Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence
Thinking of this, Mozo couldn't help but smile at Wei Erdani:
"Ms. Verdani."
"Um?"
Mozo originally wanted to tell the other party about this matter, but when the words were on the tip of his tongue, he swallowed them back because the matter was still uncertain, so it would be better not to tell the other party to avoid being overjoyed.
"Ah, I want to ask you what you think of the Riverlands. I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. Although I am the lord of the Riverlands, I still don't know what it is like there."
Speaking of this, Wei Erdani smiled and said:
"I think it would be best if you go and witness this in person. But I can tell you responsibly that the Hejian Territory is a very rich and prosperous land."
"In that case, I'm really looking forward to it!"
-
Soon, Mozo's airship arrived at White Castle.
After coming down from the airport, Verdani behind Mozo looked at the White Castle in front of him and couldn't help but raise her head and said:
"This city is the famous White Castle! It was built in the North under the personal supervision of Grand Duke Cromwell after he became the head of the Wolf Family!"
He pointed proudly at the anti-aircraft fortress on the city wall and said:
"These anti-aircraft forts, which were reserved from the beginning of construction, are still the ironclad evidence of the Archduke's foresight."
"You know, many of today's great cities have to destroy the blessing of their city walls because they want to rebuild them and set up anti-aircraft forts. But White Castle, a city built under the supervision of the Grand Duke, does not need that at all!"
"Because the Grand Duke foresaw that the sky would become a battlefield for mortals in the future!"
Obviously, as a descendant of Cromwell's guardian knight, Verdani also highly respects the Duke of the North.
This made Mozo, who was standing by, touch his nose in embarrassment. He built these anti-aircraft fortresses not because he had foresight, but because he took advantage of the "times".
As a time traveler, he is well aware that technological advancement will inevitably allow mortals to take to the sky, and air defense will then be an issue that must be considered.
What's more, the ancient concept of gliders had already existed three hundred years ago, so Mozo inferred at that time that the era when mortals could fly into the sky would soon be here.
I just didn't expect that people in this world would use extraordinary technology to build airships similar to aerial battleships, rather than backward things like hot air balloons and hydrogen balloons.
However, also because of the convenient extraordinary ability, the anti-aircraft guns subsequently developed in this world also have corresponding power.
Amid Verdani's endless introduction, the group successfully arrived at the rooftop garden of the White Castle, which was the temporary palace of Archduke Cromwell.
But now, this is no longer Cromwell's Duke's palace, but the Queen's temporary palace.
But the defender here is still the lion Gawain Seda.
In the Yongquan Square in front of the top-floor garden, the lion Gawain met Mozo.
In the Yongquan Garden, Mozo looked at the tall man in front of him with a little sigh in his heart. Unlike Queen Isabel, whose appearance had not changed.
Although the lion Gawain was still tall, Mozo clearly felt a sense of powerlessness from the other party. Fortunately, the other party seemed to be in very good spirits.
Except for some special sequences, demigods are only long-lived, not immortal. Moreover, before Gawain accepted his recruitment and became a vassal of the Wolf Family, he had been active in the North for many years.
Calculating the time, the other party’s life span is probably within these few years.
This was also one of the main reasons why Gawain was willing to meet the half-blind young man at that time. He didn't have many years to live, and he didn't want to die in such a depressed and helpless way.
He did not see the satisfactory answer promised by the Queen, nor did he restore the glory of the Wolf Family. But as time went by, he and the northern lords who took the lead in bowing to the Queen had lost the ability to rise up. Therefore, he urgently wanted to find an external force that could change the status quo.
Fortunately, the other party brought good enough news, and most importantly, last night, he saw with his own eyes a heavy snowfall that would never happen in the North.
The lion Gawain firmly believed that it was a sign of the return of the wolves!
So Gawain became more and more hostile to the tyrant of the Fog City, and by the way, he was also extremely dissatisfied with Mozo, the minion of the Queen. However, he also knew that this was not the time to turn against him.
