Of the four great families in the north, the Norton family was the most powerful, followed by the Kemps family, the Filim family, and the Shahin family. However, in terms of family background and heritage, the Norton family was famous throughout the Crimson Empire, the Filim family was second, and the Pegasus family was also famous. Next was the Shahin family. Although it was a vassal family of the Northern Grand Duke and a small baron, it had three generations of heritage after all.
Only the Kemps family had not yet stabilized its footing. Changing from a merchant family to a member of the territorial nobility, it would be difficult to gain the recognition of the noble circle without decades of accumulation and generations of heritage. As Earl Kemps said, there were two reasons why he was tempted by the second prince's promise. One was that the Kemps family had only been a territorial noble for a short period of time. They had no heritage, and money alone was useless. The second was that he didn't have a proper name. He bought this title from the second prince, and the second prince was a traitor to the empire. He had already died, and the Iberian Kingdom he established was now on the verge of collapse. It was clearly a short-lived dynasty. Once the kingdom fell, only the heavens knew if there would be anyone who would recognize the Kemps family as a territorial noble.
The second prince had keenly discovered this weakness of the Kemps family, so he was confident that he could lure the Kemps family to pledge allegiance to him. This was a good opportunity for Earl Kemps to prove his family's name and confirm that he was a real territorial noble. He knew that if the second prince had a large army in his hands and unified the territory of the former empire, there would only be destruction if he encountered a family like his. He would not even be given the chance to reduce or transfer the title. At most, he would have to offer the family's accumulated wealth to save his and his family's lives, and then be demoted to a commoner …
Although the second prince was only the former king of the Andinac Kingdom, with no soldiers or generals under him, and the throne had been usurped by his niece, he still represented the legitimate inheritance of the former royal family of the Crimson Empire. Therefore, Earl Kemps was tempted. Pledging allegiance to the second prince meant that his family would receive the most legitimate recognition of the territorial nobility. From then on, he would be a legitimate member of the territorial nobility.
"Did you agree?" Laurist asked as he sat in the bathtub.
"Not yet. I said it was related to the future of the family, so I had to think about it. I'll give him an answer in two days. I came to you as soon as I saw him off, "said the Earl.
"Apart from asking you to join him, what other requests did he make for you to take control of a province and become an Archduke?"
Count Kenneth spread out his hands. "He wanted me to find a way to incite you to attack the Madras Principality. Once the duchy of Madras is destroyed, confer me the title of Grand Duke. However, I told him that without the help of the Norton Family, we would not be able to destroy the Madras Principality. With the military strength of the Kenmeis Family and the Shahin Family, we could defeat the enemy, but destroying the Madras Principality would be very difficult. "
Laurist furrowed his brows and pondered for a long time. Count Kenneth patiently waited beside the tub.
The water in the bathtub was a little cold, and Laurist finally raised his head. "Perhaps, this is a very good opportunity for us, the Four Great Families of the North. We can bring the entire Madras Duchy into our sphere of influence. Give His Highness the cold shoulder for two days, then go look for him. That's it … "
…
In the past two days, Baron Shahin Henned had led his troops to sweep through the surrounding manors and castles, bringing back countless rations and supplies. As the largest granary of the former Christen Empire, the Delamuk province was indeed worthy of its reputation. Henned had been out for two days, looting four manors nearby. In the end, he brought back mountains of rations, enough for nearly a hundred thousand Northern Coalition Army soldiers to spend the winter peacefully in the well-equipped main camp.
His time in the Northern Coalition Army camp felt like it was a year. Because Baron Shahin had gone out to loot, oh, gather rations, the second prince could not contact Baron Shahin. And for some unknown reason, Earl Kenneth had been avoiding him all this time. Remembering that he had said he would consider for a few days, the second prince could not press him for an answer. As for Laurist, he brought his guards to the Mitubro River to fish every day, looking carefree and unfettered.
Although the second prince was treated very well in the Northern Coalition Army's camp, his freedom was restricted. When he wanted to leave the camp, there would always be a very polite guard in front of him, reminding him that as a noble knight watching the battle, he should not casually leave the camp, because it would cause a lot of trouble for the masters of the camp. After all, the Northern Coalition Army and the Madras Principality were only in a small conflict at the moment. If the second prince went out and was discovered by the Madras Principality's scouts, the consequences would be very serious, and it would affect the outcome of the war.
For a bigger goal, the second prince endured it. He did not want to be declared unwelcome by the Northern Coalition Army, especially at a crucial time when he hoped to win over the Kenneth Family to his side. Therefore, he could only wander around the camp with his entourage, drooling over the soldiers of the Kenz Family and the Shahin Family. He imagined that under his command, these two elite families would sweep across the world and unify the former empire.
