Even though he promised Earl Churchwick that he would carefully consider the peace and truce requests made by Grand Duke Handra and others, but from the bottom of his heart, His Royal Highness was not willing to truce. Misunderstanding is no big deal, the key is that the current battlefield situation is extremely beneficial to him. Everyone knew that the four princes in the middle were on the verge of failure, and the situation was in a precarious situation. As long as they worked harder, the second line of defense of the Principality of Handela would be defeated in one blow, and the next step would be to beat the dog in the water.
It's just that the most hateful thing is Lorist's attitude. He doesn't approve of continuing to attack at all, thinking that the overall situation is settled and there is no need to pursue and fight fiercely, sacrificing the lives of soldiers for nothing. Anyway, the four Grand Dukes in the central region have already conceded defeat, so the request made is almost the same as surrender, so why bother to kill them all? What's more, now I have given you a step down, this war is just a misunderstanding, everyone knows whether they are rebellious...
What Lorist means is to ask His Highness to accept it as soon as he sees it. Don't be stubborn. It's your fault. The four princes in the middle of the country have always been friendly to the kingdom in the era of the former kings. They are also famous aristocratic families in the former empire era. Empire also made a great contribution. How did you become a rebel here? So wipe your own ass before blaming others...
The Second Highness was so angry at Lorist's yin and yang words, but he couldn't do anything to Lorist, whether it was personal force or family strength, he had nothing to do. In all fairness, the expedition to the Norton family of the four principalities in the central region has made great achievements. Whether it is attacking the Principality of Sabaji or flooding the trench defense positions of the Principality of Volendo, it is Lorist who plays a decisive role.
Moreover, when Grand Duke Fakr frantically burned towns, food and supplies, and artificially created a wave of refugees, it was Lorist who solved the plight of His Highness the Second Highness. the greatest contribution. Especially at the end of last year, the capture of Weilongni Mountain Pass created a war situation so favorable to His Highness the Second Highness, forcing the four Grand Dukes in the middle to send envoys to seek peace.
Compared with the outstanding performance of the Norton family's armed forces, the family's armed forces brought by other nobles are all here to make soy sauce. And the White Lion Army under the personal command of His Highness the Second Highness is more like a coolie, with nearly half of the damage and few victories. The Fesabrun family's reserve legion accompanied the White Lion Legion as cannon fodder, specially giving away heads. Anyway, those who died were all savage cavalrymen. Grand Duke Fesabrun didn't feel sorry for him. The more damage he suffered, the more he showed his loyalty to the Second Highness.
The greatest sorrow of the Second Highness is here, the more Lorist's military exploits are, the more ineffective the Norton family's armed forces will be. The four Northland alliances are colluding, but the Norton family is the leader. Lorist could not be commanded, and the family armed forces of the Duke of Nakenmes, Earl of Felim and Earl of Shaheen did not listen to the command of the Second Highness.
No matter how the Second Highness wins over the division, he remains indifferent, just like the Earl Shaheen, the Second Highness asked him to clean up the nobles who swept up the Duchy of Forondo. Loyal and loyal, he can be used to great advantage, and perhaps his greed for money can be used to pull him out of the four northern alliances. But he didn't expect Earl Shaheen to stand on Lorist's side again as soon as he returned to the front line, which made the Second Highness feel very aggrieved. All the efforts he had put on Earl Shaheen were in vain.
Nominally, the Allied Forces of the Antinac Kingdom have more than 300,000 troops, but the Second Highness is very clear-headed. What he can command is the White Lion Army and the Fesabrun family's reserve army. Nearly half of the casualties in the fierce battle of the White Lion Legion were more than 30,000 people left. Although the reserve army is composed of rough cavalry, it has nearly ten thousand casualties, and they are full of complaints and a little restless. No one is a fool. In contrast, they are more willing to obey Lorist's orders. His Royal Highness would only let them die like that.
As for the Third Frontier Ranger Legion, it was the darling of Duke Fesabrunn. The Second Highness knew that he could not defeat this legion. At the same time, he also hoped that this legion could go back in its entirety to block Lorist. Sometimes when the Second Highness calmed down, he asked himself, without the help of Lorist, it would have been very difficult for this expedition to the four central duchies to go so smoothly with such a small number of casualties. If the Second Highness commanded the whole process, then he would definitely take a head-on approach to attack all the way, and maybe one or two duchies have not been destroyed yet.
It's not that the Second Highness thinks that his military strategy is not as good as Lorist's, but that he considers the overall situation from the standpoint of the king. From his point of view, the most ideal course of the war to attack the four principalities in the central region is that the family armed forces of the four alliances in the north and the legions of the four principalities in the central region will fight to the death and lose both sides. The principality can also severely damage the strength of the four northern alliances and eliminate his worries. This is the best ending.
At the same time, in order to secure the heart of Grand Duke Feisabrun who followed him for the first time, the Second Highness had to place Lorist on the front line, wandering around right under his nose. Then let him make a great contribution. Looking at the casualty ratio, the two heavy-armored corps of the Kenmes family in the four Northland alliances are considered to have suffered the heaviest losses, with more than 1,300 casualties. The second is Earl Shaheen who cleaned up and swept up the noble territory. His family had seven or eight hundred armed casualties.
