Claude expressed his sincere admiration and contempt for the wishful thinking and whimsical thinking of the royal ministers. He had a heated debate with Prime Minister Blancart, showing disagreement, non-cooperation, and dissatisfaction with the three demands he made. Rental determination. Refuse to increase troops, refuse to invest in railway lines in the eastern region, and refuse to lease seaports that are entrusted to the Dominion Military District.
Regarding the Red Dragon Legion's request for additional troops, Claude laughed and asked: Will His Majesty the King and the royal ministers want to occupy the territory of the Kingdom of Hicks for a long time or forever? If we really need to increase our troops, the Dominion Military Region will have no control over it. As soon as the Dominion Military District is evacuated and the Kingdom of Breault closes its internal channels, the Red Dragon Legion and the reinforced standing army will wait to die in the Kingdom of Hicks. The land channel is closed and the sea route is impassable. You have occupied Xixi. What use are the several local counties in central Texas? Are you ready to establish an independent principality
The plan formulated by the Dominion Military District to attack the Kingdom of Hicks was only to eliminate this mortal enemy country that posed the greatest threat to the Kingdom of Overas and the overseas Dominions. Now that most of the plan has been successful, only a few counties in the center and six local counties in the west have not been raided. As for the eleven local counties in the north, they can be ignored. No one wants to fight in the highlands and die in vain.
Now the Red Dragon Legion is asking for more troops and assuming a posture of long-term occupation. This is simply holding back the Dominion Military Region. Prime Minister Claude and Blancart made it very clear that if you want to increase troops, you can do so at your own risk. After the Thunder Legion and the Storm Legion evacuate as planned, if anything happens to the Red Dragon Legion and the reinforced Standing Legion, just don't blame the Dominion Military Region. Originally it was a war to make a quick profit, but if the Red Dragon Army insists on occupying it for a long time, then the Dominion Military Region will not be able to accompany it.
Prime Minister Blancart felt very conflicted. The report sent by the Red Dragon Legion to the Royal Capital believed that the local counties in the central part of the Hicks Kingdom were elite areas with large populations, rich products, and prosperous commerce. If they could occupy it for a long time, a The local counties can provide the kingdom with at least about 200,000 gold crowns in tax revenue every year. The tax revenue from the three local counties currently occupied by the Red Dragon Legion is enough to meet the Red Dragon Legion's military expenditure for one year.
There are now fifteen counties in the central part of the Hicks Kingdom. The National Guard Army has occupied five counties. The Dominion Military District has also occupied the two central local counties that the road from the Breault Kingdom to the Wangjing area passes through. The remaining eight Of the local counties, the Red Dragon Legion has occupied three, and there are still five local counties that have not been swept away. Therefore, the Red Dragon Legion's request for additional troops is to conquer these five local counties. In this way, the tax revenue of these eight local counties can reach more than 1.6 million gold crowns a year, which is enough to meet the military expenses of three standing legions. And opulence.
It is simply a matter of providing food to the enemy. It is a good idea to let the Hicks help the Overas Kingdom raise a few standing legions and reduce the kingdom's military expenditure. Claude sneered and told Prime Minister Blancart that if the royal capital decided to station troops in the Kingdom of Hicks for a long time, it might as well send a few more legions over. When the Dominion Military District evacuates, the Wangjing area and Wangjing Saint Hippo can be The city of Li'an was surrendered to the troops sent by the kingdom, and he wished them to stay here longer.
Prime Minister Blancart knew in his heart that without the Thunder Legion and Storm Legion of the Dominion Military Region as the main attack, and the eight so-called Hicks Returning Divisions to maintain local order, then this Hicks Kingdom strategy plan would not be successful. . Even the Breault Kingdom is an ally of the Overseas Dominion, not the Overas Kingdom. The channel is now open to allow the Kingdom's legions to pass, and it is also for the sake of the Dominion Military District.
Once the Dominion Military Region withdraws from the Kingdom of Hicks, the Kingdom of Breault will inevitably close this land passage. At that time, whether the royal capital wants to increase its troops or withdraw its troops, it will have to deal with the Kingdom of Breault, and even pay the money to buy the road. Can move troops through their country. The same goes for taking the sea route. Of the five seaports on the southern coast of the Hicks Kingdom, two belong to the Breault Kingdom and three belong to the sphere of influence of the National Protectorate. In addition, the kingdom does not have as large an ocean-going transport fleet as the overseas autonomous territories. . ...
