"General, I have a question." Claude pondered and asked, "It's about the 100 thousand families. What do you mean by giving each family a piece of property?"
"It's actually quite simple. For example, if they want to farm, we'll just give them a plot of land. Anywhere from 30 to 50 mu is fine.
All we need to do is make it clear that they own the land and ignore everything else.
"You should know that it's hard for them to become landlords in the kingdom as peasants.
"Only in the colonies can they own the land we give them for free.
"As for how well they manage the land in the future, that'll depend on their own efforts.
"That's not something for you to worry about as the field marshal. All you have to do is supervise the civil affairs department under HQ to make arrangements for them.
"In fact, Anfiston alone is enough to accommodate all of them. The land here is vast and sparsely populated. We just need to build two or three towns at a suitable location to accommodate them.
"Also, the development of the mines here requires manpower. If they don't want to farm, they can find a well-paid job in the four mountain cities."
Claude nodded. If that was the case, the war zone would be able to handle even a hundred thousand families.
All they had to do was give them land and nothing else. They didn't even have to invest in the initial development funds.
After all, the peasants had received settlement fees from the new nobles when they migrated. That was enough for them to buy their own production materials and develop the land they were given.
A hundred thousand families would have one retired soldier in each family. Coupled with the twenty thousand people from the 20 garrison camps, that would make up a total of 120,000 veterans who had fought in the five years of war. Most of them had some battlefield experience.
Coupled with most of Ranger's men who had been transferred to the garrison forces and the two colonial corps, the war force was rather ample.
Five enhanced regiments, each with a full complement of 32,000 men, totaling 160,000 men.
Shiks, on the other hand, was going to form ten standing corps with 60,000 men each. That was a total of 600,000 men.
They had nearly four times the number of soldiers, but their main focus was on defense. With the natural stronghold of Dorinibla River and the Claude Defense Line that was getting better by the day, it wasn't like they had no chance of winning the war.
"General, there really isn't a problem in terms of troop replenishment.
But what about the military expenditure, equipment, and logistics? "Claude asked his final question.
"Ahem, ahem …" Michelic coughed and looked at Claude helplessly. "I'll have to explain everything to you one by one. The supplies and the daily expenditure of the troops are mainly provided by Mormaly, Aduras and Tyrrsim.
Our colonies have always been flourishing in agriculture, and are the kingdom's largest cash crop production base. The army's daily consumption can be replenished on the spot.
As for weapons, equipment, and ordnance, the kingdom's Ministry of Army had already promised to provide the necessary equipment for the five divisions, which would be delivered within three months.
However, due to the war budget being overspent, this was the last batch of military supplies they could provide.
In the future, the consumption of ordnance and ammunition for training will be provided by the firearms repair workshop and ammunition workshop here. We have to allocate funds to purchase these items.
"As for the military expenditure, the Ministry of Army stated that they can only allocate 100,000 crowns for the next two years to maintain the war theatre until Shiks launches another attack.
"However, due to the current tense situation on Nubissia and the war theatre's war preparations, the prime minister, Duke Cryus Man-Duncan, has agreed to the Ministry of Army's proposal to allocate taxes from the colonies to us for military expenditure.
According to previous tax records, Mormaly, Arturas, and Tyrrsim's taxes added up to nearly 300,000 crowns a year.
I think this is enough to cover the daily military expenses of five reinforced divisions, so I agreed to the plan proposed by the Ministry of the Army. As for the rest, we will have to raise it ourselves in the theatre and save on expenses … "
Claude's expression was rather grim. A folk with a strength of 32,000 men would require 50,000 to 60,000 crowns in salary alone.
A soldier's salary was around two crowns a year, and that didn't include benefits and allowances. Officers' salaries were double that.
Five enhanced folk would require more than 300,000 crowns a year. Mormaly, Aduras and Tyrrsim's taxes were basically all spent on salaries.
However, salaries alone weren't enough. Humans had to eat and horses needed to be fed, so the daily expenses were huge.
Even though the logistics were provided by the three colonies, they could only provide food, horse feed and meat reserves. Fresh fruits and vegetables had to be purchased on the spot.
