A few days later, out of nowhere, some gossip began to circulate among the residents of Headington, and the content of the rumor was also strange, about the unreasonable demands made by Paist who had come to Headington to make to Charlotte.

In addition, another rumor has also aroused interest. Although this rumor is not explicitly stated, it is very subtle to point the previous bandit rampant incident directly at the head of the Lawitt Federation.

Originally, this should be a ridiculous thing, but because it is just an irresponsible rumor and the obscurity of its content, it has aroused people's interest.

For several days in a row, the residents have been privately speculating about the real surname of this rumor, and various gossip rumors related to it have also been released.

However, the Headington official did not do anything to limit the spread of these rumors, let alone give any explanation, and adopted a subtle acquiescence.

As a result, in just a few days, the rumors about the Lawitt Federation's bullying and unreasonable oppression of Beddington, as well as the stirring in the city that night, intensified, and some impatient residents of Beddington had even taken the lead in shouting out radical remarks against the Lawitt Federation.

Finally, more and more people are asking Charlotte to explain this.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Charlotte summoned all the inhabitants of the city in the central square to explain what had happened since the beginning of the day.

The rhetoric of the statement was all rehearsed in advance, and it was extremely sensational, and what Charlotte said was the truth and the evidence was conclusive, and the emotions of the residents were quickly aroused, especially when they heard that the bandit incident that almost led to the collapse of Headington was really the Lavit Federation, and the people finally broke out.

"Mayor Mayor, Depero, Lambert, and Fanning have been missing for a long time, does this also have anything to do with the Lavit Federation?"

Charlotte nodded, "That's right, the three of them were tricked by Paist and tried to start a rebellion and betray Headington to Rawitt. As the matter was revealed, Fanning committed suicide, Lambert was arrested and imprisoned, and Depero fled from Headington and is now missing. ”

"What!?"

It was the first time I heard about this, and the residents were shocked and talked about it.

Originally, according to Freddie's idea, Lamberta should have been shown to the public at this time to prove his real surname to the residents. If necessary, hang him on the spot to stir up the mood of the population.

This move was rejected by Charlotte on the spot, after all, Lambert is a leading figure in Headington, and has also made a lot of contributions to the development of Headington over the decades, but she can't be killed, and she hopes to leave the last dignity of the old man.

However, even if they don't, the reaction of the residents will be enough.

"I've said it a long time ago, but no one believes it. My cousin was a soldier in the garrison, and that night he witnessed Lord Fanning commit suicide. One of the residents shouted to the people around him.

"The Federation of Rawitt has gone too far to use such despicable means. More residents were indignant at Paist's conspiracy.

Since Freddie had already done a lot of preparation using the rumors, he had already planted the impression in the minds of the residents that the Lawitt Federation was "not a good thing". At this time, the story of the conspiracy of the three commissioners to rebel was like a fuse, which finally aroused the emotions of the inhabitants completely.

Thinking of the evil deeds of the Lawitt Federation, thinking of the conspiracy of the other party, Hairington was ravaged by robbers for a year, he lost his job, his wife and children lacked food and clothing, and he thought that he finally hoped for the rescue of the Lowville Chamber of Commerce, but the Federation demanded that they be driven away...

The indignation of the inhabitants was so great that at last someone shouted, "We must not give in!"

"We must not let Headington fall into the hands of those guys!"

"Exit the Rawitt Federation!"

......

Once the crowd is aroused, an unstoppable torrent is quickly formed. For a while, the shouts of the residents in the square came and went, and everyone was angry at the domineering and arrogant nature of the Rawitt Federation, and everything went perfectly according to Freddy's arrangement.

However, unlike the joy of others, the initiator of this play stood quietly in the shadow of the corner at this time, like an alien who was out of place with others, coldly watching the surging crowd below.

Exchanging glances with Raymond, Charlotte said in a loud voice: "That's right, we Hydington have had enough of being oppressed by others, and now, we have to decide our own destiny!"

"The Lowville Chamber of Commerce has pledged its full support in the future. We're going to show those guys in the Ravit Federation that even if we leave them, we can still survive in Headington!"

Then, Javier stepped forward in time to make reassurances to the residents. Seeing that even after falling out with the Rawitt Federation, he still has a strong backer, and everyone's last bit of worry finally disappeared.

At this time, Morini, who was standing beside Charlotte, sighed: "Haydington has finally come this far. It's just a quiet little town, and we're supposed to be just living a peaceful life, so why is this happening?"

