Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 116

Creating Retainers to Build a Human Empire 118

Hybrid War (8)

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Flap.

The Empire’s flag hung from the city’s highest spire.

Tishredon, the capital of the Cesena Republic, was occupied in less than half a year after the war began. Since the Republic was essentially a city-state, the loss of its capital effectively meant the Republic’s demise.

Bang! Rat-a-tat-tat!

Boom!

“Aaaaaaah!”

However, the battle continued in the city center.

Gunfire, explosions, and screams echoed from all directions.

Because there were many different races, hosts of parasitic substances [likely referring to individuals heavily influenced or controlled by parasitic entities], and hybrids left in the city, there were battles between the Imperial Army hunting them down and those resisting the Imperial Army.

There was no surrender.

The different races chose death rather than being humiliated by humans, and the Empire wielded its sword once more rather than advising the different races to surrender.

“The cleanup is going smoothly. It will be over before sunset.”

Amidst the ongoing urban warfare, I rode my horse towards Tishredon’s government building, accompanied by Calliope, Gerhard, and Horatio.

“Even if the different races and hybrids are stronger than humans, the ones remaining are of low caliber. If they don’t desire suicide, why would they remain in a place where defeat is certain?”

They couldn’t escape even if they wanted to.

They must have been pushed down the priority list because there were no ships to board.

“They’re just noisy and not much of a problem.”

I nodded at Gerhard’s assurance.

“Yes. Is there any damage to the facilities? I heard there was a fire a little while ago.”

“Yes. Immediately after we entered the city, some insurgents set fire to the shipyard and engaged in sabotage. However, we suppressed it before it escalated, so there is little damage.”

“That’s a relief. Station retainers to guard the facilities no matter what. You never know what might happen until the city stabilizes.”

Occupying Tishredon was not the end.

The Republic suffered near destruction because it lost Tishredon, but from the Empire’s perspective, it had only defeated one enemy at sea.

At this rate, it was barely breaking even.

The Empire had to completely absorb Tishredon’s industrial facilities and technicians to fully achieve the goals of this war.

“Separate the technicians from the surrendered citizens. It’s meaningless to secure the facilities if there are no personnel to operate them, so we must win them over.”

Especially shipbuilding technicians.

We needed those who had been taught shipbuilding by the Naga [a reptilian or serpentine race known for their advanced shipbuilding techniques].

“Will you entrust the persuasion to the priests of the Common Church as before?”

That was why I called the priests of the Common Church.

To the Republic’s citizens, I was an invader, a heretic, and even a tyrant who had deprived them of the opportunity to be treated as kin by receiving the Naga’s grace.

If we didn’t convert them and make them Imperial citizens, it was obvious that there would be problems later.

The role of the Common Church’s priests was to convert them into Imperial citizens.

“The priests of the Common Church seem to have difficulty dealing with those from the Republic… What will you do with those who are not converted?”

Those who are not converted?

I chuckled.

“Haven’t I already shown you?”

Gerhard understood the meaning behind my words and nodded.

Who built the levee?

Unconverted Republic citizens did.

Citizens who refused to become Imperial citizens.

“If they refuse to become Imperial citizens, they should be summoned to places where the Empire needs hands. There is a shortage of labor in various parts of the Empire, and they are asking for help. Restoring coastal cities, building fortresses on the border, digging canals—there are so many things to do.”

Don’t you think it’s a good thing?

There would be at least 100,000 prisoners in Tishredon.

Only the different races or hybrids would have boarded the ships.

Even the different races were being caught by the Imperial Army after being left behind because they were low on the priority list, so how could humans escape?

In other words, there was a surplus of nearly 100,000 people.

“If we mobilize Imperial citizens, we have to pay them wages, but we don’t have to pay prisoners. They are beings we can use freely without worrying about costs.”

“It’s like slavery.”

Horatio scratched his head next to me.

“There is a fundamental difference from slavery.”

“What’s the difference?”

“I will give them a chance. I will say that I will accept them whenever they want to become Imperial citizens. If they abandon the ridiculous ritual of becoming a different race.”

I think this is a generous offer.

They are not bought and sold like slaves, they are not offered as tribute, they are not used as test subjects, and if they accept the concepts that they must have as Imperial citizens, they are liberated.

