Realm of Power

"Admiralty?" The fat man took the report from the Guards Cavalry with some confusion, glanced at it, smiled, handed the report to the confused Southern Governor Statunko next to him, and said with a smile.

"Look, the Normans have felt that they are at the end of their rope, and they actually handed over the documents of the negotiation to the fleet blocking the sea. The Normans offered to exchange half of southern Salander for a year of peace. The Grand Duke of Normandy really It’s a good deal, but it’s because their people can’t cross the southern seas at all, let alone land on land to submit negotiations.”

"Half of southern Salander in exchange for a one-year truce?" Statunko took the report handed over by the fat man, looked at it carefully, and groaned.

"Your Majesty, please do not believe the conditions of the Normans. This negotiation is simply a blackmail. It says that Normandy still has 100,000 troops in the south, and has mobilized all the warships in the country, and will soon press the border with a large army. This is simply not true. Talking nonsense,

As the commander-in-chief of the southern campaign, I know the current war situation best. The Normandy army’s remaining strength in the south will not exceed 30,000 people, and they are all concentrated in the southern city of Mossa.”

Statunko's voice stopped, and he suddenly knelt down on one knee in front of the fat man, "I beg your majesty to allow me to personally lead the 50,000 Southern Army to Mosa City, and cooperate with the 50,000 Central Army that landed at the southern port. Under the attack of a hundred thousand troops, I am confident that I will completely annihilate the remaining Norman troops in the south within ten days, leaving them without even the most basic capital. How can they come to talk to us? "

"Haha, don't worry, are you still afraid that the Normans will fly away?" The fat man chuckled, raised the riding crop in his hand slightly, pointed to the towering mountains in the distance and said, "You should know the reason why you can't annihilate them yet. , we need time, a time to digest the emotions of the Salanders in the south, so we also need these Normans as targets."

"What does Your Majesty mean..." Statunko asked cautiously.

"Of course I agree to negotiate with the Normans." A sly smile appeared on the corner of the fat man's mouth. Playing with the riding crop inlaid with sapphire in his hand, feeling the cold feeling of the gem coming from the handle of the riding whip, he said, "We want Salander, they want to live. In fact, both sides know very well that the negotiation is actually to be able to bring Normandy to the island. Let the people go out. We can tell them clearly that an armistice is impossible. It is still acceptable to pay a ransom to redeem these tens of thousands of Normandy troops.

"Your Majesty is your Majesty. These Normans have plundered a lot of property in the southern part of Salander, and now it's time to shed some blood," Statunko said with a look of realization on his face.

"You are familiar with the situation in the south, and you are the highest-ranking general of the empire in Salander. I will leave this negotiation to you." The fat man patted Statunko's shoulder with his right hand.

"I don't know how much this subordinate should ask for," Statunko asked hesitantly with a troubled face, looking a little confused. He is a capable minister in internal affairs. But I am not familiar with foreign affairs, so when I suddenly received such a task, I couldn’t help but feel that I didn’t know how to start.

"It's your business how much you want. Don't always say that I won't give you a chance to get rich." The fat man smiled nonchalantly, made a pinching gesture with his fingers, and said, "The lives of tens of thousands of them are at stake. It is in our hands. The sea is also our navy. On the road are the Salanders who want their lives. If you want to live, you can buy your life with money. It is only natural.

According to my estimation, if the Normans really value these people. At least you can get more than 5 million gold coins, but now you are the person in charge of this negotiation, and this battle was also fought by your Southern Army. I don’t care how much you get, you must hand over 3 million gold coins to the treasury, and the rest are all Your Confederate Army’s reward for this battle”

"On behalf of the 50,000 soldiers of the Southern Army who fought bloody battles, I would like to thank Your Majesty for your gift." Statunko knelt down on one knee in front of the fat man excitedly. His shoulders were shaking slightly. Although he was not good at diplomacy, he knew what this meant.

5 million gold coins, just thinking about it is enough to make people's blood boil. The Statunko family has been the close financial and tax officials of the Falcon family for generations. The calculation is a hereditary family knowledge. Statunko is not just a knight. Born, he is extremely proficient in calculations.

