On the 1st of the 7th month of Year 606 of the Sacred Light Calendar, on the western coast of Nubissia, the Pamigal Republic, Port Saint Nicholas.
Six ironclad warships that were spewing black smoke approached the long trestle that extended into the sea. This was a standard small combat unit of the Ironclad Fleet of the Overseas Dominion Navy. It consisted of one ironclad cruiser, four ironclad destroyers, and one ironclad armed transport ship.
The six ironclad warships were the newest third generation warships that had just been completed at Port Patrese. They were there to escort Marshal Claude to the Pamigal Republic.
Port Saint Nicholas was the largest deep-water port in Moroshik's colony. It was also the most prosperous port among the four port towns along the coast.
Port Giruda and Port Mears were both fishing towns. While Port Filimuz was also a deep-water port, it was located in a remote mountainous area and didn't have as good a future as Port Saint Nicholas.
After the Pamigal Republic was established, Port Saint Nicholas became the only one of the four port towns that was still prosperous.
Even though the long-distance trade with Moroshik was interrupted, the trade ships from the Dominion filled the gap.
Be it military aid from the Dominion or economic aid from the Dominion, they were all delivered through Port Saint Nicholas, causing the pier to become more and more lively.
As the six ironclad warships docked, the square was filled with cannon salutes and pigeons. The people gathered at the edge of the square cheered loudly.
The Pamigal Republic welcomed Marshal Claude's visit with the grandest of ceremonies. Nearly a hundred beautiful pamigal girls danced a lively folk dance in the square while the military band at the front played a lively welcome song. A group of pamigal officials rushed to the pier.
Claude disembarked from the cutting-edge cruiser, General Storock. (Note: The third generation of the Dominion Navy's ironclads are named after legendary figures recorded in Aueran history.)
Under the introduction of the ushers, they hugged the dark-skinned high-ranking officials of the Pamigal Republic one by one. The highest-ranking official was the Prime Minister of the Republic, an old pamigal man in his sixties. He was smiling like a blooming chrysanthemum.
When he reached the docks, a cute pamigar girl put a garland of dew on Claude and kissed him on both cheeks before leaving with a blushing face.
After that, the dancing pamigal girls swarmed over and placed the same garlands on Claude's entourage, though they didn't kiss each other. They let Claude and his entourage feel the warmth of the pamigal people's welcome.
Next, Claude, accompanied by the old prime minister, inspected the honor guard of the pamigal national liberation front at the pier square.
It was obvious that the pamigar people were deeply influenced by the autonomous region's military. All of their formations, marching postures, and ceremonial etiquette were exactly the same as the autonomous region's.
Naturally, Claude praised the honor guard's performance, which made the pamigar high-ranking officials smile with pride.
In the end, Claude and the prime minister gave a passionate speech to the welcoming crowd at the pier square before getting on their carriages and heading for the banquet.
After the banquet, they rested for the night before continuing their journey to the pamigar capital, Peda Brasso.
It would take two to three days to travel from Port St. Nicholas to Peda Brasso by carriage.
It was obvious from the journey that the pamigar people took Claude's visit very seriously.
Not only did they repair the road, they even sealed off the part of the road that Claude and his entourage passed through to ensure that no other carriages would block the road or delay them. Armed guards could be seen on both sides of the road from time to time.
It could be said that the arrangements for the journey were extremely meticulous and considerate. During the two and a half days, Claude didn't use any rations at all. Every time it was lunchtime, a sumptuous feast would be prepared for the arrival of Claude's carriage.
As for the food and lodging at night, they were even more attentive. Outside Claude's bedroom, there were two beautiful pamigar women waiting for his summons.
Claude was old enough to hold it in, but his entourage, the young officers of the Dominion who accompanied him on his visits, were in the heat of the moment. Unable to contain their loneliness, they all had relations with the pamigar women who waited on them.
Fortunately, it wasn't against military discipline and the pamigars were used to it, so Claude had no choice but to let it go. He only ordered his subordinates to keep their mouths shut.
At two in the afternoon on the 5th of July, Claude arrived at Peda Brasso.
The lifelong president of the pamigar people, Tazinger Nora Taganem, went 15 kilometers out of the city to receive Claude's visit warmly.
So, the welcoming ceremony that had been held at the square of San Nicolas Port was repeated. In the end, Claude and the president sat in the same carriage and entered Pedra Brasso under the rain of petals thrown by the enthusiastic onlookers on both sides of the road.
Claude stayed at Angus' Rose Palace, which used to be the residence of the governor of Moroshik's colony. It was named Rose Palace due to its resemblance to the color of rose.
Angus was the name of its designer. It was the custom of architects in this era to put their names on the buildings they were proud of to make a name for themselves.
