In the blink of an eye, it was already the middle of April.
Claude was currently setting up and inspecting defensive positions in the mountainous region of the northern coast. Ever since he gave the three nikancha envoys the condition of giving up their land and money, they said they would go back to discuss it and hadn't heard from them since.
However, Claude wasn't in a rush. The first thing he did when he returned to the frontlines was to withdraw the three garrison regiments stationed at the critical points in the eastern mountainous region. That way, the road to the nikancha's territory would be unobstructed.
Apart from that, Claude also ordered General Birkin to take the three garrison regiments and a division of Monolith's troops and build three defensive lines along the central part of the northern mountainous region. They would basically separate the eastern mountainous region from the nikancha's territory and form a solid defense line for Port Vebator.
During this period, it wasn't that there weren't any Nikancha tribes that came to protest and ask for benefits. It was just that General Birkin had changed his attitude towards the Nikancha in the last war and ordered all Nikancha near the defensive line to be expelled far away. No Nikancha were allowed to stay within two hundred meters of the defensive line.
The first shot was a warning shot, the second was aimed at the ground and the third was a direct kill.
One of the nikancha tribes nearby seemed to have gotten a lot of benefits from the logistics in the past and it was no different this time. They wanted to cheat their way out of this, or perhaps they wanted to bet that General Birkin wouldn't really give the order to fire. They gathered a hundred young men and women and marched towards the defensive line in the name of protest.
The men shouted, "This is our land! You can't build anything here!"
The women flirted and tried to seduce the soldiers in the trenches.
But after the first two gunshots, not a single one was injured. The nikancha thought it was just a scare tactic and became even more arrogant.
After that, after that, none of them could go back …
We want to declare war … We want revenge … We want to hand over the murderer … The nikancha were about to explode. They gathered thousands of nikancha and obediently stayed two hundred meters away. They even used lime powder to draw a line so that they wouldn't cross the line in the heat of the moment.
Then, they stood outside the white line and shouted slogans, protesting against the soldiers in the defensive position slaughtering their brothers and sisters.
In order to avoid another conflict with the troops in the war zone, the leaders and elders of the settlements even forbade the protesters from bringing any weapons. Whether it was guns, their primitive bows, spears, or axes, they were not allowed to bring anything. As a result, the angry and unarmed nikancha protesters could only grab rocks and branches from the ground to throw …
"General, we, the Nikancha Nation, raise our strongest protest against you!
Not only did you forcibly occupy our territory, but you also shot and killed our innocent people!
You must apologize to us nikancha people, compensate for our losses, and punish the murderer!
Otherwise, we reserve the right to retaliate and break off our alliance with the war zone! "
The two nikancha elders who rushed to the scene of the massacre waved their arms angrily, spittle flying all over Claude's face.
"Wait, are you mistaken about something?"
Claude was surprised. "Since when did we have an alliance with the nikancha?
Why don't I know about this? Didn't it end after the last war?
It's true that we purposely invaded your territory to build a defensive line, but it's an active defence against the incoming Shiksans. It has nothing to do with you nikancha people.
If you're here to declare war, I'm very happy. You don't have to reserve the right to retaliate. You can send tens of thousands of people to attack our defensive line and see if there's anything lacking.
I promise that I won't take the initiative to counterattack and won't take more territory. I believe you know that it's useless to take more of your territory now. We just need to defend this small area of the frontline. Don't come close. "
"That's our territory! You even let your soldiers kill a few hundred of us!"
Claude's nonchalant attitude infuriated the two nikancha elders. The shorter nikancha elder roared angrily.
* Bang! * Claude also slammed his palm on the table angrily. "Nonsense!
What few hundred? There's only 84 of them!
Is that how you nikancha count?
Will it go up to a few thousand next time? Or will it be me killing tens of thousands of your nikancha people next time?
It's not like we didn't warn you, but they just wouldn't listen. They deserve to be killed!
I know that's your territory, but our war zone is only borrowing it temporarily. In another two or three months, it won't be of much use to you nikancha people anymore.
There's not a single person in the eastern mountains. Since you've already given up on that land, why bother with us for the small piece of land we took?
