It was only in the middle of May that Claude finally had some free time. He turned his attention back to the colonies on the west coast.
The situation on the west coast had reached a stalemate. When the news of the Dominion Dominion forming an alliance with the Pamigal National Republic and sending Thundercrash to defend the territory spread, the colonizing countries on the west coast understood that they had no reason to intervene in the Pamigal territory.
Attacking the pamigar Republic at that moment would be no different from declaring war on the region. Nobody would do something so foolish.
Therefore, the colonial countries on the West Coast retracted their claws and teeth and no longer coveted the colonies of other countries. Instead, they began to build defensive lines and defensive positions in their own colonies. They all put on a harmless and self-defensive appearance, as if they had transported two or three standing corps to their colonies for defense.
In February, Mr. Weyblon formed an economic delegation to the colonies on the west coast to discuss the issue of tariffs and trade bans on goods from the Dominion entering the colonies.
The economic and trade delegation spent three months touring the colonies of the West Coast. They were warmly received by the colonial authorities, but the trade ban was still not lifted. The goods produced by the overseas dominions were still unable to enter the markets of the West Coast colonies ….
One of the colonial governors had told Mr Weyblon that hospitality was a personal gesture, and that they were friends.
However, the trade ban is a principle of the kingdom. Once it's lifted, our artisanal workshops and those monopolized by the kingdom's nobles will be destroyed.
The goods produced by the kingdom will no longer be able to reap the rich profits from the colonies. No one can afford such a consequence, so we would rather risk offending the Dominion to enforce the trade ban and refuse to sell your goods outside the colonial market …
Well, Mr. Weyblon had organized an economic mission to the West Coast colonies, but had only managed to win the personal friendship of the governors in charge of the colonies. He had tried to lift the embargo on the goods of the overseas dominions, but had run into a snag.
After his return, Weyblon made a speech to the council. He said that unless the west coast colonial countries were completely defeated militarily, they would never lift the embargo and open the market to the overseas dominion.
He wanted to crush the colonized countries on the west coast in terms of military might as well.
But the problem was that the region had to find a suitable excuse to go to war.
There was no reason for the autonomous military to send troops just because of a trade ban. This was because the trade ban was issued to protect the goods produced by their own kingdom. It was issued to prevent competition with the goods produced by the overseas autonomous region, so it was reasonable.
The region couldn't just go to someone else's house just because they couldn't sell their goods there. They weren't that tyrannical.
No one was a fool. The colonized countries on the West Coast were the same.
When the autonomous military region allied with the pamigar, rented their military port, and stationed the Thundercrash Legion at the border, the autonomous military region, who supported the indigenous people's rebellion and supported the indigenous people's independence, stepped onto the stage.
Everyone knew what was going on, but no one dared to criticize the region.
That was what they meant when they won and lost.
The only unlucky ones were Morosik, Lesnia and Vasilko who lost their colonies.
The other West Coast colonial countries had learned the lessons of these three countries and strengthened the supervision and control of the indigenous peoples in their colonies. Of course, they had also given some benefits to appease the indigenous peoples. At the same time, they had also asked the garrison troops of the colonies to prepare for border defense and set up a complete defensive line and defensive position to guard against enemy sneak attacks …
Claude and the other strategists of the region looked around and saw that the colonies on the west coast didn't have any opportunities to take advantage of. Every single one of them was keeping a tight watch on the region, so they gave up on the idea of causing trouble.
The most important thing for the region was to settle down internally. The eight repatriated Shiksan folk had to be disbanded and the remaining hundreds of thousands of Shiksan families had to be settled.
So, the region could wait until next year to slowly compete with the west coast colonies.
But sometimes, accidents happened very suddenly. One night at the end of May, the Mount Weiders Harbor Colony of the Fox Islands United Kingdom was suddenly attacked and looted by countless pirate gangs. A sailing fleet of the Fox Islands United Kingdom that had just arrived at the harbor was robbed and divided up by the pirates in a premeditated manner.
While most of the sailors and sailors went ashore to enjoy the night, the large sailing warships that didn't have much of a garrison quickly fell into the hands of the pirates.
About 50-60 sailing warships in better condition fell into the hands of the pirates, while the remaining 40-odd transport ships were all set on fire by the pirates who came to attack.
In other words, one of the four famous naval fleets of the Fokes Islands United Kingdom was inexplicably lost by the pirates. Even the Mount Weiders Harbor Colony that they were planning to build into a shipbuilding base was also plundered by the pirates ….
The Fochs were furious, as if they had been slapped in the face by the pirates.
The Fochs had always been known as a powerful maritime nation. They had four powerful sailing fleets and no pirates dared to offend them.
Generally speaking, ocean-going merchant ships flying the flag of the Fox Islands United Kingdom Navy would rarely be intercepted and attacked by pirates.
