Seeing the back of Earl Churchwick riding away with two attendants, Grand Duke Feisabrun finally said, "Can you just reject their request like this?"
Lorist sneered: "Okay, don't pretend to be like me anymore. Isn't it because you called me over in such a hurry that you asked me to play the villain because you were embarrassed to refuse? I understand that the Earl of Churchwick is nominally here to ask us what we think of the four Grand Dukes’ demands for peace, and ask us to speak for them. In fact, he just wants to find out whether we are also facing a shortage of military supplies In order to find out our reality and see if the Second Highness is determined to fight them to the end."
Fisabrun shook his head with a smile, and did not deny Lorist's statement: "You know, I arranged for Earl Churchwick to be in your camp and hosted a banquet. Facing those who cooked with monster meat He was taken aback and said it was too extravagant. He didn’t believe it when I told him that it was just common meat that even soldiers could enjoy. Later I took him for a walk in the camp, When he saw the soldiers smoking jerky, he was speechless, and then he urgently asked me to speak to His Majesty for them, and I couldn't refuse, so I came to you."
"Obviously, their armament supply is a little tight, and perhaps they have already begun to limit the supply." Of course, Lorist understood the meaning of Grand Duke Fessabrun's words: "So the 400,000 troops that Earl Churchwick said may be true Yes, but the food and supplies that can be eaten for four or five years must be fake, otherwise he would not be flattered by the richness of the dishes. As for him saying that he has received strong support from the business alliance, I suspect it is also fake, otherwise they would not There may be a conditional voluntary summation.”
"But the conditions they put forward are too insincere. How can you expect the Second Highness to agree to such a condition? The first one is to restore the pre-war situation of the four principalities in the central part. It is to let the Second Highness withdraw from the eight provinces that have been occupied. This is not at all. It can be done.” Grand Duke Feisabrun retorted: “I think they want to seek peace is just an excuse. The biggest possibility is that you have made too much momentum on the other side of the river and caused them to worry. If we really build a The road points to Delama Province, which indeed hits their defensive weakness. Even if they receive great assistance from the Business Alliance, they still have to deploy many troops to defend the Nibaraku River along the riverside of Delama Province. defense force, so they sent people to find out the truth."
"Perhaps." Lorist thought, "I think the four grand dukes in the central region may think of us as they do. If they are short of armaments, they may guess that we are in the same predicament as them. They lost 100,000 people, but our territory is far away, and it is difficult to transport supplies. They think that the eight provinces of the three duchies belong to the newly occupied areas and cannot be used by us within two or three years. Cleaned up and managed effectively.
And you recruited a large number of craftsmen to build ships on the upper reaches of the Nibaraku River, and I said with great fanfare that I would build roads in Moyuan. According to the general view, we simply cannot provide such a large amount of food supplies. It is likely that the four Grand Dukes in the middle thought we were bluffing, so they specially sent Earl Churchwick to investigate. That is why the Earl of Churchwick, seeing that we were well supplied, hastily changed his words and begged us to help them sue for peace.
It's a pity that the conditions put forward by the four grand dukes in the central region are that they think that we are in the same situation as they are, facing the shortage of armaments and logistics supplies, and they regard themselves as opponents on an equal footing with us. These conditions are for us The ladder brought by His Majesty, so that His Majesty has a step to descend. In addition, these few conditions are just a wild asking price. If we really want to talk, we can pay back the money on the spot. It was used to test whether we really wanted peace talks, so I rejected them... "
Grand Duke Fesabrun nodded: "Your inference is very reasonable, but I think it is better to drag them, we can talk and fight, and then check from their envoys whether the situation inside the Principality of Handa is I can still hold on... "
"That's not necessary." Lorist vetoed the proposal of the Grand Duke Fessabrun: "Since Earl Churchwick has discovered that our logistics and military supplies are more sufficient than theirs, and we have resolutely rejected the proposal." Help them make peace with His Majesty, and when Earl Churchwick reports back, the four Grand Dukes in the middle will be in a dilemma.
Continuing to form a new legion to defend the riverside will only make their armament supply more tense. If they don't form it, they are afraid that we will really cross the river and invade the hinterland of Delama Province. And my resolute rejection of Earl Churchwick's request to help them seek peace with His Majesty will let them understand His Majesty's determination to destroy the four central duchies. Therefore, when they send envoys next time, the conditions will be relaxed and their attitude will be more humble. "
Grand Duke Feisabrun was stunned: "Do you think they will send another envoy to seek peace?"
