Section 173 Persuasion

Byron's clenched fists slowly relaxed. Because an inexplicable feeling appeared in his mind. Starting as Lord Regent, he gradually conceived, perfected, and realized this plan...... Why did what should have been a flawless plan suddenly turn out to be completely different? What went wrong? Both sons died, and now he was left with a lonely city. The original allies, the originally arranged retreat, and the original prepared backhand for just in case were all wiped out.

How the hell did this happen?, he thought, a little confused. The throne of the Makremiz family has come to an end, this was once the consensus of everyone. Why all of a sudden, everything is the other way around. By the way, it's not that things are reversed, it's not that things are wrong, it's not that it's wrong, but one miracle after another.

The financial black hole that could not be repaired has been filled, the battle that was originally disparity in number has been won, and the people who could not have betrayed have betrayed...... That little girl, relying on such a miracle one by one, changed a qiē.

An indescribable sense of frustration welled up in my heart, so strong that even anger and unwillingness were crushed.

"Next, Essien may have to launch an attack on the territory of the Duke of Adiyas. The subordinates noticed Byron's change of mind, or he pretended not to notice.

Adityas is one of the larger lords of Gruni - it is true that almost all of the rebellions announced by the little queen this time are big lords, but this one's apparent strength is also among the top five in the country. Although his territory was not particularly rich, it was very large, occupying most of the provinces.

In particular, Adiyas, who is not the kind of person who is peaceful, also has the ambition to expand his power in this turmoil.

"Would Essien do that?" Byron asked. "I remember...... There's another one near him, what's that? Is Aimo not? He's been declared a traitor by the Queen?"

Speaking of the name, Byron felt a little gloating. Because this one actually refused to eat hard and soft, he refused Byron's coercion and temptation, and was stunned to adopt neutrality. Unfortunately, it is useless to be neutral, the queen has declared you a rebel, so you have no second way to go.

"There's no way the Marquis of Aimo can resist it. The subordinate said. "He didn't have an army, and his castle wasn't strong. He was good at usury, not war. Everywhere it is said that he is an old money lover, and that people like him would rather hold it in his own coffers and pray to God than take the money out to buy soldiers and equipment."

"Oh......" Byron smiled maliciously.

"With Essien's route of march, after dealing with Aimo, the closest is this side...... Of course, it is also possible for Esin to pick up the soft pinch of the persimmon and attack the other lords on the side first......"

"Essien ......" Byron repeated the name again. But this time, there was no hatred and hatred in his voice, but a neutral, non-personal flavor. Although Byron knew that Essien's offensive this time was mostly opportunistic, relying on threats and inducements to win most of the victories. But on the other hand, the fact that he was able to accomplish so many results in such a short period of time is in itself a testament to his ability.

Why did Essien betray me? It was a conspiracy in the first place? No, this idea is baseless. Essien was indeed a very capable subordinate at that time, especially after taking the initiative to ask for help during the retreat......

Is it really just a little man who is trying to speculate? Sure enough, all these mercenaries are unreliable! And Barranca...... Without me, how could he have infiltrated the Guards Legion? With a high salary, he enjoyed a treatment that he had never dreamed of in the past, and then immediately turned back and bit his master at the critical moment.

However, self-repentance is not in one's nature. In Byron's heart, he was filled with hatred for these lowly traitors, but he selectively ignored why these people betrayed him.

However, Byron quickly put aside these hatreds and remorse, which he didn't know where to go from his heart, and began to seriously think about Essien's strategy. As mentioned earlier, although Fornoros City can't transmit magical communications now, it can at least receive magical communications from the outside, so Byron generally has some understanding of the situation outside.

Of course, the exception is Eagle Falcon City, the spies sent there have inexplicably disappeared and have not been heard from again. However, Byron didn't pay much attention to this, and he was only a junior anyway, so the loss was not a big deal. In addition, the current situation in Eagle City is not the most important information for Byron.

"Essina boy...... It was just opportunistic before. But Adiyas is not easy to deal with. Byron said as if to convince himself. Essien ...... Many of Byron's subordinates had a bad opinion of Essien (especially Bairheim), believing that he was clumsy in words, unsociable, and lacked actual results in commanding the army. The kind of strategy he used when he broke off was not a sophisticated strategy, it was just a trick. If there is a merit, it is that Essien was more loyal to Byron - of course, and now that the only merit has been proven to be non-existent.