Apart from that, the war theatre also had to allocate funds to the firearms repair workshop and ammunition workshop. The consumption of ammunition and firearms during training was also a huge expense.
After the five folk were reorganized, they also had to conduct all sorts of field drills to prepare the soldiers for the upcoming colonial war.
That alone was a huge sum. The ministry of the army only allocated 100,000 crowns for the war theatre's upkeep, which wasn't even enough to last long.
According to Claude's calculations, they would need at least 400,000 crowns to complete all the preparations for the five folks in the next two years.
Even though Michiel said that the war theatre could fund its own expenses, it was easier said than done.
The theatre of operations seemed to have four overseas colonies, but the two colonies, Cromwell and Balingana, had been fortified and turned into empty land. There was not even a single resident there, so who could raise military funds?
Robisto, on the other hand, was a heavily fortified region that relied on the Dorinibla River. There weren't many inhabitants there anymore.
The only exception was Anfiston, which had the largest mining industry among the seven colonies. It had four cities, one town, and a fishing port. Apart from Lanu and the fishing port town, which could provide some food, meat, and fish, the other four cities were all mountain cities. They mainly focused on mining and had to spend a large sum of money every year to purchase food and other daily necessities from other colonies.
Even though a hundred thousand immigrant families were moving to Anfiston to work in agriculture and change the structure of the colony, they were exempted from taxes for the first three years, so it didn't help the military budget at all.
According to Anfiston's tax collection records, it would be good if the three colonies could collect a hundred thousand crowns a year.
"General, no matter how we calculate, we're still short of 200,000 crowns for the next two years.
This will have a huge impact on our five divisions' ability to complete their combat preparations and set up their defensive lines.
The ministry of the army isn't willing to provide us with sufficient funds. Are they planning to give up on all the colonies? "Claude complained with a bitter smile.
"How did you calculate it?"
Michelic was curious as to how Claude was able to come up with that conclusion. He tactfully said, "I think that's something for the logistics department to worry about. As the highest commander of the war theatre, your focus shouldn't be on something as trivial as spending. Getting your troops ready for combat is the most important thing."
"General, you're wrong. Fighting a war is all about logistics. Sufficient military resources and supplies are the prerequisites for winning a war," Claude retorted and reported the results of his calculations in detail.
"War is all about logistics?"
Michelic pondered for a moment, but his attention was immediately drawn to Claude's calculations.
After hearing Claude's report, Michelic smiled. "Claude, you made a mistake when you calculated the salaries of the soldiers.
Don't forget that Ranger's soldiers will be transferred to the garrisons and their salaries will have to be adjusted.
For example, the soldiers of Ranger get eight riyases a month. That's one thale.
A soldier gets 12 thales a year, which is two crowns and two thales more. So, you'll need at least 300,000 crowns a year for five folk.
But you forgot that Ranger is a standing corps of the kingdom. Our salaries and benefits are actually double of those second-rate corps, in other words, the local garrisons.
The salary of a garrisoned soldier is four riyases a month, and that's six riyases after the welfare allowance. That's seventy-two riyases a year, which is around seven thales. That's one crown more than two silver thales a year, so a folk's salary is fifty thousand crowns a year at most. That's a total of two hundred and fifty thousand crowns for five folk. That's an extra fifty thousand crowns a year for you. "
Claude was taken aback. "General, I don't think many people in Ranger will stay if they're transferred to the garrisons, right?"
Michelic shook his head with a smile. "Claude, the ones transferred to the garrisons are the veterans of the original folk and not the new recruits who joined after the Balingana campaign. There's only around 20,000 of them.
As the backbone of the five strengthened folk, even though their salaries will be reduced, they'll all be promoted one rank as compensation.
That way, they'll be treated pretty much the same as when they were in Ranger.
"You should know that, compared to the salary, the promotion is more important.
"That's because it affects their future in the army and the benefits they'll receive after they retire, as well as the reduced years of service.
"Even though the five folk you belong to will be part of the garrisons in the future, they'll still be part of the kingdom's official ranks.
"That's why most of the Ranger soldiers who are transferred to the garrisons are satisfied with their promotions and not their salaries.
