Imperial Elite

Chapter 101 The Unforgotten Victory

This southward march could almost be considered the easiest operation of Joe's military career.

There were no machine guns, trenches, barbed wire, bombs, artillery fire, or Molotov cocktails.

For these soldiers who had recently experienced a major battle, the operation was as simple as conducting an armed parade.

Before ordering his march south, Joe announced that, given the situation following the commencement of land allocation by the United Agricultural Corporation, he would impose military control over the twenty-six counties where riots had broken out.

Joe made this decision based on principles.

During the press conference, Joe stated that he firmly supports the independence and autonomy of the people of Emerald Island and advocates that everyone should live with dignity.

But things have taken a different turn, with people attacking, killing, and hating each other, which Joe cannot agree to.

Therefore, Joe will now send troops to the areas where riots have occurred to collect weapons and restore order, and anyone who voluntarily lays down their weapons will be guaranteed safety.

What happened during the riots will be handled by the courts after the riots are quelled; the military will not be involved in the judicial process for this incident.

At the same time, the powers of all previously elected members of parliament, managers of United Agriculture Corporation, and regional leaders will be protected, and everyone should work together to end the riots and restore peace and stability.

After making this declaration, the people warmly welcomed Joe's army wherever they went.

Regarding this 180-degree turn in the minds of the people who, just a few months ago, were clamoring for war against the Bonitania Empire, Joe felt that in addition to economic reasons, there must have been some psychological factors involved as well.

After all, Britannia is notoriously bad. Given Britannia's reputation, not only the people of Emerald Isle, but even Joe himself was a firsthand witness to it.

But when such a bad person suddenly stands up and does good deeds, what do you call that? You call it "laying down the butcher's knife and becoming a Buddha on the spot," or "a prodigal son returning home is more precious than gold."

Of course, if we use the term "otherworld psychology" to describe it, it would be somewhat related to Stockholm syndrome, if we were to elaborate on that.

The series of actions taken by United Agriculture Corporation after its establishment can be considered as a large-scale group BDSM operation by Joe against the people of Emerald Isle.

So far, the operation can be considered a success. Qiao's troops heading south encountered almost no organized resistance. In many areas, with the intervention of the troops, the two sides, who had been fighting tooth and nail, were finally willing to stop and talk about what to do next.

Of course, some people were willing to talk, while others wanted to resolve the issue completely before Joe's troops arrived, or perhaps they remembered that they were hardliners who originally wanted to secede from Bonitania.

However, after this brutal conflict, their numbers dwindled, and these sporadic resistances could not slow down Joe's southward advance. Meanwhile, the Emerald Isles people, who had just experienced what was almost a civil war, were practically numb to such small-scale conflicts.

It appears that Joe's troops are conducting a military operation akin to an armed parade, having occupied most of the towns with virtually no resistance and beginning to restore order to these places.

In fact, as Joe's troops continued to advance south, Joe's commando team and Lucia's guard were constantly in a state of extreme busyness.

Although Joe said he would protect the rights of the congressmen and those in charge of United Agriculture from being violated, and that he would guarantee the safety of those who laid down their weapons.

However, Joe did not promise to guarantee the safety of the former, and for the latter, Joe's guarantee of their safety was conditional on them laying down their weapons in front of Joe's troops. Since Joe's troops had not yet arrived, he could not guarantee their safety.

So while the troops were marching south, a large-scale assassination campaign targeting independence politicians and key figures began to unfold in the south.

Due to the chaos of the previous phase, these people, regardless of their motives, no longer hesitated to show their political leanings in order to build up their own factions, and used their influence to either form a group or join a team and start cheering for the commander of that unit.

If Joe doesn't intervene, after the winner of this PUBG tournament is determined, Joe will face a team that has achieved unity in organization, ideology, and economy.

But now, under the observation of intelligence agents who disguised themselves as money-grubbing smugglers, these people have been exposed.

Then Joe had nothing more to say and simply sent the assault teams one by one.

The reason it wasn't convenient to take action before was because doing so to these congressmen would have extremely negative political consequences. But given the current situation, no one would suspect that Joe was behind it all; they would only lament that these guys were unlucky and couldn't hold out until the end.

