Warhammer: Return of the Dragon

Chapter 17 Financial Situation
In the majestic dragon palace, Imrik is sitting on the Dragon Claw Throne listening to the report of his civil servants. It has been a month since he came back from the dark world, and the Dragon Prince has started to expand his army on a large scale, thanks to the help from the countess. The large amount of wealth obtained there, roughly calculated to be about 30 after being cast into gold leaves, does not count the priceless gems, which are enough to support the expansion of the army.

As for the positioning of Caledor, Imrik intends to build it into a military industrial center, while commercial and economic development needs to find a suitable location. Now it is tentatively scheduled to be Skogi in the Lustrian Isthmus, as long as it is killed there The entrenched Norscans can occupy it, but the attitude of Mazdamurdi, the magic toad who sits in the Pyramid of the Stars in the Southern Sky, is crucial. If there is a conflict, it is inevitable that no vital force can be thrown into the civil war in the order camp.

Just when I was thinking about Master Ma's attitude, I heard someone reminding me below, "Your Highness, Your Highness?"

When I came back to my senses, I sat up a little more, "Continue, I suddenly thought of something just now."

Sitting below is an elf who looks very old. Generally speaking, elves don't grow beards, and Aisha's blessing makes them not easy to age. In many cases, it is necessary to judge the age by looking at the color of the hair, and Tai The hair of the elf under him is already gray and gray. He is Caledor's chief minister Grington, and he is deeply trusted by the previous prince.

Greenton held the information in his hand and continued to report some situations, "Prince, the expected financial revenue this year is 17 gold leaves, excluding the maintenance costs of the army, the investment in Vaal's anvil, the appropriation for the Flame Tower, and your There are still about [-] pieces of rewards from the loyal families, and with some other expenses, there are [-] pieces left over the year."

Covering your forehead and listening to this data report, the financial revenue is estimated to be not even one-tenth of Itaine's. It is really a big headache. Other kingdoms will spend a lot of money to support the expenditure of the palace. The Dragon Palace does not, not just Because there are few people, or because there is no money to do this.

After considering what to do with this money, the gold coins in the dark world are still being recast, and the purity needs to reach 90.00% to be circulated in the market. Now one-sixth has been made, which is [-] pieces gold leaf.

"Leave [-] gold leaves in the palace, and the remaining [-] will be invested in the expansion of Young Dragon Bay and army recruitment."

Young Dragon Bay is the only place where Caledon can build a large port. If you want to carry out colonial activities in the future, then a fleet and a large port are essential. I plan to overcome the immediate difficulties first, and then consider people's livelihood The problem.

Hearing Imrik's words, Greenton yelled, even if the former prince liked to fight, he was not crazy enough to use most of the financial revenue to build ports and expand the army. With the current scene of Ulthuan singing and dancing Judging by it, this is a completely unnecessary thing to do, but just listen to Imric go on.

"I will find a way to fill the remaining vacancies. This is the case. Fifty thousand new gold leaves have been cast on the Vaal anvil. I need you to mobilize the money."

Seeing that Imrik is so determined, Greenton has no choice. In the court of the dragon, the status of civil servants has always been low. The previous princes have spent most of their time in the barracks. Like Imrik, he is very concerned about the financial situation. are already considered rare.

He stood up and gave Imrik a salute, and then walked out of the palace to carry out the orders given to him. This matter must have required him to spend a lot of time thinking. The construction of the port required a lot of high-quality wood.

This needs to be imported from Charis or Avalon. The evil moon Mosrib is constantly approaching. It is very risky to organize people to cut down trees in the Anuli Mountains. A large number of Warcraft is just around the corner. Well, there's also a group of erinias hungry for elven souls.

Seeing Grington retreat, Imrik turned his head to look at the other person sitting next to him. It was a weather-beaten warrior. The originally handsome face looked a little hideous because of several scars, and he was taller than the usual elves. His body was different, and he appeared to be very strong.

He is the champion warrior of the former prince and the general in charge of the Caledor army-Randy. The scar on his face is a souvenir left when he beheaded a Halganxi executioner champion 150 years ago. Just part of his legendary career.

"Sir Randy, how is the military expansion going?"

The veteran told Imrik about the situation during this time, "Prince, after you issued the summoning order, many people are willing to join the army. We expected to recruit 2000 more men, but actually 5000 people responded Call, there are men and women, after I discuss with Greenton, if it does not affect the normal domestic production, we can recruit [-] people."

Tapping the armrest of the throne with his fingers, Azul needs to live in the barracks for a period of time every year, in order to maintain a sparse population while still possessing combat effectiveness. Most of the grassroots troops are essentially militias, only relying on the advantages of longevity species compared to Humans are much more powerful in combat.

The number of professional troops is much smaller than that of the militias. Every country in Ulthuan maintains professional troops with various characteristics and will not expand their recruitment easily because the maintenance cost is too expensive. , although the maintenance cost is much lower than that of other kingdoms, it can only maintain a standing army of about 2000 people, which is already close to the [-]% warning line of the army-to-population ratio.

If all these 4 people are recruited, within three years, Imrik will be able to declare that Caledor is in a state of bankruptcy, and then wait for Finnuba to give a little trade share in exchange for the dragon army in his hands.

"Recruiting 1 people as a standing army, the Priests of Vaal already have brand-new technology and are able to mass-produce high-quality armaments, and the expenditure on armaments is negligible."

Half a month ago, Imrik received the good news from Coster. He and the high priest successfully reproduced four Horadric Malus under the inspiration of Vaal, without sacrificing vitality by Priest Vaal. After that, the forging speed of the equipment is greatly increased. Although it is difficult to make exquisite or legendary weapons, the magic attached to them is enough for ordinary soldiers to use.

Although I don't know what happened to the so-called Vaal apocalypse, it is always a good thing, and with the continuous replacement of equipment, Imrik also plans to do something big. Soon the evil moon will be close to the orbit, and the chaotic energy will fill the world. In the mortal world, all kinds of monsters and ghosts will appear, and the monsters on the Anuli Mountains will also attack the gathering place of Azul, which is called the Twilight Tide by Azul.

Given the current state of peace and prosperity among the nations of Ulthuan, they will inevitably suffer losses in this twilight tide, and then when the Phoenix King convenes a war council, other kingdoms will use Azul’s precious life as an excuse to hold themselves hostage to expand the scale of arms exports. At that time, I will dump the old guys used by these grandpas at high prices to them.

Randy also knows what happened to Val Anvil. As one of the highest-ranking people in Caledor, every move in the country will not escape his eyes, but he doesn't want to interfere with these things too much. His position is very clear, that is, a general, a warrior, not a counselor.

"I will send someone to select some suitable soldiers to join the army." After finishing speaking, he got up and bowed his head and walked out of the palace. There was a silver moon dragon waiting for him outside. He was not only a general, but also one of the few in Caledon Many dragon princes with dragon partners.

(End of this chapter)