Chapter 810, The Crisis Ice and Snow Kingdom
Five days until Maslenitsa, Kislev, Bokakha Palace, Kislev State Duma.
Representative of the Kislev Boye nobility, Kislev Grand Marshal Dimitri Zaev.
Kislev Marshal Konev, Kislev Marshal of the Hussars, Commander of the Griffon Legion Romanov, Kislev Marshal Rokossovsky of the Ursa, and Kislev Northern Front Commander Zhaka- Fedosov.
Kislev's chief court minister, Petrov, and Kislev's finance minister, Dmirov, were all present.
These Kislev army leaders and landowners gathered to discuss the recent difficulties facing the kingdom.
For Kislev, it is quite interesting that this is a very, very empty country, with sparse settlements separated by vast ice fields and large tracts of land. Even within the country, except for the three cities of Kislev Except for , Erengrad, and Prager, the news of other settlements is intermittent, and direct rule is difficult to achieve. Therefore, each settlement has become highly independent, and the military and political power is completely controlled by a Boyer nobleman. There is no doubt that everyone recognizes the authority of the female tsarina, but if Her Majesty Katarin really crossed the State Duma and issued some mandatory orders to them, these Boyer nobles would be very surprised and show their faces "You are kidding me " expression.
That's the reason. In theory, the Boyer nobility must be appointed by the female czar, but in fact this is a hereditary title.
Therefore, Kislev's army is mainly composed of three forces, namely the city army directly loyal to the female tsar, the local army controlled by the Boyer nobles, and the imperial garrison supported by the empire.
In this case, the boys in various places were highly independent and eventually formed the State Duma.
Now, in the conference room of the Bokaja Palace, which is luxuriously decorated and covered with all kinds of bearskin tapestries and ice sculptures, brightly colored murals and multicolored ceilings, everyone in the State Duma is discussing what to do next .
"The supplies for the northern frontline army, the relief for the refugees, and the supply for the army in the southern Jiakova fortress have all been arranged. We try to keep 70%-80% of the rations. As for the army's arrears, we give priority to ensuring the bear cavalry Most of the military salaries of the Griffon Legion and Kerim Guards can be distributed, and as for the military salaries of the Keza Legion, Shooting Army, and City Defense Battalion, we will barely deal with it first, and we will wait until this festival is over before making any plans." Marshal Dimitri Zayev nodded, and he slowly said to everyone: "Priority is to ensure the combat effectiveness of the frontline troops."
"What? There is no room for the repair costs of the Ostrosk Fortress and the reconstruction cost of the Slughov Fortress further north?" Marshal Zaka Fedosov, the representative of the Northern Front Army, said dissatisfiedly: "Then what do you plan to do?" Wouldn't it be a waste of time to discuss it for a long time, if we can't guarantee the repair of the two fortresses in the north, how can we ensure the smooth flow of trade with Dulong City?!"
"Then what do you mean?" Marshal Kislev, Konev, the commander of the Kislev Central Army, spoke. This is a resolute soldier with a big bald head. Tasting the vodka, he looked straight at Marshal Fedosov with sharp eyes and said, "What do you want to do? Fedosov, you might as well just say it, I'm not interested in playing charades with you."
"What I want to say is that the military expenses and supplies you allocated to the Northern Front Army are really too little!" Marshal Fedosov said loudly: "Many frontline soldiers lack food and clothing, and even have no medicine for illness! Forget it, I understand the difficulty of the kingdom now, but what about the fortress? Since the end of the Winter War more than two years ago, the two fortresses have laid bases, but they have not been completed for a long time. The soldiers are hiding in the semi-open fortress Winter inside, if you don't allocate enough funds and recruit manpower, we won't be able to finish repairing these two fortresses next year!"
"This Norse expedition,
The national treasury received almost 120,000 ducats (Kislev gold coins), but you only allocated 40,000 to us. This is really too little. We have to pay the army, ensure supplies, and repair The fortress, building a fortress in the harsh environment of freezing weather is already very costly, you want the horses to run, and you want the horses not to eat grass! "
"I said, what do you think?" Marshal Konev repeated: "I don't want to listen to your complaints, I want you to come up with a solution!"
