Black Iron’s Glory

Chapter 336: Port Cobichous

“I have only heard before that the indigenous skins of the continent are red, but I did not expect that the heavens and the earth and the oceans of the continent are red…” Claude said looking at the nearer and nearer coastline.

Indeed, it was unexpected that it would still be noon, but the sky's clouds were pink, and the coastline was dark red cliffs and sandy beaches, and even the water looked pale red. Not only was Claude surprised, but all the first officers and soldiers to come to the continent were on deck, looking curiously at what had never been seen before.

“There's nothing strange about that.” Colonel Restin, the captain of the Tornado, said, "You're just surprised to see it for the first time, and you'll feel the same after a long time. I remember a few years ago when the Kingdom sent a study tour, and I heard a professor say that the red here is actually what kind of red matter the soil on this continent is rich in, so even the sea water looks red. In fact, this sea water is just like our Farea continent. It is said that the red xia on the sky is also reflected in the lake water on the ground or the mountains...”

“So, Captain Restin, how much time do we need to get ashore?” Claude asked.

Captain Restin looked at the busy harbour pier ahead and shook his head: “It's estimated to be two or three hours before they can get rid of the moored fishing boats and free up our boats. This time our fleet has over 200 ships, enough to keep them busy for a while. Besides, under our feet is a first-class battleship of the kingdom, which will have to be guarded before the transport fleet can enter the port, basically later. ”

“There are a lot of people at the port of Cobichous. As the capital of Tilsim, it looks pretty good and lively.” Claude asked.

Captain Restin laughed: "The liveliness of Port Corbichous is a blessing to our new route. The kingdom used to follow the eastward route to the port of Patrez, under the direct authority of Robisto on the Nubian continent, but later changed to this westward route, the port of Cobichous began to thrive, while the port of Patrez became depressed. Count Farwalt, the governor of Robisto's administration, wrote to ask Viscount Cruz, the governor of Tilsim's administration, to change positions, and the two fought for a while...”

“Governor of Tilsim or Jerry Hawthorne. Viscount Van Cruz?” Claude asked.

“I suppose so, I don't know his name and words, I just know his last name is Cruz. But I heard that he has been governor of Tirshim for 17 years, and in three more years he will be retiring to the throne after four terms. Do you know this Governor?” Captain Restin asked curiously.

Claude shook his head: “I haven't seen him, I don't remember much. But my long-dead father once told me that he was my godfather, and he gave me my name. ”

“Then you can go see him now, and I'm sure he'll be very happy to see you.” Captain Restin looked at Colonel Claude's shoulder badge and said something.

Claude laughed dumbly, and he wasn't going to identify himself as a godfather. According to the late Mr. Morsan, Claude was born, this Jerry Hawthorne. Viscount Van Cruise just passed through White Deer Town and was feasted. When Mr. Morsan learned of the good news of the birth of his second son, Viscount Cruz, who had drunk so much, had vowed to be the godfather of the child and had given him the name of Claude.

Seriously, Mr. Morsan followed the idea of climbing on to Viscount Cruz, and then wrote to Viscount Cruz on his own initiative to report on Claude's growth, and Viscount Cruz sent a few gifts and toys to this cheap godson of Claude. Later, however, he went to the Nubian mainland to take over the post of Governor and was disconnected from Mr. Morsan. In the end, what Mr. Morsan knew was that this Viscount Cruz had been promoted by the Governor to governor under Tyrussim, and no further correspondence had been received.

Claude also remembers that when he was sixteen years old, his father, Mr. Morsan, also intended to send him to Tyrsim, on the mainland of Nubian, to find his nominal godfather, Viscount Cruz, to be a member of his guard. Because this would avoid compulsory conscription in the kingdom and then being sent to the battlefield, it should be much safer to serve in the guard corps under this Viscount Cruz than in those regiments in the kingdom, and it would be convenient to be honored...

Poor parents, Mr. Morsan didn't expect so many changes later, he just took the wrong step and was forced to jump off the building and kill himself. Claude, on the other hand, was recommended for enlistment in the army, which turned out to be a big hit in the war, and is now not only an official Lieutenant Colonel officer in the Kingdom, but also a legend in White Deer City.

