Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios It was late at night, but Lollister did not feel sleepy at all. He leaned against the recliner under the grape canopy, letting the silvery moonlight shine on him through the lush grapevines and the bunches of fruits …
Why was he unwilling to send troops? Lollister asked himself. There was no other reason but for the safety of the Norton Family. To be honest, Lollister had to admit that the second prince had talent and strategic foresight. He had seen it right and grasped the timing well. Taking advantage of the fact that the Commerce Alliance's army was pinned down in the south of the continent, Lollister suddenly attacked the few provinces that the Commerce Alliance had seized from the former empire.
Before the peace treaty between the Chigda Kingdom and the Eight-Nation Alliance was signed, the Commerce Alliance could not mobilize its main force and elite army from thousands of miles away. It could only swallow this bitter fruit. Under such circumstances, the Commerce Alliance could not even go to war with the second prince. Otherwise, the situation in the south and south that had just stabilized would be in turmoil again. All the gains and the price they had paid would be reduced to ashes. The only choice they had was to negotiate with the second prince …
Even though the second prince was loud about reclaiming all of the former empire's territories, he did not intend to reclaim the two provinces of the former Lulm Duchy that had voluntarily surrendered to the Commerce Alliance. He did this so that his surprise attack would not truly anger the Commerce Alliance and cause them to fight to the death with him.
Just as Lollister had said, the Commerce Alliance was no longer the weak force that the Chisen Empire had rubbed against for more than a hundred years. It had truly developed into a large and powerful country in the Galinthea Continent. The Andinac Kingdom had been greatly weakened after more than a decade of civil strife and war. It had inherited the rightful position of the former Chisen Empire's royal family, but did not inherit the former empire's prosperity. The situation had long been reversed.
The second prince had launched this surprise attack because he wanted to take advantage of the Commerce Alliance's current situation to reclaim the lost territories. This was the only opportunity. Once the Commerce Alliance stabilized the situation in the south and central parts of the continent, the second prince would no longer have the opportunity to reclaim the provinces that had been forcefully occupied. On the contrary, he would have to face the strong pressure from the Commerce Alliance. At that time, he could only be in a state of defense, let alone unifying the territory of the former empire.
The eldest prince of the former Crimson Empire, Redelis, who was the first to start a rebellion and provoke the three kings to fight for the throne, which led to the seven years of civil war in the empire. The Cambona Province, Podoorg Province, and Andvov Province of the Redelis Kingdom, were all forcibly occupied by the Commerce Federation. Podoorg Province, which was rich in minerals, became the territory of Visia Chamber of Commerce, one of the seven giants of the Commerce Federation. The northwest region of the former Redelis Kingdom had also become the territory of the so-called Turam Kingdom. This kingdom was clearly a vassal of the Commerce Alliance, and it served as a buffer between them and the Andinac Kingdom.
Together with the two provinces of the former Duchy of Lum, which had voluntarily surrendered to the Commerce Union, the Commerce Union now occupied five provinces and one region of the former Christen Empire. If the second prince did not take back those territories, he would not be able to achieve his ambition of reviving the former Christen Empire. Therefore, the bottom line for the second prince to launch this surprise attack was to take back the provinces of Cambona Province, Podoorg Province, Andvov Province, and the northwest region.
Then, Chen Bing would force the Commerce Union to negotiate a peaceful truce with the former two provinces of the former Duchy of Lum, and on the condition of reopening the trade route, the Commerce Union would return to the two provinces of the former Duchy of Lum. In this way, the unification of the former Christen Empire would be completed in the hands of the second prince. He would also restore the royal family, regain the throne, and become a great emperor who would go down in history.
A good plan did not mean the result would be perfect. Lolist admitted that the surprise attack launched by the second prince would catch the Commerce Union off guard. The first strategic goal of taking back the provinces of Cambona Province, Podoorg Province, Andvov Province, and the southwest region would be easy to achieve. However, Chen Bing would force the Commerce Union to negotiate a peace treaty with the former two provinces of the former Duchy of Lum. Even if the second prince agreed to the condition of the Commerce Union reopening the trade route in the Andenac Kingdom, it would be impossible for the Commerce Union to bow down to the second prince. The most likely outcome would be a long standoff between the two kingdoms …
Lolist had once persuaded the second prince that the high-end combat power of the Commerce Union was several times that of the Andenac Kingdom. With the situation on the battlefield falling behind, it was impossible for the Commerce Union not to send out the Storm Sword Sage to threaten the Andenac Kingdom. However, the second prince believed that even the Storm Sword Sage would not dare to openly assassinate him, the king. Moreover, he was in the midst of an army of hundreds of thousands, and his safety was guaranteed. Even if the Storm Sword Sage came, he could use the army to trap him to death. He did not believe that a Storm Sword Sage could stop his army of hundreds of thousands.
