Chapter 404 Duke Edward's Decision
Harland had a good harvest in summer, so Richard put aside his worries. However, the two dukedoms, Edward and Fox, were in a state of gloom and food shortage.
Due to the impact of the war, the two dukedoms delayed spring ploughing, especially Edward's, which was plagued by orcs and had a food production reduction of more than 95%.
Although the population has been reduced by more than half, and only more than 400,000 refugees have been collected after the war, and the food consumption has been reduced by two-thirds, by June, there was a shortage of food and a small amount of food stocks were consumed.
This year, Edward's dukedom suffered heavy losses. Most of the gold coins were looted by orcs. Only a few were left to maintain the army and improve equipment. He was unable to buy food and had no choice but to ask the Grant royal family for food in order to get through the difficulties.
Although the situation in Fox's dukedom was slightly better, this summer was also particularly difficult. The income was not enough to cover the expenses and could not support it.
These two dukes have always been together for warmth, but now they have become brothers in distress. Simone, the second-in-command of Duke Edward, came to the Duke of Fox and was ready to talk to Duke Fox, hoping that Duke Fox could advance and retreat together and strengthen his determination.
Simone entered the Duke of Fox's mansion. The two sides exchanged a few polite words, and Duke Fox took the lead in getting to the point.
"Has your food shortage situation eased recently?"
Simone nodded and said, "King Roger is still easy to talk to and has a sense of the overall situation. This summer, 50,000 tons of grain were borrowed from Gascoigne and Sodamia Province, and a grain loan of 200,000 gold coins was given to us. With the support of the Grant royal family, we should be able to overcome the difficulties."
"We can maintain it this year, but what about the future?"
Hearing the Duke of Fox's sigh, Simone also felt the same way, and his heart was suddenly a little sad, and he didn't speak for a long time.
The great nobles of the Grant Kingdom have never been a monolithic entity. Because of factors such as noble origin and geographical location, they are divided into several forces to develop together.
The seven earls in the south are old ministers of the Kingdom of Venus. They have been suppressed by the Grant royal family. The seven earls intermarried with each other and dominated the political situation in the south.
Until the Venus family launched a rebellion, the seven earls in the south split.
Although there are still five earls in the south, one of them is a member of the Grant family. The remaining four earls have also lost mutual trust. Under the current system of the Grant Kingdom, they have gradually lost their voice. They have been cautious for more than ten years and have almost no voice.
The four marquises in the east are close ministers of the Grant royal family. In recent years, due to the strength of the Grant Kingdom, they have made some progress. The four marquis families have close relations with the royal family and frequent marriages. They can be regarded as vassals of the royal family. They not only have territories in the eastern region, but also have a greater voice in Nolan. They have been relatively active in recent years and their momentum is obviously rising.
The Jonathan family is an outsider. Now the main force has migrated to Stanik for development. The momentum is far less than ten years ago, and it has gradually become mediocre in the Grant Kingdom.
The Dukedom of York is a branch of the royal family. Its territory is located south of Duke Edward and Duke Fox. It is considered a reserve force to resist the orcs. At critical moments, it is necessary to help Duke Edward and Duke Fox resist the invasion of orcs.
Unfortunately, the situation has changed. Without the three elite legions directly under the royal family, the Jonathan family has also moved its main force to the west. Duke Edward and Duke Fox can't stop the orcs' key attacks at all.
Even with the Dukedom of York, they can't hold the defense line. The power of the great nobles in the northern border has been unbalanced.
Duke Loran is an ally of the Grant royal family, and the good relationship between the two sides has been maintained for more than 600 years. However, in recent years, Duke Loran has gradually joined forces with the two dukes of Duran and Gis, dominating the political situation in the southwest of the Grant Kingdom, and gradually alienating from the Grant royal family.
Duke Fox and Duke Edward have the shallowest background and were awarded the title for military merit. Their origins are closer to the Harland family.
Simone was silent for a long time, and then he said, "Our current situation is very dangerous. The environment outside the territory is very unsafe. If we don't handle it well, it will be the Martins family's situation. The orcs have taken advantage this year, and they will only regard us as the focus of attack in the future. Dear Duke, what are your plans?"
After hearing Simone's question, Duke Fox's face suddenly became a little ugly. He forced a smile and said, "Do you think the situation will change if we make friends with Duke Haaland?"