Charlotte shook her head slightly: "Because, we have no choice. ”

Morini couldn't help but glance at Raymond and said in a low voice: "Mayor Town, with all due respect, I always feel that he is secretly pushing this time. Especially the guy named Freddy, it's really terrible, everyone in the town is led by his nose, the purpose of these people, I'm afraid..."

Charlotte interrupted him, "Mr. Morini, I understand what you say, and I am not unaware of Mr. Raymond. However, when Fanning committed suicide, I made up my mind. ”

"It's not that Headington wants to take this path, it's that the Lawitt Federation doesn't give us a chance to choose, either become pawns to be played with by them at will, or rise up and fight, and there is no third way. But at least, Raymond and the others will still think about Headington, and with them, we can at least live with dignity without worrying about being sacrificed inexplicably one day. ”

Morini said, "You're right. It's just that the residents made this choice because they trusted us, so I hope we are right. ”

Charlotte shook her head: "Mr. Molini, you are wrong. This is not only our responsibility, the prosperity and decline of Hairington are closely related to every resident. If we choose to let the LaWitt Federation do whatever it wants, it will not only be us, but everyone below, who will all be held accountable for their choices today. ”

"In the future, we will definitely face more twists and turns, but at least, this time we have made a choice for our dignity, and we are defending our homeland!"

Speaking of this, Charlotte's eyes shot a look of determination.

I have to say that Paist thought that she could make her succumb by threatening alone, but he really underestimated this woman.

Charlotte dared to take over the position of mayor of Headington at the height of his crisis. And when there was nothing to be done, he was able to make a decisive decision, asked Reed for help, and then boldly accepted Raymond and his party. On the other hand, these behaviors show that she has a tenacity and decisiveness that most men can hardly match.

It can be said that it was the arrogance of the Lawitt Federation that made him completely abandoned by Headington.

After successfully gaining the support of the inhabitants of the city, Charlotte immediately issued a statement in the name of Headington to break away from the LaWitt Federation, and severely rebuked the LaWitt Federation for its previous actions.

After this announcement came out, it was tantamount to dropping a bombshell in various towns and cities of the Rawitt Federation, and there was an uproar for a while.

Strictly speaking, the Lawitt Federation is not a single country, but a loose federation of towns and cities. In addition to the relationship of interest, the control of each town is the covenant signed when he first joined the alliance.

A typical businessman behaves like a constituent nation, and even the constituent countries sign contracts as if they were doing business, isn't it?

In short, this means that, according to the Covenant, when the towns under the Rawitt command want to, they can completely break away from the Federation and stand on their own, and the Federation cannot pursue it.

Raymond had asked Charlotte if LaWitt really wouldn't pursue such behavior in his town. Because no matter how you look at it, it seems incredible, and in this case, Lawitt will completely lose its binding force on its members.

Charlotte's answer was that if it was one of the six major cities in the inner circle, or other important manufacturing or raw material source cities, of course, it would not be possible to let the other party read it, after all, the people of the Central Council are not stupid.

And a remote outlying town like Headington, which can no longer be remote, is dispensable, so it should be spared. Merchants never trade at a loss, and the cost of sending troops directly is not a small amount, and the infamy of "not keeping the covenant" for such a small town is not worth the loss.

Therefore, if Headington reads the truth, the LaWitt Federation may use all means to make it difficult for them, but it will never include sending troops to attack.

Speaking of which, it is necessary to talk about the composition of the Rawitt Federation of Commerce.

Broadly speaking, if we look closely at the distribution of the territory, we can see that Rawitt is an organization that is layered on top of each other by one circle.

Its central circle is composed of six large cities, known as the "core six cities" of the Lavut Federation, and the entire federation is centered on these six cities and radiates outward.

These six large cities are the most important parts of the LaWitt Federation, and they are all first-class in terms of economic power, city size, and influence. The largest of these, Sonali, is the largest and richest economic center in the entire Veronica continent, and the central council that governs the entire Rawitt Federation, is located here.

Around these six cities, there are indispensable raw material sources or manufacturing cities such as Trun, which produces the best quality magic crystal ore, Vika, the most famous handicraft center, and the famous port of Bertoni, which are also important parts of Lavit.

And further around, there are those large and small commercial towns. Either they were wealthy, had popular products, or were easily accessible, and in short, these cities were attached to LaWitt, using their trade routes and connections to expand their business, and LaWitt collected huge taxes from them, and neither side could do without the other.