Duke Kempis was willing to send out troops because the second prince had promised to make the Snow Salt Chamber of Commerce the royal family's private chamber of commerce after the unification of the Empire. This would be the first chamber of commerce in the new Crimson Empire, and with the royal family as its guarantor, it would have great benefits and rights in all aspects of business, be it taxation, opening shops, or buying property. Therefore, Duke Kempis was tempted.
Duke Filim was willing to send out troops because the second prince had given him very favorable conditions, including immigration, financial support, tax breaks, and so on. But most importantly, Duke Filim was originally a knight. Defeating enemies on the battlefield and plundering wealth was a legitimate way for him to get rich. He was born to be a warrior who loved war.
Duke Shahin and Duke Filim were very similar. They were both knights, and to them, war was the most convenient way to plunder wealth. Even though Duke Shahin had become a Duke, his territory in Delamuk was only an Earl. He desperately hoped that he could be like the other three families in the North. He did not want to stay in Delamuk, which was under the jurisdiction of the Norton Family. It made him feel like he was living under the Norton Family's roof.
The second prince had given Duke Shahin an oath. As long as Duke Shahin mobilized his family's armed forces to help the second prince unify the Empire, the second prince would grant him the Andenac Kingdom's Crimea province, which was rich in mineral resources, as a hereditary territory. This was the province that Duke Shahin wanted the most. When he went to the four central duchies, he had requested for this province, but the second prince had rejected him on the grounds that he had done nothing in the war. Now that the second prince had tempted him, and with the oath, Duke Shahin had forgotten his original hatred for the second prince and his vow to never serve him again. He had obediently boarded the pirate ship.
Perhaps the second prince had hoped to let the three families of the four northern families join him first, and then let them persuade Laurist to help him in the same boat, but Laurist had rejected them mercilessly. The Norton family now had nothing else to ask for. The next step was to establish a duchy. If they did that, the second prince would turn around and deal with the Norton family first. It was not that Laurist was afraid of the second prince's hundreds of thousands of troops, but he did not want to bear the name of a traitor, which would destroy the Norton family's nearly three-hundred-year reputation of loyalty.
The Grand Duke of Forendo had visited last night, and told Laurist that he had also agreed to send troops. It was simple. The second prince had said that if the Empire was unified, then he could let the Forendo family return to the original family territory of Perorina province. This was an irresistible temptation for the Grand Duke of Forendo. For more than two hundred years, the Forendo family had rested there, built a summer palace, and even their family cemetery was in the outskirts of the capital city of Perorina …
The Grand Duke of Forendo had agreed to send troops to help the second prince. This decision had disrupted the Norton and Forendo family's joint plan to develop the Yungsandra province. At the same time, the Norton and Forendo family's early investments had been in vain. Because if the Vorendor Family were to return to their original family territory, then Yungesandra Province would be taken back by the second prince. Continuing to invest in it would only benefit others, allowing the second prince to take advantage of it for nothing.
The Grand Duke of Forendo expressed his deep apologies, and at the same time, suggested that the development plan be put on hold. He did not know whether the outcome of this surprise attack would be good or bad. In order to return to their original family territory, he had invested all his family's armed forces. However, if things did not go as he wished, he would still return to the Yungsandra province and pay a higher price to ask the Norton family to restart the development plan …
Laurist expressed his understanding of the Grand Duke of Forendo's desire to return to their original family territory. He also agreed to temporarily put the development plan of the Yungsandra province on hold until the end of the war. The Grand Duke of Forendo expressed his deep gratitude. At the same time, he told Laurist that the second prince had convinced the Grand Duke of Hansk to send troops under the same conditions as him. The Grand Duke of Hansk had promised to let him return to his original family territory, the Delamar province, after the unification of the empire. The Grand Duke of Hansk had agreed without hesitation.
In fact, among the four grand dukes in the central region, other than the Sabaji family, the Forendo family, the Hansk family, and the Falkel family were the first batch of nobles to be conferred to the central region by the founding emperor of the empire, Christen I. In the past two hundred years, their families had made countless contributions to the empire, gradually rising from small nobles to grand dukes. Therefore, the attraction of their original family territory was self-evident. The second prince had made two grand dukes willingly work for him, and Laurist could not help but admire the second prince's meticulousness.