If Claude went to see this Viscount Cruz now and admitted his godson's godfather, then this Governor would be very pleased. Without him, as Captain Restin implied, Claude had become a lieutenant colonel at a young age, a battalion in his own hands, and it was conceivable that his future would be much brighter than that of the outgoing Governor in three years.

But is that necessary? This route has been open for eight years. If this Viscount Cruz remembered that he had a godson in White Deer Town, he would have written a letter or sent someone to contact and care for him. But there was no exchange of letters, it should be said that he was an identical passers-by, maybe he did ask, just heard of Mr. Morsan's suicide, Claude's enlistment in the army, followed by five years of eastern war, he might not think it necessary to ignore the Fields family anymore.

Colonel Bolognick walked in. He was the dean of Claude and head of the Ranger 033 Regiment. Like Claude, what he cares about is when he can dock, and by the way, he asks the question: "Captain Restin, do you know how many places Capitol Corbichous has as the capital of Tyrsim? ”

Captain Restin thought before answering: "There is a cannon battalion in the dock area and the coastal fortress to defend against pirate attacks. Then there is a local guard corps stationed in the barracks outside the city, under the Governor's authority, responsible for urban defence and suppression of riots and rebellions in the territories under his direct authority. In addition, both the Governor and the Governor have their own brigade of guard soldiers with them to keep him and the residence safe. That's probably it, I don't know anything else...”

Colonel Bolognick looked at the loud pier ahead and saw a group of soldiers coming down from the transport boat, in a neat queue, waiting for the ships transporting the horses to put their horses down and then take the horses and start their journey into the city. From time to time, a wave of cheers is heard among the crowds watching on both sides of the pier and the road.

“How many inhabitants of our kingdom does this port of Cobichous have?” Colonel Bolognick asked again.

Captain Restin shook his head: “I'm not sure about that either. I've heard before that there are more than 230,000 people in the entire territory of Tilsim, and the port of Cobichous as the capital, I assume, should be 78,000. But there are many mixed indigenous people in the city, and I estimate there are more than 340,000, everywhere. You know, they are not residents of the kingdom, they are responsible for paying taxes and servitude to the kingdom...”

The Tornado did not land until after 3 p.m., when the Fleet Governor, Count Salamento, finally walked out of his cabin and was the first to disembark when the crowd on the deck nodded and went into a wagon waiting at the pier with his guard.

Captain Restin whispered to Claude: "Count Salamento has set up a manor and raised a pair of sisters in the Golden House of Port Corbichous. Every time I go to Port Cobichous, I go straight to his estate, where all my business is done. If the Governor hosts a banquet tonight, Count Salamento will surely be invited. Perhaps you can see the colour of his sisters' flowers in the Governor's Palace...”

When Claude and the two Dean Commanders disembarked the battleship with their own men, a group of long-awaited men arrived at the pier.

A skinny, tall middle-aged man who claimed to be the personal secretary of the Governor General, extended invitations to Claude and the two heads of regiment and, as Captain Restin had anticipated, the Governor, Viscount Cruz, would host a grand banquet and dance at his residence in the evening, inviting all senior officers of the Ranger Corps Support Army, who referred to the rank of captain and above.

Immediately followed by the military commanders of the territories under their direct authority, the personal deputy of Baron Strasson and the head of the local guard corps at Port Cobichous, as well as the battalion commander of the Marina Artillery Guard Battalion, who came to greet the reinforcements and arrange for cantonment and logistical supplies, among other things.

Finally, some of the famous figures in Port Cobichous, two gray-haired old men, cried silently, saying that they had not seen the Kingdom's invincible army for many years. It was only at first sight that the Royal Army became more and more powerful. They blessed the army of the Kingdom on the battlefield and taught harshly the colonial garrison of the kingdom of Hicks, whose hearts and minds were unknown...

Claude is confident that these so-called local celebrities will do the same again when General Michelchi arrives with the follow-on troops. He looked around and found that most of the watches around the pier were dark, indigenous and young, and he was disappointed to see their faces. Asked Captain Restin, next to him, the answer was that the previous arrival of the fleet required these indigenous youths to get on board and unload their cargo, on which they earned a little labor. Now that the army is here, you don't need them to unload the goods. Of course you will be disappointed if you don't have the money to make money...

