"Your Majesty, once these railways and roads are built, Empire's control over these eastern territories will become very tight. At the same time, it will also play a great role in promoting the economic development of these areas. However, if these railways and roads are to be built as planned, a large amount of funds will be needed." Chancellor of the Exchequer said.
Everyone's eyes fell on Oscar. The reason why Ministry of Transport came up with such a plan was to obtain as much funds as possible. German Emperor's power is not as clear-cut as Eastern Empire's. However, Oscar is different from others. His ability, as well as the military exploits he led his troops on the battlefield, gave him a high reputation in the country. In addition, the army is almost under his control. Therefore, Parliament will basically not impose any restrictions on him. In fact, those members of Parliament will never oppose Oscar unless their brains are caught in the door.
It is precisely this that makes Oscar the most powerful among the emperors of Germany. The distribution of the war reparations received by Germany during the war was basically decided by Oscar. Cabinet hopes that war reparations can be used to pay for the construction of this transportation facility.
"How much does it cost?" Oscar asked.
"Preliminary estimates indicate that at least 12 billion Mark will be needed. It would be best if there were 15 billion Mark." Minister of Transport said.
Oscar couldn't help but take a breath of cold air. He really didn't expect that he would need so much money. Although a large amount of war compensation was obtained this time, a lot of money needs to be used to repay debts incurred during the war. In addition, pensions for wounded and wounded soldiers also require a lot of funds. Not to mention that after the war, the army will have to be reformed and redressed. Those require a lot of capital.
The 10 billion Mark obtained from Russia, the 55 billion Mark obtained from France, and the 20 billion Mark obtained by Italy add up to only 85 billion Mark. This money seems like a lot of money, but if you want to do all these things, I'm afraid it's not enough.
"Fifteen billion, isn't it too much?" Oscar said.
"Your Majesty, the railways and highways we built are too long. It is reasonable to spend so much money." Minister of Transport said.
Oscar thought for a while, "I think eighty to ten billion Mark should be enough."
Minister of Transport's face immediately turned ugly. Isn't this a typical situation where you want the horse to run but don't let it eat grass?
"The labor force for building railways and roads is all done by prisoners of war. Except for professionals in necessary positions, prisoners of war are used for everything else. I think this alone can save a lot of money. Those prisoners of war can be used casually, without caring about their life or death. As the army destroys guerrillas and other resistance forces in the east, the number of prisoners of war will increase. So, there is no need to worry about insufficient labor." Oscar said.
"Yes, Your Majesty. In this case, ten billion Mark is probably enough." Minister of Transport said.
"In addition, since these railways and highways will take ten years to complete, then these funds will not be allocated to Ministry of Transport in one go. They will be allocated once a year, which is basically the planned allocation made every year." Oscar said.
The pressure to allocate 10 billion Mark in one go is naturally much less than the pressure to allocate one billion Mark in ten installments a year.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Although Minister of Transport was a little unwilling, he couldn't find a reason to refute, so he had to give up.
"Everyone, this is how the eastern transportation construction plan has been decided. If there is nothing else, then the meeting will end here!" Oscar said.
"Your Majesty, there is one more thing. According to our treaty with Russia, Finland and Ukraine will be independent with our support. However, The importance of the geographical location of these two places is self-evident. Once we go to war with Russia, these two places will become the front lines, so we must strengthen our control over these two places." Foreign Minister Wachth said.
Oscar nodded, supporting the independence of Finland and Ukraine was just a pretense. The reason why Germany did this was, on the one hand, to weaken Russia's strength, and on the other hand, to prepare for the future war with Russia.
"However, the people in these two places may not welcome us to directly enter these two countries. Therefore, we have to adopt other strategies." Wachth continued.
"What are you going to do?" Oscar asked.
"Your Majesty, Finland and Ukraine people have been enslaved by Russians for a long time. This makes them full of hatred for Russians. If we can start from this aspect, we should be able to get twice the result with half the effort." Prime Minister Bülow said.
"Yes, compared to Russians enslaving them, but we treat them well. Comparing the two, they will naturally make a choice." Oscar said.
After Finland was annexed by Russia, the Finland people have been seeking independence. However, Russia is too powerful, while Finland is too weak. Without outside help, they would never be independent.
Ukraine People are the same, although Ukraine the soil is fertile. The Ukraine people are a powerful ethnic group second only to Russians. However, they don't even have enough food in their stomachs all year round. The culprit behind all this is Russians's oppression and exploitation. Let them establish an independent country, and they will definitely agree with it.
"Your Majesty, in order to strengthen the control of Finland and Ukraine. We hope that Your Majesty can serve as the King Title of these two countries. In terms of national government affairs, Finland people and Ukraine people should handle it themselves. But in terms of military affairs and diplomacy, they must be consistent with the Empire. In other words, after the war breaks out, the army must obey Empire's command." Prime Minister Bülow said.
There is nothing against König and Oscar who serve in two countries. This is the norm in Europe. Doesn't King of England also serve as HMS Emperor of India? The emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is also the emperor of the Austrian Empire, König of Hungary König, König of Kingdom of Bohemia, etc. There are many titles.
"Finland and Ukraine people, will they object?" Oscar is a little worried about this.
"Your Majesty, Ukraine and Finland people will not object. Empire is the world's most powerful country, and Emperor of the Empire also serves as their König. This is an honor for them!" Wachth said.
Oscar nodded. "Then let's do it!"
Soon, in addition to the German Empire Emperor, Oscar's title had to be added to King of Finland and King of Ukraine.