However, it was difficult to change the way of thinking they had held for a lifetime.

As you can see from the manpower mobilized for the levee, there were many humans who could not accept this.

“Still, I hope as many as possible will be converted. There is a saying that all citizens of the Republic are sailors. If they become Imperial citizens, we won’t have to worry about recruiting sailors.”

“Hmm.”

I suddenly remembered something I had forgotten.

“Come to think of it, you were the retainer in charge of the Navy Department, Horatio.”

“Well… I’m in charge of the Navy Department without a navy.”

I gave a bitter smile.

“I’m sorry. I have no choice but to say that I couldn’t help it.”

“No. I would have done the same.”

Horatio smiled awkwardly.

“How much resources and time would it have taken to build a proper warship in a country that only knows how to build fishing boats?”

“Well, Pasimea estimates at least three years.”

“Three years? Isn’t that too short?”

So it’s a minimum.

The time it takes when the Empire fully pours its capabilities.

Even that meant that the first ship would be built at the shipyard at least three years later. Until then, she said that there wouldn’t be enough time just for preparatory work such as training shipbuilders and drying wood.

“Yes, it was realistically impossible.”

Even if Pasimea had blueprints in her head, the Empire’s capabilities were the problem. There were so many things going on that we couldn’t pay attention to the navy.

From securing a site to use as a base for nurturing the navy to construction and crew.

“Considering the enemies we will face, even Tishredon is not enough. But how can we train a navy with shipbuilders who don’t even have a shipyard and only know how to build fishing boats?”

“Yes. It’s easier to take away key facilities and manpower. Tishredon was the most suitable target in that respect. The only problem was how to occupy it.”

I had already done that once, so I was confident of success.

It was easier because it was the second time and the situation was better than before.

“It’s not much of an apology for that, but I’ll entrust this place to you.”

I stopped my horse in front of Tishredon’s government building.

The government building was a large rectangular building.

It was almost like a palace in terms of size.

The Republic was a country with wealth comparable to Germania and Wallachia. The government building was where ten members, including the Doge [chief magistrate of the Republic], the lifelong leader who led the Republic, resided, so it was no different from a palace.

“Is it a concept like a lord or governor?”

“No. I will send a city administrator separately. Your role is to make this place, Tishredon, the central hub of the Navy Department, and to nurture and command the navy.”

All Imperial government departments were in Olympus. The Navy Department under the Ministry of Military Affairs was also formally in Olympus. In reality, the Navy Department itself had nothing but a name.

Anyway, Olympus was located near the northern end of the Empire, and Tishredon was located at the southern end of the Empire.

In an era without telephones, would command be properly carried out if the Navy Department was located in Olympus? That should be done after there is room to deploy naval staff, deputy chiefs, and operations commanders in the future.

For now, Horatio had to handle all positions and work on the ground.

Just like Military Minister Gerhard has the operational rights and serves as the military commander on the ground.

“The Republic is as good as destroyed, but the war at sea is not over. If Vlad’s Vampire Empire collapses and the Representative System directly confronts us, they will do the same thing the Republic did.”

The scorched earth tactics called the March to the Sea.

A simple method of destroying military and civilian facilities near the coast and hunting down all humans, but it definitely reduces combat capabilities.

Its effectiveness has already been proven.

The Republic only implemented the scorched earth tactics for about two months, but the damage to the Empire was considerable. We even had to issue an evacuation order to the coast throughout the Empire.

We wouldn’t have been able to handle it if it had been a long-term war.

“When the opponent repeats the same thing, we must not suffer the same damage. To do that, we need a navy to protect the sea.”

One of the reasons why we suffered so much damage from the scorched earth tactics was that there was almost no coastal defense.

But the fundamental reason was that the Empire had no navy. The Republic could freely roam the Empire’s coast without suffering any damage.

To make matters worse, there were even reports that four human hunters were on board an empty merchant ship, not a warship, to raid villages and hunt villagers.

“We have obtained the facilities and manpower to nurture the navy, so you must prioritize nurturing the navy here and conquer the remaining islands of the Republic. I will support you with everything you need.”

