Chapter 298: Real fight? What a fight!
Thank you very much to Qidian’s dad for the 100 reward!
......
Listening to Dalton's words, Little Peeling pursed his lips, grabbed a human leather glove next to him, and frowned like noodles stuck together.
He really didn’t expect that the originally stable Nord province would be thrown into chaos by Raven’s statement.
Even he did not expect that Raven would dare to send troops to attack the Principality of Eivor.
This is crazy!
But, yes, Raven should be so crazy.
Without this crazy drive, how could he have obtained wealth and strength that overwhelmed all the viscounts by virtue of his status as a baron?
"Lei Wen..." Xiao Peipi's eyes, one red and one white, were filled with confusion: "What are you planning this time?"
Every time, there is an extremely rational motivation behind Raven's crazy performance, so this time, it is impossible for him to really attack Eivor.
Raven must have something he really wants, but it is just hidden behind this seemingly nonsense behavior.
Power, wealth, women, status...
Little Peipi's eyes lit up.
By the way, status!
Regardless of Lei Wen's current reputation, he is the leader among the nobles in the province in terms of financial resources, power, and land, but the only thing he lacks is status.
To be precise, it is a title.
He probably wanted to take this opportunity to show his worth to Marquis Anthony.
No, Anthony doesn't have this ability. The only one who can really decide whether Raven can be promoted to a peerage is His Majesty the King.
“It’s really yours!” Xiao Pipi slapped his palm heavily.
The empire has been defeated again and again recently. If His Majesty the King hears of a person who is so loyal to the country, he will definitely set an example.
Then the title of Viscount is within reach, isn’t it?
"Little Skinner." Seeing that his lord did not respond for a long time, Dalton had to bite the bullet and remind him: "There are only 13 days left before the time set by Baron Raven... "
"Oh, you think I'm afraid of Raven?" Little Peeling glanced at Dalton.
Just when Dalton was silent, he smiled brightly again: "Yes, now that Raven has power and righteousness, I really have to be afraid of him."
"Reply to the letter... Forget it, tell these nobles directly on the Skyhawk Platform that of course we in Shippok County will fully support Baron Raven's grand event."
"This time, it's up to you to take the lead. Let the 1,000 soldiers go over and respond to our supervisor."
Dalton was a little surprised: "Are you sure you are not a serf soldier?"
"The serfs still have to grow food." Xiao Peipi put the human leather gloves on his hands: "Take the ordinary soldiers over and listen carefully to Raven's orders - the food is not rich anyway, what's wrong with asking him to help raise some soldiers? ?”
“But you have to be smart. If Raven really attacks the Sigh Wall for show, you have to run as fast as you can.”
"Yes, Mr. Little Peeling!"
As the news of Little Peeling's response to Raven came out, the five northwest counties basically reached a consensus.
The nobles generally have the same thoughts as Little Peel.
They all thought that Raven just wanted to put on a "patriotic performance" to earn a little political reputation for himself.
As the saying goes, you will go crazy if you want a title.
Nowadays, the nobles' territories have not fully recovered, and supporting the army itself is a burden.
Give Lei Wen some of it, no matter how long it takes, even if it is only 3 or 5 months, you can save a lot of food.
After the news was brewed in the five northwest counties, it quickly spread to Meng En City.
At first, the citizens of Munn City thought it was just a silly joke.
After all, it would be outrageous to attack a country with the strength of five counties.
But the way things went next had to make the citizens take things seriously, even with a hint of panic.
As the locust plague gradually passed, the originally high food prices gradually dropped to a level that the citizens could barely accept.
However, shortly after the news arrived, the price of crude wheat rose sharply, rising from 11 copper coins per pound to 23 copper coins in just 2 days.
Businessmen are more price sensitive.
Food is next, and the prices of horses, leather, iron ore and other strategic materials on the market are also soaring.
Public opinion began to ferment in Meng'en City.
Citizens complained about the increasingly high prices, while businessmen began to inquire whether the war would really start, and what the attitude of Earl Tyrone of the Slater family would be.
Just when the discussion in the city was fierce and gradually became a climax.
Earl Tyrone and Archbishop Thomas, who had maintained a considerable distance from each other on the surface, got together.
The place where the two met was a secret manor on the banks of the Mon River.
