The Postwar Era
Let's see when the opportunity arises!
Your Excellency, the Beastfolk are not to be trifled with. Don't be fooled by the current speed of the allied advance; if it were our people in their place, the situation would be entirely different!
The enemy is now like a frightened bird; it's impossible to make them careless or divide their forces arbitrarily.
Hudson declined.
Creating opportunities for combat is easy, but the problem is that the few remaining troops in the Hollisir Family's hands could be wiped out by a single Behemoth Cavalry regiment.
He didn't deliberately assign any missions to members of the Coslo Family to gain merit. This wasn't just because Hudson needed to be fair and impartial, but more so because he couldn't afford unexpected losses.
Opportunities are reserved for those who have the ability.
That's enough!
I was too greedy.
"Hudson, disregard what I just said. The Hollisir Family can't afford any more trouble. If we lose our last remaining assets, even the greatest military achievements will be useless!"
Viscount Oran said with lingering regret.
Once he calmed down, he realized how dangerous his thoughts were. Going to war with insufficient strength means you can't seize even the best opportunities.
Just like Hudson's "using beasts to control beasts and dismantling the Orc Empire" strategy, which he planned himself, he ended up sharing it with the Allied Forces.
It's not that we don't want to eat it all ourselves, it's just that the Kingdom Army has limited stomachs and can't swallow this cake.
If Hudson had been appointed commander-in-chief before the Northern Expeditionary Army suffered heavy losses, the Allied forces would have been completely sidelined.
He readily relinquished a military achievement that could have earned him the title of "Human Marshal," a decisive move that earned Viscount Oran's deep admiration.
"Your Excellency, there is no need to worry too much. The situation is similar for everyone right now, and the Hollisir Family is not at a disadvantage."
The decision on the distribution of post-war benefits will no longer be made on the battlefield, but rather through subsequent political maneuvering.
The assassination brought the conflicts in the Royal Capital to the forefront. Those high-ranking nobles implicated are the targets His Majesty will next suppress.
In particular, the Five Great Families of the North already had grudges against the royal family. Now that old and new grievances have been combined, His Majesty will definitely not let them off the hook.
If the Hollisir Family were willing to give up their current foundation and come to the Northern Frontier to obtain several counties as fiefdoms and take control of a province, it would be no problem at all.
However, the benefits and risks are proportional. Even without the threat of the Beastfolk, the conditions in the Northern Frontier are still inferior to those in the Southeast Province.
Developing these lands would require an astronomical amount of manpower, material resources, and financial resources.
To be frank, the Coslo Family has decided to remain in the Southeast Province. At most, after the war, they will only attempt to reclaim their ancestral lands from the Locknerd Family. Even if the rest of the Northern Frontier were given to us, the Coslo Family would be incapable of developing it!
Hudson offered a rational analysis.
He would support whatever choice the Hollisir Family made, but the Coslo Family would not move north.
Rather than starting over in the North, he preferred to stay in the Southeast Province and fight the Dalton Family to the death. It wasn't that Hudson lacked ambition; it was simply that his family's foundation was too shallow.
The most crucial factor is population.
Even if the entire Coslo Family moved all its branches and used all available connections, they could only gather a few hundred thousand people at most.
With such a small population, the land of one prefecture can accommodate them. Even if they manage to take over, they can only manage to take over the land of two or three prefectures at most.
The cost of relocating these people alone could bankrupt Hudson. Rather than blindly rushing forward, he would be better off staying in the Mountain Territory and fighting his way through the swamps behind him.
At least the Mountain Territory generates income; even after the war ends, the annual revenue is not low. With a little effort, it's possible to break even and embark on a positive cycle of developing the territory using its profits.
"Hudson, your plan is unlikely to succeed. The Coslo Family's ancestral lands are in the hands of the Locknerd Family, and they will not hand them over unless absolutely necessary."
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The Five Great Families in the North are closely connected, and their situations are all similar; they would not allow such a precedent to appear.
The Dalton Family will also try their best to send you to the North. Given their influence among the nobles of the Southeast Province, most of the nobles in the seven southeastern provinces will politically support them.
