King
Chapter 798 - 798 58 Beast Tide_2

798: Chapter 58, Beast Tide_2 798: Chapter 58, Beast Tide_2 Unfortunately, transporting these products from the Southeastern Province to the Northern Border is not only a long journey, but the tolls alone could bankrupt a person.

If sea routes could be taken, the situation might be better.

Business could be conducted in the coastal cities, but unfortunately, there are only two ports in the north.

One port is located on the great prairie and controlled by the Franterune Kingdom, one of the Prairie Seven Kingdoms; the other is in the hands of Duke Hiro.

Within the entire Southeastern Province, only the Dalton Family is able to conduct business through the ports, but even they are limited to the ports.

To delve further inland for trade is simply impossible.

The two powerful forces that control the ports are looking to monopolize and make a killing.

…

“Count, a decree has arrived from the Capital.”

Tom’s words interrupted Hudson’s family joy.

He turned, handed Little Franz over to Melissa, and began to read the decree.

“What’s wrong, Hudson?

Has something happened again?”

Melissa asked, concerned.

Since the two met, there had hardly been any days of peace.

If they were not at war, they were preparing for one.

Even after the wars ended, a pile of various issues meant no one could find peace.

“Nothing serious!

The Military Department plans to station two legions in the Southeastern Province to guard against Black Forest People’s invasion.

They are seeking my opinion.”

Though he spoke lightly, deep down Hudson was anything but calm.

Guarding against the Black Forest People was the kind of excuse you’d use to fool children, and he did not believe it for a second.

Even if war were to break out immediately, the Black Forest Kingdom would need to clear a path through the Black Stone Mountain Range to invade the Southeastern Province.

With a natural buffer zone, it was already enough time for the Kingdom to mobilize troops and strategize, utterly unnecessary to station two Standing Army legions in the Southeastern Province.

Using such a flimsy excuse, it would be more honest to say: The food prices in the Southeastern Province are cheap, stationing the Standing Army there would allow for local procurement, saving on military expenses.

“Are you going to refuse then?”

Melissa asked curiously.

Having grown up in it, she had a certain political sensitivity.

It seemed like placing two Standing Army legions in the Southeastern Province was nothing serious, but in reality, it was the Central Government reaching into local affairs.

It’s easy to invite the gods but hard to send them away!

Once these two legions had been let in, evicting them would become much harder.

“Their timing is off.

If it had been six months earlier, I would not have minded them coming and stirring the pot.

Unfortunately, now is not the time!

We’ve only just eased tensions with the Dalton Family and established a fragile balance.

If a strong outsider butts in now, that balance will definitely be disrupted.

The Dalton Family has long considered the Southeastern Province as their own backyard, and without a pressing need, they certainly wouldn’t allow anyone to reach their hands in.”

Hudson said helplessly.

Just a moment ago, Caesar IV reminded the domestic Nobles to put aside their prejudices and prepare for war wholeheartedly, and now, the Central Government was looking to intervene in local affairs.

Of course, it wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility that they were truly considering the safety of the Southeastern Province, but the likelihood was just too low.

…

Jade Palace.

“Your Majesty, except for Count Carlos and Count Martins, everyone else has refused to host the Kingdom’s garrisons,” reported Duke Eufeele, Minister of Military Affairs, frowning.

In all honesty, this time the Military Department genuinely aimed to strengthen border defenses and simultaneously reduce military spending.

Compared to the south’s major grain-producing provinces, the Capital, which relied on imported grain, had prices that were a full seventy to eighty percent higher.

The large concentration of troops near the Capital was a burden for the Kingdom.

With a limited military budget, the Military Department had to think of ways to cut costs.

Yet despite their good intentions, they weren’t understood at all.

Apart from Kowalski Province and Oberon Province, which were terrified of the Black Forest People, the other southern provinces had not given any credence to the plan.

“Enough, let them be!

They have chosen their path, and they must bear the consequences.

Should war break out in the future, it will be their time to weep,” Caesar IV said, annoyed.

The local Nobles worried that he, the King, would use the garrisons to interfere with local issues, but in truth, he had been quite restrained.

In a large province like the Southeastern Province, hosting only two legions would at most earn some say, with no chance of wrestling control over local decision-making.

Unfortunately, his word wouldn’t be easily trusted.

After all, as a King, his political reputation had yet to be established.

“Your Majesty, the garrisoning is but a minor issue.

They can choose to refuse because they have the strength to do so.

Compared to the Major Nobles in the north, the Major Nobles of the south are more adept at concealing their power.

In every war, they appear to exert their full might, but no one really knows how much they hold back.

Take the Flowing Wind Family for example.

Everyone thought that after their armies were decimated, the severely weakened Flowing Wind Family would struggle to recover, yet they still managed to retain most of their influence.

Had the political impact not been so severe, requiring them to give an account to everyone, Duke Liufeng might not even have relinquished the Governor’s position.

Nominally, they have declined to Intermediate Aristocracy, but the comprehensive strength in their hands is still the top Clan in Fengyun Province.

The situation with the Dalton Family is similar.

It was originally thought that post-war, the Koslow Family would challenge them, but nothing of the sort happened.

With the skill of Earl Hudson, his choice to remain silent is sufficient proof of the Dalton Family’s formidable strength.

Nominally, these Major Nobles of the Southern Frontier have military strength far inferior to the Clans of the Northern Border, but the actual disparity may not be as great as we imagine.”