It was just as autumn was beginning to deepen.

　"Hmm, not enough money.
　"Huh, ...... not enough money, huh?

　While eating lunch with Karolina and Lunalie, Hercule muttered to himself.
　Karolina nodded her head to Hercule's muttering.

　"You stopped the huge tribute payment to Fahls, right?
　"Well, yeah.
　We got a lot of compensation, didn't we?
　Well, we got a lot of money, yes.
　Coffee and ash porcelain are selling well.
　They are selling well.
　And the tax revenue hasn't gone down.
　Well, yeah.

　In fact, the income should have increased.
　There's no such thing as a shortage of money.

　Why don't you have enough money?
　That's what I'm talking about. ......

　As Hercule was about to answer, Lunalie, who was struggling with her food with an unfamiliar knife and fork, muttered.

　"Increased spending?
　"Well, I suppose so.

　Hercule nodded broadly.

　"...... His Majesty's Arc de Triomphe?
　It was built with reparations. I have nothing to do with it.
　And the construction of the colonial city on the Taurian Peninsula?
　That was reparations, too.
　A massive flood control project started in the province of Misrule. ......
　That's also reparations.

　Hercule used the reparations he received from the Kingdom of Fars mainly for public works.
　The money he lent to the Kingdom of Hayastan also came from reparations.

　He also invested in the development of the textile industry, the expansion of new farmland, and the development of mines. ......
　The reparations money was used to invest in the development of various industries.

　The reparation money is just a temporary windfall. ......
　It is not suitable for projects that require a large amount of maintenance costs every year.

　On the other hand, it is suitable for projects that require a large amount of money at once.
　That is why Hercule used the reparations money for the above projects.

　What else did you use the money for?
　What else did you spend it on?　We also expanded the size of the new bureaucracy. ...... The expenses were much larger than expected. We can't squeeze any more money out of the military budget.
　I understand that you've increased the number of ...... officials, but what do you mean by pensions and orphanages?
　That's what I meant.

　This time, Hercule has unusually dabbled in social welfare.

　A survivor's pension is a system that pays pensions to wives who lost their husbands and children who lost their fathers in the war.

　Until now, large sums of money have been paid to the bereaved families at once in the form of compensation. ......
　In this way, the money was quickly used up and many people became destitute.
　In addition, the number of family members was not taken into account at all, and the amount was the same for all, which was unequal.

　And in some cases, the money was not paid due to financial difficulties.

　Therefore, Hercule decided to change the system and to pay a fixed amount per year according to the number of dependents of the deceased.

　Also see ......
　A system was also introduced to pay a fixed amount of pension to wounded soldiers and their families (depending on the degree of injury).

　Together, these two systems were known as the Soldiers' Pension System.

　There are several reasons why Hercule introduced this system.

　One practical reason is to prevent the deterioration of public safety.
　It was intended to prevent the surviving family members from committing crimes for a living, or from being robbed for the large amount of compensation paid at once.

　In addition, soldiers would not be afraid to fight to the death if the government would compensate them for the lives of their families left behind. In fact, they would fight desperately for their families.
　This is also a morale booster.

　The official reason is to reward the soldiers for their humanity.
　Well, there's no reason to explain this. It means what it says.

　And finally, Hercule's personal and emotional reason is ......

　He could not stand the situation where the families of the soldiers who risked their lives to fight with him were impoverished - their wives were prostitutes, their children were thieves, and in some cases they were sold into slavery.

　The man Hercule is only human, and he is subject to favoritism.
　For him, the most adorable people (excluding those close to him, such as Karolina) are the soldiers who faithfully follow his orders, fight and die, and their families.

　It is only natural for them to treat such cute and lovely soldiers and their families well.

　Incidentally, the next cutest thing are the bureaucrats who work with you.
　Hercule, who runs the bureaucracy, knows better than anyone else that in order to rule the vast nation of the Lemurian Empire, the bureaucrats must work hard and be loyal.

　It is natural for a monarch to want to reward loyalty.

　Bureaucrats and civil servants, especially tax collectors, are easily disliked, but the psychology of Hercule is that when he sees a bureaucrat who is disliked by the people, he wants to love him more and more.

　In contrast, what Hercule hates the most are the citizens of Nova Lemuria, who don't pay much in taxes, but are still very annoying.


　The orphanage is located at ......
　Well, I guess I don't need to explain.

　It is also for humanitarian reasons, but really for security reasons.

　However, ...... Hercule's personal philosophy is that human beings do not have to be equal, but they should be as fair as possible, and they should be given equal opportunities.

　I don't believe that all children should be given equal education. ......
　But at the very least, they should be nurtured enough not to become criminals.


　The expansion of the bureaucracy will be discussed later.

