Chapter 362: Appeasement Policy
In the mountain territory, accompanied by a burst of screams, the people in the territory immediately became excited.
The lord has a successor, which is a sign of the maturity of a force. If it weren't for the wrong time, everyone would have held a celebration immediately.
The public celebration was cancelled, but there were quite a few private celebrations.
This is not the capital, so naturally no one cares about "improper conduct", such a small problem.
Seeing his son land safely, Hudson did not stay for long, and immediately mounted the dragon's back and headed straight for the capital.
The advantage of the dragon knight is reflected here.
It takes an ordinary knight less than a month to go back and forth to the capital, but Maxim can do it in one day.
The situation in the capital is tense, and an important person like Hudson naturally cannot be absent, but he can still take a day off.
With a good mood, he found that the atmosphere was not right as soon as he arrived in the capital. Before he had time to enter the house, he was invited to the palace to discuss matters.
Looking at the nervous people, Hudson was very confused. He had just left for a day, and something happened again.
Could it be that another important guest was assassinated?
If so, the officials in charge of security can go home and farm.
"Now that everyone is here, the meeting will begin.
Count Carles, Count Martinez, tell everyone what happened over there!"
Caesar IV said with a serious look.
Hudson was very embarrassed when he saw this scene.
From the atmosphere at the scene, it can be seen that except for him, the guy who left, everyone else knew what happened.
His intuition told him that it must be related to the military, otherwise everyone would not be waiting for him here.
"I just received news from the border that the army of the Hessian Kingdom is gathering towards the provinces of Covasia and Obra.
The specific target is not yet clear, but after analysis, Count Martinez and I unanimously judged that the Hessians are coming for the kingdom.
Before leaving, we also arranged an emergency plan. The nobles who are currently staying in the provinces of Covasia and Obra have begun to mobilize for war.
But the noble private armies of our two provinces alone are afraid that they are unable to resist the enemy's front."
After hearing what Count Carles said, Hudson was shocked and said it was unscientific.
According to the practice of the Aslant continent, if a war breaks out between human countries, they must first find a reasonable excuse to start the fight and then send someone to issue a declaration of war.
That's not all. After issuing the declaration of war, they have to wait until the opponent's army gathers at the border before they can start the war.
If they pay more attention to the rules, the time and place of the first battle between the two sides will be agreed.
When they arrive at the place, they will not fight immediately, but the high-level officials of both sides will have a final consultation, or bickering, and they will officially start fighting if they can't reach an agreement.
If the other party can be successfully persuaded, or one party surrenders, it is common to withdraw the troops and go home directly.
"The Kingdom's standing army has already set out and will arrive at the front line in the shortest time.
Now I invite everyone to come here to discuss whether the Hessians want to provoke a war?
If the war breaks out, how should the kingdom deal with it?
Several powerful countries in the central region are eyeing our northern continent. Will they take advantage of the fire to rob?
If the war expands, what enemies do we need to face, and what allies can we win?"
The series of questions raised by Caesar IV completely confused Hudson. Is this discussing how to deal with it? It is clear that they have already started to deal with it.
The border provinces began to mobilize in full, and the Kingdom's standing army also set out.
But this is very Alpha Kingdom. In the past, when the orc army moved slightly, everyone responded in this way.
Hundreds of years of habit have become natural. Now everyone is driven by subconscious instincts to give orders. This good habit will definitely not change for a while.
Hudson is very suspicious that the Alpha Kingdom's army has completed the assembly, and the Hessians are still discussing whether to start a war.
"Your Majesty, perhaps the situation is not that bad. The Hessians have only 230,000 standing troops, and only half of them can be deployed on the battlefield.
No matter how elite they are, with only this few troops, they will not be able to take over the provinces of Covasia and Obra if the nobles from all over the country hold on to the castles and fortresses.
If they really want to invade the kingdom, they will definitely mobilize the whole country.
It is better to wait and see their subsequent actions before deciding whether to mobilize the whole country.
The kingdom is in a recovery period and is not suitable for launching a large-scale war. It is better not to fight if it can be avoided."
Hudson persuaded.
But the more he talked, the more he felt something was wrong. Who is the hawkish representative of the kingdom?
