Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios The one hosting the military conference was Baron Malek, the executive vice chief of the Norton Family's armed forces. In the past two years, Malek had led the family's armed forces to Moronte City and the Trade Union's armed forces in the Mana Hill Plains. Malek had lived up to Laurist's expectations and managed the newly established armed forces in good order. He had also reorganized and reorganized the garrisons of the various provinces in the family's territory, establishing the authority of the armed forces as the highest commander among the local garrisons.
This time, Laurist was prepared to use war tactics to disintegrate and suppress the Trade Union. His goal was to completely defeat this stubborn opponent so that they would no longer be a threat to the Freedom Alliance. He had specially summoned Malek from the North to be the person in charge of this military operation and have full authority to command this offensive campaign. This was also Laurist's intention to let Malek establish his authority as a commander in the main force of the family's armed forces. He would remove the title of vice chief and truly become the chief of the family's armed forces.
Laurist, Ledos, and Galilando were the last three to arrive. The spacious conference room was already filled with family knights of the Flying Tiger Legion, the Hunting Cavalry Legion, and the Imperial Guard Legion. There were also a few high-ranking officers of the Freedom Alliance's armed forces, as well as the commander of the White Lion Legion from the Andinac Kingdom, Seberg, and a few other royal knights. They were all seated in their seats, waiting for the start of the military conference.
Malek took a long and thin wooden stick and walked to the wall with the map of the Trade Union. He knocked the wooden stick on the table in front of him. "Silence, the conference has begun. Please do not make any noise. If you have any questions, you can raise them after I'm done introducing the military operation. I will answer them one by one."
The expressionless Malek waited for the meeting room to fall silent before he continued, "The purpose of our military operation this time is to completely destroy the Commerce Alliance so that they can no longer pose a threat to the Andinac Kingdom and the Freedom Alliance. At the same time, it is also an offensive campaign launched to destroy the colossus that is the Trade Union. Our main targets this time are Casilloda, Tenerig, Feltonba and Serunga.
Please take a look at the map of the Commerce Federation hanging on the wall. Does anyone notice that the territory of the Commerce Federation looks like a bloated horizontal T? Of course, after removing the Mana Hill Plains, the current territory of the Commerce Federation looks like a lying L? The positions of the four provinces that I just reported are at the right angles of this "L". In other words, if we take down these four provinces, we will be able to split the Trade Alliance in half.
The horizontal line was the territory that the Commerce Federation had annexed from the central and southern countries a few years ago. The vertical line was the territory of four countries, including the Tellimbo Kingdom, which the Commerce Federation had annexed during the Glass War. However, these seven provinces had been under the control of the Commerce Federation for many years, and now belonged to the Twin Dragon Chamber of Commerce, the Peterson Chamber of Commerce, and several second and third-rate chambers of commerce.
If we subtract the five empty provinces around the Mana Hill Plains, and the southernmost part of the Commerce Federation's territory that belonged to the Storm Swordsaint's Margot Grand Duchy and the Chikder Chamber of Commerce's territory, there were currently 23 provinces under the Commerce Federation's control. This time, we sent our troops to cut the Trade Union in half, separating the seven northern provinces from the twelve southern provinces. This way, the Trade Union will no longer be able to replenish its troops and rations from the southern provinces.
What we need to note is that the Feltonba Province that we are attacking this time is the territory of the Mayflower Chamber of Commerce, and the Serunga Province was originally the territory of the Grand Duchy of Zikedo. The Grand Duchy of Zikedo has always been famous for its exquisite gold and silver wares. There are two gold mines and five silver mines in their territory, and they are known for their wealth. After being annexed by the Commerce Federation, the Mayflower Chamber of Commerce gave up the glass formula that they had obtained to the Twin Dragon Chamber of Commerce, and moved their territory here.
Although the Mayflower Chamber of Commerce's armed forces were also wiped out during the decisive battle in the Mana Hill Plains in Bruvia City, the Mayflower Chamber of Commerce's armed forces were also wiped out. However, a starving camel is still bigger than a horse, and the Mayflower Chamber of Commerce is rich and overbearing. They quickly formed a new Chamber of Commerce army in their territory, and recruited a new heavy armour regiment to become the main force of the ten garrison troops formed by the Commerce Federation. According to reliable intelligence, the higher-ups of the Mayflower Chamber of Commerce have been criticizing the Twin Dragon Chamber of Commerce's chairman, Duke Cambert, for his poor command during the battle, and seem to want to replace him.
