Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation The sound of a horn reverberated across the fields, and a black army appeared on the horizon. They held all kinds of flags and looked at the Northern Coalition Army's camp from afar. After a long while, a few knights rode their horses and shouted something in front of the crowd. Then, the crowd let out some indistinct shouts and started to move towards the Madras Army's camp at the foot of the hill in the distance.
The second prince remembered very clearly that after he made the oath and obtained the promise of the four northern families to work for him, the Madras Army's messenger came to the camp again the next day. He was here to urge the Northern Coalition Army to withdraw from the Madras Duchy.
But when Count Kenneth brought up the new conditions, the emissary laughed. His eyes were full of ridicule. "Count Kenneth, do you think the duchy is a fat cow? Do you think the Duke will agree to such a condition? Don't forget that even the fattest cow has a pair of sharp horns. As a messenger, I have no right to reprimand you for your wishful thinking. I can only repeat what you said to the Duke. But before I leave, I want to say something to you. Since you want war, then we will not let you down … "
After the messenger left, the second prince was inexplicably excited. He immediately gave a long passionate speech, meaning that now was almost the time to shed all pretenses of cordiality, and the Northern Coalition Army should seize this opportunity to attack the enemy first. Before the Madras Principality could react, they should sweep through the entire province of Delamuk and occupy as much territory as possible. When the army of the Madras Grand Duke arrived, they could engage in a tug-of-war, and use their elite forces to defeat or even defeat the Madras Principality.
Only four expressionless faces responded to the second prince. Baron Shahin was the first to speak. He felt that there was no need to attack the Delemke province now. He had been leading his troops to loot the farms and orchards of the nobles, so he knew the situation in the province very well. The nobles had gathered their private troops to defend their castles, so there was no point in attacking them. Even if they occupied the territory, they would have to divide their troops to defend it, which would be a waste of manpower.
Baron Filim also retorted. It was already the end of October, and there was only one month left before winter arrived. It was impossible to conquer the entire Delemke province in thirty-five days. Besides, there was only Kebo City in the entire province, and the rest were all manors and castles of the nobles. But Kebo City was a fortress city, and had a garrison of twenty thousand men. It was easy to defend and hard to attack. The Northern Coalition Army would not be able to take it in a short period of time, and it would only cause their own troops to suffer heavy casualties …
Count Kenneth smiled and advised the second prince that there was no need to be so impatient. The messenger should go back and tell the Duke of Madras that it would take at least ten days for the troops to arrive, and it would be the middle of November by then. There was only half a month left for them to set up the barracks and gather supplies for the winter. Compared to the Northern Coalition Army, who had basically finished their preparations for the winter, the army of the Madras Duchy would have a much better winter. We can completely wait for the exhausted to finish the winter comfortably, and next spring, we can deal a fatal blow to those stupid birds who have been frozen for an entire winter.
In the end, it was Laurist who concluded that they should act according to the plan. There was no need to worry about the troops sent by the Duke of Madras. There was no need to do anything. Wait until next spring, when the Duke of Madras had gathered his army, and then they would have a big battle. Laurist expressed his confidence in the fighting power of the Northern Coalition Army. As long as they defeated the army of the Madras Duchy, it would be much easier to destroy the Madras Duchy.
The military meeting came to an end. The four northern nobles stood up and respectfully bowed to the second prince before taking their leave. They did not give the second prince a chance to persuade them again. Only the second prince was left in the tent, gnashing his teeth in anger. He regretted not being able to take control of the Northern Coalition Army before he signed the oath.
The oath was a letter of guarantee given by a superior lord to a lesser lord. As long as the lesser lord completed the task given by the superior lord in the oath, the reward promised by the superior lord in the oath would be fulfilled immediately. There was no need for the consent and approval of the superior lord.
The oath was usually made in triplicate. Other than the superior lord and the lesser lord each having one, there was also a copy that would be announced to the public. The second prince's oath was made in six copies. He and the four northern lords each held one. The last one would be held on the first day of the new year. Earl Gammus would represent the four northern families to host a grand New Year's banquet in the former Duke's Mansion in Gildusk City. It would be announced in front of all the northern nobles, the lords supported by the Norton and Gammus families. Earl Gammus said that this meant that all the northern nobles had returned to the right path and were under the second prince's command.
