Must Pay More
At the summit of the sacred mountain.
"Your Majesty, the opportunity has arrived! The Alpha Kingdom fabricated evidence to frame the County of Corubia. If we can stand up for justice, we will surely teach them a lesson they won't forget."
Poor Caesar III, so wise throughout his life, actually raised such a foolish heir. With such a spendthrift son, how can the Alpha Kingdom not decline!
Blake said excitedly.
This unfortunate leader of the Order of Judgment Knights was practically at odds with the Alpha Kingdom. He botched every mission related to the Alpha Kingdom; if he didn't have deep roots in the government, he would have been ousted long ago.
He barely managed to keep his position, but his influence within the Church plummeted. Being criticized by his colleagues was commonplace.
He messed up too many tasks and is still labeled as someone who has "made amends for his crimes," so he doesn't speak with much authority.
He had been bottling up his anger with nowhere to vent it, and now that he had finally found a weakness in the Alpha Kingdom, he could no longer hold back.
"Idiot!"
"Caesar IV is a fool, and you, Blake, aren't much smarter. You're only thinking about seizing leverage over the Alpha Kingdom, but don't forget that the Black Forest Kingdom is with them too."
Do you really think we're still at our peak, trying to suppress both kingdoms at the same time?
Don't end up losing face and being humiliated instead of upholding justice. That would be incredibly embarrassing.
Whether it's fabricating evidence or framing someone, the key is to see the attitudes of the various countries on the mainland.
If people are willing to accept it, even falsehoods can become truth; if people are unwilling to believe it, even the most authentic evidence can become falsehoods!
Just wait and see what happens. I'm sure Dante Kingdom and the South Bank Kingdom will believe the contents of the note to be true. They're just looking for a way to advance north.
Frankish heretic had always been looking for an opportunity to annex the Opulus Kingdom. He was overjoyed that someone had come forward to disrupt the balance.
Illyria also had his own agenda, and at most, he would only verbally condemn the joint actions of the Black Forest Kingdom and the Alpha Kingdom.
Other human nations might strongly oppose it, but do their opinions matter?
When doing things, we cannot let personal emotions control us. It is our duty to combat dissent, but before taking action, we must at least weigh the pros and cons.
The old King of the Ruthenia Kingdom is getting old, and the Crown Prince has a great prejudice against us. Letting him inherit the throne is not conducive to passing on the glory of the Lord of Dawn.
On the contrary, the second prince is a devout believer and has a great fondness for us. Supporting his succession to the throne is more beneficial...
Guree's rambling analysis infuriated Blake. He wanted to argue, but the words stuck in his throat.
The Ruthenia Kingdom's geographical location is too important; their presence directly blocks the Church from the center of the continent. To restore the Church's glory, this thorn in its side must be removed.
Don't be fooled by Gure's easy-going talk about simply supporting the second prince's ascension to the throne. In reality, carrying out this plan would be virtually impossible.
While it may seem like just a change of heir, it is actually shaking the ancient system of royal succession and impacting all monarchical states.
Such behavior, which seriously violates the rules of the game, will not only be unacceptable to the nobles of the Ruthenia Kingdom, but will also be strongly opposed by other countries on the continent.
Even after years of planning and infiltration of the Ruthenia Kingdom, it ultimately remained just a plan on paper.
The Church that someone is finally taking the lead in breaking the rules; how could it possibly continue to uphold them?
Since it involved the core strategy of the Church, Blake knew that no matter how much he opposed it, it would be useless, and he could only swallow this loss.
"Snort!"
After giving a cold shout, Commander Blake, whose intelligence had once again prevailed, immediately added:
"Your Majesty, although the current international situation is what we want, we still need to contain the Alpha Kingdom, a major enemy, and not let them easily divide up Corubia."
We already hold a large amount of war bonds from the Moxi Duchy and the Alpha Kingdom. If we sell them off, it will immediately trigger a run on the banks.
The Moxi Duchy, with its worst finances, certainly can't hold on. Perhaps once a run on the bank begins, they will have no choice but to go bankrupt.
As a result of the chain reaction, the Alpha Kingdom could not escape it either. The enormous debt suddenly piled up, and no matter how united their nobles were, they could not raise enough cash in a short time.
"If we ruin the Alpha Kingdom's finances, even if the County of Corubia were offered to them, they wouldn't be able to swallow it!"
