When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist-Chapter 877 - 828: March Winds Like Scissors
"Take a look." Melson, the ship mogul of Thousand River Valley, slapped the newspaper into his palm, "See, with new leadership, everything is different."
On the rolled-up newspaper, the first page was still featuring the extensive report on the recent Mallempow Battle.
The headline was naturally conspicuous: "Great Victory at Mallempow, Nearly 100,000 Prisoners!"
Of course, the so-called nearly 100,000 prisoners was the charm of journalism.
Because among the prisoners, there were over 10,000 soldiers and over 40,000 laborers, rounding up to nearly 100,000.
Should someone uninformed read this, they might think Mallempow's battle wiped out 100,000 Leia troops.
Listening to Melson's flattering remarks, Horn glanced at the newspaper and then shook his head with a smile, continuing to ride forward.
Melson wasn't annoyed, shaking the reins, following closely behind Horn.
This time, he came to Damp Dock not only to take over transporting prisoners but primarily to curry favor with Horn.
In various newspaper reports, the results of the Mallempow Battle had already spread throughout the Holy Alliance along with the bulletins.
The first ship of prisoners even arrived at Damp Dock yesterday.
The "Mande Noble Report", which initially spoke for Moliat, reported the marriage alliances of several nobles as if nothing had happened.
Whose is the first merit for this Mallempow Battle?
Of course, it belongs to the one who devised the plan and guided the entire operation, the great sun, Saint Son Horn.
It's basically settled that after the Mallempow Battle, the previously flawed bloodless winter night became a certainty.
Before establishing a nation in the Thousand River Valley, external wars were consistently Horn's undefeated.
After nation-building, when Moliat became Autocratic Duke, wasn't it a string of defeats thereafter?
Replacing Horn himself again led to a great victory; what more is there to say?
Even the most stubborn noble conservatives at this moment had nothing to say.
Horn, who consolidated the Holy Alliance's position, was naturally riding high with pride.
A happy Saint Son encountered the spring breeze of March and learned of the imminent arrival of 100,000 gold pounds from Falan.
Not only this 100,000 gold pound income, the compensation for Clove Corridor adds another 60,000 gold pounds, totaling 160,000 gold pounds.
As for the Thousand River Valley's own taxation, after losing Hotam County, the economy initially saw a sharp decline.
Yet due to the war and the French king's support, commerce and river transport surprisingly thrived.
Regarding rural farmland, with strong laborers enlisting en masse, each Hundred Households District was forced to adopt new horse-drawn sowing and threshing machines.
This in turn prospered a batch of farm tool workshops, added to the North Mande County Steel Guild's compromise, along with cheap miners from the flood, large quantities of iron ingots flooded the market.
With the war unfolding this way, the economy actually gets livelier, and tax revenue barely reduced.
It is estimated that the first quarter will see tax revenue of two to three thousand pounds of gold.
In combination with the king's subsidy of ten thousand, it amounts to nearly twenty thousand gold pounds.
Beyond this, thanks to this grand victory, Horn can issue Holy War Bonds again.
Recruitment officers have already gone to the eastern slopes of the Dragon Sleep Mountain Range in Norn County, recruiting new troops from Norn.
As for Black Snake Bay, the second local battle group has already commenced training.
It's anticipated that in two or three months, there'll be another ten thousand new troops joining the ranks.
Adding the restored Mountain Knights, the Holy Alliance led by Horn will recruit fifty thousand troops out of five million people (3.5 million from Thousand River Valley + 1.5 million from Black Snake Bay).
Although this inevitably results in towering financial debt, it's not a concern, as Horn has several money pits like Black Snake Bay's ry Court Barracks.
Besides, once defeating the Leia, he wouldn't just drive them away; to say the least, he'd seize Shattered Stone Plain first.
A content Horn uncharacteristically put aside pressing matters, inspecting surrounding towns along the Nao'an River.
Wherever the Saint Son went, echoes of "Devotion! Sincerity!" could be heard.
Following Horn's side, Melson dared not inquire about papal affairs, instead finding Boned, the new Secret Monk by Horn's side.
"Lord Boned, do you smoke?"
"I don't. If you have something to say, speak frankly."
"Then I'll be direct; has the archbishop decided how these prisoners are to be handled?"
Boned warily glanced at him: "Why are you asking? Don't get any funny ideas."
Melson naturally waved his hand: "Perish the thought, the nobles will naturally be handed over to the Falan; I've already prepared for that. I'm talking about those laborers."
"You might as well elaborate a bit more."
"Alright, let me put it this way. Since the sugar refinery in Joan of Arc Castle opened, the demand for spices and sugar has soared." Melson chose his words cautiously, "If these prisoner laborers are transferred to Black Snake Bay, on one hand, it can fill the population gap, and on the other, it's just perfect for them to clear land…"
"No need to say more, no need to say more, I understand." Boned pondered for a moment, "You can draft it into a proposal; the archbishop has no opinion on this matter."
Satisfied with Boned's response, Melson felt content.
Setting aside other matters, this was a large order, and behind Melson stood a batch of shareholders from Black Snake Bay Spice Company.
Recently they've opened up a new trade route from Mande County's mountain pass, transporting spices to Norn to sell.
The Great Monarchs of Norn don't have the monopolistic vices like those east of the Dragon Sleep Mountain Range, and it's easy to exchange for precious furs.
These furs can then be sold to the luxury-loving Falan nobility, earning another fortune.
Life really was thriving, but did the Leia have such thriving lives?
With eyes fixed on Horn's cordial waves from behind, Melson's gaze grew even more fervent.
Yet Horn's thoughts were no longer on this matter.
This time, the one who finally seized Adan Castle during the Mallempow Battle was the Mountain New Army led by Dass.
After this battle, it's difficult for anyone to doubt Dass's credentials as the Imperial Guard Battle Commander.
The Mountain New Army comprises young strongmen drawn from Shangruifo County, displaced by flooding, and mountain county districts.
After three months of training, this was their debut on the battlefield.
They assembled 36 three-pound hawk cannons, 6 six-pound sand-sculpture cannons, 2 twelve-pound griffin cannons, and three plasma grenade launchers.
With violent bombardment, it only took two days to capture Adan Castle whose morale was already extremely low.
With its retreat cut off, Leia's 20,000 troops could only be confined between Mallempow and Adan Castle.
Just like that, nearly 20,000 enemy troops were surrounded by Saint alliance's 10,000 troops, both sides confronted in the wild for three days.
Until the Leia army ran out of arrows and food, soldiers began to desert, and the remaining troops supported their general Dretta in choosing to surrender.
In this surrounding counterattack, capturing nearly 20,000 Leia soldiers is secondary; mainly, it opened up the current situation.
As the troop strength comparison shifted, it's almost certain that Horn will shift from strategic defense to strategic offense.
More importantly, even if the Leia understand this tactic, what of it?
After all, the Holy Alliance's troops are quick and efficient, unencumbered by hindrances.
As a rising nation, the Holy Alliance internally maintains quite a high spirit of innovation, corruption, and power struggle are nearly invisible.
This is a gap in hard power, much like Leia forces' strength being a gap in hard power compared to the Holy Alliance.
Furthermore, whether the nobles can figure it out remains uncertain.
Speaking of nobles, Horn turned and signaled Melson, who ran over like a loyal dog: "Your Grace, what are your orders?"
"My friend from Black Snake Bay, the one named Jia Li, how is she doing in school?"
