There were some things that Loriste could do but couldn't, and he couldn't even let his three disciples do it. Redi was loyal, but he had a one-track mind and was very straightforward. If he let Shihuard do it, he would be able to do it well. However, Loriste didn't want Shihuard to dirty his hands. Perhaps the biggest reason was that Loriste was worried that his impression of Shihuard would change. As for Genolio, he was still young.
Another reason was that everyone knew that Redi, Shihuard, and Genolio were all Loriste's disciples. If any of them appeared on the scene, people would think of Loriste. In order to avoid rumors and suspicion, Loriste needed a pair of hands that could do the dirty work for him. Tagger might be a suitable candidate, but as the head of the intelligence department of Norton Family, he was also very famous, and people who knew him would pay attention to him wherever he went.
Baron Christon was a very suitable candidate. First of all, he wasn't Loriste's henchman or a high-level member of the family, and no one would suspect him. Secondly, Baron Christon was the Director of Criminal Investigation of Norton Family, and he was responsible for the investigation and trial of all the criminal cases in the family territory and the three provinces around it. He was a recognized criminology expert and good at solving cases. Thirdly, if Baron Christon appeared on the scene, no one would think of Loriste and think that it was a coincidence.
On the day that Ms. Elina passed away, Baron Christon happened to pass through Maple Forest Manor with his two subordinates to investigate a fisherman's drowning case in North Sea City. Since it was late, he stayed at Maple Forest Manor for the night. Speaking of the route, the smuggling route from Furious Bear City to Blade Peak Mountain Range was indeed the fastest route to North Sea City through Fengle Plain, Beiye Town, Maple Forest Manor, and Huyang Town. If it weren't so dark, Baron Christon would have stayed at Huyang Town for the night.
Baron Christon's two subordinates were sitting in the dining room, drinking wine and bragging about their past case solving experiences with the guards and servants of Maple Forest Manor. From the window, they could see the lights in the guest room that Baron Christon was staying in. When the young maid who had gone to deliver dinner came back, she said that Baron Christon was a professional and elegant noble. Even when he was eating dinner, he was racing against time to review files and deal with official business.
What impressed the maid the most was that Baron Christon didn't feel scared or embarrassed when Ms. Elina cursed Lollister and cried for Young Master Lescot. Instead, he said to the maid mildly, "She is just a poor mother who lost her beloved son. You must take care of her and hope that she can forget the sad past and return to her peaceful life as time goes by …"
The young maid felt that Baron Christon was too understanding. He was such a good man. If Baron Christon was willing, the young maid would be happy to spend a romantic and passionate night with the baron with her towering breasts and gentle embrace. In the middle of the night, the young maid was even considering whether she should knock on the door of Baron Christon's guest room. Unfortunately, Ms. Elina died of an acute illness, and the young maid and Baron Christon missed a wonderful night …
Fortunately, Baron Christon happened to be staying in Maple Forest Manor. Therefore, he was able to protect the scene of Ms. Elina's death as soon as he received the report from the guards. After a simple examination, he concluded that Ms. Elina probably died of a heart attack and learned about Ms. Elina's medical history. After the pharmacist arrived, he agreed with Baron Christon that Ms. Elina indeed died of an acute heart attack.
When Baron Christon returned to the Furious Bear City and handed the black folder to Lollister, Lollister threw it directly into the burning fireplace. Both of them knew that the black folder contained the report from the guards of Maple Forest Manor, and most of the reports were about Ms. Elina cursing Lollister. Lollister handed the black folder to Baron Christon, and Baron Christon decided to solve the problem once and for all. This was actually a sign of loyalty to Baron Christon.
Baron Christon got what he wanted. From that day on, he entered the upper echelons of the Norton Family and became Lollister's confidant. On the surface, he was the deputy director of the newly expanded Family Guard Office. Although he was promoted, he was still responsible for the criminal cases in the Norton Family's territory. However, secretly, he was the head of the most mysterious Internal Affairs Department in the Norton Family. He was directly under Lollister, and his status was on par with Tagger.
The page of Maple Forest Manor was turned over, and Lollister's memory of Maple Forest Manor became a distant memory. Although Maple Forest Manor was the origin of the Norton Family, Lollister preferred the situation that he had created. Therefore, when Krisya asked Lollister what he would do with Maple Forest Manor, Lollister answered without hesitation that he would keep it for now. After Harriles graduated from Dawn College, he would confer the title of Maple Forest Manor to him.
Harriles was the posthumous son of Lollister's elder brother who had died on the battlefield. Under the guidance of his stepfather, Knight Pacico, he grew into a very outstanding young knight. He had been studying at Dawn College for three years, and was deeply appreciated by the teachers and students. Lollister had always loved his nephew, and leaving Maple Forest Manor to Harriles was also an explanation to his deceased elder brother.