There is no sign of being devastated by the locust plague here. The vegetation is lush, the flowers are luxuriant, and the three-story building is covered with vines, just like the residence of the legendary forest goblin.
On the third floor tower, you have a wide view, overlooking the sparkling river.
The sun is warm and the wind is warm.
Earl Tyrone poured half a cup of fragrant tea for Thomas, looked at the river and said: "I have always thought that the kind of person in the story who usually lives in seclusion but can shake up the general situation with one word does not exist."
“But today, I have to express my admiration.”
Although the secret meeting between Raven and Thomas was never made public, the fact that the church provided Raven with a large amount of food in various ways could not be hidden from those who were interested.
Thomas adjusted the soft dome hat on his head so that his smooth forehead would not reflect clear light on the dome: "Then you admire the wrong person."
" It's just you and me here, and you know that I've never been the kind of person who would snitch. "What's more, we have a common enemy now."
Thomas nodded lightly.
Politics is like this, there are no eternal enemies and no eternal friends.
Although Thomas had tricked Talon once before with the Hand of Death incident, causing Talon to suffer a big loss, but now, Anthony was overwhelming the province of Nord, which was a situation that neither of them wanted to see.
“My Lord Earl is so honest, it seems that I am not bright enough.” Thomas smiled softly: “But I really didn’t hide it from you. Raven’s decision to send troops has nothing to do with me.”
Tailong's brows trembled, and he raised the tea cup to his mouth. He put it down again, looked at Thomas and said, "Really?"
"I'm more surprised than you." Thomas smiled bitterly: "Originally, I thought this was your idea."
< br>Otherwise, Thomas would not have met Tyrone on this occasion.
"Then it looks like Raven really came up with this idea by himself." Tai Lung completely forgot about the boiling water and put it into his mouth, his brows suddenly frowning even more tightly.
"What an amazing young man." Thomas sighed: "He is only 27 years old this year, right?"
"26 years old." Tyrone also sighed: "Are we really Are you old?”
In order to maintain his authority and his status in the eyes of His Majesty the King, Antony’s governance in the province of Nord was brutal.
Not only was there no tax exemption, but in order to please His Majesty, an additional "spear tax" was imposed this spring, and 400,000 gold coins were plundered from nobles at all levels.
But he still occupies a righteous position - this amount of money is for "full support of this war." As a veteran nobleman of the Nord province, Earl Tyrone has the obligation to lead the Slater family to stop Anthony's perverse behavior, but he cannot offend Anthony, who represents His Majesty the King.
Originally, keeping quiet about the demise of the Fox family would have disappointed the Slater family. If Anthony continues to cause trouble like this, it will only make the Slater family's reputation more and more popular. Difference.
For Thomas, who represents the Church of Light, Anthony, the representative of royal power, is also a thorn in the side. As long as Anthony is still here, Thomas will not be able to show off his talents.
At this moment, Raven jumped out and wanted to unite the armies of the five northwest counties to attack the Principality of Eivor. The reason was impeccable.
Neither Tyrone nor Thomas believed that Raven's move was purely for show, as the nobles said in the rumors.
Leaven will definitely fight.
Although it is impossible to take down the Wall of Sighs with Raven's strength, the Principality of Eivor, as a franchising country of the Feton city-states, will inevitably lead to a series of diplomatic incidents as long as there is a war.
Drawing the always neutral Feton city-states into the water can also involve Insa's energy. This is indeed a powerful support for the frontal battlefield.
At this moment, Anthony was pushed into the corner. All his previous measures to please His Majesty the King pale in comparison to Raven's actions.
"What are you going to do next?" Earl Tyrone asked.
"Do nothing." Thomas answered frankly: "What about you?"
Tailon nodded in approval, secretly thinking that Thomas is really an old fox.
The existence of the Church of Light has always been feared by His Majesty the King. At this time, whether Thomas shows support or opposition to Raven, it will arouse suspicion and give Anthony an excuse to attach Raven's actions to the church. conspiracy.
Do nothing and there will be no trouble.
As for the church's previous delivery of food to Raven, Anthony would not mention it - who asked Anthony to ask Thomas for food.
No one’s butt is clean.
"I want to make a difference." Earl Tyrone said: "Provide all support besides material things."
After saying that, the two looked at each other and smiled, understanding each other tacitly.
On the other hand, the busyness of Eagle City has not stopped.
