The northern part of the Suk Plain is a depressed scene in winter, and the air of the plain is unusually dry when the cold wind blows, and the barren grass that withers in autumn does not ignite a boundless fire.

The town of Tyre, located on the northern flank of the Sooke Plain. This was originally a pass market town, but after the outbreak of the Elok War, it became a real pass fortress.

Next to the pre-war command post in the town was the temporary residence of Emperor Sinda.

In the cramped study of this dwelling, Botlem Bobz, deputy governor of Lion Castle, stood under two bright magic lamps, holding a small letterhead in both hands, and looked at the dense small words on the letterhead with his head down, and reported:

"Perus, a paladin registered with the Church of Divine Radiance and no noble blood, briefly served as the leader of the Radiant Force, ascending the throne to the Radiant Force during the war and becoming the sheriff of the Guard Service in the town of Hattis with the help of his mentor, Baron Hanina. Before the outbreak of the Orc War, he resigned as sheriff of Hatis and went to Anku Fortress, where he experienced the Battle of Anku Fortress and the Battle of Klanland. ”

"After the defeat of the Battle of Klanling, he gathered some of the Kran Territory refugees and armed them, taking advantage of the head-on battle between the saber-tooth mercenary group led by the rebels and the Duke of Twak Lingner, he used the information obtained from the saber-tooth mercenary group lurking during the Battle of Klanling, and quickly captured the rebel mercenary group's various cottages in the western part of the Koren Fortress. Then, he settled all the refugees in the cottage... Two years ago, after the Battle of Tewar, he used his friendship with Baron Pedy Reagan to achieve ocean trade with Kru through the northern barbarians. ”

"In June last year, the name 'King of Light' began to circulate in the Coron Fortress area, and according to the archives of the secret guards, our agents conducted a brief investigation in July last year, but the investigation was not thorough, so no useful clues were found. ”

Emperor Sinda, who was leaning in his office chair, did not immediately say anything after listening to the report, he played with a beautifully decorated dagger and waved his hand to Botelem to let him leave. After pondering for a long time, he looked up at the Imperial Prime Minister Woz Pedro, who was sitting across from his desk, and asked, "What do you think of this so-called 'King of Light'?" ”

After the emperor's questioning, Woz-Pedro leaned forward from leaning his body back in the chair, picked up the letterhead left by Botelem on the table and said: "Actually, as early as the end of the battle of Klanling, the military department received a letter of help from Perus, and his original plan was to take those refugees through the Tefellowo steppe to return to the empire, but at that time, the orcs were in full swing, so Duke Eric, who was then the military minister, did not pay attention to Perus's request for help. ”

"I don't think there's anything wrong with Duke Eric's decision!" Emperor Sinda was visibly disappointed by the Imperial Prime Minister's reply, "Da-da" he picked up the dagger in his hand and tapped the handle of the chair lightly, "I'm asking what you think of Perus and his followers. ”

"Last March, after relations between the Empire and the Orcs stabilized, Perus also sent a letter to the Imperial Cabinet asking for our assistance. Under the emperor's impatient gaze, Woz-Pedro spoke faster and faster, "Although the empire rejected his request at that time, it can be seen from the above two points that Perus has an instinctive dependence on the empire. ”

"Is that your opinion?" Emperor Sinda leaned forward slightly, "Bang" He threw the dagger on the desk and leaned against the edge of the table, his eyes fixed on Woz-Pedro's face, as if he wanted to see through all the thoughts in Woz-Pedro's heart.

"No matter how the situation in Sharp Town changes, it has nothing to do with us. Woz-Pedro looked at the Emperor's aggressive gaze with a humble expression, and at the same time bowed his head and said, "Our hands can't reach into Sharptown... But if we can control Peruz, everything will be different. He said tentatively, "So, we might as well give him the title of Imperial Noble." ”

"Will he accept it?" the emperor did not refuse, but he was afraid that his canonization would be rejected, after all, the current empire was not the empire of two years ago.

