Claude sighed deeply. The worst-case scenario he had expected had happened.
The merchant fleet was gone. Not only would Morssen's investment fail, it would also mean that hundreds of families in Whitestag would lose their loved ones.
Maria's letter said that the news was still being kept under wraps as the royal court was in a heated argument over the matter. The main issue was that the new sea route would affect the kingdom's naval strategy.
The kingdom's navy wanted to continue with the original plan and cooperate with the army to launch an attack on the alliance, intending to defeat the alliance's naval forces in one fell swoop.
As long as they could occupy a few strategic port cities in the alliance, force them to stop fighting and cede them to the kingdom, the kingdom's naval forces would be greatly expanded. Each port city would have a naval fleet, and the kingdom would no longer have to worry about the sea routes to the seven colonies on Nubissia being blocked by enemy nations.
While the navy's plan seemed perfect, it was filled with uncertainties and unforeseen accidents.
Most importantly, no one could guarantee that the war between the kingdom and the five anti-Austrian countries would go as smoothly as planned, and whether the kingdom would emerge victorious.
What was most critical was how many casualties the kingdom would have to pay in order to emerge victorious. There was also the question of whether the kingdom would be able to ensure that the war wouldn't drag on for too long until the alliance and the kingdom were exhausted and both sides suffered heavy losses. Neither side would be able to emerge victorious or even achieve their strategic goals.
The military strategies and plans of this era were mostly thought up by the upper echelons of the government.
The biggest problem with the lower echelons making plans based on the advice of the upper echelons was that they overestimated their own forces and underestimated their enemies.
They imagined their own troops to be invincible warriors and their enemies to be tofu dregs.
Many plans were carried out only to find out that they were two completely different things. It wasn't uncommon for them to focus on one thing and lose sight of the other.
The navy's plan, for example, didn't actually receive the approval of the army.
If it was carried out according to the plan, the army would have to fork out the most resources to fight against the alliance of five nations. After defeating the enemy and occupying the port cities, the navy would be in charge.
In other words, the army would put in the most effort and bleed the most, but the spoils would go to the navy.
Although the navy also had to face the combined naval forces of the five anti-Auerian nations, the Ministry of the Army still felt that it was ridiculous to launch an all-out attack on the combined land forces of the five nations just to occupy a few port cities. Did they really think that the kingdom's land forces were invincible?
It wouldn't be a problem to deal with one or two nations, but the army wasn't confident in taking on five at once.
The one who opposed the navy the most was the prime minister, Duke Cryus Man Duncan. His father was the former Invincible Marshal Dubok Man Duncan, the right-hand man of Stellin IX.
That was why he wasn't afraid of the kingdom's domineering navy and mocked them in front of Stellin X that their heads were full of water. How could they not see how much bread they could stuff into their mouths? What made them think that the kingdom's Fearless Fleet could defeat the combined fleet of the five anti-Aueran nations?
Just the number of warships the alliance had on display was double that of Fearless Fleet.
Cryus refuted the navy's plan in front of Stellin X and a few of his trusted ministers, angering the minister in charge of the navy, Marshal Andreak von Carlos, to the point of throwing his white gloves at the prime minister's face and drawing his sword to challenge him to a duel. It almost devolved into a farce.
Stellin X was also in a difficult position. Marshal Andreak was his staunchest supporter, especially after he ascended to the throne. He had contributed greatly to the development of Nubissia, building up the kingdom's naval forces, and establishing Fearless Fleet. He was one of his most trusted ministers.
However, Prime Minister Cryus wasn't wrong. The Admiralty's strategic plan was full of loopholes. First, they imagined the naval forces of the five anti-Auerian countries, the Allied Fleet, as the dogs guarding their home. They believed that they wouldn't dare to take the initiative to attack the kingdom.
As long as Fearless Fleet maintained a defensive stance, there wouldn't be a naval battle. Once the kingdom's army occupied a few of their port cities, the alliance would obediently surrender.
That way, Fearless Fleet wouldn't lose any warships in a naval battle and could expand the alliance's power by absorbing the surrendered warships.
Stellin X didn't understand why the navy was so certain that the alliance wouldn't take the initiative to attack.
Marshal Andreak's explanation was that the five nations' naval forces would definitely not be united. They would all want to protect their own warships and wouldn't be willing to lose their naval forces in a naval battle, so they wouldn't take the initiative to attack.
It sounded reasonable, but it wasn't very reliable after some thought. Pinning one's hopes on the enemy's lack of unity was too much of an assumption.
Stellin X felt that Prime Minister Cryus was right. Since they had already opened up another route to Nubissia, what were they waiting for? Time waited for no man. They should start immediately and shift the focus of the kingdom's naval forces to this new route.
Cryus's plan was to split Fearless Fleet into two. One-third of the fleet would remain in Port Neru and be in charge of patrolling the eastern seas of the kingdom.