The 5 million that Fatty said was just a conservative estimate. With more than 30,000 Norman soldiers, plus many Norman civilians who migrated under the Norman attack, the number of Normans concentrated in Mosa is at least 170,000.

This was all a mistake in the original plan of the Normans. As a small principality that was being squeezed on its own land, the Normans risked being swallowed by the ocean and crossed the ocean in the hope of finding a settlement in this new continent.

The early stage was relatively smooth. The Salander army, which had been in peace for a long time, was almost defeated at once and quickly captured half of the island. On the one hand, the Normans drove the southern Salanders to several big cities. Transporting people in large quantities from the mainland,

This is a land as rich as milk. This is the endless emotion that the Normans would express every time they mentioned this new land in the country. Such poetic words soon aroused the interest of the nobles of the Principality of Normandy. Interested, most of those who were the first to have the privilege to come by boat were the pillar nobles in these principalities.

It has the most beautiful scenery and the richest resources. What satisfies the Normans most is that most of the Salander women are as beautiful as the sea. Everything here is the best except for enemies. It is simply a paradise for nobles. As the good news spread back to the country, more Norman nobles also crossed the sea, and soon tens of thousands of nobles gathered in the southern part of Salander.

Just when the Normans thought they had found paradise, the Falcon Army's march south soon dragged the Normans back to the cruel reality. War is always about the laughter of the victor. As the Falcon Army advances layer by layer, The large-scale resistance of the Salander slaves brought an end to the good days of the Norman nobility.

The manors of the nobles were burned by Salander slaves, and the expedition team sent was beaten back. The battle ahead was also very unsatisfactory, because the Falcon Army advanced too fast, and the Normans realized that they had shot themselves. feet,

The troops on the island can be withdrawn, but what about the tens of thousands of nobles who are the backbone of the principality? For a country like Normandy that relies on the number of nobles to enhance the influence of the principality, these backbone nobles with territory and wealth cannot afford to lose a single sum. of human resources. If they all die on Salander Island, the status of the Principality of Normandy will be cancelled, and then the surrounding forces will beat them up. This is why even though the Normandy army was completely defeated and bleeding like rivers, they still defended every step of the way.

Of course, the Falcon Empire is not clear about this. The national structure of the Obarro Continent is completely different from that of the Ikadiva Continent, which also leads to Statunko's conditions. No real lion dares to open its mouth

"Five million gold coins, not even a penny less"

When he heard that the Falcon Empire was willing to negotiate, the representative of the Principality of Normandy seemed hesitant on the surface. In fact, he was already happy in his heart. After hesitating for a while, he said, "Okay, 5 million gold coins, as long as these pillar nobles can be returned." "Land is not a problem, and money is not a problem."

It's no wonder that the Normans are so confident. The southern part of Salander they occupy is the most comfortable and prosperous area in the entire Salander. The pre-war population was more than 4 million, with dense cities and crisscrossing waterways. It has always been a prosperous economic center. Coupled with hundreds of years of peaceful development, its accumulated wealth exceeds tens of millions.

Although they experienced brutal wars and hundreds of cities were burned, the Normans also looted a lot. There were 20 ships transporting captured silverware and tableware to the country. Not to mention the countless exquisite jewelry and precious corals. It is said that even an ordinary Normandy soldier can see a Salander noble ring inlaid with aquamarine on his finger.

Although this is just a rumor, the Falcon Army did capture a lot of good things when fighting the Norman army. The ransom of 5 million gold coins was quickly sent, and the Southern Army secretly opened a road to the port. On the outer sea, the Falcon Empire Navy, which received the order, also returned to Vic Harbor to rest for a rest due to the storm and damaged ships. , the war with the South continued like this for several days, one batch after another,

Time has arrived in May before we know it, and the weather has started to get hotter. The sun is scorching, the ground is slightly hot, the breeze is blowing, and colorful wildflowers have grown on the green grass. From a distance, it looks like a huge line. Colorful carpets spread to the ends of the earth

Accompanied by Nilai, Fatty returned to Vic City in the north. This is the largest military port in the north and the new base camp of the Falcon Empire Navy. Now the sea area from Vekia to Nord has become the inland sea of ​​the Falcon Empire. The Imperial Navy is in Vic Harbor has convenient connections to Wikiia in the north, Nord in the west, and Rendian in the north. With the expansion of the Imperial Navy, the total number of warships has reached 140 and more than 7,000 sailors. It is the sea area controlled by the Falcon Empire. absolute force

Eastern sea area of ​​​​Saland

At this time, the spring breeze was refreshing in the Salander Sea. The warships' sails were swollen and they were riding the wind and waves on the sea. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was clear and cloudless.

