"Your Highness, although I am a Great Swordsman of the Fulondor Duchy, I do not know the details of the battle. I only assisted our Little Prince when he led his troops to besiege the King's City in the later stages. Earl Churjwick of the Handa Duchy was involved in the planning of the entire war. He should be the one who knows the most about this war. Let's ask him to explain it to everyone, "Master Swordsman Riemard said.
Duke Fisabulon nodded and turned to Earl Churjwick. "Can Your Highness tell us about the course of the war? As a soldier, I am very curious about the unexpected outcome of the war. When I first heard that the Second Highness had launched a surprise attack and captured the capital city of Felicia, I had always thought that the outcome of the battle was already decided. I didn't expect that the outcome of the battle would change so drastically in just two years. It was truly surprising. As someone who personally experienced the war, I believe Your Highness must have a lot of thoughts … "
Earl Churjwick did not expect that he would suddenly become the center of attention at the banquet. Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on him, he cursed Master Swordsman Riemard in his heart. He had no choice but to stand up and sneak a glance at Laurist. He saw that Laurist's face was also filled with curiosity, which made him heave a sigh of relief. "Your Highness, although I participated in the whole process of the war, in fact, the four central duchies were forced to form an alliance to fight against the second prince. Originally, we were only doing it out of self-defense, but the development of the war was beyond our expectations. To be honest, the victory of this war was not what we wanted, but we were forced to fight for victory … "
No one expected Earl Churjwick to say such words. The hall was in an uproar. The little prince of the Fulondor Duchy snorted, as if he was very dissatisfied with Earl Churjwick's words. Master Swordsman Riemard and the Golden Knight beside him were surprised. On the contrary, Count Dalek of the Sabagi Duchy sat there with a sad expression.
Earl Churjwick took a deep breath. "As everyone knows, the four central duchies have always been the mainstay of the former Christen Empire. The empire has a total of 29 provinces, and the taxes of the eight central provinces account for 45% of the former empire. During the era of the empire, whether it was in foreign wars or internal rebellions, the eight central provinces contributed to the empire under the leadership of the four grand dukes. Even in the 170-year-long war with the Commerce Federation, the eight provinces in the central region had paid the heaviest price.
During the empire's civil war, the three kings fought for the throne. In order to protect the empire's core area, the four grand dukes in the central region had to form an alliance to protect themselves. Even under such circumstances, they still gave the third prince a huge amount of aid because he represented the legitimacy of the royal family. But the rebellion of the Duke of Madras changed the situation irrevocably, and the empire was divided into three kingdoms and seven duchies.
The empire was divided into three kingdoms and seven duchies. Although the four central dukes established their duchies, they immediately faced the invasion of the eldest prince. We resisted the eldest prince for two years, exhausted and suffered heavy losses. But in the end, we still won and obtained the precious peace. After recuperating for a few years and regaining some of our strength, His Royal Highness once again sent his troops to the city and proposed intolerable conditions to the four Grand Dukes, forcing us, the four central duchies, to gather our allied forces again to protect ourselves … "
"Oh, what conditions did the second prince propose to the four central duchies?" Duke Fisabulon stroked his beard with a curious expression.
"Remove the seal and let the four grand dukes bring their families' armed forces to attack the Madras Duchy …" Earl Churjwick replied.
Grand Duke Fisablon was taken aback. He exerted strength in his hand, and a few of his whiskers were torn off. "Is the Second Highness crazy? How can he propose such a condition? Isn't this forcing a friend to become an enemy?"
Earl Churjwick spread his hands and smiled bitterly. "I also don't know why the second prince proposed such conditions to the four grand dukes. Everyone knows it's impossible. The eight central provinces had been the family territory and sphere of influence of the four grand dukes for two to three hundred years. They were deeply rooted. Just like what Grand Duke Falkel had claimed, their family bloodline had long been deeply integrated with this land. No one could separate them.
A few years ago, when the second prince rose in the Andinak Kingdom, the nobles of the four duchies were very happy. They even pinned the hope of reviving the Christen Empire on him. To us, being the nobles of the Christen Empire is a kind of pride. Our grand duke once said that it doesn't matter if he is the head of the duchy or not. As long as the empire needs it, he can cancel the title of duchy and return to the embrace of the empire.
