"Your Excellency, you are here. ”

Outside the gate of the border outpost, Dawson, who heard that Art had arrived at the border outpost, hurried to meet him.

Art dismounted and handed the reins to the guards. Walk slowly towards the gate of the outpost.

"Did the bastards confess?" As soon as Art saw Dawson, he asked.

"My lord, as you ordered, we have completed the interrogation of those fellows. Except for one caravan guard's confession that did not match the others, the other guys insisted that they belonged to the first comptoir of Rumba, no matter how tortured they were. The leader was also killed and denied. ”

Art stopped and turned around. "Oh, tell me what useful news you got out of his mouth."

"Yes, sir. According to the caravan guard, they had been sent by the Duke of Lombardy to inquire about the news. Since the Marquis succeeded to the throne, there have been voices in the Lombard court to suppress the Marquisate of Burgundy~"

"Someone sent by the Duke of Lombardy?" Art looked shocked. He really didn't expect this ambitious guy to move so fast. The battle for the successor had only been over for a few months, and he had already reached into his own territory.

"Where's that bastard?" Art continued, his heart filled with rage. While speaking, the group had already arrived at the border post barracks.

"Held in solitary confinement in an interrogation room". Dawson replied.

"Take me to see it!"

"Yes, sir. Your side, please~"

…………

In the interrogation room of the border outpost, the caravan guards were tied to a pillar in the middle. His clothes were tattered and stained with blood from the flogging. The marks left by the soldering iron on the thighs are also clearly visible, charred and black. His face was bruised and swollen, and blood was still dripping from his mouth and nose.

A few days earlier, the Duke of Rumba had summoned him to the court. He was ordered to go north to the Marquis of Burgundy with the caravan, collect information, and check the details of the Earl of Wales by the way. This man is a distant nephew of the Duke of Lombardy, although he is not good at force, but his brain is quite flexible and experienced. The duke, intent on cultivating him, sent him north to be placed in the caravan as his henchman.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the caravan entered the border of the Marquis of Burgundy, it was thrown into prison by the people of this frontier count. It was closed for several days, and they were not given any chance to explain at all.

Earlier today, the caravan guards were taken one by one for interrogation, and the screams coming from the room a little farther away from time to time made this noble kid who had grown up in a privileged environment tremble. Although the duke had confessed before departure, his identity could not be revealed in any case. But in the face of such torture, the young nobleman, dressed as a caravan guard, could not keep his mouth shut. If you carry it yourself, I'm afraid that even your little life will have to be explained here.

Chirping~

The door to the interrogation room was pushed open, and the light shining in made the guards unable to open their eyes.

"My lord, this is the guy."

Art stole through the door, then sat down in a chair near the wall.

The caravan guard slowly raised his head, opened his eyes slightly, and glanced at the person in front of him. This person is very popular and has a handsome face. He wears a finely crafted mink coat, cowhide boots, and a steel knight's sword at his waist.

"Wake him up for me, I'm going to interrogate him personally." As he spoke, Art took off the leather gloves that Lottie had sewn for him and placed them on the table beside him. Ron and the others stood aside.

Dawson glanced at the man beside him, who lifted the barrel and walked straight to the dying caravan guard.

"Ah~"

As the biting ice water soaked the guard's body, the guy let out a loud cry, opened his mouth wide and inhaled sharply, gradually regaining consciousness.

"You bastard, don't play dead there. We're pretty light on you, and you're lucky compared to the others. ”

Dawson stepped forward to inspect the guy in front of him and slapped him twice.

"Adult~"

Art slowly got up and walked towards the guard.

"Listen to my subordinates, you are spies sent by the Duke of Lombardy~"

The guard looked up with difficulty and glanced at the young and promising earl in front of him. Nod in acknowledgement.

Art walked behind the pillar and slowly lifted the man's hand to examine it.

"Who are you?"

"I, I'm a caravan guard for the first comptoir in Rumba."

"Caravan escort?" Art asked rhetorically. "Until now, you still dare to lie in front of me?" Art raised her voice.

Dawson clenched his fists to teach the guy another lesson, but was stopped by Art.

"You said you were a caravan guard, so why don't you have calluses on your palms that have been left by the sword for a long time?"

Ron, who was standing aside, looked at his sword-wielding right palm, which was full of calluses.

In Art's opinion, even the most inaccessible caravan guards will leave a layer of cocoons on their hands. But the guy in front of him has smooth palms and fair skin, and is obviously a noble child who is not good at force. No matter how bad it is, it is also a broad young master of a certain big merchant family in Lombardy.

