However, no one expected the second prince's inspection trip to cause such a huge commotion …
"Your Highness, the king held a grand banquet in Kebo City a few days ago to entertain all the nobles who were appointed by our family to the province of Delemsk. He did not try to rope in the nobles under our family's jurisdiction. He only promised them that if they were willing to contribute in the upcoming war against the four central duchies, he would use the name of the king to guarantee that they would be rewarded handsomely for their contributions. They might even be promoted in terms of nobility and their lands would be transferred … … "Fatty Shi was reading the news from Redi.
Loriste was unmoved.
Fatty Shi looked at the letter again and pondered, "Your Highness, if the nobles of Delemsk are willing to send troops to fight for the second prince, what position should our family take?" “
"Let them be." Loriste sat up from the sofa, "Do you think it will be useful for a nobleman like them to bring one or two hundred men to the battlefield? Maybe they can contribute greatly and be promoted by the second prince, but isn't this a good thing for our family? At least they will have their territory back. " “
That was true, and Laurist was right. Most of the nobles in the Delamuk province were former lords of the north and traditional lords of the Winston province. They had been transferred to the Delamuk province by Laurist. The Norton Family only had jurisdiction over them, unlike Bodefinger, Fatty Shi, and the others who had become vassal families of the Norton Family after being conferred as nobles by Laurist. They were actually one with the Norton Family.
The Delamuk Province was under the jurisdiction of the Norton family. Just like the Winston Province, Laurist could bestow nobles or transfer nobles from other provinces to the Norton family's territory, but he could not turn these two provinces into the family's territory. Although the second prince was the king of the Andinac Kingdom and could promote these nobles, he could not expand their territories. This was because it was under Loriste's jurisdiction. Unless he gave them land elsewhere, these nobles would become his direct subordinates and break away from Laurist's jurisdiction.
Just as Laurist had said, he was more than happy for the second prince to move these nobles away. The territories they left behind would allow Laurist to appoint new lords and increase the number of vassal families. This meant that the Norton family's influence would increase. This was a good thing for Laurist, and at the same time, it reduced the unstable factors in his territory. However, if one thought about it, one would know that such a pie would not fall from the sky. It was no longer the time when a knight could bring a hundred soldiers into battle to show off. Those who were fooled by the second prince would only be cannon fodder.
"You're right. Let's see how many nobles His Royal Highness can incite. I believe that they will hate His Majesty the King after suffering a great loss on the frontlines. Without our family's armed forces, these nobles won't be able to take advantage of the chaos. Fatty Shi smacked his lips and laughed.
The second prince's journey was quick. He stayed in Count Shahin's territory for one night before heading to Winston province. He also held a banquet in the capital of Windbridge and called out to the nobles of the new territories in Winston province. The promise made by the second prince on the spot won a burst of cheers. To these nobles who were originally from the Madras Principality, the removal and reduction of their fiefs and titles was a pain in their hearts. Now that the second prince had provided them with an opportunity to revive their families, there was no reason for them not to seize this opportunity.
On the 29th of November, the second prince arrived at the Filim family's territory in the southern province. He had a deep conversation with Count Filim, and then said that he would go to the border between the southern province and Eastern Barren province, where the Monolith Army was stationed. Count Filim wanted to accompany him, but the second prince politely declined. He did not intend to bring many people, only about ten horses. Count Filim thought about the thousand Norton family guards that the second prince had with him, including Redi and Parker, and the Monolith Army led by Bofinger. He did not mind, and only wished him a safe journey and a speedy return.
Then …
"What did you say? His Majesty only brought ten horses into Eastern Barren province's territory? " Loriste jumped up, this news was too unexpected.
Fatty Shi smiled bitterly, "Your Highness, it's true. Now everyone is dumbfounded. Redi wanted to bring a thousand guards into the Eastern Barren province to search, but was stopped by Bofinger. He is now waiting for your order … "
Loriste was very angry, "What's wrong with Redi? Why didn't he stop the second prince? “
Fatty Shi looked at the silk letter in his hand and said, "Your Highness, no one expected this. His Second Highness's behavior was very normal. After arriving at the border, he looked at the defensive line, and then pulled Bodefinger to review the battle between our family's armed forces and House Fisablon's armed forces in the southern province. In the afternoon, when he was patrolling the border, he found a herd of wild sheep and said that he wanted an extra meal tonight. He did not let Redi and the rest follow him, saying that he was afraid of scaring away the sheep, so he took his ten servants and went around. It was almost evening and the sky was dark, so their figures quickly disappeared from the guards' eyes. By the time Redi and Bodefinger realized something was wrong, His Highness and the others had already disappeared … "
"Wait, where are the wild goats? Lorist asked.
