The second prince seems to have discovered my goal. Laurist sighed in disappointment. It's over. I can't take advantage of him anymore. It's getting harder and harder to trick him. This guy isn't an idiot. He'll remember this lesson after experiencing it once. He's obviously on guard against me, afraid that I'll trick him again.
"The third method is to not attack each other." Laurist thought for a moment and decided to suggest the third method.
"Not attack each other?" the second prince asked doubtfully.
"Yes. Your Majesty, think about it. According to our intelligence, Grand Duke Fulundo and Grand Duke Falkel each brought two legions to the Handra Principality. Grand Duke Sabaji also gathered a legion. Altogether, they have more than 200,000 soldiers. In addition, according to the intelligence obtained from Hans City, Archduke Handa had also expanded the Red and White Dragon Army under his command. Together with the City Defense Legion that was guarding Hans City, their military strength had reached more than 100,000 men.
Handa Duchy, three provinces, and a population of a million. Now that they have more than 300,000 soldiers, we can imagine how heavy the burden on their armaments will be. Currently, in order to deal with our attack, the four dukes can work together and cooperate sincerely. However, if we adopt the strategy of not attacking each other, they will not be able to bear the burden of their armaments and collapse. Then, there will be all sorts of conflicts.
The three Grand Dukes living in the Handra Principality all had their own troops, and none of them would easily give up on the military forces that they controlled. If Handa Duchy cannot afford their logistics, there will be a huge conflict. I don't think any of the dukes will be willing to give up their armaments. This is the foundation of their country's revival. They will only think of ways to ensure their armaments are supplied.
However, everyone can imagine the consequences of doing so. If the three dukes are unwilling to give up their armaments, then Duke Handa will not disband his duchy's armaments to satisfy the demands of his three allies. Instead, he will recruit as many soldiers as he can to build his duchy's armaments. However, he will be guarding against his three allies and not us. To Grand Duke Handa, we didn't pose much of a threat to him, but the three Grand Dukes had stationed their troops by his bedside. If he wasn't careful, his country would be destroyed.
That's why, the longer we drag this stalemate, the easier it will be for the four dukes of the central continent to start fighting each other. Perhaps in the first year, the Handa Principality could barely sustain the consumption of 300,000 soldiers. However, after a year, the Handa Principality would definitely not be able to sustain the consumption of such a huge amount of armaments. As long as the supply was reduced, conflicts would arise. Once a conflict arose, it would be easy to suppress it in the beginning, but as time went on, the more conflicts would accumulate, and the more intense the eruption would be. At that time, it was very likely that the four Grand Dukes would meet on the battlefield.
Usually, when faced with a shortage of armaments, the armies of the three grand dukes would turn their attention to the citizens of Handra Principality. They would kidnap civilians to satisfy their own needs. As the head of the duchy, Grand Duke Handa had to protect the people of his duchy. If there were too many conflicts, it would easily lead to war. Once their faces were torn, the armies of the three Grand Dukes would harshly abduct the people of Handa Duchy. In order to stop their atrocities, Grand Duke Handa would order a severe attack. As long as there are casualties, the alliance between the four central duchies will collapse on its own. Even without us doing anything, Handra Principality will be on the brink of destruction due to the flames of war.
As long as Your Majesty is patient, you can just sit back and watch them fight. Once the winner of the dukes is decided, the loser will likely come to seek refuge with Your Majesty. They will take the initiative to lead us into the Handra Principality. At that time, even if they win, they will not be able to defend against our vanguard as they will have expended too much of their strength. Without much effort, Handra Principality will fall into Your Majesty's hands like a ripe fruit. "
The tent was silent. Everyone was thinking about Laurist's strategy of not attacking each other. After a while, Grand Duke Fisablon stood up and raised a question. "Your Highness Grand Duke Norton, what you said is very reasonable. However, you seem to have forgotten one point. Handa Duchy's Magick Province is bordered by the Ford Commercial Alliance's Andvov Province. One of the seven giants of the Commercial Alliance, the Visia Chamber of Commerce's Chamber of Commerce's territory is the Podorg Province next to the Andvov Province. If we adopt the strategy of not attacking Handa Duchy, then the four central Grand Dukes can ask for help from the Visia Chamber of Commerce or trade with the Commercial Alliance to purchase a large amount of military supplies to continue the confrontation with us.
