Of the eight colonies in the war theatre, Port Vebator, Cromwell and Balingana didn't have to worry about the nikancha at all. Apart from the nikancha servants brought over by the merchants, there were no longer any settled nikancha in the colonies.
As for Tyrrsim, Mormaly and Arturas, after Claude's' cleansing operation 'and the nikancha regulations he was about to implement, the number of nikancha living there would only decrease. It could be said that the three colonies had lost the environment for the nikancha to survive and develop.
There were many nikancha in Robisto, but they didn't have a settlement. They had been servants of the kingdom's citizens for many years, and they were only allowed to stay in the colony after receiving a guarantee.
Robisto was also the first to implement the nikancha regulations, so there was no need to worry about the nikancha's future status and development.
But as Birkin said, the nikancha settlement in Anfiston was the one that gave Claude the biggest headache.
The mining and merchant association, which used to be friendly with each other, had now become the staunchest opponent of the nikancha regulations. The reason was simple: the regulations would harm the interests of the mine owners. Most of the miners they employed were nikancha.
From a certain perspective, the nikancha miners of Anfiston were the most cultured of all nikancha in the colonies.
After years of hard work by the Mining and Commercial Association, these nikancha miners had developed good habits of discipline, caring for their families, and a love for learning. Among ten nikancha youths, at least one or two had elementary school knowledge. They could understand newspapers and documents, as well as the boring descriptions of machinery and equipment.
That was all thanks to the mining and merchant association's training of the nikancha and the generous treatment they gave them.
In the mines, the emigrants were treated no differently from the nikancha miners. The only difference was that they were given the same benefits as the native miners.
That was why the nikancha in Anfiston were the most law-abiding and law-abiding. All they had to do was guard the mines and live a good life.
That was why when news of the nikancha forming their own nation reached Anfiston, apart from a few nikancha who wanted to move north to their own country, most of the other nikancha tribes weren't interested in migrating.
They were living a comfortable life in the mines and there was no need for them to suffer in the north.
Just like one of the Nikancha elders said, why would they move there? For so many years, the settlement had been mining for a living. Even if they were given land, it would be impossible for them to farm on a large scale. Most of them did not know how to farm.
Even if there were mines in their territory, what was the use? Who were they going to sell them to?
They might as well stay in the colonies and eat and drink. As long as they had the money, they could buy some good things that even the emigrants couldn't afford.
That was the current situation of the nikancha in Anfiston. The war theatre's nikancha regulations didn't sit well with either side.
However, Claude didn't want to deal with that mess. He'd leave it to Bolonik and Skri to deal with.
He had an idea to take drastic measures, but the current conditions weren't suitable for it. Perhaps he'd be able to implement it in another two years.
Claude stayed in Tyrrsim until the middle of the 5th month of Year 592 of the Sacred Light Calendar. Only then did he lead Thundercrash's three light cavalry lines and Tribe 131 back to Lanu in Anfiston. Tyrrsim, Mormaly and Arturas were all handed over to Birkin. He was to oversee the migration of the remaining 800,000 nikancha to the north.
The three colonies were now under the control of the war theatre. It had been more than a year since Claude had sent his troops out last year.
The only thing that made him feel regretful was that not a single ship from the kingdom's mainland had arrived after the ocean trade with the kingdom was cut off. He didn't know how the battle between the two princes was going, and which prince had the upper hand or was crowned the king.
Bolonik did look for the owners of a few smuggling ships and hoped that they could go to the mainland to gather some information.
It was a pity that there was no news of these deep-sea smuggling ships after they left.
Almost a year had passed and they still hadn't returned.
Even more strangely, no ships from other countries had come to the colonies. It was as if the entire war theatre had been forgotten by the kingdom and all news from Freia had been cut off.
Claude had many things to deal with when he returned to the war theatre. First, he had to transfer most of Thundercrash's veterans to the garrison lines and form six more to be stationed in the colonies. Next, he had to recruit new soldiers to rebuild Thundercrash.
Fortunately, two of the twelve local garrisons had been sent to Port Vebator to replace Thundercrash, freeing Eiblont from his duties.
