The Second Prince had returned. He wanted to send Queen Qianqian back to the Imperial Capital, and then bring the White Lion Legion back to the Southern Province. It was estimated that it would take more than two months to travel back and forth, so he had arranged for the attack on the Four Duchies in the middle of August. It was now May.
The southern province had already become a huge military camp. The Flying Tiger Corps of the Norton Family and the Pegasus Corps of the Filim Family were the first to arrive. The two corps sandwiched the camp of the Third Ranger Corps that had been released by the Fisablon Family. The Monolith Corps was still stationed at the border between the southern and eastern provinces, carrying out their guard duties as usual.
For this attack on the four central duchies, Loriste was prepared to mobilize the Flying Tiger Legion, which consisted of two personal guard legions and two hunting cavalry legions. The main force of the attack would be the Flying Tiger Legion. The main objective of the personal guard legions and hunting cavalry legions was to train and quickly form their combat strength. Another objective was to suppress the two legions of the Fisablen Family in terms of military strength and prevent them from doing anything improper. Even though he was on the same side as the Fisablon Family, Laurist still didn't dare to let his guard down.
Duke Fisablon had behaved himself during this time. Even when he saw that the soldiers of the Third Ranger Corps were equipped with tattered leather armor and rusty weapons, he only took a few deep breaths and endured it. He didn't raise any objections to Fatty Shi, who was in charge of the handover. He then moved into the military camp and lived with the soldiers of the Third Ranger Corps. On the other hand, Master Swordswoman Sandy angrily went to Princess Sylvia and said a bunch of bad things about Lollister. She forced Princess Sylvia to ask Lollister for thousands of good weapons as compensation.
This time, Duke Kenneth sent out two heavy armor corps. However, they would meet up with the White Lion Corps led by the second prince before heading to the southern province. Count Shahin's entire family had been mobilized. The 48,000 strong Shahin Corps had already set off and would arrive in the southern province in ten days. This time, Shahin was rubbing his palms together, ready to make a killing in the four central duchies. As for the two corps that the Fisablon Family was preparing to send out, apart from the freed Third Ranger Corps, it was said that the other corps had already set off. However, because they were carrying too many things, the journey was a little slow. It was estimated that they would only arrive at the Southern Province at the end of June.
Other than the Northern Four Family Alliance and the Fisablon Family's armed forces, the nobles from the Delemark and Winston Provinces also brought three to five hundred private armed forces with them to the Southern Province. The ones who came the furthest were the nobles from the few provinces around the Imperial Capital. However, they did not bring many people with them. At the very least, they brought ten attendants, and at the very most, they brought over a hundred peasants. They dragged large carts all the way here, and after gathering together, there were close to ten thousand soldiers. But no matter how Lollister looked at it, it didn't seem like they were coming to fight, but more like they were going to rob the four central duchies.
Out of Lollister's expectations, his lover, Lady Aridoli of Baron Dina's family, had brought over a hundred peasant soldiers with her. She even had a conflict with someone the moment they entered the camp. As a rare female knight, it was inevitable for her to be molested in a camp full of wily veterans. However, this young lady of the Dina Family was a little too fierce, and used force directly, resulting in one death and three injuries. After that, the entire camp was in an uproar. Lollister sent the Ferocious Tiger Ross to suppress it, and only then did he realize that it was all this young lady's fault.
What a headache. Lollister could only send Fatty Shi to compensate the casualties, and only then did he suppress the matter. However, this young lady of the Dina Family was not willing to let it go, and demanded that Lollister send troops to take revenge. This was because seven out of the hundred and twenty-three peasant soldiers that she had brought with her had died in this disturbance. Lollister had no choice but to arrange for her people to be stationed in the camp of the Imperial Guard Corps, and then shut the door of the study. Only then did he harshly punish her with the family law to make her behave.
The bustling mess continued until the 20th of June, when the second army of the Fisablon Family arrived. The moment Lollister heard the report from the Monolith Army stationed at the border, he knew that he and the Second Prince had been tricked. The army that came this time wasn't the Border Ranger Army that he had expected, but the reserve army that the Fisablon Family had reconstructed. It was a new reserve army made up of thirty-five thousand barbarian cavalry. At the same time, they had brought fifty thousand warhorses and a large amount of leather armor and weapons. The Third Border Ranger Army had been equipped with warhorses and equipment, and they had regained the glory of light cavalry.
'Old fox!' Lollister cursed inwardly. He looked at Grand Duke Fisablon, and the Grand Duke happened to be looking at him as well. The Grand Duke even smiled at him. Displeased, Lollister turned around and ordered the Ferocious Tiger, Ross, to raise his battle alert by one level and be on high alert. He had originally thought that the Fisablon Family would send out two Border Ranger Armies, and Lollister had even considered digging a trap for Grand Duke Fisablon when they attacked the four central duchies, causing him to lose more of his troops and inflicting heavy losses on the Fisablon Family's armed forces. Now, there was no need to think too much about it.