Krisya was satisfied with Lollister's answer. After adopting Wilward, the second son of Lollister and Elina, she made another request to Lollister, hoping that she could leave the Northern Lands. Kristia wanted to go to Makinohara Province to be the commander of the local garrison. Because the garrison was formed from the original First Regiment of the Family Armed Guards. Although Kristia had only been the temporary commander for a short period of time, she had developed feelings for it.
Lollister finally agreed to Krisya's request, but he objected to Krisya bringing Wilward to Mukono Province. Krisya said that Wilward should also see the vastness of the world and experience the hardships of the prairie. Only then could he grow into a man in the future. Since she had adopted Wilward, Lollister had no right to object. Lollister could only watch helplessly as Krisya walked away.
At the end of November, Lollister held another family work conference in Grizzly Bear City. This conference determined the development goals and priorities of the family for the next year. The administrative aspect was to settle the new immigrants who had migrated to the Northern Lands. They would be given land and houses so that the new immigrants could settle down in peace. The construction aspect was to rebuild the palace that had been delayed for two years due to the family's internal strife. At the same time, they would establish the garrison system and armed patrol force to improve the security of the family's territory.
The military aspect was to reorganize and reduce the family's armed forces. They would complete the work of the garrisons in various provinces and localities. The armed forces had to quickly integrate and perfect the new command and staff system. The main force of the family's armed forces would be upgraded faster. Baron Camorra had been appointed by Lollister as the chief of the armed forces. As for the reconstruction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Artillery Battalion, these were all in the dark and not in the open.
After the family work conference, Lollister could finally relax. This was mainly because winter had arrived. Other than the armed forces, the civil servants in the administrative system could basically be said to have a long holiday. Other than some summary and summary work, the rest was to prepare for a grand new year celebration. This was naturally handled by Fatty Shi and Spear, and Lollister did not need to be a busybody.
Anna and Maria were finally pregnant, but this made Princess Silvia and the two remaining concubines, Finagari and Daisy, unhappy. They began to exploit Lollister even more. Lollister also wanted to get them pregnant so that he could rest for a few months. However, after exhausting himself every night to settle the three of them, he still could not get what he wanted. He could only lament his bitter fate and continue to fight at night …
When it was almost the end of December, two uninvited guests arrived in the North. Lollister did not expect Duke Gammus and Duke Fisabulon to come all the way from the Mana Hill Plain to the North. Nominally, they were here to attend the Norton Family's New Year celebration, but in reality, the two Grand Dukes were ordered by the second prince to seek help from Lollister.
Only then did Lollister realize that he was busy pacifying the family's internal strife, reorganizing the family's armed forces, and rebuilding order in the family's territory. He had forgotten about the second prince and the Andinac Kingdom's army in the Mana Hill Plain. When asked about the situation at the front line, Duke Gammus and Duke Fisabulon's faces did not look good. This was because they realized that the second prince and the armed forces of the nobles had been dragged into a huge quagmire by the Trade Union. It was easy to get in, but difficult to get out.
Duke Gammus told Lollister dejectedly that since May of this year, the Trade Union had launched a total of five major offensive campaigns. The Andinac Kingdom had won three times and lost two times. However, these two defeats had caused the Andinac Kingdom to lose two fortress cities on the Mana Hill Plain, Credo City and Liet City. Currently, the second prince only had one fortress city left in his hands, Brovic City. This was the only bridgehead on the Mana Hill Plain occupied by the Andinac Kingdom's army. Once it was lost, the Trade Union's armed forces would be able to counterattack and enter the territory of the former Crimson Empire.
Lollister could understand Duke Gammus's bad mood. His family's only armed force was a heavy armor legion, so the second prince had given them the responsibility of defense. After the end of the five offensive campaigns launched by the Trade Union's armed forces, the Gammus Family's 45,000 heavy armor legion was left with just over 18,000 men. They had suffered heavy losses. This was almost equivalent to paying for all the wealth and spoils of war they had plundered in the Mana Hill Plain two years ago. To Duke Gammus, this was already a very unprofitable business, and he could not get out of it …
Grand Duke Fisabulon also smiled bitterly and told Lollister that it was not only Duke Gammus' heavy armor legion, but almost all the armed forces of the nobles who had participated in the war had suffered heavy losses. Duke Shahin's two light infantry legions had been completely wiped out, and Duke Filim's Pegasus Legion had lost two legs. Even Grand Duke Fisabulon's two legions, the reserve legions had almost re-recruited barbarian cavalry, and the third border ranger legion had also lost more than a legion.
Could it be that the second prince was deliberately depleting the armed forces of the nobles in the kingdom? Lollister began to have doubts. However, Grand Duke Fisabulon shook his head and told Laurist that the Second Highness had trained seven White Lion Legions of nearly three hundred thousand men. Other than the time when Laurist and the Storm Sword Sage were ambushed by the Commerce Alliance and suffered about forty to fifty thousand casualties, the rest of the White Lion Legions were engaged in a fierce battle with the Commerce Alliance on the Mana Hill Plains. After five battles, the Second Highness only had about three White Lion Legions left.
