The deterioration of the situation in the Southern Territory was an unexpected crisis.
It was not that the Second Dynasty ignored the Cecil family in the Southern Territory. In fact, since the civil strife in the Month of Mist a hundred years ago, the new royal family, which had hidden inheritance rights, had never relaxed their vigilance against the Southern Territory. Among the four Protector Dukes, the Cecil family was the only one that declined because of the civil strife in the Month of Mist. At the beginning of its decline, its remaining power was still enough to shake the foundation of the whole kingdom. The Second Dynasty, with the support of the other three Protector Dukes, spent a full hundred years to divide the Southern Territory and suppress it to the present situation.
In Gwen? After Cecil opened the coffin and rose, the importance was even greater than before.
Francis II ordered the nobles in the Southern Territory to increase their surveillance of Cecil's power, but they only got the information that "Cecil's people were in the potion business to buy slaves." There were also spies in the royal aid team sent to the Southern Territory, but these spies soon stopped sending any information. The garrison of Rock Fortress had actually increased by 30% in the past six months, but the additional 30% soldiers were not of any use. In addition, the royal advisers and ministers also investigated the situation of the Cecil family's employment of craftsmen in the Captical to estimate the construction progress of Cecil's territory. The conclusion was that Cecil's territory was still in a stage where there were not enough houses to live in. They never thought that those craftsmen would be trained as magical-engineering technicians and mechanical engineers after arriving in the South …
The Silver Fort could be said to have made all the correct responses, but they did not get any correct feedback. The biggest mistake they made was to use the traditional aristocratic thinking to speculate the action pattern of a "satellite spirit" from another world, whose experience, knowledge, and way of thinking were very different from ordinary people.
They misjudged Gwen? The real intention behind Cecil's every move, the way the Cecil family rose, and finally, the speed of the fall of Rock Fortress.
The direction was wrong, and any effort was just a waste of energy.
The situation had deteriorated to this point.
"Dukes, Your Highness, I have to be honest," Cromwell Bai said in a serious tone. Bai Shan said in a serious and heavy tone, "Unless the eastern rebels retreat today, it is impossible for us to take back the Rock Stronghold."
Another Suzerain of the Knight family stood up and spoke of the worst possibility. "If the Cecil family and the Lorren family decide to attack the Captical, we won't be able to win. Judging from the fall of Rock Fortress, Cecil's army is a strong enemy."
One of the nobles couldn't help but ask, "Even Lord Knight is afraid of the enemy?"
Cromwell? Bai Shan glared at the noble who spoke. "We are just stating the facts. If they really attack the Captical, the Knight Order will fight to the very end. You don't have to worry about that."
"Gentlemen, calm down," said Victoria Pollock. Wilde interrupted the argument. Her voice was cold, and her eyes seemed to contain frost. "Gwen? Duke Cecil has only occupied Rock Fortress. He hasn't gone north yet. "
"We have to determine the purpose of the founding hero first," Duke Baldwin said. Duke Franklin nodded and continued Victoria's words. "I suggest that we send an envoy to contact the South."
The nobles at the scene whispered to each other, but overall, no one objected to Duke Franklin's suggestion.
"The eastern rebellion is approaching. We can't take another blow in the South," Duke Franklin continued. "So, only Gwen? If Duke Cecil is willing to talk, we should talk. We should be prepared to recognize the Cecil family's legal rule over the South. We should recognize the Cecil family's noble titles, honorary titles, historical fiefs, and the restoration of noble privileges … "
The nobles' discussion became louder. Some of them showed obvious astonishment, but most of them just nodded gloomily. Wales? Moen looked at these people's reactions and sighed slightly.
"Your Highness," Duchess Victoria heard Wales's sigh. She turned her head and stared at the nominal successor of the kingdom with her crystal-clear eyes. "Do you have something to say?"
"I just think that whether we recognize these or not is meaningless to the founding hero," Wales said. Moen did not want to speak, but under the gaze of the Duchess, he slowly opened his mouth. "These things are already in his hands. No matter what we say here, the reconstruction of the Duchy of Cecil is an established fact. Duke Franklin, do you want to give the things that are already in Duke Cecil's hands as a gift to him again?"
Duke Baldwin? There was no change in Duke Franklin's expression. He just nodded slightly and said lightly, "Your Highness's thinking is right."
"We'd better think again. Think about what chips we can use to compromise."
After saying this, Wales? Moen lowered his eyelids and said no more.
Francis II's voice seemed to echo in the middle-aged crown prince's mind.
"The king ruling the kingdom … is the art of compromise …"
The meeting ended.
The nobles left in order. Wales? Moen also left the hall accompanied by the royal attendants. In the huge military hall, only the two Duke Regents were left sitting quietly in the same place.
After a long silence, Duchess Victoria looked at Duke Baldwin. "What do you think our founding hero wants to do?"
"I hope he just wants to take back his family property, which is also the most logical and most consistent with the description of the situation in the history books," the Duke of the Western Region said unhurriedly. "But I don't rule out the possibility of something worse. Don't forget the list on the foundation stone of Ansu and the signature on the oldest documents of investiture in the Royal Library. From a certain point of view, his claim to the throne is no less than that of our 'Crown Prince.'"
