After receiving the news that Kebo City had been captured, Fatty Shi transferred the convoy and 100,000 refugees from Vanades City to Kebo City in only 29 days. This efficiency greatly surprised Lorist. The journey of seven hundred and eighty miles takes less than a month, and you must know that it is more than a hundred thousand horses.
Fatty Shi's method is very simple. In addition to transporting supplies and transporting the old, weak and widowed horses all the way, he divided the 780 li road from Vanades City to Kebo City into seven temporary camps. There are nearly a thousand carriages in the camp, dedicated to transporting personnel to the next garrison camp, and this is how the task of personnel transfer was completed so quickly.
His Highness the Second Highness led 10,000 soldiers from the Royal Guards to settle in Vanades City and immediately rushed to Kebo City. His purpose was to borrow food.
Lorist didn't care, anyway, Kebo City was full of grain, and after the occupation, the figure obtained from the inventory of the granary was more than 300 million catties. Everyone couldn't help but sigh. Dremke province deserved its reputation as the largest granary in the former empire. With the food, everyone is relieved, and the convoy and refugees, the hundreds of thousands of horses, can spend the winter in Kebo City with peace of mind.
However, the Second Highness’s plan to borrow food was blocked by Fatty Shi. What Fatty Shi said was very reasonable. Borrowing food is fine, but it must be mortgaged. , and must also act in accordance with the traditional customs among nobles. You can't just say that you can borrow as much as you want, right
In fact, the Second Highness's net worth is poorer than that of the team, and Fatty Shi clearly made things difficult for him. However, His Royal Highness was not discouraged, and returned to Vanades City with a slight smile. As a result, ten days later, the Second Highness brought in a large amount of pledged materials, Fatty Shi looked at these materials and wanted to cry without tears.
These pledged materials are actually the goods that Fatty Shi wanted to expropriate from the merchants in Vanades City at a third of the price, but the Second Highness was even more ruthless. He directly turned these goods into loans in the name of confiscating enemy property. grain collateral. In the end, His Royal Highness transported 100 million catties of grain from Kebo City. Even when the severe winter came, he continued to transport grain regardless of the frostbite of the transport personnel and pack horses.
Fatty Shi wondered why the Second Highness raced against time and couldn't wait. So I went to ask Lorist privately.
Lorist's explanation is very simple, recruit troops and prepare for battle.
Taking a map of the Antinac Kingdom, Lorist said that next spring, the Second Highness will face two wars. Needless to say, Duke Madras' counterattack, the most important thing is here, Lorist said Pointing to the border between the Kingdom of Antinac and the Kingdom of Ridleys, I heard that the eldest prince has signed an armistice agreement with the four principalities in the middle, and most of the troops are still on hand. With his jackal nature, the next unlucky It is likely to be the Kingdom of Antinac.
Thanks to you, Lorist looked at Fatty Shi and smiled. The Second Highness has integrated the nobles in the kingdom, stabilized the situation, and started production. As long as he can survive two or three years in peace, the Kingdom of Antinac will become a regional power. If he is given another ten years to develop, the dream of the Second Highness to unify the former empire may very well become a reality.
What the Second Highness lacks the most now is time. At present, he is adopting a strategy of step by step, taking the north and defending the south. For the kingdom of Riedlis of the eldest prince, he made the Storm Legion responsible for the defense of the border between the two countries. However, the Storm Legion fought for years and assisted the Principality of Melain in resisting the invasion of the second prince, causing great damage. The Second Highness needs food and weapon reserves in order to replenish the soldiers of the Storm Legion for combat readiness and long-term defense.
Regarding the Principality of Madras, His Highness the Second Highness wants to occupy it, but at the moment, he has more than enough energy to do so. His idea is to annex the province of Yungeshandra first, so as to be able to communicate with the four principalities in the middle of the country and get support. First, the defense here consumes the strength of the Grand Duke of Madras. After two years of preparations, he can annex Madras in one fell swoop. Principality.
Fatty Shi stared at the map and was silent for a while, then made a suggestion: "My lord, why don't we stay here and let the Second Highness grant the province of Dremque to the Norton family on behalf of the Antinac royal family. It can help the Second Highness complete the goal of annexing the Principality of Madras as soon as possible, which is a good thing for the best of both worlds, and I think the Second Highness will be very happy."
Lorist was taken aback, stared at Fatty Shi for a long time before asking, "Is this what you think? Or do many people think so?"
Fatty Shi thought for a while and said: "Two days ago I went up to the city wall to check the defense equipment in the tower, and when I came down, I saw a group of refugees gathered in the moat. A refugee was talking about the folk tales and legends of Kebo City and Dremke Province. I heard that Dremke Province is fertile and thousands of miles away, and it is the largest granary in the Krissen Empire. I was moved. If we occupy this province , then how much help it can give the family!"
Lorist smiled wryly and shook his head: "Stop thinking about it in the future, such a good thing is impossible to happen."