Next was Earl Felim's Pegasus Legion, who also suffered five or six hundred casualties because of their missions of battlefield cover and scout reconnaissance. And the one with the least damage is the Flying Tiger Legion, with only about 400 casualties so far. This casualty is very slight for the four northern alliances. Compared with nearly half of the 56,000-strong White Lions, it is more like a slap in the face of the Second Highness, which has been rumored in the army The Second Highness's reputation as a military master is actually not worthy of the name.
The Second Highness is very helpless, he has nothing to do with Lorist, and the Duke of Kenmes also supports Lorist's proposition and is unwilling to continue to attack. Even the Grand Duke Feisabrun also privately told the Second Highness to stay on the front line, why bother? How about exterminating the four princes in the middle? Besides, they have conceded defeat.
His Highness the Second Highness is suffering, but the plan in his heart can't be put on the surface. It wasn't that he didn't want to let go of the four central dukes, but that he took a fancy to the territory of the eleven provinces of the four central duchies. Although the territory of the Antinac Kingdom is large, except for a few provinces around the imperial capital, the rest is not under the control of the Second Highness. You must know that these few provinces around the imperial capital have long been exhausted by the people he tossed. Since he wanted to unify the empire and recruited 300,000 troops, he has almost plundered all the places, so he returned to the imperial capital again. When he took the throne, he had to take the nobles of the kingdom, even if he was notorious, because he had to get property, food, grass and military supplies to raise troops and prepare for war.
The wishful thinking of the Second Highness is that after the four principalities of the central region are destroyed, eleven provinces will return to their own direct jurisdiction. Using the original good economic environment and human resources of these eleven provinces of the four principalities of the central region, as long as they survive for another In three or four years, it would not be difficult for him to gather an army of 500,000 to 600,000 people, and then he would approach the border of the business alliance. So even if the business alliance already has a national sword master and becomes the largest country in the Gelinthian continent, it still has to consider whether it is worthwhile to form an endless enemy of the kingdom.
The Second Highness believes that the group of businessmen will understand very rationally that their requirements are not high. As long as the business alliance returns the few imperial provinces they seized to him, he will be able to obtain peace. The convenience and privileges of those merchants re-opening trade routes in the empire, well, they can also be used to attack the Snow Salt Chamber of Commerce of the four northern alliances, killing two birds with one stone...
This is why the Second Highness still refused to agree to Earl Churchwick's request for peace after several days of consideration. He is absolutely unwilling to let the four Grand Dukes in the central region reoccupy their traditional family territory provinces, which are basically the most well-developed areas among the eleven provinces in the central region. Without those four provinces, the grand blueprint in the heart of the Second Highness It will be fragmented, and the implementation of the plan to restore and unify the empire will be far away.
However, the lack of cooperation of the four Northland alliances headed by Lorist and the constant persuasion of the Duke of Fisabrunn finally made the Second Highness make a decision. He summoned the Earl of Churchwick and asked him to lead the four Dukes in the middle of the country. I went to my own reply: the condition is very simple, he can forgive the four grand dukes in the middle, but the family territories of the four grand dukes need to be transferred to the provinces around the imperial capital.
In addition, the contribution of the four Grand Dukes will be doubled. Grand Duke Handra, Grand Duke Frondo and Grand Duke Sabaji each need to pay 1.5 million gold merits. However, Grand Duke Faker had to hand over three million goldfords as punishment for his crime of burning down the capital and town. The last one is that the four Grand Dukes must reorganize their troops and allow them to bring a 45,000-strong army to the new family territory, and the rest of the troops will be handed over to the Second Highness.
As for those territorial nobles who follow the four grand dukes in the middle and are enemies of the Second Highness, the Second Highness will re-determine their titles and territories based on their family's previous contributions to the empire, transfer and reduce their titles, and no longer become four The vassal lord of the Grand Duke.
To be honest, the answer given by His Royal Highness was very harsh, beyond everyone's expectations. Churchwick wanted to protest, but the Second Highness avoided him. Let the guards around him say that this is the final decision and will never be changed. Earl Churchwick could only leave the barracks with hatred and go back to deliver the letter.
The Duke of Kenmes and the others were puzzled, and asked privately why His Royal Highness Lorist put forward such harsh conditions. Isn't this clearly forcing the four princes in the middle to die? Could it be that the continuation of the war would be of greater benefit to the Second Highness
Lorist sneered, clicked on the map on the table, and said sarcastically: "Our Majesty is interested in the territory of the eleven provinces of the four central duchies. It's very simple. Although Jinford is important to him, But it is not as good as the manpower and resources of these eleven provinces. It is a dream for him to unify the empire just by relying on the imperial capital to cover several provinces. With the territory of these eleven provinces, he has the confidence to fight the business alliance. Lost."
