The kingdom’s envoy brought new conditions this time, which can be said to have satisfied the requirements of the overseas autonomous territories to a large extent. The royal capital promised that the overseas autonomous territories could maintain a certain degree of independence in administrative measures, personnel promotions, finance and taxation, economics and finance, and military strength. However, an application must be submitted to the royal capital for approval before the relevant policies of the overseas autonomous territories are promulgated and implemented. After verification, only policies that have received approval can be formally promulgated and implemented in the autonomous territories.
Regarding the ocean trade between the two continents that the dominion councilors were concerned about, the king only agreed to the terms of free trade of goods between the two places, allowing goods produced by the overseas dominions to be sold in the kingdom, but refused to change overseas The high customs taxes on goods produced in the Dominion.
According to the Kingdom's special envoy, it is because the Kingdom is currently facing war, economic difficulties, and lack of funds, so it can only find ways to collect property to support this anti-invasion war. The high taxes and fees paid when goods produced in overseas autonomous territories enter customs account for a large proportion of the kingdom's fiscal revenue, so they cannot be abolished. Maybe we can discuss it slowly after the war...
Except for the clause that allows goods from this overseas autonomous territory to be traded freely within the kingdom, the king has not agreed to other clauses related to ocean trade. It has only used euphemistic excuses such as saying that the conditions do not allow it and that it is not suitable to discuss the situation at the moment. of rejection. To this end, the Kingdom's envoy suggested that the goods produced in the overseas autonomous territories could be cooperated with powerful families and firms in the Kingdom, and the sales part should be entrusted to these families and firms.
This actually means that the overseas autonomous territories become the producers, and the products are manufactured and transported to the kingdom, and then handed over to the agencies that have raised funds from established aristocratic families or business aristocrats for market sales. As long as powerful families in the kingdom have pricing and exclusivity rights, everyone will know who will take advantage of such a cooperation.
Parliamentarians related to the manufacturing industry in overseas dominions also split into two factions and argued endlessly. One group believes that as long as you make some money, it doesn't matter who you cooperate with. The main thing is to open up the kingdom's local market, and then think about changing the status quo when you have a firm foothold. The other faction was unwilling to accept that the goods produced in their own workshops were reduced to processed products by the old aristocratic families and commercial aristocrats in the kingdom, and the majority of profits were taken away by these nobles. Therefore, they requested the royal capital to open up the commodity access passes for all local counties in the kingdom. Free business competition is allowed.
The so-called commodity access pass refers to the customs clearance fees during the transportation of commodities and the tax payment license for local buying and selling. It targets the trading of bulk commodities and plays a role in protecting the local commercial economy.
To give a simple example, for example, a large amount of white linen from the overseas autonomous territories has been shipped to the Kingdom. After paying a high customs fee, it is intended to be shipped to the royal capital for sale. It needs to go through ten local counties, and each local county has customs fees. It is 1% of the total value of the goods, which adds up to an additional 10% cost. After subtracting the transportation costs, there is still about 20% profit after shipping to the royal capital.
As a result, during the transportation process, it was discovered that a certain local county was in urgent need of white linen cloth. If it was sold here, it could earn an additional 20% profit. But unfortunately, the entry tax form for this batch of goods has already indicated that the destination is the royal capital. The owner of this batch of white linen has no right to sell it locally. He can only transport the goods to the royal capital. If he insists on selling it locally, the local administrative office can punish him and impose a fine of two to three times according to the total value of the goods. In the end, this businessman is doing a loss-making business, and the gain outweighs the loss...
Therefore, what the parliamentarians from the overseas dominions want is for the Kingdom to open up this commodity access pass. With this certificate, the goods produced in the dominions can be sold anytime and anywhere, and specialty products can be purchased locally. There is no need to go to the royal capital to bargain with the families and firms that monopolize the local county business, and let them shave their heads for nothing. However, the king is unwilling to open this commodity access pass because he is worried about damaging the interests of the families and firms that control the local county business.
Another problem is pricing power. The right to determine the purchase and sale price of a certain product is in the hands of the old aristocratic families and business aristocrats. They use the commercial exclusivity of the trading houses and local counties they control to monopolize the purchase and sale price of a certain product. Regarding the pricing of these commodities, a pricing alliance was formed accordingly to crack down on those illegal firms and business rivals.
