Year 593, 5th of April, Cape Loducus.
It had only been ten days since the rainy season ended on Nubissia. The golden sun shone on the pale red sea, turning it into a beautiful, dreamy scene.
The clear seawater rippled on the dark red sand. A few children with baskets and buckets of water were picking up shells on the beach, their carefree laughter ringing out from time to time.
One of the children who was looking at the sea by accident suddenly froze. The others who didn't get a response from him couldn't help but look at the sea as well. They soon found the reason for his absent-mindedness.
In the distance, black dots appeared one after another on the surface of the sea. Soon, the silhouettes of countless sails could be seen.
It was an extremely large fleet the children had never seen before. The number of ships they had was enough to block the children's field of vision.
Looking up, the distant sea was full of ships, and behind these ships, more ships could be seen emerging from the sea level. These ships were now speeding towards Cape Loducus Bay.
From a lighthouse on a large reef at the mouth of Cape Loducus, a long, clear, and cheerful peal of a bell rang out. It was the peal of a bell welcoming the return of a ship.
If they were attacked by pirates or discovered a pirate ship, the bell would ring quickly to give off a sense of nervousness. It wouldn't ring every few seconds like this.
The cannons on the walls roared as well. The muzzles of the cannons were aimed at the sky. They also fired gunpowder packs that exploded in the air, causing countless golden stars to fall from the sky.
It was a pity that it was daytime and not nighttime.
Only on the birthday anniversaries of the six dukes of Fochs and on the night of welcoming new arrivals would the citizens be able to enjoy the sight of the garrison firing the gunpowder packs.
The ringing of the lighthouse and the gunpowder packs from the cannons on the walls only meant one thing. The Shiksans, who were the biggest investors in Cape Loducus, had arrived.
The officials of the colony and the important people in the city were dressed neatly and brought their beautifully dressed families to the docks. They would be there to welcome the Shiksans and hand over the authority of the colony.
The vanguard sent by Shiks was ready as well.
They led nearly a hundred carriages to the docks and unloaded the ale from the carriages in a large open space, forming a small mountain of barrels.
They were there to welcome the soldiers of the standing corps who were about to disembark and let them drink to their heart's content to relieve themselves of their month-long journey.
As stewards of the Wild Bull Trading Company stationed in Cape Loducus to discuss the ale deal with the Shiksans, the spies were dragged to the docks by the understaffed Shiksans to help pour the ale.
That allowed them to observe the Shiksan corps closely. Whether they were elites or not could be ascertained from their behavior after they disembarked.
A day later, Claude received an eagle message from the spies in Cape Loducus. The Shiksans had arrived.
As Claude had expected, the three corps sent by Shiks were three of the three hundred thousand Shiksan captives from Aueras that were sent over by the new nobles to be used as labour. They were three of the five corps formed by Aueras's new merchants.
The names of their legions were very interesting. They were called the First Legion of Retribution to Fifth Legion of Retribution. This time, they had transported three legions.
According to the spy's report, the three Shiksan corps that disembarked this time were all veterans. They were in their thirties and behaved calmly as if they were elites who had been through a lot of battles.
Just like the veterans who had just been transferred to the 18 local garrison regiments in the Union Territories.
However, the war theatre transferred the veterans from Thundercrash and Monolith to the local garrisons so that they could be of use in the later stages of their military service. Shiks, on the other hand, reorganized them into standing corps so that they could wash away the humiliation of being captured and captured.
Perhaps the Shiksan veterans were the most difficult enemies for the war theatre to deal with.
The spies also revealed another piece of news in the eagle message. They would be having a meal and drinking with the Shiksan vanguards after everything was over.
A few of them could board warships back to Freia, but the rest would become logistics officers in Cape Loducus and continue to procure supplies for the standing corps.
So, they had to continue the ale deal with the spies. At the same time, they hoped that the spies would be able to smuggle more supplies from the colonies.
When the Shiksan vanguards got drunk, they unintentionally revealed another piece of news.
This time, it was Seaking from Shiks, Nasri and Canas from the Alliance Fleet, as well as Verona's fleet from Fochs who provided free transportation for three standing corps.
The three fleets would soon return to Freia and transport the remaining two corps from Port Floria to Cape Loducus.
