Victor ascended to the fourth floor of the Lord's Mansion, and Nicole, dressed in a yellow tunic dress, was standing at the door of the conference room.

"Come in, honey. She smiled and stepped forward to take her sweetheart's arm and pushed open the iron oak door, "Madame was about to send someone to find you, and you will come back." ”

In the conference room, the lords of the York family and nine silver knights gathered together, dozens of pairs of eyes looking at Victor who walked in. Sylvia sat on the main seat, turned her head and smiled at Victor, and said softly, "Honey, please sit next to me." ”

The meeting room on the fourth floor of Silvermoon Manor is different from the traditional Lord's Hall.

The hall of lords resembles a classroom, with the lord on the throne, the lady of the lord in her right hand, the first heir of the family on the left, and a table of three on the opposite side of the throne, representing the position of the vassal lord couple and heir.

Modeled after a modern conference room, this room features an oval mahogany table in the middle that seats up to 40 people and a ring of leather chairs around the periphery of the table. Such a layout is better than being friendly and easy-going, but it does not reflect the authority of the family leader, and violating etiquette is not considered a formal occasion.

However, Victor didn't want to see the Duke of York and Sylvia sitting together, which made him awkward. Of course, Embiter York was also reluctant to stay with Sylvia. The dislike of the Divine Knight always clearly shows the signal of "don't approach me" in the form of spiritual coercion, and it is difficult for mortals to resist this invisible pressure, and Embiter will be covered in cold sweat as soon as she gets close to Sylvia.

Victor sat down beside Sylvia and saw Embither and Caterina across from the long table, as if he were the Duke of York. Victor couldn't help but feel a little ridiculous, and after careful inspection, he found that the seating arrangement in the conference room was strange.

The Duke of York and Lady Caterina are on the right and left hands of the Grand Knight Bruce and Trisley's brother Viscount Raven, respectively, followed by the four Baron Lords. They have one thing in common - they are all newly canonized vassal lords, very dependent on the support of the duke, and can be regarded as the descendants of Embiter.

Next are the Grand Knights, Viscount Gilis and Viscount Metro, whose domains guard the Duke's direct domain, and the two take turns guarding the Central Fortress, and are closer to Embitser.

Then there were the Viscounts of Hanas and Walter, two great knights who once served the two counts of the Eastern Three Provinces. After their respective lords were hanged by Neovestre on charges of treason, they accepted Sylvia's enquiry and swore allegiance to become vassal lords of the House of York. They are located right in the middle of the conference table.

Further back, Viscount Fred, Lady Audrey, Count Terrandon, and Lady Ulena, the four Grand Knights, sat opposite each other. They are the younger brother and cousin of the Duke of York, and they are enough to challenge Embiter and Caterina in terms of strength, bloodline, and inheritance.

Finally, there are the members of the Rose Manor's think tank, Nicole, the guardian knight Trisley, Victor, and Sylvia.

If you look at it backwards, Embither and Katerina's position is the main seat, and they are arranged according to their proximity. Looking at it, the Rose Manor arranges the seats according to the strength of the vassal lords.

Victor thought about it carefully and found that Sylvia deprived Embither of the right to enter and leave the Rose Manor freely after Caterina was promoted to the Grand Knight, that is, regardless of Victor's existence, Sylvia had to let Caterina act as the Duchess, so that the Rose Manor jumped out of the limitations of the Duchess's mansion and became the highest authority of the York family.

When Embiter was weak, Sylvia had to support him. Bruce and Caterina stepped into the silver realm, and Embiter was so fledgling that she stepped out of her role as duchess and assumed the role of guardian of the family.

The pressure on the vassal lords is too great for the Divine Knights, and only by acting as an objective and impartial guardian can Sylvia establish her authority and ensure the unity and stability of the House of York.

In fact, Sylvia is now the queen of the centaur hills, Trisley and Nicole are the queen's chiefs of the guard, Victor is the interior minister, Embiter is the heir to the throne, and the others are the queen's lords.

It's a royal council of the Queen of Roses!

Victor propped his chin and stared at Sylvia's perfect side face, thinking: I just crossed over, and I slept with a queen...... Or was I just sent by the queen when I came?