The Red Dragon Legion wants to occupy several local counties in the central part of the Hicks Kingdom for a long time. The basis for collecting taxes to support the army is to shelter them under the wings of the Overseas Dominion Military District. If the Dominion Military District evacuates the Kingdom of Hicks, the Red Dragon Legion will become a lone army, even if the Kingdom adds a few more standing legions. They will become a thorn in the side of the Hicks Kingdom resistance elements and the target of all Hicks separatist forces. These forces will attack and destroy the Red Dragon Legion, these invaders from the Ovelas Kingdom, to show their patriotic enthusiasm and show their side. Strength...
To be honest, the Red Dragon Legion will become the scapegoat for the demise of the Hicks Kingdom. As long as the Dominion Military District evacuates, the Hicks separatist forces that have been supported will attack the Red Dragon Legion. They can't help the Dominion Military District and are afraid of the attacks and super combat power of the Thunder Legion and the Storm Legion. This does not mean that they are also afraid of the Red Dragon Legion of the Kingdom of Ovelas. Once the Dominion Military District leaves, maybe the National Protectorate Army will fight against the Red Dragon Army to seize territory and expand its strength, and it's justifiable...
Claude told Prime Minister Blancart very clearly that the Thunder Legion would soon complete the strategy plan of sweeping through the nine eastern counties, and would return to the King's Saint Cyprian City to rest in two months, while the Storm Legion would rotate with the Thunder Legion. When attacking, the first target to attack is the five local counties in the central region that have not been raided.
As for the target of the separatist forces to be supported, the Autonomous Territory Military District has also been determined. After the remaining five central local counties are swept away, they will be handed over to the Hicks armed organization called the Patriotic Front. Therefore, the Red Dragon Legion should give up the idea of long-term occupation and let the kingdom increase its troops, abandon the three occupied local counties as soon as possible, and immediately attack other local counties, so that they can make a lot of money before withdrawing.
Of course, if the Royal Capital insists on sending more legions and implementing long-term occupation, the Dominion Military Region will not object, as long as the Kingdom does not regret it in the future. At the same time, don’t expect the Autonomous Territory Military Region to send troops for rescue. Speaking of which, there are records to prove it. If any unexpected events occur in the future, the King’s Capital should not shirk the responsibility on the Autonomous Territory Military Region. Anyway, the Autonomous Territory Military Region has done its part with good words and persuasion. .. ...
The topic of increasing troops passed by, and Claude didn't want to say more. Then Prime Minister Blancart brought up the matter of building a railway, but Claude still expressed opposition and refused to allow overseas dominions to invest in this railway line that would bypass most of the eastern region.
Prime Minister Blancart persuaded Claude with earnest words that the Dominion Military Region should use the captured war proceeds to invest in this eastern railway, which would benefit the country and the people. And the returns are huge. Think about the railways in overseas dominions. Until now, the benefits have been several times the cost. The wealth of shareholders of all railway companies has doubled several times...
Claude sneered, pulled up the map of the eastern region of Farea Continent, and asked Prime Minister Blancart since His Majesty the King Frederic I came to the throne, has the Kingdom invested a single gold crown in these areas of the eastern continent? No, nothing. Even the local garrison was entrusted to the Dominion Military District because the kingdom could not afford the cost of garrisoning. However, these areas have suffered from repeated wars and economic downturns, and the revival of handicrafts and commerce is far away. They can only rely on planting and breeding to barely obtain some basic tax revenue to pay for official expenses...
A railway line in the eastern region like this is of strategic significance to the kingdom. It can heal the war wounds of people in various regions, increase the influence of the kingdom, and strengthen the consciousness of a country. No matter how big the economic difficulties are, the kingdom should take the lead. Build this rail line. But the only thing that cannot be calculated is the economic calculation, using investment income or something to induce overseas autonomous territories to allocate funds to build this eastern railway, because for the autonomous military region, this railway line is meaningless...
