Lord Harland

Harland led the summer grain harvest, and Richard put down his worries. At this moment, the two duchies, Edward and Fox, were in a miserable state and fell into the dilemma of food shortage.

Due to the impact of the war, the two major duchies delayed their spring plowing, especially the Duchy of Edward. The entire territory was plagued by orcs, and grain production was reduced by more than 95%.

Although the population has now been reduced by more than half, with only more than 400,000 refugees gathered after the war, and food consumption reduced by two-thirds, by June, the economy was already drying up, and a small amount of food stocks began to be consumed.

The Duke of Edward has suffered heavy losses this year. Most of the gold coins have been looted by orcs. Only some gold coins are left to maintain the army and improve equipment. It is no longer able to buy food. It has no choice but to borrow food from the Grant royal family in order to tide over the difficulties. .

Although the situation in the Dukedom of Forks is slightly better, this summer has been particularly difficult. Unable to make ends meet and unable to support.

The two dukes have always stayed together for warmth, but now they have become brothers in need. Simone, the second-in-command in the Duchy of Edward, came to the Duchy of Fox and was ready to talk to Duke Fox, hoping that Duke Fox could advance and retreat together and strengthen their determination.

Simone entered Duke Fox's mansion. The two parties exchanged a few polite words, and Duke Fox took the lead in getting down to business.

"Has your food shortage eased during the recent period?"

Simone nodded and said: "King Roger is relatively easy to talk to and has a sense of the overall situation. This summer, he borrowed 50,000 tons of grain from Gascoyne and Sodamia provinces, and gave us a grain loan of 200,000 gold coins. Yes. With the support of the Grant royal family, we should be able to get through this.”

“If we can maintain it this year, what will happen in the future?”

Hearing Duke Fox's emotion, Simone felt the same and felt a little sad. He didn't speak for a long time.

The great aristocrats of the Grant Kingdom were never monolithic. Because of their origin, geographical location and other factors, they were divided into several groups and developed together.

The Seven Earls of the South are former ministers of the Kingdom of Venus and have been suppressed by the Grant royal family. The seven Earls marry each other and dominate the political situation in the South.

Until the Venus family launched a rebellion and the Seven Earls of the South split.

Although there are still five earls left in the south, one of them is a member of the Grant family. The remaining four earls have also lost mutual trust. Under the current system of the Grant Kingdom, they have gradually lost their right to speak. They have been cautious for more than ten years and have almost no voice. .

The Fourth Marquis of the East is a close ally of the Grant royal family. In recent years, due to the strength of the Grant Kingdom, there has been some development. The Fourth Marquis family has a close relationship with the royal family and has frequent marriages. It can be regarded as a vassal of the royal family. It not only has territory in the eastern region, but also has a greater say in Nolan. It has been relatively active in recent years and its momentum is obviously on the rise.

The Jonathan family is an outsider, and now the main force has moved to Stanik for development. Its momentum is far less than it was ten years ago, and it has gradually become mediocre in the Grant Kingdom.

The Dukedom of York is a branch of the royal family. Its territory is located south of the two Dukes Edward and Fox. It can be regarded as a reserve force to resist the orcs. At critical times, it needs to help the two Dukes Edward and Fox resist the invasion of the orcs.

Unfortunately, the situation has changed. Without the three elite legions directly under the royal family, the Jonathan family has also moved its main force to the west. The two Dukes, Edward and Fox, cannot stop the orcs from attacking at all.

Even the Duke of York cannot hold the line of defense. The power of the great nobles in Northern Xinjiang has been imbalanced.

The Duke of Lorraine was an ally of the Grant royal family, and good relations between the two parties lasted for more than six hundred years. However, in recent years, the Duke of Lorraine has gradually united with the two dukes of Duran and Guise, dominating the political situation in the southwest region of the Grant Kingdom, and gradually separated from the Grant royal family.

The two Dukes, Fox and Edward, have the least background and are knighted for military merit. His origin is relatively close to the Harland family.

Simone was silent for a long time and then said: "Our current situation is very dangerous. The environment outside the territory is very unsafe. If the operation is not done well, it is the situation of the Martins family. The orcs have taken advantage this year and will only treat us as Focus on the attack, my dear Duke, what are your plans?"

After hearing Simone's question, Duke Fox's face suddenly became ugly. He forced a smile and said: "You said that if we make good friends with Duke Harland, will the situation change?"

