"Do you think our family should agree to His Majesty's request and send troops to help?" Laurist did not make a decision in front of Duke Gammus and Duke Fisablun. He only said that he needed to think about it. After settling the two dukes, he immediately summoned a few of the family's higher-ups to discuss His Majesty's request.
"Is there a need to ask? Your Highness, since the Trade Alliance is so insensible, then let's go beat them up and snatch a bigger one! " The first to reply was Ferocious Tiger Ross. There was no need to think about his answer. He was a battle maniac, and he would be happy as long as there was a fight.
"No! I don't think so. His Highness's life or death has nothing to do with us. Even if they are defeated, I don't think the Trade Alliance will extend their hands to our family's territories. I don't think it's worth it for the Norton Family to sacrifice our loyal soldiers for His Majesty's dream and throne. Moreover, His Highness has just said that the current battle situation in the Magical Hill Plain is like a meat grinder. If we go to help His Highness, we might also fall into this big quagmire. At that time, it will be very difficult to escape … "
The one who disagreed was Fatty Shi. He never had a good impression of His Majesty, and had even said that without His Majesty, the Norton Family would develop faster and better. But Laurist was helpless. After all, the ancestors of the Norton Family had served the Chrison Royal Family, and were famous for their loyalty to the empire's nobility. They were only loyal to the second prince because he was the only legitimate heir of the Chrison Royal Family. In this Otherworld, where the family's reputation was more important than anything else, Laurist could not ignore this fact, and he would be condemned as a traitor.
Of course, Fatty Shi didn't object to helping the second prince out of disgust. His objection was reasonable and well-founded. "Your Highness, next year is a very crucial year for our family. The settlement of the new immigrants, the construction of the palace project, the expansion of the patrol system, the establishment of the armed forces, the reorganization of the main forces of several families, and the reduction of the local garrison corps will all take time to complete. Furthermore, our family's territory has just gone through a turmoil, and the people are still unsettled. We need Your Highness to stay in the north. Therefore, we can reply to Your Highness, please try your best to hold on for another year. After next year, it won't be too late for our family to send reinforcements to His Majesty … "
Laurist couldn't help but laugh. Fatty Shi was hoping that the second prince would be even more unlucky, but the problem wasn't just the second prince's problem, and he wasn't the only one who was unlucky. He was dragging all the nobles in the Andinac Kingdom down with him. After all, the Kempis Family, the Filim Family, and the Şahin Family were members of the Northern Alliance of the Four Families. Loriste could not sit back and watch his allies suffer along with the Second Prince.
"Bog, what do you think?" Lollister turned his gaze to Boddfinger.
Boddfinger frowned. "Your Highness, we still have to send troops. If His Majesty really can't hold on and retreats in defeat, I'm worried that the Trade Alliance's armed forces will march straight into our family's territory. That will be a fatal threat to us. Our enemies are just beyond the borders, so it's better to set the battlefield on the Mana Hill Plains.
But the Mana Hill Plain is too far away from our family's territory. If we were to travel thousands of miles to reinforce His Majesty the King and the others, it's highly possible that our family's armed forces would be dragged into the quagmire, just like what Baron Shredder said. "Especially since the Trade Alliance has obtained so many weapons and equipment blueprints from our family. Although those catapults and giant ballistae aren't as powerful as our family's weapons, they can still cause huge casualties …"
"Your Highness, just based on the fact that the Trade Alliance sent a Great Swordsman to assassinate you and steal the weapons and equipment blueprints designed by our family, we should send troops to teach these ungrateful merchants a lesson. We will let these despicable merchants understand that under the iron hooves of our family's armed forces, no matter how many troops they have, they will only be able to add a glorious victory record to our journey. "
Freya, the new commander of the Hunter Corps, stood up and spoke loudly. He was a little emotional. It was understandable. He had been the commander of the Royal Guard Corps for many years, and was in charge of local defense and logistics. Now that he finally had a chance to go to the battlefield, he did not want to let it go so easily. Moreover, this was also to take revenge on the Trade Alliance for their despicable actions against Lollister and his family's territory. Only by teaching the Trade Alliance's armed forces a deep lesson on the battlefield and beating them up badly would they understand that the raging bear of the Norton Family was not an opponent that merchants like them could easily provoke.
"Well said!" Roth the Ferocious Tiger applauded Freya's speech. It seemed like he was very happy to have another advocate for war.
Lollister glared at him, and Roth the Ferocious Tiger immediately put down his hands and sat up straight. However, he began to use his eyes and head movements to signal Genolio, who was standing by the door, to bring him another bottle of fruit wine to replace the empty bottle in front of him.