Even if the reserve army was completely destroyed, the Fisablon Family wouldn't be harmed in the slightest. In any case, there were plenty of barbarian cavalry on the plains. As long as they had the money, they could recruit them again. It was obvious that Grand Duke Fisablon wanted to preserve the Third Border Ranger Army and let the reserve army charge at the frontlines. The tattered equipment that Lollister had given Grand Duke Fisablon an excuse to not let the Third Border Ranger Army enter the battlefield. He had truly miscalculated.
On the 27th of June, Lollister received a report from Tagger. The four central duchies had long been aware of the movements of the Northland Coalition Army and the Andinac Kingdom. They had even grasped the approximate date of the attack in August. Currently, the Handa Duchy, the Falkner Duchy, and the Fulundo Duchy had already expanded their armies and prepared for war. Each of them had formed a 45,000 strong army, and they were preparing to form a second army. Furthermore, the armies that these three duchies had formed were currently advancing towards the Sabagi Duchy. They were estimated to arrive at the Riemad Province around the 30th of July. Relying on the geographical environment, they would form a defensive line to block the Andinac Kingdom's attack in the Riemad Province and form a tug-of-war. They would use attrition and a prolonged standoff to resist the Andinac Kingdom's attack.
Looking at the intelligence from the Sabagi Kingdom, Grand Duke Sabagi had moved the capital of the duchy to the Meishan Castle in the Meishan Province after the fall of the Merlein Duchy. A few years ago, after failing to reinforce the Fisablon Family, he had formed two armies in order to prevent the four northern families from pursuing them. The second army stationed in the Riemad Province had 35,000 men, while the first army stationed in the Meishan Castle had 45,000 men. Apart from that, there was another 12,000 men stationed in the Egret Lake Swamp to prevent the second prince from attacking from there.
Even though the Sabagi Duchy had a population of more than 800,000, it was not enough to sustain a standing army of nearly 100,000. Therefore, the duchy's second army and the army stationed in the Egret Lake Swamp mainly relied on the support and sponsorship of the other three duchies. After receiving news that the Andinac Kingdom was about to launch an attack, Grand Duke Sabagi asked for help from the other three duchies. At the same time, he called on the citizens to defend the duchy and their homes.
The Meishan Province was the hereditary territory of the former Grand Duke Merlein Family for more than a hundred years. After it was destroyed by the four central duchies, other than a seven-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl who stayed behind in the capital, the rest of the Merlein Family died a violent death. Although Grand Duke Sabagi had moved the capital of the duchy there, he did not completely control the hearts of the people in the Meishan Province. As a result, the entire preparation for the war was delayed, and the progress was extremely slow. Now, Grand Duke Sabagi could only rely on the duchy's first army. This was the foundation of the Sabagi Family's armed forces. Grand Duke Sabagi planned to wait for the other three duchies' reinforcements to arrive before heading to the Riemad Province together.
Laurist looked at the map of the four central duchies and pondered for a long time. He immediately sent someone to find Grand Duke Fisablun, Count Filim, and Count Shahin to convene an emergency military meeting. In the meeting, Laurist repeated the news he received from the four central duchies. He pointed at the map and said, "Currently, the reinforcements from the Handa Duchy, the Fulondo Duchy, and the Falkner Duchy have yet to reach the Sabagi Duchy. Although the White Lion Legion led by His Majesty has yet to arrive in the southern province, the situation is urgent. I do not wish to wait for the four central duchies' armies to arrive in the Riemad Province and engage in a battle with us. Therefore, I want to strike first and immediately send troops to the Sabagi Duchy. I want to stop all the reinforcements from the three duchies outside the Sabagi Duchy. What do you think?"
The Sabagi Duchy had a total of three provinces. The Riemad Province and the Meishan Province were both former territories of the Merrhein Duchy. The other province was the Chikseth Province, which was the hereditary territory of the Sabagi Family. Originally, the neighboring province of the Chikseth Province, Samora Province, was also the territory of the Sabagi Duchy. However, when the second prince was trapped in the capital of Felix, the former Grand Duke Merrhein sent troops to the Samora Province to rescue him. They fought with the armies of the four central duchies and turned the Samora Province into ruins. After the Merrhein Duchy was destroyed, the Sabagi Duchy monopolized the Riemad and Meishan provinces. Therefore, they exchanged the original territory of the Samora Province with the Falkner Duchy.
