Myjack walked up to him. "Sir, where are we going?"
Claude entered the carriage with a heavy heart and said, "Let's go home. We're not going to GHQ."
"Yes, sir."
Myjack closed the door and gave an order to the driver in front of the carriage. The carriage began to move, with Gum and a small group of guards on horseback escorting the carriage on both sides.
Ranger's GHQ was located in Grinosburg, the capital of Anfiston. It was the largest mountain city in the colony and also the most important mining area.
Claude had always suspected that Grinosburg was the reason why Anfiston's capital was set up in Grinosburg. There were two large gold mines nearby.
The viceroy and governor of Anfiston paid close attention to the production of the two mines, as it was related to the richness of their own pockets.
When Prince Hansbach came to inspect Ranger and removed the four viceroy and governor positions from the war zone, the viceroy of Anfiston was quite reluctant to leave.
According to an insider, the viceroy was allowed to own ten percent of the shares in the two mines. That was an income of more than a thousand crowns a year.
Grinosburg was a mountain city. Carriages had to travel up and down the mountain, which took half a day.
Line 131 was currently stationed in the town of Feru in Robisto. It used to be a town in Balingana and was about 300 kilometres away from Grinosburg, the capital of Anfiston. However, it was assigned to Robisto after the war zone was redrawn.
Claude's first victory on Nubissia was during a night raid on Feru. Back then, Tribe 131 was only a reinforced tribe, but they managed to wipe out an enemy garrison and capture more than three thousand captives.
However, Claude's home was in Lanu. That was mainly because his family liked the scenery there.
Angelina had brought her mother and Kefnie here to visit her family, and she had strongly recommended the scenery of Lake Orchid.
The last time she brought Bloweyk to join the army, they stayed there, so it was no different this time.
Claude rented a manor by the lake for his mother, wife, and children to live there. It was his first home on Nubissia.
"Myjack, when we get home, have Gum send someone to HQ to pass on my orders. Tell them to break camp and return to Lanu. We'll be staying here for a while," Claude said.
Claude had already decided that the first thing he would do as the highest officer of the war zone was to move HQ to Lanu and make it the capital of Anfiston.
That would save them at least half a day's journey from Grinosburg to Lanu. It was also the fastest and most convenient way to get to Robisto from there. It would increase the speed of the troops and allow them to get to the frontlines in the shortest time possible.
The carriage drove along the main road in Lanu and entered a beautiful manor by the lake. Weblon Manor was the residence of a deacon of Anfiston's mining and merchant association. His family lived in Grinosburg.
Every summer, the deacon would bring his family to Lanu for a summer vacation.
When he heard that Claude was looking for a place for his family in Lanu, he volunteered to rent the manor to Claude for one crown a month. The two families could be considered to have built a good relationship.
The carriage came to a stop. When Claude got out of the carriage, he saw a familiar carriage in the courtyard. The black carriage had the word "Weyblon" engraved on it.
Needless to say, it had to be someone from the original owner of the manor, Weblon's family. However, it was unknown whether it was the lady, gentleman, or the entire family that came.
It was a tradition of this world to have a family crest and surname engraved on a carriage. However, Weblon's family wasn't a noble and didn't have the right to design their own crest or use their surname.
So, Weblon could only use the first word of his surname as a mark. That was allowed by the government and anyone who saw it would know that it belonged to him.
Claude smiled bitterly. Even though he only paid one crown a month to rent the manor, Weblon's visits every now and then and the gifts he brought were several times more than that.
He didn't know what he saw in him to the point of spending so much money on him.
But when he thought about it, he felt that Weblon had quite the eye. After all, he was going to be promoted to major-general in another three months. He would also take over from Field Marshal Michelc and become the highest commander of the war theatre.
Alek hurried over and bowed slightly. "Welcome home, Mister."
The butler was also recommended to Claude by Weblon. He used to be the butler of a count in the royal capital and three generations of his family had served the family.
However, he had terrible luck when he became the butler.
The new head of the family was not only spoiled since he was young, he also had a terrible temper and didn't listen to the advice of his subordinates.
Following the failure of the new Count's investments, the family's business declined at a speed visible to the naked eye.
So, the count gave up on himself and became a drunkard. He spent his days in a drunken stupor and blamed everyone else.