Adhering to the principle of "if I can't kill you, I'll disgust you to death," he was unwilling to give up any opportunity to strike at the Alpha Kingdom.
No one objected this time. Regardless of whether the plan can ultimately be realized, it's always good to give it a try.
"Yes, throw out all the war bonds we have at once and create as much panic as possible."
We arranged for our people to infiltrate and guide these minor nobles who were taking over the spoils, encouraging them to seek payment from the two countries ahead of time.
"Plan meticulously. After the operation is complete, immediately erase all traces of our involvement. We cannot let anyone discover that we are involved!"
Pope Pius VII said solemnly.
What may seem like a simple economic attack can be surprisingly destructive. It not only affects the unfortunate Moxi Duchy, but also countless bondholders.
If the news leaks out, you'll offend a lot of people.
Under normal circumstances, Alpha Kingdom is capable of fulfilling its debt obligations. However, if it experiences a run on its banks and defaults, it will be 100% unable to pay its debts.
After all, the country's credit has been damaged, and even if the debt is fulfilled later, it cannot be recovered. It's better to just give up and at least save a huge sum of money.
Thinking of this, Pope Pius VII frowned. Deep down, he began to doubt whether doing this was the right thing to do.
Bankrupting the Alpha Kingdom's finances would certainly have a significant political impact, but it would also save a lot of money!
After all that trouble, the heavy debt burden that had been weighing on them was finally lifted.
No amount of cursing will change anything; no money is no money. Under the pressure of a bank run, the Alpha Kingdom simply cannot come up with that much cash.
Judging from the current international situation, the initial plan to secretly promote armed debt collection has also failed.
Pope Pius VII was very worried that instead of suppressing the Alpha Kingdom, he had inadvertently made things worse by easing their economic burden.
In the Emerald Palace, as diplomatic documents flew in like snowflakes, a barely perceptible smile appeared on Caesar IV's lips.
The above content is entirely criticism, protest, and condemnation. The strong wording and serious tone thoroughly scathe him.
However, among all these condemnations, not one indicated any intention to send troops to intervene!
Without taking any concrete action and merely offering verbal condemnations, Caesar IV felt no pressure whatsoever.
"How are the talks between the Foreign Affairs Department and the Black Forest Kingdom going?"
"I am concerned, "Caesar IV asked.
Having paid such a high price, how could we not reap sufficient benefits?
Especially for a newly crowned King like Caesar IV, whose power base is still unstable, he still needs to deliver a satisfactory answer to everyone.
What is monarchical prestige?
It's not about empty promises or ruthless decisiveness, but about bringing tangible benefits to everyone.
Nobles are a group of realists; they can only gain people's genuine support by bringing them benefits.
"Aside from a few minor details that still require further communication, we have reached an agreement on the overall direction."
As agreed, the Black Forest Kingdom will annex the County of Corubia. In compensation, the Black Forest Kingdom will forgive all our debts to them.
This includes direct debt between the two governments, as well as war bonds we sold in Hessen, totaling approximately 9.93 million gold coins.
As for our debt relationship with the County of Corubia, it will naturally be wiped clean.
Preliminary estimates suggest that the total amount of this debt will be no less than six million gold coins. If long-standing debts are included, the figure will be even larger.
Count Francis's words caused no ripples. Although the County of Corubia was a small country, it had been a vassal state of the Alpha Kingdom for a long time.
With their leader fighting on the front lines, how could the underlings not show their support? They don't need to personally lead men into battle, but they should at least provide some financial and logistical support.
Over time, he accumulated a huge debt. However, the creditor was easy to talk to, and he could postpone repayment.
The County of Corubia is about to cease to exist. With its creditors all gone, the debts naturally no longer need to be fulfilled.
With just this one operation, the Alpha Kingdom's total debt dropped by nearly one-sixth from its peak of one hundred million.
This method of debt repayment is much easier than collecting taxes from nobles.
The only downside is that this operation is a one-time event. The deduction only applies to the accounting records; not a single penny of cash is actually seen.
"Well!"
After sighing, Caesar IV said helplessly, "Fine, the Blacks will benefit this time. We won't get involved in what happens next."
"If we could acquire the centuries-old wealth accumulated by the County of Corubia, our financial burden would be greatly reduced."
