Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 483 Blazing Flames (The End)

Maplestone City
[town Hall]
More than half a month has passed since the Battle of River Valley, and the commanders of the allied forces finally have the opportunity to sit down and discuss the distribution of the spoils.

Although in the land of galloping horses, everyone knows the proverb: "Don't light a fire before you've hunted your prey."

However, in a sense, the disposal of spoils is a greater test of decision-makers' wisdom than the acquisition of spoils.

Therefore, whether it was Baishan County, Leiqun County, or Bianjiang County, they all treated it as a major threat and attached great importance to it.

Colonel Gaisa Adonis, Colonel Skul Mekren, and Lieutenant Colonel Matthias Korwin each brought a large entourage. Apart from the clerks in charge of the handover, all regular officers who were not in bed recovering from their injuries were summoned to bolster their presence. Even some of the more respected "honorary officers" were allowed to attend.

The three groups arrived at the city hall in a grand procession, crowding the negotiation venue that the Iron Peak County side had prepared in advance, leaving no room to stand.

Upon seeing this, Mason couldn't help but gasp: "Why are there so many people?"

Winters was both amused and exasperated.

Apart from the necessary accountant and scribe, only Winters and Mason from Iron Peak County attended the meeting.

Bard was not present—the real tribunal was still in Vaughan County surveying the abandoned land and organizing its restoration;
Although Andrei had a lot of free time every day, he always hated these kinds of verbal battles and refused to come no matter what. However, he did leave a message: "If a fight breaks out, remember to call me."

As a representative of the "academic officers" within the Iron Peak County Army who were not part of Winters' inner circle but had made great contributions, Major Seber was theoretically entitled to attend the spoils distribution meeting.

However, considering Major Cypher's unique personal charm, Mason cautiously excluded the major from the negotiators, and ultimately decided that only Winters and Mason would attend the meeting, with Major Cypher as the "crucial general reserve" on standby at any time.

Therefore, Tiefeng County only prepared two interconnected meeting rooms for this negotiation.

Mason's original plan was to have one room for the clerk and another for the representatives of various parties, which would be more than enough.

What actually unfolded before Mason's eyes was this: the people in the conference room had been pushed against the table, and there were still people outside who hadn't been able to get in. They were pressed against each other, chest to back, elbow to elbow. Apart from the three officers' seats, there was still some space around them. Everyone else was squeezed into the cramped conference room and was suffering terribly, while trying their best to maintain their composure and dignity.

So much so that the clerk next door couldn't help but chuckle when he saw this group of sweaty "officers".

The three officers were also somewhat embarrassed, but none of them spoke first.

On the other side of the "empty" conference table, Mason and Winters, after discussing it, decided to open the City Hall auditorium and invite Colonel Gaisa Adonis, Colonel Skul Mekren, and Lieutenant Colonel Matthias Corwin's entourage to rest there temporarily.

Major Cypher, who was on standby, was dispatched immediately. The major, who had been eagerly anticipating the fight, arrived at the venue with his baton, only to be greatly disappointed to find that it was not a brawl. However, as a former womanizer who had been active in the social circles of Kingsburg, Cypher Carrington was more adept at handling such situations.

The major quickly arranged for drinks and food to be delivered, and also summoned all the regular officers of the Iron Peak County Army in Maplestone City to keep him company, thus resolving the minor farce without any major incident.

Once the conference room doors closed again and the room returned to silence and solemnity, Winters finally uttered the opening line he had rehearsed countless times in his mind.

"Gentlemen," Winters nodded to the three officers, "let's talk."

“Following the procedure of itemized discussion,” Mason cleared his throat, took over the speaking baton from Winters, and said methodically, “Captain Montagne and I believe that the ‘spoils of war’ can be divided into three sub-items—the war stockpiles in Maplestone, the enemy personnel captured by various units, and the jurisdiction from Vaughan County to Mirrorlake County.”

As he spoke, Mason nodded to his assistant behind him, who had a red birthmark on his face. The assistant then handed three files to the three officers.

“Your Excellencies,” Mason explained with neither humility nor arrogance, “the supplies we have seized, the personnel we have captured, and the assets of the New Reclamation Legion that we have taken over in Vaughan County are all recorded in this dossier, not a penny more, not a penny less.”

Upon hearing this, the three officers couldn't help but glance at each other.

Colonel Gaisa and the other two officers assumed that the meeting was mainly about dividing up Maplestone City's war reserves, but they did not expect that the two young men would give them a hard time right from the start.

A detailed list of seized supplies, captured personnel, and received Legion assets?

