Black Iron’s Glory

Chapter 571 Rejection of Three Requirements

Claude expressed sincere admiration and disdain for the willingness and thought-provoking mindset of the King's ministers, and he and Prime Minister Blancat engaged in intense debate, demonstrating a firm attitude of disagreement, non-cooperation and non-renewal of the three demands he had made. Refusal to increase troops, refusal to invest in railway lines in the eastern part of the country and refusal to lease seaports entrusted to autonomous territories.

Claude mocked whether His Majesty the King and His Majesty the King and His Majesty the King were going to occupy the territory of the Hicks kingdom for long or forever in response to the Red Dragon Corps's request for reinforcements. If there really is to be an increase in troops, then the autonomous military region is out of control. As soon as the Autonomous Territory withdraws and the Kingdom of Breot closes its internal corridors, the Red Dragon Corps and the reinforced Standing Army will die in the Kingdom of Hicks. The land corridor will be closed and the sea will be impassable. What use is it to occupy counties in central Hicks? Ready to establish the Principality of Independence?

The plan of the Autonomous Territory to attack the Kingdom of Hicks was designed solely to eliminate the most dangerous and deadly enemy nation to the Kingdom of Ovilas and the Overseas Autonomous Territories. Now that most of the plans have succeeded, only a few counties in the centre and six in the west have not been swept up, and eleven counties in the north can be ignored and no one is willing to go to the highlands to fight for nothing.

The Red Dragon Corps is now demanding an increase in troops and a posture of prolonged occupation, which is simply dragging the back legs of the autonomous military region. Prime Minister Claude and Prime Minister Blanchard made it very clear that additional troops would be possible and that the consequences would be self-inflicted. When the Thunder Legion and the Storm Legion are withdrawn as planned, don't complain about the Autonomous Territory because of any changes in the Red Dragon Legion and the reinforced Standing Army. The Red Dragon Army had to occupy it for a long time, so the autonomous military region would be spared.

Prime Minister Blancat felt contradictory, and the Red Dragon Corps reported to Wang Du that the counties in the central part of the Hicks kingdom belonged to the essence, and that the vast property of the population thrived commercially, and that a local county could provide at least 200,000 gold kroner a year in taxes to the kingdom if it could be occupied for a long time. The tax revenues of the three local counties currently occupied by the Red Dragon Corps are sufficient to cover the Red Dragon Corps's military expenditures for one year.

Now in the fifteen counties of the central Hicks kingdom, the Guardian Army occupies five counties, the Autonomous Territory occupies two central counties passing the road from the Kingdom of Breot to the Wangjing area, the remaining eight local counties, the Red Dragon Corps has occupied three, and five other local counties have not been swept up. So the Red Dragon Regiment is asking for an increase, just to take down these five local counties, so that eight local counties can have more than 1.6 million gold kroner a year in tax revenues, enough to cover the military spending of the three Standing Regiments and still be wealthy.

It's such a good idea to let the Hicks feed the Orvillas kingdom and reduce its military spending. Claude laughed and told Prime Minister Blancat that if the Kings decided to stay in the Kingdom of Hicks for a long time, they could simply send a few more regiments, and when the Autonomous Territory was withdrawn, they could give the Kingdoms and the City of San Hiplian to the Kingdoms and wish them a longer stay.

Prime Minister Blancat understands that this strategic plan for the Kingdom of Hicks cannot succeed without the Thunder Regiment and the Storm Regiment of the Autonomous Territory, as well as eight so-called Hicks Return Regiments, to maintain local order. Even the Kingdom of Breot is an ally of the Overseas Autonomous Territories and not of the Kingdom of Ovieras. Open access is now left to the Royal Legion and is also seen in the face of the Autonomous Territory.

Once the Autonomous Territory had withdrawn from the Kingdom of Hicks, the Kingdom of Breot would have to close the land corridor, and by then, whether the King wanted to reinforce or withdraw his troops, he would have to deal with the Kingdom of Breot and even pay the road money to allow the troops to pass through their country. The same goes for the sea, five seaports along the southern coast of the Hicks kingdom, two belonging to the Breot kingdom, three belonging to the patron army, and the kingdom does not have as large a ocean convoy as an overseas autonomous territory...

