Canglan City.

During the period when the reformists were in power, they did something every once in a while, and Wang, as the political center, was very lively.

Replaced by conservatives coming to power, everything is different.

As vested interests, what they most dislike is change, and after coming to power, they have not made any major moves except to reject most of the measures of the reformers.

In the era of feudal lords, if the royal government did not take the initiative to find something to do, there was really not much work that they needed to do.

The government departments, which were originally busy, suddenly became idle. The conversation after tea and dinner has also shifted from domestic politics to international relations.

Whether this change is good or bad, it will not be seen for a short time, at least the situation in the kingdom has not gotten worse.

This is still acceptable to all parties, except that Caesar IV lived a little aggrieved.

If you don't do something, you won't do anything wrong, and the conservatives haven't done anything big, so that he, the king, has no chance to grasp the handle.

If you want to regain control of the court, you don't know how to wait until the Year of the Monkey.

For a young king, the loss of power is undoubtedly very serious.

With all sorts of anxieties in his mind, Caesar IV was in a terrible state of mind, desperate for something big to happen and restore the majesty of his king.

"Your Majesty, good news!

There is news from the Snow Moon Lord, Marshal Hudson wants you to convene a court council and invite the governors of the kingdom to discuss against the orc empire. ”

Earl Mitchell said excitedly.

As a court minister, his power is deeply tied to the king.

If Caesar IV is overshadowed by conservatives, he, the palace minister who represents the royal power, will also lose his political voice.

After anxiously waiting for more than half a year, he finally ushered in the key node of breaking the game.

Conservatives are likely to refuse anything else, with the exception of the "Orc Empire".

"What happened?"

Caesar IV asked with concern.

On the issue of orcs, Hudson made it clear early on that he would not start a full-scale war until the kingdom had accumulated enough money.

The major forces within the kingdom also recognized this statement.

In the eyes of all parties, a new round of war between the kingdom and the orcs will break out in the next five to ten years.

There are a few more years of time to recuperate, and everyone's comprehensive strength will be at its peak.

"Your Majesty, the front line has been peaceful for some time now, and the orcs have no intention of making any changes.

Although there are many international farces, there are almost no farces that have a profound impact on the kingdom.

Not to mention the situation in the country, the calm is like a pool of stagnant water, and there is not a single wave in sight.

It should have been Marshal Hudson who had a new idea and asked for a court council! ”

Earl Mitchell hurriedly explained.

In recent days, he has summed up the reasons for the failure of the reformists, one of which is that the monarch and the minister are not secret.

The king of his own family, who led the reform, only consulted with a few ministers in the royal capital when making decisions, ignoring the powerful local aristocracy.

In terms of loyalty, the reliability of these ministers in the royal capital is indeed higher, but their power comes from the royal power, and they seem to be high and powerful, but their own strength is very limited.

On the contrary, it is the local power faction that supports the reform that is the real core of the reformers.

The lack of close ties between the two sides led to the dispersion of the reformists, who did not suppress the conservatives when they had the upper hand, and were overturned by others.

The outside world only thought that the new aristocracy had betrayed the reformers at the court meeting, but in fact the two sides had long been at odds and had just been hidden.

After suffering a loss, Earl Mitchell did not dare to let his own king make up for it at will.

If you make a mistake in judgment and make it self-defeating, the rest of the matter will not be easy to handle.

"Tell Marshal Hudson that I have agreed to convene a court meeting, and the time will be set in a month and a half!"

Caesar IV thought for a moment and said.

Regardless of Hudson's plans, he needs to find an opportunity to brush up on his presence.

Conservatives are a bunch of old men who just need to maintain the status quo, but he's not the king.

If there is no action for a long time, the political prestige accumulated in the past will be slowly cleared.

……

Prime Minister's Office.

A group of conservative bigwigs gathered, and since receiving the news of Hudson's request for a court meeting, everyone's mood has become uneasy.

There are no victorious generals in politics.

Ever since the defeat of the reformers, the kingdom's politics have been stagnant, which is extremely abnormal.

