The Second Highness finally followed behind Lorist shamelessly.
Lorist said: "Your Majesty, although the Kenmes family and the Shaheen family are allies of our Norton family, they are still nobles of the Kingdom of Iberia, and they are in a state of hostility to the Kingdom of Antinac. Unpredictable, I am very worried about your majesty's safety during this trip. Therefore, your majesty's golden body, it is best not to take risks on the front line."
His Highness smiled and patted Lorist on the shoulder: "It's okay, with my brother Locke here, I won't worry about any safety issues. As for Earl Kenmes and Baron Shaheen you mentioned, since they are your allies, then I believe they will not be interested in me, the former king of the Antinac Kingdom. Besides, I just let you go and see, and I am not interfering in your battle. As a noble knight who went to watch the battle, I think I will still Treated…”
Lorist had no choice but to take the Second Highness and the others on the road together.
Four days later, Lorist and his party passed the pontoon bridge on the lower reaches of the Midobro River and set foot on the border of the Principality of Madras on the opposite bank.
The barracks of the Northern Allied Forces was not far from the ferry. After destroying the defense facilities and garrison troops on the other side, Earl Kenmes and Baron Shaheen commanded their army and did not go deep into the territory of the Principality of Madras. The small hill not far from the ferry crossing is the place where the family castle of Baron Seuras, who was ordered to be hanged by the Tigers Ross and Yuri of the northbound convoy after charging at the ferry crossing, set up a big camp and began to build a large-scale construction project. , put on a posture of not moving.
The letter that Lorist received five days ago was written by Earl Kenmes. The letter said that when the Northern Allied Forces no longer attacked, but built a large-scale construction project at the dilapidated castle on the small hill and pretended to stay for a long time , just as Lorist expected, in just ten days or so, the noble private army and regular army of the Principality of Madras seemed to have gone crazy, and began to attack the camp of the Northern Allied Forces on their own initiative. It was very lively for ten days, and it was not until the troops of the Principality of Madras were smashed and bloody in front of the strong camp that they finally stopped and sent envoys to the Northland coalition forces.
"Lock, your strategy of turning offense into defense is really great. Henned said that if we continued to march, we would suffer a lot of losses if we were attacked by the private army and regular army of Madras nobles. And Staying in the big camp to occupy the geographical advantage and defensive facilities, we easily defeated their attack, and our own losses were slight... Uh, who is he?"
Earl Kenmes came all the way to greet him, and when they met, he praised how effective the strategy Lorist had made when he left. Then he saw the Second Highness with a smile on his face and even his eyes glowing.
Lorist had no choice but to introduce each of them. Earl Kenmes was a little embarrassed, as Lorist said, the former king of the Antinac Kingdom was famous, and he was indeed in a state of hostility with the Kenmes family. It's just that he is the former king now, and this time he came to watch the battle as a noble knight. Earl Kenmes is embarrassed to do anything to him.
On the contrary, His Royal Highness seemed very familiar. First, he had long admired the name of the first construction chamber of the former Chrissen Empire, then expressed his regret for the Kenmes family’s investment in the Kingdom of Iberia, and finally expressed his admiration for the talent of Earl Kenmes. appreciate. In less than ten minutes, the Second Highness and the Earl of Kenmes hooked up shoulder to shoulder, chatting happily like brothers.
When they arrived at the big tent, Shaheen Henned had just returned from his tour of the camp. After the meeting, Lorist introduced the Second Highness to him. However, although the Second Highness was very friendly, Henned didn't buy it and just kept Superficial politeness.
Lorist came back this time because of the envoys sent by the Principality of Madras mentioned in the letter. When Earl Kenmes received the envoys last time, he only asked for the resumption of trade routes, not to block the lower reaches of the Midoburo River and the low tax rate when caravans pass through the customs. Unexpectedly, the emissary sent a reply soon after returning, and fully accepted the request made by Earl Kenmes. Now Earl Kenmes and Baron Shaheen sat on the wax. Since the other party fully accepted his conditions, then The second war seems to be over, so is it necessary to withdraw troops and return to the Northland
The helpless Earl Kenmes had no choice but to write a letter to Lorist, while his own side adopted delaying tactics against the Principality of Madras. After listening to Earl Kenmes' statement, Lorist laughed: "Leave them alone, we just do our own thing. The most urgent thing is to build a camp for the army to spend the winter and store food and supplies. If we have time, we will raid the nearby lord's castle manor. What, ask those nobles in the territory to pay us the war tax, and send troops to destroy them if they don’t obey.”
"Then what should their envoys do when they come to protest?" Earl Kenmes asked.
