I will be crowned king

Facing colonies across the sea, how to maintain control and influence for a long time and avoid their centrifugal force becoming stronger and eventually erupting into rebellion and endless desire for independence has always been a major problem that the sovereign states of the old world need to face.

Because it is far from home, any attempt to increase control over it comes at a huge cost, and can easily turn the original wealth into a huge liability.

In this regard, the Empire and Clovis went to two extremes... As the suzerain country that controlled the largest range of colonies, the Empire's management method was simple and crude-suppression.

Colonies were not allowed to have armed forces, nor were they allowed to have too much autonomy. Colonial governors and ministers were established, and large fleets patrolled the sea. Thousands of imperial troops were ready to land at any time and violently beat anyone who disobeyed.

This model has obvious results, but the side effects are equally obvious - the cost is huge, and it makes the colonies alienated. They strive for autonomy whenever they have the opportunity, but they have no power to protect themselves; it also promotes the beast slave rebellion and the establishment of the Free Confederacy.

The weak Clovis used another strategy: bribe the upper management, bind interests, and have a high degree of autonomy; Beluga Port, which had been flying the Unicorn King flag for decades, only had a third one when it was about to lose it. A governor is still honorary.

The completely opposite approach from the Empire allowed Clovis to reap many benefits: extremely low maintenance and development costs, maximized profits, and almost no responsibility.

As for the disadvantages... the lack of local support led to slow development progress, with speed and efficiency lagging behind the empire. The colonial parliament formed an interest group and was highly separated from the bottom. There was a huge gap between the rich and the poor. Even as a raw material supplier, the efficiency was horribly low.

Due to the extremely advantageous geographical location of Beluga Port, the base of efficiency is frighteningly high no matter how low it is, so these problems are not very obvious yet; look at Huixue Town next door, it is really miserable, and it is no different from the abandoned people who were exiled.

Both methods have their own advantages and disadvantages, but in fact, if you want to highlight the existence of the regime, there is another way, a very traditional but tried and true method...

"Boom-boom-boom-boom-..."

A deafening salute pierced the sky, and the regimental line soldiers, who had put on brand new rifles and winter clothes, walked uniformly through the center of the newly smoothed road accompanied by the cheers of the onlookers.

An extremely grand ribbon-cutting ceremony was grandly opening outside Beluga Harbor.

In order to accommodate the "New Year's gift" sent all the way from the mainland by the distinguished Governor Sophia Franz, the whole army was both excited and difficult to handle.

I am excited that this factory has solved the later problems immediately, but I don’t know how to place these precious machines and equipment, workers and mechanics.

After all, this is enough supplies to fill an entire steam train. If it gets wet after being dropped, the loss is unimaginable.

The best choice is of course to send them to the factory immediately and set up and lay out the production line immediately; but this is also no small project. It is already the harsh winter of December... God knows if there will be any problems.

So Carl Bain cautiously went to ask the person in charge, Erich, how long it would take to build the entire arsenal. The other person gave him an answer that could make his heart stop.

One week!

Not a quarter, not a month, but a week - in seven working days, they can dismantle and transport the military factory and restore it to its original state in Beluga Port!

After repeatedly confirming that the other party was not joking with him, the chief of staff, clutching his chest with an expression of angina on his face, found Anson and repeated the other party's words exactly.

Then Anson also came up with a very bold plan: Since the other party is so efficient, he might as well lay out the production line and build the factory building at the same time, and strive to build the entire military factory by the end of the month!

To achieve this goal that was exaggerated beyond imagination, the Storm Legion mobilized collectively and mobilized more than 10,000 "shooting army soldiers" who were still in training to build this extraordinary military factory on a wasteland outside the city.

Of course, such a huge momentum could not escape the attention of the Beluga Harbor Council, and Anson did not even think about hiding... He directly announced the establishment of a project coordinator in the council, organizing various committees to provide sufficient steel and wood for the project. Various building materials such as masonry and stone, planning temporary residences for construction workers, food and fuel security, and sanitation management.

At the same time, after receiving the news, Reinhard also consciously announced the suspension of bank projects and provided a temporary low-interest loan to the Legion to facilitate the payment of various materials, labor and miscellaneous expenses during the construction of the factory.

So with the efficient cooperation of civilized society, resource mobilization and overall management, an industrial crystal that symbolized absolute violence rose up in the wild wasteland of the new world.

It only took twelve days.

The whole colony was in a state of excitement the morning the news of its official completion was spread by the Good People of Moby-Dick Harbor.

At the lively ribbon-cutting scene, the onlookers, rich and poor, high and low, all looked dumbfounded, as if they were in a dream.

When they first heard about it, they just shrugged. When they heard that the factory was completed, they were shocked, but when they saw it with their own eyes, they...

Scared.

Facts have proven that there is a huge difference between hearing a legend and seeing a military factory suddenly appear on your doorstep.

The moment they saw this huge arsenal that spewed black smoke and produced rifles and cannons, the same thing immediately came to their minds: Not only could the mainland send a fleet and an army from all the way, but it could also Move the munitions factories that produce arms to the colonies and rebuild them on the same site.

And it only takes twelve days!

The direct effect of the astonishing spectacle was that the colonial people felt for the first time that the relationship between the mainland and themselves was so close, and that the distance between the two parties may not be as far as they imagined - their loyalty to the royal family could be said to have skyrocketed.

As the finance minister appointed by the royal family to the colonies, Sir Akers certainly did not miss any ceremony that could greatly enhance his presence... Not only did he personally preside over the ribbon-cutting ceremony, but he also took the initiative to endorse the arsenal, likening it to "the local community will never Abandon every plant and tree in the colony".

