King

In the Emerald Palace, both conservatives and reformers fell silent when they saw the Prairie Strategy Plan sent by Hudson.

It's a good plan, but it's too expensive. Unfortunately, no one can refute it.

The seven grassland kingdoms supported by many forces could not stop the orcs' counterattack, let alone the noble lords who had been enfeoffed.

The best option is to build the city slowly and steadily. Even if the orcs counterattack, they can rely on the city fortress to defend on the spot.

But as a result, the amount of money and food that needs to be spent far exceeds everyone's psychological expectations.

"Your Majesty, slow down your march eastward!

The Orc Empire has been severely damaged and will not be able to recover to its peak for decades. We still have time.

From now on, the national border will be pushed eastwards by one hundred miles every five years, gradually reducing the living space of the orcs.

Take advantage of this rare leisure time, fight steadily along the way, and slowly wear down the enemy to death! "

Count Francis suggested with a solemn expression.

There is no other way, those guys on the front line are just like lions. Just the initial investment and expenses can bankrupt the kingdom's finances.

The data is there, no matter how much you save, the money you need to spend in the end is still an astronomical amount.

"Expand eight hundred miles eastward and turn Xueyue Lake into the inner lake of the kingdom" sounds exciting, but the reality is undesirable.

Simply calculating the territorial area, the territory of this region is almost the same as that of the Near East.

There is a world of ice and snow in the Near East, with Xueyue Lake as a barrier in the middle, and a cursed land in the lower reaches.

As long as a naval force is deployed in the lake, the most suitable offensive front for the enemy will only be a few hundred miles away.

The kingdom built ten large cities in the Near East and built a solid defense line.

Now if the border line is pushed forward eight hundred miles, everything will be different.

The natural barrier of the ice and snow world no longer exists, Xueyue Lake is no longer a natural national boundary, and even the cursed land has entered the kingdom.

The border line between the two sides has been stretched to thousands of kilometers, and the pressure on national defense has increased not a little.

If he hadn't had no choice, Hudson wouldn't have come up with such a crazy defense plan.

Deep down in his heart, Earl Francis wished that the expansion of the kingdom would stop immediately and wait until he could recuperate before heading eastward.

But reason told him that this was impossible.

It was not easy to win a big victory. If the government decided to give up the loot, I am afraid that the people below will punish the national thief.

The martial nobles of the kingdom are not easy to mess with. Anyone who stands against them will be torn to pieces immediately.

Continuous victories in foreign wars boosted not only the morale of the people, but also the arrogance of the nobles.

“Count Francis, are you kidding me?

If we advance a hundred miles in five years, it will take at least forty years to realize our strategic plan.

This is when everything goes well!

There are only forty years in life. Even if you and I have the patience, can the people agree?

The kingdom waited for more than three hundred years before the opportunity came to destroy the Orc Empire.

If you can't grasp it, when the enemy recovers, you will have no chance to destroy the orcs! "

Count Aikman, Minister of Military Affairs, responded unceremoniously.

According to the 800-mile eastward expansion proposed by Hudson, the Ministry of Military Affairs and the frontline generals discussed dozens of plans. Now that the pace suddenly slowed down, how could he explain to his men when he went back?

Especially under the premise that the destruction of the orcs is the first principle, any opinion that opposes the eastward advance is completely heresy.

In a sense, the Alpha Kingdom has been kidnapped by hatred, and the chariot cannot stop at all.

"Your Excellency, if the problem of money and food can be solved, I will support even the immediate destruction of the Orc Empire!"

Count Francis said with a sneer.

No matter how sufficient the administrative reasons are, they cannot conceal the reality of the kingdom's financial deficit.

Now not only the salaries of officials cannot be paid on time, but also the military pay of frontline generals has been delayed.

The higher the status, the more arrears are owed. Nobles above Viscount are now working for the Kingdom for free.

…

Seeing the quarrel between the two sides getting more and more intense, Caesar IV also felt secretly worried.

It would be a pity to give up the opportunity that we finally got, and it would be a pity now.

However, the problem of money and food is really unsolvable now.

The Alpha Kingdom was able to win this war because of the strong support of the Five-Nation Alliance.