The emerging nobles admit defeat too simply, and they don't even have the slightest means to counterattack, which directly makes these old guys suspect that they are holding back their big moves.

Even if there are many children of their families mixed in the camp of the emerging aristocracy, they have their own political positions from the moment they are separated.

Different branches of the same family, politically opposed, are perfectly normal in the continent of Aslanth.

For the sake of risk diversification, large families rarely gamble on a particular political bloc.

"You don't have to worry too much, we haven't done anything during this time, and it's impossible to fall behind.

We also sent people to keep an eye on the emerging aristocratic group, they are still busy developing their territories and have no energy to engage in tandem.

Perhaps Marshal Hudson proposed a conference simply to deal with the Orc Empire! ”

Duke Beckett said calmly.

As the new prime minister, he knows the situation in the kingdom inside out.

In the past six months, a group of emerging aristocrats, including Hudson, have been busy sorting out internal affairs.

After working so hard, we must not let the early efforts be in vain. For a long time to come, "development" will be the first core of the emerging aristocracy.

If you want to fight for power and profit, at least you have to wait until their territory is almost developed, and then you have enough energy to toss.

"Prime Minister, you mean that Field Marshal Hudson is preparing for the Eastern Crusade, but this time is inevitably too early.

The kingdom was not ready, and even if it were to go to war, it would be years later.

It's too early to do it, the kingdom's financial resources can't support the destruction of the orc empire, we must persuade him! ”

Duke Richard, the Minister of War, said with a serious face.

Under normal circumstances, it is time for their old guys to retire, and even the power of the family is gradually being handed over to the juniors.

Pulling down his face and jumping out to seize power is not only for the sake of family interests, but also for the reformers to take power.

Getting old has extinguished the blood, but it doesn't mean that the hatred is gone.

In fact, it is precisely their old guys who hate the orcs the most, and now "revenge" has become an obsession.

Before Hudson's rise, in order to block the attack of the orcs, the nobles of the kingdom used their lives every time.

In the course of the battle, their elders, brothers, sons, comrades-in-arms...... Constantly lying in a pool of blood.

For each Arfa, the longer they live, the deeper their hatred with the orcs.

The chance to destroy the Orc Empire was the first time in the Kingdom's history, and the only time in their lives.

Against this background, they do not allow any surprises.

"Richard, you're too nervous.

We've all dealt with Hudson, and this man is not a pusher.

From becoming famous at a young age to now, when have you ever seen him suffer a big loss!

Last year's kingdom had a bumper harvest, and this year's spring grain was another bumper harvest, and it may not be enough to destroy the orc empire, but it is not a big problem to fight a war.

The kingdom lacks nothing but money.

However, this kind of local war should not satisfy Marshal Hudson's appetite.

According to the gossip from the Snow Moon Collar, Marshal Hudson's desire to retire is getting heavier and heavier, and he has recently strengthened the training of his sons.

The Orc Empire is not something that the kingdom can swallow in one bite, and the most optimistic estimate is that we will have to launch three more major battles, and this process will last for decades.

It is estimated that Hudson wants to cripple the orc empire before he retires, leaving a stable foundation for future generations! ”

Marquis Zuel said with a smile.

The gossip about Hudson's desire to retire has not been interrupted for the last year or two.

The Coslow family has come out to refute the rumors many times, but the more they refute the rumors, the more people will believe them.

It's all about the unequal information, and in the eyes of the outside world, Hudson has long been at the second order of the Holy Domain, and at this moment, he needs to compete with a number of peak powerhouses on the continent for further opportunities.

In the eyes of their old guys, compared to Shou Yuan doubling again, secular power is really nothing.

The perception of asymmetry made all parties very peaceful, lest there be too many things, and Hudson picked the child in advance.

Other questions will be discussed after the destruction of the Orc Empire.

……

There was a turmoil in the outside world, but as the protagonist of all this, Hudson was like no one.

In the past six months, both the kingdom and the Snow Moon Collar have undergone a lot of changes.

If anyone counts, they will be surprised to find that the Alpha Kingdom's foreign trade surplus actually appeared.

What led to all this was the export of war horses.