Angus was a famous master architect in the southern coastal region of Freia fifty years ago. The governor of Moroshik paid a hefty price to invite him to the west coast of Nubissia and he designed quite a few famous buildings. Angus Rose Palace was one of them.
Not long after he returned from the west coast, he fell ill and passed away. As a result, the few buildings he left in the colony became even more famous.
Angus Rose Palace was located on a small hill in Peda Brasso. From the balcony on the third floor, one could see the entirety of Peda Brasso.
In the distance, there was a group of magnificent palaces sitting on a small hill in the city, opposite the Rose Palace of Ankerse.
That was Jedfeis Palace. It used to be the temporary residence of the king of Moroshik's colony and was now the residence of the lifelong president of Tazinger Nora Taganem. It was also the seat of the pamigar people's highest authority.
Claude's visit was to celebrate the third anniversary of the pamigar people's founding.
The seventh of the seventh month was the pamigar's national day. Standing on the balcony, Claude could see that every household in Peda Brasso was decked out in the open. Colorful flags and curtains were hung everywhere. There were also lanterns of various sizes and bright flowers.
The pamigar maidservant who followed him all the way reported that the carriages sent by the palace had arrived. They were there to welcome Claude and the others to the banquet at Jedfeis Palace that night.
After changing his clothes, Claude gathered his attendants and went to the palace in a carriage. It was a joyous night for both host and guest, but Claude returned drunk.
But when he woke up the next day, he regretted it a little. He found the two pamigar maidservants lying beside him, completely naked.
The memory of last night's revelry still lingered in his mind. Rubbing his aching waist, Claude could only shake his head and smile helplessly. Drinking was a hindrance.
The pamigar liked to add some aphrodisiac potion to their drinks, and when they got drunk, they couldn't control themselves and carried the two half-hearted maids to their bed.
President Tazinger Nora Taganem was considerate of Claude and the others' tiredness from last night's journey, so he didn't arrange anything for them on the sixth of the seventh month. However, a banquet at night was inevitable.
However, Claude couldn't help but feel apprehensive when he saw the banquet wine soaked in various aphrodisiacs. He asked Tazinger why they were all drinking such aphrodisiac wine instead of fruit wine.
He didn't think the president would give him such an unexpected answer. The president told Claude that it was a national policy of the pamigar people to increase their population.
In order to fight for independence and freedom, the pamigars paid a heavy price in the three-year war. Nearly half a million young men died on the battlefield.
The pamigar people only had about seven million people. Losing those five hundred thousand young men caused an imbalance in the population. Now, the pamigars had more men than women.
That was why the pamigar people came up with a population development strategy. Every pamigar man had to marry at least two wives and have at least four children to fulfill his duty to the nation.
That was why all the alcohol sold in the pamigar people were aphrodisiacs to give the men the strength and spirit to fulfill their duties as husbands.
As the president of the pamigar people, he naturally had to set an example. The banquet he hosted had to have the best aphrodisiacs.
Of course, if he didn't drink the best aphrodisiacs, he would have to worry about not being able to satisfy his seven ravenous wives at night.
But we're visitors, not pamigars. Why don't we drink this aphrodisiac wine?
Claude retorted.
In the end, Tazinger smiled knowingly. He said that as a guest, he had to do as the host wished. Besides, he wasn't doing it for free.
Every member of Claude's entourage was accompanied by two maidservants who had undergone such training to ensure that the guests could enjoy the best possible pleasure.
If he impregnated the maidservants, it would be a win-win situation. After all, they would be born with dark red skin, which meant they would be pamigars. They would receive the best care.
So, Claude didn't have to worry about anything. All he had to do was enjoy the maidservants with silky skin.
As a friend and a guest, Claude and his entourage were supposed to do their part to increase the pamigar population.
Claude was dumbfounded at first, but he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It was unbelievable. Had the pamigars gone mad to increase their population?
Claude immediately protested. If the aphrodisiac wine was used for the banquet, the next day would be the pamigar people's national day. Claude and his entourage couldn't guarantee that they would be able to get out of bed. It would be terrible if they delayed the celebration.
With that threat in mind, Tazinger decided to remove the aphrodisiac wine after much consideration and replaced it with normal fruit wine for the guests.
But when Claude returned to his room in the Rose Palace in a drunken stupor, he found that he still couldn't get over it.
The two pamigar maidservants took off all their clothes and got on the bed, one on the left and the other on the right, teasing Claude until he was as hard as steel. (Twelve thousand words were omitted here to avoid discord.)
On the seventh of the seventh month, Claude had a long and boring day. He and Tazinger stood on the platform on the second floor of the palace and waved at the parade.
