"Marshal Oslett, how is the conscription going?" Following Prince Galen Trollbane's speech in the Royal Square of Stromgarde, conscription was immediately announced. To defend the Kingdom of Stromgarde, the mobilized people of Stromgarde actively enlisted to protect their lives and homes.
Marshal Oslett was a marshal of the Kingdom of Stromgarde who rose to prominence alongside Thoras Trollbane. Although his fame was not particularly high, it was he and the old King Thoras Trollbane who forged the Stromgarde militia, an elite force not inferior to Stormwind City's Iron Horse Brotherhood.
He possessed exceptional ability in command and training; unfortunately, because Azeroth was a world of sword and magic where individual personal strength was infinitely magnified, Marshal Oslett's strength was capped at the Ninth-Rank Peak, and his reputation gradually faded away as a result.
Galen Trollbane's proclamation yesterday had similarly inspired the nearly fifty-year-old veteran marshal, whose high spirits now matched those of a robust, middle-aged general. "Your Highness, thanks to your inspiration yesterday, the people are enlisting in droves. Those retired veterans who, like me, once stepped down have returned, and even large numbers of women are eagerly joining up. After my screening to weed out those who are unsuitable, our forces have been restored to a strength of fifty thousand."
"Fifty thousand..." Galen Trollbane stroked his chin in deep thought. This number far exceeded his expectations, because the declining Kingdom of Stromgarde now had a total population of fewer than three hundred thousand left, and the royal capital of Stromgarde held barely over one hundred thousand.
"Very well, Marshal Oslett. I have learned that the force attacking us is not the main army of the fallen prince Arthas Menethil, but a secondary detachment. Combined with the advantages of Thoradin's Wall, I believe we will undoubtedly achieve victory."
Since in the original history, even Galen Trollbane-who was merely at the Ninth-Rank Peak and lacked the blessing of Trol'kalar-could win, though it certainly came at the cost of huge sacrifices, this made him firmly believe that he could definitely win. However, it could not be a pyrrhic victory; it had to be a resounding triumph.
Since he had inherited everything belonging to Galen Trollbane, he was going to revitalize the Kingdom of Stromgarde. Therefore, he had to use a crushing victory against the Scourge to show all factions in the Eastern Kingdoms that the Kingdom of Stromgarde had not declined. Only in this way could he stem the flight of the people of Stromgarde, summon them back home by the way, and welcome the displaced people of Lordaeron, Alterac, and Dalaran.
"That is truly wonderful, Your Highness. As expected, Emperor Thoradin is still looking after his descendants." Neither the most powerful human kingdom of Lordaeron nor the mystical Kingdom of Quel'Thalas had managed to block the attacks of the Scourge. Marshal Oslett had originally intended to go down fighting alongside the Kingdom of Stromgarde, but upon hearing this news, he was immediately revitalized.
"Marshal Oslett, how is our military equipment? Can it satisfy the arming of the new recruits? I certainly do not want my brave citizens to fight the Scourge without the protection of armor." Thirty thousand new recruits undoubtedly needed to be armed with new weapons and equipment. Unarmed men could only be considered laborers; with weapons and equipment, they would truly become militiamen.
Hearing Prince Galen Trollbane's concerned inquiry, Marshal Oslett felt a warmth in his heart. Perhaps a prince who cared this much about the people of Stromgarde might one day surpass the old King Thoras Trollbane.
"Rest assured, Your Highness. After the Second War, although we did not acquire the lands of the Kingdom of Alterac, under the striving of King Thoras Trollbane, we obtained the armaments of the Kingdom of Alterac, which is enough to equip our new recruits." As for the traitorous Kingdom of Alterac, it had been carved up by the tripartite powers of Lordaeron, Stromgarde, and Gilneas. Lordaeron gained the land, Gilneas gained the gold, and Stromgarde gained the stored armaments.
