"Your Highness, can you tell us about the Madras Principality's strength?" Laurist asked.
The second prince nodded and cleared his throat: "Alright, I'll tell you what I know about the Madras Principality."
Laurist stood up and moved the table in front of him away. He and Redi hung up a large animal skin map for everyone in the tent to see. This was the map of the Madras Principality. Last night, Shredder had ordered people to enlarge and depict the small map.
"Your Highness, this way please." Laurist handed a slender wooden stick to the second prince.
This way of describing the situation was really novel. The second prince took the stick and quickly understood what it was used for. He walked to the map and began to explain the situation in a teaching manner.
"The Madras Principality consists of three provinces. Yungesandra province, bordered by the Andinac Kingdom to the south, Falkner Principality and Sabaji Principality to the east. As you can see from the map, most of this province consists of small mountain areas and swamps of Egret Lake. However, the farming area is not large, and there are only 35 nobles.
The Delemark Province was the largest province in the Madras Duchy. It was bordered by the Mitobro River in the north and the Iberian Kingdom in the south. Other than the Henderson Mountain Range in the south, the rest of the province was basically flat land. This province was a famous granary in the previous empire. The food it produced could guarantee the consumption and storage of nearly two million people in three provinces in the imperial capital's business circle. As long as they took over this province, not to mention a hundred thousand refugees, even three to four hundred thousand would have enough food.
After the Madras Principality was established, they transferred a group of nobles to Delemke province. Now, there are about a hundred nobles in this province. Only Kebo City is directly under the Madras Principality's jurisdiction.
The last was the province of Siddhargrad in the west. This was the old nest of the Duke of Madras, and was only connected to the province of Yungshandla. After the original nobles were transferred to Delemke province, the entire Delemke province is directly under the Madras Principality's jurisdiction.
The Madras Principality currently has an estimated 1.7 million people, and they use the garrison army. All the nobles and their towns were mainly guarded by the garrison troops. Once the war broke out, the Madras Duchy would mobilize the garrison troops to form a temporary army and head to the frontline to face the enemy.
In addition, the Kingdom of Madras had also formed two standing armies. The Seamount Army was the personal guard army of the Grand Duke of Madras. It had a total of 24,000 men and was well-equipped. It was stationed in the Sidgler Province all year round and was the most trusted army of the Grand Duke of Madras.
The other one is the Iron Guards who are currently blocking the border and stationed in the Lejidana Fortress. They have a total of 28,000 people and are known as the strongest army in the world … "
The second prince smiled bitterly and said to everyone in the tent, "In fact, the battle that made the Iron Guards famous was won by my father. In the fourth year of the Empire's civil war, the Madras Principality, who had been wavering all this time, finally decided to establish a duchy. At that time, I was leading the White Lion Legion to counterattack the eldest prince's army, while the Gale Legion assisted Princess Meline to defeat the second prince. The situation was good, and we all thought that it would not be long before the rebellion of the eldest prince and the second prince was quelled.
But no one expected that at this time, the Madras Principality would establish a duchy, and even proposed to be neutral and block the border. As a result, the connection between the capital and the four Dukes in the central region was cut off. They could no longer receive material support from the central region, nor could they receive food supplies from Delemke province. The situation at the frontline took a turn for the worse. They could only turn from offense to defense and resist step by step.
Under such circumstances, only by breaking through the Madras Principality's blockade could the Empire regain its vitality. My father led more than 63,000 Royal Guards into battle and swept through Yungesandra province. In the end, when they attacked Delemke province, more than 60,000 of them were blocked outside Kebo City.
At that time, there were only some garrison soldiers who were recruited from nearby areas to defend Kebo City. There were more than 8,000 of them. But it was these garrison soldiers who forcibly resisted the attack of my father's Royal Guards. My father ordered his army to attack Kebo City for half a year, but he could not break through. In the end, he was so angry that he vomited blood.
Because of the arrival of the second prince's reinforcements and the Madras Seamount Legion, my father had no choice but to retreat. Of the 63,000 Royal Guards who went out to battle, less than 20,000 returned.
Less than a thousand of the 8,000 garrison soldiers who defended Kebo City were conferred the title of Iron Guards by the overjoyed Madras Grand Duke. With these garrison soldiers as the main force, they expanded into an army known as the best in the world in terms of defense.