The Red Dragon Regiment wanted to occupy several counties in the central part of the Hicks kingdom for a long time, and the Tax Adoption Army was based on sheltering under the wings of the Overseas Autonomous Territories. The Red Dragon Regiment became a lone army when the Autonomous Territory withdrew from the Kingdom of Hicks, even if the Kingdom reinforced several more standing regiments. They will be the target of the Hicks Resistance, of all the Hicks separatists, who will attack and destroy the Red Dragon Corps, the invaders from the Kingdom of Ovilas, to show their patriotic passion for demonstrating the power of the party...

To be honest, the Red Dragon Corps will be the scapegoat for the demise of the Kingdom of Hicks. As long as the Autonomous Leadership Zone is withdrawn, the Hicks separatists who have been planted will open their swords with the Red Dragon Regiment. Their lack of autonomous territory and fear of the thundering and storm regiments' blows and super-strong power do not mean that they are equally afraid of the Red Dragon regiment of the Kingdom of Ovilas. When the Autonomous Leadership Region leaves, maybe the Guardian Army will fight the Red Dragon Regiment to take over the expansion of the territory, and it is also known as the right word...

Claude clearly told Prime Minister Blanchard that the Legion of Thunder would soon complete its offensive plan to sweep the nine eastern counties and return to the city of San Hiplian in Wangjing in two months, while the Legion of Storms and the Legion of Thunder would rotate out, first targeting the five unswept local counties in the centre.

As for the self-governing territory of the separatist forces targeted for cultivation, it has also been determined that the remaining five central counties will be swept away and handed over to the Hicks armed group known as the National Front. Therefore, the Red Dragon Regiment still had the idea of overcoming the prolonged occupation and reinforcing the Kingdom, abandoning the three already occupied counties and attacking other counties immediately, so that it could collect another large sum before evacuating.

Of course, if Wang Du insisted on sending more regiments and perpetuating the occupation, the autonomous territorial military region would not object, as long as the Kingdom did not regret it in the future. At the same time, don't expect the Autonomous Leadership Region to send troops to rescue or anything. Speaking of which, there is a record to testify. In the future, no matter what happens to the King, don't put the responsibility on the Autonomous Leadership Region. Anyway, the Autonomous Leadership Region has done its duty to persuade each other...

Claude didn't want to say much. Subsequently, Prime Minister Blancat raised the issue of railway construction, and Claude objected by refusing to allow the Overseas Autonomous Territories to invest in a railway line that bypasses most of the eastern region.

Prime Minister Blancat persuaded Claude to invest the seized war proceeds in this eastern railway, the Liberal people. And it pays off. Think about the overseas autonomous railways. So far, the gains have been several times the costs. All the railway companies have doubled their shareholders' property...

Claude grinned, scratching the map of the eastern part of the Farea continent, and asked Prime Minister Blancat if the Kingdom had invested a golden krone in those parts of the eastern part of the continent since His Majesty King Frederick I took office. No, nothing. Even local cantonments are entrusted to autonomous territories because the Kingdom cannot pay for cantonment. And these areas have suffered from repeated wars, economic downturns, and the renaissance of handicraft commerce is far from over, and can barely afford some basic taxes on farming to cover official expenses...

A railway line in an eastern region, such as this, is of strategic importance to the Kingdom and can heal the war wounds of the people of the various regions, increase the influence of the Kingdom and strengthen the consciousness of a country, a railway that should be built by the Kingdom even if it is experiencing further economic difficulties. But it is not the only way to calculate the economic account and use the return on investment or anything to lure the overseas autonomous territories to fund the construction of this eastern railway, because it is meaningless for the autonomous territories...

