King

After looking around the battlefield and looking at the total casualties, Hudson sighed.

One general succeeds and ten thousand bones wither.

The battle last night was the best portrayal of it. The situation of the expeditionary force was not bad. It was originally a sneak attack, and it only attacked the enemy's tired soldiers, with only more than 2,000 casualties.

Compared with the glorious record of defeating 300,000 enemy troops, killing 120,000, and capturing 50,000, it can be called an "epic victory."

The losses of the Kingdom's army were not great, but the garrison of Fort Augustus suffered miserably. As a bait thrown by Hudson, the number of defenders killed was as many as 70,000, and almost everyone who survived was injured.

If it weren't for being trapped in the inner city with no place to run, the army would have collapsed long ago with such casualties.

Of course, the 70,000 casualties also include the losses caused by the fall of the outer city during the day. The battles were fought together, and the defenders had no way of counting their troop losses separately.

"Let's arrange for someone to send the good news back! Everyone is waiting impatiently and needs this news to stabilize people's hearts."

Hudson said expressionlessly.

War always requires sacrifice, and winning at any cost is worth it. Being able to win at the minimum cost proves that the commander is qualified.

Instead of comforting the wounded hearts of the officers of the Principality of Mossy, Hudson believed that they would all be able to come out on top.

The casualties were heavy and not worth mentioning in the face of the good news. No matter how many troops were lost, the Principality of Moxi would make up for the shortfall.

In the eyes of many princes and nobles, the losses of soldiers have always been just a set of cold figures.

In particular, the garrison of Fort Augustus was still filled with a large number of defeated troops from the Eastern Warhammer Kingdom, who were now buried on the battlefield. Maybe they felt that a hidden danger had been eliminated.

"Okay, Marshal!"

Raquel replied immediately.

It can be seen that he has adjusted his mentality. Whether you have a strong heart or you really don't care, these are essential qualities for a general.

Being immersed in the heavy losses of men and horses under his command and unable to extricate himself, it seems to be a matter of love and justice, but in fact it is irresponsible.

The battlefield is ever-changing. No matter what happens at any time, generals must keep themselves rational.

The two of them tacitly agreed not to mention the "abandonment attack" that was deliberately arranged last night.

The city was broken by the enemy, and it was definitely not the commander who deliberately exposed his flaws and lured them into the city.

The truth can be hidden in the long history, there is no need to expose it all. Sometimes knowing too much is not good for anyone.

It doesn't matter whether anyone guesses it or not. The winner is not blamed.

After nodding, Hudson added: "The issue of prisoners of war has also been reported.

In addition to the hundreds of elven captives, I promised to abide by the ancient "Covenant of All Races" and treat them as prisoners of war. What to do with the remaining prisoners of war is left to the two governments to negotiate!

Note: In order to politically induce the ancient survivors to surrender, it is not recommended to massacre prisoners. "

The hatred in the race war is so deep that unless one side falls completely, the fighting will continue.

He is unable to change the overall situation, but the promises he made must still be fulfilled.

Even if everyone knew that the elf captives were valuable and could not be taken out and chopped, Hudson still had to make a gesture.

The suggestions made later are actually decisions. Reporting is just a process to show respect for the high-level officials of the two governments.

From the moment he spoke, the fate of the fifty thousand prisoners of war had already been decided.

When it comes to the future of the war, coupled with the weight of the "good news", it is impossible for any smart politician to reject Hudson's proposal.

Of course, the core reason for keeping these captives is not only to facilitate the implementation of political surrender in the future, but also because these ancient remnants belong to a rare race. Not only are their existing numbers small, but their fertility is also pitifully low.

In the entire Ancient Relic Alliance, even the most numerous race does not have one million tribesmen.

Affected by the number of tribesmen, no matter how these small races develop, they have no ability to threaten the dominance of the human race.

There are so many races that have disappeared in the long river of history. These small races with extremely low risk resistance may become extinct at some point.

A major earthquake, a major flood, an extremely cold weather, a raging cult... any major natural or man-made disaster may destroy them.

"Good news!"

"Victory at Augustburg!"

…

When the news reached Pest, everyone's first reaction was disbelief.

