Leon finally agreed to Marius's terms.

What he wanted was the land north of Fort Wolfin, south of Shield Fortress.

In the eyes of others, this area is just a large amount of wasteland and small villages, and the only densely populated territory is Yinmeier Village.

But for Leon, it was the most important depth, the only place he could really get in his current capacity, and the last gap in the outer perimeter of the Noldor Forest.

After obtaining this zone of depth of hundreds of miles, not only will the Noldor Elves be able to appear in all of Leon's territory, but Leon himself will have the confidence to face any force, including the Lion Kingdom.

Moreover, Yinmeier Village has potatoes and corn planted by Dean, plus the surrounding small villages, and a total population of more than 10,000.

In fact, this deal was quite cost-effective for Emperor Marius, he almost didn't spend any money, except for a knight order that did not belong to him in the first place, it was just a mouth, or the name of sending troops.

This truth is Titus.

Speaking of which, Titus was not a member of the Bacchus Empire, he was originally an officer of the Grey Empire.

Years ago, Tus was sent to Pande by Emperor Marius Manius, who was one of the first members of the Grey to make contact with Emperor Marius.

In fact, he had nothing to do with the Phoenix Knights when he was in the Grey Empire, he was originally a fleet officer, and when he was sent to the Pander Continent, he was a fleet escort officer to escort the mission.

At that time, the Bacchus Empire was thriving, but the Grey Empire of the Amara Continent was fighting extremely hard against the Serpent Cult, so Emperor Manius sent a mission to ask for help from Emperor Marius of the Bacchus Empire.

They are both Bacchus, although they are separated from two continents, but no matter how they are of the same origin and species, they naturally have to support each other in the face of the Snake Worship Sect.

At that time, Emperor Marius also noticed the threat of the Serpent Cult, although the mission sent by Manius was poor and had little but sincerity...... However, Emperor Marius agreed to the covenant and not only provided a lot of material support to the Grey Empire, but also sent several more advanced warships.

The continent of Amara has been entrenched by the Serpent Cult for many years, and the Grey Empire has been rebuilt from the ruins, and the technological development has not progressed, and even the mission still uses the old ship type of a hundred years ago.

Although the new warships of the Bacchus Empire are not too strong, they are indeed much more advanced than those ships of the Serpent Cult, and the Grey Empire can also gain some advantages because of this.

At that time, this matter was also attacked by the Senate, saying that Emperor Marius spent the treasury to unilaterally fund other countries, which was a waste of national strength.

However, Marius said on the spot that "most of the people who say such things are inseparable from the snake worshippers", and maintained the covenant with a firm attitude.

At the same time, in order to maintain contact with the Grey Empire, Emperor Marius left Titus in the Bacchus Empire and gave him the rank of general.

This appointment was originally a courtesy to the envoys from afar, and it was also to facilitate continued cooperation with the Grey Empire, and no one objected to giving Titus the title of general, after all, he was just an empty general, and he had treatment but no power.

And this appointment gave Titus the idea of serving in the Bacchus Empire for a long time.

- Even if it's an empty general, it's a general!

Besides, when Titus came to the Pander continent as an escort, he saw what the Bacchus Empire was like before the massive scourge of the Serpent Cult.

Prosperous, rich, clean, full of life, even the women in the alleys of Siyuan City are more beautiful......

Life here is much better than the ruined Grey Empire.

But as an outsider, he is still an empty general, and the Bacchus people actually don't treat him very well, although they are polite to his identity, but no one really treats him as their own.

So Titus has been figuring out a way ever since.

Soon after, the Bacchus Empire went to war with the Lion Kingdom.

During the war, Titus was given his chance - at least nominally he was a general, and of course he should have been in the war.

Titus used up all his savings, even selling the ship that belonged to him, raising a ragtag army and playing a role in the war against the Lion Kingdom.

It wasn't a big victory, and the ragtag army he had just recruited was almost completely dead, and the losses were far greater than those of the Lion Kingdom.

But the strategic result was good - he held the Sava Fort for the Bacchus Empire.

In this battle, Titus did not leave any prisoners.

As a Grey Descendant, he used to fight against Serpent Cultists, and Titus was originally a fleet officer, so he naturally did not have the habit of keeping prisoners.

