The Grand Duchy of the North is the northern neighbor of the Crescent Kingdom. It was a tribal alliance decades ago, but in recent years it was reformed into a feudal serf monarchy under the leadership of a wise and capable monarch.
For hundreds of years, the people of the North have always been equated with pirates, bandits and barbarians in the eyes of the Yunete people, mainly the Crescent Kingdom, the Falling Star Kingdom and the Western Yunete Empire. They are also synonymous with barbarism and backwardness.
Today is no exception. Even though the Grand Duchy of the North has long been civilized, it is still incompatible with many countries in the central and southern parts of the continent. This is not only the impact of the technological gap, but also geopolitical conflicts and cultural conflicts are important factors.
There will always be a chain of contempt in the human world. People are always used to dividing people into us and them, and then gaining a sense of superiority from identity recognition.
The nobles looked down on the common people, the city dwellers looked down on the country folk, the imperial people, who were also members of the Yunete nations, looked down on the Star-Moon people, and the Star-Moon people looked down on the Northerners...
The Northern War had just ended, and the Grand Duchy of the North sent an envoy to visit. To be honest, this timing was quite sensitive. After all, although Castel had become independent from Bold at this moment, it had not yet sworn allegiance to the Crescent Royal Family.
Legally and nominally speaking, Castel is already a direct vassal of the Crescent Kingdom, but as long as he has not sworn allegiance, the relationship remains ambiguous.
In particular, there have been cases in history where nobles from border territories launched a war of independence against their lords and won, then turned to the arms of neighboring countries.
In the feudal era, legal principles were legal principles and reality was reality.
Under the premise that the royal power is not strong, the noble lords are actually quite autonomous. For a strong lord, it is not surprising that the land under his rule is like a country within a country.
Of course, the Grand Duchy of the North sent an envoy at this moment not to win over Charlotte.
To be more precise, they came to negotiate like the Violet Principality.
Charlotte wasn't really surprised by this.
She also has thousands of Isaac Hussars from the North imprisoned. This amount of mercenaries is not a small number for the North, especially since there are many Northern nobles among them.
Love of adventure is in the nature of the people of the North, whether they are pirates or mercenaries.
Even though the country has long been feudalized, many northerners still enjoy adventure, including many northern nobles.
This is why the Legris family was able to attract so many Northern mercenaries during the rebellion.
This time, the Grand Duchy of the North sent an envoy precisely for these captives.
"The benevolent, wise, wealthy, and beautiful Lord of the North, the Earl of Castel, and the special envoy of the Grand Duchy of the North, Hamid Casimir Novak extends his highest regards to you."
"We are sorry that some of our compatriots caused you some trouble during the Castel War..."
Inside the Earl's Mansion, the envoy from the Grand Duchy of the North, who had a thick beard and wore a noble robe similar to that of the Unet countries, but still had an overall rough style, performed a fairly standard Unet noble etiquette to Charlotte.
Sitting on the lord's throne, Charlotte nodded slightly as she looked at these tall and strong Northern representatives:
"Welcome, Mr. Hamid Casimir Novak. I know your purpose. As for the northern captives, I, Castel, have no intention of detaining them..."
"But a prisoner is still a prisoner. Your support for the rebels has also caused considerable losses to Castel."
"If you want to redeem those nobles and warriors, you must give us a price that satisfies us."
The Northern Envoy was even more respectful:
"Of course, Lord Count, we are willing to redeem those reckless compatriots with Warcraft materials at a price higher than the universal ransom price in Miria..."
After hearing the words of the envoy from the Northern Territory, Charlotte's heart was slightly moved.
The Grand Duchy of the North is vast and sparsely populated, with many areas being extremely cold and bitterly cold and having vast forests.
Although the Grand Duchy of the North is not rich as a country, the vast forests bring rich magical beast resources.
If it were not too far from the center of the Miria civilization world and the environment was not too harsh, the North Forest would be fully qualified to become the fourth adventure paradise for free mercenaries.
To be honest, Charlotte was satisfied with the conditions offered by the Grand Duchy of the North. Castel had no shortage of secular currency, but only extraordinary materials.
but…
"Sir Hamid, if you want to redeem those Isaac cavalrymen, I'm afraid this condition alone is not enough."
Charlotte said, shaking her head slightly.
