Throne of the North.

Chapter 817 Military and Politics

The Kingdom of Kolan Legion.

This was a noble army that had experienced war. After the war ended, power returned to the kingdom, and the kingdom's legion was eventually formed.

The soldiers inside used to come from various noble territories, but now they belong to the entire kingdom.

The king's power is a symbol of honor for this legion, but as the army is concentrated, the ever-increasing costs have become a problem for the entire kingdom.

First, there's the issue of military expenses. This army of the Kingdom of Kolan requires military expenditures, and the scale of these expenditures is not entirely determined by the Kingdom of Kolan itself.

The Northern Military Council has strong oversight of the military strength of various countries' armies, and a lack of funds will definitely affect the combat effectiveness of the kingdom's army.

Currently, the military expenses of the Kingdom of Kolan's army are covered by the kingdom's tax revenue. The offerings made by the nobles to the king have gradually become a tax on the entire kingdom. However, for the kingdom, this tax revenue is insufficient to fully cover the expenses of the Kingdom of Kolan's army.

The money wasn't simply collected and handed over to the army; it went through a long process involving the king before finally ending up in the army's possession in the king's name. As for how much there was, that remained an unknown each year.

Besides that, there's the equipment the army needs. The Kingdom of Kolan's legion can't be an army made up of a bunch of peasants wearing burlap clothes. They need equipment and weapons, and these things must be standardized. The problem of allocating craftsmen and raw materials also became a problem, because most of these things... are in the hands of the nobles.

Then there's what the army needs most: food.

The king, in his own name, demanded that all the nobles in the kingdom provide enough food for the army, which was tantamount to...another tax.

One problem is not a problem, but when many problems come together, they give the nobles of the Kingdom of Kolan a real headache.

The king and nobles often gathered in the royal city because of these issues.

No one wanted to contribute more, no one wanted to expend their own wealth to support an army that didn't belong to them. In fact, many nobles were unwilling to pay for their own armies.

Most importantly, a nobleman who lives 100 miles from the capital and a nobleman who lives 1,000 miles from the capital, if they have the same rank, will expend the same amount of resources, but the results will not be the same.

The various expenses incurred along the way became a huge problem. After all, if a nobleman in a remote area is at a disadvantage in terms of resource provision, he is destined to only receive a small share of political power, which is unfair to him, since he himself believes that the support he provides is the same.

A kingdom can be a machine, but the problem is that the machine is controlled by humans who weigh their own interests.

The nobles agreed to build roads in order to avoid these problems, but these issues would not be completely resolved simply because the roads were open.

In fact, it has only gotten worse.

For the Kingdom of Kolan, the arrival of the southern noble lord was a timely help.

They brought people, which could compensate for the labor force needed by the noble lords who had lost their people. They also brought food, which relieved the pressure on the nobles, at least until the harvest season this year. They also brought money.

For powerful nobles like the Earl of Kanazawa to hope for the recapture of their territories on the lands of the Kingdom of Coran, they would have to pay a huge sum of money.

This money also eased the conflicts among the nobles within the Kingdom of Kolan.

After all, the military expenses of the Kingdom of Coran's army would all fall on their shoulders, and the noble territories, which were in dire need of reconstruction, would not have so much surplus.

The nobles are squandering their ancestors' inheritance every day. If their ancestors were alive, they would have cursed them to death long ago.

However, even so, it still cannot completely solve the troubles caused by the Kingdom of Kolan's army.

As the saying goes, if you can't increase your wealth by cutting expenses, you can only increase your income.

At the end of the three-day royal banquet, Grand Duke Guelan put forward an idea.

That is to allow the Kingdom of Coran's legions to occupy more advantageous terrain in order to defend against the Abyss Minion army that might emerge from that vast land to the south.

The proposal was approved by Count Kanazawa and another high-ranking nobleman, while the king remained silent, clearly unwilling.

Grand Duke Gelan wanted the legion to extend beyond the kingdom's borders and reach further south, effectively turning the land between the border and Brady Canyon into the kingdom's, or rather, the private property of the Kingdom of Coran's legion.

