In the city of Aix, in the distinguished district near the palace, two spear-wielding guards wearing mail and light yellow heraldic robes stood at the gate of a three-story mansion with white walls and red tiles.
In front of the spear-wielding guards, a couple led a little girl of five or six years old and looked up at the end of the street from time to time.
After a while, a man in casual robes and carrying a short sword rode towards the mansion on horseback. Behind the man was a young man with a scar on his face, wearing tight armor and carrying a broad sword at his waist, and two soldiers with similar looks and brave faces.
More than ten steps away, the middle-aged man in front of the mansion hurriedly walked up to meet him.
Seeing Balian go out to greet him in person, Art quickly reined in his horse and jumped off, and stepped forward to hug him and greet him, "Lord Balian, long time no see. I originally planned to come to the southern border to see you after finishing my trip to Aix City, but I didn't expect you to come too. "
Balian slapped Art on the back hard, "Man, I really didn't expect to meet you in the capital."
The two hugged each other cordially. After noticing, Balian called his wife and daughter, "Art, this is my wife Margaery and daughter Isabella. They have been living in the capital these years."
Art saw Balian's wife and daughter for the first time. He quickly stepped forward to say hello cordially, and gave Balian's wife a wooden brocade box containing jewelry handed over by Ron. He then leaned over and pinned a gold brooch inlaid with sparkling agate beads under the collar of Balian's daughter.
Placing a gentle kiss on Isabella's forehead, Art turned around and shrugged towards Balian, "Lord Balian, I'm sorry, I only prepared gifts for the countess and the little angel Isabella. You can only watch~"
Balian glanced at his wife with raised lips and his daughter who was full of surprise, and deliberately said to Art with a long face: "Then you won't be able to drink my treasured palace tribute wine later."
Balian put his hand on Art's shoulder, pushed him into his Earl's Mansion, and turned around to invite Ron to come in with him.
Provence is a principality, and the count is not a great dignitary here, so the count's residence in Balian is neither luxurious nor luxurious.
But it is obvious that Balian's wife is a tasteful noblewoman, and the mansion is decorated very elegantly and freshly.
When the two maids saw the distinguished guest coming in, they immediately stepped forward to take off the swords for Art and Ron, and then stepped back to prepare the food for the banquet.
After a few brief greetings in the hall, Balian's wife and daughter bowed to Art and Ron and left. Balian took the two of them to a more private study, where they sat down separately in front of the fireplace where wine, fruits and vegetables had been prepared.
Balian looked at the resolute and slightly wrinkled Art, and said with emotion: "Man, when I first met you when I went to Burgundy to purchase grain many years ago, you were just a fledgling young man. Now you are also a middle-aged man with a vicissitudes of life. ”
Matt stretched out his hands and leaned towards the fireplace flame, “Yes, you have been either fighting or preparing for war these years. Fighting every year, you are exhausted mentally and physically, and you get old easily.”
"Look at the guy next to me. He just got married last year, but his face is already full of scars and vicissitudes of life."
Balian glanced at Ron, who was sitting next to Art, "Ron is a nice guy, I like him. If he were not your bodyguard of Art, I would trade him with a baron title and territory."
Ron bowed slightly to Balian to thank him, without saying much.
"No more small talk, what is the purpose of your coming to Aix this time? How can I help?" Balian went straight to the point.
Ate knew that Balian was not lying, so he did not hide it, "I came to form an alliance with Provence."
Balian was puzzled after hearing this, "The Principality of Burgundy was originally an ally of the Principality of Provence."
"This time I am making an alliance with Provence in my own name. I want to attack Lombardy."
"I heard that the Lombards sent an army to fight in the north a few months ago. It is rumored that they are planning to invade the Burgundy Kingdom. Is that your masterpiece?" Balian became interested. He did not expect that Ater had already connected the valley that had been abandoned for hundreds of years and had begun to move south.
"Yes, I have stationed my army at the southernmost point of the Burgundy kingdom. Of course the Lombards would not sit back and watch their enemies shoot arrows at their doorstep, so they sent some minions to test them out, but were driven back by a few of my small officers with a hundred soldiers." There was a sense of relief in Art's words.
"A hundred soldiers? But the rumor is that you mobilized all the troops, and there were more than a thousand men to withstand the Lombard sword."
"You heard the news from the Lombards, right?"
Balian nodded.
"Including the baggage soldiers and miscellaneous servants, there must be hundreds of people. I turned the mouth of the canyon at the southernmost end of the valley into a military fortress. No matter how many soldiers the Lombards sent, they could only squeeze into the canyon one by one and be overthrown by my soldiers."
"Now that I have basically established a firm foothold, I plan to go south to regain the territory of my ancestors."
"However, when going south to Lombardy, I cannot count on the support of the Burgundy Kingdom. I can only rely on the support of the Baron of Lombardy. I will take back my de jure territory and title by myself, and take revenge on those bastards who destroyed my family. "
"As long as I can form a treaty and alliance with the Principality of Provence, I will start de jure claims to the Principality of Lombardy and declare war on Wadbury."
