"Your Highness, we have to be prepared. I think the negotiation with the Trade Union might not go so smoothly …" Fatty Shi reminded after returning to the inner city.
Loriste nodded with a gloomy face. "I understand. Perhaps the Trade Union is still hoping to use Moronte City to drag down the Norton Family's armed forces. By sending people into Moronte City to incite the residents to riot, they can not only tarnish the reputation of the Norton Family, but also cause trouble for us and deplete our armed forces. "As long as the blades of our armed forces are stained with blood, we will naturally have a blood feud with the residents of Morent City. In the future, Morent City will become another city's battlefield.
"No one can stay in a city filled with enmity and hatred for long, until we can't take it anymore and start a massacre or are forced to leave. "The Trade Union is very likely planning this. They can easily reclaim Morent City without much effort. They don't need to care about the deaths of millions of residents because of them. In any case, they can push the blame onto our Norton Family. It has nothing to do with them at all …"
Lorist was really angry. Since the Trade Union had done this, he might as well do the same. At this moment, Lorist was wondering if he should choose a group of people from the upper echelons of the Trade Unions that had been captured and hang them to warn the others. For example, the Vice President of the Livord Trade Union and the 1st Rank Great Swordsman guarding the city were very good candidates. He believed that hanging them at the city gates would attract a lot of attention.
Fatty Shi coughed a few times at the side and successfully attracted Lorist's attention, "What's wrong with you? Did you catch a cold?"
"No …" Fatty Shi didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "I was talking to you just now, but you didn't seem to hear me …"
Lorist blushed, "Sorry, old friend, I was distracted just now. Can you say it again?"
"Hmm, what I mean is that we should perhaps be a little more patient. According to the itinerary, Viscount Penélope and the rest should have just arrived at Ma Weifulin Province. If the Trade Union is willing to respond to our negotiation, it will take another ten days for us to receive accurate information. As for the gift that Ledos gave us, I think it's very likely that it was arranged by the Trade Union when they retreated. They snuck into Moronte City to gather intelligence and carry out sabotage. They don't know that we're going to negotiate with the Trade Union to stop this war … "Fatty Shi analyzed.
"What you said makes sense. I'll order Tagger to interrogate these two people strictly. I'll make sure to interrogate them clearly even if they were naked when they were young. Before I receive an official reply from the Trade Alliance, I will be merciful and spare the lives of these scums. But if the Trade Alliance wants to negotiate with us while playing tricks, I will teach them a lesson that they will regret for the rest of their lives. Whichever merchant association sends people to Morrent City to wreak havoc, I'll hang all of their captive executives on the city walls to dry! At the same time, I will order Tagger to capture every spy sent by the Trade Alliance. Don't let them slip through the net! "Laurist said fiercely.
Fatty Shi shook his head with a smile, "Your Highness, if you want to catch a spy, without the cooperation of those local bullies of Moront City, Lord Tagger will only become a deaf and blind man, because he can't distinguish who is the real spy among more than a million residents. The meeting with Ledos gave me an idea. I still need time to investigate and consider to perfect this idea. Perhaps this idea of mine will not only help us get out of this predicament, but also bring us an unexpected harvest. I'll take my leave first. "
Laurist was very interested in Fatty Shi's idea. However, Fatty Shi left too quickly. The next day, he brought a group of civil officials to do some investigation. Two days later, when Laurist wanted to ask Fatty Shi for an explanation, he ran out of time again. This was because the second prince had brought the nobles of the Andinac Kingdom to Morrent City.
This time, the second prince led the nobles to ask Laurist to share some of the loot. After all, all the nobles of the Andinac Kingdom had united under his command and fought against the Trade Alliance's armed forces on the Mana Hill Plain for two years. Not to mention that all the families had suffered heavy casualties, at least they had put in a lot of effort. The Norton Family's armed forces had ambushed and occupied Morrent City, the most famous commercial city on the continent. When they ate until their mouths were full of oil, they should at least share a few bones with everyone. After all, eating alone was the most hateful.
Of course, the second prince would not directly tell Laurist to share the loot with everyone. If he did, he was worried that Laurist would be embarrassed. After all, Laurist was now the Guardian Sword Saint of the Andinac Kingdom. He was second only to the king, and could even overrule the king's policies. Therefore, the second prince and the nobles put on a bitter show at Laurist's welcoming banquet.