"That's simple. Why did this war start? Isn't it that the Principality of Madras arranged defensive facilities such as arrow towers on the riverside, sealed off the downstream ferry and passage, and sank two of Henned's Is it a fishing boat? We demand compensation from the Principality of Madras for the loss and compensation for our military expenditure. We just need to open our mouths like a lion. If the Principality of Madras wants to counter the price, we will take it slowly with them. Let’s discuss it and wait until this winter. In the end, we have to ask the Grand Duke of Madras to sign the negotiated agreement, instead of a random cat or dog saying that he accepts our conditions and then we can strike.”
Earl Kenmes was overjoyed when he heard that, and patted his legs and said, "Yes, my brain has rusted away after staying in the barracks with these rough guys these days. I can't even figure out such a simple thing. I always feel that I have defeated Ma De. The Principality of Las was a little unsure. As soon as they accepted our request, they felt that it was time to withdraw their troops to take advantage of it, but they almost fell for their tricks. I can guarantee that the Principality of Madras will turn their backs when we withdraw our troops. , will immediately rearrange the defense line along the river."
"If they dare to rearrange, we will fight again..." Henned said confidently.
Earl Kenmes thought for a while and asked again: "Lock, what should we do if the Principality of Madras fully accepts our request again?"
Lorist replied: "That can't be helped. If the Grand Duke of Madras would rather suffer this loss, then we still have to withdraw our troops. But we can use the excuse of not trusting their guarantee and request to rent a piece of land by the river, connected to the pontoon bridge. Then station a regiment here, one is to protect the pontoon bridge on the river, and the other is to escort our caravan from the north to the Principality of Madras."
"Okay, let's do this. The next time the envoy comes over, I will tell him that, and ask the Principality of Madras to show their sincerity. As long as we do the above points, we can end this war."
The Second Highness was just sitting in the big tent with a smile and listening to Lorist and the others' discussion, but the more he heard it, the more he felt something was wrong, and finally he couldn't help but ask: "Sorry, just interrupt, Brother Locke, Earl Kenmes, May I ask what is the reason for your war against the Principality of Madras this time?"
"Oh, Your Majesty, that's what happened. The Grand Duke of Madras blocked this section of the river and sank the fishing boat of Baron Shaheen's family, so we sent troops to punish the Principality of Madras. If Ma If the Grand Duke of Deras promises us not to block the river, and to open up the trade routes, and let our caravans from the north enter the Principality of Madras to do business, then this war will be over." Earl Kenmes said very much Politely answered the questions raised by the Second Highness.
"Then you don't want to capture the Principality of Madras and turn this place into your territory. Doesn't that mean the opening of trade routes and the river being no longer blocked?" The Second Highness asked strangely.
Earl Kenmes rolled his eyes and looked at His Royal Highness like an idiot: "Your Majesty, we don't want to occupy the Principality of Madras, because the price and loss would be too great. Although we can do it, But our purpose is just to open up trade routes. Why do we want to occupy the Principality of Madras? After occupying it, we need to invest a lot of money in development. We don’t want to do such stupid things, as long as the Duke of Madras agrees to us request, it doesn’t hurt to end the war.”
His Royal Highness was very disappointed. He thought that the two allies of the Norton family attacked the Principality of Madras to destroy the Principality, but he didn't expect that it was just a feint, and he just wanted to open up a trade route. Originally, he wanted to fish in troubled waters, taking advantage of the melee between the two sides to take the opportunity to recruit those refugees in the Principality of Madras to form the White Lion Army, and then fight back through the Principality of Madras to the Kingdom of Antinac to regain the throne. It was a beautiful idea but the reality gave him a blow to the head.
Seeing His Highness's distraught face, Lorist wanted to laugh. He had already understood His Highness's plan along the way, but he had his own idea of capturing the Principality of Madras, and he would not follow His Highness's baton around.
"Okay, let's get some food first. Besides, Henned, you can arrange a resting place for His Majesty the King. After driving for a few days, we have to have a good rest after dinner. Let's talk tomorrow if we have anything to do."
Although it was a time of war, the impromptu banquet held by Earl Kenmes, who had always been greedy for enjoyment, was still very rich. It's just that the Second Highness looked preoccupied, unwilling to eat, and quickly reasoned that he was a little drunk and went to rest in the room arranged for him by Henned.
"Why did you bring him here? I was really embarrassed when we first met." Earl Kenmes complained.
Lorist shrugged: "I can't help it either, he insists on following, and he is the upper lord of our Norton family, so it's hard to refuse. Anyway, he is just the former king of the Antinac kingdom, and his status is just that of a nobleman." Knight, it’s no big deal to come to watch the battle.”
