Black Iron’s Glory

Chapter 570: Three Requirements for Lease and the King's Court

Following the removal of General Muried's Ironclad fleet and the pelagic convoy, Claude, accompanied by King Avitre I of the Breot Kingdom, visited the entire port of Patcala and spent three days exploring the surrounding terrain. Finally, Claude signed a lease agreement on behalf of the Overseas Autonomous Territories and Avettelli I to lease the port of Patcala from the Kingdom of Breot for 50 years at an annual rent of 100,000 gold kroner, an increase of 10% every 10 years...

Though not interested in the territory of the Kingdom of Hicks, Claude believed that the autonomous military region should not leave without a good slap, but should maintain sustained military pressure and economic influence over the region. The presence of a military base would make it imperative for the people of the region to respect the interests of the Arab American Empire and not to ignore its right to speak.

Leasing is more cost-effective than forcible occupation. After all, it is inappropriate to occupy a port in isolation and make it an enclave of an overseas autonomous territory. What is popular in the Farsi world is the loud voice of fists, which is a logical pattern, dominated by the occupation of land. But such an approach can leave an infinite legacy for the future. For example, if this occupying Power recovers its lost vengeance, future controversy will make it impossible to get away with overseas autonomous leaders...

Disputes over ownership of the occupied territories, on the one hand, and the resistance of the people above, on the other, would leave the overseas autonomous leaders in jeopardy, wondering how much money would have to be allocated to invest in this bottomless hole. Increasing military and military forces to protect the enclave and suppressing popular resistance, coupled with preferential appeasement and subjecting them to the rule of the autonomous territorial military region, will all cost astronomical figures in the future and will eventually crush the financial revenues and expenditures of the autonomous territorial military region.

Thinking about the so-called glory of the Sunset Empire in previous generations, one can see how this flagged occupation has failed in the end. With the exception of India and Hong Kong, which can bring some economic income to the Sunset Empire, the rest of the colonies as resource producers, merchandise distributors are not sparked by the tide of national independence. By the end of the day, the Sunset Empire collapsed sharply, turtles over the three British islands, and centenary naval celebrations can only be counted on yachts...

The rental of military bases in the United States of America, on the other hand, avoided the colonial trap perfectly, in fact the role of the two was not much different, and in some places it was viewed by the local population as protectors, which was completely different from that of colonial rulers. So when Claude asked the Kingdom of Breot to rent the port of Patcala as a military base for the Overseas Autonomous Territories, Avettelli I was surprised and pleased to offer a one-year rental on a penny basis.

For Avettelli I, the Overseas Autonomous Territories are indeed a reliable ally, and he is well aware that the Overseas Autonomous Territories do not have the will to occupy the territory of the Kingdom of the Six, so that the territory of the Kingdom of the Six can be transferred considerably to the neighbouring client countries. The kingdom of Breot, which originally had only 14 mountain counties, this time recaptured three counties of the Manoli Plains and occupied four more counties in the east, making the Farea continent a medium-sized kingdom.

Claude's request for the lease of the port of Patcala now appears to Avettelli I to be helping him consolidate the rule of the newly occupied territories. The security of the three counties of the Manoli Plains would not have to worry about the presence of troops stationed here in the Overseas Autonomous Territories, using Port Patcala as a military base. Even if the future Kingdom of Hicks were reunited, it would not be able to resubmit to the Kingdom of Breot the demand for the return of the three counties of Manoli during the lease term...

If I may, Avettelli I would not even like to charge rent. It is too much to say that a port of Patekala, with a total tax revenue of less than 50,000 gold kroner a year, is now offering 100,000 gold kroner a year's rent in the autonomous military region and a ten-year increase in rental costs by one tenth. Although the Kingdom of Breot has lost its jurisdiction over the port of Patekala over the 50-year lease period, it has not sold the port of Patekala, but has leased it, and the ownership of the port city still belongs to the Kingdom of Breot.

So the thankful Avettelli I wrapped up 50 miles around the port of Patcala, including the entrance to the Manoli Plain, and leased it to the Overseas Autonomous Territory, and signed a lease agreement for the port of Patcala. Claude's direct transfer of more than 560 million gold kroner over 50 years' rent to the Kingdom of Breot was very exciting for Avitre I, who embraced Claude with tears and called him the Kingdom's most sincere friend.

After renting the port of Patekala, Claude can transfer hundreds of thousands of troops from the Hicks Return Corps, gathered in the city of San Hiplian in Wangjing, to the port of Patekala. In the two or three months waiting to be transported to the Overseas Autonomous Territories, he can make a little money first in the reconstruction of the port of Patekala, which is better than letting hundreds of thousands of soldiers eat and sleep and eat in the city of San Hiplian in Wangjing all day...

The future port of Patekala will become a commercial seaport city in the southern part of the continent of Farea, echoing the northern bay of the Kanas Prairie to form a golden maritime commercial route. Through maritime transport between the two, it is conceivable how prosperous maritime commerce will be in the future by linking commodities from the south and east of the continent, as well as specialty goods from the Nubian continent.

