In fact, Laurist's return to the Northern Region to quell the rebellion was uneventful and uneventful. No one shot an arrow at him. Basically, wherever Laurist went, be it the soldiers of the First Royal Guard Legion, the veterans of the five Garrison Battalions, or the garrison troops of the various towns, they all obediently put down their weapons when they saw Laurist. They allowed the soldiers of the Monolith Legion to disarm and detain them. No one dared to resist.
On the 21st day of the seventh month of the year 1789 in the Galinthia Continent calendar, the Grand Duke of the Northern Region, the head of the Norton Family, and the new Sword Saint, Laurist, arrived at North Sea City under the escort of the North Sea Fleet. The 3rd Battalion of the First Royal Guard Legion, which was on guard duty in North Sea City, lined up at the pier to welcome him. They surrendered to the Monolith Legion, who had come with them by boat, and waited for Laurist's punishment.
Then, Laurist personally went to Maple Forest Manor and rescued Gold Knight Berrunic, who had lost his cultivation after consuming the Qi Dissipating Powder. At the same time, he ordered everyone in Maple Forest Manor to be thrown into prison, including Elina and his chubby second son.
After setting off from North Sea City, Laurist recovered Huyang Town, went to Maple Forest Manor, and visited Trish and her daughter in Nicole Academy. After that, Laurist headed straight for the Monolith Castle. When he passed by the seven towns of Fengle Plain, he only showed his face below the city walls of the seven towns before rushing to the Monolith Castle. After occupying the Monolith Castle without bloodshed, Laurist then ordered the Hunter Legion that followed him to head to the Northern Region and announce his arrival.
However, the first person to bring bad news to Laurist was Shihuard of the Cherry Ridge Manor. He rushed to the Monolith Castle overnight and told Laurist a piece of bad news that made him furious. The cannons training base in the Blade Peak Mountain Range had been discovered by the great swordsmen who were searching for Laurist in the Northern Region. Due to the tight security, the great swordsmen mistakenly thought that Laurist was hiding there to recover from his injuries and launched an attack on the base.
Lollister's face was ashen as he looked at the list of casualties Schwartz took out. 141 of the 200 Bronze Cannons had been lost, and 1377 of the 2,000 guards from the 200 cannon firing teams had died. 824 of the guards responsible for the back of the hand had died. Commander Jim was gravely injured, and Vice Commander Paul Binns had died in battle …
When Laurist heard Schwald's report that the Iron Furnace Fort's weapon production base in the Blade Edge Mountain Range had been searched as well, and even Master Sid's Darksteel Refinery and Weapon Research Institute as well as Master Falin's Bow and Crossbow Workshop had been turned upside down by the Garrison Camp's soldiers and a few Great Swordsmen, and many weapons and crossbow blueprints had been lost, Laurist could not help but explode in anger. He kicked over the desk in front of him.
"Who, who gave them the order to search our family's most secretive production base?" Laurist's eyes were red, and he could not restrain his anger.
"Yes, it was Steward Hanks. He ordered the soldiers of the Garrison Camp to bring a few Great Swordsmen. He said that he had no choice. Those Great Swordsmen held Madam Elina and the second young master hostage, so he had no choice but to cooperate and order the Great Swordsmen to go over. He said that it was impossible for Your Highness to be in the Blade Edge Mountain Range. Since those Great Swordsmen wanted to look for you, then let them make a wasted trip.
He also said that the family spent between one million and one million and five hundred thousand gold coins every year, and that it was the biggest hole in the family's finances. Furthermore, the accounts were not clear, and they were kept secret. The Blade Edge Mountain Range belonged to the original family's territory, and was under the Eldest Young Master's jurisdiction. As the steward, he could not allow such corruption to take advantage of the family. When he had the time, he would personally investigate the accounts of these production bases.
When those Great Swordsmen searched the artillery training base and the gunpowder laboratory, Sir Jim refused to search and had a conflict with those Great Swordsmen. After dozens of soldiers were injured, he chased away those Great Swordsmen and the Garrison Camp's soldiers who led the way. Because of this, the artillery training base was suspected by those Great Swordsmen.
