Chapter 305 Opera Troupe
After several battles, although the Harland Territory won a great victory, the casualties were not light at all.
The Eastern Front annihilated the Gatlin Tribe on the Eastern Front. After two battles, the Soros Tribe suffered nearly a thousand casualties and about four hundred people were killed.
The defensive battle of Platos on the Western Front was even more brutal. The casualties of the Harland Territory's army exceeded one-third, and nearly seven hundred people were killed.
In order to defeat the main force of the orcs and kill the legendary dog-headed man, the central line annihilated the Kiram Tribe. The casualties of the Harland Territory were nearly three thousand, and more than a thousand people were killed. Among them, more than one hundred and sixty soldiers died in the battle to chase the legendary dragon vein dog-headed man, half of whom were scouts.
Including a small number of auxiliary soldiers, the casualties of the Harland Territory's army were about five thousand, and more than two thousand people were killed. Some of the wounded soldiers were disabled for life. After this war, the number of people receiving pensions next year will exceed ten thousand, and the financial pressure next year will increase a few points.
This year, Harland has only trained 4,000 new soldiers, and Richard is also preparing to expand two infantry battalions. 4,000 new soldiers are not enough to supplement.
This year, only two infantry battalions can be organized first, and the shortage of troops can only be supplemented slowly.
As time goes by, Richard has been in Losa Basin with his army for two months, and the time has entered early June.
Richard has lived very peacefully in these two months, and the Orc Empire has not mobilized troops to counterattack.
In this battle, Harland cooperated with the Grizzly Legion to annihilate the two main legions of the Doghead Principality. When retreating, the four legions lost more than 10,000 soldiers in total.
The Doghead Principality has only six legions, with a main force of 120,000 people, and a one-time loss of 50,000. It is simply unable to replenish in a short time. What's more, Richard also killed Kiram and annihilated more than 3,000 Dragon Vein Dogheads. Relying on the power of the Doghead Principality, it is impossible to counterattack in a short time.
According to the system of the Orc Empire, the title is not hereditary. Only by becoming a legend can you split the land and be granted a title.
After the legendary orcs died in battle or died of old age, their titles would be taken back by the Orc Empire.
The titles of the Orc Empire are more like human governors, and it is difficult to leave them to future generations.
After the legendary wild boar died in battle, the Wild Boar Principality became a territory directly governed by the Orc Central Government. Now that the Dragon Vein Dogman was killed by Richard, the Dogman Principality will also be controlled by the Orc Central Government.
The Orc Empire is vast, with a territory of more than 80 million square kilometers. About 30 million square kilometers of land are uninhabited ice fields, and millions of square kilometers of land are polluted by the spirit of the dead.
The eight major orc royal families, more than 40 legendary main forces are defending the Holy Glorious Empire. Those who are fighting against human kingdoms such as the Grant Kingdom and the Ryan Kingdom are mainly orc dukes.
Because the pressure of defending the Holy Glorious Empire is great, the Orc Royal Legend will not choose to come to the remote Eagle Mountains. The legendary wild boar died more than ten years ago, and there is no Orc Royal Legend to take over and command the battle in the direction of the Grant Kingdom.
Now that Kiram has died in battle, the Gnoll Principality is in chaos. It will take several months for the Orc Central to appoint a new commander and sort out the command system.
These few months are very critical for Harland.
After taking over the Lothar Basin, Richard gave an order to start the construction of Hurricane Castle.
Once the Hurricane Castle is completed, Harland will be able to build a solid defense line in the north of the Lothar Basin with Hurricane Castle as the core.
After two months of hard work, the construction of Hurricane Castle has progressed rapidly. The foundation has been laid and the outer wall has been built to a height of four meters.
In order to build this castle, Lothar Basin mobilized 16,000 contract slaves, and Harland had 3,000 to 4,000 people transporting supplies in the rear.
The Mage Corps of Harland also needs to take turns to draw personnel and use the power of magic to participate in the construction of the castle.
According to the engineer's estimate, the castle should be completed in late August.
June is the summer harvest season. The Lothar Basin is the core of the supply of the Gnoll Principality. There are more than three million acres of farmland reclaimed here. Despite the lack of planning and low agricultural planting level, the yield per mu is only about 70 kilograms, and the annual grain production exceeds 100,000 tons.
There are more than 300,000 people in the Lothar Basin, including the orcs. Simply relying on grain planting is barely enough to eat. The animal husbandry here is also doing well. There are herds of cattle and sheep in the tribes of sheep-bodied people and tauren.