Even if one suspects that Joe played a dishonorable role in this matter, one would only assume that Joe deliberately delayed the march.

Now that the situation has escalated into a battle royale on Emerald Island, those who previously sought refuge in the restricted area are unwilling to return to their homes when Joe heads south. Instead, they hope Joe will allow them to travel north or leave Emerald Island, which speaks volumes about the intensity of the conflict.

At this intensity, it wouldn't be surprising if a few more people died.

Just as it was natural for Joe to not allow these refugees to stay in the North, but instead give them tickets to NATO member states that were short of manpower due to large-scale mining development, and for these refugees to accept them with gratitude.

In fact, in order to give the commando team enough time to operate, Qiao's southward movement could be described as slow.

Upon arriving at each location, the troops would begin confiscating weapons, then dismantle or fill in the fortifications built during the conflict, and then declare curfews and martial law.

Of course, this does not solve the most fundamental problem, which is the issue of land allocation by the United Agriculture Corporation.

However, Joe never intended to solve this problem by redividing the land.

After all, if that were done, and there were no more conflicts among these people, things would just go back to the old path where everyone opposed Bonitania.

Therefore, Joe decided to use the simplest way to solve the problem: let the economy solve the economic problem.

The land is now divided into several blocks for operation, and the people in these blocks have objections to the allocation, which led to this incident.

Let's put aside our disputes and work together. For example, if A wants to use a river in B's area for grazing, but B doesn't want to share its resources with A, then let A and B explain how much production they can achieve after acquiring the river.

Then the party that sets a sufficiently high target will be granted the right to use the service for one year. If they can meet the production target, they will be granted the right to use the service for two years. Only after the third year can the other party launch another challenge.

If the target is not met in the first year, the right to use the product for the next two years will belong to the other party. If the other party is able to meet the production target in the next two years, the right to use the product will be extended for another year.

In short, whoever meets the production targets will acquire the disputed lands, and if they are particularly assertive, they could theoretically acquire all the farmland on Emerald Isle, thus becoming the new landowners.

However, to prevent this from happening, Joe had already devised a way to limit such situations: by introducing into the United Agricultural Company a seniority-based employment system that had been widely used in the last century by certain people who were doing well.

The salaries and positions of United Agriculture employees are determined primarily by their age and years of service with the company, rather than solely by their individual abilities or job performance.

In the first year of joining a regional company, you can only cultivate a small plot of land. However, if you cultivate the same area for ten years, you can cultivate a large plot of land and even qualify to be elected as a regional manager.

However, if you want to be transferred to another region, then I'm sorry, all your previous ten years of experience will be wiped clean, and you'll have to start all over again from a small area.

Of course, given how difficult promotions are, United Agriculture employees also have a basic guarantee: lifetime employment.

As long as you don't break the law or become so disliked that more than 80% of the people in the same area agree to fire and expel you, United Agriculture will not fire you no matter what happens, even if you become disabled, ensuring that you at least have food to eat.

Simply put, although Joe's system encouraged competition between regions, the real skill was surviving and staying long within a region.

In this way, even if managers in certain regions become too assertive, they can only climb the ranks through elections and cannot expand their regions without restraint to the point of effectively swallowing up other regions.

After all, if you only acquire land but don't hire people, it's hard to keep up with production. And once the seniority system is in place, not many sane people will be willing to leave their original region and start all over again.

The moment the patch Joe made for the United Agriculture Company during his southward journey was announced, the people of Emerald Isle exclaimed that Britannia had produced a saint!

After all, before this, the only system that came close to a lifetime employment model was slavery.

For capitalists who can now dismiss sick or injured employees without any psychological burden, without paying a penny in compensation, and even win lawsuits despite the scorn of the entire nation, hiring an employee for life is as unbelievable as the Son of God pulling the nails off the cross and walking down on his own.

For the people of Emerald Isle, who were mentally prepared for violent confrontation before Joe's arrival, Joe brought not only no death or slaughter, but also a system of lifelong employment. There is no other explanation for this except that a saint suddenly appeared in Bonitania.