The casualties were too heavy. Grand Duke Fisabulon sighed. This year, the Andinac Kingdom's army had lost nearly 200,000 men on the Mana Hill Plain. Both the kingdom's army and the armed forces of the nobles had suffered heavy losses. If they could obtain victory after paying such a heavy price, they could still grit their teeth and persevere. However, it was difficult now that the armed forces of the Trade Union held the initiative and advantage on the battlefield. The Andinac Kingdom could be said to have won, but there was no hope of a ceasefire.
The armed forces of the Trade Union treated the Andinac Kingdom like the former Christen Empire, which had been their mortal enemy for a hundred years. They were resolutely unwilling to compromise with the second prince. Not only did they refuse to stop the war, but they also constantly mobilized troops and recruited new armed forces, sending them continuously to the Mana Hill Plain to participate in the war. Although they had launched five offensive campaigns and suffered more losses than the Andinac Kingdom, within a month, a large number of armed forces came as reinforcements, easily replenishing the lost forces and forming a suppressive force against the Andinac Kingdom.
"Did the armed forces of the Trade Union suffer heavy losses?" Lollister asked.
Grand Duke Fisabulon nodded and gave Lollister a very clear answer. Just as he had said, if the Andinac Kingdom suffered more than 200,000 casualties, then the armed forces of the Trade Union had launched five offensive campaigns and lost at least 300,000 men.
However, the problem was that the Trade Union had a large number of people, and they could afford the losses. They could even trade with the Andinac Kingdom with a casualty ratio of two to one. Especially after the Glass War, the Trade Union began to expand by annexing and became the country with the largest territory in Gallinthea Continent. At the same time, these annexed countries had not been at war for a hundred years and were overcrowded. Moreover, because of the exploitation of the former territories and nobles, they were extremely poor. With a little money, the Trade Union could entice a large number of young men to fight for them on the battlefield. Therefore, the Trade Union did not have to worry about a lack of cannon fodder.
However, it was different for the Andinac Kingdom. After seven years of civil war, and nearly ten years of war between various kingdoms and duchies, as well as the war launched by the second prince, the divided kingdoms and duchies of the former Christen Empire had long been exhausted. Otherwise, the second prince would not have accepted Lollister's harsh conditions in order to attack the four central duchies. It was precisely because of the conquest of the four central duchies that the second prince had the capital and manpower to re-arm 300,000 men to threaten the Trade Union. Unfortunately, the second prince's plan had failed. The Trade Union was unmoved by the carrot or the stick, and insisted on fighting to the death with the second prince.
To be honest, the second prince was now riding a tiger and could not back down. The Trade Union could afford to lose their armed forces, but the second prince could not afford to lose any more. He had already ordered the only remaining Royal Guards in the kingdom to join the battlefield. If the 100,000 men he had and the armed forces of the nobles were all killed in the Mana Hill Plains, the Trade Union could even march straight into the Andinac Kingdom, all the way to the Delemark and Winston Provinces. By then, the Andinac Kingdom would be finished.
If the Trade Union was willing to stop the war, the second prince was even willing to give the recovered Armenia and Marivia Provinces to the Trade Union in exchange for a truce and peace. He could not afford to fight such a war where he would lose 60 or 70% of his own forces, so he sent Duke Kempis and Duke Fisablon to the north to ask for help. As long as Lulist agreed to send reinforcements, the second prince was willing to give the Yungshandla province to the Norton family as well.
Lollister could not help but laugh. "What do I need the Yungesandra Province for?"
Duke Kempis reminded him that Lollister and the Grand Duke of Forendor had signed an agreement to jointly develop the Yungesandra Province, but the second prince had disrupted it. The second prince had promised the Grand Duke of Forendor that as long as he participated in the war against the Trade Union, he would allow him to move back to his original family's territory, Perorina Province. Therefore, the joint development of the Yungesandra Province had been put on hold indefinitely. The Norton Family had spent half a year and a large amount of money on the investigation of the Yungesandra Province, but it was all for naught.
The second prince must have thought of this development plan, which was why he used the Yungesandra province as a condition for the Norton family to send reinforcements. This was because he had no other benefits to offer. This was really a desperate attempt to find a doctor in a desperate situation.
At this time, Duke Fisabulon mentioned a situation that caught Lollister's attention. Since the second half of this year, the Trade Union had many catapults and large ballistae that were similar to the Norton Family's. Although they were not as powerful as the catapults and ballistae of the Norton Family, they had the advantage in quantity. This was also the main reason why the Andinac Kingdom's armed forces still suffered heavy casualties despite being in a defensive position.
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