After a short meeting at the war zone command center, Claude learned from Skri that he and Bolonik had settled the mining and commerce association and decided to support the nikancha's rule.
The reason was simple. Their losses could only be compensated for with greater profits.
The war theatre planned to set up Minsheng Bank in all the colonies. If the mining association wanted a share, they would have to support the war theatre's policies.
The bank's capital was five million crowns and the war theatre owned 50% of it.
Bolonik, Claude, Skri, Eiblont and Beechlin, the five leaders of the theatre, each had two percent of the shares.
The Mining and Commerce Association would buy 20% of the remaining 40%, and the other 10% would be bought by powerful figures from the various colonies, such as Sir Bennett, Inspector General Hazorak, who had been promoted to be in charge of eight colonies in the theatre, and others.
The remaining 10% would be given as rewards to be distributed in the future.
The theater of operations didn't have so much money. The 50% shares of this Overseas Minsheng Bank and the 10% shares of the 5 generals were actually for nothing. They didn't even have to pay a penny.
The mining association, on the other hand, didn't fork out any money either. All they did was hand over the scraps used to make the coins to the bank.
The ones who would fork out the money were the influential figures who bought the 10%.
According to Viscount Gooditch, the director of the Overseas Minsheng Bank, it didn't need so much capital to start a bank. The theater of operations only needed to provide policies and the right to mint coins. Oh, they also needed to print money. All the silver coins, copper coins, and black iron coins below Thale would be changed into paper money. With the reputation of the theater of operations, they would soon be able to circulate in the eight territories.
Apart from that, the war theatre would also transfer the tax revenue from the national bank to Minsheng Bank.
Viscount Gooditch had resigned from his position as the manager of Nubissia's overseas colonies branch and became the first manager of Minsheng Bank.
There was nothing the national bank could do about it. Firstly, they had lost the support of the main branch in the kingdom. The two continents had been cut off by sea.
Secondly, Minsheng Bank wanted to issue paper currency which the national bank didn't recognize, so the tax revenue could only be transferred to Minsheng Bank.
The war theatre announced that paper currency currency could be used to pay taxes. As long as it was worth a thale, it could be exchanged for a real silver coin from Minsheng Bank.
The establishment of Minsheng Bank meant that the war theatre would have enough funds to invest in the colonies' economic development. At the same time, it would solve the problem of currency shortage in the colonies.
However, Claude wasn't interested in that at all. He left Thundercrash's formation and recruitment to Eiblont. Even Skri's proposal to expand Lanu into a city was brushed off and he ran back to Weyblon Manor.
After staying in Tyrrsim for more than a year, Claude didn't even return home once. His second son, Bargassi, didn't even recognize him. The moment he was hugged by Claude, he burst into tears, which made Claude feel rather awkward.
After resting at home for a night, Claude went to Angelina's ranch with the guards early the next morning. He hadn't seen the new rifles yet and didn't know how they worked.
Anna Ranch seemed to have turned into a small school. Claude took in a total of 160 orphans and hired seven teachers to teach them primary and secondary school subjects, including liberal arts and physical education.
Only his sister, Angelina, was in the laboratory. She was teaching five new students. They were selected from more than a hundred orphans with magical talent and were worthy of being nurtured.
Madam Sonia's son, Mallex, was one of them.
Claude stroked Mallex's hair. "Where's your mother?"
"She's out of town."
Angelina walked over. "Grandmaster Liboyd recruited her to Port Vebator. He's planning on opening that firearms workshop there.
It was said that Master Liboyd had found a black fire stone mine there, and he was going to set up a workshop next to it. That way, he wouldn't need to worry about power when he modified those hydraulic machines into firepower machines. He would have enough black fire stones to burn.
He needs Sonia's help, so he left Liboyd with me. "
In this world, coal was known as blackstone.
Claude looked at the other four children. "Are they all your students?"
Angelina nodded. "Yes. Apart from Liboyd, they're about as talented as Blok. So, I had them start meditating two years early.
