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Chapter 574 - 574 129 Ha Family's Power Scheme_1

574: Chapter 129: Ha Family’s Power Scheme_1 574: Chapter 129: Ha Family’s Power Scheme_1 Canglan City, Jade Palace.

The ongoing war has brought heavy pressure to the Alpha Kingdom.

Though the internal strife has ceased, the military expenditure still remains considerably high.

Being the host is not an easy task, having to provide for the needs of all the auxiliary soldiers sent.

The assistance given by the Human Alliance is less than two-tenths of the actual expenditure.

The millions of troops on the front lines have spent more than half a year on one task – the construction of defense lines.

Due to this, criticism has started to rise within the kingdom.

It’s not that everyone is deliberately being difficult, but the expenditure in the front lines is extremely large, putting a heavy burden on the kingdom’s finances.

Even though a significant amount of funds were raised through the issuance of war bonds, the war has almost consumed it all.

“What does Earl Hudson say?”

Caesar III asks in concern.

Ending the war as soon as possible has become a consensus throughout the kingdom.

But the implementation of it largely depends on the performance of the commander at the front.

“Your Majesty, Earl Hudson believes that the reinforcements gathered at the front are already sufficient to launch an attack on the Orc Empire.

However, the communication in the front is unfavorable, with numerous conflicts among the forces, making coordination work terribly hard.

In particular, the Allied Forces lack a unified command structure; all major forces are maintaining high levels of independence.

It is very difficult to convince all of them simultaneously.

He suggests that the Department of Foreign Affairs strengthens its communication with the Human Alliance Council to form an Allied Command and promote progress in the war!”

Duke Eufeele, Minister of Military Affairs, barely ended his speech before it roused a flurry of discussions among the attendees.

Problems like communication difficulties and inconvenient command are chronic diseases of the Allied Forces.

These issues, unresolvable in previous wars, naturally would not be easily solved now.

Caesar III is also in a tough position.

Marquis James, who’s currently in charge of communication at the front, is his trusted aide whom he personally promoted.

He has been dutiful in his work, but many times, results aren’t borne out of hard work alone.

If major forces won’t comply, he’s powerless.

Caesar III has received numerous letters of grievances over the past half a year.

As the leader, he does not like his subordinates complaining about difficulties, unless the difficulties are insolvable.

Complaining at least shows that they’re making efforts.

If they stop complaining, it would mean they’ve given up.

The fact that commander of the front is expected to solve such historic problems that even past kings of the kingdom failed to resolve is undoubtedly asking too much of him.

The lack of unified command in the Allied Forces essentially lies in political issues.

It is inherently more difficult for the military to maintain consistency when they can’t agree politically to begin with.

“Don’t look at me like that.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has been working tirelessly to coordinate relations with all parties.

For the purpose of having the reinforcements of all parties arrive as soon as possible, we have employed all means at our disposal.

The issue at hand involves military command, which is indeed beyond the capacity of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Even if all parties are willing to put aside differences, we wouldn’t be appointed as commanders of the Allied Forces.

The course of the war could hardly be better if it were directed by a commander whose actions can’t be predicted!”

Count Francis rebuts unhesitatingly.

Diplomacy is not omnipotent, in essence, it is a game of interests.

The core reason for the lack of a unified command system in the Allied Forces is the failure to reach an agreement on interests.

For most human kingdoms, the threat posed by the Orc Empire is too trivial to be taken seriously.

They may offer help out of kindness towards their common race, but if they want command over the army – impossible!

“Your Majesty, what Count Francis said isn’t unreasonable.

Even we ourselves aren’t willing to hand over the command of our army to others, let alone other powers.

It’s better to handle it according to old rules, where all battle plans are discussed and implemented upon agreement by all parties.

If there’re disagreements, they may request the Human Alliance Council for judgment!”

Duke Newfoundland said with a troubled look.

While it’s a bad suggestion, it’s currently the only way to resolve the problem at hand.

How can we expect all parties to fight hard on the battlefield without first convincing them?

“If there are no better options, let’s do it this way!

Keep an eye on Earl Hudson’s end and handle things tactfully.

Young people tend to be impulsive, we can’t risk causing trouble at this critical juncture!”

Caesar III said flatly.

A situation that can’t be controlled is always undesirable for a king.

The fact that it has come to this doesn’t please him.

…

Blood Moon Castle, the human fortress, once fell to the Orcs eighty years ago, has again appeared on the Northern Frontier.

The overall design and layout are similar to that of the old castle, the only difference is that the new and old castles are positioned four to five hundred miles apart.

Hudson, as usual, takes on the role of the supervisor, inspecting the construction site from time to time to prove that he, as the commander, is not freeloading.

“Your Excellency, an urgent message from the capital!”

Hearing the breathless voice of the guards, Hudson frowns.

Recently, the front line has been peaceful.

If it weren’t for the Orcs quieting down, he wouldn’t have the leisure to come to the construction site.

All he has to do is to inspect the line of defense to validate that it’s being built according to plan, although in fact, he’s practically on a sightseeing tour.

In terms of the attention he paid to the quality of the project, Duke Cavadia, the Deputy Commander, was far more committed than the Chief Commander himself, almost as if he lived and breathed the project.

