Chapter 277: Expanding the Army Again

This year's fiscal expenditure is relatively small, and there is a large surplus. Next year, Richard is also preparing to expand the army by 4,000 and expand the number of soldiers in the Haland Territory to 20,000.

Now that the area of ​​the Haland Territory has doubled, it needs to defend more than 400 kilometers of defense from east to west.

The defensive pressure has become extremely great. Next year, Richard not only plans to expand the army, but also plans to strengthen the construction of auxiliary soldiers and give them more subsidies.

In the Haland Territory, the training of auxiliary soldiers has always been very tight. Except for the lack of breathing methods, the training subjects of more than a dozen auxiliary soldier squadrons are almost the same as those of regular troops.

In previous battles, the auxiliary soldiers suffered fewer casualties, and many of them were veterans with more than five years of military service. In defensive operations, auxiliary soldiers can also play a big role.

Because many soldiers have made military achievements this year and become free citizens, more than 8,000 soldiers will receive military pay next year, and the expenditure on military pay will increase by 20,000 gold coins.

According to Richard's estimate, the military expenditure next year is likely to increase to 300,000 gold coins. If the fiscal revenue cannot be increased next year, the territory will have a fiscal deficit.

The monetary policy of Harland Territory is close to the gold standard system, and metal currencies are in circulation. Once a fiscal deficit occurs, the problem will become very serious.

However, Harland Territory will have new income next year, the first of which is coinage income.

Starting this year, the copper mine in Graveson County has been completed, and copper ingots were smelted in September. After the copper ingots were successfully smelted, they were sent to the mint, and the first batch of copper coins were minted in late September. However, this batch of copper coins was of low quality and did not circulate in the market.

In the next few months, the mint has been improving the process. In December, the copper coins made by the mint finally won Richard's approval and gradually circulated in the territory.

Copper is a precious metal that can be used to mint coins, and the deflation problem in Harland Territory is very serious. Next year's coinage income can bring at least tens of thousands of gold coins.

Secondly, Richard is preparing to sell alchemical bombs to the outside world. The power of the alchemical bombs in Harland Territory is slightly worse than those made by the Heart of Elements, but the cost is very low.

Now there are enough magicians in the Harland territory, and there is no shortage of materials for making alchemical bombs. With the confidentiality problem solved, alchemical bombs can be made on a large scale. Even if an alchemical bomb is sold for ten gold coins, it is still a lucrative business. Selling thousands of them will make a considerable profit.

After the financial meeting, the Goddess's Birthday Festival soon arrived, and the Harland family held an annual family dinner.

Because Richard severely punished Tang En, the atmosphere of the family dinner this year was very solemn. Uncle Bernie did not come back, and father William was not very happy and had a gloomy face. When other family members saw Richard, they were all silent, like mice seeing a cat.

Just after the Goddess's Birthday Festival, King Roger's special envoy, Marquis Allen, came to the Northern Frontier. Marquis Allen sent someone to send a letter to Richard. After inspecting the four provinces in the Northern Frontier, he was going to come to the Earl of Harland to talk to Richard.

Last year, the royal family established a new province, Grota Province, in the Northern Frontier. Although this province is a newly established province, the Jonathan family has been developing it for many years, building 16 castles and reclaiming as much as 5 million acres of farmland, which is better than the Gascoigne Province. There are more than 600,000 serfs settled in the Grotta Province.

The Grotta Province has a good foundation, and the Grant Royal Family does not need to invest too many resources to operate here.

Marquis Allen is the chairman of the Noble Council. He has an extraordinary political status in the royal capital of Nolan and is considered a top figure in terms of real power. After inspecting the northern border, he came to the Harland Territory, and Richard had to greet him in person.

After Richard became a hereditary noble, he rarely went to the royal capital and did not mix in the noble circle. Although Marquis Allen was the chairman of the Noble Council, it was Richard's first meeting with him. On the contrary, Richard's father, William, had gone to Nolan to smooth relations, had dealt with Marquis Allen, and had met him several times.

"Respected Earl Harland, I am coming here to discuss some business matters with you, but most importantly, for alchemical bombs."

During the intervention war last year, Richard used a large number of alchemical bombs in the war. There must be people planted by the royal family in the three-province coalition. A little analysis will show that the Harland family must have manufactured alchemical bombs on a large scale. Otherwise, Richard threw more than 1,500 alchemical bombs last year, which would be enough to bankrupt the Harland family at the normal purchase price.