Your rise has been too rapid, exceeding the capacity of all parties to withstand it. After the war, they will inevitably try to restrict your development.
This is only because you acted decisively earlier, causing most of the kingdom's nobles to owe you favors. Otherwise, the Coslo Family wouldn't be facing restrictions on development, but rather suppression from all sides.
The Hollisir Family isn't much better off. Although we were once a prominent noble family, there are very few families willing to see us return to our old connections.
Even after countless years of effort, we can only maintain the neutrality of most of the kingdom's high nobles. Politically, it's difficult to provide you with support.
Viscount Oran replied with a wry smile.
If the Coslo Family were willing to go to the North, then the Hollisir Family could also bring together several other middle-ranking nobles from the kingdom to form a group and establish a foothold in the North.
Without Hudson as a powerful enforcer, even if the Hollisir Family joins forces with the other families, they cannot compete with the Five Great Families of the North.
"Your Excellency, rest assured, judging from the current situation, it will take at least several years for the Dalton Family to restore its peak military strength."
If other factors are taken into account, this recovery period will be even longer. Until then, at most they'll just cause me some political trouble.
At worst, after the war I'll go back and focus on managing my fiefdom, and not get involved in the court's infighting. They certainly won't dare provoke a military conflict!
"I can say that confidently, "Hudson said.
The aura of a renowned general is used in this situation. Just the title alone can intimidate many enemies.
Without absolute certainty, one must proceed with extreme caution when resorting to underhanded tactics, lest one anger this "young and impetuous general" and cause him to overturn the table and drag the Dalton Family down with him.
"It's good that you know what's going on!"
Viscount Oran said with a look of envy.
They possess the power to drag the Dalton Family down with them. Even if the situation gets really bad, it won't get much worse.
Large families that have endured for millennia strive for longevity and rarely act impulsively. They will not easily overturn the table and gamble with the lives and fortunes of the entire clan unless absolutely necessary.
As the battlefield situation worsened, Beastfolk Five Great Royal Families accelerated their retreat. In their haste, they even neglected the health of the elderly, women, and children.
Many tribes suffered heavy casualties during their evacuation. Even the Ritual's best efforts to provide medical care could not prevent the tragedy from happening.
The chase and the escape quickly stretched the battle line to the edge of the Orc Great Plains. At this time, the Five Great Royal Families Beastfolk royal families had retreated to the Nikola Plateau in the north and the Salal Hills in the west.
The internal conflicts that had been concealed gradually intensified. The barren west and north could not support so many Beastfolk.
Without the numerous Beastfolk races to exploit, not only did the Beastfolk nobles lose their former extravagant lifestyle, but even many small and medium-sized tribes faced difficulties in obtaining daily necessities.
The calls against withdrawal and for the recapture of lost territory are growing louder within the Orc Empire, causing the five emperors a great deal of trouble.
What's worse is the depletion of resources due to idleness. Having just experienced a large-scale migration, many tribes have been relegated to undeveloped areas, making it difficult to generate significant output in the short term.
Organizational loopholes were also rampant. Many agricultural tribes were relocated to highlands unsuitable for agriculture; some nomadic tribes were relocated to mountainous areas unsuitable for large-scale grazing.
The officials sent out by the imperial court were either arguing with the tribes below, or on their way to arguing.
Because of the distribution of resources, many tribes even fought each other. Even if the conflict was forcibly suppressed, the seeds of hatred were sown.
"The situation is not good; we underestimated it beforehand. The land in the western and northern regions is barren and it is difficult to support a large population. The tribespeople are now complaining bitterly and full of grievances."
If this situation continues, I'm worried we won't be able to control it later!
The Lion Emperor said with a frustrated expression.
As the family that has preserved its strength the best among the Five Great Royal Families, the Lionmen has retained the largest core population, but it has also encountered the greatest trouble.
Even with a sufficiently large land allocation, it's still difficult to meet their actual needs. To ensure a supply of resources, they've even begun hunting other Beastfolk races.
"Lion Emperor, don't worry too much. These hard times won't last long."
We are under great pressure right now, and the Human Alliance is under great pressure as well. Just look at the map and you'll see that it's over a thousand miles from Fengyue Port to here.