And then out there are less important towns. These towns are either too small or too weak, and they often depend on higher-level towns to survive, and their status in the federation is naturally not very good. Headington belongs to this circle, and it is the kind that is particularly remote.

So, it's incomprehensible that LaWitt is so attached to the inconspicuous Beddington.

However, it has been a long time since a town in the Federation of Rawitt has declared its secession, so the incident in Headington has attracted great attention.

In particular, Charlotte's accusations against LaWitt are very different from the good image that LaWitt has always maintained, and they have had a great impact on many small towns that are also outermost cities.

Surprisingly, however, Lawitt did not respond to Beddington's defection and various accusations. The central council in Sonali was even more surprisingly silent, and it is not clear whether it was disdainful of arguing or having nothing to say.

The other party's surprisingly calm also puzzled Raymond and the others. But in any case, it was a good thing for them, so while LaWitt had not yet made a move, Headington stepped up all kinds of preparations.

Thanks to Raymond's investment, as well as Hydington's own funds, the city's various industries began to resume business, and various products were loaded onto merchant ships to and from Hydington and Manas Island. The wharf outside the city was also built in preparation for more merchant ships.

At the same time, despite knowing that Rawitt was unlikely to use force, the escort and garrison stepped up their training, and everyone, including Harlot, the vice-captain, was whined by Lutz. And just in case, Raymond reluctantly took out a large amount of money and purchased a full set of equipment from the Lowwell Chamber of Commerce to arm the guard.

It was so busy that for a while Raymond and the others even forgot about the threat of Ravitt.

However, of course, the other party could not let them go, so one day...

"What, Depero?"

Looking at the latest news, Raymond was stunned.

A month ago, Depero suddenly appeared in Sonali, as a Hydington refugee, and denounced Charlotte for colluding with Raymond to do whatever he wanted in Haydington, and even led the wolf into the house to invite all kinds of evil deeds of the Lovell Chamber of Commerce.

He said that he was forced to flee because of the failure of the resistance. Now that Hydington has become the world of Charlotte, a talented scholar, the inhabitants of the city are in agony and living in hell, so he asks the Lavit Federation to make decisions for himself and save the inhabitants of Hydington from fire and water.

However, the Centre Council euphemistically stated that Headington had issued a declaration of secession, and that it was now out of their control, and therefore could not do anything about it.

Depero was naturally unwilling, and went to the Central Council every day to plead, and on several occasions even fainted due to heartbreak. Finally, the big businessmen of the Central Council were moved and said that although the LaWitt Federation could not do anything, it was morally decided to privately sponsor Depero and let him save his hometown.

So, in just a few days, Depero miraculously received a huge donation. Then he began to recruit troops, and the mercenary guild was surprisingly cooperative, and a large number of mercenaries were recruited by Depero under his command. He threatened to recruit 2,000 warriors to recapture Headington.

"Where did this news come from?" Raymond asked quickly.

Charlotte said, "It was Mr. Direk from the mayor of Alston who secretly passed it on to us. ”

Although Headington had seceded from the Federation of Rawitt, and Alston was strictly forbidden to do business with them, the two towns had good relations after all. Coupled with Hedington's plight, many small towns felt the same way, so Alston still kept in touch with Headington privately and continued to quietly provide them with food.

Now Headington's news about the LaWitt Federation was secretly forwarded to Headington by Alston after collecting the information provided by the merchants and the news released by the Lawitt side.

"What a refugee, this is just a play directed and acted by Lawitt. After reading the message on the paper, Raymond snorted: "No wonder Depero is nowhere to be seen, it turns out that he has gone to Sonali." ”

Freddy said with appreciation: "This trick is very exciting, the LaWitt Federation can't do it himself, but Depero has a legitimate name, and he can recruit troops to kill him by himself, so no one can say anything." Although everyone knows that behind this clown is Rawitt's gang of businessmen. ”

"It was indeed a mistake to let Depero escape in the first place. ”

Morini said: "This is news from a month ago, counting the time for Depero to recruit mercenaries, at the latest half a month later, they will probably arrive in Headington." ”

"Half a month?" Charlotte said hurriedly: "The other party has 2,000 people, and Headington's garrison has less than 200 people, plus Mr. Raymond's escort team, a total of about 300 troops, what can I do." ”

"And this time, unlike the rabble bandits, we are facing well-trained mercenaries, and the situation is really not optimistic. Sean's face was also very ugly.