Therefore, Gawain specially met Mozo in Yongquan Garden, a rather solemn place in the White Castle.
But what surprised Gawain was that he thought he would need to carefully restrain his hostility and anger when facing Mozo.
But when he actually saw the other person, he couldn't even feel the anger and vigilance he "should have".
This situation made Gawain a little confused, but he soon realized: This is indeed the tyrant's first step to completely divide the North!
The lion Gawain became more and more wary of Mozo in his heart.
After a period of formal greetings, the two sides came to the most important part of this meeting:
"I hope you will be able to stay in the garrison in the Riverlands for now."
79 Coincidence
As soon as these words came out, the lion Gawain was stunned for a moment.
There was even a moment when Gawain doubted whether he, a demigod, had heard it wrong.
Did he just say that he wants me to temporarily keep the soldiers stationed in the riverlands? ?
It is normal for there to be no imperial troops in the fiefdoms of powerful nobles, even if they are national territories of dukes.
Because the nobles' territory is purely a country within a country, there will be no soldiers from the suzerain state, only the lord's private soldiers.
Although these lords' private soldiers are also the suzerain's soldiers according to the consensus of all countries, they will not listen to the suzerain, that is, the emperor. They only listen to the command of their direct lord.
After all, it was not the emperor but the lord who paid the salary.
At the same time, the nobles could not tolerate a group of outsiders stationed in their territory, because that would be a real threat to themselves and their territory.
And now, this Viscount wants me to leave the soldiers in the Riverlands
After hesitating for a while, the lion Gawain said uncertainly:
"You want me to postpone the withdrawal?"
"Not just temporarily, I also hope that your soldiers can stay for a long time, at least until my own private soldiers are fully trained."
"Are you sure? We are not in a state of war right now, and there are no bandits in the North who would dare to attack the noble territory. Are you really sure that you want my soldiers to stay in your private territory for a long time under such circumstances?"
"Yes, and the military expenses will naturally be borne by me personally."
Mozo said with certainty.
Before coming here, Mozo asked the Queen about the current situation in the North. Her Majesty said:
"My child, if it were you, you would have unconditional trust in the soldiers of the North!"
Then, after he arrived, the Governor told him so bluntly that his current situation was not good, so much so that for his safety, the Governor even assigned a Sequence Five who represented the limit of humanity to serve as his bodyguard.
In this case, Mozo naturally did not dare to let Gao Wen withdraw the garrison in the river area. What if the garrison left and a group of well-equipped "robbers" robbed me right after
Sequence Five is very strong, but no matter how strong a Sequence Five is, it is still in the category of "human". As long as it is still a human, it is destined to be crushed by numbers.
And I don't know what Her Majesty the Queen and the Governor were thinking, they were all girls assigned to him...
Indeed, both Miss Jasmine and Verdani were excellent knights, but due to the difference between men and women, it was unlikely that they would be able to pay attention to Mozo's safety at all times.
At the moment, Mozo was still just a rookie at Sequence 10. His ability to protect himself was very limited.
Mozo clearly remembered that in the Dream Opera, the master and servant being of the same sex was the first rule for selecting a guardian knight. Otherwise, it would be inconvenient in many cases.
As a result, his two knights are now girls... .
However, the kings are generally keen on choosing women as their guardian knights or guardians.
Wait, is it possible that just like the issue of ceding land, the customs have changed again
Before Mozo could think about it, the lion Gawain on the other side said tentatively:
"Are you planning to turn the Northern Army into your own private army? If that's the case, then you can give up. This is impossible."
The people of the North cannot truly be loyal to the minions of a tyrant.
"Huh? No, I think you misunderstood. I just wanted to take precautions."
Mozo thought Gawain's idea was a bit strange and funny. He insisted that Gawain postpone the army's withdrawal because the other party would not switch sides.
