King

"Rumble..."

The roar of the magic crystal cannon continued. The unified salvo turned into five teams taking turns to bomb, forming uninterrupted range fire coverage.

Continuous artillery attacks completely cut off the thoughts of Giant Foot Centipede's top brass from counterattacking. There are magic crystal cannons for long-range attacks, and magic crossbows for close-range attacks.

This narrow area was almost completely covered by the enemy's firepower, and no amount of centipede life was enough to fill it up.

In the understanding of many Centipede officers, it is no longer a war, but a unilateral massacre.

Although I was very unwilling deep down in my heart, my body's instinct still chose to stay away very honestly.

Run faster, run faster!

Reason told them that as long as they were out of the range of the enemy's magic crystal cannon.

It is not too late to consider other issues slowly after we are out of the life-and-death crisis.

There is only one thing that needs to be done right now, get away from the battlefield quickly.

The army was defeated like a mountain!

From the moment the first Centipede soldier chose to flee, the rout began. The departure of King Centipede pushed the escape to a climax.

Everyone was running for their lives, and the supervising team ran faster than the soldiers participating in the battle.

An hour ago, there were 300,000 troops in the camp. In the blink of an eye, only a group of wounded soldiers were left wailing.

"The cavalry attacks and chases down the remaining enemies!"

Following Hudson's order, the cavalry troops that had been prepared surged out like a tide and began the harvest journey.

There is no mercy on the racial battlefield. A centipede soldier broke his legs and feet and kept wailing on the ground. What awaited him was not sympathy, but a cold spear that penetrated his body.

Everywhere you look, the surviving Centipede soldiers are enemies.

"Stop the shelling!"

A large number of enemies were out of the range of the magic crystal cannon, and the scattered resistance of the Centipede soldiers was already out of control. Hudson hurriedly called a halt.

If your family is big and your business is big, you must also learn to be diligent and frugal in managing your family. The short-term fire coverage consumed more than two months of the mine's output.

As far as Hudson knows, the magic crystal mine in the Southeast Province is a super rich mine, and its output has almost reached half of the total output of the magic crystal mine owned by the Royal Government.

This means that the kingdom's apparent production of magic crystals for one month is only enough for these gold-swallowing behemoths to consume for one and a half hours.

War does not break out every day. If there is a war every ten or eight years, the magic crystal reserves are enough.

However, this is only an ideal situation.

In addition to being used in war, a country's magic crystal must also ensure the daily supply of magicians, arcanists, priests and other extraordinary professions.

The amount of magic crystal that can truly be stored is at most only one-tenth of the daily production. If not, the price of magic crystals would not remain high.

A large part of Alpha Kingdom's financial deficit is caused by the import of magic crystals.

It's not because the domestic magic crystal production capacity is low, it's mainly because the frequency of wars in the kingdom is too high.

The magic crystal cannon is a large consumer of crystals, and the magic crossbow used earlier also relies heavily on magic crystals.

If it weren't for the mine at home, Hudson wouldn't dare to play with fire coverage. It is difficult to support the consumption of crossbows simply by relying on the annual quota allocated by the royal government.

The effort is worth it!

The shelling just now wiped out at least tens of thousands of Centipede soldiers. Especially the unlucky guy who set up his camp in the earth's core channel, and he didn't know how many of them were buried alive.

Compared with these achievements, the most important thing is strategic victory.

With the defeat of the giant foot centipede, the Hundred Mile Corridor fell into the hands of the kingdom, and their connection with the inner earth world was also cut off.

It seems that King Centipede still has hundreds of thousands of troops in his hands, but the morale of the troops has been shattered, and their combat effectiveness has been shattered.

The pursuit and escape battle continues. Under the stimulation of life and death, countless Centipede soldiers have exceeded their own limits.

It's a pity that in this world, speed doesn't mean you have more legs. No matter how much the infantry surpasses itself, it cannot outrun the cavalry.

The centipede soldier who fell behind only heard the sound of the earth shaking, and his body had been stabbed by the knight's spear.

The most eye-catching thing is the Warcraft cavalry rushing at the front, which is purely brutal and trampled.

The centipede soldiers blocking the front were either knocked away directly or trampled to pulp. Some of them were stabbed by the knight above and flung away.

As the commander-in-chief, Hudson looked down at the battlefield from the sky and monitored the enemy's strong men from the Sanctuary.

Maybe it was because his name was too loud, or maybe because he was killed too hard last time, when the strong men of the Centipede clan saw him, they were like a mouse meeting a cat.

