Chapter 17
In the dragon palace with a magnificent financial situation, Imric is sitting on the Dragon Claw Throne and listening to the reports of his civil servants. It has been a month since he returned from the dark world. The Dragon Prince has begun to expand his army on a large scale. Thanks to the large amount of wealth obtained from the countess, a rough calculation should have about 300,000 gold leaves after casting, not counting those priceless gems, which are enough to support the expansion of the army.
Regarding the positioning of Caledor, Imric plans to build it into a military-industrial center, while commercial and economic development requires finding a suitable location. Currently, it is tentatively decided to be Skorgi in the Isthmus of Lustria. As long as he kills it there The entrenched Norscans can occupy it, but the attitude of the Demon Toad Mazdamudi, who is sitting in the South Sky Star Pyramid, is very critical. If a conflict occurs, no effective force will be allowed to join the civil war in the Order camp.
Just when I was wondering what Master Ma's attitude would be, I heard someone from below reminding me, "Your Highness, Your Highness?" He came back to his senses and
sat upright, "Continue, I suddenly thought of something just now."
Sitting down below The person is an elf who looks very old. Generally speaking, elves do not grow beards, and Elsa's blessing makes them less likely to age. Many times, you need to look at the color of your hair to judge your age, and the elves in the audience His hair has turned gray. He is Caledor's chief minister, Gerington, and is deeply trusted by the former prince.
Gerington took the information in his hand and continued to report some situations, "Prince, this year's expected fiscal revenue is 170,000 gold leaves. Excluding the maintenance costs of the army, the investment in the Val Anvil, the allocation for the Flame Tower, and the There are still about 80,000 coins left in the rewards from your loyal families. Including some other expenses, there are 65,000 coins left in the year." Covering his forehead after listening to this data report,
this financial income is estimated to be even more than Yi Taien's. There is not even one tenth of the number, which is really a headache. Other kingdoms will spend a lot of money to support the expenses of the palace, but the Dragon Palace does not have it, not only because there are few people, but also because there is no money to do this.
After thinking about what to use the money for, the gold coins of the Dark World are still being recast. The purity needs to reach 95% before they can be circulated in the market. Now one-sixth of them have been made, which is Fifty thousand gold leaves.
"Fifteen thousand gold leaves were left in the palace, and the remaining 50,000 were invested in the expansion of Chulong Bay and army recruitment."
Chulong Bay is the only place in Caledor that can build a large port. If you want to To carry out colonial activities, a fleet and a large port are indispensable. I plan to overcome the immediate difficulties first and then consider the issues of people's livelihood.
Hearing Imrik's words, Gerington shouted, no matter how much the former prince liked to fight, he was not crazy enough to use most of the financial revenue to build ports and expand the army. With the current scene of singing and dancing in Ulthuan It seemed that this was a completely unnecessary thing to do, but just listen to Imrik continue.
"I will find a way to make up for the remaining vacancies. This is what happened. Fifty thousand new gold leaves have been cast at the Anvil of Vaal. I need you to put this money into action." See Imrik
. With such determination, Gellington had no choice. In the Dragon Palace, the status of civil servants was always low. The previous princes spent most of their time in the military camp. People like Imric who paid great attention to the financial situation were already considered Rare.
He stood up and saluted Imrik, and then walked out of the palace to carry out the order given to him. This matter must have required him to think more. The construction of the port required a large amount of high-quality wood.
This requires importing from Charis or Avalon. The evil moon Mosrib is constantly approaching. It is very risky to organize people to go to the Annuli Mountains to cut down trees. A huge number of Warcraft is ready to move. If you are not lucky, Well, you will also meet a group of lust demons who are eager for the souls of elves.
Seeing Gerington exiting, Imric turned to look at the other person sitting next to him. He was a weather-beaten warrior. His originally handsome face looked a bit ferocious due to several scars. He was taller than the usual elves. His body shape is different and he looks very strong. He was the champion warrior of the former prince and the general in charge of Caledor's army - Randy. The scars on his face were souvenirs left when he killed a Hargansi executioner champion a hundred and fifty years ago. But this is only part of his legendary career.
"Sir Randy, how is the expansion of the army?"
The veteran told Imrik about the situation during this period. "Prince, after you issued the call-up order, many people are willing to join the army. We expect to expand the number of Ten thousand men, but there are actually 42,000 people who responded to the call, both men and women. After discussions with Gerington, I found that if it does not affect the normal domestic production, 15,000 people can be recruited." Use your fingers lightly
. Lighting the armrest of the throne, Asul needs to live in a military camp for a period of time every year in order to maintain a sparse population while still possessing combat effectiveness. Most of the grassroots armies are essentially militiamen, but they rely on the advantages of immortality compared to humans. The combat effectiveness is much stronger.
The number of professional armies is much smaller than that of militias. All countries in Ulthuan maintain professional armies with various characteristics and will not easily expand their recruitment because the maintenance costs are too expensive. Backcountry areas like Caledor have regional characteristics. , although the maintenance cost is much lower than that of other kingdoms, it can only maintain a standing army of about 12,000 people, and this has almost reached the warning line of the army to population ratio of 2%.
If all these more than 40,000 people were recruited, Imrik would be able to declare Caledor bankrupt in less than three years, and then wait for Fenubar to donate a bit of trade share in exchange for the dragon troops in his hands.
"Recruiting 12,000 people as a standing army. The Vaal priests already have brand-new technology and can mass-produce high-quality armaments. The expenditure on armaments is negligible." Half a month ago, Imrik received Coster's gift
. The good news came that he and the high priest successfully forged four Horadric Malus under the inspiration of Vaal. Without the priest Vaal sacrificing his life force, the forging speed of the equipment was greatly accelerated. Although it was difficult to Make exquisite or legendary weapons, but the magic attached to them is enough for ordinary soldiers to use.
Although I don’t know what the so-called Vaal revelation is, it is always a good thing. With the continuous replacement of equipment, Imrik also plans to do something big. Soon the evil moon will approach the orbit, and the chaotic energy will be filled with energy. In the mortal world, all kinds of demons and monsters will appear, and the monsters on the Annuli Mountains will also attack Asur's gathering place. This is called the Twilight Tide by Asur.
With the current scene of peace and harmony among the countries in Ulthuan, they will inevitably suffer losses in this twilight tide. Then when the Phoenix King convenes a war council, other kingdoms will use Asur's precious life as an excuse to expand the scale of arms exports. When the time comes, I will sell the old stuff used by these grandfathers and grandfathers to them at a high price.
Randy also knows what happened to Val Anvil. As one of the highest-ranking people in Caledor, every move in the country will not escape his eyes, but he does not want to interfere too much in these matters. His position is very clear, that is, he is a general and a warrior, not a counselor.
"I will send someone to select some suitable warriors to join the army." After saying that, he stood up, bowed his head and bowed before walking out of the palace. There was a Silver Moon Dragon waiting for him outside. He was not only a general, but also one of the few in Caledor. Many dragon princes have dragon companions.
(End of chapter)