Titus had just arrived in the Pander Continent and had not yet understood the rules among the Pander nobles, and he did not know that the nobles of the Lion Kingdom would spend money to ransom them......

Therefore, many noble knights of the Lion Kingdom died at his hands, and those nobles who surrendered were tortured and killed by him - Titus's troops suffered too many casualties, and he was basically bankrupt, and the fire in his heart could not be suppressed at all.

As a result, Titus was considered 'cruel' by most of the aristocracy and became even more unpopular......

But in any case, it is an irrefutable fact that Titus did make a military contribution to the Empire.

Coupled with the fact that being a Grey Descendant is fighting so hard for the Bacchus Empire, it's rare.

So Titus became a real Imperial general, and was given the Savoie River Fort as a territory, which was quite large, and most of the Savoy River valley was fertile arable land, which was an excellent territory within the Bacchus Empire.

This was originally a place that Governor Livius had always coveted, and as a large border county, Fort Savoie could get a lot of autonomy and control over the border defenders......

Emperor Marius was able to make Titus the lord of the Sava Castle, and he did not treat him as an outsider.

As a result, this outsider became a real general in control of the army, and he was barely integrated into the Bacchus Empire.

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However, the fact that Titus had previously killed the surrendered nobles was a never-ending excuse - since then, the Lion Kingdom has declared war on the Bacchus Empire without any excuses, either attacking Karen Deer Fort in the name of 'reconquest of the homeland' or attacking Sava Fort in the name of 'revenge'.

In fact, when Emperor Marius made Titus the lord of the Savoie Castle, he had this intention - he was taking the initiative to create a name for the Lion Kingdom.

Only when the Bacchus Empire is faced with a great enemy can the country be united;

At the same time, when the old guys in the Senate are constantly facing the threat of the Lion Kingdom, they will not propose anything like getting Marius out of class - they need Emperor Marius to block the enemy who may attack at any time.

Only when these people who are dragging their feet in the country do not fool around, can Marius carry out his reforms.

And Titus himself knew that there were many nobles in the Lion Kingdom who had enmity with him, and once he was defeated, he probably wouldn't even have a chance to surrender.

Therefore, he must defend the Sava fort and not be captured.

Besides, he didn't want to lose the territory he got at the cost of bankruptcy.

The Bacchus also mostly regarded Titus as an outsider, and he received little help - he had no other way out than to defend the fort of Sava and be loyal to Emperor Marius.

In fact, Titus has been doing this all these years, and he is a different form of solitary minister.

This is the logic of the fiefdom of an emperor like Marius, in which there are many more things to consider than most people think.

And the same is true of the logic of business between Emperor Marius and Leon.

A country, or a big power, actually needs the enemy, and sometimes even has to send the enemy an excuse to declare war - this is something that Marius knows, and so does Leon.

Leon had taken the initiative to give Marius an excuse before, he occupied Karen Deer Fort and Shield Wind Fort in the name of 'capture', so his territory belonged to 'facing the counterattack of the Bacchus Empire at all times', so that the king and other lords of the Lion Realm would not hold him back;

At the same time, Emperor Marius also needed to 'face an attack that Leon could launch at any time' so that the country could unite as one.

As enemy opponents, they can actually have a tacit understanding with each other.

The excuse given by Emperor Marius to Leon was still the 'cruel' General Titus.

The two made an agreement at the fortress of Leila to attack Eichkoman together, but they would not act together, Leon would lead the army to attack by land, and Emperor Marius's fleet would attack from the sea - flanking from both ends, and Leon would not be considered a private collaborator, which was the best option.

Emperor Marius really needed to start a war against Dexia, he needed horses, he also needed to solve the difficulties in the country, and he also needed to find a channel for the maritime merchants in the country who were affected by the rebels and the snake cult and could not do business for half a year.

Possessing Echkoman would indeed allow the Bacchus Empire to restore its economy.

"Have a drink with me, and hopefully we'll be able to conquer Eichkoman...... But after that, we probably won't be able to work together peacefully......"

After the negotiation, Emperor Marius kindly invited Leon to drink.