If we add the transportation of supplies from the rear, the amount of supplies consumed by the human race every day is also an extremely large number.
An ordinary human soldier fighting on the front lines requires at least five times the manpower to transport supplies from the rear.
According to the intelligence gathered, the main source of funding for the Human Alliance is currently the Alpha Kingdom.
Maintaining the operations of a million-strong army at the front requires astronomical daily expenses. I don't believe the Alpha Kingdom's finances can sustain this for long.
The Human Alliance has increased its military spending subsidies for its army to 20%. If the war continues, this percentage will continue to rise.
The only human nations in the north who have a blood feud with us are a few. Most human nations participated in this war solely for racial interests.
Previously, the Alpha Kingdom covered the military expenses, and they were just helping out, so there wasn't much of a problem. Now that it's their turn to foot the bill, they're starting to have more ideas.
Next, all we need to do is to inflict heavy losses on the human alliance and make them realize that we are not to be trifled with, and this war should be over.
Of course, we must also strike a balance. We need to make the human race feel the pinch, but we mustn't provoke their fragile ego as the continent's overlord!
Alex said, feigning composure.
Because of their small population, the Behemoth Clan actually faced the least logistical pressure compared to the other Four Great Royal Clans.
Because they were the first to complete the evacuation, they seized mostly good land, and most of their people were properly resettled.
However, less material pressure did not mean less mental pressure for Alex. As the Behemoth Emperor, he had not had a single day of peace since ascending the throne.
Deep down, besides cursing his deceased father, he was worried about the Behemoth Clan.
He spoke lightly, but deep down he knew very well that giving up the Orc Great Plains was easy, but taking it back was not so simple.
If the human race can organize an allied army once, they can organize a second time. The newly conquered Orc Great Plains represent the prestige of the continent's overlords.
Perhaps it can be gradually abandoned in the future, but in the short term, humanity must hold onto it to prove the achievements of the current monarchs.
The dignity of the overlord and the personal reputation of the monarch before and after death are both at stake. Anyone who dares to touch this taboo will be severely punished.
"Behemoth Emperor, you're thinking too simply. How can this war continue if you want to make the human alliance suffer without losing face for humanity?"
Don't forget, the human alliance currently holds the advantage. Even if we extend the battle lines to where we are now, we are still at a disadvantage.
To reverse the situation, the only way is to let them in first, find a way to break them up, and then use the terrain to slowly wear them down!
That damned Dawn Holy See has cut off all contact with us ever since we declared our responsibility for the assassination attempt, and they may not be able to keep their promises.
The only thing that could support us was the combined pressure from all the races on the continent. Unfortunately, the dragon we bribed was unreliable and was quickly exposed by the humans.
"The Silver Moon Wolf Emperor said angrily."
With unreliable allies, the Orc Empire, fighting alone, is now facing a life-or-death crisis.
The defection of a large number of cannon fodder has strained the military strength of the Five Great Royal Families. The arduous tasks that were originally undertaken by the cannon fodder races are now being done by their own people.
Driven by both hatred and self-interest, the long-oppressed Beastfolk race became the vanguard of the attack.
"That dragon still has some value. He offered to help contact the Sea Tribe if we could pay more."
However, if we want the help of the Sea Tribe to cut off the human race's sea transport routes, we still have to rely on ourselves.
"The Eagle Emperor said with a solemn expression."
Finding the Sea Tribe isn't difficult; the question is, why would Sea Tribe help them?
With the exception of a few amphibians, marine life is not well-suited to survival on land. Even if they could conquer the entire Aslant Continent, it would mean little to them.
In the past, Sea Tribe' invasions of the mainland were mostly driven by faith. Now that the gods no longer manifest themselves, and there are no divine commands, people naturally won't be so idle as to seek thrills.
Incentives?
Even if you gave them the entire continent, they might not be interested. After all, no fish or shrimp wants to become salted fish or salted shrimp when they're swimming happily in the water.
Occasionally, local conflicts occur with mainland races, but these are always retaliations caused by someone provoking nearby Sea Tribe.