Everyone was stunned. Lorist warned everyone to be more vigilant. After receiving His Highness's reply, the four grand dukes in the central area may fight to the death. The big ones may take some more extreme measures such as assassination or something. I hope everyone can protect themselves. But what Lorist hoped more was that the four Grand Dukes in the middle would accept the conditions offered by His Highness the Second Highness...
"What did you say? How could they agree to such a harsh condition?" Earl Shaheen said that such a good thing is impossible: "If it were me, I would rather die than agree to such a condition."
Lorist smiled and shook his head: "You don't understand, it's about the inheritance of the family, and it's not up to the personal likes and dislikes of the four grand dukes. They have to think carefully. Although the conditions of the Second Highness are a bit harsh, they are not impossible. Accept. Although money is valuable, can it be compared to the family inheritance? Besides, the Second Highness just asked them to move the title, not to reduce it. They are still duke titles.
Even if the new territory is poorer, as long as the family continues, the territory will always develop slowly. The most important point is that His Royal Highness did not deprive them of their military rights. They can each lead a legion to the family's new territory. Together with the family members of the 45,000-strong family's armed corps, they will soon be able to control the entire new territory. With family arms and territory, they don't have to worry about the future. "
…
On July 6th, 1783, the general calendar in Galintia, it has been more than a month and nearly fifty days since Earl Churchwick returned. Confront the enemy in front of the second line of defense. The Second Highness was still angry with Lorist, because Lorist insisted not to attack. And it is impossible for the Second Highness to command the White Lion Legion under his command and the reserve army of the Feisabrun family to die. The Grand Duke Feisabrun ran around at both ends, and after all the good words, he finally calmed down the Second Highness and agreed to face each other again. a period of time.
On this night, the second line of defense of the Principality of Handela suddenly burst into killing sounds and flames shot into the sky. His Highness the Second Highness, Lorist and the others were alarmed, and they all went to check, and found that the camps of the Green Forest Mountain Legion and the Bloodspear Legion under the command of Grand Duke Faker were attacked. This situation is a bit weird, and even the Second Highness is wondering if this is a trap to lure him to attack.
At this moment, several scouts from the Pegasus Legion brought back the bloody Earl Churchwick. He reported to His Highness the Second Highness that Grand Dukes Handela, Frando and Sabaji all agreed to the Second Highness's conditions and were willing to surrender to the Second Highness. However, Grand Duke Faker clamored to resist to the end and vowed not to surrender. It was hard to persuade him, but he said that he didn't have so much Jinford as a donation.
Just when Grand Duke Handra and others were discussing whether to send envoys to plead with the Second Highness to reduce some donations, Grand Duke Faker brazenly ordered his two legions to loot the towns and villages of the Principality of Handra, burn and kill There is nothing wrong with looting. Grand Duke Handela sent someone to stop Grand Duke Fakr, but he said, anyway, if you are going to surrender, this place will soon no longer be your family territory, so you might as well snatch it up now, kill it all and burn it all, leaving a free space for the Second Highness.
Grand Duke Handela was so angry that he vomited blood, and led his troops to fight with Grand Duke Faker. With great difficulty, he suppressed the two legions of Grand Duke Faker and returned to the defensive position. Grand Duke Sabaji was about to besiege Grand Duke Faker and his two legions and surrendered to His Highness the Second Highness. Unexpectedly, before troops were dispatched here, Grand Duke Faker was already preparing to break through overnight.
Fortunately, the garrison troops of the Principality of Handela at the foot of the mountain were prepared and did not allow Grand Duke Faker to break through the siege. But the current situation was messed up by them. Over there, the Duke of Flanders led a legion to directly raid the camp guarded by the Legion of the Principality of Fakel. There was a fight down the mountain and up and down the mountain, and people were fighting everywhere. Earl Churchwick managed to get out of the chaos, so he rushed to ask for help...
The Second Highness was overjoyed when he heard that, and urgently ordered Grand Duke Fesabrun, Lorist, Earl Felim, and Earl Shaheen to lead their family's cavalry for reinforcements, and they must not get rid of the culprit, Grand Duke Faker. This time Lorist was very condescending to the Second Highness, and was immediately ordered to rush over with the Flying Tigers.
The addition of the cavalry became a reminder for the two legions of the Principality of Fakel, and they died and surrendered as if they were crushed. However, it is possible that these two legions did too much evil in the Principality of Handra. The soldiers of the two legions of the Principality of Faker who surrendered were gathered and were massacred by the garrison troops of the Principality of Handra who hated them. After Lorist discovered it, it was too late to stop it. Nearly 30,000 captives were massacred, and more than half of the Faker soldiers who survived were less than 10,000...
The Rush incident between Grand Duke Handra and Grand Duke Faker means the end of the war of the Second Highness's conquest of the four principalities in the middle. Grand Duke Handra, Duke Volendo, and Grand Duke Sabaji surrendered to His Royal Highness, while Grand Duke Fakr rushed out of the siege of the garrison of the Principality of Handra early with nearly a hundred riders, and turned to Majik Province to defect He joined the business alliance and became an exiled grand duke in the name of asylum.
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