"My Lord, I think that your agreement with the Fisablon Family to exchange their weapons and equipment for cattle and sheep is extremely unwise. From a strategic point of view, this is simply an act of aiding the enemy …" Schwald, who had been holding it in for two days, finally could not hold it in any longer. He took the opportunity to express his opinion to Laurist during the afternoon tea.
Laurist calmly placed a piece of honey pastry into his mouth. After eating it, he picked up the teacup to rinse his mouth and looked at Schwald with a smile that was not a smile.
Schwald's face was red. After waiting for a long time for Laurist to reply, he became a little anxious. "Teacher, tell me, why did you make this deal with the Fisablon Family? Everyone said that you were head over heels in love with Princess Sylvia, and that's why you made such a decision …"
Laurist hurriedly turned his head to look. Fortunately, Miss Trish was still sunbathing with the little darling on the grass. Although her maid, Little Winnie, had grown up, her childish nature had not changed. She was currently playing with the little darling's little feet and did not hear what Schwald had just said.
"Come here, you stinking brat." Laurist's face sank, and he reached out to rub Schwald's hair into the shape of a chicken's nest. "You've grown up, heh. You even know how to think strategically. Amazing …"
"Alright, sit down. It's time for a lesson."
"Schwald, answer a question for me first. What do you think of Grand Duke Fisablon and the border troops?" Laurist asked.
Schwald thought for a moment and replied, "Teacher. Although Grand Duke Fisablon and his border troops have not directly confronted our family, no matter what, he is still a potential opponent of our family. If we were to attack the Iberian Kingdom in the future, they will become our enemies. It's not just me, many people think so too. "
"The Iberian Kingdom? Heh heh. Schwald, look further ahead, don't always focus on what's in front of you. In my eyes, Grand Duke Fisablon and his border troops are nothing in my eyes. They are not worthy of being our family's opponent. "Laurist was very arrogant at this moment.
"Teacher, why do you think so? Grand Duke Fisablon's border troops have 78,000 elite soldiers, which is almost equal to the total number of our Norton Family's armed forces. Moreover, after completing the weapons and equipment trade with our family, their combat power has increased greatly. You cannot let your guard down!" Schwald hurriedly advised.
"Heh heh …" Laurist laughed. "Schwald, why do you think Grand Duke Fisablon gave up the position of Regent of the Iberian Kingdom and ran back to his nest in the Eastern Wasteland?"
"That's because Sir set up a trap for him in the capital. Now, the situation in the Iberian Kingdom is a mess. Grand Duke Fisablon is powerless to reverse the situation and has no choice but to give up …" Schwald answered while thinking.
Laurist shook his head. "You're wrong, Shihuard. In the face of power, no matter how crafty your schemes are, they are just small tricks that can't be put on the table. In fact, if Grand Duke Fisablon was ruthless, he could purge the entire noble class of the kingdom and gather them to help him. He had the power to do so. As long as the order of the kingdom is restored and production is restored, the Iberian Kingdom will be reborn in less than five years. It won't be as chaotic as it is now, and its demise is imminent. "
"But Grand Duke Fisablon gave up because it was a path of no return. Either he succeeds, or the entire Fisablon Family will be buried with him. So, he was afraid. He would rather give up the kingdom than let his family perish. As long as he has control of the border troops, then no matter who comes to power, they will give face to the Fisablon Family. Even if he is gone, the Fisablon Family can still rely on the border troops to survive. "
"From this, it can be seen that Grand Duke Fisablon has long since lost his lofty aspirations. Although the Iberian Kingdom was established because of his support, the current Iberian Kingdom is struggling at death's door. Grand Duke Fisablon knows that his departure means that he has given up on his efforts to save the Iberian Kingdom."
"Let's look at the border troops. The original purpose of their establishment was to resist the Grass Barbarian Cavalry in the Northeast Prairie, but I didn't expect that after Grand Duke Fisablon became the commander, the border troops' strength would increase so quickly. Not only did they suppress the Grass Barbarian Cavalry, but they also opened up territory for the former Empire and added a border province to the Empire. So, the border troops' biggest enemy is still the Grass Barbarian Tribes in the Northeast Prairie.
