Chapter 523 Super Shameless Political Tactics
Rand ordered the battlefield to be cleaned up.
Among the countless battles Rand had experienced, the difficulty and trouble of the defense of Crescent Harbor was ranked among the top.
The army of the Kingdom of Borun is not as barbaric as the orcs, nor as resourceful as the army led by the Snow Fox Countess.
But for Rand, this battle was really hard, and perhaps even thrilling.
Because this kind of war can escalate at any time.
When the other party controls the shipping routes, the efficiency of sea transportation is far superior to that of land transportation.
That is to say, Rand has Nagas and Murlocs, which will cause some defense costs for them, but even so, the losses are lower than on land.
At sea, the load-bearing force comes from the buoyancy of the seawater, and the power comes from the ocean currents and sails. Even if the ocean currents and sails are against the route, the energy consumed by using oars to sail is far less than that consumed by manual labor and pack horses.
Even in modern times, the cost of shipping is much lower than that of land transportation, but the speed is too slow and the flexibility is too low.
But in this era, shipping is actually a faster way.
If RAND cannot achieve victory before enemy reinforcements arrive, the possibility of the war escalating is very high.
At that time...
At that time, Rand would either choose to fight a national war or try the decapitation tactic.
Fortunately, we finally won.
It can only be said that over the years, Rand's persistent farming, that is, the development of territory, has really achieved a lot of results, allowing Rand to win despite the small land area and small population.
The number of people on the opposite side is estimated to be three or four times that of our side.
But in this era, having more people is not always useful.
"What are the results?" Rand asked.
"More than 2,000 people were beheaded and more than 4,000 were captured." Olenna said.
"So many?" Rand was stunned.
The Holy Land's direct military force is only over 4,000, and the territory's population is just over 40,000. How could so many people come at once?
I feel like I might be overeating.
"Well, the ships surrendered. Basically, everyone on the ship surrendered. Those who fell into the water were dragged to the shore by the Nagas or the fishmen and had no strength to resist." Olenna said, "And because the fleet withdrew, the soldiers who had already landed had no direction to escape and no will to resist, so they surrendered directly to us. There were also a lot of people in this regard."
The warships of this era were mostly small, but there were still between 100 and 200 people on board a warship.
Capturing one ship means more than a hundred people.
And the ship that was smashed by Rand had a large number of sailors and soldiers.
As to why there were so many beheadings.
That's naturally because the previous five days were like a bloody battle in a meat grinder.
In front of Rand's line, corpses and blood formed a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
In short, it can be described in terms of data.
[Prisoners +4000, can be converted into population
Captured 10 intact ships, 6 repairable ships, and obtained a large amount of wood]
Our own losses were not small either, with more than 500 people killed in the battle. Several more ranking numbers would have to be added to the memorial stone pillars in the holy land.
Rand was a little afraid to face the families of these soldiers.
Although in theory he had used the most scientific strategies to minimize the losses, the dead cannot be resurrected, and separation from life and death is always tragic.
"Have you figured out what to do with these prisoners?" Olenna interrupted Rand's thoughts.
"Let some people farm, some do metallurgy and forging, and some..." Rand thought for a while, "Let these people produce, so I can recruit more good people to fight."
Of course, Rand could also use these prisoners as soldiers, but their morale and loyalty would naturally be much lower.
In the ancient times before Rand's life, soldiers would often be recruited from good families, because they were a high-quality source of soldiers. Such soldiers had few bad habits, high loyalty, and a strong will to fight.
In short, the prisoners will be arranged for reform according to their situations. Those who are sensible and surrender early will be treated a little more easily, while those diehards who fight to the death will be given special attention.
These people are young and strong labor force and are very valuable resources that need to be used well.
"What's next?" Rand asked Olenna.
"If you don't plan to clean up the battlefield here, just start the work of rebuilding Crescent Harbor, and then you can go back and wait for the letter of peace from the King of Bolun Kingdom and the envoy of the Ice Sea Kingdom." Olenna is of course always reliable.
"Okay, then let's have a celebratory dinner first. The bodies also need to be burned to prevent them from being eaten by wild beasts," Rand said.
Olena said she understood, and then gave instructions to the next level of staff.
Rand returned to the platform and looked at the sea surface, which was now a little dark red.
The sea breeze blew, and it was no longer a light salty smell, but a smell of blood.
