Beiguan Army Fort, the army commander’s barracks, a row of candlesticks on the stone wall were lit with candles, and the flames from the burning wood in the fireplace made the room even brighter.
Compared with the freezing cold world, it is really surprisingly hot here.
A bright lamp was placed on the official table facing the door, and the beating wick flickered on everyone's stern cheeks.
The secret letter sent by horse from Besancon in the snow has been circulated among everyone. The content of the letter comes from Count Galvin, the finance minister of the Marquis of Burgundy, and was written and encrypted by Amory, the chief intelligence officer of Besancon.
The secret letter was less than a hundred words long, but the message it conveyed put a lot of pressure on Art.
Just half a month ago, the Principality of Swabia sent an envoy to meet with Flanders at the palace of Besancon. He bluntly stated that the Earl of Wales's construction of a fortress on the northern border of Lombardy had crossed the line and asked the Earl of Wales to stop all hostilities with Lombardy.
Of course, the Swabians had something to say. They warned Flanders that once the Earl of Wales acted hostilely again, the Swabian Principality would think that the Burgundian Principality would invade Lombardy. They and the Lombard Principality jointly defended the enemy.
"My lord, the Swabians have always been in cahoots with Lombardy. They jumped out and openly put pressure on us. We have to think carefully." Robert, the Bishop of Wales and the chief advisor to the Earl of Wales, broke the silence.
He touched the spot on his neck where the cross had left the mark, and continued: "Before the War of the Successors, the Count of Burgundy was supported by the Principality of Burgundy. Although the Swabians invaded the country many times, they did not dare to use all their strength."
“But now that we have severed our kinship with the principality, I’m afraid the principality will never support us again.”
“As for the Kingdom of France, there is still the Duchy of Burgundy separated from us~”
After Robert said this, silence returned to the room.
Matt had already guessed that the Swabians would exert pressure, and he could also estimate that Flanders would not provide much support for his southward hegemony.
Although Flanders is also a person with a strong desire for expansion.
“The attitude of the Marquis is also difficult to predict. He neither promised anything to the Swabian envoy nor refused his request, which makes people really unsure.” Odo was most afraid of reading people’s hearts, and Flanders’ attitude made him unsure.
Angus has a good insight into people's hearts. He knocked on the edge of the official desk. "In fact, the monarch's mind is also very simple. He hopes that the Lord will expand his territory for him, but he is also afraid that the Lord's strength will become stronger and will pose a threat to his rule. Threat. "
"I am afraid that your Lord's trip to Paris alone to meet with the King of France has reached the ears of the King. If he knows that we have obtained five million pfennigs from the headquarters of the Holy Order in Paris, I am afraid that this worry will be even greater."
“The monarch is Lady Lottie’s cousin, and your father-in-law, Earl Galvin, is not only an important minister of the kingdom, but also the monarch’s uncle. With family blood and marriage, the monarch will never attack you.” Old Cooper, the governor of the government office, obviously still has some good thoughts about people’s hearts.
"I also agree with what the old steward said. Although the monarch is ruthless, he is not simply cruel. Today's Wells Province is not his enemy in any way. He only attacked Baldwin because he formed a party for personal gain. Confusion and chaos have become a stumbling block to the monarch's rule. Although we also pursue independent rule, we have not become a thorn in the throne of the monarch. "Robert is not a pure person, but he is not a conspirator. He only analyzes the interest disputes behind the complex appearance rationally and objectively.
"That's all." Art patted the chair and stood up.
“To put it nicely, I am here to wash away the shame of the Xue family and restore the honor of my ancestors. To be honest, I am just trying to open up the business network at the southern end of the valley and give this valley a real future.”
"I understand the monarch's intentions. It's not that he doesn't want to support me. It's just that if the Burgundy Kingdom has no internal worries, it is full of external troubles. He really doesn't dare to break this damn delicate balance."
Atmo. Holding the copper rivet at the end of the hilt of the dagger at his waist, "But now the province of Wales has become a galloping horse, and I need to open up a galloping world for it."
"Everyone, the whole of Wales. In the Earldom, nearly 100,000 soldiers and civilians are waiting for us to support them every day. More than half of the land in Wales has just been cultivated or has not yet been cultivated, and we cannot expect to feed the citizens with the pitiful food grown in the territory. "
"And the Lombardy Plain to the south is vast and rich in products..." Art did not continue. Everyone in the room followed his expansion. This belief has already been injected into their souls, and there is no need to encourage them.
"My lord, with a base of five million pfennig, plus the Welsh Army and Provence allies, it is enough for us to break out of the valley and take root in the Lombardy plains." Bass has always been safe, but at this moment he was the first to stand up.
