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"Idiot!"
"They're all a bunch of idiots!"
"Who gave them the right to act on their own?"
Duke Pias roared filial piety within the camp.
As a hostile force, stabbing the Coslo Family in the back is perfectly justifiable. The problem is that the current method of operation is incorrect, and the initiation process does not conform to the rules.
The worst part is that, without his knowledge, his own family's councilor in the Alliance Council took it upon himself to report Hudson's corruption of logistical supplies to the Human Alliance.
Before he could figure out where things went wrong, trouble had already come knocking. The first to come looking for him weren't Hudson, the person directly involved, but rather an ally of the Locknerd Family.
"Pias, you need to give us an explanation today. Why did you report this to the Alliance Council at this time?"
Duke Cavadia angrily questioned.
He was accompanied by three other dukes. The four of them had remarkably similar expressions: they were seething with rage that they had nowhere to vent.
Reporting Hudson, the head coach, isn't a big deal in itself. But as allies, they should at least have informed each other beforehand!
Without making a sound, they directly brought the matter to the Alliance Council, which not only confused Hudson, the person involved, but also a group of Northern Nobles.
There was no way around it; everyone's mess was left unresolved. They all, to varying degrees, embezzled supplies and logistics.
Once the investigation begins, Hudson, as the head coach, will certainly be held accountable, but those who carried out the specific tasks will also not fare well.
Normally, even if someone finds fault with the head coach in this regard, it would be reported to the Royal Capital internal handling, rather than being brought to the Alliance Council.
Even if Hudson is brought down by this whole mess, most of the kingdom's nobles will be implicated.
Not only did he offend a large group of nobles within the kingdom, but he might also lose his position as the "captain" of logistics and transportation to another country.
"Your Excellency Duke Cavadia, please don't be angry. I'm not entirely clear on this matter either."
Following the incident, I immediately ordered the recall of clan members serving as councilors in the alliance. Once the matter is thoroughly investigated, we will definitely provide everyone with a satisfactory answer.
Perhaps knowing he was in the wrong, Duke Pias adopted a very humble posture, trying his best to put on a smiling face in front of his allies.
This whole thing was a real disaster.
Reason told him that if he didn't appease his allies, not only would Coach Hudson have to take the blame for embezzling and reselling strategic materials, but the Locknerd Family would also be made scapegoats.
While death and the extermination of their clan are unlikely, the family's reputation will be severely damaged, making them unacceptable to the kingdom's noble circles—this is highly probable.
"Pias, stop with the nonsense. What's done is done. Even if a few of us are willing to believe you're innocent, do you think the other nobles in the kingdom will believe us?"
How you clear your name is your own business, the Locknerd Family. You've created this mess, so now you're responsible for cleaning it up for us!
"Without further ado, for the sake of our long-standing alliance, you first need to figure out how to cover the huge deficits in our accounts before we discuss how to clean up the mess!"
Duke Cavadia said coldly.
The loss of prestige is irreparable. It may seem like it was solely the work of the Locknerd Family, but who can blame them when the five great noble families of the North have always been closely allied?
Everyone will surely hold them accountable for this. Under these circumstances, even if Hudson is ousted, he won't be able to take over.
The political losses are irreversible, but the Duke Cavadia is not prepared to continue to be a sucker for the economic losses.
In logistics and transportation, deficits in the accounts are inevitable. Some are due to corruption; others are caused by special weather, special terrain, or unexpected accidents.
Losses that can be recorded should naturally be recorded. However, many losses caused by special circumstances are avoidable losses, and even if they are recorded, they lack persuasiveness.
As long as no one investigates, it just passes by. But once someone takes it seriously, these unconvincing accounts become the best evidence of their embezzlement of military supplies.
Unfortunately, they themselves are not clean and cannot withstand scrutiny. The best course of action now is to replenish the supplies before the investigation team arrives.
Once the deficit is covered, there's no question of embezzlement. As members of the same aristocratic world, everyone is relatively tolerant, and minor flaws in the accounts are hardly a big deal.
Duke Pias's expression changed drastically in an instant. The Locknerd Family could grit their teeth and persevere if they only had to pay money to compensate for the losses, but the problem was where he was going to find enough supplies in a short period of time.
It's easy to imagine that the various nobles responsible for logistics and transportation, including those from the Moxi Duchy, the Warhammer Kingdom, and the Duchy of Orton, are all trying to fill the gaps.
The supplies that have leaked out of the black market alone are simply not enough for everyone.
There simply wasn't enough time to procure and transport supplies from the rear. The investigation team arrived much faster than the supplies could be transported.
If the deficit cannot be covered, the charge of embezzling military supplies will be unavoidable. Even if subordinates are arranged to take the blame, the aftermath will still be unavoidable.
It can be said that this whistleblowing has caused the Locknerd Family to offend an entire group of nobles in the logistics system.
At this moment, Duke Pias is itching to tear his cousin, who is a councilor, apart. The timing is so precise; it's clearly a setup to ruin the Locknerd Family.
