"But the Crusaders were innocent. Pen Fun Pavilion www.biquge.info"

After getting angry for a while, Duke Otto began to hesitate again: "That's an army of more than 100,000 people. Hundreds of thousands of human warriors!"

"It's also hundreds of thousands of mercenaries. William replied: "Hundreds of thousands of bastards who burned, killed, looted, and did all kinds of evil." ”

"......" For a while, Duke Otto was a little speechless.

"Well, father," so at last it was up to William to comfort Duke Otto: "We are not gods, nor saints. We can't save everyone. What's more, those people didn't want us to save them in the first place. ”

"Perhaps...... Maybe. Hearing William say this, Duke Otto's mood calmed down a little: "Then, let's do what you plan next." I will travel to Krakow. I'll do a good job of gathering the remnants and recruiting mercenaries. And you, my child, you are in Circassburg. ”

"We will raise an army of 50,000 men in the shortest possible time. There are no problems with money, a little tighter on food. But in two months, it will be time for the autumn grain harvest. By then, the Duchy of Mystia would have enough production to cover an army of 50,000. ”

"I hope so. As he spoke, Duke Otto stood up: "Then this is the matter, my child. I have to leave right now. ”

"There's no need to be in such a hurry, father?" William was a little surprised, "Isn't it okay to go after lunch?"

Duke Otto shook his head and smiled wryly: "I can't stay any longer." Instead of sitting here, it's better to go to Krakow and do something about it. He opened his arms. William hugged him cooperatively: "Then, have a good trip." Father. Circassian things in this direction, rest assured. Also, in addition to the affairs of the army, I will also talk about the affairs of the river fleet with the merchants of Polotsk. ”

"Hmm. Duke Otto nodded. Then he turned and walked towards the door of the study. As he opened the door, he bumped into Shalumi's face. Charlumi immediately saluted Duke Otto. Duke Otto was in no mood to reply, so he simply nodded and let Charlumi in.

Xia Lumi closed the door with his backhand, and then walked towards William: "Uncle's face is not very good-looking. Did something happen?"

"What else could there be. William stretched out his hands: "In this situation, who really understands who will look good?"

"I think you have a pretty good look. It's like a fox that has stolen a chicken. Shalumi smiled and said, "This time everything went according to your plan. The Hereford family will soon become the most powerful and powerful family in the Great Frontier. You'll be a hero too. Isn't that something to be happy about?"

"But this has caused hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of soldiers and civilians to be killed or wounded, Charlumie. It's a tragedy. William replied righteously: "This burden is too heavy for me to bear." ”

"Nonsense. As she said this, Charlumi held out her finger and pointed it at William's face.

"Well, no more nonsense, what do the representatives of the Polotsk merchants say, what do they want me to do?" asked William by patting Charlumi's finger away.

"Unfortunately, they haven't seen the facts, or they feel like we haven't seen the facts. "They wanted to encourage us to go to Ruthenia and strengthen the Crusaders. To this day, they still don't give up. ”

"It's not that I don't give up. It's hard to ride a tiger. William replied: "If the investment market collapses and the bubble bursts, then the entire economy of Polotsk will be affected." Even the guys who ate a lot in this feast may hang up because of the chain reaction.

They want to find an unlucky ghost, or a substitute for the dead. Or rather, the wrongdoer. And in this case, our Hereford family seems to fit the character image perfectly. ”

"It's just that we won't say yes anyway, right?" said Charlumie.

"And rightfully so. Do these idiots think I have the same IQ as theirs? What a joke. William snorted. Then he said: "The situation of the Crusaders is rightly irreparable. The bastards were now thinking only about what if. But I didn't think about it. If all of our Hereford armies are dead east of the Vistula, who else can stop the iron hooves of Sarida Khan. By that time, the Polotsk Union Province will not only face a financial tsunami. ”

"They are businessmen, and they only care about profit. They're rightly short-sighted, aren't they?" replied Charlumie.

"Yes, rightfully so. William nodded.

"Do you want to see them, then?" asked Charlumie.