First, the second prince lamented the hardships of fighting the Trade Union's armed forces for the past two years. Then, the nobles started to cry about how poor they were in front of Laurist. They all talked about the heavy casualties of their families' armed forces, the huge losses they had suffered, and the predicament they were in. They all hoped that Laurist would be merciful enough to give them something to support them. After all, Morant City was overflowing with wealth, and the Norton Family should give them a share.
Laurist listened with a gloomy face as the nobles put on a sad show. He slammed the gold cup in his hand on the table. "Come with me!"
The second prince and the nobles were overjoyed. They thought that Laurist had been convinced and was ready to share something with everyone. In the end, Laurist led them to the meeting room. He called for the guards to bring over the inventory and account books of Morrent City and threw them in front of the second prince and the nobles. "Look at this yourself. Who said that Morrent City was overflowing with wealth and that there were gold fords everywhere? Go out and pick them up for me. The spoils are all here. In the name of the Norton Family, I guarantee that these account books and inventory are true. If there's anything you like, say it yourself! "
The second prince and the nobles were all dumbfounded. No one expected that the Norton Family, who had occupied Morrent City, would only have so little profit. Baron Shahin flipped through the account book and said cowardly, Isn't there still about four million gold fords? That's a huge sum of money!
A huge sum of money? Laurist slammed the table and cursed, "In order to defeat the Trade Union's invincible fleet, my family's fleet sank almost all the armed warships. Just this loss alone is no less than ten million. Even now, I don't know where to find the pension for the soldiers who died! You think that Morrent City is very rich? Look at this. My family's armed forces occupied Morrent City, and now I have to bear the responsibility of feeding 1.3 to 1.4 million citizens! I've suffered a great loss participating in this war! "
Laurist threw a large pile of investigation reports on the Trade Union's food and daily necessities rationing system to the millions of citizens in Morrent City to the second prince and the nobles. Duke Kemus flipped through a few pages and exclaimed, "Wonderful! This is practically making something out of nothing. Using promissory notes to replace the use of gold coins not only saves the loss and storage of gold coins in the market, but also effectively controls and monopolizes all aspects of the market …"
"Wonderful my ass!" Laurist said hatefully, "I've occupied Morrent City, and now all the trade unions in the city are gone. This bullsh * t rationing system is also finished. The livelihood of the millions of citizens in the city now rests on the shoulders of the Norton Family. I feel like I'm sitting in the crater of a volcano that's about to erupt.
Fortunately, His Majesty and you have come. I can hand over Morrent City and the five fortresses in the hands of my family's armed forces to His Majesty and everyone else. Everything will be under His Majesty's control.
Our Norton Family participated in this war to stop the bloody war between the Trade Union and our kingdom. Now that we've destroyed the invincible fleet and occupied Morrent City and the Mana Hill Plains, our goal has been accomplished. His Majesty will take charge of the rest of the negotiations with the Trade Union. The soldiers of the Norton Family hope to return to our family territory and to our loved ones … "
Laurist had even thrown away his integrity in order to shift the blame. He had completely forgotten that he'd written a letter to the second prince a few days ago to not cause trouble and ruin his plan to negotiate with the Trade Union. If the second prince was willing to take over the hot potato that was Morrent City, Laurist would thank the heavens. As for how the second prince would cause trouble in Morrent City, it was none of his business. It was better to leave as soon as possible and return to the Northern Lands to accompany his wife.
However, the second prince was not someone to be trifled with. He immediately smiled and expressed that Laurist was the kingdom's Guardian Sword Saint, and the Norton Family's armed forces were the kingdom's strongest fighting force. There was no one more suitable than Laurist and the Norton Family's armed forces to guard Morrent City and the Mana Hill Plains. As the king of the Andinac Kingdom, he had always regarded Laurist as his brother. He believed that everything Laurist did was out of loyalty to the kingdom and him, the king …
Therefore, the second prince immediately appointed Laurist as the frontline commander of the Andinac Kingdom in the Mana Hill Plains, in charge of all matters related to the war against the Trade Union. At the same time, Laurist was also the plenipotentiary ambassador for the negotiations between the kingdom and the Trade Union. All the terms of the negotiations would be decided by Laurist. The second prince had unconditional trust and support for Laurist.