The hot sunshine shines on the calm sea without any hindrance, making the water hot. Perhaps because the sun is so comfortable, some dolphins chasing fish in the waves jump from time to time on the sea on the port side of the battleship. When he came out, he looked like a legendary sea elf with a strong posture, and his smooth back reflected a white luster in the sun from time to time.

Tigre, the captain of the Dragon Tooth Battleship No. 6, was examining the sea map on the table in his captain's cabin. He looked very young, and he also wore a rare pair of gold-rimmed glasses, which made him famous for his toughness. Among the many captains in the Falcon Empire Navy, he is particularly unique and eye-catching, but those who know him will feel a burst of sincere admiration.

The appearance is not important, what is important is the essence. From the cold light flashing in Tigre's eyes, you can see that it is not as weak as the outside. The sea is a passionate place, with rough waves and turbulent waves, which can destroy you at any time. A person's life, without extraordinary courage and strong physique, cannot survive on the ocean.

Being able to survive and win the attention of the famously unruly Imperial Fleet Commander Dustrun Kai. Tigre certainly has extraordinary abilities, and they are impressive abilities.

In fact, among the many naval captains in the Imperial Navy, he is definitely the most knowledgeable and the most studious. His gold-rimmed glasses were caused by studying books and charts for a long time. Except for him, no fleet can be familiar with the conditions in every sea area. He is known as the "living sea map" of the Imperial Navy.

As long as he has sailed through the sea once, he has closed his eyes. He can also command the battleship to sail in the predetermined direction, exactly, because he has an instinct, and he can feel the direction of the sea from the wind. In the Battle of the West Sea of ​​Rode. It was Tigger who led the way and piloted the ship, which allowed the Falcon Navy to pass through the narrow channel safely without any damage, and unexpectedly severely damaged the Nord Ali family's navy.

"Captain, look what I caught." At noon, the sun was shining brightly again, and smoke could almost appear on the deck. Tigel was studying the chart attentively. Xu Bin's loud and rough voice suddenly came from outside the cockpit. Before he could answer, the ship's first mate Le Angre had already pushed the door open and came in rudely.

To be precise, he pushed the door open with his shoulder. Because he was holding a large wooden basin in his hand. In the basin, there was a lively little-scaled marine fish weighing more than ten kilograms. It was making a splashing sound in the basin, as if he sensed that his end was coming. This small-scaled sea fish kept flopping around, trying to jump out of the basin.

"It's a good harvest, Shao Scale Sea Fish. This is the best thing you can find but cannot find."

Tigre smiled sarcastically, gently adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses with his hands, and then slowly raised his head. He had to admit that in addition to being able to fight, this guy was also a very good fishing expert. His fishing skills seemed to be But also above yourself.

The small-scaled sea fish in the wooden basin in his hand usually lives in the quiet seabed. It is slender and delicious. The squid is especially delicious in summer and is a very popular edible fish. Sailors on long voyages are proud to catch a small fish,

Usually ships on long voyages only have dry salted fish, and people who can eat it go crazy. The Falcon Empire Navy battleship will be equipped with some seasonal fruits. At this time, if there is a small-scale sea fish to satisfy its craving. It's really the most wonderful thing,

It's a pity that Shaolin is also a very cunning fish. It rarely appears in normal times. Even if it does appear, it is sly and reluctant to take the bait easily. Therefore, sailors can only rely on luck. If they catch one, everyone will be happy.

"It's a pity that this isn't the biggest one. Otherwise, I would have been very happy tonight," said First Mate Le Angre, grinning with big yellow teeth.