Sylvia is in a keen spirit, her mind is exquisite, and she knows the psychological activities of her intimate lover well, and quietly crushed Victor's instep with her high heels, and said with a willow eyebrow: "My dear, what did His Majesty the Pope talk to you?"

Victor pursed his lips and spoke out of the conversation with Clement.

"The Pope supported my mercenaries on three conditions: first, to settle the displaced as much as possible, second, that the mercenaries and clergy should not participate in wars between lords, and third, that the stewards, deacons and officers of Randall's were required to be trained as probationary priests in schools. He concluded.

Sylvia pondered for a moment and asked, "What do you think of the Pope's proposal from the Randall's side?"

Victor muttered, "I have two choices, continue to absorb the outcasts and expand the mercenary army. Or absorb the homeless to a limited extent, transform the existing homeless families into Randall's children's families, and concentrate on training the next generation of soldiers. I'm biased towards the second option. ”

"First of all, absorbing a large number of displaced people will challenge the administrative system of Randall's collar and increase the cost of resettlement. Secondly, the training time of the homeless mercenary soldiers is too short, and it is difficult to guarantee combat effectiveness and loyalty, and they are particularly easy to penetrate. Finally, the strength of the mercenary soldiers is insufficient, their casualties must be very large, and if there are more dead, I will be very passive, and I will even be in danger of being sanctioned by the church. ”

"The Pope solved most of the problems for me. He arranged for a probationary pastor to open a school, helped me convert the displaced people, and trained soldiers and deacons. The combat cleric fights with the mercenaries, which improves the combat effectiveness, courage and survivability of the soldiers to a certain extent. The fighting pastors are all involved, and there is no reason for the church to hold me accountable. In other words, the sacrifice of mercenaries in pioneering wars was justified and legitimate. ”

"The bottom line is that I don't have a choice. Victor shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands and said: "If I reject the Pope's proposal, it means that the Church retains the right to accountability, and the priest only needs to disband the mercenary army with a little encouragement, then I can only disband the mercenary army, but my vassal soldiers are too few, and without the mercenaries, what can I do to defend the southern fortress? He turned his head sideways and said, "My dear, I can only agree to the conditions of the Pope's crown. ”

Sylvia nodded slightly, and then asked, "Then do you know Clement's intentions?"

"Elusive......" Victor shook his head and said, "I think you must have the answer here." ”

Sylvia nodded, "I have received news that Sarn of the southern diocese of the kingdom will succeed Lazarus as the cardinal archbishop of Gambis. Sain was a close confidant of Patriarch Tamor, who had fought with Clement for the papal throne. ”

"The relationship within the Church is complex, and the three chief priests of the College of Cardinals are Clement, Tamor and Friedus. Backed by the Knights of Radiance, Friedus controlled the affairs of the Sassan Empire and the Wharton Prairie. The cardinal archbishops of the kingdoms of Dordor and Seuss were all close confidants of Tamor. The kingdoms of Neville, Gambis, and Borui were part of Clement's sphere of influence. Sylvia paused and said, "Now, the teaching affairs of Gambis are about to fall into the hands of Tamor, do you have any associations about this?"

Victor frowned and muttered, "Pero is also a popular candidate for Cardinal Gambis, he serves as the bishop of the Centaur Hills, so he lost the opportunity to put on the red robe...... Why did Clement let his disciples abandon the Great Diocese of Gambis?"

Sylvia chuckled, her blue eyes shining with wisdom: "The next twenty years will be a time for the lords to promote new agriculture and animal husbandry, accumulate strength, and integrate the inside and outside. Clement was right, once the new farming was successful, the lords and vassals would expel the displaced laborers to make room for their families. ”

"The Sassan Empire has been fending off the orcs of the northern wilderness. The Radiant Knights are tasked with eliminating the threat of orcs and recovering their homeland, and they use the migration of outcasts to unite forces within the empire, and no one can blame them. If I'm not mistaken, Friedes would have left the Prairie Parish to Clement so that he could take over the burden of resettlement of the homeless. ”

"As a contemporary pope, Clement has an unshirkable responsibility to resettle displaced people. The question is, how do you settle it?"

"There is land in the hills, and the construction of a super-large-scale water conservancy project in the kingdom of Neville requires a large number of hired workers, and there is also the potential to develop the land. However, it is not in our interest to resettle large numbers of displaced people. ”..