The Northern Coalition Army camp had gathered 36,000 troops from the Shahin Family, 46,000 from the Kenneth Family, and 12,000 from the Norton Family. In total, there were close to 100,000 troops. Except for Baron Şahin and his Golden Knight, Tabek, who led a light cavalry regiment out to collect provisions and other supplies every day, the rest of the troops were doing chores, such as chopping firewood, building barracks for the winter, fishing, hunting, herding livestock, and so on, in addition to training and patrolling the defense camp.
In the eyes of the second prince, the Northern Coalition Army was simply not doing proper work. Soldiers should be fighting, not doing things that only servants did. If these 100,000 men were under his command, he would have swept through at least half of the Delemsk province. With his territory and elite troops, he was confident that he could defeat the Madras Archduke. By next year, he could make the Madras Archduke hide in his lair in the Sidrgrad province, not daring to come out. Then, he could lead his army straight to the Imperial Capital …
The second prince's patience finally paid off. On the third day, Earl Kenneth appeared in front of him.
"Your Majesty, the Kenneth Family is willing to offer you our loyalty, and under your banner, we will sweep away the thorns and obstacles in the road ahead for you. May the light of the God of War protect our kingdom, and make Your Majesty invincible. "Earl Kenneth respectfully bowed to the second prince.
The second prince was overjoyed. He knew he had succeeded when he heard Earl Kenneth address him as "Your Majesty" instead of "Your Majesty" out of politeness. Now, in addition to the Norton Family, he had another powerful noble under his command. This filled him with confidence to achieve his goal.
But when the second prince saw Earl Kenneth's frowning face, he found it strange. "My lord, what's wrong? Is there something wrong?"
Earl Kenneth smiled bitterly. "Your Majesty, although my family and I are willing to pledge our loyalty to you, please forgive me for not being able to fulfill your wishes. I cannot use my family's armed forces to take the risk of attacking the Madras Principality, nor can I convince my allies to continue fighting against the Madras Principality. "
"Why? My dear Earl, my promise to you is true and reliable. I swear in the name of a king. As long as you destroy the Madras Principality, I will promote you to the rank of Grand Duke. In the future, when I regain my throne and unify the empire, you will be free to choose a province as your family's territory … "
Earl Kenneth shook his head. "Your Majesty, you have misunderstood. If we want to destroy the Madras Principality, we, the four families of the north, must send troops together. Just me and Baron Shahin's family army alone cannot accomplish this. Moreover, Baron Shahin has no interest in fighting to the death with the Madras Principality. As for my family, because of my father, he will also object to using our family army here … "
The second prince asked suspiciously, "My lord, I have observed your and Baron Shahin's family army in the camp. They are both very elite troops. With nearly a hundred thousand men, it is enough to sweep the entire Delemke province. Even if you fight against the Madras Principality, it is very likely that you will win. Why do you say that it is impossible to destroy the Madras Principality?"
"Your Majesty, you do not understand the military situation of the Madras Principality. In fact, after the battle between the Madras Principality and the second prince in Kebo a few years ago, the Madras Principality has been reorganizing its military in recent years. Apart from the forty-eight thousand soldiers of the Seamount Legion that he had stationed in the Sigler province, there were a total of four garrisons of a hundred thousand soldiers stationed in the Delemsk province. The first was the forty thousand soldiers stationed in the seven fortresses of the Xindesen mountain range, the second was the twenty thousand soldiers stationed in Vanades City, the third was the twenty thousand soldiers stationed in Kebo City, and the fourth was the twenty thousand soldiers stationed by the river. The total military strength is 150,000. If we include the private armies of the feudal lords, we can make up another 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers.
If I and Baron Shahin's two armies attack the Madras Principality, the Madras Principality will soon bring more than a hundred thousand soldiers to find trouble with us. Even if we win, we will definitely suffer heavy losses. If the Madras Principality is defeated, he can continue to recruit soldiers from his territory to replenish his troops and continue to fight us to the death. But if Baron Shahin and I are defeated, it will take at least eight to ten years for the family's army to recover after we return to the family's territory …
Your Majesty, you may not know this, but in terms of the combat power of the family army, the Norton family is the most outstanding of the four families in the north. Their military strength is equivalent to that of the three of us combined. Next is the Filim family. Your Majesty may remember the former Pegasus family. Baron Filim is a descendant of this family. Their light cavalry army has always been known for their swift and swift attacks. Compared to the other two families, Baron Shahin's family army is divided into infantry and cavalry, with a balance of attack and defense. On the other hand, the Cummings family army is good at defending, and attacking is not our forte.