"The 20,000 plus Ranger soldiers will form the backbone of the five folk. Each folk has around 4,000 people. The rest are the new recruits from the garrison and the immigrants. As for the two overseas corps, they're part of the second line, so their salaries won't be reduced.
That's why your salary shouldn't be calculated according to Ranger's. That way, you'll be able to save a hundred thousand crowns. "
So that's how it is. Claude finally understood that he had misunderstood.
Just as Michelic said, if he calculated the salaries of the garrisons and second-line soldiers, he'd be able to save at least a third of their salary and benefits. That meant that the remaining gap would only be a hundred thousand crowns for two years and fifty thousand crowns per year. If he tried his best to save as much as possible, he might still be able to get by.
"Also, don't forget about Ranger's old base. We have quite a lot of food, ammunition, and other supplies we seized from the enemy in the logistics base.
"I've ordered the two overseas corps to send people to the waters near Port Patres and Dorinibla River to salvage the sunken ships of Seaking.
"We've already fished out a few hundred cannons from the ships. We can use the cannons on the enemy warships to strengthen the firepower of the two defensive lines. That'll save us a lot of money.
"As you know, the cannons on the enemy warships are all of the same standard, so it'll save us a lot of trouble in the production of ammunition.
"Another thing is that even though the ammunition and supplies used by the Shiksan army aren't compatible with ours, they can be modified to match our army's needs. That way, we'll be able to reduce the cost of raw materials and only have to pay a processing fee."
Michelic smiled at Claude. "I believe you can rest easy now. The supplies and supplies stored in the supply base are worth around two hundred thousand crowns.
When Ranger returns home, they'll be left behind in the war zone. That'll be enough for you to form five folk without having to worry about logistics.
"Oh, there's another piece of good news.
"When the supplies from the ministry of the army arrive, there'll be an order for promotions.
"The seven colonels who transferred from Ranger to the garrisons will all be promoted to major-general. Don't be surprised. This is a reward for your perseverance in preparing for the war."
It was indeed unexpected good news. It turned out that the transfer of Ranger to the garrisons also gave Claude a share of the promotions.
Compared to those soldiers who were promoted from corporal to sergeant, or basic officers who were promoted from second lieutenant to first lieutenant, he, who was promoted from colonel to major general, had a lot of advantages.
One had to know that advancing from colonel to general during peacetime required more than a decade of hard work.
During wartime, one had to earn three tier-one meritorious deeds.
However, Claude knew very well that regardless of whether it was Michelic's appointment or his promotion to major-general, the fact that it went through the ministry of the army so smoothly meant that the higher-ups didn't have high hopes for his future in the next war.
To put it bluntly, he would be the scapegoat for the next colonial war, unless he could win it again.
"I'll be here for another three months. Time is a little tight," Michelic said.
Marshal Michelic said, "I hope to be able to help you solve most of the problems with reorganizing the five enhanced divisions before I leave office.
I'll be summoning the remaining officers in the next few days. The preparations for the new war zone HQ will be completed in a week's time. The people in charge of each department will also have to be decided.
"Take the follow-up strategy for the war zone back and look through it carefully. See if there are any omissions or areas that need to be modified. Give me a report after that.
Then, wait for the notice of the meeting. You have to attend it and have a good talk with your future colleagues. "
Claude stood up and picked up the blue-covered document on the table. He saluted Michelic solemnly and prepared to leave.
Just as he was about to open the door, Michelic seemed to have remembered something and stopped him. "By the way, Claude, I'll transfer your vice-line commander, Lieutenant Colonel Schneck, back to HQ. He'll be the vice-director of the administration office."
Claude was stunned. What did Lieutenant Colonel Schneck do?
Going from vice-line commander to vice-director was like a demotion in disguise.
One was the second-in-command of the regiment and wielded real power.
The other was in charge of menial tasks in HQ. Apart from running errands, he had to smile at everyone.
Michelic said leisurely, "You don't have to blame Lieutenant Colonel Schneck. He's always been an honest, hardworking, and reliable man.
However, he doesn't understand that not every Stellin represents the royal family, nor is every Stellin worthy of our allegiance.
He was just tricked by General Fansnik into giving General Fansnik the account book of your Regiment 131's internal distribution of spoils of war … "
Claude came to a realization.