How come he, the biggest advocate of war, has become the leader of the anti-war faction?
"Your Majesty, Earl Hudson is right. The Hessians are not more warlike than the orcs. In the past eighty years, they have not fought a war with more than 200,000 people.
Perhaps the current mobilization of troops is just a test. Their envoys have not evacuated yet!"
Marquis Delgado hurriedly echoed.
The Ministry of Finance is the biggest anti-war faction in the Alpha Kingdom. However, due to limited military capabilities, Marquis Delgado dare not easily draw conclusions.
Now that Hudson, the military master of the kingdom, has spoken, Marquis Delgado immediately has a clue in his mind.
If it is possible not to fight, then it must not fight. If the kingdom overreacts and ignites the war all at once, the finances will really be ruined.
Of course, if the war is won, it will be another situation.
However, considering the strength of both sides, everyone is still unsure.
It seems that the number of standing armies of the two countries is almost the same, but the Warcraft Cavalry in the Hessen Kingdom Army has been established and its weapons and equipment are more advanced.
The gap in the strength of the noble private armies of the two countries is even greater. Most of the elite noble private armies of the Alpha Kingdom were buried on the orc battlefield, and it took more than a year to replenish the full establishment.
I am afraid no one can tell how strong the combat effectiveness is. Anyway, the noble masters present have no confidence in these armies.
On the other hand, the noble private armies of the Hessen Kingdom are stronger in both quantity and quality.
The gap in the strength of the extraordinary military forces is even greater. In the Hessen Kingdom, if anyone does not have hundreds of Warcraft Cavalry, he is embarrassed to say that he is a great noble.
There are also large and small magician groups. The specific strength is unclear. Anyway, the worst magician group is better than Hudson's pocket magician group.
Of course, the Alpha Kingdom is not without advantages. The speed of mobilization is one thing, but the key is that 99% of the nobles on the kingdom side have come down from the battlefield.
The strength of the various domestic armies is not as good as that of the Hesse Kingdom, but these people are veterans who have just come down from the battlefield.
This is why Hudson dares to assert that the mobile forces of the Hesse Kingdom cannot take the two provinces in the case of defending the city.
If it is not possible to achieve a phased victory in a short period of time, it will fall into a strategic stalemate. Once the human wave tactics are used, the advantage of the elite troops of the Hesse Kingdom will not be obvious.
The Aslant Continent is not peaceful, and the strength of the human race cannot be consumed indefinitely in the civil war. At that time, there will be countries that come out to mediate.
If it were not for the need for a period of peaceful development to consolidate its own foundation, Hudson really wouldn't mind going with the flow and fighting a war with the Hesse Kingdom.
After all, foreign wars can really divert domestic conflicts. Instead of letting the nobles of the kingdom fight endlessly, it is better to lead everyone to fight.
Winning or losing is not important. According to the current gameplay, the expansion of the human race in the internal struggle is mainly based on cannibalism, and there is no war to destroy other countries.
"Marquis Delgado, the Kingdom of Hessen has summoned the great nobles from all over the country to the capital for a meeting. This is a sign of launching a war.
As the saying goes, it is better to be prepared than to be attacked by the enemy because of a momentary negligence..."
When he was about to finish speaking, Count Martinez realized that something was wrong. It seems that there is no precedent for direct sneak attacks in the wars between human countries.
However, he still remained calm on the surface. It is not impossible to set a precedent.
Before the war really breaks out, no one knows whether the enemy will abide by the rules. Predictions of things that have not yet happened cannot be defined as right or wrong.
Even if he knows that his judgment is too subjective, he must insist on it. This is the way of survival for border nobles.
Anyone in his position will ask the kingdom to prepare for war with all his strength to avoid losses after the war breaks out.
It is best to make a big counterattack as soon as the war breaks out and put the battlefield within the enemy's borders.
"Count Martinez, things are not that bad. You are all defending the city now. Even if the enemy launches a sneak attack, it will be difficult to achieve much results.
The Hessians are not so crazy as to sacrifice the country's reputation for just a few castles.
Don't forget that our relationship with the Kingdom of Hessian has only deteriorated in the past year, and there is no irreconcilable hatred between the two sides.