The original intention behind Grand Duke Guérin's proposal was to solve the problems of food, timber, stone, training camps, and so on that the army needed.

However, it's not that simple. If the Kingdom of Kolan wants to occupy that vast land and take its resources for itself, it will face more than just its own problems.

The nobles of the entire continent of Norris will strongly condemn this, judging from history, honor, and everything else whether the Kingdom of Coran is qualified to occupy that seemingly unclaimed land.

It is entirely believable that after the Kingdom of Kolan does this, countless nobles throughout the world will suddenly discover that their families have the bloodline of a certain surname, and that this certain surname is the rightful heir to a certain land in the south.

They will have a legitimate reason to acquire all the resources of a certain land, and then they will demand that the Kingdom of Kolan return all its wealth to them. Moreover, all the evidence they present will be true and can even withstand the test of divine oaths.

What will happen to the Kingdom of Koran then? Will they refuse to give it to them?

This might be an option, since those nobles are far away and it would be difficult for them to form a coalition to attack the Kingdom of Kolan.

But this will certainly cause the Kingdom of Kolan to lose a lot.

In addition, the powerful nobles in the vast land of over a million square kilometers in the south were also an obstacle. Of the six powerful nobles who came to the Kingdom of Kolan, only Earl Jinze and another noble agreed to Grand Duke Gaelan's proposal. What were the doubts of the other four?

Even though the Kingdom of Koran has now left their territory, the land that has been targeted by the Abyss's servants still belongs to them.

They will eventually return to their loyal territory, at which point the Kingdom of Koran will be far too close to them.

This is not a good thing.

On the continent of Norris, the lands near the Empire had long been dragged into an unknowable future by the war between the Empire and the Papacy, resulting in the destruction of the Kingdom of Carlos and the split of the Kingdom of Andara.

In other words, their lives as local tyrants will become uncertain due to the approach of the Kingdom of Kolan.

Another problem is that the Kingdom of Coran's army is stationed on the high ground north of Brady Canyon, where a joint army of several high-ranking nobles has already gathered, so there will be two armies there.

"What about the command of the army?" At the end of the banquet, it was the Crown Prince of the kingdom who asked this question, his words aimed directly at Grand Duke Gaelan.

"Moreover, the Kingdom of Coran and the territory of the Southern Nobles are not connected by just Brady Canyon. It is only there that the terrain is a canyon with a drop in elevation, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Further east or further west, there is flat and gentle land. Can Your Excellency Grand Duke of Gelan guarantee that the army of the Abyss servants will not appear in the kingdom from those places?"

"If they appear, will the Kingdom of Coran's army have enough time to retreat? At that time, will Earl Jinze and his allied forces also follow the Kingdom of Coran's army to retreat and then give up Brady Canyon? Or are we fully capable of defending a defensive line that is more than two hundred kilometers long? Perhaps even longer."

"Furthermore, any military activities of the Kingdom of Coran that are not for the protection of the Kingdom of Coran's territory need to be discussed by the Northern Military Council. Our actions may affect the defense lines of the northern countries. We cannot accept the situation of facing both the Southern Abyss servants and the disasters occurring in the North at the same time."

“We have already challenged the alliance once, Your Excellency Grand Duke Gelan.”

"Although Baron Ryan will soon be my brother-in-law, I really don't want to see that devilish baron. We all know how terrible things he has done."

"Finally, if the Abyss Servant Army invades the lands of the Kingdom of Coran, should the supreme commander of the Kingdom of Coran's army take into account the Northern Military Council? We can't even be sure if this is a war related to the 'Northern Territory,' can we?"

“Even you, Earl of Kanazawa, if my information is correct, were saved from the war in Brady Canyon by the Armored Bear Legion.”

"Commander Bogeld did not submit this matter, but if the Kingdom of Coran's legions move south, whose will will the Armored Bear Legion accept?"

A series of questions led many nobles to focus their attention on the crown prince, whose sudden appearance caught their eye.