Tishredon’s port facilities, shipyard, shipbuilders, and sailors—all the things needed to nurture the navy—were gathered. What can I support here?

From now on, it depends on Horatio’s drive.

“Haste makes waste. But we don’t have time. Use any means to nurture the navy. If there are any retainers you want among the retainers you create in the future, tell me. I will assign them to the Navy Department first.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

After dealing with the remnants of the Republic, we must fight all enemies that threaten the Empire’s waters, from the small countries of southern Wallachia to the Representative System in Naga.

It is a harsh goal for the Imperial Navy, which has just gained a foothold, but it must be done.

“Anything else to say?”

Horatio pondered for a moment and scratched his eyepatch.

“May I ask you for a favor right here?”

“Tell me.”

“Please prioritize the deployment of cannons produced at the Olympus Armory to the navy.”

“Hmm.”

“We need to put cannons on the ships. Considering the size of the ship and the durability of the wood, we need to be able to mount at least dozens of cannons per ship and fire them all at once to inflict effective damage. Therefore, we need cannons. A lot of them.”

It was a difficult request to grant.

The cannons made so far were bronze cannons. Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, and copper is a metal that is not very abundant.

The copper mines in Germania and Wallachia have decent reserves, but they are not enough to meet the increasing demand in the future.

In particular, if the demand for cannons increases sharply due to the nurturing of the navy and all cannons are made of bronze, the current amount of copper mining will not be able to handle it.

Unless we occupy all the Gray Mountains of the Oroko Great Plains.

“I’ve already been talking to Pasimea about that issue. If we nurture the navy, the demand for cannons will inevitably increase. We have been considering ways to increase cannon production accordingly.”

Pasimea replied that the decrease in supply due to the shortage of raw materials could be solved by making cannons out of iron instead of copper.

This was called cast iron cannons, but the problem was that cast iron was more difficult to manufacture than bronze, and even after it was made, it was more prone to explosion than bronze cannons due to brittleness issues, making it difficult to operate.

However, the fact that iron was an abundant resource compared to copper solved all the disadvantages.

The reason why the artillery in Germania achieved some success despite its poor performance was due to the number of cannons.

“Cast iron cannons… If we can somehow secure the quantity, I think the operational difficulties are bearable. It’s better than not having them.”

Horatio handed over a folded piece of paper from his pocket.

When I received it on the saddle and unfolded it, it was a sketch of a warship.

It was messy because it was drawn in a hurry, but I realized what he was trying to express. Because it was similar to a warship that actually existed on Earth.

‘Ship of the line’

It was a sketch similar to a ship of the line.

It wasn’t exactly the same because there were fewer gunports and the layout was different, but what he envisioned was the same as a ship of the line.

“The Republic’s ships are divided into galleys that sail along the coast and sailing ships that sail on the high seas. But I will unify the ships into one sailing ship and adopt a method of attaching as many cannons as possible to the sides. Imagine a fleet of such warships advancing in a line and pouring out firepower from the sides.”

The different races’ navy is overwhelming.

Each country must have hundreds of warships.

Even if the Empire nurtures the navy with all its might now, it is impossible to catch up with or overwhelm the different races’ navy in terms of quantity.

But there was one blind spot: the Empire was the only country in this world that had deployed gunpowder weapons in actual combat. On the other hand, the different races knew about the existence of gunpowder, but they had just come into contact with its practicality.

In other words, the different races’ ships were made without even knowing the concept of mounting cannons.

“If the Empire starts building battleships with dozens of cannons from now on, it will qualitatively lead the naval power. In fact, the battleships made so far are meaningless.”

It was similar to when England built the Dreadnought-class battleship on Earth.

Just like the battleships that had been active until then became obsolete immediately after the appearance of that new concept battleship.

The existence of the ship of the line that Horatio claims will make all the different races’ battleships obsolete.

The ship of the line may not surpass the previous battleships in terms of armor and speed like the Dreadnought, but the existence of the ship of the line, which appeared after hundreds of years of improvement after the development of cannons on Earth, will appear overnight, so the shock to the different races will be no less than that.

Horatio straightened his usually sleepy and listless voice and said firmly.

“So please prioritize the allocation of cannons to the Imperial Navy. Then I will dedicate the sea to Your Majesty.”