"That's right, it would be even better if there was a bottle of good rum." Tigre winked at Le Anger, who was carried away. The meaning was so obvious that he almost didn't say it. Take it out and I'll I know you have stock

"No, sir, I only have a few bottles. You also know that these things are not easy to preserve." The first mate Le Ange's face turned pale, he put down the fish plate in his hand and cried out in pain. The fish under his feet swayed uneasily. The tail makes a splashing sound

"Okay, at the worst, I'll compensate you with a gold coin. Don't think I don't know. You just bought it for 10 silver coins on the roadside." Tigre chuckled, put down the chart in his hand, and used his feet to He kicked the fish basin that was still boiling with water. "To be honest, I haven't seen such a big fish for a long time. If you even care about this little thing, even Poseidon will feel sorry for it."

"Forget it. I'm afraid of you. I know I can never take advantage of you." First mate Le Ange rolled his eyes helplessly and came to Tigre's side. He happened to see the drawings drawn by Tigel on the table. The chart was almost entirely blue lines, and I couldn’t help but ask in confusion.

"My lord, you are staring at this chart every day. What are you looking for? We have been looking around here for several days, and we haven't found any movement. The brothers below asked me to ask, what is going on? When can I go back?"

"Don't worry, today is the last day of our voyage. We can return in the evening." Tigre looked up and looked outside, smiled, put down the quill in his hand, and did not want to explain anymore. First officer Le Angre felt Leaving somewhat helplessly,

"It's the last day, will it show up?" Tigre looked out the window a little at the cloudless sea, with rippling blue waves and a line between water and sky. It was extremely spectacular, but one most important thing was missing.

This is the northern sea of ​​Salander. This time, the No. 6 ship, which has always been a fleet scout, is sent to such a distant sea. It is not only to see the scenery, but also has the most important task, which is to observe the ocean currents and conditions in the outer sea. Wind direction, unfortunately it has been calm recently, the ocean current has not been detected, and the wind direction is also very flat. I really can’t bear to go back like this.

Suddenly, a rapid whistle sounded at the top of the battleship's mast, quickly resounding throughout the ship. This is a battle alarm. Tigre stood up in surprise. He saw Le Angre, the first mate in charge of the battle, running past. Behind him, there were dozens of sailors who were putting on armor. These were Dragon Tooth ships. The ship-borne troops above, because this mission is to go to sea alone, are configured according to combat readiness patrols'

"The gun warehouse is ready..." There was a sound of the baffle opening from below.

"Sir, an unidentified heavy warship was discovered in the northwest." When Captain Tigel came out of the ship's cabin, the boatswain who was on duty on the deck immediately ran up to report to him.

"Heavy warship?" Tigel's face immediately darkened. He first looked up at the wind direction, northeast wind, and was secretly surprised. The other party was sailing against the wind and could still have such a speed. The other party's navigation technology should not be comparable to the warship technology of the Falcon Empire.

"Order, all ships prepare for battle"

Tigel quickly issued a combat order. On the high mast, the lookout was still waving the flag in his hand hurriedly. The flag meant that on the southwest sea, an unidentified fleet was approaching at high speed, with more than three ships.

"There is no empire fleet here. Who are these people?" Tigel wondered secretly in his heart, and he couldn't care so much. Soon, all the personnel of the entire Dragon Tooth ship entered combat preparations. The sailors quickly entered combat status from the navigation state. The portholes of the gun muzzles were quickly pulled open, and the black Thor gun barrels also stretched out from the open two sides.

"Load, target 320 meters" The shells were also stuffed into the gun barrels, just waiting for an order to fire. First mate Leang personally took charge of the rangefinder, staring at the sea level in the southwest.

"Crack"

On the front and rear decks of the Dragon Tooth warship, the four additional crossbow carts also pulled the bowstrings, the archers and deputy archers took their positions, and the steel long crossbow arrows were placed in the arrow slots.

"Squat down"

The fully armed shipboard soldiers have put on full heavy armor, large shields and long spears, and they are murderous. They are half-crouching on both sides of the ship. If they are not looking down, they can basically not see their figures, but if the opponent launches a boarding raid, they will be greeted by sharp spears.

"Adjust the shooting angle, target 110 meters" The shipboard soldiers squatting on the ship's side, listening to the loud voice coming from the gun room, tightened their steel heavy guns in their hands, and the black spot approached quickly, and it seemed that they could hear the sound of the other warship's bow splitting the waves.