I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 70 Preparation for War (Part )
"Absolutely impossible. Sugar is an important strategic commodity. I don't have any extra sugar to trade with you. All I can give you is fine snow salt, some beautiful ceramic tableware, and dried tea leaves.

I won't give you any extra goods, but the troops are about to go out, and the boys need sugar."

At the edge of the central square inside the military camp, Chris said impatiently to Isaac beside him.

The latter had been pestering him since he came back last night, and until noon today, Isaac still found an opportunity to talk to Christie about the candy.

Chris is very busy, and he currently has two main tasks.

First, commission the newly built black powder workshop and issue new instructions to the gunpowder workers inside, asking them to speed up the production of black powder while ensuring their own safety.

Second, recruit farmers for the militia and grain transport teams. The militia has already been assembled, and it is not difficult to select the bravest 100 people. The militia captains are very clear about the details of their subordinates.

The difficulty lies in how to organize the farmers in the grain transport team so that they can transport the grain to the front line in an orderly manner.

Connie stepped forward to share some of the pressure on Chris regarding this job, but there were still many things that required him to do personally.

There was no way around it. Connie was also illiterate. If Chris didn't prepare rules and regulations in advance that she could understand and follow, the grain transport team would probably get into more trouble.

Now, apart from the players, there is no educated person under Chris's command, so he has to do many things by himself, which makes him irritated. He starts to think about whether to delegate these clerical tasks to some players who may be interested.

It’s just that Chris’s idea is a bit difficult. Before he comes up with a perfect plan and selects reliable people, he really doesn’t dare to let the players participate in the clerical work.

Even the general manager of the night school was carefully selected by Chris. After conducting a background check, he dared to let the former take the position with confidence.

"Just a little bit, give me a hundred pounds!"

Isaac begged.

“You don’t know, when I found Bopoli with the goods, when he saw the candy, his eyes widened as big as copper bells, and his mouth opened so wide that I could see his little throat.

Later, he even told me that as long as there was candy, I could have anything I wanted, even artillery.”

"He said that?"

Chris raised his eyebrows.

"The Bohemian Empire Army in the El Province is also going to fight? Who will they fight against? Bagnia or Retalia?"

"Sugar, Your Highness Chris, I don't care who they want to fight. If I have sugar, I can get more saltpeter, gold, and food."

"No, really."

Chris sighed. It wasn't that he was unwilling to give the candy to Isaac, but this thing was a strategic item, and he couldn't buy unlimited amounts of it even if he had money on the shopping platform.

To put it bluntly, sugar can be used to make explosives and as medicine. When soldiers' morale is low, distributing sweet food can directly and effectively cheer them up. It is a versatile material in both military and civilian use.

Chris must be out of his mind to sell sugar to the Bohemian Empire at this critical moment. Secondly, if he takes too much of this stuff, no one can tell whether Bopoli will become jealous. The preciousness of sugar in war is beyond imagination. If it can be supplied continuously, others will definitely have some ideas when they know about it, so don't take risks.

In case the black powder runs out, Chris can use the white sugar he has stockpiled to make emergency high-performance gunpowder. Whether it is used as propellant for firearms or made into grenades, it can shine on the battlefield.

Seeing Chris's firm refusal again, Axe sighed.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this. Do you still have the energy now? I'm about to go to war here, and I need your help."

"Who are you going to hit?"

"uncertain."

Chris said, "My only strategic goal now is to capture the fortress at our doorstep. Only by taking it can Beach Town and the surrounding mountains truly become a safe rear base.

As for the longer-term strategic goals, once we capture the fortress, I'll have the opportunity and time to understand the external situation and then slowly formulate them."

"What do you want me to help you with?"

Hearing this, Chris took Isaac's hand and they walked forward a few steps together. Chris then pointed to the hundred or so people in green clothes in the square who were in a mess under the instructor's scolding and could not form a neat line.

Isaac only needed to take one look at these young men and uncles in green military uniforms to know that they were country bumpkins some time ago, and their military appearance was not even comparable to that of the Beach Town militia.

Even though they were wearing the same uniform, they still looked crooked when they gathered together. Once the instructors were not paying attention, they would look around, chat privately, and talk about family matters with their neighbors in the same village. They did not have the aura of professional soldiers at all.

These people were not from Beach Town, but hunters gathered by Chris from three nearby hunting villages.

Chris equipped the hundred or so hunters with iron helmets, green military uniforms, raincoats, relatively light and durable Liberation shoes, and a linen backpack hand-sewn by the women in the town.

The backpack is sturdy and durable, and has a waterproof layer inside, which can effectively prevent rain from seeping in and ensure that the black powder will not get wet as much as possible.

Other miscellaneous items such as kettles, belts, and flints are basically complete. Chris configured them based on the equipment list of modern hikers, which is enough for these hunters to survive in the wild.

In terms of weapons, Chris selected a light flintlock rifle for the hunters. Without a bayonet, it is one meter and three meters long, weighs five kilograms, has a caliber of 12 mm, and has an effective range of about one hundred meters. They have to test it themselves to see how far it can reach.

In terms of melee weapons, in addition to a standard bayonet, Chris also prepared for them a military-quality engineer shovel, which is 70 cm long and has blades on both sides. It can be used to shovel soil, chop wood and enemies, and can be used as a machete.

After being armed in this way, Chris gave the hunters a name... Mountain Hunters.

It is actually better to equip mountain hunters with crossbows because they are used to using bows and arrows. Compared with flintlock rifles, catapult weapons are more accurate and have a good range.

It’s a pity that Chris could make a lot of flintlock rifles, but he couldn’t buy enough crossbows for them.

There are modern pulley bows on the online shopping platform, but the price is too expensive. One or two is not a big deal, but if there are more, Chris’s wallet can’t bear it.

Isaac looked at them for a while and had an idea in his mind on how to lead them to form a fighting force, but before agreeing, he had a request and a question.

"You need me to lead them?"

"Yes."

"What do I want them to do?"

"I don't know. Just do whatever you can to bring me victory."

"Give me three cannons. I've seen those field guns called tiger squat cannons. They're difficult to use for sieges, but they're very suitable for mountain warfare."

"I'll give it to you. There's still some in the armory. I'll write you a note now, and you can take it with you to get it."

"Then I don't have any further requests for now."

The smile on Isaac's face faded, and he looked at Chris solemnly and seriously.

"Your Highness, I will fight for you. I just hope you know what you are doing and haven't forgotten what happened before."

"I know very well that often the only way to eliminate war is to start a war."

(End of this chapter)