But none of us expected that His Highness would come down and defeat the eldest prince. He led an army of 200,000 soldiers to the eight central provinces and proposed such a condition to the four archdukes. He asked the four archdukes to transfer the fiefdoms and make the eight central provinces directly under the Andinac Royal Family's jurisdiction. He also asked the four archdukes to serve the Empire and lead us nobles to attack the Madras Principality. That way, our titles and territories will be decided based on our contributions …
Everyone then understood that we nobles were the traitors of the empire in the eyes of the second prince. We were very sad and angry. We sent representatives to protest to the second prince. But no one saw the second prince. We only heard that he was very sick. At that time, we all thought he was deliberately avoiding us. When we came back, we were furious. We unanimously requested the four grand dukes to form a coalition to fight against the second prince and increase the support for the nobles of the Redelis Kingdom.
No one wanted to be a traitor of the empire. But the situation forced us nobles to become the second prince's enemies. But the coalition of the four duchies only confronted the second prince's army. We didn't want to provoke or initiate an attack. But we didn't expect the second prince to be seriously ill. Without him, the Andinak Army always lost the battle with the nobles of the Redelis Kingdom. They were even lured into a trap and 70,000 people were washed away by the flood. The situation changed. It was said that the second prince rushed to the frontline to stabilize the situation.
To be honest, the coalition of the four duchies gathered 200,000 troops to confront the second prince's army. Although there was no major battle, the price we paid was very high. The five to six years of peace had indeed allowed the four central duchies to recover some of their strength. However, the second prince's 200,000 troops had put the four duchies under the greatest threat and pressure. Although the second prince had deployed tens of thousands of troops to wipe out the former Redelis Kingdom's allied nobles, the 100,000 troops stationed at the border of the Falkner Duchy and the Handa Duchy were like a sharp axe hanging over the heads of the eight central provinces. No one knew when it would fall.
During the previous empire, the population of the eight central provinces was nearly 3.5 million. It was the heart of the empire. Except for the Great Ontario Plains, no other province could compare. After the empire's civil war, the population dropped to 2,800,000. Then, the eldest prince led the barbaric army of the Redelis Kingdom to invade the four central duchies. War, natural disasters, famine, plague … In just two years, the population of the eight central provinces was reduced to less than 2,000,000. Almost half of the population disappeared … "
Count Churjwick's expression became a little emotional. "The four central duchies didn't want war. We hoped for peace. But the second prince didn't bring peace. He forced us to obey his orders and ordered us to join his chariot. Disobeying him was considered a rebellion. The four central duchies could only gather their coalition again to defend against the second prince's army. But after a year of stalemate, we were forced to use up countless grain reserves. All the strong men were sent to the frontline, and the land behind us was left uncultivated. It looks like the eight provinces in the central region are going to suffer another famine this year and next … "
"My apologies, Count Churjwick. May I ask where the second prince's army in the Redelis Kingdom got their rations from when the four central duchies found it so difficult to sustain the rations of 200,000 soldiers?" Laurist suddenly interrupted him. "I'm sorry, Count Churjwick, but can I ask where the rations of the 200,000 soldiers in the Redelis Kingdom come from?"
"Oh, according to my understanding, the second prince's army in the Redelis Kingdom has a total of 270,000 people. Among them, 150,000 are the first and third royal guards from the Andenac Kingdom. The other 120,000 are the original army of the Redelis Kingdom, mainly stationed in the Cambona Province. They surrendered to the second prince after he attacked the capital of Fedelis. The Second Prince only mobilized the First Royal Guard Corps and organized the surrendered troops to attack the nobles of the Redelis Kingdom. However, the results were not good. The surrendered troops were defeated again and again, and the war was dragged on.
After the 70,000 soldiers were washed away by the flood, His Second Highness finally lost confidence in the surrendered soldiers. He transferred the 3rd Royal Guard Corp from the Andinac Kingdom to be in charge of wiping out the rebel nobles in the Redelis Kingdom. The 1st Royal Guard Corp and the rest of the surrendered soldiers continued to oppress the four central duchies. There were a total of 130,000 soldiers facing the allied forces of the four duchies.
Due to His Second Highness's surprise attack on Felicia's capital, he has completely seized all of the armaments and rations that the eldest prince had prepared and stored in the capital. We estimate that His Second Highness's army of over two hundred thousand will be exhausted for eight months. At that time, everyone thought that the war would end quickly and that the second prince would be victorious. But no one expected that the rebellious nobles of the Redelis Kingdom would persist for so long and continuously attack the second prince. Even though the second prince lost close to 100,000 troops, the consumption of so much food after winter was over was too much for the second prince to bear.
At this time, the second prince used three methods to deal with the consumption of food resources and to raise the morale of the frontline troops. The first method was to issue a food requisition order, which was to confiscate the food reserves of the citizens of the Redelis Kingdom and take out a portion of it to make porridge for the confiscated citizens. This was to ensure the supply of food to the frontline troops. After this order was issued, the second prince stood against the citizens of the Redelis Kingdom, and rebellions arose one after another.
