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Moreover, this can divert the attention of the navy. If the navy knows that it is pirates who have occupied a country and provoked war, then the navy will have a reason to intervene.
Doflamingo is a master at manipulating people's hearts. He naturally understands the weaknesses of those mercenaries and easily sends them to their deaths.
In the face of war, they simply launched a slogan to start a war, and let these mercenaries put on the "vests of Kotar Allied Forces soldiers" to give them a legitimate reason to invade the Ishtar Kingdom.
There is no one to command these mercenaries. They are just a group of disorganized people. Some people even believe that they are pirates.
The reason for wearing vests is to allow those mercenaries who are unable to make ends meet and are desperate for money to attack the Ishtar Kingdom with a legitimate reason.
Otherwise, with their scattered and disorganized pirate style, it wouldn't be long before the navy would find an excuse to identify them as a large group of pirates and clean them out after burning, killing and looting.
But now, they are giving the mercenaries a disguise and letting them organize themselves to attack the Ishtar Kingdom as cannon fodder to consume the enemy's strength first.
The best option is to wait until Kotar's army gathers before starting a full-scale war. This is a way of killing two birds with one stone and depleting the strength of both sides.
On the other side, Dawn is now riding in a carriage. Although he had wanted to travel by horse before, this plan was canceled by a call from a Den Den Mushi.
The reason was that Karl had already reported the previous battle to the capital, and Gaius got the news that Enn had returned and led the army to a great victory.
This is to reassure people and to improve Dawn's reputation. When the country goes to war with another country, the prince's personal participation in the war will make the people feel more sense of belonging.
Even if there are complaints from some dark and selfish guys, they will be suppressed by the general trend, because the heir to the throne is fighting for you, so what else can you be dissatisfied with?
But Dawn, who was sitting in the carriage at the moment, was not too worried about the war. After talking with Gaius before, he also had a general understanding of the strength between the two countries.
Compared to Ishtar, the situation of the Kingdom of Kotar is not good at the moment. Food is in short supply, and most of the mercenaries are disorderly. Ishtar has always won in all previous frictions between the two sides.
What Dawn was thinking about at this moment was how to take advantage of this opportunity to go further.
For example, taking down Kotar.
Chapter 105 Planning (Part )
Yes, annex a country.
This was Dawn's first thought after learning the details of the Kingdom of Kotal.
In terms of strength, the two countries have never won in a war.
Such a resource-rich country is covered with sores, like a sick person. It looks strong but is actually extremely weak.
So how to plan for the country? Dawn's mind was constantly turning.
I don't know when a drizzle fell from the sky, like smoke, and it grew heavier as time passed.
The raindrops as big as beans kept falling, just like the heavy mood of Adolf and others.
No matter how confident you are in the war, there are countless worries about the outbreak of the war and the fighting soldiers.
Although Dawn was also worried, he had a longer-term vision and saw "cake" in this invasion.
If it was a complete disaster in the eyes of others, then for him this invasion was more like an opportunity, and the prerequisite for getting this opportunity was to be able to defeat the Kingdom of Kotal.
If not, then they can only accept the bitter fruit of defeat and wait for the World Government to intervene and mediate. After all, Ishtar's influence as a major food supplier is quite good.
But if we can win this war, it will be a huge opportunity.
A chance to annex Kotal!
You should know that the Ishtar Kingdom was already a major grain-producing country, and because of the hard work of successive kings, it became stronger and stronger. It not only had a huge influence on neighboring countries, but also had close relations with the navy.
But this also imposed an invisible restriction on the Kingdom of Ishtar, which was that it had to be a friendly country to maintain a positive image - at least for now.
Now that we have not established a firm foothold in the navy and our strength is not sufficient, we still need to maintain good relations with the navy.
Originally, Dawn planned to wait until his strength improved and the navy had enough capital and voice, then he could find a way to take advantage of the loophole and annex the North Sea.
The reason why Eneel was kept and not allowed to join the navy was because when Eneel grew up, it would not be empty talk but a fact for him to suppress the North Sea alone.
If the North Sea is fully developed into the logistics base of the navy, I am afraid that even the naval marshal will not be able to resist such a big piece of cake.
The World Government will also turn a blind eye because it will unify the North Sea and strengthen the navy.
In Dawn's plan, the surrounding Kingdom of Kotal is indispensable and the primary target. The reason is that the Kingdom of Kotal is rich in iron resources, and the benefits will be huge if it can be occupied.
But now, the opportunity to annex the Kingdom of Kotar ahead of schedule is right in front of us, and it is a legitimate opportunity.
The entire country of Kotar wants to invade, so why can't Ishtar occupy their country?
Moreover, once Kotar is taken, the national strength of the Ishtar Kingdom will be further enhanced.
There are many benefits to obtaining the Kotal Kingdom in advance, such as iron resources, weapon building, influence, increasing the sense of belonging of the people, and so on.
Moreover, there is no need to worry about the sales of the equipment and weapons they create, because the navy is the largest customer.
This will greatly increase the Ishtar Kingdom's influence in the navy, and this influence will also affect Dawn who is in the navy.
Dawn suppressed his inner restlessness and said in silence, "It seems that we need to discuss this matter in detail after we return."
Even though the Kingdom of Kotal didn't actually cover a very large area, and was probably only as big as a province in Dawn's previous life, it was a country after all, so he had to be careful and cautious.
.......
Although the Kingdom of Ishtar was a wealthy country, it was clear that the royal family did not pursue luxurious and gorgeous items excessively.
The style of the palace is simple but not simplistic, with elegance over gorgeousness. The carvings on the walls represent the symbol of the Ishtar Kingdom, and the accumulation of each generation of kings makes the palace look more tasteful.