"I am very sorry for what happened. The Locknerd Family can accept everyone's losses. However, it is truly beyond our capabilities to make up for the losses in a short period of time."
If it were just a few families experiencing problems, even if it meant selling everything we owned and using all the resources of our clan, I would still purchase enough strategic materials from the major chambers of commerce at high prices to make up for the losses.
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The problem is that news of this accident spread very quickly, as if it were deliberately spread by someone.
Now that everyone knows the investigation team is coming, they're probably all pulling out all the stops to buy up supplies and make up for the deficit!
Duke Pias said with a wronged expression.
Having a deficit in the accounts isn't scary; what's scary is when the situation comes that the company with the biggest deficit will be embarrassed!
The lack of three to five hundred tons of strategic materials and the lack of thirty to fifty thousand tons of strategic materials are two completely different concepts.
The former is understandable to everyone; everyone works in the same circle, and no one will hold a grudge. The latter, however, is a bombshell that can't be contained.
Unfortunately, recently, a number of Northern Nobles have handled a number of huge deficits in transportation accounts.
Many transport routes, though only a few hundred miles long, consume astronomical amounts of supplies.
A large portion of the resources consumed came from the early road construction. Some of the losses were actually used for road repairs, while others were due to Beastfolk attacks, or being "attacked" by Beastfolk.
There is currently no clear standard for the consumption of these supplies, which is also the easiest place for embezzlement to occur, and it is difficult to withstand investigation.
The costs are usually gradually amortized over subsequent transportation to avoid the data looking unappealing.
"Duke Pias, we are not here today to deliberately make things difficult for you."
Regardless of the circumstances, it was your Locknerd Family that reported the Logistics Department's embezzlement to the Human Alliance. Everyone will hold you accountable for this.
The most crucial question now is whether you have concrete evidence that Count Hudson embezzled military supplies.
What we need is massive embezzlement of tens of thousands of tons of gold coins, worth millions, not the usual disappearance of everyday supplies.
As you probably know, the coalition's logistical transport tasks are now being carried out in separate parts.
To the best of my knowledge, the Count Hudson did not directly approach any of the major noble families.
This means that even if his embezzlement existed, it was limited to the supplies transported by his own men, and at most, the supplies escorted by mercenaries.
As the commander-in-chief of the army, he now represents the face of my Alpha Kingdom. As long as his behavior isn't too outrageous, the kingdom will definitely find a way to protect him.
This report is pure nonsense!
Duke Agalon's words, though seemingly calm, were filled with deep distrust and rebuke. It was clear that his discontent with the Locknerd Family had reached a breaking point.
Duke Pias was speechless. This whole affair was purely accidental for him. He had never considered reporting corruption to the Human Alliance beforehand, let alone deliberately collecting evidence.
"Your Excellency can rest assured that, judging from the volume of shipments in the trading market, at least 30% of the strategic materials currently on the market are coming from Count Hudson."
This is only what is visible on the surface; the actual transaction figures behind the scenes are likely much higher.
Although Count Hudson had acquired a large amount of strategic materials from the Allied forces before issuing the bounty, it was definitely not this much!
No sooner had Duke Pias finished speaking than Duke Cavadia's expression changed drastically, and he immediately exclaimed, "Oh no! Something's not right!"
The large-scale recruitment of mercenaries for the war was also orchestrated by Hudson. Combined with his previous acquisition of strategic materials from the coalition's spoils of war, it's clear this was premeditated.
It's possible that the biggest buyer behind the strategic material transactions on the black market, or the current dealer in strategic material transactions, is none other than the Count Hudson.
After all, at that time, mercenaries had not yet flooded in, and it was just a small number of merchants traveling back and forth, which could not consume so many supplies!
If the deduction is correct, Hudson still possesses a large amount of strategic resources. Coupled with his close relationships with major chambers of commerce, it's possible he can make up for the deficit in time.
Duke Pias, quickly investigate which forces your dispatched councilors have been in contact with.
"This sudden incident, seemingly aimed at Count Hudson, might actually be a trap; the enemy's real target could be us!"
These speculations are not unfounded. The trading platform was created by Hudson himself, initially for the trade of spoils, but quickly expanded to trade of all categories over time.
Prior to this, there was no established distribution channel. Even if someone dared to embezzle military supplies, it would be difficult to convert them into cash, so the loss of strategic materials along the way was not high.
This situation continued until the trading platform was established.
What appears to be the harsh terrain and increased Beastfolk attacks leading to higher resource consumption is actually the emergence of new ways to monetize resources, which has aroused everyone's greed.
As the creator of the trading platform and the person in charge of logistics and material transportation, Hudson's behavior was clearly abnormal. Instead of cracking down on private strategic material transactions, he provided cover for them.
No commission whatsoever, and free transaction security guarantees—where in the world can you find such a good deal?
If Hudson himself is the biggest player in the black market, then everything makes sense.
On the surface, they earned nothing but gained a reputation within the Allied Forces; secretly, however, they amassed a fortune. Such a win-win situation was naturally sustainable.