As the butler, Alec naturally had to persuade the new Count to pull himself together. However, his daily persuasion had angered the Count, who actually sent Butler Alec and his family to scram from the Count's mansion …
He didn't think that his loyalty would end up in such a state. Alek was heartbroken and decided to move to the colonies. He brought his family across the ocean to Nubissia and settled down in Anfiston. He also found a job in Weblon's mining company.
After Weblon learned about his past, he offered to make him his butler, but Alek refused as he only served nobles.
So, when Weblon heard that Claude was looking for a place to live for his family, he not only rented his manor by Lake Rani to Claude, he even recommended Alek to be the butler.
Claude was a noble of the kingdom. Even though he was an honorary baron, he was still young and had a bright future ahead of him. He was in line with Alek's principles of serving nobles.
Claude nodded and pointed at the carriage. "Is Mister Weblon here?"
"Yes. He brought his wife to visit Madam Milady and Madam Kefnie. Madam Milady was really happy and kept them for lunch.
Mister Weblon said that you would definitely be back today, so he's resting in the guest room. I think he has something urgent to discuss with you, "Alek replied.
"Alright. Have the kitchen prepare some food for us. I'll go to the study after we're done.
Go see if Mister Weblon has rested enough. If he's ready, invite him to the study, "Claude said as he took off his coat and handed it to Alek.
While Claude and Myjack were having their meal in the dining hall, Kefnie came down the stairs to the dining hall.
Now, she was pregnant again. Less than half a year after coming to Nubissia to visit her family, Claude successfully got her pregnant again.
"Why did you come back today?" Kefnie asked in surprise.
As Line 131 was based in the town of Feru in Rospidor, Claude only returned home once a month for three days before heading back.
He got up and kissed his wife on the cheek. "I'm not going back. I'll be staying at home from now on.
My troops are going to be stationed in Lanu too. "
"Really?" That was great news for Kefnie.
After their marriage, they spent more time apart than together. As Claude rose in rank, he had less and less time to visit his family.
It was completely different from what Kefnie had envisioned for him to retire and return to Whitestag. The two of them would live peacefully together and raise their children. She would then become a smart and happy housewife.
Not only did she not become a housewife, she had to become a mother again and learn how to be a good baroness.
Claude sat back down. "Of course it's true.
By the way, where's Tesoray? "
Tesoray was the couple's eldest son. He was born in year 582 of the Sacred Light Calendar and was six years old this year. He was at his most mischievous and mischievous age.
Because Claude rarely returned home, Tesoray, who was doted on by his grandmother, wasn't close to his father. That troubled Kefnie a little.
"He caught a hornet in the garden in the morning and got stung on his hand. He cried for half a day.
Mother sent someone to get Anna to apply some medicine for him. After lunch, he went to bed because he was too tired from crying, "said Kefnie.
Claude didn't mind it too much. It was common for mischievous boys to get hurt. That was what happened to him when he was young.
Kefnie, on the other hand, was worried. She believed that a hornet in the garden meant that there was a hornet's nest nearby and that it would be a huge threat to Tesoray.
She asked Claude to send his guards to look around and find a way to eliminate the threat.
Claude wanted to say that the one who would be a threat to the nest would be Tesoray. If he found the nest after being stung by a hornet, he would definitely find a way to get revenge.
However, he couldn't do anything about his wife's dilemma. All he could do was agree to have his guards search for the nest around the manor after lunch. Only then did Kefnie relax.
After filling his stomach, Claude took a bath and changed into casual clothes to welcome Weyblon in the study.
Changing into casual clothes meant that Claude didn't see Weyblon as an outsider but as a close friend.
He gave Weyblon a warm hug and asked how he knew he would be home.
The reason was simple. The moment news of Claude being summoned to Grinosburg reached Weyblon's ears, he knew that Claude would definitely return home.
There wasn't much fighting on the frontlines recently, so there was no way Claude wouldn't return since he was so close to home.
"Alright, my friend, if you have something to say, just say it."
Claude invited Weyblon to take a seat. Alek served him two cups of black tea before leaving the study and closing the door behind him.
Weyblon was used to Claude's straightforward manner of speaking. He smiled and congratulated him. "Lord Baron, first of all, I have to congratulate you on your upcoming promotion to major-general of the kingdom and taking over from Grand Marshal Michelic as the highest commanding officer of the war theatre.