"What do you think, Supervisor Spear?"
"Your Highness, I think that Sir Bofinger is right. Rather than letting the Trade Alliance's armed forces defeat the allied forces of His Majesty and the nobles and spread the flames of war to the surrounding provinces under our family's jurisdiction, it's better to set the battlefield on the Mana Hill Plains. Even if we have to destroy something, it should be the Trade Alliance's territory. Therefore, I think that our family can agree to His Majesty's request for reinforcements. If Yungesandra Province develops according to our family's plans, it will also become a source of income for our family in the future, "Spear said calmly.
Woah, Lollister could not help but look at Spear in a new light. Spear, who had always been a miser, actually had such foresight. It was really surprising.
"Of course, since His Majesty has requested our family to send reinforcements, he only agreed to include Yungesandra Province as a new territory under our family's jurisdiction. He did not give us any other rewards or subsidies. Therefore, our family will have to bear the costs of sending our armed forces, such as logistical supplies and compensation for the casualties. This will be a huge sum, and it will be a huge burden for our family. Therefore, I hope that the reinforcements can be like what Sir Roth the Ferocious Tiger said, looting more valuables from the Trade Alliance's territory to make up for our family's losses … "Spear continued to express her thoughts while stroking her goatee.
Laurist rolled his eyes on the spot. He knew that this old fellow did not have good foresight. Laurist had been dazzled by the Flying Tiger Army and Hunting Cavalry Army sweeping through the five provinces of the Mana Hill Plains and looting a large amount of wealth. Laurist was dreaming if he wanted to do it again! Did he not hear the report about the battle on the Mana Hill Plains that Lollister specially asked Tagger to do at the beginning of the discussion? In the past year and a half, the Trade Alliance's armed forces and the Andinac Kingdom's army under the command of the second prince had already turned the once prosperous Mana Hill Plains into ruins. Even if you want to loot, there must be a place for you to loot!
"Your Highness, this is what I think." Spear sensed the unfriendliness in Lollister's eyes and hurriedly tried to salvage the situation. "Since the battle between His Majesty's army and the Trade Alliance's armed forces revolves around the Mana Hill Plains' Brovic City, then our family's armed forces can bypass this location and go deep into the Trade Alliance's other provinces to loot. On the one hand, we can reduce the pressure on His Majesty, and on the other hand, we can loot and reduce the burden on our family. Isn't this the best of both worlds?"
Lollister was amused by Spear's words. What a beautiful dream, but was that even possible? He knew that Spear was a military idiot, but he did not expect her to be this idiotic. Why did he even bother to ask her for her opinion?
Although Fatty Shi was the highest executive of the Norton Family, he was no stranger to military affairs. Hearing Spear's self-righteous suggestion of the best of both worlds, he did not know whether to laugh or cry. He simply pulled the map of the Trade Alliance in front of him and explained to Spear, "Spear, your assumption is not valid. The consequences will only be worse."
"Last year, the Flying Tiger Legion and the Hunter Legion caught the Trade Alliance off guard. That was why they had such a great victory. At that time, the Andinac Kingdom had the upper hand on the battlefield. His Majesty the King was commanding his troops to attack the remaining fortress cities on the Mana Hill Plain, preparing to attack Moronte City. At that time, the Commerce Federation's top priority was to defend Moronte City.
You have to know that when the Flying Tiger Legion and the Hunter Legion swept through the five provinces around the Mana Hill Plains, they often encountered resistance and lost more than 20,000 men. You have heard Sir Tagger's report just now. After the Flying Tiger Legion and the Hunter Legion returned to the North, His Majesty sent Duke Filim's Pegasus Legion, Grand Duke Fisablun's reserve legion, and the Frontier Ranger Legion to take over the task of clearing the surrounding provinces and blocking the Trade Alliance's reinforcements.
But now, these three light cavalry legions have lost almost half of their men. The entire battlefield space has been compressed by the Trade Alliance's reinforcements, and they can no longer carry out mobile guerrilla warfare. The Trade Alliance's armed forces used the step-by-step method to weave a defensive network in the five provinces adjacent to the Mana Hill Plains. They also used the defense position of deep trench ramparts, combined with ballistae and catapults, so that the light cavalry could not use their mobility to penetrate the enemy's rear.
Of course, even if our family's Flying Tiger Legion and Hunter Legion penetrated deep into the enemy's rear, they would not care. Instead, they would use these deep trench ramparts to cut off the retreat of our armed forces and deplete our military strength. Then, when our armed forces do not have enough supplies, they would use the strategy of the army to defend to the death to trap us alive.