Therefore, the leased port of Patekala needs to undergo renovation and expansion. Almost the entire port of Patekala needs to be demolished and rebuilt in accordance with the design plan of the autonomous military region. It is now well manned to carry out the engineering infrastructure. This is a win-win solution where autonomous military districts get a commercial seaport city where they can garrison troops who can earn a little money before heading overseas to become immigrants...

Claude spent almost a month in Port Patcala, figuring out what was going on, and then saw that the soldiers had arrived, which handed over the follow-up to the head of the Logistics Department of the Autonomous Territorial Zone, Sigfitt. General Mo Vincent is in charge. When General Siegfried became head of logistics for the Thunder Division, he was only a lieutenant colonel officer, and I had no idea he was now a Major General of the Kingdom. As a logistics officer, he was well aware of the difficulty of promoting a general, but after so many years with Claude, he easily broke the promotion threshold.

Returning to St. Hiplian City, Wangjing, Claude was once again involved in busy military affairs and discussed the battle wrap-up report sent by General Beechcrin. As a result, General Albert was very envious that General Beechcrin would be able to return to the overseas autonomous territories. Incidentally, he had a sand drill with Claude about the Pamigal National Republic on the West Coast against the Confederacy of the Southern Colonials to discuss the progress of the battle...

Claude was not too worried about whether General Bitchcline would take his own advice to delay the war. General Beechcrin, though he did not look remarkable, was a thought-provoking man, and after reading Claude's reply, he naturally understood what he should do. Current fighting on the West Coast, the three colonial Powers, the Kingdom of Morosic, the Kingdom of Riznia and the Principality of Vassilico, are the ones that fight the fat face and are virtually powerless. The Allied Coalition forces of the three countries could only be left to General Bitchclin if the Autonomous Territory wanted to prolong the fighting.

Knowing that Claude had given the three colonial Powers a profound lesson before handing over the headquarters of the Autonomous Territory and the implementation of the wildfire plan to General Bitchklin, he had wiped out the expeditionary troops they had sent to the West Coast. Claude thought such a loss would put a stop to the three colonial Powers, smashed their teeth into their stomachs and swallowed this loss. Unexpectedly, he had just left, and the three colonial Powers had once again sent expeditionary troops to reclaim the colony.

But it seems that the three colonial Powers in the south have done their utmost, and this failure will no longer stain the western coast of the Nubian continent. Because Bitchklin reported that the total number of Expeditionary Corps that came this time was eight, with the Kingdom of Morosik and the Kingdom of Riznia sending three corps each, and the Principality of Vasiliko sending two corps with a total strength of nearly 400,000.

Claude saw in the report that the total strength was less than 400,000, and he wanted to laugh: a traditional standing army of about 60,000, so 6848, eight regiments at least had a strength of between 480,000 and 500,000. But the problem is that the three southern colonial coalitions used eight regiments, but only 400,000 troops. Obviously, they didn't fit together at all or could not recruit new troops, so they left the regiments in a state of disaffection...

Unlike the three countries and the Hicks kingdom, the colonies of the Hicks kingdom on the Nubian mainland were occupied purely by the nobles of those kingdoms for mining purposes, so they landed and went inland along the mountains, deeper and deeper, eventually losing the coastal lands because the colonial forces found gold and silver mineral resources of varying sizes in the hinterland mountains.

So even if it did not occupy the coastal zone, decades of continuous mining in the hinterland colonies would still bring untold gold and silver mineral resources and accumulate countless wealth to the Kingdom of Hicks. Even if Machid III had repeatedly and tragically defeated the Autonomous Territory, the losses would have been enormous, but he would still be able to bite his teeth and deny defeat until the Autonomous Territory had destroyed the country.

The problem lies here, with the kingdoms of Morosic and Riznia and the Principality of Vasiliko, which, despite their occupation on the west coast, are all in the coastal plains, with scarce mineral resources, that is to say, dependent on cultivation and farming, as well as catches and the harvesting of rare flora and fauna by hunting. The real reason for their domestic aristocracy and businessmen to support colonial policies is to harvest profits from colonies by taking advantage of the poor scissors in the trade between the two regions...

Compared to the gold and silver mineral resources that the Kingdom of Hicks is constantly transporting back from the hinterland colonies, more than a hundred years of revenues do not match the wealth the Kingdom of Hicks has acquired from the decade of the hinterland colonies, so these three countries are seriously bitter, and they really did their best to organize a second expeditionary army to recover the colonies. If those four hundred thousand horses were to die again, the three countries would really have to say goodbye to colonial policy.

With regard to the autonomous military regions acting as Pamigals behind their backs, the commanders of the Russman Light Mounted Force and even the dispatch of volunteer corps to support the liberation of the indigenous peoples of the colonies of the three countries in the establishment of their independent State, the West Coast battle, which did not provoke much wave in Claude's mind, was being carried out as planned. Now Claude is busy building the recently rented port of Patkara and gradually moving the loot, the military and the prisoners on Wang King's side to the military base of Patkara Port.

