Texas had not carried out any expansion in recent years; in all the past border clashes, it had mostly followed a strategy of hiding its strength and biding its ti.
"Werewolf Country" sounded scary enough to frighten off many with ill intent, but it also cut off the upper limit of Texas's developnt.
Without immigrants, there were no technical talents from Europe. Even knowing that beneath the ground lay precious mineral deposits that could be the foundation of a great power, they had no way to use them, and didn't dare bring them out for large-scale developnt.
Many Texas rchants had to disguise themselves as ordinary humans, fly the flag of xico or the North Arican Colonies before they could sell and transport their goods out. The few bold foreign rchants who did co often forced the purchase price of goods down very low.
If Texas hadn't finally built a basic level of trust with so big rchants in recent years, much of its agricultural produce would have rotted in the fields.
Losa, triumphant on his return, had not even sat down to catch his breath before receiving a piece of news—the xican army had already crossed the border and launched an undeclared war on Texas.
In the Hall of Wolves in Wolf Castle, the Texas leadership had gathered in full.
Although they had just defeated the British, the losses were by no ans light, and all among their core mbers.
Seeing the heavy mood, Losa was the first to speak: "xicans making a move was within our expectations. In my view, this doesn't count as a threat to us, but rather an opportunity."
"Mr. Losa, those xicans can't be underestimated either. Their grand dictator Porfirio's newly ford army is very well equipped, its fighting power far from comparable to those colonial militias. And xico is an extrely traditional Catholic country, with deeply rooted Church Influence, possessing a large number of Knight Orders and Church forces. Their restraining effect on us is quite obvious."
"But I'm here, am I not?"
Losa's smile instantly eased the mood of everyone present by quite a bit.
"Yes, with Mr. Losa here!"
Many among the Texas leadership couldn't help but smile as well. Their smiles were sowhat complicated, with both relief and sha in them.
Losa went on: "If we were the ones to take the initiative and declare war on xico, we would inevitably fall into isolation. Morality may an nothing to the great powers, but for a small country like Texas, already suffering from isolation, it is undoubtedly very important.
To be honest, I'm very puzzled why, over these years, you haven't done more positive publicity for Texas in the newspapers. I imagine those profit-seeking press houses would not refuse a windfall revenue stream. Over ti, even if Texas's reputation couldn't be completely reversed, it wouldn't be as bad as it is now."
These words left the Texas leadership looking at one another, speechless.
If they defeated the xicans and annexed neighboring New xico along with parts of the Rio Grande River Basin, Texas would beco a dium-sized country with a population of four million.
xico was likewise a country of immigrants. Years of internal turmoil and unrest had left its people lacking in national identity toward being xican. For a country that still remained at the stage of—
As long as they seized the border—
Texas would then have a chance to grow and strengthen, though it would be only a chance, nothing more. Literacy rates among xicans were very low, their mindset deeply influenced by Catholicism, and they lacked industrial workers.
Many regions still retained the look of the Middle Ages.
In fact, Losa believed the real opportunity for Texas's developnt lay in the First World War.
Once a war of that intensity broke out, it would be protracted, and would be a huge test of both sides' war potential and material reserves.
If Texas could take on the light and heavy industry relocated from the two opposing camps, and do what Japan did in the original history—providing large quantities of light and heavy industrial goods for the belligerents, while seizing markets that neither side had the bandwidth to care about, and even absorbing so immigrants fleeing the flas of war—
He didn't dare imagine too much, but securing the status of a regional hegemon that firmly pressed xico down, and that even the great powers at its doorstep wouldn't dare lightly provoke, was still quite guaranteed.
Of course, this all depended on Juliano handling matters properly.
Thinking of this, the way Losa looked at Juliano changed again.
"Clan Leader Juliano, I hope I can have a good talk with you about Texas's future developnt."
His tone was very courteous. Juliano had done quite well these years, but after all, he had risen from being the head of a gang, and his vision was limited.
Now that he had beco the president of a small country with a million people, that was already a remarkable leap for him. To be frank, the fact that Juliano had been able to carry out Losa's previous suggestions, instead of turning Texas into—
Moreover, an agricultural country like Texas was still relatively easy to keep united: it had not yet given rise to many factory owners and plantation owners. When such a human upper class eventually erged, it would definitely co into fierce conflict with the Wolf Race as the ruling class.
"Nia, you co with us."
Losa hoped that the next ti he made a combat record, what he would hear was "Texas, the little hegemon of Central Arica," and not "a colony of Britain and France."
…
That one talk lasted the whole night.
By the ti Losa and Lavinia left—
"Clan Leader, what did Mr. Losa say to you?"
Juliano only then ca back to himself. He carefully put away the manuscript he had taken down.
"Put this in the very bottom level of the treasure vault."
The very bottom level?
Could these sheets of paper be even more precious than the family's few Holy Artifacts?
"What do you know, this is a Book of Heaven!"
Juliano's tone was incomparably solemn. In his eyes, Losa, the captain of Yesterday's Giant Ship, that great Miracle wandering the river of ti, was without doubt a Prophet-like figure. This Book of Heaven was the prophecy he had made.
After all, when Losa spoke of the future's course, he had been so firm and assured that he even made precise predictions about the ti when the two camps of the Franco-Russian Treaty and the Anglo-German Alliance would go to war.
His eyeballs were bloodshot from many days and nights without sleep, but his mood was incomparably exhilarated.
...
At this very mont, the xican governnt forces had already crossed the Rio Grande River and entered the Texas border. However, the several border towns they encountered in succession were all deserted. Texas might look like a tiny sliver of a country wedged between the Thirteen Colonies and xico, but its territory was by no ans small. A re one million people scattered over it made the phrase "vast land, sparse population" true to the extre.
The prophecy he had made.
After all, when Losa spoke of the future's course, he had been so firm and assured that he even made precise predictions about the ti when the two camps of the Franco-Russian Treaty and the Anglo-German Alliance would go to war.
His eyeballs were bloodshot from many days and nights without sleep, but his mood was incomparably exhilarated.
...
At this very mont, the xican governnt forces had already crossed the Rio Grande River and entered the Texas border. However, the several border towns they encountered in succession were all deserted. Texas might look like a tiny sliver of a country wedged between the Thirteen Colonies and xico, but its territory was by no ans small. A re one million people scattered over it made the phrase "vast land, sparse population" true to the extre.
User Comments
0 comments from readers