"We need loyal people, brave soldiers. Twenty years is enough time for the people to multiply and grow, so why do we still accept weak outcasts?" Sylvia looked around the audience and said lightly, "Almost all the lords think so. Clement apparently had a different opinion. ”

"Whoever develops, who possesses. If we follow the traditional way of pioneering, we can't compete with the Augustian family, and Neville can't compete with the Sassanian Empire. And Victor's mercenary corps may be an opportunity for us to rise in the open-mindedness. ”

In the same way, if the Sassan Empire takes the lead in the development, the Radiant Knights can gather more clergy, and Friedus' prestige will soar, and he will definitely return to the cardinal as the new pope on behalf of the Radiant Knights. However, if the kingdom of Neville and the centaur hills use mercenaries to take the lead in the development, the resources of the church will be skewed in Clement's favor, and this is his only chance to turn defeat into victory. ”

"The resettlement of displaced people is the overall situation, the expansion of territory is the general trend, the overall situation is on Clement's side, and the Glorious Knights must also bow to the Cardinals. ”

"Our original strategy was to expand the Fangs Legion, form a pioneer militia regiment, and recruit displaced people to build heavy soldiers. With the fanged regiment as the main force of battle, the pioneer militia as the main force of defense, and the displaced people and heavy soldiers undertook the work of transporting supplies, building defense facilities, and opening up cultivated land. Now, Clement has given us a second option, to train the outcast mercenary corps and involve the mercenaries in combat missions. ”

Sylvia stood up and said with burning eyes: "Everyone, this is a major strategic decision, and I need to fully listen to different opinions!"

Everyone was pondering, no one was speaking, and after a while, Viscount Fred was the first to break the silence of the conference room.

"Since the Pope and we have the same interests, we can abandon the conservative strategy of baggage and implement the strategy of Viscount Randall's Grand Army once and for all. He smiled at Victor and continued: "Everyone has seen the military parade in Pinghu Town, the mercenary soldiers are well-disciplined, the morale is high, and although the combat effectiveness is a little weaker, the heroism of the Pope makes up for this shortcoming, it is an army that can fight in real combat. Please note two points, the mercenary corps has only been established for two and a half years, and they still have a lot of room for improvement. Second, the number of mercenary legions is large, more than 2,000 people, which is almost close to more than half of the strength of the Fangs legion, and it can continue to expand!"

"The orc monsters do not accept surrender, and the pioneering war is very cruel. To us, every vassal soldier of the clan is precious, and if there is a Wanderer mercenary army as a support, the number of casualties among the vassal soldiers will be greatly reduced. Actual combat is the best means to train elite soldiers, and the Pope supports us to canonize elite mercenary soldiers with land, which means that the development of war will not damage the vitality of the family, and we will fight stronger and stronger!"

Viscount Fred slapped the table heavily, instantly igniting the enthusiasm of the participants, and everyone exchanged ears and discussions.

The Grand Knight Ulena gracefully brushed the hair on her chest behind her shoulders, and said lightly with her red lips: "My uncle, Baron Cadia, has been fostered in the Yasha family of the Borui Kingdom since he was a child, and he once participated in the pioneering war of the Pioneer Fort. Uncle Kadia believes that the reason for the failure of the Borui Kingdom to conquer the southern continent is that the number of troops and craftsmen invested is too small. ”

"The Borui people made full preparations before opening up the southern continent, their scouts detected a lake with abundant water and soil, and then mobilized 70,000 troops, which is almost the mobilization limit of the Borui Kingdom, and exceeding this number will bring the production of the seven major islands to a halt. The Borui raided the barbarian settlement near the lake, and the barbarians were killed and wounded and scattered. The Borui took the land in one fell swoop and began to build a pioneer fortress to wipe out the scattered barbarian tribes in the surrounding area, but they never encountered a strong opponent. The Pioneer Fortress gradually took shape, and when the Borui army concentrated on building the South Bank Wharf, 100,000 barbarians swarmed in, and they cut off the connection between the South Bank Wharf and the Pioneer Fortress, and the main force of the Borui people had to take advantage of the ship to evacuate, and the 000 elites stationed in the Pioneer Fort were besieged by the barbarians and became a lone army. They held out for a year and a half before being rescued by the Church coalition, with less than 3,000 survivors, and the total number of dead and wounded in the Borui Kingdom exceeded 30,000. ”