Simone shook his head and said: "Duke Harland is a lion and a tiger, and we can barely be counted as two wild dogs. Wild dogs will not be allowed to develop near the territory of the lion. We have indeed looked away at Duke Harland before. Eyes, they never expected that in just a few years, the power of the Harland family would change drastically. Who would have thought that Duke Harland could defeat more than 300,000 elite orc soldiers, making the orcs dare not confront him. Fight?

Now our overt enemy is the orcs, but our secret enemy is Duke Harland. The orc is a greedy python, and Duke Harland is a terrifying lion. Neither the python nor the lion will allow wild dogs to develop near their territory.

Asking Duke Harland for help is like bringing in timber to put out a fire. The more timber we move, the more intense the fire will inevitably be.

If we had a close relationship with Duke Harland, this process, although inevitable, might last longer. However, we have a normal relationship with Duke Harland, and there was some estrangement in the past. This process must be very fast. I think that in ten years, or even five years at most, our result will be the situation of the Martins family.

Of course, the accumulation of our two families far exceeds that of the Martins family. In recent years, we have tried our best to support family members to develop in the south. Now they are spreading their branches in the south. Although they will step down from the status of great nobility, the Edward and Fox families It must also be the top middle class nobles and will not completely decline.

If it really develops to this point, our generation will be ashamed of our ancestors. "

After hearing Simone's words, Duke Fox asked with a very serious face: "Is this your opinion or Harris's?"

"This is the unanimous opinion of our Edward family."

Seeing Simone's very determined attitude, Duke Fox was suddenly in a dilemma.

"It seems that you are determined to develop to the south. But will there be changes when we go to the south? If we go to the south, we will also be pushed to the front line by the Roger Kingdom. Although we don't need to face the orcs, we also need to fight with Delong. Kingdom, East Coast United Kingdom Fight.”

Simone nodded and said: "That's true, dear Duke. But our living environment will soon change. First of all, the military strength of the Kingdom of Delon and the United Kingdom on the East Coast is far inferior to that of the orcs, and our pressure will be reduced a lot.

Secondly we will have more autonomy. If the royal family's persecution is fierce, we can surrender to the Kingdom of Delon, which will ensure that the royal family must compromise with us. But if we stay in northern Xinjiang, we cannot surrender to the orcs, and we can only fight to the death with all our strength.

Now while we still have the power in our hands, we should make a choice now. When the orcs exhaust our strength, we will have to look at other people's faces and completely give up the initiative.

Once you fall from the position of a great noble, it will be even more difficult to get up. "

The situation of the Duke of Fox is much better than that of the Duke of Edward, and making this determination is far more difficult than that of the Duke of Edward. After all, there are still more than one million serfs in the Dukedom of Fox, and it will not be easy to relocate. But sticking to northern Xinjiang has no strategic future.

It is inevitable for the Martins family to continue to stay in northern Xinjiang. Unless the Fox Dukedom can expand its strength three to five times in a short period of time, it can maintain a balance with the orcs and Harland Territory, and withstand the 300,000 orc army.

But this kind of miracle cannot happen in the Dukedom of Fox. After all, Duke Fox is not a time traveler and does not have so much knowledge beyond ordinary people to learn from. He was not lucky enough to get the legendary fourth-level item, which would pose a huge threat to the orcs on the frontal battlefield.

Although it was difficult to make the decision, Duke Fox was quickly persuaded by Simone and decided to move south as soon as possible.

With the plan to move south, the two Dukes Fox and Edward rushed to Nolan together, hoping to negotiate good terms with King Roger.

In recent years, the Grant royal family has been bent on developing southward, and the three Dukes of Guise, Duran, and Harland have been more supportive. They have sent a large number of soldiers to each southern expedition. The great nobles such as Edward, Fox, York, and Lorraine stood aside and did not share in many benefits. They only received a barony in the south.

The Jonathan family wanted to leave the Grant Kingdom and concentrate on development in Stanik. However, they have worked hard in the Grant Kingdom for hundreds of years and accumulated a huge family fortune. They cannot abandon the cause of the Grant Kingdom at all.

The two Dukes Fox and Edward expressed their determination to develop southward. After thinking for a few days and analyzing the pros and cons, the Roger Kingdom officially negotiated terms with the two Dukes.

"The two dukes lead three legions south. Our strength in the south will be significantly enhanced. But if we want to defeat the Kingdom of Delon in one fell swoop, we must let Duke Harland lead the two main legions south to join the war. Only in this way can we obtain Enough results, enough territory, and enough territory to settle the two dukes."