Two-thirds of the fleet would be moved to Lake Balinga in Whitestag and Whitestag would be separated from the three southwestern prefectures to become a military town under the kingdom's direct jurisdiction. It would be upgraded to a city and a new Storm fleet would be formed to wipe out the pirates along the new route and ensure the safety of the new route.
As for the five kilometer long waterway leading from Lake Balinga to Sharkmouth Bay, the kingdom could organize manpower to expand it into a canal to ensure the new Storm fleet could enter and leave unimpeded.
The kingdom's two voyages to Nubissia every year could be temporarily suspended for a year. It wouldn't be too late to set off again once the new route was safe.
However, the plan proposed by Prime Minister Cryus was strongly opposed by the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Navy.
That plan would require the kingdom to invest a large amount of resources in development and construction, which would most likely result in a reduction in military expenditure.
The army was already preparing to recruit three hundred thousand to five hundred thousand new soldiers to expand the field corps in anticipation of the war with the five anti-Aueran nations.
But now that the new route had been discovered, there was no need for the kingdom to fight to the death with the five anti-Aueran nations over the route to Nubissia. They could simply ease the situation and prepare more troops before starting the war.
Given that, the army could delay the recruitment by a year or two. There was no need for them to start the recruitment right away. They could save up the military expenditure and use it on the expansion of Whitestag into a city.
To the Ministry of the Army, this was like giving away the money that they had already put in their pockets. The military budget that they had every year could only maintain the seven empty field legions, and no one was willing to spit it out when they finally had the chance to take a big bite out of it.
However, the weak couldn't argue with the strong. If Stellin X were to adopt Cryus's plan, the army would have no choice but to accept it.
As for the navy, they objected for the sake of objecting. Andreak wasn't willing to split Fearless into two because it was the main force he had painstakingly built to deal with the five anti-Aueran nations.
He believed that once Fearless was dismantled, it would lose its ability to threaten the alliance. That would break the stalemate and the eastern seas of the kingdom would become a place where the alliance could come and go as they pleased.
However, Cryus believed that it was necessary to dismantle Fearless. A temporary disadvantage didn't mean that the five anti-Aueran nations could invade the eastern seas without fear.
They also had to consider the consequences of angering the kingdom. Just because the five nations were strong at sea didn't mean that they could go up against the kingdom on their own.
If a war really broke out, the two neighboring kingdoms would be the first to suffer. Nasri was the leader of the five anti-Auerian countries, so they were both neighbors and defeated by the kingdom. So, the last thing Nasri wanted to do was to have a land war with another kingdom.
Having been beaten up by the kingdom twice and forced to cede territory for peace, he had already deeply remembered this lesson.
Maria told Claude in her letter that due to the court's disagreement with Cryus's plan, Stellin X was considering whether or not to adopt it. That was why the news of Whitestag opening a new sea route to Nubissia was still being kept a secret.
The reason she wrote to Claude was because Claude's father, Morssen, was also implicated in the matter.
Lady Maria wrote that she had been informed of the circumstances, and that she was willing to intervene in the cause of Mr. Morssen's arrest.
During the new year's gathering, she showed Stellin X the letter Claude wrote and introduced him as her student.
Count Andrek was present at the time and he believed that Morssen and his friends had to be severely punished. It was their adventure that attracted the pirates of Nubissia and caused the kingdom to suffer unnecessary losses.
It was then that the finance minister, Elvic Lee Frank, spoke up for the navy. He mocked that the navy only knew how to spend money on warships every year, only to continue spending it on the sea route. Yet, they weren't as adventurous as the merchants and officials of a small town in the three southwestern prefectures. They knew how to open a new sea route for the kingdom and even succeeded.
Even though their merchant fleet was annihilated by the pirates and they attracted the pirates to the central and western seas of the kingdom, it proved that the new sea route was more than enough to allow the kingdom to travel to and from Nubissia.
Not only did the kingdom not reward the adventurous officials and merchants who opened up a new sea route for the kingdom, they were even prepared to punish them for endangering the kingdom's safety. That was the biggest joke in the world.
From then on, no one would willingly serve the kingdom.
The finance minister's words made sense. Cryus also expressed that punishing the officials and merchants was a small matter, but it would have a huge impact on the kingdom.
It was human nature to chase profit. It was only natural for them to want to use the new sea route to earn some profit for themselves. After all, they had spent quite a lot of money on the new sea route.
Not to mention, their fleet was annihilated by the pirates, which showed how limited their vision was. They didn't understand the bigger picture and ended up like this.
Their confession and the letter from Maria's student also proved that they hadn't forgotten to serve the kingdom. They had planned to report the new sea route to the kingdom after the fleet returned, but they were unlucky.
Maria wrote in her letter that Claude didn't have to worry about his father, Morssen and his friends. With the finance minister and the prime minister speaking up for them, Stellin X wouldn't punish them. At most, he wouldn't be rewarded or punished.
But since they caused the kingdom a loss by hiding the new sea route, Morssen might be relieved of his duties, but he would retain his citizenship.