The King - Chapter 402

Chapter 402 Raising supplies

Sacred Mountain of Light.

“What, Josip and Jelacic disappeared with the team?”

Pius VII asked in surprise.

A cardinal and an eighth-level paladin leader are also high-level officials in the Holy See. If the task of finding the lost artifact is not too important, they don’t need to lead the team in person.

“Yes, Your Majesty!

It is inconvenient to communicate at sea. Since the team went to sea, the frequency of our contact has decreased.

According to the agreement, we will contact you every half a month, just as the fleet will also purchase supplies for replenishment. Our last contact location was in the Kingdom of Hesse.

All kinds of accidents at sea may happen, and it is normal to delay for a few days. When we arrived at the agreed time and place, we were not able to connect and did not attract our attention.

Until five days ago, there was news that ghost ships appeared in the misty sea area, and the Dalton family’s fleet went out to sea to encircle and suppress them and suffered heavy losses. The Alpha Kingdom issued a ban and blocked the route.

The destination of Cardinal Josip and Paladin Jelacic’s trip happened to be Duron Island in the Misty Sea, which attracted the attention of intelligence personnel.

After investigation, it was found that the fleet of the Dalton family did go out to sea ten days ago. At present, the fleet is stationed on their overseas private island to rest and has not returned to the port.

The Dalton family supervises their own island very closely, and our people can’t penetrate it, so we can’t understand the specific situation for a while.

However, judging from the funeral situation in the Dalton family territory, they really suffered heavy losses this time.

Counting the days, the day when the Dalton family fleet goes to sea coincides with the time when our people enter the misty sea.

If the news of the siege of the ghost ship was fabricated by the Alpha people, then the loss of the Dalton family fleet is likely to be caused by our people fighting them.

What is unreasonable is that we have kept this trip strictly confidential, and our identity on the surface is a pirate. When fighting with pirates, there is no need for Alpha people to hide it.

By the way, Hudson also took part in the battle against the ghost ship with a dragon. According to the news announced by the Alpha Kingdom, they just repelled the ghost ship. ”

Ulisse explained.

In the team looking for the artifact, there are eight eighth-level powerhouses alone, more than twenty seventh-level powerhouses, and a large number of fifth-level and sixth-level experts.

Such a lineup can go to slay dragons. If it appears on the battlefield, it can destroy some weak countries.

Theoretically speaking, as long as Josip and Jelacic don’t kill themselves, they can’t die. Even if the team disappeared, the people present did not think of the complete annihilation of the army.

“The pirate leader in charge of this mission is called Manbeard, he is a well-known pirate king, and his strength can be ranked among the top three in the pirate world.

With the help of our people, the strength will not be much weaker than the fleet of the Dalton family. Adding a dragon knight may suffer a small loss, but it will definitely not destroy the entire army.

I didn’t get in touch with you, maybe the fleet got lost at sea, or maybe it was a loss from the battle with the Dalton family fleet and was forced to retreat into the foggy sea.

The Alpha Kingdom ordered the blockade of the route. It is very likely that our people exposed their identities during the battle, which attracted the attention of the Alpha people.

If this is the case, then we must arrange for someone to come over as soon as possible.

Otherwise, the team will suffer heavy losses, and if they find the artifact and let the artifact fall into the hands of the Alphas, the consequences will be disastrous! ”

Blake analyzed.

The fact that they are so familiar with the situation is mainly due to Manbeard and the pirates, who are pawns secretly cultivated by the Judgment Knights.

In order to get some credit, when Bishop Yosip came to borrow someone, Blake pushed Manbeard out.

If the team suffered heavy losses, or even the entire army was wiped out, due to the lack of strength of the pirates, he would inevitably be held accountable.

“Blake, it’s easy for you to say. Although the sea power of the Alpha Kingdom is not very good, it is not paper.

Unless we end up in person and send the main fleet over, we won’t be able to deter them at all.

Calculating the distance, even if our fleet goes to sea immediately and rushes there at the fastest speed, it will take a month.

Considering that various accidents may occur at sea, it is not surprising even if it takes two or three months.

There was such a long delay on the road, and when our fleet rushed over, I am afraid there would not even be a chance to collect the corpse! ”

Gu Lei replied angrily.

All are real problems. The sea route in the extraordinary world is not so easy. Along the way, if you encounter high-level monsters or the residence of the Sea Clan, you have to make a detour.

However, the residence of these sea creatures is not fixed, and moving is a common thing. As a result, the current sea routes are also changing from time to time.

It’s not that no one wants to solve the problem once and for all, but the ending is a bit embarrassing. After all, the sea is not a paradise for human beings. If you go to other people’s territory to do things, you have to pay the price in blood.

The route cleared by force encirclement and suppression fell again under the counterattack of the Hai Clan not long after.