Although Joe's so-called "lifetime employment" does not involve many other benefits, at most it allows a family to be the smallest unit of land contracting, and children to continue to cultivate the land allocated to their elders until the elders in the family pass away.

But there's no need to worry about the landlord suddenly driving them off the land, and most of the harvest from the land belongs to them, which is enough for the people of Emerald Isle.

However, even though Qiao Nanxia's speed was so slow, the assault team's movement speed still couldn't keep up with his speed due to insufficient manpower.

Even after Joe announced his "lifetime employment" plan, many villages in the south began to send people to Joe's troops, expressing their hope that his troops would come over as soon as possible, as they were prepared to be placed under military control.

Faced with this situation, even the battle-hardened Joe could only say that he had never seen anything like it before.

Then they started finding a million reasons to delay their southward journey.

After all, this is the only chance to purge the separatists. If too few are killed this time, who knows what trouble might arise later?

Therefore, in order to avoid having to make the trip again in the future, Joe maintained his usual southward pace, insisting that the troops continue to advance south only after completely restoring order to an area.

Try to give the commando team enough time to operate.

Of course, while watching Elena, who was almost exhausted from the constant action, Joe was also thinking about something.

Since we've already developed armored assault and special operations, shouldn't we also develop supporting helicopters?
Without helicopters to support the assault team and armored forces, General Qiao felt his mission was incomplete.

After all, in the final stages of the war, the Teutons had already brought out super-heavy tanks.

Moreover, in Russia, which is currently in a civil war, although the number of tanks is insufficient, things like armored trains and horse-drawn machine gun convoys are already running everywhere.

Joe couldn't imagine the extent to which the military government and the left-wing government would clash in military technology after the end of the Lucian Civil War, if they could coexist.

If he didn't find a way to get some anti-armor gadgets in his own hands first, President Qiao wouldn't feel at ease. He was always worried that someone would suddenly pull out some strange armored contraption from their crotch and give him a big surprise.

And even if developing helicopters is a bit too difficult now, could we develop some transport planes or something to slightly advance the airborne technology tree?
After all, if there were helicopters, the commandos carrying out the assassination would have a much easier time.

Kick down two doors in one night, no problem at all!
Although he had ideas in mind, Joe's current focus was still on resolving the Emerald Isle issue.

After all, Joe had a lot on his mind. From making sure there were no winners in Lucia's civil war, to figuring out how to make a few hundred million dollars and enjoy himself, to wondering if he could have something happen with Diane and the others. Although he had played all sorts of games, Joe had never experienced anything this exciting.

Some things can't be done just by having an idea.

Therefore, in order to buy the commando team enough time to complete the mission, Joe showed great strategic resolve when faced with southern villagers who came to him pleading, "Please, General, hurry up and head south!" and even Sinn Féin members of parliament.

To these people, Joe said, "I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush. You have to eat bread one bite at a time and plant wheat one seed at a time. What if I go south too fast and cause some problems to be left unresolved, and the same thing happens again?"
So everyone, please don't rush, please don't rush. You can't catch up on hot patches if you're impatient.

Then, just as Joe was frantically trying to talk his way out of these village representatives and councilors, he received news that the People's Revolutionary Alliance had held firm.

After the Battle of Tsaritsyn, the Russian military government began to advance northward. Although they encountered resistance along the way, it was mostly small groups of left-wing troops and guerrillas harassing them.

According to the military government's commander, this was nothing more than a louse biting the giants, annoying but not at all deadly, and would do nothing to change the course of the battle except slow down their advance.

This led the military government to divide its main force, the Third Army. The First Army, consisting of six infantry divisions from the 7th and 8th Infantry Corps, a heavy artillery brigade, and the 11th and 12th Cavalry Divisions, advanced towards Ryazan. Meanwhile, the Second Army, consisting of five infantry divisions from the 9th and 10th Infantry Corps and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Cavalry Divisions, turned towards Bryansk, intending to cut off Minsk's connection with Kiev and Moscow in preparation for the brutal urban warfare to come.

There was nothing wrong with this arrangement in the first place. After all, for a large city like Moscow, if you don't cut off external aid first, you might not be able to take it even if you fight for a year.