Claude made a calculation for Prime Minister Blancart on the spot. If the overseas dominions invested in this eastern region railway line, the payback date would be at least thirty to fifty years. Prime Minister Blancart was still unconvinced, but Claude proved this with detailed data. The economy in these areas was in a slump, and it would take a long time for commerce and handicrafts to recover. Most of the towns were connected by small traders, and there was no big business at all. Business houses came to invest and open handicraft workshops.
In addition, don't forget that the Dominion Military Region owns the entire eastern coastline, and a huge ocean-going transport fleet has replaced the eastern railway line. Calculating distance and speed, the ocean-going transport fleet traveling along the coastline is even faster than the train. After all, the speed of the train now does not exceed thirty miles per hour. Therefore, building this eastern region railway line will be thankless for the Dominion Military Region, and it will also be taken as a big deal...
Prime Minister Blancart said angrily that Claude was a miser. Why didn't he invest so much money in the Kingdom of Hicks into something beneficial to the kingdom's economic revival? Claude replied with a wry smile. First of all, these seizures were not his own, and they did not all belong to the Dominion Military Region. They also needed to be divided with the Dominion Council. Many of the proceeds from the seizures had to be invested in the construction of the Beibu Gulf Territory.
Second, the Dominion Military Region is short of money. Don't forget that there is still a war for freedom and liberation of the indigenous peoples on the west coast of the Nubicia continent. As a behind-the-scenes supporter, the Dominion Military Region has invested more than 10 million gold crowns in capital costs, and it is estimated that at least 30 million gold crowns will be needed in the next few years. As for the recovery of these investments, it will only be possible after the situation in these indigenous nation-states has stabilized, which will also be a few years later...
Since the first two requests were rejected by Claude, Prime Minister Blancart believes that the third, even more unreliable, loan request will also be rejected by Claude. As expected, Claude ridiculed the big bosses of the royal court. They all had such a beautiful idea. They leased the place that was originally entrusted to the Dominion Military Region to the Dominion Military Region. Do you really think that Claude is a traitor
However, Prime Minister Blancart could not figure out why the Dominion Military Region was willing to spend huge sums of money to lease Patkara Port from the Kingdom of Breault. He said that after receiving the news, he looked at Patkara Port on the map for half a day and collected all the information about Patkara Port, but found no difference between it and other seaports. And didn’t the Dominion Military District say that it would withdraw its troops from the Kingdom of Hicks? Why did the Patkara Port be leased so that subordinate units of the Dominion Army could have a garrison base
Claude picked up a red pen and drew a line marked on the sea between the Gulf of Tonkin and the Port of Patkara on the map, and then told Prime Minister Blancat that this sea line was nothing surprising from a military point of view and was ordinary. But if you look at it from a business perspective, if you think about it more, you will understand that if this merchant land develops, it will become a famous golden sea route...
Prime Minister Blancart is naturally not a stupid person. After looking at it for a while, he finally understood the intention of the Dominion Military Region in leasing Patkara Port. This is not only to maintain the existence and influence of the Dominion Military Region over the Hicks Kingdom, but also to maintain its presence and influence in the Kingdom of Hicks. He wanted to get a share of the huge profits from the future maritime trade between the two places. What you pay now will be paid back in the next few years.
So Prime Minister Blancart began to carefully examine the seaport cities in the eastern region on the map, hoping to develop a seaport town in a coastal area and get a share of the business activities on this golden sea route.
Claude told him bluntly, stop dreaming. It would be very difficult for the royal capital to make a profit without investing even a penny in these seaport cities on the eastern coast. Unless these seaport cities in the eastern region are allowed to develop freely in the next twenty or thirty years, they will be able to form a certain scale and get some leftovers from this golden sea road...
But isn’t the Florik seaport developing well? Prime Minister Blancart pointed to the map and argued unconvinced.
Claude laughed. Florik Seaport was the most complete and largest seaport city in the original Principality of Modera. During the First Eastern War, it was also the base and base camp of the anti-Austrian Five-Nation Alliance fleet. The later Grand Prince Hansback returned to the newly occupied territory in the east after the kingdom's civil war, and was also assassinated in the palace of the city lord in this seaport city.
