgage loans.

The royal government bought it cheaply from the nobles, and mortgaged it even cheaper. Basically, they are only 40% to 50% off the market price, and some antique artworks are even discounted to 10% off.

It's not that Hudson deliberately lowered the price, but that these things are really hard to sell and there is no market at all in the kingdom.

Elegant art is currently only practiced by some nobles in the Southern Continent and Central Continent.

The nobles of the kingdom like to collect weapons most. When holding a banquet, they show off a set of armor, which can attract more attention than any antique artwork.

After deducting the cost, after selling these products, it is easy to make millions.

Of course, this sales cycle is estimated to be a bit long.

In the short term, the prices of many commodities on the mainland have plummeted. If there is a massive sell-off, the price will fall even further.

Hudson was making money, and so were the nobles on the front lines. The income of some big nobles is even comparable to his.

Those who need to sell stolen goods are only small and medium-sized nobles. The big nobles with well-established personal connections will not sell the loot in their hands at a broken price.

Even if part of it is occasionally sold for cash, bulk commodities such as population and food are not for sale.

Looking at the growth of bank deposits, we know that there are more than 20 new million-level deposit users. Half of them are in the Kingdom and half are from the Five Nations Alliance.

The wealth of the Holy See is far beyond the imagination of many people.

Some humble middle- and lower-class clergymen were able to seize five-figure sums of cash from their homes.

Some regional bishops even have seven-figure fortunes.

There is no doubt that this money was plundered by the Holy See from all over the mainland. As long as my ancestors worked outside, they all made a lot of money.

If it weren't for these guys who like to store gold coins in the cellar, the price of goods in the Papal State could be skyrocketing.

Judging from the data, the total amount of cash held by a county in the Papal States exceeds that of many provinces in the kingdom.

In addition to cash, there are even more other trophies.

These were confiscated, but no one knows how much wealth is hidden secretly.

After all, there are always only a few people who keep all their property at home, and more people will choose to diversify risks.

Everyone is getting rich together, only the Holy See is crying. Looking at the compiled information, the corners of Hudson's mouth were twisted with joy.

Based on the principle of harmony and wealth, in the human world, Hudson has friends all over the continent, and the only major force he has offended is the Holy See.

As for the five major families in the North, looking at the entire continent, they are considered second-rate forces at best, but they can no longer be considered a threat.

If they still cannot take a share of the kingdom's subsequent expansion, then its decline will only be a matter of time.

In fact, this declining trend is irreversible.

Having missed two consecutive rounds of expansion, they have fallen behind among the great nobles in the kingdom.

Join now, and it would be strange to develop under the shoes of Hudson and the King.

Whether the life of a noble lord is good or not is half determined from the day the location of the fiefdom is determined.

There is an old saying circulating in aristocratic circles: As long as the fiefdom is bad enough, no matter how hard you try, there will be nowhere to show it.

For example: arrange the fiefdom to the cursed land. No matter how well it develops, it cannot withstand an outbreak.

Of course, under normal circumstances, the targeting will not be so obvious. At least it must be acceptable in terms of face, and it must not be regarded as "unclear rewards and punishments" by the nobles of the kingdom.

Withstanding the power of "little shoes" is just the beginning, there are countless big pits waiting for them later.

In the early years, the high "transit tax" collected in a hurry for quick success offended all the nobles along the way, and land transportation was basically blocked.

Maritime transportation is public and anyone can travel, but the five major families in the North are landlubbers.

Although it has recruited several pirate groups in recent years and purchased several warships at high prices, it has been unable to continue due to financial resources and its development has almost stopped.

Even if these difficulties are overcome, unless the fiefdom is in a coastal area, it is still necessary to borrow roads from nobles along the way.

As a local leader, Hudson had already taken the lead in enclosing land and building castle strongholds in coastal areas.

If you want to seize food from the tiger's mouth, you may die without even knowing how. It is nothing new for a few boats to disappear on the vast sea.