"Sir, although this is very risky, everything we have is gained by taking risks. Even if we may lose it, what is there to be afraid of?" Odo also expressed his position.
With a few loud or low voices, everyone in the room finally came to a consensus and were willing to give it a try.
"In that case, let's do it." Art made his decision.
「奥多、安格斯，你们几个带着参谋部的人稍微修改一下作战计划，将计划改到后年春天。」
「我要用一年的时间攥紧拳头。」亚特狠狠地捶在了那张木桌上......
............
二月中旬，天地一派寂静，仿佛所有的一切都被凛冬的寒气封印。
To the north of the Wells Valley, among the mountains and dense forests, about twenty apprentices from the Government Affairs Academy (Log Castle School) armed with hunting bows or short spears were hunting, led by two wounded veterans of the Legion, and led by four hunters.
This is the tradition of the Government College. Although their future career will be civil officers, in addition to three-day military training every month, all apprentices over the age of twelve in the school also have a large-scale hunting event every winter.
The province of Wales is based on the military, so even civil officers must have certain military capabilities.
Hunting activities organized by retired veterans can not only obtain fresh meat to improve the food, but also exercise the military skills of the apprentices. The most important thing is that this is a rare opportunity to get rid of the "cage" of the school and enjoy freedom, so even if the apprentices are shivering from the cold, they are still full of excitement.
Perhaps the lead hunter was too excited. A hunting team of six chased a group of elk and deviated from the planned hunting route and ran too far. By the time they realized they were too far away from the group, they had already climbed over five or six mountain peaks and were about to approach a small canyon.
Hunting for prey was too exciting just now, but now that I have relaxed, I feel that my strength has been drained away.
The hunter leading the team ordered to rest for a while and then return to the original route.
Bang. Boom~~~
Just as everyone sat down in the snowdrift, a huge sound came from the small valley.
"Thunder!" An apprentice was so frightened that he quickly covered his ears.
"Nonsense, how can there be thunder in the cold winter?" The hunter leading the team kept looking around, feeling a little afraid in his heart.
"Okay, everyone, get up quickly and let's go back the way we came." The hunter felt a little uneasy. These apprentices were the treasures of the Province of Wales, and he didn't dare to let these guys make mistakes.
Just when a few people were slapping the snow off their buttocks and about to turn around and leave, a few hurried figures appeared from the other end of the dense forest...
.........
In the small canyon just now, the group of soldiers who captured the intruders had returned to their respective posts. Except for a series of footprints, no one could be seen at all.
Walking a little further in, a simple wooden fence blocked the only way in and out of the small basin of the canyon. A group of heavily armed soldiers were patrolling along the fence.
In the open space on one side of the canyon basin, a section of stone "fort wall" about twenty feet high and more than a hundred feet long stands dazzlingly. There are large and messy pieces of earth and stones at the bottom of the "fort wall".
Under the cliff on the other side of the canyon basin, several wooden houses were built near a cave. Soldiers in military uniforms came and went from time to time in the cave. However, they were not equipped with weapons and armor, and looked more like ordinary craftsmen in military uniforms.
In front of a wooden house near the entrance of the cave, a middle-aged man in earl uniform was communicating in a low voice with a young man in military uniform around an object.
An officer wearing armor and carrying a sharp blade hurriedly walked to the door of the wooden house next to the cave and reported in a low voice. This man was the guard captain responsible for guarding the weapons research laboratory hidden in the deep mountain canyon.
"...Sir, it has been found out that they are indeed apprentices from the Government Affairs Academy, and the leader is indeed a hunter, living in Kutim Village in the south of the valley."
Yate held a large iron ball weighing more than ten pounds and looked at it carefully, and said to the guard captain beside him: "Remember, this is There can be no mistakes at any time in the secret base of the weapons research laboratory. You immediately send someone to notify the people of the government security team and ask them to bring all these people back to me for strict review. Make sure there are no spies among them."
The guard captain immediately responded to the order and turned around to complete what Art had told him.
Matt continued to look at the iron lump in his hand. This thing was a new weapon initially produced by the weapons laboratory. The people in the laboratory called it an "exploding iron egg." Matt agreed and corrected it slightly, calling it a "bomb" for short.
But it is not filled with black powder yet.
"Jack, have this big thing be charged with explosives and sent to the test site to see if it can blow through the stone wall. Don't be a useless waste that just makes noise..."
At handed the iron thing in his hand to the young man in military uniform named Jack.
"Jack, please be extremely cautious. This guy is quite powerful. You should also be careful yourself. If something happens to you, I won't be able to explain it to your father."
"I will do it, Legion Commander!" The young man in military uniform walked towards the testing site holding the heavy thing in his hands.
After a long time, there was another loud noise...
I, Hu Hansan, am back again.