Byron's words are not a lie. Everyone knows that although the queen declared more than eighty lords as rebels in one go, not everyone was as ambitious as Byron. The reason why they play tricks with money is mainly because of the herd mentality. In fact, most of them were really not well prepared for future wars - as mentioned earlier, in the early days, almost no one believed that the little queen would actually declare them treason and use force.

Therefore, although these people finally concluded offensive and defensive alliances with Byron under Byron's coercion and temptation, and even pledged allegiance to Byron, they were not ready for war after all. They only sent some of their soldiers to Byron's men, and at the time of Byron's defeat, the lords had not formed a group and had not been able to come up with a common alliance. This made it seem isolated in the face of the Queen's offensive. At the end of the day, it's the little queen who moves too fast, and they don't have time to react too much.

However, Adiyaz is an exception. This one is really expanding his armaments. In addition to this, he had two well-defended cities. He also sent an army under Byron's command, but it was not his main force, but only a small part of his army. According to the information Byron received before, Duke Adiyas's subordinates should still have about 3,000 to 5,000 troops. The field battle is insufficient, but the defense of the city is more than enough.

......

"I ...... I had absolutely no intention of disobeying the Queen, I was just confused...... "It was an older man who spoke." He was small, his hair thinning, and his face was terrified. He is more like a businessman whose business has suffered a setback than that of a nobleman who intends to rebel.

And so it is. The Marquis of Aimo was a nobleman known for his wealth and business acumen. The reason why he was declared a traitor by the queen was not so much because he was not fresh in his mind, but because he was stingy with the taxes he paid. His greatest hobby is to hide in his vault and live with countless gold, silver and jewelry. If he was planning to rebel, then probably no one in the whole of Gruni would believe it. Although this does not affect the little queen to declare him a traitor.

You should say this to the Queen. Clio replied uninterested.

"Please give me a chance, I will seriously state this matter to the queen, I will ......"

"Dear Marquis," said Cleo. "I know that you have neither participated in Byron's conspiracy, nor have you any interest in rallying an army. But these words are useless to me. What can I do? I am a subordinate and servant of Her Majesty the Queen, and I am now carrying out my task according to her orders. I confess that I do sympathize with your present situation, but who called her queen? who called her the power to distribute wealth, land, and honour? If she was willful, then I could only accompany her willfulness, and not stand up and openly disobey her will, and confront her. ”

"A million...... Million...... I'm willing to redeem my territory for three million Oli!"

"Why do you only pay three million for something worth five million? You may have dealt with merchants for a long time, but I don't know anything about this kind of conspiracy of heavy profit. ”

The old man's stern zhòng suddenly flashed with a flame mixed with despair and anger. "Well, since you want to deprive me of a qiē, you want to take away my title, my territory, and my wealth...... Then kill me! I'll resist to the end, and I'll let you know......"

"Like these guys?" Cleo gestured to the box in his companion's hand. The boxes were opened, revealing the human skulls inside. "Come on, Lord Marquis. Now the only thing the queen can do with you is to strip you of your land, title, and wealth. But if you are going to resist resolutely, then your life ...... And of course, the life and freedom of your family, which will not be left behind. ”

As he spoke, two soldiers dragged a woman in a tattered dress over. The woman hid her face with long hair and let out one sobbing after another. Although Aimo could not see the woman's face clearly, he could tell that her tattered gown had once been a high-end garment of exquisite texture, worn only by aristocratic women.

But at this moment, the woman was dragged in the hands of two rough and strong soldiers. Because she didn't move fast enough, she received a solid slap on her body. Her long hair flicked through, revealing her torn corset, and her breasts, which it could no longer hide—all covered in filth and red marks. It is self-evident what kind of fate this woman has suffered.

The soldier grabbed her by the shoulders and made her stand beside Clio. They have no pity for them.

"I heard you have several daughters...... There are also two very beautiful and lovely concubines. You don't want them to end up like this. Cleo asked, smiling. "And your son...... I would like to remind you that, according to the laws of Gruny, those who resist the White Eagle banner with a sword...... It's all over the place!"

His last words became cold, and there was no trace of warmth.

Aimo's courage was also dispelled. Of course, this is mainly because he has not had much courage in the first place. He slumped back in his chair like a deflated ball, with that expression of extreme anguish and despair - the expression typical of a money lover when his property was taken away.

Even Cleo had to feign sympathy. "But then again, Lord Marquis, although the Queen's orders cannot be disobeyed, in fact we still have some specific means of manipulation...... These manipulations can change a lot of things......"

"You mean, keep my wealth and land?" Aimo's expression was like that of a drowning man grasping at a life-saving straw.