In the face of Yat's interrogation, the man had nothing to say. I had to recruit them one by one, so as not to suffer from flesh and skin again.

"I~ I am a distant nephew of the Duke of Lombardy. This time, he mingled in the caravan as his eyes, secretly gathering news about the Marquis of Burgundy. ”

"Apart from your caravan, is there anyone else infiltrating the Marquis of Burgundy?"

The guard bowed his head and remained silent.

"Say!" Dawson stepped forward and slapped the guy hard, then poked his fingers hard at the wound on his thigh that had just stopped bleeding.

"Ahh I say, I say! We also have a group of men and horses passing through the province of Kodor into the kingdom of Burgundy, all the way north to find out the news. The task of our team is mainly to find out the details of the Earl of Wales. ”

"How many people are in the other caravan?" Art asked.

"About two dozen people." The guard replied.

"Okay, then I'll spare you a little life for the time being. If I find out you're cheating on me, I'll cut off your head and hang it on the border gate!" ”

Art shook off a harsh word.

…………

"Master, let's just let this guy go?"

After walking out of the interrogation room, Ron caught up with Art and asked.

"Yes, sir. This group of mongrels cannot be easily let go. Dawson chimed in.

"Save their lives first. Especially the nephew of the Duke of Lombardy, although he was only a distant nephew sent to die, I still expect the Duke of Lombardy to spend a lot of money to ransom him. Let the healers of the valley treat them a little, and they can't just die like this. Then take them all to Boulder and imprison them. ”

"Yes, sir."

"Ron, as soon as you get back, have Bob Flying Pigeon inform Stanley and ask him to send someone to find me another caravan. Report them as soon as you spot them! ”

"Yes, sir."

"Now that the Duke of Lombardy has sent someone to investigate him, I'm afraid that the bastard of Wade has also learned that I am still alive~" Art muttered to himself.

Before leaving the border outpost, Art instructed the officers at the border post to be sure to strictly check the inbound merchants and travelers from now on to prevent the enemy from infiltrating and sabotaging.

…………

"Hurry, hurry."

Fifteen miles south of the Workshop District, in the dense forest of the mountains, two men dressed as laborers are struggling through the weeds.

Yesterday night, the two of them stole enough dry food from a shack at a construction site not far south of the workshop area for ten days. Then, under the cover of night, he fled all the way down the flat land south of the valley river. After finding a shelter for the night, he continued his journey early in the morning.

"Hunter, you wait for me~" The fat man named Aref gasped and shuffled after him.

"Hurry up." Hunter leaned against a stone and looked impatiently at the fat man.

"When will we get there~" Aref, who caught up, sat on the dead wood next to him.

Norman said that since they were building a road to the south, it meant that from the valley they could reach the north of Lombardy. Judging by the time it takes us to make a detour to Provence in Lombardy, if you move quickly, you should be able to get out of the valley in seven or eight days. Let's go, hurry up and hurry, tell the Count of Vare the news one day earlier, and we will complete the task one day earlier~"

Immediately, the two of them walked south while carrying wooden sticks.

…………

Ever since a few days ago at the court council I heard that the name of the new earl of the southern part of the Marquis of Burgundy was Art. Wood. After Wells, Walder. Burley couldn't sit still.

In addition to sending people to the province of Wales to find out the news, the bandit-turned-earl also strengthened the security forces around him. The previous 30-member guard team became 60 people, half in the light and half in the dark, not leaving an inch. In addition, he re-screened the miscellaneous servants and servants of his mansion, and drove away all those who were unidentified. Now, even their own food is delivered by a fixed person to Wad. The food on Burley's table was also tested for poison. It wasn't that he did it too much, the servant who died tragically in his own home was the best example.

Now, whoever enters the Wade. The merchant travelers of the Burley realm were to be strictly examined by the guards guarding the city. Those with a Burgundian accent were held and interrogated. Even if those "innocent" guys are not spies sent by the enemy, they will be extorted a sum of money by this guy.

These measures are certainly not enough. Wade. In recent days, Bury has also moved around in many ways, taking the initiative to contact many powerful ministers and wealthy merchants in the Lombardy principality, spreading the word that Blumbardy is about to suffer an "invasion" from the north. Many of the noble businessmen who were already intent on suppressing Flender were killed by Wade. Burley fanned the flames and responded. Some guys are even suggesting that the Duke of Lombardy take advantage of the unstable foundation of the Princely State of Burgundy to preemptively lead a large army to level the Princely State of Burgundy and pocket all its territory.