The second method was to confiscate the properties of the former nobles of the Redelis Kingdom and use them to reward the victorious soldiers. Although this method restored the morale and combat power of the frontline troops, it forced the neutral nobles to the side of the rebellious nobles. The rebellious nobles who were originally cornered by the 3rd Royal Guard Corp suddenly had reinforcements and a large number of fresh troops. They began to fight back and forth with the 3rd Royal Guard Corp, and even won a few small battles.
The last method was to transport food from the Andinac Kingdom to the frontline. But due to the long distance, the loss of manpower, and the robbery of the rebellious nobles, there were less than 20 to 30 kilograms of food left after the 100 kilograms of food was transported to the frontline. As a result, the troops stationed at the frontline were half-starved, and the food in the camp could only be stored for three days.
The commander of the 4 central duchies, Grand Duke Falkel, was keenly aware of this opportunity. When the Ford Commercial Union unexpectedly attacked and occupied the Cambona Province, cutting off the Andinac Kingdom's food supply route to the Redelis Kingdom, Grand Duke Falkel ordered us to collect a batch of cattle and sheep, slaughter them and throw them into the cauldron to cook. Thus, the more than 100,000 troops of the 2nd Prince who confronted us collapsed due to hunger. "
"I have another question. Why would the former nobles of the Redelis Kingdom, which is the nobles of the Andwolf Province, oppose the second prince to the death? As far as I know, the nobles of the Andwolf Province have always been at odds with the eldest prince. They even formed an alliance to resist the eldest prince's violation of their interests. As the one who conquered the Redelis Kingdom, the second prince should know this very well. If he wants to pacify the Redelis Kingdom, he needs the help of these nobles. Do you know the reason why these nobles and the second prince became mortal enemies? Count Churjwick … "Lollister looked at Count Churjwick and asked.
"Uh …" Count Churjwick thought for a while and answered, "I think I know some of the reasons. I have met with a few nobles of the Andwolf Province. According to them, the second prince's condition for their surrender was to reduce or remove their feudal titles. He also asked them to pay a ransom as atonement for following the eldest prince and rebelling in the past. So, the negotiations broke down. Originally, these nobles only wanted to deal with the second prince without cooperation. Who knew that the second prince's army would directly raise the butcher's knife, and a few nobles' families were destroyed. In the end, everyone had no choice but to raise their flags and resist … "
Lollister smiled bitterly. This was pure stupidity. The second prince really thought that he could do whatever he wanted with hundreds of thousands of troops in his hands. He had already suffered at the hands of those nobles in the Andwolf Province, and he did not expect to do the same to the four central duchies. In the end, he forced his friends to become his enemies. This was really courting death.
Removing or reducing feudal titles was indeed the best way to weaken the strength of those nobles, but it also depended on the situation. This strategy could only be carried out when he had absolute control of the situation. The second prince thought that he could control the situation with 200,000 troops and decided to carry out this strategy. He was obviously too impatient, and this was practically digging his own grave.
"By the way, Count Churjwick, did you find the second prince's whereabouts after you conquered the capital of Federiga?" Count Kenneth asked.
"No, no one found the second prince's whereabouts. He disappeared without a trace, just like the eldest prince. In fact, after the four central duchies collapsed the 100,000 troops at the border, we wanted to stand by and watch, not wanting to have any more conflicts with the second prince. However, what happened next angered everyone in the four duchies. The second prince actually used the time when our allied army was in a standoff with his army at the border to let Duke Mellaine's army attack the Sabagi Duchy from behind. They did all sorts of evil, and due to the lack of defense, a large number of territories fell. Nearly 10,000 old, weak, women, and children were killed.
At this time, the Trade Union sent a representative, and in the end, the enraged four duchies decided to send troops to the capital of Federiga. Each duchy sent 20,000 troops, and the rest went to Sabagi Duchy to deal with the invading army of Duke Mellaine. On the 21st of July last year, our army surrounded the capital of Federiga. We asked the second prince to leave the city and surrender, and we would guarantee his safety. However, this proposal was rejected by a Gold-tier female knight guarding the city … "
"A Gold-tier female knight?" Lollister sat up straight.
"Yes, the second prince has one flower, five tigers, and six gold-tier warriors under him. They are the second prince's most trusted subordinates. One flower is the Gold-tier female knight. Her name is … is … is … is … is … Krisya …" Count Churjwick's expression suddenly changed, and he secretly looked at Lollister, his body trembling.
… …
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