I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 469 Charles is a good man
"Charles is dead?"

When Chris heard the news, he was very disappointed and even sighed deeply.

"What a pity... How could such a good person die?"

Unlike Rem, Chris doesn't dislike Charles; in fact, he quite likes him.

It's fair to say that Chris was one of the people on this continent who least wanted to hear about Charles's death, to the point that he might have preferred the latter's father to live even more than Charles himself.

The reason is simple: Charles did nothing wrong to the Kingdom of Bagnia; on the contrary, he gained great benefits because of some of his actions.

The actions of the Kingdom of Minicia in controlling the Kingdom of Bagnia and its invasion were all done by Charles's father and had little to do with the former.

On the contrary, Charles's rise to power has greatly benefited the Kingdom of Bagnia. Apart from the contributions of the players, Charles's contribution is almost the greatest to Chris's current power.

Charles is the legendary "pig teammate." On his own side, he is the biggest scourge, but on the enemy's side, he is the best teammate.

For example, his ruthless purge of the Miniseyan nobles in Taiwan was a great thing for Chris.

As for the so-called centralization of power by Charles, Chris is not afraid at all. It's just a matter of fighting for another year or two. The longer the fighting goes on, the better it will be to clean up some of the mess.

As for the human losses caused by the war... weren't there the Blue Flag Army and the Railway Guard Regiment?
What's there to regret? They didn't pay enough blood tax. Chris really can't believe them.

"Oh, what a pity..."

Chris sighed again.

However, Charles did do a good deed before he died by taking the trash with him, which saved Chris a lot of trouble later.

So, Chris fell into deep thought about the matter of little Charles. After much deliberation, he decided to give the latter a good treatment... the Duke.

For the territory of the young Duke Charles, Chris chose the island of Miniscia, the capital of the Kingdom of Minicia.

Firstly, as the former capital, the city's citizens are clearly proud, just like the "Beijing gentlemen" and "Shanghai gentlemen," possessing their own unique qualities and personalities.

Handing the city over to young Charles would obviously be acceptable to the local residents. Even if they couldn't accept it and harbored resentment towards the former lord, that was none of Chris's business.

It is only natural that Charles's misdeeds led to his son's suffering.

Secondly, due to the near-massacre by the Imperial Guard, this once incredibly prosperous city is now almost in ruins, filled with nothing but corpses and rubble.

Reconstruction requires a massive investment of resources, which can be used to deplete the wealth stored up by the Minisian royal family. At the same time, a railway guard regiment can be stationed here to both suppress the local population and, under the guise of assisting in reconstruction, to carry out surveillance.

Chris didn't intend to plunder the Minisian royal family's wealth. He could have, but there was no need, because compared to his own reputation, this sum of money, whose exact value was still unknown, was insignificant.

Of course, given its rich history, its proximity to a canal leading to the sea, and its geographical advantages, Taiwan will inevitably rise again and prosper once more.

Therefore, Chris also imposed certain restrictions on the power of the young Duke Charles. For example, the young Duke Charles did not have feudal authority over his own territory. He could not manage the city or appoint any city officials.

The only right he can enjoy is that Taiwan must hand over one-tenth of its tax revenue to the latter every year.

In addition to this fief income, the Kingdom of Bagnia would also pay Charles a ducal annuity every year.

As for aristocratic obligations... Chris originally didn't want little Charles to have any obligations, because obligations are rights.

But upon closer reflection, little Charles has no obligations whatsoever, yet he receives a large sum of money every year simply because of his title. Isn't this kid becoming a parasite on the Kingdom of Bagnia?

Chris subconsciously thought of the princes at the end of the Ming Dynasty... This is not a good thing.

So, after thinking it over, he gave Charles the rank of Lieutenant-General of the Fifth Army, putting him in charge of building an army, which would fill in the current guard and civilian ministers who were still loyal to the royal family.

At the same time, Chris would also provide career advancement opportunities for the officers of this Blue Banner Army, so that when Charles grows up, his loyal old ministers and officers will either be promoted or retire, and the latter will no longer have the ability to rebuild the country.

As for the land of this Blue Flag Army, Chris certainly did not intend to place it near the island, but rather in another location in the original site of the Kingdom of Minicia.

After thinking it through, Chris gave the order.

"Secretary!"

"I am here, Your Majesty."

In the corner of the office, the clerk stepped out in response.

"In the name of the King, bestow upon young Charles the title of Duke of Treasure Island... You draft a document."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"As for where he will be promoted... well, let's leave it here at Waterladnoy for now. Have little Charles come over."

