Chapter 1 Behind the Truce 2
"So what do you want? Do you think this state of war should go on forever? Can't you think about the living soldiers and the people living in the war? Civilians need a peaceful environment to live in, and soldiers also need time to recover their morale and physical fatigue, as well as the wounds on their bodies. Do you, Viscount Carsent, want all the people in the eastern territories to live in war and let all the soldiers fall on the battlefield?" These words that seemed righteous and selfless made Carsent speechless.
"No matter what, we are the victorious nation after all. I just want to restore our necessary dignity and compensate the pensions of our dead and disabled soldiers. Is there anything wrong with that? Anyway, no matter what, the Senke Federation or the Empire must compensate the pensions of all the dead and wounded soldiers, no matter whether the soldier is a regular army of the Empire or a local force of the Empire." Feeling excluded by Morodi's words, Carsent obviously could only take a tough attitude to seek the most basic bottom line for himself.
"Mr. Commander, I would like to ask where our victory lies. Now you haven't captured the Wasteland Stone City, and the other side hasn't surrendered. What makes you say we are the victor? If you want to achieve the victory you mentioned, then you should capture the Wasteland Stone City for me, and then go and bargain with the Senke Federation. Remember, now we only have the upper hand, and we are still in a tug-of-war. Everything can only be resolved through negotiation, and no agreement can be reached based on your unilateral words!"
"You..." Carsente was so angry that he had nothing to say. After all, this was a trap set by someone with ulterior motives, in order to consume the strength of the Eastern Territory. And I, who relied on Carsente's trust to survive until this day and to have the current situation, not only failed to help him, but also stepped on him hard in the previous layout (the transaction of that batch of grain, otherwise the city would not have lasted long because most of the city was burned by me). This feeling still makes me very uncomfortable.
"Then we will continue to besiege them until they surrender. I think it will take us at most ten days or half a month to force the Waste Stone City to surrender completely. After all, the food and grass in their house cannot last that long." Seeing Carsente's words, the wizard Wink, who has always had a good relationship with the Lord of the Eastern Territory, Baroque, stood up. His words also hit the key point of Waste Stone City. Perhaps in just one week, the food and grass we provided to Waste Stone City will run out. By then, Hegmar will have no choice but to rely on cannibalism even if he doesn't want to surrender.
"This method is feasible, but according to the order of His Majesty the Emperor, the magician corps and the flame army must set out to return to the imperial capital within the time specified by His Majesty. If the Eastern Lords are willing, they can continue to besiege the Wasteland Stone City until they meet your demands..." As soon as Morodide finished speaking, the whole place fell silent, leaving only the sound of me eating at the table, which made me feel very embarrassed.
Everyone knew that the Flame Legion would definitely follow the Emperor’s orders, and it was impossible for all the magician troops to stay. Although Wenke was the supreme commander, all the magicians were nobles, and some of them were members of the Emperor and other factions. It was simply a dream to ask them to disobey the Emperor’s orders. It would be a great fortune if only 1/3 of them could stay. And those magicians, plus the remnants of the Eastern Territory, could deal with the remnants of the Wasteland Stone City, but if the Senke Federation took the opportunity to counterattack, it would be the end of them. . . . . .
At this time, the scene was like the prelude to a storm. If there was any movement, the whole place would probably explode. Carsente and Wenke were unwilling to give up; Morodi was proud but worried that the people in the Eastern Territory would suddenly go crazy; and the two members of the Flame Legion were proud of this eloquent and unreasonable diplomat, but they were also worried that the Eastern Territory would really mess up. If the Eastern Territory was really finished, then the Empire would have to clean up the mess for the Eastern Territory. Otherwise, when the Empire was in civil strife and the Eastern Territory was weak, it would be too late for the Senke Federation to take advantage of the situation.
"My Lords, there is actually still room for things to turn around, if..." Thinking that this was not a solution, I reluctantly decided to combine Sack's previous promise and give both parties a way out.
"Who are you? How dare a commoner interrupt in such an occasion? You..." Before I could finish my sentence, Morodi's words made my face turn green. Damn, even Sack was so enthusiastic when talking to me. What's wrong with this guy
"He is a piece of shit. He is the division commander directly under me. I think Count Morodi may not have known this before, but from now on I hope you won't make this mistake again. Hanlong can continue. I think it may be a good idea." Similarly, before Morodi could finish his words, Sack interrupted him at the same time. It was a plain sentence. Although he didn't ask him to apologize or anything, the meaning was self-evident.
