Cecil, the Military Intelligence Bureau. The intelligence from the frontline was quickly sent to Gwen.
When Gawain saw Byron's report about the construction of a temporary prisoner camp on the spot and the acquisition of a granary from Hosman's territory to sustain the prisoners' consumption, a satisfied expression appeared on his face. "Byron is a genius … He actually came up with the idea of letting the prisoners build a camp and lock themselves up. Five thousand axes solved the problem."
Hu Po, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but roll his eyes as he listened. "I knew that this idea was definitely related to you … I don't know how these kinds of ideas come out of people like you …"
"The battlefield is ever-changing. Only people with the same flexible thinking can take the initiative," Gwen said with a serious face.
"Okay, okay, okay. You're an expert," Amber said perfunctorily. Then she looked a little emotional. "But then again, this is really a long chase. In Gravel Ridge, Philip defeated the allied noble army in less than two hours. But after that, we spent more than ten days running in circles with the fleeing enemies. I thought it would take two or three days at most."
Gwen smiled and shook his head. "I deliberately gave Philip the order to prolong the chase as long as possible. Don't put too much pressure on the enemy, don't chase too closely, and always intimidate them within the range of the Persuader's railgun. And from time to time, use the light infantry to harass them. This is to maintain the chase for more than ten days."
Amber was confused. "Why?"
"If not, how can three thousand people defeat thirty to forty thousand enemies?" Gwen looked into Amber's eyes. "The allied noble army was indeed defeated, but this is only the gap in combat power. In terms of numbers, they still have thirty to forty thousand survivors, and they are still energetic and clear-headed. Among them, the Transcendents who are holding the line may still have some will to resist, because those in the middle and rear of the army may not have seen the bombardment at all. In this case, Philip's army can defeat them head-on, but there is no way to wipe them out, stop them from escaping, and even capture them while ensuring their own safety."
It was only then that Hu Po came to his senses. "That's why you had Philip chase those defeated soldiers with cannonballs for more than ten days?"
"The mountain people in the north hunt red mountain wolves before winter. They use whistling arrows and gongs to drive the red mountain wolves in the whole mountain day and night, and they take turns to rest in the mountain. They can force the red mountain wolves, which outnumber the people in the north, into a corner and force them to jump off the cliff in droves. As for the allied noble army … their willpower is not as strong as the red mountain wolves, and it's enough to drive them for more than ten days." Gwen shook his head. "Only by wearing down their willpower to the limit, making them exhausted, slow down their thinking, and lose their most basic judgment, can Philip's three thousand men safely take over the thirty to forty thousand prisoners of war. Otherwise, why do you think Byron gave the prisoners five thousand axes, and they obediently cut down trees to build a prisoner camp and lock themselves up?"
Hu Po looked Gaowen up and down with an expression of admiration. He couldn't help but sigh. "As expected of a 700-year-old Zongzi. He's so experienced …"
She then quickly changed the topic before Gwen took out something and slapped her on the wall. "But then again … I'm afraid no one in Ansu has seen the pursuit for more than ten days, let alone the noble soldiers … After all, you're the first person in history to not accept a truce in a war between the nobles."
"I accept the truce. After they are completely wiped out, or all of them surrender, the war will naturally end," Gwen said casually. "And I believe that day is not too far away."
"What are you going to do next?" Amber looked at Gawain curiously. "The allied noble army is completely done for. Their feudal lords are now in the prison camp at the edge of Count Hosman's territory. There are dozens of noble territories in the Southern Territory waiting for you to take over. On the other hand, according to the information I received, a third to a quarter of the allied noble army managed to escape Knight Philip's pursuit in the plains. These people probably don't dare to return to their territories. If they wander around, they might become a big problem. Trouble. "
Although usually careless and unreliable, Amber had been Gwen's guard for a year and was now the leader of the Military Intelligence Bureau. She had more or less accumulated some experience in doing business. At this time, her analysis was reasonable.
"Of course, I'll take over the land of the Southern Territory …" Gawain said as he stood up and walked to the huge map of the Southern Territory hanging in the office. "But I still need to think about the specific plan. As for those who escaped … it's expected. After all, Knight Philip's manpower is limited. It's already beyond my expectations that he could only let a few people escape. Don't worry about those nobles who have escaped and their defeated soldiers. They will be dealt with properly. "
While speaking, Gwen's gaze moved along the map and finally stopped at the top of the map.
Firmrock Stronghold, the north gate of the south fell into his sight.
After staring at the stronghold for a while, Gwen withdrew his gaze and glanced at the large and small noble territories in the south.