In just half a year, the Alpha Kingdom exported 40,000 war horses to the countries of the mainland, of which the Snow Moon Collar accounted for one-third.

In fact, this speed is already slow. If it weren't for the fact that the governments of the three countries in the mainland were too poor, doubling would have been an easy task.

Under the economic model of self-sufficient feudal lords, the volume of import and export trade was already small, and a sudden surge in exports could easily achieve a surplus.

The shift from a continuous outflow of gold to an inflow is also a boon to the kingdom's economy.

All industries, which were originally depressed, showed signs of recovery, and the private economy began to recover slowly.

The biggest change is still the noble lords of the Near East, as the main force of selling horses, everyone has an extra cash flow, and life is much better.

Under Hudson's influence, the lords of the kingdom learned to bundle and add unsalable products to their realms.

It doesn't matter if you don't want to buy it, it's just that the price of buying war horses separately will go up and lose it.

In the era of unequal supply and demand, these unreasonable demands were naturally adopted by buyers.

Cavalry cannot be trained in one day, and the sooner you get the war horse, the sooner you can train the elite.

Economic difficulties are not a reason to abandon the development of armaments.

Perhaps under the influence of the Alpha Kingdom, the principle pursued within the Five-Nation Alliance was that the poorer the better, the more important it was to develop military power.

Either passively or actively, the Three Kingdoms of the Middle Continent and the Principality of Moxi also followed in the footsteps of the Alpha Kingdom and went further and further on the road of reckless military force.

Right or wrong cannot be said in a word for the time being, and the military strength of the four countries has indeed entered an upward channel.

In troubled times, the army is a sense of security. With a strong army, you can sleep soundly.

As a beneficiary, Xueyueling's economic data last year was very bright.

The fiscal deficit is still inevitable, but the deficit has narrowed by 18 percent compared with the previous year.

The peak of the huge deficit has passed, and the fiscal deficit will fall every year after that.

According to the Ministry of Administration's forecast, the territory is expected to break even in the next five to eight years.

The prerequisites are: no war, no major natural or man-made disasters.

The main reason is that Hudson's planning of the territory is too expensive, and the infrastructure construction cost invested in the early stage alone is a huge amount.

Fortunately, the construction of the new city was not put on the agenda, otherwise the balance of fiscal revenue and expenditure would be far away.

Although the development of Crescent Harbor is good, its geographical location is still too remote, and if it acts as an administrative center, it is difficult to effectively radiate the entire territory.

Hudson's fiefdom is divided into two major areas, the Mountain Territory and the Snow Moon Territory, and now the two territories are still equally important, but in the future, it is obvious that the Snow Moon Territory has more development prospects.

It was only a matter of time before a new city was chosen to build a new administrative center.

Considering that after the destruction of the orcs, the territory of the Snow Moon Territory will be further expanded, and the plan to build a new city has been put on hold for the time being.

However, the planned area is not small at all, and the specifications are all compared to the royal capital.

In a sense, this is also Hudson painting cakes for his men.

The bigger the cake, the more likely it is to be served in the bowl.

In order to avoid the premature poisoning of hedonism by his subordinates, it is very important to set a grand goal.

It's funny to think about, because Hudson had to redraw the pie every few years because it was going well.

It is also due to the continuous realization of the previous goal, and the cake drawn by Master Ha has always been very fragrant in everyone's minds.

"The negotiations between the kingdom and the Franks and the Libyans are coming to an end.

Judging by the intelligence gathered, it was only a matter of time before the three countries reached a compromise. It can be preliminarily determined that from the second half of the year, the kingdom's war horses will be able to enter the southern continent.

The gap between supply and demand in the market is becoming more and more wide, and the price of the next war horse is bound to rise again.

This year, the territory's share of war horse exports is tentatively set at 35,000. In the first half of the year, 10,000 horses can be exported, and the rest will be put in the second half of the year. ”

Hudson said, closing the report.

War horses are different from other assets, and the cost of holding them is quite high.

In the second half of last year, the most active horse sellers were the small nobles, and almost all the surplus war horses in their hands were cleared.

