Chapter 710 Decline

"Fortunately, we have already started recruiting our army."

Rodney XVIII said thankfully, "This way, the surrounding villains won't take advantage of the kingdom's defeat to come up with any ideas."

He looked at Paul with some gratitude, "Thanks to the large amount of military notes shipped from the western bay, a steady stream of strong men are joining the kingdom's army."

"I have to say, Paul, your idea is great, and it can be said to have made a great contribution."

Paul nodded, "Your Majesty, I am glad that it works as expected."

The king continued, "During the days when you were away, two new camps were built outside Jingyao City, one in the south and one in the north. I initially planned to train a standing force of 50,000 people."

"50,000 standing forces?" Catherine exclaimed, "This is a huge number."

"Yes." The king nodded, "If there were no military notes, this would have been unimaginable before."

The previous model of the kingdom's army was to maintain only an elite force composed of noble children and knights in peacetime, and then temporarily recruit soldiers to form a large army during combat.

Catherine shook her head, "But in my opinion, even with military notes, this is difficult to accomplish. After all, military notes also require a large amount of matching materials to support them."

"And for those officers, they will not be satisfied with just obtaining the necessities of life. Their rewards must be paid in real metal currency."

The king put on a serious expression. "You're right. This is the purpose of my reform."

At this time, Paul interrupted, "As far as I know, the construction of the special economic zone centered on Westport has been very effective. Hasn't it brought some benefits to the kingdom's finances?"

"Oh... this." The king's tone was awkward for a moment, "The special economic zone has benefited the kingdom a lot, but the previous deficit of the kingdom government was already very large, and the benefits brought by the special zone only wiped out the previous deficit. Oh!"

Rodney XVIII suddenly touched his forehead painfully, "Now that the north has lost a large area of ​​territory, it is conceivable that a large number of nobles will come to Jingyao, just like those loyalists who came from the south because of Giles's rebellion. At that time, it took a lot of effort to settle them."

He suddenly stood up from the sofa again, as if he was full of strength, and hope appeared on his face again.

"I declare that from now on, I will appoint you..."

He pointed to Paul, "Paul Graman Marquis, you will be the prime minister of the Kingdom of Aldo and will do your best to promote reforms in the entire kingdom."

After this sentence was said, everyone present was shocked.

Paul stood up with difficulty, "What about Lord Rupert?"

"Oh, I appreciate his great contribution to the kingdom, but to be honest, he is indeed a little old."

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your trust, but please forgive me for not being able to accept such a heavy responsibility."

Rodney XVIII frowned, "Why?"

Paul answered firmly: "With my shallow intelligence and mediocre ability, I may be able to handle a territory, but I really can't bear the responsibility of the entire kingdom."

The king was silent for a while, obviously very unhappy with his words.

"What if I insist on appointing you?"

"Your Majesty, I understand your urgency, but please don't act on impulse." Paul said sincerely, "The complex political environment of Orda is really not something that an outsider from the border like me can sort out. If I were to take such an important position rashly, it would only make things worse."

Rodney XVIII said dissatisfiedly: "When encountering difficulties, just solve them. Can I understand your words as escaping? As a sword-bearing noble who shares the honor and disgrace of the kingdom, shouldn't you face the difficulties head-on?"

Seeing that the atmosphere between the two became stiff, Catherine quickly stood up to smooth things over.

"Your Majesty, if we want to recover the kingdom's land occupied by orcs in the future, the Northwest Bay must be built into a large barracks as the starting point and logistics base for the future army. For now, there is no one more suitable than Paul."

The king fell into silence again, and sighed after a long time, "Well, what Catherine said does make sense."

He looked at Paul helplessly: "You slippery loach, you should stay in the most suitable place for you."

Paul glanced at his fiancée gratefully.

"But..." Rodney XVIII raised his voice again, "From today, I will set up a reform advisory group, and you will be my chief advisor. This time it is an order that cannot be withdrawn. You must accept it, Paul Graman, otherwise it will be a contempt for the crown on my head!"

Paul stroked his chest with his hand and bowed slightly, "I am honored to accept your majesty's appointment to me." Isn't it just giving advice? Just don't put him on the fire.

Rodney XVIII quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Paul then said, "It's just that the opinions I can provide may be scattered, unsystematic, and even inappropriate. Whether they can be truly implemented still requires careful identification by Your Majesty and those wise men like you."

No mistakes in one song, one post, one content, one book, one forum, one 6, one 9!

The king smiled helplessly, "Ha, you are really a non-stick pan. Don't worry, I won't restrict you for too long. What you need to do in Jingyao is to write down everything you can think of in detail to provide ideas for future reforms, and then you can return to the West Bay to prepare for war."

"Yes!"

"Oh, that's right!" Rodney XVIII said again: "The new army of Jingyao will be trained according to the model of the Alda army. Paul, I hope you can select a group of people to come and share your experience."

"Of course."

"And... weapons."

"Ah?"

Rodney X Eight smiled, "I've read the report. Your firearms are very powerful. It would be great if the kingdom's army could be equipped with them."

"This..."

"It's already this time. I hope you don't keep it to yourself! And I'm not asking you to hand it over for nothing. You're doing that... Northwest Industry, right? As the largest weapons supplier in Aldo, the kingdom government will buy from you at a clear price."

Paul breathed a sigh of relief, but asked worriedly, "I hope the protection of patents also applies to..."

"Of course!" Before he could finish, Rodney Eighteen confirmed it.

Paul finally put his mind at ease, "Okay, Your Majesty, Northwest Industry will do its best to cooperate with you in building a new kingdom army."

Like other technologies, the spread of firearms will be inevitable. Instead of waiting for others to steal them quietly, it is better to promote an orderly environment that is beneficial to oneself.