Because of the losses suffered by the People's Revolutionary Alliance in the Battle of Tsaritsyn, the military government felt that dividing its forces now should not be a big problem, as such huge losses are not so easy to replenish.

However, they clearly underestimated the mobilization capacity of the People's Revolutionary Alliance. While those guerrillas and small units were risking their lives to buy time, the left-wing government once again launched a large-scale mobilization.

As workers in St. Petersburg and Moscow took up arms to prepare for the armed defense of the regime, the People's Revolutionary Union temporarily made up for the losses in the Battle of Tsaritsyn.

Meanwhile, although Constantine's tank force was almost completely wiped out in the Battle of Tsaritsyn, the Teutonic branch of the People's Revolutionary Union, which had outlasted the Polish Germans in Upper Silesia and was now exchanging views with the right-wing government, still provided Moscow with a considerable number of vehicles to support the Eastern front.

These vehicles were then fitted with armor and machine guns and handed over to Constantine to rebuild the armored forces.

Meanwhile, the cavalry's horse-drawn machine guns will also provide support for Constantine. Constantine's mission this time is only one: to deliver a powerful blow to the military government from the flank while it attacks Ryazan.

When Constantine launches a fierce attack on the military government from the flank, the People's Revolutionary Alliance's forces will also begin a full-scale counterattack to try to annihilate this force. This is the People's Revolutionary Alliance's last large-scale offensive; failure means certain death.

Because the military government was completely unprepared for the People's Revolutionary Alliance to launch such a large-scale counterattack, it was at a disadvantage from the very beginning of the battle.

However, for the military government, things were not yet hopeless, because another force heading towards Bryansk had not gone too far. As long as this force could arrive in time, they could still turn the tide of the battle.

The military government troops knew about this, as did the troops of the People's Revolutionary Alliance.

Thus, in Mkhonsk, the military government's Second Army Corps encountered resistance from a People's Revolutionary Union naval infantry battalion.

In an effort to capture the small town, the military government's Second Army Corps, numbering 80,000 men, launched repeated attacks on the town, which was defended by only 400 naval infantrymen.

Due to the annihilation of the First Army Corps, the People's Revolutionary Alliance government committed all its troops to Ryazan. From the start of the battle, this naval infantry battalion knew that they would not receive support or be allowed to retreat. They could not win, and the only fate awaiting them was to die here.

For ordinary troops, morale would probably have collapsed long ago in the face of such a desperate situation, but for this unit that had once held out for thirty days and nights on that small hill in St. Petersburg that had swallowed countless lives, this was just another cruel game with death.

From the advance troops of the military government's Second Army Corps launching a probing attack, to the Second Army Corps commander's furious organization of an officer commando team to attack and capture the small town that had already been reduced to ruins by shelling.

This naval infantry battalion held out in the small town for 37 hours; no one surrendered, no one fled, and no one evacuated.

Faced with these naval infantrymen who held out to the last man, although in this civil war the military government's attitude towards prisoners of the People's Revolutionary Alliance was basically to execute them on the spot, and even hang their bodies on trees to make everyone understand that this was the fate of those who defected to the leftist plague.

However, contrary to his usual practice, the commander of the Second Army Corps ordered that the bodies of the naval infantrymen they could find be buried outside the city next to the church that had been destroyed in the shelling, leaving behind a tree stump inscribed with "Here lies a group of warriors."

While this naval infantry battalion was fighting a bloody battle in this small town, the main force of the People's Revolutionary Alliance also defeated the military government's First Army Corps in Ryazan.

Although the armored vehicles were not well adapted to the poor road conditions in Russia, the main force of the People's Revolutionary Alliance was unable to encircle the military government's First Army Corps.

However, when the First Legion was in retreat, the main force of Lucia still inflicted heavy casualties on the First Legion.

With the First Army Corps now collapsed, the Second Army Corps was left isolated and had to retreat.

However, because the Second Army Corps rushed too far eastward and the First Army Corps collapsed too quickly, the Second Army Corps was blocked outside Voronezh by the main force of the People's Revolutionary Alliance.

In this battle, apart from a few units that successfully broke through and escaped to the south, most of the Second Army Corps was annihilated on this land.