Lorist nodded: "Should be, they have no choice. They can bargain with His Majesty while they still have money in hand, otherwise they will be left with the choice of perishing or fleeing. If they are sensible We can help them say a few words, after all, we don't have that much time to stay here for a few years and keep stalemate with them."
"Why, didn't you say that their armament supply is insufficient? According to this estimate, they should not last long." Grand Duke Fesabrun said.
"No..." Lorist smiled wryly: "I miscalculated one thing. The four grand dukes of the central region hold more wealth than we imagined. Didn't you hear Earl Churchwick say that they are willing to donate a fortune to His Majesty? A donation of two million gold fords? He also said that if we help them, each of them can get a thank you gold of 500,000 gold fords.
I estimate that the three million Goldford is only a third or a quarter of their wealth, otherwise they would not ask such a price. If they choose to flee, this wealth is enough for them to spend a few lives in the business alliance. Similarly, if they choose to fight to the end, the three million can buy enough food and other military supplies from the business alliance for their 400,000 troops to last for another year or two. …
For His Majesty, as long as the four central duchies can be destroyed, it doesn't matter if it takes two or three more years. Now the five provinces of the Duchy of Forendo and the Duchy of Faker under his jurisdiction have cleaned up the forces of the nobles who followed the two Grand Dukes. effective administration. And the three provinces of the Sabaji Principality are also recovering, and everything is on the right track. So it doesn't matter how long it takes, Your Majesty, but do we really want to stay here for two or three years? "
Grand Duke Feisabrun was dumbfounded. Lorist was very unwilling to say what he said, and promised the Second Highness to help him conquer the four principalities in the middle. The post-war reward that the Second Highness promised was really a loss. Keeping promises is a virtue of nobles, and Lorist can't escape halfway.
Seeing that the three duchies are gone, there is only one Duchy of Handra left to hold on here. Lorist is absolutely unwilling to waste the past few years on fighting. It is better to withdraw troops and return to the family territory earlier than to stay here better. It would be great if the four Grand Dukes in the middle could surrender to His Highness the Second Highness and everyone could have a step down.
"By the way, when is Sylvia's due date?" Grand Duke Feisabrun changed the subject.
"It should be around January of the new year." Lorist replied.
"Then when will you go back?" Grand Duke Feisabrun asked.
"December." Lorist gritted his teeth: "Before I leave, I will take down a defensive position and put some more pressure on those four old bastards, forcing them to send envoys to negotiate with His Majesty about surrendering earlier. Otherwise, I will You’re really welcome…”
To be honest, Lorist promised the Second Highness to fight against the four principalities in the middle of the country, but he really didn't use the fighting power of the family's armed forces. Instead, he focused on avoiding casualties, and then took advantage of it by the way. The main reason is that he felt that it would be a loss to sacrifice his family's armed forces to deplete the strength for the cause of the Second Highness's unification of the empire. Just look at the old fox, the Grand Duke Fesabrun, and let the reserve army do all the dangerous things. Anyway, there will be supplements on the grassland after the death of the grassland cavalry, while the third border ranger army has been staying behind to watch play.
"Yes, but isn't it winter in December? It's snowing heavily and it's freezing cold, how can you capture the defensive position?"
Lorist rolled his eyes: "Okay, stop pretending, old guy. Wasn't your Third Frontier Ranger Corps forced to surrender by us in winter? To tell you the truth, winter is not winter to us Norton As far as the family armed forces are concerned, it has no effect, but it is a good time for us to show our talents. At that time, you can see for yourself how we conquered the defensive position."
Grand Duke Feisabrun smiled awkwardly: "Okay, I'll see it when the time comes. But aren't you worried about missing the trip back? Sylvia is giving birth for the first time, and I'm worried that she will dangerous."
"Don't worry, I have already written to her and told her that I will definitely arrive before the birth. As long as there is a few heavy snowfalls, if I use a snow sledge, I can go back in at most three or four days, which is five or six days faster than our horseback riding day and night. "
"Uh, um, can I go back with you then? I know Sylvia has misunderstood me, but after all, she is my own granddaughter, and I also want to meet her first child..." Grand Duke Feisabrun lowered his head and made a somewhat embarrassing request.
Lorist was startled, and then felt a little funny: "Okay, you can go if you want, and we can go back together."
Grand Duke Feisabrun was overjoyed: "Well, thank you, His Royal Highness Norton."