"At least another 40,000 ducats must be allocated to us." Marshal Fedosov emphasized: "I know that after the trade agreement with the Dulong City dwarves was concluded, tariffs and mining taxes have formed new revenues, which is also a sum of money. Not a small amount of income, we ensure the smooth flow of commercial routes, so why can't we take part of the tariff and mining tax as our military expenses?"
"Trade tariffs and mine taxes are directly collected by Her Majesty Katarin's tax officer and sent into the Ice Palace. They have nothing to do with us." The representative of the Boyer nobles, Marshal Dimitri said in a deep voice: "Katalin Her Majesty Tallinn is going to conduct a very important ice magic experiment, and urgently needs money, as for our application..."
"Your Majesty disagrees. The treasure house and internal funds of the Ice Palace have been rescued many times, and you all know this." The Tsar's Finance Minister Dmirov said slowly: "The internal treasury can't only have expenditures, but no income. what."
"Very good." Marshal Dimitri nodded helplessly. He turned to the Marshal Ursa and asked, "Constantin, what can you do?"
"I don't know." Marshal Rokossovsky obviously didn't focus on the meeting, he just said casually: "Perhaps, we can re-audit and see which piece of expenditure can be cost-effective again? Save a little Is it a little?"
"How to audit?! How cost-effective!!" Marshal Konev slammed the cup in his hand on the ground vigorously, and he blushed and roared angrily: "That's all the money, one hundred and twenty-four thousand five hundred and sixty-six pieces Dukat! How can it be more cost-effective, is it to let the northern front army go hungry to fight the barbarians? Or the refugees will not provide relief? Or simply not pay the arrears?!"
The cup fell to the ground and shattered into several pieces, and the crisp sound could be clearly heard in the conference room.
"As Marshal Kislev and Commander-in-Chief of the Kislev Central Army, I know best that the soldiers of the Keza Legion and the Shooting Army, and the soldiers of the City Defense Battalion, have already been killed in bakeries, merchants, and even temples. It has been in debt for several months! Many soldiers came to my house to ask me for help, what can I do!" Marshal Konev roared: "Don't I know that there is no money in the treasury, and we are constantly fighting the barbarians in the north , and the Jiakova Fortress in the south is also facing a full-scale invasion of the green-skinned red-eyed tribe!"
"If this continues, Kislev's founding millennium celebration will soon be the day of our country's demise!" Marshal Konev's loud voice echoed in the conference hall, and he didn't care if the words spread.
"Marshal Romanov." At this moment, an attendant rushed into the conference hall, and he shouted anxiously: "There is something urgent."
"What's the matter?" Marshal of the Hussars raised his head, and the attendants whispered in his ear: "It's not good, the Keza Legion and the Shooting Army mutinied in the army because they were paid too little, and they scuffled with the guards! General Derei used a musket to commit suicide, which calmed down the grievances, but the officers gathered together and came towards the palace, we must give an explanation!"
"What?!" The whole conference room was shaken.
"Konev, hurry up and stop them. You are the commander-in-chief of the Central Army, the commander of the city defense of Kislev, and you have enough prestige to quell all grievances." Generalissimo Dimitri immediately set his sights on Konev.
"Hmph! Remember me at this time? It's too late!" Konev said impatiently and helplessly: "What do you want me to do?"
"You explain the truth and the law to them clearly!" Dimitri persuaded: "You have always had a high prestige in the army, and the soldiers will understand."
"There has always been only red cabbage soup and fried mince pies on the spot. How can there be reason and law on the spot?" Konev spread his hands: "Give me a deadline. When can the payment arrears problem be resolved?"
"This……"
……… I am the dividing line between beetroot soup and mince pies………
Not far from the armory, General Ugor Beria and his deputy Shelepin looked at the scene of the armory with complex expressions.
The mutiny died down for the time being, for now.