300 against 2000, and it is 300 soldiers with poor training equipment, against 2000 professional mercenaries, even if the gods come, this battle cannot be fought.

thought that he only needed to deal with Rawitt's conspiracy, but the other party used a "proxy war", which immediately made the originally optimistic people dumbfounded. In another half a month, 2,000 troops will be killed under the city, with the undangerous terrain of Hydington and a mere 300 soldiers, what will they use to fight the enemy?

For a while, even Raymond felt that there was nothing he could do.

"What if we're recruiting troops in the city now?" suggested Morini.

Lutz didn't think about it and said, "There's no point in doing this. The lack of weapons and equipment, coupled with the lack of time to train, is tantamount to sending a group of unarmed civilians to their deaths. ”

Raymond also said: "It's only half a month, unless you change an army out, otherwise... Wait a minute. ”

Suddenly, Raymond seemed to think of something: "Since the other party is a hired mercenary, then, let's hire someone to help." ”

"Where to hire someone?" Charlotte was stunned: "The Mercenary Guild is controlled by Rawitt and will never help us." ”

Raymond shook his head and said, "Of course it's impossible to find them." But if it doesn't work here, why not try it somewhere else?"

"Where? You mean, the Lowell Chamber of Commerce!"

Raymond said: "That's right, the Lowville Chamber of Commerce regards Headington as an important stronghold, and it definitely doesn't want it to fall into the hands of the Lawitt Federation, and the other party will definitely be willing to help." Half a month is enough time to find a mercenary from there. ”

Without further ado, Charlotte immediately sent someone to find Javier. After learning about the situation, Javier was also very nervous.

"Mercenaries? Javier thought for a moment and slapped his face: "The last time I went back to Manas Island to report on work, I happened to meet a mercenary group with a very good relationship with our Chamber of Commerce resting on the island, and I shouldn't have left yet. ”

"I'll go to the island myself to explain the situation to Lord Reed, and I'm sure I'll be able to invite them. ”

Charlotte asked, "How many people are in that mercenary group?"

Javier said: "There are almost 600 people, but this mercenary group is very famous and has extremely strong combat effectiveness, which can be assured." ”

"600 people? plus our manpower, it's only 900 people, which is still too little. Can you hire another mercenary group?" Morini said uneasily.

Javier shook his head and said: "It's difficult, half a month is not enough time to hire people on the mainland of Mojina, and Manas Island is located on the sea, so there are few mercenaries to patronize it." The mercenary group also happened to have completed the escort mission of a large merchant fleet nearby, and it would rest on the island. ”

"Then let's hire someone first, and then figure out the rest. Raymond had only the way.

Javier nodded, and was about to leave. At this time, Charlotte suddenly stopped him: "Mr. Javier." ”

"Anything else?" Javier turned his head strangely.

"I'm afraid it's a little difficult to get paid for that mercenary group," Charlotte said without saying anything.

A mercenary group of 600 people, and it is a war mission, and the mercenary fee will never be low. This time it was to help Headington defend itself against the enemy, so they should have paid for it, but with Headington's current situation, it was impossible to get the money.

Javier was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "So that's the case." It doesn't matter, it's urgent, and the reward will be discussed after the enemy is defeated. ”

When he said this, it was naturally the Lowville Chamber of Commerce who paid first.

didn't expect the other party to be so generous, Charlotte couldn't help but say, "How can this be." ”

Javier waved his hand, "You're welcome, Lord Reed has instructed me to support you as much as possible, isn't this the time to help each other?

"This—" The situation is stronger than people, Charlotte hesitated for a moment, and then bowed her head deeply: "Then, on behalf of all the residents of Headington, I would like to express my gratitude to you. ”

"Without further ado, I'll go. Javier said, hurriedly saying goodbye and leaving.

"Before the mercenary group arrives, this matter must not be spread out, so as not to cause unnecessary panic. After Javier left, Raymond said.

Charlotte nodded: "I'll take care of this." ”

Then she said to Sean: "Captain Sean, from now on, the garrison will obey the full command of Mr. Raymond. ”

Sean agreed without hesitation, he had fought with Raymond, so naturally there would be no objections.

After some more discussion, the worried crowd ended the meeting. As he left, Raymond shouted, "Freddy, Luz, and Sean, come with me." ”

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