"How much do they want?" Sean wanted to confirm again.

"King Simon's oral instruction is that the southern lords can each raise about 5 to 6 million gold coins and return some food... If the supplies are not enough, they don't have to pay, the main thing is gold coins." Luke roughly repeated the content of the message he had received.

"Show it to me!"

Sean took the message from the other party.

The king's orders were written on special paper and were printed with a stag mark to represent the royal family!

"Six million, is this crazy?!"

What does six million mean to an ordinary lord? That is almost half a year's tax revenue. If the city is better developed, it may not be a big deal and can be accepted by gritting teeth, but this is not the first time.

From the beginning of the Imperial War until now, Sean has provided support to the North twice in a row... Although he didn't send troops directly, he sent a lot of supplies and money, especially in the first few months of the war...

The residents of the entire Bashalan Empire were in a warlike state. At that time, they were willing to accept even half of their family's food. Therefore, the most was given the first time, and this should be the case for both Oro City and other cities. After that, they gave blood transfusions to the northern front intermittently. I am afraid that they gave a lot of money in more than half a year.

"How much spare money do we have left to spend?" Sean asked.

It's impossible to give away all the money. There are so many people in Oro City waiting for their salaries. If we give it away, our city will rebel!

"About two million."

"That's still more than halfway!"

"If the seafood reselling team comes back, we may be able to raise about one million, but it will take another half a month." Luke said.

“It’s OK that it takes time to gather the money, but even then it won’t be enough!”

There's still so much to go, where can I find...

"It seems that it says that so much money is collected to be given to Jagun as a thank you for sending troops to help." Luke said and asked Sean to read it carefully again.

At the end, it was indeed said that the reason for asking for money was to thank King Jagon for his military assistance.

Sending troops in the most critical moment is certainly worthy of gratitude, but Sean really can't come up with that much money.

"What should we do, sir?" Luke asked for his opinion.

Sean couldn't think of a good solution for a moment.

"How's the war going on the front lines?"

"According to the latest reports, the Borg can no longer hold on and are beginning to retreat. The Kets on the other side have completely lost their combat effectiveness and are the first to ask for peace. It is estimated that it will not be long before the Borg will choose an appropriate time to declare surrender." Luke took out another report and explained.

"It's just that the Borg's country is so well-located that even the Sun King's army would have difficulty crossing the entire country of Ket and rushing into the heart of the Borg. We have no other options."

"So the best we can do is repel the enemy, but we can't demand war reparations at all?"

"Yes," Luke said.

This war was really frustrating. So many people died and yet there was no way to ask others for compensation.

"How about this, we collect some money first, but don't use the Earl's money... ask for some from a few big families and say it's the king's order." Sean said.

"Are you planning to ask for money from the merchant families? If we take the money from them, we should be able to give it to them, but I'm afraid they won't be willing to give us so much!"

"I didn't say I had to take it..." Sean looked at Luke with a smile.

It has always been the other person who understands your thoughts best.

"Does your Excellency want to... oppress them?"

"We can't just leave these families alone. We should give them a warning once in a while... Luke, you should pay more attention to the situation of other southern lords recently. I don't think anyone can come up with so much money." Sean said.

After carefully reading the king's order several times, Sean discovered that King Simon, who had always ordered the lords to do things by issuing orders, had chosen to do so by begging this time.

Although Sean had never met King Simon, it was impossible for a king who was so high and mighty to suddenly change his tone. He did not choose to surrender when facing the Borg army, so it was impossible for him to suddenly become soft.

Luke thought about it for a long time and finally understood what Sean meant.

"Your Excellency has become increasingly knowledgeable about the means of power over the years."

"There's no other way. The higher up the noble ranks, the more experienced they are. If I'm not smart, I probably won't be able to survive in the aristocratic circle." Sean said.

In his opinion, King Simon's pleading tone was a bit abnormal. He couldn't be unaware that the southern lords were already living a tight life, so how could they have the money to give to the lords?

And the people who sent it are from other countries!

The help from the allies is certainly worthy of gratitude, but if a large amount of money in the country is plundered, how can we survive in the future?

Post-war reconstruction is the top priority...

"In my opinion, this money must have been demanded by Jagon. King Simon is just pretending to ask for money from all the lords. If they can give it, they should give it. If they can't, at least it shows them that the order has been issued, and it's just that the country is out of money."

"What if many lords can't produce it?" Luke asked.

"In that case..."

Sean thought about it.

It would be difficult if all the lords here paid money one by one. We have to pay at least some money, otherwise it will be difficult to explain to our superiors.

I’m afraid that those lords will watch one another and if you don’t take it first… I won’t take it either, and I won’t move until the last one.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!