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Chapter 867 - 867 82 Gathering Supplies_4

867: Chapter 82: Gathering Supplies_4 867: Chapter 82: Gathering Supplies_4 Living off the mountains, living off the waters.

The nobles along the coast have a natural advantage—they can go out to sea to fish.

The sea is rich in aquatic life, scarcely harmed by human activity, making it a rare treasure trove.

By consolidating the strength of the Kingdom, collecting two to three hundred thousand tons of dried fish in a year as a meat supplement for the soldiers is not an unattainable goal.”

While speaking, Hudson had already handed the supplies list to Duke Newfoundland.

The army could be trained by him, but the funds must be arranged by the government.

Although the numbers on the list were large, they were still within everyone’s capabilities.

At one point, Hudson even considered proposing: halt maritime trade and let all warships and merchant ships go out to sea to fish.

Considering the issue of offending people, he simply took a roundabout approach, setting a fishing task directly for everyone.

He didn’t care exactly how they completed the task; after all, in a situation where the Kingdom’s food production was insufficient, dried fish was incorporated into the military ration system.

In the Mountain Domain, where they could meet their own needs, a few thousand tons of dried fish could be stored annually.

There’s no reason other coastal major nobles couldn’t do the same.

Considering the Dalton Family that dominated the southeastern coast, as long as they put in the effort, collecting several tens of thousands of tons of dried fish each year was not a difficult task at all.

Moreover, he also collected seafood; if there wasn’t enough fish, seaweed, shrimp, crabs, and other marine products could also serve as substitutes.

Lacking in grease, these foods might not be tasty.

But in times of war, being able to fill one’s stomach is the greatest fortune.

Ordinary soldiers didn’t have the luxury to be choosy.

Under the circumstances of limited resources, Hudson did his best to supplement the soldiers’ nutritional value.

“Your Marshal, with such a significant gap in supplies, it might be difficult to gather them in a short time.

Especially the coastal provinces, which are also required to provide enormous amounts of fish…”

Without waiting for Duke Newfoundland to refuse, Hudson immediately interrupted: “Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, no matter how difficult it is, we must gather the supplies.

You can’t let the soldiers go to battle on an empty stomach, can you?”

If the coastal provinces have heavier tasks, then reduce their troop recruitment quotas and keep the workforce for fishing.

This task is only temporary.

Notify the nobility in the coastal areas to increase their fishing efforts and store as much dried fish as possible.

If logistical pressures increase in the future, this number might continue to rise.

As compensation, their serf soldiers will be the last ones conscripted by the Kingdom.

If all goes well, they might not need to go to battle at all.

Others bleed at the front lines, so sweating in the back doesn’t seem unfair, does it?”

Just as he was about to say something, the words reached Duke Newfoundland’s lips, but he swallowed them back down.

Not letting soldiers go to battle on an empty stomach was indeed a very sufficient reason.

No matter who took over as chief commander, they had to ensure the soldiers were well-fed.

The requirements Hudson proposed seemed harsh, but in reality, after transporting the supplies to the front line, it was not even enough for ten months of the Kingdom Army’s consumption.

If the battle situation intensified, it might only last half a year.

Considering the supplies stored during the last major war, the target on the list didn’t even reach half of the Kingdom’s previous total supplies.

Being able to support a larger-scale war with so few supplies seemed like a mission impossible.

Further cutting down on the total amount of supplies would make the war unmanageable.

Not preparing supplies in advance and solely relying on gathering during the war could never meet the front-line demands.

The only difference was a slightly higher proportion of meat, mainly fish.

In the Kingdom of Alpha, fish was considered only a semi-meat food, far less prestigious than pork, beef, or mutton due to its lesser fat content.

It was mainly because there wasn’t enough time.

If there had been several years to prepare, Hudson would have definitely had everyone raise poultry.