Realm of Power

While the war in the Nord Kyoto area was raging, Salander Kyoto, far away on Salander Island, was very quiet. The rough Salander North Sea also seemed much quieter in the season of cool autumn breeze.

, the waves surged gently, creating layers of white waves. The water looked dark blue, and you couldn't see the bottom at a glance. The huge waves on the sea that could often be seen some time ago were completely invisible now.

If it were not for the cold water, the Salander Sea would look peaceful and sunny. Of course, this is only on the surface. In fact, in the depths of the Salander Sea, undercurrents are still surging and extremely dangerous.

Since the beginning of the year, the Falcon Army conquered Salander Kyoto in one fell swoop through cross-sea operations. The city has been damaged to a certain extent, and a considerable part of the city wall was destroyed by the Southern Vekian Army under the command of Statunko.

Especially near the west gate, less than one-third of the height of the city wall is left. After the efforts of the Falcon Army and the Salanders, it took several months to remove the huge strips of water transported by sea. The stone is repaired because the stone mined comes from the central and northern regions where mineral resources are rich. The gray stone surface has a light pink color of manganese metal.

The city wall made of this kind of stone looks extremely beautiful from a distance. Under the sunlight, it looks like a burning sunset winding along the ridge and coast. This makes many Salanders regard the original Kyoto is called the pink city

The war on Salander Island had ended five months ago. Under the leadership of the Falcon Dynasty, Salander Island established a new ruling order. The Falcon Dynasty declared the eight counties in central Salander as hunting grounds. Under the direct jurisdiction of His Majesty the Eagle, the original four northern counties of Salander established the Northern Salander Autonomous Territory headed by Grand Duchess Nile.

Under Fatty's arrangement, Nilai had already made a joint proposal from the lords and nobles of the four counties at the Northern Conference that ended in June to automatically crown the Queen of Northern Salander and become the nominal leader of the country in northern Salander. It is the symbol of Salander.

However, according to the provisions of the revised Salander Autonomy Law, Queen Nile only enjoys nominal power in the Salander region, and does not have the power to command and use armies outside the four counties of the North. Moreover, the Queen of the North should obey The Falcon Dynasty's supreme command, His Majesty the Falcon, accepts the advice of the regional governor stationed in Salander. This means that the northern region of Salander has been indirectly subordinated to part of the Falcon Dynasty.

The main power in the Salander region is still in the hands of the southern governor Statunko. The vast and fertile central 8 counties, with a population of nearly 1 million, and the main force of the southern army of 40,000 people under his command, are in Statunko Under Co's painstaking efforts, the farmland and towns that had been abandoned due to the war were rebuilt. The strong military power also made the Normans who occupied the southern part of Salander dare not act rashly.

After Statunko occupied Salander Kyoto, he quickly took over the sphere of influence that originally belonged to Salander Kyoto in the name of the Falcon Dynasty, and quickly established the Falcon Dynasty's customary military supremacy policy in these areas, transforming Kyoto into The land of the great nobles was distributed to the local common people in exchange for the support of the common people, merchants and small nobles for the rulers of this region of the Falcon Dynasty.

If it were another country, perhaps Statunko's decision would have caused quite a fierce resistance. After all, this was turning a local country into a dependent country of another kingdom. This was the conquest of a race. war

But in the special circumstances of a region like Salander, which had lost half of its territory to the Normans, this provision did not cause much repercussions.

The Norman army massacred a large number of Salanders on Salander Island, creating a large amount of no-man's land in both the north and the south. The weakness and incompetence of the Salander army made most of the Salanders already against This country has little hope,

Coupled with the subsequent intensification of the conflict between the north and the south created by Kyoto without permission, and the poor performance of the noble army in the civil war, most Salanders deeply realized that the prerequisite for enjoying peace is to be strong. If there is not a powerful enough force, As a means to rely on, the Salanders will never get the chance to take revenge.

