Expansion Plan
The Santos tribe was larger, but because it had a fleet of ships to support its transport capacity, it could carry more siege weapons. The territory directly supplied Santos with the remaining three squadrons of Bed Crossbow and two squadrons of Catapult. The Arms Factory also selected an engineering squadron to accompany the Santos tribe to Black Pine Territory to prepare for the construction of siege equipment.
After the deployment time was determined, the Presidium meeting was scheduled to adjourn temporarily, but the garrison commander Marvin, proposed a new motion.
One of the important tasks in the order Victor sent back to the territory was to expand the territory's army.
Victor ordered the territory to immediately begin expanding its army, increasing its strength by 50% on top of the existing force, which would mean adding approximately 3,200 more soldiers to the existing 6,600. Marvin and Ron would jointly be in charge of this task.
Victor has already made a general plan: Marvin's garrison regiment will be officially expanded into the Third Regiment of the Two Rivers Territory. Two detachments of 1,000 men will be drawn from the expanded army to supplement Marvin's command. The Detachment Commander will be appointed by Marvin, and the other officers will be drawn from the existing officers of the garrison regiment. This can be considered as Victor fulfilling his promise to Marvin ahead of schedule, officially taking command of a regiment and continuing to be responsible for the defense of the territory.
Ron then established the First Regiment of the Golden Sunflower Territory, initially forming three understrength detachments of approximately 1,200 men in the Two Rivers Territory. Ron appointed the Detachment Commander and selected some Freemen officers from the original Golden Sunflower Forest from various units to serve as officers in these three detachments. Next spring, Ron will lead these three detachments directly south by ship back to the Golden Sunflower Territory, where they will be combined with the two detachments led by the Second Regiment's deputy Regimental Commander, Foss.
The Second Regiment, which had lost two detachments, was supplemented with the remaining soldiers from the expanded force to form two new detachments, with officers at all levels appointed by Santos.
All of these troops will complete their training before spring begins next April.
After receiving the mission to expand the military, Marvin and Ron began preparing the entire expansion plan. They finally completed a preliminary plan before today's meeting. In order to complete the expansion plan as soon as possible, Marvin and Ron discussed it and decided that Marvin would directly present the plan at the Presidium meeting for review by the Presidium.
Several members of the military's board of directors expressed their support for the plan, but Santos remained cautious. Ron, having worked with Santos for many years, was unconcerned and knew Santos's cautious nature well.
Chief Administrative Officer Powell and Finance Department Secretary Weber were very hesitant about the plan. After everyone had read it, Weber directly raised objections to Marvin.
"Regimental Commander Marvin, isn't your proposal a bit premature? The territory is currently doing everything it can to support the two suppression forces. Can't we wait until their suppression mission is over before proceeding?"
"Director Weber, this suppression mission is to coordinate with the actions of the entire Northern Alliance Army. It may be an armed parade, which will naturally be short-lived and we can wait for it; however, it may also break out into battle. Baron Brown and Viscount Dora are old nobles in the Northlands. Although the strength of Stream Territory and Black Pine Territory is far inferior to that of our Two Rivers Territory, once we are caught up in a two-front war, it will be a very long battle. Moreover, the territories may need to continue to reinforce at that time. It is not advisable not to make advance plans at this time."
Although Weber was a very shrewd man, he was good at finance but not so good at military matters, so he turned to Powell for help.
Powell turned to Santos and asked, "Regimental Commander Santos, how likely is it that Regimental Commander Marvin mentioned a battle is going to break out? We hope you can give us a realistic answer."
Santos shook his head with a wry smile. Powell was indeed shrewd, knowing to choose him as the questioner. Ron and Marvin were jointly in charge of military expansion, so their opinions would definitely be the same as Marvin's. As for Knight Jack, although he was also a member of the Presidium, he would definitely support the military's position on the issue of military expansion. Only Santos himself was the most likely candidate to get a vote.
"I do not deny the possibility of a battle breaking out, but I have reservations about whether this battle will last for a long time. Black Pine Territory has always provided building materials to our territory and is one of the few friendly territories in our Northlands expansion. Through trade, we have also obtained a lot of intelligence about Black Pine Territory. If possible, I would like to ask Minister Orlando, who is attending the meeting, to introduce it to everyone."
No one objected. Orlando, who was sitting to the side, stood up and introduced the intelligence about Black Pine Territory to the presidium, "Black Pine Territory is more than 200 kilometers away from our Two Rivers Territory. The two territories are separated by a large area of wasteland and forest, but the Great Fish River provides great convenience for communication between the two territories. Through trade activities, we have a very thorough understanding of the situation in Black Pine Territory. Black Pine Territory is located on the easternmost side of Durham County, bordering North York County. The territory is surrounded by large areas of forest and mountains, and therefore does not directly border other noble territories. Its location can be described as uniquely advantageous."
Everyone nodded upon hearing this.
"The few Barbarian Tribes surrounding Black Pine Territory have also been largely driven away, especially after they transferred the northern lands to the pioneering nobles. The northern territories have been separated from the steppes by the pioneering territories, and there is basically no longer any threat of war. Therefore, their military strength is very weak. In last year's battle, they joined the First Legion of the Northern Alliance Army but did not achieve any results. Instead, they suffered some losses due to the attack by the Iron Bone Tribe. To this day, the lost troops have not been replenished. As of now, the entire Black Pine Territory should only have about one infantry battalion and one Cavalry battalion, with a total strength of about 1,600 men."
After Orlando finished introducing the troop strength of Black Pine Territory, he stopped speaking and returned to his seat, while Santos continued speaking.
"That's the situation in Black Pine Territory. I have a force of nearly 3,500 men, including five detachments, a fleet, and Logistics Department. We have an absolute advantage in both manpower and equipment. I don't think Viscount Dora of Black Pine Territory would be so unwise as to make an enemy of us."
Upon hearing this, Weber quickly said, "So, Regimental Commander Santos, you believe that the battle won't break out or that even if it does, it will end quickly. In that case, we can wait until the suppression is over before expanding our forces."
Santos shook his head upon hearing this. "That's not the case, Director Weber. I do think the possibility of war is very low, and even if war does break out, it will end quickly. However, considering the actual situation in the territory, the expansion of the army should not be delayed."