Yesterday, Fort Augustus was still reaching out for help, and everyone even held a special meeting to discuss sending troops for reinforcements. Today, the news of success came, just to fool the children!

Being stared at by everyone, Count Martins hurriedly explained: "Reinforcements have arrived!

Last night, the foreign coalition forces invaded the inner city. At the most dangerous moment, Marshal Hudson led his army to the battlefield and fought back against the enemy with the garrison of Fort Augustus.

This battle defeated 300,000 enemy troops, killed 120,000 enemy troops, and captured 50,000 enemy troops, completely reversing the unfavorable situation since the war began.

However, we also suffered heavy casualties, the number of casualties alone was..."

Before the Minister of Military Affairs could finish speaking, George interrupted: "Stop!

Let us digest this good news first, and we will discuss the issue of casualties later. "

The war situation reversed so suddenly that if everyone hadn't been in good health, they would have been frightened into causing problems.

Simply relying on the garrison of Fort Augustus, even if they were all exhausted, they would not be able to severely damage the enemy.

But with the reinforcements from the Alpha Kingdom, everything would be different.

The Principality of Moxi is the place where Hudson became famous, and his influence here is greater than in the Kingdom of Alpha.

As a victorious general, no matter what kind of victory, as long as it is placed on his head, everyone can accept it.

“Congratulations to Your Majesty, the principality’s strategic passivity will be completely reversed after this battle.

Perhaps it won't be long before we receive news of Marshal Hudson's expedition to the Eastern Warhammer Kingdom. "

Prime Minister Herceg said excitedly.

Originally, everyone was prepared to fight on two fronts, but they never expected that as soon as Hudson took action, he would take down all the enemy troops.

Although there are still hundreds of thousands of ancient surviving coalition forces on the front line of Fort Augustus, last night's battle fundamentally changed the balance of strength between the two sides.

The war is about military morale. Before the reinforcements arrived, the troops of the Principality of Moxi were demoralized due to the defeat, and could only exert 45% of their 10% combat effectiveness.

Now the situation has reversed, and it is the Ancient Relics Alliance's turn to have a headache.

The morale of the army was frustrated, and the troops were dispersed in various places to suppress the rebels. They could all see such an obvious opportunity, so there was no reason why the frontline coach couldn't spot it.

As soon as the counterattack war began, the battlefield shifted from the Principality of Moxi to the Eastern Warhammer Kingdom. The northern provinces will have a chance to breathe, and the principality's war potential will be preserved to the maximum extent.

If the counterattack goes well and can affect the front line of the Principality of Auton and force the enemy to send troops to return reinforcements, the subsequent war will be easier to fight.

“Now is not the time to celebrate.

The Alpha Kingdom sent not many reinforcements this time. There are nominally an army of 100,000, but in fact there are only 35,000.

Although they are all elite cavalry, with such a small force they can only fight encounters in the wild.

Marshal Hudson would not have kept prisoners unless he had to. You must know that the last time the orcs invaded, he didn't keep any prisoners. "

George shook his head and said.

In fact, he was overthinking it.

The last time the orcs invaded, Hudson took no prisoners. That was because there were no prisoners left.

The Alpha Kingdom and the orcs had a deep hatred. When the people below saw the orcs, they wanted to devour their flesh alive. Leaving prisoners behind was to confront the officers and soldiers.

In addition, the high-level officials of the kingdom had a clear attitude and directly ordered not to take prisoners. Naturally, Hudson would not violate military orders for a group of orcs.

In the later stages of the war, in order to split the Orc Empire, Hudson deliberately spared the vassal races and specifically caught the five royal families and beat them severely.

If it weren't for the intervention of the Human Alliance, which forced Hudson to work on logistics and lose control of the war, the Orc Empire might have fallen apart long ago.

The same is true now. It seems that Hudson is fighting a military battle, but in fact he is fighting a political battle as well.

It's just that this method of playing is not in line with the mainstream of the Aslant continent. There are no ready-made cases to learn from, and everyone didn't understand it for a while.

"Your Majesty is right, if we have only one enemy in the Ancient Relic Alliance, we will have a great chance of winning the next war.

But in addition to this enemy, there are also the elves who have just joined the war.

