Something didn't feel right. Putting down all the information he had on Shiks, Claude closed his eyes in thought.
If the information he had was accurate, anyone with a discerning eye would be able to conclude that Shiks wouldn't be able to provide effective military support to the colonies for at least half a year.
In other words, the standing corps at Port Vebator would have to defend for another half a year. That would give the nikancha a good chance to riot.
However, it wasn't important whether the nikancha would riot or not. What mattered was when the situation in Shiks would be stabilized and who would emerge victorious between the royal family and the traditional nobles.
Majid III resisted the mandatory conscription order and refused to use their private armies to form a new standing legion. It was impossible for him to send a few of the eight elite standing legions controlled by the royal family to the colony.
At the same time, Nasri and Canas also rejected Shiks' request to hire more of their main corps to go to Nubissia. Claude's Thundercrash and Monolith 3rd Folk's annihilation of the two volunteer corps was more than enough to leave the two kingdoms in deep regret.
Canas, for example, only had three corps left after the war five years ago. In the end, Shiks hired one of them and they were wiped out on Nubissia. That was a huge blow to Canas, so there was no way they would allow Shiks to hire more of their main corps.
While Nasri still had some strength to spare and had twice as many corps as Canas, the peace treaty was signed less than a decade ago.
However, it had only been less than a decade since the peace treaty was signed. He wasn't willing to risk offending Aueras by allowing Shiks to continue hiring his main corps.
If they hired a corps, they could claim that it was a volunteer corps made up of retired soldiers, but if they hired a second corps, they would have to be prepared to fall out with Aueras. Nasri wasn't willing to go to war with Aueras again.
Claude finally understood why Majid III wanted to start the war. Shiks' colonies were originally located in the inner regions of Nubissia. They had high mountains and dense forests. Apart from mineral and wood resources, it wasn't suitable for agriculture and they had to be careful of attacks from native tribes.
For example, the articles in the Bleyot Kingdom's Kingdom of Dawn Newspapers ridiculed Majid III for having wishful thinking, wanting the kingdom's nobles to move their territories to the colonies.
Given the state of their colonies, no nobles would be willing to move their fiefs there.
Even the newly granted nobles would rather have no fiefs than have their fiefs transferred to the colonies.
All of that changed when Shiks acquired Port Vebator from Nasri.
With a good port like Port Vebator, Shiks' colonies in Nubissia would have a good outlet to the sea and the resources they mined would be continuously transported to the kingdom.
The nobles realised that investing in the colonies would bring them good returns and started to hire people to explore and mine in the colonies.
Majid III keenly noticed that the nobles were starting to loosen up. They didn't seem to be opposed to swapping fiefs and giving them fiefs.
However, there was a new problem with making the colonies their fiefs. There would be mining companies everywhere that the nobles would invest in. If they were to give a piece of land to a new lord, the minerals in that territory would be mined by other nobles. That could easily lead to disputes.
So, Majid III turned his attention to the Aueran colonies, Cromwell and Balingana, which were located on the northern bank of the Dorinibla River. The two colonies had already undergone initial development. The soil was fertile and the terrain was flat, making it suitable for farming.
That was especially true since the two colonies were connected to the Albatol Plains. Hunting the migrating bison would bring them a huge sum of money every year. It was worth as much as a gold mine.
Dawnlight reported that Majid III's scheme for the colonies had gained the unanimous approval of the nobles and ministers of the kingdom. There were even lords who expressed that they were willing to swap their territories with the two colonies once they got their hands on them and use them as the vanguard of the kingdom's new colonies.
That was why Majid III made up his mind to demand the two colonies from Aueras.
Less than three years after the end of the five-year eastern war, Aueras was exhausted and the people were in dire straits.
Shiks, on the other hand, had secured their position as the hegemon of Northern Freia with their allies all around them.
Majid III and his ministers thought that they could force Aueras to give up the two colonies with their might, but they didn't think that Aueras would reject their unreasonable request.