Gawain still couldn't quite understand the Viscount's thoughts, but the other party's demands actually coincided with his own.
If the army could stay in the riverlands, then once the North decided to revolt, it would be able to quickly control the tyrant's lackeys.
This saves him from having to send extra people over.
Thinking of this, Gao Wen nodded readily:
"If you don't think there's a problem, then there's no problem on my side either. And if you're the one paying for the military expenses, then don't bother. They're soldiers from the North, so their salaries and supplies will naturally come from the North. But on the other hand, they're not your private soldiers."
"So unless something unexpected happens that harms the Riverlands, they will neither follow your instructions nor take any action."
"Of course I know that!"
Mozo replied with amusement.
I certainly didn't think about commanding the Empire's army. I just wanted to rely on them to prevent anyone from causing trouble.
And even if I could, I wouldn’t dare.
Local officials privately mobilized troops. Oh my God, if they did this, I would have to chop off several heads.
I'm not the Queen's son or man!
Just like that, with the two people's coincidence, the meeting ended happily.
During this time, the lion Gawain even warmly invited Mozo to have lunch with him. In the afternoon, he personally assigned a convoy to send Mozo and others to Hejiandi.
-
The Hejian Territory under the White Castle is a plain town built along the river. Because it is a man-made canal, the river that runs through the Hejian Territory is not always abundant, but is artificially decided whether to cross the river based on factors such as the direction of cargo transportation, season, and military needs.
When the sluice gates are closed upstream, the river is basically a stream where little girls can jump around. But once the sluice gates are opened, it becomes a river big enough to block an army's ground march.
Therefore, castles were built at both ends of the river to strengthen the defense properties and prevent anyone from forcibly crossing the river during war.
Of course, these are all wartime problems. In peacetime, the Riverlands is a prosperous town that can be found everywhere in the North.
In response to Mozo's arrival, the officials who were originally in charge of the management here also rushed to the entrance early to welcome Mozo's arrival.
After a welcoming ceremony of not too large a size, Mozo and his party walked into the city under the curious and slightly hostile gazes of the residents.
As they walked, the official who was welcoming Mozo said:
"My Lord, we have two castles in Hejian Territory, one large and one small. The total number of residents is 270,000. If we include the floating population, there are only about 300,000 to 400,000 people in normal times."
"But if the canal is in its peak season, the number will double, sometimes even reaching millions."
Mozo also nodded as he listened. This population number was very normal compared to a fantasy world with extraordinary powers.
In fact, if high-end power was not rarely used to improve people's livelihood, Mozo even felt that the population of this world could easily far exceed that of his previous life.
But then Mozo was in a dilemma. With so many subjects, what if something irresistible happened
How can I protect them?!
80 River Territory
For most lords, this may be an unnecessary worry. After all, even if an enemy country invades, they will not think of massacring the city for no reason.
But for Mozzo, it is very necessary, because the guys he messed with in the Dream Opera are not good people.
Many of the people in that group committed genocide casually, so massacring a city was just a piece of cake.
Therefore, after knowing that he would be the lord of a quasi-earl-level territory, Mozo had been thinking about how he should protect these innocent subjects if an irresistible enemy really came to him.
What he wanted most was to let the enemy know that he had already fled, so that they might come after him, instead of killing him. But considering that those people were evil to the core, even if he was not here, they would probably kill the city to vent their anger.
Therefore, Mozo began to think about running away with his people.
Through this kind of thinking, I gradually took a general idea to solve this problem, but whether it will succeed or not depends on fate.
And before that, he needs to retrieve the thing he hid nearby.
After thinking about this, Mozo asked the official who was talking in front of him:
"Excuse me, is there a detailed map of the area around the Riverlands?"
"Oh, of course! I'll get it for you when you get to the lord's house."
"There is one more thing I hope you can understand."
At this point, several officials looked at Mozo with some concern. Mozo asked curiously: