"I am lucky, but my wife and children have suffered." Art said guiltily.
While Angus was chatting with Art, he inadvertently mentioned Lottie's recent letter home to the Legion.
For what Lottie did in the valley, Art was happy but also a little guilty. Since his marriage to Lottie, he has often been away fighting. I am afraid that the total time spent with his son George has only been one month since he was born. They are always together less and more apart...
While the two were chatting about home life, the soldier in charge of the sentinel came quickly to report.
"Sir, we found a suspicious person half a day's journey ahead."
"There were two guys on horseback who seemed to have been monitoring the movements of the army. When we sent people to catch up, they turned their horses and ran away immediately. Our horses couldn't catch up with them."
"Sir, they must be sent out by Thorne's army." Angus said.
"Yes, the Wells Army is about to reach the border of Thorne. Our target is so big, I'm afraid we have been targeted by them when we first entered the city of Kodor."
"Then what should we do now?"
"Sergeant Major, you immediately ask Bob Flying Pigeon to report to the new king that the Wells Army will reach the border of Thorne Province in one day and ask him for instructions on when the southern army will launch a general offensive. In addition, the entire army will be on heightened alert and patrols will be doubled to be ready to resist sneak attacks by Thorne's army. Also, send a task force to sneak into Thorne Province immediately to provide the army with the defense situation of Thorne's army."
"Besides..." Art whispered in Angus's ear.
"My lord, I will do it right away."
…………
Flender, wearing a battle armor, was listening to his officers' report on the frontline battle situation in the official office at the palace of Besançon.
"Your Majesty, Marquis, we have taken Manderburg last night. Since then, the last county outside Thorne City has also fallen into our hands. The outpost reported the enemy's situation last night. All the Western Army has retreated to Thorne City, with only a small number of light cavalry patrolling the outside."
"Good!" Flanders said, patting the table with his hand.
After more than a year of fighting, he finally pushed the battle line to the edge of Thorne City step by step.
Looking back at the place where the troops were raised, the situation was extremely unfavorable to the Liberation Army. In the west, Bernard controlled the crown prince Robert and ordered the powerful Western Army to occupy the strongest land and defend it. In the east, the Swabians invaded the territory, and the Liberation Army was in a dilemma.
Fortunately, with the help of the Welsh Army, they not only repelled the Swabians, but also raised food, grass and baggage for the Liberation Army, easing the dilemma of the Besançon palace and thus stabilizing their position.
However, just when the Liberation Army was marching forward and occupying Besançon, the Duchy of Burgundy, which had promised to support the Liberation Army, suddenly broke its promise and fell to the side of the Thorne court. At that time, Flanders was once again in a dilemma of lack of money, food and foreign aid.
After this, Flanders made a truce and reorganized its army to prepare for war.
On one side, he sent Galvin to lobby Provence, hoping to gain support from the Provence court. After Galvin's wanderings, the Provence court agreed to send 500 cavalry to support Flanders' operations on the Western Front, and announced its support for the Besançon court. Galvin was able to gain the support of the Provence court not only because of his years of dealing with Provençal bureaucrats and merchants. Another more important reason is that many court nobles and many influential private businessmen in Provence have close ties with the European trading houses in Arte.
On the other hand, people were sent to the Kingdom of France to seek support from the Holy See in Paris, and a war loan of five million pfennigs was borrowed as a guarantee of the county's tax revenue. With the support of the Holy See in Paris, the French Kingdom behind the Holy See also announced its support for Flanders and deployed troops on the borders of the Principality to put pressure on the Principality and force them not to act rashly.
In addition, Flanders also appointed Art as the commander of the border garrison of the county, and secretly set out to conquer the province of Kodor. After defeating the province of Cordor, he went all the way north, and together with the Liberation Army on the eastern front, attacked the Thorne Palace, annihilating the effective strength of the Western Army in one fell swoop, ending the battle for succession, and unifying the country.
Now that the situation is becoming clearer and clearer, Flanders is one step closer to his ambition.
While Flanders was still lost in his own thoughts, the messenger hurried over to report.
"Reporting to Lord Marquis, a secret message came from the flying pigeons of the Cordor Southern Army (Welsh Army, Southern Border Guard Army, and Longxia Garrison Army). Lord Ater and the others have captured the city of Cordor. They are currently only one day away from the border of Saône Province. In the letter, he asked you for instructions on when to launch an attack."
"Good! Good! Excellent! Tell the Southern Army to launch an attack immediately at dawn three days later. At that time, the Liberation Army will also launch a fierce attack from the east of Thorne City. This time, Thorne City must be captured in one fell swoop!" Flanders was emotional. He had been waiting for this day for a long time.
“In addition, order the army to rest quickly and make siege equipment. Next, I will conquer Thorne City in one fell swoop.”
