Shadow King Chronicles: Building a Kingdom From Behind the Scenes
Debt That Is Troubled
Much of the housework was done when Aurellia was officially appointed by the king to be the caretaker queen and Margaret when appointed by Jeremiah Bless became prime minister to succeed her.
Restoring national security stability, reorganizing government systems and governance, and overcoming economic crisis and famine.
That was why, now at the table they were both paper ready to be filled piled up like mountains. Dozens, No, hundreds of documents will be required for the needs of the bureau.
"So, is this the first duty of a queen when ascending the throne? Nee~~Is, it looks like I will resign as queen and appoint you as king."
Aurellia herself, well, she just resigned herself while leaning her head on the table. Margaret smiled bitterly and stroked Aurellia's head. Although she was a little younger, she somehow looked like Aurellia's older sister.
"Can't, princess. We have a lot of work waiting for us. Debt accumulated so much that the kingdom almost went bankrupt because it was unable to recover the debts borrowed from traders and bankers.
Well our problem isn't just that. So I beg you put sir, no, queen of the kingdom Heinz. Fight as hard as you can. The more you delay the work, the further the restoration of the kingdom is also further away from the target we have set."
Issac went into professional mode. But he was right. While outside threats continued to move and the Prince William faction still existed, they did not have much time. There's a lot of work they have to do.
"Muuu. But the one who takes care of all this is me and Margaret! You should finish the rest later!"
Despite the scourge, Aurellia and Margaret began to work on their errands. Well, actually Issac's job will be more difficult. Within three days, the debtors would come to the palace. He will renegotiate the payment. Starting from the time period, payment scheme, to the form of return.
In addition, he will also organize the military composition of the kingdom. He had asked Aurellia to formally abolish the private army system of the nobles and unite the military under royal authority. The nobles who would be reshaped later were not allowed to have a private army.
Not to mention the famine and plague afflicting the population, the collapsing education system, the threat from Prince William and the care of the treacherous nobles. All the tasks were assigned to him.
Distracting indeed. But for the sake of Aurellia and Margaret, he would do his best. While helping Aurellia and Margaret make the documents, Issac's mind drifted. A lot has to be fixed but the most important thing now is to ensure the internal situation.
In the North, Prince William and his faction had seized the territory of Marquis Schazar and built a new force there. They were clearly a stumbling block to Aurellia's leadership. Should he negotiate with them? Maybe that's the best. Although Issac knew it, the negotiations were clearly never going to happen.
As long as they were still around and had strength, he would not be able to move around freely. Especially if this problem is related to the military that is their orientation. Issac decided to write an ultimatum to them with Aurellia's approval later.
Once a quarter of the work was done, the three of them took a break. As they ate lunch in Aurellia's study, someone knocked on the door and several people entered the Aurellia's permission.
They wear robes and head coverings. It looks suspicious indeed. Aurellia, Margaret is on standby. So did the palace knights who were in charge of guarding the Office.
"It doesn't need to be like that. They're not enemies. Instead, they were allies who would help her noble queen."
As Issac said that, all the people who came were taking off their headgear. Not only Aurellia and Margaret, the guard knights were shocked to see them.
"Ma-maximilian Conrad! Why are you in this place!? You should have fled with your father and brothers from this kingdom!"
That's right, it's Maximilian Conrad. Prince Lewis's chief adviser and one of the most important men in the Lewis faction of princes! Why would someone like him be in a place like this?
"Please don't panic, Queen. I was on the side of Prince Lewis yesterday. And I'm not here to seek forgiveness from you. Because from the beginning, I never took sides with them."
But Issac touched Aurellia's shoulder to calm herself down. He did not put on a surprised face at all. Instead, a smile formed on his lips. As if this was part of his plan.
"Don't worry, your majesty. As I said earlier, Maximilian and the people he brought were not our enemies. In fact, he's the most important part of our faction."
Then Issac explained the plan he had kept secret even to Aurellia and others. A few months before Issac came to the Grand Aria empire, he made secret contacts with Maximilian.
Both understood that sooner or later, the clash between the two factions would break out. Looking at the ongoing situation, Either whoever wins the kingdom will be destroyed.
That was why the two of them decided to make the third faction. There's a lot of talk going on. In essence, he promises a decent place and position for Maximilian and his mother and lover if he wants to work for Aurellia.
"That's exactly what happened, your queen. Sorry for hiding this from you. This ensures that this cooperation does not leak into the ears of the enemy."
Aurellia pouting. But how else. He was sure Maximilian would not betray even if Maximilian wanted to. While the people he brought, they were all part of the Nobles without the territory that used to take care of the royal bureaucracy. Their existence will be very useful.
"All right then. Remember, I only believe in Issac, not you. So Issac, I entrust their oversight to you. Make sure they don't do things that could harm the kingdom."
Issac nodded and Maximilian thanked him. He will be involved in the cabinet later. From now on, Issac's journey in building an empire behind the shadows really begins.
\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=
Three days later, a group of debtors came. And as he had promised, Issac completely renegotiated the debt repayment. Allotted discussion took place between Issac and them.
This was more troublesome than he had imagined in the beginning. The debt they gave was accompanied by quite a large flower. Even the royal treasury that was now could not cover its flowers.
The total debt that the nobles borrowed reached three years of royal income. Issac could have spent the money to pay all the debt through his personal pocket but that's not good for the kingdom's finances. They cannot rely on it excessively.
In the end they agreed to extend the deadline when Issac mortgaged many important assets belonging to the kingdom. It's bad but he has no other choice. In addition, they also agreed to lower the interest they gave based on an agreement with the Lewis prince faction at the beginning.
For payment schemes, they do not dispute the form of payment. It can be with valuables or money. This makes it easier for Issac to pay later.
After the new deal was made, they politely left the palace. Judging from the attitude the people took, they were quite respectful towards Issac and Aurellia. After sighing deeply, Maximilian came to him. It seemed like the task Issac had given him had already been completed by him.
"Mr Starfall, this is a list of valuable assets and personal property belonging to the Lewis faction of princes. We have sorted and given an estimate of the total assets they have."
Issac looked at the list and smiled brightly. This was one of Maximilian's jobs at the time the war broke out. In addition to providing valuable information, he also had the task of securing the personal treasures of the nobles. The result was quite satisfactory as he had a lot of money to pay off the debt.
So well, those nobles fled in a depressed condition because they could only bring the change from all the assets they had accumulated. There was no need to feel sad, it was a deserved punishment for traitors like them.
Apart from Prince Lewis, Issac also confiscated the private property of Prince Hermann. The merchants who cooperated with him were severely punished and they had to pay very high fines to the government. In addition to the palace treasures, Issac was able to immediately settle this troublesome financial affair before the deadline expired.