Azure sea, blue sky, sunny beach.
Laurist lay contentedly under the shade tent made of fine gray linen muslin, watching his wife and children play on the beach. This is life, Lolist thought to himself, trying his best to forget all the unhappy and troublesome things he had encountered in the imperial capital.
Duke Kempis walked over with a small wooden bucket filled with ice cooled with saltpeter, and two bottles of fruit wine in the middle of the ice. After sitting down beside Lolist, Duke Kempis took out two glasses from the barrel and opened a bottle of fruit wine. The amber-colored fruit wine was clear and translucent, releasing an enchanting fragrance in the transparent glass.
Passing a goblet to Laurist, Duke Kemus took a sip of the fine wine in the goblet and praised, "I really don't know how you managed to come up with so many wonderful ideas in your mind, to be able to create ice in such a hot summer. Drinking a glass of cold fruit wine in such weather is truly an unparalleled pleasure … "
Lolist did not say anything, only finishing the wine in the glass in one gulp. Then, he poured half a glass for himself, found two ice cubes from the barrel, and threw them into the glass.
It was the beginning of September. After attending the second prince's coronation in the imperial capital, due to some disputes with the second prince, the banquet ended on bad terms. Thus, Lolist, Kempis, Felim, and Shahin left the imperial capital with their guards the next morning without saying goodbye. They returned to Sirovas Island and met up with their families.
This was the white beach in front of the Overlook Manor. Compared to the platinum beach of the Kempis Family, this beach was much narrower, but it was enough for the families of the four dukes to play in the water. Looking at the frolicking crowd on the beach, Duke Gammus let out a deep sigh. He had invested a huge sum of money into the Platinum Beach in his family's territory, turning it into a summer resort for the entire kingdom. He was prepared to welcome a large number of nobles and their families to come and play every summer. Then, the second prince came and persuaded the nobles of the kingdom to send troops to fight against the Trade Union. In the end, after three years of bloody war, all the nobles of the kingdom suffered heavy casualties, and no longer had the mood to go to the Platinum Beach to escape the summer. Everyone stayed at home and licked their wounds …
"It's fine. Invite the nobles to Platinum Beach again next year. It's been five years, and they've forgotten what they should. Now that the empire has been revived, there shouldn't be any more wars in the next few years. Everyone will naturally go to your place when they have money in their pockets." Seeing Duke Gaimus staring at the beach in a daze, Lollister naturally knew what he was thinking.
"Ah, no …" Duke Gammus snapped out of his daze. "I'm not worried about that. I was just thinking about what His Majesty meant when he suggested reducing the army during the banquet."
After the coronation ceremony, the second prince held a grand welcome banquet in the palace to entertain all the nobles and their families who came to attend the ceremony. Although some unsatisfactory things happened before the ceremony, the coronation ceremony could be said to be a complete success with the efforts of the second prince. The satisfied second prince announced his policies for the next three years at the celebratory banquet. It was nothing more than focusing on internal affairs and the people's livelihood, increasing the empire's revenue, replenishing the treasury, encouraging businesses to vigorously develop mineral resources, and streamlining the administration …
The focus was on streamlining the administration. The second prince believed that the empire was now revived, so he planned to restore the previous empire's three-army system. This meant that the Royal Guards would guard the capital, the White Lion Legion would go on expeditions, and the Gale Legion would clean up the bandits within the empire. At the same time, a garrison would be established in each province under the direct jurisdiction of the royal family to suppress the local forces. In addition, the second prince planned to establish the Royal Knights again, and recruit the children of the nobles of the kingdom to become Royal Knights to serve the Chrison Royal Family …
These were actually the old systems of the Chrison Royal Family, and no one cared about them. For example, the Royal Guards, the White Lion Legion, and the Gale Legion were the former three standing armies of the Chrison Empire. As long as the second prince could afford to build a few more armies, no one could say anything. As for the Royal Knights, it was to provide a way out for the children of the nobles who could not inherit the title and territory of the empire. During times of peace, to avoid disputes, these children could not even join their own families' armed forces to avoid confusion and threats to the heirs of the family. For example, Lollister's second uncle, who had died on the battlefield, was the former deputy commander of the Chrison Empire's Royal Knights.
