Lollister furrowed his brows as he watched the sails leave.
Serliham, the young master of the Chickard Merchant Guild, was on the departing merchant ship. There were more than six thousand people in the northern fleet, so it was impossible to transport them back with a single ship of the Peterson Merchant Guild. Serliham simply hired the Norton family's transport fleet to transport these people back to Morent City.
Lollister did not care about the safety of these transport ships. The Chickard Trade Association must be crazy to start a war with the Norton Family for these ships. It was just that before Serliham left, he revealed where the Commerce Alliance's military force came from. Lollister did not expect the Commerce Alliance to have such a brilliant plan …
The meeting with Serliham a few days ago had allowed Lollister to understand some of the internal workings of the Commerce Alliance. Ever since the Commerce Alliance won the Glass War, although the surrounding countries began to guard against the Commerce Alliance's ambitions of expansion by blocking or canceling trade routes, the Commerce Alliance had, after all, occupied seven countries. Its territory had expanded by four to five times. As long as they could integrate production and stimulate domestic demand, they would not have to worry about not being able to survive.
However, after the Seven Giants in charge of the Commerce Alliance obtained their respective territories, they could not help but shift their focus to their own territories. Under such circumstances, their control over the Commerce Alliance began to relax. At the same time, as the Commerce Alliance's secondary council gained some power, the aftereffects of the Glass War began to take effect.
The secondary council of the Commerce Alliance was mainly composed of second-rate chambers of commerce, representatives of the citizens, and the heads of various industries. Their main purpose was to make up for loopholes, supervise, and gather the public's opinion. After the Glass War, the seven countries were merged into the Commerce Alliance's territory. Although the area had greatly increased, it was basically the Seven Giants and some outstanding second-rate chambers of commerce who shared the biggest cake. The remaining was not enough to satisfy everyone.
For example, during the Glass War, those shortsighted chambers of commerce and mercenary organizations buried themselves in robbing the private properties of the Telemark Kingdom's nobles. They disobeyed the orders of the Alliance Army and acted on their own, which infuriated the commander of the Alliance Army at that time, President Cambert of the Double-headed Dragon Chamber of Commerce. Therefore, after the war ended, when President Camberlet presided over the distribution of the profits, he made a big deal out of it. Those who disobeyed orders and disobeyed orders would all have their merits halved, and some teams or individuals were kicked out of the Trade Alliance's list of nobles.
Now, the leaders of the second-rate Chambers of Commerce and some mercenary organizations that didn't get their fiefs were full of regret. They started to make a ruckus in the Trade Alliance's Secondary Alliance Conference, giving the Seven Magnates a headache. But where could he find land now? At this time, one of the seven giants, Visia Trade Association, came up with another idea. It was to let the Trade Alliance notice the Rederis Kingdom that was at war.
Back then, the Commerce Alliance had been afraid of the Second Prince's 300,000 troops. But now that they saw that the Second Prince was still entangled with the nobles of the Redelis Kingdom even after the glass war had ended, the Commerce Alliance could see that the Second Prince was just a paper tiger. Moreover, if the second prince were to unify the Redelis Kingdom, he would soon send his army to Lulm Duchy and force it to return to the empire's territory. This was something the Commerce Alliance could never agree to. Since the Second Prince was an enemy, the Commerce Alliance didn't mind stabbing the Second Prince in the back and destroying his dream of unifying the former empire …
Moreover, although the Seven Magnates of the Trade Alliance had obtained their own Chambers of Commerce, the nobles in those territories were also a problem. They could use this opportunity to get rid of some of them and send them to the frontlines. They could fight for their own futures. As long as they had merits, they could be promoted and given new fiefs.
