Chapter 1199 Wolf Heart Chaos
"Damn the weather," Baron Jean Bette stood by the window and whispered, looking at the cloudy sky, "it's going to rain again."
Shenchi Bay, which is close to the sea, has no shortage of rainwater. Especially in summer and autumn, it is very common for the sky to be blue one moment and the next moment to be stormy. Therefore, the city has made a lot of preparations, from stone pavements to underground drainage facilities. It's not like Broken Tooth or Greystone, where every rain can turn the lowlands into puddles and make everything muddy. One or two heavy rains will at most delay the unloading of merchant ships and have almost minimal impact on the city.
It wasn't so much the weather, but his mood.
Unfortunately, after a shower, the clouds will dissipate, but the mood will not.
"My lord, have you thought about how to answer them?" Secretary Zum asked carefully.
"Answer?" the baron sneered twice, "I'll let you choose between being hanged or being burned to death. How would you answer?"
"Uh..." The secretary was speechless for a moment.
"You have no choice, right? Just keep dragging it on."
"But..." He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something more, but in the end he couldn't.
In fact, even if he didn't say it, Jean Bette knew that it would be difficult to delay this matter forever - just like the clouds and rain conceived in the sky, no matter how reluctant the businessman is to see it, it will always fall.
All the reasons stem from the war with the church.
After the Wolf Heart King's City was destroyed, a large number of the Wolf King's illegitimate children seemed to have appeared overnight. Lords from all over the country formed gangs and conquered each other. After some competition, three major forces were gradually formed - the Token family occupying the northwest, the "Red Stone Gate" family occupying the south, and the "Tusk" family in the eastern mountainous area.
Due to the long distance, the former has never bothered Shenchiwan, but the latter two families are different. Both dukes want to draw Shenchiwan into their own faction to further expand their own strength.
In the early stages of the dispute, the Baron always insisted on neutrality in the harbor and would not offend any party. This not only allowed the city to quickly restore prosperity, but also allowed him to gain a lot of income. In order to ensure that the goods could be exchanged for food or golden dragons in time, and the surrounding area was still uncertain, the two dukes did not force him too much.
But with the new round of annexation and expansion, Fang and Red Stone Gate gradually stood out and became the most powerful competitors for the new Wolf King. Coupled with the sudden closure of the Congshan main road by the Token family, these two families unanimously set their sights on Shenchi Bay again.
The baron could tell with his knees what they were planning.
——Swallowing Shenchi Bay and banning the enemy's material trade will definitely gain a great advantage in this competition. So this time they not only sent an envoy, but also dozens of knights and hundreds of mercenaries. Their attitude was self-evident.
There are only patrols to maintain order in the harbor, and a group of guards to protect the lord's safety. They can deal with half-dressed pirates, but they have no ability to protect themselves against fully armed knights. Jean Bette had no intention of resisting. If the three major forces had already decided the winner and the Wolf King, he would not hesitate to swear allegiance. As for whether the new Wolf King came from the blood of the old Wolf King, he didn't care.
However, Hongshimen and Fang are evenly matched.
Taking refuge becomes a dead end.
No matter which side he chooses to stand on, the other side will never sit back and watch the loss of maritime trade, which means that food, iron and other materials can only rely on self-production, while the other side is constantly receiving supplies, which is undoubtedly equivalent to giving up victory.
Therefore, once you surrender, you will definitely be attacked by the other side.
Shenchi Bay has neither an impenetrable wall nor a deep moat. If it wants to withstand it, it can only rely on the full support of the surrendering party.
But will the two major families really support him?
The baron did not dare to gamble.
If he were the Red Stone Gate or the Duke of Fangs, he would naturally imagine that first using the citizens of Sinking Bay to consume the attacker's strength, and then taking advantage of the situation to attack from a flank, could effectively reduce the casualties of the elite knights. Even let the enemy enter the city, then block the retreat, and slowly consume them... After all, the enemy wants Shenchi Bay, not the people here.
In other words, Chenchi Bay, which is under the jurisdiction of Bate, would be better off without him.
As stated before, it was a matter of hanging or burning.
Putting the two envoy groups in the same camp is hoping to use their mutual hostility to delay time. It would be better if they could fight. He also provided liquor and women over and over again, and deliberately let them choose together. Unfortunately, even though these people were red-faced and red-faced, they never drew their swords against each other.
"Tick tock, tick tock..."
The rain finally fell, and the garden of the Governor's Palace became hazy, as if covered with a layer of gauze.
Staring at the petals swaying gently in the rain, the Baron remained silent. Waiting like this was not the solution, but he could not think of a way to continue to remain neutral. My grandfather often said that nobles often waver between gains and losses of interests and power. As long as they make good use of this, they can have both sides. Maybe he should calm down, give up those little tricks, and think strategically about how to get out of the predicament.
At this moment, the sound of rapid footsteps interrupted his meditation.
"S-Sir, it's not good!"
"Why are you panic? Let's talk about it!" Jean Bette glared at the visitor displeased, "What's wrong?" Could it be that those knights finally started fighting? If that's the case, that's great news! He stared at the guard's mouth, hoping to read the word "camp" or "knight" from the other person's mouth.
"The fleet of Graycastle and the King of Graycastle has occupied the harbor!" However, the guards' words were completely beyond his imagination, and he was unable to react for a moment. "Not only that, they also blocked the dock area and prohibited anyone from approaching. !”
"What did you say? Ash... Castle?" the baron repeated subconsciously, "Do they want to buy or sell something? Wait... did you just say blockade?"
"That's true!" the guard said eagerly, "They drove away the ships that were originally parked by the trestle, and only allowed their own ships to dock. They also said that this was a "temporary requisition" and that order would be restored soon. The patrol tried to stop them, but was disarmed in the blink of an eye! According to reports, there are hundreds of Graycastle ships outside the harbor! "
Jean Bate felt a little unbelievable, "Are you sure it is the fleet of the King of Graycastle? Rather than the family crest of a certain lord?"
"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes using a lookout glass," the guard nodded with difficulty, "It is indeed the high tower spear flag of the Graycastle royal family."
For God's sake, is it possible that Graycastle is planning to invade Wolf Heart?
Why would Wimbledon leave his wealthy neighbors alone and take a detour to cause trouble for him?
Even if the King of Graycastle wants to expand his territory, there is no need to launch an attack from the sea, right? Can the Token family really withstand the Graycastle army that defeated the church?
No, that doesn’t make sense at all…
For a moment, the baron felt that his mind was in chaos and he couldn't figure it out at all.
Until Secretary Zum came to him, lowered his head and whispered a few words.
The baron's eyes suddenly lit up!
Yes, this may be the opportunity he has been waiting for!
There is no doubt that Graycastle's power is enough to break the current deadlock between the two powers. Assuming that this fleet really came to expand the territory of the King of Graycastle, it first came to this strange land. No matter how powerful it is, it still needs the help of the local nobles. With a little guidance, it might be able to achieve the effect of driving away wolves and devouring tigers. . Anyway, no matter who you are loyal to, you are not loyal to anyone. If you show your goodwill to the King of Graycastle, you may be able to gain greater power and become the leader of one party!
Even if Wimbledon fails, he will not lose anything.
At this moment, another guard ran in, "Sir, the Graycastle fleet has sent an envoy, saying that they are here with His Majesty Roland Wimbledon's will. I hope to have a detailed discussion with you."
Jean Bette and the secretary looked at each other, then nodded and said, "They are guests if they are far away. Tell the messenger that I can see them at any time."