"In fact, the only thing that the Eastern Territory finds difficult to accept is the pensions for those local troops. I think you should have already reached an agreement on the other military expenses and pensions for the casualties." I looked at Carsent, and after he nodded, I immediately continued, "Then I think that all the weapons, supplies and military rations of the 103rd Legion will be handed over to the Eastern Territory, and the local legion soldiers who died in battle will be compensated in cash..."
"Nonsense, how is this possible? You are simply..."
"Count Morodi...Hanlong, continue!" Before Morodi could continue speaking, Sack called out his name loudly.
"Then, the vacated 103rd Legion, from top to bottom, will follow Lord Thacker back to the Imperial Capital, accept the Empire's reorganization, and then exchange positions with similar legions near the Imperial Capital. What do you think?" The 103rd Legion is already half finished, and it will not cause any trouble even if it arrives in the Imperial Capital, and you can place as many people as you want in it during the reorganization. With such a result, I think even if both sides are not satisfied, no one will make any more suggestions, and if the operation is good, then Thacker and his men will have a great chance of taking Carsent's army into their pockets.
"Indeed, the sale of those supplies is more than enough to compensate the local legion's pensions and losses, and it is time for you to give me a final reply on the agreement between us. Hanlong's suggestion is very good, and it is a good suggestion that both parties can accept. What do you think, Lord Carsent?" After I finished speaking, Thack was the first to applaud, and Pavel and Morodi also turned their eyes to Carsent.
"This... I need to discuss this with the Lord, I can't give an answer so quickly..." Although Carsente longed to become a real elite army of the empire and possess those powerful siege weapons, he also knew that his departure would mean that the entire eastern region would be thrown into the power struggle in the imperial capital. The previous neutrality and playing both sides would be gone forever. If he wanted to gain a foothold in the end, he had to stick to the emperor of the empire. There was no other way.
"Well, no hurry! Lord Carsent can go to Caster City tomorrow to discuss with Lord Baroque. After all, we still have to stay here for 3 days. There's no hurry. Let's enjoy the meal first. Didn't you say you were going hunting? And our... this Hanlong Division Commander was a little frightened. I don't know what happened exactly. It will also allow a scholar like me to gain more experience." After hearing the side topic, Morodi's reaction changed immediately. He knew that such an outcome would be the most ideal, so he reversed his previous behavior and became very easy-going and friendly, trying to get closer to Carsent and others as much as possible.
"Yes, there were many problems when we went to capture the monsters this time, but in the end, it was because we underestimated the enemy. Lord Wenk and I actually encountered nearly 20 Flame Lion beasts, including the Flame Lion King. And Carsent and his men had even worse luck. They ran into a gathering place of leopard wolves, and thousands of leopard wolves blocked them at the mouth of a canyon for nearly a day. If the magicians had not recovered their magic power, our legion commander would have returned alone. As for the other team, if we hadn't rescued them in the end, they would have been taken as a snack by the dark elves." Upon hearing the proposal, Sack immediately exposed his own shortcomings and told the experiences of several groups of people, which made the atmosphere much more harmonious.
"Although we lost a lot of manpower, we also gained a lot. Lord Sack and I captured a dual-element elf, a good one with fire attribute and wind attribute.
After that, our three groups joined together and fought a big battle with the dark elves, and the main casualties were also in that place, but we also gained a lot, 3 dark elves, one of whom was a female mage.
What a pity! If we could bring them back to the capital, we would have three more powerful guards. But now that the temple exists, we can only sell these three elves on the spot or exchange them for other things. What a pity!
But then again, in terms of the results, Han Long is the biggest winner among us. He and two guards killed a dual-attribute fang wolf king, captured an extremely beautiful young elf, and also caught a six-color elemental elf. This is an incredible harvest! "After listening to Sack's words, Wen Ke also took up the topic and told the harvest of this operation in detail. What surprised me was that they actually caught 3 dark elves but could only sell them. Could it be that the temple in this world is as authoritative and powerful as in fantasy novels
What followed was undoubtedly a barrage of ridicule and admiration from everyone, with the biggest topic being how I should enjoy that beautiful elf... A bunch of perverts...
After the dinner, when Thacker was seeing everyone off, he stood beside Carsent for a while and whispered something in his ear. The ecstatic expression on Carsent's face was visible to everyone. I wonder what benefits Thacker had promised Carsent...