Therefore, the Commerce Alliance attacked Cambona Province with these miscellaneous troops. Apart from the Visia Trade Association, the other six Chambers of Commerce did not participate in this attack. They were all busy organizing their own Chambers of Commerce's territories. The Second Prince had also made a huge mistake. He had concentrated all his troops in Magik Province, leaving only a small number of troops in Podorg Province and Andvov Province, where Fedeli Kingdom's capital was located. On the other hand, Cambona Province, which was filled with castles and fortresses, only had a few old and weak guards. Perhaps in the Second Prince's mind, that was already his rear, and there was no need to waste his troops …
However, the Second Prince did not expect the Commerce Alliance to suddenly attack and occupy Cambona Province. The castles and fortresses he had abandoned became barriers that blocked him from contacting the Andinac Kingdom. It could be said that the Commerce Alliance's stab was ruthless and accurate. It took away half of the Second Prince's life. In addition, the four central duchies had clearly rejected the Second Prince's request to remove their duchies and return to the empire's territory. They had even organized a coalition of four duchies to confront the Second Prince's 100,000 troops. They had also greatly aided the noble coalition in Magik Province. The Second Prince was already in a predicament with enemies on both sides.
"Sigh …" Laurist let out a deep sigh.
"Sir, what are you worried about?" Bofinger asked from the side.
"The Second Prince's situation in the Redelis Kingdom …" Laurist did not hide anything from his trusted subordinate.
"Sir, you don't have to worry about that." Bofinger spoke bluntly. He resented the fact that the Second Prince had used the northbound caravan to return to his family's territory. He especially hated the fact that the Second Prince had poached his own caravan. "The Second Prince did not allow the Norton Family to participate in the war, and we do not care about sucking up to him. Even though he is our superior lord, he has always been on guard against our family. I don't think you should have sent Governor Hansk to the imperial capital, nor should you have taken the initiative to participate in this war. It's best for our family to rest and recuperate for the next two years, reorganize the family's armed forces, and wait for a better opportunity. "
Laurist smiled and shook his head. "No matter what, the Second Prince is still the superior lord of the Norton Family. We have to show some concern for him now that he is in trouble. If the imperial capital requests us to send troops to save the Second Prince, we can just send our armed forces to break through the blockade in Cambona Province. As for going to Magick Province to fight with the nobles of the Redelis Kingdom, I'm not interested unless I know the whereabouts of the eldest prince. Strange, as the king of the Redelis Kingdom, why did the eldest prince go missing after the fall of the capital? It's been a year and a half, and there's still no news of him … "
At the end of June, when Governor Hansk, who had been sent to the imperial capital as an envoy, returned, Laurist was sparring with Master Swordsman Hugh in the Ocean Manor. After withstanding more than a hundred blows from Laurist, Master Swordsman Hugh finally gave up his sword and admitted defeat. As he wiped his sweat, Laurist received the reply letter that Hansk handed him.
Opening it, he saw that the Norton Family was asked to know their place, not to participate in the military affairs of the Andinac Kingdom, and only to protect their own territory. The letter was also stamped with the regent's seal.
Laurist read the reply letter for a long time, then turned to Hansk and asked, "Who's in charge of the kingdom's affairs in the imperial capital now?"
"My lord, when I arrived at the imperial capital, the person who received me was Marquis Randt. He read your letter and politely said that he doesn't need the help of our armed forces. He has already ordered the second royal guard corps stationed at the border of the Madras Duchy to be transferred to the southwest frontlines, break through the blockade in Cambona Province, and reestablish contact with His Majesty. Then, he wrote me this reply, "Hansk replied.
"Marquis Randt?" Laurist remembered the old man he had seen at the banquet in the imperial capital. He had forgotten what he looked like, but he remembered very clearly that the old man's youngest son had gathered a group of nobles to forcefully occupy the Ocean Manor on the Ocean Island for five years. It was only when Laurist arrived on the island that he caught them and taught them a lesson.
"Hmph …" This old man must be taking revenge. F * ck, mixing his personal affairs with the affairs of the kingdom. This old man only has this ability. Laurist thought unhappily. I'd be happy if I didn't have to send out troops. With this reply, I can really use it as an excuse in the future.
"Yes, Schneider, keep this letter well and don't drop it. This is a very important document." Laurist handed the reply letter to Schneider.
"Sir, when I came back, Marquis Reid even sent someone to escort me. When I boarded the ship at Port Qilin, I heard the person who was escorting me order the garrison at Port Qilin to not let a single soldier of the Norton family go ashore …" Hansk said.
Laurist's body stiffened. "What do you mean? Are they treating us as enemies?"
Hansk smiled bitterly. "I don't know either, but that's the order I heard. They are to be on guard against the Norton Family's armed forces."
