Chapter 361 The Big Liar Comes Online to Unite the Southeastern Provinces
Chapter 361 The Big Swindler is Online - The United Southeast Province
On the day of the fundraising meeting, the Dalton family residence was very lively. In addition to the nobles of the Southeast Province, nobles from other regions and representatives of various countries also came to join in the fun.
They called it: learning from fundraising experience.
The nobles in the country really learned from experience. As long as the Southeast Province succeeds in fundraising, they can follow.
People have a herd mentality.
The Southeast Province is so efficient. In addition to Hudson, the hawkish boss, who keeps fooling people, the most important thing is that they have money in their pockets.
Representatives from various countries followed to join in the fun, purely to see whether the Alpha Kingdom is bluffing or is ready to play for real.
The final result of the fundraising meeting will directly affect their future foreign policy towards the Alpha Kingdom.
After taking a quick look at the nobles in the hall, Governor Pierce, who had organized his words, said straight to the point:
"Our southeastern province is adjacent to the Blackstone Mountains and has been threatened by the beast tide for many years, and the people are suffering.
In order to change this situation, after many discussions, we unanimously decided to rebuild the Blood Moon Line of Defense to block the beast tide from the province.
The main reason for inviting everyone here today is to solve the problem of funding for building the defense line. According to the preliminary budget, 3.8 million gold coins will be invested.
Of course, it should not cost so much money in actual construction. The biggest expenses for building fortresses are labor, food and raw materials.
We can recruit serfs for construction, and the labor cost can be directly saved.
In addition to some raw materials, Except for the need to purchase, the main materials for construction can be obtained locally, and most of the expenses can be saved.
Food, this part cannot be saved, and it cannot be saved.
However, our Southeast Province is a grain-producing area. Since the end of the war last year, the military rations provided to the Northern Frontier have also been saved, which is just right for engineering construction.
Considering that everyone's financial burden is very heavy, Earl Hudson and I discussed and decided not to force the cost this time.
Everyone has money to contribute money, people to contribute people, food to contribute food, and materials to contribute materials. According to their actual situation, they will fulfill their respective obligations.
If you have any ideas or suggestions, you can speak freely now! "
Looking at the calm expressions of the nobles in the Southeast Province, everyone knows that this was discussed in advance. When formulating strategies, they also deliberately tilted towards the small nobles.
Those in the know know that this is a comfort from the Dalton family to the small nobles. After all, what happened before has chilled many small nobles.
Now that the threat of foreign enemies has come, we need everyone to work together, and naturally we must first handle internal relations.
According to the fundraising model of "money contributes money, people contribute people, grain contributes grain, and materials contribute materials", in theory, all nobles can fulfill their respective obligations.
This is especially beneficial to a group of small nobles on the verge of bankruptcy. During the slack season, sending serfs in the territory to repair the defense line can also save a sum of food.
However, there are many problems in this way. Most of the small nobles in the province will choose to contribute people, so what about other materials needed for the project?
After all, for many noble lords, the least valuable thing is manpower.
During the slack season, even if all the labor in the territory is sent to repair the defense line, it will not affect everyone's daily life.
The final result is likely to be a surplus of labor and a shortage of other materials.
Facing everyone's puzzled eyes, Hudson stood up from his seat and said slowly: "If everyone has no other opinions, then this fundraising will be carried out according to the Governor's proposal.
Labor, food, and other materials are all calculated at market prices. No matter what method everyone adopts, as long as the corresponding obligation share is completed.
The project budget will be divided into each county. Everyone will multiply the original obligation ratio in the county by the project budget, which is the share that everyone needs to bear.
Considering the actual situation, the labor, materials, and food provided by everyone may not match the needs of the project, so the Governor and I decided that everyone should apply first.
The subsequent coordination work will be jointly responsible by the Dalton family and the Koslo family. If the coordination fails, our two families will jointly cover the bottom to ensure the smooth completion of the Blood Moon Defense Line!"
After listening to Hudson's words, the representatives of various countries who were originally prepared to watch the excitement were completely dumbfounded. Involuntarily raised questions in their minds: Are all the great nobles of the Alpha Kingdom so reckless?
When encountering problems, the great nobles took the initiative to jump out to cover the bottom, which was obviously letting the small and medium nobles take advantage.
If we do this, what kind of project can't be done?
Is it expensive to build a defense line?
It's a joke. Taking the entire Southeast Province as a unit, all the materials needed to build the Blood Moon Defense Line can be self-raised.
Maybe the last gold coin doesn't need to be paid directly, and the project can be completed by the internal coordination of the nobles.
The only thing that needs to be tested in the Southeast Province is - organizational ability.
Refer to the mobilization of the Alpha Kingdom during the war to know that they have plenty of experience.
The specific defense line construction can be copied directly from the north. The fortifications that can stop the orcs can also stop the human army.