"According to Pelus's attitude towards the Empire, he will most likely accept it, and this does not affect Perus to continue his rule, but it has a different meaning for us. Woz Pedro said: "First of all, the orcs will definitely acquiesce to the establishment of the absolute neutral zone in Sharptown, which will do more good than harm to Shikan-Silveraxe, and Duke Andy Barrett of Twak Territory is the direct beneficiary of the neutral zone, and he can't refuse." That is to say, soon, our trade zone in Kwyn will be in vain, and we must ensure that our interests are not lost until then. ”

"I can give him the title of Count!" said Emperor Sinda as if to himself, "but if his right to rule is recognized..."

Woz-Pedro hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, in the face of great interests, does the ethereal imperial majesty still matter?"

Emperor Sinda clearly did not like such remarks, but he did not refute them.

Woz-Pedro continued: "Besides, Sharptown is legally part of Twak's land, and it doesn't matter to the Empire who owns it, it doesn't hurt us to canonize Perus and recognize it. We need to focus all of the Empire's limited energy on the battlefields of the Elok Territory now..."

He brought the topic to the elven war chief, "I still insist on gathering superior forces, inflicting heavy losses on the elven coalition army, and prompting the elves to negotiate with us... As long as our negotiations with the elves are successful, the rebels led by El Luk will be destroyed in the blink of an eye!"

Facilitating peace talks with the elves is something that Woz Pedro has been pushing for since he became prime minister.

But in order to bring the arrogant elves to the negotiating table, they must first defeat their main force on the frontal battlefield, and defeat their natural arrogance!

Only in this way will it be possible for the negotiations to proceed normally.

Woz Pedro's proposal has been publicly supported by all members of the Cabinet, with the exception of Nepdo Quint, who has said yes. Moreover, Nepdo Quint is not against this plan, he is only against taking the initiative to seek the main force of the Elven Alliance to start a decisive battle on the plains.

"The elves are just trying to prove that they were not the losers in that war more than three hundred years ago, we can give them the honor and sense of accomplishment they deserve, and we can even recognize the elves' dominance over the Felder Territory!" Woz Pedro's voice became smaller and smaller, "With the basic strength of the empire, as long as I am given five to ten years, let alone recover the Felder Territory and the Klan Territory, even if the Naren Forest and the Orc tribes of the Western Continent are destroyed, it is possible." ”

Woz-Pedro knew exactly what the young emperor wanted to hear, and the vague promise was simply the best spiritual sustenance for the emperor who was eager to make a difference!

However, Emperor Sinda did not indulge in fantasies, and the defeat of the war two years ago had taught him that a campaign could not be succeeded by a flawless plan alone. Therefore, although Nepdo Quint was not treated well by the Emperor, his words like a warning could not help but sound every time the Emperor made a decision.

Woz-Pedro looked at the emperor's uncertain gaze and immediately knew what the young ruler was thinking, so he continued: "Although the Marquis Nepdo's plan is cautious enough, the long-term consumption will deplete the little strength that the empire has just accumulated, and the elven kingdom, since the end of the war more than three hundred years ago, they have been recuperating, and their logistical reserves are not comparable to the current empire!"

"Fighting such a war of attrition, the elves can spend ten years with us!" Woz-Pedro said helplessly: "Although this confrontation seems to be buying time for the empire in exchange for a chance to recuperate, don't forget, there are still orcs in our north eyeing us... Not ten years, maybe two years or a year, and the orcs will complete their unification... At that time, we will face the front and back of the orcs and elves!"

The young emperor was a little moved by what his prime minister said, or he thought so in his heart, but he lacked a reason to convince himself to act, or he lacked a person to plan the matter.

Woz Pedro continued, "When the orcs return to the Sukh Plains, do you expect Duke Andy Barrett of Twak to help you, or the Reagan of Crewe, or the Cliff of Karen?"

"No!" Woz Pedro stood up, "None of them will help us, so... We must make ourselves strong before the orc armies arrive. ”

"The elven alliance has more than 200,000 troops. Emperor Sinda still lacked the last determination, or confidence, and although he longed for victory, the bitter defeat made him much more cautious, his heart pounding because of Woz Pedro's persuasion, and the hesitation in his eyes was naturally expressed on his face.

So, he had to stand up and walk two steps quickly, while relaxing his mood, he turned his face away from his prime minister, and whispered: "This is more than 200,000 elite soldiers, of which the elf elite ranger troops alone account for 150,000 people, as well as the werewolf and dark elf troops who have just captured the Hoko Islands, and the soldiers of these two armies are almost all soldiers of a hundred battles!"