Since Duke Jonathan saw this, Nolan was not short of smart people, and the Grant royal family soon discovered it.

"The manufacturing cost of the alchemical bomb in Harland Territory is indeed relatively low. If it is mass-produced, the cost will not exceed two gold coins, and the power is only slightly lower than that of the explosive arrow. Soldiers using alchemical bombs only need a short period of training to play an important role. The reason why the Harland family can grow and develop is that the role of alchemical bombs as a secret weapon is also very critical.

Of course, Roger Kingdom is the lord I am loyal to. Since he proposed it, I am willing to exchange it, but I also have a few conditions here."

Seeing Richard relaxed and had the idea of ​​exchange, Marquis Allen breathed a sigh of relief and felt that it was not difficult to complete the task.

After Duke Jonathan traded with Richard in July last year, the Jonathan family had already produced a lot of alchemical bombs in October. The Grant royal family was well-informed and had placed intelligence personnel within the Jonathan family. After realizing that the Jonathan family army was equipped with alchemical bombs on a large scale, they immediately analyzed that the two major families of Jonathan and Harland had completed the exchange of interests.

After taking over the Grand Duchy of Stannic, the Jonathan family's power expanded a lot. Even though their energy was dispersed and the threat to the Grant royal family was reduced, they were still the focus of the royal family. However, the special reality required the great nobles of the Grant Kingdom to cooperate in order to maintain the situation in the midst of wolves.

Before Marquis Allen entered the northern border for inspection, King Roger had issued a secret order to him, requiring him to obtain the method of making alchemical bombs and not be too far behind the Harland and Jonathan families in military technology.

In recent years, the Harland family's power has expanded very quickly, especially its military power, which is second only to several dukes. For such important nobles, the royal family can only choose to exchange and compromise if they want to gain benefits from them.

"Earl Richard, of course you can put forward conditions. As long as they can be met, I can agree to them on behalf of the king." Finding that Richard was willing to negotiate, Marquis Allen immediately knew that it would not be difficult to complete the task.

"First, the royal family cannot spread the alchemical bomb manufacturing technology. Secondly, they cannot compete with the Harland Territory to sell alchemical bombs. Third, I hope to exchange 600 square kilometers of land to connect the two territories. In addition, I want to trade 800 Tenghui potions, 100 enchanted armors, 100 iron-horned horses, 100 enchanted crossbows, 60 explosive arrows, and the complete Barbarian Bull Breathing Method.

There are also additional conditions. The royal family needs to give 200 Tenghui potions to the Harland Territory every year for 30 years."

Although Richard's requirements are many, they only add up to hundreds of thousands of gold coins. This kind of conventional resources is not lacking in the Grant royal family. After all, the Grant family controls a kingdom with millions of fiscal revenues every year.

After hearing Richard's trading requirements, Marquis Allen agreed to his trading conditions on the spot.

In fact, even if Richard trades the royal seal, the Roger Kingdom will meet his conditions.

In the long run, the royal seal is more valuable, but in the short term, the Harland family is in urgent need of war resources.

After weighing the pros and cons, Richard finally chose short-term interests and traded a batch of war resources that could quickly improve the strength of the army.

Marquis Allen had high authority and immediately drew a batch of resources from the four provinces of the northern border, and drafted a royal power contract and signed his name. However, in order for the contract to be legally binding, King Roger needed to sign it in person to fulfill the treaty.

In late January, the two sides had completed the exchange.

A month later, after taking 800 Tenghui potions, the soldiers of Harland Territory accumulated strength and successfully promoted more than 60 professional officers.

With the arrival of enchanted armor and iron-horned horses, Richard once again expanded the number of Warcraft cavalry, formed the fourth Warcraft cavalry squadron, and expanded the strength of the reconnaissance cavalry.

Now Harland Territory has trained four Warcraft cavalry squadrons, and there are also 80 Warcraft cavalry in the reconnaissance cavalry. Nearly 500 Warcraft cavalry, stronger than the Warcraft cavalry battalion of the Northern Legion, can be independently organized into a Warcraft cavalry regiment in the war.

To form the Warcraft Cavalry, soldiers are carefully selected from veterans, because they are all veteran elites, do not need basic training, and the time to form combat effectiveness is shorter than recruiting new soldiers.

After entering March, the recruitment of new soldiers has been completed, and the soldiers have begun new soldier training. Normally, new soldiers need to be trained for a year before they can be mixed with veterans.