When the scene was most chaotic, General Andre, who was in charge of logistics, suddenly stood up. He stood on the table and shouted with his loudest voice: "It's me who didn't do a good job. I can't do anything about the salary owed by you. It's me!" Incompetent, I'm sorry for His Majesty Katarin, and I'm sorry for you, I declare that I am responsible for this!"
After speaking, General Andre suddenly took out a short-fired gun and pointed the muzzle at his chin.
A gunshot woke up the mutiny soldiers who were fighting, the armory soldiers and Kerim guards who were suppressing. Seeing that General Andre died for this, the Keza fighters and shooting soldiers felt really bad, and they finally gave up. The siege of the Armory.
Then, the officers turned to prepare to go to the Bokaha Palace. The Xa warriors did not believe that they could not send money. Many generals Kislev and Boyer nobles participated in this Norsca expedition, and they pulled back Ships and carts of loot once filled the streets! They have money, ask them for it!
Thousands of soldiers selected dozens of officers to go to the Bokaha Palace to ask for the payment owed, and the rest lined up to lead the army's payment for emergency, and went back to the barracks to wait for news.
And in the depths of an alley on the main street, Beria led more than 20 heavily armed Ugol horse archers. Looking at the scene in front of him, his expression was a bit complicated, but he still held back and did not attack: " It seems that the problem is much more serious than I imagined."
"Pay is owed, and the streets are full of hungry refugees." Lieutenant General Shelepin also said indignantly: "I just went to ask, General, ten kilograms of Daleba, two large bags of potatoes, one piece of butter and fifteen tenga ( Kislev silver coins), that is the treatment of company commanders and battalion commanders! Ordinary Keza fighters and shooting troops only have five kilograms of daliba, two large bags of potatoes and nine tenga (kislev silver coins). "
Only nine! Beria remained calm all the time, his heart moved, and he asked: "Then what about the market price? Have you investigated it clearly?"
"It's urgent, I didn't have time to investigate the market price." Shelepin shook his head again and again: "But I just asked a few passers-by, general, do you guess how much an ordinary roast chicken sells on the black market in Kislev? "
"How much?" Beria was not interested in playing guessing games. General Ugor was obviously planning something.
"Three silver coins! God, three silver coins!" Shelepin said hastily: "I can't believe that the best roast capon market in Brittany sells only twenty-five to twenty-eight Copper coins, my favorite is half a roast chicken with a bottle of vodka after patrolling, but here, the price has more than doubled by more than ten times!"
"Let's go, let's follow." Beria did not answer Shelepin's words. General Ugor immediately got on his horse and led more than 20 cavalry archers to follow him. It was not until he got on his horse that he slowly said: "Hall Jinna, do you know her?"
"Be...Of course, General, your new maid." Xie Lepin didn't understand what Beria meant. He also took a young and beautiful girl as his maid.
Has the general changed his mind?
"She's the daughter of little Boye! The daughter of Little Boye who owns the entire territory of the village with wooden fences and wooden gates outside the city!" Beria snapped, "Little Boye! The lord of the village of three hundred people! She has already drunk three It’s been porridge for a month! Do you know what this means? Boyer has started to drink porridge, what about the citizens? Farmers? And those refugees?!”
Xie Leping understood, the lieutenant suddenly felt chills all over his body: "Why did it become like this?"
"So as I said before, our female tsar may be an excellent wizard, but she is by no means an excellent king and commander-in-chief. Since she came to the throne, the kingdom has been messed up, and she has rarely led the army herself. , Everything is appointed generals or dispatched to supervise the army, and she never visits the people as often as His Majesty Ryan, she only has her research in her heart, her research, her research!" Beria waited to say, Xie Lepin immediately lowered He said in a low voice: "Be careful, General, don't forget that you were once a member of the Internal Affairs Committee. You should know that there are Cheka secret police everywhere in this city."
"This is a very bad omen. We all know that if a country's bourgeoisie and small lords and nobles have begun to decline, then the entire kingdom is already facing crisis." Beria ignored After reading Shelepin's words, General Ugor knew that if he was still an officer of Kislev, he would have "disappeared" long ago, but he was the special envoy of the Knight King Ryan, and the Cheka people did not dare to do anything to him. Kind of.
