Chapter 453 How to deal with it

The deterioration of the situation in the southern border is an unexpected crisis.

It’s not that the Second Dynasty ignored the Cecil family in the South – in fact, since the civil strife in the Brumaire a hundred years ago, the new royal family, with its inheritance risks, has never relaxed its vigilance towards the South. Among the four protectorate dukes, Cecil was the only family that declined due to the civil strife in Brumaire. At the beginning of its decline, its remaining power was still enough to shake the foundation of the entire kingdom. The second dynasty was established after the other three protectors. With the support of the duke of the country, it took a full hundred years to separate and suppress the southern border to the current situation. This is evident from the importance he attaches to the southern border.

After Gawain Cecil’s coffin was unveiled, this emphasis was even greater than before.

Francis II ordered the southern nobles to increase surveillance of Cecil's forces, but only received information that "the Cecil people were doing potion business to buy slaves"; the royal family sent assistance to the south There were also spies in the team, but these spies soon stopped transmitting any information; the garrison of Rock Fortress had actually increased by 30% in the past six months, but the additional 30% of soldiers had not been put to any use; in addition, , the royal family’s advisors also estimated the construction progress of the Cecil Territory by investigating the Cecil family’s employment of craftsmen in the royal capital, and concluded that the Cecil Territory was still at the stage where the houses were not enough to accommodate--they I never thought that those craftsmen would be trained as magic technicians and mechanical bachelors after arriving in the south...

It can be said that Silver Castle made all the correct responses, but did not receive any correct feedback. The biggest mistake they made was to use traditional aristocratic thinking to speculate on the action pattern of a "satellite spirit" from another world who was very different from ordinary people in terms of experience, knowledge and way of thinking.

They misjudged the true intention behind every move of Gawain Cecil, misjudged the rise of the Cecil family, and finally, misjudged the speed of the fall of the Rock Fortress.

If you go in the wrong direction, any effort will be a waste of energy.

The situation has deteriorated to this point.

"Two Dukes, Your Highness the Prince, I must tell the truth," Cromwell Baishan said in a serious and heavy tone, "Unless the rebels in the east retreat today, it is impossible for us to take the Rock Get the fortress back."

Another knight lord stood up and said the worst possible scenario: "If the Cecil family and the Laurent family raise their troops to attack the royal capital, we can't win— —Judging from the fall of Rock Fortress, Cecil’s army is a formidable enemy.”

A noble at the scene couldn’t help but said: “Does even the knight lord fear the enemy?”< /p>

Cromwell Baishan glared at the noble who spoke: "We are just stating the facts. If they really attack the royal capital, the knights will fight until the last moment. You don't need to worry about this."

"Gentlemen, calm down," Victoria Wild interrupted these arguments, her voice was cold, and her eyes seemed to contain frost., "Duke Gawain Cecil only occupied the Rock Fortress - he has not yet gone north."

"We must first determine the purpose of the founding hero," Duke Baldwin Franklin Nodding, he took Victoria's words and said, "I suggest sending an envoy to contact the south."

The nobles at the scene began to discuss in low voices, but in general, no one opposed Duke Franklin's opinion.

"The rebellion in the east is approaching, and we cannot take another blow in the south," Duke Franklin continued, "So as long as Duke Gawain Cecil is willing to talk, we should talk. We should do Be prepared, be prepared to recognize the legitimate rule of the Cecil family over the southern territory, and recognize the restoration of all the noble titles, honorary titles, historical fiefdoms, and noble privileges of the Cecil family..."

The nobles' discussion changed. Some people had obvious expressions of astonishment on their faces, but more people just nodded gloomily. Wales Moen looked at the reactions of these people and sighed slightly.

"Your Highness," Duchess Victoria heard Wales sigh. She turned her head and stared at the nominal successor to the kingdom with eyes as clear as ice crystals, "Do you have something to say?"< /p>

“I just feel that whether we admit it or not has no meaning to the founding hero,” Wales Morn didn’t want to speak, but under the gaze of the duchess, he slowly spoke, “ These things are already in his hands - no matter what we say here, the reconstruction of the Principality of Cecil is an established fact. Grand Duke Franklin, you want to give the things that are already in the hands of Grand Duke Cecil as gifts. "Is he once?"

There was no expression change on Baldwin Franklin's face, he just nodded slightly and said calmly: "Your Highness is right."

"We'd better think again and think about what bargaining chips we have that can be used to compromise."

After saying this, Wales Morn lowered his eyelids and stopped talking.

Francis II’s voice seemed to echo in the mind of the middle-aged crown prince:

“The king rules the kingdom...it is the art of compromise...”

The nobles left in order, and Wales Morn also left the hall accompanied by the royal attendants. In the huge military hall, only the two regent Dukes were left sitting quietly.

After a long silence, Duchess Victoria looked at Baldwin Franklin: "What do you think our founding hero wants to do?"

