CHAPTER 473 REPLIES TO LETTERS
On the 13th of August, Laurist, who had been busy for more than 50 days, finally heaved a sigh of relief. The last batch of forced immigrants to the north had already set off. Laurist could finally relax. He rode out of the camp, accompanied by Bofinger, to observe the camp where the Commerce Alliance's army was stationed.
Over the past 20 days, the main armed forces of the six chambers of commerce had also arrived at the frontlines. They set up camp about 15 miles away from the Andinac Kingdom's million-strong army. Currently, all the scouts could find out was that the main armed forces of the six chambers of commerce had arrived at the frontlines. At the same time, the other miscellaneous armed forces of the Commerce Alliance had also gathered around the main armed forces of the six chambers of commerce. It was estimated that there were more than 500,000 soldiers gathered there. What was most surprising was that as an ally of the Commerce Alliance, the Chigda Kingdom had also sent an army of nearly 50,000 soldiers to join in the fun.
Laurist originally did not care much about the Commerce Alliance's army. He had been busy thinking about how to safely transport the captured soldiers, captives, and immigrants to the north. Unfortunately, it was not winter now. If it had been winter, the immigrants and captives would have been very obedient. Everyone knew that leaving the army during the harsh winter would only lead to death, so no one dared to take the risk. Not only was the sleigh fast, but it also carried a lot of cargo. Even the escorts would need very little strength.
But now, it was impossible, mainly because the Norton Family had captured too many captives and forced immigrants. It was more than what they had calculated. Originally, Laurist had only planned to move 300,000 to 400,000 people from the Andvov and Podorg provinces to the north. But he did not expect Bofinger to wipe out the entire Cambona Province. The Ferocious Tiger Ross had defeated the 100,000 reinforcements of the Commerce Alliance. Not only had he captured more than 60,000 captives, he had also invaded the Marivia Province and captured another 100,000 forced immigrants.
The population that needed to be moved this time had reached 700,000 to 800,000 people. After moving to the north, the total population of the north would exceed 3,000,000, which was almost more than the total population of some kingdoms. Therefore, Laurist was very busy. It was not an easy task to move 700,000 to 800,000 people safely to the North. Even though Laurist and the Norton Family had a lot of experience in moving people, it was still very tiring.
Once he was done with these chores and sent off the last batch of forced immigrants, Laurist finally had the time to understand the current situation of the million-strong army and the countermeasures of the Trade Alliance. Only then did he feel that something was not right with the situation. The Second Prince was still very confident. Forty days ago, he sent a captured Count of the Trade Union to deliver a letter to the six giants of the Trade Union, and then threw the matter to the back of his mind. He then changed the banquets to a small banquet every three days and a big banquet every ten days, as if he was very confident that the Trade Union would accept his request.
The six main armed forces of the Trade Union had arrived at the frontlines about 20 days ago. The Second Prince did not take this to heart, but as the troops of the Trade Union increased, the Second Prince only ordered the light cavalry scouts to increase the surveillance and vigilance of the Trade Union's camp. He forbade the light cavalry scouts from clashing with the enemy's scouts. The army of the Trade Union had also sent out light cavalry scouts, but they also tacitly avoided the scouts here. Although there were no conflicts or small scale battles, the scouts of the Trade Union in charge of surveillance were almost non-stop day and night. This made Laurist feel that something was not right. That was why he brought his guards and Bofinger to check out the camp of the Trade Union's army.
"Strange. Is the Trade Union really going to start a big battle with us?" Laurist mumbled as he looked at the camp with his monocular.
Bofinger, who was beside him, was puzzled. "Your Highness, how can you tell?"
