"Has Andross's pack returned yet?" asked Claude.
Lieutenant Colonel Mason Hughes replied, "No, they didn't. After they delivered the supplies to Colonel Borkal in the Morosik colony, the pack horses rested for two days at the border of Mount Romonke before loading up some smuggled supplies and setting off.
Councilor Andeclos's smuggling association built a large camp on the border of the Romonkdorf Mountains. They transported goods from Monknad by wagon through the inland road of the Nikancha Nation to the camp on the border of the Romonkdorf Mountains. Then they smuggled the goods into the colonies on the West Coast by pack-horse teams.
"Also, the smuggling association has ordered a large batch of light rails from the railway workshop. They say they're going to build them on the secret passage.
"I thought they were going to build a railway, but after asking around, I learned that they're going to build a horse-drawn track. That way, they'll be able to cut the travel time and the number of draft horses needed.
"Apart from that, the smuggling association is going to build three storage camps along the secret passage to stock up on smuggled goods. That way, they'll be able to speed up the transportation.
However, there have been a few scuffles between their road repair team and the neighboring nikancha settlement over trivial matters. It's just that they only used their fists and feet and didn't use weapons … "
Claude was quite satisfied with his adjutant. At the very least, he had a good grasp of the movements of Andross's smuggling association. "Send a notice to Andross. Tell him that the name of the association is too ugly. Let's change it to Free Trade and Transportation Association."
"Yes, sir." Mason Hughes jotted down Claude's request in his notebook.
"How much longer before General Myjack returns?"
Lieutenant Colonel Mason Hughes picked up a folder from the table and read through it. "It might take another ten days. The Hawk Eagle sent a message two days ago saying that General Myjack has finished reorganizing the local garrison in Port Vebator. His final destination is the Loki Mountain region.
He can only return to Lanu City after the two local garrisons in the Luoqi Mountain region are reorganized. "
Claude nodded and took out a cigar from the box on the table. He lit it and took a deep puff. "Is there anything else urgent?"
"Yes, you haven't replied to General Derrick's request. Today is the third day," Adjutant Mason Hughes reminded.
Delevik was in charge of recruiting the freed Shiksan captives into the so-called volunteer folk, but he didn't expect there to be sixty thousand of them.
That was already more than the number of folk they were supposed to have. The Shiksans who didn't get chosen and were unhappy about it, causing a ruckus outside the camp every day.
General Drivick had no choice but to send someone to tell Claude about the news and ask for instructions on what to do.
Claude grit his teeth. "Forget it. Let's just form another folk and let General Thibilos Ta Boriote be its linesman.
If the pamigars really manage to take over Morosik's colony and establish their own nation, Morosik might send an expeditionary force to Nubissia. When that happens, the new folk will be put to good use. "
The expenses of the two Shiksan folk would be paid for by the region anyway. Once the pamigars established their own nation, they could turn it into a loan or pay it back with interest.
That was why Claude didn't mind forming another folk. Not to mention, he couldn't disappoint the Shiksan captives who volunteered to join the army.
Regardless of their motives, their willingness to shed blood and sacrifice for the region couldn't be let down easily.
No one knew what would happen after the pamigar's armed uprising, or whether the Morosik Kingdom would retaliate. None of this could be predicted.
Perhaps the two neighboring colonies might even intervene after the pamigars established their own nation.
At that time, it would be better to be prepared than to be unprepared. An additional Division would mean an additional counterattack force.
Otherwise, it would be too late for regrets if they lacked manpower. They couldn't just let the region go into battle alone, could they?
Mason Hughes finished taking notes and continued reporting to Claude. "Grandmaster Liboyd and General Moriad sent a letter saying that the first batch of ironclads to be delivered to the royal capital has been refurbished. They want you to take a look at it in the next few days."
Claude nodded. "Tomorrow or the day after. We'll go to Patres port in the afternoon and stay there for two days."
Mason Hughes nodded and jotted down Claude's schedule in his notebook. "Mister Weyblon reported that the first batch of new muskets and ammunition, as well as the old throwers produced by Shiks, have arrived. 1st Shiksan can start shooting training immediately."
"Have General Drivek check the strengths and weaknesses of the new muskets. If there aren't any problems, the standard Weyblon 02 can be mass produced and equipped.
Also, send a smaller batch to Borkal and let the pamigars try it out. It'll be good for them to test out the new muskets, "Claude said after some thought.
"Yes, Marshal." Lieutenant Colonel Mason Hughes began to make notes in his notebook again.
"Is there any news from the kingdom?" Claude asked.