The problem is that we have just experienced the cult turmoil, and life is not easy for the younger brothers. Everyone has already gritted their teeth and supported us. If we continue to ask for money and food, we may lose all our friends.

"Your Majesty, send troops to the Papal Kingdom!

As long as this operation goes smoothly, the difficulties we face will be easily solved. "

The words of Prime Minister Marquis Delgado opened a new world for everyone.

If you don't have money or food, go out and rob it. For the sake of human prosperity, it's totally worth sacrificing the decadent Papal State.

By the way, you can also take revenge and complain if you have any grudges, and vent the bad breath on behalf of the former kings.

"Prime Minister, although the Holy See is rich, it is not easy to collect money and food!"

Caesar IV said slightly hesitantly.

He had already had the idea of ​​robbing the Holy See. The problem is that the kingdom's army has no tradition of handing over the spoils of war, and usually robs and divides them along the way.

Even if the royal government orders the army to hand over the spoils of war, there is a high probability that only three melons and two dates will be collected in the end.

In the face of interests, the integrity of the nobles cannot stand the test.

“Your Majesty, we can follow the example of the Falcon Kingdom and issue privateering licenses to allow nobles to move freely in the Papal State.

Considering the level of prosperity of the Papal State, and charging each person three to five hundred gold coins based on the number of participants, it should not be a big problem.

If naval escort is required, an additional tenth of the loot can be added as compensation.

The Ministry of Finance has set up a professional evaluation agency to handle the loot for everyone, and can also make another fortune.

If everything goes well, our financial situation will be greatly improved after this battle. "

Marquis Delgado's explanation made everyone call him professional.

As expected of a finance minister, his methods of making money are extraordinary.

Now that the battle on the grassland battlefield has stopped, the remaining defeated orcs dare not come over to cause trouble, and the nobles and private soldiers can go back to their respective homes.

The nobles in the kingdom are going crazy from poverty. If there is an opportunity to make a fortune, no one will refuse it.

"Will doing this harm the reputation of the kingdom?"

It can be seen that Caesar IV still has some moral integrity.

It was still hard for him to accept the loss of moral integrity of openly organizing an army to go out to rob.

"Your Majesty, don't worry, the Franks have already started to rob, and the robbery armies from other southern continent countries are also on the way.

If our Five-Nation Alliance also joins, all nations except the Falcon Kingdom will participate. "

Marquis Delgado said without changing his expression.

When everyone dies together, it means that everyone's moral standards are up to par, and no one can even think of despising anyone.

As for the absent Falcon Kingdom, that's not a problem at all. The methods adopted by the Alpha Kingdom for this operation were all learned from them.

The last moral hurdle was removed and the proposal passed unanimously in an instant.

A penny can stump a heroic man, and the kingdom's financial gap is more than just a penny.

Whether the government's debt can be repaid is no longer the most important thing. The key now is: the funds for the eastward march must be solved.

For this strategic goal, the Royal Government has made hundreds of millions of sacrifices, which is worth it.

…

Deep in the prairie, a group of tightly packed orcs gathered in a small valley.

"waste!"

"They're all trash!"

"In such a large-scale war, we haven't collected enough souls yet. What do you do for food?"

The shadow continued to curse, and all the orcs lowered their heads.

Everyone looked more ashamed than the other, but deep down they were secretly happy.

Cults are not easy to get along with. If you fail to complete your mission, the punishment will be so severe that life will be worse than death.

However, there is one exception, and that is that everyone fails to complete the task.

The law does not punish everyone. This also applies to cults. No matter how strict the organizational rules are, all members cannot be executed at the same time.

Frankly speaking, everyone was wronged when this mission failed.

All the arrangements were well made, and no one thought that it would be fire and water that affected the war.

The fire in front was okay. Although he was caught off guard, he still collected part of his soul.

The flood behind was a completely indiscriminate attack. The orc army was in bad luck. How could the members of the cult organization who were mixed in it be immune?

The number of cult leaders attending the meeting was half less than last time, and the losses for middle- and lower-level cult members would only be greater.

With all the people gone, the mission is of course hopeless. Now that the war has ended early, it is obviously impossible to collect souls on a large scale.

Perhaps he had vented enough and calmed down, letting out a strange "Jie Jie" laugh.