It seems that he has not taken revenge on the five major families in the North. In fact, Hudson has blocked all their roads, leaving only the final fatal blow.

The delay in taking action was not only due to the fact that the five major families still had strength, but also because Hudson did not want to be blamed for provoking a civil war in the kingdom.

Even though Caesar IV had hinted many times that he could take action, he was shunned by Hudson on the pretext that the destruction of the Orc Empire was the most important thing.

"Go ahead and let our representatives in the Papal States raise the price appropriately to speed up the purchase of serfs.

If the fleet is not enough, we will hire people all over the continent. All profits from this operation were used to purchase serfs.

In addition, a special loan of 10 million gold coins will be allocated for serf procurement and resettlement! "

Hudson ordered domineeringly.

The purpose of sweeping goods at this moment is not only to rob people, but also because of the situation.

Reason told him that the current unscrupulous behavior of robbing people could not continue.

If it is a small fight, the Holy See, which is at an absolute disadvantage, will most likely choose to endure it.

But it's different now. This is digging into their roots. If no action is taken to stop it, all the human nations will be able to evacuate the Papal State.

All the believers have been robbed, and only one "holy mountain" is left. What's the use?

If all countries do not know how to restrain themselves and carry out the robbery to the end, then the Holy See will only have to fight to the death.

Whether the Holy See's counterattack would be successful or not, Hudson didn't know. Anyway, something will happen later. If the situation gets out of control, it will be difficult to buy people on a large scale later.

…

In the Emerald Palace, looking at the map on the wall, Caesar IV's high spirits disappeared without a trace in an instant.

There has been a quarrel within the royal government regarding the handling of the newly added territories. Some people advocate enfeoffment, while others advocate direct jurisdiction. Both sides have good reasons.

Deep down, Caesar IV naturally preferred direct government jurisdiction to enhance the power of the central government.

But practical issues also have to be considered. By plundering the Papal States, the government's financial pressure was temporarily relieved, but the subsequent pressure was still considerable.

The government's current fiscal revenue, after deducting military expenditures and government operating costs, is not even enough to pay daily debt interest.

The king's annuity has been in arrears for a long time, and senior government officials can only receive 30% of their salary all year round. All banquets and celebrations are kept simple, and there is no room for reduction in expenditures.

The open source cannot be activated again. Now not only the royal government is poor, but the people are also extremely poor. More than 80% of the nobles owe foreign debts of varying amounts.

It is not an exaggeration at all to describe the kingdom's economy as "every industry is withered." These are the costs of victory in war.

In this context, the wealth plundered from the Papal States will not only fill holes in the royal government, but also make the nobles pay back their blood.

If the Near East Development Bank had not proactively announced a debt rollover, there would probably be bankrupt aristocrats everywhere in the Near East.

If it weren't for the man who took advantage of him in the Papal State, it is estimated that the next wave of bankruptcy for the kingdom's nobles would be a wave of bankruptcy.

Similar scenes have appeared more than a dozen times in history, and each wave of bankruptcies was followed by a wave of land annexations.

The first great nobles in the kingdom only had one county in their fiefdoms, and some did not even have one county.

Up to now, any big noble family controls three to five or seventy-eight counties, and the best among them control an area of ​​up to two or three provinces.

In nominal terms, Hudson has the largest fiefdom area, but in terms of overall strength, it is not even among the top three.

If the influence of Hudson himself is deducted, the Koslow family is an ordinary noble family in the kingdom, except that the area of ​​​​their fiefdom is larger.

The population under the rule is at the middle level among the great nobles. The territory's economy can only be said to be the best among the emerging nobility, but there is still a certain gap between it and the established nobility.

The only strength is that the standing army can fight. The combined combat strength of 30,000 private troops is considered the second largest armed group after the royal family.

However, due to the lack of high-end power in the family, this advantage has been flattened.