However, what the nobles didn't expect was that after they finished talking about the standing army system, the second prince proposed a disarmament proposal. He said that now that the empire was reviving and peace was in sight, the nobles in the territories of the empire shouldn't continue to expand their family's armed forces. Instead, they should invest their limited money into the development of their territories. Therefore, he suggested that the nobles of the empire should reduce their armed forces and discuss the establishment of a common armed force system to limit the size of the armed forces of the nobles.
The second prince believed that a baron of the Empire could establish two or three hundred-man teams as his family's armed forces. A viscount could have five hundred men, a count could have a thousand-man army, and a marquis of the Empire could have three thousand men at most. As for a duke, he could establish a small armed force or a small armed force. For example, he could reduce the current 45,000 men army to four small armies of 6,000 men, plus a thousand-man team responsible for logistics. This way, the total number of people in the army would be around 25,000.
The second prince emphasized that this was for the sake of the nobles' wallets. After all, in times of peace, maintaining a large armed force was a huge expense and burden for any noble. The second prince believed that reducing the expenditure on armed forces would help the nobles to better develop their territories and enjoy a better life. As for the bandits and roving bandits that were entrenched in various places, the empire would vigorously eliminate them after the establishment of the Gale Legion. The nobles wouldn't have to bear the responsibility of suppressing the bandits themselves.
The second prince bemoaned the state of the universe. The three years of bloody battles on the Mana Hill Plains had caused almost all the nobles of the Empire to suffer many casualties. Therefore, reducing the military expenditure of the nobles was the Empire's compensation. In the future, the three standing legions of the Empire would be responsible for all external campaigns, and the nobles' families' armed forces would be responsible for guarding their respective family territories. Unless the Empire was threatened with destruction, the second prince would not summon the nobles' armed forces to the battlefield.
As for the disputes between the nobles, the second prince expressed that he didn't want to see such a war between the nobles. If there were any conflicts, they could be submitted to the noble court for a ruling. After all, starting a war would not be worth it for everyone. Regardless of whether they won or lost, the three standing armies of the empire might intervene in such a war to quell the conflict and wait for the noble court to make a ruling on this war.
All the nobles who participated in the celebratory banquet focused their attention on the three Grand Dukes, Laurist, Fisablen, Kemus, Felim, and Shahin. Everyone knew that the strength of the armed forces of the Norton Family surpassed that of the empire's armed forces under the second prince's command. Even if the second prince formed the three standing armies of the empire, it would still be difficult to contend against the armed forces of the Norton Family. If the armed forces of the three Grand Dukes of the Northern Four Family Alliance were added, it would be enough to sweep through the entire empire. Even if the second prince joined forces with the Fisablen Family and the armed forces of the other nobles of the empire, they would still not be able to withstand the armed forces of the Northern Four Family Alliance.
It was obvious that the second prince's suggestion to reduce the armed forces was targeted at the Northern Four Family Alliance, which was led by the Norton Family. To the other nobles of the empire, the second prince's suggestion didn't matter much. Even Grand Duke Handa, Grand Duke Forendo, and Grand Duke Sabaji were more in favor of the second prince's suggestion. Just as the second prince had said, the suggestion did indeed reduce the burden on their armed forces. They didn't need to maintain the armed forces of their families at full strength. Even if they received the second prince's summons in the future, they wouldn't need to send so many people to assist in battle.
Perhaps because he had already discussed this with Grand Duke Fisablen, he stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the Fisablen Family firmly supports Your Majesty's suggestion to reduce the armed forces. I am willing to return the Border Ranger Army to the empire's military system and be under Your Majesty's command."
Sly old fox! Who knew how many nobles of the empire cursed inwardly at this moment. Anyone with a brain would understand that this old fellow Grand Duke Fisablen was showing off after getting what he wanted. Although the Border Ranger Army wasn't one of the three standing armies of the empire, it was still a rather famous armed force of the empire. It was originally formed to deal with the plundering of the grassland barbarian tribes in the northeast. The correct definition of the Border Ranger Army was that it was a local armed force.
