Chapter 67: Surprise

There was still no response from Harlaus. ()

What was even more surprising was that none of the envoys sent by Prince Frederick returned. Not only the envoys sent to the Haraus camp, but also those who went to the provinces, were also silent. Unless Fidré was going to force himself to believe that his supply lines had been cut off completely, he really didn't understand what was wrong.

The only areas where Prince Fiderick was able to respond now were to the north of Dehrim, and those regions were still sending supplies as usual. Rest of the world, it's as if they've disappeared from the world.

It is not uncommon for the lone army to lose contact with the rear when it is deep, but now it is clear that he has occupied a large city, which is probably one of the richest cities in the North Sea, and the rear will definitely be able to find itself as long as it knows its victory, and there is no reason why it has been a few weeks since it was not clear what was happening outside.

The last few letters Fidelé wrote to Harlaus were already filled with discontent and almost rude. Nominally, this expedition to the north was the commander of the army, and those western legions were to carry out Prince Frederick's orders first if they received orders from Prince Frederick and Sir Harlaus.

Where have all those people gone?

There are also rumors spreading: several captured Nords say that the siege of Rudaburg has been lifted, and that there is not a single Swadian left.

Fidelik did not believe these lies, because his emissaries had been constantly reporting Harlaus's military deployment to him. But then again, it is true that the emissaries only brought back the news that the Western army was stationed in its place, while several of Prince Frederick's cronies did not bring back the latest news and Sir Harlaus's own letter.

Thinking of this, Prince Frederick immediately asked the clerk to bring in the emissary's report, and each report seemed bland and unremarkable. But upon unifying the inspection, Prince Frederick suddenly discovered that Sir Harlaus had done nothing after approaching Fort Ruda, as if all his soldiers had done was to stay there all the time.

In each report, the Western Army will have some conjectures, such as where the Nords will attack from, which areas the Nords will strengthen their defenses, etc., but for their own deployment, Haraus simply said that they are on a guard mission.

While Prince Fredrik was hesitating, the emissaries of Dehrim finally arrived at Frost Castle. This group brought with them a large number of supplies and gifts from the inhabitants of the city.

The envoys in the city congratulated Prince Fiderick, who thanked him.

The prince then inquired about some of the movements in the city of Dehrim. The messenger said that everything was fine in the city, the supply of wheat and meat was abundant, but because the road with Suno was blocked, the supply of some flax, oats, cloth and dairy products was a little tight, but it didn't matter, there was still a lot of stock in the warehouse of Dehrim City, which could support it for a while, and now it was just that the merchants would take the opportunity to raise prices.

Prince Frederick was surprised: "Is the road to Suno blocked?" What's going on? ”

The envoy didn't think much of it: "Yes, Your Highness, I thought you already knew. More than a month ago, Sir Harlaus and some other officials blocked the Suno Avenue, because Sir was worried that the Nords would threaten the Suno hinterland by passing through the highway, so they placed soldiers along the way. If you don't have a special pass, you can't travel freely. ”

"Haraus blocked Suno Boulevard?" No matter how much the prince tried to hide his feelings, he couldn't suppress the shock in his heart, "What about the road to Uxhall?" ”

"Your Highness, as far as I know, the road between Deherim City and Uxhall is clear. It's just that the dock strictly prohibits ships from leaving their posts, because they are afraid that they will leak the news of the eastern border. ”

"Harauth ordered it again?"

"No, Your Highness, this is an order from Paraven. Only Parabun ships were allowed to go to Uxhall, and ships were not allowed to leave the port until Zhivadin had been conquered. ”

"Well, I see" "Thank you for coming, you have given great encouragement to the officers and soldiers" "Please take a break, please come to the dinner in the evening"

The messenger of Tokujo stood up, "My pleasure" "Uh" "My Majesty. ”

The flattering title of the messenger startled Prince Frederick's heart, and a burst of pleasure ensued, but this pleasure was soon suppressed by the apprehension in the prince's heart. Fredret nodded, acquiescing to the salutation, and motioned for the messenger to leave.

After the emissary left, Fredri could barely contain his excitement, and he called his herald and told him to gather his staff.

As soon as these staff officers entered Prince Fidre's camp, Fiderick got straight to the point and told the news of the messenger from the city of Dehrim.

"The commander of the Western Army, Haraus, who we went to, almost disappeared," Fidel walked to the edge of a map and poked it with the handle of his horsewhip, "where has he gone?" Why don't I know anything. ”

"As far as we know, the Jazz should be on a diversion mission at Fort Rueda."

"Containment mission?!When we went north, where did those people called Hanako Nord come from?" Speaking of this, Fidelik suddenly felt a chill in his heart, from that time, Haraus was no longer in Rudaburg? So didn't the messengers who brought back the news say that Haraus had been carrying out his tasks as usual?

Fidelik began to recall the emissaries, and the paperwork they brought back to him, and every time he reported it, he only said that the Western army had not encountered an accident at the moment. If Haraus cleverly deployed only a small force near Fort Ruda, or if he simply bribed his own emissaries, then ''

Fidelik summoned the envoys who had traveled between the Western Army and the place. When questioned, the envoys all said that they had seen Sir Harlaus's entourage, and that the hot paint on the seal of the document was also Harlaus's emblem, and that Harlaus's emblem and battle flag had been flying over the barracks.

"Just didn't see Haraus?" The prince went straight in.

"Yes, I didn't see it."

"Are all the legions of the Western Army there to be on guard? Are you sure there is no less than one legion? ”

"This," thought one of the messengers, "Sir is stationed in McCann Forest, where we have met at least three legions. ”

"Three legions? What about the others? You didn't go and see it? ”

"Your Highness, our duty is to deliver letters, not to monitor military operations, or even to avoid this confidential information."