The enemy ran away when they saw him, and Hudson had no intention of pursuing him. As the victor of the war, he still has this kind of magnanimity.

The pursuit and escape battle lasted until evening, before Hudson ordered the troops to withdraw and return to camp.

The night belongs to the race in the center of the earth. You should not use your own shortcomings to attack the enemy's strengths.

The battle ended and the scores were counted, and the whole camp was filled with laughter and laughter.

After holding back for so long, the moment he takes action, he feels like a hearty victory. This shocking turn can best arouse people's emotions.

"Marshal, these are the statistics of the battle results. It is initially estimated that at least 80,000 enemy troops were wiped out in today's battle!

You are right, after this battle, the history of continental war will be changed!

The concentrated use of magic crystal cannons and magic crossbows is enough to change the outcome of a war, and their roles will become increasingly important in future wars. "

Personal experience is the most powerful way to change a person's perspective.

Before that, if anyone told him that the magic crystal cannon determines the outcome of the war, Pierce would definitely smile disdainfully.

Bringing that kind of bulky guy into a fight can make people laugh out loud. The enemy is not a fool, how can he stand there and wait for them to attack.

It will be different after today!

It is true that the enemy will not stand still and be beaten, but in many cases there is a reason to hold on.

Just like the giant centipedes who were just defeated, even if they were allowed to choose again, they would still stick to the entrance to the center of the earth.

"The magic crystal cannon and magic crossbow are still too bulky. If they can be compressed in size and weight, they will be real weapons of war.

Especially the magic crystal cannon, any one of which weighs several tons, is very inconvenient to move.

If they are to be used in field battles on a large scale, we will also need to modify a batch of magic carriages specifically for pulling magic crystal cannons! "

Hudson said without reservation.

The technical update of the magic crystal cannon is a systematic project. From the barrel to the base, from the hardware to the software, everything needs to be modified, and it can only be carried out with the full strength of the kingdom.

A single big noble family does not have enough talent reserves.

Even in the entire kingdom, the number of people who have done research in this area is extremely limited.

However, compared to the alien races, the human race as a whole still has an advantage. The lead in civilization level has established the human race's advantage in this round of competition.

The only ones that can compete with the human race in this aspect are the elves and the dwarves.

Both companies have sufficient technical reserves and are even at the forefront of the mainland in some aspects, but Hudson is still confident that the human race will win.

The benefits of having many countries are reflected here. Countries working on magic technology together are equivalent to multiple research groups working together.

Limited by manpower, material and financial resources, this multi-line construction method is not something that dwarves and elves can imitate.

If the time period is extended, the victory of the human race is almost inevitable.

Compared with the innovation of magic technology, the transportation of magic crystal cannon is not a big problem.

The magic carriage was introduced to the kingdom ten years ago and played an important role in previous foreign wars.

It is used to pull the magic crystal cannon, and the load capacity is sufficient. All that needs to be changed is the appearance and structure of the carriage.

If you spend money and try a few times, you can get it done. There are no technical barriers.

"Marshal, the issue of technological innovation is easy to handle. With the example of this war, the Royal Government will definitely increase investment.

Now that we have defeated the enemy and occupied the Hundred Mile Corridor, should we continue to send troops to the Hessian Kingdom? "

Governor Pierce said calmly.

He can rest assured of the Royal Government's investment in the military field. As long as it proves to have strategic value, the Alpha Kingdom will spend a lot of money.

Even if the king's annuity and the salary of government officials are owed, military investment will not be lost.

“Let’s rest for two days and see the reaction of the Hessian Kingdom!

I think they must be very confused now. We have all completed the agreed tasks, and their work of regaining the lost territory has just begun to be put into action. "

Hudson smiled slightly.

The Hundred Mile Corridor is the lifeblood of the Giant Foot Centipedes.

Theoretically speaking, once the coalition of nobles from the Southeast Province launched a fierce attack, the Centipedes would have to mobilize a large number of troops from the front line.

When the pressure reaches a certain level, the giant foot centipedes will inevitably adopt a strategic contraction and give up the land they currently occupy.

According to previous expectations, the Hessian army should complete the recovery of lost territory before the noble coalition forces from the southeastern provinces occupied the Baili Corridor, and then participate in the encirclement and annihilation battle against the Centipede clan.

Based on this inference, the Hessian people's previous request for help only hoped that the Southeast Province could send troops to the Hundred Mile Corridor to threaten the lifeblood of the Giant Foot Centipede clan.