Colonel Gaisa, Colonel Skul, and Lieutenant Colonel Matthias did not prepare these things, and it was even uncertain whether they could prepare them at all.

The New Reclamation Corps—and indeed every army built according to Ned Smith’s ideas—had one notable characteristic: officers had a dual role in both administration and military affairs.

In the Alliance's regular army, officers served as both logistics and administrative officers as well as military commanders.

With the large number of regular officers killed or wounded in the Battle of River Valley, the administration of the three county troops, including the White Mountain County troops, was on the verge of collapse, and the accounts of many departments became a mess.

The troops of the three counties urgently need a batch of supplies that are independent of the original logistics system and can be used at any time. This is why the Leiqun County Army and the Bianjiang County Army are so eager for the war reserve warehouses in Fengshi City.

After a brief exchange of glances, Colonel Skull took out a silver box from his pocket, opened it, carefully took out a monocle, clipped it to his right eye, and began to peruse the list provided by the Iron Peak County Army without any hesitation.

Colonel Gaisa didn't even glance at it, and simply pushed the file towards Captain Mason.

"The captured supplies, the captured personnel, and the legion's assets that were taken over?" Geza took out his pipe, tapped the ashes on the long table, making a loud clanging sound.

Then, while casually pressing down his tobacco, he said disdainfully, "Why all the talk about civility? It's just money, people, and territory. In the end, we're just four robbers dividing up the loot. So what's the point of dividing it in detail? Let's just get straight to the point and say how much you want?"

Gaisa Adonis deliberately acted arrogantly, but the two lieutenants were not intimidated.

“Colonel.” Winters extended his hand and tapped his finger lightly in the air.

About two arm's lengths away, a wisp of smoke unexpectedly drifted out of Gaisa Adonis's pipe.

Colonel Skul was so focused on the supplies list that he didn't notice Winters's actions. On the other side, Lieutenant Colonel Matthias unconsciously tensed his neck, and his pupils dilated uncontrollably.

Although Matthias had heard that the young captain before him might be the closest spellcaster in the Alliance's history to the level of an Imperial court mage, and had heard his subordinates who had experienced the Battle of River Valley recount the horrific scenes left by the "Blood Wolves" on the battlefield, seeing Winters Montagne use "magic" so casually still sent chills down Lieutenant Colonel Matthias's spine.

Lieutenant Colonel Matthias even subconsciously moved his body away from the Blood Wolf—a normal reaction for a rational person sitting next to a powder keg.

Gais himself only paused for a moment, then nodded to Winters as if to express his gratitude, and calmly picked up his pipe.

“Even robbers have their ways of dividing their loot,” Winters said with a smile. “Unequal distribution and infighting are common occurrences.”

Mason coughed lightly, quickly stopping Winters' dangerous statement: "Besides, we're not robbers, are we? We're allies."

Winters chuckled and said no more. Colonel Gaisa also gave a soft snort and remained silent.

Mason wiped the sweat from his brow, opened the file in front of him, and tried to steer the negotiations in the right direction: "Since things are complicated, let's start with something simple—let's begin with the Maplestone City's war reserve warehouses."

Colonel Skull and Colonel Geza exchanged a glance and nodded slightly in agreement.

Having gained the other party's approval, Mason enthusiastically began to explain: "The New Reclamation Legion's war reserve storage accounts are very clear. From when General Adams was in charge, to when Colonel Sanel occupied Maplestone, and then to when our unit took over, all the account books have been preserved intact. Although there were withdrawals during that period, they were all recorded in detail."

Mason paused for a moment, then added, "Colonel Skull also sent people to inventory the warehouse, check the ledgers, and make copies, which should prove that what I said is true."

Colonel Gaisa looked at Colonel Skull questioningly, and the latter nodded slightly.

"Alright, I know you kept it safe and didn't embezzle any." Gaisa remained noncommittal: "Go on, how do you want to divide it?"

“Based on the principle of fairness,” Mason glanced subconsciously in Winters’ direction, and seeing the latter’s supportive gaze, his Adam’s apple bobbed as he solemnly said, “I believe that allocating troops proportionally is the optimal solution.”

The three officers frowned instantly, and the meeting room fell silent.

Mason's heart clenched, and he clenched his fingers tightly under the table.

Winters had been handling affairs in Worgneshire prior to this. The so-called "spoil distribution plan proposed by Iron Peak County" was actually devised by Mason.

To some extent, it would determine the fate of seven counties and millions of people in the newly established province. Even when the plan was actually placed on the conference table, Mason couldn't help but feel apprehensive.

