"Brother Huang, you should hurry up and get an idea!"

As soon as the meeting in the Bafepe Chamber ended, Prince Francisco, who was overwhelmed by the power of the Duke of Wollaston, hurriedly found his brother, the second prince Iscario, and begged the other party to make a decision.

Because of the outstanding talents shown since childhood, the second prince Iscario is the most favored heir to the throne, and his talents have fully convinced the nobles and officials of the imperial capital, so after Harold III fell ill, everyone unanimously elected him to replace the emperor in handling the affairs of the empire, even his elder brother, the nominal crown prince of the empire, Alcott, thought that his younger brother was more suitable for this position than himself.

And right now, Prince Iscario, who is already in power, did not show the slightest smile because of the power in his hands, but fell into contemplation because of the problems brought by his younger brother.

"Don't you think it's strange, Fran. Sitting behind the desk in the study that originally belonged to Harold III, Iscario affectionately shouted his brother's nickname, but at the same time showed an extremely serious expression, "Duke Heslet, even if it is out of gentlemanly demeanor, he will do his best to help the Cassiyer family." But isn't it surprising that Duke Blackwater is so zealous? Wollaston is a profit-supremacist, and he is not in the character of helping others for nothing. Originally, I thought that in the face of this request for reinforcement, the Blackwater Commander would be very resistant, but now Wollaston's performance is completely beyond my expectations. ”

Francisco also reacted a little when the royal brother said this, Wollaston did show too much enthusiasm in the meeting just now, and this kind of positivity ......

Speaking of which, it seems that after seeing the Duke of Heslet's performance in preparing to actively help Tiamat, Wollaston became active. Francisco propped his hands on his desk, trying to remember what had just happened, "It's a little strange, the Blackwater Collar and the Voliva Collars have never been very harmonious, but today they are surprisingly unanimous. No, it wasn't unanimous at first, and at some point, Wollaston started to support Heslett, but that feeling ...... How to put it, naturally, if you don't think about it carefully, you won't connect the performance of the two of them at all, but will feel that it is just an unrelated coincidence. ”

"Well, in this way, maybe the Blackwater Collar and the Voliva Collar have reached some degree of tacit understanding. Iscaliomo rubbed his chin and said thoughtfully, "Advance and retreat...... But that Wollaston isn't that easy to obey. ”

"yes-" Francisco nodded with deep feeling, "that's the man called 'Viper', from a side branch of Kierkegaard, step by step to the position of Duke of Blackwater, and kill all the people who occupy his own position in every possible way, such a person, just sitting with him is chilling......"

Francisco shuddered as he remembered the sequence of his seat in the Bafepe chamber, where the snake-like man sat on his right hand.

"Although Wollaston's character is debatable, it is undeniable that the Duke does deserve his present position. Iscario put his hand on his cheek and objectively evaluated the duke who was tabooed by the imperial brother, "Although the means are a little too ruthless, but at least now the Blackwater Territory is completely subservient to him, all the vassals are extremely subservient to this duke, and at the same time, the people's livelihood in the territory is also thriving, although he is called 'Viper', but he has an outstanding ability to govern the territory." ”

"But now is not the time for him to show his governing skills. Francisco muttered, "What is needed now is his calmness, although Wollaston is confident, but even the most dull people can see that at the moment we do not have the strength to fight the white people, and it is the wisest choice to guard Wang Ji." ”

"No, since Wollaston would say that, there must have been something he had in mind. Iscario shook his head and said, "Whether or not he has a tacit understanding with Heslet, he's not the kind of person who would be stupid enough to make uncertain decisions. I'm sure that since he said that, then he must have considered it for himself. ”

"Shall we agree to his plan to send troops?" Francisco looked at the imperial brother in surprise, and his voice unconsciously raised.

Instead of responding, Iscario asked about something else. "Fegraf, Tamska, and Northway, don't you have any news from the three dukes?"

Since Francisco was in charge of the affairs of the Imperial Council, he was naturally in charge of liaison with the dukes.

"Not yet. Francisco sighed, and sat down weakly when he talked about this intriguing matter, "I suspect now that those three families may be deliberately pretending to be deaf and dumb, wanting to wait for the outcome of the war in the imperial capital to pretend to be an afterthought to reap the benefits, and they probably wish that we and the people of Baidi would fight to the death, so that they can take the opportunity to improve their voice." ”

"Don't make things so simple, Fran. Iscario rebuked his brother in a low voice, "Figlaf and Tamska are one of the oldest families in the Empire, and they live in symbiosis with the Empire, while Northvi is surrounded by the Azkar Alliance, and they also need the support of the Empire behind them, and they will not be stupid enough to turn their backs on their family's roots for those small profits." ”

Being reprimanded by the imperial brother made Francisco a little hesitant, but he still listened silently and did not refute.