Therefore, the current terrain of the Sabagi Duchy was in the shape of a long strip, with the three provinces strung together. If Laurist and the others could directly attack the Chikseth Province, they would be able to seize the initiative in the entire war. They could attack the Fulondo Duchy in the south and the Falkner Duchy in the west. The four central duchies would be in a very passive position. The Sabagi Duchy could only retreat and defend, and the reinforcements from the other three duchies would not be able to come to their rescue. They had to protect their own duchies' borders first.
The other three people present were all experienced in the battlefield. They knew very well that Laurist's decision was the best choice at the moment. Count Filim and Count Shahin did not mind. The families of the four northern families would definitely look out for each other if they went into battle together. So they all turned to stare at Grand Duke Fisabulun, waiting to see what choice he would make. If Grand Duke Fisabulun insisted on waiting for the second prince and the White Lion Legion to arrive in the southern province before launching the attack, then they would just pretend that Laurist did not say anything. They would wait for the reinforcements from the four central duchies to arrive in the Riemad Province before engaging in a long and drawn-out battle with them.
Grand Duke Fisabulun looked at the map in silence. After a long time, he raised his head and asked Laurist, "How do you want to attack? “
Laurist pointed at the Sabagi Duchy's Chicxess Province on the map. "Your Fisabulun Family's reserve army and the Third Border Ranger Army, as well as Count Filim's Pegasus Army, are all light cavalry armies. They will march straight in, avoid the castle fortress, and directly reach the Chicxess Province. By sealing off the border roads with the Duchy of Fulondo and the Duchy of Falkner, they could also launch small-scale attacks on these two duchies, forcing the three armies that came to reinforce the Duchy of Sabagi to station at the border.
Count Shahin's family's armed army, as well as the private armies of the nobles who came to participate in the war, will deploy their troops in the Meishan Province and besiege the Meishan Castle. They will strive to create the impression that they have the advantage of numbers. They do not need to attack the Meishan Castle. They only need to trap the Sabagi Duchy's First Army in the castle. I believe that our sudden dispatch of troops this time will be out of Grand Duke Sabagi's expectations. They received news that we would launch the attack in the middle of August. Now that we have brought it forward by a month, it will catch him off guard. Under such circumstances, Grand Duke Sabagi will only stay in the Meishan Castle and not come out to fight with us in the field.
As for the Flying Tiger Army that the Norton Family has armed, they will first get rid of the Sabagi Duchy's Second Army in the Lima Province. Then, they will head to the Meishan Province to rendezvous with Shahin's army. We will then decide whether to attack the Meishan Castle or not based on the situation. During this period, I request that the three light cavalry armies in the Qikseth Province must hold back the reinforcements from the other three duchies. We cannot let them come to the Meishan Castle's rescue. "
Count Filim and Count Shahin nodded, indicating that they would follow the arrangement. Grand Duke Fisablon stared at Laurist. After a while, he said, "I have two requests. First, you must not plot against the two armies that our family has armed. Second, you must guarantee that the logistics and armaments of our family's army will be as fair and just as their family's armed army. You must swear on these two points in the name of the God of War and your ancestors. Only then will we believe you and obey your commands … "
Laurist was sweating like a waterfall. His face was flushed red. It turned out that he had been carefully guarding against the Fisablon Family. It turned out that the Fisablon Family had also treated him like a thief and guarded against him. This was really a situation where no one could blame the other.
"Alright, I can swear." Laurist was not willing to be at a disadvantage. "Then you must swear that you are sincere in submitting to the Andinac Kingdom and attacking the four central duchies. You will not be lenient or betray them just because they were once allies of your family. Only after swearing in front of everyone will I guarantee that I will treat your family's armed forces fairly. I will not be on guard against you or suspect you. "
"Then can you withdraw the Monolith Army stationed at the borders of our family's territory after I swear?" Grand Duke Fisablon asked.
"No, this and that are two completely different matters. The Monolith Army is only a local garrison army and did not participate in the attack on the four central duchies. What does your swearing have to do with them … "Laurist was against involving the Monolith Army.
Grand Duke Fisablon and Laurist quarreled for a long time. In the end, the two of them came to a compromise. They swore in front of everyone that they would work together sincerely in the battle against the four central duchies. They would not plot against each other and avoid disputes. Laurist was satisfied that the Monolith Army was not involved. Grand Duke Fisablon was finally at ease. He did not have to worry about being tricked by Laurist …
"One more question. How do we calculate the spoils of war?" Grand Duke Fisablon asked.
Laurist thought for a moment and replied, "It belongs to whoever gets it. In order to avoid conflict, we can divide the area for plundering. No one is allowed to cross the boundary."
"Alright, we will clap hands as an oath." Grand Duke Fisablon extended his hand.
…
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