On the 26th of the 11th Month, Year 594 of the Sacred Light Calendar, the first general election of the colonies was held in Lanu in Anfiston.
Historians of later generations viewed the general election as a historic event. It marked the beginning of Nubissia's transition from autonomy to independence.
In fact, what was not recorded in the history books was that the 200 candidates who represented the will of the entire colony were all shareholders of the Overseas Minsheng Bank.
Even if they only had 0.1% of the shares, they would still be worth hundreds of thousands of crowns. Every single representative was someone with status and wealth in the colonies.
Stellin XI's decree on how to deal with the colonies had been published in the newspapers of the colonies half a month ago, inciting the wrath of the people in the colonies.
That was because the muddle-headed King didn't treat the settlers of the colonies as his own people, but as slaves who could be squeezed out of their wealth at will. No one would like such a king who coveted their own wealth.
More than two hundred public representatives, the wealthiest immigrants in the colonies, and the shareholders of the Overseas Minsheng Bank knew very well that the kingdom's envoy was targeting them this time.
The reason was simple. The wealth of the infuriated populace was the money they had in their pockets. With Minsheng Bank sealed and their money abolished, the populace would be poor and wouldn't be able to get anything out of it. Only by taking advantage of the rich people in the colonies could Stellin XI's desire to plunder wealth from the colonies be satisfied.
That was why none of the two hundred representatives objected to the proposal to go against the incapable monarch instead of the kingdom. Under Bolonik's leadership, the representatives voted for the proposal for half an hour. With 199 votes in favor, seven abstaining, and zero against, they decided that the overseas colonies would break away from the kingdom and be known as the Aueran Autonomous Colonies. They would be governed on their own and would no longer accept any edicts from Stellin XI.
The first thing they had to do was to change their name. Given the current situation, the colonial war with Shiks had come to an end and they wouldn't have to face another war for the time being.
So, the war theatre was renamed the autonomous region's military zone. It would still be responsible for the military and security of the region.
The commander-in-chief was still Bolonik, with Claude and the other four serving as his deputies.
Bolonik, on the other hand, was mostly in charge of the administration of the region and the communication with the parliament. The two corps and the local garrisons were now in Claude's hands and he was in charge of the actual work of HQ.
Next was the establishment of the autonomous region parliament. More than two hundred representatives of the people became members of the parliament. Claude was no exception and was given the title of autonomous region councilor.
Nominally, the autonomous territory parliament was the highest authority in the overseas autonomous territory and represented the interests of all overseas autonomous territory citizens.
But in reality, the rights of the members of parliament were pitifully small. They only had the right to supervise and propose.
The real administrative authority was divided between the military command and the parliament's executive committee.
After the Dominion Parliament was established, the one-armed Sir Bannett was elected as the first chairman of the Dominion Parliament. His term of office was five years, and he could serve for four consecutive terms.
The next step was to elect the members of the executive committee.
The so-called Executive Committee was the highest administrative body of the overseas autonomous region. All civil affairs were under the jurisdiction of the Executive Committee.
As expected, Bolonik was elected as the first chairman of the executive committee. Claude and the other three generals were also elected.
Apart from the five generals, there were twelve other members of the council, including Weyblon himself. Each of them would be in charge of a particular aspect of the autonomous region's civil affairs. Five years later, there would be another election in the council based on their performance in the administration.
After those major events were passed, the council entered a phase of wrangling. One councilor suggested changing the region into a prefecture system to differentiate it from the kingdom.
After a day of heated debate, the proposal was passed by a small margin.
In the future, the colonies would be called prefectures. Cromwell, for example, would be called Cromwell Prefecture.
If it was further subdivided, it would be a certain county instead of a certain prefecture.
Claude used that opportunity to propose a change in the color of the military uniforms.
He had long been dissatisfied with the Aueran military's red uniform. He could tolerate the straight cap and black trousers, but the red uniform was too eye-catching on the battlefield.
Given that the kingdoms of Freia were paying more and more attention to accuracy, not changing the color of the uniforms would be akin to sending their soldiers to their deaths on the battlefield.
Fortunately, Claude had a lot of influence and the council passed the proposal without any problems.
As for the color, it was up to the military command to decide.
The councilors were all clear-headed and wouldn't criticize Claude on military matters.
Of course, there were also those who believed that the five generals were just trying to earn some extra income for themselves.
After all, changing the uniforms of a 200,000-strong army wasn't a small cost. There were plenty of opportunities for the people who handled it.
What happened next had nothing to do with Claude. He, Eiblont and Birkin left early to prepare for the counterattack against the kingdom and Stellin XI.
However, he could only entrust the task to Eiblont. The autonomous region had just been established, so Claude had to stay at the command center to calm the people.