At first, the second prince wanted to sign an oath with Earl Gammus and the other families, but Earl Gammus thought that this was inappropriate. This was because it would easily give the impression that the second prince was dividing their alliance. Moreover, in the war to destroy the Madras Duchy and conquer the Iberian Kingdom, there were many times when the four northern families needed to cooperate with each other. Therefore, when signing the oath, the four families should take the lead. This way, when the time came, they would implicate each other. One would prosper, one would prosper, and one would suffer. They were all grasshoppers on the same rope, and no one could escape.
Just as Earl Gammus said, he also wanted to pull his family out to avoid being implicated by the other three families. But he couldn't do it at the moment, because if he made a move, it would arouse the suspicion of Laurist and the others. They would guess that the Kenneth Family and the second prince had reached some sort of secret agreement. Not only would this affect the alliance between the four Northern Families, but it would also affect the second prince's plan to restore the kingdom. Thus, after much consideration, Earl Kenneth decided that he would rather let his family and the three Northern Families suffer losses than let the second prince's plan to restore the kingdom suffer a setback …
The second prince was very appreciative of Earl Gammus's righteousness. He decided to follow Earl Gammus's suggestion and have the four northern families write the oath. The contents were the conditions that he had discussed with Earl Gammus. When the second prince signed and stamped his fingerprint on the six oaths, Laurist, Baron Phelim, and Baron Shahin all bowed to him. At that moment, the second prince was full of ambition. The four northern families were at his beck and call, and all his enemies could soon see him making a comeback and conquering the world.
But when Laurist and the others rejected the second prince's suggestion to send troops as soon as possible to sweep through the Delimuk Province, the second prince realized that even though he was the leader of one of the four Great Families in the north, he had no control over or authority over the armed forces of the four Great Families. Even the guards around him were assigned by the four Great Families. Now, besides the Gold Knight called Leapired, Christie and the other three Silver Knights were in the Norton Family's territory recruiting soldiers and guarding the White Lion Legion's equipment that Laurist had returned to them …
The second prince did not give up. He found Laurist and the others and tried to persuade them to listen to his suggestion. Speed was the most important thing in war. If they did not take advantage of the time when the Madras Duchy was still mobilizing their troops, it would disrupt the Madras Duchy's plan of mobilizing troops. Instead, they would allow the Madras Duchy to gather their troops and wait for the final battle. This was the biggest mistake in strategy. When the time came, the Madras Duchy could mobilize the power of the entire duchy. Even if they failed in the final battle, they could switch to defense and drag the war into a stalemate.
They could only make use of the month before winter to conquer the Delemke province. Even if they could not occupy it, they had to destroy the region and reduce the Madras Principality's potential for war. They had to force the Madras Principality's army to be unable to get any support in the Delemke province. They would not be able to gather any rations. Only then would they lose their morale and collapse at the first blow in the final battle after winter …
Since Laurist and the others wanted the final battle, the second prince cleverly changed his method of persuading them. He pointed out that they should try their best to reduce the enemy's strength before the final battle, and not sit and watch the enemy gather their troops. The second prince believed that the Duchy of Madras was like a fat buffalo, and the Northern Alliance Army should hunt this buffalo like a pack of wolves. They should try their best to inflict wounds on the buffalo and restrict its frontal attack. When the buffalo lost too much blood and could no longer hold on, they would give it a fatal blow. Then, the Duchy of Madras would be destroyed.
To convince Laurist and the others, the second prince generously used himself as an example. He pointed out the lesson of his failure in conquering the Andwolf province's nobles in the Redelis Kingdom two years ago. The second prince said that it was not that the army under his command did not fight the nobles' alliance. In fact, they fought three or four times, and the nobles' alliance was defeated every time. However, the nobles in the Andwolf province fought again and refused to surrender. Even when the Andwolf province was occupied by the second prince's army, they still retreated to the Madjik province and continued to contend with the second prince's army. They even obtained the support of the four central duchies and the Trade Union, and finally held on until the final victory …
Therefore, the final battle would not be able to defeat the Madras Duchy as Laurist and the others had imagined. The second prince believed that there was a great possibility that the northern coalition forces would be dragged into a long guerrilla and raiding war by the nobles of the Madras Principality, as he had encountered in the province of Andvov, and that would be disadvantageous to the future war. Only by striking first and sweeping through the manors and castles of the nobles in the Delimuk province, destroying the Madras Duchy's military strength was the best strategy. The Northern Alliance Army had to seize this opportunity, and not let the soldiers stay in the barracks for a month with nothing to do.