Laurist shoved the monocular in his hand to him. "Look for yourself. Did you notice something strange? The camps set up by the Trade Union's troops seem to be temporary. They don't meet the requirements of defense at all. Firstly, they didn't dig trenches to set up partitions. Secondly, the fences of the camps are carelessly made up of a few pieces of wood stuck in the ground and made of straw ropes. What's the point of doing this? Is the Trade Union going to initiate an attack on our million-strong army? They seem to know us very well. They won't attack us like they do … "
Bofinger raised his monocular and looked at it for a while. His expression was grave. "Your Highness, this camp is either a temporary camp for the troops to spend the night safely on the march, or they are prepared to attack the enemy when they believe that they have a great chance of winning on the battlefield. This kind of camp is convenient for the whole army to move out, but the defense is almost defenseless. It will be broken in one attack."
"Your Highness, I think it's possible that the Trade Union wants to reach an agreement with us, and these troops are only here to put on airs. That's why they don't care about defense at all?" Genolio interrupted after hearing Laurist and Bofinger's conversation.
Laurist patted his head. He always encouraged people around him to express their opinions so that he wouldn't be biased. Hence, he didn't mind Genolio's interruption.
"You're right, but I'm curious. If the Trade Union is really going to negotiate peace and sign an armistice with His Majesty, then there's no need for them to gather so many troops. It's not a small matter to gather 500,000 troops. If they really want to negotiate, they should set up a line of defense. A hundred thousand troops would be enough. By the way, didn't His Majesty send a count to deliver a letter? It's been more than a month. Have you heard that His Majesty has received a reply? "Laurist asked.
Bofinger and Genolio shook their heads.
"Forget it. I'll go see His Majesty and ask him myself." Laurist thought for a moment and said to Bofinger, "Ferocious Tiger Ross has been entrusted by me to escort the immigrants back to the North. Currently, only the Monolith Regiment and the guards are here. How about this, Borg? When you go back, choose a strategic location at the back of the camp and build a fortified camp. We have to be prepared. "
"Understood, Your Highness," Bofinger replied.
After returning to the camp, Laurist brought Genolio to the second prince's camp. It was more than ten miles away from the Norton Family's camp. When they arrived, it was almost noon. Laurist discovered that the defense of the White Lion Legion's camp was very lax. The gate was wide open, and soldiers walked in and out. The sentries turned a blind eye to them. The wooden walls of the camp's gate were indifferent to the soldiers going in and out. There wasn't a single person on the arrow towers on either side of the gate.
When Laurist and his guards arrived at the main gate of the camp, the soldiers by the gate finally came back to their senses. The ten soldiers on duty at the gate jumped up from their crouches, and the ones leaning against the gate hurriedly lined up and saluted Laurist. They all knew Laurist, the most famous Duke of the North in the Andinac Kingdom.
"Where's His Majesty?" Laurist asked.
"His Majesty has invited the dukes and nobles to a banquet in the central tent. Do you want us to inform His Highness?" a soldier replied eagerly.
Laurist waved the whip in his hand. "No need. We can go there ourselves. Genolio, give us a reward. "
Genolio took out a black bag of money and tossed it to the soldier. "His Majesty is giving you a reward for buying wine."
"Thank you, thank you, Your Highness." The ten soldiers bowed in unison. The soldiers who were watching from the sidelines drooled with envy. Everyone knew that Duke Norton of the North was the most generous of all. There were ten silver coins in the small black pouch, which was enough for the guards on duty to get an extra month's salary. It was a pity that they weren't the ones on duty to meet the generous Duke Norton …
There was a small stone hill in the White Lion Legion's camp. It was seven to eight meters high. The second prince had set up his tent on this hill, and had set up a camp around it. This was the camp within the camp, which was also the central district that the guards had mentioned. The second prince had set up this district to separate it from the White Lion Legion's camp, because there were many noblewomen and young ladies in the central district …
These noblewomen and young ladies were mostly the families of the nobles that the second prince had captured during his attack on the Northwest Region. They were arranged to follow the army so that they could atone for their crimes. They could atone for their husbands, children, parents, and relatives. As for how to atone for their crimes, everyone knew.
Generally speaking, when nobles fought, their children would not be harmed. But the premise was that the nobles had to prepare a decent ransom for their loved ones, be it gold coins, supplies, territories, or family heirlooms. This way, they could ensure that their loved ones would be treated well in the enemy's camp, and no one would harm them.