As long as the pricing power cannot be released, the buying firms have the final say on the price at which goods produced in the overseas dominions are sold when they arrive in the Kingdom. This greatly damages the interests of merchants in the dominions. This is also the biggest reason for the prosperity of the ocean smuggling trade, because the goods transported by ocean smuggling ships are sold to wealthy and powerful households. After they obtain the goods, they usually hand them over to small traders and sell them in small quantities. It cannot meet the requirements of the Dominion for trading large quantities of bulk commodities.
Perhaps they felt that the Kingdom had made a lot of concessions, so the Kingdom’s special envoys also opened their mouths to the overseas autonomous territories, asking the overseas autonomous territories to provide free grain and other agricultural products worth three million gold crowns to the Kingdom this year and next year, and five million gold crowns. The kingdom has urgently needed mineral resources, as well as an annual tax and tribute of 1.5 million gold crowns to the kingdom. This may be because the envoys from the royal capital saw the economic prosperity of the overseas autonomous territories last time, so this time they significantly increased the amount of taxes and tributes paid by the overseas autonomous territories to the royal capital.
This is only one side of the request. The Kingdom’s special envoy also asked the Dominion Military Region to provide 200,000 new rifles and corresponding bullets to the Kingdom’s Army Department, and requested the Dominion Military Region to provide free production drawings of new rifles and bullets to help the Kingdom in this battle. Victory in the war against the Alliance of Nations in the Eastern Region.
This time, the lion in the royal capital really opened his mouth. Even General Bolognik was amused by the request made by the kingdom's special envoy. Why should the overseas autonomous territories agree to such conditions? The so-called concessions made by the royal capital are all in vain. In name, the overseas autonomous territories are allowed to maintain a certain independent status in administrative measures, personnel promotions, finance and taxation, economics and finance, and military strength. , so what’s going on with the approval and verification powers issued by the royal capital
I didn’t expect that the kingdom’s mainland and the overseas autonomous territories were so far apart. What I wanted to do here had to be approved by the royal capital, and it would take half a year to go back and forth. If the kings don't agree to fight with each other anymore, two or three years will pass by in a flash, and nothing can be done in the overseas autonomous territories. What's the point of such independence? Besides, those ocean trade clauses promise a sale that allows goods to enter the kingdom. In fact, It’s not like the overseas autonomous territories transport goods to the Kingdom and hand them over to the families and firms with backers. It’s useless if they don’t have the pricing and sales power in their hands.
Besides, allowing overseas autonomous territories to provide free grain and agricultural products worth 3 million gold crowns, 5 million gold crowns worth of mineral resources, and 1.5 million gold crowns in taxes and tributes every year is treating the overseas autonomous territories as fat pigs. Slaughter it? I really don’t understand that the powerful men in the capital have water in their heads. How can they be sure that the overseas autonomous communities will agree to such a whimsical and unreasonable request
He also asked the Dominion Military Region to provide the Kingdom with 200,000 new rifles and corresponding bullets, and then unconditionally presented the production drawings of the new rifles and bullets. Where did the royal capital come from with such a big face to ask the Dominion Military Region to meet their request? Do they know how much the Dominion Military Region spent on these 200,000 new rifles? It still owes nearly two million gold crowns to the Overseas Minsheng Bank. If the loan is not repaid, interest will be charged...
Not to mention anything else, just one thrown bomb has taught the Dominion Military District a profound lesson. Back then, Claude sold the manufacturing blueprints and production licenses for the grenade at a low price to five royal manufacturing workshops controlled by established aristocratic families in the kingdom. As a result, he fought a battle with Prince Hansback's troops and gained a lot of money. After the victory, the production drawings of the grenade began to fly all over the sky, and almost all countries in the Farea continent began to manufacture and produce imitations of this grenade.
When the Hicks Kingdom sent the legion to continue the colonial war on the mainland of Nubisia to attack the defensive lines set up in the territorial war zone with grenades, according to General Beach Kerin, he was in a state of confusion and dreaming. I never thought that the throwing bombs invented by me in the war zone would be improved by the enemy to be more powerful than those used by my troops in the war zone. They could be thrown farther and explode with greater power. There were not a few soldiers in the war zone who were injured or killed by the throwing bombs in the Kingdom of Hicks. I feel like I shot myself in the foot...
