Chapter 296 War Bonds

Just as the officers and soldiers of the Arda army were fighting bloody battles on the front line.

Oh, it was so... so fulfilling to let a female scholar with a cold temperament and a legendary powerful witch achieve such a level.

He raised his head slightly and met a pair of lively big eyes, waving two small pink fists to beat his legs left and right.

Betty Dias, a descendant of a famous family from the Gabela Empire, turned her head away shyly after meeting his gaze, and said coquettishly: "Really, I have never done this before..."

He smiled and reached out to gently stroke her beautiful blonde hair.

Ah! What a decadent and decadent life!

...

"Lord Earl...Lord Earl...Lord Earl!"

The world suddenly shook, and the scene in front of him began to become blurred.

What happened? Paul shook his head.

When he woke up, the autumn water eyes just now had turned into thick eyebrows and big eyes.

"Bernard! Why is it you!" Paul almost jumped up from his chair and looked at the man in front of him, "Where is Ladi? Where is Betty?"

The chief secretary said apologetically: "Lord Graman, I'm sorry to disturb your rest. The two ladies are here. Should the meeting continue?".

"Uh... of course, of course."

Paul remembered that he had made an appointment with the heads of various departments to discuss the recent work progress, but he actually fell asleep in the middle of the meeting.

After thinking about it carefully, it was all the fault of that damn Hansel. Every time this guy reported to him, he spoke to him in an extremely long, roundabout, and complex sentence pattern. One word could be stretched into a sentence, and a sentence could be expanded into a long paragraph. He had to mobilize every brain cell to summarize what he meant.

At this time, Hansel had finished his report that seemed to have lasted for a century. Paul looked into the room and saw Ladi and Betty sitting not far away.

The witch lady had no expression on her face and lowered her head to flip through her notebook.

The female supervisor looked at Paul with disgust: Really, you are so old and you are still drooling when you doze off, and what do you mean by calling our two ladies' names when you wake up.

She quietly gestured to the corner of her mouth.

Paul took out a handkerchief to wipe the corner of his mouth and coughed dryly.

"Sorry, I've been a little tired recently... What should I do next?"

Old Ford, the chief steward of the State Council, said: "Lord Graman, I must discuss the financial aspect with you."

Paul held his forehead with his hand and said painfully: "Don't tell me that there is not enough money to spend."

"Unfortunately, this is the fact. The expenditure in May is as high as more than 8,000 silver coins. Even with your private treasury, our money is almost gone."

Since the salt people's riot, the security expenditure has increased greatly due to the expansion of the Ministry of Public Security and the Internal Security Force.

Since the formal war with the Kent family, military expenses have become the biggest expenditure of Alda's finances. After landing in Fishtail Town, in order to meet the military needs on both fronts, Paul sent nearly 2,000 militiamen to the battlefield by military service stations in various places. At the same time, he also approved Schroeder's plan to recruit auxiliary troops locally.

Since it is a war, you can't go empty-handed, and the corresponding weapons and equipment must keep up. Soldiers need to eat and drink, and they need some wine to add buff before the battle.

And Paul strictly prohibits his troops from solving the supply problem by means of looting-unless he has no other choice.

Up to now, Alda has a military force of nearly 6,000 people. If it weren't for the way to make money, Paul would definitely be the most militaristic lord in the history of the Graman family.

Such a "huge" army, the money spent every day in the eyes of old Ford and Philip, the old man in the lord's mansion, is just like running water.

"I don't understand. Our territory has obviously expanded so much. The entire northern part of Emden and the Carter family's territory are almost occupied by us. Can't the tax revenue from these places balance part of it?"

"My Lord Earl, the situation I told you has already taken this part into account..."

The people in the Administrative Council certainly don't intend to leave the taxes of these occupied areas to the old owners.

"My Lord Earl, I have a suggestion..."

"Hansel? Come on."

"In fact, you can save a lot of money if you just stop giving soldiers any [allowances]. Just like other lords, serving in the military for their own lords is the obligation of the people."

Hansel's words aroused the approval of many people, but Paul immediately shook his head: "No! Absolutely not! Material incentives are an important means to maintain morale. Our series of victories in this period of time have shown that it is right for me to give soldiers allowances. Do you think which army can fight as well as our army?"

No mistake, one post, one content, one book, one bar, one 6, one 9, one book, one bar!

"If it's material incentives, there are other means that everyone usually uses..."

"No! That's even worse!"

Paul knew what Hansel was going to say before he finished. How could he tolerate the army he had trained so hard to degenerate into a group of bandits?

Seeing that the Earl was not willing to do this or that, Hansel offered another trick: "Earl, if I remember correctly, Port Fulan is planning to build a stock exchange, right?"

Paul nodded: "Yes, this is a plan that has been set long ago, and you know it."

Hansel continued, "In that case, why not issue a war bond through the stock exchange, which will not only raise military funds, but also promote the business of the stock exchange, which is a win-win situation."

"This... It's not good to make money for yourself as soon as it is established?"

"What's good or bad about it? Isn't it common for kings and lords to borrow money for war? According to my understanding, the Graman family has never had a case of borrowing money and not paying it back, and our army has been advancing triumphantly, so there will be no worries about no one buying bonds. And..."

Hansel paused, lowered his voice and said, "You can use this method to test the rich people in the territory, who are on the same side with you and who are not. Anyway, those who buy bonds definitely don't want you to fail."

Paul suddenly realized: "You are right, Hansel." Then he hesitated again: "What if the war drags on for too long and we can't pay it back?"

Hansel: "According to the current situation, we will be out of money sooner or later. It is better to raise a huge sum of money as soon as possible, make more muskets and cannons, and conquer Cent City as soon as possible. I heard that the wealth accumulated by the Ferdinand family for generations is the highest among the lords of the northwest. You took possession of the treasury of the Duke of the Northwest before others. Are you afraid that you can't pay it back?"

"But...what if...unfortunately, the money in the treasury is not as much as the legend says? Those rich people are not like the salt people who have nothing. It will be more troublesome if they make trouble."

Hansel smiled slightly: "What are you afraid of? Didn't you also make more muskets and cannons?"