Three days later, 14 Great Swordsmen attacked the artillery training base. Sir Jim had already made defensive preparations. He ordered the bronze cannons to be placed at the top of the mountain, and the first round of firing took the lives of three Great Swordsmen. Four more Great Swordsmen were seriously injured. The remaining Great Swordsmen could only retreat with the injured. However, in the middle of the night, they launched another night attack and broke into the valley to kill. The seven Great Swordsmen could not stop them at all. In order to take revenge, they even cut off the bronze cannons' barrels … "
"Where are those Great Swordsmen now?" Laurist really wanted to kill now, and his heart was filled with anger. These 3,000 men from the artillery battalion were his trump card. Their purpose was to deal with enemies who were also equipped with catapults and steel crossbows. Currently, all the countries in the Galinthea Continent were spending a lot of effort and money to develop catapults, but the Norton Family was one step ahead and had already built the bronze cannons. However, Laurist did not expect that an accident would cause the artillery battalion that he had painstakingly accumulated to be completely destroyed …
"Your Highness, those Great Swordsmen left the Northern Region in May. Manager Hansk gave them official documents to travel. There were seven men and three women. Two of them were injured, and the other one was probably dead due to his serious injuries. There were also more than 40 of them, and they left the northern lands by ship from the North Sea City. The ship they took wasn't our family's, and they only knew that they went south, and no one knew where they went, "Schwader replied.
Laurist rubbed his chin. It turned out that not a single Great Swordsman had come to inspect him in the hunting house of Baron Dena for a year. It turned out that they had all gathered in the northern lands to search for his whereabouts.
"How many blueprints did Master Sid lose?" Laurist asked.
"Blueprints for super steel crossbows, three types of catapults, and 16 types of standard armor. In addition, there were blueprints for the new standard crossbows for the hunting cavalry, as well as many weapon blueprints that Master Sid had designed that had already been proven to be failures. A total of 57 blueprints had disappeared. The only good news is that Master Yu Lian's material blueprints are still intact. It's likely that the person who took the blueprints didn't understand them. "Schwader finally told Laurist some good news.
Laurist heaved a sigh of relief. This was a blessing in disguise. He would rather lose the blueprints than have the material blueprints taken away. Without the material blueprints, even with Master Sid's imaginative blueprints, it would be difficult to create the same weapons and equipment. One had to know that all of Sid's designs were based on the materials that the Norton Family currently had. Without the materials, the weapons and armor he designed would not be able to achieve the desired effect.
"How are Sylvia and the others?" Laurist asked.
"Your Highness, the Madam, the four ladies, and the two young masters are all well. They asked me to tell Your Highness not to worry about them, and to settle the matters of the family territory first. Madam Sylvia said that they will spend the summer at the Cherry Blossom Manor before returning to the Furious Bears City, "Schwader replied.
Laurist nodded. "When I woke up last year, I heard that Master Swordsman Genolio and Master Theseus had led the guards to attract the attention of the Master Swordsmen and fought their way back to the north. Redi and I were worried about him. Why didn't he come with you to see me this time?"
"Teacher, Junior is currently in the Cherry Blossom Manor to help me investigate the unstable factors in the family and identify all the henchmen of Manager Hansk. He's too busy to visit you. Please don't blame him, Teacher."
Laurist chuckled. "It's fine. You did well this time, and Genolio did well too. Why would I blame you? I heard that those Master Swordsmen had invaded the inner palace in the Furious Bears City. You also held your sword and fought a Master Swordsman to a draw. Is that true? "
Schwader scratched his head in embarrassment. "Teacher, I was at a disadvantage. I even injured my right hand. That's why I had no choice but to bring Genolio over to help me write and review the information. It's his fault for having such good handwriting. I know that my swordsmanship is only around 2-star Gold rank. It was thanks to you that I was able to resist that Master Swordsman.
That time, six Master Swordsmen came to investigate the inner palace of the Furious Bears City to see if there were any clues about Your Highness. At the same time, due to the fact that Your Highness had become a Sword Saint, they were very careful and had no intention of harming you. Other than Master Swordsman Theseus, there was also Grandpa Ingjie and Master Swordsman Sandy. They were the ones who chased the six Master Swordsmen away. "
This was Schwader's strong point. He would not blame others or steal credit. He was also very humble. Laurist thought for a moment. "Schwader, the artillery training base has suffered great damage. Paul Binns died in battle and Jim is heavily injured. Someone needs to clean up the mess. I want to appoint you as the commander of the artillery battalion and rebuild it. I will have Master Sid replenish the damaged cannons. You can choose the members of the firing team. What do you think? "
"Yes, Your Highness." Schwader saluted. "But can I hand over the internal security of my family to Genolio?"