Despite seeing through Hudson's scheme, Duke Cavadia is now powerless to stop it. The trading platform has, at this moment, bound the entire coalition together through shared interests.
Even if the truth is revealed, people will still go to do business. Targeting the trading platform is like cutting off the Allied Forces' source of income.
As for the issue of reselling strategic materials, that was a trivial matter. From beginning to end, it was just a bunch of fake accounts handling the transactions; Hudson never personally participated in the trading.
A thorough investigation would drag all the nobles in the allied forces into the mess. They would either be held accountable together, or the investigation team would simply turn a blind eye.
As long as the accounts balance out, everyone can pretend nothing happened.
After all, the Human Alliance also has its pride, and no one really wants to expose their own scandals to the other races on the continent.
"Duke Cavadia, I have already launched an investigation into this matter. However, since the mastermind behind this has targeted us, they must have more tricks up their sleeve."
The investigation team is just a tactic on the surface; its real aim is probably to provoke conflict between us and nobles in other parts of the kingdom.
If the Count Hudson retains his position as commander-in-chief, then things are likely to get tough for our families from now on!
Duke Pias tried to persuade him.
He went to great lengths to bring down Hudson. Even knowing it was a conspiracy by the mastermind behind it all, he had no choice but to jump into the trap.
Similar scenes continued to unfold within the allied forces. All the high-ranking nobles focused their attention on the whistleblowing incident.
The powerful nobles, especially those in charge of logistics and transportation, were filled with dread for the Locknerd Family. The investigation team was arriving soon, forcing them to find a way to cover the deficit.
The money that had just entered my pocket hadn't even had a chance to warm up before I was forced to take it out again.
What's worse is that before the large-scale arrival of mercenaries, the trading of strategic materials was a purely buyer's market.
There were only a handful of buyers willing to acquire it, and the price was entirely up to the buyer. The final transaction price was 30-50% lower than what would have been offered within the kingdom.
With the influx of mercenaries, the prices of strategic materials on the market have already skyrocketed. The reason for the price increase is readily available: transportation costs.
These are all objective factors. If we were to organize manpower to transport supplies from the rear to the front lines, the costs would indeed increase significantly, and it's understandable that the prices would be higher.
Suddenly, the need to purchase a large amount of supplies to fill the deficit turned the trading market into a seller's market.
Before anyone could even start snapping up the goods, the prices of strategic materials on the black market had already begun to rise quietly.
In the blink of an eye, the nobles who could have made a fortune are now losing everything.
Some nobles with limited financial resources even went so far as to simply abandon their businesses and do nothing. Let them investigate; they can't possibly cover up the financial hole anyway.
Reputation is important, and so are military achievements, but unfortunately, I have no money in my pocket.
If it weren't for the fact that everyone was carrying out separate missions, the nobles in the kingdom's army would probably already be waving their fists and running off to settle scores with Duke Pias.
Hudson's camp quickly became increasingly lively. The nobles, who should have avoided each other, instead flocked to his side one after another.
Many of the aristocrats involved in the case viewed Hudson, who was caught in the storm with them, as "one of their own."
People come to visit, naturally hoping that he, the commander-in-chief, can step forward and resolve the matter.
Hudson was quite helpless about all of this. He had only intended to take the opportunity to make a small fortune by profiting from the mercenaries.
But after a report, he suddenly realized that making money from his allies was much easier than taking money from the mercenaries' pockets.
"Tom, pass on the order. Sell off our strategic resources as quickly as possible!"
Now, as long as there are strategic materials, there's no worry about selling them. Hoarding and price gouging are out of the question; Hudson just wants to get the goods out as quickly as possible.
There was no way around it; this deal was simply too incredibly profitable. The profit margin for each transaction was at least three to five times, and for certain special commodities, it could even be ten times the initial investment.
These are all bulk commodities, unlike loose goods. If they aren't liquidated quickly, someone might take the risk.
Hudson was very worried that, if pushed to the limit, someone might impersonate Beastfolk and directly attack the transport team to make up for the losses left behind.
If he stockpiled large quantities of strategic resources, even the trading platform he had built might not be safe. It wasn't that he was afraid someone would come and rob him outright, but rather that Hudson worried he wouldn't be able to withstand the pressure from all sides.
The most prominent characteristic of nobles is their ability to utilize their privileges. When they find themselves unable to afford something, or facing an excessively high price, they have another solution: to overturn the table.
Simply put, it means taking direct action to shut down the black market and confiscate the strategic resources held by merchants.
Knowing the ways of the aristocracy, Hudson naturally wouldn't put himself in Hudson dangerous situation.
With the allied forces in place for the time being, even if the kingdom's nobles had ideas, they wouldn't immediately choose to overturn the table.
After all, the black market trade nowadays involves not only the trading of strategic materials, but also all sorts of shady deals.
The biggest sellers were not the kingdom's nobles who escorted logistical supplies, but the allied forces at the front lines.
This included both spoils of war and strategic materials they had falsely reported. Overturning the table not only slapped them in the face but also cut off their source of income.