After that war, the Empire's vitality was greatly damaged. Due to the lack of military provisions, they had no choice but to shrink their defensive line. In the end, the first prince found an opportunity to send a detachment to bypass the defensive line and attack the capital. Although I heard the news and rushed over with my troops to destroy this detachment, the capital was mostly destroyed. The prosperity of the past was gone, and refugees were everywhere.
From this point of view, the Madras Grand Duke was the real culprit who split the Empire. I only hate that I am powerless to punish him. Now, he has sent the Iron Guards to blockade the border again. His intention is to use these 100,000 refugees to once again cause chaos in the Andinac Kingdom. The more chaos we cause, the more he will be able to rest easy.
Therefore, we must drive these 100,000 refugees to attack Lejidana Fortress while we still have food. Even if we can't conquer it in the end, it will save us a lot of trouble as long as these refugees are exhausted.
It's not that we don't want to save these 100,000 refugees, but we are powerless. For the more than 1.5 million civilians in the Andinac Kingdom who have just settled down and resumed production, we have to sacrifice them … "
Laurist stood up with a smile and interrupted the second prince. "Your Highness, we don't have to do this, and we don't have to attack Lejidana Fortress. In fact, time is on our side, and there are many ways to save these 100,000 refugees. I will not risk the lives of these 100,000 refugees … "
There was a sudden commotion in the tent. These 100,000 refugees had become the biggest burden of the convoy, and the accumulated food was being consumed like water. Although the second prince's idea of driving the refugees to attack the fortress was very cruel, many people thought that it was the only solution.
"What good idea do you have? Can you tell me? " The second prince looked at Laurist in surprise. He really couldn't figure out why Laurist said that time was on their side.
Laurist took the small wooden stick from the second prince's hand and walked to the front of the map. He pointed at it with the stick. "Here, it seems that you have forgotten about Egret Lake. This is the largest inland lake in the empire, and it is also the natural boundary between the Andinac Kingdom and the Madras Kingdom.
Let's talk about the first problem first. We lack food, but there are fish in this lake. Why don't we fish? In addition to fish, there are many edible aquatic plants and wild vegetables in the water. We can completely rely on these wild vegetables and a small amount of food to feed the refugees.
In the past, fishing was prohibited because this lake was the border between the two kingdoms. Why do we care about this now? Even if the Madras Kingdom sees us fishing, they won't interfere, as long as we don't go near the border on their side of the lake.
Everyone knows that it will be winter in two months. When winter comes, thousands of miles of ice and snow will fill the sky. When Egret Lake freezes, do we still need to worry about Lejidana Fortress? Either way, we can cross the Egret Lake and head north. That's why I say that time is on our side. "
As soon as Laurist finished speaking, the atmosphere in the tent suddenly became lively. That's right, why didn't anyone think of this? When the weather turns cold and the lake freezes, anyone can go over. Why do we have to stare at the main road under Lejidana Fortress? Also, everyone knows that the food reserves can only last for about three months, but there are fish and aquatic plants in Egret Lake. Can't they also be used for food? Fishing in such a large lake has been prohibited for a long time, so one can imagine how rich the catch must be. Not to mention one or two months, there might even be food for half a year.
The second prince patted Laurist's shoulder warmly and smiled happily. "As expected of Earl Norton. I heard that you used to be a top student in Dawn College. You live up to your reputation. Two big problems have been solved in one go. Now we don't need to worry about the 100,000 refugees, haha. "
"Your Highness, you can just call me Loke. Calling me Earl all the time is too distant," Laurist replied with a smile.
"Alright, then I'll call you Loke. You have to call me Oro too," the second prince said with a smile.
"Alright, Oro, I'll still need your help with the fishing. Gather some small fishing boats and nets over here. I'll immediately order a man-made boat to weave the nets as soon as possible. That way, when the weather is good, the fish can be dried and preserved for a long time," Laurist said.
The second prince nodded. "Alright, this is proper business. You've thought it through. I'll go get it done now. "
Laurist grabbed the second prince and smiled. "There's no rush. I have a banquet here tonight that I'd like to invite Your Highness to attend. I'm planning to recruit some family knights, and Your Highness will be a witness. "
The second prince paused, then smiled. "Alright, I'll witness the glory of the Bear Knights of the Norton Family."
…
The banquet that night was very lively and sumptuous. Not only did everyone in the caravan get a small portion of meat and wine, even the 100,000 refugees could eat to their hearts' content.