If a fight really breaks out, the battle will not be so fierce. After all, compared with those low-level orcs with poor brains, human soldiers are much smarter.
There was no surprise. After the two big guys finished speaking, a group of nobles in the Southeast Province began to report in twos and threes.
The fundraising meeting, which went smoothly without a single ripple, really blinded many people's eyes.
The nobles in the kingdom were fine. Similar operations did not happen much in everyone's lives, but there were cases.
The representatives of various countries were different. From everyone's eyes, it can be seen that they were scared. It is estimated that what happened today will shock them for many years.
The seemingly simple fundraising meeting exposed something that was not simple at all. The dedication of the great nobles of the Alpha Kingdom was just the tip of the iceberg.
What really frightened everyone was the unity of the nobles of the Alpha Kingdom.
Everyone had inquired in advance that the Dalton family and the Koslo family were mortal enemies. The two families were squeezed in the southeast province, and there were countless frictions in private.
Under normal circumstances, these two families should have been pulling each other's legs. We oppose everything you support.
Unless the interests involved are large enough; or if there is a life-and-death crisis, if they do not cooperate, they will all be finished together, then it is possible to cooperate.
But the reality is very embarrassing. The two families who should have stabbed each other in the back have started to cooperate without even seeing the shadow of the enemy.
After all, the so-called Hessen threat is purely wishful thinking. At present, the Hessen Kingdom has no signs of sending troops, let alone crossing the Black Stone Mountains.
Although the distance between the two sides is less than 100 kilometers, if the army really wants to cross from here, it will not be easy at all.
Even if a passage is opened, heavy troops must be sent to guard the passage to ensure the safety of their own logistics.
Unfortunately, most of the nobles in the southeast province who suffer from deep paranoia believe that once the war breaks out, the Hessen people will come from here.
The theoretical basis that supports everyone is - orcs. In the orc invasion war not long ago, the Behemoth army took a detour all the way and interspersed multiple countries to poke Alpha in the ass.
If Hudson had not led the expeditionary force back to rescue in time, the empty southern provinces might have been successfully attacked by the orcs.
It is possible to raid thousands of miles, so it is not a problem to open a passage of less than 100 kilometers.
Regardless of whether others believed it or not, Governor Pierce believed it anyway. With Lord Hudson who was fanning the flames, everyone quickly came to the conclusion that the Kingdom of Hessen was preparing to invade the Kingdom of Alpha from the Blackstone Mountains!
This was a life-and-death crisis, and they had to unite!
As for the dispute between the Dalton family and the Koslo family, it was just a fight between the eldest and the second. Even if one family won, they would not kill the other.
The conference soon came to an end. The nobles who had nothing to watch left in twos and threes, and only Lord Hudson stayed here to drink tea.
"Mr. Earl, can this really deter the Kingdom of Hessen?"
Governor Pierce asked uncertainly.
The defense line can be repaired at any time. Before the southern provinces, the two families spent a lot of money to jointly direct such a big drama, naturally not for show.
"Governor, relax! Judging from the reaction of Minister Hessen, the meeting just now scared him.
From today on, in the eyes of the outside world, our Southeast Province is a united province. Anyone who wants to attack us must think twice before acting.
Human nature is to bully the weak and fear the strong.
The Hessen Kingdom and the areas bordering the Kingdom are not just the Southeast Province. They realize that we are not easy to mess with, so they will naturally not confront us head-on.
Even if the war breaks out immediately, they will not list us as the primary breakthrough target.
As long as the Blood Moon Line is built into the strongest line of defense in the kingdom and the enemy is aware of the difficulty of breaking through the Southeast Province, we will be removed from the attack target by the Hessen Kingdom.
If a large-scale war breaks out in the future, we will still be the rear of the kingdom!"
Hudson tried to deceive.
After the war, in order to obtain a period of peaceful development, he was working hard to make strategic arrangements, but he had not achieved the desired results.
Opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared.
The sudden assassination created an opportunity for him. The Hessian threat theory, which had been promoted for many days in the Southeast Province, was finally put to use.
With the previous public opinion as a foundation, Hudson successfully fooled a group of nobles in the province, and then used everyone's common consciousness to trick Governor Pierce.
Finally, it led to the "United Southeast Province". Whether others believe it or not, Hudson believes it anyway.
Since it is a united province, friction cannot continue. All kinds of small conflicts in the past must be stopped now.
In order to keep Governor Pierce busy and have no time to think about it, Hudson not only guided everyone to improve the construction specifications of the Blood Moon Defense Line, but also gave up the dominant position in the construction of the Blood Moon Defense Line.
As for whether the Hessian Kingdom will attack from the Black Stone Mountains in the future, we can only ask the Hessians, anyway, Master Hudson doesn't know.