With its main force severely damaged, the military government had no choice but to begin retreating southward, preparing to establish a defensive line in the area from Odessa to Tsaritsyn, in order to at least hold the Caucasus region.

This battle, which was almost a complete reversal of fortune, was incomprehensible not only to the gentlemen of London, but even to Joe.

In the Battle of Tsaritsyn, the military government had already defeated the main force of the People's Revolutionary Union, so how could they have suffered such a complete defeat in Ryazan, allowing the People's Revolutionary Union to stage a Ryazan miracle?

Even if there were 100,000 pigs, the People's Revolutionary Alliance couldn't catch them all in three days. How the hell did they lose?!
Even though Joe halted support for the military government out of consideration for offshore balancing, he estimated that the previous aid provided to the military government was enough for the military government to capture Moscow.

At that time, although the military government had Moscow and Constantinople, the People's Revolutionary Union had the traditionally rich and advanced lands of western Russia. Wouldn't it be wonderful for the East and West to stand in opposition?

But now that the military government has suffered a crushing defeat and retreated to the southern Caucasus region, leaving the east to the People's Revolutionary Alliance, this is truly terrifying.

Although the forces further east currently mainly support the military government, there are not many traditional Luscan nobles in that poor region. As soon as the People's Revolutionary Alliance launches an attack there, the people there will soon realize who they should support.

If the People's Revolutionary Alliance were to acquire such a vast territory, the situation would be far from optimistic.

So... how the hell did the military government, which received so much aid, lose?!
Their accounts must be checked!

In fact, even without Joe's suggestion, London, which was puzzled by the military government's disastrous defeat in Ryazan, also conducted a secret investigation into the supplies provided to the military government.

Then the gentlemen of London realized that this military government truly lived up to its reputation as the successor to the Russian Empire, at least in terms of corruption, these people had perfectly inherited the traditions of the Russian Empire.

Since there are no longer royal spies monitoring them, and since the founding of the nation, the Lucia military government has focused its main efforts on military affairs.

Therefore, this Lushan army, which was already known for its extortion, plundering, and lax discipline, became corrupt as quickly as sugar thrown into boiling water after entering the wealthy Balkans, and soon became one with corruption.

Apart from some heavy equipment and military supplies that they would need immediately, the aid that Bunitania gave them would appear on the black market in Constantinople the very next day.

The families of those officers also felt that the officers had worked so hard for so long, shouldn't they be allowed to enjoy themselves?
In Constantinople, the families of nobles and officers indulged in endless banquets and balls.

It's one thing for nobles to indulge in some luxury, after all, they've been doing it for the past few hundred years, and everyone's gotten used to it.

But these guys weren't even prepared with an army.

After occupying Constantinople and seizing the Balkans, a large number of Lucias, yearning for honor and redemption, joined the military government's forces, thanks to their brilliant achievements.

However, the military government's attitude towards these soldiers who brought their own rations was, "Holy warriors, you dare to challenge us? Start as lowly livestock first; everyone started this way."

Because Russia's economy had already collapsed by the end of the war, even with the occupation of the Balkans and the support of countries like Buntania, maintaining a large army was an extremely difficult task.

In addition, the families of the military government wanted to enjoy themselves, so apart from the earliest elite troops, the newly formed troops did not receive good treatment or equipment. They were only holding on because the military government believed that Constantinople was the legitimate capital of Russia.

Upon seeing this report, the gentlemen of London were furious. We provided you with support to help you contain the left-wing threat, not for you to indulge in luxury.

Others might pluck the feathers from the goose that's being helped, but you go and take all the feathers while leaving the goose behind?!

Even we haven't done that!

All aid is suspended unless the Lucia military government can improve the appalling corruption within its ranks and truly use military aid for military purposes. Otherwise, Buntania will not spend a single penny more!

In response to Buntania's statement, the Lucian military government initially claimed that there was no corruption problem, that these were normal social gatherings, and that the money spent was all from the treasuries of Constantinople and the Balkans. They asserted that the Lucian military government was the most honest government in the world.

Then, when the People's Revolutionary Alliance's troops launched the Second Battle of Tsaritsyn, they discovered that the artillery that should have been in the Tsaritsyn city defenses and the armored trains that should have been modified in the railway station had all disappeared.