To show his sincerity, the second prince also decided to give up the city of Broweyk Fortress that he occupied. Although he did not have much gold coins, the food stored in Broweyk Fortress could all be transferred to the Norton Family's armed forces …
Damn, Laurist did not expect to fall deeper into the trap instead of shifting the blame. However, the second prince's words were very reasonable. As the kingdom's Guardian Sword Saint, and the Trade Union also had a Sword Saint, if he did not guard the frontline, who would? Other than Laurist, no one could stop the sudden attack of the Storm Sword Saint.
Only a Sword Saint could stop a Sword Saint. Or, like in the past, the Trade Union used dozens of Great Swordsmen and hundreds of Gold-tier Swordsmen to kill the former Crimson Empire's Sword Saint. However, the price they would have to pay was too high for anyone to bear. This was also Laurist's duty and obligation to the kingdom as the Guardian Sword Saint. He had to guard the frontline against the enemy's Sword Saint.
As long as Laurist was at the frontline, the Storm Sword Saint of the Trade Union could not enter the Andinac Kingdom to attack other nobles or His Majesty. This was because if he did so, Laurist would also attack the upper echelons of the Trade Union. The upper echelons of the Trade Union would never want to exchange their lives for the life of a noble of the Andinac Kingdom, even if it was the second prince.
"Then where does His Majesty plan to station the troops after giving up Broweyk Fortress?" Laurist asked.
"With Sir Locke at the frontline, I can rest assured. After fighting with the Trade Union on the Mana Hill Plains for two years, the kingdom's nobles' allied forces are now exhausted and have no combat power to speak of. Therefore, I plan to disband the allied forces and let everyone bring their armed forces back to their respective families' territories to recuperate. I will also bring my troops back to the imperial capital. I haven't been back for three years, it's time to go back and take a look, "the second prince said affectionately.
Laurist was dumbfounded!
So the second prince was pushing the Norton Family's armed forces and Laurist to the front as a shield, while he himself wanted to slip away!
Just as Lollister was about to say that he didn't want to do this either and wanted to go home, the second prince grabbed Lollister's hands and pleaded, "Please, Loke. Everything depends on you. The situation now is very beneficial to our kingdom. Not only did the Trade Union lose the Invincible Fleet, but more than half of their 400,000 armed forces have surrendered. They even abandoned Morent City and the Mana Hill Plains. The unparalleled contributions that you and the Norton Family's armed forces have made will forever be praised and respected by future generations.
I believe that after this series of battles, the rulers of the Trade Union have realized the difference in military strength between them and our kingdom. There is a high chance that there will not be a major conflict and war between our two kingdoms. I believe that the Trade Union will negotiate with us as we hope. If that's the case, peace will not be far away.
Locke, please wait here for a while longer. You can return to the Northern Lands as soon as peace is restored after negotiating a truce with the Trade Union. After I return to the imperial capital, I will immediately gather a batch of food and send it to Morent City. I will not let your family bear the responsibility for the livelihood of the millions of people in Morent City alone … "
The second prince and the nobles of the Andinac Kingdom only stayed in Morent City for half a day and one night before leaving in a hurry. They left faster than they came. Of course, Laurist did not let them return empty-handed. The luxury goods seized from the inner city became their personal souvenirs for their trip to Morent City. Laurist was quite thoughtful about this.
However, after the second prince left, Laurist fell into deep distress. Why couldn't he be as decisive as the protagonists in the web novels in his previous life? After a few words of praise from the second prince, the nobles flattered him, but in the end, they still accepted this arduous and unrewarding task. It seemed that he really did not have the fate of being a protagonist. Even if he became one of the top sword saints in the Galinthea Continent, he was still a commoner!
After lamenting for a long time, Laurist looked up and found that Fatty Shi had entered the study and was sitting on the sofa with a bottle of fruit wine in his hand.
"Ah, when did you come in? Where have you been these days? "Laurist asked.
Fatty Shi continued to drink two more mouthfuls of wine before answering, "When you were lying on the table just now, I thought you were asleep, so I didn't wake you up."
Fatty Shi handed a document to Laurist, "Take a look, this is the idea I had a few days ago …"
Laurist opened the document and jumped in shock after reading two pages, "What? You want to create another Trade Union? "
…
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