"This place looks very wealthy..." Baron Foglie sighed with appreciation while looking at the street scene, but the three envoys sitting in the same carriage could all hear the greed in his words. and plundering.
"Haha, the Tiersim Territory has not gone through war, or it can be said that the territorial war zone is well managed. The market here is very prosperous. In the past few years, this was the shipping place and sea port for ocean trade. It seems that in recent years The interrupted ocean trade seems to have had little impact on the Port of Copicius..." Viscount Angelink also expressed that he was satisfied with the prosperity here.
The four kingdom envoys sitting on this carriage are all emerging business aristocrats who are closely trusted by Sterling XI. They came to the Overseas Direct Territory of Nubisia Continent not only to shoulder the expectations of His Majesty the King, but also to search for overseas direct jurisdiction for him. The wealth of the territory, and at the same time, it also has the important task of integrating the entire overseas territories into the emerging commercial aristocracy.
If it weren't for the lack of enough ocean-going ships, the governors and admirals of six direct territories would have accompanied the kingdom's envoys this time. They all belonged to the emerging commercial aristocracy. It's a pity that they can only wait for the next batch of ships. They can only come to take office after the kingdom's envoy who comes first this time brings the combined fleet back to the kingdom's mainland. After all, without fleet escort, the route between the two continents is really dangerous, and you need to risk your life by pirates to take office.
"The Territory of Tilsim has not gone through many wars." Viscount Oribut said gloomily: "If you have read the report sent to the Kingdom's Army Department from the territory's war zone, you will know that the Storm Fleet in White Deer City was He rebelled and took refuge with Prince Hansback, interrupting the ocean-going trade with the port of Corbicius.
The governors and admirals of the three direct territories of Tilsim, Arturas and Mormali here in the Nubisian continent were also prepared to join the prince. They also specially imprisoned the supreme commander of the war zone who came to discuss military expenditures. General Bolognik. However, the directly-governed territories responded quickly and immediately sent troops to quell the rebellion. As a result, the three directly-governed territories were brought under the jurisdiction of the war zone... "
"You mean..." Baron Fogle and Viscount Angelink showed expressions of ecstasy on their faces in the carriage.
Viscount Oribut nodded reservedly: "I have brought over a copy of the report on the directly-administered war zone. It said that in order to stabilize the situation, the direct-controlled war zone only punished the rebellious governors, admirals and others, and punished those who accompanied the rebellion. The personnel did not carry out much investigation. And we all have the position of ambassador of liquidation and accountability. It is our duty to track down and punish all the rebels who follow the great prince. Therefore, when we take over the power of the war zone, we can come to investigate Those rebels of the prince’s group who are hidden among the people..."
"Haha, I was wondering if the governors and admirals of Tiersim and the other three jurisdictions earned taxes from the people when they rebelled. Did all the immigrants from the kingdom in the three jurisdictions pay this tax?" An Qi Viscount Link had a sinister smile on his face.
However, Viscount Oribut and Baron Fogle were not surprised why Viscount Angelink would ask this question. This was a method they were used to in the kingdom. Regardless of whether those local counties were forcibly recruited or levied taxes by the eldest prince's troops, in the eyes of these ambassadors for accountability and liquidation, they all supported the eldest prince's rebellion. For this reason, many families were ruined. Unless it satisfies the appetite of these ambassadors of liquidation and accountability, and offers them gold and silver wealth or family treasures that satisfy them...
"This is really not written in the report." Viscount Oribut answered honestly: "But it is very simple for us to find their handle. We only need to check the tax collection records of the direct jurisdiction. As long as there is a tax collection The tax was during the rebellion, so we can reasonably conclude that they supported the great prince's rebellion."
"You are a little too happy too early." At this time, Count Davarnel, who had been looking out of the car window, said quietly: "Don't you feel that the attitude of the local officials in the direct jurisdiction towards us is strange? They seem to have a strange attitude in the past two days. None of them were willing to deal with us in private, and everything was business-like. Our accommodation and food, as well as the carriages and horses they bought for us, were all the same as the hospitality terms stipulated in the territorial war zone, and they were neither above the standards nor below them. By standard, this is completely different from the sincere hospitality we received in the local counties of the Kingdom...