"But then again......" After reprimanding his younger brother, Prince Iscario couldn't help frowning, "If they don't have any more information, I'm afraid the three dukes in the east won't be able to make it to the decisive battle." ”

"The decisive battle—" Francisco's eyes widened suddenly, "Brother Iscario, do you already have a plan?"

"No, it's not a serious battle plan...... Iscario waved his hand, "It's just an idea, the Duke of Wollaston is right about one thing, the people of the White Land will definitely not be satisfied with the Tiamat Territory alone, once they completely capture the Tiamat Territory, they will inevitably continue to move south, and the blizzard that has been silent on the highland snowfield for so many years may be swept by a new storm." ”

"So you're prepared to plan ahead?" said Francisco, who understood the Emperor's intentions.

"Yes, although I also think that the Duke of Wollaston's initiative is a bit too risky, we cannot sit idly by. I have secretly mobilized the five legions of Wangji, and the first and third legions of the two fortresses of Broken Valley City and Remote City, In addition to the fact that the navy of Yanwan cannot be mobilized, I will gather the rest of the troops, plus the twelve guards of the divine capital, there will be more than 100,000 troops, and I estimate that the Black Water Territory and the Voliva Territory can send 50,000 troops combined, plus the reinforcements of some other independent earls, our strength should be able to exceed 200,000, or even close to 300,000 is possible, so that the gap with the strength of the White Land people does not exist. Of course, if reinforcements from the three eastern dukes can arrive, then our strength can even surpass that of the White Diren. ”

"300,000 ......" Francisco took a slight breath, since he was born, he had never seen such a large army concentrated in the empire, "However, the combat effectiveness of the White Land people cannot be measured purely by the strength of the army, in the case of the same number, it is difficult for our soldiers to compete with the White Land people." ”

"No, Fran, although the White Men have always created countless examples of winning more with less with their strong soldiers, that does not mean that the White People's army is necessarily stronger than ours. The army of our Syrodib Empire was also extremely powerful, so the Venons and mountain people were subject to the Empire, and this strength did not depend on the quality of the soldiers who had been tempered by the harsh living environment, but on the discipline of the army. The discipline of the corps is also a weapon, and this weapon becomes sharper and sharper the larger the army. ”

"I don't quite understand what you mean. ”

"The group of the Baidi people is formed through countless tribes, in other words, it is a union between small tribes, according to the intelligence of their dispatch of Tiamat this time, even the largest tribes have only dispatched tens of thousands of people, and their army of 300,000 is collected from different tribes in this way, and such an army structure will become a burden in the face of real large-scale battles. Generally speaking, soldiers will only accept the command of their own tribal chief, and the chief is on the premise of his own judgment, to carry out the orders of the great chief, even if it is for the sake of interests, they will more or less discount to carry out the orders of the great chief, the command system is so weak, in a large-scale battle, this will be a fatal wound. ”

Francisco nodded half-incomprehensibly, he really didn't have any talent for military matters.

"Then, when do you plan to fight a decisive battle?" he asked with some concern, "the news of the three dukes in the east has not arrived for a long time, and if they don't make it in time, we will still be at a disadvantage." ”

"It's really a problem. Prince Iscario beckoned to his attendant and asked the other party to bring the map, "I chose the location of the decisive battle in the Mirror Lake Territory, not in the Tiamat Territory, which is out of our control, and the White People are quite familiar with it, and we will lose the advantage of geography in the decisive battle in the Tiamat Territory." However, although they wanted to lure the enemy deeper, the Baidi people had always had a habit of plundering, and once they were allowed to enter the hinterland of Wangji, I was afraid that the people along the way would suffer a catastrophe. Therefore, I chose the location of the decisive battle, which is our home field, and the army of the empire can occupy a favorable position to face the battle, and as a frontier, the people will not suffer too much loss. ”

"That's fine. Hearing the imperial brother's consideration, Francisco relaxed slightly, "However, you chose the location of the decisive battle as the Mirror Lake Territory, right...... Are you already planning to give up Tiamat?"

Francisco asked cautiously, in fact, this plan already has a lot of supporters in the imperial capital, originally Tiamat Territory is the territory of the Cassiyer family, and has no direct stake with the nobles of the Imperial Capital, and now facing the threat of war, many people think that giving up Tiamat Territory, guarding Wangji, and then negotiating with Baidi is the best solution.

"Whether or not to give up the Tiamat Territory depends on the outcome of the decisive battle. Prince Iscario said ambiguously, "If we lose the decisive battle, even if it is a defeat for both sides, or even a small victory, we will have to temporarily give up the Tiamat Territory, after all, for the Empire, the enemy is not only the White Di, and we must first ensure our own stability before we can consider enterprising." ”

"I see. Francisco reacted immediately, and the royal brother was talking about the threat of the elves.

While the two princes were discussing, there was a knock in the study, and Francisco's attendants hurried in and reported to the two princes:

"His Highness Iscario, His Highness Francisco, report from the town of Javier that the Duke of Lengshan has arrived in Wanggi. ”

The two princes glanced at each other, and their eyes showed joy.