Laurist smiled confidently. "Your Highness, Duke Fisablun, your question is very crucial. However, this question is based on whether the Visian Merchant Group will spare no effort to support the four central dukes. If the four central dukes still exist, then the Visia Trade Association's support for the four dukes might not be profitable, but at least it won't be a loss. However, there are already three dukes who have lost their homes. Although they still control two armies each, they have already lost their duchies.
Under such circumstances, I personally believe that the Visia Trade Association might provide some assistance on account of their past cooperation. However, they won't go all out to support the four dukes. Otherwise, if they were to supply 300,000 soldiers with military supplies for free, the Vissia Merchant Group would be dragged down by them in the long run. Especially since the Visia Trade Association occupies the former empire's Podorg Province as its territory. They rely on the Commercial Union and not the alliance with the four central dukes.
As for the four central guilds that you mentioned, maintaining unity through trade with the Commercial Union is a prerequisite for the four dukes to have sufficient capital to carry out the trade. Among them, Grand Duke Sabaji fled in a hurry, so he should have brought the least wealth with him. On the other hand, Grand Duke Fulundor and Grand Duke Fackell both brought the wealth of their duchies and families to the Handa Duchy. Although their luggage looks plentiful, the two of them are living under someone else's roof, so they won't have any income.
On the other hand, the military expenditure of the two armies they control is only going out and not coming in. After occupying the two duchies, we can estimate from the account books that the two dukes each have a value of one to two million gold fords. There's also Grand Duke Handa. I believe that the wealth that he controls isn't much different from the two Grand Dukes. Even if the Handa Duchy is still around, due to the effects of the war, the revenue will be greatly reduced.
Then, Grand Duke Fisabulun, how long do you think two million gold fords can sustain the two armies for? We've already taken over the duchy of Fulondo and the duchy of Falkell. The two armies of 90,000 soldiers in the hands of the two grand dukes are their capital and hope to restore their duchies. No matter how frugal they are, the two grand dukes will still spend money like water.
Under such circumstances, they won't put their wealth into trading with the Trade Alliance. Instead, they will place their hopes on the free military supplies that the Handa Duchy provides them. In that case, would Grand Duke Handa use the revenue of a duchy to conduct trade to support the 200,000 soldiers who did not belong to his duchy and were not under his control? I don't think that's possible … "
Laurist's analysis was very straightforward. It was impossible for the Visia Merchant Group to support the four dukes with all their might. As time dragged on, even if the four dukes were to trade with the Trade Alliance, they wouldn't be able to last long. Conflicts would eventually erupt. The key to the strategy of not fighting was that the three provinces and nearly a million men of the Handa Duchy could not sustain the existence of 300,000 soldiers and the consumption of resources.
That's right. The second prince clapped his hands and understood. The more he pressured them, the more united the four dukes would be. But if he adopted the strategy of not fighting, the enemy's conflict would naturally erupt after a while without the threat from his side. Laurist was right. The three provinces and nearly a million people of the Handa Duchy could sustain 300,000 soldiers for a short period of time. But after a while, they would run out of resources. No one would have the resources to sustain such a consumption.
"But how long do you think the enemy won't be able to take it?" the second prince asked.
Laurist flashed his white teeth and extended two fingers with a smile. "Two years. At most two years."
"But Locke, don't forget that if we don't fight, the Handa Duchy will not be able to sustain the consumption of 300,000 soldiers. Can we hold on? We have 300,000 soldiers on our side. Although we are a kingdom, all the logistics and military supplies still need to be transported over long distances. The consumption of manpower and resources is extremely high. Two years is a long time. We can't afford to consume the supplies of 300,000 soldiers, especially when we have so many cavalry troops. Our consumption of rations is almost twice that of the enemy … "The second prince frowned, as if he thought that Laurist's strategy of not fighting was a double-edged sword that hurt both the enemy and himself.
"Hehe, Your Majesty, you seem to have forgotten that the Falkner Duchy and Fulonto Duchy are now under your jurisdiction. In fact, not fighting gives you enough time to effectively manage these two duchies, as well as the eight provinces of the Sabagi Duchy. Just these eight provinces alone can provide enough rations and fodder for our 300,000-strong army. As for the other military supplies, we nobles will naturally equip ourselves. I only hope that Your Majesty will remember our contributions and contributions after destroying the four central duchies and reward us accordingly, "Laurist reminded with a smile.
The second prince lowered his head and paced around the tent. Everyone's eyes were on him as he made his final decision. The second prince was also in a difficult position. Of the three strategies that Laurist proposed, the first was the simplest. Continue attacking, but a surprise attack that required him to take the lead had already been rejected.
