"Your Highness, are we just going to camp here and do nothing?" Ross the Ferocious Tiger grumbled impatiently.
"What's wrong? Can't stay here any longer?" Laurist asked with a smile as he read the documents on the table.
This was the main camp of the Norton Family's armed forces, Laurist's central tent. After rendezvousing with the Andinac Kingdom's army led by the second prince and the armed forces of the various nobles and dukes, the million-strong army set up camp along the border of Armenia Province of the Duchy of Lulm, as well as the border of Marivia Province, which had already been conquered by the Norton Family's armed forces. Although they were extremely powerful, there were no large-scale battles. Even the scouts and cavalry were forbidden from entering the territory of the Commerce Alliance by the second prince. The frontline was strangely peaceful.
In less than half a month, the bored Ross the Ferocious Tiger came to Laurist's tent to complain. He thought that His Royal Highness's so-called strategy of using millions of soldiers to force the Commerce Federation to return the provinces of Armenia and Marivia was ridiculous. It would be better to directly attack the Federation and form an alliance under the city walls. It was currently the weakest period of the Commerce Alliance's military. The main forces of the six giants of the Commerce Alliance still needed some time to reach the frontline. The second prince had missed the golden opportunity to attack the Mana Hill Plains. To Ross the Ferocious Tiger, this was the result of having his brain caught in a door.
"Hehe," Laurist explained with a smile, "You should know that this was the plan from the very beginning. It's not that His Majesty doesn't know that we should attack the Mana Hill Plains. The purpose of stationing troops here is to force the Commerce Alliance to agree to his demands, and at the same time, to avoid a real conflict with the Commerce Alliance. The Kingdom needs a long time to recuperate. It's not advisable to start a war with the Commerce Alliance. So, don't be fooled by the fact that our million-strong army is here to put on airs. Just think of it as a holiday for everyone. "
"Even if we're here to put on airs, His Majesty shouldn't have forbidden our scouts and cross-border raids. That way, we can put more pressure on the Commerce Alliance. An army of a million is gathered here, but we don't dare to cross the border. The Trade Alliance will laugh at us for being a bunch of cowards, "Ferocious Tiger Ross said.
"That's His Majesty sending a signal to the Trade Federation, indicating that we don't want to start a war with them. I believe that after a period of time, the Commerce Alliance will send an emissary over to discuss the conditions and requirements of the peace treaty. "
Laurist waved his hand and said, "That's enough, Ross. Don't act like a brainless brute in front of us. I know what you're thinking. Isn't it just that the lord of Marivia Province is very rich, and you want to make a fortune?"
"Hehe, hehe …" The Ferocious Tiger Ross scratched his head in embarrassment. "Your Highness, this, this is for the sake of the family. You know that Boddfinger led the Monolith Legion to sweep through the entire province of Cambona, but they didn't find much. If it weren't for the 100,000 young and strong captives, they might have suffered a great loss. Who asked the nobles in Cambona to be so poor?
However, the Marivia Province was different. Our Flying Tiger Army had accidentally entered the Marivia Province because we were chasing after the enemy to capture more captives. In the end, we found a few lords to gather military supplies and found that they were all extremely rich. 38 nobles actually obtained 2,000,000 gold coins in cash. That's almost half of the gold coins in the Visia Chamber of Commerce's reserves. "
Alright, more than a month ago, three divisions of the Flying Tiger Army, led by the Ferocious Tiger Ross, headed to Cambona to meet up with Boddfinger's Monolith Legion. In the end, they encountered 100,000 reinforcements from the Trade Federation the moment they entered Cambona. This was something that both sides did not expect, and they immediately engaged in a field battle. The 100,000 reinforcements from the Trade Federation were defeated by the Flying Tiger Army. Even three Great Swordsmen were killed by the steel crossbows of the chariots. In order to pursue the fleeing enemy, Ross the Ferocious Tiger led his army into Marivia Province.
Ross, the Ferocious Tiger, had just completed his mission of clearing out the nobles in Podorg Province. After the battle, he habitually cleared out the nobles in Marivia Province, which was occupied by the Flying Tiger Legion. He was surprised and overjoyed at the same time. Compared to the nobles in Podoorg Province and the spoils of the nobles in Cambona Province that Boddfinger had reported, the nobles in Marivia Province were practically overflowing with wealth.
Let's put it this way. After all, the nobles in Podoorg Province were from the Visia Chamber of Commerce. In order to give up their positions in the Chamber of Commerce, they were conferred the title of nobles. No matter what, they still had some wealth. Although they were not rich, they still had some 18,000 gold coins in savings. Ross the Ferocious Tiger had also seized hundreds of thousands of gold coins in Podoorg Province.
However, when Boddfinger swept out the lords in Cambona Province, he found that they were pitifully poor. After wiping out nearly a hundred nobles in the province, their spoils were less than 200,000 gold coins. Normally, a baron's territory would be considered wealthy if they could seize 5,000 gold coins. However, the Flying Tiger Army had occupied less than a third of Marivia Province's territory. The 38 nobles that had been swept out had accumulated more than 2,000,000 gold coins. How could Ross the Ferocious Tiger not be envious?