Laurist did not argue with the second prince. He only pulled over a map of the Madras Duchy and did a simple battle simulation. With the current strength of the Northern Alliance Army, if they wanted to sweep through the manors and castles of the nobles in the Delimuk province, they would have to split their army into four groups, each with about twenty thousand people. That way, they would be able to conquer the castles guarded by the two to three thousand nobles. Even with the lowest casualty rate of one to one, the Northern Alliance Army would have half of the casualties in each group. They would have to retreat, and they would only be able to sweep through one-third of the territory in the Delimuk province.
The biggest weakness of this strategy was that they could not send troops to besiege Kebo City. This was because the Madras Duchy's reinforcements would arrive soon. First, the Madras Duchy might send his most elite Seamount Army to reinforce them. Second, the garrison of the Hindesen Mountain Range would send twenty thousand people to attack them. Then, the troops heading to Kebo City would be in a critical situation. If they were defeated, it would even endanger the safety of the camp at the river crossing.
If they sent forty to fifty thousand people to besiege Kebo City, they would have more than enough to protect themselves, but not enough to sweep through the Delimuk province. However, if they ignored Kebo City, then the Madras Duchy's reinforcements would most likely attack the camp at the river crossing. There were only about ten thousand people guarding the camp. This was not a permanent defense system in Kebo City. Once the camp was breached, the consequences would be unimaginable. The four groups of troops that went out to sweep would have no place to go, and there was a possibility that they would all be wiped out.
Laurist pointed out bluntly that the main reason for the second prince's failure in conquering the Redelis Kingdom was not because of the prolonged tug-of-war with the nobles in the Andwolf province, but because their retreat route was cut off. The loss of Cambona province caused the second prince's troops to lose their supplies. This was the biggest reason for their failure. Of course, this had a lot to do with the second prince not anticipating the change in the battle situation, as well as the lack of supplies. But now it seemed that the second prince had not truly realized where he had failed. At this time, letting the Northern Alliance Army attack first was a repeat of the failure in conquering the Redelis Kingdom.
The second prince was embarrassed into anger. He thought that after the Northern Alliance Army attacked, the armed forces of the Norton and Filim Families could rush over to fill the gap in the military forces at the river crossing. That way, it would be impossible for the camp to fall, and they could even continuously send troops to sweep through the nobles in the Delimuk province.
Baron Filim retorted on the spot. This was absolutely impossible. The second prince did not understand the armed forces of his family and the Norton Family. Currently, the Northern Alliance Army in the camp was mainly armed by the Shahin Family and the Kenz Family. They were all heavily armored infantry, good at defense and weak at offense. Only Baron Shahin's two light cavalry regiments were here as scouts. The current layout and size of the camp was to facilitate the defense of these heavily armored infantry and for them to survive the winter.
It was a genius idea to let these heavily armored infantry, who were good at defense, attack and sweep through the nobles in the Delimuk province, and then let his family and the Norton Family's cavalry, who were good at offense, defend the camp. Baron Filim mocked. Even if he and the Norton Family's cavalry regiment arrived to defend the camp, the current size of the camp would not be able to accommodate so many people when the heavily armored infantry returned. Not to mention, just the logistics of the two cavalry regiments' warhorses would be an incomparably huge figure during the winter …
There's no need to argue anymore. Let's carry out the strategy we have planned. From now until winter, we only need to defend this camp. As for whether to attack or not, let's all wash up and go to sleep. Don't waste your time thinking about it. Laurist patted his butt and left.
The second prince was so angry that he almost vomited blood. What do you mean wash up and go to sleep? Don't waste your time thinking about it? Are you talking about me? Flustered and exasperated, the second prince took out the oath and looked at it carefully. He really wanted to find a regulation that could restrict the armed forces of Laurist and the Norton Family.
