"Perhaps when we heard this news, the war in the kingdom was over, and the two princes didn't know who actually wore the crown." General Skerry said with emotion.
"It's impossible to decide the outcome in just one battle." Claude said with a sneer: "Prince Hansback has been in battle for a long time and is a cunning and cunning prince. Prince Wedelek is extremely alert and will attack whenever something goes wrong. Run away. As long as nothing happens to the two of them, this civil war in the kingdom will still have to be fought."
The captain of the smuggling ship from the Kingdom of Nasseri said that he left the Gulf of Tonkin in late May this year and transported a shipment of goods to the Principality of Leriolo in the southern part of the Farea continent. Then he received another business there and transported a shipment of goods. The ship's ordnance reaches the west coast of Nubisia. Then he stayed on the west coast for more than a month, gathering a boatload of specialties from the Nubisia continent and preparing to return to the Kingdom of Nasseri. It's just that this time he was unlucky. Following an ocean-going merchant ship, he encountered a pirate attack on the Nubari Islands. He relied on the grenades equipped on the ship to repel two pirate warships that wanted to launch a boarding battle. He broke out of the siege and ran away in a panic. To the port of Vibato
In other words, the captain of the smuggling ship only knew the news about the mainland of the Kingdom of Overas until May. This was because he was used to buying newspaper news. As for the crew members below him, they were not as concerned about the major affairs of various countries as he was. The information they confessed was more based on hearsay, information circulated in private taverns, and gossip.
At this time, the door of the office opened, and General Bolognik walked in. He was very happy to see Claude: "I heard from the command staff that you are here, so come here. You have already passed the confession of the captain of the smuggling ship. Well, now I finally know why none of the smuggling ships I sent out came back."
General Bolognik walked to the wall and pointed to the large map of the Nubisian continent hanging on the wall: "There is still a civil war going on in our kingdom. White Deer City is under the control of Prince Hansback. The people sent there It is very likely that both smuggling ships were detained there. After all, for Prince Hansback, our overseas territorial war zone has become a rebellion, so he interrupted the maritime transportation links between the two continents. Whether they are merchant ships or smuggling ships, the ocean-going ships they lead are the targets of their strict precautions."
Claude nodded, what General Bolognik said made sense. Prince Hansback used the sea route to transport the Blue Feather Legion and a standing legion to bypass the defense line of the Odin Mountains and penetrate directly into the hinterland of the kingdom. He made a surprise attack and captured the royal capital. With such a precedent, the eldest prince was naturally careful about his own retreat and wary of threats from the sea, so it was natural for him to detain all ships that he believed came from rebellious areas.
In particular, Bailu City is located in a strategic location in the southwest, and the sea route is controlled by the Storm Fleet. If the war goes against the odds, Prince Hansback can still retreat to the three southwest counties. As long as he defends White Deer City, he can advance, attack, retreat, and defend. Just like Sterling IX, he recovered with the help of the three southwest counties. His strength finally swept the entire kingdom and ascended to the throne. Perhaps the Great Prince Hansback's idea was to imitate his great-grandfather. In addition, if the Great Prince really couldn't survive, he could use the Storm Fleet to move to a new occupied territory by sea.
The Overseas War Zone directly under the Nubicia continent has fallen out with the eldest prince, and the eldest prince Hansback must also prepare for where the two legions in the war zone will get ships to transport them back to attack White Deer City, and shut him down or beat the dog. of. Once Bailu City is occupied, it means that the eldest prince will have no way to escape. Compared with Prince Wedelek, who didn't care much about the overseas war zones, Prince Hansback obviously knew more about the combat power of the Thunder Legion and the Rock Legion.
"Obviously, we are afraid that the storm fleet under the command of Prince Hansback will attack the overseas territories, and the prince is obviously wary of us." General Bolognik said with a wry smile. Marshal Michelci looked up to him. Generals are not simple characters. From the confession of the smuggling ship captain of the Nasseri Kingdom and the situation of the two ocean-going smuggling ships that never returned to White Deer City for information, the truth was quickly deduced.
General Bolognik picked up a pen and drew a cross on the map representing the blue sea route from White Deer City to the port of Kaubicius, directly under the jurisdiction of Tiersim: "As long as Prince Hansback still controls White Deer City, Then this sea route will be invalid. Without the Dreadnought Fleet, only the Storm Fleet controls the waters of the Kingdom. No matter how many smuggling ships or ocean-going ships we send back, they will fall into their hands. Even if we don’t go to White Deer City, we will It’s the same with other seaports, the sea areas and coastal towns there are dominated by the Storm Fleet.”