However, it was understandable. When the Commerce Federation was preparing to implement the nobility system, the most troublesome thing was the lack of conferred territories. Later on, they convinced the Grand Duke of Lulm to side with the Commerce Federation and offered the provinces of Armenia and Marivia. With two more provinces as the conferred territories of the Commerce Federation, they were the first batch of nobles to be conferred the title of nobles. All of them were wealthy people who had good connections. Many of them were presidents of second-rate Chamber of Commerce and owners of factories and mines. Compared to the last batch of mercenary captains and garrison officers who were conferred the title of nobles in Cambona Province, their wealth was naturally different.
"There's no need to say anything else. Just stay in the barracks obediently for the time being. Don't forget that you've caused me a lot of trouble when you led the army to attack Marivia Province. Our King's face turned green when he heard that you attacked Marivia Province and occupied half of its territory. He's afraid that your rash actions will cause the Commerce Federation to overreact. You should know that he doesn't want a real war with the Commerce Federation … "Laurist rejected Ross the Ferocious Tiger's suggestion without raising his head.
Laurist knew very well what Ross the Ferocious Tiger was thinking. Wasn't he planning to lead his army to sweep out the nobles in Marivia Province? The problem wasn't that the second prince had strictly prohibited the capture of the nobles in Armenia and Marivia Province. Instead, Laurist was worried that Ross the Ferocious Tiger would be harmed. After all, during the Glass War between the Trade Confederation and the Trompo Kingdom, the one-track minded King Trompo the Seventh had offered a hefty bounty to launch a high-end war against the Trompo Kingdom to plunder the territories and manors of the nobles. Many of the Gold-tier swordsmen of the Trade Confederation were killed.
Those who came later would learn from those who came later. Laurist didn't want the Commerce Federation to learn from King Tromp the Seventh. Ross the Ferocious Tiger had always been his trusted subordinate. He was also the family's Gold Knight who had the highest chance of becoming a Great Swordsman. It would be a huge loss to the family if he ended up losing his life for the sake of a few gold coins. Before the peace talks were finalized, it was better for this guy to stay in the barracks.
"Sigh …" Ross the Ferocious Tiger sighed. He was about to say something when he saw the curtain open and Genolio walk in.
"Your Highness, His Majesty sent a messenger to invite you to a banquet he's hosting tonight," Genolio reported.
"Sigh …" This time, it was Laurist who sighed. It had been more than ten days since the army of a million had gathered. During these ten days, the second prince had hosted banquets in the barracks every night and invited all the nobles to attend. Although the banquets weren't filled with exotic delicacies, they were still very sumptuous. It seemed like the second prince had obtained a lot of loot during the invasion of the northwest region and was willing to spend lavishly.
The second prince had invited all the nobles to attend the banquet. Nominally, he was trying to build a good relationship with them. In reality, he was talking about signing a peace treaty with the Commerce Federation and how he would govern the former Crimson Empire after unifying it. He wanted to make the Crimson Empire the most powerful country on the Galinthea Continent. It seemed like he was very confident that the Commerce Federation would accept his conditions and return the provinces of Armenia and Marivia.
It seemed like the second prince had started acting up again. It was the same after he had taken over the capital of Fedeliga. The eldest prince had gone missing, the 70,000 garrison troops of Cambona Province had surrendered, and the nobles of the former Redelis Kingdom had all submitted letters of surrender to him. Hence, the second prince had suddenly become arrogant. He thought that unifying the empire was right in front of him and that no one would dare to disobey his orders. At that time, he had been bedridden due to a cold. His mind was muddled and he started to give all kinds of orders. In the end, the nobles of the Andvorov Province rebelled, and then the four central duchies that were originally his allies turned against him. His great situation was ruined, and he almost lost his throne.
Now, he thought that with a million troops in his hands, the Commerce Federation would be forced to accept his conditions. Hence, he became arrogant again. However, he was still very close to the second prince, Lollister. Although there was still a deep fear in his eyes, he was very friendly on the surface. He would often drink with him at the same table and call him his brother …
Lollister knew that this was mainly because the Norton Family's performance in this battle was too amazing. Without the cooperation of the other three families in the Northern Alliance, the Norton Family's armed forces had taken over the Andvorov Province, Podoorg Province, and Cambona Province. They had even occupied a third of the Marivia Province, recovered three provinces, conquered the capital of Fedeliga, removed the Visia Chamber of Commerce, and defeated the 100,000 reinforcements sent by the Commerce Federation. Compared to the Norton Family's armed forces, the armed forces of the other nobles were just there for show. More accurately, they were there to consume the military provisions that the second prince had saved up.