The main person who can be feared by all parties is Hudson, the head of the family. It is equivalent to single-handedly pulling an ordinary noble family to the forefront of the kingdom.

A single big family poses little threat to the royal family. If several families join forces, the royal family will also be in trouble.

Out of the need to limit the expansion of the nobility, Caesar IV also had to support the royal government in increasing its directly administered territories.

The problem comes back to its original point again - money!

The debt crisis that has accumulated over the past ten years has all converged to this moment. It is no wonder that the Ministry of Finance wants to go bankrupt.

The burden of history is too heavy, and the oppressive government can't breathe. The royal government can only take part of the proceeds from plundering the Holy See, and cannot fill this huge hole.

"Count Francis, what is the current total debt of the royal government?"

Caesar IV asked with a frown.

Frankly, this is a terrible topic. The result of every inquiry was: the kingdom's debt increased.

Especially after Earl Francis became the Minister of Finance, the debt expanded at an alarming rate. At one time, he even suspected that the Ministry of Finance was corrupt and secretly sent people to investigate.

Regrettably: the guess was wrong, the Ministry of Finance’s accounts are very clear, and the Royal Government really spent so much money.

It’s not that the government’s daily expenses have increased significantly, but that after the total debt exceeded the limit, it embarked on a path of no return with continued debt growth.

"Your Majesty, the government's current total debt is 720 million gold coins. This includes:

230 million in war bonds;

80 million in international loans;

40 million bank mortgage loan;

For the procurement of strategic materials, the unpaid account owed is 320 million;

The salary owed to government officials is approximately 50 million gold coins.

If we look back, procurement arrears and public employee salaries only cover the last ten years.

If we continue to look back, the total debt of the Royal Government will be even higher.

The problem of arrears can be delayed for a long time. The trouble is that the first three debts require a large amount of interest payments every month.

Relatively speaking, the international loan of 80 million yuan is relatively good. Due to political factors, half of it is interest-free loan and the other half is low-interest loan. The comprehensive interest rate is only 2 points.

The interest rates on war debts and bank loans are basically maintained in the range of 6 to 15 points, and the comprehensive interest rate is about 8 points.

Every year, the royal government pays 23.2 million gold coins in interest alone, which is far beyond our financial capacity! "

As soon as Count Francis finished speaking, the smiles on everyone's faces disappeared. When this topic was discussed last time, it seemed that the total amount of the Royal Government was only over 600 million, and last time it seemed to be over 500 million.

At this growth rate, it will be difficult for the finances to go bankrupt!

Worry is nothing but worry, but no one questions this issue. The kingdom's debt continues to rise. In addition to the war factor, there is another fatal reason - borrowing new to repay old!

It seems that it is just a transfer of funds, but the result of every transfer is that the total debt increases.

The bank's 40 million loans were all generated in the process of borrowing new money and repaying old ones. All commercial banks in the kingdom, including the Near East Development Bank, are now creditors of the Alpha Kingdom government.

Compared with private borrowing, the Ministry of Finance can be said to have controlled financial costs very well. The total debt is more than 700 million yuan, and the annual interest expense is only more than 20 million yuan, which is incredibly low.

It can be seen from the data that the Royal Government does not seem to have gone bankrupt, but in fact it has already defaulted on its debts.

The arrears of official salaries and purchase funds are all lost due to time if the finances cannot afford to pay them back.

Of course, if you can continue to play, the cost of previous purchases will still be paid, but the profit part will not be paid in full.

The arrears have skyrocketed in the past ten years, mainly due to the continuous outbreak of war, leaving no time for the royal government to breathe.

As long as there is a break of ten or eight years, the Ministry of Finance will not be able to purchase strategic materials with a bunch of IOUs.

Now it not only caused trouble to the major chambers of commerce in the kingdom, but also caused a number of noble lords to be heavily in debt.

Fortunately, limited liability systems are not popular these days. Otherwise, the large and small chambers of commerce in the kingdom would probably go bankrupt and transfer their losses to other partners.