That way, they'll be able to reach the third ring by the time they reach adulthood. "
"What's wrong with Liboyd?" Claude asked.
Angelina raised her thumb. "He's about the same as me."
Claude understood now. Liboyd was as talented as Angelina.
Angelina didn't want to say it out loud because she didn't want to pressure the other four children.
Of the three siblings, Angelina had the best talent in magic, followed by Claude, and Bloweyk.
Although the four children had magic talent, their magic talent was not very good. However, it was lucky to be able to choose these four out of 150 and 160 orphans. If he could train them, he would try to train them.
Claude's encounter with the Greytower magus made Angelina feel that House Ferd needed to have a hidden force to strengthen the family. That was why she was willing to personally train the talented children.
However, she didn't think that Liboyd's talent was about the same as hers. That was already a pleasant surprise.
"Oh, I wanted to see your prototype rifle. I haven't seen one since it was finalized." Claude looked around the lab and didn't find any traces of the new rifle.
"I've put it next door. I'll take you there. It's already been named Sonia's Model 591rifle. Thanks for your permission.
To be honest, without Big Sister Sonia, I wouldn't have been able to create the rifle you requested. She's a genius … "Anna was glad that Madam Sonia was in charge of the design of the new rifle. She was a pharmaceutics major and couldn't compare to Madam Sonia's talent in mechanical design.
There were five new rifles lined up against the wall in the next room. They looked similar to the ones Claude had drawn.
Claude picked one up and weighed it. It seemed to be a little heavier than the aubass mark 3.
"Even the butt is 1.45 meters long. The bayonet is 1.8 meters long.
It weighs 8.7 kilograms, which is about half a kilogram heavier than the aubass mark 3 you're using now.
However, the soldier who tested it thinks that it's more than bearable. Compared to the advantages of this new rifle, the aubass mark 3 can be tossed into the trash. "
Angelina walked to Claude's side proudly and picked up the other rifle for him to see. "This new model fulfils all the requirements you asked for. After lengthening the cartridge by two centimeters, the range can reach up to 480 metres and the accuracy can reach up to 91% within 200 metres.
The soldier who shot the rifle thinks that it's because he didn't perform well enough or because he kept firing. It's not a problem with the rifle.
Also, according to your request, we made an opening at the bottom of the rifle and designed a magazine that can hold five bullets.
Every time you pull the bolt, the cartridge will eject out and the bullets in the magazine will return to their original positions. You can then aim again when you close the bolt. "
"Let me try it out first."
Claude looked at the rifle in his hands fondly. It had been 14 years since he graduated from middle school and started making his own flintlock rifles. He finally had an advanced rifle and didn't have to deal with matchlocks anymore.
Ever since he got his hands on a revolver, the more he looked at a matchlock, the more he felt that it was useless. Now, he finally had the chance to turn Thundercrash into the most elite force in the world.
Claude spent more than 30 bullets in the shooting range behind the wooden hut. Every single one of them hit the target and he was quite satisfied with it.
Gum and the other guards who came with him were also addicted to guns. They couldn't stop praising the new Sonia 591 rifle and couldn't wait to get their hands on one.
"Did you notice any flaws in the new rifle during the manufacturing process?" Claude asked.
"Yes.
"Sister Sonia calculated the cost when she began to design the mass production of the rifles. She said that the production of a hundred thousand new rifles would cost seven to eight crowns each, so the selling price would be more than ten crowns," replied Anna.
If we produce a million of them, we might be able to lower the cost to five crowns.
In other words, your theater of operations may not be able to afford the cost of equipping this new rifle. "
Claude smiled bitterly. Even the aubass mark 3 muskets imported from the kingdom only cost two crowns and three thales. The new rifle alone would cost as much as four muskets.
But considering the increase in combat power, he felt that it would be more worthwhile to equip them.
"There's another piece of bad news. I only mentioned the price of the rifle. Don't forget that we still need bullets.
If we produce a million of them, each bullet will cost around three sunars. If we multiply that by ten, we'll be able to reduce it to two sunars. That's already the lowest cost. We won't be able to reduce it no matter how much we produce, "Angelina said.