Apart from Dyavid's Line 1303, the rest of Thundercrash's patrolling fleet was mobilized.
Eiblont would be the commander-in-chief, with Myjack and Berklin as his deputies. Bloweyk's Wolf Fang would be mobilized as well. Colonel Borkal of the intelligence agency would also be mobilized as the chief of staff.
Claude mobilized all the elites of the military for this operation.
"Apart from all the warships and transports from the fleet, I've also mobilized close to a hundred ocean-going ships to Cobicus Port.
The 40 ocean-going ships that Colonel Borkal brought back with 60,000 refugees have also been repaired and will be joining the convoy this time.
The ships are all filled with rations, ammunition and other military supplies.
The rations will be used to help the refugees, while the ammunition will be used to defend and counterattack.
"This isn't a military operation that can be completed in a single trip. It's a military occupation that could last up to half a year.
"Gather at least a million refugees from the kingdom and use them to make up for the lack of manpower in the region. That's your first objective.
"Secondly, it's a slap in the face to that muddle-headed ruler. We're telling him that we're not pawns to be manipulated and slaves to be squeezed for our wealth.
"Thirdly, after you land in Whitestag, send your troops to take over Pallevia, one of the three southwestern prefectures. That's where the kingdom's fifth-largest military factory is located.
I need you to empty out all the large military machinery and equipment in this military industry, as well as bring the technicians and their families back to the autonomous region overseas.
Our military needs the machinery and technicians of this military industry to expand our military production and to master the special steel forging process.
"Even though we can produce new rifles now, we can only produce 30,000 a year due to the limitations of our scale. Our cannons are also lagging behind and we also lack large smelting furnaces.
"This is mainly the result of the kingdom's previous policy of limiting the production of the colonies. They want the colonies to be the source of the kingdom's resources and forbid any advanced machinery or production processes from entering.
"That's why I hope that this operation of yours can make up for the greatest shortcoming of the autonomous region.
"In the next few years, we'll be entering a period of rapid development. Railways and trains will be the first large-scale means of transportation to be popularized.
"However, we're limited by the number of smelting furnaces in the autonomous region, so we can't mass-produce railway tracks. That's why we can only pin our hopes on your operation.
Apart from making guns and cannons, as well as refining and forging special steel, the military industry in Pallevia also has a large woolen workshop and a dyeing workshop. Don't let go of these two workshops. Also, bring the technicians back to the autonomous region in the sea region. "
"As you all know, my proposal to change military uniforms has been approved by the parliament. Whether your uniforms turn out to be good or bad will depend on your operation.
"Do you understand what I mean? Your objective this time is to gather the refugees and give Stellin XI a slap in the face. That's not important.
The most important thing was to occupy and empty the Valiya County.
Colonel Muriad, the first target of your cruising fleet will be these large military machines, not refugees and refugees.
You can organize the young and strong refugees to help you transport these things … "
He hugged and saluted Eiblont before watching him and his comrades lead Thundercrash's soldiers to board the ship and set sail, disappearing into the horizon.
.....
To Stellin XI, there was nothing worse than receiving reports of the kingdom being invaded on the eve of the new year. He had already prepared a grand banquet for the new year's eve, one that would last through the night. He had spent a large sum of money on the royal treasury.
Now, he only hoped that the envoys to the colonies would be able to quickly send over a sum of money to fill up the royal treasury.
Year 594 of the Sacred Light Calendar wasn't a good year for Stellin XI.
The kingdom's prefectures were no longer able to produce much wealth. On the contrary, the number of refugees and refugees only increased. Corpses of starving corpses could be seen from time to time.
Bandits and bandits were also emerging one after another. The reports sent to the capital by the officials in charge of the various prefectures did not contain any good news. It was either about being robbed by bandits or about the outbreak of a refugee tide. The requests were either for military support or for relief for the refugees, which required a lot of money from the national treasury.
The Ibnister Plains where the royal capital was located was relatively peaceful and orderly.
However, the ministers and local officials of the kingdom were growing more and more dissatisfied with him. Many of them complained that they had chosen the wrong person and pushed him onto the throne.
If they hadn't caused trouble, the kingdom wouldn't be in its current state. As the new king, he didn't have the ability to govern a country at all.
Stellin XI was furious. He wasn't an idiot.
Even though he had many flaws, such as liking for liveliness, hosting all sorts of banquets and balls, and having private trysts with beautiful noble ladies, it didn't mean that he didn't want to be a good king.
Didn't he want to settle the kingdom down?
Even if he wanted to, he couldn't. Putting aside the ministers and nobles fighting for power, he couldn't do anything even if he wanted to. There was no money in the national treasury.
One of the ministers tried to stop the banquets and balls, which infuriated him. He reprimanded the minister on the spot.