"Huh" The emperor let out a sigh of relief, looked at the soldiers patrolling back and forth outside the window, and continued: "And what about us? The three-way army plus the paladin legion has more than 120,000 soldiers capable of fighting, and even if we add the recruits of the three legions that are being trained in the rear, we can really mobilize less than 200,000 troops. ”

"We don't have to win. Woz Pedro immediately said, "We just need to keep dealing damage to the elven troops... Why did the elves fail more than 300 years ago? because they didn't have enough troops to support their wars, although the elven soldiers were strong, the soldiers of their outpost needed twenty years of growth in their hearts, which was the price of eternal life!"

Woz Pedro had a little madness on his face, "But we're not the same, we have more than two million healthy lads on the Suker Plains, and if you want, you can turn them into a charging army in the blink of an eye." ”

Emperor Sinda immediately shook his head, "If you want to turn a farmer into a soldier, it will take at least half a year to a year, and at the same time, you need enough financial support!"

The peasant army was banned by the empire more than a hundred years ago.

When the empire had a war and needed to recruit additional soldiers, most of the recruits were veterans.

The lesson of blood made the lords everywhere understand that even if the army is defeated and flees, it will not push the newly recruited farmers into battle, because farmers who have neither marching experience nor know how to obey military orders will push a war into the abyss.

Imagine the scene of tens of thousands of farmers who don't know the order, rampage through the battlefield with weapons!

"I didn't think about having the farmer go directly to this war, it would be stupid to do that," Woz-Pedro clasped together with five fingers full of rings on his left hand, "in fact, we still have a strong army on our hands... In the town of Kwyn our Army Group North, as well as the 20,000 new troops that have been training for more than a year. ”

"You want to use this force?" said Emperor Sindar, raising an eyebrow.

Woz Pedro chuckled and said, "If the common trade zone in Sharp Town is built, the Tefero Grassland Pass will basically be in a state of temporary peace. At that time, we can hand over the newly recruited farmers to the Marquis of Barry Victor for training and to maintain the security and safety of the surrounding area, and the original Northern Army and 20,000 new troops in Kwyn can be safely deployed to Tyre. ”

"Yes, but we have to ask our finance minister first!"

...

In the year 1217 of the continental calendar, 8 o'clock in the morning of February 3, 337 in the imperial calendar.

Imperial Prime Minister Woz Pedro presided over a meeting of the Imperial Cabinet in Tyre to discuss the specific strategic deployment of the Eluk Elven Alliance in the new year.

The meeting lasted three full days.

Subsequently, the Imperial Prime Minister announced the establishment of the War Executive Committee, which would take over all foreign wars of the Empire during the war in place of the War Department and the Cabinet.

Imperial Prime Minister Woz Pedro served as the chief of the commission, Nepdo Quint stepped down as commander-in-chief of the defense zone and assumed the post of executive director of the War Executive Committee, and Duke Eric of the Grand Canyon of Manwis concurrently held the post of deputy chief.

It is worth mentioning that the 'Tyre Town Strategic Defense Zone' established by Duke Nick when he was Prime Minister was rewritten as the 'Tyre Town War Zone' after this Imperial Council ended!

The post of Commander-in-Chief of the Theater is concurrently held by the Commander of the Imperial Royal Combined Legion, Devin Pombo.

Just as the empire was adjusting its foreign strategic deployment, the meeting of the leaders of the three parties, which lasted for almost two months, ended on the morning of February 8.

Following this meeting, Elok led the coalition forces to establish a high command. The elven general Lizo Carlo is the supreme commander of the command, the Marshal of the Principality of Suluk is Tra Rensko, and the commander of the Dark Elf Magister unit of the Kingdom of Misha is the chief of staff.

On 15 February, seven days after the end of the Tripartite Council, the Eluk coalition assembled five Outpost Elven Rangers, a human legion, and two Dark Elf Magister troops to storm the left side of the Tyr Defence.

On the Imperial side, the commander-in-chief of the theater of operations, Dewen Pombo, under the repeated urging of the War Executive Committee, gathered nearly 80,000 troops, including the Paladin Legion, in the central area of the defensive line, intending to raid the enemy camp area that had shrunk after being frustrated after the attack on the middle the day before.

.。 m.