At the same time, Shiks would also hire Verona's fleet from Fochs to help transport supplies and supplies.
After the two standing legions and their military supplies were transported to the Cape Loducus Colony, the five standing legions in the name of revenge would soon take military action and attack the mountainous areas occupied by the nikancha people in the north and east.
"What do you think?" Claude asked Eiblont.
The two of them were currently in Port Vebator's nearing completion of Monknad Castle. It was also the site of the only large silver mine in Port Vebator's prefecture.
Monknad Castle had been rebuilt on the site of the city that had been destroyed by the nikancha.
There was a local garrison team made up of veterans stationed here to prevent nikancha people from entering the country and stealing.
Ever since the nikancha nation came to an agreement to fight the Shiksans, a frontline HQ was set up in Monknad Castle.
Claude was in charge of the frontline HQ, with Eiblont and Beechlin as his two deputies.
As for General Bolonik and General Skri, they still had to stay in Lanu City and take care of the administrative affairs of the eight colonies.
"Piccolo has already gone to the eastern and northern mountainous regions of the nikancha nation to supervise the migration and preparations. At the same time, he needs to survey the terrain in the central regions and set up a defensive line.
"Based on the current situation, the nikancha are very cooperative. They've already prepared enough young men to set up a defensive line and provide logistical support for our troops.
"Berklin and Moriad's two regiments have already launched an attack on the remaining Shiksan colonies.
"Port Vebator has been occupied by us for the past two years, so they can't transport the gold and silver ingots out. They can only store them.
"We've obtained nearly two million crowns worth of gold and silver ingots from the seven mines we captured.
It's a pity we still have to give the nikancha 30% of it. "
Eiblont's tone was filled with reluctance. He had seized two million crowns, and he had to give the nikancha thirty percent of it for nothing. That was already a huge sum of 600,000 crowns.
Thundercrash's two lines were in charge of the battles. The nikancha were only there to lead the way, transport supplies and scare the captives. They were just there to do nothing, yet they were given so much.
There were still more Shiksan manors and mining bases to come. The thought of having to give a share of the spoils to the nikancha made Eiblont feel rather indignant.
Claude glanced at him with a smile. "I now understand why Majid III wants to fight us to the death. I also know where he gets all the money for his military.
The seven gold and silver mines are worth nearly two million crowns for two years.
"There are dozens of mining bases all over the Shiksan colonies. They're all owned by the mining companies set up by the nobles of Shiks. Shiks gets 10% of their profits as taxes.
"You can do the math and see how much wealth Shiks gets from the mining companies set up by the nobles.
"It's no wonder everyone says Shiks is filthy rich. Their nobles often spend a lot of money in auctions and sell their jewellery, jewelry, art and the like for sky-high prices.
"Shiks has been running the colony for close to two decades. It's not hard to imagine how much gold and silver they've taken from the colony and how much wealth they've accumulated in their treasury.
That's why Shiks was able to fork out 2.5 million crowns to rent Cape Loducus colony for five years even after suffering three defeats in the colonial wars and the rebellion of the nobles. They were also able to form ten more standing corps.
"The Shiksans have to protect the colony. That's the only way their nobles can continue to live extravagant lives.
Majid III is the only one who can stabilize his throne and let Shiks continue to dominate the northern part of Freia. "
"I understand what you mean," Eiblont said.
General Eiblont replied, "In order to protect this inland colony, we must find a reliable and safe port for the transportation of minerals. At the same time, we also need to provide an agricultural colony with abundant supplies to serve as a logistical support base for this inland colony, which mainly focuses on gold and silver mining.
"That's why that bastard king of Shiks set his sights on our colonies, Cromwell and Balingana. He asked us to cede the two colonies to them, with the Dorinibla River as the boundary.
The real reason this colony war broke out was because this bullshit Majid III was eyeing our territory?
What gives him the right to do that? "
"Back then, our kingdom had just finished a five-year war in the east. The people were in dire straits and the treasury was empty. The kingdom lost more than six hundred thousand men and was only able to occupy a large piece of wasteland.
"Before the peace treaty was signed, Bluefeather and two second-line corps were ambushed by Canas' light cavalry on the plains and were completely wiped out.