Therefore, even if we send the Flying Tiger Legion and the Hunter Legion to the surrounding provinces of the Mana Hill Plains again, the Trade Alliance would not be in a hurry. They might even seek to defeat the allied forces of His Majesty the King and the other nobles first and capture Brovic City. By then, our armed forces would be alone in the enemy's rear, unable to move an inch, and unable to retreat even if we wanted to. "
Fatty Shi's words were very simple. What he meant was to look at the map. Half of the large area from the central to the southern part of the continent was already the Trade Alliance's territory. Even the Titanic Mountains were surrounded by the Trade Alliance. Other than the Mana Hill Plains and the five provinces around it, there were still more than 30 provinces behind them. This was the reason why the Trade Alliance could become the largest country on the continent. This was their biggest reliance.
The Trade Alliance could use sufficient manpower, financial resources, and material resources to fight with the Andinac Kingdom until they toppled the Andinac Kingdom. Last year, when His Highness led the army to attack the Trade Alliance, the Trade Alliance did not react in time. But now, the Trade Alliance had mobilized the entire country, and the provinces in the south of the continent had sent a steady stream of reinforcements to the Mana Hill Plains. It was easy for a province to recruit more than 20,000 poor young men. Thirty provinces meant 600,000 soldiers. No wonder His Highness was in such a hurry to ask for help.
Fatty Shi's explanation made Spear a little embarrassed, but everyone else's faces did not look good. Even Roth and Freya, the Ferocious Tigers, who had been advocating for the war, looked grim. To the Norton Family, the Trade Alliance was an incomparably huge giant, a powerful enemy that was difficult to defeat. Whether it was high-end combat power, armed forces, financial resources, or material resources, the Norton Family could not compare to them, even if they added the entire Andinac Kingdom.
But if they did not send reinforcements to His Highness, it would be the Norton Family's turn after His Highness was defeated. Just as Bofinger had said, it was better to place the battlefield on the Mana Hill Plains than on the Norton Family's territory. Moreover, from the perspective of profits, the products produced by the Norton Family's territory were sold throughout the Andinac Kingdom through the Snow Salt Chamber of Commerce. Even if the Trade Alliance's armed forces did not invade the Norton Family's territory in the future, the Norton Family could not just close their doors and play by themselves. In another decade or so, even if Laurist was a Sword Saint, he would not be able to suppress the Trade Alliance's strategic advantage over the Norton Family's territory.
This was also what Laurist found difficult. Sending reinforcements to His Highness was necessary, but he could not throw the Norton Family's armed forces into the quagmire. If the Trade Alliance's armed forces were determined to fight a war of attrition, even if they could afford it, the Norton Family's armed forces would not be able to keep up!
"Your Highness, I've thought about it. Hit the snake where it hurts. Other than attacking here, we might be able to force the Trade Alliance to admit defeat and sign a peace treaty with the kingdom. There is no better way." Malek stood up and walked in front of the map with large strides. He pointed at the location of Moronte City and said loudly.
"Impossible!" Ferocious Tiger Ross blurted out. "We can't even reach Moronte City. Lord Tagger has already introduced the situation of the Mana Hill Plains. Other than the main road leading directly to Moronte City, the Mana Hill Plains are filled with man-made canals and irrigation canals. Now, there are also many tunnels dug and countless strongholds set up. Add to that the Trade Federation's abundant troops and countless catapults and ballistae, there's no way we can pass through the Mana Hill Plains to reach Morent City. Moreover, there are six heavily defended strongholds on the main road. Unless we take them one by one, we can only fly over them to attack Morent City. "
"We will not attack Moronte City by land," Malek said. Malek said, "Just now, Lord Tagger introduced that Moronte City is the headquarters of the commerce alliance. The main logistics and supply base, be it provisions or military supplies, are all set up in Moronte City. Even the reinforcements sent by the southern provinces and the Chigda Kingdom can only reach Moronte City by sea in the shortest time.
In that case, why don't we attack Moronte City by sea? Lord Sunbarwood has always boasted that his family's North Sea Fleet is invincible, and Your Highness has always thought so. Then we can dispatch the North Sea Fleet to destroy the invincible fleet of the Trade Alliance in Hidden Gold Bay. As long as we destroy the invincible fleet, our family's armed forces can land in Hidden Gold Bay just like how they landed in Haneabada Archipelago. You should know that Moronte City doesn't have any city walls on this side of Hidden Gold Bay … "
…
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