That was how the first colonial war broke out. Shiks believed that their two elite corps would be able to take down the Aueran colonies' garrisons.
However, the two elite corps of Shiks, who hadn't fought in more than 40 years, didn't perform too well. Wickhamsburg alone took half a year to fight, which bought Aueras enough time to send reinforcements.
Next, it was time for Ranger, who had arrived at Nubissia to perform. The two so-called elite corps of Shiks were completely wiped out.
As the two corps belonged to the traditional nobles, their annihilation infuriated the Shiksan nobles and they demanded revenge on the colonies by wiping out Ranger.
Majid III immediately took advantage of the situation and ordered the five elite standing corps of nobles to be sent to Nubissia.
At the same time, it was announced that those who contributed to the war would be granted fiefs and those who already had fiefs would be granted more.
The royal family was willing to grant or exchange the lands of Cromwell and Balingana to the nobles in recognition of their courage and determination to expand the kingdom's colonies.
None of the Shiksan nobles believed that they would lose. Five elite corps amounted to around 300,000 men.
On the other hand, Aueras only sent a so-called royal armed folk called Ranger to the colonies. There were 32,000 of them, almost a ten to one difference in military strength.
As for the two newly formed corps, nobody cared about them at all. Everyone knew that the local garrison corps didn't have much fighting power.
The Shiksan nobles who contributed money, manpower, and resources quickly gathered the necessary supplies for the five elite corps and launched the second colonial war.
However, unlike the unstoppable victory they imagined, the five elite corps were led by the nose by Ranger and fell into a predicament. In the end, Wickhamsburg was taken and all their supplies were burned. They ran out of food and had no choice but to surrender to Ranger.
When news of the crushing defeat of the second colonial war reached Shiks, Majid III was probably the only one who was happy.
Without the seven elite standing corps that could stand up to the royal army, the eight elite standing corps he had under his control were now the cream of the crop in Shiks. For once, his word was law in the kingdom's army. Not a single noble dared to go against him anymore.
However, Majid III knew that while most of the nobles suffered heavy losses, they still had a solid foundation. He wanted to strike while the iron was hot and make them bleed a little more.
After the defeat of the second colony war, there were ministers who requested Majid III to immediately dispatch the elite standing army under the royal family's control to Nubissia to salvage the situation.
However, they were all turned down by Majid III on the grounds that they weren't well-equipped and weren't strong enough.
Majid III then began his stifling maneuver. He hired two corps and the Alliance Fleet from Nasri and Canas to stabilize the situation in the colonies.
Then, in the name of venting anger for the nobles, he refused entry to Aueras' envoy and shut the door to peace talks, humiliating Aueras and the Stellin royal family.
The nobles' plan to redeem their captive relatives from Aueras fell through.
Majid III then gave a passionate speech about revenge and supported the nobles in rebuilding their armed forces and continuing the colonial war on Nubissia. The kingdom would provide them with money and equipment to form ten new corps.
With a wave of his pen, all ten corps were conscripted into the territories of the nobles.
At that moment, some of the nobles finally came to their senses. Thinking about it carefully, they realized that the two colonial wars were all fought by the nobles of the kingdom. Majid III was just watching from the sidelines.
Apart from some military funds, the rest were just verbal promises and commendations. However, the consequences of the two colonial wars were all borne by the nobles themselves.
The so-called ten corps to continue the colonial wars were all conscripted from the youths of the nobles. At the same time, the royal family would use this opportunity to infiltrate the territories of the nobles.
Now that the Shiksan military was under the royal family's control, if Majid III had any ill intentions towards the nobles, the private armies of the nobles, or the local guards, wouldn't be able to withstand the attack of the few elite corps of the royal family. The consequences would be unthinkable if that happened.