Now the situation has changed. The coalition of nobles from the southeastern provinces fought too fast and drove the Centipede clan out of the Hundred Mile Corridor before they could make strategic contraction.

Just these, the Hessian people can accept it. The key is that the defeated Centipede army has all entered the Hessian Kingdom.

Typical lying gun!

But they couldn't say anything yet. They called for reinforcements themselves, and they were able to quickly defeat the enemy. That was their ability.

Stopping now is also following international practice.

Even though we are allies, territorial sovereignty is still inviolable.

Leading a large army into the territory of a neighboring country without invitation is an act of invasion that violates territorial sovereignty.

As a human race marshal, Hudson, who cherishes feathers, would not make such a principled mistake.

Even if the Hessians issue an invitation, it will have to go through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Royal Government first, and the procedures will be completed before he will consider sending troops.

…

After being defeated for dozens of miles, King Centipede couldn't help but shed tears as he looked at the defeated soldiers gathered around him.

The king does not cry, but it is not the time to be sad.

At noon, he was still the king of a clan with an army in hand, strategizing and deciding the fate of countless people, but in the afternoon he was reduced to a bereaved dog.

The twist came so quickly it felt like a dream.

“Your Majesty, cheer up!

Failure is only temporary, our main force is still there, we can still regroup and fight back!

The enemy only relies on the power of the magic crystal cannon and the edge of the magic crossbow. Apart from these magic equipment, the elites of the clan are no weaker than the enemy..."

Lord Golan persuaded him hard.

I just don't know why, but the more he talks about it, the less confident he becomes.

"Throw away the magic equipment", you have to be able to throw it away.

If the enemy doesn't agree, they can't avoid these things if they want to fight back.

“Sir, please rest assured, I can hold on.

I have spent half my life in the army and experienced hundreds of battles. I have never encountered any kind of war.

There is no point discussing winning or losing until the last moment. A temporary defeat can only be regarded as..."

King Centipede said calmly.

Today's defeat was a huge blow to him, but as the king of a clan, he could not allow him to retreat now.

No matter how difficult the road ahead is, he must go on.

There is still hope if you work hard, but if you choose to fail, you will really have no choice but to exterminate the clan.

At least King Centipede couldn't find a reason why the human race could let them go!

"Your Majesty, if the Hundred Mile Corridor falls into the hands of the enemy, the Earth's Core Passage will inevitably be severely damaged.

Even if it is taken back now, the repair cannot be completed in a short time. It may take several years, ten years, or even longer.

Judging from the intelligence coming from various places, there are more than one or two entrances to the inner earth world from the Aslant continent.

Within the Heisen Kingdom alone, there are several entrances to the center of the earth that have been discovered.

Now that the passage here has been destroyed, let's change our target.

Our old neighbors, the Demon Crocodile Tribe, are just eight hundred miles away and are currently busy fighting a bitter battle with the Human Tribe.

In the past, our two races did have a lot of friction, but now that we have the common enemy the human race, everything is different.

If they are willing to share the earth's core channel with us, then join forces with them to create a kingdom in the surface world! "

As soon as Captain Mas's proposal was finished, the eyes of all the Giant Centipede executives lit up. It was obvious that everyone was tempted.

It doesn't matter at all whether the aristocratic coalition in the southeastern province continues to destroy the Earth's Core Passage. Anyway, they don't want to go back and be beaten now.

In the eyes of many Giant Foot Centipede executives, the coalition of nobles from the Southeast Province occupying the Hundred Mile Corridor is no longer just bones, it is simply stronger than the scales of a giant dragon.

Instead of fighting such a strong enemy to death, it is better to find opportunities to attack and bully weak persimmons.

“Your Majesty, Commander Mas’s proposal is feasible!

Even if the Demon Crocodile Clan is unwilling to share the passage with us, there are still other races in the center of the earth who are willing to join forces with us.

Let’s write down today’s account first. After we have established a firm foothold in the surface world, we will slowly settle accounts with Hudson! "

Lord Saiyam was the first to speak in agreement.

He has already experienced the style of the mainland's number one general, and he really doesn't want to encounter him again.

Although revenge is important, the continuation of the race comes first.

They can't even attack a southeastern province, but if they face the entire Alpha Kingdom, it won't be a big deal!

If you continue to fight to the death, you may not be able to do anything to the enemy. They themselves will definitely be destroyed.

After glancing at the ministers, King Centipede read the answer from everyone's fearful eyes.

"Let's put this aside for now. Let's collect the broken troops first. After we meet Howell, we will decide what to do next!"