"Didn't you say that he disappeared? Why did he appear again? You are already a free nobleman, and now you suddenly have an extra high-ranking lord, don't you feel uncomfortable?" Henned said.
"Alas..." Lorist sighed, and then told the story of how the Second Highness and others escaped from danger, how he went to the Northland to ask him for help and asked the Norton family to send troops to help him reset, and how he sent him away.
"Hahaha..." Earl Kenmes and Hennard laughed for a long time when they heard that His Royal Highness could not recruit soldiers in the Norton family's territory.
"Actually, Locke, don't you think this former king is a treasure? You can control him and send troops to the Antinac Kingdom in his name. In the future, you can make him a puppet and let you take charge of the kingdom..." Heng Ned suddenly had a whim.
Earl Kenmes immediately poured cold water on him: "Pull it down, you don't even look at who this former king is, he is ambitious, he wants to unify the former empire, create a prosperous world and become a famous emperor, and you want to control him. Are you dreaming? What a powerful official needs is a cowardly puppy, not a wolf king who will bite you at any time.
You don't even look at how he treats Lorist, he uses him to be on guard, and on the surface he calls Brother Locke nice, but in fact he is also very afraid of the strength of the Norton family. Now that he is in trouble, he still thinks about recruiting troops and preparing to regain the throne by relying on his own strength, instead of entrusting everything to Locke and accepting all the demands of the Norton family, it shows that he is not a person who can be manipulated by others. "
"Okay, when I came here, I have already sent guards to send an order to Ovekis' Thunderbolt Catapult Camp, asking him to do a good job of covering up the catapults, and don't let the Second Highness find out that we have such a sharp weapon to attack the city. You also ordered your subordinates to keep their mouths tight and not leak it. It doesn’t matter to the other Second Highness Ren. Anyway, they are not fighting the Principality of Madras now. The front line is very calm. They may not stay for a few days until they leave. It'll be easy if it's done. We'll just follow the original strategy." Lorist stood up, and the banquet ended.
Lorist was full and didn't want to rest. It was only afternoon, so he asked El to find two fishing rods in Earl Kenmes' tent and go fishing by the river. Just now at the banquet, there is a kind of white fish that is extremely delicious. It is a specialty of the Midobrow River. Earl Kenmes boasted about his fishing skills at the banquet. Henned said bitterly that he was supervising the battle on the front line and repelling it. When the Principality of Madras attacked, Earl Kenmes was fishing on the river behind. But Henned can't help it. Who told him that his favorite woman is the cousin of Earl Kenmes, and he has to suffer if he doesn't want to.
After fishing for three hours, except for the lack of white fish, other aquatic products on the river were messed up. Seeing that the sky was beginning to darken, Lorist and El rowed the small fishing boat back to the shore and boarded the boat. Horse back to camp.
More than half of the dilapidated castle on the hill has been restored. This is the center of the Northland coalition army camp, and it is also the place where Earl Kenmes and Henned stayed. Lorist was arranged in a side building not far from the main castle. While handing over the afternoon harvest to the guards for their disposal, he went upstairs to take a bath and change clothes before going to eat.
As soon as he got into the bathtub, he heard the guard outside the door announcing that Earl Kenmes had arrived, probably to invite Lorist to have dinner with him. Lorist didn't mind either, and let Earl Kenmes come in directly. They were all men, so there was nothing to avoid.
Unexpectedly, the first sentence Earl Kenmes came in was: "Your Majesty the King talked to me for a long time this afternoon. Do you know what he wants to do?"
Lorist was stunned: "What does he want to do?"
The Earl of Kenmes laughed: "He made a lot of wishes to me, and drew me a big, big pie and put it in front of me. He said that if our Kenmes family is willing to switch to his If he is under his command, he will promote my title, make me Grand Duke, and give our family a province as my fiefdom after the restoration of the country."
Lorist laughed: "Do you believe his promise?"
Earl Kenmes shook his head: "I don't believe it, but I am very moved."
"Why?"
"Lock, your Norton family is an aristocratic family of the Krissen Empire for hundreds of years, but we are not. The Kenmes family is just the largest construction chamber in the former empire. This noble title was bought from the second prince with money. The second prince is a rebel from the former empire, and is now dead. The Iberian Kingdom is also in turmoil. Once the kingdom is destroyed, no one will recognize our family’s title of nobility. The Antinac royal family is the inheritance of the former Krissen royal family , His Royal Highness represents the orthodoxy..."
…