But at this moment in the palace of Ishtar, Dawn, who had boosted the morale, was having close discussions with his father in this world, Gaius, the king of the Kingdom of Ishtar.
Both sides looked serious, after all, this involved a war between two countries.
"This war was too sudden and there was no warning, and the king of the Kingdom of Cottal was greedy for enjoyment, and his most common method was to announce it but not to announce it.
Threaten, and then ask all countries to continue to accept iron resources in exchange for various goods, and the surrounding countries will accept the other side's demands if they do not want to start a war without authorization.
Gaius analyzed with a serious expression: "Although Kotal Rad is a short-sighted and hedonistic tyrant, he still has some basic skills. The bow and arrow are more intimidating when the string is pulled but not shot."
"So, there is someone behind Kotal Rad who is inciting him to start a war?" Dawn said in a serious tone.
Dawn's face was solemn. If that was the case, he would have to think carefully about his plan, as there was an enemy hiding in the dark behind him that he had to be on guard against.
As Gaius said, an arrow that is not fired is more deterrent, let alone a "hidden arrow" hiding in the shadows.
And after the king's analysis, Dawn also became alert, because he found that he was still too immature in this area and was not proficient in these things.
In other words, as a commoner in his previous life, he is not as proficient in politics as the natives, which is inevitable, but fortunately, Dawn is not stupid and he just lacks some experience.
And this war will bring him more experience.
"The Kingdom of Kotal is already short of food, and due to the scarcity of various supplies, it does not have the conditions to start a war, so there must be someone behind the scenes providing it with such supplies." Gaius sneered, his tone revealing anger.
Then we need to consider the enemy’s intentions behind this. What are they trying to achieve?
If a country is standing behind, is this country trying to consume the power of the Ishtar Kingdom, and then benefit from it or something else?
Dawn had a headache thinking about these things. There were so many conspiracies between countries that it was beyond the ability of a rookie like him to guess.
As for the plan to swallow up Kotal, although his previous idea was still too immature, their goal now is to find out the mastermind behind the Kotal Kingdom.
We have to be pragmatic, otherwise it will just be empty talk.
Only by understanding these can we make plans for the next step.
But it is undeniable that the other side's invasion of the country is fierce and aggressive.
If this war cannot be handled well, then even if the Ishtar Kingdom wins, it will be damaged, which is intolerable for Dawn.
However, Dawn still shared his plans and ideas, because this was a rare opportunity, and Dawn would feel bad if he missed the opportunity because he didn't plan ahead.
It feels like the meat in your mouth flies away by itself, so you must be fully prepared!
Chapter 106 Planning (Part )
"It's good that you have a long-term vision and ambition, but you also need to see the road ahead clearly, otherwise everything will be just empty talk." Gaius reminded Dawn after listening to his thoughts.
Dawn nodded without refutation: "Of course I know this. If we can't win then all this is just empty talk. But we also have to be prepared. Opportunities only come to those who are prepared."
If they can win the war and find out who is behind this, then the Kingdom of Kotar, which has deployed all its troops, will have no power to resist and will be easily within the grasp of the Kingdom of Ishtar.
And the remaining oppressed people will surely not resist.
Because of the Abraham family's policy of treating its people well, it would not be long before those who remained at the bottom of the Kotar Kingdom would wholeheartedly recognize their identity as the Ishtar Kingdom.
If we fail, there is nothing to say. We must do everything we can to ensure the strength of the Ishtar Kingdom and then get our revenge later.
Can attack or defend, can advance or retreat freely!
The two discussed in the room for an afternoon, and finally made a detailed plan after taking all the possibilities into consideration.
"It's great that you have such insight and vision. I wasn't as good as you when I was your age." Gaius looked at the various strategies in his hand and nodded with satisfaction.
"It's still a long way to go, and now we have a very important thing to do, and this may even be the only variable." Dawn was not too proud.
It's just paper talk, a basic skill of keyboard warriors in the previous life.
Hearing this, Gaius also frowned: "The mastermind behind this is indeed a problem. I will have someone find out the news as soon as possible. However, I got nothing from the previous investigation. I am afraid it will be difficult to get useful information this time."
It can be seen that Doflamingo's plan is very rigorous, as there are only a few guests and their whereabouts are secretive.
Moreover, his identity as a pirate would make Kotal Rad cautious, so he naturally chose a private meeting method.
Doflamingo also wanted to avoid the failure of his plan by being surrounded and attacked by the navy if the information was leaked, so he was very careful about keeping it secret.
Then, Kotal Rad's actions directly turned him into a puppet, a poor creature being manipulated by others.
I'm afraid he didn't expect that the pirate Doflamingo was so bold and directly controlled the entire country through him.
In the Kingdom of Kotal, the regretful king has become an ostrich, giving up on himself and continuing to live an absurd life.
Doflamingo left after leaving two family members behind.
After all, he is the target of the navy's pursuit and needs to attract their attention, but the attention of his subordinates is not so important.
However, this secretive method made the work of gathering intelligence more difficult, and Gaius's people returned empty-handed after several attempts.
But at this moment, Dawn suddenly remembered that he had Eneel, the human-shaped radar, by his side.
"Eneel's Observation Haki has been growing very fast recently. Even if it hasn't reached the level in the original book, if he sneaks into the capital of the Kingdom of Kotal, it would be equivalent to a radar monitor." Thinking of this, Dawn couldn't help but smile.
You have to know that after Enel combined with the fruit, his observation Haki can hear other people's conversations. Even if the range is not that large, it is still no problem to monitor a key building now.
"Not only do I have information about the mastermind, I can even get the exact time when the armies will attack. If I can launch a surprise attack during a naval battle, I might be able to reduce the losses."
The more Dawn thought about it, the more excited he became. The way to break the impasse was right in front of him.