Fatty Shi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Your Highness, what does this have to do with Wild Goat? The wild goats were fine, but Redi and the rest realized that something was wrong when they realized that the goats were still eating the grass … … "
Laurist's expression was very ugly. "The fact that the wild goat is fine means that His Second Highness and the others found an excuse to leave the border. There was no accident. This was something he had planned for a long time. All those trips to the border to look for Boddfinger to inquire about the details of the battle to overturn the southern province, as well as hunting some wild sheep, were all excuses. In fact, I even suspect that his calling for the nobles to attack the four central duchies was just a ploy to divert our attention so that he could head to the Fisablon Family's territory. “
"B-But Your Highness, even though the Fisablon Family has signed a truce agreement with us, the Andinac Kingdom is still their enemy! Isn't His Second Highness sending himself to their doorstep and seeking his own death? Even if he was promoted to a level 1 Great Swordsman, Duke Fisablon is a level 3 Great Swordsman. It would be easy for him to take his life. " Fatty Shi didn't quite understand.
Laurist leaned heavily on the back of his chair and sighed deeply. "Sigh … … You don't understand. There is no danger for him to go to the Fisablon Family. Duke Fisablon will not touch him. No matter what, he is still the King. If the Fisablon Family wants to harm him and become the King's Killer, then we can completely tear up the truce agreement and uproot the Fisablon Family under the banner of avenging His Majesty. That's why Duke Fisablon won't give us this chance.
What I am worried about is why His Second Highness is so insistent on going to the Fisablon Family's territory. Is he planning to deal with our Norton Family? That is why he went to the Fisablon Family to ally with them. One is in the east and the other is in the west. If they do not cooperate, our family does not need to pay too much attention to them. But once they join forces, it will become a big problem. No, I have to immediately go to the border of the Southern Province and see if there is any chance to save the situation … … "
Laurist said this with gritted teeth. At this moment, he really wanted to kill. If he could stop the Second Highness in the Eastern Barren Province, he did not mind killing them all. After that, he would push everything to the Fisablon Family and tear up the truce agreement to join forces and exterminate the Fisablon Family. Since you are so insensible, then don't blame me for being impolite. As a King, you are always thinking about the Norton Family. You have no one to blame but yourself for seeking death.
From Laurist's point of view, the Second Highness was obviously going to the Fisablon Family to seek an alliance. Then, it was obvious who their enemy was. Other than the Norton Family, who else could it be? Since that was the case, it was better to strike first and gain the upper hand. Laurist did not have the taboo of not killing the King like the traditional nobles of the Galinthea Continent. If he killed them all, would anyone in the desolate grasslands of the Eastern Barren Province know? Anyway, there was still the Fisablon Family to take the blame. What did he have to be afraid of?
"But, Your Highness, it is already the end of November. It will be winter soon. Even if we immediately send troops to the Eastern Barren Province, it will be too late." Fatty Shi reminded him.
"There is no need to send troops. I will go alone. But I will wait at the Monolith Army for a few days and see if there are any clues or news. " Laurist said.
"No, Your Highness, you cannot go alone." Fatty Shi grabbed Laurist's sleeve. "Your Highness, you are the Duke of the Northern Lands and the head of the Norton Family. You cannot take the risk alone! Moreover, the new year celebration is only a month away. You cannot be absent. Otherwise, the people in the family territory will be anxious … … "
"It doesn't matter if I attend or not. Anyway, there is no need to confer a title this year … …"
"No, Your Highness, you really cannot go … …"
Just as he was pulling, there was a knock on the door. Genolio came in to report, "Your Highness, the Monolith Army has sent another message. “
The second letter said that the second prince had left a letter for Bofinger in his own tent. It meant that there was no need to be nervous. He was indeed going to the Fisablon Family. There was no need to worry about his life. Because he had become the disciple of Grandmaster Swordmaster Fairy, he had successfully advanced to a level one Grandmaster under her careful guidance. Therefore, he wanted to send Grandmaster Swordmaster Fairy back to the Fisablon Family and only return after the rainy season next year. There was no need to send people to search for him … …
After reading the message from the eagle, Laurist felt dejected. He felt that he had brought this upon himself. Why did he leave Grandmaster Swordmaster Fairy in the care of the second prince? If he had known earlier, he would have brought this old witch back and imprisoned her in the family territory. He did not expect the second prince to become the disciple of the old witch and successfully become a Grandmaster Swordmaster. It was obvious that the second prince had been misled by the old witch to go to the Fisablon Family territory. He had made one wrong move after another. It was all his fault for not expecting such a turn of events.