But no one expected that the pirate groups would join forces to attack a sail fleet of the Fokes Islands United Kingdom. Not only did they successfully divide the sail warships in the fleet, but they also seized the kingdom's shipbuilding base.
The Fokes Islands United Kingdom suffered huge losses. They immediately sent two powerful sailing fleets to the Nubali Islands waters to look for trouble with the pirate groups and to find out who was the culprit behind the attack and the kidnapping incident …
Claude didn't think he would face such a problem. He was just joking back then, thinking the other party wouldn't dare to take the bait.
He didn't expect that he had underestimated the other party. After cutting off contact with the other party, the other party actually planned such a shocking attack and destroyed a naval fleet of the Fokes Islands United Kingdom, which could be considered as fulfilling the conditions he proposed.
Now, they wanted him to fulfill his promise and hand over the six ironclad warships to them.
"Is this really an attack planned by Eriksson?" Claude asked Borkal with a bitter smile.
Borkal nodded. "That's the third time you've asked that question, Claude.
The third time I'm sure it was Eriksson's Blacksail Pirates who gathered the other 13 pirate gangs to attack Mount Weiders.
For the pirates, obtaining proper sailing warships was something they could only dream of.
Just like that, the Fochs' sailing fleet gave them a heaven-sent opportunity.
Eriksson said that he had been keeping an eye on the Mount Weiders Harbor Colony of the Fokes Islands United Kingdom since the year before last. This was because the colony was a relatively rare mining area on the west coast with rich mineral resources. If they could hijack a transport ship full of gold, silver, and other precious minerals, it would mean that all the pirates involved in the operation would make a fortune.
However, Eriksson soon discovered that the minerals from the colony were no longer shipped to the Fochs' and were stored in the warehouse instead.
At the same time, the authorities of the colony recruited manpower to build the port and town.
With Eriksson's capabilities, he quickly found out that the Fochs' Kingdom was intending to develop Mount Weiders and turn it into their ironclad warship production base.
Since then, Eriksson had invested a lot of effort into Mount Weiders and planted many of his men in ambush.
Even the colonial authorities of the Fochs Islands United Kingdom didn't know that the somewhat famous captain of the smuggling ship in the port town was actually the infamous leader of the Blacksail Pirates, Eriksson. They were successfully fooled.
Eriksson then noticed that the biggest weakness of the Mount Weyders Harbor Colony was that it was tight on the outside but loose on the inside, especially on the night when a sailing fleet from the United Kingdom of the Fokes Islands arrived at the colony and anchored in the harbor, most of the sailors and sailors would go ashore to celebrate their solitude on the warship with women and liquor.
If they could control the twelve coastal cannons on the outskirts of the harbor and the lighthouses to stop the pirates from sounding the alarm, the outcome would be obvious.
The sailing fleet anchored in the harbor would be done for. It wasn't even clear whether the sailors they had left on the ships were enough to make up for an entire ship's worth of sailors. They weren't a match for the ferocious pirates at all.
The port town and the shipbuilding base were like plucked turkeys. They wouldn't be able to put up much resistance against the cannons of the warships for long.
Eriksson was confident that the attack he planned would bring him huge profits.
He saw with his own eyes that the Fochs' Kingdom drove two ironclads into the shipbuilding base and started replicating four of them.
In other words, there are six ironclads in the shipbuilding base. "
"And then?
Did Eriksson get his hands on those six ironclads? "asked Claude.
Borkal nodded. "Yes, but Eriksson found out that he only got the hulls of six ironclads. There weren't any steam-powered machinery installed in them yet.
The Fochs' shipbuilding experts and a few rune magi admitted that they were stumped by the material of the steam-powered machinery. They're still trying to replicate it, but they haven't gotten any results yet.
Eriksson had no choice but to drag the experts and the hulls of the six ironclads away.
Now, Eriksson sent someone to me and asked me to speak to you to fulfill your promise to him.
You once said that if Eriksson's Blacksail Pirates took the initiative to attack and destroy a sail fleet of the Fochs Islands United Kingdom, you would transfer the six first generation ironclad warships docked at the military port to them.
Now that Eriksson's Blacksail Pirates have joined forces with other pirates to destroy one of the Fochs' sailing fleets, when are you going to hand over the ironclads? "
Claude hesitated for a moment. "Boa, do you really think it's appropriate to hand the ironclads over to Eriksson?
I'm worried that we'll suffer a backlash from the pirates and suffer losses. "
Borkal nodded. "I'm not speaking on Eriksson's behalf. But I believe that having Eriksson's Blacksail Pirates join the fray might bring about a huge change in the west coast. That's good news for us and it's better than the current stalemate.