Laurist shook his head. "Genolio is still young and his cultivation is not good enough. The internal security of the family is complicated. If I hand it over to him, he will delay the progress of his cultivation. It is better to let him stay by my side. Do you have anyone else you can recommend? "
"Your Highness, I think that the criminal inspector, Baron Kriston, is a very suitable candidate."
Laurist's interest was piqued. "Why do you say that?"
"Your Highness, I think that the internal security of the family is to weave a security net in the family territory to prevent and guard against any damage to the safety of the family territory. I had a deep understanding of this after I took over the internal security department. It was a pity that I didn't have the time this time. The timing of Head Steward Hansk's action was too coincidental. I was supposed to clean up and investigate the city guards and the city guards, but I was a step too late. This was my fault.
Baron Kriston is in charge of the city guards and the investigation of criminal cases in the family territory. He has some contact with me because of work. He had reminded me earlier that the guards of many towns and cities discriminated against and bullied the new immigrants. It was a little abnormal. However, I did not take his warning to heart and caused a disaster.
The city guards in the various towns in the family territory are also an important part of the family's internal security. It is a waste for Baron Kriston to only be in charge of the criminal cases in the family territory. Since Your Highness wants me to recommend a suitable candidate, the only person I can think of is Baron Kriston. "Schwader's expression was solemn. This was a decision he had made after serious consideration.
"I understand. When I return to the Raging Bears City, I will summon Baron Kriston." Laurist nodded solemnly.
On the 25th of July, Laurist arrived at the Raging Bears City. The city gates were opened, and Laurist's cousin, Christie, as the new commander of the 1st Guard Division, led her subordinates to salute Laurist. Then, the Monolith Army disarmed the guards stationed in the Raging Bears City and detained them. Christie was the only one left to follow Laurist to the central castle and the mayor's mansion.
"Loke, this is not fair. The soldiers of the 1st Guard Division are only following orders. They are not traitors of the Norton Family. On the contrary, they are the most loyal soldiers of the family. You cannot treat them like this … "Christie stood behind Laurist and strongly protested against the Monolith Army's action of disarming and detaining her subordinates.
"Should I reward them heavily? Give them gold coins, wine and meat, and give each of them a beautiful woman to make them happy? Reward them for opposing me as the head of the Norton Family? Christie, you are my cousin. I am very happy that you have walked out of the shadow of your feelings and are willing to serve the family. I am also very happy that you have done everything for Sylvia and the others to stop the civil war in the family territory. However, there are some situations that you do not understand. What you think is good for the family is actually more harmful to the family. I have been suppressing my anger. You know, right now, I really want to order the execution of all the traitors … "
"No! Loke, you cannot do this. The soldiers are only following orders. They are all loyal … "Christie cried out in shock. She could not understand why Laurist was so angry.
Laurist smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Christie, the soldiers of the Monolith Army, Flying Tiger Army, and Hunting Cavalry Army are the most loyal. The soldiers of the 1st Guard Division are only following orders. It is hard to say whether they are loyal or not. You should know that almost all of the soldiers of the 1st Guard Division were once enemies or prisoners of war of our family. After a few years of labor, they will be conscripted and become soldiers of our family's 1st Guard Division. To them, this is more like a job to support their families.
Because of the generous treatment our family gives to the soldiers, they will slowly increase their loyalty and loyalty to the family during their service. Regardless of whether it is the Monolith Army, Flying Tiger Army, or Hunting Cavalry Army, if the commander goes missing and a large number of high-ranking officers are replaced, then they receive orders from someone else to attack the capital of the family territory. I can guarantee that if I do not personally give the order, the other person who gives the order will die a terrible death. No one will believe him. The soldiers will take the initiative to capture these traitors.
In a situation where there was no transfer order from the family and no one was sent to explain, a random nobody could use the missing order of the army commander to take over the management of the army and adjust all the middle and high-ranking officers. Rather than saying that these soldiers obeyed orders, it was better to say that they did not have brains. Do they not think about how unreasonable this is? Do you think that these soldiers are loyal to the family when they know that it is wrong and still follow the wrong orders? "
Christie was speechless. After a while, she asked, "Loke, how will you deal with the soldiers of the 1st Guard Division?"
Laurist was silent for a moment. "They cannot stay in the north. I will move them and their families to Makinohara Province. They will either retire or be demoted to the garrison."
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