Anyway, people have the sea to rely on, fight if you win, and run if you can’t win. If you want to pursue it, you have to be able to enter the water.

No matter how proficient in water warfare, human beings are also land creatures, and there is no way to survive in sea water.

After tossing a few times, after paying a painful price. Everyone has learned how to make detours when it is time to detour.

The relationship between humans and the Sea Clan has always been bad. Even if they knew about each other’s existence, they rarely communicated with each other. In the eyes of most humans, the Sea Clan is still a mysterious creature.

To be precise, the concept of “Sea Clan” was forcibly named by humans. In essence, all the races in the sea are playing on their own, and have not really been unified.

Occasionally a large empire appears, but it can only rule a piece of sea area. Compared with the vast ocean, it is like a drop in the warehouse.

“snort!”

“It’s easy to pick a thorn, but you came up with a solution?”

Blake said angrily.

It doesn’t matter whether the rescue plan is feasible, the key is to take action. When it comes to politics, it often depends not only on the results, but also on the process.

Now, the old enemy pointed out the loopholes in the rescue plan, which pushed him into an embarrassing situation at once. If he had known that something would happen to the team looking for the artifact, he wouldn’t have gotten involved.

“This matter is simple, we will send people directly to the Alpha Kingdom for a showdown, let them withdraw from the blockade, and release our people.

It is now in the period of the continental war, and the Alpha Kingdom is in a lot of troubles, and there is no leisure to intensify the conflicts with us.

On the one hand, they made the gesture of using force to solve the problem when the fleet went north; on the other hand, they resolved the problem through negotiation and consultation, and at worst provided them with a batch of strategic materials as compensation.

Handling both soft and hard, as long as the news of the artifact is not leaked, there will be no major problems. ”

Gu Lei said calmly.

…

In the royal capital, looking at the data in his hand, Hudson suddenly understood why the Ministry of Military Affairs urged him to come over and preside over the overall situation every day.

The last war emptied the treasury of the Alpha Kingdom. In the past two or three years, most of them have been busy filling the shortfall.

The storage of various strategic materials is at an extremely low level. If the flames of war ignite, the kingdom can only reach out to nobles everywhere.

Unfortunately, the life of the nobles is not easy. The situation in the newly recovered provinces of northern Xinjiang was the worst, and every noble lord was struggling to make ends meet.

Several provinces affected by the war are currently recovering. Asking them to send troops is probably okay, but it is definitely hopeless to ask for money and food.

Those who have the ability to provide supplies to the kingdom are mainly the south-central provinces of the kingdom. How much material can be provided is still unknown, anyway, it is impossible to have more than the last war.

The Alpha Kingdom was able to fight fiercely with the orcs. In addition to fighting hard enough, the countries of the Human Race Alliance also acted as nurses behind the scenes.

Now that the countries on the mainland are caught in the flames of war, very few can provide strategic material support to the Alpha Kingdom.

Even if everyone takes the overall situation into consideration and can sell some strategic materials, the quantity cannot be too much, and the price is likely to fluctuate in the sky.

Wars are fought over money and food. There is neither money nor food in the treasury. Even if the kingdom bites its teeth, it won’t last long.

“It must be done quickly!”

After this thought came to his mind, Hudson secretly scolded Duke Afiero for being treacherous.

If the Ministry of Military Affairs dares to propose such a combat plan, it will definitely be sprayed with blood.

Anyone with a little bit of military common sense knows that the style of quick battle is obviously more suitable for the strong against the weak.

As the weaker side, facing the threat of the three major alien races, what confidence does the Alpha Kingdom have to fight quickly?

It has to be done even if it is not sure. The situation is so bad that it is not surprising that the Ministry of Military Affairs requires the centralization of power.

“Your Excellency, you have thrown me a big trouble!”

Hudson said angrily.

They are all people on the same boat, so it’s definitely not okay to throw picks and rot. If he doesn’t come up, someone else will preside over the overall situation. I don’t know what will happen.

Even if there is no chance of winning, it is better to lose the kingdom’s wealth in one’s own hands than to follow others in a muddleheaded way.

Thinking of this, Hudson felt more and more that the Kingdom should sell the “Scepter of Glory”. It is a pity that the royal family cannot agree, and the nobles in the country will most likely object.

Dare to make such a suggestion, religious people can kill him. Everyone has prepared for countless years to set up a new branch, how can you just give up if you just give up?

“Ha ha…”

“Your Excellency, Marshal, the able ones should work harder! The current situation is indeed very complicated, but with your ability, you will definitely be able to find a way to break the situation!”

Archduke Afiero said in embarrassment.

If he had a choice, he would not give up the initiative. On the surface, such a choice was made for the sake of the overall situation, but in fact, they still did not want to bear the responsibility for the defeat.