We can hand the ironclads over to Eriksson, but we have to think of a way for the Blacksail Pirates to get their hands on them. We can't let others think that we're the ones who handed them over to them. "
Claude rapped his fingers on the table and pondered for a moment. "How about this? I'll think about it.
Have Eriksson wait patiently for three days and ask him if we need to modify the hulls of the six ironclads we got from the Fochs.
If it's possible, we can help him modify them into usable ironclads. "
The Blacksail Pirates under Eriksson's command had successfully raided and plundered the Fochs Islands United Kingdom's Mount Weiders Colony. They had also destroyed and divided up a full fleet of the Fochs Islands United Kingdom. This achievement had indeed made Eriksson and the Blacksail Pirates famous.
The reason the two sailing fleets of the Fochs went to the Nubali Islands to cause trouble for the pirates was to find the whereabouts of the Blacksail Pirates.
The officers of the autonomous military area who were qualified to participate in the discussion on whether or not to hand over the six first-generation ironclad warships to the Blacksail pirates had different opinions. In the end, it was General Birkin who persuaded the senior officers to make the final decision.
General Birkin believed that Eriksson and the Blacksail Pirates had become the mortal enemies of the Fochs Islands United Kingdom. Two sailing fleets were searching for their whereabouts, and the other pirate groups who had been implicated in their own safety also hated Eriksson and the Blacksail Pirates to the core. If there was any news of them, they would not hesitate to hand them over to the navy of the Fochs Islands United Kingdom.
Under such circumstances, strengthening the Blacksail Pirates under Eriksson's command would give them the ability to contend against the Fochs' sailing fleet or even deal another heavy blow to it.
In that case, the Fox Islands United Kingdom would not be able to continue to dominate the sea. Once their two sail fleets retreated to avoid war, their three colonies on the west coast would be in jeopardy. It would be easy for them to become the target of other colonial countries …
As for whether the Blacksail Pirates would pose a threat to the shipping of the autonomous region with their ironclads, Birkin didn't think it was a concern.
Firstly, the navy of the autonomous region was equipped with the newest model of ironclads, which could completely crush them in terms of quantity and quality.
Secondly, the Blacksail Pirates could only rely on the autonomous region to modify and repair their ironclads. As long as they were clear-headed, they wouldn't offend the autonomous region for no reason.
Claude decided to give Eriksson a chance. He agreed to hand the six first generation ironclads to the Blacksail Pirates and said that he would repair and modify the hulls of the ships they obtained from Mount Weiders. He only offered a high price of 100,000 crowns per ship.
What Claude didn't expect was that Eriksson agreed to his request and gifted him 600,000 crowns worth of jewellery and the six hulled warships.
The deal with Eriksson came to an end for the time being. After all, it would take some time to repair the six hulled warships.
By then, the transport fleets of the region had transported another 300,000 or so Shiksan settlers and four homecoming folk back. One more trip and they would be done.
According to the plan, the eight homecoming folk would be disbanded.
"What's the meaning of this?"
Claude looked at the bloody letter in his hand. Well, it should be considered a bloody letter. At the very least, the name was black with a hint of red. It was signed with blood.
Standing in front of Claude was one of the two chief commanders of the homecoming folk, General Drivick.
His face was flushed red as he explained with some embarrassment, "Lord Marshal, these letters are signed by the homecoming folk with their own blood. They aren't willing to retire and are instead willing to fight for the region even if it means sacrificing their lives.
That's why they signed the letters in blood in the hope that the homecoming folk won't be disbanded. "
Alright, there's no need for an explanation. Claude understood right away. The cash reward a few months ago made the Shiksan folk red with envy and made them realise that joining the military was a lucrative future.
Now that they were about to be disbanded and returned to civilian life, they couldn't bear to part with the benefits of being a soldier.
That made sense. A normal Shiksan homecoming folk would simply return to Shiks to reunite with their family and relatives before migrating to the region. All expenses would be covered by the region and the soldiers would be given a monthly salary and benefits.
Even if the soldier didn't fire a single shot in Shiks and was only on sentry duty, he would be rewarded with ten crowns upon his return. How could he not be tempted?
If they were to find work in a civilian workshop or farm, they would only earn two to three thales a month for their hard work.
The difference between that and the Shiksan folk who captured the rebels in the royal capital was far too great.
Every single one of them would be rewarded at least thirty to forty crowns. The more battles they fought, the more they were rewarded.
That was why the Shiksan soldiers were now writing letters in blood to serve the region loyally.
Claude gave it some thought and said to General Drivick, "The region still has a volunteer corps. The eight homecoming folk are to be disbanded. Pick out the soldiers who are willing to serve the region and recruit the best to form the Shiksan corps.
It'll be the same as Thunderclap and Monolith. It'll have four folk and 90,000 men. You'll be the corps commander for now. "