Rand was already accustomed to the taste of blood, so he didn't react much to it.
The beach was littered with stranded boats, some of which had been reduced to charcoal by the flames, while others could be repaired and put back into the water.
The stranded ships are like countless whales stranded on the beach.
The beach is like a graveyard for ships.
…
The celebration banquet and memorial ceremony for the victims were held as usual.
Then Rand returned to the conjugation of busyness and leisure.
Since he had promised to lead everyone in rebuilding Crescent Moon Harbor, Rand even went to the construction site in person to direct the reconstruction work for a period of time. Only until everything was on track did Rand stop hanging around the construction site.
The shipyard, port plank road, houses, roads and shops all suffered considerable damage.
But as Olenna said, the current Duchy of the Moon Phase is no longer what it used to be. Its construction capabilities are much stronger than before, and the damage caused by the Bolen Kingdom fleet is not too thorough. It is expected that the reconstruction can be completed within half a year.
The Dukedom of the Moon Phase is no longer what it used to be, and now there are 4,000 more laborers.
In the early summer of 337, Rand had returned to the Lord's Hall in the Upper Sanctuary.
Rand is waiting for a letter of condemnation from the Kingdom of Bolen.
Although Olenna would say it was a letter of peace, both Rand and Olenna knew that it would basically be condemnation and threats first.
Rand and Olenna both knew very well what the king of the Kingdom of Bolen was like. He had good military and force, and could lead the nobles to turn the tide when things were against the odds, but his ability to handle normal state affairs was really average.
It is not easy to recognize the situation, greedy but also very concerned about reputation.
When the letter came from the Kingdom of Bollen, Rand portrayed himself as the Minister of Military Affairs of the Kingdom of Bollen, and analyzed the situation for the King of Bollen from the "perspective of the Kingdom of Bollen", telling him that ceding land and paying compensation to Rand was the best option.
Soon, the letter really arrived.
However, it is not the notes of the King of the Kingdom of Borun, and it is not known whether it belongs to the secretary or a minister of the Kingdom of Borun.
The content of the letter was also very concise.
This means that if Rand can keep the results of this war secret, the Kingdom of Bolen is willing to provide some assistance to Rand.
And if Rand spread the word that the Kingdom of Bollen was defeated by him, the Kingdom of Bollen would immediately organize a new round of attack, and the whole country would fight to the death with all its strength.
In order to convince Rand of the Kingdom of Bollen's determination, the letter also analyzed the current situation of the Kingdom of Bollen.
In short, it is both a request for peace and a threat.
The Kingdom of Borun must have a victory, even if it is a false victory. Otherwise, it can only promote Rand as the root of all the sufferings in the Kingdom of Borun to divert domestic conflicts.
At that time, the fight will really end to death.
In fact, in a sense, Rand is the root of all the sufferings in the Kingdom of Bollen.
Ever since Rand appeared in Crescent Territory, the Kingdom of Bolen has not had any good days.
Although the undead and vampires were not brought by Rand.
Even Rand is a righteous person who is against undead and vampires.
But if we really put the blame on Rand, it can be barely justified.
From a God's perspective, the undead and vampire disasters in the Kingdom of Bollen may be directly caused by the appearance of Rand.
Rand is the source of suffering in the Kingdom of Bollen.
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If Rand is not defeated and killed, the suffering of the Kingdom of Borlan will not end.
Anyway, the letter said that if Rand was unwilling to keep silent about the victory or defeat, it would publicize it in the country.
Why can't you afford food? Why do you have to suffer the cold in winter? Why do wild wolves take your children away? Why are you conscripted? Why do nobles have family members who died in the war? Why do you have to provide more war taxes to the king? Why can't you squander money at will? It's all because of Rand, all because of Rand! It's Rand who makes your life miserable, and it's Rand who makes the sunshine you bathe in every day no longer warm.
"This is definitely not something King Boren came up with on his own," Rand raised an eyebrow.
Olena and Elsa also came over to finish watching.
"Smart man, then I have a reasonable suspicion that King Boren has brought back his Minister of Military Affairs." As the Minister of Intelligence, Elsa is quite familiar with the situation in the Boren Kingdom, "Or some other smart man."
"We are not really afraid of a life-and-death battle with the Kingdom of Bolen," Olenna said, "but it's not cost-effective."
