Benjamin smiled: "Hehe, it's kind of interesting, but I don't want to visit the two of them, I just want to come and see the fun!" Since he was hijacked by General Higg, then follow the general, haha! ”

The messenger was sent to the point of anger: "Benjamin, are you also going to be an enemy of His Majesty Arad? ”

Without waiting for Benjamin to answer, Higg smiled and said, "Please let your subordinates unarm, I guarantee the personal safety of Lord Chincha, and not hurt a single person in your mission!" ”

Qin Cha said coldly: "Hmph, what is the Fifth Legion, dare to hold Qin Cha hostage, are you not afraid that Your Majesty will know about it and destroy your Legion first?" ”

"Hahaha!" Higg laughed, turned to Thomas, and said, "Thomas, since Lord Chincha doesn't know the times, you can help him!" ”

"Yes, General!" Thomas said immediately, and immediately asked the guards around him to lead the chin away.

……

"Your Royal Highness!" Pantony hurried over and shouted happily at Benjamin: "I didn't expect to see Your Highness again after thirty years!" ”

Higg was stunned for a moment, only to hear Benjamin also shout happily: "Pantony, is that you?" Are you still alive? ”

"It's great to see Your Highness again!" Pantony said excitedly, stepped forward to salute Benjamin, and then turned to Higg and said, "Higg, I used to be a member of the guard of His Royal Highness the Prince, and then I left the guard because of family affairs, plus I was shipwrecked at sea, I didn't expect to meet here today!" ”

Higg doesn't have a good impression of the forest country, although his mother is the princess of the forest country, and the person in front of him is still his own uncle in terms of relationship. But his mother was used as a bargaining chip for a political marriage by the Forest Country, which made Higg somewhat estranged from the Elf King Cross, not to mention that the Forest Country still has an inexplicable relationship with Arad.

Higg smiled faintly and asked, "Your Royal Highness, do you Forest Nation want to participate in the civil war in Alasia and support Arad?" ”

Benjamin said: "The forest country is weak, and has no intention of joining the war, but Arad sent messengers to the forest country to force my father to express his position, and wanted my father to send troops to help. My father had no choice but to agree to support Arad, but the Forest Nation could not afford to send troops, so he sent me to Krodina to explain the reason to Arad. ”

Higg smiled: "I'm afraid that His Royal Highness the Prince will stay in Crodina City for a while as a hostage!" Speaking of which, should His Royal Highness the Prince thank me? ”

Benjamin smiled bitterly: "I was originally an insignificant person in the Forest Country, and naturally became a political victim. What is the difference between falling into the hands of Catherine and falling into the hands of Arad? Hmph, in the civil war in Aracia, even if the Forest Nation wants to be left alone, will you both agree? ”

Higg looked at Benjamin sympathetically, the prince of the forest country, who turned out to be the same as his mother Jenny, who couldn't help himself, and was regarded as a victim of political transactions by the elf king Cross, so he smiled coldly: "The forest country is also a once glorious empire, I never imagined that it would be reduced to the point where it needs to be inferior to other countries everywhere." ”

Benjamin smiled awkwardly and said: "Since the division of the forest country for a thousand years, the druids have occupied a large part of the territory of the original forest country, and the forest country has to live in the northeastern forest of the Alasia Empire. The current forest country is also the independent power of each faction, my father, in fact, is the largest force in the forest country, not many people will obey my father's orders. The long-term open and secret struggle within the Forest Nation was no less intense than the civil war in Alasia. My father was threatened by Arad and had to make such a political deal as a last resort to protect the interests of the Forest Nation. ”

Higg smiled: "I have some relationship with your forest country, Your Royal Highness the Prince, I can let you go, but if your forest country hooks up with Arad again, and waits until Her Majesty the Queen dominates Alasia, hehe, I'm afraid your forest country will be ruined!" ”

Benjamin said, "The Forest Nation was only forced to promise to support Arad, but there was no actual intention of sending troops, otherwise I might have been a hostage!" When General Higg said this, did he assume that Catherine would win? ”

"Hmph, anyone who understands can see clearly, Arad will definitely be defeated" Higg sneered: "Since His Royal Highness the Prince is so concerned about the affairs of Aracya, then General Ben will tell His Highness the truth that Arad will be defeated, haha!" First, in terms of territory, although Arad occupies about two-thirds of the territory, except for the Guanzhong Plain, most of the territory is much behind Catherine's territory, and the population is basically the same on both sides. The war is fought with money and population, so in this respect, Catherine and Arad are not much different.

