Chapter 1558: Chapter 53, Crossroads_2
History proves that once the ruling class begins to deteriorate, it is almost irreversible.
Purely top-down reform, even if successful, can only mitigate the urgent problem at hand.
Across the continent, all countries that have successfully reformed have gone through bloody slaughters, purging the original vested interest groups, almost rebuilding social order from scratch.
In fact, the reforms in the Alpha Kingdom are equally incomplete.
However, the ruling group became overly aware of their crisis, each one desperately developing military power, even when the Kingdom government was impoverished, they still possessed the strongest army of the era.
The strength of military power and the successive victories in external wars directly covered up deficiencies in other aspects.
“The Marshal is right; there is always gain and loss. We can’t take all the benefits for ourselves.
As long as the trade route is opened, both our families can train another Knight Corps, enduring some criticism is worthwhile.
Later I will have someone spread the word, and for such matters that benefit everyone’s interests, I believe no one can refuse!”
Governor Piers said with a smile.
The trade route has not yet opened, but the increased fiscal revenue has already been accounted for in advance by him.
This is also the norm among Kingdom Aristocrats; as long as fiscal revenue increases, military expenditures inevitably increase.
The Koslow Family is like this, and the Dalton Family is no exception, nor are the small and medium Nobles in the province.
In the matter of expanding military power, Nobles daring to cut corners were eliminated long ago.
“Your Excellency Governor, actually the Black Forest People might not necessarily criticize us.
The Earth Core race surely won’t be willing to accept defeat and will inevitably take measures for revenge.
Tonight our North Gate Granary caught fire, a large amount of supplies were destroyed, delaying the army’s advance!”
Hudson said nonchalantly.
Originally, he did not plan to reveal this, but Governor Piers was a Traditional Noble with limited imagination.
There are countless reasons to dispatch troops, and equally countless reasons not to.
Directly standing by and watching the Earth Core race invade the Black Forest Kingdom is definitely not a good choice.
If they manage to convince the Kingdom government through diplomatic means and request the Southeastern Province to dispatch troops, directly opposing the Central Government would not look good.
A fire in the granary is an excellent excuse; the North Gate Granary was just built. It is undoubtedly the largest granary in the Southeastern Province based on land area.
However, this massive granary had yet to be filled with grain.
Originally thought to be prepared for the southern campaign, unexpectedly, its construction purpose turned out to be “for burning.”
After a fire, the amount of grain burned is determined by the front-line generals.
Anyway, the food supplies and military expenditures of the Southeastern Province are all procured locally, without participation from the Kingdom government.
“Those despicable and disgusting Centipedes actually burned ten tons of grain, thirty tons of fodder, three thousand pieces of cloth, thirty tons of salt, one hundred and fifty tons of sugar…
Truly unforgivable!”
Governor Piers understood and supplemented the figures.
The numbers are exaggerated, but since it’s fabricated, there’s no need to care too much about these details.
As the richest province in the Kingdom, a solid foundation is somewhat plausible.
Such severe material losses resulted in a short-term loss of capability to continue the assault, making it seem quite reasonable.
If the Kingdom government urges deployment, then the military material gap must be addressed first.
If the target was the Orcs, perhaps everyone would scrape together resources, but rescuing the Black Forest Kingdom, certainly, everyone wouldn’t have such enthusiasm.
The previous year, when the Black Forest Kingdom executed a northward strategy, they undermined the Kingdom, and this account is still in everyone’s mind!
It has not been settled yet due to the strategic needs of the Kingdom.
Expecting the Kingdom government to exert full pressure on the Southeastern Province for the sake of the Black Forest People is impossible; surface actions are just performances for allies.
In the previous few deployments, Alpha Kingdom merely mobilized troops, while logistics were independently managed by each country’s government.
With the battlefield in various countries’ territories, mobilizing materials is naturally no problem.
To launch an attack from the Southeastern Province now, the Black Forest People have no capability to quickly deliver large quantities of strategic materials here.
All loopholes are sealed, and the only nuisance remaining is: whether the Centipede Clan dares to continue invading the Black Forest Kingdom!
Exchanging a glance with Governor Piers, Hudson suddenly regretted his earlier harsh actions, severely hurting the Centipede Clan.
If these guys wimp out and don’t dare to continue instigating war, the plan would be scrapped.
With brief annoyance, Hudson quickly abandoned this trouble.
The chance to kill an enemy in Sanctuary was too rare; such a naive race as the Giant Centipede is scarce across the continent.
With the long duration of major battles, the losses on both sides surely amount to millions.
However, the fallen Sanctuaries are few and far between.
If it weren’t for the enemy’s lack of sufficient vigilance, caught off guard by him, achieving such results would be difficult.
Under normal circumstances, once Maxim appeared on the scene, the enemy’s Sanctuary should have fled.
Securing the trade route is crucial, but eliminating the high-end forces of the Earth Core race is even more vital.
Should these guys not be thoroughly eradicated before the Centipede Clan is wiped out, many “terrorists” will emerge on the continent in the future.
Without racial ties, these unrestrained guys certainly don’t fear anything.