Shilius's capital, Dome Palace, Council Hall.
"The root of all this is your navy's fault. If it weren't for the loss of the entire treasure fleet, how could the kingdom be in such a predicament?"
"Your accusations are baseless. In the face of force majeure, no one can do better than the captain of the Red Maple, Vice Admiral Doyle Griffith!
Besides, your Ministry of Finance is always talking about increasing your income and reducing your expenditure.
Our navy has already cooperated with you to reduce military expenditure by 20%, and it wasn't easy to suppress the dissatisfaction of the soldiers. I would like to ask where your 'income' is? "
"This …"
The high-ranking official of the kingdom's finance department muttered to himself, 'If I could increase my income, would I still be arguing with a brute like you here?'
He was also suffering. The kingdom's current predicament was not a problem as long as there was money, but the biggest problem was that there was no money!
The production of the colony's gold and silver mines was limited due to many reasons. As the kingdom's largest creditor, the Nederlands Bank Group refused to increase the loan to Shilius based on a risk assessment. Currently, only the colony of the Southern Continent could still operate normally, but it was not that easy to expand the scale of their financial resources, unless …
At this moment, a civilian general of the army stood up and also pointed his finger at the Ministry of Finance, and it was as steady and accurate as a kidney shot.
"Since the beginning of last year's financial situation, you have been issuing excessive currency that is not equal to the precious metal content. As a result, prices that had gradually increased to 350% with the influx of gold and silver from the New Continent in the past hundred years have soared to 500% in less than a year.
This month, the lowly peasants of the former Duchy of Franco launched a large-scale riot and rebellion in the conquest zone of the kingdom. Our army spent a lot of effort to suppress it, and this is not an isolated incident. Many lowly peasants in the conquered zone are already restless.
I don't need to say more about the source, do I? "
The Ministry of Finance suddenly became the target of public criticism.
'This … Isn't this all because of you? And how can you blame us for something that His Majesty and the Imperial Conference agreed on? 'Roaring in his heart, the high-ranking official could only bite the bullet and quibble.
"The temporary rise in prices can be perfectly solved. It is cheap and cost-effective to buy goods from other countries on a large scale, and at the same time, it can divert domestic risks.
Including the industrially developed Tulip countries, the entire country is just a labor force that serves us. They are no different from the lowly craftsmen in the kingdom. "
"Besides, aren't the plantations and mines in the colonies seriously short of manpower? We can drive all the untouchables who can't afford to live in the kingdom to the colonies. That's where they should be. "
This sentence was said in a righteous manner. Clearly, this was the true thought of this "Why Not Eat Minced Meat" big shot. However, under the influence of totalitarianism, the gap between the rich and the poor had already accumulated and could not be reversed.
However, it would have been better if he hadn't mentioned the colonies. As soon as he mentioned the colonies, the upper echelons of the various kingdoms frowned. They couldn't help but think of all the bad news about the colonies in the New World.
No matter how arrogant and slow they were, it took several months for the upper echelons of the kingdom to realize that a broad anti-Silius alliance had been formed.
Furthermore, the plundering of these bastards had greatly disrupted the order of shipping between the Old and New Continents. In the past few months, both the official and civilian merchant ships had suffered unprecedented losses.
After the Black Sea Goddess revived and occupied the original 'Eye of the Black Sea', more than half of the naval bases along the route were scrapped. Shilius's naval forces were already stretched thin, and he was temporarily unable to maintain the safety of the sea route.
They didn't have the money to rebuild a new naval base.
They had fallen into a vicious cycle.
To make matters worse, a massive and sudden epidemic had attacked all the colonies around the Golden Sea. New Shilius, New Granada, Secret Dragon, and even the largest island on the Golden Sea, Saint-Domingue, were unable to escape the calamity.
Although the various vice kings were in contact with Faletis, who had also been affected by the disaster but had developed a special antidote, and began to purchase the special antidote on a large scale. However, heavy losses were inevitable.
"In this matter, the four vice kings of the colonies have undoubtedly committed a serious dereliction of duty!"
"How can you blame the vice kings for natural and man-made disasters?"
“.....”
The group of people in the council hall argued until their faces turned red. In the end, they even ignored the friendly forces of the enemy and fired randomly. As long as they didn't let the person sitting high on the throne vent his anger on them, it would be fine.
This Imperial Conference had been arguing for two hours, but there was no progress during this time.
The prime minister, the ministers of various departments, the Ministry of Navy, the Ministry of Army, the think tank … There were also the Royal Faction, the Church, the representatives of the great nobles, the central representatives of the colonial vice-kings, and so on, all mixed together.
But there was only one core theme: "I won't take the blame for this, you take the blame!"
Philip II, who wore a blue diamond crown and a luxurious royal robe, felt that since he was engaged to the princess of the Hapsburg family, he had almost never heard any decent news.
The Ministry of the Army was the only one that successfully dealt with the rebellion, but it was just cleaning up another mess.
At this time, when he heard that they were debating the kingdom one by one, even the ruler of the world's most powerful country couldn't help but wonder if his country was going to be finished soon.
He couldn't help but reach out and pinch his forehead as he looked at the people sitting below with the highest status.
Shilius, who founded the country with the army, of course respected the military. Under the prime minister of the kingdom, there was Field Marshal and Minister of the Army Favman, Navy Marshal and Minister of the Navy Bancroft.
