April 30, 2515 of the Empire Calendar, the city of Örengrád.
The special envoy of Emperor Karl-franz, Count Clemens von Metternich, the Empire's diplomatic ambassador to Brittany, and also the chief observer of the northern war affairs temporarily appointed by Emperor Karl-franz. He rode into the city under the lead of the Old Guard's flintlock dragoons.
The square of Örengrád was full of Brittany troops. The knights formed several squares on both sides. The two battalions of the Old Guard and the Knights of the Holy Grail were in the center. Behind them were more than a dozen serf infantry regiments.
The deputy commander of the Old Guard, Nicolás Davu, shone with the light of the Lake Fairy, and his eyes were as bright as lightning.
"Everyone! Ready ~ "
"Salute!"
The Old Guard and the infantry regiments saluted together, followed by the knights led by the Knights of the Holy Grail.
Metternich was very well-dressed. From the width of the shoulders and waist of his coat, one could tell that his silk suit was tailor-made. His thick and naturally curly short hair was clean and tidy. Under the leadership of Davu, he quietly observed the Brittany troops who came to welcome him.
The more he observed, the worse Metternich's expression became.
All of them had beards, all of them were veterans! Their equipment was excellent, and they were full of murderous intent! And their morale was extremely high!
Upon closer observation, the Empire's ambassador found that most of the soldiers were around 25 or 26 years old, which was the golden age for military service! And these soldiers were only a small part of the Knight King's army. As everyone knew, Laing's army was only at the level of 50 soldiers for the expedition. This made the Brittany feel almost nothing.
Damn Brittany! They will become a huge threat to the Empire in the future!
Metternich had always been a great Empire loyalist. To put it simply, he wished that all the countries in the Old World other than the Empire would be destroyed. He had no choice but to admit that Knight King Laing and his army would become the greatest obstacle to the Empire becoming the overlord of the Old World.
At the same time, many citizens of Örengrád came out to watch. There were many things that needed to be done in this city, but their faces were filled with hope.
"It can be said that the citizens of Örengrád are liking the new Duma Parliament and the new Grand Duke Vladimir more and more." Nicolás Davu smiled at Countess Metternich, "This is a good thing for re-establishing order in Kislöw."
"Good thing?" Metternich said coldly, "Grand Duke? Who conferred it? Was it him or the Knight King and His Majesty Laing? Did he get permission from Her Majesty Katarín? Can this kind of conferment count? "
"This is the choice of the people of Örengrád." Da Wu was at a loss for words. After all, he was a soldier. After thinking for a while, he could only choke out, "We can only respect."
"A referendum can represent the will of the people?" Metternich sneered, "I am now very suspicious. How much of the so-called chivalry do you Brittany have left?"
Davu's expression was very ugly. As an old guard of the Holy Grail and the deputy commander of the Old Guard, he felt insulted and doubted, so he did not plan to speak properly, "Lord Metternich, I think you must not know, right?"
"Know what?" Metternich had a bad feeling in her heart.
"Her Majesty Tsar has been defeated. Just upstream of Fortanharf, more than 33,000 White Guard have died." Davu also sneered, "Now, we can say that not an inch of Kislöw's land is under her control. Lord Metternich, the people need a hero. What do you think?"
"I don't want to talk to you. I want to see His Majesty Laing!" As expected, the Empire's special envoy's expression changed drastically. He wanted to rush directly to the Knight King's tent.
The two Old Guard standing guard immediately put down their halberds and crossed them, "His Majesty and the Dukes are in a meeting!"
"Please wait outside, Lord Metternich." Davu's attitude also became firm, "Wait a moment. His Majesty will receive you as soon as the meeting is over."
"… Alright." The Empire's special envoy could only agree. Davu quickly gave the Old Guard a look, and the guard immediately understood, "His Majesty is in a meeting. You can't go in! Please wait a moment, Lord. "
"Who's making such a ruckus outside?" A graceful and elegant voice with a Nur accent sounded from the side, "Oh, it's Metternich? Karl actually sent you to such a cold place? "
"Metternich greets the respected and beloved Countess!" Metternich dared to put on airs in front of Davu because of his status as the Empire's special envoy. He could not show any weakness or flattery, but in front of Countess Emmanuelle, he could only kneel and salute, "I've brought Emperor Karl-franz's blessings and greetings. May I ask if everything is alright, Countess?"
"Yes, I'm fine." Laing's maid couldn't help but smile, "Come in and talk."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Davu couldn't help but laugh at Metternich's sudden change of attitude. He thought about it and decided to go into the tent himself.