The three principalities of Cantru, Usta, and Fike have been suppressed by the elves for a long time. Their own military strength is limited and they cannot resist for long.

Once the Three Kingdoms fall, the elven army is likely to join forces with the Allied Forces of the Ancient Relics in the Principality of Alton. That will be the real test of life and death for the Principality! "

Count Renato poured cold water on him.

In order to stabilize the elves, not only the Alpha Kingdom is working hard, but the Principality of Moxi is actually doing more.

The idea is beautiful, but the reality is very cruel.

When it comes to racial strategic security, it cannot be fooled through diplomacy.

“The threat from the elves is indeed a big problem, but now we have to deal with the ancient alliance first.

Count Martins, on behalf of the principality, you go to the front line of Augustburg in person, ask Marshal Hudson about the next strategic deployment, and by the way, calm the morale of the military.

If there is any need on the front line, the Principality will do its best to cooperate.

If we can severely damage the ancient alliance before the elf army arrives, there will be more to talk about later. "

George said helplessly.

The victory was gratifying, but the deteriorating international situation still made him uneasy.

At one point, he even wanted to let Hudson lead the reinforcements south to deal with the ancient army from the Orton line first, so that no one would be able to resist when the elven army came over.

Fortunately, reason finally prevailed. The reinforcements from the Alpha Kingdom are not under his command. It would be embarrassing if someone didn't accept the order.

The process is different, but the ultimate goal is surprisingly the same for everyone - to fool the elves' army away.

Deep down in his heart, George was even mentally prepared to wait for the end of the continental war to move among the human alliance and encourage the alliance to launch a strategic attack on the elves.

As the overlord of the continent, the human race can easily cripple any opponent if it takes action against any foreign race.

Of course, the Dragon Clan and the Sea Clan cannot be counted.

There are too many perverts in the former, and the living area of ​​the latter is a restricted area for humans.

…

Emerald Palace.

Because of the distance, Caesar IV received the news of victory slightly later, but the joy brought by victory remained unchanged.

A great victory was achieved at the beginning, which made all the ministers who were originally hesitant about this operation change their tune and sing praises.

In the face of victory, armed training has become a battlefield raid, and in the eyes of the people, it has also become "adapting to circumstances and seizing the opportunity."

There is nothing wrong with it. He launched a surprise attack while the enemy was in the middle of the siege and won a complete victory. It was a classic case of war.

The smart nobles secretly took out their notebooks and recorded what they learned.

These are the teaching materials for future generations to study. In an era when there was no military school system to train officers, officer training relied entirely on the experience accumulated by the older generation.

The heroes are all on the front lines, so the celebration banquet is naturally omitted.

The current Alpha Kingdom is implementing a strategic ration rationing system, and any extravagance and waste is not allowed.

These days, whenever we appear in public, everyone eats black bread or vegetables.

Affected by this, domestic entertainment venues, restaurants, and hotels have all been hit hard.

You cannot have both, and there are inevitable trade-offs in the implementation of any policy.

Anyway, most areas of the kingdom implement a tax-packaging system. If you want to cry, it's the tax-packaging guy's cry. The commercial tax revenue of the treasury is almost unaffected.

As a person with vested interests, if you don't have this bit of dedication, then there is no need to do it.

"Everyone has seen the battle report. Do you have any suggestions regarding the handling of prisoners of war?"

Caesar IV said with a smile.

Hudson only asked that the prisoners not be killed, but did not say what to do with the prisoners of war. The troops on the front line have to continue fighting and have no time to look at the prisoners of war. The follow-up work is still taken over by the two governments.

"Your Majesty, the garrison of Fort Augustus has suffered heavy losses, hatred has just been forged, and this is the time when the anger is at its highest.

If the Mossi want to accept prisoners of war, they must ensure that they cannot be detained by the garrison of Augustburg and the Warhammer rout.

Marshal Hudson did not bring it up, probably because he was concerned about the feelings of the frontline officers and soldiers. After all, they might need their cooperation in the subsequent battle.

You can test the thoughts of the Mossi people. If they have no special requirements, then the two countries will jointly send troops to guard them.

For safety reasons, the kingdom should immediately prepare a batch of anti-magic potion and give it to the prisoners of war. "

The Grand Duke of Newfoundland suggested.