In addition, many high-level nobles from Salander have gained high status and independent control of power due to their interest connections with the Falcon Dynasty, which also satisfied the recognition of the Falcon Dynasty by the upper-class nobles of Salander. feel

The implementation of the Falcon Dynasty's land decree also received support from a large number of farmers, slave workers, and businessmen. The combination of multiple factors allowed this regulation to be passed smoothly.

On the Normandy side, the sudden change of opponents in the north also encountered a strong blow that they had never encountered before after the first few attacks. Statunko's Southern Army was well-equipped and tempered by several battles. Already possessing extremely strong combat effectiveness, in several smaller border conflicts with a thousand-man level, the Falcon Southern Army equipped with infantry crossbows relied on its excellent long-range strike capabilities and the solid fortifications built by Salander to defeat the main forces. The Normans, who used light infantry maneuvers as a means of attack, suffered heavy casualties.

In May alone, more than 2,000 Normandy soldiers were killed in border conflicts, while the Falcon Army defended by the city wall only had 26 people. The disparity in combat strength was so great that the Duke of Normandy could only dejectedly order a suspension. offensive against the north,

This powerful opponent suddenly appeared in front of him, making him feel a little worried.

If the northern part of Salander already possesses such a powerful force, the southern part it holds will be in danger. The strength of the Principality of Normandy is not strong in the Oubalu continent, and it can only be regarded as a second-rate kingdom on the southern coast.

Crossing the sea was a logistical challenge. Although the vast southern area of ​​Salander was occupied, it was full of Salanders. All the troops from Normandy had to be transported from the distant coast. It seemed like a conquest of this land. However, in fact, they cannot afford large-scale consumption.

In addition, two main legions were inexplicably wiped out some time ago, and even the most powerful general under his command, the Goshawk Avize, was lost in the northern part of Salander. The Duke of Normandy has already begun to think about retreating.

He hoped to consider the war issue on Salander after understanding the details of the other party.

The southern part of Salander is not big, at most it is about one-third of the Principality of Normandy. It is really uneconomical to put too much energy on this land that cannot be defended at all. With the business exchanges ,Intelligence about the opposite Falcon Dynasty is also continuously sent,

"It turns out that what I am facing is just a legion of the Falcon Dynasty."

The Duke of Normandy felt a little at a loss. For the first time, he felt that he might have encountered a behemoth, a powerful kingdom with a territory four times that of the Principality of Normandy and a military strength of more than 200,000 elite warriors. A kingdom like this on the continent of Europa is enough to be called a giant. As a first-class kingdom, facing such an opponent, the Principality of Normandy obviously lacks confidence, not to mention that it is on the opposite side of the strait where it is increasingly difficult to supply troops.

The only thing that makes the Duke of Normandy feel fortunate is that the attention of this powerful kingdom does not seem to be on Salander, but on the unification war on the mainland across the strait, but no one can guarantee that this situation will maintain. How long will it take for the other side to turn its attention? Normandy's military strength will simply not be able to compete.

Since May, Salander has basically returned to calm. Faced with increasingly strong pressure from the Falcon Army, the Normandy Army has gradually withdrawn to garrison in safer areas. Compared with the previous arrogance, it has been greatly restrained. , and even took the initiative to give in some The ports close to the coast have been frightened by the Falcon Dynasty's navy. The existence of ports that lack fleet protection is prone to violent bombardment by the Falcon Navy's Dragon Tooth warships. This includes the port known as the first seaport in the south. port of dubron,

After Statunko's repairs, the originally destroyed Dubron Port returned to its original size that could accommodate more than 60 large warships at the same time. Salander's superior marine technology was once again operational, and it was once again damaged. The Normandy's hundreds of shipyards were once again in full swing. The merchant ships coming and going were almost lined up in a continuous queue on the sea, waiting in an orderly manner to enter the city's inland river to unload.