After several days of work, Claude received a report that the Marquis of Blancat, Prime Minister of the Kingdom, had once again come uninvited. This time, he was accompanied by a member of the Autonomous Territorial Council, Baron Cornell, who, Claude recalls, is a shareholder of the Autonomous Territorial Railway Corporation and is responsible for approaching the Kingdom on matters such as railway survey and design in the mainland of the Kingdom. So is it true that accompanying Prime Minister Blanchard this time has not changed the railway construction in the Kingdom itself?

Prime Minister Blanchard was well received by Claude, and after the meeting, Prime Minister Blanchard was kind enough to explain his intention. The first is reinforcements, the second is railroads, and the third is leasing. There are three things in total. And he gave Claude an unexpected surprise, Claude's big brother, Albert. Viscount Saint Field followed his mother's orders and came to Claude with the intention of obtaining some support from Claude to help build the family territory...

Let's start with the reinforcement. This is what the Red Dragon Corps demands. It's not enough not to ask for an increase. Unlike the way the Legion of Thunder swept the entire county, packed away local officials, territorial nobles, wealthy merchant landowners, and then copied the family's property, and unlike the three feet of scratching by the coalition of nobles, the Red Dragon Legion was the most formal and traditional way of occupying the place, nothing more than the Shun Chang, the Rebellion died, the place was governed by the Hicks who surrendered, and the Red Dragon Legion was stationed with troops.

Thanks to the traditional fighting power of the newly equipped new rifles and Red Dragon Corps vegetarians, their local guards in the three central counties responsible for the attack were not able to withstand the Red Dragon Corps offense, either surrendering or being eliminated. The only shortcoming for the Red Dragon Corps is that the new rifle rounds consumed a little too much, and the five million rounds of ammunition originally prepared were about a million rounds left after occupying three counties...

Typically, the Thunder Corps swept through a local county, scratching property from those upper-class families ranging from more than 1 million to 2 million gold kroner. Instead, the coalition of nobles was able to scratch the wealth of 56 million gold kroner in the western counties they occupied, which was a vicious scratch of three feet, and eventually sold both young and strong as slaves.

And what the Red Dragon Corps scratched from the occupied county was about 3 million gold kroner, which is richer in the central county, and the Hicks who relied on them to hunt down the tigers, which increased the tax levy on the local population. For the Red Dragon Corps to derive sustained tax revenues from these occupied counties, it must be manned to intimidate and deter the population from resisting the occupation of the new conquerors.

Three occupied central counties, each with more than a dozen towns. If a town needs a battalion and a local county capital city needs a major field corps more, then the Red Dragon Corps, more than 60,000 men and women, will find themselves without extra manoeuvre. Now the Red Dragon Regiment is anxious to capture the proceeds of two or three million gold kroner in one county, and immediately ask the Kingdom's native reinforcements to take their place so that they can continue to attack the other counties.

The second thing was the railway, originally planned to build a railway on the kingdom itself, like a circle that would cover all the counties of the plains to Wangdu, then a railroad from Wangdu to Nasserli District directly to the Royal City of Polyvisia, then two railroads from Wangdu, one to the North Bay, then to Eskirin via the Kanas Prairie, then to Rimodra Region, then to Sidins Region. The other railway line leads from the Royal City of Polyvisia to the West Dins area and connects to the railway line that bypasses the three regions...

The plan was to underestimate the cost of the railway line, which Prime Minister Blancat believed could be completed with a huge sum of 22 million gold kroner. As a result, after two years of mapping and budgeting for the construction of the entire railway line, it became apparent that this amount was sufficient only for the construction of the railway line in the Kingdom itself, as well as for the construction of the railway from Wangdu to the Royal City of Polyvesia.

The remaining railway line, which bypasses most of the eastern half of the country, will cost at least 30 million gold kroner to build, so Wang Ting puts the idea on the overseas autonomous territories, who think that this attack on the Hicks kingdom has made a fortune, some with money. So Prime Minister Blancat came this time to convince Claude to agree that the Autonomous Territory would invest the seizure of the Kingdom of Hicks in the construction of this railway line, which the Kingdom is willing to share equally with the Overseas Autonomous Territories...

The third thing is the lease. Wang has heard that the Overseas Autonomous Territories have borrowed the port of Patekala from the Kingdom of Breot at huge expense. The total rent for 50 years amounts to 5.6 million gold kroner and is paid in lump sum. It is a heartbreaking act of defeat.

The Wang Ting ministers then began to think that they could paint ladies in the light of the gourd. Anyway, the Rimodra and Eskirin regions are now hosted by the Autonomous Territories, which also have seven or eight seaport cities, which can be leased to the Overseas Autonomous Territories in the same way as the lease model of the port of Patcala, so that the rent alone can meet the Kingdom's total tax revenue for 10 years...