"Your Highness, good news. Master Swordsman Hugh has returned …" Genolio rushed into the study with a piece of greyish-white silk. This was a message sent by a messenger eagle from Syrovas Island.
Lorist was overjoyed and stood up, "Let me see."
Four years ago, Master Swordsman Seuss, who was in charge of Ciloas Island, entered the mountains of Ciloas Island alone in order to break through and ascend. He left a letter saying that he wouldn't return until he became a second-level Master Swordsman. Although Laurist was very worried, he had been sent to the four central duchies to fight for two years. After returning, he did not have the time to go to Cirvas Island. For a moment, he had completely forgotten about finding Hugh, the great swordsman. Now that he heard that Master Swordsman Hugh had returned, he was naturally very happy.
The letter was signed by the governor of Syrovas Island, Baron Hickard, and the commander of the guards on the island, Gold Knight Pacico. The letter said that the team heading to the volcano area to collect fire crystals had accidentally provoked the white-headed sea eagles and were surrounded. Master Swordsman Hugh had suddenly appeared and killed seven eagles, saving everyone.
It was said that Master Swordsman Hugh had become a level 2 swordsman two years ago. In order to stabilize his realm and understand the world, he had stayed in the mountains for another two years. This time, he had come across the demonic birds attacking the mining team, so he had helped them. In a few days, Master Swordsman Hugh would come to the north to visit Lorist.
Apart from Lorist, the Norton Family also had Hugh and Ingelek, two powerful swordsmen. Redi had also reached the level of a level 1 swordsman. However, in Lorist's eyes, Ingelek was a cowardly old man who had accidentally become a level 1 swordsman. Laurist was very disappointed in him, but he didn't want to work for the family. Because of Fatty Shi, he didn't want to bicker with him. After all, this old man would only be a level 1 Great Swordsman for the rest of his life. Now, even Redi could easily defeat him.
On the other hand, Master Swordsman Theseus was a slave gladiator, and his cultivation had been earned through life and death battles in the arena. The bloodthirsty aura he exuded was the strongest among all the Master Swordsmen Laurist had ever met. Although he was a first-level Great Swordsman, he could fight evenly with a second-level Great Swordsman. Now that he had become a Second-rank Great Swordsman, the Norton Family had gained a powerful force. At least to Redi, Hugh was the best opponent for him to spar with.
…
Tagger walked into the study, holding a large stack of letters and documents in his hands: "Your Highness, there has been a great change in the war situation in the south central region."
"What is it?" asked Loriste.
The war between the Ford Commercial Alliance and the Southern and Southern Kingdoms had lasted for more than four years. In the past two years, it was still the same. The countries around the Chiqueda Commercial Alliance's territory on the Southern Golden Coastline were entangled with the allied forces led by the Chigda Kingdom. On the other hand, after annexing three neighboring countries, the Commerce Federation began to fortify their defense line. The borders of several kingdoms in the central and southern regions were peaceful, as though there was no war at all.
"The southernmost Romon Empire and the Havestan Khaganate have reached a ceasefire agreement. The war between the two countries has subsided. The Havestan Khaganate suffered a slight loss and gave up a small portion of the former Kaisarubi Kingdom's territory to the Romon Empire. The two countries are separated by the Kaisarubi River."
Tagger looked at the documents in his hands and continued to report: "The Chigda Kingdom has annexed seven countries that were raided by the Commerce Federation's army. The territory of the Chigda Kingdom has doubled, becoming a country that is almost as big as the Romon Empire. The remaining thirteen countries in the central and southern regions finally realized what was going on and suspected that this was a conspiracy. They had an intense conflict with the Chigda Kingdom and the Southern and Southern Kingdoms' allied forces were disbanded.
