King
Chapter 530 - 530 101 Seeing Each Other Again_1

530: Chapter 101, Seeing Each Other Again_1 530: Chapter 101, Seeing Each Other Again_1 Without exchanging pleasantries, Earl Laurent got straight to the point.

Hudson was not surprised that the Expeditionary Army was renamed the Southeastern Army.

Since they were back on their homeland with no correlation to the expedition, hanging onto the banner of “Expeditionary Army to Support the Duchy of Moxi” would be inappropriate.

The underlying message of insisting the Southeastern Army swiftly quell the refugee tide and then head north was not trivial.

Though they had finally managed to keep Hudson at bay, they now sent him to the front line, clearly releasing a tiger back into the forest.

If he won a few more victories, Hudson’s influence over the post-war cake distribution would inevitably increase.

With slightly better luck, he could easily become a military big shot; suppressing him would not be a simple task thereafter.

A competent king usually does not participate in the infighting among his subjects.

Even when internal conflicts intensify, Caesar III should have played the role of a mediator.

Making such a decision was like a hard slap in the face to those nobles who originally wanted to suppress Hudson.

If this was interpreted politically, it means: their voice in the court has diminished.

Once this chain reaction starts, the subsequent development of the situation will be out of control.

Those who took action would likely be cursing in frustration.

“Earl Laurent, to what extent has the front-line situation developed?”

Hudson asked with genuine concern.

A pie falling from the sky could kill you.

In this world there are no unprovoked loves or hatreds, unless the situation on the front line was dangerous, there was no reason for Caesar III to risk offending several clans by pushing him to the front.

“Earl Hudson, I believe there has been a misunderstanding.

The situation at the front is still under the kingdom’s control.

The Northern Expeditionary Army is retreating, but without engaging in any major battles with the enemy.

The summoning of the Southeastern Army to head north is mainly due to the Orcs’ sudden shift in attack direction, taking advantage of the kingdom’s military vacuum to launch a sneak attack.

For the safety of the kingdom, you should quickly end the war in the southern part of the kingdom and deploy troops to the north as a precaution.”

After hearing Earl Laurent’s explanation, Hudson secretly rolled his eyes.

The excuse was too perfunctory.

How brainless must the Orc be to continue invading the Alpha Kingdom at this juncture?

Even if they weren’t afraid of being cornered and attacked, they should still consider the Human Alliance’s reaction!

As long as humans have the upper hand on the battlefield, the Human Alliance’s second batch of reinforcements will soon come rushing over.

Having just suffered a crushing defeat and witnessed the strength disparity between both sides, provoking the humans again would obviously signify they’ve tired of living.

If Hudson were in the Orc Emperor’s shoes, he would turtle up and play defensive warfare at this moment.

Fight intermittently, seek no grand victories, just aim to buy time.

Human memory is short.

Dragging on for several days, the determination of the various human forces to annihilate the Orcs would be ground away amidst the prolonged battle.

Get past this hurdle and then worry about the future.

The Continental Hegemon should not be trifled with.

Stirring up trouble and getting personally burned, one must let them vent their grievances.

“Earl Laurent, every move of the Orc Army is being closely monitored by the Kingdom.

It’s nearly impossible for them to make a sneak attack.

The recently recaptured provinces are now blank spaces, ideally serving as a buffer.

With this transitional period, the fortress castles behind us have probably made preparations.

Delaying the pace of the Orc Army should not be a problem.

You can rest assured, once the Southeastern Army has settled the disturbance, we’ll quickly rush to reinforce.

There’s plenty of time!”

Hudson added cooperatively.

Pretending to be dumb and naive, who couldn’t do that?

The kingdom deployed so many defenses in the north, even if the main force was completely deployed, there would still be a large number of serf soldiers left to hold the fort.

With castles blocking their path and the main force of the kingdom’s army returning, only fools would attack the city under such circumstances.

No matter how belligerent the Orcs were, they first had to deal with the Kingdom’s main force before considering besieging the city.

Otherwise, the city wouldn’t be captured, but the rear would be cut off.

Earl Laurent wanted to say something, but then swallowed his words.

The two had crossed Before, so he knew how troublesome Hudson could be.

Once the man in front of him made up his mind, he wouldn’t be able to sway him.

Laurel didn’t think he was qualified to do Hudson’s ideological work.

Offending a powerful nobleman for this task and failing to ensure a successful completion would be a bad deal.

Anyway, he had delivered the message.

Not being able to achieve the goal meant that the king’s prestige wasn’t enough to make the other party give up the benefits at hand.

In fact, Hudson’s actions were even more extraordinary than Laurence had anticipated.

Usurping prisoners of war was just a small, discreet move.

To capture more prisoners of war, the Southeastern Army had crossed the border to quell the civil unrest of its neighbors for free.

This had nothing to do with patriotism, but rather that the Mountain Domain had a considerable demand for prisoners of war.

Hudson wouldn’t keep his private maneuvers within bounds without capturing enough prisoners.

Generally speaking, in such an easy war of suppression, the commander in charge can determine five to seven tenths of the war’s spoils, the rest being distributed by the kingdom.

The specific proportion would be decided according to the actual situation.

Being able to determine so much of the spoils did not mean Hudson could simply pocket it all.

The participating nobles under his command must be given a share.

Those major nobles who come knocking on the door must also be given a part.

These people may not have contributed to the war, but they control the kingdom’s voice.

This wasn’t the end.

If relatives and friends came knocking, they would also have to have a share.