Inside the tent, Knight King Laing, Witch of the Lake Morgiana, Duke Berchemund, Duke François, Duke Lauen, and the Old Guard's Commander Bertrand were sitting together for a meeting. Talleyrand stood behind Laing and listened. Duke Hagen was injured and absent, so Jerrold stood in front of the map and explained everything.
"It's just as His Majesty, Sir Berchemund, and my cousin (François) predicted." Jerrold held the battle report and said, "Female Tsar and her White Guard suffered a devastating defeat upstream of Fortendorf."
"On the night of April 20th, her army was building a pontoon bridge on the opposite bank of the city of Rachhof in the Upper Tarabek River. They were preparing to cross the river. I have to say, the pontoon bridge that we could build in one or two hours took them an entire night. After the pontoon bridge was repaired, the 20,000 White Guard took half a day to cross the river. The vanguard had already exchanged fire with the Army of Chaos."
"The battle started very smoothly at first. After all, the main forces of Chaos had already been destroyed in Örengrád, Becafen, and Wolfenburg. The rest of the White Guard's forces were only a few small fries. Although the White Guard had collapsed several times, in the end, under Katarina's personal command, magic help, and … um … the Old Guard's leadership, they still managed to drive the enemy army led by Zainaik out of the ruins of Rachhof. Victory was very close to Katarina."
"The Old Guard?!" Berchemund was puzzled. The old duke waved his hand and said, "I remember that the Old Guard was standing guard outside the door, Jerrold?"
The old duke did not say anything, but in his heart, he was very envious of Laing for having such a powerful army. His Red Dragon Guards were still not mature enough.
"Uh, I mean, Her Majesty Katarina also built an Old Guard to replace the Karim Guards that she had lost. The soldiers will be selected from the White Guard. They must be tall and handsome, and their equipment will be standard equipment from Nur." Jerrold sounded a little helpless. "Okay, let's change the name. Romanov Guards."
"Go on, Jerrold, go on." François gestured for Jerrold to continue. Duke Winford looked at his son-in-law and saw that Laing was frowning as he looked at the map, thinking about something. Morgiana, who was beside him, looked like she was daydreaming. Duke Winford had no choice but to say, "Go on."
"The White Guard that had already crossed the river was supposed to chase after the remnants of Zainaik's army. However, this army that lacked training and discipline disbanded on their own. The reason was that there were a lot of barbarian camps in Rachhof, and there were a lot of loot and resources there. The White Army soldiers soon lost their formation and vigilance and began to loot."
"At that moment, a few barges filled with heavy objects and explosives suddenly came down from upstream and destroyed the White Guard's fragile pontoon bridge in an instant! At that moment, the White Guard was completely disconnected. "
"The White Guard didn't notice it at first until a new Kurgan cavalry appeared from the forest and charged at them. The moment the cavalry clashed, the White Guard almost collapsed. The army on the other side of the river was still trying to repair the pontoon bridge, but they soon saw the 20,000 troops that had already crossed the river fall into chaos and were completely crushed by the Kurgan cavalry. Zainaik's army then regrouped and counterattacked. The White Guard on the north bank fell into a bitter battle, and the White Guard on the south bank lost their morale and became a mess."
"At this time, General Bagramyan, who was at the rear, tried to stabilize the situation and ordered the soldiers to repair the pontoon bridge as quickly as possible. Hundreds of White Guard were forced into the water to repair the pontoon bridge, and most of them froze to death. At the same time, the Romanov Guards' commander, Semyonov, personally led the last of the cavalry to charge at the Kurgan cavalry. He was killed in the battle, and almost all of the cavalry were killed."
"But this bought time for the White Guard on the other side of the river to redeploy. The Romanov Guards showed amazing bravery and determination to block the charge of the Kurgan cavalry, even though they lost more than half of their men."
Laing nodded after hearing this. Knight King thought for a moment and said, "It seems that our female Tsar has learned something from me."
"But everything ends here." Jerrold continued, "Just when the battle was in a stalemate, more than 300 Kurgan cavalry suddenly appeared on the south bank of the river. They secretly crossed the Upper Tarabek River under the leadership of Kurgan Khan and appeared behind the White Guard on the south bank!"
"When the White Guard on the south bank saw the Kurgan cavalry appear behind them, they mistakenly thought that a large group of Kurgan cavalry had successfully crossed the river and were about to attack them from both sides. They completely collapsed and fled in all directions. The White Guard on the north bank also collapsed after seeing this scene. The worst thing was that the female Tsar escaped under the protection of the Ice Guards. Once again, she used her magic to create an ice bridge on the river and abandoned her people."