However, during the plundering of the grassland barbarian tribes, the Border Ranger Army had fallen into the hands of the Fisablen Family and became their armed force. Currently, the Border Ranger Army consisted of the first and second army with nearly eighty thousand men. They were the main armed force of the Fisablen Family. Loriste had established the family's Hunting Cavalry Army and deployed them in the Makino Province. Their main purpose was to defend against and deal with the Border Ranger Army.
When Grand Duke Fisablen said that the Border Ranger Army would return to the empire's military system, it meant that the Border Ranger Army would have forty-five thousand men and be a local armed force of the empire. Their pay and equipment would be provided by the provinces in the northeast region. They weren't considered Fisablen Family's armed force. Therefore, although Grand Duke Fisabulon had put it nicely and said that they would be brought back under the command of the Second Highness, in reality, the entire army was still in the hands of Grand Duke Fisabulon.
The old fellow's idea was beautiful. He would pull out one Border Ranger Army and convert the other into an armed force of the Fisablen Family. It was just a name change. In reality, both armies would still be under the control of the Fisablen Family. Moreover, this way, the Fisablon Family would only have to pay for the armament of a legion, while the cost of the Ranger Legion would be split among the various regions. This would greatly reduce the family's burden, and more resources would be provided to the family's garrison legion and the reserve legion formed by mercenaries, consisting mainly of elite grass-barbarian cavalry.
The second prince smiled and nodded, "Grand Duke Fisablen is loyal to the empire and doesn't remember his mistakes. That's worthy of admiration. How about this? I remember that the military expenses and equipment of the Border Ranger Army were split among the three provinces, Makino Province, Winston Province, and the South Province. Then let's follow the previous example. In the future, the Grand Duke will be responsible for the budget of the entire Border Ranger Army. You'll get the funds from the three provinces according to the ratio in the past. "
This was like giving the Four Families Alliance a hard time! Back then, Makino Province, Winston Province, and the South Province were the hardest hit by the grassland barbarian raiders. Because of this, the three provinces proposed to form a Border Ranger Army to guard against the grassland barbarian raiders. The military expenses would be split among the three provinces. But now that the Border Ranger Army had fallen under House Fisablen's control, the South and Winston provinces were no longer threatened by the grassland barbarian raiders. However, as the Border Ranger Army became House Fisablen's armed corps, the agreement to split military expenses had long since become invalid.
Now, the southern province had become the territory of the Philip family, and the Winston and Makino provinces had also become the territory of the Norton family. Now, the second prince was using the banner of returning to the empire's military system to have the three provinces share the military expenses of the Border Ranger Army. It was obvious that he was trying to disgust the Four Families Alliance by using his own money to train his opponents' armed forces. Yet, he made it sound so righteous. It really was hard for the second prince to put in so much effort.
Duke Filim slammed the golden cup in his hand on the table and stood up angrily, "That's impossible! The Border Ranger Army was formed to deal with the grassland barbarians. Are the grassland barbarians still a threat now? The Border Ranger Army has become House Fisablen's armed corps. Why should we pay for it? "
Laurist sighed and stood up to quell Duke Filim's anger, "The South Province wasn't Duke Filim's territory back then, so it's normal to share the military expenses. But now that it's Duke Filim's territory, it's no longer appropriate to share the Border Ranger Army's military expenses with the South Province. How about this, Your Majesty, Duke Fisablen, the Norton Family is willing to take over the Border Ranger Army's military expenses. We guarantee that the Border Ranger Army won't run out of money … "
The second prince was overjoyed, "Brother Locke is so understanding. You're willing to serve the empire."