The envoy from the northern border frowned immediately and asked in the common language of the northern land with a strong northern accent:
"My Lord, I wonder... what are you dissatisfied with?"
"compensation."
Charlotte paused and said:
"You only asked for a ransom, but it did not cover the compensation for the damage caused to the North due to the participation of Isaac Hussars."
After hearing Charlotte's words, the Northern Envoy fell into deep thought.
He discussed in a low voice with his fellow northerners for a moment, then bowed again and said:
"I understand, Lord Earl. Then... what if we add an additional 20% of mineral materials as compensation on top of the ransom?"
Charlotte shook her head.
"Castel has no shortage of ore. I'm afraid your compensation will have to be made from other sources."
"Oh? What do you hope for?"
The Northern Envoy asked.
"Warhorse, I need a warhorse."
Charlotte paused, and the lion opened his mouth:
"All the war horses captured during the civil war will belong to Castel. In addition, the Grand Duchy of the North must compensate Castel with one thousand standard war horses of appropriate age, one hundred male dragon-scale horses, and they must be young and strong."
This is really a big mouth for the lion.
You have to know that strictly speaking, most of the war horses ridden by Isaac's Hussars who participated in the Northern Rebellion did not meet the rigid standards for war horses, but were generally better than Caster's own horses.
After all, the Hussars are light cavalry and do not have high requirements for the quality of their war horses.
But the standard warhorse that Charlotte is talking about here is different.
The so-called standard warhorse refers to a warhorse that must be capable of being used by heavy cavalry, and having one of such a warhorse means that an extraordinary cavalry can be formed.
Not to mention the dragon scale horse. Anything in this world that has dragon blood is extraordinary, and the dragon scale horse is no exception. This thing can no longer be measured by an ordinary war horse, it can be fully called a magical beast.
Many knights do not have this kind of warhorse.
One hundred horses... and they were all males. Even though the Northern Duchy had many horses and a large fortune, it was not something that could be easily taken out.
Not to mention that this is what the neighboring country wants, and the relationship between Castel and the Grand Duchy of the North has always been delicate, and there are border conflicts...
If we really provide so many horses, it can even be regarded as "aiding the enemy" in a sense.
Big mouth, Charlotte is a typical lion with a big mouth.
Of course, she herself said the number afterwards and did not expect the other party to agree at all. She just wanted to get the best and get the best. In the end, even if she could get 300 standard war horses and a dozen dragon-scale horses that could be used as stallions, she would be satisfied.
After hearing what Charlotte said, the Northern Envoy also frowned.
Charlotte saw that the other party turned around and talked to the other members of the delegation in Northern language, and there were even several arguments.
It was not until a moment later that the Northern Envoy saluted Charlotte again and replied respectfully:
"We understand, Lord Earl. We agree to your terms."
Charlotte: …
Um
You agree now
Really agreed
She had a puzzled look on her face, and for a moment she couldn't tell whether the envoy from the Northern Territory was deceiving her, or whether her high demands did not exceed the other party's bottom line.
A thousand standard war horses, that’s a thousand standard war horses!
If extraordinary equipment is difficult to make, then qualified war horses are even more difficult to find. However, a thousand extraordinary cavalrymen are enough to turn a secular war around.
Not to mention the 100 dragon-scale stallions. If they were really provided to Charlotte, then in a few years Castel's cavalry might all become humanoid Gundams!
"Oh? Lord Hamid? Are you serious? Can your decision represent the Grand Duchy of the Northern Territory?"
Charlotte asked.
Although the Northern Envoy readily agreed, she didn't believe that the other party would agree to her request so easily!
Either it's a trick or there's some other agenda!
The Northern Envoy nodded slightly and replied:
"Of course, respected Earl, although your request is rather demanding, the North is willing to agree to your request to show its sincerity. This is also the decision of His Majesty the Grand Duke."
"It's just that... we also have a prerequisite, or more accurately, a deal, or an invitation."
Sure enough, there are conditions...
Charlotte raised her eyebrows slightly, then smiled calmly and asked:
"Oh? What conditions?"
The Northern envoy took a deep breath, and then bowed respectfully to Charlotte again.
Under Charlotte's slightly surprised gaze, he stretched out his right hand and crookedly drew a cross on his chest. His pious expression was quite exaggerated:
"Praise be to the Holy Spirit, Your Excellency the Count. As you can see, I am actually a devout believer in the Holy Spirit. Not only me, but also the current Grand Duke of the Northern Duchy, His Majesty Stefan Sobieski."