Although a few large chambers of commerce in the Commerce Federation have a huge conflict due to their losses in the war, to us, anyone who doesn't want to negotiate a truce is our enemy. According to our analysis, the Visia Chamber of Commerce, the Ford Chamber of Commerce, the Livord Chamber of Commerce, and the Twin Dragon Chamber of Commerce are the most stubborn pro-war factions in the Commerce Federation. Although the Mayflower Chamber of Commerce and a dozen second and third rate chambers of commerce are also pro-war, their goal is to replace the leadership of the Twin Dragon Chamber of Commerce. The Peterson Chamber of Commerce is a fence-sitter, and the Chikedo Chamber of Commerce is a traitor. It's just that the Chikedo Chamber of Commerce's territory is far away in the south of the continent, and the Commerce Federation is temporarily unable to deal with them.
This time, we have chosen to attack the Mayflower Chamber of Commerce, and we want to completely let the large and small chambers of commerce, who are already wavering and don't want to continue the war, understand that the outcome of being our enemy is destruction. The only way out for them is to negotiate a truce with us to stop the war. Once we conquer these four provinces, the Chikedo Chamber of Commerce will announce their independence from the Commerce Federation and become the Chikedo Kingdom. I believe this news will deal a fatal blow to the Commerce Federation. "
Malek picked up a pen and drew a red line on the map of the Chikedo Chamber of Commerce's territory and the surrounding five provinces. He then pointed at the map with a thin wooden stick, saying, "The Chikedo Chamber of Commerce's armed forces will declare independence after conquering these five provinces. This way, the Commerce Federation will only be left with seven out of the twelve provinces in the south. However, I believe that the countries in the south of the continent won't let go of this heaven-sent opportunity. Soon, these seven provinces will disappear from the territory of the Commerce Federation.
This is the main goal of our expedition this time. It's to deal a heavy blow to the Commerce Federation's armed forces and divide their territory. This will cause them to lose all the provinces in the south of the continent and weaken their fighting strength. At the same time, we will open up land trade routes to the various countries in the south of the continent and form an alliance with those kingdoms. We will force the Commerce Federation to bow their heads and admit defeat … "
Commander Seberg of the White Lion Legion stood up, "Lord Malek, I have a question. Why don't we continue to attack the Commerce Federation and completely destroy it? Instead, we besiege it? Just like you said, after losing the southern provinces, the Commerce Federation will only have seven provinces left. We can completely unite and continue to attack them until we destroy them. "
Malek said expressionlessly, "Please sit down, Commander Seberg. Your question is actually very simple. It's not that we haven't thought of completely destroying the Commerce Federation, but we don't want to pay a heavy price. Unless you want to experience another three years of bloody war like the Mana Hill Plains. "
Using a thin wooden stick to point at the seven provinces in the north of the Trade Federation's map, Malek explained, "These seven provinces have already been developed by the Commerce Federation into their most solid territory. According to our intelligence, these seven provinces have nearly four million people. The Twin Dragon Merchant Association and the Peterson Merchant Association have invested almost all of their financial and material resources here. They've invested all of the income of Morent City into their merchant associations' territory. During the three years of bloody war in the Mana Hill Plains, the Twin Dragon Merchant Association and the other merchant associations would rather forcibly recruit soldiers and supplies from the provinces in the far south of the continent than have designs on these seven provinces and the Mayflower Merchant Association's territory.
This is the foundation of the Commerce Federation, and also where their confidence comes from. Ever since the decisive battle in Brewia City, the President of the Twin Dragon Merchant Association, Duke Cambert, has recovered from his injuries and has already begun to build castles and fortresses in these seven provinces, preparing to defend against our attack. According to our intelligence, to attack or occupy these seven provinces, we estimate that we will lose about three to four hundred thousand soldiers. That's why we gave up on attacking and changed to besiege them to force the Commerce Federation to admit defeat. "
"How is that possible?" Commander Seberg retorted, unconvinced, "Don't the Norton Family's armed forces have cannons? What kind of fortress can withstand the bombardment of cannons? As long as we bombard them with cannons, the enemy will not be able to withstand our attack. How would we lose three to four hundred thousand soldiers? "
Loriste stood up. "Commander Seberg, cannons are not omnipotent. Don't put all your hopes on cannons. In fact, cannons without gunpowder are useless. In order to attack those four provinces, our family has already gathered all the gunpowder we can get. We have even gathered more than half of the family's gunpowder reserves. After taking those four provinces, I estimate that we will use up all the gunpowder. Without the help of cannons, we will have to rely on the bodies of our soldiers to attack the remaining seven provinces. That's why we are not exaggerating when we estimate three to four hundred thousand casualties. "
Commander Seberg immediately lowered his head and apologized. "I'm sorry, Your Highness. I just don't understand the situation. I didn't mean to question you. Please forgive me for being presumptuous."