Suddenly, a burst of black mist enveloped the two unlucky guys on the field. Just as they screamed, there were only two piles of bones left on the ground.

Obviously, the interpretation of the law not punishing the public is different in cults. Not all of them will be executed, and it will not affect the killing of chickens to scare monkeys.

"The two of them are examples of failed missions. I'll give you one last chance. If you still can't make up the number of souls to open the altar within this year, then use yourself to make up the number!

Now that there are only a few people, you should also share the tasks that belong to them!

You know that I am the most fair in everything I do.

If you can't complete the task of the separate altar, the altar leader will take your life to fill it; if you can't complete the overall task, you will all take your life to fill it.

Collect souls as much as possible when you have the opportunity. Those who exceed the task will be heavily rewarded. As long as the contribution is great enough, it is not impossible to directly become a holy domain! "

Xuying said painting the cake hard.

Unfortunately, the method just now was too cruel and frightened all the orcs at the scene. Even though the painted cake is very tempting, everyone is still immersed in the shadow just now.

Of course, the main reason is that Xuying's painting skills are not good enough. Anyone with a little knowledge knows how nonsense it is to rely on external forces to forcibly promote one to the Holy Realm.

Power can be instilled, but how to solve the problem of law understanding?

If the understanding of the law could be solved by external forces, Xuying would have already upgraded his strength to the holy realm.

This unprofessional pie-painting technique looks very fake at first glance, and it is difficult to mobilize everyone's enthusiasm for work.

If they hadn't boarded the ship before and now had no choice, I'm afraid most of the orcs present would have chosen to jump back.

There is no doubt that Xuying knows nothing about the psychological changes of everyone. As an old antique, many inherent perceptions are difficult to change.

The orcs are not static. Compared to the era when the shadow is in, the orcs have also improved a lot.

Both the level of civilization and the level of knowledge and cognition have made great progress.

After all, ordinary orcs cannot become high-level cult leaders. Those who can defeat their competitors and rush out are the elites among the orcs.

Cult version 1.0, it is getting harder and harder to fool these guys. Perhaps aware of this, Xuying chose to use thunder to shock him.

…

Near East Command, looking at the edict from the royal capital, Hudson rolled his eyes speechlessly.

Calling on everyone to go out and rob in the name of the country without even a fig leaf to cover up, this is too "sincere".

"Tom, send someone to copy the contents of the edict and distribute it to the garrisons everywhere.

Tell the governors of the provinces that the war between the kingdom and the orcs is temporarily over.

From now on, the private armies of nobles in various places were disbanded on the spot, and all ministries were ordered to return to their fiefdoms within half a month.

Private armies willing to participate in mediating the war in the Papal States can register at the Ministry of Military Affairs. For the sake of the safety of the army, in principle, the minimum troop unit participating in the operation must not be less than one regiment.

Noble lords are allowed to join hands to form a coalition to participate in the war, but the premise is that the participating troops must be elite.

This battle is related to the face of the kingdom. Noble lords who are not strong enough should not sign up! "

It won't work without setting a threshold. If all restrictions are relaxed, the final number of applicants will probably exceed the sky.

Going out to rob is also an expedition. Once there are too many troops, command and logistics will be big problems.

The main problem focuses on command, and logistics can also be found in the Papal States. The Frankish army had been plundering the Papal States for such a long time, and they had to supply food and grass on the spot.

All those participating in the operation are noble private troops, and all troops have a high degree of autonomy. The effectiveness of military orders will definitely be greatly reduced here.

If you meet a strong general, it's okay if you can hold the situation under control, otherwise you'll just have to fight on your own.

…

"Marshal, won't we participate in this battle?"

Jose on the side asked in confusion.

Logically speaking, everyone would flock to such a hugely profitable business as robbing the Papal States, so the Koslow family had no reason not to participate.

It would be best for Hudson to lead the team himself. In the past, he was directly the commander of the army, and the profits would be guaranteed.

“Don’t covet ill-gotten gains!

We will not participate in this trip to the Papal States, leaving the opportunity to those in need! "

Hudson said, shaking his head.

"Robbery" is not a good job. The Koslow family just came out from under this crime. Never a good thing.

…