Chapter 343 Justification

Lorist looked at the large map of the former Krissian Empire hanging on the wall again, and pondered for a long time, but finally shook his head: "No, the war against the usurping Queen of the Antinac Kingdom is imperative and cannot be delayed. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info Only by reinstating His Royal Highness can we buy time ......"

"Time?" Shi Fatzi blinked and was a little confused: "Your Highness, what time do we need to buy?" At present, everything is under our control, there is no need to let the tiger return to the mountain and let the Second Highness re-ascend the throne. In fact, it is even more beneficial for our family to have the Second Highness in our control. We can even threaten Queen Carey to open up the trade routes of the Kingdom of Antinac and coerce her to hand over her Limport to our family......

If His Second Highness returns to the throne, then the fear and suspicion of our Norton family will still be there, and not only will we not get any benefit, but perhaps he will send a messenger to ask us to support him. The most important point is that, Your Highness, the Duchy of Madras is about to fall, and soon the Northlands will be united with the Kingdom of Andinac and will no longer be an enclave. I fear that when His Highness ascends to the throne, he will justifiably send his tax officials to collect tithes.

This means that our family will pay more than 100,000 gold fords in taxes to His Second Highness every year, and we will even have to disclose the amount of our family's fields to the kingdom. With His Royal Highness's temperament and understanding of our family's territory during this time, he knew very well that our family's pillar industry was not in the fields, but in the industrial and mining fields. He will definitely make up his mind in this regard, and maybe increase all kinds of miscellaneous taxes.

It would not be a good idea for our three allies to be reinstated prematurely, as they would also have to pay tithes and avoid being mobilized by their clan legions to fight in war. The current Second Highness is in the Northland, with no soldiers and no power, even if he has the ability, he can't set off a big wave. Therefore, I am firmly opposed to going against the usurping Queen Carry, I think she is better than the Second Highness on the throne of the Kingdom of Antinac, at least not enough to threaten our family. ”

Lorist smiled wryly and poured himself another glass of fruit wine, and poured it down in one gulp.

"You're right, but it's the lesser of two evils. Lorist's finger tapped on the map: "This year, we destroyed the Duchy of Madras, and the next time is only enough for us to carry out territory exchanges and move inhabitants and settle down." But next year we will attack the Iberian kingdom, and the Grand Duke of Fisabrun is the biggest mountain in front of us! This old man is not only an old fox, but also a lion, and the name of the Imperial War God is a real commodity to him, and we must not be careless. ”

Lorist let out a long sigh: "During this time, I have been paying attention to all the information I have gathered about the Fisabrun family, and it turns out that I still underestimate this old fellow. Do you know how many people are in the family armed forces under the command of Grand Duke Fisabrun now? Nearly 240,000 people, almost all of them are soldiers, and they are worthy of the imperial military gods, and they live up to their name......

"What are you talking about?240,000 families are armed....... this is impossible, the Fisabrun family can't afford to raise so many people and horses at all, just in Muyeyuan Province and Eastern Wilderness Province, they can't raise so much grain and grass......" Shi Fatzi wondered if Lorist was alarmist.

"I didn't lie to you, it's true. Lorist returned to his desk, opened the drawer and took out a thick folder and put it in front of Shi Fatzi: "They don't need to raise grain and grass at all, because they can rob them, go to the northeast prairie to rob those grass barbarian tribes." And when the barbarian tribes submitted, they could trade to get a steady stream of cattle and sheep from the grassland. ”

"Do you remember the first arms deal with the Fisabrun family? Princess Celivia asked for 100,000 sets of Type 103 cavalry equipment in one go, plus 15,000 soldiers of the Frontier Ranger Regiment redeemed at that time, with a total value of 2 million cattle and sheep, for a period of five years. At that time, I was very happy, thinking that I could turn the eyes of the Fisabrun family to the northeastern steppes, and fight those barbarian tribes, in order to plunder cattle and sheep, there must be deaths and injuries, so as to reduce the threat to the northland.