"Prime Minister, other issues are easy to answer. But the magic-forbidden potion cannot be produced by the Kingdom family. The war has just begun and there are 50,000 prisoners. It is not known how many people will be captured in the future.

Even if the number of cultivators among them is only one-tenth, the amount of anti-magic potion required is still a very huge number.

The anti-magic potions on the market, even the most rubbish ones, start at thirty gold coins. For such a large quantity, even if the kingdom organizes production, the cost will probably not be less than ten gold coins.

The price of high-quality anti-magic potions for powerful people is even higher.

What's more, in addition to cultivators, we also have to give them medicine to reduce physical strength for some races with special talents, otherwise it will be too difficult to monitor them.

The kingdom's fiscal revenue is limited, and it may be unbearable to add huge expenditures all at once. "

Marquis Delgado immediately objected.

Allies also have to settle accounts clearly. It's enough to help fight the war. If they help to pay for it, there will be no fun.

However, the proposal of the Finance Minister was not recognized by everyone. It is true that the kingdom is financially strapped. How can the Principality of Moxi be rich during the war?

What's more, most of their magicians have been recruited to the battlefield, and the rest are also engaged in the production of military supplies.

There are already many difficulties, and if we ask them to produce anti-magic potions, they won't be able to do it!

In the eyes of everyone, it was a miracle that the Moxi Principality, which was heavily in debt, did not go bankrupt.

If the Principality of Moxi cannot hold on and becomes financially bankrupt during the war, and the Alpha Kingdom has to take over the mess left behind, then it is truly asking for trouble.

"Marquis Delgado, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can communicate with the Moxi people about the magic potion, but considering the actual situation, the required expenses will most likely have to be paid in advance by the Kingdom.

After all, under the current situation, we and the Mossi people are both losing, so we can't care about it so much.

All issues will be discussed after the war. "

Count Francis said helplessly.

If you don’t have money, you don’t have money. You can’t expect to squeeze the oil out of the poor. Talking about it after the war is purely a word of comfort. It is a miracle that the Mossi people did not declare bankruptcy after the war.

Even the kingdom's finances will most likely go bankrupt after the war. The Treasury Department has gone to great lengths to raise money to fight this war.

Some areas where businessmen were responsible for paying taxes were expected to do so thirty or fifty years later. Even the tax-free area for noble gentlemen has received five years in advance.

Even so, finances remain tight. There is no way, the mess left by the last war has not been cleared up yet. It’s time for a new war, and we don’t have enough leeks!

No one even mentioned the issue of rewards for military exploits. Let's put it off for now, and then settle the matter after the war. At least the Ministry of Finance will have more cash on hand.

In this regard, the aristocratic group is still aware. The big nobles personally take the lead and set an example, but no one makes a fuss.

If they perform well on the battlefield, officers from noble families will even use their own money to reward them. In order to boost the morale of the troops, everyone worked hard.

The officers and soldiers who followed Hudson gained the most, but he was snatching supplies from the enemy and sharing the spoils instead of paying for them himself.

“It’s okay to deal with it after the war, but we have to find a way to raise the additional expenses.

Throttling is impossible, so only open source is left. Either impose a war tax or collect a year's worth of commercial taxes in advance.

You just have to figure it out, since the Ministry of Finance is powerless anyway. If you have a better way, the Ministry of Finance guarantees its full support. "

Marquis Delgado spread his hands and said.

Everyone wanted to retort, but they didn't know where to start. Based on past experience, if questions are raised at this time, the Chancellor will immediately have someone send him a thick list of account expenses.

There is no doubt that the money was spent by the military. Reinforcing defense lines, training troops, raising strategic supplies, purchasing ordnance and equipment... these all cost money.

Even though most of the supplies were prepared domestically, gold coins were still used for settlement. There is no money for supplies within the scope of the obligation, but kingdoms outside the scope still have to pay for them.

Our profits can turn into debts, but production costs still have to be paid, otherwise no one can sustain a loss-making business.

The large sums of war bonds subscribed by the kingdom's nobles during the last war basically came from this. If we were to ask everyone to spend a huge amount of cash at once during the war, few would be able to do it.

…