The enemy's invasion from the Black Stone Mountains can prove the foresight of Master Hudson's proposal to build a defense line; if the enemy does not attack from this side, it means that the strategy of "conquering the enemy without fighting" has succeeded.
No matter what the final result is, Master Hudson's judgment is correct.
Once the project is launched, there is no turning back. Since he announced in front of so many nobles on the continent that he would spend a huge amount of money to build the Blood Moon Defense Line, he must implement it.
Master Hudson doesn't care about the huge cost. At most, he can just treat it as inventory removal. Instead of letting it rust in the warehouse, it is better to use it where it can be used.
If there is excess labor, they can also be exchanged under the guise of coordinating resource allocation to speed up the development and construction of the territory.
After a few years, the construction of the Blood Moon Defense Line was completed. The family's swamp has almost been developed, and the first batch of Warcraft cubs have grown up to officially serve, and the foundation of the Koslow family has been stabilized.
By then, even if the Dalton family realizes that they have been fooled and wants to take action to curb the development of the Koslow family, it will be too late.
…
In the Hessian Kingdom, looking at the intelligence coming back from the Alpha Kingdom, Alexander V asked doubtfully: "The Alpha people reacted so fiercely, Count Niklas, what new military plan has your Ministry of Military Affairs come up with?"
Originally, he wanted to settle accounts with the Alpha Kingdom, but judging from the current situation, they are the one actively preparing for war.
The news of the assassination of the prince came back for several days, but the Hessian Kingdom has yet to discuss whether to use the topic to start a war with the Alpha Kingdom.
It's not that they are afraid of the Alpha Kingdom, it's mainly that the current complicated international situation makes everyone feel unsure.
Through diplomatic channels, major countries are hinting to them: Go ahead and do whatever you want, we promise not to cause trouble!
The more everyone incites, the less the Hessian Kingdom dares to move. Even though everyone is cheering them on now, if a war breaks out, they will immediately change their appearance.
Not understanding the reason, Alexander V could only suspect that his strategic plan had been leaked, which aroused high vigilance in the Alpha Kingdom.
"Your Majesty, our Ministry of Military Affairs has not formulated any military plans recently!"
Count Niklas replied with a confused look.
Why didn't he know about the military plan and when it happened?
Are the people below doing it again?
That’s not right either! The bunch of bureaucrats in the Ministry of Military Affairs are lazier than the other. Whoever has enough to eat and nothing to do goes to make military plans!
"oh!"
"It's not your fault, then what's the reason? The Alphas are like crazy, desperately building a defense line on the border, as if we are going to fight through it soon!"
Alexander V's words made all the princes and ministers dumbfounded.
They really don't understand the operations of Alpha Kingdom. Before they could decide whether to have a tentative war, they were preparing for a full-scale war.
There is no doubt that under the current international situation, it is impossible for the Hessian Kingdom to launch a full-scale war.
Just looking at the data on paper, they are indeed much stronger than the Alpha Kingdom now, but they are not the only two countries in the Aslant continent, and they must leave people to guard their hometown.
The number of troops that can actually be devoted to the war may not necessarily be greater than that of the Alpha Kingdom. After all, we are the only one in the north, and there are not so many countries holding us back.
"Your Majesty, the Alpha Kingdom must be frightened by us!"
Prime Minister Duke Milton said uncertainly.
"Your Majesty the Duke, the probability that the Alpha people will be scared is not high. The minister stationed in the Alpha Kingdom has received news that the July Conference will declare responsibility for the assassination, and the Alpha Kingdom is organizing a manpower encirclement and suppression.
Our proposal to redefine the sphere of influence was rejected directly without being discussed by the other party.
Since the assassination broke out, they have done nothing except sending some supplements.
Obviously they want us to admit that the assassination was carried out by the cult July Club before conducting in-depth negotiations. "
Marquis Krasner immediately objected.
Whether you are frightened or not can be best seen in diplomatic activities. The foreign policy of the Alpha Kingdom has continued to be as strong as before, and it is obvious that it is not afraid of them.
"Let our people test their true purpose. Such a big thing cannot be explained by just saying what a cult did!
In addition, we will strengthen the intelligence collection within the Alpha Kingdom. If the Kingdom wants to advance north, they will be our biggest obstacle.
Send an order to summon the provincial governors and county guards to come to the royal capital for a meeting to discuss the strategy for the Alpha Kingdom. This news is released directly, no need to keep it secret.
The military cannot be idle and drag the team to the border to put pressure on the Alpha Kingdom! "
Alexander V said angrily.
It was obvious that Alexander V was really angry. His son was assassinated in the Alpha Kingdom, but the other party didn't take it seriously.
"It was done by a cult organization", such a crude explanation can fool children.
In the continent of Aslant, for two-thirds of the cases that cannot be investigated, the cult organization takes the blame, and the remaining one-third blames the alien race.