Although the border troops have 78,000 elite soldiers, in fact, they need at least half of their troops to guard against the Grass Barbarian Cavalry. Grand Duke Fisablon could suppress the opposing forces in the Iberian Kingdom with just three or four border rangers. But after our family wiped out the second prince's army of 100,000, Grand Duke Fisablon realized that it would be difficult for him to deal with the four rising families of the north with just the troops in his hands. "
"Ordering 100,000 sets of standard equipment from our family is actually an olive branch extended by Princess Silvia on behalf of the border troops and the Fisablon Family. It means that the Fisablon Family has no intention of becoming enemies with us. Of course, it is also a test to see if our family has the strength to do so. We accepted this deal, which also means that we don't treat the Fisablon Family as enemies. Moreover, our family doesn't care how much the 100,000 sets of standard equipment will increase the border troops' combat power.
Many people in our family are worried that the 100,000 sets of standard equipment will greatly increase the border troops' combat power. Once they become our enemies, it would be tantamount to us asking for trouble. In fact, they lack confidence or fear of Grand Duke Fisablon's prestige as the Prairie God of War. Shihuard, let me ask you. If our family were to go against the entire border troops now, do you think we would be defeated? "
"Impossible. With the strength of our family's armed forces, the border troops have almost no chance of winning against us. Whether it is the quality of the soldiers or the equipment, we can crush the border troops." Shihuard was very confident in his family's armed forces.
"Then, if the border troops are equipped with the standard equipment they have purchased, will they be able to fight us to a draw or defeat our family's armed forces?" Laurist asked again.
This time, Shihuard thought for a long time, but in the end, he still shook his head. "They still don't have any chance of winning. Our family's logistical support is much stronger than theirs. Even if we don't use strategy and advance step by step and fight steadily, they will still lose in the end even if they win a few battles with strange tactics … But my lord, this way, they will cause great damage to our family's armed forces. I think this deal is an act of aiding the enemy …"
Laurist nodded. "Shihuard, you are very thoughtful, and I am very gratified. However, there is one thing you must remember. Once you enter the battlefield, you must treat the soldiers under you as numbers. As a commander, you must always maintain a calm mind and judge the situation of the battlefield. You cannot let sympathy or anger affect your mind. As a commander, you have to consider how to defeat the enemy and how to avoid casualties. However, as soon as the battle begins, you can't change your original intentions because of too many casualties. If you can't win the battle, it means that the price you pay for the casualties is useless. You have to be decisive. Only victory can make the sacrifice more worthwhile … "
"What you said just now is reasonable. These 100,000 sets of standard equipment can indeed increase the battle power of the border troops by a lot. However, you people who are worried have forgotten the most important point. This is a deal. You have to see what kind of price the Fisablen Family and the border troops are paying for these 100,000 sets of standard equipment. To our family, these 100,000 sets of standard equipment are only a year and a half's worth of production from the weapons production base. However, we can exchange it for nearly two million cows and sheep.
Two million cows and sheep is equivalent to two million-level magical beast hordes. The Fisablen Family and the border troops are unable to afford it. The Eastern Wasteland Province and the Muye Plain Province, these two large animal husbandry provinces, can produce at most 500,000 cows and sheep a year. However, they are unable to give all of them to us because they still need to sell these cows and sheep in exchange for food, cloth, salt, and other daily necessities. I signed a five-year agreement with them. In these five years, they will give us 400,000 head of cattle and sheep every year, and we will only need to give them 20,000 sets of standard equipment for two border ranger corps every year. That's enough.
Therefore, the Fisablen Family and the border troops have set their sights on the grassland barbarian tribes in the northeast prairie. They are prepared to plunder the grassland barbarian tribes' cows and sheep. However, are those grassland barbarian tribes easy to provoke? Those that have more than 100,000 livestock are all tribes with tens of thousands of people, and all of them are soldiers. Even if they are wearing the standard equipment that our family has traded, it does not mean that the border troops are all invulnerable. They will still have casualties and equipment wear and tear. I reckon that after five years, the border troops might need another 20,000 to 30,000 sets of standard equipment to replenish …
From a certain point of view, signing this trade agreement is equivalent to the Fisablun Family and the border guards working for our family for five years. Moreover, they will also form a life and death enmity with the grassland barbarian tribes of the northeast prairie. Even if they obtain all the standard equipment five years later and their combat power greatly increases, they can only focus on guarding against the grassland barbarian tribes' revenge. As for our family, after five years of development, can we still have the same strength as we do now? At that time, I'm afraid you won't even put the border troops in your eyes. "
"Five years?" Shi Huade rubbed his head and smiled embarrassedly. "Teacher, I really forgot about this. Time is also crucial …"
After thinking for a long time, Shi Huade's eyes lit up. "Teacher, in fact, as long as they sign this agreement, it means that for five years, the Fisablen Family and the border troops can only get along with us and will never be our enemy. This is because they have to use their most elite troops and well-equipped soldiers to rob cattle and sheep in the prairie. In these five years, they will have to curry favor with us instead. One reason is to avoid becoming enemies with both sides, and the other is because we hold the initiative to provide them with standard equipment … "
"That's right, that's the logic. That's why those people in the family who only see what's in front of them are worrying for nothing …" Loriste smiled as he raised his teacup.