If it weren't for the fact that Provence was separated from the middle, the Duke of Lombardy, who was already interested in expanding his territory, would probably have begun to reorganize his armaments. The spies sent out to gather intelligence are supposed to have entered the territory of the Princedom of Burgundy. Once the situation is clear, the power of Flender is clarified, and the details of the southern earl are figured out, it is not too late to make a move. The Duke of Lombardy was at a loss.

…………

In addition to the Duke of Lombardy's interest in the nascent Marquis of Burgundy, the Duchy of Swabia, which had "robbed while it was on fire" many times before, also stared at this piece of fat on his lips.

A year earlier, when the Liberation Army and the western Thorne army were fighting along the Besançon line, the Swabian army took advantage of the lack of troops in the east and launched a brazen surprise attack, taking several cities and fortresses in the eastern part of the province of Jonah in one fell swoop. Had it not been for the sudden arrival of reinforcements that disrupted their deployment, the meat that had been swallowed in their mouths would have become Swabian territory long ago.

Now, Flender, the ruler of the Princes of Burgundy who started with mercenaries, relied on the power of France to defeat the Thorne army, unify the country, and turn the former Count of Burgundy into the Princedom of Burgundy. Now it is much more difficult to take the opportunity to send troops to occupy the territory of the Princedom of Burgundy.

However, just because it's hard doesn't mean there's no chance.

In recent days, spies have reported that the Duke of Lombardy in the south and other noble bureaucrats regard Flender as a thorn in their side. Lombardy is also in crisis because of the changing situation in the north. Now, all it takes is a match to light the fire of the Lombard lion that extinguished the kingdom of Burgundy.

The successive rulers of Lombardy and Swabia wanted to annex the Count of Burgundy and the Duchy of Provence. Helplessly, the previous Count of Burgundy was backed by the Duchy of Burgundy, and it was difficult to swallow it in one bite. Provence and Lombardy are also of equal strength, and the two sides have been hammering and fighting for many years, but Lombardy has not made substantial progress.

Now, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity looms in front of the Duchy of Swabia. Previously, the Count of Burgundy was backed by the Duchy of Burgundy. Now, the two have dissolved the suzerainty relationship, and the princely state of Burgundy has been returned to the patriarchal kingdom of France. Although the Kingdom of France is strong, there is the Duchy of Burgundy, which has suffered a dumb loss, and even if France sends troops to support, it has to consider the "roadblock" of the Duchy of Burgundy.

As long as the two powerful principalities of Swabia and Lombard jointly sent troops to encircle and suppress the unstable princely state of Burgundy, it would be much easier to annex its territory step by step than before.

After deciding to unite Lombardy against the Princedom of Burgundy, the Duke of Swabia did two things.

First, a group of 50 spies disguised as exiles were sent to the territory of the Marquis of Burgundy to inquire about information and collect intelligence. On the one hand, find out Flender's strength and prepare for future attacks. On the other hand, he united those who opposed Flanders, and used them as internal responses, assisting Swabian to infiltrate the Burgundian kingdom step by step.

Second, he sent an envoy to the Duchy of Lombardy to persuade the Duke of Lombard to join the Duchy of Swabia in invading the Duchy of Burgundy. Once the Princedom of Burgundy was annexed, the territory was divided equally between the two countries.

…………

Swabia is like a jackal, always keeping an eye on its prey. Once they seize the opportunity, they will find ways to pounce on their prey and kill them, swallowing their internal organs one bite at a time. To the south, Lombardy, on the other hand, is like a tiger and a leopard, and no one else is allowed to touch its territory. Even if the other party has not yet shown any aggression, the smell of it is enough to make Lombardy feel in danger. Instead of waiting for the prey to come to the door, it is better to take the initiative to prevent future troubles.

Sandwiched between the surrounding principalities, the princely state of Burgundy has always been a piece of fat on the lips of others.

Now that the Hou State has just been established, crises are lurking. How to stabilize the interior while preventing those ambitious people around them from surrounding them to gnaw on their territory will be a test for the rulers of the Princedom of Burgundy, as well as for the counts under the Princedom of Burgundy. In particular, the Earl of Wales in the southern part of the Marquis of Burgundy. Wood. Wells.