Even if they really can't bear it and want to start a war, we can divert the trouble away.
At most, they will acquiesce to the Kingdom of Hessian to invade one or two small northern countries, and then being a fence-sitter is a good choice. Since they want to get closer to several large countries in the central region, let's fulfill their wish."
After listening to the words of the Prime Minister, the Grand Duke of Newfoundland, Hudson shouted in his heart: Good guy, isn't this a replica of the appeasement policy?
If the Alpha Kingdom plays like this, it will be the source of trouble. When the ambitions of the Hessians are aroused, a full-scale war between the two countries will really be inevitable.
Although he knew it, Hudson did not jump out to oppose it. What does the life and death of several small northern countries have to do with him?
According to the rules of the Aslant Continent, even if the Hessen Kingdom is allowed to expand to the northern continent, their pace will not be fast.
To successfully annex a country, even the smallest county, political, military, and diplomatic means must be used, and they must also face the interference of a number of powerful countries
If the means are a little bit too radical, they will be surrounded and beaten so badly that their parents will not recognize them.
"The Prime Minister is right. The current international situation has changed, and our foreign policy should also change accordingly.
At present, several major countries in the central region want to advance northward. It is too difficult to stop them with the current state of the kingdom.
It is better to make certain concessions appropriately, sacrifice the interests of those fence-sitters, and temporarily stabilize them. Buy enough time for the kingdom to recover its vitality."
The words of Marquis Zuel further clarified the policy of appeasement. Everything is based on interests. Several provinces in the southeast have national defense pressure, and the southwestern provinces are also not easy.
Everyone is busy restoring their strength. Now all the nobles in the kingdom do not want to start a war at this moment.
The Counts of Carles and Martinez, who were originally clamoring, also fell silent at this moment. It was obvious that they also did not want to start a war with the Kingdom of Hessen at this time.
Who would want to let their own territory become a battlefield when there was a chance to lure the enemy away?
"Marquis Zuer, the enemy's ambition cannot be satisfied by a little bit of interest. The more we indulge them, the greater their ambition will be, and sooner or later they will bite back on us.
Perhaps by then, our enemy will not only be the Hessian Kingdom, but multiple kingdoms in the central region ruled by desire.
The best option is to fight now and extinguish the enemy's ambition with iron and fire, rather than tempting them to annex other small countries!"
Duke Hiro objected hastily.
The speed of the war faction's defeat was so fast that they were too lazy to struggle, forcing him to come forward.
If the appeasement policy is passed, the war will definitely not start for a while.
As long as the Hessians are not stupid, they know to bully the neighboring small countries to eat meat, instead of running to fight the Alpha Kingdom.
With the development of the situation, all the nobles in the country are as they wish, except for the tragedy of the nobles in the north.
With the slow development in peacetime, the military advantage that originally belonged to the nobles in the north will soon be caught up and leveled by everyone.
Some wealthy nobles may even surpass them militarily with their own strong financial resources.
"Duke Hiro, if you can solve the kingdom's financial problems and find a way to make up for the gap in military strength between the two sides, I think this suggestion is very good.
If you can't do it, I think your suggestion is not feasible at all.
Don't forget, war is fought on logistics. With the current financial resources of the kingdom, I'm afraid we will be out of money just after the war starts.
This time the enemy is not a foreign race, don't expect the human alliance to cover us.
If you can guarantee that the kingdom's military can continue to fight for the kingdom when the logistics supplies are not available, then I won't say anything!"
Marquis Delgado's words choked Duke Hiro half to death, and the other four dukes were also angry.
The problem of the army's inferior combat effectiveness can still be overcome. At most, we can use veterans to pile up dead elite soldiers. With everyone's rich combat experience, they may not have no chance of winning on the battlefield.
But the reason of "no money and insufficient supply of strategic materials" is really an unsolvable problem.
Given the financial situation of the Alpha Kingdom, not to mention going out to borrow money, not being asked to pay in advance is considered a face-giving by the creditors.
"Count Francis, according to everyone's proposal just now, is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs capable of settling the Hesse Kingdom?"
Caesar IV asked with concern.