The Lucia military government panicked and had to admit that it did have corruption problems. It expressed its willingness to allow a delegation from Bunitania to oversee the use of aid, hoping that Bunitania would give them another helping hand out of past favors.

If all else fails and they're unwilling to provide assistance, could we ask Wagner to come and help them? Constantine, who's currently running rampant outside Tsaritsyn, was trained by Joe back then, and we can't do anything about him now. Could we ask Joe to come and teach his student a lesson?

Joe, who had already quelled the situation on Emerald Isle, was awarding medals to the outstanding soldiers of his commando team and his own guards. Joe had no idea that he was involved in this matter.

After the commandos thoroughly wiped out the independence factions, the only remaining significant forces on Emerald Isle were the unificationists and the self-government factions, both of which were acceptable to London.

Meanwhile, under pressure from public opinion and the threat of guns, the United Agricultural Corporation actually distributed land to farmers. As a result, farmers who now have "land of their own" to cultivate have greatly reduced their interest in causing trouble and seceding from Bonitania.

After losing the support of the peasants, although some students, professors, and petty bourgeoisie in the city still wanted to cause trouble, they were no longer a force to be reckoned with.

Joe didn't add any of these people to his list.

Surprisingly, although Joe launched a military operation on Emerald Isle, possibly the largest military operation since the Bonitania occupied the island, and many people did die in the operation.

But on Emerald Isle, Joe had an unbelievable reputation. No matter where you were in the North or South, if you mentioned Joe in a rural bar, someone would always raise a glass to wish Joe good health and longevity, almost completely ignoring Joe's military operations.

So when Joe received a call from the cabinet asking how interested he was in taking Wagner to the La Lucia military government, Joe firmly replied, "No!"

While rejecting the cabinet, Joe stated that he had hardly had a break since 1916, especially after the end of the war, first overseeing disarmament, then organizing Wagner to go to the East, and then Emerald Isle.

They just throw themselves wherever there's trouble. I've only been on Emerald Island for a few days, and now they want me to go to Chalijin again?

And what would I be doing going to Chalijin?
Is there new equipment to test, or a new organizational structure to experiment with?

If there's no one there, what would I do there?
What value is there in saving those corrupt and worthless people?
Stop messing around, let me rest for a bit. If you try to throw me into this cesspool again, I'll quit and move to Citibank!
Faced with Joe's threat to resign, whether they were genuinely worried that Joe would resign and run away to Citizen, or were truly dissatisfied with the corrupt Lucia military government, the cabinet officials unusually did not give Joe any value, and instead let Joe take Wagner to Tsaritsyn.

Instead, it means "I understand, and you've worked hard too. The last time the Emerald Isle Governor's Mansion was repaired was just before. It just so happens that the situation on Emerald Isle ended quickly enough, and we suspended support for the Lucia military government, so we have some extra budget."

Use this money to renovate the Emerald Isle Governor's Mansion. After all, the new Emerald Isle needs a new Governor's Mansion. Build bigger buildings and expand the area. We in Bonitania have mountains of gold and silver that we can never spend!

Upon hearing that the gentlemen of London were willing to use public funds to build him a garden, Joe was moved to tears. It was not easy; London had finally done something for once.

Although I don't own the Governor's Mansion, as long as I'm comfortable living here, why should I care about anything else?
Besides making himself comfortable, Joe was also thinking about something else.

That is, he had always wanted to make some movies to make money. Now that London has allocated funds for him to renovate the Governor's Mansion, could he also build a film studio?
This is a rare opportunity to spend public funds, I absolutely cannot miss it!
Just as Joe was pondering how to build a film studio, Diane and her daughter arrived at Emerald Island with the prototype guns Joe had commissioned them to produce.

--------

In the calm before the storm, they awaited orders.

A select few were chosen to face an enemy far outnumbering them.

The supreme command issued an order: Hold the position until the last moment.

This is a desperate battle.

No one survived, and no one retreated.

The baptism of battle, 200:1.
Spartan will, courage, and honor.

——————《200:1·SABBTON Band》

(End of this chapter)