"Facts have proved that the barbarians of the southern continent have excellent wisdom and strong individual strength, they take advantage of the pressure of foreign enemies, first integrate the large and small tribes, do not fight with the human army for the time being, wait for the human race to build fortresses, accumulate materials, improve the production facilities, and then launch a fierce attack, drive the main human force down the river, turn the tide of the war, and then besiege the pioneer fort, and rob the materials and production facilities of the Borui people. ”

"If the Borui raise an army of 00,000 and build two fortresses that are horns of each other at the same time, they may be able to gain a foothold in the Southern Continent. Now, relying on the vanguard fortress and production facilities, the barbarians have formed a powerful barbarian kingdom with a population of more than one million, which directly threatens the security of the seven islands of Borui. ”

"Therefore, in the face of foreign opponents, we must show the decisive strength, and we must not give them any respite!"

"We need to implement the Grand Army strategy. ”

Victor rose from his seat, stroked his chest, and saluted, "Excuse me, Countess Terrandon, please allow me to interrupt you. I have a question for you. ”

Ulena's eyes flashed, she looked at Victor with interest, and said with a coquettish smile: "Your Excellency Randall, may you ask." ”

Nicole turned her face and rolled her eyes with Ulena behind her back, any high-ranking female knight who tried to pursue Victor was her rival. Trisley glared at Nicole and then at Victor. Nicole's jealousy makes her feel ashamed as a teacher, but the love disciple has become so jealous, because of the influence of the elemental sea, but in the final analysis, it is Victor.

Ignoring the anger and jealousy of the pair of masters and apprentices, Victor politely asked, "The barbarians have ever intermarried with humans, have the Borui people had a conversation with the southern barbarians?"

Ulena smiled faintly: "The barbarians once intermarried with humans, and there are also blood feuds that cannot be resolved, not to mention that we want to seize the land of the Southern Continent......" Speaking of this, she frowned her slender eyebrows, revealing a thoughtful expression.

Sylvia said to Victor in surprise, "Are you worried that the Borui will report to the barbarian kingdom and pull us back?"

If you can intermarry, you can communicate, and communication represents all possibilities. Faced with a powerful barbarian kingdom, the Borui people's plan to open up the southern continent is blocked, and they can spread the news of Gambis's southward movement and disperse the strength of the barbarian kingdom so that they can also realize their landing plan.

Ulena bowed her head and said, "There is such a possibility." Just take a few barbarian captives......"

Viscount Hanas bared his teeth and smiled, and said, "Then we need overwhelming strength even more!"

Sylvia looked at Victor deeply and said softly, "What do you think?"

Victor leaned back in his chair and exhaled: "Implement the strategy of the Great Army, we will never fail in opening up the Southern Continent!"

"The reason is very simple, we are a strategic offense, the southern indigenous race is a strategic defense, and the two sides are fighting for attrition. Our territory is intact, with an endless supply of mercenary soldiers and war supplies, and the natives of the South are constantly losing blood. We can cross the river at any time, fight as much as we want, sweep their hunting grounds today, destroy their gathering grounds tomorrow. The indigenous races can't cross the river, they can only be beaten, and they can't fight back, how can they win?" After a pause, he shook his head and said, "I'm not worried about the exploration war in the Southern Continent...... Ant talent is a big problem for us, and these monsters are also in a strategic offensive posture. Although we have high-walled fortresses and cliffs, Ant-Man has 200,000 at a time, and the centaur hills must maintain at least 5,000 permanent troops...... That's why I was implementing the Big Army strategy. ”

"Fight on two fronts!" Count Trandon laughed and said, "It seems that it is imperative to recruit outcasts and form a mercenary army!"

The lords and scholars began to talk again, and this time most of them nodded.

Caterina stood up, her gaze swept over the audience, and her voice was soft and pleasant: "If the Great Legion has so many benefits, why can't the other lords think of it, why does Her Highness Sylvia hesitate?"

"In fact, the Grand Legion was not created by Viscount Randall, do you remember the Black Emperor Gardmeer?"

As soon as these words came out, the audience was silent, and the atmosphere was almost frozen.