A total of 48 meritorious people became knights of the Norton Family. What made Shredder unhappy was that out of the 70-odd people on the list, there were 26 who refused to become knights of the Norton Family. The reason was the same. They had already promised the second prince to escort the caravan to the north and then seek refuge with the Andinac royal family. Seven of them were old students of Dawn College.
Laurist didn't mind. Everyone had their own aspirations and couldn't be forced. As long as Rod Wales, Mons Malek, Zino Freya, Dolles, and Lemmond didn't leave, it was fine. But as a result, 16 of the remaining 37 students from Dawn Academy, except for Cheavos, who had died in battle, joined the second prince. Only 21 of them became knights of the Norton family.
Shred, Terman, Yuri, and Ell, who had just recovered from his injuries, stood beside the Second Prince. They deliberately used a voice that the Second Prince could hear to scold the old trainees who had pledged their allegiance to the Second Prince for being ungrateful, fickle, and betraying their friendship. This only made the Second Prince restless and embarrassed. In the end, Christie couldn't stand it anymore and asked Laurist to take the four troublemakers away.
First, it was Rod Wales and Zino Freya, the two Gold-rankers, who came forward to pledge their loyalty. Then, it was Mons Malek, Dolles, Rummond, and the other nineteen old students of Dawn Academy. Finally, it was the twenty or so Silver-ranked knights who were promoted due to their contributions. Most of them were knights of the nobles whose families were exterminated by Count Corbili in the northwest of the Redelis Kingdom. They joined the caravan after being rescued by the caravan, and distinguished themselves with their talents. They were the ones who were promoted this time.
When the last knight swore his loyalty to the Norton Family, Laurist waved at Jim, who was standing beside Redi and watching the ceremony with envy. Jim thought that Laurist was looking for him and quickly ran to Laurist and saluted, "My lord, what can I do for you?"
Laurist took a step forward and patted Jim's shoulder lightly, "Jim, you have followed me for some time. Even though you still have some of the habits of a mercenary, your loyalty, diligence, and bravery are outstanding. Are you willing to become my knight and fight under the banner of the Norton Family's Furious Bear Family?"
"Of course I am willing." Jim answered without hesitation and looked at Laurist with a confused expression, "My lord, why are you asking this?"
Beside him, Ell and Bodfinger both burst out laughing.
Redi came over and gave Jim a kick, "Idiot, my lord wants to accept you as a knight. Hurry up and kneel and swear …"
"Ah?" Jim jumped up excitedly, "Sir, can I really, really become your family's knight?"
Laurist smiled and nodded.
Jim quickly tidied up his attire, but there was not much to tidy up. He knelt on one knee in front of Laurist and was about to swear when Redi scolded him with his hand on his forehead, "Idiot, it's not this leg, it's that knee …"
There was a standard for a knight to kneel on one knee. Kneeling on the right knee with both or one hand on the left knee was the standard posture.
Jim blushed and changed his posture. Then, with a solemn expression, he swore, "I, Jim, am willing to swear loyalty to the Norton Family, to follow Lord Norton Loriste, and to fulfill my duty and uphold the honor of the Norton Family Knights. I am willing to become Lord Laurist's sword and fight under the banner of the Furious Bear Family until my last breath. "
Laurist unsheathed his sword in a dignified manner and patted Jim's shoulders twice. "Rise, my knight."
Bofinger took the silver Furious Bear Emblem from Padt and pinned it on Jim's left chest. He then gave Jim a tight hug, "Welcome to the family, my brother."
The knights who just joined the family drank to their hearts' content, chatting and laughing loudly …
Laurist raised his wine glass and toasted the second prince. He saw Christie crying beside him …
"What's wrong with her?"
"I'm happy for you. So many talents have joined you. The revival of the Norton Family is just around the corner," the second prince explained with jealousy.
"Haha, Your Highness, haven't you poached enough people from me? I've lost more than twenty knights. " Laurist raised his silver glass and drank a mouthful of wine, "Your Highness Oro, please take them with you when you return."
"Why? Don't you need them to escort the caravan to the north? "the second prince asked.
Laurist shook his head, "There's no need. We can't delay their future. Your Highness, the Andinac Kingdom you are ruling over is in dire need of manpower. Let them arrive early so that your subordinates can make contributions. It'll take them too long to follow the caravan to the north. I've also recruited so many knights, and the caravan is about to be reorganized. They won't be able to stay in the caravan if that's the case. "
The second prince nodded and said, "Alright, I'll take them all with me when we return."
…
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