Appeasement Policy

In the Mountain Territory, accompanied by a series of loud cries, the people within the territory immediately erupted in excitement.

The lord has an heir; this is a sign that a power is maturing. If the timing weren't so bad, everyone would be holding a celebration immediately.

Public celebrations were cancelled, but private celebrations continued in large numbers.

This isn't the Royal Capital, so naturally no one pays attention to such a minor issue as "improper conduct."

Seeing his son land safely, Hudson didn't linger and immediately mounted the dragon's back, heading straight for the Royal Capital.

The advantages of the Dragon Knight are evident here.

An ordinary knight would take almost a month to make a round trip to the Royal Capital at full gallop, but Maxim could do it in a single day.

The situation in the Royal Capital is tense, and an important figure like Hudson naturally cannot be absent, but he can still ask for a day off.

In high spirits, he arrived in the Royal Capital sensed something was amiss. Before he could even enter his room, he was invited to the palace for a meeting.

Looking at the tense expressions of the crowd, Hudson was very puzzled. He had only been gone for a day, and now this had happened again.

Could it be that another important guest has been assassinated?

If that's the case, the officials in charge of security can go home and farm.

"Now that everyone is here, the meeting can begin."

"Count Cales, Count Martinez, tell everyone what happened on your side!"

"It was a serious expression on Caesar IV's face," he said.

Hudson was quite embarrassed to see this.

You could tell from the atmosphere at the scene that everyone knew what had happened, except for the guy who left who didn't know what had happened.

His intuition told him it must be related to the military; otherwise, no one would be waiting for him here.

"We have just received news from the border that the army of the Black Forest Kingdom is assembling in the Kovasia Province and Oberla Province."

The specific target is currently unknown, but after analysis, Count Martinez and I concluded that the Hessians are after the kingdom.

Before leaving, we also made arrangements for contingency plans. The nobles currently remaining in the Kovasia Province and Oberla Province have begun war mobilization.

However, the private armies of the nobles in our two provinces alone are probably no match for the enemy's advance.

Hudson was startled by Count Cales's words, thinking to himself that it was illogical.

According to the custom of the Aslant Continent, if war breaks out between human nations, they must first find a reasonable pretext to take action before sending a declaration of war.

That's not all. After issuing the challenge, the war can only begin after the enemy's army has assembled at the border.

If they were to be even more particular about the rules, the time and place for their first battle would be agreed upon.

Upon arrival, the fighting did not immediately commence. Instead, the high-level officials of both sides would hold a final consultation, or rather, a verbal battle. Only if they could not reach an agreement would the fighting officially begin.

If one side can successfully persuade the other, or if one side softens its stance, it is common for them to simply retreat and go home.

"The Kingdom's Standing Army has set off and will arrive at the front line in the shortest possible time."

The reason we've invited everyone here is to discuss whether the Hessians want to start a war.

If war breaks out, how should the kingdom deal with it?

Several powerful nations in the central region are eyeing our Northern Continent with covetous intent. Will they take advantage of our predicament to plunder us?

If the war escalates, what enemies will we face, and which allies can we win over?

The series of questions posed by Caesar IV completely baffled Hudson. Was this a discussion about how to respond? It was clearly already a discussion about how to respond.

The border provinces began a full mobilization, and the kingdom's Standing Army also set out.

However, this is very typical of the Alpha Kingdom; in the past, whenever the Beastfolk army made even the slightest move, this was how everyone would respond.

Hundreds of years of habit have become second nature. Now everyone is driven by subconscious instincts, and these good habits certainly cannot be changed in a short time.

Hudson was highly suspicious that the Alpha Kingdom's army had completed its assembly, while the Hessians were still discussing whether or not to wage war.

"Your Majesty, perhaps the situation is not so bad. The Blacks' Standing Army only 230,000, and at most half of them can be deployed to the battlefield."

No matter how elite they are, with such a small force, and with the nobles in various places holding out in castles and fortresses, they probably wouldn't even be able to take over the provinces of Kovasia Province and Oberla Province.

If they really wanted to invade the kingdom, they would definitely have to mobilize the whole country.

Let's observe their subsequent actions before deciding whether to launch a nationwide mobilization.

The kingdom is currently in a period of recovery and is not suited to launching a large-scale war. It would be best to avoid war if possible.

Hudson began to offer his advice.