"This is news from four days ago," Lieutenant Colonel Mason Hughes said. "The Nasrian border was raided by Mambamark bandits and a skirmish broke out. The kingdom sent a special envoy to Mambamark to seek a solution to the growing problem of bandits on the border.
The kingdom's three main ace corps are being equipped with the new muskets. General Eiblont wiped out another nomadic tribe on the Great Plains of Canas. The expansion of Northbay has begun and so on. "
Claude sighed. It was all old news. He had seen it all before.
Mason Hughes finished his notes and saluted. Just as he was about to leave the office, he stopped. "Marshal, I want to leave the army."
"Hmm?" Claude looked at Mason Hughes. "You want to be the commanding officer of a unit?
Where do you want to go? "
"General Drivick said that if you agree, he'll give me the position of regimental commander," Mason Hughes replied.
"That bastard, he's even trying to poach me," Claude cursed.
He looked at Mason Hughes and said, "Alright, I'll agree to it. But I'll give you three days to find me a better adjutant.
Otherwise, you can forget about being a regimental commander. "
"Yes, Marshal."
Mason Hughes saluted again excitedly. "I'll get one for you right away. I promise I'll find you a satisfactory adjutant."
"Sigh, deal with the work I told you to do first!" Claude yelled at the closed office door and shook his head with a smile.
That fellow had been with him for a few years. It was time for him to have his own post.
Come to think of it, Myjack and Mason Hughes were the only adjutants who had served him in the past. He was a little reluctant to let them go.
On the 14th day of the tenth month, 602 of the Sacred Light Calendar, a pamigar riot broke out in the Morosik colony on the western coast.
It was said that the incident started when the Morosik Kingdom's colony, Ubilis, imposed a self-spinning tax on the pamigar's own linen, which resulted in the pamigar rioting.
Morosik was rich in fine linen, and most of it was shipped to the colony to be sold at a high price.
The pamigars in the colony did not want to be taken advantage of, so they grew their own linen and spun it into cloth.
Morosik's linen merchants colluded with the local officials to ban the use of farmland to grow linen, so that the native linen would sell well throughout the colony.
However, the merchants and officials were too simple-minded. Even if they couldn't grow linen on farmland, they could still grow it in the wild. After all, linen was a crop that required very little land.
The pamigar would often carry a handful of hemp seeds and scatter them in the wild. After about half a year, the wild would be full of hemp, which could be harvested, soaked, degummed, and harvested for spinning and weaving.
So, the merchants and the local officials were furious and issued another ban.
That was, whoever owned a loom would have to pay a high linen tax. That meant that whoever owned a loom would be able to weave linen in private, which would harm the colony's interests.
There were only two choices: pay the tax or confiscate the loom.
The first wooden loom of the year was already a treasure for a pamigar woman. With it, she could earn her own living. Even if she had no money, the linen she spun could be used as currency.
Some of the more skillful pamigar women could even weave linen into cloth that was not inferior to fine linen.
If the fine linen imported from Morosik could be sold at a low price, perhaps the business would be good.
Unfortunately, the merchants of Morosik were too greedy. They wanted to plunder the pamigars' wealth with the fine linen and sold it at a price five times higher than the fine linen shipped from Morosik to other countries. As a result, the linen became unmarketable, and not many pamigars were willing to buy it.
Originally, they could use the excuse that the oversea region smuggled too much fine linen cloth into the country and sold it too cheaply. However, after the colony of the Kingdom of Morosik imposed a trade ban on the oversea region, the oversea region lost the smuggled goods, and the local fine linen cloth of the Kingdom of Morosik remained unsold.
In order to force the pamigar to buy the high-priced linen, the linen merchants and local officials created a tax on self-woven linen, thinking that if the pamigar lost their looms, they would buy their linen, or they would have to go naked ….
At the beginning of the riot, the pamigars were still using stones, knives, spears, and self-made bows and arrows. They were easily dispersed by the colonial garrison and local garrison forces with muskets. The streets were littered with the bodies of the rioters.
The colonial officials and garrison from Morosik thought that the riot would be quelled in less than three days, just like in the past.
But they did not expect that the riot would last for half a month. The pamigars who finally appeared were armed with a new type of matchlock. They seemed to have undergone strict military training. The colonial garrison of Ubilis and a battalion of local garrison forces soon suffered heavy losses and lost the entire city.
The fall of Ubilis came as a great shock to the colonial authorities of the Morosik Kingdom. Only then did they learn that the organizer of the riot was the long-ridiculed bastard baron Tazinger Nora Taganem. He announced the formation of a pamigar national liberation front in Ubilis, dedicated to the cause of the pamigar national liberation and independence.