Some relatively light merchant ships drove out of the queue as nimbly as fish and went to the auxiliary port to the north of the city entrance to unload their cargo. Because the capacity of Dublin port is limited after all.

, the Falcon Navy has added a number of auxiliary ports along the coast. To the north of the merchant ships, looming, the Dragon Tooth warships of the Falcon Dynasty Navy are cruising, vigilantly protecting the safety of these merchant ships.

Most of the merchant ships going to and from Dublin Port are transporting military supplies, and only a handful of merchant ships are passenger ships. Or they are a mixture of passengers and cargo.

At ten o'clock in the morning, before the sun had fully come out, the passengers carried by the merchant ship were the first to disembark. Some of them were businessmen from Vikia. They came to Salander mainly to inspect Dublin and the surrounding areas. economic situation and look for trade opportunities that can be captured.

With the restoration of the southern port of Dublin and the establishment of trade lines with the Normans, anyone with a little discernment can see that the port of Dublin, located between the two forces, will soon become the Falcon The army is at the center of Salander. Most businessmen have the idea of ​​​​seeking wealth through danger.

A large ocean-going merchant ship for both passengers and cargo slowly docked. After the gangplank was lowered, a tall woman stepped down from the merchant ship gracefully.

She has a pair of big, dark, clear eyes, soft and plump red lips, a pretty and delicate nose, plus her graceful and smooth cheeks, a pink face, and a height of nearly 1.8 meters. With a slim figure, graceful and round slender breasts, plump and round buttocks, and mature, fragrant, plump and towering breasts, coupled with delicate and smooth skin, she looks like a hot beauty.

However, her white dress looked so graceful and elegant, as if she was deliberately suppressing her passion and making herself pure and elegant. She wore delicate leather sandals, revealing her slender and round calves, which attracted the attention of many people. However, To the gazes of the people around her, this girl seemed lukewarm.

"Excuse me, is this Sokutus Stellan Show?" A carriage with the logo of the Falcon Army stopped in front of this beautiful girl, the door opened, and a young officer with a reserved look got down from it, his rosy face Still a little shy,

"It's me, you are." Sokutus Stellan looked at him with bright eyes. Her coming to Salander this time was an absolute secret. There were only two people who knew about it. One was the Falcon who gave her the task. Your Majesty, the other one is the Southern Governor Statunko who is responsible for the response.

"I am Si Da'an, the first-level adjutant of the Governor's Mansion." After hearing Sokutus Stellan's affirmative answer, the young adjutant quickly straightened up and saluted her. "In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, the Governor cannot come to receive the reception in person and can only entrust him to do so." Your Majesty will come to greet you."

"Yes, if the Governor comes in person, it will indeed cause some trouble, so I can only ask you to lead the way." Sokutus Stellan showed a considerate and beautiful smile, she walked up to the car door opened by the young adjutant,

"It should be an honor for me to see Dai Lanxiu there."

The young adjutant did not get on the carriage, but jumped briskly onto the seat next to the carriage driver. As a senior adjutant of the Southern Governor's Mansion, he was not a know-it-all.

The headquarters of the Business Alliance is within the sphere of influence of the Southern Army. As for the name of the most powerful 13th Deacon Sokutus Stellan in the Business Alliance, Si Daan is one of the few people who knows the weight of this name. This is also The reason why Statunko trusted him so much and entrusted him with this task was because once this news was leaked, it would cause an earthquake in the local business community and even directly affect the major military moves of the Falcon Dynasty.

The light horse-drawn carriage followed the Port Avenue until it reached the Governor's Palace in Dubron, and then stopped. As the most important port in southern Salander, Dublin once had a population of more than 300,000 at its most prosperous time. In the bustling metropolis, the Salander naval academy was built here. Statunko temporarily used this naval academy as his governor's palace.