Your Majesty, I am sorry, but I cannot follow your orders to attack the Madras Principality. That is like using an egg to hit a rock. Only the four families of the north will send troops together. Now, I can only offer a little money to Your Majesty to show my loyalty. If you want to destroy the Madras Principality, please forgive me for not being able to do so … "Count Cummings took out a thick stack of gold yuan notes from his bosom, estimated to be about 100,000 gold coins, and placed it on the desk respectfully.
The second prince's expression was a little ugly. What Earl Cummings had said was clear: I'm relying on you for the legitimacy of my title, but if you want to use my family's army to fight against the Madras Duchy, I won't accompany you. The Cummings family is willing to offer tribute, but is not willing to sacrifice their own family's army for the second prince's return to the throne. Of course, the second prince was dubious about what Count Cummings said about the Madras Principality's military situation. What he was interested in was another piece of information revealed by Count Cummings.
"You said that the military strength of the Norton family exceeds that of the three families combined. Is that true?" the second prince asked.
"Of course. The Norton family's two regular armies have 120,000 men, and with the addition of the town guards, there are 150,000 men. Our family army has 55,000 men, the Filim family's army 46,000 men, and the Shahin family's army 42,000 men. Our three families add up to less than 150,000 men, and in terms of military strength, the Norton family is the strongest. " Count Cummings deliberately omitted the number of the Norton family's armed forces, leaving out the 25 battalions of guards. As for the three battalions of guards jumping around in the camp, he pretended not to see them. In any case, the second prince did not understand the Norton family's armed forces …
"If that's the case, I have a question," the second prince said. "The north is already an alliance between your four families. The Norton family's territory is not connected to any other territory except for the three of you. So why do they still have so many armed families? What do they want? Aren't you three afraid that they will have ideas about you? "
Count Cummings smiled. Just as Lollister said, the second prince was really trying to trip up the Norton family all the time. This time, he was even trying to sow discord.
"Your Majesty, do you know why the four families of the north formed an alliance?" Count Cummings said, "In fact, there are only two purposes for our alliance. One is to have ideas about the Iberian Kingdom, and the other is to guard against Duke Feisablen and his border rangers."
"Ideas about the Iberian Kingdom? I understand about guarding against the Feisablen family, but aren't the three of you nobles of the Iberian Kingdom? Why would you have ideas about the Iberian Kingdom? "The second prince became interested.
"Your Majesty, in fact, after the Norton family sent troops to the capital of Wendelbri to capture the second prince, our three families have been drifting away from the circle of nobles of the Iberian Kingdom. Rather than saying that we are nobles of the Iberian Kingdom, it would be more accurate to say that we are nobles of the north. The idea of attacking the Iberian Kingdom is for Baron Filim. You know that they are from the Pegasus family. The southern province is his traditional family territory, and he dreams of returning to the southern province.
However, the southern province is now in ruins. If we want to take back the southern province, we must first attack the Winston province. But the current ruler of the capital of Wendelbri is the daughter of Duke Feisablen, the queen of the Iberian Kingdom. If we send troops to the Winston province, we will inevitably have a conflict with the Feisablen family. Duke Feisablen is one of the three military gods of the empire. He is famous, and his border rangers are the biggest threat in the north. The four families of the north are actually training their troops to defeat him. The Norton family's armed forces are the main force against the Feisablen family, so they maintain so many troops. "
"I see, the Feisablen family, the Pegasus family, Baron Filim …" The second prince muttered to himself, and suddenly his eyes lit up. "Earl Kenneth, if I am willing to promote Baron Filim to the title of Earl and confer the southern province to him as a family territory, do you think Baron Filim would be willing to pledge loyalty to me?"
Earl Kenneth looked resentful, but he was cursing in his heart. This second prince is really shameless. He obviously has no troops or power, but he treats himself as the former emperor of the Crimson Empire, using territory that doesn't belong to him as a favor. It's easy to say, confer the southern province to Baron Filim, and even promote him to the title of Earl. But is the southern province his territory? If Baron Filim pledges loyalty to him, he will have to send troops to attack the southern province himself. The only advantage is that it is justifiable. The Andinac Kingdom and the Iberian Kingdom are enemies, so it is natural that there will be a war.
The second prince saw Earl Kenneth's expression and quickly came to a realization. "Of course, my lord Earl, I will not forget your achievements. If you can persuade Baron Filim to join me, you can tell me what you want. "
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Earl Cummings gave a half bow. "Then I won't stand on ceremony. If we can destroy the Madras Principality, I want the province of Sidrgrad to be the hereditary territory of the Cummings family."
…
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