Twenty days later, Generals Claude, Eiblont and Beechklin returned to Ranu with a makeshift regiment of troops from their respective corps.
They spent another five days holding a grand burial ceremony for the fallen soldiers at Heroic Martyr's Hill not far from Lanu before Claude finally got a day of rest.
He received a few friends who came to visit him at home before heading to the war theatre for a post-battle meeting the next day.
First, Colonel Fodelus gave a report on the Shiksans. Based on the information he received from the spies in Cape Loducus, it was concluded that the three and a half corps of Shiksan stationed at Cape Loducus no longer had the strength to launch an attack. What they needed was self-preservation and a large amount of forage.
Claude led Thundercrash's 1st Folk to launch a surprise attack on the Shiksan supply base near Cape Loducus. Even though he sold the Shiksan weapons and equipment to the Fochian officials in Cape Loducus at a low price in exchange for a million crowns worth of gold coins, Claude didn't resell the large amount of forage stored in the supply base.
However, Claude didn't resell the large amount of rations stored in the base. Instead, he took away the finest rations and high-grade ingredients for the Shiksan officers to enjoy, as well as the cows and goats that could be slaughtered at any time. Then, he set fire to all the rations stored in the warehouse.
The Shiksans had a total of three main camps in Cape Loducus. Apart from the main camp near Cape Loducus, they built a defensive camp at the northern border and stored enough provisions to last two corps for three months.
The camp built at the eastern mountain border was the starting point for the attack, and it served as a transfer station. There wasn't much food stored there, only enough to sustain the daily consumption of three standing legions.
Naturally, that also had a lot to do with the Shiksans' wishful thinking of attacking the nikancha's settlement to gather provisions there.
Five standing corps, mostly made up of Shiksan veterans, amounted to around 300,000 men. Apart from the two corps stationed at the northern border, the other three corps stationed at the eastern border launched the attack.
It was a pity that these 200,000 strong troops were only invincible in the first month, but after breaking through the first defensive line built by the central eastern line of defence, they were unable to advance any further.
No matter how many nikancha died, it didn't matter to the Shiksans at all. In fact, the higher command didn't even include the nikancha in the war credit register.
To the Shiksans, their only real enemies were the two corps in the war theatre. Be it Thundercrash or Monolith, the casualties they suffered were always bad. Even having a similar casualty ratio was a luxury they couldn't hope for. Even a two-to-one or three-to-one ratio wasn't possible.
Sometimes, even the Shiksan commanders were astonished. Muskets that could fire multiple times without the need for a match, could accurately aim for a range of 150 metres, could fire grenades that didn't require a match to be lit at night, and even found buried explosives that could explode on flat ground when they retreated. All of that changed the Shiksans' understanding of weaponry in a whole new way.
The Shiksan commanders weren't incompetent people. They knew very well that if they didn't have a way to suppress the new weapons in the war theatre, they wouldn't be able to win.
However, what made them depressed was that when they sent the report on the new weapons in the war zone back to the kingdom, the reply they received was complete nonsense.
Majid III even wrote a reply letter in his own hand, scolding the senior commanders in the Cape Loducus Colony, asking them not to make excuses for their failure and make up lies that no one would believe!
Majid III and the ministry of the army naturally didn't believe that the war theatre would have the new weapons mentioned by the high-ranking corps commanders.
The reason was simple. The two Aueran princes fought for the throne and left the kingdom with piles of corpses. If they had the new weapons, they would've used them long ago.
No kingdom on Freia would equip the new weapons to the colonies' garrisons and not the kingdom's own troops.
However, during the long civil war, the two princes didn't use any new weapons apart from the grenades that caught everyone's attention at the start. Otherwise, they would've been copied by other kingdoms long ago.
That was why Majid III and the ministry of the army believed that the commanders who participated in the war were just trying to shirk responsibility for their failure.
Five standing corps against two Aueran corps in the war theatre ended up losing most of their territory in the eastern mountains. Even their main logistics base was wiped out.
The Shiksan veterans of the two corps stationed at the northern border were even more embarrassing. They had a sturdy defensive camp that could wait for the enemy to exhaust themselves, yet they were annihilated by Thundercrash, leaving only ten thousand wounded soldiers behind.
The three Shiksan veterans of the three corps in the eastern mountains, numbering close to two hundred thousand, couldn't even break through the second defensive line of Monolith's folk. That was a disgrace to the military!
It was known as the First War of Cape Loducus and the fourth war between Shiks and Aueras.
The outcome of the war was unexpected. Aueras once again emerged victorious despite being the weaker side.
Only one and a half of Shiks' five standing corps remained after the war. Even with all the wounded soldiers, they weren't able to fill up two corps. It could be said that they suffered another huge defeat.