The ancient Naval Academy has been destroyed by the war, and some parts have become quite dilapidated, but overall, the solemnity and luxury of the original Naval Academy can still be seen. After all, this is the cradle of the Salander Navy. , Time and war can destroy its appearance and body, but it is difficult to destroy its soul.

The then Minister of the Navy, Dustrunke, has already reported to the fat man, requesting that the Naval Academy be allocated to the Navy and serve as the basis for the establishment of the Falcon Naval Academy so that the Navy can have its own unique officer training system.

Of course, compared with the Palavon Academy in the center of the continent, this naval academy is inferior. However, during the Norman occupation, many of the naval academy's classics were not touched. In the eyes of the Normans, the Salander Navy was simply a bunch of waste. , naturally they will not pay attention to these valuable experiences recorded by the Salanders’ hundreds of years of navigation.

But for the Falcon Navy, this is an immeasurable wealth. Many of the navy's commanders graduated from the front-line army units and the War College in southern Virginia. Although the Falcon Navy has no rivals across the continental coast, That only relies on the strength of the ship and the strength of the gun. The real research and exploration of naval construction is still experimental even by Fatty himself. Now that he has the experience of the Salander Naval Academy, it will be of great help to the construction of the naval system. ,

In the study of the Governor's Mansion, Sokutus Stellan met the Southern Governor Statunko, an important minister of the Falcon Dynasty responsible for guarding Salander. His thin figure was sitting behind a desk. While reviewing a document, he heard the door open. The important minister of the kingdom raised his head and saw Sokutus Stellan walking in. He quickly stood up apologetically, "I'm sorry, I didn't go to greet you in person. It's really rude, but This is His Majesty’s will, and I can’t help it.”

"It doesn't matter. I can understand the difficulties of the Governor."

Sokutus Stellan smiled, took out a document from the bag in his hand, and placed it on Statunko's table. "Because this document is extremely important, His Majesty specifically stated that it can only pass through my hands." , and then be opened by the Governor himself."

"Is this the plan?"

Statunko stood up very cautiously, picked up the document with a somewhat excited hand, and when he opened the document, his face made a heavy breathing sound. When he opened the document, Statunko's face was full of bloodshot eyes. My eyes suddenly turned red,

"Your Majesty agreed." Statunko glanced over, his body trembling slightly with excitement. Even a steady person like Statunko could not control himself.

"Yes, His Majesty Falcon agrees that you will send a fleet to Obaro in the name of the Business Alliance." Sokutus Stellan said softly, "This time I invite you to come to Dubron for the same mission, because of some special The reason is that His Majesty's order has changed. This time, it is not a merchant fleet but a navy war fleet. But before that, His Majesty hopes that the Governor can lead the army to advance to the south."

"Advance to the south?" Statunko said with some suspicion. "Fighting the Normans? Our troops are somewhat insufficient. According to the information obtained from Normandy merchants, the Normans still have more than 70,000 troops in the southern part of Salander. There are garrisons and fleets in the outer sea, and we have almost no understanding of the terrain in the south. Fighting under such circumstances, our army is afraid that it will be difficult to win quickly. If we wait until we defeat the Normans and then send out the fleet, we are afraid that we will also It’s been a few years”

"The Governor is too worried. Your Majesty means to advance southward, not to attack by force."

"What difference does it make?" Statunko's face was stunned for a moment. He believed that since His Majesty Falcon had said such words, he would naturally have a complete arrangement. However, as the governor of Salander, he did not get anything. Layout information in this area

"The Governor may have forgotten that there are not only 70,000 Norman troops in the southern part of Salander, but also 2 million southern Salander people." Sokutus Stellan looked at the blue sky outside the window with interest. Pointing to it, he said, "The entire southern part of Salander is It is a crater. I believe that as soon as the news comes out that the Governor is leading the army to go south, these 2 million conservative and bullying Salanders will attack in groups. With these 2 million reinforcements, the Governor still feels that there is no Are you sure?" (To be continued)