Not only Duke Cavadia, all the nobles of the North showed immense enthusiasm.

If anything was subpar, they would immediately order rework without any hesitation or delay.

Even if the progress is lagging, they would rather have their personal guards help out than compromise the quality of the project.

Impressed by their dedication to the royal affairs, Hudson began to change his prejudice against them.

Perhaps the Northern aristocracy had various issues, but they unquestionably were not merely money-grubbing warlords.

Having looked over the urgent letter, Hudson paused.

He secretly wondered: Had his plan to shift the blame been uncovered?

Up to now, the second batch of reinforcements from the Human Alliance, totalling half a million, had arrived.

Adding to the previous three hundred thousand, the total now stood at eight hundred thousand.

Along with the two hundred thousand from Moxi Duchy, the thirty thousand from the Warhammer Kingdom, and the seven hundred thousand on the front line from the Alpha Kingdom.

More than 1.7 million troops had gathered on the front line of Blood Moon Castle, even with the deduction of six hundred thousand from the Northern Three Kingdoms, there were still one million one hundred thousand elites, enough to launch an all-out counterattack on the Orc Empire.

The delay in action was largely due to the failure of coordination within the Alliance.

Put simply, each significant force was worried about being taken advantage of by others.

Everyone wanted to wait for all the Alliance reinforcements to arrive before jointly launching an attack on the Orc Empire.

Otherwise, the first troops would bear the brunt of the attack, and the later reinforcements could merely pick up the spoils, which would be a great loss to them.

Hudson, who had grasped the crux of the problem, did not rush to solve it but instead passed the trouble on to the Capital.

It was due to his young age.

At his early twenties, it was eye-catching enough to be a Grand Army Commander already.

If he showed too exemplary performance, it would attract too much hatred.

In military affairs, Hudson dared not slack off, so he could only appear a bit slow in handling complex diplomatic relations.

After delegating all communication work to Marquis James, Hudson stopped intervening and let him deal with everything.

As it turned out, Caesar III had a keen eye in selecting personnel.

Under the efforts of Marquis James, there were no significant successes, but there was no blunder either.

This might seem unremarkable but, in fact, it was extraordinary.

As a military leader, his ability to coordinate the relationships among hundreds of forces was absolutely amazing.

But too much of anything is bad.

If he were in the Department of Foreign Affairs, Marquis James would surely excel with these abilities.

However, in the military, it’s different.

Being too affable also made people believe he was insincere and good at flattery.

Especially since his previous position required him to report to Caesar III regularly, he naturally had a mixed reputation in the military.

“Tom, call Marquis James over for a meeting.

Duke, take a look at the urgent letter from the capital,” Hudson said, handing the letter to Duke Cavadia at his side.

A Chief Commander and Deputy Commander should be checks and balances against each other, not necessarily enemies.

Especially dealing with a Chief Commander like Hudson who was adept at delegating authority, it was impossible to hold grudges.

People are pragmatic.

After giving Duke Cavadia the most critical frontline responsibility, only the Rocknard family continued to view Hudson with hostility out of those Northland nobles originally against him.

With hundreds of construction sites underway simultaneously, Duke Cavadia was busy every day and had no time for internal struggles.

The same approach worked for Marquis James as well.

Constantly matching wits with the major forces every day, he was so exhausted that he had no time to worry about internal struggles.

Having leisure time was off the table.

Even if everything was calm on the front lines, Hudson could stir things up, such as planning an occasional joint operation among multiple countries to launch a deep strike against the Orc Empire.

Needing a joint operation among multiple countries, Marquis James, responsible for coordinating relationships, would immediately get busy.

It’s not feasible to be unfamiliar with the situation when dealing with the Orc Empire.

Working pressure on Duke Cavadia would inevitably increase.

There was no way to decline as each had its responsibility.

Tasks assigned by Hudson were all within their duty and could not be avoided.

Everyone was very busy, and the friction and conflict between them seemed to decrease invisibly.

“Based on the letter, Your Excellency, it appears that the capital’s patience has run out and they want to launch a full counterattack.

However, the key issue of command has not yet been resolved.

According to the capital, disagreements are likely in the upcoming battles,” said Duke Cavadia, frowning.

Those closest to the water enjoy the first moon’s reflection.

With the kingdom’s borders moving north, the direct beneficiaries are the northern aristocracy.

They not only have the chance to expand their fiefdoms but also their homelands, transforming from dangerous battlefields into safer internal territories of the kingdom.

Common interests saw the northern nobility gradually shifting from their initial opposition to Hudson into cooperation.

Of course, the goodwill previously earned by promptly dispatching troops without considering personal gains and losses had also played a significant role.

“Let’s discuss it after Marquis James arrives,” Hudson said calmly.

In order to consolidate his authority, he played plenty of tricks.

The most significant change was the transformation of the former high-ranking military officer’s joint meeting into a three-person meeting.

The fewer people attending the meeting, the less conflict of interest involved.

As long as their own interests were not involved, the three could address the issues objectively and fairly.

If anyone dared to deliberately make trouble, challenge their joint authority, they naturally had to face collective repression.