Enclosing Land and Building Cities
As he listened to his ministers' discussion, Caesar III's brows quickly furrowed.
The four dukes of the Northland were the most popular choice, and there were also quite a few who recommended Hudson, but there was a lack of voices supporting the Marquis James.
Not only did other political factions lack support, but even the royalists themselves were unwilling to support the Marquis James. They were only reluctant to directly oppose him out of consideration for the King.
A lack of prestige and military achievements are one factor, but more importantly, it's about self-interest. Even within the same political group, not everyone's interests align.
The Marquis James's previous role was mainly to check and balance Marshal Campbell in the army, a role that was not well-liked.
With even his own people not supporting him, Caesar III instantly realized that his plan had been too hasty.
Promoting a general with insufficient prestige and military achievements to the position of commander-in-chief clearly crossed the bottom line of the aristocratic group.
After all, war means death. If the commander-in-chief is incompetent, the fate of the army is predictable.
The strong support for the four dukes of the North is not only due to their great influence in the court, but also mainly because they have indeed made achievements in the military field.
Hudson, who also had a distinguished military record, failed to gain widespread support. Besides lacking connections in the government, his youth was his biggest weakness.
Overall, the four dukes are the most popular, but since there are four of them, Hudson actually has the most supporters when spread out.
A closer look reveals that the political forces supporting Hudson mainly come from the southwestern region of the kingdom.
During his previous suppression of the rebellion, Hudson had also dealt with the families behind these people.
Perhaps it was this mutual understanding, coupled with the need to check and balance the Northern Nobles, that earned him their support.
Seeing that the argument was going on, Caesar III waved his hand and said, "I understand everyone's opinions."
These six candidates are all the kingdom's most outstanding generals, but there can only be one commander-in-chief.
arguing won't solve anything, so let's all represent the Noble Council and vote here!
"Guards, bring paper and pens and distribute them to the ministers."
It seemed flawless, fair, and just, almost like a public vote. In reality, Caesar III had already made his choice; this was merely a formality.
People of different statuses had different numbers of votes in the Noble Council. As King, Caesar III naturally had the most votes.
If all members of parliament participate, his votes will not be able to influence parliamentary decisions. However, if only a few members of parliament participate in the court, his votes will be very advantageous.
Everything proceeded according to the rules of the political game, and no one could find any reason to object.
Almost instantly, the previously contentious political groups quickly unified their positions and identified the candidates they supported.
"Duke Cavadia gets 3 votes!"
"Count Hudson, 5 votes!"
"Duke Cavadia received 7 votes!"
"Count Hudson, 8 votes!"
In the blink of an eye, the original battle for six people turned into a contest between two strong contenders.
Ministers representing the interests of the northern nobles overwhelmingly supported Duke Cavadia; while the powerful groups of the southern nobles cast more votes for Hudson.
When there are no better options, youth and lack of connections in the court are not problems. As long as one's personal ability and prestige in the military are sufficient, everything else is negotiable.
It's better to support a complete stranger than to support your political enemy.
If Hudson hadn't stepped forward, and Caesar III had nominated the Marquis James, the southern nobles would probably have had no choice but to reluctantly support him.
There was no other way; the King was worried that the balance of power within the country would be disrupted, and the southern nobles were equally worried that the Northern Nobles would continue to grow stronger.
Judging from the soaring vote count, the two sides have been neck and neck. As for the others, if there are any extra votes after the winner is decided, they can probably be given some, just to avoid losing face.
After glancing at the voting results with satisfaction, Caesar III said expressionlessly, "You've all seen the voting results."
"Pass down the order: appoint Count Hudson as commander-in-chief of the army, and Duke Cavadia and Marquis James as deputy commanders-in-chief of the army."
As the King finished speaking, everyone realized that the unassuming Marquis James had actually received the third most votes.
They were all seasoned political veterans, and in an instant, everyone understood. So this was Caesar III's true purpose all along.
That makes sense. Knowing that Marquis James was not up to the requirements of being the head coach in any way, how could His King, with his rich political experience, possibly push such a person to the position?
If that's the case, it would be better to swallow your pride and personally take command of the army. At least the soldiers on the front lines wouldn't object to the King being the commander-in-chief.
In fact, Caesar III had considered going himself. Unfortunately, when he thought about the unruly Beastfolk, he backed down when the time came.
Unfortunately, leading troops into battle was truly not his forte. If he were to be misled by his subordinates and inadvertently fall into the enemy's trap, that would be quite embarrassing.
Little Caesar is the best example of what not to do; a single crushing defeat on the battlefield buried all the prestige he had accumulated over the years.
If the son gets into trouble, the father can always cover for him. But if the father gets into trouble too, there's no one to clean up the mess.