Also, if you take a closer look at the eyes of the people in the market when they see our group of carriages and horses, I always feel that they are not afraid that we are the kingdom’s special envoys, but rather they are disgusted by our presence. Some of the Marines who were escorting us just took a few apples from the fruit stand on the street without paying for them. The stall owner was not begging, but scolding, and even wanted to catch up and take action. In the end, the people next to him stopped him and gave up. I was wondering, isn't he, a fruit seller, afraid of the muskets in the hands of soldiers?"
"I think what you said, Earl, is actually easy to explain." Viscount Oribut thought for a while and replied: "We have all seen the hospitality clause stipulated in the territorial war zone. It is indeed very detailed and thoughtful. This is very good. It may be a rule formulated by the war zone to prevent local officials from taking advantage of the entertainment expenses to benefit themselves. Without the opportunity to make a fortune, those local officials will of course just go about their business, just like us. If they can't make some money for themselves, then We no longer have the motivation to offend others and act as ambassadors of reckoning and accountability.
In addition, this is an overseas territory directly under the Central Government, and those local officials are under the jurisdiction of the territorial war zone. They don't know that we are here to take over power in the war zone, so there is no need to flatter us. For them, putting us in the car and heading to Lanhu City was their duty. I believe that when we take over the power in the war zone and return here again, those local officials will promise to serve us as diligently as their biological parents. By then, even if you let their wives and daughters come over to warm the bed, they will obediently treat us as their own. The woman cleaned it and brought it to our bed...
As for the fruit vendor, I can only say that he has little brains and is just a rough guy. When we start to track down the traitor here, come and take a look. Don't say that you can eat some of his fruits for free. He will kneel on the ground and offer us the freshest and most delicious fruits for our soldiers to taste. All he wants is for us. Don't label him as a rebel. For them now, we are just passers-by, envoys of the Kingdom who go to the theater headquarters to perform official duties, so they are not afraid of us. "
Viscount Oribut's analysis won the appreciation of the three nobles in the car. This was the third day they arrived at the port of Kaubicius, directly under the jurisdiction of Tiersim. The seven kingdom envoys who got off the ship only rested for two days before asking the local officials who received them to prepare carriages and horses for them to prepare for departure to Lanhu City, where the theater headquarters is located. The local officials of the Port of Copicius, who regarded them as gods of plague, also wanted them to get out as soon as possible, and quickly mobilized vehicles, horses and supplies to send the envoys of the seven kingdoms and the battalion of Marines on the road.
Leaving the urban area of Port Copicius, there are farms and farms on both sides of the road. Soon, a group of five or six-month-old piglets having fun in the fence in front of a farm caught the eyes of several kingdom envoys, and they stopped the carriage.
"Go with a team of people and catch all the piglets from the farm in front. When we camp at night, the adults will eat roasted suckling pig with honey." Naturally, the Kingdom's special envoy's subordinates have talents who know their master's preferences. A steward directly designated He summoned several groups of Marine soldiers around him and asked them to carry out the order to catch the piglet.
The Marines in this battalion were all recruited later and were not the main marine force of the original Storm Fleet. After a dozen ocean-going warships of the original Storm Fleet returned to the Kingdom's mainland from overseas territories, they were arranged by Sterling XI in the waters near the Ibiniste Plain to guard against attacks from the sea, lest the royal capital be caught off guard again. At the same time, several ocean-going ships were added to these warships to form a naval squadron.
Generally speaking, a complete naval fleet has four to five squadrons, each squadron has about twenty ocean-going sailing battleships and ocean-going transport ships, and also has a Marine Corps battalion. A complete naval fleet basically has about a hundred warships and ocean-going ships, and the establishment of a marine regiment. At the same time, a deep-water port is also needed as a military port base for the fleet to maintain the ships and allow the officers and soldiers on board to go ashore to rest.
One of the two major fleets of the Kingdom of Ovilas, one of the fearless fleets, was annihilated by the rebellious great prince and the Sea King fleet and combined fleet of the Kingdom of Hicks. The other storm fleet rebelled and took refuge with the great prince. Now the remaining ones are There are only about twenty warships and sea ships. So there was no need to choose a large seaport. Instead, we found a town and fishing port on the coast of the Ibiniste Plain as a base. This Marine Corps camp was recruited from the ruffians, veteran oilmen and dawdling sailors near that town. composition.
