"Dream on!" Laurist was furious. Majordomo Hanks was dreaming. He wanted to use the second prince's order to force Laurist to submit and make Lescott the heir of the Norton Family. Then, he would divide the northern lands into two courts, planning to put the original family's territory under Lescott's name, and then establish an independent territory within the Norton Family. At the same time, he would be able to exempt the retainers who supported Lescott from punishment after Laurist's return.
This was the difference in knowledge. If it were Fatso Shi, Camorra, or Hickford, who were known for their administrative abilities, they wouldn't have used such a radical and rebellious method like Majordomo Hanks did if they wanted to support Lescott as the heir of the Norton Family. Majordomo Hanks thought that he could suppress Laurist with the second prince's letter of appointment, but he didn't think that Laurist was now the Sword Saint of the Andinac Kingdom. He didn't care about the second prince's orders at all.
The old Norton Family Head Steward Clancy, who had passed away, had left Laurist three talented stewards, Hanks, Spear, and Cordan. He hoped that they could help Laurist prosper the Norton Family. However, Laurist's actions had far exceeded the old Head Steward Clancy's expectations. The Norton Family's reputation had already reached the peak of what a noble family could achieve. The family's strength was already comparable to that of the kingdom, and even surpassed it.
Unlike Spear, who was obsessed with financial management, and Coldan, who was smart and slick in charge, Majordomo Hansk was also a talent in administrative planning. If the Norton family had stayed in their original family territory, Majordomo Hansk would have been a perfect family steward. In the future, he might have achieved the same achievements and reputation as Majordomo Kleis.
However, after Laurist's return, the Norton Family began to expand outwards, and no longer stayed in a corner of the northern lands. As the family's strength continued to grow, so did the family's territory. At the same time, Laurist vigorously promoted the new talents who followed him into the family. Compared to the short-sighted and old-fashioned Manager Hansk, Laurist was more willing to trust his good friend, Fatty Shi. He entrusted all the administrative matters of the family's territory to him.
It wasn't that Laurist didn't think highly of Hansk, but rather that he wasn't very satisfied with Hansk's performance. On the contrary, Laurist was very disgusted with Hansk's actions of gathering people from Maple Forest Manor to form his own faction, using himself as an elder of the Norton Family to suppress and ostracize new talents. Furthermore, Hansk had repeatedly disobeyed him, and in the end, Laurist was forced to banish him from the management of the family.
Who would have thought that Steward Hansk would stir up internal strife at such a critical juncture? As the old saying goes, external enemies are easy to defend against, but internal thieves are hard to guard against. Laurist's face was ashen as he asked, "Did His Majesty agree to Chief Hansk's request?"
"Yes." Tagger lowered his head and replied, "It was already very late when I arrived. Chief Hansk had already announced His Majesty's appointment letter to Young Master Lescott in the northern lands. Although Sir Shredder had written a letter to His Majesty before heading to the camp of the First Guard Legion, I could only choose to sneak in because North Sea City was under martial law. By the time I arrived at the Mana Hill Plains, it was already too late. His Majesty only knew what had happened after reading the letter. Bofinger, Ferocious Tiger Ross, and Joost, who were present, immediately led their troops back north to quell the rebellion … "
Now, Laurist understood why the second prince was regretting so much. It was obvious that the second prince had done something bad out of good intentions. He had misunderstood, and did not want to cause trouble for the Norton Family. He thought that Lescott was Laurist's illegitimate son, and because he was not a legitimate son, he could not convince the public. That was why Laurist had sent a messenger, hoping to gain his recognition and promise that the Norton Family would continue to arm the three main legions to assist him in attacking the Trade Union.
This favor had to be helped, and this face had to be given. At that time, the second prince must have thought that Laurist had asked him to recognize Lescott as the acting head of the family, probably because Princess Silvia had given birth to a legitimate son. Laurist did not want to stand up for himself, so he, the king, had to be the bad guy. Alright, the second prince waved his pen and appointed Norton Lescott as the acting head of the Norton Family in the name of the king.
"After receiving His Majesty's letter of appointment, Steward Hansk justifiably accused Captain Ovis, who was guarding the Raging Bears City, of being a traitor, and threatened to attack the Raging Bears City. At the same time, he also invited His Highness's cousin, Christie, to be the commander of the First Guard Legion. However, Lady Christie ignored Steward Hansk's order to attack the Raging Bears City, and instead entered the city alone to discuss with Lady Silvia.