Lorist looked at him and sighed: "In private, you can call me Lorist. You are Sylvia's grandfather and my elder. There is no need to address my title so formally..."
"Okay, then thank you, Lorist." Grand Duke Feisabrun was kind and kind.
"You're welcome. By the way, this is the harvest from the Demon Field. According to the agreement, you can get one-third of it." Lorist remembered something, and took out a small leather bag beside him and threw it to him.
"What is this?" Grand Duke Fessabrunn opened the bag, and poured out a dozen small oval-shaped pebbles that were as warm as jade and glowing white.
Grand Duke Fesabrun was taken aback: "Moonstone?"
This is a well-known gem on the Galintia continent. Some scholars believe that it should be a fluorescent stone, and that it should be a variant of jade. That is to say, jade falls on the stream beach and is washed by the stream to form pebbles. At the same time, it is illuminated by moonlight for hundreds or even thousands of years. The silver moonlight gradually makes the jade crystal clear. Every night, it is illuminated by the silver moonlight. These jade stones will glow with white fluorescence, as bright as stars.
It is said that there is a very famous palace in the Romon Empire, the southernmost part of the Galintia continent. The zenith of the palace is surrounded by a circle of moonstones. Every night, you only need to light a candle in the middle of the palace. The light stone will reflect the light of the candle and emit white fluorescence, making the whole palace as bright as day. Therefore, the palace was named the Palace of the Moon.
The value of moon stone also varies greatly due to the brightness of the white fluorescence it emits. The high-value emergy is worth thousands to ten thousand kamford, while the low-value emergy is worth a dozen or so gold coins. The most common moonstones on the market are worth about one hundred to one thousand. The dozen or so moonstones in the small bag that Lorist threw to the Grand Duke Fesabrun were all high-grade, and each one was worth more than one thousand gold merits.
"Where did it come from?" Grand Duke Feisabrun asked while playing with the moonstone in his hand.
Lorist turned his head to the direction of Mo Yuan and gestured: "Your grass barbarian cavalry were very lucky. They chased and killed a group of disc-horned goblins and found a large creek beach. There was nothing unusual during the day, but at night it At that time, the whole stream beach was covered with silver light. They thought that there was a miracle, and they got off their horses and kowtowed.
When I received their report, I knew they had discovered the moonstone treasure land, so I picked nearly a thousand moonstones, and the estimated value should be worth 600,000 to 700,000 gold blessings. Don't worry, I have one third of you. Since I signed the cooperation agreement, I will abide by it. Don't worry about me taking it all. These are the best batch of moonstones, and I will also give you a third. As for the grass barbarian cavalrymen who found that creek beach, I have already rewarded them on your behalf, with five Gold Fords each. "
Grand Duke Fesabrun was speechless. This was a matter of knowledge. The grass barbarian cavalry found the moonlight stone creek beach. They thought it was a miracle and dared not offend, so they knelt down and kowtowed. As soon as Lorist received the report, he knew that he had discovered the treasure, collected nearly a thousand moonstones, and made a fortune. No wonder this guy stayed in the Moyuan Wai for hunting, and refused to come back.
After thinking for a while, Grand Duke Feisabrunn put the moonstones in his hand back into the pouch and handed them to Lorist: "I'd better give them to you. After Silvia gives birth, you can use these moonstones to decorate her house." , then there is no need for too many open flames at night to avoid fires... "
Lorist didn't leave either, took it and put it back into his original pocket: "Okay, then I'll accept your favor."
…
On December 21, 1782, the common calendar in Galintia, the armed Flying Tigers of the Norton family, under the cover of snowflakes flying all over the sky, made a surprise attack on the defensive position of the Weilongni Pass, defeating the red guards of the Principality of Handra in one fell swoop. Dragon Legion. More than half of the Red Light Corps suffered casualties, and the remaining troops retreated to the second defensive position to escape the disaster. Only then did they realize that there were only three or four of the soldiers who had retreated. He rushed to the rear for help.
At the same time, due to the occupation of the Vironne Pass, the defensive positions on the two flanks were threatened by surprise raids. The 1st Garrison Army of the Duchy of Forendo and the Green Forest Army of the Duchy of Fakel had to abandon their positions and retreat. Numerous deaths and frostbite. In order to carry out the so-called order of Grand Duke Faker to strengthen the walls and clear the fields, the Green Forest Army ransacked and set fire to more than ten villages and towns along the way, killing more than 30,000 citizens of the Principality of Handra and buried Grand Duke Handra. The introduction to the fire with Grand Duke Fakel...
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