In the corner, the painter Scott quietly depicted a young figure in the center of his painting. He stood tall and proud, facing the scrutiny of hundreds of eyes, as if he were carrying the future of a kingdom.

Grand Duke Gelan describes the internal contradictions within the Kingdom of Coran's army, while the Crown Prince describes the diplomatic conflicts within the Kingdom of Coran's army.

These two issues cannot be reconciled, so the political debate between the two sides is unlikely to yield any results.

The political struggles among the nobility were all the result of compromise and exchange.

So... who will compromise?

"If the Kingdom of Coran's legion can be stationed north of Brady Canyon, we can support the Kingdom's warehouse with 200,000 gold coins, delivered in the form of food, equipment materials, etc."

"Of course, these things may need to be transported from our territory."

"That's not very far."

Earl Jinze gritted his teeth and spoke, offering a bigger bargaining chip. He had been having deep conversations with Grand Duke Gaelan these past two days, and the two sides shared certain interests. The Grand Duke was also on the side of the Kingdom of Coran and would provide them with great assistance, but he would not say so at this banquet.

Therefore, at this moment he is adding chips to Grand Duke Guérin's bargaining power.

"The disputes over that land are very old, some dating back a hundred years, and some even dating back a thousand years to certain noble lands. They are long gone, but during the process of intermarriage, there must have been nobles on the continent of Norris who possessed their bloodline."

"But these problems can all be solved by the invasion of the Abyss. If anyone on the continent of Norris wants to take back this land that 'belongs to them,' then let them send troops to snatch it back from the hands of the Abyss monsters. If they are unwilling, then they are betraying their 'ancestors.'"

Within the Kingdom of Kolan, the majority still support Grand Duke Gelan.

Because many nobles resist change, their hereditary power needs to be continued through ancient and traditional means.

Few people are willing or able to recognize the tide of the new era.

This is especially true for rulers who have everything.

What they can accept is limited.

His Majesty the King remained silent. This king had not grown old, but he had clearly found a more suitable way to deal with Grand Duke Gelan: to stop getting angry.

Moreover, it is clear that the crown prince of the kingdom has been trained to be better and more mature, giving the nobles hope.

As long as the king doesn't speak, any discussion will be fruitless; but once the king speaks, everyone has to listen to what he has to say.

Whether you reject it or not, you have to listen to the whole thing first.

This also shows that the effects of centralized power in the kingdom are becoming apparent. In the past, the palace, including the king, would have been in an uproar.

“What you say makes sense, but I want to know if my army can withstand the invasion of the Abyss’s army.”

"It is clear that we can no longer get support from the Dawn Church."

The king spoke, and the nobles fell silent, while the king's gaze fell on Grand Duke Gelan.

"Grand Duke Gelan is the Minister of War of the Kingdom of Coran. The fighting strength of the Coran Kingdom's army is in your hands. I am very interested to know the answer to this question."

The Grand Duke of Gaelan and his family hold most of the power in the Kingdom of Coran's army. This is a political compromise that the king had no choice but to accept. After all, without the support of the Grand Duke of Gaelan, he would not be able to collect enough funds for the army or resolve the problems within the noble territories where the soldiers' families reside.

The soldiers came from noble territories, and their families were there as well.

Moreover, the other side also has the support of Ryan's Treasury and Baron Ryan in this regard.

"My lord, we have no way of knowing about this matter, after all, your army has not yet started fighting those monsters in the abyss."

Grand Duke Gaelan truthfully stated that the main reason was that Earl Jinze had discussed with him the power of those Abyss servants. Their combat strength was not the weakness displayed by their human-like bodies; beneath their human forms lay the terrifying power of Abyss monsters.

"That means we can't win absolutely, so if war breaks out, we'll need the help of our allies, right?"

The king asked with some dissatisfaction, and Grand Duke Gelan nodded helplessly. As long as the army was involved, there was no way to avoid that damned Baron of the Frozen Territory.

"Therefore, we need the opinions of our allies on this matter."

(End of this chapter)