Even though all the high-ranking officers in the war theatre were labeled as part of Prince Hansbach's faction, the heir-apparent crisis in the royal capital was a little too far away for them.
Just like Claude, he was a commoner officer that the first prince favored and groomed. Then, he gained the favor of Marshal Michelic and rose to his current position as a major-general through his own merits in the royal army.
Even though he heard the news from Weyblon about the situation in the royal capital and how Misierqi was injured, there was nothing he could do to help.
Nubissia and Freia were separated by the Silent Ocean. The distance was too great.
Not to mention, Misik was assassinated five months ago yet they didn't know about it at all. It was very likely that he hid the news on purpose to avoid distracting the officers.
From a certain point of view, the five folk in the war theatre were Prince Hansbach's troops. To be more precise, most of the high-ranking officers in the five folk were Misik's students. They were born commoners and joined Ranger to serve Prince Hansbach.
That was why the ministry of the army and the other corps of the kingdom didn't like Ranger.
It just so happened that Shiks started another colonial war and Ranger was deployed to Nubissia to defend against the invasion of the Shiksan colonies.
But contrary to everyone's expectations, Ranger displayed its prowess in the war theatre and won two colonial wars, wiping out seven Shiksan corps.
Military merits were the most important thing in the kingdom, so the ministry of the army had no choice but to expand Ranger into a corps. A large number of meritorious officers were promoted and Misik was promoted to the position of grand marshal.
The other members of the royal family and the ministry of the army decided to recall Misik and Ranger in light of Misik's prestige in Ranger. However, they left the core officers and elite soldiers of Ranger in the war theatre and reorganized them into five second-line folk.
After that, the ministry of the army sent a large number of high-ranking officers related to the royal family into Ranger in the name of forming a true royal army.
But in reality, it cut off Misik's influence in Ranger. While handing command over to the royal family, it also crippled Ranger's fighting capabilities.
It wasn't that Misik didn't understand the ploy of the ministry of the army and the royal family. However, he was a selfless person and didn't have any intention of controlling Ranger. His focus was on the war theatre and the Shiksan war.
So, since the ministry of the army accepted his suggestion, he stepped down from his post as the general of Ranger and became a high-ranking advisor of the ministry of the army as well as one of Prince Hansbach's aides.
As for the overseas colonies after Marshal Michelic left office, they were destined to be sacrificed in the eyes of the Ministry of the Army and the higher-ups of the kingdom. They could not escape the fate of being cannon fodder.
The reason was simple. Shiks had already announced that they would form ten standing corps and transport them to Nubissia. They swore to fight the colonial war to the end and wouldn't rest until they achieved their goal.
If Aueras hadn't gone through five years of war, they might've been able to compete with Shiks on Nubissia.
However, it had been less than eight years since the end of the war, and the kingdom's treasury was empty. Although they had occupied three duchies during the five-year war in the eastern region, these territories were full of vicissitudes, and they urgently needed time and funds to slowly recover.
The kingdom also had to form three standing corps to defend the newly conquered territories. Their military budget was tight and they didn't have much left over to support the colonial war on Nubissia.
Therefore, in comparison, the higher-ups in the Ministry of the Army and the kingdom's influential figures were pessimistic about the war. It was just like how the bottom line of the war zone they had handed over to the colonies was to defend Anfiston and secure the territories of the three colonies behind it.
However, none of them could've imagined that the highest ranked commander of the war theatre, Baron Claude Han Ferd, would be so ferocious.
The scapegoat in the eyes of the kingdom's higher-ups actually led Thundercrash, a knockoff of Ranger, to attack the Shiksan colonies.
Not only did they wipe out three of their main corps in the third colonial war, two of which were hired by the kingdom's archenemies, Nasri and Canas.
That outcome completely changed the entire war theatre's strategic situation. It even caused Shiks to fall into internal strife. For half a year or more, Shiks wouldn't be able to provide effective military support to their colonies on Nubissia.