At this moment, the royal government has no ability to fill the huge hole and can only let the noble lords use their own initiative.

As long as they rob enough, it will not be a big problem for the noble lords to escape from the financial crisis individually.

"Is there no other way besides bankruptcy?"

Caesar IV asked.

It can be seen that he still has a bottom line. But the opposition to bankruptcy is obviously not as strong as before.

It was all a bad example set by the neighbor's brother-in-law. I originally thought that the financially bankrupt Moxi Principality would sink because of this.

Unexpectedly, the Principality of Moxi, which triggered a debt crisis, only needs to repay a fixed amount of debt every year, but the government actually breathed a sigh of relief.

Perhaps because the annual outflow of funds has decreased, or perhaps because it has received a large number of down-and-out nobles and free people from the Northern Continent, the private economy has slowly regained its vitality, and government revenue has increased significantly.

After the orc invasion war broke out, the Mossi people not only provided material support to the Alpha Kingdom, but also provided an interest-free loan of eight million gold coins, which shocked Caesar IV!

The Royal Government’s Ministry of Finance wanted to go bankrupt, which was actually stimulated by the Mossi people. Since the neighbor can go bankrupt and rise from the ashes, the kingdom can too.

However, this bankruptcy proposal was not only opposed by King Caesar IV, but also strongly opposed by Hudson.

Others don't know the Mossi's family background, but Hudson knows it. Without a large amount of financial support, let alone rebirth from the ashes, it would be considered the king's means to not fall apart.

If the Alpha Kingdom government goes bankrupt, the country's major chambers of commerce, a large number of commercial banks, and noble lords will all be implicated in bankruptcy.

Even if the payment cannot be made in time and can only be delayed, at least everyone still has something to think about.

This was Hudson's fault. The emergence of commercial banks greatly promoted the development of financial markets.

Driven by interests, debt IOUs endorsed by the credibility of the royal government are as safe as national debts and have naturally become trading commodities.

The wages of avarice is death.

As long as the price is low enough, there will always be bold people who want to take a gamble. Most of the banks and chambers of commerce in the kingdom accept IOU mortgage loans, and the whole is a huge industrial chain.

Had it not been for Hudson's order to ban the Near East Development Bank from participating, the kingdom's financial system would have been implicated.

Just because you don't trade directly doesn't mean you won't be affected. Once a thunderstorm occurs, the trading platform established by the Near East Development Bank will definitely be affected.

“Maybe we can consider issuing banknotes to replace the gold coins circulating in the market, so as to raise enough funds.

At present, the gold tickets issued by the Near East Development Bank are very successful. In commodity transactions, everyone has habitually used gold tickets.

It's just that the risk is a bit high. Except for the success of the Near East Development Bank, many banks in the southern continent have failed after trying it! "

Count Francis replied uncertainly.

"Your Excellency, it is not easy to issue banknotes. Not to mention the ordinary people, even for those of us, if someone wants to exchange a piece of paper for the gold coins in everyone's hands, I am afraid that most of us will not be able to accept it!

The Near East Development Bank's gold tickets seem to have similar functions to banknotes, but they are actually somewhat different.

It can be promoted mainly by using these golden tickets to purchase any unrestricted materials in the Mountain Territory and Xueyue Territory, including some precious magic potions!

Even if these items are linked to gold tickets, they can only be used during bulk commodity transactions. After the transaction is completed, many people will exchange them for gold coins and deposit them into bank accounts.

In normal times, few people hold large amounts of gold tickets.

In the eyes of the outside world, golden tickets are just a tool to assist commodity trading. The Near East Development Bank launched golden tickets just to earn a transaction fee! "

Prime Minister Marquis Delgado immediately objected.

It’s a good thing to have the courage to try, but you also have to consider the risks!

Unless they obtain the collective support of the great nobles of the kingdom and take the lead in exchanging the gold coins for banknotes, the banknotes issued will not circulate at all.