Chapter 1326 - 1244: Preparations for War
Since July, all residents of the Holy Alliance have distinctly felt the approach of war.
First, there was the re-issuance of war bonds, and then the sharp rise in the prices of copper ore and sand mortar in the market.
Next, the presence of gendarmes and Cheka security forces became increasingly frequent in rural streets.
Commissioners from the Exorcism Court began inspecting warehouses, docks, and barracks along the border.
In the damp summer, the frequency of fires has increased even further.
To the older generation of the Holy Alliance, this feeling is quite familiar.
War is coming again.
Yet after sending off the Salvation Army west with hymns, the old Holy Alliance people have long been indifferent to war.
Perhaps they were also afraid, but they were not fearful.
But to the new Holy Alliance people who immigrated from Leia and Falan nearly twenty years ago, it’s utterly terrifying.
A war is really going to happen, and the scale and intensity of this war are unimaginable.
They came to the Holy Alliance to avoid war, and now that war is coming, where can they hide?
Anxiety looms over the hearts of these new Holy Alliance people like dark clouds, as it does over those who later became part of the Holy Alliance.
They have read about the ferocity of the vampires in the newspapers.
The Northern overlords, the Great Monarchs, have fought the dwarves and centaurs for hundreds of years and often come south to harass the Leia people.
Even if they are not a match for the Holy Alliance, how much effort would be required to swallow them whole?
Yet such a colossal giant surrendered completely within a year under the vampires.
For Falan, the naval battle of the Xilan Islands and the battle of Grew City have left the old empire overlord in disarray.
Even the Holy Alliance, which has always been victorious, only manages a draw against the vampires.
The most critical point is that the Royal Court has a large population and can mobilize a massive army, how can the Holy Alliance compete with them?
Unless the Holy Alliance annexes Flanlaya Norn, borrowing their manpower and resources, there is a chance to compete.
The only problem with this plan is that time cannot be turned back, and the vampires have already landed, it’s too late.
The territory of the Royal Court is larger than the empire’s, and due to its almost universal military system, it can quickly produce a large number of soldiers.
Previously, the major clans fought small civil wars internally in the Royal Court.
Beyond the cities and castle manors of the Royal Court, it was basically wasteland order.
Vampire bandits and human wanderers clashed in the countryside, plundering merchants, attacking castles.
The southern clans, being near the desert, could rely on capturing sand slave people to provide blood food.
But the northern clans did not have this condition, so they fought even more fiercely.
When Serafe unified the entire Royal Court, despite a frenzied slaughter of vampires, their numbers were still substantial.
Especially with Serafe’s flesh feast system, offering vampires a rare path to ascend the social ladder.
Over time, the vampire army in Windmill Land has reached around 50,000, and the northern army has reached about 100,000.
On the Xilan Islands, there are at least 30,000 vampire army, and at least two to three hundred thousand are on standby in their homeland.
This is why the Holy Alliance’s Cardinal Group authorized Horn’s troop increase and alliance.
If they don’t increase troops or form alliances, even if every battle ends in a draw, the Holy Alliance’s limited forces will quickly be depleted.
Therefore, it is necessary to increase troops, which is why there is a plan to increase troops by 12 regiments.
Such a large troop increase actually exceeds the financial limits of the Holy Alliance.
According to the current Holy Alliance salary standards, soldiers are divided into new recruits, veterans, sergeants, and master sergeants.
New recruits generally receive half pay, promoted to veterans after two and a half years or after a large-scale battle.
Under normal circumstances, a veteran’s annual salary is about 700 to 900 Dinar, equivalent to 6 to 7.5 gold pounds (with allowances).
Taking a median of 7 gold pounds, the addition of 12 regiments means at least 420,000 gold pounds in salary expenditure annually.
Besides, during legion formation, the expenses on training, maintenance, such as military uniforms, equipment, cannons, military provisions, administrative costs, etc.
On average per soldier, it’s almost near a thousand Dinar.
Calculating it all, it would take nearly an additional 1 million gold pounds annually.
After years of development, the annual fiscal surplus of the Holy Alliance reached about 800,000 gold pounds, barely sustainable.
But the issue is, whose household uses 125% of their fiscal surplus to build and maintain an army.
Even if spread over two years, it’s at least 500,000 gold pounds in annual expenditure.
During this time, Horn has been heavily investing in building railroads and factories, and waging foreign wars.
The gold coins painstakingly obtained from Immortal Stone Field have not even warmed and were already invested in railroad construction.
Horn intends to build at least 3000 kilometers of railroad within five years for troop mobilization.
Although only the mainline railroads can run spring machines, branch lines can only run horse-drawn trains, this greatly enhances troop and material movement.
Now county governors across regions are given new evaluation benchmarks and have shifted their focus from waterworks and economy to railroads.
Previously they submitted finances to the central government, now they need financial support, thus it’s even more in need of money.
Fortunately, through the alliance with Charles VIII, which Horn facilitated, he contributed 500,000 gold pounds for the formation expenses.
However, the price is that Horn must help him train three Falan foreign regiments, and the cost is still borne by Charles.
Similarly, Falan is also increasing troops, preparing to increase to around 200,000.
Currently, Lorenzo is conducting a great terror operation within Falan, extracting money from bankers and nobles.
Under the pressure of foreign wars, nobles have to bleed internally or bleed on the front lines, with no exceptions.
Those profiteering classes who once evaded and deceived unleashed a large amount of gold coin during this wave of purges against guilds and other organizations in Falan.
Charles has money, so naturally, he invites good friend Horn to spend together.
Everything seems to prosper, yet the Holy Alliance’s Cardinal Group still harbors one concern.
That is the shared Achilles’ heel of the Holy Alliance and Falan—Norn.
Both Horn and Charles know Norn’s level well.
Vast lands, a large population, but fragmented forces, intense infighting, and poverty.
Their soldiers could hardly be called people, only gray livestock.
In this sense, they are very similar to the Royal Court, which deeply worries Horn.
If the Royal Court takes over Norn, the adaptability between the two would be extraordinarily high, such a massive blood food would propel the northern army to a qualitative leap.
Coincidentally, the commander of the northern army is none other than the old rival Lakunio.
The Cardinal Group of the Holy Alliance is well-acquainted with Lakunio.
Many old officers in the Holy Alliance have suffered at Lakunio’s hands, they are quite wary of this veteran.
Ever since he came to Prince Kongdai’s side, every step he took was precise and steady, almost always making the right decision.
It’s just that Prince Kongdai didn’t listen.
If not for Vine’s betrayal, which completely destroyed Prince Kongdai’s trust in the rear nobles, the Thousand River Valley War might still be ongoing.
His failure was truly not his fault of war.
At root, he was not the commanding general, couldn’t control the military, only indirectly controlled through Prince Kongdai.
Currently, the northern army seems to be assisting the southern army in suppressing the Black Corps, and for now, hasn’t deployed troops.
Worrying now doesn’t help.
The Holy Alliance can only intensify preparations for war; the Cardinals, unlike the radical monks, are well aware of their situation.
There’s even a conspiracy theory about this alliance, saying the Saint’s Grandson is actually using the alliance to supply two kingdoms with blood as cannon fodder.
As long as the Holy Alliance is inland, the vampires will not reach them quickly.
Let Falan and Norn continue to wear down the vampires, while they keep developing, emerge once all three sides are exhausted, and clear the aftermath.
From July to October, for three months, Horn remained on edge, fearing an offensive from the northern army or a Norn blunder.
Strangely, though it was said troops would deploy after autumn, by late October, Horn had yet to hear any news.
What exactly were the vampires up to?