The Commerce Federation announced that they had reached a peace agreement with the Chigda Kingdom. They recognized the territories of the seven countries that the Chigda Kingdom occupied as their own. There were also a series of clauses such as trade routes and alliance to fight against foreign enemies. In addition, the Commerce Federation seemed to have given the Chigda Kingdom an interest-free loan of 15 million gold fords to develop the people in the newly occupied territories. As our intelligence personnel were unable to infiltrate the internal departments of the two parties, we did not receive accurate information …
The remaining thirteen countries in the central and southern regions were now divided into two parts. The five countries that were adjacent to the Commerce Federation announced the establishment of the Molensik Kingdom Alliance. They were ready to send envoys to the Commerce Federation to negotiate a truce. They probably thought that they could no longer fight against the Commerce Federation and could only unite to protect themselves. They did not want the war to continue.
The eight countries in the central and southern regions were led by the Jerkano Kingdom and formed an alliance against the Chigda Kingdom. They firmly opposed the Chigda Kingdom's annexation of the seven surrounding countries. They elected the eldest prince of the Jerkano Kingdom, Yoxham, as the commander of the alliance and sent 140,000 troops to attack the Chigda Kingdom. The Chigda Kingdom was led by Grand Duke Fausta and sent 100,000 troops to fight the alliance in the former Oderma Kingdom. Both sides fought twice and both sides won and lost.
It is worth noting that our family's knight, Lummed, is currently following the commander of the alliance, Prince Yoxham. Also, the Commerce Federation did not send troops to help the Chigda Kingdom after the war between the Chigda Kingdom and the eight south-central countries. Instead, they sent envoys to mediate, hoping that both sides could stop the war and restore peace in the central and southern regions … "
Laurist burst out laughing. This was a huge joke. No one could have imagined that the situation in the south-central region would change so strangely. It was simply shocking. Originally, the twenty-four countries in the central and southern regions joined forces to fight against the Commerce Federation. They did not expect the Chigda Kingdom to play the role of a traitor. They secretly colluded with the Commerce Federation and annexed seven surrounding countries.
The remaining countries in the central and southern regions finally understood what was going on. However, they were divided into two factions. One faction decided to surrender since they could not defeat the Commerce Federation and began to negotiate peace with the Commerce Federation. The other faction became angry out of humiliation and became enemies with the Chigda Kingdom. They ignored their great enemy, the Commerce Federation, and insisted on taking care of the traitor Chigda Kingdom first. At this time, the Commerce Federation, who was originally an enemy, came out and pretended to be the good guy. They said that they would mediate between the two sides and compassionately requested for peace to be restored …
This was just too ridiculous. No one could have imagined that the outcome of the four years of war between the Commerce Federation and the south-central countries would be like this. If they had known this would happen, they would have sat down and negotiated. It was fine if they suffered some losses, but they did not have to sit down and negotiate after fighting for four years and suffering such huge losses.
After laughing for a while, Laurist stood in front of the map of the Galinthea Continent that was hung on the wall. He outlined the changes in the situation in the south-central region according to the document that Tagger brought. Looking at the large piece of the Chigda Kingdom's territory on the map, Laurist could not help but be amazed. This was an extremely exquisite and far-sighted strategic plan that had taken four years.
"Your Highness, what's wrong?" Tagger asked curiously when he saw Laurist standing in front of the map for a long time without saying a word.
Laurist shook his head and came back to his senses. "Do you see it? Just like what you said before, the war between the Commerce Federation and the south-central countries was a huge conspiracy. Now, the conclusion of this conspiracy has been revealed. The Chigda Kingdom has also become a large country in the Galinthea Continent. The person who set this up had a far-reaching plan. He is indeed a genius strategist … "
"But Your Highness …" Tagger said with some dissatisfaction. "Don't you think that the Chigda Kingdom was too hasty in annexing the surrounding seven countries? Forcefully annexing them had aroused the suspicions of the remaining south-central countries, which led to the eruption of conflict and war. This seems to be very contradictory to the deep and far-sighted plan at the beginning. The Chigda Kingdom could have used the strategy of boiling the frog in warm water and slowly digested the fruits of their labor. That way, it would not have resulted in the current situation. "
"No, you're wrong." Laurist said. "As you said, there is a premise. That is, if the war between the Romon Empire and the Havestan Khaganate continues, then the Chigda Kingdom can use a soft strategy to slowly bring the surrounding seven countries under their jurisdiction, creating a de facto occupation. However, the Romon Empire and the Havestan Khaganate have already stopped fighting. Once they recover, there is a high possibility that they will target the south-central countries.