"On the north bank, thousands of soldiers rushed to the only pontoon bridge in an attempt to retreat. Hundreds of people were trampled to death. More soldiers jumped into the water and tried to wade across the river. However, there was a large amount of floating ice in the river. There was no doubt that they were doomed. In the chaos, the White Guard forgot to destroy the pontoon bridge that had just been repaired. This directly allowed the Kurgan cavalry and Zainaik's Army of Chaos to directly cross the river and pursue them."
"The tragic massacre lasted for a day and a night. After the Kurgan cavalry and Zainaik's army plundered the White Guard's camp on the south bank, they chased the White Guard for more than ten kilometers until they approached Fortanharf. When the Empire's garrison came out to support them, they stopped the pursuit and retreated. After the battle, the White Guard suffered more than thirty-three casualties, leaving only sixteen thousand. Katarín's Romanov Guards lost more than four thousand people. The second regiment was completely wiped out, and the third regiment only had sixty people left. The road of more than ten kilometers was covered with Mrs. Kiesler's corpse. Zainaik's Army of Chaos lost more than three thousand people, while the Kurgan cavalry reportedly only lost more than a hundred people. Now, the Army of Chaos has completely withdrawn."
"That's all." Jerrold finished his long speech and could not help but gasp for breath. He picked up the cup and drank water.
Everyone in the tent looked at each other and sighed helplessly. Everyone looked at Laing and waited for Knight King to speak.
"In fact, there were not many problems with this battle." Laing thought for a while. Knight King clenched his fist and put it on the table. He sighed and said, "The real reason for the failure was the absolute low quality of her army. In fact, if it were me, we should not have fought this battle at all. When the quality of the army is so different, we should avoid contact with the enemy as much as possible."
"Then what should we do now? The White Guard has basically been wiped out. After such a failure, this army is no longer useful. " Berchemund still considered the problem from a military point of view as usual. "An army can fail, but it can't suffer such a devastating defeat when it has just been formed."
François considered the problem from an internal perspective. "Your Majesty, do you still plan to help Kislöw reclaim its homeland? I think the current situation is enough. The army is starting to get tired, and many people want to go back home. "
Royal Regent Lauren hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, how should we deal with Marshal Rokossovsky? Do we need to pay him? "
Laing pondered the problem. Knight King shook his head first. "Kislöw's homeland cannot be reclaimed for now. We do not have enough soldiers, but I plan to restore the northern border of Örengrád. At the very least, we must open up trade with Lone Dragon City!"
"Lone Dragon City!" Everyone in the tent did not want to continue fighting, but when they heard the words' Lone Dragon City 'and' trade ', everyone, including Berchemund, could not help but feel tempted. The profits from trading with Lone Dragon City were just too great.
"Then, should we let the Empire participate? That little maid of yours? " François could not help but ask. His father-in-law was the most sensitive when it came to profits. "This is a huge piece of cake!"
"Can we Brittany eat it ourselves?" Laing heard François's words and knew that his father-in-law wanted to take it all for himself. Knight King simply said, "Transit trade requires enough channels. Without Nur, we can't handle so much. We still need to let the Empire participate."
Everyone could not help but nod. Indeed, there were 100,000 dwarves in Lone Dragon City. It would be difficult for them to handle such a large share of the trade. The ideal partner to cooperate with the Empire was Emilia. The Nur's products had always been Brittany's favorite. Although the price was a bit higher, the quality was top-notch. Emilia had ordered every blacksmith to carve their name on the weapons they produced. Whoever caused problems would be responsible.
Who would not benefit from it? It would be better to let the Nur earn it.
"Then, what about Rokossovsky?" Laing asked, "Are we really going to do as Tsar said and pay 2000 crowns for his status as a death row criminal?"
“2000？” Laing snorted and gestured a number. "500, no more. Also, tell her that if she wants money, she has to release Constantine's citizenship so that we can get him Brittany."
"That's a little harsh …" Jerrold could not help but say.
"It is." Laing's expression turned cold. Knight King stood up. "But I think Tsar no longer has the power to force anything. Useless. We gave her a chance to continue being Tsar, but she didn't cherish it. Now, Örengrád no longer needs puppets."
Everyone in the tent couldn't help but laugh. After Katarina used up her last bit of capital, she was already a girl who could be dressed up by anyone.
"Alright, let's end the meeting here."
"Let me see Emperor Karl-franz's envoy and see what he wants to talk to me about."
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