Chapter 9: Wolf Smoke
After receiving his father's order, Ai Wen also rushed to the lord's mansion without stopping. In his letter, Ayrus made it clear that a large Kent army was approaching the border, and the Earl of Morlore demanded that the barons immediately recruit the men of their respective realms and go to the city of London. In view of the fact that Aven's strategy helped Count Morol deal with the Kent invasion last time, Elruth decided to take Aven with him this time. Two days later, Ellus and Aven, dressed in chain mail and armed with a knight's sword, went to London to join the Earl of Morloll with twenty convoy soldiers and fifty improvised farmers.
On the march, Evan told his father about Doret and explained why he did it. After hearing this, Ellus just nodded and didn't say anything, in his opinion, such a trivial matter was far from worth his own excessive attention. Now that Evan has dealt with it, let's follow the results of his handling. The immediate priority is to deal with the retaliatory attacks of the Kentish people.
Five days later, the crowd returned to the familiar city of London. It's just that the city of London is very different now, the walls are full of soldiers patrolling back and forth, and the streets that used to be lively are now empty, and people are hiding at home and afraid to go out. Outside the city was a sea of tents, and the banners of the various barons fluttered in each other's camps, and Ewen counted them roughly, adding up to almost two or three hundred people. If the Count of Morol sends out another team of 100 people, it will be a scale of three or four hundred people, which shows that the Count has done his best for this war.
Elruth and Aven hurried to the Lord's Mansion of the Count of Morlor, and at this time, a military meeting was going on inside, and to their surprise, at the gate of the Lord's Palace, they saw Seth's anxious face again, waiting for someone. Elruth and Evan looked at each other, could it be the same as last time? Seth was overjoyed when he saw Ellus and Evan arriving, "Baron Elluth, Evan is finally here."
"Lord Seth, you are in such a hurry, is there someone who has made the Count angry and is about to be thrown into the guillotine?" Evan teased casually. Seth flashed an embarrassed expression, he looked left and right, and said in a low voice, "The main thing is that in the past few days, there is a big disagreement between several barons, whether to take the initiative or stick to the city, everyone can't agree on it, so Lord Earl wants to hear your opinion."
"Don't you have an idea, I think Deloris must have made a suggestion, right?" Evan asked with some curiosity. In his opinion, although Deloris is still inferior to himself in some places, it is definitely clearer and more thorough than most nobles, and judging from the conversation that day, the Count of Morol still attaches great importance to Delores, and it stands to reason that there is no reason not to listen to her opinion?
Seth waved his hand, his face full of indifference, "Hey, what opinion can a woman who doesn't go out of the door and doesn't go out of the door have any opinions, she usually doesn't have much contact with the outside world, let alone on the battlefield, she doesn't even know what the war is about, how can she arrange troops." Evan shook his head slightly, didn't say anything to Seth, just silently walked into the lord's mansion with his father.
In the conference hall of the lord's palace, the two barons were arguing fiercely. One side decided that it should take the initiative and confront the Kents in the border area, looking for an opportunity to defeat them. On the other hand, the other side believes that taking the initiative to attack is tantamount to hitting a stone with an egg, and that it is the key to defend the city steadily, and that when the time comes, it is really impossible to ask for help from His Majesty. As for the Count of Morlor, the old god was in the first place, and he didn't say anything.
When Elluth and Evan walked into the chamber, almost everyone looked at them. Evan immediately recognized the two arguing barons, one from the north bank of the Thames and the other from the south bank of the Thames. In an instant, he understood why Count Morol seemed to be an old god and confident, but he was slow to make a decision.
When Elruth and Aven were seated, the first Earl of Morol slowly spoke, "As you all know, the Kents are not willing to accept their defeat last time. This time an army was sent against us, and as far as I know, this time the enemy also sent an army of nearly three or four hundred men." Evan raised his eyebrows, it was obvious that Count Morol was saying this to him and Elruth, and I think everyone else already knew.
"Old friend, there are two points of view now. Some of them, led by the Baron of Belize, believed that they should go out and fight the enemy near the border. Others, led by Baron Parles, believed that the city should be held and awaited reinforcements from His Majesty. I hesitated for a moment, what is your opinion?" Count Morol said to Ayrus.
"This ......," Ellus could not have understood what his Count had said, but he didn't think about what to do for a moment. Generally speaking, defending the city is the most stable way, not to mention that the enemy only has three or four hundred people, even if there are thousands of people, with the advantage of the city wall and defense, the defender wins in the end. But in that case, the southern part of the county of Middlesex would be looted again, and the barons would certainly be fiercely opposed.
"Lord Aven is clever, he successfully solved the harassment of the Kent last time, and this time he thinks he can solve it smoothly. The Earl might as well listen to him." Baron Parrasse stared at Evan with an elegant smile on his face, as if what he had just said was his heartfelt words. When the barons in the south heard this, they were immediately overjoyed, and hurriedly looked at Ai Wen, who was speechless.
Evan nodded, and said casually, "Lord Earl has already decided. Is it bad for Baron Parruses to listen directly to Lord Earl? I'm just a knight, and I don't have a chance to speak, so if I ask Baron Parles to give me the baronial position, I can speak freely, and even the Earl will take my opinion into account." Baron Parres smiled and said, "As long as the Count agrees, I am willing to do so. After all, Lord Evan is also a very important talent in the county, and my personal gains and losses are nothing."