Claude settled a bill for Prime Minister Blancat on the spot, and if the Overseas Autonomous Territories invested in this eastern railway line, the date of the return would be at least 30 to 50 years. Prime Minister Blancat is still uncomfortable, but Claude proves this with ample data: the economic downturn in these areas, the revitalization of commerce and handicrafts will take a long time, the majority of the towns are connected to small traders, and there are no major commercial firms at all to invest and run handicraft workshops.

Moreover, it should not be forgotten that the Autonomous Territory has a coastline throughout the eastern region and that the vast ocean transport fleet has replaced the Eastern Railway Line. The distance and speed are calculated, and the ocean transport fleet travelling along the coastline is even faster than the train, which, after all, is now no faster than 30 miles an hour. Therefore, the construction of this eastern railway line is difficult for the autonomous military region and will be regarded as the culprit...

Chancellor Blancat blurted that Claude was a stingy man, and that he had seized so much money from the Kingdom of Hicks that he had not invested in aspects that would be beneficial to the economic recovery of the Kingdom. Claude replied with a smile, first of all, that the seizures were not his own, nor were they all part of the autonomous territory, and that a split was needed with the autonomous consular council, and that much of the seizure proceeds had to be invested in the construction of the Northern Gulf Territory.

Secondly, the autonomous territories are in short supply of money, and it should be remembered that there is still a war on the western coast of the continent against freedom and emancipation among indigenous peoples. As a behind-the-scenes supporter, the Autonomous Territorial Regions have invested more than KK 10 million in funding costs, and it is estimated that at least KK 30 million more will be needed in the coming years. As for the recovery of these investments, it will only be possible once the situation in these indigenous peoples' countries has stabilized, and it is only a few years later...

Now that both of the first claims have been denied by Claude, the third, even less reliable, lease request Prime Minister Blanchard believes will likewise be denied by Claude. Unexpectedly, Claude sarcastically wondered how beautiful it was to lease the place that had been entrusted to the Autonomous Territory to the Autonomous Territory. Is Claude really Kay?

However, Prime Minister Blancat wondered why the Autonomous Territory was willing to borrow the port of Patcala from the Kingdom of Breot at great expense. After receiving the information, he said, he had measured the port of Patekala on the map for half a day and gathered all the information on the port of Patekala without finding any difference from the other seaports. And didn't the Autonomous Territories say they were withdrawing from the Kingdom of Hicks? Why rent the port of Patekala so that the units of the Autonomous Territorial Army have a base for stationing troops?

Claude picked up the red pen, drew a nautical line on the map between the northern bay and the port of Patcala, and told Prime Minister Blancat that the nautical line was not surprising from a military point of view and was plain. But if you think about it from a commercial point of view, you will understand that if this business land develops, it will become a famous golden sea route...

Prime Minister Blancat was naturally not a fool, and he finally understood the intention to come to the Autonomous Military Region to lease the port of Patkara, not only to maintain the existence and influence of the Autonomous Military Region over this part of the Kingdom of Hicks, but also to share a substantial profit from the future maritime commerce between the two locations. The present payment will be collected in the next few years.

Prime Minister Blancat then began to take a closer look at the seaport cities in the eastern part of the map, hoping that the seaport towns of a coastal area could also be developed to share in the commercial activities of this golden sea route.

Claude tells him to stop dreaming. It's hard for Wang to make a profit without investing a penny in these eastern coastal seaport cities. Only in the last twenty or thirty years will these seaport cities in the eastern region be able to develop freely to form a certain size and obtain a little leftover dish from this golden sea road...

But isn't this Florrick Harbor developing well? Prime Minister Blanchard pointed to the map's displeased argument.

Claude laughed, Florrick Harbor being the most fully equipped and largest seaport city in the former Duchy of Modra. During the First Eastern War, it was also the base of the anti-Olympic Alliance fleet and the presence of the main battalion. Later, after the Kingdom's civil war, Grand Prince Hamsburg returned to the newly occupied territories in the east and was assassinated and killed at the main city residence in the harbour city.

