I Will Be The Crowned King

Latest website: Ice Dragon Fjord Colony, Beluga Harbour, 29 March.

While the ports of the Old World are being blocked, halted, struck and even rioted due to all kinds of rumors, fake news and wars, the ports of the New World are at their most prosperous after winter and spring.

Under the golden morning light, dozens or hundreds of cargo ships full of cargo were moored on the calm sea. The porters on the dock followed the slogans of the foremen and were busy loading the last batch of cargo containers into the ship.

"Raise anchor - set sail!"

When the rapid bell rang, the cargo ships with the waterline several centimeters deep pulled away the planks connecting the wharf, and under the gaze of thousands of eyes, they formed a fleet of geese and slowly sailed out of the fjord.

Thunderous cheers resounded over the pier. Thousands of merchants, workers and ordinary citizens who gathered at Beluga Harbor were filled with undisguised joy as if they were reborn.

And they were really happy as if they had a new life: the goods sold to the Beihai Three Kingdoms not only directly wiped out one-third of the annual output value of the entire New World, but also the price was one-fifth higher than in previous years; and because Due to the lack of cash, seven-tenths of the payment for the goods was offset with equivalent commodities.

Using "make a big profit" is not enough to describe the mood of the entire Confederacy.

To know the trade between the New World and the mainland in previous years, the empire must first tax its own colonies, cut a round of leeks, Clovis sells high and buys low and then cuts another round, smuggling and middlemen make the difference, and Between the colonies, there are endless, fancy tariff barriers...  

Not to mention luxury goods, even the necessities of life such as salt, textiles, farm implements and even spirits, when they really reach the hands of those who need them, the prices have risen at least tenfold.

And the ore, wood and animal skins accumulated by countless workers with blood, sweat, and even risking their lives, are extremely low in price; including shipping costs, they are even cheaper than in mainland China.

In the face of such cruel extortion, the colonies had to sell, because these were all over the New World, and they could not be sold at a price; and salt and textiles could not be produced by themselves, and had to endure exploitation.

But this time is different.

All tariffs and price differentials were forcibly removed by the High Council's scheduling among the entire Confederacy, which greatly reduced costs; therefore, those who suffered losses could get back part of the profits through the eventual increase in trade.

Plus the Three Kingdoms of the North Sea not only increased the original price by a fifth, but seven-tenths were exchanged for commodities; these commodities were market prices, not what Clovis and the Empire used to exploit the colonies. sky-high price.

Of course, compared with the former two, the products that the Three Kingdoms of the North Sea can produce are far inferior in quality and quantity, but they are enough for the colonies.

Amidst the deafening cheers, David Jacques, a "famous artist" of the Confederacy, also took his apprentices to record the scene in front of him with a paintbrush in the port: the city shrouded in haze, the rising sun rising from the sea level; A thousand pairs of withered, clean hands with linen gloves, gold rings, and weapons stretched out of the haze toward the sun, toward the sailing ships that were heading toward the sun, gradually receding.

And on that little sailboat, there was a 13-star ringed flag on a blue background; but under the water, a King Clovis flag and the imperial irises were reflected.

"I named it... Hope."

Pointing to the oil painting behind him, David Jacques, with a sunny face, introduced to Anson and a group of council representatives cautiously: "Bearing the shadows from the old continent, the Free Confederation will surely bring a glow to the hazy new world. Living hope!"

In response to the unabashed flattery of the great artist, the very useful representatives showed smiles like protagonists, and by the way they did not forget to tout each other, as if they really regarded themselves as the savior of the colony and the new world.

On the other hand, Reinhard, who was standing on the side, could vaguely see other meanings from the oil painting: the 13-star ringed flag reflected the shadow of the flags of Clovis and the Empire, not that the so-called Free Confederation was still the Empire and Clovis. The product of a combination of forces, or... a puppet.

The hand stretched out in the shadows can not only represent people of all walks of life, but also can say that the new world is no different from the old continent. It has long differentiated the rich nobles and the poor bottom; and even if a new world is created, it is still eager to "Hope" from the old world.

Thinking about it this way, when I recall several works of the other party that I have seen in the past, it seems that I can have completely different interpretations; is this great artist who seems to be deliberately flattering all the time? smart people?

Unbelievable Reinhard looked at David Jacques, but he didn't seem to notice that the latter was still full of sunshine, with a simple and innocent expression, which was no different from an eleven- or twelve-year-old boy.

Maybe I'm overthinking it? Reinhard shook his head and looked away.

Compared with an oil painting, the delegates were more concerned about the profit of the business; although the Three Kingdoms of the North Sea, especially the Kingdom of Nakhir, were not rich due to the war, they still managed to collect enough money and promised to pay first-hand. First hand delivery.

In addition to the various necessities and manufactured products agreed upon, what is more surprising is that the Kingdom of Nakhir is still preparing to pay off its debts with grain; grown food.

"There are about 100,000 tons of potatoes, 60,000 tons of wheat, and 30,000 tons of oats." Reinhard said solemnly: "Including the price difference, about one-fifth of the payment for these grains must be mortgaged; because the scale is too large Great, the Nakhir fleet has promised to help us transport."

After hearing this number, everyone present was silent.

"With such a large-scale sale of food, isn't the Nakhir royal family worried about a famine in their own country?" The young knight couldn't help but ask:

"Could it be that today their food has ushered in a bumper harvest?"

"On the contrary, because the civil war that broke out at the end of last year has continued to this day, there has been a widespread failure of grain in the kingdom of Nakhir." Reinhard shook his head:

"If I'm not wrong, these grains should be stored in various places and used for winter or famine."

"Huh?!" Louie's eyes widened: "The civil war is not over yet, why..."

"Because the Civil War isn't over, Sir Louis."

