The same late night, the same quiet sky, in the official room of a mansion west of Besançon in the far northeast of Longxia City, a middle-aged man with a plump figure and a merchant's attire bent his waist and asked softly Baldwin, deputy minister of the court of the Count of Burgundy.
This fat middle-aged man is the most famous intelligence dealer in Burgundy. This kind of person who makes a living by stealing information and selling intelligence is called a spider among the people.
As long as they can afford the silver coins, they can steal and sell everything from the contents of the secret message in the hands of the Pope to the number of eggs laid by the hens in the chicken coop south of Besançon.
Baldwin has his own eagle eye, but there are some things that are inconvenient for them to do, so he called this fat man.
Baldwin threw a money bag onto the table in front of him, and the money bag slid in front of the fat man.
He picked up the purse, weighed it, and asked, "Count Baldwin, what do you need me to do?"
"You should remember that the Marquis personally executed a guard officer in the palace five years ago, right?" This was also considered a test for the spider. Few people knew about this incident five years ago, and even Baldwin himself only knew it after the fact.
The greasy man rolled his eyes to the right and recalled for a moment, then replied: "You mean the chamberlain named Williams?"
Baldwin said: "I want to know where he came from! More importantly, I want to know when he climbed into the Marquise's bed!"
The greasy man put the money bag in his hand back on the wooden table, "Your Majesty, if I want to inquire about other things, this money is enough, but what you want to inquire about may put me in danger of losing my head at all times. Although my head is ugly, I think I have more than this amount of money."
Baldwin sneered, "Your pig head is worth a gesture to me."
The fat man obviously didn't meet such a buyer for the first time. He touched himself and felt good. With several layers of wrinkles on his neck, he said slowly: "Your Majesty Earl, I am a businessman who only works for money. I will work as hard as you pay. If you spend an extra copper coin today, I will work harder tomorrow. And it is more beneficial to you to keep my head on my neck."
Baldwin knew that such a bastard was not afraid of threats and power. He stared into the fat man's greedy eyes, took off a gold ring on his right hand and put it on his money bag, "I'll give you twenty days, I want to know the final answer. Let me give you a hint~"
The fat man leaned forward and listened, slowly, he frowned, "Long Xia Ling?"
"Are you doubting——" The fat man shut his mouth instantly. He knew when he should stop all other thoughts.
Flender rubbed the cover of the Bible on the table with his blood-stained hand, and replied: "I'm not sure whether Baldwin started to doubt me, but his determination to start an uprising must have been shaken. Maybe Ivrea started to preside over the court again this year, which made him feel there is still a glimmer of hope." It's just that he is a bit cautious. If he is more decisive, he will not be suppressed by Bernard for so many years. If Robert inherits the title of Burgundy, he will be the first to be eliminated. And I promised him to appoint him as the prime minister of the palace after I take over the power of the county, and give him everything that originally belonged to Bernard, including the wealthy Earl of Thorne. "
It turns out that Flanders used the Saône, the richest province of Burgundy, as a bargaining chip. No wonder Baldwin was willing to gamble his life.
“So you want me to help Earl Baldwin strengthen his resolve?” Art asked.
h "You have become Baldwin's confidant. This is known to everyone, and anything you do will be regarded as Baldwin's instruction."
h "More importantly, you are Lottie's husband, the son-in-law of my Hugues family, and I am the uncle of your son, George Jr."
Flender has already supported Art, and Art no longer intends to hide it. He sat up straight and asked Flanders seriously: "What benefits can I get? I mean real benefits!"
Flender showed a knowing smile on his face, and this smile was very sincere.
"First, the entire Tyniec County is sealed!"
Att didn’t make any move, he just continued to stare at Flanders expectantly.
"Second, one-fifth of Burgundy's southern goods trade privileges, including the entire eastern trade route!"
There was a slight movement on Art's face.
"Third, the rank of Viscount of the Frontier in the Marquis District of the Southeast of the Principality of Burgundy, the actual Commander-in-Chief of the Frontier Corps."
"The highest level a Marquis can only be canonized is a Viscount, and the higher level can only be a Viscount. You can pass the Duke of Burgundy, but I think with your ability, the title of earl is not a luxury."
Matt twisted his sitting posture, "Wait, did you just say the Southeast Marquis District?" Art questioned.
"Yes, the southeastern Marquis District of the Principality of Burgundy."
"There is no such place."
"It will be there after I inherit the title of Marquis."
At was surprised, "Do you want the Count of Burgundy to end the suzerainty relationship and return to the rule of the Principality of Burgundy?"
Flender 1 He looked indifferent, "Why else would the Duke of Burgundy support me in seizing the throne?"
It seems that in order to regain the rule of the Marquis, Flanders is even planning to give up the autonomy that his ancestors paid for with their blood and lives, which is cruel enough.
But this will not cause any loss to Art, except that he will need to add "The Principality of Burgundy xxx" in front of his title.
"I have to say that the conditions you gave are tempting enough. But in addition to the three above, I also want the entire valley in my territory." Art put forward an additional condition.
"That is your barony. Are you going to let me enthrone it again?"