This may be the thing that the five generals in the war zone regret the most. If the production blueprints for this grenade had not been sold to the military industry controlled by the five old noble families in the kingdom, maybe the last colonial war would not have paid such a heavy casualty price. , ended early. When the Thunder Legion led by Claude attacked the enemy's defensive camps deployed on the northern mountainous border, more than half of them were damaged and fell short.
Nowadays, the new rifles are the basis for the troops of the Dominion Military Region to be ahead of all the armies of all countries in this era. It is a beautiful thought to hand it over to the Kingdom's Ministry of War for free and unconditionally provide the production drawings of the new rifles and bullets. Without Claude's objection, the other four generals in the military region are absolutely impossible to agree to such a request. They do not want to encounter enemies who are also holding new rifles when they lead their troops into battle...
Even though General Bolognik and others already knew that the most important thing about the new rifle was the bullet, and the key to the bullet was the propellant at the bottom of the cartridge case. Without the propellant, the bullet would easily misfire. But no one can guarantee whether the rune magicians under the old noble families will create another similar propellant to serve as a primer for the bullet.
Just like when Claude sold the production design drawings of the revolver to the military manufacturing workshops controlled by the old aristocratic families, they regarded the revolver as an expensive weapon gift and produced revolvers and rotating shotguns. and other exquisite gift weapons. The bullet primers equipped with these weapons are tiny fire crystal chips, a kind of fire crystal produced at the bottom of volcanoes, which has always been regarded as a fire-based magic material. The rune magician cut it into small fire crystals in the alchemy magic array, which became the primer of the bullet.
The exquisite revolver that Sheila obtained from Prince Hansback used this kind of fire chip as the bullet primer. Fortunately, this kind of fire crystal is expensive, and it is very troublesome to process it into fire crystal chips, so it cannot be assembled into bullets on a large scale. However, the primers that become gift weapons equipped with bullets have correspondingly improved the quality of these weapon gifts.
As expected, the Overseas Dominion Parliament and the Dominion Military Region rejected all the requests of the Kingdom's envoy. The Kingdom's envoy was so angry that he publicly cursed the parliamentarians and the five generals of the military region for being ungrateful and forgetful of the kingdom's nurturing grace. The kingdom was facing a critical juncture of life and death. He also coerces the Kingdom to agree to the harsh conditions for overseas autonomous territories to become independent. This is simply shameless and forgets the obligations and duties that an Ovelas person owes to the Kingdom...
Finally, the kingdom's envoy was ordered out of the parliament hall by General Bolognik. Seeing that his trip was fruitless and he returned in despair, the kingdom's envoy simply gave a speech in the central square of Lanhu City. On the one hand, he described the critical situation facing the kingdom, and on the other hand, he denounced the members of the Dominion and the five generals for having no sense of family and country and sitting back and watching the kingdom. Once again suffered the disaster of war and the destruction of the country.
For a time, it attracted the sympathy of many listeners who did not know the truth. They voluntarily donated money to save the country. In one afternoon, they raised nearly a hundred gold crowns, but most of them were low-denomination banknotes. The kingdom’s envoy took these banknotes and finally Go to Overseas Minsheng Bank to exchange.
Just when the Kingdom's special envoy was preparing to continue to smear those congressmen and the five generals of the Dominion Military Region in the overseas autonomous territories, all the newspapers in the overseas autonomous territories published the conditions and demands made by the Kingdom's special envoy to the overseas autonomous territories. Now the people of the entire overseas autonomous territories are boiling. No one can agree to these demands of the kingdom's special envoy. This is not drawing the blood of the overseas autonomous territories, but directly cutting the flesh of the autonomous territories...
If the request of the Kingdom's envoy is agreed to, then one thing must lead to the other, and the Kingdom itself will make various unreasonable demands on the overseas autonomous territories one after another. These demands will eventually fall on the heads of all the people. It concerns the interests of oneself and one's family. No one is willing to give away the income of one year's hard work in vain. Everyone has to support their family and continue to live in Hukou.
At present, the overseas autonomous territories have prosperous development prospects, and the people feel that life is gradually getting better. No one wants this beautiful life and hope to be suspended and interrupted...