Those who dare to hold a large number of war horses are all nobles with relatively thick family backgrounds.

However, this kind of cover is reluctant to sell, and it can only be played once in a while. Every year, there will be a new war horse coming of age, and the market will finally have a saturation day.

War horses can enter the army at the age of three, and in an era when everyone is expanding production, the time for huge profits will not be too long.

Of course, no matter how crazy the price is, it will not lose money.

In the era when the aristocracy controlled production, after the market fluctuated violently, everyone could also connect in tandem to support the market.

The war horses exported by the kingdom are all stallions. Countries can only rely on indigenous breeds if they want to breed themselves.

At present, the high-quality war horses on the market are all hybrids of wild horses and Warcraft.

In terms of breeding technology, the Alpha Kingdom, which has the largest number of war horses, is still very advantageous.

"Duke, the orders we have signed have exceeded this number.

If you suddenly default, I am afraid that it will affect your reputation!"

Rudolph reminded in a whisper.

The monopoly business is too easy to do, and in an era when supply exceeds demand, there is never a shortage of orders.

Last year, there were fewer war horses, not because of the small number of orders, but because the transportation of war horses was inconvenient.

Most cargo ships do not have the ability to transport war horses, and they must be upgraded, which seriously restricts the transportation speed.

Many customers placed orders, but due to capacity constraints, they did not have time to pull the war horse away, and the transaction time was postponed to this year.

"If you exceed the limit, then go according to the number of orders!"

Hudson nodded.

When you come out to mix, you rely on credibility.

Since the contract has been signed, it must be fulfilled.

A small benefit, not worth his breach of contract.

Even if the market price immediately doubled several times, Hudson would still choose to do things according to the contract, which was the foundation of his foothold on the mainland.

……

Time flies, and in a flash, it is time for the court council to be held.

Caesar IV, who had been silent for a long time, reappeared in front of everyone, but his face seemed to be five years old.

The king's poor state directly affected the mood of the governors.

The prince is still nursing, and if something happens to Caesar IV, the kingdom's politics will be in turmoil.

This is undoubtedly the biggest hidden danger to the strategic plan to destroy the orc empire.

The conservative ministers were the most embarrassed, and they only felt wronged in the face of the almost questioning gazes of the ministers.

Seize power and seize it, they are not some kind of rebels and thieves. After taking charge of the government, he did not cause trouble for the king.

In order to let Caesar IV recuperate with peace of mind, they took care of the ordinary small matters by themselves, and did not dare to bother the king at all.

It just so happens that in the past some time, nothing major has happened in the kingdom.

"Your Majesty, what are you?"

Hudson asked with concern.

Even if Caesar IV made a lot of farces, it still cannot be denied that he was a good king.

In the more than ten years since he ascended the throne, Caesar IV has also made great contributions to the kingdom.

Whether it was supporting the military reforms and agricultural reforms he led, or sitting in the rear during the war to raise food and grass for the front-line army, Caesar IV did a good job.

Especially during the war, in order to raise more strategic materials, this one really implemented the quota.

In normal times, there will be occasional trouble, but I can't stand this person who can listen to persuasion, and as long as the ministers oppose him, he will give up.

And the same mistake, he will basically only make it once.

The most important thing is to work under him with peace of mind!

Although there is no guarantee that he will be comfortable, at least this person is not murderous, and he has not found an excuse to execute the minister in so many years of power.

The most serious consequence is simply to drive people home.

If the king of a country can do this, then he is already qualified.

The effect was very obvious, and no matter how fiercely the reformers and conservatives fought at the beginning, they did not want to pull him off the throne.

"I've been infected with wind chill recently, it's not a big problem, let the marshal worry about it!"

Caesar IV said with a smile.

There was no accusation, no complaint, and no accusation of scolding.

It can be seen that Caesar IV has become more and more mature and is very aware of his situation.

The strength of the royal family is not weak, which effectively guarantees his personal safety and right to speak.

The conservative government's overhead behavior does exist, but it is obscure enough that it follows the procedure completely during the administration.

The government has every right to deal with trivial matters on its own.