The more he talked, the more uneasy he felt. Who exactly was the hawkish representative of the kingdom?

How did he, the biggest advocate of war, become the leader of the anti-war faction?

"Your Majesty, Count Hudson is right. The Blacks are not as warlike as the Beastfolk; they have not fought a war involving more than 200,000 men in the last eighty years."

Perhaps this troop movement is just a probe; their envoys haven't even left yet!

Marquis Delgado hurriedly echoed this sentiment.

The Treasury Department is actually the biggest anti-war faction in the Alpha Kingdom. However, due to his limited military capabilities, Marquis Delgado dares not draw any conclusions easily.

With Hudson, the kingdom's military strategist, speaking up, Marquis Delgado immediately felt more confident.

If we can avoid fighting, then we absolutely must not fight. If the kingdom overreacts and ignites war immediately, our finances will be truly ruined.

Of course, if the war is won, the situation will be completely different.

However, considering the strength of both sides as they are, no one is entirely confident.

While the number of the Standing Army of the two countries appears to be similar, the Black Forest Kingdom has established a complete system of monster cavalry, and its weapons and equipment are more advanced.

The disparity in strength between the noble private armies of the two countries is even more pronounced. Most of the elite noble private armies of the Alpha Kingdom were wiped out on the Beastfolk battlefield, and it has only been a little over a year since they were fully replenished.

As to their fighting strength, probably no one could say for sure. In any case, the noble lords present had no confidence in these troops.

In contrast, the private armies of the nobles of the Black Forest Kingdom were superior in both quantity and quality.

The disparity in strength between extraordinary military units is even more pronounced. In the Black Forest Kingdom, any family that doesn't have hundreds of magical beast cavalry wouldn't dare call itself a high-ranking noble family.

There are also various mage groups, large and small. Their exact strength is unclear, but even the worst mage group is stronger than Hudson's tiny mage group.

Of course, the Alpha Kingdom is not without its advantages. Rapid mobilization is one aspect, but more importantly, 99% of the kingdom's nobles are veterans of battle.

The individual strength of the various armies in the country is generally inferior to that of the Black Forest Kingdom, but these people are all veterans who have just come from the battlefield.

This is the source of Hudson's confidence that, with the city in its defense, the Black Forest Kingdom's limited mobile forces would be unable to take over the two provinces.

If a decisive victory cannot be achieved in the short term, a strategic stalemate will ensue. Once the sheer number of troops is mobilized, the Black Forest Kingdom's advantage of elite soldiers will become less significant.

The Aslant Continent is not peaceful. Humanity's strength cannot be endlessly wasted on civil war. When the time comes, many countries will step in to mediate.

If it weren't for the need for a period of peaceful development to consolidate its foundation, Hudson wouldn't mind going with the flow and fighting a war with the Black Forest Kingdom.

After all, foreign wars can truly divert attention from domestic conflicts. Rather than letting the kingdom's nobles fight amongst themselves, it's better to lead everyone in a war.

Winning or losing isn't important. Based on the current gameplay, expansion in human internal conflicts is mainly about gradual encroachment; no human nation has been wiped out in a single battle yet.

"Marquis Delgado, the Black Forest Kingdom has summoned nobles from all over the land to the Royal Capital for a meeting. This is a sign that war is about to break out."

As the saying goes, "Prevention is better than cure." The kingdom must prepare for war in advance and not be caught off guard by the enemy due to momentary carelessness...

As he finished speaking, Count Martinez realized something was amiss. It seemed there was no precedent for direct surprise attacks in wars between human nations.

However, he remained outwardly calm. Precedents aren't something you can't set.

Before war actually breaks out, no one knows whether the enemy will follow the rules. Predictions about things that haven't happened yet cannot be defined as right or wrong.

Even knowing that his judgment was too subjective, he had to stick to it; this was the way of survival for border nobles.

Anyone in his position would have demanded that the kingdom prepare for war with all its might, so as not to suffer losses if war broke out.

Ideally, a major counter-offensive should be launched as soon as the war breaks out, placing the battlefield within the enemy's borders.

"Count Martinez, things aren't so bad. You're all holding the city, so even if the enemy launches a surprise attack, they'll have a hard time achieving much."

The Hessians weren't that crazy as to risk their nation's reputation for a few castles.

