Early Preparations for War VS a Failed Test

In fact, the notification was unnecessary. As a close confidant of Caesar III in the army, the Marquis James received the news even before Hudson, the commander-in-chief.

Having worked together for more than half a year, he had a pretty good grasp of Hudson's character. Past experience told him that this tricky and difficult task would most likely fall to him.

As the person in charge of coordinating external affairs within the military, he simply couldn't refuse. He couldn't shirk his responsibilities; everyone knew he was adept at social interaction.

Even Caesar III approved of Hudson's division of personnel responsibilities based on individual abilities and practical needs.

Despite racking his brains and finding no clue, the Marquis James, in an extremely bad mood, still forced a smile and came to the meeting after receiving the notification.

People who smile often tend to have good luck. This is a good habit he cultivated from a young age. Even knowing that there are difficulties and obstacles ahead, he still faces them with a smile.

Although born into a noble family, the Marquis James was only a distant relative. Apart from bearing a noble surname, it would be more accurate to say that he came from a merchant family.

Starting with their grandfather, their family fortunes declined, and the huge debts left by their ancestors forced them to turn to business.

Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. The combination of power and money is always the quickest way to get rich.

With the protection of his family and his remarkable business acumen, his grandfather quickly rose to prominence in the business world. By his father's generation, they had become one of the kingdom's most prominent merchants.

Perhaps having accumulated enough wealth, by James' generation, the elders felt they had enough money and needed to return to the center of power.

The exceptionally talented James, under the financial pressure from his fathers, quickly gained the family's recommendation and was sent to the side of Caesar III.

Having received a pragmatic education from a young age, James was clearly more willing to swallow his pride than other noble children, and quickly stood out from his many competitors to become a confidant of Caesar III.

After Caesar III came to power, James embarked on an extraordinary journey, achieving great success and overcoming numerous obstacles to reach his current status.

The closer James got to the center of power, the more uneasy he became. Being the King's confidant was no easy task; while trying to please the King, one inevitably had to offend a number of powerful nobles.

The bad reputation he carries is mostly the work of these people, with the remaining small part stemming from the jealousy of the lower and middle nobility.

Hudson faced similar troubles. Especially after becoming the commander-in-chief of the army, he was constantly subjected to various criticisms.

The only difference is that Hudson spent his early days grinding through dungeons in the Moxi Duchy, without offending many people. His first battle upon arriving at the front lines was still a rescue mission.

Other nobles could criticize the nobles he had rescued, but they couldn't. Even if they didn't appreciate it, they had to put on a show.

With so many nobles rescued, some of them would remember his kindness and occasionally speak well of him, which prevented his reputation from being consumed by "jealousy."

People of the same kind tend to appreciate each other, and James and Hudson get along quite well.

Unfortunately, both of them were rational people, and thus they were destined not to become true friends.

Looking out at the vast grasslands beyond the city walls, the three exchanged wry smiles.

Now they face not only the problem of accelerating the pace of war, but also the Annihilation of the Orc Empire. The kingdom's appetite is not commensurate with its strength.

"Marquis James, the pressure is now on you. If you want to launch a major counter-offensive ahead of schedule and Annihilation of the Orc Empire in one fell swoop, you must win over all the reinforcements."

Hudson said, somewhat embarrassed.

If they could truly Annihilation of the Orc Empire, the three of them would be remembered for eternity, leaving a significant mark on human history.

Unfortunately, after considering all the possibilities, Hudson concluded that to the Annihilation of the Orc Empire, the human race must first be integrated.

A quick glance at the map reveals that the Orc Empire occupies a land area that is one-third the size of the human territory.

With tens of millions of square kilometers of territory, it would take many years just to march around it, let alone conquer it.

Such an obvious problem was naturally understood by the Royal Capital. While they chanted slogans of annihilating the Beastfolk race, very few actually took it seriously.

The kingdom's true strategy was to crush the Orc Empire. Crushing and annihilating are two different concepts, with the difference in difficulty being hundreds of times greater.