It can be seen that deep down King Centipede is inclined to run away.

It's just that he ran away in despair before the enemy came after him. It was too embarrassing for the king.

At least you should be reserved and wait for the senior leaders of the clan to unify their stance before running away with the army.

…

Hessian Palace.

Looking at the battle report in his hand, Alexander V read it over and over again, always feeling like he was reading a legendary myth.

How powerful the giant centipede clan is, the Hessian nobles who are struggling to persevere on the front line have the best say.

However, such a powerful enemy turned into paper in the hands of Hudson and could be broken with just a poke.

The strength gap between the Hessian Kingdom and the Alpha Kingdom has become so huge?

Or is it that the gold content of the mainland's number one general is so high?

No one can explain this complex issue clearly. Anyway, the content of the battle report is true, and the giant centipede was indeed driven out of the Hundred Mile Corridor.

The specific details of how the fight was fought were not stated in the battle report forwarded by the Alpha Kingdom. This was their internal military secret, and as an outsider, it was difficult for him to inquire too much about it.

"Why are all of them mute?

A few days ago, you said that the Centipede Clan was extremely powerful and that it was one of the most powerful clans in the inner earth world. It was necessary to invest more troops in encirclement and suppression. Now you are all shocked!

We should really let our generals come and see the achievements of our allies and learn how they fight!

…”

Faced with King Alexander V's complaints, the ministers were all speechless. The Giant Foot Centipede is truly powerful, at least compared to the other invading earth-centered races, they are considered stronger.

As for the allies' performance, no one took it seriously. Hudson has so many incredible records. Defeating the Giant Centipede is normal, but losing would be surprising.

Now it's just that the winning speed is a little faster, the record data is slightly better, and the rest are normal operations.

Just learn from other people's wars and just think about it. If only they could learn it, everyone would have learned it long ago.

The reality is that the main generals of the Hessian Kingdom, and even the main generals of the entire continent, have a copy of the Hudson Battle command information in their hands.

Perhaps the content of the record is not so detailed, but the command ideas and military strategies are still there in general.

After watching it, everyone was very touched. It's a pity that this gain is only seen by the eyes, and is useless when it is actually used.

It’s not that everyone doesn’t work hard, it’s really hard to have two battles with exactly the same situation in the world. Forcing a mechanical show operation will only make the battle situation worse.

"Your Majesty, now is not the time to hold people accountable. It is a good thing that the allies defeated the giant centipede, but it is also a big challenge.

Judging from the intelligence collected, although Marshal Hudson defeated the enemy, there were still nearly two hundred thousand Centipede soldiers entering the kingdom.

The Centipede King is gathering the defeated troops. Once the assembly is completed, they will definitely join the Centipede Army on the front line.

Together, the two armies would have more than 600,000 centipede soldiers in the kingdom, and may even exceed 650,000.

If there are no reinforcements, this will be too much pressure on the defenders on the front line.

The coalition of nobles from the Southeast Province led by Marshal Hudson had stopped at the Baili Corridor.

We sent people over to communicate, and the answer they gave was: the kingdom's sovereignty cannot be violated unless we receive an order to send troops.

If we want them to send troops to help, we must first convince the Alpha Kingdom government, and then negotiate terms with the nobles of the Southeast Province! "

Prime Minister Duke Milton said slightly embarrassed.

Soldiers are very fast on the battlefield, and they cannot relax even for a moment when beating a drowned dog. He was very unaccustomed to meeting such a well-behaved ally who would rather let the enemy go than cross the line.

Then came a headache. Reason told him that since his allies chose to follow the rules, abiding by the rules would definitely bring them greater benefits.

Otherwise, if the coalition of nobles from the southeastern provinces actually led troops into the kingdom on the pretext of chasing the enemy, they wouldn't be able to say anything!

"Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I leave this matter to you. Try to get the government of the Kingdom of Alpha in the shortest possible time, and at the same time figure out what the nobles in the Southeast Province want.

If it's just the ownership of Baili Corridor, then there's no need to waste time getting entangled. The territory has been eaten into their stomachs, and we don't have the ability to make them vomit it out, so we can just agree! "

Alexander V waved his hand casually and said.

If he had even thought about the Hundred Mile Corridor before, he gave up completely after receiving the battle report.

The territory was conquered by others, and if we continue to dream about snatching food from the tiger's mouth, we will not be able to remain allies.