Then … the second prince suddenly realized that he seemed to have been tricked by Earl Kenneth … Earl Kenneth had dug a big hole for the second prince, and the second prince had happily jumped into it …
The conditions and tasks on the oath were clear, and the second prince had agreed to them after thinking about it. But now, the conditions on the oath were particularly glaring to the eyes. He looked at the map of the entire former Christen Empire for a night before realizing that even if he could unify the former empire in the future, the Duchy of Madras and the Kingdom of Iberia, except for the Eastern Wasteland Province and Makino Province controlled by the Fisablon Family, were all connected to the north. In other words, these places were all under the control of the four families in the north. As long as the four families' alliance existed, the second prince would not be able to interfere in this territory that occupied one-third of the former empire's territory …
Just like the Dreimuk Province, the second prince had agreed to let the Norton Family move the nobles there. This was equivalent to admitting that these nobles were the vassal lords of the Norton Family. As long as the Duchy of Madras was destroyed, the Dreimuk Province would be controlled by the Norton Family.
The worst part was that His Highness had appointed Lollister as the governor of the Royal City of Windebri. The second prince had forgotten that the Royal City of Windebri was the capital of the Winston Province. Even if the nobles of the Winston Province were appointed by the second prince, Lollister was the governor. The current governor was far away, and any orders from the second prince would reach the governor first. Lollister could ignore such orders for unreasonable reasons, and then he would have the time to slowly deal with the nobles of the Winston Province who did not listen to his orders …
The second prince was extremely regretful. This was equivalent to giving the entire Winston Province to the Norton Family. Then he found a condition on the oath that was extremely disadvantageous to him. That was, it did not stipulate when the Norton Family would attack the capital and allow the second prince to ascend the throne again. Instead, it stipulated that as long as the Duchy of Madras was destroyed and the Kingdom of Iberia was conquered, the conditions that the second prince had promised the four northern families would immediately take effect.
For example, if the second prince conquered the Sidergrad Province, the promise that the second prince had promised to give this province to Earl Kenneth as a hereditary family territory would immediately take effect, and Earl Kenneth would automatically be promoted to the title of Grand Duke. The only restriction was that the Duchy of Madras had to be destroyed. Another example was that if the armed forces of the four families occupied the Winston Province and attacked the capital of Winderbri, then Laurist would automatically become the governor of Winston Province, and the capital of Winderbri would become the governor's city …
He must have been blind to have trusted Earl Kenneth, who was born as a profiteer! The second prince was in so much pain that he wanted to die, especially when he couldn't find the time that the four families of the north promised to help him attack the capital and restore him to the throne. This date could be immediately after the destruction of Madras, or it could be ten or twenty years later. The four families of the north could let the second prince eat and drink well in the north, and then slowly implement their strategy according to their own decisions and interests …
Although the second prince was generous in the oath, using the interests of the Duchy of Madras and the Iberian Kingdom as a guarantee for the four families of the north to serve him, he still wanted to chop off his own hands when he found out that these promised benefits would almost make the territory controlled by the four families into an independent kingdom after he unified the territory of the former empire. How could he be so obsessed that he signed, stamped, and put his fingerprint on the oath?
No superior lord dared to go back on the oath, because the oath was the most sacred guarantee. It was an oath that the superior lord swore to the gods in the name of his family and ancestors. The second prince knew very well that the oath was a guarantee that the four families of the north would serve him and recognize him as their superior lord. And if he went back on his word, not only would his reputation be worthless, the four families of the north could also use this reason to refuse to recognize him as their superior lord, and return to being a free noble. At that time, not only would he no longer be bound by the four families of the north, but he would also have four powerful enemies …
The second prince was now standing on top of the castle in the center of the camp, watching the army of the Madras Duchy appear on the distant horizon. In the camp about two miles away from the Northern Coalition Army camp, they were also busy building camp walls and various defensive facilities, digging trenches, and there was an endless stream of transport carriages constantly transporting all kinds of supplies.
The more gathered, the better. He could only wait patiently now. At the beginning of next spring, when the allied forces of the four families of the north and the army of the Madras Duchy engaged in a decisive battle and both sides suffered, it might be his chance to turn things around. Only when the arrogant and lazy Northern Coalition Army suffered and fought to the death with the Madras Duchy in the Delamuk province could he fish in troubled waters. As long as he recruited people to form the White Lion Legion, he could take the lead in this war.
This was what the second prince thought …
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