Chapter 323 Paying the Ransom

Not long after Edmund arrived at the front line, Simone received authorization and sent an envoy to Richard's military camp.

After receiving the news that the envoy had entered the camp, Richard immediately received the person.

The place where Richard received the envoy was very casual, just in his military tent.

Richard's military tent was quite large, with a total of four open tents. Inside were not only a war room and a conference room, but also a data room and a reception room. Because a complete sand table was built in the war room, the sand table was a new item invented by Leader Harland and was not suitable for envoys to see. The data room stored a large amount of intelligence documents and was not suitable for receiving outsiders.

The place to meet the envoy was in the reception room, and he was only accompanied by a few personal staff officers and guards.

The envoy was in his thirties, very handsome, and looked polite. He should have received a complete aristocratic education and came from a large aristocratic family.

"Dear Duke Harland, I was entrusted by the commander of Simone's army to express my respect to you on his behalf. Thank you for sending back the body of the commander of Caesar's army. Although we are divided into two camps, your actions still make us Feel respected.”

Some time ago, Simone sent people to shoot letters to Richard's military camp, hoping that Richard could return Caesar's body so that the Eunice family could bury him.

In the unspoken rules of Dawn Continent, noble demeanor is important. Even the defeated nobles should be treated with dignity so that they can be redeemed after the war.

The Eunice family is a ducal family of the United Kingdom on the East Coast, and Caesar is an important member of the Eunice family. Even if Caesar died in battle, he would be given the most basic treatment. He would not insult the body or cut off the heads of nobles to show off his military exploits.

Generally speaking, those who do this will be regarded as barbarians by the nobles of the Dawn Plane.

Although Richard was a first-generation nobleman who did not pay much attention to noble etiquette and was considered by the nobles to be a barbaric northern Xinjiang native, he was still a civilized person after all. After receiving Simone's letter, he sent someone to purchase a coffin and sent Caesar's body back to Simone's camp.

Richard also wrote a letter, explaining the place where the war dead were buried, and explaining in the letter the reason for burying the bodies. If the United Kingdom of the East Coast is willing, it can send troops to dig out the bodies, take them back and bury them in their hometown.

However, the commanders of the United Kingdom on the East Coast also knew that the stinky corpses would cause a plague and did not act rashly.

On the contrary, it was the corpses of Caesar and other senior officers that Richard kept in order to take credit. This time, they were all given to the people on the east coast.

After going back and forth, the two sides had an excuse to communicate. This time the envoy came to Richard's military camp and brought a large number of condolence gifts, including more than a dozen pigs, dozens of sheep, and ten jars of wine, enough for the soldiers to eat. A meal.

Richard was noncommittal about the envoy's compliment. He raised his hand and said, "The envoy was sent by the Commander of the Simeone Army. Could it be that he is also a member of the Younis family? I come from northern Xinjiang and I don't like to talk in circles. Commander of the Simone Army sent you. Come on, what’s going on?”

"The Duke guessed it right. I am indeed a member of the Eunice family, and my name is Sutton. Since Duke Harland has asked, of course I will not hide it. The commander of Simone's army sent me here mainly to discuss the redemption of prisoners. things.”

After hearing this, Richard immediately smiled and said: "It's too early to talk about ransoming the prisoners now. The two countries are still at war. The eight thousand soldiers we captured are veterans who have been trained for many years. If you let you ransom the prisoners, it will be very difficult." We will soon be able to form an elite army. Do you think I am a confused person?"

Seeing Richard's somewhat joking expression, Sutton's face remained calm, without any expression of anger. He bowed respectfully to Richard and said: "Your Majesty the Duke, you are serious. In the last battle, our East Coast United Kingdom has learned the reputation of the elite soldiers of Northern Xinjiang. Even if the soldiers of the Sixth Army are released, they will not dare to Fight against the Duke's elite."

After hearing Sutton's flattering praise, Richard carefully weighed the pros and cons and was not worried about letting the defeated generals like the Sixth Army go back.

Because after the battle, Richard had already issued a transfer order to Northern Xinjiang. Mobilize the 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th infantry brigades to go south to strengthen the military strength of Haaland and maintain the balance of power. After all, there are more and more soldiers under Richard's command. If the number of direct troops is too small, he may be looked down upon and unable to command.

In another twenty days or so, Haaland could arrive at the battlefield with four infantry brigades.

When the new troops of the four infantry brigades arrive, the strength of Haaland's army will be even higher. These four infantry brigades are all old troops that have been in the army for many years. Although the resources invested are not as good as those of the first brigade, their combat effectiveness is far better than that of the tenth brigade. 3. The two newly formed brigades of the 14th are powerful.

In addition, the coalition forces of the four dukes will arrive within ten days. By then, Richard's subordinates will command a field army of nearly 60,000 people.