In the south of Besançon, at the corner of the east street from the original Count Bernard's Palace, a hotel called the "Moulin Rouge" is bustling with activity. Here you can eat, drink, and stay overnight.
The girls in "The Mill" are not only beautiful, but also good at soothing men's tired bodies and minds.
The owner of the hotel is the "fat man" who used to run a small hotel near the church square in the west of the city. His real name is Amory.
Not long after the Liberation Army entered Besançon, this guy also ran back. Through drinks and money, he made friends with officers in the Liberation Army and found a "backer" for his small hotel.
As the front gradually advances westward, the security environment in the city gradually stabilizes. Residents who had fled Besançon due to the war have returned one after another, adding a lot of popularity to the city.
As business gets better and better, seeing that this small hotel can no longer meet the daily reception, Emery plans to find a larger and more luxurious place to reopen a hotel. After many inquiries, Emery found a house near the original Earl Bernard's Mansion. Not only is the location excellent, the house is also very luxurious. The three-story mansion has a front door and a backyard that connects different neighborhoods.
The owner of the mansion had already fled Besançon due to the war and entrusted a pawn shop to help find a buyer. Since the war was not over yet, and Amory had good relations with some officers of the Liberation Army, the pawn shop sold the mansion originally worth 50,000 pfennigs to Amory for 20,000 pfennigs. Of course, Amory did not have to pay this huge sum of money himself.
After renovation and expansion of the mansion, a large hotel named "Moulin Rouge" was opened in less than two months. On the opening day, many officers from the Liberation Army came to cheer. Emery entertained these "friends" with good wine and meat, and even arranged for his own girls to accompany them after the meal.
Less than half a month after its opening, the Moulin Rouge has become the largest hotel in Besançon. The daily business is extremely busy and reservations are often required in advance. Seeing this scene, Emery burst into laughter. Not only does a steady stream of coins roll into his pocket every day, but more importantly, he can complete his "job" more conveniently in the future.
In a guest room on the far left side of the stairs on the second floor of the hotel, a few guys who looked like caravan guards who had just traveled north from Provence not long ago had been staying in this hotel for almost half a month.
"Sir, we have found out clearly. The intelligence dealer did send someone to investigate the relationship between the palace guard who was executed and Mr. Flanders. They already know that the guy who had an affair with the Marchioness came from the Earl of Longxia."
"Are you sure?" The guy told us himself when he was drunk. His first line was to work for the newly appointed palace prime minister, Earl Baldwin..."
"Shh~"
The guy called the chief walked to the wall that separated the other room and listened to the sound next door. The room was specially selected and had good sound insulation.
"You remember, this matter must be kept secret and must not be spread outside. Immediately send a letter to notify the Lord."
"Yes."
A few days ago, Galvin was entrusted by the new court to go to Provence to lobby. Along the way, he was chased by killers sent by Bernard. Galvin had an idea and rushed to Tyniec dressed as a leper to meet Art.
Subsequently, Art sent Dawson, the deputy captain of the task force, and six other members to escort Galvin south. Later, he followed Galvin all the way back to Besancon, and did not leave until Galvin was safely delivered to the Finance Office. Not long after leaving, several people came to stay in this hotel run by "one of their own".
The "nominal" owner of the hotel is the red-bearded man downstairs who is entertaining guests, but the actual financial backer is Art.
A few months ago, Flanders had just entered the Besançon court. After Art accepted the palace's award, he asked Ron to tell Emery to find a suitable place in the city to open a hotel and brothel called "Moulin Rouge" as Art's intelligence hub in the Northland. At the same time, Ron and task force captains Stanley and Emery were ordered to be responsible for the operation of the entire Northland intelligence network. At this time, Ron and Stanley were following Art, and this important task naturally fell on Emery.
Him Half a month ago, Emery learned from an officer of the Liberation Army who was drinking in the hotel that someone was inquiring about a previously deceased palace guard officer. This officer was exactly the person Flanders sent to the palace of Besançon. Emery, who was already familiar with intelligence gathering work, heard that Flanders must be involved, so he seized this clue and sent people to investigate secretly. The target eventually settled on the two guys on the task force who reported to Dawson.
At this time, the task force was escorting Galvin to Besançon. Emery left the matter in the hands of the task force guys who were good at doing the dirty work.
According to Art's previous plan, the main targets of the Moulin Rouge were the hostile forces, the new palace dignitaries and the city of Dijon where the principality was located. At this point, the second object has already taken action.
Baldwin never expected that while staring at Flanders, his every move would already be known clearly by his confidants who had personally supported him before.
The battle for succession is not over yet, and the undercurrent has begun to surge. From the moment Baldwin began to doubt Flanders, it was destined that another uproar would arise behind this war. It is currently impossible to make a clear judgment as to who will ultimately benefit from this secret war. But one thing is certain, whoever takes the initiative in this storm will gain greater weight in the coming storm.