After a long silence, Lieutenant Colonel Matthias, the lowest-ranking of the three, broke the silence first: "When was the troop strength ratio?"

Winters calmly replied, "The troop strength ratio at the time of deployment."

The three officers exchanged glances; clearly, this answer had taken them by surprise.

Distribution according to troop strength, in other words, distribution according to power. If it were robbers dividing their loot, then distribution according to power would obviously be a fair solution.

However, with this distribution, the Leiqun County Army and Bianjiang County Army, which suffered heavy losses, could only suffer in silence, while the Tiefeng County Army could rightfully get the largest share.

In fact, during previous internal discussions, the three officers had already determined that the Tiefeng County Army would propose a classification scheme based on strength, and had drawn their bottom line there as well. Their purpose in coming here was simply to secure more compensation for Leiqun County and Bianjiang County based on this framework.

However, the two lieutenants in front of him proposed a troop allocation based on the "time of deployment".

It's really... strangely generous.

"Allocated according to the proportions at the time of troop deployment?" Colonel Skul asked cautiously again.

“That’s the principle.” Mason had a lot to say but couldn’t explain it in a single sentence: “But that’s not entirely true.”

Upon receiving this answer, Colonel Skull actually felt a little more relaxed.

"As expected, they weren't so kind," Skul Mechren thought to himself. "Hmph, they definitely had other schemes up their sleeves."

Mason simply tore a piece of paper from the back of the file, stood up, placed it in the center of the conference table, and began writing calculations on it while explaining to the officers:
“Leiqun County and Bianjiang County provided a large number of cavalry units. If we simply count the number of soldiers, it would be very unfair to Leiqun County and Bianjiang County. Therefore, I have assigned different values ​​to the infantry, cavalry and artillery units. The infantry is assigned a value of 'one' and the cavalry is assigned a value of 'three'. In principle, it is allocated according to the number of soldiers, but Leiqun County and Bianjiang County can get a larger share than the number of soldiers, which is fairer.”

As Mason explained, the other end of the long table grew increasingly quiet. Finally, there was no sound at all.

Mason, sensing the shift in atmosphere, quickly added, "If there are any objections to this assignment, we can continue the discussion. In fact, I have a formula here; by substituting different values, we can obtain the distribution ratio under that assignment..."

“No need to say anything more,” Colonel Skull said with difficulty. “This is good.”

Colonel Geza slammed his pipe on the table and demanded in a deep voice, "Boy, your way of dividing the troops seems fair on the surface. But have you considered that in this campaign, you got to fight all the easy battles and we got to fight all the tough and difficult ones? Is it really fair to divide the troops based solely on the initial strength? We lost so many men and were wounded. How will the compensation for the dead and wounded be calculated?"

Colonel Gaisa's questioning not only failed to stump Mason, but seemed to tickle the latter's itch, making him inexplicably excited.

“I’ve considered that too. Please turn to page 47.” Mason answered fluently: “I believe that the compensation for all the dead and wounded in this battle should be paid uniformly from the Maplestone City warehouses and the legion’s supplies received, according to the same standard. The remainder should then be distributed fairly as spoils of war, according to the proportion of troops deployed at the time.”

These words were tantamount to firing a 32-pound cannonball into the militia ranks.

Because the three officers at the other end of the long table were no longer silent, but began to whisper among themselves.

Winters was very satisfied with the result and quietly gave Mason a thumbs up.

Mason grinned, but the other person's reply the next second left him stunned.

“I’m sorry, Captain Mason,” Lieutenant Colonel Matthias delivered the bad news: “We cannot agree to this compensation plan.”

"Why?" Mason asked somewhat haltingly, "Is there... something wrong with this?"

“We agree to your plan to allocate supplies according to the troop strength at the time of deployment,” Lieutenant Colonel Matthias said politely. “As for the compensation expenses, we will bear them ourselves.”

Mason hurriedly explained, "But that's not fair to you."

Lieutenant Colonel Matthias shook his head firmly. Colonel Gaisa and Colonel Skul also leaned back, clearly not intending to continue the conversation.

Winters, who was standing nearby, suddenly burst into laughter.

The laughter drew the attention of the clerks in the next meeting room, and even made everyone else around the conference table stop what they were doing.

“Don’t waste your kindness, senior.” Winters showed no surprise as he smiled and pulled Mason back to his seat. “The three officers will not agree.”

"I don't understand, why?"

Winters glanced at the three officers on the other side of the long table: "Because they're afraid of us."

Unusually, Colonel Gaisa did not refute this.