Don't forget, our relationship with the Black Forest Kingdom has only deteriorated in the last year; there is no irreconcilable hatred between us.

Even if they really can't hold back and want to start a war abroad, we can divert the trouble elsewhere.

At worst, we could tacitly allow the Black Forest Kingdom to invade one or two small northern kingdoms; being a fence-sitter would be a perfectly acceptable choice. Since they want to align themselves with the major powers in the central regions, let's just grant their wish.

Upon hearing the words of the Prime Minister Grand Duke Newfoundland, Hudson thought to himself: Good heavens, isn't this a replica of the appeasement policy?

If the Alpha Kingdom continues down this path, it will be inviting disaster. Once the ambitions of the Hessians are unleashed, a full-scale war between the two nations will truly be unavoidable.

Knowing this, Hudson didn't object. What did the fate of a few small northern countries have to do with him?

According to the rules of the Aslant Continent, even if the Black Forest Kingdom were allowed to expand into the Northern Continent, their pace would not be fast.

To successfully annex a country, even the smallest county, requires employing political, military, and diplomatic means, and also faces interference from numerous powerful nations.

If the methods are even slightly excessive, they will be surrounded and beaten so badly that even their own parents wouldn't recognize them.

"The Prime Minister is right. The international situation has changed, and our foreign policy should also change accordingly."

Currently, several major powers in the central region want to advance northward, and given the kingdom's current state, it would be extremely difficult to stop them.

It would be better to make some concessions, sacrifice the interests of those opportunists, and temporarily appease them. This would buy the kingdom enough time to recover.

Marquis Joel's words further clarified the policy of appeasement. Everything stemmed from self-interest; the southeastern provinces faced defense pressures, and the southwestern provinces were no less burdened.

Everyone is busy restoring their strength, and none of the nobles within the kingdom want to start a war at this time.

Count Cales and Count Martinez, who had been making a fuss, have now fallen silent. Clearly, they, too, do not want war with the Black Forest Kingdom at this time.

Given the opportunity to lure the enemy away, who would willingly turn their own territory into a battlefield?

"Marquis Joel, the enemy's ambition cannot be satisfied by a few small gains. The more we indulge them, the greater their ambition will become, and sooner or later they will turn against us."

Perhaps by then our enemies will not just be the Black Forest Kingdom, but multiple kingdoms in the central region ruled by desire.

The best option is to strike now and extinguish the enemy's ambitions with iron and fire, rather than luring them to annex other small countries!

Duke Xilo hurriedly objected.

The pro-war faction collapsed so quickly that they didn't even bother to struggle, forcing him to step forward.

If the appeasement policy is approved, war will certainly not break out anytime soon.

If the Hessians weren't completely brain-dead, they'd know to bully neighboring small countries and eat their meat, instead of coming to fight the formidable Alpha Kingdom to the death.

As the situation developed, all the nobles in the country got what they wanted, but the Northern Nobles suffered a tragedy.

As peacetime progresses, the military advantage that originally belonged to the Northern Nobles will soon be overtaken and erased by others.

Some wealthy nobles might even be able to surpass them militarily by virtue of their immense wealth.

"Duke Xilo, if you can solve the kingdom's financial problems and find a way to bridge the gap in military strength between the two sides, I think this suggestion is very good."

If that's not possible, then I think your suggestion is not feasible at all.

Don't forget, war is all about logistics. With the kingdom's current financial resources, we'll probably run out of money before the war even begins.

This time, the enemy is not an alien race, so don't expect the Human Alliance to cover for us.

If you can guarantee that the Kingdom's military will continue to fight for the Kingdom even if logistical supplies are insufficient, then disregard what I said!

Marquis Delgado's words left Duke Xilo speechless, and the other four dukes were also furious.

The problem of the army's inferior combat effectiveness can be overcome. At worst, veteran soldiers can be used to overwhelm elite troops; with everyone's rich combat experience, victory is not out of the question on the battlefield.

However, the reason of "no money, no supply of strategic materials" is truly an unsolvable problem.

Given the Alpha Kingdom's financial situation, it's already considered a favor from creditors that they don't even have to borrow money or be pressured to pay back debts in advance.

"Count Francis, based on everyone's suggestions, is the Foreign Affairs Department capable of dealing with the Black Forest Kingdom?"

"I am concerned, "Caesar IV asked.