To Vitus, the end of the war did not mean rest. A mountain of state affairs awaited him, and this stage was even more exhausting.
"Being emperor is too much work."
He drained the coffee in his cup and went back to his documents.
From last year to the present, the fighting had lasted nearly a year. The Eastern Roman Empire and the Jagiellon Dynasty had avoided a final decisive battle, keeping overall casualties relatively low.
However, the Eastern Roman Empire had consumed vast quantities of money and supplies. The Treasury's savings of several hundred thousand had been exhausted, and both last year's and this year's budgets had run deficits. Total expenditure had reached one million gold Florins.
With war against France coming next year, there was no money in the budget for military expenses or supplies. They could only borrow from merchants.
Vitus left this matter to the Finance Minister, ordering him to raise five hundred thousand first. Once that money was spent, they would take out further loans.
He picked up another report, which mentioned that Iberia had already withdrawn from the war.
"Why do things in Iberia always turn out so badly?"
The outcome exceeded Vitus's expectations. He had thought that with aid from Castile, Aragon could hold out a little longer.
The first half of the report described the course of the war in Iberia.
Although Castile and Aragon shared the same dynasty, Castile's new king, Enrique IV, was close to Portugal and loathed Aragon. He had sent only a token force of reinforcements.
In July of this year, Aragon could no longer withstand the blows on both land and sea. It had been forced to sue for peace, surrendering Sicily and the nearby islands and permanently renouncing its claims to southern Italy.
"What is Enrique