But this time, the second prince had used a winter raid to capture the Northwest Region. The nobles that had fallen into his hands had basically become the second prince's spoils of war, along with their territories. If they had other properties in other places, such as shops and houses in Moront City, they could ask the second prince to redeem their families and send people to raise a ransom for them.
But the nobles that did not have properties outside could only rely on their wives and daughters to serve the second prince. For example, the second prince only held small banquets every three days and a big banquet every ten days. The first reason was to celebrate the plentiful harvest from the Northwest Region, the second was to show goodwill, and the third was to show the royal family's demeanor. It was an extremely glorious and romantic event to entertain the nobles of the kingdom with the female members of the enemy's nobles as the maids of the banquets.
Laurist was somewhat disgusted by this, which was one of the reasons why he had repeatedly rejected the second prince's banquet invitations. The Norton Family had their own way of dealing with the captured nobles. If the captured nobles were harsh and cruel to their subjects, their entire families would be hung on the gallows. The Norton Family would rather kill wrongly than let go of their enemies. This was the only way to appease the subjects of the nobles and make them loyal subjects of the Norton Family.
The Norton Family did not require ransom money from the lords that were kind to their subjects. Instead, they required their skills and talents to serve the family for many years in exchange for the freedom of their entire family. As nobles that had been educated since they were young, they naturally had an advantage over the subjects. They would always have outstanding talents in one area. During the years they served the Norton family, their contributions were also recorded in the records. When the stipulated years were over, these nobles would find themselves faced with a difficult choice. This was because their contributions were enough for the Norton Family to confer them as nobles. Basically, these nobles would change their allegiance to the Norton Family.
After entering the gate of the central district, Laurist once again refused to let the royal guards inform the second prince. He ordered his guards to rest outside the district while he brought Genolio to the big tent. Before he reached the main tent, he saw a voluptuous noblewoman walk out of the tent with Duke Gammus in his arms. The two of them were laughing and joking as they walked to a smaller tent on the side. It was obvious that the two of them had hooked up and were about to engage in some intimate physical activity.
When Kenneth saw Laurist, he immediately let go of the noblewoman and walked up to him. He even opened his arms to hug him. "Haha, Loke, what brings you here today?"
Laurist pointed with his finger. "Stop, don't come near me. Go about your business. I have something to ask His Majesty."
Duke Kenneth shrugged. "I'm just asking. Is there anything I can help with?"
"Alright, don't neglect your lover. There's nothing I need help with. It's just that I feel that the Trade Union is preparing for a big battle with us. I'm here to ask His Majesty if he has any thoughts on this."
Duke Kenneth heaved a sigh of relief. "Loke, you're too nervous. You should come here more often to relax. There won't be any big battle. We just received a reply from the Trade Union this morning. They said that they will officially send an envoy to negotiate a peace treaty with His Majesty in three days. His Majesty is very happy. He rewarded the messenger handsomely and invited us to a banquet. Go in and take a look. I don't know if His Majesty is drunk. He even said that he would send someone to send you a letter to invite you to the banquet tonight … "
Laurist had already lifted the curtain and entered the tent. The tent was very big, enough to accommodate more than a hundred nobles. Some of the drunken nobles were snoring on the blankets, while others continued to drink. Some were entangled with the noblewomen. There were even a few couples who were doing things on the spot in the corner of the tent … Laurist also saw Duke Fisablun. The old man's face was as red as a monkey's butt from drinking. He was holding two half-naked maids and playing with their large protrusions. At the same time, he asked the two maids to drink wine with their mouths … Pfft, why isn't this old man impatient at all!
The second prince was almost done drinking. He must have been in a good mood after receiving the reply from the Trade Union, so he let go of his inhibitions. He couldn't even speak properly. "Lok, Lok, you're here, cheers …"
Laurist turned and left. After leaving the central district, he said to Genolio with a gloomy face, "Come, let's go back."
…
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