After the Autonomous Territory decided to intervene in the Second Eastern War, the Legion of Thunder landed from the Port of Florrick and beat the Allied Army by surprise. From the West Dins region, it raided the Royal City of Polyvisia in the Kingdom of Nasserli, laying the foundation for the Second Eastern Region victory, defeating the Kingdom of Ovieras from the edge of the deceased and becoming the dominant power of the Eastern Region.

That is why the Florida seaport became the most important logistical supply base for the autonomous military region in the eastern part of the Farea continent, and all terminal facilities were maintained and repaired by stationed troops. That is the main reason why the Florida seaport appears to be developing better than other seaport cities, and has no penny relationship with Wang Du without asking.

Now Prime Minister Blancat says the Florrick Harbor is developing well, giving Claude a chance to punch his face. Claude told the Prime Minister, do you know why Florrick Harbor feels better than the different seaport cities of the eastern coast?

That is because the Ocean Transport Fleet of the Autonomous Territory has been using the Florida seaport as a logistics supply base, and almost half of the agricultural products of the Rimodra region have been brought together in this seaport city as material purchased by the Ocean Transport Fleet. The Autonomous Territory, on the other hand, has been paying the price and buying and selling fairly, which gives Florrick Harbor a little business atmosphere and a vibrant upward life.

It is only regrettable that, after so many years of efforts by the autonomous military regions, the Florrick seaport remains the place of sale of agricultural products and has not formed a large commodity market. Most farmers and breeders in the Rimodra region traded home-produced goods to the logistics purchasing department of the autonomous military region, and rarely purchased commodities produced by the overseas autonomous territories. People in this area are more accustomed to self-sufficient smallholder economic life...

By Claude, Chancellor Blanchard knew he was here for nothing, and he laughed at Claude for not accepting any of his requests. This is very embarrassing to Prime Minister Blanchard. But he couldn't help it, and Claude had shown that the Autonomous Territory refused to cooperate.

The consequences of the increase are self-inflicted, it is impossible to invest in railways at all, it is impossible for autonomous military regions to abandon their martial arts. There is no need to build railways and compete with themselves in the ocean cruise transport fleet. Why is it that there is nothing to eat and sustain? As far as renting is concerned, the Autonomous Territory does not see these semi-defunct seaport cities along the eastern coast.

Is there any way you can get funding to build this eastern railway line? This is Prime Minister Blanchard's first question.

Claude responded by selling railroad bonds, setting interest high, like three or five years, with 15 to 25 percent interest due. One batch is sold each year, such as a quota of five million gold kroons. In any case, the railway takes several years to build, and the railway bonds can be sold slowly to collect funds, earmarked for special use. If the interest is too high, sell more bonds and use the proceeds of the railway operation to repay them...

Does any of the kingdom's seaports make the autonomous military region want to rent it? This is Prime Minister Blanchard's second question.

“Yes," replied Claude, "White Deer City, if the Kingdom is willing to lend White Deer City to the Overseas Autonomous Territory, then it is twice as much rent as the Port Patcala Autonomous Territory. I just hope the lease will be extended to 99 years...”

Prime Minister Blancat has stopped speaking and the Kingdom will not accede to this request. White Deer City is an important town in the three southwestern counties, leading directly to the overseas autonomous territories' ports of trade. When it develops, the pelagic trade between the two continents will make White Deer City an inch of gold and become a treasure basin in the kingdom itself.

Prime Minister Blancat left with a smile on his face.

Claude told his deputy, Captain Faherring, "Has Albert, who calls himself my brother, been waiting in the conference room? Let him in, let me see what he has to say...”

Soon after, Albert, who hadn't seen him in more than two decades, appeared in Claude's office, unlike Claude's impression that that vagarious, stingy, hypocritical, jealous of his own brother and brother-in-law loser brother Albert had now become a steady middle-aged gentleman. He thanked Captain Fahselin, who had led him in, and said hello to Claude with a friendly smile in his mouth: "Long time no see, Claude. ”

Claude stared at Albert's face with no expression: “I want to know, when I was given the title, the name I chose was Han. How did you get this sandwich? ”