The cautious Caesar III once again employed his most adept tactic: balancing power. A combination of one commander-in-chief and two deputies perfectly achieved a system of checks and balances.
At Purple Thistle Pass, the army once again achieved a victorious reunion, but unfortunately, the atmosphere in the hall was rather awkward.
The reinforcements from the Moxi Duchy were fine; everyone was an old friend, and the conversation was very pleasant.
The situation with the Human Alliance reinforcements was more complicated. A whole host of disparate factions were involved, their internal conflicts were readily apparent, giving Hudson a major headache.
Unfortunately, there wasn't even a single coalition commander, so when problems arose, they had to communicate with each entity individually. Before one problem was resolved, another would emerge.
Hudson has made multiple requests to the Foreign Affairs Department to send a capable person to coordinate relations between the parties.
Unfortunately, the bureaucrats at the Foreign Affairs Department weren't stupid; they simply passed the buck back, citing that the matter "involves military affairs" and should be handled by the military.
As the commander-in-chief of the army, Hudson, who was destined to face the situation, had no choice but to bite the bullet and take action. After much effort, he had no choice but to abandon his efforts one by one.
Let them make a fuss if they want. Anyway, these areas have just been ravaged by Beastfolk, and there are no people around, so we're not worried about them disturbing the peace.
Even if things get really heated, it's just a skirmish between the armies of different countries.
Hudson was only the commander of the Alpha Kingdom's army, not the commander of the allied forces, and he was not responsible to the armies of any country. All he could do was go there to mediate after a conflict occurred.
No wonder his old friend from the Moxi Duchy looked at him with pity. It turns out they had all experienced these troubles firsthand.
If you can't solve the problem, then solve the people who created it. If you can't even solve the people, then you can only separate the people who created the problem.
It just so happens that we need to restore the defenses of our homeland. By having each family stationed in a specific area, we can keep conflicting groups far apart and reduce a lot of unnecessary clashes.
"Your Grace, you are most familiar with the situation in the north. Now, the kingdom wants us to build a new defensive line and expand our territory as much as possible."
Considering the practical situation, we must occupy more land while also choosing the most favorable terrain for construction. (η-knife)
As they were talking, Hudson handed a map of the northern part of the kingdom to Duke Cavadia, instructing the local tyrant to draw circles on it.
The scene looked very harmonious, which was completely unimaginable to most people. Just a few days ago, the two had been engaged in a fierce battle for command of the army.
Without a doubt, Hudson has the upper hand now, otherwise Duke Cavadia wouldn't be cooperating so much.
There's nothing strange about it. As the commander-in-chief appointed by the kingdom, and the most powerful figure on the front lines, it would be problematic if he couldn't control a deputy commander.
With the command structure clarified, it was time to get to work. Adhering to the principle that the more his subordinates did, the less he would have to do, Hudson decisively opted for task decomposition.
Marquis James was thrown over to wrestle with the various reinforcements in the alliance, so the task of building the defensive line naturally fell to Duke Cavadia.
Hudson wasn't worried that this task allocation might cause problems.
The internal conflicts within the Human Alliance are issues between the various factions themselves. No matter how big the conflict gets, it has little to do with mediating.
The biggest beneficiaries of building new defensive lines are the Northern Nobles, as it will protect their territories from Beastfolk attacks.
Even if Duke Cavadia wanted to cause trouble, his subordinates would probably do everything in their power to stop him. No matter how much trouble he causes, he can't afford to dig a pit for his own descendants!
"Don't worry, Count Hudson. I'm very familiar with the terrain of these areas; there won't be any problems."
Duke Cavadia said with a chuckle.
He had to take on this task; if Hudson were to oversee the construction of the defenses, he would be the one who would be worried.
Experience told him that he had to oversee the construction of the defenses at his doorstep himself. Who knew if the quality could be guaranteed if he delegated the task to unrelated southern nobles?
"Your Grace, where do you think it would be appropriate to move the border line? Approximately how much land could be enclosed?"
Hudson asked with concern.
If there's something in the pot, there will be something in the bowl. The bigger the cake of the Alpha Kingdom is, the more cake we can get.
Ideally, some of the nobles from the Southeast Province should be persuaded to move to the north to develop their own territory, thus making room for their own family.
This was a difficult thing to do, but Hudson didn't give up. He figured he could fool as many as he could; with so many nobles, there were bound to be a few fools who would jump into the trap.
"Your Excellency, I cannot answer that question. Although the northern lands are vast, there are actually quite a few limitations in order to facilitate the construction of defensive lines."
"However, it shouldn't be difficult to take advantage of this opportunity to add one or two more provinces to the kingdom."