nashuaworldcup Chapter 200 Corsica
Chapter 200 Corsica
(Celebrating this book reaching 200 chapters, yay!)
"It's like seeing you in person, Alice. I should call you that now. Do you remember me? It's clear that the Church has finally realized my actions. The so-called saints, who are actually the powerful factions rising within the Church, are becoming increasingly strong. My conflict with them is becoming more and more acute, but I do not have the strength to resist them."
"In the end, I managed to seize the last glimmer of hope. Now I am in a place called Corsica, where I have gathered ten thousand remnants of the defeated army I once collected in Brittany. It is not a large number, and it is not enough to contend with the local garrison."
"But Corsica is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The fortresses and coastal defenses built by the church here have been fully modernized. At least I saw many large-caliber Dalgren fortress cannons, which the church collected from various smuggling operations."
"Without a doubt, the Corsica Islands are your foothold in the south. If you want to attack the Church's homeland or make things difficult for the Church, you can start here."
A telegram from across the ocean reached Alice. By the light of the magic lamp, Alice examined it carefully and then simply abandoned her plan to sleep.
"Corsica?"
Defense Minister Smedley is no longer in charge of military matters. After all, with the advent of the industrial age and the regularization of the military, the position of Defense Minister is actually responsible for formulating national strategies and military development plans.
"That's right, the Corsica Islands."
Alice sat upright in the Ministry of Defense's senior conference room, with a projected map on it. On one side sat Lavinia and her advisors Raffarin Low and Smedley, and on the other side sat the recently reorganized Central Military Council, including Andreyev and John Reed of the Army, Huffman Mayer and Katherine LeMay of the Aerospace Forces, Yug Latto and Wilson von Albert of the Navy, and Viktor Harrison Savoy of the General Logistics Department.
The seven members, along with the chairperson Alice, formed the country's highest military decision-making body. On the eve of the New Year in 659, apart from Alice wearing a black suit jacket and overcoat, the other Central Military Commission members were all dressed in German-style uniforms, which are now known as "America-style Western military dress uniforms".
"The Corsica Islands are located between the Atlantis Islands and the Holy Peninsula of the Church. They are vast in area. According to intelligence from the Foreign Intelligence Service’s secret exploration department in 657, the archipelago is dominated by Corsica Island and surrounded by a large number of smaller islands."
Lavinia introduced the Corsica Islands: "Most of the islands are located on the main island of Corsica, covering an area of about 1,000 square kilometers. The islands have a population of nearly 5 million, mainly Iberians and Owls."
As Lavinia spoke of these two races, Raffarin whispered in Alice's ear, "That is, the fish-man subspecies and the bird-man... The beastman class is actually the product of the fusion of various creatures and human genes."
After saying that, Raffarin blinked and gave a slight smile.
Alice seemed to recognize Raffarin's perverse sense of humor. Indeed, from a religious and philosophical perspective, she was undoubtedly the creator of all intelligent beings on Amelansi IV, though this was, of course, related to her personal XP.
Lavinia's secret intelligence agency was fully aware of the situation on Corsica, but that didn't mean they could just draw lines and push through. Alice didn't want to get bogged down in some imperial graveyard.
However, Bai Ling's situation is much more feasible. Given the current circumstances, Alice believes that establishing a Corsican republic or something like that is not impossible.
What are the religious beliefs like in Corsica?
"The church is mainly based on the so-called Goddess Church, but according to the information we received in the area in 657, the church has taken back the Corsican tithe, as well as the exemption from ship tax and defense tax."
Alice pondered this matter. It was still quite feasible. The Corsican people were suddenly being taxed so much, which was bound to cause some resistance.
This is why, when the national tax system was being established in Amerlane, Alice insisted on implementing a tax exemption system for border residents, poor residents, small and micro enterprises, and colonies.
Moreover, Amelansi implements a progressive tax rate system, and the tax threshold is much higher than the average income of urban residents in the country at that time.
Nowadays, the bulk of Amelia's tax revenue comes from commodity taxes, and the price of a commodity already includes the tax.
"From a military perspective, the Corsica Islands are a solid offshore naval base. Together with the naval base in the southern region and the Atlantis Islands, they can form an island chain to exert potential pressure on the church's navy."
Alice nodded. The concept of the island chain was almost etched in her mind. The greatest significance of conquering Corsica was its strategic location.
For the heart of the church, the sacred peninsula, Corsica is like an unsinkable aircraft carrier, threatening their coastline at any moment.
Moreover, there was something else that Alice was particularly concerned about: undermining religious beliefs.
In Amerlane, freedom of religion is an ironclad law engraved in the constitution. Because of this law, some religious people who were oppressed by the church established a Protestant denomination in Amerlane. Although small, it actually split the seemingly solid theological system of the church.
Alice does not believe in any religion, but she does not think that religion has a negligible influence, especially here where religious forces are deeply entrenched.
In reality, she was opposing the human papacy itself, and the theocratic political entity itself.
Whether Protestantism, which originated from Orthodox Christianity, can spark a religious revolution in Corsica is debatable, at least for Alice.
"Your Excellency, at least for the current Amellan Navy, the Corsica Islands are not a difficult target. The naval infantry and navy have conducted numerous joint amphibious landings and are fully capable of handling such an operation."
General Yug Lat said firmly, and Alice raised her hand slightly, signaling him to stop.
"Corsica will undoubtedly become our sphere of influence, and we will have to take action against the Church sooner or later, won't we? But Corsica has a population of nearly five million and a land area of nearly ten thousand square kilometers. Gentlemen, remember, military is an extension of politics. We can certainly resolve this militarily, and it is inevitable. But just as we have done in the De Horan region, the Republic will not have to sacrifice thousands of children to establish a pro-Amerlansi regime that occupies half of the De Horan Empire."
"The same is true for the Corsica Islands."
Alice then set the tone: "Foreign Intelligence Agency, contact our informants immediately to coordinate infiltration strategies. Submit a detailed plan to me within three days. Navy, Aerospace Force, Army, and General Logistics Department, you all need to quickly develop a plan, focusing on counter-access operations against the Church fleet and any possible military intervention in the waters off the Corsica Islands."
"Ok, deal."