Duke Fox nodded and said: "Leave it to us to convince Duke Harland. If the move south goes well, we will get a fiefdom in the south, and the territory in the north can be exchanged with Duke Harland.

But the southern expedition must be carried out as soon as possible, preferably in October this year. One thing is that the orcs are going south this year and have consumed a lot of food and grass. They must have no plans to invade in the short term. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Duke Harland could mobilize a large number of soldiers to fight south.

Secondly, this year's southern expedition also had an unexpected effect. The autumn season is high and the horses are fat, which is also suitable for large army operations.

The only trouble is whether food supplies can be supplied along the way. Together with Duke Harland, this time the kingdom will mobilize 100,000 elites from the northern Xinjiang to go south. The supply of 100,000 troops will be a very severe test for the supply route. "

King Roger replied very happily: "The royal family will take care of the supplies along the way, but you have to pay for the purchase of food. Since you have suffered heavy losses this year, I can provide you with a batch of low-interest loans.

Your march route will pass through the Duke of York, the Province of Maryland, the Duke of Guise, and finally enter the Province of Ferdinand. Together with the armies of the Duke of Guise and the Duke of Durand, and the Grizzly Army, you will be organized into the Western Front. Fight under the unified command of the Governor.

The Central Front Army is composed of the Northern Army, the Iron Lion Army, the White Elephant Army of the Royal Guards, the Silver Wolf Army, and the Zebra Army, with Zachary serving as the commander-in-chief.

The Eastern Front tentatively appointed Duke Harland as its commander, commanding Count Steven's army, and the southern nobles' coalition fought. "

Dukes Edward and Fox basically had no objections to King Roger's arrangements.

Because of the pressure brought by the orcs, the Grant Kingdom finally mobilized the vast majority of its forces to develop to the south by chance.

During this southern expedition, armies from three fronts gathered together, and more than 300,000 elite troops were dispatched. The focus of the troops was also on the western front.

The Western Front commanded by William included one legion under the Duke of Edward, two legions under the Duke of Fox, two legions under the Duke of Duran, and one and a half legions under the Duke of Guise. Together with the Grizzly Bear Legion directly under William, the main force exceeded One hundred and fifty thousand.

The Chinese Front Army is also composed of elite troops and generals, composed of five elite royal regiments. The number of elite troops on the front line also exceeds 100,000.

Although the troops on the eastern front are the weakest, the main force is Duke Harland, who is the most skilled in fighting. Duke Harland's 40,000 troops serve as the backbone. Together with the coalition forces of Earl Steven and the nobles, the total strength is nearly 70,000.

There are 320,000 front-line troops, and the second-line troops maintaining the logistics line are also more than 200,000. In this southern expedition, the Grant Kingdom will mobilize more than 500,000 troops to go south, which is larger than the battle against the orcs in northern Xinjiang.

In the more than 600 years since the founding of the Grant royal family, there has only been one battle of this scale, and it was the Battle of Dragon Canyon commanded by Duke Brenner.

After King Roger reached an agreement with Edward and Duke Fox, both parties immediately sent envoys to Harland Territory to negotiate terms with Richard.

Hearing that the Edward and Fox families were preparing to go south and enter the Delon Kingdom to develop, Richard also showed a bit of joy on his face. If the situation develops like this, Harland Territory will be the only one in northern Xinjiang, and its expansion will be more logical.

If the two major duchies were weakened and eaten by the orcs, it would be too ugly.

Richard also wants the Grant Kingdom market, and must deal with the Grant Kingdom nobles. Being too ugly is not conducive to long-term development.

The Edward and Fox families have made the right choice. Of course, Richard will not open his mouth and deliberately make things difficult.

As time entered mid-July, we had already reached an agreement. King Roger then sent a messenger to inform the two Dukes of Duran and Guise. As for the Dukes of Lorraine and York, they provided a batch of logistics supplies and sent troops to protect the logistics line.

The four eastern marquises and the four southern earls must form a war zone to coordinate and defend their homeland.

In this way, the great nobles formed a unified opinion, and time entered August unknowingly.

After entering August, Richard had already begun preparations for the southern expedition. This time, Richard mobilized the Soros and Jennings legions, the Griffin Cavalry, the Flying Dragon Knights, the Magic Hot Air Balloon Brigade, and the Headquarters Reconnaissance Brigade. The Guard Brigade, the 4th, 5th, and 6th artillery squadrons all participated in the battle. Together with the headquarters staff, military law, logistics and other agencies, the total strength exceeded 45,000.