Chapter 1690: Chapter 101: Court Conference (Part 3)
As a beneficiary, Snow Moon Territory’s economic data from last year was very impressive.
The fiscal deficit remains unavoidable, but the shortfall has narrowed by eighteen percent compared to the previous year.
The peak of the massive deficit has passed, and in subsequent years, the fiscal deficit will decrease annually.
According to the Government Affairs Department’s forecast, the territory is expected to achieve a balance of income and expenditure within five to eight years.
The precondition is: no warfare occurs, and there are no major natural disasters or calamities.
The main issue is that Hudson’s planning for the territory is too costly, with the upfront investment in infrastructure construction alone being a gigantic figure.
Fortunately, new city construction is not on the agenda, otherwise achieving fiscal balance would be far off.
Though New Moon Port’s development is good, its geographical location is too remote to effectively act as an administrative center for the entire territory.
Hudson’s fief is divided into the Mountain Domain and Snow Moon Territory. Currently, both territories are given equal importance, but clearly, Snow Moon Territory has more potential for future development.
Selecting a new location to build a city and establish a new administrative center is only a matter of time.
Considering that Snow Moon Territory’s domain will further expand after the destruction of the Orc Empire, the city-building plan has temporarily been shelved.
However, the planned area is by no means small, with specifications modeled after the Capital.
In a certain sense, this is also Hudson portraying an enticing prospect for his subordinates.
The bigger the cake, the more you can get in your bowl.
To prevent his subordinates from being corrupted by hedonism too early, setting a grand goal is very important.
It’s quite amusing to think about because development has been smooth, Hudson has to redraw the prospect every few years.
Similarly, because the prior goals are continuously being achieved, the "cake" drawn by Lord Ha has always been appealing to everyone.
"The Kingdom’s negotiations with the Frank people and Iberian people are about to conclude.
From the collected intelligence, it’s only a matter of time before the three countries reach a compromise. It can be preliminarily determined that starting in the second half of the year, the Kingdom’s war horses will be able to enter the South Continent.
The disparity in market supply and demand is becoming more pronounced, and the price of war horses is bound to see an upward trend next.
This year’s war horse export quota for the territory is tentatively set at thirty-five thousand. Ten thousand will be exported in the first half of the year, and the remainder will be held for the second half of the year."
Hudson closed the report and said.
War horses are different from other assets, with very high holding costs.
The small nobles were the most eager to sell horses in the second half of last year, virtually clearing out any surplus war horses they held.
Those who dared to hold a large number of war horses and wait were the nobles with considerably thick resources.
However, this kind of hoarding and holding can only be played occasionally. Each year new war horses reach maturity, and the market will eventually reach saturation.
A war horse can enter military service at three years old, and in an era when everyone is expanding production, the time for massive profits won’t last long.
Of course, even if prices implode internally, it won’t lead to a loss.
In an era where nobles control production, after any dramatic market fluctuations, they can team up to stabilize the market.
All the war horses exported by the Kingdom are stallions. If other countries wish to breed their own, they must rely on domestic breeds.
The current quality war horses on the market are hybrids of wild horses and magical beasts.
In terms of breeding technology, the Alpha Kingdom, which owns the largest number of war horses, still holds a significant advantage.
"Duke, the orders we’ve already signed exceed this number.
If we suddenly breach the contract, it may affect your reputation!"
Rudolf whispered a reminder.
Monopolistic business is too easy; in a time of supply shortages, there is never a lack of orders.
The fewer horses traded last year wasn’t because of a lack of orders, but rather due to difficulties in horse transportation.
Most cargo ships weren’t capable of transporting war horses and needed to be upgraded and modified, severely restricting transportation speed.
Many clients placed orders, but due to limited transportation capacity, they hadn’t yet managed to take the horses away, postponing the transaction to this year.
"If it exceeds the quota, let’s stick to the order list!"
Hudson nodded and said.
In dealings, reputation is the key.
Since we signed a contract, it must be honored.
A bit of profit is not enough for him to breach the contract.
Even if the market price multiplies several times immediately, Hudson would still choose to adhere to the contract. This is his basis for standing firm on the Continent.
...
Time flies, and the time for the court meeting has arrived in a blink.
After being silent for a long time, Caesar IV appeared before everyone once again, but his face seemed five years older.
The King’s poor condition directly impacted the mood of many Governors.
The Prince is still nursing, and if anything happens to Caesar IV, the Kingdom’s political arena will be thrown into turmoil once again.
This is undoubtedly the greatest hazard to the strategy for the destruction of the Orc Empire.
The ministers of the Conservative Faction were the most embarrassed, facing nearly inquisitive looks from the crowd; they only felt wronged.
Taking power is one thing, but they’re not treacherous ministers or rebels. After taking over the government, they haven’t caused any trouble for the King.
To allow Caesar IV to recuperate peacefully, they handled minor matters independently, not daring to disturb the King.
Just then, nothing major happened within the Kingdom.
"Your Majesty, what is this?"
Hudson asked with concern.
Even if Caesar IV caused quite a lot of drama, it cannot be denied that he is a good King.
In the ten-plus years since ascending the throne, Caesar IV has indeed made significant contributions to the Kingdom.