　As for the orphanages, we were happy to support the churches and monasteries, but ...... the pensions were surprisingly costly.
　That's ...... true, I suppose.



　It costs a certain amount of money to feed one person for a year.
　It is only natural that thousands or tens of thousands of ...... people would require a huge amount of money.

　So, when you say ...... military expansion, do you mean adding new infantry?
　No, this time it's cavalry. We've got enough infantry.

　In the battle against the Kingdom of Foulds, Hercule realized that his cavalry force was insufficient. 　
　If he was not careful, he might have even been able to decide the art of war.

　The total number of cavalry in the Kingdom of Fars is said to be around 80,000. ......
　It was Hercule's goal to have at least 40,000 .......

　In the event that you're not sure what you're looking for, you'll be able to find a lot more information here.

　The total population of the elves, including pure-blooded high elves and half-blooded elves, is about 2 million.

　In addition to warfare, the elves' spiritual arts are used in a variety of other industries. ......
　The Lemurian Empire's agriculture, mining, forestry, fisheries, and other economic activities will be adversely affected if too many people are mobilized for war.

　In addition, ...... the total population of the Lemurian Empire is 20 million, so the Long Ears (Elves) are only 10% of the total population.
　Since the infertile Elves are less likely to have children, and their population recovery rate is slower, an increase in the number of deaths in a war could shake the nation itself.

　Incidentally, this is not really relevant here, but until recently, the population of the Lemurian Empire was around 12 million.
　The population of the Lemurian Empire has increased by 8 million in the past few years.

　What does this mean?　
　Well, it's simple.

　Eight million newborns were born.



　The ...... is a joke, of course.
　When Hercule abolished the per capita tax, people who said they did not exist at the time of the population census a few years ago started to say they did exist at the time of the population census after the abolition.

　Hercule didn't know whether to lament the fact that the percentage of the total population of the Long-Eared (Elves) had decreased, or to be happy that the total population had increased.


　I'll leave it at that.


　"I don't think mobilizing a few more tens of thousands will have much of an impact.

　Cavalry takes a long time to train, and the maintenance cost is enormous.
　However, their mobility and breakthrough ability cannot be replaced by other armies.

　Therefore, the Lemurian Empire trained its most reliable cavalrymen, the elves, and sent them into battle.
　Since the founding of the Empire, it has always been the Elves who are the main force in war.

　To some extent, Hercule has followed this principle.

　Hercule intends to follow this principle to some extent, but ......
　I thought it was necessary to change it in some cases.

　Do you need more heavy cavalry?
　No, it's the medium cavalry (cataphracts). The destructive power of the heavy cavalry (cribanarius) is certainly impressive, but ...... its mobility is inferior. For flexible military operations, you need medium cavalry (cataphracts).

　Heavy cavalry (cribanarius) and medium cavalry (cataphract).

　Both are a type of heavy cavalry, but there are subtle differences.

　The heavy cavalryman (clibanarius) wears iron armor on his horse.
　On the other hand, the horse of the medium cavalryman (cataphract) wears no armor.

　In other words, the heavy cavalryman is heavier, more destructive, and therefore slower.
　That's why.

　"How much does ...... cavalry cost to maintain?

　Lunalie asks Hercule, not quite following the conversation and feeling left out.
　In the past, the Kingdom of Hayastan had forbidden armaments for a long time, so Lunalie lacked knowledge in that area.

　"Hmm, yes... I'd say about a Lemurian gold 'pea'.
　

　Lunalie counted, and then her eyes widened.

　"...... expensive.
　I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not. My heavy cavalryman (Cribanarius) costs about that much.

　Maintaining a horse requires a lot of fodder, so maintenance costs are inevitably high.

　So how many cataphracts do you want?
　One corps first. But the cost is insufficient.
　I see. ...... Well, if you want to compete with the cavalry of the Kingdom of Foulds, you'll want at least three legions of cavalry.

　I'm not sure what to make of it.
　It is understandable that the Lemurian Empire would need that many cavalry to ensure its security.

　Lunalie, on the other hand, was in a state of mindlessness.

　"Lemurian gold 'peas', Fals silver 'bacun' ......

　That's an amount of money that the Kingdom of Khayastan couldn't squeeze out even if it stood on its head.
　Lunalie reaffirmed once again that Lemuria and Farus were superpowers.

　"So, Your Majesty. I'm sure you've already thought of a way to deal with this.
　"Oh, you know exactly what I mean.
　Well, we've known each other a long time.

　When Hercule expressed his worries with a sigh, he said: ......
　It's a great way to show that you already have a solution and that you've come up with a way to get out of a difficult situation.

　"So, what's the solution?
　"A second round of tax reform and ......, and I'm thinking of hiring an expert.

　Hercule grinned.