After recruiting 4,000 new soldiers, the number of troops in the Harland Territory has exceeded 20,000.

Although there are 20,000 soldiers, the defense line of the Harland Territory is 400 kilometers long and needs to defend seven or eight border castles. The orcs have an advantage in manpower and it is impossible to fight a decisive battle with the Harland Territory. Instead, they will choose to divide their troops and break through the defense line of the Harland Territory.

Every castle must not be lost. Once the front-line castle is lost, the orcs will rob and plunder in the rear. The family foundation of the Harland Territory is not strong. As long as a battle fails, it will take many years to recover.

The seven castles on the front line must be stationed with elite soldiers. The southern foot of the Eagle Mountains County focuses on the defense of Flame Castle, Lightning Castle, Military Station Castle, and Salt Lake Castle. In addition, the Pratos Canyon also needs the support of the Harland Territory, and the nearby Sophia Castle is also considered the front line.

The southern foot of the Eagle Mountains County is the core of the Harland Territory and the focus of the territory's management. This county will be stationed with seven infantry battalions, a Warcraft Cavalry Battalion, half a reconnaissance battalion, a magic hot air balloon squadron, plus logistics, military law and other headquarters personnel, with a total force of 14,000.

There are two wizard towers in the swamp basin. A garrison of one battalion can stabilize the situation. The wizard towers of the Harland Territory are basically stationed here. The military station is not far from the headquarters William Castle, and only one battalion is needed. Salt Lake Castle is isolated outside the territory. This area is basically uninhabited and far away from the core territory. Two battalions are needed to hold on for a long time.

The remaining three infantry battalions, one magic beast cavalry battalion, half a scout cavalry battalion, a magic balloon squadron, logistics and military law personnel are stationed in Fort William, and these soldiers add up to more than 7,000.

The eastern county of Grotta River is less populated. After the handover of the territory, Duke Jonathan has withdrawn the soldiers. Richard sent four infantry battalions, half a cavalry scout battalion, and a magic balloon squadron to station, with a total force of about 7,000.

The Canyon Castle is located at the forefront of the eastern county of Grotta River and is also the focus of the county's defense. It will be stationed with one and a half battalions of infantry, two squadrons of cavalry, and the magic balloon squadron will basically be stationed here, with a total force of nearly 3,000.

The riverside castle in the east cannot be ignored either. The orcs once passed through here and broke through the defense line arranged by King Roger. The garrison here also has a battalion of infantry, a squadron of scout cavalry, and a garrison of nearly 2,000.

The King's Castle, the capital of the Eastern County of Grotta River, has only one and a half battalions and two squadrons of scout cavalry, which is slightly stronger than the riverside castle.

Because the recruits have not yet completed the training and the various troops are not fully staffed, the actual number of garrisons is smaller.

After the Goddess's Birthday, the army of Harland Territory began to mobilize on a large scale, and Richard also began to replenish the weapons for the Eastern County of Grotta River. Heavy catapults, alchemical bombs, steel armor, and enchanted armor are continuously transported to the front lines such as Canyon Castle and Riverside Castle.

Because the distance is relatively far, in order to facilitate overall command, Richard must appoint an army commander to coordinate and command the 7,000 soldiers of the Eastern County of Grotta River.

Among the officers of Harland Territory, there is actually only one candidate, Soros, who has prestige and the ability to command 7,000 soldiers.

Even though Soros likes to command the Warcraft Cavalry to charge, he is the only one who can take the responsibility now, so he can only accept the task reluctantly and serve as the supreme commander of the Eastern County of Grotta River.

The captain of the second battalion, Lost, and the captain of the sixth battalion, Jennings, have served as deputy captains respectively. In recent years, the strength of Lost and Jennings has improved a bit.

Lost was promoted to a fourth-level knight, and Jennings was promoted to a fifth-level warrior after the new year. Jennings is one year younger than Richard. He was promoted to a fifth-level warrior at the age of less than 30, and his talent is better than Richard.

Through the prompts on the attribute panel, Richard knows that his warrior level is not far from advancement. According to the current training speed, he should be able to be promoted to a sixth-level warrior in June in four months.

Richard has been a fifth-level warrior for four years and three months, and his warrior talent is almost comparable to that of his father William. Richard's luck is much better than William. When he was young, William was already a senior officer of the Northern Legion. He laid a more solid foundation since he was a child, and he did not take detours, so it was easier to climb up.