Chris suddenly thought of a question and sighed.

"Sigh, now that we've taken over the entire Kingdom of Minicia, we'll have to find a new location for Bagnia's capital, otherwise it'll be inconvenient..."

This is truly a happy problem.

……

The scenario Chris predicted is gradually becoming a reality in the vast homeland of Minicia.

The dramatic changes that occurred in the capital island of Treasure Island—the sudden death of the old King Charles, the surrender of the young Prince Charles, and the arrival of the Holy Army—spread like wildfire, rapidly reaching every corner of the kingdom along post roads and trade routes.

However, the ripples it caused were much smaller than expected.

In rural areas and border towns far from the centers of power, farmers still care about their crops and tomorrow's weather, while merchants still worry about the price of their goods and the safety of their journeys.

For them, the change of kings was far less real than a sudden hailstorm or a bandit raid.

Moreover, the new conqueror, King Chris, is said to have half-Minesian royal blood and has married a noblewoman from his own kingdom, which has weakened the resistance of many lower-class people.

As long as the new regime can bring order and stop the endless levies and wars, it doesn't seem to be a question of who to be loyal to that is worth fighting to the death.

Those who truly felt anxious and attempted to take action were the small and medium-sized nobles scattered throughout the land, who had not yet been affected by the war.

Some of them heard about the horrific purge of the Taiwanese aristocracy and, feeling a sense of shared fate, were terrified by the ruthless methods of their own King Charles, thus losing much of their will to resist.

However, others saw an opportunity in the power vacuum and attempted to gather private armies under the banner of "serving the king" and "restoring the legitimacy of Miniscia," to defend their own castles and territories, dreaming of seizing greater benefits in the chaos.

But their resistance, as Chris had predicted, was loose, inefficient, and lacked appeal.

Their biggest problem is that Charles's actions during his lifetime had already destroyed the kingdom's cohesion and nearly exhausted the country's overall financial resources and reputation. His bloody purge of the great nobles before his death had already alienated the local nobles.

Now, the nobles want to rebel, but are shocked to find that none of their powerful and respected nobles can step forward to unite their scattered forces. The smaller nobles, fighting independently, with their pitiful private armies and conscripted serfs, are utterly vulnerable against the Bagnian Holy Army, which has survived the bloody battle in the Suvano jungle and the suppression of the rebellion on Treasure Island, and especially against the players who seem like a calamity.

Even more fatally, Bagnia's propaganda machine also started operating at this time.

With the help of intelligence agents and the remaining Miniseyan sardines, players who are passionate about the story and the scribes accompanying the army quickly spread the news... Prince Charles was not imprisoned, but was treated well and was granted the title of Duke of Treasure Island by King Chris. The Miniseyan royal line will continue in a new form.

At the same time, the Kingdom of Bagnia promised to restore order, reduce tax rates, protect legitimate trade, and prioritize the elimination of bandits and snake people who were rampaging across the land.

These messages greatly shook the foundations of the resistance. Many minor nobles who were not originally willing to fight to the death began to observe and even secretly sent envoys to contact Bagnia and probe the conditions for surrender.

Their soldiers and the peasants in their territory lacked the motivation to fight for a hopeless war.

Occasionally, some arrogant or particularly stubborn noble lords would try to put up a last stand by relying on their formidable castles.

However, their fates are often strikingly similar.

Often, shortly after news of resistance spreads, or even before its messengers are on their way, the player vanguard, which requires no logistics and moves at an incredible speed, has already arrived at the city gates.

The outcome of the battle that followed was a foregone conclusion.

Players will solve problems in ways that are hard to understand in this world, such as blasting open the city gates with powerful siege spears and explosives, sending in agile assassin players to infiltrate, or climbing over the walls at night to create chaos and open the gates.

Some players even went so far as to gather a dozen or more field cannons and bombard the castle, scaring the guards inside half to death, who then hastily came out to surrender.

Before the flames of resistance could spread, they were swiftly extinguished with overwhelming force and efficiency; the scattered sparks couldn't even illuminate the night sky.

Therefore, when Chris's investiture order and Charles's summons were proclaimed, most regions responded with a natural calm, or even a weary acquiescence and acceptance.

Minicia, a once mighty kingdom, saw its last embers extinguished silently in this eerie atmosphere.

The old order collapsed completely with Charles' death, and a new order is slowly and steadily reshaping the contours of this land under the railroads and laws of Bagnia.

As for the royal fleet of the Kingdom of Minicia... they surrendered to the Kingdom of Bagnia even before Charles Jr.