The ministry of the army and the higher-ups of the kingdom sensed that it was a good time to strike, so they sent Count Aljes Khai Osmolin to take over as the highest commanding officer of the war theatre. They were prepared to deal Shiks a fatal blow by taking Port Vebator and cutting off their shipping routes to the colonies to end the colonial war once and for all.
Claude managed to figure out the intentions of the ministry of the army and the kingdom's higher-ups through the newspapers Weyblon sent to him. However, he couldn't change the outcome.
Even if he could quickly become a lieutenant-general on Nubissia, he wouldn't be able to come into contact with the upper echelons of the kingdom. In the eyes of the higher-ups, he was nothing more than a fierce fighter.
Weyblon didn't come just to deliver the information. He also wanted to discuss the business of the two iron mines.
The success of the grenades had already earned him a huge business deal. Claude decided to give each folk ten thousand grenades each.
Half of them would be used for live ammunition training and the other half would be reserved for combat.
So, the only thing Weyblon had to worry about was how to complete the fifty thousand grenades in the shortest time possible.
In terms of profit, each grenade was sold for one crown and the cost wouldn't exceed one thale at most. In other words, selling one grenade would earn him four thales.
That was already comparable to robbing a bank.
Weyblon even handed his family's mining business to someone else to manage and focused on running the joint mine with House Ferd. After all, the profits from the firearms business were too exciting.
The war theatre wasn't as financially strapped as it was when Michiel left office. Thanks to Claude's victory in the third colonial war and the spoils of war, there were tens of thousands of crowns in the war theatre's accounts.
Since the new highest ranked commander would be taking office in a month, Claude naturally wouldn't leave the money in the public accounts for his successor to squander.
Thus, with a wave of his pen, he ordered the logistics department to purchase all kinds of military supplies to increase the combat strength of the five divisions in the theater, and the purchase of projectiles was the first priority.
Apart from the production of the projectiles, Weyblon also wanted to discuss the sale of the hot air balloons, which Claude referred to as the firepower machine.
After Claude led Thundercrash out, Weyblon recruited many machinists to improve and replicate the combustion engines in the iron mines.
According to his introduction, the iron mine workshop already had five types of firepower engines of different sizes and models, and these firepower engines were very popular with mine owners and workshop owners. Currently, he had more than a hundred orders in his hands.
Weyblon hoped that Claude wouldn't take a cut of the profits from the iron mines for the next three years and would instead invest it into the expansion and completion of the iron mines.
He promised to build the largest iron mining machinery workshop in the colonies within three years. Only then would he be able to enjoy the dividends.
Claude was delighted and agreed to Weyblon's request without hesitation.
The next morning, Claude went to the war theatre's command center to take care of business.
At noon, he planned to have lunch with the head of the logistics department, Skri, and discuss the funding for the reconstruction of Wickhamsburg.
Just as they were about to reach the logistics office building, they heard a loud voice shouting something. Then, General Skri tried to persuade them with kind words. In the end, the loud voice still calmed down, and after saying a few unconvinced words, he left.
Claude entered Skri's office and saw him rubbing his temples. Claude asked him with a smile, "What's the matter that's making you look so troubled?"
The two of them were good friends, so they naturally didn't treat each other as outsiders. General Skri smiled bitterly and said, "That person just now wasn't from our theatre of operations. He was an inspector sent by the Ministry of the Army to supervise the firearms repair workshops.
He came to make a fuss because the new head of the workshop was experimenting and used up more than 800 barrels in half a year.
He can't bear the responsibility for such a huge loss and wants us to warn the new head of the workshop. At the same time, he wants us to come up with a proof for the loss. "
Claude asked curiously, "Why is the kingdom so strict with gun barrels?"
"It's very simple. Every gun barrel can be assembled into a gun, and the guns of Aueras are the most advanced on Freia.
As long as we control the guns, we'll be able to control the lifeline of a corps. "
General Skri picked up his teacup and said, "Don't look down on the strength of the five reinforced divisions in our theatre of operations. As long as the Ministry of War controls the firearms and equipment and doesn't supply us, we won't be able to fight for long.