"Why? Even if His Highness the Second Highness refuses to give us the entire province of Dremke, and the city of Kebo was captured by us, it should be rewarded to us with a radius of a hundred miles around. Then we can settle 100,000 refugees in Farming here will also allow our family to lay a nail in Dremke Province." Fatty Shi was very unconvinced.
"Alas..." Lorist sighed, "Brother Shi, you think everything is too good. It is absolutely impossible for the Second Highness to confer the province of Dremke to us, even if we conquered the entire province for him. We will not reward Kebo City to us. Even if we occupy the entire Dremke Province by virtue of our strength, it will be occupied privately. It is considered stealing, and the Second Highness will not recognize it in name.
If the Second Highness is a king who is content with the status quo and does not think about making progress, then your idea may still come true. It's a pity that His Royal Highness has great ambitions and wants to unify the former empire, so he can hand over the entire Northland to our Norton family, but he will never allow Dremke Province to be touched by us.
If you look at the map carefully, you will understand the strategic intention of His Highness the Second Highness. Why did he retain so many territorial nobles in the first two provinces of the Antinac Kingdom? It's very simple, he was planning to use those two provinces to resist the invasion launched by the eldest prince, and it wouldn't be a pity to destroy them. The last province of Verbasya was swept away by you, and all the nobles in the territory were hanged on the gallows by you. The second highness did not say a word, because he wanted to bring the province of Verbasya under the direct jurisdiction of the royal family, making this place a The foundation of the revival of the royal family, so he will not confer a territorial noble in this province.
Next, look at the map of the Principality of Madras. The province of Yungeshandra has been brought under the control of the Second Highness. Although this province is barren, it is a strategic location. Among the more than ten nobles in the territory, there were only six or seven lords who were willing to obey His Royal Highness's instructions and orders honestly.
Why did His Royal Highness uncharacteristically start killing in Yungeshandra Province? It is because he also wants to bring this province into the direct jurisdiction of the royal family. The next thing he will deal with is the Grand Duke of Madras and the Seamount Legion in West Degrad. West Degrad is a province directly under the jurisdiction of the Grand Duke of Madras. There are no other nobles in the territory. As long as this province is taken, the Second Highness It will start to deal with the nobles of the land of Dremke.
Food is the most important strategic material of a kingdom, without food, the kingdom cannot be stable. The Second Highness has suffered from lack of food before. As the largest food-producing province in the former empire, the Second Highness will never put Dremke Province under the control of the nobles. He will also cleanse the territory of this province. Nobles, those who take refuge in him will be transferred to the province of West Degrad. Now you are looking, what will happen if these provinces are under the direct control of the royal family? "
Lorist took a map of the division of the former Krissen Empire into three kingdoms and seven principalities, in the province of Virbasia in the Kingdom of Antinac, the province of Yungeshandra in the Principality of Madras, A line was drawn on the three provinces of Dremke, and a circle was drawn on the northern land.
Fatty Shi was in a daze, pointing to the circle above Beidi and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Have you forgotten what the Second Highness said? When he annihilates the Principality of Madras and borders the Northland, if our Norton family wins the entire Northland, he will canonize me as the Northland on behalf of the Antinac royal family." Grand Duke, this circle represents our Norton family." Lorist replied.
"Under such a situation, where do you think the Second Highness's troops will be directed?" Lorist asked Fatty Shi.
Fatty Shi pointed to the Kingdom of Iberia: "It's the second prince."
Lorist nodded: "This is another reason why the Second Highness will not hand over the province of Dremke to us or the nobles of other territories. Only the provinces directly under the royal family can better mobilize troops and materials to support the front line. Germany The province of Lemque and the Kingdom of Iberia are bounded by the small Hindeson mountain range. As long as the Second Highness sends troops, he can easily break into the hinterland of the Kingdom of Iberia. The second prince does not have the ability to support it for a long time.
We all know that the second prince relied on the strength of his father-in-law, Grand Duke Fessabrun and his former Imperial Frontier Corps to establish his country. If His Royal Highness sent troops to the Kingdom of Iberia, Grand Duke Fessabrun would also dispatch the border guards. At this time The Second Highness needs our Norton family. If we send troops from the north, and Grand Duke Melain also sends troops, then Grand Duke Feisabrun can only retreat to his lair in order to avoid a three-sided attack, and sit back and watch the Second Highness sweep the Iberian Kingdom. "
"If the Second Highness wins the Kingdom of Iberia, the situation of the entire empire will be clear at a glance. He will order our Norton family to confront the Grand Duke Fessabrun, coerce the four duchies to return to the empire's territory, and then gather forces to eliminate the prince. The Kingdom of Ridleys, this is the trend of the times, and no one can resist it. The Second Highness will soon fulfill his wish to unify the empire and ascend the throne of the new Krissen Empire. He will be recorded in the history books as the wise king who revived the empire. The legend of..." Fatty Shi already understood what Lorist said, and finished the next strategic layout in one breath.
"The Second Highness is really playing a big game of chess. He has a good idea. When the time comes, we will use us to involve Grand Duke Feisabrun's border guards, so that we will not be able to make more contributions in the process of revitalizing the empire. The trouble of paying for our Norton family after the unification of the empire is really calculated..." Fatty Shi sighed.