With the help of Lady Christie and Steward Kordain, Lady Silvia and the four ladies brought the two young masters out of the Raging Bears City, and headed towards the Cherry Blossom Ridge Manor. Captain Ovis and Sir Schwald brought the Second Guard Legion, the Guard Camp, and three Great Swordsmen as guards, leaving the Raging Bears City to Young Master Lescott and Steward Hansk. At the same time, Steward Hansk released Baron Shredder and Steward Spear, and the two of them brought their families to the Cherry Blossom Ridge Manor.
Tagger finally gave Laurist some good news. There was no civil war in the family's territory, and Fatty Shredder and Steward Spear were safe and sound.
"Where are the three main legions of the family armed forces?" Laurist asked.
"Uh …" Tagger looked troubled as he answered, "The three main legions are still in the capital of Felicia. They have encountered a problem …"
"Hmm? What problem? "
"It's like this. During the attack on the Mana Hill Plains, the Monolith Legion and the Flying Tiger Legion conquered Brovic City and Liet City. His Majesty led the White Lion Legion to take down Creedor City, while the Hunter Legion looted the Giderink Province and Mawei Fulin Province …"
Laurist looked puzzled, "Wait, where are these Giderink Province and Mawei Fulin Province? Why haven't I heard of them before? "
"Oh, it's like this, Your Highness. After the Glass War, the Commerce Alliance annexed the Kingdom of Tringham and seven surrounding kingdoms, then divided the annexed territories into twenty-one provinces. The original fifteen prefectures of the Kingdom of Tringham were divided into five provinces, and the Giderink Province and Mawei Fulin Province are two provinces adjacent to the Mana Hill Plains … "Tagger explained.
"I see. Please continue." Laurist touched his beard in embarrassment. In fact, Tagger had reported this information before, but he was only concerned about the surrounding areas in the north and within the kingdom's borders. He did not pay much attention to the actions of the Commerce Alliance. No wonder he was confused when he heard the names of the two provinces. The former Empire did not have these two provinces.
"That, that is because the Commerce Alliance is relatively wealthy, so the three main legions of our family armed forces have robbed a lot of property. In total, there are nearly a thousand large carriages. At the same time, the three legions have also captured more than five hundred thousand people …" Tagger said with a flushed face. This was a crazy pace of robbery.
Alright, Laurist had to admit that the three main legions of his family armed forces had become a group of robbers. They were getting more and more skilled at robbing people and money. However, he could only pretend that he did not hear anything.
"Didn't you say that the three main legions have encountered a problem?" Laurist reminded him.
"It's like this, Your Highness. Because of the large number of property and people they have captured, their food supply is a little tight," Tagger replied.
Seeing that Laurist was about to speak again, Tagger hurriedly said, "Your Highness, I know you want to say that we have stored a large amount of military rations in the capital of Windbridge. However, have you forgotten about the forced migration of the immigrants from the Andervov, Porto and Campona provinces? Apart from two to three hundred thousand people who have reached the north, the remaining five hundred thousand people are still in the Winston province with nowhere to go. Baron Camorra, who is in charge of logistics, is already doing his best to maintain the basic necessities of these immigrants. He has long been powerless against the three main legions and the additional five hundred thousand new immigrants. This is all because the north has been cut off from communication, and the food and supplies we have in reserve cannot be replenished … "
Damn Majordomo Hansk! Laurist hatefully crushed the wooden basin on the table into pieces of sawdust.
"What about Bodefinger, Roth the Ferocious Tiger, and Jost?"
"Your Highness, the current situation is that Lord Bodefinger will stay in the capital of Felix to look after the captives and immigrants. Lord Jost and Roth the Ferocious Tiger will lead their legions to return to the Mana Hill Plains. They plan to rob enough food from the Trade Union. When winter comes, they will use sledges to quickly reach the Winston province. This way, they can save a lot of food consumed on the road. "Tagger explained the plans of the three legion commanders.
"So what if they reach the Winston province? Does the Winston province have enough food? Think about it, if a million people reach the Winston province, there will be a food shortage immediately, and everyone will starve to death, right? "Laurist snorted in dissatisfaction.
"Lord Bodefinger and the others might want to counterattack the north …" Tagger said.
"Counterattack? Is it that simple? Once they approach the two iron chain bridges, Hansk will definitely declare them to be rebels. Maybe they will break the two iron chain bridges at the decisive point. Let's see how they counterattack. By the time they reach the ferry downstream of Midburo and want to force their way across, most of them will have starved to death. "
After lecturing a few more times, Laurist asked, "How is the information and information transmission?"
