Rise of the Empire Total War

"So, the rebels took advantage of the cover of night to retreat?"

Looking at the camp that was still flying the rebel flag not far away, Richard's face was calm and he said calmly, as if this incident was just a trivial matter.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I'm sorry, our sentry failed to discover all this. I have ordered them to be arrested and imprisoned. They will be punished according to military law later."

"No, it's not their fault." Richard waved his hand, and continued: "No one would have expected that the rebels would be so cowardly and retreat in the dark, but it's not a big deal, they can only retreat to Athos Castle , otherwise there is nowhere to go.”

"Let the soldiers pack up and prepare to march towards Athos Castle." Richard added: "I will suppress the rebels before November and end this war completely!"

"As ordered."

...

The next day, the legion set off and went straight to the castle of Athos along the paved road. The cavalry defeated by the crossbow cavalry had spread the news of the defeat to the capital of the region, causing great panic. When the army retreated, they deliberately did not withdraw here, but bypassed the castle and retreated directly to the west. Therefore, the residents of Assos Castle did not know the news that the main force was still there despite the defeat. It is considered that the main force has been wiped out.

With such pessimistic thoughts, Athos Castle announced its surrender in less than half an hour. In fact, when they announced their surrender, the not-so-strong wooden city wall had already been breached, and a large number of Wens Special soldiers poured into the castle through the gap, seeing that they were powerless, the defenders finally put down their weapons in despair and surrendered.

After entering the city, Richard learned from the commander of the defending army that Prince Jairo and his army had not returned here. No wonder the castle’s resistance was so weak. Richard suddenly realized, but in the next second, the relevant Jairo's question lingered in Richard's mind - where did Jairo and his army go?

At the same time that he was full of doubts, Richard felt a lot of uneasiness. The territory of Athos is not big, and there is no other place where the rebels can escape except this Athos castle. If he did not flee Back here, there is probably only one possibility left—they left the Assos Territory and went to foreign countries.

Thinking that Jairo might flee abroad, Richard's uneasiness deepened again. Several countries west of the Principality of Lasik have joined the mutual defense agreement against the Kingdom of Winster. If Jairo persuades them to provoke The flames of war, which triggered the war of the entire Vardasia against the Kingdom of Winster and its alliance, would be over. You must know that Richard's First Legion is still far away in the Osa Peninsula, and is now launching a war against a city-state with a saltpeter mine. war. If a full-scale war breaks out at this critical moment, I am afraid it will suffer a big loss.

"no,

This cannot be allowed to happen. "Richard frowned and said that this matter cannot be resolved by war, the only way is diplomacy, so he hurriedly repaired a letter and sent it to Nord, and ordered the foreign affairs chief Ornus von Frank to send an envoy matters of negotiation.

After letting the messenger leave, Richard was still worried. After hastily appointing several local nobles to assist in the management of Athos Castle, he returned east with the army. On the way back, he joined the army that suppressed the nobles. The army merged into one and returned directly to the city of Rostas.

In the city of Rostas, Richard told Freya the news of Prince Yairo's escape, and also told her his worries. Asked: "Your Majesty, what should we do?"

"Let's get the army ready for war, but the Principality of Lasik has just experienced war, so I'm afraid not many troops can be assembled." Richard said with a sigh.

"That……"

Richard knew what she wanted to say, he gently held Freya's hand, and comforted him: "Don't worry, I will leave two battalions of infantry in Rostas, and they will loyally protect you Safety. In addition, I will also increase the garrison in Fort Odell, once the Principality of Lasik is attacked, the garrison in Fort Odell will join the war."

Hearing what Richard said, Freya's originally fearful heart gradually settled down. She felt the warm big hands holding her little hands, which were covered with rough calluses. She knew that they were old hands. The battlefield will only stay, because her father, Grand Duke Felicias, has such calluses on his hands. Whenever he touches his delicate face with his hands, he will avoid the rough calluses .

"But..." Freya said suddenly, her eyes were fixed on Richard, as if she was examining him, "I think, to get such assistance, I'm afraid we need to pay a very high price."

Richard was taken aback by Freya's words. He never thought that Freya would say such a thing. He stared at Freya for a long time before smiling slightly. Under Freya's gaze, he nodded. Nodded, said: "Yes, you do need to pay some price."

"What is it?" Freya continued to ask.

"Become my vassal, become Winster's vassal, and stand unswervingly on my side when the war breaks out."

"Sure enough, it's about the same as what I thought." Freya shook her head with a wry smile, and said helplessly, "But do I have any other choices? Ever since I was pushed into this position by you, I have no choice." gone."

"No, you can choose not to accept, and then my soldiers will break into the door in the next second and put you under house arrest until you accept, but if you refuse to accept, the country may soon be reunited." There is a new lord." Richard said flatly, as if he was just talking about an insignificant matter.

But in Freya's ears, this was already a naked threat, and her little face turned pale, making her look even more pitiful. Richard couldn't help grinning, squeezed her face, and said: "I Know that you will choose wisely, don't you, my dear Freya."

After saying that, he let go of the hand that was pinching his cheek, got up slowly, and walked outside, leaving Freya alone in the room to think. After walking out of the bedroom, Richard glanced at the straight guards standing outside the door like two green pine trees. Without saying a word, he walked towards the barracks. The two guards quickly followed, one left and one right, and Richard Well protected.

Just in case, let's order the whole army to prepare for war. Richard secretly thought in his heart that if the diplomatic negotiations failed, once the war broke out, it would very likely turn into an all-out war involving the entire Vardasia peninsula. He hoped that the improved musket could be successfully developed before then. In this case, Richard would Chance to turn the tide of battle with advanced gunpowder weapons.