Simone shook his head and said, "Duke Haaland is a lion and a tiger, and we are barely two wild dogs. Wild dogs will not be allowed to develop near the lion's territory. We did misjudge Duke Haaland before, and we never expected that in just a few years, the power of the Haaland family would have changed dramatically. Who would have thought that Duke Haaland could defeat more than 300,000 elite orcs and make the orcs dare not fight him head-on?
Now our open enemy is the orcs, and our hidden enemy is Haaland. Duke. The orc is a greedy python, and Duke Harland is a terrible lion. Both the python and the lion will not allow wild dogs to develop near their territory.
Asking Duke Harland for help is like carrying wood to put out a fire. The more wood we carry, the more intense the fire will be.
If we have a close relationship with Duke Harland, this process is inevitable and may last longer. However, our relationship with Duke Harland is average, and there was some estrangement in the past. This process will inevitably be very fast. I think at most ten years, or even five years, our result will be the situation of the Martins family.
Of course, the accumulation of our two families far exceeds that of the Martins family. In recent years, we have tried our best to support family members to develop in the south. Now they are spreading their branches in the south. Although they will step down from the status of great nobility, the Edward and Fox families It must also be the top middle class nobles and will not completely decline.
If it really develops to this point, our generation will be ashamed of our ancestors. "
After hearing Simone's words, Duke Fox asked with a very serious face: "Is this your opinion or Harris's?"
"This is the unanimous opinion of our Edward family."
Seeing Simone's very determined attitude, Duke Fox was suddenly in a dilemma.
"It seems that you are determined to develop to the south. But will there be changes when we go to the south? If we go to the south, we will also be pushed to the front line by the Roger Kingdom. Although we don't need to face the orcs, we also need to fight with Delong. Kingdom, East Coast United Kingdom Battle."
Simone nodded and said: "That's true, dear Duke. But our living environment will soon change. First of all, the military strength of the Kingdom of Delon and the United Kingdom on the East Coast is far inferior to that of the orcs, and our pressure will be reduced a lot.
Secondly we will have more autonomy. If the royal family's persecution is fierce, we can surrender to the Kingdom of Delon, which will ensure that the royal family must compromise with us. But if we stay in northern Xinjiang, we cannot surrender to the orcs, and we can only fight to the death with all our strength.
Now while we still have the power in our hands, we should make a choice now. Once the orcs have exhausted our strength, we will have to look at other people's faces and completely give up the initiative.
Once you fall from the position of a great noble, it will be even more difficult to get up. "
The situation of the Duke of Fox is much better than that of the Duke of Edward, and making this determination is far more difficult than that of the Duke of Edward. After all, there are still more than one million serfs in the Dukedom of Fox, and it will not be easy to relocate. But sticking to northern Xinjiang has no strategic future.
It is inevitable for the Martins family to continue to stay in northern Xinjiang. Unless the Fox Dukedom can expand its strength three to five times in a short period of time, it can maintain a balance with the orcs and Harland Territory, and withstand the 300,000 orc army.
But this kind of miracle cannot happen in the Dukedom of Fox. After all, Duke Fox is not a time traveler and does not have so much knowledge beyond ordinary people to learn from. There was no luck in getting the legendary fourth-level items, which would pose a huge threat to the orcs on the frontal battlefield.
Although it was difficult to make the decision, Duke Fox was quickly persuaded by Simone and decided to move south as soon as possible.
With the plan to move south, the two Dukes Fox and Edward rushed to Nolan together, hoping to negotiate good terms with King Roger.
In recent years, the Grant royal family has been bent on developing southward, and the three Dukes of Guise, Duran, and Harland have supported it. They have sent a large number of soldiers to each southern expedition. The great nobles such as Edward, Fox, York, and Lorraine stood aside and did not share in many benefits. They only received a barony in the south.
The Jonathan family wanted to leave the Grant Kingdom and concentrate on development in Stanik. However, they have worked hard in the Grant Kingdom for hundreds of years and accumulated a huge family fortune. They cannot abandon the cause of the Grant Kingdom at all.
The two Dukes Fox and Edward expressed their determination to develop southward. After thinking for a few days and analyzing the pros and cons, the Roger Kingdom officially negotiated terms with the two Dukes.
"The two dukes led three legions south. Our strength in the south will be significantly enhanced. But if we want to defeat the Kingdom of Delon in one fell swoop, we must let Duke Harland lead the two main legions south to join the war. Only in this way can we obtain Enough victory, enough territory to settle two dukes."