Now, Laurist could not find trouble with the second prince even if he wanted to. Duke Fisablon, the old witch, the second prince, and that Munster beside him were all Grandmaster Swordmasters. Only an idiot would attack the Fisablon Family's nest, the Crouching Tiger Castle, single-handedly. Now, Laurist was no longer interested in strolling alone in the Eastern Wasteland Province's plains. "Send a messenger eagle to Bofinger. Tell him that I understand. Tell him not to worry about the second prince. Also, tell Redi and the rest to come back and not wait foolishly at the border. " “
"Yes, Your Highness." "Genolio has gone out."
"Then what should we do next?" Fatty Shi asked.
"Nothing much." Laurist said, "We'll deal with it when it comes. I want to see what the second prince and the Fisablon Family can do to the Norton Family even if they work together. If they really force us into a corner, I don't mind killing them. I'll beat up whoever comes out first. " “
Ten days later, Count Filim and Count Shahin came together. Duke Kempis, who received the letter, also came running over. They were here to participate in the New Year's celebration, and also to discuss with Laurist how the second prince's sudden visit to the Fisablon Family would affect the alliance of the four families in the Northern Lands.
"I think Laurist's guess is correct. The second prince's sudden visit to the Fisablon Family is obviously to subdue Duke Fisablon and bring the Fisablon Family under his command. Although we don't know what price the second prince will pay to subdue the ambitious Duke Fisablon, with Grandmaster Shandi acting as a go-between, the second prince's goal will definitely be achieved. Also, subduing Duke Fisablon will greatly increase his reputation in the country … "Duke Kempis was very clear-headed.
"Then do you think that the second prince's initial inspection, banquet, and summon all the nobles to attack the four central duchies was to cover his goal of going to the Fisablon Family's territory?" Count Shahin asked.
"I'm not sure about that. In any case, I didn't meet him when he came to my territory." Duke Kempis shook his head.
Laurist's eyes flickered, and he asked, "Henned, did the second prince agree to any conditions for you to send troops? “
He said that if the four central duchies are destroyed, I can choose any province in the four duchies as my family's hereditary territory, and he'll let me become a duke. " Count Shahin answered.
Laurist looked at Count Phelim again.
"He said that I'll also be promoted to a duke, and the entire southern province will be directly under the Phelim Family's jurisdiction, not like now, where more than half of it is a jurisdiction." Count Phelim said.
Fatty Shi shook his head, "Our king is still the same, using something that doesn't belong to him as a reward …"
"You're tempted?" Laurist asked.
"If it was just that, I wouldn't care about him, but the second prince pointed out that the bottleneck of the southern province's development is the lack of manpower. If I send troops to the four central duchies, I can plunder manpower from there to develop the southern province. So I'm a little tempted, but I'm still considering it … "Count Phelim said.
"I'm tempted," Count Shahin admitted, "You know I've never been very good at developing a family's territory. But if there's a war, we can plunder wealth, and that's very attractive to me. Also, I hope to find a place with more mines as my family's territory, so that I can accumulate more wealth for my descendants. The two small silver mines and one copper mine in the Henderson Mountains in Delemsk province still produce a little less … "
That was true. Count Shahin was the one with the tightest finances among the four families. He had taken over the small mountain range in Henderson as his family's territory, only to find out that the three mines there only produced two to three hundred thousand gold fords a year. If it were other nobles, they would be rich, but for Baron Shahin, who controlled a family army, this income was barely enough to cover the expenses of the family army. If not for Duke Kempis's frequent subsidies, he would have reduced the family's armed forces to supplement his family's expenses.
"What about you?" Laurist asked Duke Kempis.
"According to my father, His Highness said that if our family also sent troops, he promised to open up the entire kingdom's trade routes for us to travel and operate, and he'll even reduce taxes by half for three years. I don't care, since my title can't be promoted anymore, and our family's territory covers the entire Sidergrad province. Although it's remote, it's safe, and we don't have any other ambitions. Besides, opening up the trade routes doesn't appeal to me, and I don't care about the taxes anyway. I'd rather he block the trade routes, and then I can earn more by smuggling by sea. But His Highness's proposal is very attractive to the family's merchant guild, and he wrote to me in hopes that I would agree to send troops … "Duke Kempis replied.
Laurist fell into deep thought, and after a while, he said, "I feel that His Highness's wish to attack the four central duchies from the southern province is not to deceive you, but to cover up the fact that he's going to the Fisablen Family's territory. First, he's given you different conditions that are attractive to you, and second, he's called upon all the nobles in Delemsk and Winston provinces. If this is a lie, then he'll have broken his promise, and his reputation will suffer. But now that he's gone to the Fisablen Family's territory, we can't guess what he's thinking, so let's wait for him to come back. There's no point in being anxious now, I'll go see him when the time comes. "
…
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