Claude had his hands full.
Ever since the second month of Year 595 of the Sacred Light Calendar, the fleet of the region had been transporting all sorts of large machinery, technicians and their families back from Whitestag.
According to the commander of the fleet, the three southwestern prefectures and the seven kingdoms occupied by the Thundercrash Corps no longer had a single large-scale manufacturing workshop.
Regardless of whether it was military or civilian, as long as it was a piece of machinery, all of it was transported back.
Claude had to admit that the most effective way to raise the manufacturing standards of the region was to rob them.
According to Sir Bennett and Mister Weyblon, with these machines and technicians, the products that the kingdom could produce in the colonies could be produced in the colonies as well. In fact, the production efficiency and quality of the products would be even better. Moreover, the cost of producing the same products in the colonies would be lower and the market price would be more competitive.
The reason was very simple. The large manufacturing workshops in the kingdom were basically in the hands of the old noble families and the new business aristocrats. Their products were mostly in a monopoly position in the kingdom and sold to the outside world. There was no pressure of competition, so they would raise their sales prices to maximize their profits.
At the same time, most of the workshops were managed by the management of various kinds of connections, which increased the cost of manpower and resources.
By the middle of the fifth month, the fleet that had made three trips back and forth began a month of repairs and repairs.
When the shipments resumed in June, a large number of refugees and refugees would be transported back.
General Eiblon's report requested for the military to increase the amount of supplies they were sent back. Thundercrash had gathered close to a million refugees and refugees in Whitestag alone, so the pressure on them was quite high.
Claude had no choice but to stay in Cobicus for the time being and divide up the large machinery that was being transported back.
Military machinery was divided up into military and civilian machinery was divided up into what belonged to Blackstone Firearms Workshop and what belonged to Weyblon's military industry.
Civilian machinery was divided into those that belonged to the overseas autonomous military zone and those that could be handed over to the autonomous government councilors to manage …
There were quite a few councilors who wanted to get on Claude's good side and take advantage of the distribution of the machinery, but they knew very well that they wouldn't be able to get another opportunity like this.
Allowing one's family to open a large-scale manufacturing workshop in the local area would allow the family to maintain its influence in the local area, and it would also be the best industry to pass on to their descendants.
For that, there were quite a few councilors who sent their daughters or granddaughters to Claude's bed in order to get closer to him and have their families take care of the machinery.
Claude was exhausted trying to avoid the councilors who brought their children to visit him uninvited.
Fortunately, Bolonik and Sir Bennett quickly rushed to Port Cobicus and took over the distribution of the equipment. That gave Claude some peace and quiet.
In the midst of all this, Claude sometimes wondered.
When Borkal returned last year, he told him that many of the royal guard were dissatisfied with Stellin XI's inability to rule the country and were preparing to elect the fourth prince, Fredri, to the throne.
It had been more than a year since then. Why hadn't there been any movements in the royal capital?
Even Eiblont's report from the mainland stated that the royal capital was peaceful and there were no signs of troops being deployed to deal with Thundercrash.
That was what bothered Claude. He didn't think that Borkal would lie to him and make up a story about the royal guard being dissatisfied with Stellin XI.
Apart from moving the restricted large-scale military machinery, raising the manufacturing standards of the region and taking in the refugees to make up for the lack of manpower, the attack on the kingdom's mainland was also a slap to the king's face.
Forcing the colonies to rebel, having the corps of the colonies land on the kingdom's mainland to rob the military machinery, loot the factories in the neighboring prefectures, and take in the refugees and refugees were all slaps to Stellin XI's face. It could be said that the king had lost all face, be it in the kingdom or abroad. He was labeled as incompetent, muddle-headed, and preposterous. He almost lost his dignity as a king in front of the nobles and ministers of the kingdom.
Under such circumstances, it should be a piece of cake for the Royal Guards to remove him from the throne and elect the Fourth Prince, His Highness Frederick, as the new king. But why was there no movement in the capital?
Wasn't this the best time to do so?
What Claude didn't understand was that the royal guard was cursing as well, and it was directed at Thundercrash.
Originally, the royal guard had already made preparations to elect Prince Fredri as the new king. But just as they were about to make their move, Thundercrash landed and swept through the ten prefectures of the kingdom's mainland, heading straight for the outskirts of Ibinister Plains.
From time to time, the guards at the outskirts of Ibinister Plains could see Thundercrash's light cavalry patrolling the area.
Even though the light cavalry didn't show any hostility and only recruited the refugees to promote the benefits of going to the region, the royal guard at the outskirts had no choice but to prepare for battle.
However, the imperial guards at the checkpoint could only prepare for battle as if they were facing a formidable enemy.
The royal guard didn't know whether Thundercrash's arrival was intentional or not. They deeply regretted revealing their plan to the representatives of the colonies.