Balian knew Art's life experience. It seemed that it was legal for Art to declare war on Wadbury, regain his territory and restore his reputation. "I once fought with that bastard Wadbury. That guy was not easy to deal with, and even if you have legal claims, I'm afraid the Duke of Lombardy would not sit idly by."
"That's why I came to Aix in person."
贝里昂沉思良久，抬头道:「普罗旺斯不是勃艮第侯国，我这个伯爵也就能在东南边疆有些分量，宫廷里的事情我是无法左右的。要想说服宫廷和侯爵，你是否有足够的筹码？」
「有！」
贝里昂没有追问，而是痛快地问道:「我该怎么帮你？」
"I would like to invite you to fight with me, and I will hire your army at the highest mercenary price. Of course, in order to prevent you and the Principality of Provence from getting into unnecessary disputes, your army will fight under my flag."
h Balian hesitated for a moment, "Although I am the commander of the southern Provence Army and command 3,000 frontier troops, I only have 800 private troops of my own. I have no right to transfer the principality's troops away from the territory to fight, and I dare not transfer the frontier troops guarding the Lombards."
"Although the 800 private soldiers under my command are all battle-hardened and brave divisions, if they go deep into Lombardy, they may not be able to resist."
"I have 1,200 elite soldiers, plus your 800 private troops, a total of 2,000 elite soldiers. In addition, I will also recruit a thousand peasant soldiers."
"Three thousand troops captured the county of Wadbury in northern Lombardy, and the odds of winning are high enough."
"What I'm worried about is that the whole country of the Lombardy Duchy will counterattack, and we won't be able to defend it."
"So, I hope that the Principality of Provence can use all its strength to suppress the Principality of Lombardy when I send out troops..."
Att will tell the truth about his plans...
...
On the next day, Art, who was supposed to be waiting for the Duke of Provence's summons in the side hall of the palace, was personally accompanied by the military officer of the Provence Palace, the commander of the Southern Border Army, and the Count Balian of the Frontier. He visited the Prime Minister of Provence, the Marquis Wallis, the Minister of Military Affairs, the Marquis of Corlay, and the Minister of Finance, Count Olesny, who lived in Aix. Of course, the Vice Minister of the Palace who was personally greeted at the city gate yesterday was indispensable.
In addition to the countenance of Count Balian who knocked on the doors of these distinguished ministers' mansions, there were also valuable gifts ranging from thousands to tens of thousands...
In the early morning of the third day after arriving in Aix, the palace sent someone to send a message to Art, saying that the Duke of Provence would personally summon him at today's court meeting.
After packing everything, leading Ron and two guards, and carrying a box of silver coins worth two hundred thousand pfennigs that had just been exchanged, Art entered the Aix Palace under the guidance of the palace etiquette officer.
Here, he met Duke Vladis, who was old but still full of majesty and heroism, and of course, the important palace ministers who had just visited yesterday.
Duke Vladis had a good impression of this young man who had participated in the war as an ally in the war against Lombardy and the annihilation of Provence. Moreover, in recent years, the Continental Trading Company had spread throughout the principality with the eastern line of Provence as the axis. The Marquis also knew that this guy in front of him was the real owner of the Continental Trading Company.
Att saluted Duke Vladis who was sitting at the top of the hall and introduced himself.
"Young friend, I know your name. You have been very famous in Burgundy in recent years."
Att bowed to the Marquis again.
"Last night Balian went to the inner court to meet, which explained that the purpose of your visit was to hope that Provence would ally with you and help you with the legal territory of the Wells family in northern Lombardy."
"You are me. We are true friends, and it is our unshirkable responsibility to fight for the honor of our friends. But you also know that Provence has just restored its national strength in the past year or two. Although we are not afraid of the Lombards, there is really no need to actively provoke those mad dogs and wolves."
Duke Vladis had heard of Art's "reputation", and there was no need to hide the exchange of interests in front of such a rational and smart man. He coughed lightly and said, "Of course, Balian said you brought enough bargaining chips to make me excited. Maybe you can talk about it."
After hearing the word "European Trading Company", the important ministers in the hall were obviously moved, especially the corners of the mouth of the deputy palace minister.
"Duke Vladis, gentlemen, I founded the Continental Trading Company. Now it has blossomed throughout the southern continent and begun to radiate to the north."
"I have roughly estimated that the average annual profit of the European trading houses in Provence in recent years has exceeded one million, and that is because of the wars in the north in recent years. This profit is equivalent to the combined tax of the two counties in southern Provence for a year, and I have opened the trade route from northwest Provence into the Kingdom of France. This profit can be doubled within two years."
"If you are willing to help me, I will give half of the profits of the European Continental Trading Company in the Principality of Provence to the Provence Court in the year after I regain the territory, and increase it by 10% every year. Within six years, I will hand over the entire Provence Continental Trading Company to you..."
In the blink of an eye, it is 2021, and the journey has been hard and affectionate. Thank you to all the hardcore book friends for accompanying me through the Spring and Autumn Period. I wish all my friends the best in 2021.