In addition, the orcs have captured a lot of iron-horned horses and are ready to follow the example of humans and train Warcraft cavalry.
In fact, the legion commanded by the orc royal family has already had a well-organized Warcraft cavalry like the human empire.
Kiram is an ambitious orc. In recent years, it has been sending orcs to capture the iron-horned horses on the northern foothills of the Eagle Mountains, and almost all the iron-horned horses in the northern region have been captured.
Kiram originally planned to train 500 Warcraft wolf cavalry at one time to hit the human army unexpectedly, but he didn't expect that he would die in the hands of humans before he succeeded.
The Ironhorn Horse Ranch that Kiram built in the Losa Basin also fell into Richard's hands intact.
The Ironhorn Horse Ranch controlled by the Dog-headed Principality is three times the size of the Harland Territory, with more than 300 adult Ironhorn Horses and 200 young ponies.
According to this scale, it will not affect the reproduction and breeding of Ironhorn Horses. This Ironhorn Horse Ranch can provide at least 50 adult Ironhorn Horses every year to supplement the army.
After more than ten years of development, the Warcraft Horse Breeding Center in Harland Territory has also reached a certain scale. There are more than one hundred adult iron-horned horses, and there is also a third-level horse king for breeding. There are more than sixty ponies, which can provide more than a dozen Warcraft horses for the Warcraft Cavalry Brigade every year.
The two horse farms combined will allow the Warcraft Cavalry Brigade to restore its organization and replenish its losses this year.
In the decisive battle with the main force of the orcs, the Warcraft Cavalry Brigade of Harland suffered heavy losses. Not only did forty-five Warcraft Cavalrymen die in battle, but more than thirty were seriously injured and retired from active service. Warcraft horses also suffered a large loss, with more than sixty deaths.
Although the flesh and blood of Warcraft are very useful for training soldiers, Richard did not order the slaughter of injured iron-horned horses or the skinning and cramping of the dead iron-horned horses. Instead, they were buried with the soldiers in the military cemetery of Harland Territory.
Warcraft horses are very sensitive and smart, with an IQ equivalent to that of human children. Richard respects them, and they actually understand.
Compared with the Warcraft Cavalry of Edward, Jonathan and other families, the quality of the Warcraft Cavalry soldiers of Harland is a little worse, but they cooperate more tacitly with the Warcraft horses. When the two sides fight, the Warcraft Cavalry of Harland may have a slight advantage.
Richard was very happy that the huge herd of iron-horned horses he captured could replenish the losses of the Warcraft Cavalry Brigade, and he finally put down a worry.
This year, in the battle with the orcs, both the Edward and Jonathan families suffered heavy losses. Although their Warcraft breeding center is larger in scale and can provide up to about 200 Warcraft horses each year, they will of course give priority to replenishing their own Warcraft cavalry.
If it weren't for the capture of the orcs' Warcraft horse farm, the losses of the Harland Warcraft Cavalry Brigade might not be replenished this year.
After all, the Losa Basin is the front line and may face war at any time. After discovering the Warcraft horse farm, Richard immediately transferred elite soldiers, moved the Warcraft horses to the rear, and merged the two horse herds.
This year's war has affected agricultural production in the Losa Basin. Although the war lasted for a relatively short time, the summer grain output in the Losa Basin has decreased by about 6,000 tons compared with previous years.
Fortunately, Richard made preparations in advance and sold about 40,000 orc prisoners of war, which not only reduced food losses but also recovered some funds.
Combined with the output of animal husbandry, even if 20,000 garrisons are added, this year's food is enough.
After taking over the Losa Basin, there are a myriad of things to do. Although Richard has delegated some government affairs, he has been very busy in recent months.
Agricultural production, household registration statistics, and the construction of defense lines, many things require Richard's signature and approval.
Now that the summer harvest is over, I can finally relax.
Every June 12th is the Harvest Festival in the Harland Territory.
The Harvest Festival is a relatively new festival with only about seven or eight years of history. At first, the free people spontaneously organized themselves, took out fruits and food, and sang and danced on the night of June 12th to celebrate the harvest.
Since last year, the Harvest Festival has become a legal holiday in the Harland Territory.
On this day, the Williamburg Opera House not only had a large-scale performance, but also a grand celebration in the square.
This year's Harvest Festival, in order to allow the population of Losa Basin to integrate into Harland Territory, Richard specially wrote to Rogge, asking the opera singers from Williamburg to come to Losa Basin and perform for the people here for a period of time.
