Chapter 1153

The night was deep, and most of the capital had already settled peacefully into the darkness.

Although lamps were not luxury items, for most citizens of the capital, unless it was for working under the light, burning oil to light lamps for no reason was undoubtedly a quite shameful waste.

Only the wealthy living in the Upper City, and places like Redwood Avenue and Lowther Arcade, would keep lamps lit all night without regard for the loss, just for a little bit of light.

And among the several "lit areas" in the capital, the place with the most lamps was naturally the Wang Gong, which served as the core of the capital.

However, after the Wang Gong quietly changed its master, most of those lamps that used to be constantly lit were ordered to be turned off by the new master. In the sleeping quarters located in the back half of the Wang Gong, there was only one window still lit.

*Sigh*... finally almost done.

After finishing the work on the desk, the Princess, as the capital's number one night owl, stretched like a cat and loosened her sore muscles, but she didn't extinguish the light to sleep as usual. Instead, she took out a crumpled notebook from the shelf behind her and began to read it quietly in front of the desk.

The handwriting on the notebook looked a bit crooked, but rather than saying the writing was ugly, it was more like it had been drawn with feet while slipping on ice. The font, which wasn't even steady in straight lines and thus looked round and chubby, was filled with the innocent interest unique to children.

However, although the font looked a bit innocent, the content in the notebook was far from innocent; on the contrary, it had quite a sharp meaning.

"The first step of the plan is to overthrow the royal family and completely unify the kingdom!"

Looking at the royal emblem on William's old homework book that had been forcefully marked with a red cross, Princess Xia Luote's mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly.

Unlike the dog-crawling handwriting next to it, this royal emblem marked "Target" on the homework book was drawn quite properly. It was clear that he had placed the homework paper over the pattern and traced it stroke by stroke along the pattern showing through the paper.

And below the royal emblem with the cross, there was a simplified map of the general geographical situation around the kingdom, also traced by placing it over a map.

"Then, at all costs, befriend the nobles here and find a way to take this place!"

On the simplified map, the location of the Ruhr area of the Black Forest Kingdom was heavily circled with a pen, and then a black, small pattern that was unclear what it was, was drawn next to it.

Hmm... blind guess, it should be a piece of coal.

After recalling the intelligence on the Ruhr area, the Princess pulled a discarded document from the desk, turned it over, and wrote the words "Ruhr Area - Coal" on the back.

Remembering that the Ruhr area was the largest coal-producing area in the Black Forest Kingdom, this should be a mineral marker. However, the word "coal" seemed to be taught only in the third grade of public school. That child probably didn't know how to write this word yet, so he drew a black coal lump to represent it.

"After taking 'the black thing that is very warm after burning and a bit hard to bite', pick the coldest winter and dig up all the roads leading north from the Black Forest Kingdom and Bobby Laien County!"

On this traced simplified map, all seven main roads leading north had been crossed out, except for one in Bobby Laien County, which remained as it was. And next to this only remaining main road, two crossed... handled toothpicks? Long daggers? Or two long swords? They should represent fighting, right?

After subconsciously drawing a question mark on the waste document paper, the Princess tried hard to identify the crooked annotations on the homework book.

"The Northern Kingdom is very cold in winter and needs to burn things for warmth. The ports by the sea will also be frozen for several months, so as long as the roads are dug up, they can only burn what they stored before."

Frozen for several months... that probably means frozen for several months. It seems he hasn't learned how to spell this word either.

After translating William's homework and copying it on the back of the waste document, the Princess supplemented several methods that might be effective against the Northern Kingdom based on her understanding of the Kingdom of Aishito, and then stared at this old homework and became lost in thought.

Although what this child wrote seemed to reveal a childishness of play, the thinking behind it was shockingly broad.

As the Kingdom of Ice at the northernmost part of the world, the Northern Kingdom of Aishito would harass its several neighbors almost every few years, but it uniquely dared not touch the Black Forest Duchy, precisely because the Black Forest Duchy held their lifeline.

And for herself and the kingdom, rather than spending a lot of effort building defensive fortifications, stationing troops at the border all year round, and passively waiting for the invasion of the Kingdom of Aishito, it would be better to strive for the initiative instead, choose a time favorable to one's own side, and forcibly compel the Kingdom of Aishito to move south in advance.

Although war is the worst choice, if one only blindly resists war, it will surely lead to a greater tragedy.

Rather than continuing to reinvest in the military, letting defensive fortifications and military spending drag down the kingdom's finances, it would be better to take the initiative to fight a battle at the right time, letting the Northern Kingdom understand that this somewhat weak neighbor also has the ability to perish together with it.

After listing the military strength comparison between the two countries on the back of the waste document paper, a look of determination appeared on Princess Xia Luote's face.

It can be fought!

Even if there is still a significant gap in military strength between the two countries now, unlike those defensive battles in the past, her side, which has mastered the initiative of the war, is fighting an ambush battle with open cards, almost impossible to lose, and the intensity of the war is also easy to control.

In the case of digging up the main roads in advance, only two to three legions are needed to block the route of the Kingdom of Aishito moving south, coupled with the opponent's hasty mobilization and the difficulty of winter logistics support.

At that time, there is no need for a major war; just a standoff of about a month and a few controllable small-scale collisions are enough to make the Kingdom of Aishito retreat in the face of difficulties and choose to negotiate actively.

By that time, her side can promise to open up coal transportation, but demand that the Kingdom of Aishito return the pass taken away six years ago. And once that pass can be exchanged back, only one-sixth or even lower of the original resident troops are enough to completely block the road for these robbers to move south!

By that time, after the border defense pressure is gone, a large number of those old troops who have no combat effectiveness anyway can be disbanded, prioritizing the fiscal budget on education and public spending, and then using eight to fifteen years to rapidly cultivate a large number of people who have received a certain education.

Once this generation grows up and becomes the seed of ignition, bringing along more people, she will have the ability to draw her sword, completely gouge out the rotten flesh on the kingdom, and let this country, which is already old and frail, glow with youth again!

(End of chapter)