"That defeat made many other kingdoms think that we were strong on the outside but weak on the inside.
So, three years later, when the kingdom's economy didn't show any signs of improvement after the war, Shiks started provoking us on the borders of Nubissia and Balingana. In the end, they used the excuse that Nubissia's garrison forces had fired on their patrol squads in Cromwell and demanded that Nubissia cede Cromwell and Balingana as an apology.
"The kingdom refused that unreasonable demand and the war broke out just like that.
"That's why we came here. Back then, the bigwigs of the kingdom believed that we were only doing our best to show that the kingdom wouldn't give up on a single colony.
"Back then, we were only a folk of Ranger against two Shiksan colonies and won. The kingdom started setting up a war zone.
"Then, the Shiksans sent five standing corps over, giving us around three hundred thousand captives.
"Then, the Shiksans became bolder and bolder and announced that they would form ten standing corps to fight the war.
"It really scared me back then. After all, Field Marshal Micheli had been transferred back to the kingdom and we weren't really confident.
"We didn't think that the Shiksans would start a noble rebellion in their own kingdom. In the end, I got impatient and took the initiative to wipe out three of their corps.
"The war zone took Port Vebator as well.
"Now that the Shiksans have finally sent ten standing corps, I don't think Shiks will have any reason to continue the war once we conquer all their colonies and wipe them out.
"There's no longer a place for the Shiksans on Nubissia. Once the war ends, the Shiksans' military prowess will be seen by all the other kingdoms. They're so rich that they're like children in a marketplace.
"I'm sure the neighbouring kingdoms will have designs on them soon. When that happens, the so-called hegemon of Northern Freia can only wait to be rubbed into the ground by other kingdoms.
As long as one succeeded, there would be more predators pouncing on it.
"Without the ten standing corps and the two hundred thousand Shiksans who are still doing free labor in our colonies, Shiks will have lost a million soldiers. How many more young men will they be able to recruit to defend against the invaders?"
Eiblont was speechless. He thought that Claude's claim of defeating the Shiksans was only to make them believe they could defeat the enemy. He didn't think that Claude was actually planning to keep all ten Shiksans corps there.
It wasn't a one-sided victory, but a complete annihilation of six hundred thousand enemies. Where did Claude get his confidence from?
However, Eiblont didn't want to dampen Claude's spirits. He had something else to remind him of. "Claude, we took over the Shiksans' colonies, but we have to hand over the gold and silver mines to the nikancha. Is that a good idea?
It's all Thundercrash's doing and the nikancha are just watching from the sidelines. Yet, we still have to give them a share of the spoils. Isn't that a little too unfair? "
Claude smiled. "Do you know why I sent two lines of ten thousand men to attack the Shiksans' colonies?
The Shiksan manors and mines only have about a hundred soldiers at most. I only need to deploy a single battalion to wipe out the entire colony.
"I sent two lines because it's a rare chance to train our troops before the war.
"Most of our soldiers are new recruits. Even though they've completed all sorts of training, they haven't seen blood or been on the battlefield before. That's why I'm using the Shiksans' colonies, manors and mines for them to train.
"I had Berklin and Moriad rotate their troops every time we attack. It's best if every soldier can see blood and gain some combat experience. It'll be a form of training before the war.
"As for the gold and silver mines, I don't really care about that. I'll let the nikancha have a taste of it first and give them some confidence in our cooperation.
"If the nikancha start mining after the war, I'd be more than happy to see that happen.
You know that gold and silver ingots can neither be used as food nor guns. Even if they excavate gold and silver mines, they have to trade with our theater of operations and buy food, drinks, weapons and ammunition from us, as well as the luxuries needed by the leaders and elders of those settlements.
It was like the Nikancha people were mining for gold and silver for us. We didn't even need to pay a penny. Just by trading, we could exchange large amounts of cheap food, goods, firearms, and high-end luxury goods from the Nikancha people.
"Is there a better deal in this world than that?
"Once the nikancha get used to using gold and silver to buy large amounts of supplies from us, they'll give up on planting potatoes and hunting. They'll only need to use gold and silver to buy from us.
"That's equivalent to us finding a stable trading partner for our agricultural products and daily necessities. It'll be a dumping market for all our goods."