Theoretically speaking, as long as the Five Great Royal Families of the Beastfolk are severely damaged and they lose control of the Orc Empire, this multi-racial empire will collapse.

However, this was precisely what Hudson feared most. The existence of the Five Great Royal Families, while preserving the Orc Empire, also hindered its development.

In order to maintain their rule, countless powerful races within the Orc Empire were either weakened or destroyed by their attacks.

Once they are defeated, it will be equivalent to releasing this powerful clan. Without the constraints of the Five Great Royal Families, the Beastfolk races can reproduce and thrive freely.

Unless the human race can occupy the vast territory of the Orc Empire in a short period of time, many powerful races will inevitably rise on this land in the next few decades.

Solving one hidden danger could create an even bigger one, a risk that Hudson was certainly unwilling to take.

However, Caesar III seemed determined to implement the plan and relentlessly pushed it forward. Despite repeated warnings of the risks from the commander-in-chief, he could not sway the King's resolve.

Hudson roughly understood the reason: it was all about the succession of the royal family. Caesar III only had one son, but this son's abilities were not something he could trust.

If the Orc Empire is left unattended for decades, the Beastfolk will surely return. The shrewd Caesar III did not believe his son could withstand it.

At the very least, Crown Prince Caesar's current behavior is hardly reassuring. If it weren't for the kingdom's strict succession laws, he would want to start over.

If the heir cannot be changed, then the only option is to pave the way for the son in advance and eliminate any potential future problems beforehand.

As for whether the Beastfolk will rise again after he freed them from their shackles, he really couldn't care less about that now.

At the very least, giving them a good beating could buy decades of peace and ensure the smooth passage of the throne to the grandchildren.

As for what comes after that, that's a matter for the distant future. Who can say for sure what will happen then?

"Your Excellency, you overestimate me. The composition of the allied forces is far too complex; even just their regular presence here is fraught with conflict."

"If we were on the battlefield, things would be even more uncontrollable. Without a unified command system, we'd all have to bear the responsibility of coordination and cooperation!"

"The Marquis James said with a worried expression."

No matter how strong one's interpersonal skills are, they cannot change the nature of the world. No matter how scathing one's words are, they cannot unite a group of people with their own agendas.

"Your Excellency, no one can say for sure what will happen on the battlefield."

What we need to do now is simply launch a major counter-offensive as soon as possible and send them to the battlefield.

Given the hatred between humans and Beastfolk, we can still abide by the most basic bottom lines.

If we can persuade everyone to act together, then let's act together. If there's really no way to do so, then let's each fight our own battles.

Even if everyone were to kill each other indiscriminately, given the strength of the allied forces, the Orc Empire could still withstand the onslaught.

The kingdom is pressing so hard; their finances must be in trouble. I've roughly estimated that the daily expenses at the front are no less than 80,000 gold coins.

Taking into account the price increases caused by war and the losses incurred during transportation, the actual military expenditure should be several times that figure.

"If this drags on, the kingdom's finances may go bankrupt before the war ends."

Hudson said, feigning helplessness.

Military spending isn't something that can't be reduced. It's just that the kingdom previously issued war bonds, which brought in a large sum of cash, so no one thought about cutting military spending.

As the commander-in-chief at the front, Hudson would never take the initiative to propose cutting military spending; all he would do is ask for food and supplies.

As for the kingdom's debt problem, let it be in debt for now! Based on what he knew, once a country embarks on the path of borrowing, almost none of them can escape the debt trap unscathed.

Now that no one is thinking about defaulting, the concern is that the debt is too large and exceeds the kingdom's repayment capacity, so they are urging the front lines to accelerate the pace of the war.

"I will do my best! But Your Excellency, are you prepared for this war?"

"The real dilemma now isn't sending troops, but what happens after the army is deployed. If we can't defeat the enemy quickly enough, the logistical pressure will be immense!"