The busiest person is Old Gordon. Not only does he have to count inventory and straighten out supplies, he also needs to balance the allocation of resources among various territories. It can be said that he is extremely busy.
But after a few words with Fiona, he took the time to find Raven.
Raven was in the conference room at this time, staring at the huge map of the Principality of Eivor, with all kinds of information in his hands.
Not only those shown in the previous meeting, but also many important people from the Principality of Eivor, including Grand Duchess Cuiqi, and everyone in the Principality's cabinet.
In Raven's hand, there is also a thick manuscript with many names written on it. Each name is circled and then connected with keywords.
"Greedy can be bribed", "cowardly can be threatened", "upright can be framed"...
Seeing this, Old Gordon waited quietly aside.
For a long time, until Raven reached for his hand, Old Gordon quietly handed over a glass of warm milk.
"Why are you here?" Raven took the cup and took a sip: "What problem did you encounter?"
"There is indeed one thing, Fiona reminded me. "Old Gordon pushed up his monocle.
Seeing his behavior, Raven couldn't help but shake his head and smile.
The grandparents and grandsons are almost carved out of the same mold. They push up their glasses with exactly the same movements. They push gently with their index finger knuckles.
"Master, what's wrong?" Old Gordon felt a little uncomfortable with the laughter.
"Nothing, just keep talking."
"Okay." Old Gordon sorted out his thoughts and spoke out the draft: "Lord Baron, after the locust plague, we flew up It must have caused a lot of damage to the bloody highlands.”
"Last year, there were constant reports of horse thieves attacking several surrounding counties. The Principality of Eivor was also attacked by horse thieves."
"The reason why our territory has not been affected is because there are two legions of fresh troops. , so that the horse thieves dare not invade."
"This time you attack the Principality of Eivor, all at once. All the troops have been mobilized, and the defense is empty. If the horse thieves attack, it will not be easy. "
"Well, it seems that Fiona's vision is still as sharp as ever," Raven said half-jokingly: "I almost want to take her to march with me."
Old Gordon's expression became serious.
Raven knew that whenever this happened, Old Gordon would start to give serious advice, but Raven didn't want to listen to Old Gordon's nagging: "Don't worry, I have already made arrangements for Bloody Highlands."
"Where do you think the batch of grain I shipped last year went?"
Old Gordon frowned and thought for a long time, then relaxed his brows.
As he grew older, his memory began to fail as before. When Raven mentioned it, he remembered that last spring, the master did indeed transfer a batch of grain. Now that he thought about it, it should have been sent to the bloody highlands.
"Firebeard and Gangya have always been in contact with me." Lei Wen said confidently: "If something really happens, they can lure the horse thieves to other people's territory."
"And in addition to them, I also have hidden hands."
On the bloody high ground, there is light and darkness, which is enough to serve as two insurances.
And even if these two insurances fail, there is still Nancy, a third-level magician, in Eagle City.
No matter how many horse thieves come, they still can't break through Eagle City with Nancy as its commander.
Not wanting to continue on this topic, Raven asked: "How is the logistics going?"
Old Gordon took out a notebook: "Half of the food has been loaded into the truck, and I am also organizing manpower to make a batch of field rations. It will be completed in 8 days at most."
"Forage for horses, The soybeans have also been packed into bags."
At this point, Old Gordon smiled slightly: "Of course, there is also the special food for the logistics troops as you ordered."
Raven nodded with satisfaction.
He didn't have enough food to eat all. The soldiers recruited from the five northwest counties didn't have time to integrate and train. Raven would only let them be responsible for logistics, or fill the lines and serve as cannon fodder.
Only the Eagle Army is the real main force.
Therefore, the food given to the armies of the five northwest counties does not need to be too good. It should be mixed with some bran and sawdust.
"Okay, if you don't have anything else to do, go ahead and get busy. I still want to continue planning." Lei Wen said.
"Yes, sir." Old Gordon bowed and saluted, turned around and took two steps, then suddenly turned back and asked: "Is it really okay for you to send troops rashly this time without discussing with the governor? "
Leaven raised a finger: "It's precisely because I really want to send troops that I can't communicate with him!"
While the two were talking, news that Raven was about to send troops finally reached Fox Castle.
After receiving the news, Akori knocked on the door of Anthony's bedroom anxiously.
……
(End of this chapter)