"Where's the Eastern Front?" General Skerry asked. What he meant was whether he could send a ship to the Farea continent through the eastern sea channel that used to be used by the Dreadnought Fleet to escort merchant fleets to overseas territories, to inquire about the news or to reconnect with the royal capital.
General Bolodek still shook his head: "It's useless. I sent three ocean-going smuggling ships to the eastern front. Just like here, they all failed to return. The main reason is here, in the waters of the Nubari Islands. , it is a paradise for pirates. There are nearly a thousand large islands, countless pirate gangs, and complicated sea areas. The sea route from the Farea continent to the west coast of the Nubisia continent must pass through the Nubari Islands. If you are unlucky, you will become the target of countless pirate gangs.
When the Dreadnought Fleet escorted the merchant fleet to the overseas territories, the most dangerous area was in the waters of the Nubali Islands. Almost always there are pirate attacks. The largest loss was the loss of fifty-two ships, including fourteen warships and thirty-eight ocean-going merchant ships. But that time was also a big blow to the Nubali pirates. It is said that they were sunk more than a hundred pirate ships, so that in the next four or five years they could only fight around and could no longer dispatch dozens of ships at once. Pirate ships come to attack large merchant fleets. "
Claude raised his eyebrows: "Are the pirates in the Nubali Islands a group or do they act separately?"
"I don't know either." General Bolognik said: "I used to have a classmate from the military school who was assigned to the Kingdom's Navy Department. He told me about the waters of the Nubari Islands and those pirate gangs. In fact, that time in the Nubari Islands The bloody battle was the cause of the five-year war in the eastern region. The kingdom later sent people to sneak into the Nubari Islands and obtain information from the pirates.
It is said that the ambush of the merchant fleet escorted by the Dreadnought Fleet was because the anti-Austrian Five-Nation Alliance at that time paid to hire pirates from the Nubari Islands. They assembled almost all the pirate gangs operating in that sea area to implement a joint operation. It's just that they didn't expect that the losses would be so huge. Several well-known pirate gangs were seriously injured and suffered heavy casualties. After returning, those pirates fed the liaison envoys sent by the anti-Austrian Five-Nation Alliance to the sharks.
After the spy who heard the news came back, the kingdom sent a special envoy to the anti-Austrian Five-Nation Alliance to protest and demand compensation. However, the five countries all rejected the request of the kingdom's special envoy, insisting that they did not know about it. From then on, the relationship between the kingdom and them Then began to turn to opposition. Immediately afterwards, the Kingdom opened a new route from White Deer City to the Direct Territory of Tilsim, no longer traveling from the Eastern Front. Seeing that it could not use the Eastern Front to coerce the Kingdom, the Anti-Austrian Five-Nation Alliance dispatched a combined fleet to invade the Kingdom's waters, and finally As a result, the kingdom couldn't bear it anymore and began to attack the anti-Austrian Five-Nation Alliance."
Claude stood up and came to the map on the wall, looking carefully at the topographic map of the Nubicia continent. The eight overseas territories of the kingdom should be located in the southwest of the Nubisia continent. To the south of the southernmost Arturas Direct Territory is a primitive jungle called the Endless Forest. Further south of the primitive jungle is a large swamp area, which is a mist swamp. It can be said that there is no threat to the south of the overseas territories.
But in the north is the direct jurisdiction of Vibato Port, and in the north is the coastal mountainous area, which is now an independent country of the Nikancha people. This coastal mountainous area is larger than the Beringana Direct Territory, and deep into the sea is the famous Cape Morox. Further north of this coastal mountainous area is the west coast of the Nubisia continent. It is a plain area that is wider than the overseas territorial war zone. It is the colony of seven coastal and island countries in the southern region of the Falea continent.
When Sterling X decided to vigorously develop colonies on the Nubisian continent, the west coast could no longer get involved. But by that time, the kingdom had already established the Port of Patres at the entrance of the Dolinibara River, and discovered a large number of various mineral resources in the Mosilaga Mountains of the neighboring Amphiston Territory. That’s why we decided to expand our colonies. After nearly twenty years, we established seven overseas territories. However, by that time, Vibato Port had already been acquired by the Kingdom of Nasseri. The Kingdom was a step too late, otherwise there would be no such thing. The colonies were at war.
Claude reached out and pointed at the west coast and asked General Bolognik: "How do the colonies of these countries connect with the Farea continent?"
General Bolognik replied: "They organize a large merchant fleet in the first and second half of every year, and then gather warships from several countries to escort them together through the waters of the Nubari Islands. Because they have the same fate as our Kingdom's fearless fleet. Having learned the lesson that caused heavy damage, basically pirate gangs will not have the idea of taking on such a large-scale merchant fleet."
