Chapter 1665: Chapter 92: The War Ends (Part 2)
“The labels ‘Northern Continent bumpkin’ and ‘barbarian’ are now things of the past.”
In times of chaos, what everyone admires most is strength.
With the comparison to the Central Continental Nobility, everyone’s sense of pride and confidence instantly increased several levels.
After this battle, the Alpha Kingdom not only firmly secured its position as the leader of the Five Nations Alliance but also expanded its influence into the Three Kingdoms in the Central Continent.
No comparison, no hurt.
Our Standing Army couldn’t compete with their Noble’s Private Army, which was a huge shock to the nobles of the Three Kingdoms in the Central Continent.
From the performance on the battlefield, the military strength of the Alpha Kingdom was nearly equivalent to the sum of the three kingdoms.
Originally, everyone was at a comparable level, like competitors of the same tier, but now a gap has widened, making everyone’s hearts feel unsettled.
As the mastermind of all this, Hudson had no intention of comforting his allies.
Throughout, he focused on one thing: subtly conveying in various ways to the Three Kingdoms of the Central Continent that the Alpha Kingdom is very powerful.
The effect was very evident, causing many ambitious people to restrain the thoughts they shouldn’t have had.
As long as the Alpha Kingdom continues to be strong, they will remain the most steadfast allies.
“Marshal, after the war, are you really not going to the Capital to report?”
Governor Piers asked with a headache.
This time, the Southeastern Province Noble Alliance Army has made a name for itself on the continent, a perfect time to expand its influence externally.
In the past, he was wary of the Koslow Family, and now he equally wished to have Hudson associated with the Southeastern Province’s label.
The title of the kingdom’s strongest province is more than just a name; it represents political influence.
The financial resources, materials, and overall strength of the Southeastern Province have long been at the forefront of the kingdom’s provinces, except for military strength which has not been unanimously acknowledged.
Combat effectiveness cannot be quantified, so without a war to gauge it, the only option is to compare achievements.
The battle achievements of the Southeastern Province Noble Alliance Army are certainly remarkable, but the problem is that those of other militarily strong provinces are also impressive.
Moreover, their true emergence has been in recent years; their past achievements can only be described as average.
To secure the title of number one, tying Hudson to it is undoubtedly the fastest shortcut.
With the influence of the number one general, even if it is said that the Snow Moon Province is the kingdom’s number one military strong province, no one would oppose.
Of course, Hudson would never engage in such flashy matters.
Compared to the kingdom’s old provinces, the Snow Moon Territory is still a toddler just learning to walk.
In terms of resources, it heavily relies on the kingdom’s supply to establish itself on the prairie.
Provinces like the Southeastern Province, which are well-developed, need the number-one title to vie for political influence.
From a developmental perspective, old provinces like the Southeastern Province represent the kingdom’s current strength, while new emerging provinces like the Snow Moon Territory represent the kingdom’s future.
Within the Southeastern Province, Hudson naturally considers himself a Provincial Noble; at the kingdom’s political level, he becomes a representative of the Snow Moon Province.
Under such flexible political means, outsiders usually exclude the Koslow Family from the Southeastern Province.
For the sake of his position within the province, Governor Piers naturally wouldn’t have any objections to such a calculation method.
Without the Koslow Family, there’s no way the Southeastern Province could be unanimously recognized as the number one military strong province.
“Your Excellency Governor, it is not appropriate for me to appear in the Capital now, especially for us to appear in the Capital together!”
Upon hearing Hudson’s words, Governor Piers immediately understood.
Throughout history, after achieving significant merit, the relationship between ruler and minister often deteriorates.
Suspicion is a monarch’s instinct. Any monarch would harbor doubts about a three-army commander like Hudson, who fought his way to the top.
Already the subject of suspicion, if tangled with local powers, it would become even more intolerable for the monarch.
“The Marshal is right, it’s indeed not suitable for us to stand out too much right now.”
Governor Piers said with slight regret.
If Hudson had been interested, he wouldn’t have minded stirring up a storm in the Capital. After all, as a local lord, he was also a target of the monarch’s suspicion. Read full story at noᴠelfire.net
Offending the King is just routine for local powers.