And … the Great Wizard of the "School of Curses", Andon, who had become the head of the think tank.
They were the people most likely to influence the king and decide the future of the country.
Perhaps they felt that these people had been arguing for too long, so when they noticed Philip II's gaze.
Teng — —
Field Marshal Favman, who was dressed in a military uniform with glittering medals on his chest, slowly stood up like a towering city wall.
He bowed slightly to Philip II, who was sitting on the throne. Even though he tried his best to suppress it, his words were like thunder. His words were like a clap of thunder, instantly silencing the meeting hall.
"Your great majesty, we need a new war!"
At the same time, the prime minister and the navy marshal looked at each other without saying a word, clearly silently agreeing.
With the country in chaos and the dissatisfaction of all classes, there was nothing better than a war to divert the internal conflict.
On the other side, the Great Wizard who only served the king had a faint sparkle in his eyes as he gave a slight nod to his majesty.
Right now, whether it was good or bad, there was a way to break out of this predicament.
.....
On the southern continent across the Treasure Sea, the capital of the Sack Empire's colony, St. Louis City.
Although it was close to midnight, there were many places in the capital city that were still brightly lit. It didn't lose to the prosperity of the main cities.
In the center of the city, where the high officials and nobles lived, a unique garden house stood quietly. It was surrounded by a large park surrounded by trees. Although the building was small, it was exquisite and delicate.
Even in front of the exquisite iron gate, there were two fully armed City Guard standing guard day and night. It was clear that the identity of the owner of this place wasn't normal.
"Hey, David, when you were on duty during the day, did you see Madame Diana's appearance?"
"I ….. I saw it. Although she was wearing a thin veil when she came back, I dare to bet that she was the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life.
Your excellency really is blessed. Not only is he born into a noble family, he can even enjoy this kind of beauty. "
"If I can spend a night in this house, I'm willing to be executed by the governor!"
Putting aside the unrealistic thoughts of the two guards, the governor that they were talking about was the emperor's only little brother, Prince Clement.
This was because the royal family of each country could trace their lineage back to the fourth grade. As the descendant of a peak Transcendent, no matter how bad their talent was, they could naturally become a Knight as long as they reached adulthood.
They didn't need to go through the thrilling test of their bodies like normal people, they were born with the power of a Knight.
Correspondingly, when this power was passed down through the bloodline, the royal family of each country didn't have many descendants. For example, the Sack Empire only had these two brothers.
But although this Prince Clement was born into a noble family, his talent wasn't that good, so he knew how much he had. After slowly reaching the peak of a Knight, he didn't care about the path of Transcendent and didn't care about politics at all.
An artistic artist who indulged in wine and women and squandered his money without restraint had already become his label.
Even the soldiers at the bottom of the hierarchy did not respect this prince very much. They were envious of his romantic experiences to the bone.
However, a prince was a prince. With his powerful team of advisors, although this fifty two year old unmarried playboy wasn't too reliable, at least he didn't cause too much trouble.
In the heart of the capital, building a beautiful house for one's lover and giving them special treatment was just a trivial matter.
While the two guards were chatting, they didn't know that in the love nest that the governor had built for his canary, there was already a stranger who had entered.
In the middle of the bedroom where the lights had already been extinguished, there was a figure that seemed to be condensed from the darkness, asking in a familiar tone with the mistress of the room.
"Fanes, can you guarantee that when Cirus starts his plan, that playboy Clement won't send troops? The kingdom and mister Andon don't want this war to continue. "
Under the moonlight, the noblewoman, who was only wearing a translucent white gauze nightgown, leaned weakly on the chaise lounge by the window. Her slightly wavy long hair spread out like clouds, revealing her skin that was as smooth as jade and as white as snow.
In the haze, her exquisite and curvaceous body was just like the [Frenzy Magic Potion] that could drive people crazy. It was so condensed that it seemed to be corporeal, causing the self-proclaimed strong-willed figure's mind to waver.
"Poison Bee, is there a need to doubt it? I'm just watching from the sidelines, not asking him to help Cirus.
To others, it's as difficult as ascending to heaven, but to me, it's just a trivial matter. "
Her voice was lazy and slightly hoarse like a cat's, intoxicating like mellow red wine.
However, the figure named Poison Bee frowned inwardly when he heard that.
"You used a potion? Bewitchment? Curse control? This isn't safe, right? "
The noblewoman, who was lying on her side, raised her slender hand and gently brushed it across her slightly cool cheeks, her burning red lips, her exquisite collarbone … all the way to her slender and straight thighs. She exhaled a fragrant rose-scented wind.
"Hehehe, do you think a prince who has a tight defense against supernatural powers will be controlled by such a simple trick? The reason is simple. He just fell in love with me. "
She crossed her legs and walked down from the chaise lounge, bringing with her the moonlight that filled the room. She walked gracefully to the figure and gently leaned over to put her red lips beside his ear.
"Madly in love! Hehehe … "
After saying that, she was already shaking with laughter.
Poison Bee, who understood the nature of his partner, didn't feel any charm at all. Instead, he felt a deep sense of disgust from the bottom of his heart.
This was because the sorcerer's name, Fanes, had another name — Dual Nature God!
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