I was wrong, in fact, the frontier rangers of the Fisabrun family had already killed the grass barbarian tribes in the northeastern steppe. This is a piece of information from Tagger, who eventually buys a few eyeliners from the Fisabrun family. According to those eyeliners, before the arms deal with our family, there were twenty or thirty barbarian tribes in the Northeast Prairie who became vassals of the Fisabrun family. Not only did they have to provide cattle and sheep every year, but they also had to send the best of their clan to serve as soldiers for the Fisabrun family.

Inside the folder is a report on the list and analysis of the transactions of the Fisabrun family over the years by the Snow Salt Chamber of Commerce, presided over by Count Kenmeth. After reading this report, I realized that Earl Kenmeth was complacent, and the annual transactions made to the Fisabrun family made the Snow Salt Chamber of Commerce a hundred thousand gold merits, and even our family only accounted for ten percent of the dividends of one or two hundred thousand. Now I know that the Fisabrun family is doing a resale and selling all the goods to the barbarian tribes in the steppe.

Looking at the huge amount of snow salt and household necessities on the list, none of us realized it. How many people are there in the two provinces of the Fisabrun family? At most, there are only 500,000, but the amount of snow salt and daily necessities consumed every year is more than three times that of our family territory, and the total population of our family territory at that time is nearly one million...... When I thought that the Fisabrun family had raided the barbarian tribes in order to gather cattle and sheep, they had actually just organized caravans to trade. The real army was only sent to make the barbarian tribes submit, not to loot and slaughter.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the Grand Duke of Fisabrun is playing a big game of chess, and we are worried that the great bus of the four principalities in the central part of the country is to open up new trade routes, but in fact, the Fisabrun family is adding an insurance policy for themselves. Now the goods sold to the prairie are all supplied by the Snow Salt Chamber of Commerce, that is, we produce in the Northland. But once we cut off this trade route, the Fisabrun family will no longer be able to trade with the barbarian tribes in the steppe, so what will the barbarian tribes who lack supplies do? They will pick up their swords and guns and plunder again, and the territory of the Fisaburun family will bear the brunt of the war.

Therefore, the Grand Duke of Fisabrun united with the Four Central Duchyes to destroy the Duchy of Meleain, one is to sweep away the hidden dangers behind it, and the other is to open up new trade routes, so even if we refuse to trade with him, the Fisabrun family can still get sufficient supplies of materials and commodities from the Four Central Duchyes. As long as the savannah is not disturbed, the Fisabrun family can turn their attention to the places they are concerned about, such as the Greater and Lesser Jinchuan areas......"

Looking at the fat man who listened to his tirade, Lorist poured himself another glass of fruit wine.

"Perhaps in your mind, you will think that the Grand Duke of Fisabrun is just a quick and outdated Grand Duke, swaying from side to side, betting on both sides, and being wise enough to protect himself. But when I came into contact with him, I always had a gut that reminded me that he would be our family's most dangerous enemy. It's not that he rejects me and Celivia's relationship that makes me jealous of him, but I find that he is a real tyrant and full of ambition. Anyone who underestimates him will suffer a big loss. ”

"Your Highness, it's not that I don't believe your assertion, if the Grand Duke of Fisabrun is really as you said, after we captured the second prince and left, the royal city of Windbri was in chaos, and no one could call the shots, such a good opportunity, but the Grand Duke of Fisabrun left the royal city and returned to the family territory only a few months after he became the master. This shows that he has no ambition at all and just wants to protect himself. If he were a hero, he would rely on his family's force to purge the nobles of the royal city, unite the power of the kingdom, and take over the regency of the Iberian kingdom. Shi Fatzi retorted.

"This is where his cunning lies, and if you think about it, what will happen if the Grand Duke of Fisabrun does what you say? First of all, he will have to transfer all his family forces to Winston Province to suppress the rebellion and rebellion of the nobles of the realm, which will be a fire pit that will consume a lot of the family's resources and armed strength for a long time. Even if he wins the final victory, what he will get is a devastated Winston Province, so what is the use of losing more than he gains?

Come to think of it, the Duchy of Melain was still there, and it would *stab* him in the back at any time. As an old rival, Grand Duke Melain will definitely not let go of this opportunity to beat the water dogs. Also, will we, the four great families of the Northlands, give the Grand Duke of Fisabrun a chance to reorganize the kingdom? At that time, Viscount Christopher had just suffered a defeat at our hands, and he and 15,000 soldiers were taken prisoner, and in the face of our aggressive army in the Northland, concession and patience were the best options.