"I hope he just wants to get some money." Returning to one's own family business is also the most logical and the most consistent with the description of it in the history books," the Duke of the Western Region said unhurriedly, "But I don't rule out the possibility of a worse one - don't forget Ansu From the names on the foundation stone and the signatures on the oldest canonization documents in the royal library, from a certain perspective, his claim to the throne is no less than that of our 'Crown Prince'."

Duke Franklin shook his head slightly: "But because they were too similar, Francis II finally chose Edmund. Our king made a wrong decision in this regard - this country does not need an overly tough king. "

Victoria raised her eyelids, took a deep look at the Duke of the West, and then stood up: "I will return to the north in the near future. "

Franklin raised his eyebrows: "You want to mobilize your mountain army? "

"The Principality of the Holy Dragon is preparing to celebrate their 'Dragon Arrival Day', and the Violet Kingdom has been quiet recently. I can deploy some of the mountain legions to deal with the war in the Holy Spirit Plains," said the man who was full of ice and snow. As the duchess spoke, she looked at the Duke of the West, "Where is your West Army? ”

“It’s too far from the western border to the eastern frontline, and the army’s consumption on the road is unbearable. Moreover, since the beginning of summer, the All-Death Cultists and Eternal Sleeper Cultists in the western region have not been quiet. "Badwin Franklin said while holding his forehead in distress, "I may be able to dispatch a knight group to defend the royal capital, but it is impossible to send troops to the east. "

A few crystal snowflakes appeared in the air. Duchess Victoria put on her white shawl, left her seat and walked to the door: "...The king does not need more knights, Cromwell The Count is enough to guard this place, but if you have extra strength, keep an eye on the south. ”

The Duchess left, leaving only a few cold snowflakes flying in the air. Baldwin Franklin stretched out his hand to catch one of them, feeling the coldness gradually melting away in his hand. Sighing slightly: "...Is it really like those madmen talking nonsense...the darkest era..."

Four days later, the capital of Ansu's northern territory, Winter Castle

A team of gryphon knights flew over the fortress. The leading gryphon skillfully landed on the platform on the top floor of the castle. Victoria Wild jumped off the gryphon, and the cold wind from the northern mountains blew through her silver-white long hair. Her hair made her narrow her eyes slightly.

Even in this midsummer season, there is still such a cold wind on the top of the mountains in the north of the mainland.

The "Dragon" of the Holy Dragon Principality. The "blood nobles" said that the cold wind was the breath of the sleeping dragon in the mountains. The mages and scholars of the Violet Kingdom believed that the cold air came from further north of the continent, from the opposite side of the vast ocean blocked by ice floes and storms, from the The everlasting cyclone

But Victoria doesn’t care where the cold wind comes from. She just likes the cold breath. The clean cold air in the mountains is better than the odor-filled air in the capital. The dirty air is much more comfortable.

The black-haired maid Maggie came to the platform, and Victoria nodded to this maid who was deeply trusted by her: "Go and gather my knight retainers, Shan.The Earth Legion has something to do. "

"Yes. ”

The Duchess has absolute authority in this land. The mountain regiment loyal to the Wilder family accepted the order of their “Ice Queen” without any questions. In a short military meeting After that, about one-third of the troops of the Mountain Corps were mobilized and included in the list to support the eastern front line of the Holy Spirit Plain.

After the meeting, Victoria did not return to her dormitory to rest, although she was already there. The gryphon had experienced a long flight and had just held a meeting, but she still cheered up and flipped through the documents in front of her.

“Vicky, you need to take a rest. "

The black-haired maid said next to her - when there was no one else around, the black-haired maid would call her mistress by an affectionate nickname.

"I will rest. ," Victoria said casually, "Has the Holy Dragon Principality done anything unusual recently? "

"The information coming from the northern outpost is all normal. "

Victoria exhaled slightly and felt a little calmer.

The Holy Dragon Principality in the northern mountains... has always been a factor of instability.

As early as the Gondor period, humans who claimed to be descendants of dragon blood established this country in the far north of the continent. They claimed that they were vassals of the dragon. Therefore, the supreme ruler of the country was not the king, but the so-called "Dragon Blood Duke". ", they are closed, xenophobic, admiring themselves in the mountains, and they have never liked the Ansu people who suddenly appeared on this land seven hundred years ago.

A full seven hundred years have passed, and this closed The mysterious country still uses the term "uninvited guest" to describe Ansu, which has been a country for seven centuries.

But fortunately, after so many years of hard work, the Shenglong Principality and Ansu have finally reached an agreement. In order to achieve compromise and balance, as the general guardian of the north, one of Victoria Wilder's responsibilities is to always be vigilant about that sensitive, closed, and xenophobic country, and to try to avoid the outbreak of war between the two sides as much as possible.

Wait. After finally finishing processing the documents in front of her, Victoria Wild stretched out. She took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, gradually easing the accumulated fatigue in her body. The black-haired maid then stepped forward. , while gently squeezing the hostess’s shoulders, he asked in a low voice: “Are you going to rest? "

"No, there is one more thing," the duchess closed her eyes and paused for a long time before continuing, "Get ready, I am going to the ancestral mausoleum. ”