609: Chapter 146, Post-War Era_1 609: Chapter 146, Post-War Era_1 “Let’s wait for the right opportunity!
Viscount, the Orcs are not to be taken lightly.
Despite the rapid progress of the Allied Forces, I fear the situation would be quite different if it were our men on the front lines!
The enemy is on high alert, and the chances of them being negligent and splitting their forces again are impossible.”
Hudson politely declined.
Creating opportunities for combat is easy, but the problem lies with the meager forces at the Hollis family’s disposal.
Just a single Bimon Cavalry Corps could obliterate them.
Even for members of the Koslow family, Hudson has not specifically tasked them with earning battlefield merits.
Not only because Hudson needs to uphold justice and rigor, but even more so because he cannot afford the inadvertent losses.
Opportunities are reserved for those with strength.
I was being too greedy.
Hudson, forget what I just said.
The Hollis family is no longer able to withstand any disruptions.
Losing their last resources, even for great military successes, would be fruitless!”
Cooling down, he realized how dangerous his thoughts had been.
Going to war with insufficient strength, even the best opportunities could not be seized.
Take Hudson’s “beast taming the beast, dividing the Orc Empire strategy,” for example.
Despite being his own plan, he ultimately shared it with the Allied Forces.
It wasn’t that he did not wish to monopolize it but rather that the Kingdom’s Army had a limited capacity and could not swallow that cake.
If Hudson was appointed Commander in Chief before the Northern Expedition Army suffered heavy losses, there would have been no need for the Allied Forces.
The decisiveness in letting go of a merit that could have earned him the title of “Human Marshal” earned Viscount Orlan’s admiration.
“Viscount, there’s no need to worry too much.
All families are in a similar situation now.
The Hollis family is not at a disadvantage.
The real factors determining the distribution of benefits after the war are no longer on the battlefield, but rather in the ensuing political games.
The assassination case has brought the infighting of the Capital into the open.
Major Nobles implicated in the case will be the target of repression from Your Majesty.
Especially the five major families from the north, who already had grievances with the Royal Family.
New vendettas combined with old ones, Your Majesty will certainly not let them off easy.
If the Hollis family is willing to give up their current holdings and move to the North Border Region, receiving several counties, mastering power in a province, that’s entirely possible.
But rewards and risks are directly proportional.
Even without the threat of Orcs, the conditions in all aspects of the North Border region are far from the Southeastern Province.
The human, material, and financial resources needed to develop these lands are astronomical.
To be frank with you, Viscount.
The Koslow family has decided to stay in the Southeastern Province.
After the war, it may try to regain its ancestral lands from the Rocknard Family.
For other areas in the North Border Region, even if given to me, the Koslow family lacks the resources to develop them!”
No matter what decision the Hollis family makes, he will Read the latest chapters on NovelHub - completely free!
Compared to starting over in the north, he would rather stay in the Southeastern Province and wrestle with the Dalton Family.
It’s not because Hudson lacked ambition but because the family’s foundation was weak.
The most critical factor is—the population.
Even if all branches of the Koslow family move and utilize all available connections, they could only muster up a few hundred thousand people.
Such a small population could settle in a single county.
Even if extending further, they can only inhabit two or three counties at most.
The expenditure of just migrating these civilians would bankrupt Hudson.
Rather than blindly advancing, he would rather stick to the Mountain Domain and fight against the swampy land surrounding it.
At least the Mountain Domain can be profitable.
Even after the war, the annual income is not low.
With some extra effort, the family can balance its finances and enter positive development from the land’s earnings.
“Hudson, I’m afraid your plan may not work out.
The ancestral lands of the Koslow family are in the hands of the Rocknard Family and they won’t give it up unless it’s absolutely necessary.
The five major families of the north share the same roots.
They aren’t going to just sit back and watch this precedent unfold.
Also, the Dalton family will think of ways to send you to the Northland.
With their influence among the Southeastern Province Nobles, most of the nobles in the Seven Southeastern Provinces will politically Read the latest chapters on NovelHub - completely free!
Your rise has been too rapid, surpassing everyone’s limits of tolerance.
After the war, they are bound to find ways to constrain your development.
This is still with the favor you gained from decisively striking earlier where most of the Kingdom’s nobles owe you.
Otherwise, the Koslow family would be facing suppression from all sides, not just development constraints.
The situation for the Hollis family isn’t much better.
Although we are also an old prestigious family, there aren’t many who would be willing to see us return to our old standing.
Even after so many years of cultivation, the majority of major nobles remained neutral to us.
It would be tough to provide you political Read the latest chapters on NovelHub - completely free!”
Viscount Orlan answered with a bitter smile.
If the Koslow family is willing to move to the north, the Hollis family could partner with a few other intermediate aristocracies of the Kingdom to establish a new basis in the north.
Without Hudson, their strong arm, even allying with a few other families, the Hollis family could not withstand the five major families of the north.
“Rest assured, Viscount, considering the current situation, it will take the Dalton family, at the very least, several years to restore its peak military strength.