Chad-Eliburg King's Office,

Most of the nobles have withdrawn, leaving only the principality and the three lords.

After a long silence on his office chair, the Grand Duke of Trofil stood up and looked at the crowd and said, "How about some green fruit wine?" ”

Anyway, he didn't give the others a chance to refuse, and signaled to the Secretary-General, Sir Ernest, and ordered, "Give each of us a drink." ”

Everyone was stunned, and as Ernest walked to the wine cabinet, the Grand Duke of Trofell walked towards the window, and at the same time said, "I just got the news that the orcs are evacuating the Clan... Shikan-Silveraxe gave up and gave up the Crane Collar!"

Everyone who was moving with Trofil stopped in unison when they heard this, and they all showed surprised expressions one after another.

They were surprised by the news, or simply couldn't understand it.

"News from the Defence?" "Naclay-Pouk was the first to ask, "is it confirmed?"

"No one would joke with such news. Archduke Trofell shrugged, "The news of our intention to attack Crane has leaked. ”

"The plan is too big to be kept absolutely secret. Field Marshal Sir Ifri Fitzgero shook his head helplessly, "I have thought of many decisions that Shikan-Silveraxe should have, but I didn't expect him to give up the Crane Territory directly!"

Count Corridge-Dyna walked to the window and stood with the Grand Duke of Trofil, looked out the window at the clear blue sky and said with a solemn expression: "Now we will have a hard time. ”

The orcs retreating from the Klan Territory is not a good thing for the Cullen Territory, after all, it is not only the Cullen Territory that covets the Crane Territory, but also the Barbarians, the Elven Alliance, and the Twak Territory are all fighting for this territory.

When the orcs were still in Crane, the forces might be able to sit at a table and discuss how to divide up this piece of fat after the war, and once there was no threat from the orcs, they could still sit down and drink tea calmly?

"Shikan-Silveraxe is really willing!" Pelux-Cather seemed to mutter, "such a large piece of territory, if you say give it up, let it out." ”

"The problem is, we'll be forced to follow him as soon as he retreats!" Sir Ivry Fitzgero frowned, "I bet he'll do his retreat all over the continent... At that time, we will no longer face the besieged orc army, but the elven alliance, the Dwak cavalry, and the huge barbarian army coming from all sides!"

"The Elven Alliance will definitely not fund his enemies anymore. The Minister of Finance, Baron Barnett-Banlov, frowned, "Without those half a million crowns, our army..."

"Even if the Elven Alliance is willing to lend us half a million kroner, we can't ask for it now. Viscount Palek-Anto shook his head, "Because whether we have a conflict with the Elven Alliance or a war with the Twak Territory, our trade lines will be cut off, and we will not be able to buy anything with half a million kroner in our hands at that time." ”

Count Corridge-Dana was already standing next to the wine cabinet at this moment, he grabbed a glass of poured fruit wine and drank it down, and said, "But the problem is that we can't just cower behind the line and let them divide the Clan. ”

"The orcs leave us with no choice. Viscount Pelux-Cather nodded, "If we don't go out, the entire duchy will be surrounded." ”

"Everyone...," Viscount Palek-Anto walked under the map, "most of the southern territory of the Karen Territory is surrounded by the Naron Forest... What should we do if the elves take advantage of the fact that our army is crushing the Klan Territory and suddenly attack the southern territory of the Duchy?" he said with a warning in his tone, "The Central Empire has failed because of the defense line of the Manwys Grand Canyon in the rear!"

Viscount Palek-Anto's words silenced everyone in the office, and after a long while, the Grand Duke of Trofeld asked, "Can Berdingburg fight the elven forces independently?"

"The elves now occupy nearly half of the territorial resources of the Eastern Continent..."Viscount Palek-Anto looked embarrassed.