After the Dominion Military District decided to intervene in the Second Eastern Regional War, the Thunder Legion landed at the Florik Seaport, catching the Alliance army by surprise, and launched a surprise attack on the Royal City of Polyvisia in the Kingdom of Nasseri from the Sidings area, laying the foundation for the third war. The foundation of the victory in the Second Great War in the Eastern Region enabled the Kingdom of Ovelas to turn from the brink of subjugation to victory and become the dominant power in the Eastern Region.
Therefore, Florik Seaport has become the most important logistics supply base of the Dominion Military Region in the eastern region of Farea. All dock facilities and urban traffic roads have been maintained and repaired by the garrison. This is what Florik Harbor looks like. The main reason why it developed better than other seaport cities had nothing to do with the indifference of the royal capital.
Now Prime Minister Blancart said that the development of Florik Seaport was good, which just gave Claude a chance to slap him in the face. Claude told the Prime Minister, do you know the reason why Florik Seaport feels that it is developing better than other seaport cities in the eastern coastal region
That's because the ocean-going transport fleet of the Dominion Military Region has always used Florik Seaport as a logistics supply base. Almost half of the agricultural products in the Rimodra region are gathered in this seaport city and become supplies purchased by the ocean-going transport fleet. The Dominion Military Region has always paid according to the price and traded fairly. This has given the Florik Seaport a bit of business atmosphere and vigorous vitality.
It's just a pity that after so many years of efforts by the Dominion Military Region, Florik Seaport is still a place for selling agricultural products and has not formed a large commodity trading market. Most of the farmers and breeders in the Rimodra area trade the materials they produce to the logistics procurement department of the Dominion Military Region and then go back. They rarely purchase goods produced in overseas Dominions. People in this area are more accustomed to a self-sufficient small-scale farmer economy...
When Claude said this, Prime Minister Blancart knew that his visit this time was in vain. Claude did not agree to any of the three requests, but was ridiculed by him. This made Prime Minister Blancart very embarrassed. But there was nothing he could do. Claude had already stated that the Dominion Military Region refused to cooperate.
It is impossible to increase troops at your own risk. It is impossible to invest in railways. It is impossible for the autonomous military region to abandon its martial arts. If there is an ocean-going cruising transport fleet, there is no need to build railways to compete with yourself. Is it just that you have enough to eat and have nothing to do? As for the lease, it is even more of a joke. The Dominion Military Region looks down upon these semi-abandoned seaport cities on the eastern coast.
So is there any way you can raise funds to build this eastern railway line? This is Prime Minister Blancart's first question.
Claude's answer was to sell railroad bonds and set the interest rate at a high point, such as a three-year or five-year term, with an interest rate of 15% to 25% upon maturity. A batch is sold every year, such as a quota of five million gold crowns. Anyway, the railway will take several years to build, so railway bonds can be slowly sold to raise funds and earmarked for the purpose. If the interest rate is too high, sell more bonds and then use the proceeds from railway operations to repay it...
Is there any seaport in the Kingdom that the Dominion Military Region would like to lease? This is Prime Minister Blancart's second question.
"Yes," Claude replied: "White Deer City, if the Kingdom is willing to lease White Deer City to the Overseas Dominion Military Region, then the rent is twice as high as Patkara Port. The Dominion Military Region is also willing. But I hope the lease term can be extended to ninety Nine years..."
Prime Minister Blancart stopped talking. The kingdom would not agree to this request. White Deer City is an important town in the three southwest counties and is directly connected to the trading port of the overseas autonomous territory. When it develops, the ocean trade between the two continents will make every inch of Bailu City valuable and become a treasure trove for the kingdom itself.
Prime Minister Blancart left with a melancholy look on his face.
Claude ordered his adjutant, Captain Fahsselin: "Has Albert, who calls himself my elder brother, been waiting in the conference room? Let him come in, and let me see what he has to say..."
Soon, Albert, whom he hadn't seen for more than 20 years, appeared in Claude's office. What was different from Claude's impression was that he was dissolute, stingy, hypocritical, jealous of his younger siblings, and not like an elder brother. The prodigal brother Albert has now become a stable middle-aged gentleman. He graciously thanked Captain Fahsselin who led him in, and then greeted Claude with a friendly smile: "Long time no see, Claude."
Claude stared at Albert's face, expressionless: "I want to know, when I was awarded the title, the character I chose was Chinese. How did your character "mulberry" come from?"