However, since Hudson doesn’t want to be a target and attract resentment, Governor Piers also lost interest.
Anyway, he is only fighting for benefits and has no intention of overturning the table.
The Dalton Family has already gained enough benefits from this war, and focusing on digesting the victory’s fruits will allow the family strength to advance further.
There’s no need for political risk for more benefits.
The Allied Forces disband, each returning to their homes.
Hudson’s thoughts have already turned to kingdom politics. During his absence, Caesar IV didn’t remain idle and successively promoted many generals.
Compared to the past, the level of generals promoted this time is significantly higher.
Personnel appointments are mainly based on ‘military merit,’ with ‘background’ as a secondary consideration, and ‘loyalty’ as the last criteria.
No one can argue against this rule-abiding personnel policy.
Frankly, these minor moves aren’t a big deal.
Doing things within the rules can block external criticism, but it’s not favorable for the King’s loyalists.
People join the King for a chance to climb up.
Following Caesar IV’s approach, such opportunities become undeniably slim.
When the cost-effectiveness of being a royal confidant decreases, the royal family’s appeal to ordinary talents inevitably diminishes as well.
The downsides are evident, but the advantages are even more apparent.
After this incident, Caesar IV’s reputation in the noble circles improved significantly.
A rule-abiding king is what everyone wishes to see.
For Caesar IV to change is definitely good for the kingdom overall.
As for Hudson personally, it’s hard to gauge.
Essentially, his relationship with the king is a tangled mess.
At times close partners, at times like strangers, and sometimes rivals…
The complexity of the ruler-minister relationship is hard to summarize in one sentence.
In politics, only effectiveness matters; it can’t be judged simply by right and wrong.
“Duke, a message from the Capital, His Majesty invites you to attend the victory banquet in ten days!”
The tree desires rest, yet the wind keeps blowing.
As a Military Commander, Hudson doesn’t want to get involved in the Capital’s political disputes, but that doesn’t mean others are willing to see him remain detached from worldly affairs.
The frequency of victory banquets held by Caesar IV this year is unexpectedly high.
For ordinary banquets, everyone would come with gifts, but for victory banquets, participants only bring their achievements.
In a situation where the kingdom government is financially strapped, and government funding is severely lacking, each victory banquet is a losing proposition for the royal family.
Previous ones could be seen as efforts to win goodwill and promote loyalists, but this time there’s no hope for that.
The action of the Southeastern Province Noble Alliance Army this time was centered on one thing—monopolizing the spoils.
To safeguard the interests of the Magic Crystal Mines and protect the nobility’s reputation, the kingdom government was kept out throughout.
The Alpha Kingdom has always advocated for local nobles to be self-reliant in such matters.
Of course, as the price of monopolizing, any losses are also borne by themselves.
There’s naturally no military merit.
The rewards have already been given by the Three Kingdoms in the Central Continent, and even more generously so.
The spoils and commercial returns are only part of it.
If willing to migrate, their titles can be directly elevated by one rank, and their estates will be increased according to their military merits.
To better attract talents, the three governments agreed to cover all costs of relocation and settling in.
According to Hudson, many families have already placed their children to develop in the three kingdoms.
Even the Koslow Family has over a dozen collateral members who have conveniently become Noble Lords in the Three Kingdoms of the Central Continent.
Talent movement is not surprising, but for the king, the outflow of domestic talents reflects the monarch’s incompetence.
In normal circumstances, talent from small nations moves to larger ones, and weaker nations flow to stronger ones; such instances of strong nations moving to weaker ones are very rare.
The earlier poaching by the Moxi People doesn’t count, as suffering a major defeat and ending up on the casualty lists places them as the dead in the kingdom, thereby avoiding negative political impact.
This time, the situation is clearly different; it’s already a gesture of grace that Caesar IV hasn’t scolded everyone.
Holding a victory banquet for the nobles of the Southeastern Province is a pure pipe dream.
If an extraordinary story happens, it signifies an even more extraordinary story behind the event.
Inform His Majesty that I will attend punctually.”
Hudson calmly replied.
Respond to soldiers with generals and cover water with earth.
Whatever Caesar IV intends to do, Hudson will eventually find out, so there’s no need to worry about it here.