"I don't want to. William replied: "In a few days, when the Crusaders have completely collapsed, I will meet them again." Speaking of which, even without the help of those guys, I would have been able to hold on to the Vistula River - Polotsk's hot money was almost drained. They themselves do not have a standing army. The only thing that had some influence on this defensive war was their river fleet. However, in the autumn the water level dropped, and the role of their river fleet was not very large. So, it's naturally good to have him. But it wouldn't be too bad without them...... Do they take themselves too seriously?

"Who knows......" Charlumi didn't care about that either.

In this way, the servants said, "The Count refuses to receive you, and the position of the Hereford family will not change in any way because of the words of the Polotskers." The Hereford family's army will never cross the Vistula River, because, when the vast majority of the world's crusaders are already in danger, the Hereford family is already the last barrier to ensure the safety of the human world.

We don't take risks because we have a lot of responsibility. When the servant had said this, he bowed slightly, bowed, and said, "These are the Earl's words, and what the Count wants to say to you." So, goodbye, guys. After saying this, the gates of the castle slowly closed, leaving behind a group of stunned Polotsk emissaries.

One of the Polotsk emissaries instantly burst into rage and shouted: "Who does he think he is?!Why does he speak to us like that?!He—"

"He is the heir to the Hereford family. And now, the commander of the only army in the Great Border Region that can turn the tide. Beside him, a messenger said coldly.

After this, the messenger who spoke first was stunned for a moment, and then he did not know what to say. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on them, making the well-dressed businessmen look extremely desolate.

The Hereford family refused to help. In addition to this, the Polotsk region has almost no liquid capital, which can be used to mercenary troops. And in the interior of the empire, the number of spontaneously formed crusaders was also a drop in the bucket and did not help...... In this case, they really have nothing to do.

"I can only pray. One merchant said with a sad face, "May the Lord of Light bless the Crusaders under his command to be invincible." ”

After hearing his words, the other merchants looked at each other with a wry smile.

None of them were real, devout believers. In fact, you can't expect a profit-seeking businessman to be religious. It can even be said that many of them are not only unreligious, but also despise religious beliefs.

But in this case, when everything cannot be done, everything cannot be done, they have no other way but to pray to a god whom they do not trust at all.

Of course, the Lord of Light - whether he really exists or not, he has no reason to bother with the prayers of a group of false believers.

So, of course, the Crusaders lost very badly.

The four Grand Dukes were unable to reach an agreement from beginning to end. It was in this situation that the 200,000-strong army of Sarida Khan again approached Kiev. The Grand Dukes had to travel south with their Crusader forces to rescue Ruthenia's most important city.

While they retreated on the front foot, Holmgard and Novgorod pressed on the back foot, recovering the territories that had been swallowed up by the Crusaders without much difficulty.

However, the Slavians are calm. After the Crusaders withdrew from their territory, they abandoned the pursuit. Because they didn't want to get involved in the battle between the Crusaders and the centaurs of Tartaria.

Of course, if you calculate the strength of the Crusaders and the Centaurs, it is not difficult to see that the Crusaders are not completely without opportunities.

In fact, in the first half of the crusading frenzy, the crusaders, who were fully sponsored by the whole of Polotsk, were not inferior in strength to Tartaria.

The number of crusaders scattered in the Great Frontier area was already approaching 200,000. Even if the 50,000 army of the Knights of the Holy Sword, which had just been wiped out by Sarida Khan, there were enough 150,000 elites. And more than two-thirds of the 150,000 troops are elite mercenaries who have fought old battles. Combat effectiveness is sufficient.

If they really fight hard with the Tartarya Khanate, then it is still unknown who will kill the deer.

It's just unfortunate. They don't have that guts. In other words, after Sarida Khan marched north with an army of 200,000 men and came to take revenge, the crusaders were frightened. Especially after hearing that the 50,000-strong army of the Knights of the Holy Sword was wiped out and wiped out. The morale of the Crusaders was frighteningly low.

Poor command, lack of alignment, and strategic disadvantage. Quarrels at the top...... All this dragged the crusaders and kept sliding down the abyss of defeat......