Under such circumstances, the Chigda Kingdom must seize the time to consolidate the power of the surrounding seven countries and reorganize their armaments to resist the invasion from the Romon Empire or the Havestan Khaganate. That is why it forcefully annexed the surrounding seven countries. The Commerce Federation obviously has a deep relationship with the Chigda Kingdom. Not sending troops to help the Chigda Kingdom was the greatest help. This was because even if they sent troops to help the Chigda Kingdom, the war would drag on for a long time and waste the military power of the Chigda Kingdom for nothing.
It was precisely because of this that the Commerce Federation came out as a mediator and made the two sides stop fighting. This was also the most advantageous choice for the Commerce Federation. The first was to support the Chigda Kingdom. After annexing the surrounding seven countries, its power would increase greatly and it would have the ability to resist the two powerful countries in the south. It would not be like the previous few countries that formed an alliance with the Chigda Kingdom as the leader to resist the invasion of the powerful countries. One must know that one fist will always be more powerful than five fingers separated …
The second advantage was that if the mediation was successful, the eight countries of the Eight-Nation Alliance would definitely treat the Chigda Kingdom as their mortal enemy. The hostile relationship with the Commerce Federation would be eased or eliminated. After all, enemies are not as hateful as traitors. While the Commerce Federation supported the Chigda Kingdom, it also set up an enemy for it. This caused both sides to restrain each other. This prevented the Chigda Kingdom from becoming a potential enemy of the Commerce Federation after it became stronger.
In this war between the Commerce Federation and the South-Central Kingdom, the Chigda Kingdom seemed to have gained the most. It annexed the surrounding seven countries and made itself a powerful country in the Galinthea Continent. In reality, the Commerce Federation was the one who benefited the most. Not only did it annex three more countries, it also forced the countries in the south-central region to open up their trade routes. It achieved its goal before the war. On the other hand, the kingdoms in the south-central region became the losers. They even split into several factions. After the conflict arose, they could no longer unite against the foreign enemies like before. "
Laurist clicked his tongue and said, "None of them are easy to deal with. No one is a fool. Tagger, increase the surveillance and intelligence collection of the Commerce Federation and the Chigda Kingdom. See if you can find out who the mastermind is … "
"Yes, Your Highness," Tagger replied.
…
Genolio walked into the study with a gold-laced invitation. "Your Highness, Duke Kemus sent someone to send you an invitation. He invites you to attend his summer banquet at the Platinum Beach in the West Grad Province on the 15th of August."
Laurist remembered that Kemus had told him before that he wanted to build a luxurious palace-style manor near the Platinum Beach. He wanted to turn the Platinum Beach into a summer resort for the nobles. It seemed that the manor had already been built. That was why he sent out the invitation. He still had to give face. It was only June, and there were still two more months. He had nothing to do, so he could go and relax. He could also let Princess Sylvia and her four concubines bring their children to play.
Laurist nodded. "Alright. Write him a letter. Tell him that I will bring my family there."
"Yes, Your Highness. But are we going to take a boat?" Genolio asked. There were two ways to reach the Kemus Family's territory in the West Grad Province. One was through the Delemke Province, which was the land route. The other was to take a boat from the North Sea City to the Platinum Beach.
Laurist shook his head. "Let's take the land route. We can also make a trip to Baron Dina's territory."
Last July, the female knight Aridoli had given birth to a son for Laurist. She named him Dina Trieck and wrote to Laurist that she wanted to raise Trieck to become the greatest knight of the Dina Family. Laurist could not do anything about his lover Aridoli. He could only silently bless his illegitimate son in his heart. He hoped that he would grow up healthily under the clutches of his mother … Since it was on the way, he could visit Aridoli and her son.