Originally, they wanted to win the approval of the colonies and acknowledge Prince Fredri as the new king after their plan succeeded. All they had to do was make a statement.
Originally, they had wanted to obtain the approval of the war zone. After their plan succeeded, they would recognize Prince Fredri as the new King and make a statement.
That put the royal guard in a difficult position and they didn't know whether they should continue with their plan.
This put the Praetorian Guards in a difficult position. They did not know whether they should continue with the plan.
Even though Thundercrash had declared that they were against Stellin XI and not the kingdom, the royal guard didn't dare to let their guard down.
Even though Thundercrash had declared that they were against Stellin XI and not the kingdom, the royal guard didn't dare to let their guard down.
You might know a person for a long time, but you wouldn't know a person's heart. What they feared the most was that Thundercrash would turn on them after the plan to remove Stellin XI from the throne and elect His Highness the Fourth Prince Fredri. They would then declare that the Imperial Guard had deposed the monarch without permission and march into the Ibnister Plains to take revenge.
So, the royal guard and the aristocratic families behind them had no choice but to bide their time and watch as Thundercrash moved equipment and gathered the refugees.
From the looks of it, Thundercrash wouldn't stay in the kingdom for long. They could totally wait for Thundercrash to retreat before launching their rebellion. They had plenty of time and patience.
It wasn't that they didn't send messengers to contact Thundercrash. They believed Eiblont's words that Thundercrash was only there to help the kingdom deal with the refugees and would soon retreat to the autonomous region.
But as long as Thundercrash remained in the kingdom, they wouldn't act rashly and give Thundercrash an excuse to interfere.
But six months later, the fleet set off again to transport the first batch of three hundred thousand refugees. When they returned, they told Claude that Aueran's Reddragon was on the move.
Stellin XI learned from the royal guard and Gryphon that he could still be saved. He collected a war tax from the citizens of the Ibnister Plains and the royal capital and gave it to his father-in-law, Duke Siegfried, as military expenses. This was to encourage Crimson Dragon to attack the rebellious soldiers who had illegally landed on the kingdom's soil.
That was mainly because Thundercrash had started withdrawing its forces from the conquered prefectures.
Everything that needed to be moved had already been moved and the refugees were sent to Whitestag to await the arrival of the transport fleet.
Even some officials and wealthy families packed up their belongings and left with Thundercrash.
They were worried that after the Thundercrash army left, His Majesty the King would send someone to settle the score …
Perhaps it was that evacuation that gave Stellin XI the misconception that Thundercrash had run out of momentum after carrying so many refugees and had no choice but to withdraw its forces.
This gave him hope, and that was to defeat the Thundercrash Regiment and restore his prestige as king.
This hope was placed on the Red Dragon Army, which was led by his father-in-law.
Although his wife died very early because of a difficult birth, as a father-in-law, he really had nothing to say to him.
Back then, without his father-in-law's support, he wouldn't have been able to defeat his eldest brother, Prince Hansbach, to take the throne. It was his father-in-law's Reddragon that he could rely on during crucial moments.
It was laughable that Stellin XI valued and relied on the royal guard the most. It was the most powerful army in Aueras with the longest history, but its internal structure was also the most complicated.
Prince Hansbach wanted to get rid of the old nobles in the royal guard, but the royal guard objected. They pushed Prince Wedrick to the throne and made him Stellin XI, earning him great contributions in the kingdom's civil war.
But now, many high-ranking officers in the royal guard regretted choosing the wrong person to take the throne. Stellin XI's performance wasn't as convincing as it was when he was a prince.
This was especially so after he became the king. He used the new merchant nobles who were like stray dogs. Instead, he tossed aside the old noble families who had helped him a lot when he ascended the throne. This caused many ministers and officers who belonged to the old noble families to be dissatisfied.
It wasn't that Stellin XI didn't know that, but he thought he would gain the loyalty of the royal guard just because he was king.
In the three centuries since Aueras was founded, the royal guard had always been the most trusted and reliable force of every king. Naturally, the king was no exception.
So, he left the fighting to the other corps. Suppressing the other two corps that didn't listen to him was one of his duties as king.
However, Gryphon didn't listen to orders and he would have to pay a huge sum of money to get them to fight. It wasn't worth it.
After much thought, Stellin XI felt that his father-in-law's Crimson Dragon Corps was more reliable. He could still convince his father-in-law to back him up once more by using kinship and a sum of military funds.
After all, in his father-in-law's eyes, Thundercrash was a traitor to the kingdom. As a veteran soldier of the kingdom, it was only right for him to send troops to suppress them.
However, this highly anticipated battle ended very quickly. The Red Dragon Army was ambushed by Thundercrash before they could even deploy their forces. The Red Dragon Army only managed to hold out for half a day before collapsing.