The so-called national day celebration of the pamigar was a parade of floats. First, tens of thousands of people from the capital city of Peda Brasso would cheer and surround nearly a hundred beautifully decorated floats as they passed through the square in front of the palace. They would shout long live President Taz Singh and Claude on the platform on the second floor before leaving to enjoy the various delicacies laid out on the long tables along the street.
Next was the parade of floats from the various towns of the pamigar people. The number of people in the parade varied from a few hundred to a few dozen. All of them had to pass through the square in front of the palace while chanting "Long live".
Claude stood with the high-spirited and satisfied Tazinger for the whole day. His arms were sore from all the waving.
At night, there was another grand banquet. This time, there wasn't any fruit wine, only aphrodisiac wine.
Even though Claude tried his best not to drink too much, he couldn't do anything about it when he returned home. He could only vent it on two pamigar maidservants before he could sleep soundly.
The eighth of the seventh month was the date for the formal negotiation between the pamigar people and the region. But when Claude woke up and checked his and his entourage's state of mind, he had no choice but to postpone it for a day.
He decided not to attend any more banquets that night. They would just eat whatever they wanted in the Rose Palace of Ankerse and get their spirits back up as soon as possible.
Otherwise, drinking that aphrodisiac wine at the banquets every night and fooling around with the maidservants after returning home, who would be able to take it? How would they have the energy to discuss official business?
A day later, Claude saw that his entourage was in better spirits. Only then did he hold a formal meeting with the higher-ups of the pamigal nation.
There were two main issues to be discussed this time. One was the economic and military aid that the Autonomous Dominion would provide to the pamigar people. The other was that the Autonomous Dominion wanted to lease the pamigar Republic's Filimuz port as a military base.
The more complicated part was the economic aid. Apart from a low interest loan of six million crowns for five years, there was also aid for technology and investment projects.
For example, a large corporation in the overseas autonomous region that dealt in paper products had their eyes on the boundless reeds along the banks of the Mirankeda River. They were preparing to open a large papermaking workshop there, specializing in the production of paper products using reeds as the main material. They needed preferential policies and tax exemptions from the Chinese government.
Among the entourage that accompanied Claude were 40 businessmen from the region's parliament. Their goal was to invest in the pamigar people and use the region's influence to seize the raw materials market.
Fortunately, their demands weren't too excessive. After three days of negotiation, they came to an agreement.
Apart from the investment, the businessmen, led by the Minsheng Bank, would set up a branch in the pamigar people. They would also help the pamigar people set up their own bank to issue pamigar currency that would be pegged to the region's currency.
Their financial, tax, and customs systems would be improved, as well as the laws governing their market operations and trade. A framework for trade and economic cooperation was formed.
In terms of military assistance, President Taz Singh insisted on military preparedness first and economic development second. He requested the autonomous region to train four standing corps for the Pamigal National Republic and provide all the weapons and armaments needed by the four corps. At the same time, he also requested the Republic to organize and reorganize 20 local garrison regiments.
That request shocked Claude and the other officers. But when they thought about the dangerous environment around the republic, they could understand the anxiety of the pamigar people. After all, they were constantly facing the threat of invasion and destruction.
Claude stopped the meeting and met with President Taz Singh and the other officers in private. He managed to convince them to give up on military preparations.
Instead, he reorganized the four standing legions, reducing them to two standing legions and one Capital Guards Division. He also eliminated the old and weak, recruited new soldiers to complete the training, and used the eliminated people to form twelve local garrison regiments.
According to President Taz Singh's original request and plan, the Pamigal National Republic would have eight standing corps and 20 local garrisons. With such a force, not only would the Republic be unable to recruit all the young soldiers of the right age, but it also wouldn't be able to afford such a huge amount of military resources and funds. In that case, the Republic's economy would lack young workers and wouldn't be able to develop …
Fortunately, Claude managed to convince them that quality was more important than quantity. He promised to send Thundercrash to Pamigal to help defend the republic after it was transported back from Freia to defend it against any enemies who harbored greedy designs on the republic.
At the same time, the region would also send officers to help the republic with the reduction of corps and training of the local guard corps. They would also provide all the weapons and supplies needed for the two standing corps. They would also help the republic establish its own firearms and ammunition factories. Lastly, they would set up an officer training school in the republic's capital, Peda Brasso.
After discussing the economic and military aid, Claude and Taz Singh signed the lease agreement for Filimuz Port.
The pamigar people couldn't have asked for more. They believed that leasing Filimuz Port would allow the region's navy to defend the republic's coastline.
That was why they only asked for ten thousand crowns a year and signed a ninety-nine year lease in one go.