Countless pamigars made their way to Ubilis.
Claude was actually quite annoyed. The pamigar riot in Moroshik's colony was an accident and wasn't part of the plan. The newly formed 1st Shiksan folk were still training in the camp outside Lanu and hadn't set off for Moroshik's colony yet.
"They're two and a half months ahead of schedule. Most of the pamigar youths who participated in the riot haven't even completed three months of military training.
The nikancha are nikancha. Their lack of organization and discipline is in their blood. They can't change their bad habits just because they changed their name to pamigar! "
General Netas ba Lavagos was furious. He hated anyone who didn't go according to plan.
"Colonel Borkal sent an eagle message saying that the reason the armed uprising was brought forward was that many pamigars in Yublis had been killed. Many of them were relatives and family members of the pamigar youths who were in training. When they learned of the grievous news, the youths couldn't hold back their anger and hatred. They brought their weapons and ammunition back to Yublis to participate in the uprising.
"They had no choice but to start the uprising ahead of schedule.
"Fortunately, Morosik's colonial troops and local garrisons are weak and aren't a match for the pamigars who've only undergone a short period of military training.
"When Ubilis fell into the hands of the pamigar national liberation front, Tazinger Nora Taganem had to step up. Otherwise, he'd lose his position as the leader and commander," explained Myjack as he looked at the eagle message in his hand.
Everything happened so suddenly that even Colonel Borkal could only go along with the flow. He couldn't stop the pamigar youths from avenging their loved ones or stop the riot.
"Lord Marshal, what should we do now? Should we stop 1st Shiksan's training and have them prepare to head to Morosik's colony as reinforcements?" asked General Fodelus.
Claude waved his hand and asked, "Did Colonel Borkal ask for immediate military assistance in this eagle message?"
"No. He only explained the reason for the early uprising. He didn't say anything else," replied Myjack.
Claude smiled. "Then let's ignore the pamigar rebellion. General Netas is right. The nikancha are nikancha after all. It's not like they'll lose their bad habits just because they're called pamigars.
I don't think Colonel Borkal and the officers we dispatched will have an easy time of it. The pamigals are getting carried away with how easily they took Ubilis … "" That's right, Captain Borkal.
It was said that the pamigar had never won a city in the last two hundred years, nor had they captured a single city.
I believe they'll be filled with confidence now that Ubilis is in their hands. Next, they'll sweep through most of Morosik's colony and countless other towns.
They don't lack manpower. Didn't Colonel Borkal say that countless pamigars have come to seek refuge with Tazinger Nora Taganem? Coupled with the twenty thousand pamigar youths who know how to use muskets after a short period of military training, the Morosik colonial troops and local garrisons are no match for them … "
"Then wouldn't the plan and the large investment we made be in vain?"
The finance chief, Senanov, was rather anxious. If the pamigars took over Morosik's colony and established their own nation, they would have to bear the military expenses of the two Shiksan corps themselves.
General Fodrax smiled. "Don't worry. Marshal Claude doesn't have enough to say. The pamigars can sweep through most of Morosik's colony, but they won't be able to take over the entire colony on their own.
By the time Morosik reacts and sends a corps to suppress them, the pamigars will be in for a hard time.
We can be patient and wait until they're defeated and ask for reinforcements. Only then will the pamigars be willing to pay a hefty price for our help. "
General Netas nodded. "General Fodrax is right. It won't be too late for us to make a move then.
But what I'm most worried about is whether the neighboring Lesnia and Vassiliko Duchy will intervene in the pamigar's rebellion.
If the colonial garrisons of these two countries help the Morosik Kingdom suppress the pamigar rebellion, I doubt the pamigars will be able to hold out until our reinforcements arrive … "
Claude shook his head. "That basically won't happen. Moroshik and Vasilko are enemies to begin with. Be it on Freia or in the western colonies, they've fought each other a few times.
If it weren't for the support of the Opsaro City-States Alliance, the Vassiliko Duchy would have long been destroyed by the Morosik Kingdom.
"As for Lesnian, they're the main target of Morosik's colony. The two nations have clashed several times over their borders and their relationship isn't that good.
"Now that there's a pamigar rebellion in Morosik's colony, the two colonies will only gloat and hope that Morosik falls and the pamigars can establish their own nation.
That's the only way they can send troops to the pamigar nation and take over the colony. That's why they won't send troops during the early stages of the rebellion. They might even give the pamigars private support. "