The combat effectiveness of the Sixth Army of the United Kingdom on the East Coast is just that. Even if it is fully restored, Richard will still be confident of defeating the enemy when reinforcements arrive. Moreover, even if the 8,000 captive soldiers of the Sixth Army were sent back and became prisoners after being defeated, it would be difficult to restore morale and morale in a short period of time.

Richard pondered for a moment and immediately put forward the conditions. "It is not impossible to release the prisoners, but what price are you willing to pay? I am not short of money, population, and food now. Unless you are willing to provide Warcraft horses and enchanted armor, I will not let them go easily."

Although Richard's conditions were a bit high, in a state of war, trading Warcraft horses and enchanted armor would undoubtedly strengthen the enemy's strength. Simone did not dare to make such a decision easily.

"I have not been authorized by His Excellency the Duke, but I think we can negotiate. I will persuade Commander Simeone to agree."

Richard treated the envoy to lunch and sent the envoy back to the Simonyi military camp.

After Sutton returned to the military camp, he recounted the conversation with Richard and then put forward his own opinions.

"According to my observation, Duke Harland is willing to negotiate. His expression is very calm and firm, as if he is not worried about us at all."

After listening to Sutton's report, Edmund showed an expression of approval.

"I have just received a tip from intelligence personnel. The Kingdom of Grant has formed a coalition of four dukes, and Duke Harland has also mobilized more than 6,000 soldiers from northern Xinjiang. These two troops will be reinforced on the battlefield within a month. With this With nearly 30,000 new troops joining us, our pressure will be greatly increased.

The Grant Kingdom has transferred 30,000 people from the north, so we need to mobilize 50,000 people to stop the enemy. Seeing that the situation is getting worse, we must reach a tacit agreement with the Grant Kingdom as soon as possible and cannot continue to increase troops. If the scale of the war is expanded, it will not be a good thing for both sides. "

Seeing Edmund's opinion, Simone hesitated for a moment and said: "We have built a large camp in the Hubbard Mountains, threatening Steven's retreat at any time. Even if we do not plan to continue the attack, Duke Harland will attack us at any time. Don't worry either.

If we choose to retreat, although we can win the trust of the Grant people, we will give up the favorable terrain. Once the Grant Kingdom army invades, we will be passive..."

Edmund interrupted Simeone's words, and the expression on his face told everyone that it was impossible for the higher-ups to accept the retreat and hand over the strategic location to others.

"The decision of the Noble Council is that we cannot withdraw our troops, but we must reach a tacit agreement with the Grant Kingdom not to continue to expand the war. You must grasp the scale of this. You can tell Duke Harland this meaning when talking about redeeming prisoners of war. Ha. The Duke of Rand is the commander-in-chief. As long as he does not plan to expand the war, the front can remain stable. "

After hearing the information provided by Edmund, Simeone said with an embarrassed look: "The Kingdom of Grant has increased its troops. We are not sure to hold the camp with two legions. I hope the Parliament can agree to continue to increase the troops and send us a legion. Reinforcements.”

After Edmund came to the front line, he had already learned the real intelligence on the front line. He knew that Simone was right. The combat effectiveness of the Grant Kingdom's northern frontier army indeed exceeded our own, and the front line must increase its troops to maintain balance.

"We can add another legion, and I will explain it to the parliament and mobilize the 19th legion to station in the Dukedom of Hubble. But this is the last reinforcement, and we cannot expand the war."

Seeing that Edmund had set the tone, Sutton asked: "Sir Edmund, Duke Harland has requested to use Warcraft horses and enchanted armor to redeem the prisoners. Can we agree?"

"This is something you, the Eunice family, should consider."

Shortly after the meeting, Edmund returned to Kanas Castle, the capital of the United Kingdom on the east coast.

A few days later, the patriarch of the Younis family, Duke Bolton Younis, came to Simone Camp.

Bolton is just a six-ring magician, and his professional level is not as good as Caesar and Simone, but he is high in the line of succession. His mother clan and wife clan are not weak and have many supporters, so he can hold the position of clan leader and duke. Sit tight.

After receiving the news that Caesar had been killed and the Sixth Army was annihilated, Bolton was in an unusually bad mood and fell into a long period of insomnia, unable to close his eyes every day.

The Eunice family only controlled two legions. The loss of Caesar and the Sixth Legion was equivalent to losing half of their strength. The aristocrats of the United Kingdom on the east coast are fiercely competitive and have lost half of their strength. The situation of the Younis family has also become precarious. They may lose the title of duke at any time and be replaced by other nobles.

There are a large number of officers in the Sixth Army who are members of the Younis family. They have children and lead the people. These people are the core of the Younis family's strength. As long as these grassroots officers are preserved, the army can continue to be organized and expanded.