After the Grand Duke of Fisabrun returned to the family territory, he immediately asked Princess Celivia to come to our Norton family territory, on the one hand, to redeem the captured soldiers, and on the other hand, to sign an arms agreement with our family for five years. We all thought that the Grand Duke of Fisabrun was courting us, showing that there was no hostility towards us, so we didn't pay much attention to the Fisabrun family, as you think, as you think, as a harmless aristocratic old man who only wanted to continue the family legacy.

Now I realized that the old fox of the Grand Duke of Fisabrun had withdrawn from the royal city of Windbri was really a clever move! As long as he did not move, the Grand Duke of Melain would not dare to invade the Iberian Kingdom, and the crisis behind it was easily resolved. And the royal city of Windbury was handed over to his daughter, and after the queen came to power, the nobles from the southern provinces and the lords of Winston fought to the death, and the kingdom was in chaos. Even we thought that the Iberian kingdom would fall into our hands like a fruit that would ripen at any moment, so we sat back and watched it crumble until now......

Wrong, we're all wrong, it's all the old fox's plan. He knew very well that as long as he was hidden behind his back, we would not easily touch the fruit of the Iberian Kingdom. And the Fisabrun family had time to slowly complete their arrangement. When we went on an expedition to the Hanea Badar Islands, the Fisabulun family also took the Greater and Lesser Jinchuan region into their arms as they wished. With the gold-rich Jinchuan, Grand Duke Fisabrun finally let go and set his sights on the Iberian kingdom again. ”

Picking up a black document on his desk and shaking it, Lorist sighed, "This is the report that Tagger has submitted about the Fisabrun family. It's a pity that the few eyeliners he bought and developed were too low in the Fisabrun family to involve some secrets, such as how much gold can be produced in the large and small Jinchuan areas every month, and they don't know what Grand Duke Fisaburun is going to do next...... However, seeing some of the information they confessed is enough to alert us, the strength of the Fisabrun family is extraordinary!"

Hand the black folder to Shi Fatzi: "Look at it, you still don't believe the 240,000 horses I said about the Fisabrun family, and the eyeliner revealed that the Grand Duke of Fisabrun has formed four regular border ranger regiments, and a legion of 42,000 people." So Princess Celivia came over for the second time and purchased 70,000 sets of Type 103 cavalry equipment. At the same time, 50,000 sets of inlaid warrior equipment were purchased to form two garrison corps, one corps of 24,000 people. One of these legions was deployed in the Greater and Lesser Jinchuan regions, and the other was subordinate to their old nest in the Eastern Wilderness Province.

In addition, there is also a reserve ranger regiment of about 28,000 people in Jinchuan. It is worth noting that this legion is composed of the strong barbarian tribes who are subordinate to the Fisabrun family, and they often attack the barbarian tribes in the northeastern steppes who refuse to submit, and those who perform well in combat will be promoted to the regular frontier ranger regiment and assigned to the standard equipment made for them by our family. As a reminder, more than half of the four frontier ranger regiments formed by the Grand Duke of Fisabrun were recruited from the Barbarian tribes. ”

"Do you mean that Grand Duke Fisabrun's recruitment from the Barbarian Tribes has reduced the population pressure in his family's domain?" asked Fat Shi.

Lorist nodded: "I used to think that the total population of the Eastern Wilderness Province and the Makinohara Province under the rule of Grand Duke Fisabulun was only five or six hundred thousand, and it was already enough to allow the Fisaburun family to maintain the size of three frontier ranger regiments. Therefore, I did not take the Grand Duke of Fisabrun seriously as a lack of enterprising and self-preservation. When our clan forces an attack on the Iberian Kingdom, the Grand Duke of Fisabrun will definitely retreat and dare not tear his face with our family, and he will sit back and watch the Iberian Kingdom perish.

But I didn't expect Grand Duke Fisabulun to have this trick, recruiting troops from the grass barbarian tribe to double the strength of their family. I have always thought that the three frontier ranger regiments of the Fisabrun family should be placed in each province, and only one regiment could be mobilized for reinforcements. But now I found out that the four frontier ranger regiments under the command of the Grand Duke of Fisabrun and the reserve ranger regiment could be pulled out and take the initiative to attack, and what a powerful force the light cavalry of nearly 200,000 horses would be!