"Your Majesty, the County of Corubia has been passed down for hundreds of years. Even if it is annexed by the Black Forest Kingdom, it will not be able to digest it in a short time."
Judging from the current situation, Louis Vuitton has no intention of organizing a resistance. This means that they intend to take over the nobles of the County of Corubia entirely.
These people are a hot potato.
Without purging these guys, their annexation of Corubia will remain just a plan on paper.
Killing these guys will cause further turmoil in the aristocratic world. Not only will it damage their national reputation, but any future expansion efforts will face fierce resistance from everyone.
The Prime Minister Grand Duke Newfoundland, tried his best to persuade him.
Clearly, he was terrified of Caesar IV's wildly imaginative ideas. He feared that his King might disregard the actual situation and try to partition Corubia with the Black Forest Kingdom.
Militarily, there's absolutely no problem with doing this. The King has already given up; you can imagine how weak their resistance must be.
However, taking over Corubia made things complicated. Not only were the nobles difficult to deal with, but the internal division of spoils within the kingdom was also a challenge.
Dividing the spoils with the domestic nobility would clearly not be enough. Besides, such a newly annexed and unstable border region is not suitable for partitioning.
If the royal family were to monopolize the spoils, the powerful nobles within the country would surely cause an uproar. It's even possible that Caesar IV's throne would be threatened.
In this context, the best option is to sell Corubia and obtain cash to pay off the kingdom's debts.
"It's not that complicated. They've already chosen to annex Corubia, so why would the Hessians care about how they behave?"
Once framed, it's a never-ending cycle. If the Hessians are willing, why wouldn't they find an opportunity to fabricate charges?
Just watch, those nobles in Corubia are about to be in big trouble.
Once things have calmed down enough, that old fox Alexander V will come out and play the good guy again, announcing a pardon for these unfortunate souls and restoring their status and position.
Of course, by that time, most of the nobles of the County of Corubia were dead. The few survivors wouldn't be able to cause much trouble.
As soon as Caesar IV finished speaking, he realized the strange looks people were giving him. He sweared to God that he was merely speculating on the Black Forest Kingdom's next move; he was absolutely not planning to do it himself.
However, at this point, further explanation seemed pointless. People had no hope whatsoever for his integrity as King.
After all, such insidious and vicious methods are not something a normal person could come up with.
"Your Majesty, now that you have discerned the next steps of the Black Forest Kingdom, then make a deal with the Black Forest people and demand more money from them!"
If all the wealth accumulated by the County of Corubia over hundreds of years were plundered, it would amount to much more than this.
Moreover, there are land, serfs, castles... so many assets. Even if we only take a portion of them, we can still sell them for tens of millions of gold coins.
The kingdom is currently in dire need of population to populate the northern provinces. If it could receive hundreds of thousands of people, it would greatly accelerate the development process.
If they refuse to pay, we'll send troops to rob them. Given the professionalism of the Kingdom Army, they'll definitely rob more than they can.
"That's what Duke Affierro said without any politeness."
Originally, as the Minister of Military Affairs, he was firmly opposed to framing Corubia, but now, seeing so many benefits, his stance has inevitably been shaken.
If he could reap enough benefits from this, not only would the kingdom's financial pressure be greatly reduced, but Caesar IV would also be able to establish prestige among the nobles in the country.
Trading the kingdom's international image for the monarch's domestic prestige is a trade-off that is difficult to weigh, but it is entirely acceptable to the royal family.
"Your Excellency Duke Affierro, our Foreign Affairs Department is working hard to negotiate with the Hessians on this matter. However, it is best to avoid sending troops."
Given the current state of the Kingdom Army, even if they seize a great deal of spoils, the Treasury Department won't receive much, and it might not even be enough to cover military expenses.
Count Francis hurriedly intervened.
Looting was all too common on the Aslant Continent. It occurred in almost every war waged against foreign powers.
Unfortunately, most of the spoils were divided up by the noble officers below them. Even if there was a share left, the military would confiscate it for various reasons.
If you want to get rich by robbing, you must first thoroughly reorganize the army and instill the concept of "all spoils belong to the public" in their minds.
Such things are best left as thoughts in private. In reality, they have absolutely no feasibility. The armies of Shareholding State are essentially cobbled together.
/105/105248/