What's more, we still need to rely on other people's power to quell the racial chaos in the center of the earth as soon as possible. Otherwise, if the consumption continues like this, the Hessian Kingdom will not be able to withstand the torment.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured!

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already contacted the government of the Kingdom of Alpha and is negotiating on the issue of sending troops. It is expected that good news will be received soon. "

Marquis Krasner assured immediately.

…

Emerald Palace.

"Marshal Hudson and Governor Pierce jointly proposed that the Kingdom and the Kingdom of Hesse sign a friendly trade agreement to create a zero-tariff common economy. What do you think?"

Facing the question of Caesar IV, everyone was very embarrassed.

None of them are interested in finance, and the zero-tariff common economy is a new term. If you don’t read the annotation below, you may not be able to figure out what it is.

Whether this kind of economy does more good than harm to the kingdom, or whether it does more harm than good, no one can tell for a while.

If you don't understand the pros and cons, just letting them make the decision is obviously making things difficult for people.

"Your Majesty, we have never seen what a zero-tariff common economy looks like. It is very difficult for the government to even abolish tariffs within the kingdom.

If the two countries develop markets for each other, what will we gain and what will we have to pay? This requires sending people to conduct systematic statistics to fully weigh the pros and cons.

Of course, since Marshal Hudson and Governor Pierce brought it up, they must have some understanding. It would be better to send someone to communicate with them.

At present, apart from some provinces in the Near East and Northern Xinjiang, the southeastern provinces are advancing the kingdom's unified tariff process the fastest.

As of now, more than 95% of the nobles in the southeastern province have expressed their willingness to give up the customs benefits in their territories.

And like the nobles of the Near East and Northern Xinjiang, they also made a request: after the royal government receives this income, it can only be used for military expenses! "

Lord Francis, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said little but contained a lot of information.

The provinces in the Near East and Northern Xinjiang are the base of the reformists, and their territories have no tariffs. It is not surprising that they support the reforms of the royal government.

As an area where established nobles gather, it is somewhat surprising that a group of nobles in the Southeast Province also support the reform.

There is only one explanation for this situation: following the Koslow family, the Dalton family also chose to support the reformists.

The positions of the two big families are the same, so it is not surprising that the small and medium-sized nobles below choose to follow suit and support them.

What's more, it seems that these nobles have paid a lot of benefits without asking for anything in return. In fact, the last request is a subtle request for compensation.

The financial revenue of the Alpha Kingdom is insufficient all year round, and it is normal for local nobles to share part of the military expenses.

Designating tariff revenue to be used for military expenditures actually reduces the cost of amortization.

The only problem is that the kingdom must ensure that after uniformly collecting tariffs, the government will receive more money, which can significantly reduce everyone's military amortization costs.

It would be best if amortization charges could be waived.

If we fail to do so, things will happen again in the future. It is not impossible to reinvent the wheel and return to the era of tax farming.

However, these hidden dangers are problems that need to be faced in the future after the change fails. Now we can’t control them so much.

Compared with this proposal, everyone's thoughts have shifted to the political stance of the Dalton family.

The premise for the establishment of a zero-tariff economic community is that the Alpha Kingdom government unifies domestic taxation.

Otherwise, like now, the taxation power is in the hands of the noble lords in various places. The government says it will not collect tariffs, but the local nobles go to collect it themselves, and the treaty becomes a piece of waste paper.

"Your Majesty, Marshal Hudson and Governor Pierce are not innocent people. Since they jointly signed the proposal, they must have a reason to do so.

If the general direction is beneficial to the kingdom, then first sign a three-year zero-tariff free trade economic community treaty with the Hessians and observe the specific results! "

Prime Minister Marquis Delgado's almost explicit statement made everyone react immediately.

Regardless of whether the Dalton family truly supports the reformists or is deceived by Hudson into joining the reformists, they must bring people in.

A foreign economic treaty reverses the passive situation of the reformists in the kingdom's politics. No matter how you look at it, it is a bloody gain.

As for the impact of the treaty, it was simply ignored by everyone.

I have not personally experienced the specific benefits, and we are not sure yet, but the disadvantages are predictable.

The Kingdom of Alpha is a self-sufficient feudal aristocratic territorial economy with very few free people and very low dependence on the outside world.

No matter how much goods the Hessians brought in, they could not find buyers. The risk of a massive outflow of gold coins was nipped in the bud.

The volume of imports is small, and the amount of tariffs is naturally not large. The most serious consequence is nothing more than a reduction in fiscal revenue of tens of thousands of gold coins, which has minimal impact on the royal government.