Paulina Frey's voice sounded faintly: "Forcibly requisition grain from the territory of the rebel nobles and sell it to us, not only can we exchange for vital raw materials, but also can use the famine to weaken the strength of the rebels."

Gukan

"For the suzerain, there is no more effective way to clear rebellion."

After she finished speaking, she turned her head and gave Louis a deep look. The meaningful gaze made the young knight extremely embarrassed.

"Although this may not be very friendly to the farmers of Nakshire, for the Confederacy, these grains are of great significance." Anson quickly stood up and smoothed the game:

"I propose to buy this grain in the name of the Supreme Council and put it in... um, the fortress of Winter Torch City, as a grain reserve for the entire Confederacy, what do you think?"

A group of delegates who clearly felt that the atmosphere was not right did not dare to touch the bad, and they all said that the Governor of Ice Dragon Fjord was really wise, and they voted in favor of it before returning to the parliament, and no one objected.

"In addition to normal trading, there is good news."

Seeing that the atmosphere froze because of his own information, Reinhard also quickly followed Anson's rhythm and continued: "Because Nakhir Cathedral does not support civil war and refuses to provide any financial convenience for both parties, the royal family hopes to transfer part of the The stolen money collected by the rebels will be handed over to the New World Company for management."

"These stolen funds include but are not limited to large sums of cash, as well as various expensive luxury goods; the Nakhir royal family said that as long as the price is right, they are also willing to sell these luxury goods on the Confederate side."

"Since it is a luxury item, my suggestion is to organize a large-scale market in Beluga Port or other ports, and let those who are willing to buy buy it themselves, and the rest will be kept by the New World Company; this will not only improve the colony's Quality of life, and avoid unnecessary waste... What do you think?"

"I agree!"

Anson immediately raised his hand and said: "In this way, the Nakhir royal family has a certain profit, and it can also end the civil war as soon as possible to avoid more lives being ruined. disaster."

Although he said so, in fact, Anson wished that Nakhir could continue the civil war, and it would be better if the other two could be dragged into the water - so no matter what, the three North Sea countries and their fleets would not be able to Be part of the Crusaders again!

The overall strength of these three countries is not strong, but the problem is that they are too close to the new world; once they join, it means that the logistics line of the jihadist army will be greatly shortened, and there is no need to withdraw troops even in winter, and continue to fight possible.

Not only that, although the fleet strength of the three countries is not as good as that of the empire's large fleet, at least the combined transport capacity is definitely much stronger than that of Clovis; it is deadly to the Confederacy with a long coastline and almost all important strongholds are concentrated in the coastal areas. sexual blow.

So no matter what happens to Nakhir Kingdom, their civil war must continue; not only that, it is best for the other two to intervene as soon as possible, or be invaded by Nakhir Kingdom, which is the best outcome for the Confederacy.

The final distribution of benefits was finalized, and the delegates either left the place meaningfully or happily, preparing to return to the parliament; only Anson and Louis were left, and the oil painting titled "Hope" was still in place. .

"This is the last shipment, and the last foreign trade of the Confederacy this year."

Looking at the direction of the sea horizon, An Sen sighed softly: "The next time a ship appears in the Ice Dragon Fjord, it will be the fleet of the Crusaders."

"Yes."

Louis also nodded with emotion: "Then are you ready to fight?"

"It's not me, it's us, all of us." Anson corrected:

"The answer is yes, we have prepared everything we can, gathered all the supplies, all the soldiers who can go to the battlefield, established a fairly efficient decision-making center, united all the enemies who can be united, and tried every means possible. It caused a lot of trouble for the enemy."

"So far, I can frankly say that the strength of the entire Confederacy has been mobilized by us!"

"But compared to our enemies, it's still stretched thin." Louis frowned slightly:

"50,000 soldiers, but mostly line infantry with front-loading rifles, wearing non-uniform uniforms, and using weapons of good and bad quality; needless to say about training, except that less than 20,000 of them have received rigorous training , the rest...disciplined, old and young, just a mob with arms."

"As for artillery and cavalry...the former can't make up a regiment, and the latter is not small, but only half a division. It's too reluctant for a 50,000-strong army to use it for communication, let alone go into battle to kill the enemy."

"The most troublesome thing is that we not only lack artillery, but also lack ships capable of offshore combat!" Louis's face became more and more ugly:

"The jihadist army is going to cross the sea to fight, and the imperial fleet and the Clovis royal fleet will inevitably be dispatched. Our important colonial strongholds are all concentrated in the coastal areas, but there is no fort, no battleship..."

The young knight couldn't go on, but Anson knew what he wanted to say.

That's right, the jihadists didn't even need to land, they could conquer most of the thirteen colonies just by shelling. It collapsed after being unable to support it.

As for Ansen's earliest plan to "evacuate to Winter Torch City and stand firm for help", the premise was that there were only 50,000 troops in the empire; but now the enemy's army has expanded to 150,000~www.wuxiaspot.com~ and has the full support of the church, Waiting for help is a joke.

Even if the Mujahideen really has to wait until June to arrive, it is too late to start building ships and fortresses; even if they can build them, they don't have enough cannons; even if this is solved, the cannonballs are far away Not enough - that's a fleet of 150,000 troops.

"So we need a fast and cheap method that can prevent the fleet from easily approaching the colonial coastline, at least not dare to attack us easily, or a weapon." Anson nodded and met Louis's gaze:

"This method or weapon does not need to be a real threat to the enemy, as long as it can delay the time, or let them take the initiative to give up the siege and raid the port, right?"

"Yes, if you can avoid letting the enemy go directly to the port of a certain colony, it will definitely reduce the fall of the Free Confederacy battle... eh?!"

Halfway through the words, Louis suddenly reacted and looked at Anson sharply:

"You, do you already have a plan?!"