"It's fine," Loriste said. Laurist said, "You're also anxious to completely destroy the Trade Alliance. If the Trade Alliance doesn't lower their heads and admit defeat this time, then we'll trap them for another two years. Once our family gathers a batch of gunpowder, we can launch another attack. We'll take one or two provinces a year, and in four or five years, we'll destroy the Trade Alliance. Sit down. We will listen to Baron Malek's arrangements. "
"Yes, thank you, Your Highness."
Commander Seberg sat down, but Ledos stood up. "Lord Malek, I have a question. That is, the four provinces that we are preparing to conquer this time won't become empty like the five provinces around the Mana Hill Plain, right? "
It was no wonder that Ledos would ask such a question. The last time the Norton Family had swept through the five provinces of the Mana Hill Plains, they had looted everything of value like a swarm of locusts. They had even abducted all the residents and created nearly 700,000 refugees. This was also thanks to the fact that the five provinces were not valued by the Commerce Federation. The Mana Hill Plains had been ravaged by war for three years, and more than half of the residents had fled. However, the remaining seven hundred thousand refugees were a huge problem for the newly formed Freedom Alliance. If not for Loriste moving almost four hundred thousand refugees to Yungesandra Province, the Freedom Alliance might have been destroyed by these seven hundred thousand refugees. After all, they were not as experienced as the Norton Family.
"Please do not worry, Lord Ledos." Malek nodded at Ledos. "Our family's Lord Tagger has been ordered by His Highness to go to the countries in the central and southern part of the continent. He has found the little prince of the former Grand Duchy of Zikedo, as well as the successors of a few other kingdoms that have been annexed by the Commerce Federation. He has also conducted friendly negotiations with the sixteen kingdoms in the central and southern part of the continent. We will establish three grand duchies and one kingdom in the five provinces around the Mana Hill Plains after conquering these four provinces. We will also form an alliance with the sixteen kingdoms in the central and southern part of the continent to besiege and seal off the Commerce Federation. "
Ledos heaved a long sigh of relief and finally felt relieved. Seeing that no one had any more questions, Malek pointed at the map on the wall with a thin wooden stick. "Next, we will assign the tasks. This time, we will attack from the Giderink Province. The Commerce Federation has deployed ten newly formed garrisons to form a defensive line around the five empty provinces around the Mana Hill Plains. No matter which province we attack from, we must prevent the Commerce Federation's armed forces from outflanking us through the other four provinces. Thus, the mission of the Hunter Corps is to hold back and launch feint attacks in the other four provinces so that the Trade Federation's garrisons can't focus on anything else. If the situation permits, you can engage in guerilla warfare in the provinces behind the enemy's lines. However, be careful not to take down the enemy's fortresses, towns, and villages with heavy casualties. "
"Yes, we will complete the mission." Commander Freya stood up and replied.
"Let the Flying Tigers sweep through the Giderink Province again to ensure the safety of the main force," Malek said. This time, the main force of the attack from the Gidlink Province was the Norton Family's guards and the Freedom Alliance's armed forces. The Feldenbach Province and Tenerig Province, which were close to the Gidlink Province, were mostly hilly areas. The Commerce Alliance had built many fortresses and defensive positions there, and deployed four divisions. So this time, the Norton family sent out two artillery battalions to deal with these defensive facilities. Only after these two provinces were conquered would the Flying Tiger Regiment be put to use. The remaining provinces, Kasiloda and Seruniga, were plains that were suitable for cavalry to roam.
Commander Seberg of the White Lion Army was very displeased, because the White Lion Army had been given the task of ensuring the logistics. The last time they cooperated with the Norton Family's armed forces to sweep through the Mana Hill Plains and five provinces, they had made a huge profit. This time, they were in high spirits and wanted to return with a windfall. In the end, Laurist decided that after the Imperial Guard Army and the Freedom Alliance Army conquered the Tenerig and Feldunbar Provinces, the White Lion Army and the Flying Tiger Army could each attack a province. Only then did Army Commander Seberg's anger turn into joy, and he repeatedly expressed his gratitude.
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