Warlord: King of All Clans

Hermann also has the ambition to be a hero, but the current situation forces him to stay in a corner. Therefore, he feels particularly uncomfortable with Leo's behavior of not wanting the land even though he has it.

He couldn't help but persuade her, "Our three families are close now. Uncle Had gave you the Tiamat, why don't you take it? Even if the troops are not enough, Had and I can lend them to you. We will never let it fall into the hands of Kurolov."

"Even if we don't manage it, it's better than leaving it to the barbarians to destroy."

Leo just shook his head. "My wife is pregnant. I have to go back to take care of her. I don't care about Tiamas."

Hermann cursed inwardly, jealous to the point of madness, but on the surface he kept congratulating them.

Leo was not unintentional, but the Earldom of Riverbend had not even developed Abros yet, and had no ability to take care of Tiamous, which was thousands of miles away.

Although it would be no problem to form another fully-staffed legion based on the current basic situation, maintaining two standing legions would double the military expenditure, and the overall development of the Earldom of River Bay would have to be stopped.

The city of Abros covers an area of ​​more than 20,000 square kilometers, more than half of which is fertile plains suitable for farming. As a result, the entire jurisdiction has a population of only 150,000.

This is outrageous, the population density is even lower than the Northwest region that Rio knows.

The population density in the Tiamat area, which is a horse-breeding area, is even lower!

It is difficult to generate any profit in the short term if we get it now. Its only use is to help Beowulf and Forelov resist Kurolov's attack, which is equivalent to spending our own money to guard the border for others.

Instead of doing this, it would be better to go home and farm for a few years, store food for a few years, and raise soldiers for a few years.

As long as there is no threat from external enemies, the territories of Isenpore and Abros will be enough for him to support several fully-staffed legions if he develops them carefully.

As soon as Herman left, Grant came up and chatted with him about each other's recent situation.

Grant's earldom had just been established, and even for its own protection it had to rely on the army of the Duke of the North, so it was unable to support Beowulf.

But during this period, a lot of material assistance was also given, which was equivalent to tightening one's belt to supply the city of Asgar.

As to whether he took the initiative to do it or the Grand Duke instructed him to do so, no one knows.

Grant sighed and said, "Now that you have defeated Kurolov, the North can finally have some peace. My father is also much better off. He has been worried sick over the past few years."

In the past, Leo only thought that the Grand Duke, as the ruler of the North, must be a powerful figure with everyone bowing to him.

But as he got to know the situation in the empire better, he discovered the difficulties the Grand Duke was facing.

The two great border earls of the south, MacDonald and Tullius, clamped the Earldom of Odalov on the left and right, and for a hundred years, they had not allowed the territory of the Grand Duke of the North to cross the Anzeno River.

This is not a coincidence, but a deliberate layout by the entire southern forces to suppress Odalov, the strongest force in the north.

Now that the Kurolov family has also risen, Odalov is surrounded on three sides.

They are natural allies. Even if they don't join forces, as long as one of them has its eyes on Odalov, the other two will not be able to help but speak up.

So the Kurolov family in the east ate up Isharov, occupied Tiamat, and now wanted to swallow up Beowulf. The Grand Duke only condemned them again and again, but did not actually take action against the Kurolov family.

Because once his legion leaves, the southern border will lose its cover, and the people in the south who have been eyeing it covetously will not pay as much attention to aristocratic etiquette as usual.

Even when faced with a rare expansion opportunity in a century such as the Five Lords Alliance, the Grand Duke did not personally take part, but instead let Grant take a bite with a second-rate legion.

In the North today, the Beboos family has disappeared, the Kurolov family has been defeated, and two traitors, one dead and one injured, have made the situation that the Grand Duke of the North needs to face much brighter.

After sighing, Grant said to Leo, "Before I came here, the Grand Duke asked me to tell him that you have done a good job. Now the Gustav family has gone too far and it is time to punish them. But the Grand Duke is too busy and we are his juniors. We should serve him."

Leo's eyes suddenly lit up. The meaning of these words was clear. That is to say, the Grand Duke of the North finally agreed to let him use military force against Gustav.

The Gustav family has always had a harmonious relationship with the Odalov family. Their earldom is not far from Anhurst. Fontenay even studied at Anhurst School of Magic when he was a child.

Every time the Odalov family used troops, the Gustav family would follow, and the two families seemed to be closely related.

Such a count was not a traitor like Bebos and Kuroloff. It would be too much for the Grand Duke to turn a blind eye to Leo's use of troops against them. He could not support it at all.

But now there is the Earldom of Grant. Although the Grand Duke may not help Leo himself, he can give advice through Grant.

Seeing Leo's happy expression, Grant solemnly reminded him: "The Earl families in the North have been established through hundreds of years of fighting. None of them is bad, and the same goes for Gustav. Don't underestimate the enemy."

Leo thought about it, but couldn't think of anything outstanding about the Gustav family.

Grant asked with a smile: "Do you think it is stupid for Count Fonteyne to ban firearms?"

Leo was speechless: "Isn't it stupid?"

The "fire ban movement" led by Gustav this year has become a laughing stock among the princes of the empire.

Everybody else was making a fuss, but he was the only one who was serious. Now there were no firearms in the entire earldom, and even several mines with high sulfur content were closed.

Grant sneered and asked, "If you were him, what would you do?"

Leo was about to speak when he suddenly realized Grant's intention.

Grant's current situation is similar to that faced by Fonteyne, the only difference is that he has the support of the Grand Duke.

When Leo tells him how to break the impasse, isn't that equivalent to telling Grant how to deal with him?

But after thinking about it more carefully, Leo found that Grant had more than just this idea.

The more he thought about it, the more interesting it became.

Finally, Leo could only smack his lips and say, "I will ban firearms, suppress everything, spread fear, and stir up a wave of popular resistance."

"When this trend of thought takes root in people's hearts, the Riverbend Firearms Corps will not be facing Gustav's 10,000-man army, but the millions of people in Earl Gustav's territory - or millions of fanatics."

"All Gustav people will regard the Riverbend Legion as a demon. Even if the Riverbend captures a city, it will be difficult for them to rule it effectively - at least the cost of ruling will increase exponentially."

"In this case, as long as the powerful Gustav family is not destroyed in a short period of time, they can drag the smaller Hewan to death."

Grant then nodded, "Yes, no matter how much he studies firearms, he won't be able to catch up with Riverbend in ten or twenty years, but no one will let him survive this period of development."

"Instead of doing this, why not change your thinking and make sure you don't get any good results?"

Leo then became serious and said to Grant solemnly: "Second brother, I'm grateful for your advice."

Grant smiled and waved his hands: "It's just an ordinary plan, and you are the only one who is still in the dark. I couldn't help but remind you because I saw that you had not taken any action against the Gustav family."

"Although Fontena's plan is disgusting, it will take some time. The sooner you send troops, the better."

Leo nodded and said, “I will write a letter back and ask my men to start a war.

Grant asked curiously, "All the outstanding generals in your territory are here. Who else in your family can lead the army? Is it your adoptive father, Rigraf?"

Leo smiled and said, "No, I still have a capable general, just waiting to soar into the sky."

Herman, who had been listening from afar, finally couldn't help it and yelled, "Didn't you just say that we don't have enough resources and lack generals?"

Leo said shamelessly: "That's what you said."