The middle-aged gentleman was startled, then thought again, and realized that it was indeed of little use. Currently, the Dominion only had about 10,000 self-defense forces as standing troops, which could only maintain normal public order. Even if they were expanded several times, compared with the surrounding areas, The military strength of the several major powers was also very different. Once a conflict broke out, they would not be able to influence the situation at all. He sighed, lowered his head and stopped talking.
"I know you mean well, but our Dominion has been based on industry and commerce since the founding of the country, and has not focused on military affairs. Security mainly relies on the balance of power among the three countries to maintain. For more than a hundred years, the people have formed a custom of valuing industry and commerce over other things. Now, If you want to suddenly change their ideas, it may not be achieved overnight. In recent years, the strength of the Pasha people has gradually surpassed that of the other two countries. In the early stage, they gained a large area of economically developed areas through the conquest of Luzon, and their strength has increased a lot. , if the other two countries do not unite to deal with it, their demise is just around the corner, and the Pasha people will not let our Free City go in the end. Our top priority is to promote the rebalancing of the forces of the three countries, so that Luzon and Comini can form a It is imperative for the alliance to contain the Pasha people, and it is also the only way out. That is why I will spare no effort to promote their peace talks and alliance." The Grand Duchess also showed a hint of weakness at this time.
"I understand, but I think that if we can appropriately strengthen our military strength, we may be able to add a little weight to our side in future situations." The middle-aged gentleman expressed his opinion.
"The increase in military strength will not be effective in a short time. Moreover, most of the people in our Free Dominion are unwilling to join the army. Even if it is forcibly recruited, it may not be able to achieve the expected purpose. If it arouses unnecessary suspicion from other countries, it will be more than worth the gain. As long as we can Let the Luzon and Comini people form a strong alliance, and I think the Pasha people will never dare to have any ill intentions towards us." The Grand Duchess saw this very clearly, and the Pasha people did not solve the problem of the other two The country would never risk the disapproval of the world to invade Liberty City.
"I just hope that boy Frederick won't disappoint me. There should be someone who can be an enemy of Kutuzov." She turned around and waved her hand to indicate that the middle-aged gentleman could leave. The Grand Duchess murmured to herself Said.
The luxurious carriage drove smoothly out of the pasture and into the dark night. It seemed to be very satisfied with the success of the negotiation. The young man turned a blind eye to the uneasy expression of the state secretary next to him. While admiring the night in the countryside through the window, he leaned his body comfortably against the bed behind him. On the cushions.
The State Secretary next to him was sitting on pins and needles. He glanced sideways at the young man next to him from time to time and swallowed what he wanted to say. Finally, his actions affected the young man with a relaxed expression, and he looked away from the window. The young man shook his head and said with a smile: "Sir Tomin'a, you are still the State Secretary next to the Prime Minister, why are you so uncontrollable? I'm not Have I told you already? I will be responsible for explaining to the Prime Minister, and I will bear all the responsibilities. What? You still can’t believe me?"
"Major General, you misunderstood. It's not that I don't trust you, but I think we have made too many concessions in this negotiation. With only a few thousand prisoners, we have been asked to pay such a large ransom. This has never happened before in history. We Our finances are not rich either; it is against morality to expel His Highness Burley from the country! When His Highness Burley came to seek refuge with us, we took him in as an asylum seeker, but now we have to expel him from the country. It doesn’t make sense! If the people know about it, it will seriously damage the reputation of the principality. I am very worried about the Prime Minister’s opinion on this matter. In addition, the covenant cannot be announced to the outside world, and it can only be witnessed by Grand Duke Catherine. How can this be done? How big a role does it play?" The State Secretary finally expressed all his opinions in one breath.
Sighing slightly, the young man was a little disappointed with his father's assistant. He was so knowledgeable and wondered how he got into this position.
"Secretary, regarding the prisoners, I want to tell you that they are all fighting for the survival of the country. They are all brave warriors and must be redeemed. As for the amount of money, I think it doesn't hurt to have more. Now we have a request for Comey. There are more Nigerians, and the extra money given to us can be used as money to buy peace. As for the issue of Burei, I don't agree with it. It is just a private matter in the country. At the moment, we can't even take care of ourselves. How can we pay for it? Do you have the energy to take care of other things? Now that his brother has become the Grand Duke, we have done our best by not handing him over to his brother. As for the reputation issue you mentioned, I am thinking that if even the survival of the country is in question, I am afraid that the reputation issue will also be in question. Just put it aside." There was a hint of sarcasm in the young man's words. His own survival was not guaranteed, so he was still talking about benevolence, justice, morality, and the image of the country. It was simply ridiculous!
"The covenant is just a formality, and announcing it to the public now has no use except irritating the Pasha people, not to mention that the Pasha people will know about it sooner or later. The fulfillment of the covenant depends on the needs of both parties, and there is no dependence on interests. Even if it is covered by the country, No one will follow the Jade Seal, and if there is a combination of interests, without a word or piece of paper, you can still fight with all your strength! Secretary, you don't understand this, right?" The last few words of the young man were a bit harsh, listen. The Secretary of State nodded in agreement.