"Count of Flanders, I think I didn't make it clear. I'm not just talking about the more than 20,000 acres of territory I already own. I want all the land between the La Mer and Poje mountains, from the county of Tyniec southward until I reach Provence or London. The border of Bardie! "
Flender carefully recalled the area described by Art, but he really couldn't outline the outline there. "The places you mentioned seem to be at the junction of the third country of Burgundy, Provence and Lombardy, right? Even if I give them all to you, can you take it? Besides, I remember that it is a wasteland that has been deserted for hundreds of years."
Sounds like a familiar word.
"That's my own business, you don't have to worry about it." Art replied.
"Okay, I agree to all your requests!"
H "Okay, now you can give me the task..."
On the second day of the secret conversation, Art declined the Earl of Flanders's repeated attempts to stay, and took Robert and Ron, several baron guards, onto their horses and embarked on the road back down the mountain.
Felix, the "Commander-in-Chief" of the Sapp army, also returned with Ater because he was concerned about the important matter of suppressing bandits, but Baron Galvin stayed behind, because ten days later all the vassals of the Longxia Territory and the old members of the Hugues family would gather in Longxia City to discuss important matters.
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� Two days later, outside the village near the mountains to the east of Sapburg, five or six corpses were hung on branches beside the road, and a large pool of dark red blood accumulated on the grass under the tree.
Att fiddled with a corpse dripping with blood and told Felix: "Felix, after this bandit suppression, Sapp should be peaceful for a while. During this time, you must train the territorial soldiers. It is best to conduct one or two massed combat drills for the entire Sapp baron after the spring plowing. Imagine a large number of troops. How will you respond when the enemy attacks the Sap Territory? "
"Now that my father-in-law has basically rushed to the Earl of Flanders, Sapp Castle depends entirely on you. You must focus on defending the west, especially if the stone wall in the west canyon is repaired earlier, the Sap Territory will be more protected."
"In addition to military training and territorial defense, you must also step up your reserve of territorial food supplies. Sarp is close to the food-producing areas of Codor and Thorne. You must purchase as much food as possible through Sarp's caravan, and you must protect the granary. You have followed me through the war in Provence, and you should be able to understand the pain of food shortage during the war. Even if Sarp Castle cannot eat all, you can sell it when the food price skyrockets to earn a huge difference."
Felix prefers riding and slashing, but is not very interested in managing the territory, but since Art has repeatedly told him to do it, he must really put his heart into it.
"Brother-in-law, don't worry. If you remind me about the military and defense matters, I will do my best. As for the food and supplies, I will not ignore it. In two days, I will personally take people to Cordor Province to purchase food. My father built a new large granary in Sap Fort last month and I filled it. I will also order the manors and villages around Sap to step up their food reserves." Lix lowered his voice, "Brother-in-law, what did you and cousin Flanders say that night? I see that you are always worried these days."
Art stared at Felix and scolded softly: "Don't ask what you shouldn't ask, knowing too much is not good for you!"
Felix pinched his armor angrily and lowered his head in silence.
“Okay, just be prepared to face the crisis.” Art comforted him, and then asked Ron to lead the horse and jump on the horse.
"Felix, if the sky falls, I will help you hold it up. If there is a crisis, hurry to Boulder Town and call for help." Art rode in a circle on his horse, kicked the horse's belly and led a group of horse guards to run deep into the mountains...
Go to Boulder Town immediately if there is a crisis. " Art rode in a circle on the horse, and after speaking, he kicked the horse's belly and led a group of horse guards to run towards the depths of the mountains...
Hunter was leading a group of guards from the Baron Guards on the wilderness training ground outside the Beiguan Army Fort in the Valley Barony to practice training on military flags and bugles. One guard couldn't remember the waving of the military flag corresponding to the order, and the military stick in Ron's hand was almost broken.
Ron walked towards Art with his military stick and rubbed his sore arm, and said: "Master, why don't we let him learn orders and let him be an ordinary guard. This guy is strong and strong. With him protecting three or five enemies, they can't get close to you, and he's quite intimidating."
Art raised the cuffs of his mail cuffs. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his cotton armor exposed, and looked up at the big man who was sweating profusely and learning how to wave the military flag under Matthew's hand-in-hand instruction. The guy was really tall and tall, a whole head taller than Art, and his skin was rough and fleshy. Art guessed that even ordinary swords might not be able to hurt his bones.
It's just that my head is too busy. I guess all the food I have eaten for many years has been used to grow taller.
“The Guards are not a team that rushes into battle. In addition to riding horses and charging with me at critical moments, you are more responsible for the responsibilities of holding the flag and delivering orders to the central army, so there is no need for such “warriors”. "
"Then I'll send him back, Tuba can't bear to leave this guy anyway."
"No, no, give him to Klaus's heavy armored infantry team. He is more useful in the heavy armored infantry team than in the guard."
"Yes!" Ron turned to deal with it himself.
At this time, a man wearing a caravan guard's uniform ran down the stage, and Art jumped down the steps and walked to the person.
"My lord, everything is ready. The task force consists of fifteen people plus ten people carefully selected from the entire Welsh Legion, a total of twenty-five people. They are all assembled and ready for action at any time."
"Act! I'm waiting for your news at home."
"Yes!"
The visitor turned around and walked towards the military fort. After a while, a caravan with four carriages left the Beiguan Military Fort.
At looked at the backs of the leaving group, his heart was filled with waves...