Guns and cannons are the most expendable items on the battlefield. "
After taking a sip of his tea, Skri continued, "I know what you're thinking. It's nothing more than seizing the enemy's weapons to use.
The problem is, after using the advanced guns and cannons produced by the kingdom, will you be interested in the enemy's outdated weapons?
Of course, it'll be a different story if the enemy is another corps of the kingdom, but you have to think about how many people will rebel with you.
So, even though we're far away in Nubissia, the ministry of the army still has control over us.
This was also the reason why they only opened a gun repair workshop here instead of a gun making workshop.
If they set up a workshop, they can use undamaged gun barrels to make new ones on the spot. That way, they can greatly reduce the cost of repairs. All they need to do is transport damaged gun barrels from the kingdom.
If they set up a workshop for making guns, they might be controlled by the local garrison and disobey the orders of the ministry of the army. They'll be in a state of independence. "
Skri put down his teacup. "It's a simple method of control, but it's very effective.
Alright, I'll stop talking nonsense with you.
Just tell me what you came here for. I still have to go to the workshop after lunch to see what the new head is up to. How did he lose so many good gun barrels? "
"I wanted to have lunch with you and discuss the funding for the reconstruction of Wickhamsburg," Claude said seriously.
"I think the reconstruction of Wickhamsburg and the other four castles in the two colonies shouldn't be funded by the war theatre's military budget. Instead, we should ask for the kingdom's funds.
If the higher-ups don't agree, I think we should withhold the gold and silver ingots produced by the war theatre. The mining and commerce association is already unhappy with the fact that 60% of their production is given to the royal capital's national bank for free. "
That was the last thing Claude discussed with Weyblon the night before. He had also been entrusted by the mining and commerce association.
Currently, the taxes collected from the seven colonies had become the majority of the military expenditure for the five divisions in the theatre. As the Ministry of the Army had no way of supporting them, the theatre was actually in a state of collecting local and independent expenditure for military expenditure.
However, the Anfiston Mining and Commerce Association still had to hand over 60% of the profits from the two large gold mines and a few silver mines to the royal capital's main bank for free every year.
That was a profit worth more than 200,000 crowns. The remaining 40%, after deducting expenses and mining costs, didn't leave much for the mining and commerce association. With the help of the various deities, the members of the association were left with little to no profit at all.
As the saying goes, money moves people's hearts. The mining and commerce association was also trying to find a way to keep the profits from the mines in their own hands instead of giving it to the royal capital's national bank for free.
Ever since Claude told theatre command of the plan to build five defensive castles in Cromwell and Balingana, the association saw it as a good opportunity to take back the 60% of the gold and silver mine that was handed over for free to support the construction of the colonies.
Scribe, who had been partners with Claude for many years, immediately understood what he meant. He shook his head. "That's easy, but it's also hard. The gold and silver production is given to the national bank and is under the jurisdiction of the kingdom's finance ministry. It has nothing to do with the ministry of the army.
After all, the royal capital's military budget is budgeted every year and all expenditures have to be verified in advance.
"But we're a war theatre, so we're using special war funds. The kingdom has no money, so they're giving us all the taxes from the colonies.
"We don't have to give face to the finance ministry and the ministry of the army. Even if we report it, they'll only reply that they don't have the money and ask us to think of something ourselves.
"Since they want us to think of something ourselves, we'll keep the gold and silver production for the construction of the two colonies after the war.
"This is public expenditure. If the finance ministry isn't happy with it, they can go to the ministry of the army.
"I believe the ministry of the army will reprimand us on the surface, but they'll only praise us in secret.
"However, we still have to write the report in advance, so we can't mention the gold and silver production in it.
"We'll have to wait for the ministry of the army and finance to reply that they don't have the money to give us before we withhold the gold and silver production. That way, we can show them that they don't have the money to give us if we pursue them in the future.
As the highest commander of the war theatre, there's a high chance that he'll have to take responsibility for this. "