"Understood. When do you plan to leave, Your Highness?" Genolio asked.
Before Laurist could reply, he heard hurried footsteps. Shiward rushed into the study. "Your Highness, something has happened. Count Lauwell and his family have been held hostage by a group of mercenaries …"
Count Lauwell? Who is this? Lollister was baffled.
Fortunately, Shiward saw that Laurist was confused, so he explained the situation in a few words.
This Count Lauwell was not a member of the Norton Family. He was a merchant from the imperial capital. He had bought the title of an honorary count from the second prince. Later, he realized that he could not earn much money in the imperial capital, so he moved to the north. He spent nearly ten thousand gold coins to transfer the title of an earl from the Andinac Kingdom to the Norton Family, and became an honorary count from the Norton Family. From this, it could be seen that Count Lauwell had good foresight. He knew that it was good to have the Norton Family as his backing. This allowed him to do business much more smoothly.
Count Lauwell had moved to the north five years ago. He had bought a piece of land in the second district of the special aristocratic district and built a medium-sized manor for his family to live in. At the same time, he had invested in a few workshops that produced daily necessities in the north. He had also opened a Whisky Chamber of Commerce, which dealt in leather goods, alcohol, and daily necessities.
Two years ago, Grand Duke Fisablun and the Snow Salt Chamber of Commerce had placed a huge purchase order on the Norton family. The few production workshops that Count Lauwer had jointly established with others had also received a large slice of the cake, and their pockets were full. As a result, Earl Lowell and his partners began to expand their production. They opened a dozen new workshops of the same type, and spent large sums of money to poach a large number of skilled workers and technicians from other workshops. They were prepared to compete for the largest share of the daily necessities pie in the two companies' purchase lists this year.
However, they did not expect that in January this year, Laurist would announce the purchase order from the Fisablen Family and the Snow Salt Chamber of Commerce. Not only was the total amount less than the previous year, but the daily necessities had been purchased the most in the previous two years. This time, Count Lauwell and his partners were dumbfounded. Not only them, but many merchants like them were also complaining incessantly.
Just as Laurist had said, the market in the north was limited to a few surrounding provinces. It was not that there was no market in other places, but even if there was a market there, it could not consume as many goods. Producing too many goods that could not be sold would also bring about a very serious economic crisis.
The workshops could be closed, and the workers could be fired. However, the money invested would become overstocked goods that could not be sold. For most merchants in the north, they were faced with a very difficult choice. They could either sell these goods at the price of cabbages to recoup some of their costs, or they could keep these goods and slowly sell them for a few decades …
At this time, Fatty Shi had begun to reorganize the businesses of all the factories and mines in the north. He had closed a large number of workshops and production units that produced similar goods in many industries. He had taken over the unemployed workers and rearranged their jobs, effectively stabilizing the economic order within the family. After all, this immature economic crisis did not have much impact on the lives of the citizens at the bottom of the family, other than causing great losses to the merchants who invested in the business.
Earl Lauwell chose to hoard these goods. He thought that he could slowly sell these goods through a merchant guild. However, misfortune did not come alone. A team of mercenaries that he had hired had suffered great losses when they went deep into the Black Clay Swamp to hunt for the Ironback Bay Crocodiles. The leader of the mercenaries asked Earl Lauwell to compensate them for their losses, but Earl Lauwell did not have much money on hand at this time, so he rejected the mercenary leader's request. Both sides had an argument, and in a fit of anger, the mercenary leader brought a few mercenaries to take Earl Lauwell's family hostage, demanding them to pay a ransom …
"Your Highness, Baron Overkiss has already surrounded Earl Lauwell's manor with his guards. Lord Shredder has also rushed over. However, the mercenaries insisted that Earl Lauwell pay for their ransom, and they also asked us to leave, saying that this has nothing to do with the Norton family … "Shredder reported.
Lollister silently grabbed his sword, and Genolio hurriedly brought him a coat to drape over him.
"Let's go take a look," Laurist said.
…
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