Chapter 316 The war machine starts

So the best way to catch up is to smash the plate directly.

Force competitors to enter a new track, and then defeat them with rich experience.

The next day, the newspaper headlines exposed the grand occasion of the launch of the Warrior-class battleship.

The photo of the Duke and Duchess standing in front of the Pioneer with the little Duke occupied the front page headlines.

"Warrior-class main battleship: 4,204 m displacement, 28 guns, maximum caliber 260 mm."

"Opening a new era: Ocean hegemony will be written by the Northern Principality."

"Throwing sailing battleships into the garbage heap: Admiral Adrian, Minister of the Navy, personally said that the launch of the Warrior-class battleship marks that all old-time sailing battleships have been eliminated, and their destination should be the garbage heap."

Various exaggerated headlines and overwhelming public opinion quickly spread from the Province of St. Peter.

The Northern Principality made a big fuss again, making the entire continent quiet.

Even the civil war in the Holy Cross Kingdom has stopped. Everyone realizes that the next issue is not the civil war, but how to contain the rising new overlord, the Northern Principality.

Port of Digen!

Looking at the huge warship on the newspaper, Andre calmly put down the newspaper.

This time he personally escorted the goods. Because of the cooperation with the Northern Principality, his goods were exempted from a large number of tariffs and gained competitiveness.

In a short time, Andre expanded his industry and returned to the mainstream of the Griffin Kingdom.

When he came, he had seen the ironclad warships gathered at the port, and he was mentally prepared for the appearance of new warships.

He knew too well the deterrent power of the ocean trade line and warships.

The Griffin Kingdom is a peninsula country surrounded by the ocean. With the rise of the Northern Principality Navy, I wonder if those nobles can sleep well?

When loyalty was ruthlessly abandoned, Andre was ready to save his country in his own way.

Trading with the people of the Northern Principality was just a stopgap measure.

His goal was still to save the country and reform.

So when he saw the Warrior-class battleship, his first reaction was to buy one too.

Soon, the military shipyard received many inquiries from the king.

The Warrior-class battleship is of course impossible to sell, but the entry-level ironclad ship can be.

The Qianmi-class battleship is destined to be just a gadget.

In the future ocean competition, the Qianmi-class battleship is at most the level of a coastal frigate.

As long as you pay, of course you have to sell it.

But the price is very expensive.

…

The ups and downs in the country have little to do with Lawrence.

The colonial fleet has reaped a lot this time. Not only did it get new battleships, but also several Qianmi-class battleships.

Of course, the handover ceremony was just a show, and it would not be available until after the New Year.

The battleship still needs a series of tests, and it will be sailed to the ocean only after the stability is confirmed.

The newly established Navy Department is busy, and there are meetings of all sizes to be held every day.

The fleets of all parties must fight for their own interests, and then compromise with each other to form a new pattern.

These things will not be quiet for half a year.

Derek boarded the train for the return trip. This year's New Year was the most relaxing since the founding of the country.

The situation at home and abroad was stable, some power was decentralized, and there were fewer things to do.

But he didn't rest for long, and Virut came with a plan.

"Duke, I apply to use troops against the barbarians."

After more than half a year of reorganization, the new army has expanded to five divisions.

Virut personally reorganized the army and was confident in the combat effectiveness of the new infantry.

But without fighting, no one knows how much water there is.

The army always has to fight a battle to know its quality.

"Isn't it too early? And the New Year is coming soon."

Derek flipped through the plan, and as expected, he was going to attack the barbarians.

He was not opposed to launching a war, but just considered whether it was worth it.

"Now is a good opportunity. The barbarians will not think that we will take action now. Moreover, the railway has just been built to Tiebi City, so we can mobilize troops quickly.

Take advantage of this winter to completely solve the worries, drive away the barbarians, and break their backbones. Next year, we will not have to worry about the rear when we use troops again."

Virut's reasons are very sufficient, and the new army needs a war to boost morale. What can boost morale better than a war of annihilation?

Derrick thought about it. The Barbarian Kingdom is indeed a big trouble. It will be a waste of time to deal with the Barbarian Kingdom alone next year.

And the entire Barbarian race has a population of at least two to three million, which is a great supplement to the Principality.

Besides, it doesn't matter if we lose. The current Principality can afford it.

So after comprehensive consideration, he signed the plan.

"I agree. I will grant you a batch of war funds. Launch the war according to the new army model and strive to end the battle during the New Year."

"Yes, I guarantee to complete the task."

Virut left with the warrant. After getting the Duke's consent, he immediately began to mobilize manpower.

The General Staff began to formulate a detailed battle plan. The Duke's Mansion was responsible for deploying troops and Virut was temporarily in charge.

Everything was carried out according to the war mode of the new army, and the war machine was launched.

Because it was the New Year period, and the new army was reorganized in the past year, various mobilizations were frequent, and no one noticed Virut's actions.

In the city of Plan, there was singing and dancing, and there was no atmosphere before the war.

Envoys from various countries were also running around to build relationships, and they did not notice anything unusual.

Virut had exactly half a division of troops, plus the second division stationed in the province of Mergen, and the first and third divisions stationed near the city of Plan.

At this time, the old-style army had not been disbanded, and there was no need to keep anyone stationed.

All members of the first to fifth divisions of the new infantry were dispatched, and the number of people varied according to the situation of each division, generally between 8,000 and 10,000.

In addition, the half division that had not yet been assigned a number was directly awarded the flag of the sixth division.

It took only a week for a large number of new troops to arrive in Yanle City.

Thanks to the complete capture of the Yanle Corridor area before, there were castles and fortresses in front of Yanle to block the movement in the rear, so it was not so easy to be discovered, and there was no need to face obstacles when sending troops.

The first brigade of the second division was the first batch of troops to arrive. Walter, where Dagu was stationed, was the capital city of the province of Mergen.

It only takes one day to arrive by train.

When he first received the order, he thought it was just an exercise.

It came from the daily training plan of the staff, and the exercise had been done more than once.

The first brigade had done similar rapid maneuvers several times.

Moreover, not going to war during the New Year is a tradition that has been passed down for hundreds of years.

It was not until he arrived at Yanle City, where the logistics supplies had been prepared, that he realized that something big might happen.

Then, trucks of supplies and troops arrived, which almost confirmed his guess.

War... is coming.

Then, Virut and officers from the General Staff Headquarters arrived one after another.

The Northern Expedition Corps was officially established, and the atmosphere of war was already extremely strong.