I really don't understand what you nikancha people are thinking. Honestly, the three standing corps of Shiksan will arrive in a few days. Why do you still have the energy to argue with us over such a small matter?
If I were you, I'd send the energetic protesters to the eastern mountains to defend against the Shiksans. You might even be able to live for another half a month.
Leave. We did occupy your territory, but that's to protect the colonies behind us from Shiksan invasions. We don't care if it's a mistake or an invasion. We don't care if we become your enemies.
If you want to declare war, go ahead. On account of our past friendship, I'll treat you as my friends and avenge you in the future. "
The two nikancha elders left with their tails between their legs. They didn't declare war or boast about revenge.
They knew very well that they wouldn't be able to reclaim the territory behind the defensive line. Claude didn't care if there was one more enemy, but the nikancha knew that if they declared war on the theatre, they wouldn't even have a single ally.
"Your conditions are too harsh," Birkin said with a sigh.
"Not only do you want them to give up such a large piece of land, you even want them to fork out two million crowns.
If I were their leader, I'd rather fight to the death with the Shiksans than agree to your conditions.
With five million nikancha, even if they outnumber us ten to one, we'll still be able to kill the Shiksans. "
"They don't have the courage to do that.
Eiblont went straight to the point and said, "Otherwise, they wouldn't have suggested giving us the northern coastal region and the eastern front mountain region. Isn't it because they want us to help them fend off the Shiksans' attacks?
If they don't even have the courage to fight the enemy, don't try to act tough in front of us.
In fact, I'm actually hoping that the nikancha won't agree to Claude's conditions. If they don't, it'll be in our best interest.
Just as Claude said, if the Shiksans invade from the eastern mountains all the way to the nikancha's territory, they'll burn, kill, loot and commit all sorts of atrocities. In the end, the Shiksans will wipe out the nikancha nation and we'll send our troops to wipe out the Shiksans and occupy their territory. That'll be the real deal. "
Claude smiled bitterly. "That's just a bluff to scare the nikancha. If that really happens, it'll be even more disadvantageous for us. Cutting off our food supply is just wishful thinking on our part.
As long as the Shiksans take over the five million nikancha settlements, they'll be able to harvest enough rations. Even if they only have to eat potatoes, the Shiksans won't have to rely on supplies from the rear.
Another problem is that the nikancha's territory is too big. Once the Shiksans invade, we'll lose the initiative on the battlefield.
"The Shiksans' advantage is that they have several times the number of soldiers we have. Coupled with their large territory, they'll be able to make strategic adjustments to deal with any surprise attacks we send our troops deep inside.
"Large territory is both an advantage and a disadvantage for us. The advantage is that our infiltrators have enough space to move around and won't be easily surrounded.
Our disadvantage is that we can't occupy the enemy's base to rest and reorganize. This large piece of territory is really a barren mountain area. We need a clean source of drinking water, a place for the soldiers to rest and relax, and we also need to ensure the supply of military supplies …
"If I were a Shiksan, I'd only have to defend the nikancha settlements and the Shiksans' mining base to deal with our infiltrators.
"The more troops we send in, the more difficult it will be.
We won't be able to take over the enemy's base if we don't have enough troops, but the more we have, the more problems we'll face.
Our morale and the health of our soldiers will be affected in such a natural environment. It'll be a huge problem for us. "
Eiblont and Beechlin could completely understand what Claude meant. No army could win while fighting against an enemy that was at its weakest in such a harsh environment.
Of course, he didn't count the legendary army that made the 25,000-kilometer long march in his previous life. That was an army that had never been seen before in human history. It was the greatest army of all time and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to boast about it.
Naturally, the two generals didn't know what Claude was thinking about. What they were thinking was that the nikancha's territory was too vast and desolate.
Yet, the Shiksans had the advantage in numbers and could easily use their troops to defend the key points and occupy the water sources.
On the other hand, if the troops who sneaked in for a night raid did not have a clean water source, it would bring unknown diseases and casualties to the troops. On the other hand, searching for usable water sources in the wild would deplete the soldiers' energy, increase fatigue, and affect their combat efficiency …
That was why, even though Claude appeared nonchalant in front of the nikancha, when the Shiksans arrived, he would still command his troops to defend the northern and eastern mountains even if the nikancha didn't have to hand over their land or reward them with their own money.