It was a flask and a glass brought by Marius himself, and the jug was placed on a small stove, and it seems that Emperor Marius liked to drink wine that had been boiled and left warm.

"Your Majesty, why do you say that?"

Li Ang took the wine glass handed by Emperor Marius and took a sip, the wine was full of sweet aroma in the mouth, and the taste was indeed quite good.

"I want to regain the lost land, and this lost land is in your hands, and I must get it back as soon as possible...... As an emperor, there are many responsibilities that must be fulfilled. ”

Emperor Marius was serious.

"There's no need to rush to regain lost territory...... Wait a minute...... Your Majesty, are you sick? ”

Leon's attitude also became serious, and he noticed that there seemed to be a hint of urgency in Mario's words.

Something is wrong with his body?

Unless he thinks his life is short, he wouldn't be talking about it at this time!

"Huh...... I won't sign any agreement with you, anyway, with the Phoenix Knights stationed in Karen Deer Castle, you and I don't have to worry about being attacked by the other party, this is more effective than any agreement. ”

Emperor Marius did not respond to Leon's question, but simply shook his head and took a long sip of wine.

Leon picked up the glass and looked at it, the flask and the glass were silver, but the material didn't seem to be silver.

"Agreements are waste paper, integrity is fundamental. Your Majesty, it's your utensils...... Is this a lead flask? ”

Leon lifted the lid of the flask, and the warm wine inside gave off a rich sweet aroma.

"Lead flasks can sweeten the sour taste of wine, you should try ......"

Emperor Marius nodded, trying to pour a little more for Leon.

But Leon shook his head and refused.

"I must advise you to drink less, and ...... It's best not to use this flask anymore. ”

After hesitating for a moment, Leon decided to try to advise the emperor.

"That's all I have...... Is there anything wrong with this flask? ”

Emperor Marius did not seem to know the consequences of heating wine in lead vessels.

The Bacchus have been mining and smelting lead for a long time, so a large number of lead products have poured into the daily life of the Bacchus. The process of lead poisoning is extremely slow, and most people are unaware that the metal, which gives them countless conveniences, also causes them countless pains.

There's a reason why the population of the Bacchus Empire hasn't grown......

"Lead is a material that can cause chronic poisoning...... It's better to drink in a clay pot, friend. ”

Li Ang also knew that the impact of heavy metal compounds on people was difficult to explain in this era, so he directly gave a specific suggestion.

"Thank you...... Friend. ”

Emperor Marius nodded, apparently listening.

Perhaps this is the only time the two have been called friends, and they can only be rivals in the future.

The advice from a friend worked, and Emperor Marius returned and replaced the lead pot with a clay pot.

But just one day later, he switched back......

The wines of this era were sour, and Marius was accustomed to the sweet red wine when heated in lead pots, and the wine in the clay pots made it difficult for him to swallow.

After so many years, the poison in the middle has already been hit, Emperor Marius shook his head and smiled bitterly, and then he was willful again.

However, on the same day he ordered a special decree to raise the commercial tax on lead wine jugs, pots and pans, and other food utensils—and directly increased the tax tenfold.

If nothing else, the price of lead food utensils will increase several times, and people who cannot afford it will naturally look for other bargains instead.

……

Three days later, the kingdom's army gathered under the banner, and the fleet of the Bacchus Empire began to depart from Siyuan City.

Leon marched with his troops to the vicinity of the fortress of Turda, where he was stationed in a valley thirty miles east of the fortress.

This valley Leon had been to - this is where he gambled with Ramon in the first place.

And this time, Leon also met Ramon here again - he took the initiative to ask Ramon to come and meet.

Still in the same place where they first met, they still each rode their horses and faced each other.

"Good brother, don't come unharmed? Do you remember what I once said to you? ”

Seeing Ramon again, Leon seemed extremely enthusiastic.

"Lord Leon...... Now that he is already a marshal, his value has risen so fast...... What do you mean? ”

Ramon is obviously guilty of such an occupational disease, and everyone has to be worth it......

"I told you before that I wanted to join forces with you to auction the position of city lord...... Or even auction the throne! ”

Leon smiled and threw a die at Ramon, "I'm here to cash in on the deal." ”

It was the dice Ramon had slipped into his hands.