"Aven, what do you think, tell me about it." Count Morol said. Evan turned his head to look at Count Morol and said seriously, "The enemy decides when the war will begin, and we decide when the war will end." Count Morol glanced at Aven, nodded, and stood up suddenly. "All of you carry five days' worth of dry rations to the border, and we must fight for our territory."
Seeing that the Count of Morol had made up his mind, all the barons stood up and said that they had obeyed the Count's orders. The barons of the Southern Territory were flushed, a boulder fell to the ground in their hearts, and their hearts were tormented by the thought of the fruits of their painstaking management, which had been ruthlessly ruined and plundered by the Kents. After the Count of Morlore decided to attack, the barons withdrew from the conference hall one after another and returned to their respective barracks to prepare.
However, Eyrus is not leaving, the stakes are high, and he hopes to get more news from the Count of Morol. As for Aivan, he stayed by his father's side, drinking wine leisurely, listening to the chat between his father and the Earl from time to time, and looked leisurely, as if it was not himself and his father who were about to go to war, but a group of inconsequential people.
"Aven, do you have anything else to add?" Finally, the conversation between the Count of Morol and Ayrus ended. "No, both the Earl and Father have spoken very carefully. I don't have anything to say." Evan said with a smile. Elruth looked at Evan suspiciously, he couldn't believe that his son would have nothing to say.
"But Lord Earl, father, I would like to see Miss Delores before I go on the expedition, and tell me how much I miss." There was silence in the hall, and the three of Earl Morlor, Elluth, and Seth all looked at Evan in astonishment, and couldn't figure out why Evan was saying this at this time. These two people only saw each other and felt longing, but it was definitely impossible. Eventually, however, the Count of Morlore said, "Deloris is upstairs in her room, and if you want to go up to meet her, just go there."
With the consent of the Count of Morlor, Evan bowed and retired. Looking at the back of Aven's departure, Count Morol gradually understood what Aven would say to his daughter. He glanced at his son beside him and sighed secretly, his heart full of mixed feelings. However, after a while, he made up his mind that if Evan was really divine, then his idea was not unacceptable.
On the second floor of the Lord's Mansion, Deloris was also a little surprised to hear the servant's report that Evan had come to look for him. She hurriedly walked out of the room and met Ai Wen from afar in the living room. "Knight Aven, why did you suddenly come to visit me today?" Deloris poured a glass of wine for Evan and placed it in front of him. "Ah, Miss DeLores, I've had you in my mind since the last time we met, and I've dreamed of you even at night. I know now that I'm in love with you." Ai Wen covered his heart, a look of intoxication.
cough cough cough cough ...... Deloris almost squirted out of her mouth when she heard this, and after forcibly swallowing it, she coughed incessantly. After a while, she stopped, and glanced at Evan with resentment, "Knight Evan, it doesn't hurt to say anything directly." Evan smiled apologetically and said, "Lord Earl should have told you about the revenge of the Kents...... Deloris nodded, "What did Knight Evan say about this?" Father told me about it, but aren't you going to follow him to the front with Lord Baron Elluth?"
Evan smiled and said, "That's right, but I'd like to hear your thoughts before I go." Deloris looked at the smiling young man in front of her, and said with some anger, "Hmph, does your smart brain still need my advice?" Ai Wen couldn't help laughing, his tone was a little inexplicable, "A wise man must make a mistake in a thousand thoughts, not to mention that I am not a wise man, just an ordinary person."
Deloris pursed her lips, obviously still a little dissatisfied with Aven's statement, but after thinking about it, she dipped her jade hand in the wine in the cup and wrote the word "strange" on the table, "Summer grain cultivation is related to the whole year. Reduce war damage for years to come." Evan bowed slightly, agreeing with Delores's words. Middlesex was only an earldom after all, and it was summer, a crucial time for grain cultivation. If unnecessary losses are not minimized, food production throughout the year will plummet, and even greater problems will arise.
"These Evan knights should be able to think of it, even if I don't warn it, it won't affect the overall situation." Deloris looked straight at Evan after speaking, as if to see the latter's true purpose. "Miss Delores, I wonder if I'll be able to invite you along?" Evan stated his most important purpose. "You want me to go to the front?" Deloris was a little surprised, "What's the use of me going to the front? I will not fight, nor can I go on my horse and charge into battle to kill the enemy."
"You'll find out when you go." Evan didn't say anything, he believed that with Delores's intelligence, she would definitely be able to think of why, but she didn't think in that direction now. "You can be by the Earl's side when the time comes, and you don't need to go into battle to kill the enemy, that's what we knights should do." Deloris hesitated, but after all, she still didn't make up her mind, "I can't decide this matter myself, I need my father's consent."
Evan was not annoyed by this, but said meaningfully, "Lord Earl will agree to your request, Miss Delores. The wind knows the grass, and the board knows the Chengchen. Your future will not be in this lord's mansion, and the vast sky outside the house is the stage for you to fly freely." With that, Evan stood up and saluted and said goodbye to Delores.
"Are you telling me something, Aven?" In the living room, Deloris muttered to herself in some distress......