The reason was simple. There was no place more suitable for an ambush than those two places. The main reason Claude asked for so much was to scare the nikancha and see if he could get some benefits out of it.
"If only we could occupy nikancha territory. That would be enough to give our theatre four more colonies and so many gold and silver mines.
It's such a waste for the nikancha to occupy such a rich place. They could produce seven to eight million worth of gold and silver every year! "Eiblont muttered unwillingly.
That was only Eiblont's opinion. Claude didn't think so. He took a sip of black tea and said, "If we really occupy nikancha territory, it'll be really bad for our theatre.
There's indeed a lot of gold and silver there, but what we lack isn't gold and silver, but manpower.
Even if we relocate more than two million family members to Cromwell and Balingana, the total population of the nine colonies only amounts to about 4.8 million.
Apart from Anfiston, the other seven colonies only have about three to four hundred thousand people. Apart from a few populated towns, most of the territories are undeveloped.
While the theatre's economy is developing rapidly, we lack manpower.
On top of that, we're facing a war and we've formed a reserve corps. More than a third of the young adults in the theatre have been conscripted into the army. That's a dangerous number that could affect the stable development of the theatre's economy.
Everyone wants to get rich overnight. If we occupy nikancha territory, people will flock to us in search of gold and silver. There won't be anyone to grow crops, graze cattle, or open workshops. We might end up like the Shiksan colonies in the past and have to rely on external imports for our daily necessities and military supplies.
If that happens, the theatre won't be as peaceful as it is now. What can we do even if we have more gold and silver? We can't use it to eat or use it. Using it to buy supplies will only cause prices to skyrocket. Also, our relationship with the kingdom hasn't been sorted out yet. That'll be a huge problem.
The gold and silver will only bring us trouble. It might even become evidence to accuse us of crimes.
The nikancha territory will only attract more jackals and wolves. Thundercrash and Monolith will even become a thorn in the eyes of those influential people in the capital. They will do everything in their power to control these two corps and protect them in their grand scheme of getting rich.
"In the end, the final victor will force us to capture slaves to mine like the Shiksan nobles. That way, we'll be able to reduce our costs and bring in more profit.
"That's why I'd rather the nikancha territory be in the hands of the nikancha. If we need gold and silver, we can use the production from our colonies to trade with them. That's the same as having the nikancha mine for us.
If the Nikancha agree to my terms, then their country will only be bordered by our war zone.
No matter what the nikancha people want to do, they can only do it with us. We can definitely get stable and profitable profits from them. This is much easier than us occupying their territory and organizing our own people or letting those people in the colonies who dream of making a fortune come and dig for gold and silver … "
That was what Claude was really thinking. Occupying nikancha territory would only bring more harm than good to the war theatre. They were already lacking in manpower, and if the people in the colonies were attracted to mine for gold and silver, who would do the farming and shepherding then?
If they didn't allow people to mine, why would they even bother occupying the territory?
Keeping these nikancha people around would actually give them a place to dump their products from the colonies under the warzone's jurisdiction. The warzone could even buy and sell them at a profit. It would be enough to pay for all the military expenses, so why not …?
As Claude brought up the relationship between the theatre and the kingdom, Eiblont and Birkin sighed in unison.
If everything went smoothly, Colonel Borkal should have already arrived at the royal capital with a platoon of guards guarding the war theatre's gift to the king. Who knew what kind of explanation Prince Wedrick, no, Stellin XI would give to the war theatre?
On the 19th of the 4th Month, Year 593 of the Sacred Light Calendar, Seaking, the Alliance, and the two Fochian fleets escorted countless transport ships to Cape Loducus after being delayed for three days. The two fleets arrived at Cape Loducus after promising to deliver free supplies to Shiks once a year during the five-year lease.
The last three Shiksan standing corps arrived as well. It was the biggest test for Claude and the soldiers of the theatre.
They were up against seven standing corps of Shiks, numbering more than 400,000. That was the largest enemy they had ever faced.