Duke Fisablen was delighted as well, "Is Duke Norton speaking the truth? You can't go back on your words in front of so many nobles … "
"Of course, I'll keep my word." Laurist nodded, "Apart from military expenses and daily expenses, the Norton Family is also willing to provide the Border Ranger Army with complete equipment. However, this will require the Border Ranger Army to be reorganized in Norton Family territory. They'll also be trained according to the characteristics of the equipment. Everyone knows that the Norton Family's armed forces are unparalleled. We're willing to impart our training and battle experience to the Border Ranger Army without reservation. We only need half a year, and we guarantee that we'll return an elite Border Ranger Army to Your Majesty. "
Duke Fisablen's face paled. If they were brought to the Norton Family for half a year of training and reorganization, would the Border Ranger Army still listen to him? They'd become a part of the Norton Family's armed forces, eating, using, and even getting their pay from the Norton Family. Would they still listen to anyone else? Only an idiot would send the Border Ranger Army to the Norton Family's territory …
The second prince understood this as well. Laurist only needed to say a few words to resolve the problem. "Let's discuss this later. There's no rush now. Right, Brother Locke, what do you think of my suggestion to reduce the army? Now that the empire is at peace, the Norton Family doesn't need to maintain so many armed forces. I think the Norton Family can reduce the four family armies to two, or even just one. "
The dagger was revealed! Laurist shook his head. "Your Majesty, I regret to say that I cannot agree to your suggestion. This will affect our family's deployment plans. "
"Deployment plans?" The second prince was shocked. "Where else does the Norton Family want to conquer?"
"It's not a conquest, Your Majesty, you don't have to worry at all." Laurist said, "In the next phase, the Norton Family is preparing to expand into the Demonic Dragon Mountains and the barbarian plains further north. We're preparing to establish a province in the north and open up new territory for the empire. Right now, two of the family's four armies are preparing to head north. Another will be stationed in Muino Province to guard against the barbarian tribes, and the last to guard the north. In fact, our family's military strength is very tight. We might need the help of a few grand dukes' armed forces … "
The dukes Laurist was referring to were Duke Kempis, Duke Filim, and Duke Shahin. This would put an end to the second prince's plan to force them to reduce the family's armed forces.
The second prince's face was ashen. He thought that Laurist was making up an excuse to refuse to reduce the family's armed forces. But after taking a few deep breaths, he forced himself to calm down. "Right, Locke, since you don't want to reduce the family's armed forces, I won't force you. But shouldn't you change the name of your guard corps? After all, it has the same name as my royal guard corps. People might gossip … "
Laurist laughed. "Alright, Your Majesty. As you wish, from today onwards, our family's guard corps will be called the Guardsmen."
To Laurist, it didn't matter what the corps was called. Since the second prince was afraid of changing the name of the guard corps, he would change it to the Guardsmen. It was simple and easy to remember. But he didn't expect the second prince to fly into a rage as soon as he said the name of the Guardsmen. He kicked over the table in front of him and turned to leave the hall. The joyous banquet ended on bad terms.
When he left the palace, Laurist was still confused, and he was a little angry. Is His Highness going to turn against me? How dare he!
Duke Kempis laughed heartily. "Locke, you're really something. If I knew you were going to change your name to the Guardsmen, you might as well not have changed it. This is a huge slap to His Majesty's face … "
"No, I still don't understand. Why can't it be called the Guardsmen?"
"Haha, have you forgotten? Back then, the Duke of Madras formed the Guardsmen with eight thousand men to defend Kebo City. The second prince's father, Prince Andinac, brought the entire royal guard corps with sixty thousand men to attack for more than six months, but to no avail. Instead, they lost more than half of their men, and only twenty thousand of them returned dejectedly. The situation in the empire changed drastically because of this, causing it to fall apart. Changing the name to the Guardsmen, isn't that a slap to His Majesty's face? It's obviously against his royal guard corps … "
Laurist was speechless. He didn't mean it, but the second prince must have thought that he did. The gap between them was getting deeper and deeper. But Laurist didn't want to explain, and left the imperial capital early the next morning.
Lying comfortably on the sand, Laurist said, "The other day, His Majesty's suggestion to reduce our army was actually a trap. He doesn't care if we reduce our family's armed forces or not. What's important is to determine the size of our armed forces. Once we're clear about the size of our armed forces, he can accuse us of having ulterior motives if we expand our forces. If we don't expand our forces, we can only ask him for help. When that happens, he can let the standing armies of the three empires interfere with the internal affairs of our family territories … That's what I'm guessing. "
Duke Kempis finished the fruit wine in his glass. "His Majesty has a lot on his mind right now."
"Of course …" Laurist nodded. "Without any external threats, His Majesty is now focused on our alliance of four families. Perhaps to him, our alliance is even more of a threat than the trade union back then. That's why we can't reduce our armed forces. We have to train constantly to maintain our fighting strength. Only then can we ensure the continuation of our families and the safety of our territories. "
… …
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