After waiting for the two presidents and the local celebrities to finish their guest service, we got on the horse and went into the carriage and split our ways. But we'll meet again at the Governor's banquet this evening, and now we have to go back and get ready. Claude, who naturally had to go back to the new cantonment camp, and Captain Restin and Claude, among others, had taken some personal cargo with him on the Tornado and needed to deal with it.

Baron Strasson, the governor of Tilsim, sent a close associate, Captain Sinks, who behaved not like a soldier, but rather as a brilliant businessman. He said Baron Strasson had been seriously ill for more than two months, or he would have taken the local guards to the front. Unfortunately, when he heard about the invasion of the Hicks kingdom, the Baron happened to relapse into old sickness and had the heart to kill the enemy, but could not climb out of bed to serve the kingdom...

Captain Sinks then questioned the two Dean Commanders about the availability of surplus armaments for sale, as the Admiral's personal guard was ill-equipped. He expressed his willingness to pay for some surplus sophisticated weapons and equipment from the two presidents, even at a higher price, which would be negotiable.

Lieutenant Colonel Averad, the head of the local guard corps in Port Cobichous, is a big fat man who knows only Vignono. Colonel Bolognick asked him about the local guard forces under the direct authority of Tyrsim, but he answered incorrectly with the bullhead. He was not aware of the extent of the reserves in the other four towns under Tyrsim's direct authority, and replied vibrantly that it was none of his business and that he was responsible only for the maintenance and local security of the port of Cobichous.

The inner city and outer city of the port of Cobichus, a city wall level between the pier area and the inner city, after entering the city gate, found the inner city houses misplaced, commerce flourished, and from time to time there were royal army and people and women and children beside the street to pay tribute to the ranks of the rangers. Men's hats off, women's waves, cheers rang from time to time.

Only after leaving the inner city did Claude discover that the outer city was full of low soil houses and broken wooden sheds built of red mud, and that the streets were crawling with pits and dirt paved with red mud. On both sides of the road, the military parade was also mostly mixed indigenous inhabitants with numb skin and seldom able to see the inhabitants of the white kingdom dressed neatly.

This inner city and outer city are two places.

“How many indigenous hybrids live here? Did you count it?” Claude asked the governor's deputy, Captain Sinks. He was too lazy to ask Lieutenant Colonel Evelard, the fat man riding next to him, and I'm sure he couldn't answer either.

“Sorry, sir, I'm not sure about that either.” Captain Sinks defended himself: “After all, we governor is in charge of the military, and the Governor is in charge of the civil affairs. However, I have heard that five or six years ago, there were nearly 200,000 Aboriginal mixed residents in the outer city...”

“What do they do for a living?” Claude asked again.

Captain Sinks shook his head: “Who knows, working part-time or at the pier, young women are selling meat in taverns and on the roadside, and some men are lucky enough to find a long-term job on plantations and farms outside the city. I heard that some adults in the inner city have partnered to run several workshops in the outer city, and have also recruited many workers..."

“By the way, you governors can't sleep sick, so did the Royal Army ask you to recruit locally to form a new garrison?” Colonel Bolognick suddenly asked.

“This, I'm not sure, should be the responsibility of Lieutenant Colonel Evelard, who is the head of the local guard corps…” Captain Sinks began to shirk his responsibilities.

The Big Fat leader was in a bit of a hurry as soon as he heard: “The Governor didn't give me a formal order. I have no money, no weapons. Where do I recruit from...”

The two presidents could only shake their heads, and they had no expectation of such a situation, arguing that the armaments of the direct administration had eroded to an irreparable extent.

By the time we got to the camp in the outer city, even the two presidents with a good temper were a little angry: “Is this the camp you set us up in? ”

The camp in front of me is so wrecked that there are few pieces of wood left on the fence door. The surrounding walls are mostly saturated, not to mention horse racing. You can just walk across them.

“Sorry, sir.” Captain Sinks sincerely apologizes: “This is how the barracks are. As soon as the Guard leaves the city, the mixed bastards in the outer city will come and steal the bricks and tear down the fence, see what they can take. But apart from here, there is no other open space in the port of Cobichous for you to stay...”