For a moment, there was silence in the carriage, except for the squeaking sound of the carriage wheels running over the road.
"Why is Grand Duke Catherine so active in promoting reconciliation and alliance between us and the Komini people? She is very smart because he senses the crisis caused by the increasing strength of the Pasha people. Once our two countries, Luzon and Komini, are destroyed, freedom will be The day when the city becomes the new capital of the Pasha people!" After the young man finished speaking a few words, he said no more, leaned back, leaned his head on the chair cushion, closed his eyes, and fell into silent contemplation.
"Everything is ready, division commander, we can send out our forces." Yue Shan carefully inspected his subordinates who were disguised as the Holy Army of the Taiping Religion. After knowing that no flaws could be seen, Yue Shan reported to the house.
"Well, let them set off. Remember to take a detour to Lulong, which is further away but not easily exposed." Shenei also seriously warned Yue Shan, who was leading the team. Yue Shan would lead a coalition of "Holy Cult Army" from Lulong. They bypassed the mountainous area at the southern end of the mansion and entered Longdong, attacking Partridge Pass from the back, forcing the garrison stationed at Partridge Pass to ask for help from Bonan so that Shenei could lead his army to the garrison in an open and honest manner. Before that, Bonan had already sent people into Partridge Pass.
Just as Yue Shan led the disguised troops to march north across the steep Liupan Mountain and detour to Longdong, the other two troops were also advancing westward non-stop, and followed the established route at a hundred miles away from Partridge Pass. They met in a small town. At this time, the "Holy Holy Army" led by Yue Shan marched for two days and one night before they got out of the Liupan Mountains and entered the plains. They were still more than 60 miles away from the highway leading to the northwest.
Without noticing each other, the two troops stumbled toward a destination.
Although the sensitive commander of the Partridge Pass garrison did not have any confidence in defending the fortress, he did not neglect the reconnaissance situation. When the Taiping Religion army appeared in the small town mountain a hundred miles away from the garrison, he immediately sensed the opponent's intentions. It's coming menacingly.
After a brief consideration and discussion, several officers quickly reached an agreement, that is, to immediately ask for help from the northwest garrison to the west, and quickly sent fast horses straight to the Yangma mouth sixty miles away. In their minds, the Yangma There are not many garrison troops at the entrance, but as long as the other party comes, the responsibility for losing the fortress can be borne by the other party. After all, the entire territory of Longdong Prefecture has been lost for many days, and he can "hold on" the Partridge Pass Fortress for so long without falling. It was already a rare thing, but it fell as soon as the Northwest Army took over. It was naturally the Northwest Army's incompetence, and the superiors would certainly not blame themselves.
After receiving the letter asking for reinforcements from the Independent Second Division, which was already ready to go, Schone immediately ordered a cavalry regiment to go first, and the other three regiments of light infantry also quickly followed, with logistics troops and baggage vehicles following closely behind. Faced with such an "efficient" northwest army, the soldiers who came to ask for help had to feel sorry for themselves.
When the garrison officers who were waiting for reinforcements from the northwest to take over the pass learned that there were as many as 30,000 crusaders advancing towards Partridge Pass, they were all stunned. Such a large number of Taiping rebels was their fundamental Unexpectedly, even if they had to wait a moment longer, they felt that the sword of the rebel army was about to be cut down. Without any discussion, almost all the officers immediately gathered their troops and swarmed out from the west gate of the fortress, completely taking their responsibility. Forgot.
The people in the fortress also dragged their children, the old and the young, to join the ranks of the refugees. In the span of a pack of cigarettes, Partridge Pass, which is known as the throat of the northwest, turned into an empty city.
The oncoming host was completely confused by this group of fleeing guys. While secretly laughing at Yue Shan's realistic performance, he also pretended to speed up the march of the troops and never let the rebels control Partridge Pass. He never thought that what he was about to face would be the real Taiping Religion army. In his mind, he ignored the intelligence obtained by the garrison scouts. Such a timid scout actually expanded the number of camouflage troops he sent several times. , how could this not make him feel ridiculous.
While ordering the cavalry regiment to advance quickly and stationed at Partridge Pass, he also asked the infantry regiment to keep up with the progress. Schenei personally led the cavalry on horseback, hoping to occupy Partridge Pass as soon as possible.
Almost at the same time, the Taiping Cult's Tanma also discovered that their target was actually an unguarded empty city. The overjoyed commander immediately ordered the cavalry team of 10,000 people to divide into five 1,000-man teams to quickly garrison the fortress, while the remaining The troops maintained their original marching speed and rushed towards Partridge Pass according to the established plan.
Since the two torrents were separated by a pass, and because they had never expected that both sides would attack this pass at the same time, they unknowingly collided head-on. In the past, no one was willing to occupy it first, but now they are unanimous. They started a bloody battle of life and death for their own interests.