However, Shiks still had the strength to back it up. As long as they transported all of their standing corps to Cape Loducus and recruited some new recruits, they would be able to muster seven more corps of 400,000 men. They still had a chance to turn the tables on them.
After all, Shiks' military might was much more robust than Aueras's war theatre.
However, Majid III and the ministry of the army didn't know the truth of the war and believed that it was the incompetence of the high-ranking commanders that led to their defeat.
Therefore, while Majid III personally wrote a letter to reprimand the senior commanders of these legions, he also appointed a braver and more loyal lieutenant general to come to the Cape Loducus Colony to replace the old, incompetent, and cowardly general that Majid III scolded, Count Norberton Pang Bellondi.
Currently, the Shiksan corps in Cape Loducus could barely count as four. Since the two corps stationed at the northern border were mostly wiped out, they had enough hay to sustain the one and a half corps that retreated from the eastern front and the light cavalry corps that came to reinforce them for about two months.
The standing corps near Cape Loducus, on the other hand, was already suffering from a food shortage. Apart from purchasing food from Cape Loducus at a high price, the Shiksan soldiers were also mobilized to fish in the bay and pick up seashells and other seafood from the beach to solve the food shortage.
The funniest thing was that the residents of Cape Loducus were greedy for the high price of grain, and sold all the grain they had in reserve.
The population of Cape Loducus only numbered about twenty thousand, while the Shiksan standing corps numbered sixty-three thousand.
As a result, the food reserves of the residents for three months was only enough for the Shiksan corps to consume for a month. The entire colony was now facing a food shortage.
The spies of the Wild Bull Trading Company who were lurking in the city reported that lunch and dinner in the city were basically a glass of ale with a sea fish. There was no meat or bread. If they could find a few potatoes, it would be a rare delicacy.
Compared to before the war, the price of food had increased tenfold. The pitiful residents sold their food reserves at five times the price, only to have to buy it back at ten times the price.
As the Wild Bull Trading Company was still sending a steady stream of ale to Cape Loducus to fulfill the Shiksan order, even the colonial officials of Fochs privately asked the trading company if they could smuggle some food from the war theatre. They were willing to pay a high price to solve the food shortage.
The Shiksans also rushed to the colonies in the western continent to buy a batch of food at a high price to solve the crisis. However, the return trip would take time and the food shortage would probably last for another month.
Colonel Borkal, the manager of Wild Bull Trading Company, had already requested for a batch of food to be sent to Cape Loducus. That was ten times the profit!
General Scripp and General Bolonik were still deliberating.
Colonel Fodelus, who was in charge of the intelligence department, concluded that the Shiksans wouldn't be able to pose a threat to the nikancha nation for the next six months.
They also needed to treat their wounded soldiers and restock their rations. They also had to wait for the arrival of the three standing corps.
If nothing unexpected happened, the Shiksans would only attack again in June or July next year.
That conclusion was based on the Shiksan's transportation plan. According to the officials of Fochs, the Shiksans would send the last three standing corps to Cape Loducus in April next year.
With the lesson learned from the first battle in Cape Loducus, the Shiksans needed the last three standing corps to rest and reorganize before launching their attack. That way, they would be able to exert their full strength.
It was now the 10th month of Year 592 of the Sacred Light Calendar. The theatre still had eight months to reorganize and replenish their forces.
In the three months that Claude and the others fought at the frontlines, Bolonik and Scrim didn't slack off either. They recruited new recruits from the reserve corps and started training them.
This time, Thunderclap and Monolith Corps' losses would be made up for by their direct subordinates, local garrison troops, and the outstanding recruits of this reserve corps.
After Colonel Foderus of the Intelligence Service had finished his report, General Bolonik spoke. His main purpose was to increase the confidence of the senior officers of the theater of war in the final victory of the colonial war.
The war between the nikancha nation and Cape Loducus didn't have much of an impact on the war theatre. Instead, it greatly boosted the development of civilian industries.
Without the support of the various armaments provided by the kingdom, the theatre of operations had to settle all the material and equipment requirements for the development of the troops in the colonies themselves. The large number of orders caused the colonies to set up all kinds of production workshops.
As long as the quality met the requirements of the theatre, even a small hosiery workshop would be able to reap huge profits.
In addition, the establishment of the Overseas Minsheng Bank allowed the colonies to get rid of the restrictions that the kingdom had on the development of the colonies through the use of national banks. The issuance and smooth promotion of paper currency allowed the colonies to no longer face a shortage of low-denomination currency.
Bolonik excitedly told the officers in the meeting that the Overseas Minsheng Bank had successfully issued 10 million crowns worth of low-denomination paper currency. At the same time, it had also provided more than 10 million crowns in private loans to support the economic development of the colonies.
This was also the main reason General Bolonik and General Skri had the confidence to recruit and form a reserve corps in the war zone. The economic development of the colonies would naturally bring great benefits to the war zone, and the tax revenue this year alone was enough to cover the military expenses of the war.
As long as the economic development could continue for another three years, the theatre would be able to be self-sufficient.
After Bolonik's speech, Skri reported on the war theatre's resources and funding for the war with Shiks. Thanks to Claude dispatching two of Thundercrash's main corps to clear out the Shiksan colonies, the theatre had obtained more than 13 million crowns worth of gold and silver ingots from the spoils of war.
Currently, the theatre was having a headache over how to deal with the ingots. There didn't seem to be a need to make them all into coins.
Eight million crowns and silver thales were stored in the bank's vault. After issuing ten million crowns worth of low-denomination banknotes, they found that very few people came to the bank to exchange the banknotes for gold and silver coins. Making more gold and silver coins would put a burden on the bank.
That problem was actually quite easy to solve. Claude came up with an idea to refine all the ingots and cast them into standard gold and silver cubes that needed two people to carry. Then, he would mark them with a serial number.
For example, he would use a weight of 50 kilograms as the standard and build an open room in the Bank's main branch to be filled with the standard gold and silver cubes.
Everyone who came to the main branch for financial transactions would be able to see the room filled with standard gold and silver cubes through the glass and metal railings. People of high status could even invite them in to take a look.
That would greatly strengthen the credibility of the bank's paper currency. As long as those who used the paper currency knew that the bank had sufficient gold and silver reserves, they wouldn't lose confidence in the paper currency.
Claude's suggestion was indeed a good idea, but he still needed to gather the bank's management and shareholders to discuss it.
As for security, Claude wasn't worried at all. Even if a powerful robber broke into the bank, he wouldn't be able to take away such heavy gold and silver cubes.
In an era without cars as a means of transportation, trying to take away such a huge piece of gold would be akin to suicide. To put it bluntly, having gold and silver cubes by one's side would be the biggest burden.
After Skri's speech, it was the turn of the three generals at the frontlines to give their comments on the performance of the troops involved in the war.
Claude allowed Generals Eiblont and Beechlin to speak first.
The two generals praised the excellent performance of the new rifles in the war. They believed that if their troops could be fully equipped with the new rifles, they would be able to take down the ten standing corps of Shiks.
It was a pity that Blackstone could only produce 30,000 rifles a year at most. It would take a few more years to satisfy the needs of all the troops in the war theatre.
Beechklin also praised the new landmines for their performance in the war. He believed that they were a great weapon for defending and trapping the enemy. He hoped that the theatre could stock up on them.
At the same time, Beechklin also criticized the grenades produced in the war. He believed that they were inferior to the iron pumpkins produced by Shiks in terms of range and explosive power. Monolith suffered a huge loss in the initial defensive battle.
Apart from summarizing their own strengths and weaknesses, the two generals also commented on the performance of the Shiksan veterans in the war. They were tenacious in battle and fearless of death. The Shiksan commander-in-chief, the hereditary earl, Norberton Pang Bellondi, was indeed a veteran who wasn't easy to deal with. He was cunning and performed admirably in the war theatre. It was difficult to find any flaws in him.
Had it not been for the war theatre having the advantage of the new rifles and other advanced weapons, the five Shiksan corps that launched the attack would have been evenly matched. They weren't any weaker than Thundercrash and Monolith.
Fortunately, while Thundercrash and Monolith suffered heavy casualties, they still managed to wipe out three of the Shiksans' standing corps. The Shiksans were greatly weakened and would be much easier to deal with in the next battle.
As for the performance of Thundercrash and Monolith's units, Beechklin focused on the performance of Monolith's division in the eastern mountains.
As most of the veterans were transferred to the garrison line, the new recruits were still rather immature on the battlefield. They were easily affected by the unfavorable situation on the battlefield and lacked confidence.
For example, the loss of the first line of defence had a lot to do with Monolith's panic during the night attack and the grenade bombardment.
In the end, the collapse of the nikancha on the flank made it impossible for the defence line to hold. All the new recruits couldn't help but retreat with the defeated nikancha.
In fact, if they had organized a counterattack, they would have been able to repel the Shiksan enemy on the flank. However, Beechklin's orders could no longer reach the frontlines.
So, Beechklin hoped to replenish his forces. It would be best if he recalled a batch of veterans from the garrison line to serve as the backbone of the army.
They were like the ones Claude brought to the second line of defense. Their arrival quickly stabilized the situation at the frontlines.