“The Principality of Omega has fallen, and the Principality of Shillong is also on the way to fall. The Kingdom of Light has lost more than half of its territory…

Judging from the current situation, the overall performance of the seven grassland countries is very average, and it can even be said to be broken.

Adding up the time before and after, the Principality of Omega lasted for more than forty days, which is not as long as a strong fortress.

The situation of the Principality of Shillong is similar. Judging from the collected information, their outer city has been broken, and the entire country fell in the past few days.

If there is no external force to join, perhaps within a year, the Seven Kingdoms of the Prairie will be maimed or even destroyed by the orcs.

There are indications that the mainland countries do not support them very much. The current resistance of the seven grassland countries is only to give an explanation to the alliance.

Looking at the performance of the Principality of Omega, you can tell that the nobles not only moved their family members ahead of time, even if they evacuated at the end, they took away 5,000 troops. How many troops did they have in total?

The Principality of Shillong is also preserving its strength. Even though their king is about to fall, they still keep the most elite main army active outside, presumably to support the dignitaries to break through.

The same trick can only be used once. Orcs who have been fooled once will definitely learn from experience and lessons. There is a high probability that their breakout will not be smooth.

The northern front is not optimistic, and the western battlefield is not much better. The performance of the Warhammer Kingdom can only be said to be slightly better than that of the Seven Prairie Kingdoms.

It may not be long before they will retreat to the mountains and hold on, and give up the Warhammer Great Plains, allowing the army of the ancient survivors to gallop.

The elves are still just a rehearsal. If they also go off in person, the Duchy of Kantruo, Ustad, and Fick that are close to the Elven Forest may not be able to last for a month.

Other countries in the Northern Continent are also unable to stop the advance of the elves. Perhaps within half a year, they will be able to penetrate a road leading to the Central Continent.

Of course, this is the ideal state. If the elves are determined to go south, it’s no big deal to let them go.

I’m afraid that their goal is to occupy the entire northern continent, and they will list us as a key target, and attack us from three sides with the orcs and the ancient survivors, then it will be troublesome.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must show sincerity, no matter how much it costs, it must fool the elves.

Looking at the battlefields across the mainland, we can see that the strength of the alien alliance is much stronger than everyone expected. At present, there is no battlefield, and the human race has established a victory.

Among them, the support provided by the elves also played an important role.

The background of the ancient overlords should not be underestimated. They are not like the orc empires that have broken their inheritance halfway. I very much doubt that there are still old antiques at the sanctuary level in the hands of the elves.

According to the records, the last strongman of our human race to break through the sanctuary was three hundred years ago, and other races in the mainland are estimated to be similar.

The lifespan of ordinary elves is not only three hundred years old, but the old antiques in the sanctuary have a thousand years of lifespan. It is impossible for them all to die, right?

Heroes come out of troubled times, and strong people are made by killing. Maybe it won’t be long before new Sanctuary powerhouses will be born, but I don’t know how many the Kingdom can produce! ”

Hudson couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.

Studying the history of the mainland, he was surprised to find that all the continental wars were times when the strong came out in large numbers.

The more brutal the war, the more powerful people will be born. Although many strong men fell on the battlefield, that was also the era of the strong.

I don’t know if it’s a matter of the probability of a large base, or a matter of luck. In all previous wars, the number of strong people born in the human race was more than that of the alien race.

This kind of treatment has also happened to the previous mainland overlords, but it is not so obvious.

If there were no rumors in the kingdom, Hudson would have suspected that the previous continental wars were all launched by the old guy who was about to live to break through the sanctuary.

“Your Excellency Marshal, you have the final say on military matters. We are only responsible for assisting from the side, and all the information of the kingdom is open to you.

The background of the elves has always been a mystery. It’s not surprising that there are a few old antiques alive.

Even in the age of no saints, our human race still has four dragon knights to deter all directions. The eighth-level powerhouse holds a divine weapon, and can compete with ordinary sanctuary powerhouses.

In recent years, although the sanctuary of the human race has been missing, the strong with the power of the sanctuary level have never been cut off.

The situation of the Alien Alliance is similar. Except for the orcs who were robbed of their inheritance artifacts by us, several other major alien races have artifact inheritance. ”

Prime Minister of Newfoundland explained verbally.

Obviously, he mistakenly thought that Hudson was born in a humble background and didn’t know much about the secrets of the mainland, so he carried out popular science in good faith.

In fact, Hudson has discovered these problems a long time ago. Even a cult organization like the Skull and Bones can use the “Blood Moon Horn” to make troubles. It makes no sense that the Orc Empire, as the overlord, has no background.

Even if they were forced to leave the prairie, they didn’t use it. It wasn’t that the orcs didn’t want to use it, but that they simply didn’t have any goods in their hands.

After consulting the information provided by the Principality of Moxi, Hudson knew that the orc empire had once broken its inheritance. Even the inherited artifacts were snatched away by the human race.