Marshal Ivry Fitzgero interrupted without waiting for Viscount Palek's words to speak: "But, Viscount Palek, as the lord of Berdingburg in the south, we need you to ensure the security of the southern territories of the principality. ”

Hearing this, the muscles on Palek-Anto's face subconsciously tensed, revealing a solemn expression, and he was silent for nearly two minutes under the gaze of everyone before saying: "Three months at most, I don't dare to guarantee it for a long time." ”

"Three months?" Archduke Trofil didn't show joy or disappointment, he said calmly, "That is, after the conflict between us and the elves, there will only be three months at most. ”

"We don't have to have a conflict with the elves. After drinking three glasses of fruit wine in a row, Foreign Minister Naclay Puke suddenly said: "With the current strength of our principality, we can swallow at most a small piece of land in the area of Shasterburg and the western part of the steppe of Teferlo. ”

With that, Naclay Pouk glanced at the crowd as if waiting for someone to contradict him, but no one refuted him, so he continued, "In that case, why should we fight for the rest of the Clan... Learn from Shikan-Silver Axe, war is not just about fighting on the battlefield. ”

He walked to the map with his wine glass, grabbed his whip and pointed at the Sukh Plains and the Twak Territory, "We have been preparing for this war for almost two months, and the army has already been assembled... So, what we need to do now is to occupy the western lands of Shastburg and the Tefello steppe as quickly as possible, and then build fortifications to make it look like we will not step out of the defensive line. ”

"I believe that as long as the elves are not too stupid, they will never take the initiative to attack our defenses when the Twak Leader is overpowering the territory!" Naclay Pouk grinned, "Perhaps, when the elves and the Twak Leader are at loggerheads, they will send an emissary to us to discuss the Alliance." ”

"Sounds good. Coric-Dyner nodded and then shook his head, "But with the current strength of the elves, their coalition is not afraid of fighting on two fronts, and perhaps they will go to war at the same time as us and the Twak Lords." ”

Naclay Puke didn't object, but nodded in agreement, "Of course, this is very likely, so we need an ally. ”

"Barbarians, and Count Perus!" said Marshal Ivry Fitzgero subconsciously.

"That's right!" Naclay Pouk looked at Archduke Trophil, "I believe the barbarians are now anxious to find allies on the battlefield of Klan... And the elves will certainly not ally with the barbarians, and I believe that the entente between Duke Andy Barrett and the barbarians because of Sharp's pacification will also end because of the upcoming war. ”

"A rigorous plan. "But no matter how careful the plan is, accidents can happen in the actual war." ”

Naclay-Oak followed, "At least we have a plan, don't we?" he lowered his whip and looked at the group, "I'm going to go to the barbarians myself, no... It's the Kingdom of Baru, and I'm going to go to the Kingdom of Balu to talk to their king in person. ”

With that, he turned his gaze to the Grand Duke of Trofeld.

Trofell and everyone else subconsciously looked at the map, and then entered into a long period of thought...

After five or six minutes, Trofil turned his attention to the Minister of Finance, Barnett Banloff: "If we break out into a full-scale war, how long will the finances of the territory be able to sustain us?"

Barnett-Banloff frowned and said, "If it's an all-out war, then unfortunately, we can hold out for ten days at most, but if we follow Sir Naclay Pool's plan and only pretend to be a show, we can theoretically hold on." ”

"That's not going to work. Ivry Fitzgero followed, "We have to guard against the elven coalition from playing cards out of the ordinary. He looked at Trofil, "When the elves find our army vulnerable, the entire duchy will be in danger. ”

"We can follow the example of the old empire last year and issue national debt to its citizens. "Believe me," said Barnett-Banlov, "our citizens are richer than we think, and if all the families in the cities are willing to give half of their fortune to buy the national debt we issue, we will be able to fight the elves to the end." ”

"Don't bother at all, I suggest just levy it!" said Count Corić-Dana, "we can levy a war tax according to the law, and besides, the people are obliged to pay for our war." ”

"Forced taxation would lead to a direct collapse of the territorial economy. Barnett-Banloff immediately objected, "It's different with the issuance of government bonds, we can let the money flow in the market by buying and selling, let..."

"We don't have time to take our time, Baron Barnett. "In less than three days, the news of the orcs evacuating the Klan Territory will spread throughout the continent, do you have a way to convince our people to buy your treasury bonds within three days?"