Claude nodded: "In this case, then we don't need to send the smuggling ship directly to the Farea continent. We should let them go to the port cities on the west coast to inquire about the news in the kingdom. I believe that a civil war broke out in the kingdom and the two kings were fighting for the throne. The incident should have aroused interest in many countries, and there is a high possibility that the outcome of the civil war in the Kingdom will be heard on the west coast.
Of course, these news about the kingdom's mainland may have happened a few months ago, but the news that is delayed is better than the fact that we have no idea for a year and a half. At the very least, it can give us a reference for speculation. Find out what outcome we will face. In addition, even if spies are to be sent back to the Falea continent, they should go through the transport fleets of the colonies of those countries on the west coast, so that safety can be guaranteed. "
General Bolognik was a little annoyed: "Claude, you are right, but the problem is that our overseas territories can no longer find suitable and reliable candidates. The kingdom has always monopolized the maritime trade between the two continents and severely cracked down on the ocean shipping. Smuggling ships. Since the outbreak of the colonial war, there have been fewer and fewer smuggling ships traveling between the two continents. The five smuggling ships I sent last time are already the five captains who are familiar with the routes of the two continents that can be contacted in the war zone. , after they leave and never come back, I’m afraid no one will accept our commission and dispatch now.”
Claude shook his head: "We can select suitable candidates among the captains of offshore transportation, provide them with ocean-going merchant ships, and even organize our battle fleet to cruise to the west coast. There are no countries hostile to our Kingdom of Ovilas. , we can use the name of supplies to call at the port to inquire about information, and maybe we can also open up a trade route for overseas territories. The west coast is so big, there are a total of seven countries' colonies, I think they should have what we need, we have it here There will also be special products they need, and sometimes trade does not just refer to ocean trade between two continents."
General Skerry agreed. There were trade exchanges between the local counties in the kingdom, and there were also trading houses among the overseas territories, so Claude's proposal to open up trade routes to the colonies of those countries on the west coast was indeed a good idea.
"Do you have the right people to carry out this plan?" General Bolognik asked.
"Uh" Claude thought for a while and reluctantly gave the only candidate: "Let Colonel Bokoar from the Theater Intelligence Department go. He can even deal with the Nikancha people. I believe he will be like a fish in water on the west coast. But... Equip him with several deputies and guards to ensure his personal safety. After all, he is the only link between our war zone and the Nikancha people."
After returning from the war zone headquarters, Claude returned to Veblen Manor to spend a few days resting with his wife, children and mother. Met with General Skree again. This time, General Skerry presided over the upgrading and expansion of Lanhu Town into a city. According to the new urban planning, the new Lanhu City will be three times larger than the current Lanhu Town, covering almost half of the entire Lanhu City. In terms of scope, this is much larger than the current Laolan Lake Town which only occupies a small area on the shores of Lan Lake.
According to the plan, Claude, as one of the five giants in the war zone, can allocate an area in the new city villa area to build his own manor villa. After the construction of the new city is completed, he will no longer need to rent Mr. Veblen's manor. This is the first public construction project sponsored by Overseas Minsheng Bank after its establishment. It uses the expansion of Lanhu City to hire immigrants from the Amphiston Territory, giving them the opportunity to make money and stimulating economic development within the war zone territory.
Claude returned to Wickham Castle in early September, and held another meeting at the theater headquarters before leaving. General Bolonik believed that the information obtained from the captain of the smuggling ship in the Kingdom of Nasseri was a sign of the civil war in the kingdom. It is unlikely to end in the short term, which just gives the overseas directly-administered territorial theater a good opportunity to adjust its combat power and develop its internal economy.
The only thing to worry about now is the actions of the Hicks Kingdom. There has been no news from the Hicks Kingdom for such a long time, and the Sea King Fleet and the Combined Fleet have never come to attack the coastal ports of the overseas territories. This made the war zone always a little on tenterhooks, as if they were blindfolded. Therefore, General Bolonik hopes that the Thunder Legion can complete various preparation training as soon as possible to prevent a sudden attack from the Kingdom of Hicks.
Colonel Bockal, who was sent to the west coast this time to inquire about information, boarded the ship directly at Vibato Port in late August. Three light ocean-going cruise warships were dispatched to the theater to form a cruise detachment to the west coast. It is estimated that the return time will be Around mid-October
Not even two days after Claude arrived at Wickham Castle, he received a letter from Master Bird, telling Claude the good news that a firearms manufacturing workshop was being built in the municipality of Vibato Port. The construction has been completed, let Claude go to inspect it. At the same time, there is also a personal letter from Mrs. Sonia. She asked Claude what the first product of this firearms manufacturing workshop should be, and whether she could manufacture her new Sonia five-type rifle.