The second strategy was to split up and take a roundabout route. The army that was most suitable for this mission was just as Laurist had said, the Flying Tiger Army was the best choice. However, because he was worried that Laurist's volunteering might have other intentions, the Second Prince crossed his heart.
The third strategy was to not fight. Everyone in the tent understood from Laurist's analysis that this should be the best method. Sit back and watch as the enemy's internal conflict erupts and collapse, subduing the enemy without a fight. However, it would take a long time, and the consumption of military supplies would also be greater. But it wasn't important that the military supplies were consumed. Usually, these legions also needed supplies. Apart from the kingdom's White Lion Legion, the rest were the regular legions of the various families. Laurist had already reminded them that they only needed rations. The military supplies would be borne by the families themselves.
But what troubled the second prince now was that if he adopted this strategy of not fighting, how would he reward the nobles under him after the destruction of the Handa Duchy? Usually, the spoils of war belonged to each family. This was also considered a reward for sending troops to assist in the battle. But if they did not fight for two years, even if the Handa Duchy was destroyed, the enemy would be at their wits' end. There wouldn't be any spoils of war left. Under such circumstances, the second prince had to pay out of his own pocket to reward the nobles under him.
After walking around twice and looking at the expressions of the people in the tent, it was obvious that everyone preferred this strategy of not fighting. That's right. Fighting to the death with the enemy who had the geographical advantage would only consume the strength of each family. It was better to sit back and watch the enemy collapse. Although it would take a long time, it was a good thing that they could obtain victory without losing their own forces and even receive rewards.
"Let's leave it at that for now. Let me think about it carefully. We'll discuss it again in two days." In the end, the second prince did not make a decision and dismissed the meeting.
Buckingham was puzzled. What did the second prince mean?
The next morning, Buckingham found out that Duke Fisablon had been summoned by the second prince for a long discussion. Duke Kempf was followed by Duke Phelim in the afternoon. Just as Buckingham was trying to guess who was next, Duke Kempf arrived.
"Do you know why His Majesty is looking for me?" Duke Kempf asked.
"How would I know?" Buckingham said.
"His Majesty asked me what I need as a reward for my two heavy armor regiments to guard here for two years."
Buckingham understood. "What did you ask for?"
Duke Kempf held up two fingers. "Two years. The Snow Salt Merchant Guild will not have to pay any taxes for passing through the kingdom for two years."
Soon, Count Phelim arrived.
"What did you ask for?" Duke Kempf asked.
"I wanted fifty thousand young men to develop the southern province, but His Majesty only agreed to give me thirty thousand," Count Phelim replied.
"Where's Henned?"
"He should have been summoned by His Majesty."
In the evening, the second prince sent a guard to invite Buckingham to dinner with Buckingham.
"You should know why I'm inviting you to dinner. Don't ask for too much. Tell me, what do you want as a reward?" The second prince went straight to the point.
"Your Majesty, are you sure you want to adopt the strategy of not attacking each other?"
The second prince nodded. "What I'm most satisfied with about your strategy of not attacking each other is that it will cause conflict between the four rebels in the central region. As you said, once they fight each other, they will become mortal enemies. What bothers me the most about the four central duchies is that they are one and support each other. No matter what their fate is in the future, I'm satisfied if they can become estranged and kill each other, so I have the patience to wait for them to split. But as you know, I'm worried that these four rebels won't get any spoils of war after two years, so I hope to set a reward for you in advance. "
Buckingham smiled. "Your Majesty, may I know what Duke Fisablon asked for?"
"He didn't ask for much. He seized the weapons and equipment of an army and fifty thousand people to migrate," the second prince replied.
"Oh," Buckingham said. "Then I also want …"
"Stop! Locke, don't think about migrating any more people. I won't agree. What I regret most now is letting you be in charge of migrating the refugees of the three provinces of the Falkel Duchy. You know what you've done. "The second prince interrupted Buckingham.
"Alright." Buckingham shrugged and spread his hands. "But Your Majesty, what else can you give me besides people? Tell me."
"Locke …" The second prince slapped his forehead. "As long as you don't go too far, I can promise you anything."
"Alright, then give my family's territory and jurisdiction five more years of tax exemption." Buckingham had no choice but to make such a request.
"No …" The second prince objected subconsciously, then stared at Locke for a long time. "Alright, three more years of tax exemption at most. Not five."
"Deal." Buckingham held out his hand.
…
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