I came uninvited because I have a few official matters and a private matter to discuss with you. "
What the heck, what's going on?
Claude was taken aback. Most of Ranger's men didn't even know about that, so where did Weyblon get that information from?
Or did the war theatre's headquarters leak like a sieve and the contents of his discussion with Michelic had already spread to the entire colony by the afternoon?
Seeing Claude staring at him blankly, Weyblon naturally knew why. "Don't be nervous, Lord Baron. 99% of the people in Anfiston don't know about it. Our information comes from the royal capital."
Claude breathed a sigh of relief. It was no wonder that it came from the royal capital. Nobody there treated the affairs of the colonies as top secret. Even the slightest bit of news would be brought up as a topic of discussion during gatherings to show how well-informed and well-connected they were.
Michelic's recommendation for him to take over as the highest commanding officer of the war theatre, as well as his subsequent plans for the war theatre, might have already reached the Shiksan military.
"You have a source of information in the royal capital too?" Claude asked curiously.
Weyblon nodded. "Our mining and merchant association has an office in the royal capital. Every year, the gold and silver ingots from Anfiston's mines have to be sent to the royal capital's national bank vault.
That's why we were shocked when we heard that Ranger was returning to the kingdom and that Marshal Michelqi was stepping down from his post.
Because this concerns the safety of Anfiston Colony and the lives of our people …
Through the Ministry of the Army, we found out that Marshal Michelic has recommended you to be the new supreme commander of the war theatre. At the same time, we also know that after Ranger returns to the kingdom, you will be forming five reinforced folk in the war theatre to deal with the colonial war.
The kingdom's bottom line is for you to defend Anfiston.
"Based on our discussion, we believe that your leadership skills are more than enough for you to defend Anfiston as the highest commanding officer of the war theatre.
That's why we're not worried. There's no need for us to give up our businesses here just because of this incident. "
Claude smiled bitterly. "You guys sure have a lot of confidence in me."
Weyblon smiled. "Of course. Michelic thinks you're a talented commander. You're also known for your outstanding offensive prowess in Ranger. Even during the war five years ago, you managed to wipe out five thousand enemy troops with less than a full brigade. You were awarded a Knighthood for that."
"You guys sure know a lot about me," Claude said, shaking his head. "Alright, let's talk about work."
"It's like this, Lord Baron. We know that there will be a hundred thousand families of retired soldiers moving to Anfiston as reinforcements for the five folk to be reorganized.
Our mining and merchant association's chairman, Henderman, would like to discuss the distribution of the immigrants with you. "
"Does your association have any rules?" Claude asked.
Weyblon nodded. "The news from the royal capital is that the hundred thousand families are going to take up farming here. We hope that some of the immigrants will move to the four mountain cities and become industrial workers or townspeople.
After all, there are many jobs in the mining and merchant association that aren't suitable for the nikancha. We had no choice in the past because we didn't have enough hands. But now that we have the immigrants, those problems can be easily solved.
Also, we want to expand the population of the four mountain cities so that the nikancha won't be seen wandering around the city all the time.
If the immigrants have the intention to start a business, we're willing to provide low-interest loans to help them set up shop.
Also, if any of the immigrants are willing to settle down in the four mountain cities, we're willing to provide free housing. "
Population meant wealth. The mine owners and merchants of the mining and merchant association were rather shrewd and had their eyes set on the immigrants long ago.
"I understand. I'll find a time to discuss this with Chairman Henderman.
Of course, that's on the premise that the immigrants are willing to move to the mountain cities. No forced migration is allowed, "Claude replied ambiguously.
Weyblon nodded slightly. He knew that Claude was already giving him face for his sake. "The second matter is that the mining and merchant association isn't satisfied with the support the ministry of the army is giving to the war theatre. So, we've decided to donate a hundred thousand crowns to the new war theatre to make up for the lack of military funds."
Huh?
Donating a hundred thousand crowns to the military, these fellows were truly filthy rich!
Claude's face lit up and he thanked them profusely.
Didn't they hear what Weyblon said about the new war theatre? They're obviously trying to suck up to me and only donate a hundred thousand crowns after I take office.
They're on our side …