Duke Fox nodded and said: "Leave it to us to convince Duke Harland. If the move south goes well, we will get a fiefdom in the south, and the territory in the north can be exchanged with Duke Harland.
But the southern expedition must be carried out as soon as possible, preferably in October this year. One thing is that the orcs went south this year and consumed a lot of food and grass, so they must have no plans to invade in the short term. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Duke Harland could mobilize a large number of soldiers to fight south.
Secondly, this year's southern expedition also had an unexpected effect. The autumn season is high and the horses are fat, which is also suitable for large army operations.
The only trouble is whether food supplies can be supplied along the way. Together with Duke Harland, this time the kingdom will mobilize 100,000 elites from the northern Xinjiang to go south. The supply of 100,000 troops will be a very severe test for the supply route. "
King Roger replied very happily: "The royal family will take care of the supplies along the way, but you have to pay for the purchase of food. Since you have suffered heavy losses this year, I can provide you with a batch of low-interest loans.
Your march route will pass through the Duke of York, the Province of Maryland, the Duke of Guise, and finally enter the Province of Ferdinand. Together with the armies of the Duke of Guise and the Duke of Durand, and the Grizzly Army, you will be organized into the Western Front. Fight under the unified command of the Governor.
The Central Front Army is composed of the Northern Army, the Iron Lion Army, the White Elephant Army of the Royal Guards, the Silver Wolf Army, and the Zebra Army, with Zachary serving as the commander-in-chief.
The Eastern Front tentatively appointed Duke Harland as its commander, commanding Count Steven's army, and the southern nobles' coalition fought. "
Dukes Edward and Fox basically had no objections to King Roger's arrangements.
Because of the pressure brought by the orcs, the Grant Kingdom finally mobilized the vast majority of its forces to develop to the south by chance.
During this southern expedition, armies from three fronts gathered together, and more than 300,000 elite troops were dispatched. The focus of the troops was also on the western front.
The Western Front under William's command had a total of one legion led by Duke Edward, two legions led by Duke Fox, two legions led by Duke Duran, and one and a half legions led by Duke Guise. Together with the Grizzly Legion directly under William, the main force exceeded 150,000.
The Central Front was also composed of elite soldiers and generals, consisting of five elite royal legions, and the elite soldiers on the front line also exceeded 100,000.
Although the Eastern Front had the weakest troops, the main force was the most combative Duke Harland, with Duke Harland's 40,000 troops as the backbone, plus Earl Steven and the noble coalition, the total force was nearly 70,000.
320,000 front-line troops, and more than 200,000 troops on the second line to maintain the logistics line. This time, the Grant Kingdom will mobilize more than 500,000 troops to go south, which is larger than the scale of the battle with the orcs in the northern border.
The Grant royal family has been established for more than 600 years, and there has only been one battle of this scale, which was the Battle of Dragon Canyon commanded by Duke Brena.
After King Roger reached an agreement with Edward and Duke Fox, both parties immediately sent envoys to the Harland Territory to negotiate with Richard.
Richard was also a little happy when he heard that the two families of Edward and Fox were preparing to go south and enter the Kingdom of Delong for development. If the situation develops in this way, the Harland Territory will be the only one in the northern border, and it will be more legitimate to expand.
If the orcs are used to weaken and eat up the two dukedoms, it would be too ugly.
Richard still wants the Grant Kingdom market, and he must deal with the nobles of the Grant Kingdom. It is not conducive to long-term development to eat too ugly.
The two families of Edward and Fox made the right choice, and Richard certainly would not ask for too much and deliberately make things difficult.
By mid-July, the two sides had reached an agreement, and King Roger then sent messengers to inform the two dukes of Duran and Guise. As for the two dukes of Loran and York, they provided a batch of logistical supplies and sent troops to protect the logistics line.
The four marquises in the east and the four earls in the south must form a war zone, unify and coordinate, and defend their homes.
In this way, the nobles formed a unified opinion, and time unknowingly entered August.
After entering August, Richard had already begun to prepare for the southern expedition. This time, Richard mobilized the two legions of Soros and Jennings, the Lion Duck Cavalry, the Wyvern Knights, the Magic Hot Air Balloon Battalion, the Headquarters Reconnaissance Battalion, the Guard Battalion, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth artillery squadrons to participate in the war. Together with the headquarters staff, military law, logistics and other agencies, the total force exceeded 45,000.