"Second, although Arad's existing army is twice that of Catherine, most of the troops have been newly expanded in recent years, while Catherine has not expanded much, and the number of troops has not increased much compared to before Arad took power, indicating that her army is all veterans, and she is taking the elite route. Therefore, in terms of military strength, Catherine is not much worse than Arad.

"Thirdly, the territory occupied by Arad was infested by many volunteers and thieves, and not only was the territory destroyed, but also the strength of the army was greatly constrained; Catherine's already rich territory is in good order, the territory has not been damaged by the war, and the rear is stable.

"Fourthly, the Fourth Legion loyal to Arad is wavering, and it is quite possible that it is a *; On the other hand, the Fifth Army Corps in the north, which was loyal to Catherine, completed the counterinsurgency, and formed a north-south flank attack with the First and Second Army Corps in the southwest on the Guanzhong Plain of Arad, hehe, there is a headache for Arad! ”

Higg stared at Benjamin, saw him frowning and thinking, and then said: "Arad has been frustrated on the northern front recently, and it is estimated that he will not be able to bargain for anything in the south, and his morale is low, how can he not be defeated?" ”

Benjamin smiled: "General Higg let me go, I'm afraid there is another purpose, right?" If I were to be released by the general, it would be a dilemma to go to Arad as a hostage or return to the Forest Country. I will go to Arad as a hostage, and their messenger will be held by you, and I will not escape the suspicion of colluding with Catherine; It is even more difficult to return to China, and it will make Arad jealous of the Forest Country, and it will be even more dangerous to send troops to ask us for an explanation! General Higg really played a good hand, I had no choice! ”

Higg smiled: "Your Royal Highness, go to Croatia or return home, it's your own business!" ”

Benjamin said in frustration: "Weak countries have no diplomacy, it seems that it is impossible for the forest country not to get involved in the civil war in Alasia!" I can only solve the crisis in the Forest Country by accompanying Lord Chincha as a hostage with General Higg. ”

"Hahaha!" Higg laughed and said, "Your Royal Highness, your hand is the real good hand. You and Qincha have stayed with me, and they have been kidnapped by me, and of course Arad has nothing to say, so naturally he can't send troops to the Forest Country. Even if Catherine is dissatisfied with the Forest Country, she is not bordering the Forest Country now, and she is beyond her reach, but she has only suffered from General Ben and me, and she has to bear the infamy of detaining the envoys of the two countries. His Royal Highness the Prince has stayed and wants to leave this problem to me? I thought I would get two big fish, but I didn't expect them to be two hot potatoes! Well, in that case, I've done it anyway, so I'll offend Arad and Cross."

Benjamin smiled and said, "General Higg, I'm also forced to do it!" ”

Higg laughed, "But what if I kill the Chincha, and then declare that you yourself are unwilling to be a hostage and collude with Catherine?" ”

"The general won't do that!" Benjamin laughed: "If that's the case, wouldn't the general himself offend the forest country to death?" At that time, the forest country will be able to justifiably support Arad, and the general's gains outweigh the losses! Is this the result that Catherine or the general needs? ”

Higg asked, "Offended the Forest Country?" The hostage is in my hands, and the elf king Cross dares to send troops to support Arad, so he is not afraid that I will tear up the ticket? ”

"Hahaha!" Benjamin laughed and said, "The general thinks too highly of me as a hostage!" My father had fifteen sons, and let me be a hostage, and you can imagine my position before fourteen brothers! Even if my father had the heart to prevent me from dying, my fourteen brothers and the ministers who supported them would love to have one less heir to compete with them! ”

Higg's eyes lit up and he smiled: "Your Royal Highness, it seems that you are going to make a deal with me?" ”

Benjamin smiled: "General Higg, this deal is worth it!" The general went deep into the hinterland of Arad, and I believe that the general himself knows that this is not a place to stay for a long time, and the general himself is still dying, right? Has the general figured out where he is going? ”

Higg said with a smile: "The situation of General Ben is not worrying His Royal Highness the Prince, anyway, His Highness is a hostage wherever he is, but with General Ben, it is inevitable that the pain of the march and the worry of his life will be worried, His Highness must be prepared early!" ”

