Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 620 The final word

"Okay, stop arguing."

Harvey raised his hand and knocked on the armrest of the throne, and the conference hall suddenly became quiet.

He stood up from the throne and walked down the stairs step by step. "I know that many of you are unwilling to see the Kingdom send troops to rescue the Church. You feel that this would be like being used as a pawn."

Upon hearing this, a group of senior military officials from the Ministry of National Defense lowered their heads and remained silent, obviously because what he said hit the nail on the head.

"But we already planned to send troops to the Holy City. So, what difference does it make whether the enemy standing opposite us is the Church... or the Lizardmen?"

Harvey turned his gaze towards Pierce and the others, who were sitting upright, and chuckled sarcastically, "Or... are you more afraid of the powerful and unpredictable alien races than the Church, which has been defeated by us so many times?"

Upon hearing this, Pierce immediately stood up, patting his chest and bowing his head, saying, "Your Majesty, the military has absolutely no such intentions! Whether it's the Church, the Southern Territory nobles, or the Demon Lizardmen, as long as your sword points, we will not be afraid to face any enemy!"

Behind him, Vaughn and other officers also stood up, pounding their chests with fists and saying in unison, "The Northern Army will never fear any enemy. As long as Your Majesty gives the order, any obstacle that stands in our way will be swept away!"

Harvey nodded, waved his hand to seat the newly provoked crowd, and spoke slowly, "In the past, you managed a remote northern frontier for me, and everyone did a great job... Later, we built a brand new city, and everyone from City Hall to the military was determined to move forward. Even today... The United Kingdom has been officially established, and we're facing powerful alien forces from the north, and the situation in the south is also turbulent. Why have you all become so hesitant and stagnant?"

He glanced around at the various tribal leaders seated at the head of the long table, not criticizing anyone by name. "Whether it's the Evil Moon Mountains thousands of miles away, Isengard in the east, or even the frozen wastelands we face directly, these three lines of defense...we planned and proposed them, and those present here are responsible for their implementation."

"Since you have chosen to assist me in governing this country and shoulder the heavy responsibility of preserving the survival of the human race in the southern border, you should understand that with great power comes great responsibility, right?"

"Does the retreat and refusal of some today indicate to me...that some among you are unfit for the position at the heart of the Kingdom's power and unworthy of me entrusting this heavy responsibility to them?"

As soon as these words were spoken, no one present could sit still.

Reiner and Asdalen immediately stood up, touched their chests and apologized, "Your Majesty, please forgive our cowardice and hesitation. The Ministry of State will definitely follow your will!"

The others also stood up and apologized, bowing their heads and saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive us for exceeding our authority just now!"

The longer they followed Harvey, the more the power of the United Kingdom grew, and the officials at the top of power who were united under him became more and more aware of how terrifying the power they held in their hands was.

The rapid growth of the kingdom's strength is naturally inevitable, which will make these high-level leaders' desire for power infinitely expand... When reaching the top of secular royal power, no one will voluntarily choose to step down or be demoted due to poor ability.

Without a doubt... they all knew very well that only by always obeying the Emperor and doing everything according to his will could they keep everything they currently had. Otherwise, the political group that was tightly united in the hall would immediately and ruthlessly squeeze them out of the core of the kingdom.

Seeing everyone calm down, Harvey waved his hand and motioned for them to sit down. "I'm not here to listen to you repeatedly swear allegiance to me. The questions and difficulties you raise are not groundless, but this is no reason to hinder my plan..."

After saying this, he returned to the throne on the stairs and put the meeting back on track - "Sending troops to rescue Goris is imperative!"

"Everyone should understand that in today's meeting, I want each of you to come up with practical solutions to the problems hindering this plan. If you can't do that...ask yourself if you still have the qualifications to sit here and talk to me!"

The two teams of guards standing beside the emperor immediately raised the heavy ceremonial staffs in their hands and slammed them heavily to the ground.

A loud sound like a bell echoed in the hall, and also made the officials below feel a chill in their hearts.

"Pierce Asdalen! I need a combat force totaling 5,000 men, composed of a mixed army corps, an independent artillery regiment, and an independent airship regiment. We need to assemble them within three days and have them ready to go in Wangshan County on the western border of the kingdom. Is that a problem?"

Pierce was startled at once, and quickly stood up and saluted, saying, "No problem! Your Majesty!"

"Reiner Floyd! When will the State Department's military funding and material allocation arrive? Can the logistics allocation arrive at the same time?"

Reiner stood up without hesitation and said, "In the case of an emergency call, when will the troops set out and when will the logistics arrive?"

Harvey nodded, knowing it was normal for supplies to be deployed a little slower than troops. He added, lowering his voice, "Yes, I can give you half a day to make room for maneuver."

He then turned his attention to the two heads of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Construction. "If the current grain reserves in the southwest of the kingdom are insufficient, immediately request a transfer from the Southern Border General Warehouse in Fengyuan City. Temporarily slow down the railway construction and mobilize the workers to assist with water transportation to supply the border!"

Kenny and Haru responded in unison: "As you command, Your Majesty!"

"Chris, the industrial sector must immediately suspend 50% of all civilian and export production plans. All skilled workers must be brought together to focus on weapons and ammunition production. During this special period, additional salaries will be allocated to workers working in three shifts to encourage them to expedite their progress!"

"Very good." Harvey chuckled and turned to look at Ash who was huddled among a group of officials.

"Your Majesty, there's no need to worry about the tone of the propaganda. After the meeting, I'll immediately instruct the writers to hurry up and finish their manuscripts. Tomorrow morning, the entire kingdom will immediately distribute the supplement, telling the people about our glorious deeds of sending troops to the Holy City, proactively rescuing the believers, and resisting the foreign invasion!"

Without waiting for Harvey's nod, the Son of Fire, who had been sitting behind the two legendary chiefs and had been eager to try for several times, finally couldn't help but seize the opportunity, stood up and gave him a somewhat funny and non-standard military salute.

"Um... Your Majesty, will the Independent Aerial Combat Mage Regiment be the main force in this Holy City rescue operation? We... our speed airships and bombing airships... can finally show our strength, right?"

Harvey narrowed his eyes and nodded in response, "Yes, I didn't plan to deploy too many ground troops for this operation. On the one hand, time is of the essence and we can't retreat slowly. On the other hand, the long-range firepower of the magic cannons, combined with the air support of the bombing airships, will be more effective in killing the enemy's active forces."

He paused, then said in a deep voice, "Our ultimate goal is not to retake control of the Holy City for the Church... but to use the newly developed high-yield magical bombs from the military factory to completely destroy the underground tunnel through which the Lizardmen have invaded the southern border, thus closing this gap that is independent of the three defensive lines!"

(End of this chapter)