After three years of civil war in the kingdom, high-quality soldiers have become extremely scarce, and even if they do exist, they are controlled by the three ace field legions. It is already very good that this naval squadron can form this battalion of Marines. Due to tight funds, they did not undergo any rigorous military training and military discipline education. Normally, all of them are good at sneaking around and taking advantage, but when they go into battle, they are just characters with diarrhea and weak legs. They basically have silver gun barrels and wax gun heads.
This time to protect the Kingdom's special envoy to the overseas territories directly under the jurisdiction of the country, the officers and soldiers of this marine battalion have regarded this trip as a good job. In the name of escorting the special envoy, they have done a lot of things in the port of Corpicius in the past two days. Things don't pay for. Fortunately, these things were not of high value, and they were watched by local patrols, so it was difficult for them to do anything that would harm the kingdom's envoys. They managed to restrain their temper and did not cause much trouble.
This time, as soon as we were on the road and leaving the city, we heard the kingdom’s envoy saying that they would eat honey-roasted suckling pig in the evening, and asked them to catch the group of piglets in the farm in front. Now everyone was fighting bravely to be the first, and those who dismounted got off their horses. Get off the car and swarm to the fence of the farm. They tear open a big hole in the fence and rush in. Those who catch the piglets grab the piglets, and those who don't care about the piglets rush towards the house and the back of the farm. , prepare to get something for yourself...
Then gunshots rang out, and soon four or five soldiers who had run behind the farm ran out crying in despair as if they had abandoned their weapons and armor. As they ran, they shouted: "Killing, killing..." "
The full strength of a Marine Corps battalion is more than 1,000 people, but this new Marine Corps battalion only has more than 700 people due to insufficient quota. The local officials at the port of Corpicus mobilized 70 four-wheeled vehicles and about 200 pack horses for them, which was enough for them to travel on the road and to form a squadron of escort cavalry. Naturally, the envoys from the seven kingdoms and a dozen naval officers who went to receive the combined fleet were seated in six relatively new four-wheel box-style luxury carriages.
Just now, there were only about thirty soldiers who followed the order to catch piglets at the farm. The rest got off the car and stopped by the road for a while, then sat and watched the excitement. Unexpectedly, before a few piglets were caught, gunshots were heard from the farm, and then five or six people rushed out from behind the farm. The one at the front was a strong man wielding a large shovel. , followed by four middle-aged men holding dung forks, poles, and iron rods. The last one was an old man in his fifties or sixties holding a matchlock gun. The reason why he fell behind was that he was charging the gun while running. Loading...
When the strong man with the big shovel saw a soldier holding a piglet in front of him, he hit the soldier on the head with the shovel without hesitation. The soldier threw away the little pig and hugged his bloody head, turned around and ran away screaming. The four middle-aged men behind him didn't hesitate and beat the soldiers in their own yard, beating them to death immediately. Crying for father and mother and running away with their heads in their hands.
Several special envoys from the Kingdom who were watching the excitement were furious. It was unreasonable to dare to resist the soldiers of the Kingdom. They were really unruly people. The people in this farm must be rebels. Immediately issued an order to arrest these traitors and make sure they live or die.
When the five or six people in the farm saw the soldiers' accomplices on the road outside, they immediately retreated to the back of the farm, using the cover of the house to pick up the guns that the pig-catching soldiers had just thrown on the ground, and the soldiers outside. Confrontation began. At the same time, smoke also rose from behind the farm, sounding the alarm.
A large group of Marines was sent to attack the farm, but after the first two soldiers rushed into the farm and were killed, one was injured and the other fell to the ground screaming, the soldiers behind them no longer dared to rush in and hid behind People outside the fence were shooting at the inside of the farm with muskets. After a burst of gunfire, no one was hit except for a dozen white spots left on the wall of the farm house.
Viscount Oribut once went to the Red Dragon Legion as a military supervisor during the kingdom's civil war. He was the only one among the kingdom's special envoys, apart from the two special envoys from the old aristocratic families, among the five emerging commercial aristocratic envoys who knew some military knowledge. people. He angrily pointed at several officers in charge of the Marine Corps battalion: "Send another squadron and rush in directly from the front. The opponent only has a few muskets and cannot kill a few people. Send another squadron to go around the back of the farm. Don't let it go. These rebels escaped..."