"Send a messenger to Hoseman's prison camp. Have Philip and Byron escort all the nobles and Extraordinaries in the prison camp back to their territories. The prison camp will be under the command of Walter. The prisoner camp will be taken over by Knight Perry. Also, inform Heti and all the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to gather at the government office. I have something to discuss with them. Although the south is not yet pacified, it's time to take over some of the land. "
The war wasn't over yet, and there were still some remnants of the nobles who were fleeing. Even among the nobles who had been captured, there were still many who naively thought that this was a "noble war game". They were waiting for Gawain to negotiate with them, waiting for their territories to pay a ransom to redeem them so that they could continue to be lords. But for Gawain, he had never considered "negotiating" with the nobles in the Southern Region.
The situation he requested must be realized. Now that he had defeated the forces that could hinder him, he had to carry out the next step of the plan.
Soon after, in the government office located in the center of the territory, Gwen appeared in front of everyone.
The officials in the government office stood up and saluted their lord in awe.
The war had lasted for more than ten days. Almost everyone knew about the two overwhelming victories at Gravel Ridge and White Water River and the subsequent "great pursuit" by Cecil's soldiers through the convenient newspapers, bulletin boards, and other channels in the territory. The results of the war not only shocked the enemy but also the people of Cecil. Except for Gwen, who had expected such a result, almost no one thought that the war of the new era would be like this. Their awe was not only for Gwen himself, but also for all the changes brought about by Gwen and the new era.
Before telling them his plan, Gwen first learned about the changes in the territory during this period.
"Ancestor, at present, the territory is running smoothly, and the social order is as usual," Heti, as the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, reported what she knew. "The newspaper has played a big role. It brings the most timely news to the people and avoids all kinds of unnecessary tension and panic, especially Mr. Godwin's opinion articles which are very popular. In addition, it is also because of the newspaper's publicity on the front line that the new round of training soldiers is very smooth and has reached the expected goal. "
Gwen felt that he should be grateful for this era where the people's wisdom was not yet developed. The role of the "newspaper" in the territory was even beyond his imagination. In this era, the people would not question authority, but the newspaper and the people who published it were "authority" in their minds, so they almost unconditionally believed what was said in the newspaper. To be fair, this situation was not what Gwen wanted at first. He even wanted to break this "authority monopoly" when he was in the advanced stage of developing the people's wisdom. But at least at this stage, the influence of the newspaper on the people was what he needed most.
After learning about the recent situation in the territory, Gwen cleared his throat and said, "Everyone, this war is not over yet. There are still some nobles who have escaped our pursuit and disappeared in the wilderness in the northwest with their defeated soldiers. Soon, we will find them and destroy them, but before that, it is time to make arrangements for things after the war is over. First of all, there is the large-scale migration of the population … "
Gawain explained his plan in detail, and this plan would undoubtedly leave everyone deeply shocked, or even dumbfounded.
He asked all the people in the Southern Territory to migrate to several major cities. Almost one-third of the population was to be concentrated in the Cecil area, and the remaining two-thirds were to be redistributed in the Hosman area, Leslie area, Galen area, and Kant area as the center.
"… All the villages far away from the city, the Knight's Station that does not produce food, the farmlands, and the villages and towns that were damaged in this war are to be included in the migration list. Based on the principle of proximity, they will be moved to the few major cities I just mentioned and build a secondary government office there. The secondary government office will be built under the leadership of the officials and clerks trained by Cecil. In the later stage, local intellectuals will be recruited for training to supplement the manpower of the government office. All the migrable people in the Southern Territory will be moved to Cecil and settled in the north coast to form a new district …"
Gwen explained his plan one by one. Of course, this large-scale migration plan had countless details and specific implementation methods, including the guarantee of arable land, resettlement of migrated people, the consumption of food and materials, the specific implementation period of the plan, propaganda and appeasement work, the details of the new government office, urban construction, and so on. There were countless problems waiting for him and his team of officials to solve. So what he proposed here was actually only a draft, which was his "request". After that, it was time for him to "ask questions" for the people in the government office.
"I've roughly said my request. Now, you can ask questions."
Gwen put his hand on the table and slowly glanced around. However, for a full half a minute after he finished speaking, no one in the room spoke.
It seemed that no one had reacted. They were first shocked, then they exchanged glances with each other. Some of them seemed to have thought of some key points, but no one really opened their mouth to ask questions.
They did not know where to start.
Gwen had long expected this situation. He waited patiently until two minutes later, Heti was the first to break the silence. "Ancestor … I want to ask, why do you want to carry out this kind of migration?"
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