Padt rushed to Laurist with a dusty family soldier. "Sir, urgent report from the marines. Three training ships were attacked by whales during training. Two of them were overturned, and the marines suffered heavy losses. Currently, more than three hundred and seventy people are missing …"
"What did you say?" Loriste was extremely shocked. He jumped to his feet and knocked over the teacup and teapot on the table.
… …
Loriste led the guards and departed through the night, arriving at the Oxhorn Bay marine camp in the afternoon of the second day.
Freya's face was full of shame, "My lord, I'm useless. I've betrayed your trust and caused the sailors to suffer heavy losses …"
Laurist patted him on the shoulder. "This has nothing to do with you. You've already put in a lot of effort to build up the Navy Battalion. You weren't on the three training ships this time, and the sudden situation wasn't something you could control. Get me and the guards something to fill our stomachs. We haven't had any hot food since yesterday afternoon … "
The three training ships were handed over to the marines in mid-October. At first, everyone just wandered around Oxhorn Bay to familiarize themselves with the water and the capabilities of the ships. However, after ten days, everyone got a little tired and decided to sail out of the bay to have a look. Just like that, the sailors who boarded the ship sailed further and further away. That was until three days ago, when they discovered a small island about a hundred miles away from Oxhorn Bay. However, there were many whales frolicking around the island.
This island didn't exist on the map, which meant that it wasn't very big. The wizards who drew the maps had overlooked it, so it wasn't marked on the maps passed down. As a result, the sailors named it Whale Island after the whales frolicking around it.
Freya had taken a training ship to see Whale Island two days ago. At the time, he'd even rejected the sailors' request to go to the island for a look. The main reason was that there were too many whales around the island, and he was afraid that something would happen if the training ship sailed over rashly. However, he hadn't expected that a batch of sailors who'd gone out for training yesterday couldn't resist their curiosity and wanted to go to the island to have some fun. Three training ships, each with two hundred people, made up a total of six hundred sailors happily set off for Whale Island.
Less than ten miles away from Whale Island, the two training ships at the front were attacked by several whales. The largest whale was as large as the training ship. It jumped and rammed, its enormous body overturning one ship and then the other. The sailors on the training ship at the back were all frightened out of their wits. They hurriedly raised the sails and steered far away to avoid the disaster. When they were a safe distance away, they released a small lifeboat to rescue them, but they only managed to save twenty-three people. Of the four hundred sailors on the two training ships, 377 were missing …
Freya's voice was very low. Everyone present understood what it meant to be attacked and lost at sea. Only a few lucky ones might be favored by fate and have a chance to be rescued, but most had already left this world.
"Whales aren't magical beasts. Why would they attack our training ship?" Commander Eyre of the guard camp asked.
"I'm not sure either." Freya shook his head, "After yesterday's incident, I went to the shipyard to ask a few old boatmen and fishermen. According to them, it's very likely that the waters around Whale Island are where the whales feed their offspring. That's why our training ships were attacked when they trespassed on their territory."
"Because of yesterday's incident, the morale of the Marines is very low. Sir, I think it's time to punish the captain and sailors of the only training ship that returned yesterday. It was their curiosity and recklessness that led to this tragedy …"
"If you give an official order to forbid the sailors from approaching the island, I won't object to you punishing those who disobeyed," Laurist said.
Freya thought for a moment, "No, I didn't give the order to forbid them from approaching Whale Island …"
"Then forget it. Sailors need to be disciplined on the ship, but it's not a bad thing to maintain a burning curiosity and a strong spirit of exploration. Even though a tragedy like this happened when the sailors were just built, it won't stop our family's determination to venture into the sea. What do you mean Whale Island is the territory of the whales? Even if it's the sea, it's still our Norton Family's domain!
Freya, pacify the navy first. I'll have the shipyards start building whaling ships immediately. Next spring, our family's whaling ships will go to sea, and we'll turn that whale territory into a land of death for whales … "Loriste slammed his palm on the table.
… …
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