The officer in charge of the Marine Corps battalion did not agree to Viscount Oribut's request. Instead, he blew the copper whistle to withdraw the troops, which made Viscount Oribut so angry that he almost vomited blood: "How dare you disobey my order?"
An officer pointed around: "Lord Viscount, please look around our team first..."
Viscount Oribut looked back, and he himself was dumbfounded. At some point, a crowd of black crows appeared around the road, vaguely surrounding the entire team of carriages and horses. What made the several kingdom envoys even more chilling was that the people at the front of the crowd were holding muskets, the muzzles of the guns were pointed at them, and the match ropes on the muskets were burning with sparks...
What's going on? Why do the residents in the direct-administered territory actually have so many matchlocks? What do they want to do when they come around
The horn sounded in the distance, and a group of four soldiers from the local garrison in gray and black uniforms ran over neatly. A few officers rode in front: "Who issued the siren here, and where are the robbers from?"
Several kingdom envoys were overjoyed that they were finally saved. Just as he was about to step forward to sign up and let the soldiers arrest everyone around him, he saw the few people who had just been confronting the Marine Corps soldiers running out of the farm, shouting, and they rushed in front of the officers. Pointing at the Marines, it was a statement. The expressions of the officers changed. With a wave of their hands, the soldiers behind them rushed up and surrounded the entire Marine Corps battalion.
"How dare you, we are special envoys from the royal capital, how dare you be rude to us?" Several envoys from the kingdom were furious.
"Special envoy of the Kingdom!" A colonel officer with three silver moons on his epaulette spat on the ground disdainfully: "We have had special envoys of the Kingdom from our overseas territories several times, but we have never seen them rush into the farm like bandits and rob them. Special envoys of the kingdom for property. You said that you are special envoys of the kingdom, then please show us the evidence that you are the special envoys of the kingdom. Otherwise, I can only think that you are robbers pretending to be special envoys of the kingdom and take measures against you immediately."
Uh... Let's prove our identity as the Kingdom's special envoy. It's as simple as showing the decree issued by Sterling XI. Viscount Angelink was about to get on the carriage to get the king's decree, but Count Davarnel grabbed his arm: "You are crazy. Show them your Majesty's decree here. If this content is leaked, we will be finished." ..."
Only then did several kingdom envoys realize that Sterling XI's decree contained a plan for dealing with the five generals and the officers and soldiers of the two legions in the war zone. If it is exposed now and someone is provoking it, everyone in this group will die without a burial place. Only when the war zone headquarters reads it out in public can it become a fait accompli. By then, they have already taken over the power of the war zone, and there is no need to worry about any changes. In short, this will cannot be taken out now...
"Sorry, His Majesty's decree can only be read out in front of the supreme commander of the war zone. We can't show it to you." Baron Fogli stepped forward and greeted several officers with a smile: "We are indeed special envoys from the Kingdom. Look at these carriages and horses, as well as the passes issued by your local officials to our group and the documents proving that we were supplied with food and fodder on the road, which can prove that we are indeed not pretending to be bandits."
The leading colonel officer took the document and looked at it for a few times before ordering: "Disarm all their muskets, and give all those who break into the farm thirty lashes. They have disgraced the king. If there is resistance, "Executed on the spot"
In front of the wolf-like officers and soldiers of the local garrison, the members of the Marine Corps battalion were very well-behaved. They handed over their muskets and took the initiative to confess to the thirty or so soldiers who rushed into the farm to catch the piglets. They watched as they were picked apart. He took his shirt off and was whipped directly on the side of the road.
"There are two people who were killed and one injured in our farm..." said a middle-aged man who came out of the farm.
"Those are your trophies, and it's up to you to dispose of them. If you can save the injured one, he will do hard labor on your farm for ten years and just go and register. If you can't save the body, you can feed it to the dogs as you like." Colonel Officer He said nonchalantly, then looked around and ordered: "Let everyone disperse. Your joint defense has done a good job this time. Next, we will send troops to escort them out of the country and ensure that they will not harass them." Local peace..."