"But Lord Hansk, if they gave such an order, they wouldn't say it in front of you! Did you offend the people who escorted you back? "Shihuard interrupted.
"Hmm?" Hansk rubbed his head. After thinking for a while, he said, "It can't be. Didn't I stop them from killing the refugees on the way? So they purposely gave that order in front of me. Is this a slap to the Norton Family's face? "
"What about the refugees?" Loriste asked. "Tell me in detail."
"It's like this, my lord. When we were heading to the capital, we met many refugees. They were originally from the two southwestern provinces. We even recruited sixty thousand of them to develop and build the island. Later, after His Royal Highness launched a surprise attack on the capital of the Redelis Kingdom of Federica, Cambona Province surrendered without a fight. His Royal Highness then temporarily settled the remaining refugees in Cambona Province. Now that Cambona Province has been occupied by the Trade Union, the refugees have nowhere to go, so they are heading to the capital, "Hansk replied.
"Why did they come to the capital? They could have gone to the Merchant Union, or even to Morent City..." Shihuard said.
"Because the Trade Union does not welcome them. They are the citizens of the former Chrison Empire and are hated by the people of the Trade Union. The former Chrison Empire and the Trade Union have been fighting for more than a hundred years. How much blood has been shed, and the people of both sides hate each other. This is a death grudge that is engraved in their bones. Don't think that our business with the Peterson Merchant Group and the Chicard Merchant Group is doing well because they are merchants. In the eyes of merchants, there is no right or wrong, no hatred, only profit. But the people below us are different. It will take at least a hundred years to reduce this hatred. " Laurist rubbed Schneider's head. After living in Morent City for nearly ten years, he understood the views of the common people.
"My lord, you are right. The refugees also said the same thing. They said that the Trade Union soldiers who occupied Campona Province often used knives to kill people and had killed many refugees. They had no choice but to leave. Fortunately, they left early. The troops of the Trade Union have already reached the two provinces in the southwest. I'm afraid it won't be long before they reach the capital. "
Hansk continued worriedly, "On the way back, because of the refugees blocking the way, my escorts wanted to slash them with their swords. They even cursed the refugees for being cowards, pigs that wasted food, abandoning Cambona province to escape, unwilling to risk their lives against the enemy, and whatnot. The gist of it was that it was the refugees' fault that His Majesty was besieged, and they wanted to execute these refugees for deserters …."
"F * ck!" Laurist could not help but curse, "These knights think that fighting is the refugees' business, and losing Cambona Province is the refugees' responsibility? Their brains must be rusty …"
"Yes, my lord. That's why these knights angered Lord Redi. He disarmed them and even gave them a few slaps. Ugh … I understand, my lord. Those knights must be angry that Lord Redi made them lose face. That's why they purposely announced the order in front of us. They want to humiliate our family … "Hansk's face turned red.
Since the commander of the guard camp, Ell and Jim, had applied for leave to advance to Gold-rank, Laurist appointed Redi as the acting commander of the guard camp. He was the one who escorted Hansk to the capital.
"Haha, humiliate the Norton Family? I really want to know where they got the guts to do that. " Laurist laughed sinisterly, "Schneider, pass down my order. Have Sunbarwood's naval army get ready to attack. Have Bofinger's first army board the ships. I want to go to Port Qilin to see who gave the order to not let a single soldier of the Norton Family go ashore …"
"My lord, if you do that, they will think that the Norton Family is trying to rebel …" Hansk hurriedly advised.
"Don't worry, my lord. I won't be stupid enough to order my family's armed forces to attack Port Qilin. I only want to bring my guards to Port Qilin for some shopping. That's why I want to see if the guards at Port Qilin will stop me, a Count of the Andinac Kingdom, from bringing my guards ashore. If I insist on going ashore, I'll see if the guards at Port Qilin will attack me. If they do, I'll announce that they are trying to rebel and harm me, the Count. Then, we'll have the upper hand. I want to get the order that forbids us from going ashore. That's the evidence! "
Laurist did not fly into a rage like Hansk had imagined. Instead, he was very clear-headed. Hansk finally heaved a sigh of relief.
"Mister Locke, let me go with you," Master Swordsman Seuss volunteered.
"Alright, let's go now. I want to see who's going to humiliate the Norton Family …"
… …
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