Fidel interrupted the men with a wave of his hand, then waved them out. The unknown messengers bowed and left.

The prince paused, his eyes were cold, and after looking around at his staff, the prince spoke: "Everyone, what is the worst situation now? Use your imagination to your part. ”

Several staff officers and messengers talked in a low voice, and with a little twilight of their heads, they understood the prince's concerns.

Soon they told the prince what he feared most: Haraus had quietly returned to the capital, and after returning to the capital he ordered the blockade of the Suno Boulevard and, from the capital, the blockade of the port of Uxhall.

At the dinner, Frederick absentmindedly watched some performances and juggling, and the prince's chamberlain quietly told the commanders of the various regiments to go to the prince's mansion for a meeting after the banquet.

Within an hour of the feast, each legion, with suitable participants from its station, arrived at Prince Frederick's residence.

These people were a little strange that they had arrived for the emergency assembly, and they didn't know why.

Those who attended the meeting could see that Prince Frederick was not in a very good mood, and he inquired about the scheduling of the various legions during this time, but did not make too many comments.

At present, the 1st Regiment, the 2nd Regiment and a newly transferred Dehrim Regiment were deployed along the banks of the river, and they were ready to cross the Blue Ice River and head north after they had rested enough;

The Frost Fort was defended by the 3rd Regiment, two squadrons of Dehrim hoplites, and cavalry regiments;

As for the Suno regiment, in order to prevent them from plundering, the prince has transferred them to the outside of the city to guard;

In the surrounding towns, there are some troops transferred from Tyrburg and Lundia fortress to maintain law and order and capture Vecchian spies.

After hearing this, Prince Frederick suddenly announced his plan: the 1st Regiment and the Dehrim Recruit Regiment were retracted back to the defense of Frost Castle, and the remaining troops were to return south to Dehrim City.

This momentous deployment caused the officers to fall silent for a moment, followed by a loud inquiry, what was the purpose of the officers who had thought that they would be going north to sweep the Kulau Plains of the Vikians in the next few months?

Fidelik looked at these noisy senior officers, then slowly stood up, raised an arm, suppressed the noisy crowd, and when everyone was quiet and their eyes were on the prince, the prince said slowly:

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are going back to the capital."

Hearing this, the generals all chuckled in their hearts. Everyone knows what this means, and the only possibility of a sudden return to the capital is that Fiedrei is about to inherit the throne, and it is likely that the emperor has died.

For these generals, being able to return to the capital to escort the prince to the throne was definitely a big political fruit.

All of a sudden, some of the generals had come to their senses, and they could hardly suppress the ecstasy in their hearts. The generals who had just worried about the loss of their best fighter were now a little impatient: even if they captured the king of Vecchia alive, how could they compare to the emperor of Svadia?

But at the thought that the prince returned to the capital, most likely because the emperor had died, none of these generals dared to show their joy. With this question, the commander of the first regiment stood up: "Your Royal Highness, is there any news from the capital?" ”

The surrounding generals all looked eagerly at Prince Fidel, expecting him to tell the reassuring bad news.

"No, there's no news coming. It could even be said that we have been systematically isolated since a few months ago, or even longer. While the princes were fighting bloody battles on the front lines, the Sono Avenue was blocked and martial law was imposed on the Uxhall River. I don't know why, I just see the impact of doing so: it's been months since we heard from the capital. ”

These abrupt words caused an uneasy commotion among the generals, who Prince Frederick was talking about as soon as they heard them. In this case, it is difficult to say whether it is an appropriate move to go south now.

"Your Highness, it is normal to temporarily block lines of communication in wartime. While fighting the Kujits, the Dehrim Heights were on blockade missions. As for the port martial law, it is even more of a war practice. ”

"Yes, if Your Highness had rushed south, the Wikibians would probably have regrouped their arms, and you know, they didn't die many people in Frost Castle."

"Your Highness"

Prince Frederick was annoyed by the shouting of these people, "Enough"

The Prince's eyes suddenly burst into an angry light, "Everyone, please think about it: what will happen if someone blocks our back road, and this person has returned to the capital with ulterior motives, and there is only a cowardly and conservative government and a exhausted old king in the capital?"

Prince Fidred's words caught the generals a little off guard, could it be that Haraus would not do such a thing. Looking at the puzzled gazes of the generals around him, Fidelé suddenly felt a sense of weakness, as if these people had already left him.

No, it can't be

Fidelik knew he couldn't show the slightest hesitation, or the generals would have different ambitions.

The prince had in his mind the countless things that had been decided by his predecessors, and now that he had raised the matter to the generals, he could only go on with all his might, and he must return to Dehrim as soon as possible, and then return to the capital as soon as possible, or, at least, hear the movements of the capital clearly.

The prince drew his sword, and the generals were even more suspicious.

"In my own name, in my name as the Marshal of the Northern Expedition, and in the name of the heir of the Empire, I ask you to renew your oath This involves your trust in me and your grasp of the situation, I am determined to go south, the knights who are willing to believe in me, follow me, and protect me, please kneel under the sword, I am determined to go south, I will wait for the situation to clear up on the heights of Dehrim, gentlemen, then everything will be revealed, those who are willing to walk with me, swear now"

The generals didn't expect the situation to suddenly turn out like this, everyone look at me, I look at you.

Soon one general knelt down, the second, the third "''Finally, all the generals knelt under the sword of General Fidrey.

"Your Highness, we swear to pursue you to the death and dedicate everything to your cause."

The knights began to chant their familiar oaths, and never before had they felt the weight of their oaths as they had done this time.