“The list of casualties is the same as the list of the injured and the dead, and it’s a detailed list down to each and every one of them,” Winters said, emphasizing each word. “With you in charge of disbursing the compensation, doesn’t that mean you have a complete grasp of the financial situation of the garrison troops in each county?”

“That’s right.” Colonel Skull removed his monocle and readily admitted, “Exactly.”

“So Colonel Gaisa isn’t wrong.” Winters’ expression was cold and contemptuous. “We’re a bunch of robbers, a bunch of robbers with their own agendas, a bunch of robbers who might stab each other in the back. Sitting here—dividing the loot!”

Senior Mason slumped back into his chair.

"But you three seniors, do you really think this plan of dividing the spoils will solve our problems?" Winters grabbed the plan in front of Mason and slammed it on the table, demanding, "Do you really think this plan of dividing the spoils will solve our problems?"

The file slammed heavily onto the table, causing the clerk next door and even the guard outside the door to tremble involuntarily.

Winters pressed down on the long table, looked down at the three officers in front of him, and asked coldly, "Do you really think that as long as this spoils-sharing plan is fair enough, we won't go to war again?"

The air was so heavy that it was hard to breathe; you could hear a pin drop in the room. Despite it being the height of summer, the temperature had plummeted to a chilling level.

“You don’t care at all whether the distribution plan is fair or not.” Winters bared his fangs, revealing his sharp edge. “In fact, even if I shattered your very bones, you would still grit your teeth and accept an unfair plan. Because all you want is to get the money and supplies as quickly as possible, then return to your territory, recruit soldiers! Organize your army! And start another war!”

Faced with Winters's aggressive questioning, the three officers remained silent.

"May I ask what your next steps are?" Winters' gaze swept over the three officers before finally settling on Colonel Gaisa.

He answered his own question: "I guess they're going to launch an attack. The elite field troops of Zhuwangbao have been wiped out, and what's left are at most half a legion of old, weak, and disabled soldiers. The provinces of Xilin and Beilu are currently defenseless, and continuing to be trapped in the newly reclaimed land would be a waste of a golden opportunity! How could they not launch an attack?"

Colonel Gaisa grunted: "Exactly."

“So,” Winters said, looking directly at Colonel Gaisa without flinching, pointing to himself, “what about me?”

Winters asked the three officers three times in a row.

"What are you going to do with me?"

"With me behind you, do you dare to move?"

"If you can carve out new land, where am I supposed to carve out more land?"

No one can provide the answer.

“If this problem cannot be solved,” Winters took a deep breath, sheathed his sharp edge, sat back in his seat, and stated the cruel reality without emotion: “No matter how satisfactory the agreement we reach today may be, it will ultimately lead to a deadly end. At that time, either you will kill us, or we will kill you. All noble purposes will be buried in blood. Colonel Bode Gates, who lies buried in Maplestone Cathedral, will also weep for us.”

Silence, another long silence.

Gaisa's scars twitched as he gritted his teeth and asked the young man in front of him, "So what do you want?"

“A coalition that exists in name only is insufficient to sustain its own existence, let alone to integrate the resources of the newly established provinces,” Winters replied earnestly. “We need a larger framework—we need to rebuild the Newly Established Legion.”

Gaisa Adonis, Skul Mekren, Matthias Korwin, and everyone else who heard those words were stunned.

Lieutenant Colonel Matthias muttered to himself, "Rebuild the New Reclamation Army?"

Colonel Skull rationally retorted: "The garrison forces in each county are already close to half a legion's strength, and when combined, they will far exceed the strength of a legion. The structure of the New Reclamation Legion is insufficient to accommodate so many troops, and in the end, it will only exist in name only."

Colonel Gaisa sneered: "Isn't the New Reclamation Legion illegitimate and without proper justification? New Reclamation Legion? Whose New Reclamation Legion is it?"

Captain Richard Mason, on the other hand, was instinctively calculating frantically: "To rebuild the New Reclamation Corps, we need..."

"This won't work! That won't work! What do you want?" Winters slammed his fist on the table and roared, "This won't work! That won't work! Then there's only one way left!"

Mason involuntarily shuddered, fearing that the enraged Winters would say, "I'll kill you all right now!"

The conference room door was kicked open, and Major Cyber, who had heard Winters's roar from the auditorium, rushed in carrying a lamppost: "Holy crap! They've started fighting again!"

"There is only one way to stop us from killing each other, to stop us from heading towards self-destruction, to stop us from making the newly reclaimed land a river of blood."

Winters glanced at the three officers, then at his comrades and subordinates, and then at everyone who had flooded into the meeting room, before stating his final solution in a resounding voice:
"Rebuild the Republic of Platu!"

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