As for the Grand Duke of Sabaji, his family had been transferred to the central region by Christen VI. He did not have much nostalgia for his original family territory. Moreover, he knew how the Chixess province had been ravaged by the allied forces of the four northern families and the armed forces of the Fisablon family. He did not want to go back to clean up the mess. Therefore, the second prince had promised to confer the Podorg province to him as a new family territory. Grand Duke Sabaji, who was also trapped in the barren lands of the two southwestern provinces, immediately agreed with the second prince and agreed to send his armed forces to participate in the war.
Currently, other than the Fisablon family's conditions for sending troops, the other nobles had all agreed to participate in the war. Laurist calculated. If all six grand dukes sent their armed forces, the total would be about 270,000 to 280,000 soldiers. Adding the 500,000 soldiers under the second prince, the total would be close to 800,000. If the Fisablon family's troops and the private armies of the nobles were included, the total might be more than a million …
No wonder the second prince was so confident in forcing the Trade Alliance to negotiate with him. If he sent a million soldiers to the border, the Trade Alliance might really be intimidated by the second prince and agree to all his demands. However, if the Trade Alliance chose to confront the second prince, then the food and logistics resources that the second prince had accumulated over the past three years could only guarantee the expenditure of a million soldiers for two years at most. If they could not reach a peaceful armistice agreement within two years, then the second prince's powerful attack could only end in failure.
This was a magnificent era. The second prince was about to launch a surprise attack on the Trade Alliance, which would shock the entire Galinthea Continent like thunder. Unfortunately, the Norton family could not participate in it. This was not Laurist's personal prediction of the outcome of the war, but he believed that once the second prince achieved his strategic goal of the Trade Alliance, signed a peaceful armistice agreement, and unified the former Crimson Empire, he would withdraw his claws and teeth to the outside world. For the long-term stability of the empire, the second prince would quickly turn his attention to the Norton family. He would not rest until the Norton family's power was reduced to an acceptable level.
From the perspective of the family, Laurist did not want the second prince to succeed in this war, because it would mean the beginning of a direct confrontation between the Norton family and the second prince. But from a personal point of view, no matter how much he complained about the second prince's character and the fact that he was not a wise ruler, he could not help but admire the second prince's perseverance and determination to unify the former empire.
Where there is a will, there is a way. A hundred and two Qin passes belong to Chu. The heavens do not disappoint those who work hard. Three thousand Yue armor can swallow Wu. These two lines were the favorite words of his grandfather in his previous life to teach the younger generation to be diligent and diligent. But now that Laurist thought about it, it was the best portrayal of the second prince. Look at how the second prince had gone through so many twists and turns, but he was still determined to unify the former empire and fulfill his wish.
Having an opponent like the second prince was really a headache, especially as the leader of the Norton family. He was very good at learning from his mistakes, and now he had a good grasp of how to deal with the Norton family. Every time he made you feel uncomfortable, he could not do anything about it. On the surface, he was very magnanimous and treated Laurist very well, but in fact, both of them were very clear about each other's taboos and vigilance.
For example, this time, Laurist straightforwardly refused to send troops. The second prince did not seem to mind at all, but immediately promised the Grand Duke of Flondor that he could return to his original family's territory. This directly ruined the joint development plan between the Norton family and the Flondor family. In fact, Laurist knew that this was a show of strength. There was no need to use returning to his original family's territory to tempt the Grand Duke of Flondor to send troops, but the second prince had used it, leaving him with nothing to say.
To the Norton family, participating in this war was indeed harmful, because the Norton family was already at the peak of its power and prestige as a low-level leader. The second prince could not bring out conditions that would increase the Norton family's strength to tempt Laurist to agree to participate in the war. And Laurist could not let the Norton family's armed forces suffer losses for the so-called great cause of unifying the empire. But Laurist understood the second prince's character of not giving up until he achieved his goal. He could not let the Norton family's most powerful armed forces stay on the sidelines and watch the show. It was just that he could not think of what methods the second prince would use.
Thinking about it gave Laurist a headache. He got up and prepared to take a stroll in the garden. There was a slight sound of wind, and Laurist stopped in his tracks. "Who is it? Come out! "
Genolio, who was following behind him, pulled out his sword and stood in front of Laurist, assuming the posture of a guard.
A figure flashed in the shadow of the fake mountain in front of him. "It's me."
This voice was actually Grand Duke Fisablun.
…
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
