Struggle in Russia

Duke Alexander's words stunned Alexander II and others. Previously, the Ministry of Finance had been saying that there was no money and that the expenditure was too high. They believed him without even thinking about it.

After all, in the end of the Crimean War, all the old people were involved, and the expenditure was like opening the reservoir to release water.

It’s just that the war has been over for nearly a year, and we have been reducing military expenditures along with disarmament, but after a long time, we reduced military expenditures by 15%?

Alexander II immediately changed his expression. He was also inexperienced as an emperor for the first time, and he did not doubt his ministers, especially the finance minister like Bunge. He felt that even if the other party wanted to do something evil, he would only be corrupting a little money, and it was unlikely that he would report data randomly. Point him out.

Who would have thought that Duke Alexander's frivolous words would reveal a big flaw in this guy. If the massive disarmament last year failed to reduce military expenditures much, wouldn't it mean that if you want to reduce military expenditures, you have to waste your martial arts skills?

Alexander II stared directly at Bunge, his face not ordinary ugly, obviously he had a lot of opinions about the newly appointed finance minister!

Bunge himself was complaining endlessly. He never expected that Duke Alexander would do such a thing to him. If he didn't explain quickly, he might not be able to work for long anymore!

"Duke, are you doubting me?" Bunge mustered up his momentum and retorted: "Although part of the army was disbanded last year, a large number of troops were transferred back to their original bases from Wallachia and Crimea. Doesn’t it cost money to eat, drink and have sex? What’s more, the Ministry of War later requested the purchase of new weapons, which also costs money. It’s really rare to save 15%!”

Alexander II was stunned. It seemed reasonable to see it this way. It does cost money for hundreds of thousands of soldiers to eat horse chews. The new weapons are indeed a bit expensive. It seems that it is not easy to save expenses!

It’s just that Bunge’s trick can fool others but not Duke Alexander. Faced with Bunge’s excuse, he said with a smile: “If I remember correctly, I need to be transferred back to the original station from Crimea and Wallachia. There are about 300,000 troops. The expenditure of these 300,000 people only accounts for about 15% of this year’s military expenditure. As for the purchase of new equipment, as far as I know, it only purchases more than 50,000 new rifles. This can cost How much is it? At least according to my calculations, this amount of money only accounts for 3% at most. After excluding this 18%, the remaining 350,000 troops in Ukraine and the 150,000 troops stationed in other places actually spent 82% of the cost. , can you tell me why these troops who stayed in place spent so much money?"

Bunji was stunned. He did say the above data, but it was only a matter of ears. How could he remember it in such a short time? And it’s quite clear, is your Prince Alexander an accountant?

Of course, Duke Alexander is not an accountant, but he has been busy helping Li Xiao and Dmitri raise military expenditures during this period, which gave him a deep understanding of military expenditures. He just did some rough calculations and found that some data from the Ministry of Finance were completely accurate. There is no need to think twice. We are obviously cutting down our expenses desperately, so why can’t we save money?

Obviously this is unreasonable. Either there is a problem with the data, or someone is doing something wrong!

And he felt that these two possibilities existed at the same time!

Originally, he was looking for an opportunity to attack this, but who would have thought that this guy Bunji would actually come to his door on his own initiative?

Alexander II stared at Bunge coldly, hoping that Bunge could give a reasonable explanation. According to Duke Alexander's explanation, the troops that were not mobilized were more expensive than the troops that were mobilized. Do you think he is an idiot? ?

Bunge had cold sweat on his forehead. Of course he knew there was a problem. The data submitted by the Ministry of Finance had indeed been adjusted. The reason was simply to create the illusion of financial stress.

Of course, finances are indeed tight, but not so tight that they have to dispatch tens of thousands of people to Ukraine to counter the rebellion.

The Ministry of Finance still has some surplus, but they are reluctant to take out the money.

Once it was taken out, it was sure to be used by Alexander II to suppress the rebellion, and it was sent to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Navy in a matter of minutes.

In the eyes of Bunji and other important officials of the Ministry of Finance, all this money was saved by them with great efforts. It took them so much effort and so much energy, but in the end they all ended up marrying someone else. How can they tolerate this?

What's more, the finances are indeed tight. In such a large empire, accidents will happen from time to time, and money will have to be spent. If the remaining money is squandered at once, what will be used to fill it if trouble occurs later?

What's more, Neserrodie is still on the verge of collapse. Whether it's to help old superiors, old friends, fellow villagers, or to find ways to plan for status and future, we can't spend this precious funds carelessly!

So, Bunji and others transferred the remaining precious funds to foreign banks to earn interest. In the past few months, the interest alone has allowed them to make a small amount of money, which has made their life comfortable.

Naturally, they don’t want to hand over the money!

It’s just that the peep show was exposed by Duke Alexander, so it’s not easy to explain now!

"Is there something wrong with what the Duke said?" Alexander II asked with a straight face: "Can you tell me what these abnormal expenditures are? Why do the troops staying in the garrison spend more than the troops mobilized? , are they all living and drinking in the station?"

Before Bungi could answer, Alexander II suddenly asked Prince Mikhail: "Your Excellency, as acting minister of the Ministry of War, can you tell me why it costs so much to station troops? There must be something fishy in this!"

Prince Mikhail knew very well that Alexander II's anger was not directed at him, so he naturally replied calmly: "Your Majesty, as far as I know, there is no particularly large expenditure on the troops stationed there. In order to implement the reduction of the cabinet, According to the expenditure order, the living expenses of the troops have been reduced by 30%, military training expenses have been reduced by 75%, and weapons maintenance expenses have also been cut by 35%. We have even eliminated a large number of horses and war horses to save expenses. We can declare with a clear conscience that compared with the war Saved at least 50% of expenses before!”

After a pause, he glanced sideways at Bunji and said coldly: "As for why the expenses on the books are so huge, to be honest, I don't know. At least the money we got in our hands is definitely not that much!"

Alexander II made a sound, pretending not to believe it and said: "Your Excellency, please do not deceive me. You must tell the truth, otherwise there is no way to explain these huge expenditures... I will send someone to check the accounts. If what you said doesn’t match the account book, then don’t blame me for being rude!”