In this world, after all, it is still about strength.
In fact, both Beria and Shelepin knew in their hearts why the food shortage in Kislev recently caused prices to skyrocket?
There are only two main reasons. One is the continuous war ahead and large-scale food collection for a long time. The second is that the empire has recently suffered internal strife, which has greatly reduced the amount of food aid the empire provided to Kislev. Didn't say anything because it wasn't necessary.
While talking, Bokaha Palace arrived, and Beria signaled everyone to stop, and they stayed in the distance to observe.
Marshal Alexei of the Crimea looked at the large group of mid-level and low-ranking officers who appeared in front of the palace, and his face flushed with anger: "What are you trying to do? After damaging the arsenal, do you still want to come to the palace to rob your military pay?" ? Soldiers, take up arms!"
"Wait! We didn't come to be robbers, we are all Mrs. Kisler! We want to meet His Majesty Katarin today!" The leader of the Kesa warrior Alyosha shouted loudly: "The State Duma What are the people doing? Arrears of our military pay! Every household in our family has not been owed more than half a year’s military pay. Many of us have been on the big Lieba for five months, and even sold our children! I just asked, when will you be able to pay off our arrears!"
"Didn't we ask General Andre to pay you the arrears?" Marshal Konev came from behind with several marshals. This man was powerful and had a big bald head. He was quite prestigious in the army. The marshal hurriedly stopped at the entrance of the palace: "Maybe it is indeed a little less, but it can't be helped. This is my responsibility. I apologize. Don't blame the past. Please go back first and have a good holiday. Let's think about it later." Is there a way for you, okay? I, Konev, guarantee in the name of the bear god Erson, that I have not received any salary this year!"
Marshal Konev is the guard commander of Kislev City and the commander-in-chief of the Central Army. He has a high prestige in the army, but today he miscalculated.
"You? Are you counting on that little salary for the holidays?" Immediately, a Keza officer came out and said, "Many of you participated in the Norsca expedition, and many of us saw it with our own eyes. A lot of wealth, all kinds of armor, furs, paintings, velvet, gold and silk looted by the barbarians! Those iron and copper ores, all kinds of livestock, and even many high-quality goods of the high elves, one cart after another The carts and land were transported to your mansion, and they disappeared without a trace. They all belong to you. The victory in the war belongs to you, the casualties belong to us, the captured land belongs to you, and the disabilities belong to us. Now even the military pay is not ours. Already!"
"That's right! His Majesty Katarin handed over Kislev to you, the State Duma, but what are you all doing?! Hand over the money! Send out our military pay!"
"Go away! You hungry wolves, spit out your military pay!"
"State Duma, man-eating wolves, we must let His Majesty Katarin know your true colors!"
What the officers said left Marshal Konev speechless. He had a clear conscience about the distribution of the spoils, because he really didn't take anything.
But he couldn't swear to Esun that no one took it. In fact, many nobles, generals, and Boyes who participated in the Norsca expedition did frantically collect a large amount of spoils and keep transporting them back to the country and their own. At home, they not only embezzled countless gold and silver treasures as their own, but also refused to hand over even a little according to Kislev's "glorious tradition".
Konev sharply accused a certain colleague, and he transported more than 20 carriages of wealth from Norsca by himself. His home is almost becoming a "Norsca Museum"!
Don't look at how everyone quarreled so happily during the State Duma meeting, but in fact they all made a windfall! It's just that none of these windfalls will fall on the treasury or the soldiers, it's all theirs.
Seeing that the Marshal couldn't answer, the scene gradually became chaotic. Excited officers tried to break through the line of defense, while the Kerim guards raised their weapons and pointed at their comrades, brothers and robes.
Before the palace, the smell of gunpowder was full, and it seemed that another mutiny was imminent.
Beria was standing in the distance on a horse, and he sneered when he saw this scene.
You must be watching somewhere in the palace, right? My tsarina?
Also, Konev's set is obviously not working, Yezhov, it's your turn to play.