"That is good." With weapons and equipment, they possessed the basic strength to resist the Scourge. The people of Stromgarde were the most martial among the Alliance; the Arathi Highlands had forged their will. It could be said that this place produced the most powerful soldiers in the Alliance, which was why the troops of the Kingdom of Stromgarde called themselves a militia-because any citizen who picked up a weapon and put on armor would become a qualified soldier.
"I have looked over the royal treasury of Stromgarde, and it is in terrible shape. My father, King Thoras Trollbane, caused the finances of the Kingdom of Stromgarde to take a nosedive as early as when he supported the Kingdom of Lordaeron in establishing the Orc internment camps. Supporting Jaina Proudmoore and that shameless Othmar Garithos completely emptied the very last gold coin in the treasury. Marshal Oslett, we need gold to support this war. Even if my people voluntarily become warriors to defend their homeland, we should still pay them the gold they deserve, and we need to forge and purchase more supplies to meet the coming Scourge." Although the old king Thoras Trollbane was hailed as a hero, he had indeed pursued militarism; otherwise, the Kingdom of Stromgarde would not have fallen into such decay, and a series of foolish measures in his middle age had hollowed out the kingdom entirely.
"Your Highness, I am willing to take out all my personal wealth. This was bestowed upon me by the old king in the first place, and I am willing to give everything for the Kingdom of Stromgarde." Marshal Oslett thought Prince Galen Trollbane was asking for his personal help, so he immediately intended to hand over all his possessions.
"No, Marshal Oslett, you misunderstood me." Although Galen Trollbane wanted the help of nobles like Marshal Oslett, he did not want to hollow them out. Instead, he stated his own method: "Marshal Oslett, I intend to levy a war tax, and at the same time I hope every noble can donate to this war-it is naturally best if you take the lead, Marshal Oslett. At the same time, I wish to take out a loan from the goblins of Booty Bay."
Galen Trollbane voiced his plan. Blindly demanding from the nobles would inevitably provoke a backlash. If they could defeat the Scourge, even a pyrrhic victory, then Stromgarde could never be conquered by the Syndicate organization allied with the Stonemaul ogres and the Witherbark Trolls. The rapid fall of Stromgarde and the mass joining of Stromgarde nobles and citizens into the Syndicate were likely caused by the original Galen Trollbane's blind demands and harsh taxation upon the nobility.
Marshal Oslett's talents lay primarily in command and training, but years of rubbing shoulders with the nobility told him that this method was entirely feasible, and he believed both the nobles and the people would accept it. Therefore, he replied, "Your Highness, your method is viable, but those cunning goblins will not easily grant us a loan, and they will definitely want to fleece us dry."
Most races in Azeroth held extreme prejudices against goblins, especially humans. Thus, even though goblin influence pervaded all of Azeroth and included several powerful Trade Princes, the human kingdoms of the Alliance almost never cooperated with them.
"Perhaps, precisely because they are greedy for wealth, they will be more reliable than our hypocritical allies, Marshal Oslett." Galen Trollbane certainly did not hate goblins, and true to his words, money-grubbing goblins were immeasurably better than hypocritical politicians.
"In my treasury, there are still some artifacts left down by Emperor Thoradin. I will use them as collateral to take out a loan from the goblins, and I believe they will certainly agree." As the direct heir of the Arathor Empire, the treasury of the Kingdom of Stromgarde held human heirloom artifacts.
"You cannot! Your Highness, those are our reliance for maintaining the orthodoxy of the Kingdom of Stromgarde." Hearing this, Marshal Oslett immediately tried to dissuade him.
Galen Trollbane raised a hand to signal Marshal Oslett to stop his dissuasion. "Marshal Oslett, our people are far more important than those so-called artifacts. If symbolic artifacts are lost, I can retake them, but once our people are gone, they are lost forever. My mind is made up, and I hope you will not continue to obstruct me."
"This..." Marshal Oslett still found it difficult to accept, but seeing the resolute gaze of Prince Galen Trollbane, he ultimately nodded. Having risen from a commoner background through the military ranks, he identified even more strongly with the young prince before him.
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