Richard led the coalition forces to capture 8,000 officers and soldiers of the Sixth Army. Among them, there were more than 1,200 officers, most of whom were squad leaders. There were about 700 advanced warrior students and more than 500 professionals. Officers above mid-level professionals captured fourteen people.

It is these more than 1,200 people that the Younis family wants to redeem.

As for ordinary soldiers, even though they have received a long period of training and are proficient in various weapons and equipment, their actual status is equivalent to cannon fodder. The Younis family is not willing to spend resources to redeem their soldiers.

Bolton is the patriarch of the Younis family, and it is up to Bolton to decide on the redemption. This person's arrival at the Simeone military camp means that the redemption negotiations have already reached the person who made the final decision.

After Bolton arrived, the negotiation process progressed rapidly, and the first deal was concluded in just five or six days. Richard gave back fourteen mid-level professionals in exchange for sixty-seven flame horses.

After annihilating the Sixth Army, Richard captured more than 230 flaming horses. With these 67 flaming horses, the Second Warcraft Cavalry Brigade has expanded to 300 horses.

Combined with the two cavalry brigades, Harland Leader has trained 900 Warcraft Cavalry.

After completing the first transaction, the Younis family was unwilling to continue trading Warcraft horses.

Because it is not easy to train flame horses, the Younis family has only trained two Warcraft cavalry brigades with about 800 Warcraft cavalry. In addition, more than 300 Warcraft horses are tamed in the horse farm controlled by the family. Normally, every year The number of Warcraft cavalry that can be expanded does not exceed fifty.

Now the Sixth Legion's Warcraft Cavalry Battalion was completely wiped out in a war, and sixty-seven Warcraft horses were handed over to redeem the captives. The power accumulated over ten years was lost in a war.

After redeeming the fourteen most important middle and senior officers, the Yunis family believed that it was a loss-making business to redeem low-level officers with Warcraft horses, and was only willing to exchange people with enchanted armor.

Seeing the firm attitude of the Yunis family, Richard had to agree to exchange five hundred professional officers for five hundred enchanted armors. This batch of enchanted armors Richard prepared to equip the second infantry battalion.

The remaining seven hundred grassroots officers can basically only serve as squad leaders and have not yet been promoted to professionals. The value of the ransom is naturally lower, and they can only be exchanged for an enchanted weapon. Richard will not keep any of these weapons and will distribute them to the noble coalition of the four provinces.

After all, Harland led the army to eat meat, and he also had to leave a sip of soup for the enemy. Eating alone is easy to be hated.

More than 1,200 backbones were redeemed, but the Yunis family was unwilling to pay the ransom for the remaining 6,900 soldiers. All of them were trained by Richard as slave soldiers to serve as auxiliary soldiers for Harland's army.

After killing Caesar, although Richard sent back Caesar's body. But his armor, enchanted weapons, and personal belongings were left in the army.

The enchanted armor on Caesar was seriously damaged, and Richard had no time to repair it. The enchanted weapons were awarded to Martin, who had made meritorious contributions. The most valuable of the personal belongings was a complete breathing method, which also wrote a lot of Caesar's experience.

This breathing method is called the Fiery Breathing Method, which is higher than the Crazy Lion Legion Breathing Method practiced by Richard, and can be directly promoted to the second level of Legend.

This method comes from the first Duke of the Yunis family. This first Duke is an ordinary person and is very talented in practicing breathing methods. At first, he practiced only half of the incomplete breathing method. Through his own intelligence, he created this Fiery Breathing Method, and relied on the breathing method he created to advance to the Legendary level, and deduced to the second level of Legendary.

However, as Duke Yunis became rich, he married high-ranking nobles, and the Yunis family gradually had knight blood. Family members awakened the knight bloodline and mainly practiced the knight bloodline skills. This breathing method is usually used to train soldiers.

Caesar was not far from the legend, and needed to comprehend various legendary inheritances, so he copied this complete breathing method. When he was free, Caesar would often open this breathing method and write down his understanding. Now Caesar died in battle, everything was cheap for Harland.

Through transactions with the royal family and the Jonathan family, the Harland family mastered the complete Silver Wolf and Mad Lion Breathing Methods. William also exchanged the Northern Legion Breathing Method in full, secretly copied it down and locked it in the Harland Territory Library. Counting this Fiery Breathing Method, the Harland family has mastered four complete breathing methods.

In terms of the accumulation of breathing techniques, the Harland family has already caught up with the old duke family, and their magic heritage is more profound than that of the Grant royal family and Grand Duke Jonathan. However, in terms of knight bloodline skills, they have no foundation yet. After all, the Harland family, including the William brothers, is only the second generation, and basically does not have much knight bloodline, so of course they will not deliberately collect this kind of foundation.