Their muskets weren't as accurate as Thundercrash's and their grenades weren't as far away.
Even the soldiers' physique and combat awareness couldn't compare to Thundercrash's. They were completely crushed.
Not to mention, Thundercrash was a light cavalry corps. Their mobility was several times greater than Reddragon's. There was no way Reddragon could stop Thundercrash's assault in the field.
All of the Crimson Dragon Army soldiers who were facing Thundercrash's relentless assault felt as if they were outnumbered. It was as if they were facing the entire Thundercrash army with only a small group of soldiers.
Without a solid defense, the soldiers of the Red Dragon Army were quickly defeated and became prisoners of the Thundercrash Army …
The leaders of the Red Dragon Legion, who had finally made it to the Ibnister Plains, shed tears together with Duke Siegfried, the commander of the legion. There were more than 65,000 soldiers in the legion, but less than 7,000 had made it back with them.
It was a huge defeat. One of the kingdom's best field corps was wiped out in one battle. The native soldiers finally got a taste of what it was like to be able to wipe out ten of Shiks' standing corps and two second-line corps. It made them understand why the theatre was able to win the colonial war.
Fortunately, Thundercrash didn't bring the captives back to the autonomous region. Instead, they released all of the captured Red Dragon soldiers. At the same time, they treated the injured Red Dragon soldiers on the battlefield and collected the corpses of the dead. They handed over all of the corpses to the officers sent by Red Dragon to receive them. They even thoughtfully returned the weapons and ammunition they had collected on the battlefield.
In total, Reddragon lost close to ten thousand men in that short battle and twenty thousand more with light injuries. That was equivalent to losing half of their men.
The commander of the Red Dragon Army, the Marshal of the Kingdom, Duke Siegfried was so ashamed that he did not even return to the Kingdom. Instead, he brought the remnants of the Red Dragon Army back to their camp to lick his wounds.
The only benefit to the Thunderclap Regiment from this battle was that the Praetorian Guard and Gryphon Legion had once again expressed their goodwill and tried to rope them in. The two legions had both sent a delegation of officers to try and establish good relations with them.
At the same time, they also took notice of the new rifles and grenades Thundercrash was equipped with. But out of fear of Thundercrash's might, they could only study and replicate them when they returned.
The region soon received Eiblont's report on the battle. Claude didn't think much of it.
Thundercrash's victory was inevitable in such a battle. Failure would be surprising.
While Reddragon was one of the three ace corps of the kingdom, it was still an infantry corps.
Being ambushed by a light cavalry corps like Thundercrash on flat plains without a defensive line to rely on, defeat was inevitable.
Other than that, there was also the difference in the performance of the weapons. Compared to the matchlock, the range and firing speed of the new rifles were many times greater.
If both sides used matchlocks, Reddragon wouldn't have suffered so many casualties.
In particular, they had obtained detailed information from the Imperial Guard Corps on their route of march and the deployment of the various troops.
On such a battlefield, the Red Dragon Army's defeat was a foregone conclusion.
After this battle, Thundercrash's progress in the kingdom's mainland was very smooth.
The prefectures they retreated from were quickly taken over by Gryphon.
Both sides maintained a tacit understanding.
What made the Gryphon Legion pleasantly surprised was that without the burden of refugees and refugees from the kingdom, there was now a certain degree of social order. Scenes of production had already begun to appear.
At the very least, some of the farms and fields outside the cities began to plant winter wheat.
For Claude, Year 595 was a very peaceful year. The autonomous region was in the middle of a period of rapid development after the war.
Thanks to the large amount of machinery and equipment shipped from the kingdom's mainland, the autonomous region's various states had nearly a hundred large-scale manufacturing workshops in just a short year. This meant that the overseas autonomous region's productivity would increase further, and it also meant that there would be a huge tax revenue.
The railway from Port Vebator to Cromwell had begun to be laid. The railway had finally opened a new chapter in the overseas dominion's transportation industry. In the next three years, the main task of the Dominion's executive committee was to lay the railway to every town in each state, improve the convenience of commercial logistics, and promote the development of the railway.
Originally, it would take a month on horseback to travel from the southernmost state of Arturas to the northernmost state of Loki Mountains.
But with the railway, the journey would be shortened to seven days.
The attack on the kingdom's mainland this time had not only given the overseas autonomous region the machinery and equipment for a large military industry, it had also given the autonomous region a large steel refinery and forging workshop, which could produce special steel such as cannon steel.
There were also 1.6 million refugees and refugees, which more or less made up for the lack of manpower in the region.
But at the end of the year, a piece of news from the western colonies left Claude and the rest furious, but helpless.
It was said that Shiks, Nasri and Canas had sent a total of eight corps to invade the newly conquered territories of Aueras after the war five years ago. The three nations were fighting to help Rimodra and Sidins recover.