Could stopping the banquets and balls turn the kingdom's situation around?
That was simply impossible!
Everyone knew what the money from the banquets and balls could do in the affairs of the kingdom. It wouldn't affect anything.
Moreover, as the king, this was his hobby and enjoyment. If he did it well, he could even expand the Stellin royal family's reputation.
Perhaps after this winter, the kingdom's situation would calm down. The refugees would freeze to death and the kingdom's burden would be lessened. There would be no need to waste money on relief.
When the kingdom's envoys returned from the colonies with money, he would naturally take out a portion to pacify the prefectures and restore production. In another two or three years, everything would turn around.
However, Stellin XI didn't expect to receive reports of Thundercrash's invasion on the eve of the new year. It was a slap to the king's face. It also meant that the envoys he sent to the colonies wouldn't be able to complete their mission. It was unknown if they were still alive or not. They would only be listed as missing.
"How dare you!
How, how dare they rebel! "
The infuriated Stellin XI flew into a rage in the palace and smashed his own quarters to smithereens.
Along with the invasion report was a declaration of autonomy issued by the colonies. It explained to the people of the kingdom why the colonies were rebelling against Stellin XI and not the kingdom. It also contained the decree of Stellin XI on how to deal with the colonies and war zones.
Anyone in their right mind who read the notice would understand why the colonies had no choice but to do so.
The two corps of the colonies were ordered to defend the colonies on Nubissia. They didn't receive any support from the kingdom and had to rely on themselves to win the war against Shiks. They even expanded the seven colonies into nine and contributed greatly to the kingdom's expansion.
Now that the war was over, not only did Stellin XI not reward the brave warriors who sacrificed themselves for the kingdom, he even wanted to punish them for some groundless crimes.
He wanted to demote the five generals and high-ranking officers in charge of the war theatre and disband the two second-rate corps that defended the kingdom for their contributions and loot their spoils of war.
At the same time, he wanted to plunder the colonies for riches and didn't even treat the colonists as his own people.
The decree obtained from the royal envoy demanded that the envoys collect taxes and tributes that weren't handed over to the treasury and the royal family for the past five years, as well as a fine of ten times the amount.
That alone made the people feel like the king had gone mad from poverty and was biting everywhere like a starving dog.
The nobles knew that the taxes and tributes had already been allocated by Stellin X to the two corps of the war theatre to support them in resisting the Shiksan invasion. That was a decree issued by the ministry of the army with Stellin X's seal and signature on it.
Stellin XI, who succeeded the throne, went back on his word and refused to acknowledge the late king's decree. He wanted to collect taxes and tributes from the colonies for five years, as well as a fine of ten times the amount.
A simple calculation showed that this was a huge sum of money. Could that barren colony even produce such a sum of money?
He was clearly forcing the people of the colonies to rebel. It was no wonder Thundercrash chose to go against Stellin XI instead of the kingdom.
It had to be said that Stellin XI had lost the support of the people. After Thundercrash landed in Whitestag, they immediately used their light cavalry to occupy ten prefectures, including the three southwestern prefectures. They then took in the refugees and didn't do anything to them. Soon, they received the support of the local officials and nobles.
It was only at this time that someone sent this news to the capital.
No matter how Stellin XI roared and cursed in the royal capital, accusing the people of being traitors to the kingdom, he couldn't do anything to Thundercrash.
However, he couldn't do anything to the Thunderclap Corps that occupied ten local prefectures, because no one was willing to follow his orders to suppress the rebels.
He didn't dare to send out the royal guard stationed in the royal capital and Ibnister Plains for fear that his life would be in danger.
As for Gryphon's corps jarl, the hereditary marquis, Jarius Ho Hadro, he said that he would first pay the huge sum of military expenses before discussing the matter of the rebels.
The commander of the Red Dragon Army, Duke Siegfried, was Stellin XI's father-in-law, but he didn't have a good relationship with the king's son-in-law. He refused the order to mobilize the Red Dragon Army.
No one was a fool. While Thundercrash was considered a second-tier corps in the kingdom and was only one rank higher than the local garrisons, the fact that they could defeat ten Shiksan standing corps meant that they were extremely powerful.
Moreover, they had entered the kingdom's mainland this time to help the kingdom gather the refugees. They were prepared to send them to the colonies to give them a way out.
They were doing a good deed for the kingdom, so there was no need to disturb them.
Even if they became an autonomous colony, they wouldn't be rebelling against the king, not the kingdom. They wouldn't have independence, so there was no need to push their luck.
The kingdom's three ace corps watched as Thundercrash moved freely in the ten prefectures they occupied. The only unlucky one was Stellin XI, who once again became the laughing stock of the various kingdoms on Freia.
His decree was ignored and he could only hide in the palace to numb himself with alcohol.