"Ahem!" Archduke Talofel deliberately made a noise to interrupt the argument, and as everyone's attention was focused on him, he looked at the others, "what about your opinions?"

Palek-Anto was the first to say, "I agree to a war tax. ”

"I also agree to a war tax. "Although Pelux Cather felt that the war tax had long since become inapplicable, he did not say it.

"Very well!" said the Grand Duke of Trofil at once, "then, the war tax will be levied according to the law...", he looked at the Marshal of the Duchy and Coric Dyna, "let our army advance towards Chasterburg and improve the defensive line in the western steppes of Teferlo." ”

With that, he looked at Pelux-Kaiser again, "Your army must reach the steppes of Tefero within a month...", and then he looked at Palek Anto, "The security of the southern side of the duchy is up to you." ”

"Yes, Your Highness. ”

"Your will. ”

"Yes, sir. ”

After several people had replied, the Grand Duke of Trophil looked at his Minister of Foreign Affairs, "Sir Naclay, you have to work your trip to the Kingdom of Baru. ”

"It is my pleasure, Your Highness. ”

"Bang Bang" Trofil clapped his palms, "Guys, let's take action, the rise of the Duchy of Rigrock is in this battle!"

...

At the end of July, while the people were still lamenting the fall of the empire, the orc garrison and immigrants in the Klan territory suddenly withdrew with supplies.

When the original residents of the Kelan Territory in the northern part of the Suke Plain learned the news, nearly 20% of the residents did not even care about the wheat fields waiting to be harvested in the autumn, and resolutely marched towards the Crane Territory with their luggage!

However, in the end, he was driven back by the elven troops stationed by the city-state alliance of the Suker Plains.

On August 20th, twenty-four days after the orcs evacuated Kranland, Pedi and his wife returned to Fort Kavar after their vacation.

This morning

No, it should be said that after Pedi returned to Fort Kaval, he went alone to his small office in the inner hall of the castle before dawn for three consecutive mornings.

As the documents and filing cabinets in the office piled up, the office slowly became a little crowded.

On the somewhat messy desk, there were documents and military newspapers that had not been read yesterday, and the map of the Elok Territory on the map on the wall in front of the desk had long since been replaced with a map of the area around the Crane Territory.

On the map, the whole map is densely marked with red, blue, yellow, and purple.

The light in the office was dim, and Pedi didn't turn on the magic lamp above him when he looked at the map, he held a candle and carefully checked the markings on the map little by little.

The fall of the empire and the gradual strengthening of the Elven Alliance have made it difficult for Pedi to sleep lately.

Now, the hand of the Elven Alliance is reaching into the Crane Collar again,

It's not just a stress, it's a crisis!

As Duke Crewe, the ruler of the vast territory in the northeastern region of the Alan Continent, he needs to split through the fog in front of him and see clearly his enemies and friends in the fog.

If he had to build a new empire, Pedi wouldn't mind putting himself on the throne!

During this time, no one will help him,

It's not an easy thing to do, so he needs to give it his all. And now, he's on his way to the throne with his first challenge...

Stop the continued expansion of the Elven Alliance!

On the map, the elves' coalition forces have advanced to the area around Crane City, and the armies of the Twak Lords, the Barbarians, and Perrod are hovering around the town of Banson to hold back the elves' continued advance.

And the most strange thing for Pedi is that after the army led by Cullen occupied Chasterburg at the fastest speed half a month ago, they did not take a single step, thus wasting a rare opportunity in vain.

"Karen Collar—" Pedi muttered to himself, walked over to his desk, picked up a roll of parchment that had been filled with words, and quickly jotted down what had just come to mind, before walking over to the map and deducing whether his idea would come true.

After repeating this a few times, the light in the office grew brighter and brighter, and when Pedi no longer needed a candle to see the map, Danmen-Green of the MID knocked on the door.

He brought the latest information, but the new information was still the same as yesterday.

At half past seven in the morning, when Pedi finished drinking a bowl of wheat porridge in the office, several important members of the inner hall had already arrived.

Pedi prepared for three days of meetings to officially begin.