And on the evening of June 12, a large celebration will be held.
The members of the Williamburg Opera Troupe are all locals, most of whom are very young, and many are no older than 20 years old. Since they can remember, they have been free people and have a relatively rich and stable life.
Many opera singers have also attended elementary school and have a little knowledge.
The development of art in the Dawn Plane is not good, and music, fine arts, sculpture and other arts almost all serve the aristocracy. There are also very few people engaged in art in the entire Grant Kingdom.
There is only one opera house and dozens of jugglers in the capital Nolan. On the contrary, there are more family painters, and there are more than a few hundred people in the Grant Kingdom.
The people of the Grant Kingdom do not have a high standard of living. More than 90% of the population in this country are serfs, working hard every day and worrying about food and clothing. Even in the capital, Norland, most people are poor and can't even get enough food, so there is certainly no soil for the development of art.
After the development of Harland Territory, the living standards of free people have been greatly improved.
This year, there are already 260,000 free people in Harland Territory. With enough soil, various arts have sprung up like mushrooms after rain. Folk painters, folk singers, dancers, and jugglers have appeared in Fort William.
After Richard became the Earl, he established an opera house, formed a song and dance troupe, and even personally directed the writing of scripts, creating opera works such as "Northern Frontier Soldiers", "Spring Song", "The Great Invention", and "A Day of Harvest".
The plots of these works are relatively simple, and the lyrics are close to reality. They praise the soldiers, farmers and scientific researchers in Harland Territory, which has caused a great response and sensation in this place where entertainment activities are extremely scarce.
In just one or two years, opera singers have become very popular in Fort William.
Catherine rode a skinny horse, followed a supply transport team with her companions from the chorus, and advanced along the Harland Valley with difficulty.
After entering the northern part of the military station, the road was already very difficult to travel. Catherine and others even had to get off the horses, carry some supplies on their backs, and pull the horses forward.
The actors of the song and dance troupe were treated like stars in Williamburg, and were admired wherever they went. They had a relatively generous salary, no worries about food and clothing, and had never suffered the hardships of their parents.
Just half a day after leaving the military station, leaving the wide road, Catherine felt her legs were unusually heavy with heavy luggage on her young shoulders.
"Mr. Stevin, how long will it take us to reach the Losa Basin?"
Stevin turned around and saw Catherine panting, with some tears in her eyes. So he comforted her, "Hold on, we're almost there."
Although Catherine didn't get into junior high school, she was a smart person. She immediately noticed Stevin's perfunctory response and continued to ask, "How long will it take us to get to the Losa Basin?"
Seeing Catherine asking again and again, Stevin had to tell the truth, "At this speed, it will take three days to enter the Losa Basin."
Hearing the answer, Catherine was immediately a little discouraged. She said with a frustrated face, "It will take another three days. I can't walk anymore."
"You have to hold on even if you can't walk. There are still scattered orcs on this road who will attack those who are alone. If you don't follow the big team, your safety is not guaranteed.
Our mission time is very tight and we can't wait for you. Hold on for another two hours. There is a post station more than ten kilometers away. We can rest at the post station."
As a star of the Fort William Theater, Catherine is quite famous near Fort William, but her social status is not comparable to Stevin at all.
Stevin is one of the earliest soldiers in Harland. Although his qualifications are average and he has been a second-level warrior for more than ten years, he has a wide network of contacts and a lot of face. He has friendships with many senior officials in Harland.
Stevin has retired from the army of Harland for five years and is now a transport merchant. His caravan is the same as the official caravan controlled by Richard's cousin Gavin. It is mainly responsible for military logistics and transportation business, and the annual profit is relatively stable.
Stevin's caravan now has dozens of mercenaries under its command. These mercenaries are basically from Black River Fort, and many of them are retired soldiers from the Northern Legion. These mercenaries are considered the third-line troops of Harland. When it comes to an emergency, they must obey orders and participate in the war.
Since last year, Harland has established two major unions, demon hunting and mercenary unions. Although Stevin is a businessman, he is a member of the two unions and has established his own mercenary group. Because of his upper-level relationship, he has more prestige in the two unions.
Seeing that Stevin has become serious, Catherine can only grit her teeth and insist on keeping up with the large army and walking to the post station.
After passing the post station, the road in the valley became much easier to travel. After three days of arduous journey, the opera troupe followed Stevin's caravan and finally arrived at the Losa Basin.