"Yes, it's not cost-effective." Rand nodded.
In terms of national strength, the Frost Moon Kingdom is stronger than the Borun Kingdom.
The Frost Moon Kingdom experienced two civil wars, but they ended very quickly. Thanks to the dividends from Rand's development, the domestic situation is booming.
On the contrary, the Kingdom of Borun and the Undead fought a bloody battle to the end, which consumed a lot of resources. Later, after the vampire incident, the people of the Dandelion Family hid in the Kingdom of Borun, and various parts of the Kingdom of Borun were also attacked by the Blue King.
The Frost Moon Kingdom was originally stronger, and now the two sides are fighting a national war. The Frost Moon Kingdom has a greater chance of winning.
Rand also boasted that he had better military command capabilities than most generals of the Kingdom of Bolen.
Moreover, Rand is more trusted by the king than most of the generals of the Kingdom of Bolen.
If we really fight, I will win.
But considering King Boren's situation, he will probably bring his men to fight Rand in the end, and the final result is expected to be a partial victory.
This was really unacceptable to Rand.
It would be taken advantage of by Grand Duke Vladimir who is definitely planning his arrival, and it would also be extremely detrimental to the development of the Dukedom of the Moon Phase.
In short, it's not cost-effective.
Rand's development speed is much faster than that of the Kingdom of Bolen.
If Rand is given another ten years, he might be qualified to challenge the Kingdom of Bolen as a country with a piece of duchy land without relying on any allies.
If Rand were given twenty years, he might be able to crush the Kingdom of Bollen easily.
Even in the short-term plans, many things will change after Rand forms the Ocean Alliance against the Kingdom of Boren.
Now we can make some concessions.
Of course, Rand would never give in for nothing.
"Then let's blackmail you." Rand stretched. "Although we have captured a large number of people and ships, if you want me to shut up, I will blackmail you for more."
Olenna and Elsa both stifled some laughter, "Blackmail is what we're good at, isn't it?"
Rand also smiled: "I want the land."
"It's unlikely that we'll cede land." Olenna said, rubbing her temples.
Although she wanted to ask for a high price just like Rand, it was obviously unreasonable to ask the other party to cede land since she had to assume that they had won.
"The name can be changed!" Rand smiled slightly. When it comes to shameless political tactics, Rand really has many, many, many reserves.
Rand has seen all kinds of cool moves.
"Ahem." Rand said, "Our army was defeated, terribly defeated! After negotiation, we are willing to pay a huge price to ask the Kingdom of Bolen to withdraw its troops."
"And then?" Olenna and Elsa waited for Rand to continue.
"So I agreed to pay a lot of manpower and material resources to help the Kingdom of Boren build the land." Rand blinked, "Oh, what a shame."
The Kingdom of Borun has suffered heavy losses in recent years.
Because of the Undead, Vampires and the Blue King, some parts of the country were razed to the ground and have yet to be rebuilt.
Rand is already a master of infrastructure, so there is no problem in calling him the King of Infrastructure.
Rand can help with infrastructure!
only……
Compared to some real-life situations, Rand's intentions are definitely malicious.
But if you want to shut Rand up, you have to have a thick enough cake, right? Olenna and Elsa are deeply aware of Rand's "evil".
It's just that they like this kind of evil very much.
They already understood what Rand wanted to do.
In the name of aid, the land of the Kingdom of Bolen was taken over.
As for what to do if the Kingdom of Bolen wants to take it back later.
The only thing we can do is send troops to fight!
"Then I will... write back." Olena said with a smile.
Rand nodded: "Let's get started."
Olenna immediately began to write.
The content of the letter was exactly what Rand meant. Not only could Rand remain silent about the outcome of the war, he could even admit that Rand had lost the battle to a certain extent.
And as compensation, Rand will send people to assist in infrastructure construction on a piece of land in the Kingdom of Bolen. Of course, the meaning of this assistance in infrastructure construction is clearly explained.
As for how to form an anti-Boren Kingdom Ocean Alliance after admitting defeat in the war, Rand naturally has a way to convince these "potential allies."
After all, Rand didn't really have to pay compensation or anyone else because of the loss.
"That's it?" Olenna handed the written letter to Rand for review.
After reading it carefully, Rand nodded: "Just reply like this."
(End of this chapter)