Now that they understood what was going on, the nobles used their best method to deal with the royal family and Majid III, which was to resist them in secret. They refused to cooperate and delayed Majid III's request to form the ten corps. In the next year or so, Shiks was only able to form two corps and the other three corps weren't filled to the brim.
Majid III also knew that the nobles of the territory had discovered his plan, but he didn't care. He just sent the two standing legions that had been formed and trained to the colony. At the same time, he urged the three standing legions that were being formed to be filled up.
As for the other five standing corps, since the nobles weren't interested in them, they could be shelved for the time being. When the war on Nubissia progressed, the nobles would be given a taste of the benefits and their enthusiasm would be reignited.
Majid III understood the nobles' character very well. They wouldn't release the eagle until they saw the rabbit.
In the eyes of King Majid III and the kingdom's military, they still didn't take the previous two colonial wars to heart. They thought that the aristocrats were too greedy and eager for quick results, which led to the failure.
Majid III decided to go for a slow and steady approach. After the three corps were formed and trained, they would be transported to Nubissia to start the third colonial war.
By then, the colony would have seven main corps, two mercenary corps as the vanguard, and five standing corps as the backup. They would first clear the entire Cromwell colony, set up a solid line of defense, and wait for the opportunity to attack the Balingana colony.
The way Majid III and the Shiksan military saw it, Aueras's war theatre and five enhanced folk in Nubissia wouldn't be able to withstand the heavy pressure of the enemy. Their best strategy was to give up on Cromwell and Balingana and retreat to the south bank of Dorinibla River, where they could rely on the terrain and river to defend themselves.
As long as he could get his hands on Cromwell and Balingana, Majid III would be able to fulfill his promise to the fief nobles. Based on the fief nobles' contributions and losses in the previous two colonial wars, Majid III would be able to compensate the fief nobles for the fief nobles.
With such benefits within reach, he believed that the nobles would abandon their prejudices against him and the royal family and support his request to form the other five corps.
When the five corps were completed and transported to Nubissia, Shiks would have 12 corps in the colonies.
Majid III was confident that no one would be able to stop the advance of the kingdom's army. They could even sweep through the rest of Aueras and wipe away the humiliation of losing the previous two colonial wars.
By then, Shiks would be even more famous on Freia and Nubissia. The nobles wouldn't be opposed to exchanging their lands for the colonies either. Majid III would be able to lay the foundation for Shiks to remain undefeated for a millennium and become another legendary monarch in the kingdom's history.
But man proposes, God disposes. Majid III never imagined that the newly appointed highest commander of Aueras, the one who took over Marshal Michelc's post, would actually launch the third colonial war.
He led his enhanced folk to attack the two volunteer corps hired by Shiks and won three battles. Not only did he wipe out the two powerful corps, he even swallowed the newly formed Toferd corps.
The remaining corps could only hole up in Port Vebator and defend to the death. That was the only way Shiks could make a comeback.
All of Majid III's plans went up in smoke with the defeat of the third colonial war. When the news reached him, he smashed all the decorations and artwork in his study in a fit of rage.
Sometimes, no matter how good the plans of the higher-ups were, they couldn't stop their subordinates from dragging them down.
However, Majid III wanted to try again. He immediately sent envoys to Nasri and Canas, intending to hire their main forces to head to Nubis and stabilize the situation in the colonies.
But no matter how hard they tried, Nasri and Canas refused Shiks' request to hire their main corps. That was a dead end.
Majid III was not willing to transfer the elite standing corps belonging to the royal family to the colonies, so he decided to use the power of the king and the strength of the army to force the private armies of the nobles and the local guards of the various territories to form five standing corps to be sent to the colonies …
The result was simple. The nobles of the territory wouldn't directly raise their flags to rebel, but they could secretly order the local guards to oppose Majid III's mandatory conscription order. They could go up the mountain and play hide-and-seek with the standing army sent by Majid III to suppress them.
With Shiks in a state of civil strife, Majid III no longer cared about the colonies on Nubissia.