The damned beastmen are to blame, their increasingly frequent invasions force the kingdom's army to spend a huge sum of money each year on the construction and repair of fortresses and strongholds, and the scale of the army has had to expand incessantly, already more than doubling the size it was during the kingdom's most peaceful times. This has put tremendous pressure on the kingdom's finances, and the astronomical pension required every year for the soldiers who die or are disabled in battle when repelling the beastman army is nothing short of astronomical.
The budget for soldier pensions is always grossly overspent at the beginning of each year, leaving the Finance Minister no choice but to shamelessly borrow from Great Lords, Big Merchants, and even Usury Merchants by the end of the year. This has become a routine for the finance department of the Kingdom of Nicosia.