In the past, the Fisabrun family had no money, so they could only sit back and watch our Northland recruit a large number of displaced people from the Southern Province and Winston Province, which also made us ignore the threat of the Grand Duke of Fisabalum. Now the big and small Jinchuan fell into his hands to fill the most scarce plank of the Upper Fisabrun family, so after the destruction of the Duchy of Melein, the Fisabrun family moved more than 100,000 men and women to the Eastern Wilderness Province.

Last year, when we got the news that Grand Duke Fisabrun was going to hold a knights' tournament in the royal city of Windbrie, we always thought that his purpose was for Princess Celevia's marriage, but I felt something was wrong when I came into contact with him. It wasn't until he learned the news of the demise of the Duchy of Merlein that it dawned on him that the old fox was also fighting the idea of the Iberian Kingdom.

After the destruction of the Duchy of Melein, the Grand Duke of Fisabrun will be able to form an alliance with the four central principalities when he returns to the Iberian Kingdom, and the only way to connect our Northland to Winston Province and Makinohara Province is two chain bridges, which can easily trap us in the Northland. Another reason why Grand Duke Fisabrun held a knight tournament in the royal city of Windbrie was to test the remaining strength of the nobles and lords of the royal city, and to see if it could cause trouble for him to enter the royal city.

Time was of the essence for us and for the Grand Duke of Fisabrun, and the reason why I insisted on attacking the Duchy of Madras first was to open another passage, to extend the strategic depth of the Northlands, and to threaten the province of Winston on the border of the Hindsen Mountains. This year may be the last quiet time, and when we complete our last arms deal with the Fisabrun family, there is a good chance that we will both have a big fight in Winston next year......

I would also like to stop the arms deal with them, but no, it is not a matter of good faith, but I am afraid that as soon as this arms deal is stopped, the Grand Duke of Fisabrun will immediately enter the royal city of Windbrie, and sweep through the province of Winston, and invade the northland. And we, because of the replacement of the family territory, are not ready to attack. Once the two chain bridges are blocked, we will only be able to attack in a large circle from the border of the small mountain range of Hindersen, which will put us at an extremely disadvantage.

The war with the Fisabrun family must be preemptive, attacking Winston Province first, capturing the royal city of Windbrie, and then marching into the Southern Province, so as to take the initiative in hand. If there is a war with the Fisabrun family in Winston Province, then the Grand Duke of Fisabrun is very likely to receive a steady stream of support from the four central principalities, and we don't know how long this war will drag on, and it will be a great disaster for the family. ”

After a pause, Lorist muttered: "It is for this consideration that I decided to let the Tiger Ross lead the Flying Tiger Legion to conquer the Kingdom of Antinac first, and when the Second Highness returns to the throne, then the most worrying thing will be the four central principalities and the commercial alliance." They will keep a close eye on His Highness's every move, and thus reduce or abandon their support for the Fisabrun family, which will facilitate our occupation of the Southern Province. As long as the communication between the Central Four Duchy and the Fisabrun family is cut off, then the Grand Duke of Fisabrun will not be able to escape from our hands no matter how much he jumps......

Shi Fatzi was silent for a while before he said, "Your Highness, what you said is very reasonable. But I was so dizzy that I couldn't tell what was the best option. But I still think that reinstating His Second Highness is like fighting poison with poison as pharmacists often say, and perhaps he will cause us more trouble than Archduke Fisabrun. ”

Lorist smiled bitterly: "I just want to send him out of the Northlands as soon as possible, so as not to keep causing trouble for us in the Northlands." Since there is still use value, let him play it after resetting. With his character, it was the greatest shame to be defeated by the Central Four Duchy and the Business Alliance. Until he completes his revenge on the Central Four Duchy and the Business Alliance, he probably won't be in trouble for us. As for the tithes you mentioned, I will ask Earl Kenmeth to meet him, and on the condition that we immediately send troops to help him restore his throne, let him reduce the taxes of the four major families of the Northland for three years as compensation for sending troops, I think he will agree, and as for what will happen in three years, I will talk about it then. ”

...... (To be continued.) )