Marquis James said somewhat nervously.

Before Hudson could answer, Duke Cavadia interjected, "Your Excellency, your worries are unnecessary."

We began preparing for the upcoming decisive battle as early as six months ago. The sheer number of dried meats drying in the tents is the best evidence of that.

The most crucial factor in choosing this moment to launch the attack is the season. It's late August now, and launching a large-scale attack at this time would perfectly disrupt the Beastfolk's autumn harvest.

"Even though we didn't achieve many victories on the battlefield, we inflicted heavy losses on the Orc Empire outside of it!"

Upon hearing this explanation, Marquis James smiled with delight, but inwardly he was cursing.

As the commander-in-chief of the army, he was not even informed of such important news.

If Duke Cavadia hadn't spoken up now, he probably would have been kept in the dark until the army set off.

Fortunately, he was mentally strong enough to control his emotions. If it had been a hot-tempered general, he would probably have lost his temper on the spot when faced with such obvious distrust.

"James, don't overthink it. We didn't inform you at the time mainly because there were too many military matters, and we forgot for a moment."

Hudson tried to comfort her.

There's no way around it; it's all because of his reputation. As the King's confidant, someone who frequently reports on others in the Royal Capital— any commander-in-chief would have to be wary of that!

If the Royal Capital knew that they were preparing for the expedition in advance, he might have ordered them to attack much earlier.

Hudson made considerable efforts to buy time and increase his chances of winning.

"Your Excellency, rest assured! This is such a trivial matter, not worth mentioning at all. It's mainly because I was too careless. If I had paid a little more attention, I would have thought of it much earlier."

Marquis James said rather reluctantly.

Deep down, he was far from at peace. He had always believed that his abilities were sufficient, and that his failure to obtain the position of commander-in-chief was merely a result of the power struggle between the King and the nobles.

Reality slapped him hard in the face. He thought he knew everything about military affairs, but he was taught a lesson by his juniors.

As someone skilled at reading people, James keenly noticed the mocking look in Duke Cavadia's eyes.

He suddenly had a vague feeling that he wasn't the only one being kept in the dark about Hudson's early preparations.

It's possible that the Duke Cavadia in front of him received the same treatment. However, the Duke was experienced and saw through Hudson's scheme at a glance.

Even the so-called concealment was not a genuine attempt to hide it from them, but rather a test of their military capabilities.

The army stockpiled large quantities of dried meat in advance and repeatedly demanded various strategic materials from the kingdom. If this wasn't preparation for war, what else could it be?

So busy building connections and coordinating relationships between various factions, they even neglected the obvious test questions.

For a moment, James couldn't help but doubt himself: I overlooked such an important detail. Am I really not suited to lead troops?

Seeing this, Hudson shook his head inwardly. He acknowledged Marquis James's abilities, but unfortunately, he placed too much emphasis on personal connections.

When a military general focuses on building connections, he has already embarked on a path of no return.

From this perspective, the fact that the Marquis James, a man of considerable ability, did not have a sufficiently illustrious military record is not due to bad luck.

When a person's energy is scattered, even if an opportunity is presented to them, they may not be able to seize it.

The brief incident ended, but it also widened the rift between the three-person command team. Hudson was completely unresponsive to this change.

Being a head coach is not easy, especially when you have the best and brightest team in the country.

Failing to coordinate relationships among subordinate generals is a sign of incompetence; having too good a relationship with subordinate generals is an even greater sin.

The two deputy commanders were originally appointed by the King to keep him in check, so how could Hudson dare to turn them into his own people?

If he were to actually do that, not only would Caesar III not tolerate him, but the King's nobles would also not tolerate him.

When one's abilities and status are mismatched, it is also a sin to appear overly capable.

After the meeting ended and he watched the two leave, Hudson stood alone on the city wall, gazing into the distance.

The decisive battle that would determine their ultimate fate had finally arrived. Hudson was filled with anxiety about how to fight the war and how far it would go.