He was not consulted as a king, and it was purely because there was no great event in the kingdom.

If you have to talk about the big thing, it is the diplomatic negotiations with the Franks and the Libyans.

However, the negotiations are in the secret stage, and the final decision has not yet arrived, so it is reasonable to delay it.

If you can't grasp the handle of the conservatives and launch an attack for no reason, you will only lower your own compulsion.

"Your Majesty, please take care of your health, the kingdom can't do without you!"

At the end of the greetings, Hudson suddenly changed his style, looked at the ministers and said:

"You don't need to wonder, I invite you here today to discuss how to deal with the orcs.

Recently, the situation on the mainland has been turbulent, and our old enemy, the Orc Empire, has also set off a reform movement.

We can ignore how other countries reform, but the orc reform must fail!

In this context, our previous response plan was too thin.

Compared to a decade ago, the territory under the actual control of the kingdom has more than doubled, and the border line has been repeatedly pushed forward.

This is a good thing, but it is also a bad thing.

The vast territory provided the foundation for the kingdom to continue to move forward, but it also limited the kingdom's external expansion.

Frankly, the last time I fought with the orcs, I felt the logistical weakness of the kingdom.

Now that the border line has been pushed forward another 800 miles, and the two countries are at war in the future, the logistical pressure we need to endure will increase even further.

Obviously, this is not advisable.

The Kingdom's goal is to destroy the Orc Empire, not defeat it, which means we must first solve the logistical puzzle.

After a series of research, I found inspiration in the original strategic layout of the kingdom.

Since we can hoard supplies at the front, why can't we produce strategic supplies directly at the front?

Northern Xinjiang, the Near East, and the shores of Xueyue Lake, these vast lands have sufficient resources.

We can open mines, smelt steel, forge armor in the local area, and we can also produce grain and cloth in the local tuntian.

Once the development of these areas is completed, our logistical transportation lines can directly shorten most of the distances.

In the event of another big war with the Orc Empire, the range of attacks that our logistics can support is bound to increase greatly! ”

As soon as he finished speaking, the hall was boiling.

Everyone knows the benefits of developing these places, but the problem is that it can't be done in a short period of time!

"Marshal, we have tried our best to develop the territory, but in the end we still can't do it!"

Earl Doug's words exhausted the grievances of the emerging nobles.

The development of the territory requires a lot of manpower, material resources, and financial resources, and without these hard-core things, it is definitely not possible to rely on hard work alone.

"Your Excellency, at the normal rate of development, you will definitely not be able to do it.

But the kingdom is one, and as long as everyone is united, then everything is different.

My personal thoughts are: the lords of Northern Xinjiang, the Near East, and Xueyue Lake provide land and part of the labor force;

The nobles of the south-central kingdom provided technology, labor, and equipment to accomplish this plan.

With military industry and agricultural production as the priority, the materials produced are all hoarded as strategic material reserves for the war against the orcs, in addition to meeting their own needs.

After the war, everyone can evacuate with their own personnel and equipment, and the kingdom will count these together as military merits according to their respective contributions. ”

Hudson patiently explained.

The more foolishness you have, the more you have to show selflessness.

Those who know a little about the development of the provinces know that once the industrial transfer is carried out, the Xueyue Ling, which has relatively complete infrastructure, is the main force to undertake.

In this context, it was proposed that the materials produced were all used to fight the orcs, and they took themselves out at once.

It seems that after the end of the war, everyone can still remove their own personnel and equipment, but is it necessary to relocate the old equipment?

Selling to local lords at a low price is almost the only option.

The outsiders left, but the local workers stayed.

An injection of money and the industry immediately came to life.

It's not hard to understand Hudson's calculations, but the problem is that everyone is tempted.

War is the biggest gold-swallowing beast, and once the flames of war are ignited, everyone will have to contribute people, money, and materials.

Considering the heavy logistical pressure, it is economically necessary to move the industry directly to the city.

The minimum amount of labor will be greatly reduced, and the damage to agricultural production in the territory will be suppressed to a minimum.

For a while, everyone began to weigh the pros and cons.