The Moxi people have only a rough guess as to which major power is in the hands. According to the Grand Duke of Newfoundland, it seems that the Alpha Kingdom also got a share of it.

It was not used on the bright side, either because the artifact was restricted and the human race could not use it; or because the kingdom was too close to the orcs, and they were worried about driving the orcs crazy.

“The problem of war, don’t worry. Right now, let’s solve the shortage of supplies first!

Weapons and armor from the last war can still be used, so everyone can prepare their own. However, strategic materials such as food, cloth, arrows, and fodder need to be prepared by the kingdom.

It is estimated that at this time, strategic materials cannot be purchased in the international market, and even if they can be purchased, the price is beyond the ability of the kingdom.

If the outside world can’t count on it, it can only find a way to raise money by itself. Based on the analysis of the current situation, the flames of war will reach the Kingdom next year, and we don’t have much time left.

Please trouble the prime minister to urge all parties to prepare strategic materials as much as possible. This is my list of materials, which must be collected before the beginning of next spring.

The pressure is indeed a little higher, but the kingdom still has a lot of potential to be tapped. If the grain production capacity cannot be increased for a while, then find a way from other places.

Relying on mountains to eat mountains, relying on water to eat water.

Coastal nobles have a natural advantage, being able to go fishing. The sea is rich in aquatic products, and there is little human damage, so it is a rare treasure.

It is not impossible to concentrate the power of the kingdom and raise 200,000 to 300,000 tons of dried fish a year as a meat supplement for the soldiers. ”

While speaking, Hudson had already handed the list of supplies to the Grand Duke of Newfoundland.

The army can be trained by him, but money and food must be prepared by the government. Although the numbers on the list are huge, they are within everyone’s ability.

At one time, Hudson wanted to propose: suspend maritime trade, and let all warships and merchant ships go out to sea for fishing.

Considering the problem of offending people, they simply took a roundabout way and directly customized a fishing mission for everyone.

He doesn’t care how everyone completes the task. Anyway, when the kingdom’s food production capacity is insufficient, dried fish is included in the military food system.

The mountain leaders can store thousands of tons of dried fish a year while meeting their own needs. There is no reason why other coastal nobles cannot do so.

Thinking about the overlord of the southeast coast like the Dalton family, as long as they are willing to work hard, it is not difficult at all to raise tens of thousands of tons of dried fish a year.

What’s more, he also collects aquatic products. If the fish is not enough, kelp, dried shrimps, crabs and other seafood can also be used to make up for it.

Lack of oil and water, these foods may not be delicious. But in the war years, being able to fill the stomach is the greatest luck, and ordinary soldiers have no qualifications to be picky.

In the case of limited resources, in order to supplement the nutritional value of the soldiers, Hudson also tried his best.

“Your Excellency, Marshal, I am afraid that there is no way to make up for such a large shortage of supplies in a short while. Especially the coastal provinces have been asked for a huge amount of fish goods. This…”

Without waiting for the Grand Duke of Newfoundland to refuse, Hudson interrupted directly: “Your Excellency, no matter how difficult it is, you must gather the supplies. You can’t let the soldiers go to the battlefield hungry, right?

The missions of several coastal provinces are heavy, so reduce the number of their recruits and leave the labor force for fishing.

This task is only temporary. Notify the nobles in the coastal area to increase fishing efforts and store as much dried fish as possible.

If logistical pressures increase in the future, there is a good chance that this number will continue to increase. As compensation, their serf soldiers will be the last recruits of the kingdom.

If all goes well, maybe there is no need to go to the battlefield. Others bleed on the front line, but they don’t sweat too much in the rear, right? ”

Just as he was about to say something, the Grand Duke of Newfoundland swallowed it back. There are too many reasons why soldiers should not be allowed to go to the battlefield hungry.

Regardless of who is replaced as the commander-in-chief, the soldiers must be fed.

Hudson’s request seems harsh, but in fact, after transporting the food and grass to the front line, it is not enough for the Royal Army to consume for ten months.

If the battle is fierce, maybe half a year can be finished.

Referring to the material reserves of the last war, the material targets on the list are not half of the total material reserves of the kingdom before.

Being able to support a larger-scale war with such a small amount of supplies is **** mode no matter how you look at it.

If you ask for a reduction in the total amount of supplies, the war will be impossible to fight. It is simply impossible to meet the needs of the frontline by raising materials during the war without stockpiling materials in advance.

The only difference is that the proportion of meat is higher, but it is mainly fish.

In the Alpha Kingdom, fish and meat can only be regarded as semi-meat food, not as oily as pork, beef, and mutton, and their status among the people is far inferior to that of pigs, beef, and sheep.

The main reason is that the time is too short. If there are several years of preparation time, Hudson will definitely let everyone raise poultry.

(end of this chapter)