Compared to the Norton Family's armed forces, the armed forces of the other nobles and dukes were just there for show. To be more precise, they were there to consume the military provisions that the second prince had accumulated. Grand Duke Handra, Grand Duke Sabaji, and Grand Duke Vorendor, these three Grand Dukes of the central continent had indeed been greatly weakened by the Second Prince. Not only were they transferred to barren lands, they only had a garrison of 45,000 soldiers left. Naturally, they valued this only army more than their lifeblood. Hence, it was understandable that they were unwilling to carry out the second prince's plan to attack Cambona Province.
The armed forces of the Kenneth Family, the Filim Family, and the Şahin Family were three of the four families in the Northern Alliance. Without the Norton Family's armed forces as their backbone, they seemed to have lost their vigor. Even if Lollister had equipped them with complete siege weapons, catapults, long-range suppression weapons, and steel crossbows, they were still unwilling to let their armed forces attack the heavily defended castles in Cambona Province, lest their family soldiers suffer losses.
The last one left was Grand Duke Fisabulon. With the close relationship between the Fisabulon Family and the second prince, Grand Duke Fisabulon naturally had to work for the second prince. This time, he had also brought two armies, the second border ranger army and the reserve army, which added up to a total of 90,000 soldiers. The few grand dukes said that since the queen was a member of the Fisabulon Family, it should be the Fisabulon Family's armed forces to attack the castles on the border of Cambona Province. In the end, Grand Duke Fisabulon scolded loudly. Who would use light cavalry to attack a castle? That would be sending them to their deaths. Be careful of the grassland barbarian cavalry of the reserve army mutiny!
None of the seven grand dukes were willing to send troops, so they began to kick the ball around. In the end, it was Grand Duke Sabaji who had an idea. Weren't there still people? This time, those territorial nobles had also come to join in the fun, forming an allied army of more than 100,000 nobles. Let them be the vanguard. The seven grand dukes unanimously agreed to this very wise suggestion, so they gathered all the territorial nobles who had brought troops to discuss.
None of them were fools. Once they heard that the task of attacking the castles in Cambona Province had fallen to them, all the territorial nobles united to protest. Wasn't this a joke? You are the grand dukes of the kingdom, commanding tens of thousands of armed family armies. Instead of attacking, you let us, small nobles with only two to three thousand family private soldiers, be cannon fodder. This is simply preposterous! We are going to sue you in front of His Majesty …
This was the truth after Bodefinger swept through the entire Cambona Province and discovered that the noble grand dukes deployed in the two provinces in the southwest did not launch the attack as planned. Bodefinger went to the garrisons of the two provinces in the southwest only to find that the seven grand dukes and the lords of the allied noble army were still arguing endlessly about who should be the vanguard to attack Cambona Province. Bodefinger said that he did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Of course, the second prince's plan of attacking Cambona Province with three armies and then joining forces at the border of the Trade Federation also failed due to his own reasons. On one hand, he overestimated the combat power of his Blizzard Assault Corps, and on the other hand, he underestimated the mobility of the catapults in the mountains and hills. Lastly, he did not take Grand Duke Zturam of the northwest seriously. Not only did he underestimate the enemy, but he also suffered a great loss because of Grand Duke Zturam. But at least he completed the task of recovering the northwest region.
After the meeting, Laurist naturally looked down on the weak combat power of the seven grand dukes and the allied noble army. Of course, he also ridiculed the second prince for arranging the plan clearly and logically, but in the end, none of them carried out the plan as planned. Fortunately, they were all very thick-skinned and did not mind. Just as the second prince had declared, completing the meeting as planned was the greatest victory, and they began to throw a party for this.
Laurist had a lot of things to do, and could not be bothered with them. He plunged into his tent and busied himself. The Flying Tiger Army had defeated the 100,000 reinforcements of the Trade Federation and captured more than 60,000 captives, as well as the rich spoils from wiping out 38 noble territories in Marivia Province, and more than 100,000 citizens who had been forced to migrate. At the same time, Bodefinger had cleared out the 100,000 young adults and their families from Cambona Province. These all had to be escorted back to the north. The logistics and rest points along the way had to be properly considered, and long-distance carriages had to be purchased to help with the transportation. These were all the spoils of war of the Norton Family. Even the second prince could not do anything to them even if he was envious …
"Forget it. Tell His Majesty that I still have things to do. I won't be going to the banquet tonight," Laurist said.
After a while, Genolio returned.
"Your Highness, His Majesty said that he had chosen a captured Count of the Trade Union and asked him to bring a letter to the six giants of the Trade Union, stating our kingdom's conditions and requesting them to send someone to discuss how to achieve peace between the two countries. That Count will leave tomorrow morning after attending the banquet tonight. His Majesty asked if you want to attend the banquet and meet that Count? "
Laurist waved his hand impatiently. "There's no need to meet him. Tell His Majesty that everything is up to him. What's there to meet a Count? Isn't it just to send a letter? His Majesty only wants me to use the name of the Norton Family's armed forces to scare that poor Count. Tell him that I'm not feeling well and will not attend the banquet. "
"Yes, Your Highness. I will report to His Majesty now."
…
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