Do you remember those fishermen who went to Diurnirem for refuge?
They had previously sent a message to Diu Ni Rem, who immediately sent the coordinates of the natural harbor where the Minnesota fleet was suspected to be anchored to the naval players.

So, on a calm winter day, the fleet belonging to the Kingdom of Bagnia launched a surprise attack on the island.

Then, when the fleet rushed to the outside of the natural harbor, it found that the expected formidable defenses were nowhere to be found.

The harbor was desolate. The once mighty Minisian fleet, half of the royal warships, now lay silently at anchor, like sick beasts.

Many boats had tangled sails and damaged canvases, and some were even visibly tilted, clearly indicating a lack of maintenance.

Only a few small sailboats and sampans floated on the sea, the sailors on board dressed in rags, casting their nets weakly to catch fish, more to replenish their food supplies than to keep watch.

When the three 2,000-ton battleships of Bagnia, clad in copper and resembling sea monsters, accompanied by several escort ships, burst into their view with an unusual speed and force, the people on the small boats were instantly stunned.

Their fishing nets fell from their hands, and they stared blankly at the sea monsters.

Without the slightest hesitation, on the largest sentry ship, an old soldier who looked like a minor leader was the first to react. He practically scrambled up the mast, not to raise the battle flag, but to desperately lower a faded blue flag with a gold anchor, representing the Minisian royal family.

Then, he grabbed a piece of white rag that looked like some kind of underwear and started waving it around wildly.

The sailors on the other small boats also seemed to wake up from their daze and followed suit. Some lowered their flags, others searched for white cloths; their movements were chaotic but their goal was clear... to surrender.

A 500-ton frigate approached, and the captain, standing at the bow, was somewhat bewildered by the dramatic scene before him.

"What are you doing!?"

The veteran rushed to the ship's side, his face a mixture of fear, awe, and a hint of... relief.
"Nothing, just surrender..."

"Not going to hit me?"

The old soldier gave a wry smile, then turned and pointed to the lifeless ships in the harbor.

"There's no food, the people on board are starving to death, the boat's wood is rotting, the ropes are about to break from mold, and the cannons are out of ammunition... We're not fighting a war here, we're just waiting to die, sir!"

The captain and the other players on board exchanged bewildered glances. They had envisioned all sorts of intense naval battles, even rehearsing beach landing tactics multiple times, and this was it?
"Then why don't you leave?"

“We can’t leave. The snake people can swim across the sea. If we stay here, we can hold them off for a while. If we leave, they can fish in the sea without any restraint.”

Oh, I never expected these starving Miniese sailors to be so responsible.

Where is your commander?

One of the players shouted at them.

After a series of bumpy exchanges, the player received an even more baffling answer.

Most of the fleet's senior officers had long since slipped away under the pretext of returning to Taiwan to report or raise supplies. The highest commander left behind was an old and frail veteran captain who rarely left his cabin. He had also passed away two weeks earlier due to scurvy and malnutrition.

The port is now leaderless and completely disorganized, with only a few low-ranking officers and non-commissioned officers barely maintaining order to prevent a complete mutiny or starvation.

The players' fleets, almost entirely guided by these surrendered outpost soldiers, swaggered into the port. The process was outrageously smooth.

The contrast became even more striking as the Miniese battleships drew near those massive wooden sailing warships.

The sailors on the Minisian warships gathered at the ship's side. They were emaciated and had blank stares, but when they saw the first batch of white bread and canned meat thrown over from the player's ship as a test, an incredible cheer and commotion erupted from the crowd.

Their last shred of resistance vanished completely in the face of food.

The reception process turned into a humanitarian aid and supplies distribution event.

The players, both amused and exasperated, took out food and water from their supplies and distributed them to the starving enemies.

The sailors of Miniscia were incredibly cooperative, readily disarming and assembling as instructed, and even taking the initiative to lead the players to inventory the dwindling supplies and dire condition of the ship.

Charles and the nobles were busy with their affairs on the island, and whether they overlooked it or did it intentionally, they clearly forgot about the royal fleet, which was still in service or adrift. They didn't send a supply fleet to resupply the fleet that was carrying out the blockade mission.

Once Charles Jr. announced his surrender, the other half of the fleet anchored in the port also surrendered cleanly and decisively.

Navys, whether green-water or blue-water, need supplies more than the army. Without supplies, they have no combat effectiveness.

Unlike peasants who march on foot, the former can still wage guerrilla warfare in the mountains if they run out of supplies, but for the navy, going to sea without supplies is tantamount to waiting to die.

(End of this chapter)