Before the Kings opinion arrived, the two major factions of Northwest Bay couldnt wait to make their move.
Fort Bidou, one of the vassal territories of the Kent family, was situated between the lands of Count Malkan and Viscount Johnston, making it a thorn in the side of the anti-Kent alliance. Thus, as soon as the two sides officially fell out, the Malkan and Johnston families imdiately mobilized their troops to besiege Fort Bidou.
However, the defenses of Fort Bidou were incredibly robust. Surprisingly, the two families couldnt breach them easily. According to the intelligence gathered, the Kent family had rapidly assembled reinforcents and were rushing towards the fort.
Count Parker imdiately wrote letters to the other lords in the alliance, urging them to join forces at Fort Bidou to support the Malkan and Johnston families.
The lord of Fort Bidou is related by marriage to the Kent family. Marltz Kent will surely deploy significant forces to lift the siege, and our intelligence confirms this. We must seize this opportunity to engage them in a decisive battle at Fort Bidou to annihilate a large portion of their forces in one fell swoop This will be advantageous for us in controlling the situation henceforth
Chief Secretary Bernard stood, holding a letter in his hands, reading its contents in a clear voice. Seated opposite him was Paul Grayman.
The strategic location of this region is crucial. If it remains in the hands of the Kent family, they could use it as a springboard to invade the lands between Fort Bidou and the coastline of the bay, cutting us into separate parts.
Hearing this, Pauls brow furrowed.
Continuing, the Chief Secretary read, Given the known size of the enemy forces, I request the Grayman and Ganard families to imdiately dispatch at least 1,000 soldiers to Fort Bidou, to join forces with other families and defeat the enemy in one stroke.
May God bless us! Thats the end of the letter, Lord. Its signed by Count Price Parker, and it seems to be written by him personally. Would you like to review it yourself?
Paul rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. No need, Bernard, just put the letter away for now.
He didnt like this feeling, as if being led by the nose. But since Count Parker was the organizer of the entire alliance, his requests had to be considered carefully.
Sighing, Paul thought it best to return to Lakeheart Town as soon as possible to discuss the situation with his military leaders.
Paul was currently sitting in a room at the office building of Port Frans harbor. His visit was for inspecting a fleet equipped with new full-sail rchant ships.
After establishing a solid cooperation with the Foster family of Horn Bay, several batches of shipwrights had been sent by the Foster family, significantly enhancing the production capacity of the shipyard. It was no longer the small facility that could only manage minor repairs and build a few small sailing ships.
With the shipwrights working overti and the Navys concession, the shipyard had managed to build four larger rchant ships in the past few months. These ships, designed for cargo transport, were larger, with greater cargo capacity, and featured two masts with sails unlike the previous all-longitudinal sail design. The main mast carried a square sail.
Out of these four transport rchant ships, two were kept by Paul for personal use, and the other two were sold to Mr. Bennett Todd, a ship rchant.
Today was the day the four ships were set to embark on their maiden voyages. Pauls ships, loaded with porcelain and printed books, were headed to Horn Bay, while Mr. Todds ships, carrying canned goods and salt, were bound for the southern port closest to the Crystal Shine capital. They had chosen the sa day for their respective inaugural long voyages.
Bernard pulled out his pocket watch and reminded Paul, Lord Count, the rchant ships are about to depart. Should we?
Yes, lets head there imdiately.
From the window of the harbor office building, Paul could already see the dense crowd gathered at the dock to see off the ships.
Upon the lords arrival, the crowd quickly made way. Paul, slightly excited, approached the rchant ships still moored at the dock. With these ships, the long-awaited overseas trade could finally comnce.
Navy Commander Austin and ship rchant Bennett Todd were already waiting at the dockside for him.
Mr. Todd bowed first, saying, Honorable Lord, these rchant ships you have created are truly fascinating! Thank you, they are exactly what a ship rchant like needs.
After the new year, the Administration Council sent a business delegation to the capital, consisting of rchants from Alda and Bayldingnaturally, all had previous collaborations with the Lords Mansion.
During their trip to the capital, the rchants spared no effort in promoting their factory products to the elite of Crystal Shine. After much effort, canned goods and salt garnered the most orders. With the royal army soon heading south to suppress rebellion, canned food, being convenient, long-lasting, and palatable, naturally beca the top choice for military supplies.
Bennett Todds two rchant ships, anwhile, were entrusted by other rchants to transport goods southward by sea.
Paul waved his hand modestly, Not at all, I rely provided the idea. The ships before us were painstakingly crafted by the shipyard workers. You should thank them.
Mr. Todd nodded repeatedly, aware of the Counts unusual concern for the lower-class laborers.
A simple ceremony was held at the dock to bid farewell to the four rchant ships. Paul reiterated the importance of overseas trade and the Administration Councils strong support for comrcial and industrial activities in his speech.
After the ceremony, the four rchant ships, amid farewells, set sail from Port Fran, slowly heading towards the distant horizon.
Leaving the dock, Paul walked with Austin, discussing the newly established seaman school. Eventually, Austin asked quietly, Lord Grayman, will our navy have a chance to perform in the upcoming war?
After so thought, Paul realized that while the Kent familys territories were mostly inland, the navy still had roles to play, such as deploying sailors as infantry, similar to the Russian tactics.
Austin, we might face a shortage of troops in the short term. You could organize the fleet to patrol the Weiss River continuously. Upon receiving distress signals from nearby land, imdiately dispatch sailors to provide support. So, train your n in firearms usage.
With the current army unable to tightly control the borders, deploying troops to support Count Parker would exacerbate the situation. Paul needed a relatively mobile force to address ergencies.
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