So when the Kingdom's envoy went to the square again to give a speech, he no longer received cheers from the audience, but rotten eggs, rotten apples and angry curses from the audience. Immediately afterwards, several patrols arrived and declared the Kingdom's envoy to be a persona non grata in the overseas dominion. He and his entourage would be escorted to the Port of Corpicius and deported within the shortest period of time.
However, while expelling the Kingdom’s envoy from the country, the Overseas Dominion Council announced that it would once again provide the Kingdom with food and agricultural products worth one million gold crowns free of charge to support the Kingdom’s just war against the invasion of the Eastern Alliance of Nations. Immigrants from the Kingdom of Overas to the Overseas Dominions have obligations and duties towards the Kingdom... ...
The Dominion Military Region also announced that it would provide 200,000 Obash III standard matchlock guns and 1,000 old muzzle-loading light infantry field artillery pieces to the Kingdom's Ministry of War to resist the enemy's rearmament. Anyway, these gadgets are all replaced. It takes up space in the warehouse and is not suitable for selling to other countries. They are all active equipment for the Kingdom's local legions, so it is better to send them back to the Kingdom's mainland.
In addition to the replaced matchlocks and infantry artillery, the Dominion Military Region also announced a donation of 20,000 medium and heavy grenades and one thousand throwing devices each to the Kingdom's Ministry of War. This is also useless. Now that there is a new type of light infantry field artillery, the longest range is 1,500 meters, so the medium and heavy projectiles are no longer useful. It is better to give them to the Kingdom and let them hit the Eastern Region National Alliance. Go to the invasion force of a country...
The kingdom's envoy was expelled back to the kingdom in despair. Immediately afterwards, the food and military supplies donated by the overseas autonomous territories to the kingdom were also accepted by people sent by the royal capital. However, the official letters submitted by the overseas autonomous territories to the royal capital were never received by the king. All answers. I don’t know if it’s because of the unfavorable battle situation on the front line, but the royal capital is already making preparations for a large-scale evacuation...
Two months later, the overseas autonomous territories received news from the West Coast Colonies that the kingdom's defensive fronts deployed in four border counties were breached, and the two divisions of the Red Dragon Army and the Guards Army suffered almost all casualties. Currently, the eight legions of the Eastern Region National Alliance are approaching the Ibinist Plain and are about to reach the royal capital city.
On August 17, the 599th year of the Holy Light Calendar, the royal capital fell.
Frederick I gave a speech before evacuating the royal capital, vowing that as long as he still had a musket in his hand, the kingdom would resist to the end and would never enter into surrender negotiations with the invaders...
On August 25th, the five kings of the Eastern Alliance of Nations came to the royal capital and held a grand military parade in the most famous city in the eastern region of Farea. Soldiers from the five legions of the five countries showed off their might. Walk through the famous Stirling Royal Street. This was originally the location where the Kingdom of Overas held a triumphal military parade, but now it has been trampled under the iron hooves and leather boots of the invaders.
King Melchid III of the Kingdom of Hicks appeared at the military parade with the other four kings. He once again repeated his old tune, claiming that the main reason for the continuous war in the eastern part of Pharea in the past hundred years was because of the ambition of the Kingdom of Orvelas. Vigorous, hoping to unify the eastern part of the mainland, for this reason has repeatedly provoked wars with neighboring countries.
This time, the Eastern Regional National Alliance has taught the Kingdom of Overas a profound lesson and occupied the royal capital. The current king, Frederick I, has become a bereaved dog. Melchid III hoped that the troops of the Eastern Alliance of Nations would continue their efforts, unite sincerely, eliminate the remaining armies of the Kingdom of Ovelas, completely bury the birthplace of the war, destroy the Kingdom of Ovelas, and gain control of the eastern region of Pharea. Eternal peace and tranquility...
In this speech, Melchid III clearly proposed the destruction of the Kingdom of Olvilas. At this time, fifteen of the twenty-seven local counties of the Kingdom of Olvilas had fallen into the hands of the alliance army, and even the kingdom The most important areas, the Ibiniste Plains and the capital, the heart of the kingdom, have also been occupied by the invaders. Frederick I moved to White Hart City and announced that he would resist here to the end...
On November 8th, Lady Maria came to the Overseas Dominion as the special envoy of Frederick I...