"This king just can't stand the suffering, so he plans a good place for the general!" Benjamin said with a smile, "This is less than a hundred kilometers away from the Lakason Plateau, and the general can completely hand over the black cauldron of the kidnapping of the Chin Cha to the bandits and volunteers there, and let Arad send troops to exterminate the volunteers and bandits there, and the general will reap the benefits of the fisherman, and then I will secretly support the general to occupy the Lakason Plateau?" ”

Higg sneered, "But if Arad can exterminate the Volunteers and bandits, they can't exterminate me?" The Lakason Plateau is crisscrossed by ravines, the people's livelihood is withering, what shall I feed my army? ”

Benjamin said, "It seems that General Higg doesn't know as much about Lakason as he does about this king!" If that plateau had been so easy to capture, Arad would not have allowed thieves and volunteers to run rampant. When did Arad come to the Lakason Plateau to settle the settlement, and which time could only be a defeat for both sides, and never succeeded? When the time comes, the general will be stationed on the Lakason Plateau again, and he will also occupy the mountains as the king and encroach on these forces, so will he not be able to capture them? ”

Higg asked suspiciously: "Your Royal Highness, it is easy to blame those thieves, but where is my army of more than 20,000 people hidden?" It is absolutely impossible for people to detect the existence of this army! ”

Benjamin said: "From here, bypassing the Lacarcen Plateau, about two hundred kilometers northeast of the Lacarson Plateau, there is a forest called the Silent Forest, which is located on the border between the Forest Country and Erathia, and belongs to the territory of the Elasia Nation. Hide your army in the depths of the forest and recuperate! ”

"Silent Forest?" Higg wondered, "Do you think my army is the elves of your forest country, living in the forest?" Where does the rations come from? ”

"Of course, military rations are purchased, and they are purchased at a high price!" "In two months, it's harvest season, and this year the region will have a bumper harvest." There are two million gold coins from the forest nation to Arad, and I plan to give you another thousand dwarven slaves!" ”

"What do I want a dwarf slave for?" Higg was surprised, "I want money for military rations!" ”

"Hahaha!" Pantony said with a smile on the side, "Although the Forest Nation is weak, it is never short of money. Especially us dwarves, which dwarves don't have their own coffers! General Higg, as long as you have wine, those dwarves will definitely trade you for gold coins, and you can still use them to work for you, hahaha! ”

Higg laughed: "That means that General Ben still has to make wine for them?" ”

"I also tell the horses to run, and I want the horses not to eat grass, how can there be such a cheap thing?" Pan Dongni said, "There is no way for people outside of the Forest Realm to get Dwarven slaves, because the Forest Realm has strict control over dwarves. ”

Higg said to Benjamin: "Then you use my power, develop your own power, use me to help you seize the position of heir, and we make a deal, right, Your Highness the Prince?" Otherwise, how could you think of my way out and give me money and people? ”

"Yes, not quite!" Benjamin said, "The king really wants to take over your power and build up his own power. Now that the power pattern in various parts of the forest country is serious, if this king does not have his own power, he can only be bullied by others, and I am afraid that he will not even be able to protect his fiefdom in the future! As for the crown prince you mentioned, if this king wants to come, he can't compete with those brothers who have the support of clan forces or the support of the noble forces. ”

"Hahaha!" Higg laughed and said, "If you don't covet the crown prince, isn't His Highness's pattern too small?" However, I made this deal with His Highness. If I can gain a foothold in the Silent Forest, my forces will definitely support Your Highness, even if Your Highness has the idea of winning the throne, I will fully support it, so it's always okay! ”

Benjamin said: "The general underestimates the king, or perfunctory the king, and the king can only believe it!" Now this king is living in horror every day in the forest country, so he simply agreed to come out as a hostage, but he didn't expect to get in touch with the general, haha! ”

Higg said: "But Your Royal Highness, what needs to be stated is that in the army, I must be the main one, and without my permission, I am not allowed to interfere in my military affairs!" ”

Benjamin nodded and said, "That's right! This king is also about to learn more about military affairs and warfare from the general, and he will definitely not overstep his bounds! ”

Higg nodded as well, and then said to Pantony, "Assemble the whole army and march towards the Silent Forest!" ”