"Your Highness, after Hansk took control of the First Guard Legion, he immediately sent people to take control of the Messenger Eagle headquarters in Monolith Castle. At the same time, he ordered that the north be cut off from the outside. Information and information from the north can't be sent out, and information from the outside can't be sent in. Now, the north is almost an isolated island. "
Tagger replied, "The only route to the north is the sea route from North Sea City to Syrovas Island. However, Hansk also imposed martial law in North Sea City. All ships that reach North Sea City are detained in Oxhorn Bay and cannot go out to sea. He even ordered the North Sea Fleet to obey his orders. However, Admiral Senbarwood ignored him and returned to Syrovas Island with the fleet. "
Back then, when Laurist decided to train the Messenger Eagle for communication, he was still in Monolith Castle. Later, the family's administrative center moved to the northern capital, Raging Bear City. However, the Messenger Eagle headquarters, which trained the Messenger Eagles and sent and received messages, was still in Monolith Castle. After all, no matter how trained the Messenger Eagles were, they were still beasts. They only remembered that Monolith Castle was their home, and they would not move with them if they moved to Raging Bear City.
Although a new base for training the Messenger Eagles had been built in Raging Bear City, for the sake of fashion, the main Messenger Eagle base for communication with the outside world was still in Monolith Castle. Hansk knew this very well. He immediately took control of the Messenger Eagle headquarters in Monolith Castle and cut off almost half of the information transmission routes inside and outside the family.
"Apart from the communication between the north and the outside world being cut off, the various spy bases that our family has set up in the other provinces are still in good condition. However, the Messenger Eagles cannot be used, and information must be transmitted by manpower. In terms of time, there will be a huge delay, "Tagger said.
"What's the situation with the North Sea Fleet and Syrovas Island?" Laurist asked.
"Not good," Tagger said. "We have a hidden cave near the sea in Blade's Edge Mountain. There are two small ships hidden in the shallow waters. I took the small ship to the Kenneth family's territory, and then changed to a large ship from Platinum Beach to Syrovas Island. When I arrived, I found that the North Sea Fleet and the guards stationed on the island were in a standoff. This was because Lord Pachko, who was stationed on Syrovas Island, had received an order from Steward Hansk, saying that the commander of the North Sea Fleet, Lord Senbarwood, was rebelling. Lord Pachko was ordered to arrest Senbarwood immediately …
Lord Pachko did not know what had happened in the north, and believed Hansk's orders firmly. I told him what had happened in the north and told him to ignore it. In the future, he did not have to obey unless it was His Highness's orders. Only then did Lord Pachko and Lord Senbarwood shake hands and make peace.
Then, I went to the Mana Hill Plains to deliver a letter to His Majesty and the three commanders. The three commanders were shocked when they learned of the upheaval in the north and immediately led their troops back. His Majesty hurriedly tried to stop them, but was scolded by Lord Roth the Fierce Tiger. His Majesty knew that he had done something wrong, and it was too late for regrets. He could only allow the three armies that our family armed to return. I was going to return to the north to deliver the letter, but I did not expect to meet Lord Redi on Syrovas Island, so I followed him back. "
Laurist stood up and paced around the room, stroking his beard in thought. Hansk's rebellion had already disrupted all of the family's plans. However, the biggest problem they faced now was that the three armies used sledges to transport the immigrants to Winston Province during the winter. More than a million immigrants who had nothing to do would bring an unbearable burden to Winston Province, and this was the biggest problem that had to be solved first. However, with the north cut off from transportation, Winston Province had no way to obtain sufficient supplies from the family.
The only thing that made Laurist happy was that Baron Camora was still in the capital of Winston Province's Windbri Capital, and had not returned to the north. With him presiding over the overall situation in Winston Province, Laurist could rest assured.
"There is no need to worry about the rebellion in the north. When I recover my strength, I will go back and slowly deal with these rebels. It is already the end of December, and I believe that the three armies should have already begun to transport the goods and immigrants back. Winston Province is about to face its greatest test.
Redi, Tagger, I will immediately write a few orders. Bring them to the capital of Windbri and hand them to Baron Camora. Let him preside over the overall situation and restrain all of the family's armed forces. Those who do not obey orders can be killed immediately. At the same time, order the Flying Tiger Army and Hunting Cavalry Army to send all sledges to the territories of other nobles to borrow food. Tell those nobles that this is my promise. We will repay them double the amount of food they borrowed this year next year.
Also, Redi, you will personally be in charge. Jost and Roth, the Ferocious Tiger, will each be given a hundred lashes as punishment for disobeying the family's orders and leading troops to the frontlines. The deputy and commander of the two armies will each be given fifty lashes as punishment for disobeying the family's orders and leading troops to the frontlines.
Also, have Bofinger lead two armies from Monolith Army to Syrovas Island to await further orders. Have the Hunting Cavalry Army and Flying Tiger Army each send a division to accompany them. Order the North Sea Fleet's Admiral Sunbarwood and Commander Pacico to gather the ships for transportation. "
"Yes, Your Highness."
… …
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