"Wales? Moen... "Victoria said softly. She recalled the only speech the crown prince had made in the meeting just now." He is actually the most similar to Francis II... "
Duke Franklin shook his head slightly. "But because they are too similar, Francis II finally chose Edmund. Our king made a wrong decision in this regard. This country does not need an overly tough king."
Victoria raised her eyelids and looked deeply at the Duke of the Western Region. Then she stood up. "I will return to the North in the near future."
Franklin raised his eyebrows. "You want to mobilize your mountain corps?"
"The Duchy of Holy Dragon is preparing to celebrate their 'Dragon's Arrival Day'. The Violet Kingdom has also been very peaceful recently. I can transfer a part of the mountain corps to deal with the war in the Holy Spirit Plains," the Duchess, who was surrounded by an icy aura, said while looking at the Duke of the Western Region. "What about your Western Region Corps?"
"It's too far from the Western Region to the Eastern Front. The consumption of the army on the road is unbearable. Since the beginning of summer, the followers of the Church of Demise and the Church of Eternal Rest in the Western Region have not been peaceful," Baldwin Franklin said. As he spoke, he pressed his forehead in distress. "I may be able to transfer a Knight's Regiment to protect the Captical, but it's impossible to send troops to the East."
A few sparkling snowflakes floated in the air. Duchess Victoria put on her white shawl and left her seat to walk to the door. "... the Captical does not need any more Knight's Regiment. Count Cromwell is enough to guard here. If you have extra strength, pay attention to the South."
The Duchess left, leaving only a few cold snowflakes dancing in the air. Baldwin Franklin? He reached out and caught one of the snowflakes. Feeling the cold gradually melting in his palm, he sighed slightly. "... Is it really like the nonsense of those lunatics... the darkest era..."
Four days later, the capital of the Northern Region of Ansu, Winter Fort Academy.
A team of Griffin Knight's Regiment flew over the fortress. The leading Griffin landed skillfully on the platform at the top of the castle. Victoria Wilde jumped. Werde jumped off the griffin. The cold wind from the mountains in the north blew through her long silver hair, causing her to squint slightly.
Even in the middle of summer, there was still such a cold wind on the peak of the mountains in the Northern Continent.
The "Dragon Blood Nobles" of the Holy Dragon Dukedom said that the cold wind was the breath of the sleeping Giant Dragon in the mountains. The mages and scholars of the Violet Kingdom believed that the cold wind came from further north of the continent. It came from the opposite side of the ocean blocked by floating ice and storms, and from the eternal cyclone.
But Victoria didn't care where the cold wind came from. She just liked the cold air. The clean, cold air in the mountains was much more comfortable than the foul air in King's City that was filled with all kinds of smells.
The black-haired maid Maggie came to the platform. Victoria nodded to the maid she trusted deeply. "Go and gather my Knight's retainers. The mountain army has something to do."
"Yes."
The Duchess had absolute authority in this land. The mountain army loyal to the Wilde family accepted the orders of their "Ice Queen" without any hesitation. After a short military meeting, about one-third of the mountain army was transferred and included in the list of reinforcements to the eastern front of the Whitsunday Plains.
After the meeting ended, Victoria did not return to her dormitory to rest. Although she had already experienced a long flight on the back of the Gryphon and had just held a meeting, she still pulled herself together and flipped through the documents in front of her.
"Vicky, you need to rest," the black-haired maid said beside her.
The black-haired maid said from the side. When there was no one else around, the black-haired maid used a friendly nickname to call her mistress.
"I will rest," Victoria said casually. "Has the Holy Dragon Dukedom done anything unusual recently?"
"The information from the Northern Outpost is all normal."
Victoria exhaled slightly and her heart calmed down slightly.
The Holy Dragon Dukedom in the mountains in the north … had always been an unstable factor.
As early as the Gondor period, humans who claimed to be descendants of the Dragon Blood established this country in the extreme north of the continent. They claimed that they were the vassals of the Giant Dragon. Therefore, the highest ruler of the country was not the king, but the so-called "Dragonblood Archduke". They were closed off, xenophobic, and admired themselves in the mountains. They had never liked the Ansu who suddenly appeared in this land 700 years ago.
Seven hundred years had passed, but this closed and mysterious country still used the term "uninvited guests" to describe the Ansu who had been established for seven centuries.
But fortunately, after so many years of cooperation, the Holy Dragon Dukedom and the Ansu finally reached a compromise and balance. As the chief guardian of the north, Victoria Wilde, the Wilde Archduke, was a sensitive and sensitive country. One of Wylde's responsibilities was to be constantly vigilant against that sensitive, closed, and xenophobic country, and to do his best to avoid a war between the two sides.
When she finally finished dealing with the documents in front of her, Victoria Wilde stretched out her body. Only then did Wylde stretch her back. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, easing the accumulated fatigue in her body. The black-haired maid came forward and gently squeezed the mistress's shoulder while asking in a low voice, "Do you want to rest?"
"No, there's one more thing." The Dukedom closed her eyes and paused for a long time before continuing, "Get ready. I'm going to the ancestral tomb."
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