"Your Majesty is very envious of the teachings of the Holy Court and has always wanted to accept the faith of the Holy Court as the official faith of the Grand Duchy. But you also know that the faith in our northern border has always been chaotic, and the faith in the old gods is difficult to break away..."
"His Majesty the Grand Duke admires and respects you very much, especially your devout belief in the royal court. Your identity as a saint on earth has long been famous in the northern border."
"His Majesty the Grand Duke wants to seek your help and invites you and the priests of your territory to visit the Grand Duchy and send experienced priests to assist the holy believers in our northern border to spread the faith of the Holy Royal Court..."
After hearing the messenger's words, Charlotte was even more surprised.
She had many guesses about the conditions of the Grand Duchy of the North, but she never expected that they would invite her to be a guest and spread the faith of the Holy Royal Court!
"Thank you for the invitation, Your Majesty. I am just a small earl. My church branch in Castel only has one first-rank priest. Why didn't Your Majesty ask the theocracy to send a priest instead of coming to us?"
"As far as I know, there are many priests and even chief priests in the church who are very interested in spreading the faith in the North."
Charlotte asked calmly.
The envoy from the northern border bowed respectfully and said:
"My Lord, you are joking. Your Majesty seeks the faith of the Holy Royal Court. As for the priests and officiants of the Theocracy, how can you, a holy saint walking on earth, better represent the teachings of the Royal Court and be more accepted by believers and the public?"
After hearing his words, Charlotte raised her eyebrows slightly, thinking about it.
She understood the messenger's deeper meaning.
Although the Grand Duchy of the North hopes to make the Holy Court its official religion, it probably does not want to be strictly controlled by the church like the nations of Yunet.
The religious confusion in the North is not conducive to governance. It was fine before with only the tribal alliance, but now after feudalization, religious conflicts have become more and more serious. The various doctrines of the old gods, which are relatively bloody and brutal, are no longer suitable for the requirements of the new era.
At this time, it is only natural to choose the "Orthodox Church" like the Holy Royal Court, whose doctrines are good, as the official belief to stabilize the rule.
However, although religion can stabilize rule, it will also compete with the ruling class for power, and the top leaders of the Northern Duchy do not want to see such a scene.
Therefore, they did not seek help from the Theocracy, but found Charlotte instead.
After thinking for a while, Charlotte smiled and said:
"I understand what your majesty means. It is not difficult to send priests to assist in the missionary work. I will also consider the invitation, but I am afraid not now. At least within half a year, I am afraid I will not have the time to leave the Crescent Kingdom."
"Of course, Lord Earl, it would be the best to invite you, the Saint. Even if it is inconvenient for you, it would also be fine if you could send some Northern priests that you approve of."
The messenger said respectfully.
The negotiations with the Northern Envoys went much more smoothly than Charlotte had imagined.
After clarifying the main contents of the ransom and compensation, Charlotte ended the meeting. The subsequent details were left to the cabinet of the Earl's Palace to negotiate with the envoys from the North.
The envoys from the North took their leave, and only Charlotte and Sebastian, who had resumed his position as steward, were left in the meeting room.
Looking at Charlotte who was lost in thought, Sebastian couldn't help but say:
"Master, do you really want to agree to the Northern Grand Duchy, accept their invitation, and help them spread the teachings of the Holy Royal Court?"
"Why not? We're just sending some priests to preach. It's just right that we can also send away those priests in the territory who have too much energy but nowhere to vent it."
Charlotte laughed.
After that, she smiled and said:
"Besides... don't you think this is also an opportunity? The faith in the North is already in chaos. Even if we add some private goods to the priests we send out, it should be okay."
Sebastian's eyelids jumped:
"You... you mean, are you also planning to take this opportunity to spread your faith in the North?!"
Charlotte smiled:
"If you can, why not?"
After hearing what Charlotte said, Sebastian's eyes moved slightly, as if thinking about something.
After Charlotte finished speaking, she glanced around and asked:
"Speaking of which... Where's Ness? I don't think I've seen much of him since I came back this time?"
Sebastian's expression suddenly became strange:
"Nice guy... If I'm not mistaken, he should be playing hide-and-seek with Lord Yulster right now..."
Charlotte: ...