Another host, Anson Bach, did not comment on this. He only hoped that Sir Akers would say more, so that when the empire counterattacks, it would be easier for him to drag him out to sacrifice the flag and let the colonies vent their anger. .

With the completion of the military factory, the previous legion reform and shooting army training can finally begin to get on track; three thousand Leopold rifles and twenty brand-new six-pound infantry cannons have been put into service.

Speaking of which, the factory's transportation mode this time is very clever... In order to save as much space as possible, almost all the parts that the colony can complete by itself are omitted, and only the most critical parts and equipment - including inventory - are loaded.

Take artillery as an example. The gun carriage is gone, and all the additional parts are gone. The entire six-pounder only has a dark, slender, bare barrel, and nothing else is left.

But Anson didn't have any intention of complaining. On the contrary, it made him even more curious about William Gottfried.

Because according to Erich, the reason why they were able to package and ship the entire factory to Beluga Port and rebuild it in just one week was all thanks to this technical consultant... and his "train factory equation."

If his theory is true, then the significance is not just as simple as moving a factory, but a new and more efficient logistics system.

The final result of a war may not depend on logistics, but excellent logistics can allow one party in the war to gain higher initiative, more opportunities to choose, and make it less likely for the enemy to see through its strategic goals.

A factory can be moved easily, but can an army be moved from one location to another in the same way?

The answer is obvious.

And this is just his talent in "mathematics". According to Sophia, this "technical consultant" is also quite good at invention and creation, and is proficient in "ancient runes".

A former associate professor at St. Isaac's College who is proficient in ancient runes and is being hunted by the Inquisition, well...

Anson couldn't wait to meet him and exchange learning experiences about some "ancient knowledge".

………………

Beluga Harbor, Pier.

After more than a month of sailing, the dilapidated colonial merchant ship Wanderer finally arrived at its destination, lowered its sails and dropped anchor.

Wilhelm Gottfried, dressed in a pale academic uniform and a soft hat, carried a thin suitcase and followed the colonists in twos and threes, whose faces were filled with joy, as they walked down the deck.

There were more than twice as many passengers on the ship when it departed from Northport; now they were the only colonists left alive to reach their destination.

And this is not the end... The same is official statistics. Even based on the best records, less than two-thirds of the people who can survive the plague, severe cold, hunger, acclimatization, and disasters in the colonies for more than a year... .

These colonists who finally arrived at their destination after all the hard work did not know that the new world was not a so-called ideal land, and their suffering had just begun.

As soon as he stepped onto the pier, struggling to drag his suitcase, William noticed a gaze looking at him among the people coming and going.

Pretending to be careless, he narrowed his gaze, pretending not to notice the other party's figure, and speeded up, trying to use the crowd around him as a cover to get past the other party's attention.

But the result was just like his worst guess - the other party came to find him.

"You must be His Excellency Wilhelm Gottfried, right?"

The person who stopped him was a young man who was only as tall as his waist, but was wearing a dress that was more formal than that of the nobles in the inner city of Clovis. There was a formulaic smile that was familiar to him on his young cheeks:

"I heard that a group of colonial ships will indeed arrive at the port today. I didn't expect you to be on this ship. It's really blessed by the Ring of Order - I thought it would take a long time to wait for your arrival!"

"Sorry, but..." William looked at the young man in front of him and couldn't help but frown:

"We know each other?"

"We...oh, of course we don't know each other. Today is the first time we meet, His Excellency Wilhelm Gottfried."

The young man smiled and shook his head. His expression seemed to be greeting a long-time friend, which was completely different from what he said: "I was just ordered to greet you at the port. I am a technical advisor personally appointed by the Governor of Ice Dragon Fjord Colony."

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Alan Dawn. I am a humble secretary to the Commander-in-Chief of the Colonial Corps. If nothing else, we won't have many opportunities to meet in the future, so you don't need to tell me anything. Too polite, everything is just routine."

"And you...Governor Sophia Franz has appointed you as the technical advisor of the colony. In theory, you have the same status as the commander-in-chief. But because we don't know the specific ship you took and what day you will arrive, so I didn’t prepare too much for the welcome ceremony, so please forgive me for that.”

"Of course! If you think this is disrespectful to you, we can arrange all of this - a grand welcome ceremony, a governor-level reception banquet, a band, an honor guard... I guarantee that you will be satisfied. What kind of style do you like? ?”

"..."

Faced with the little secretary's organ-gun-like questions, William froze on the spot.

After spending a full minute to figure out his current situation, and knowing that he was being targeted and that he could not escape, he finally asked the first crucial question:

"Are you planning to clean me up and then send me back to the mainland to return to Sophia Franz?"

"well?"

The little secretary was startled at first, then smiled and said: "Look at what you said, I must have talked too much, which caused you some unnecessary misunderstandings."

"Please forgive me if there is anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. This is an oversight on my part. You can complain to the Commander-in-Chief later. I believe I will give you the most satisfactory answer."

"Let's do this! I'll take you to rest and relax first, and then I'll inform the Commander-in-Chief to discuss matters related to your recovery. During this period, if you have any needs, you can directly approach the Deputy Commander, Colonel Fabian."

"Why?"

"Sorry...what?"

"Why are you looking for Deputy Commander Fa...what is his name?"

"Colonel Fabian, he is the commander-in-chief's most trusted deputy and is responsible for the colony's urban security, prisons, daily operations of the army, logistics and daily meetings of the officer corps." The little secretary explained:

"Oh, he is also your direct contact person for future work, so if you have any questions, you can just go to him - of course, the deputy commander may be a little busy right now and is dealing with a small dispute, so it is more convenient for you to go to me directly for the time being. .”

"Dispute?" William raised his eyebrows and asked casually:

"Civil dispute or military dispute?"

The little secretary thought for a moment and answered in an uncertain tone for the first time:

"Family dispute."