After preparing for all of this, the remainder would be Hudson’s.

Normally, the commander-in-chief wouldn’t exceed a tenth, and, including all members of Hudson’s Koslow clan, they could probably take only one-fifth at most.

The share of the cake couldn’t be increased, but the size of the cake could be changed by Hudson.

Sending troops without payment to help neighboring countries quell rebellions is an act of fearless international spirit, undoubtedly worthy of lavish praise.

Theoretically, there’s nothing wrong with it.

As for the issue of prisoners of war, that’s a matter for the Department of Foreign Affairs.

All could be fully discussed later, once everybody sits together after the war.

Return of prisoners of war will certainly happen, but the final number will depend on everyone’s actions.

Hudson doesn’t care about the subsequent troubles.

Major nobles who want the benefits will naturally strike back at the demands of other countries.

As the largest human nation in the Northern Continent, the Kingdom of Alpha does have some prestige.

A small conflict like this should not be a problem.

Moreover, these neighbors had previously played the kingdom.

Although they had agreed to join forces against the Orcs’ invasion, various excuses arose when the war really broke out.

In a sense, the kingdom was happy to see the Bimon Cavalry stirring up trouble in these small countries.

The longer the conflict lasts, the more time it takes.

The Southeastern Army’s delay in quelling the civil unrest is the main factor.

Unfortunately, this good business deal is destined to be short-lived.

While Hudson was willing to help without compensation, the nobles in other countries were not fools!

Even if it wasn’t figured out in the beginning, when groups of prisoners of war were sent to the Kingdom of Alpha, everyone should have woken up.

Realizing that the Southeastern Army was snatching their population and becoming active in suppressing the rioting people, the nobles of the neighboring countries also became active.

One by one, they no longer cared about borrowing a knife to kill, making a vigorous effort to quell the disturbance in the shortest possible time, not giving the Southeastern Army a chance to intervene.

…

After finishing his public affairs, Hudson once again stepped into Viscount Orlan’s Mansion.

Compared to before, the viscount’s preparedness had become much stricter.

Presumably sensing the instability of the situation and worried about being caught off-guard, they had made advance preparations.

As a relative by marriage, Hudson was half a family member, so he went directly into the inner courtyard.

No one came out to meet him, not because Hudson was unimportant, but because the male head of the house was at the front line, and it was inconvenient for the mistress left at home to show her face.

“Hudson, this way!”

In response to the familiar voice, Hudson looked over in the direction where the voice came from and saw a beautiful figure in front of him.

Standing next to her was a middle-aged noblewoman and a teenager of about ten, watching him from aside.

Haven’t seen her in a year, Hudson was about to reach out and hug his fiancée when he felt something was wrong and hurriedly retracted his hand.

“Lady Nassica, Sir Locke, Hudson greets you!”

He wouldn’t dare to mess around in front of his mother-in-law and brother-in-law.

Hudson wasn’t crazy.

“Hudson, what about me?”

Melissa, who was left out, complained in dissatisfaction.

“To the beautiful and charming Miss Melissa, Hudson greets you!”

Meanwhile, the guard behind him had taken out the pre-prepared gift and handed it to the maid next to him.

“That’s more like it!”

Melissa pouted her lips.

Her cute face always made Hudson want to pinch it.

Unfortunately, the occasion wasn’t right and he had to act politely.

Even though the two were engaged, the formality among the nobles couldn’t be avoided.

“We welcome our hero, Earl Hudson, to visit us.

The entire Hollis family is honored by your arrival!”

Lady Nassica responded with a cheerful return greeting.

Choosing the right promising project, they directly skyrocketed.

For the investor, it is absolutely a matter worth celebrating.

Originally, when this marriage alliance was set, there was quite a bit of negative speculation.

People thought that the Hollis family had truly fallen, to the point of having to find a “promising project” for a high-stakes gamble.

Things quickly turned around.

Before everyone could figure out what happened, Hudson had directly risen to the surface.

The speed of his rise was too fast, so fast that everyone wanted to suppress him but didn’t have enough time to do so.

With the promising project taking off, the Hollis family obviously won this gamble.

They originally only wanted to borrow the combat power of the Earth Bear, but Hudson’s performance was too outstanding.

As the commander of a field army, he was already treated like a provincial governor.

The key is that the Southeastern Army in Hudson’s hands is all veterans from the battlefield, and more than half of them are elites.

In terms of real combat power, it clearly exceeds the military power of a province.

The “Halos of the Famous General” heavyweight effect makes it even more valuable in the eyes of outsiders.

With all the awkward small talk and no meaningful conversation, it’s hard to keep going.

After exchanging pleasantries with Lady Nassica for a while, Hudson decisively chose to communicate privately with Melissa.

Unfortunately, there was an extra tail behind him.

Young Little Locke was like a troublemaker, pestering him with endless questions all the way.

Hudson quickly figured out that this was Lady Nassica’s deliberate arrangement.

She likely hoped that her younger son could form a good relationship with him, and if Hudson could teach him a bit about military strategy, that would be even better.

Of course, it was also possible that he was told to keep an eye on them and not leave any opportunities for Hudson.

However, this didn’t stump him.

In less than the time it takes to make a cup of tea, he got rid of the annoying Locke.

When he was finally able to be alone, Hudson didn’t know what to say, a typical case of lacking romantic genes.

If it wasn’t for the unique charm brought by his strongman status and the traditional arranged marriage, he seriously doubted that he could find a suitable partner.

“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”

Melissa asked, somewhat annoyed.

…