Lorist smiled: "This is a public conspiracy, everything is so aboveboard, people have nothing to say."
"Then there is no way for us to reap some benefits?" Fatty Shi was still a little unwilling.
Lorist shook his head: "You should have realized this by borrowing food from us from the Second Highness. With 100 million catties of grain, the Second Highness can give us a land within a radius of a hundred miles around Kebo City in exchange for food, but He would rather confiscate the merchant's goods as collateral. Even if we take the entire province of Dremke, we can wait until the Second Highness destroys the Principality of Madras to reorganize the military readiness and then order us to hand over Dremke province to you What are we going to do with the Norton family
Refuse to obey? Raise troops to rebel? realistic? Don't forget that the 100,000 refugees we brought were originally citizens of the Kingdom of Antinak, and you arranged them to work here. As long as His Highness gives an order, they will be extremely happy to become citizens of the Kingdom again. No one will Take care of our nameless lord. Only when they are brought to our family territory, will they become the subjects of our Norton family.
Our Norton family has no shortage of territories. Don't forget that the island territory that the Second Highness sealed me has no one to manage it. The most important thing now is to bring these refugees back. Don't think that our convoy is very well armed, in fact it is far from elite. The reason they followed us to the North was to give their families a peaceful and peaceful living environment. If we lead them to fight for these unnamed territories, will they be willing? Where can we replenish these brave fighters when they are exhausted
No one is an idiot. The Second Highness wishes that our military convoy would stay in Dremke Province and clean all the nobles in the territory like you did in Verbasia Province, so that he can get a good reputation without getting dirty. If we don't use his sword, we can use the excuse of anger and hatred to force us to leave. Even in the war with the Grand Duke of Madras after the beginning of spring, he could justifiably order us to join the war and provide support.
I don't want our Norton family's armed forces to become cannon fodder for His Royal Highness's ambitions. In fact, many interested people can understand his strategic deployment. If he wants to succeed, it depends on whether those interested people are willing to give him this opportunity. Next summer, the Principality of Madras will become a big battlefield. If our convoy doesn't leave in the spring, we won't be able to leave again. "
Lorist stretched out his finger and pointed to the location of the Kingdom of Iberia on the map.
"You mean that the second prince will send troops to attack Dremke Province?" Fatty Shi asked.
"It's not an attack, but an annexation." Lorist said, "I said that no one is a fool, and neither is the second prince. How could he not see the obvious strategic intention of the Second Highness? Even if he couldn't see it, the current Dremke province is like a big piece of fat, with the greedy character of the second prince, would he not bite? Even if he doesn't bite, someone will persuade him to bite.
In the past, the Principality of Madras stood in front of the Kingdom of Antinac, but now that the Grand Duke of Madras has been beaten to protect himself, someone who is interested will definitely instigate the second prince to join in the fun. If you think about it, the second prince had to ask the Grand Duke of Madras to borrow grain before, but now that he can swallow the grain land in one bite, would he not be happy? "
"Lock, who is the caring person you are talking about?"
"Those who don't want to see the revival of the Krissen Empire, and those who don't want His Highness to reunify the empire."
"Didn't the second prince just suffer a defeat? Where did he get the troops to attack Dremke Province?"
"Borrow soldiers, don't forget that the frontier army under his father-in-law, the Grand Duke Fesabrun, has always been at full strength, 78,000 people, the second prince only needs to borrow 30,000, and then gather the private soldiers of the nobles in the territory under his command, and get rid of it." A force of 50,000 to 60,000 is very simple, and these forces are enough to sweep Dremke Province."
"Then why are you sure it's summer? Not spring?"
"The second prince of Kaichun can't gather the army rations yet, and he will send troops as soon as the wheat is harvested in summer."
"It's really a pity to abandon this place, such a good grain-producing province..." Fatty Shi sighed...
"What's good here, except that there is no iron ore for food and no horse production. The biggest disadvantage is that it is closed." Lorist shook his head and said.
"Closed? No way? You see, it connects the Northland, the Kingdom of Iberia, leads to the city of Vanades, and from there connects the province of West Degrad, the Kingdom of Antinac, and from Yungeshandra The province leads to the four principalities, and the transportation is very convenient." Fatty Shi wondered.
"What I mean by closed is that it can only go around in circles within the empire. Look at our family territory." Lorist pulled a map of the Northland: "Look, if you look for a port here in the Blade's Edge Mountains, then If we develop the fleet, we can connect to my island territory, and then from the island territory to Tim’s harbor, from there we can reach Morente City, from Morante City to the Relic Islands, the Romon Empire, the open sea and sky, whatever We soar. Now you understand why I insist on bringing the convoy and refugees back to the family territory, where we are waiting for us to develop and build the most beautiful homeland!"
"Locke, you're further along than we thought..."
"Of course, haha, that's why I'm the lord and you are my knights."
"Lock, you're such a stinky fart. I just flattered you casually. You really mean it..."
… .