Chapter 649 Urban Autonomy Meeting
"Sir, are we just going to waste time with the Lombards now?" Ron, who was following Art on horseback, couldn't help but ask.
Angus, who was on the side, bit off the wine cork and took a sip of strong wine, feeling warm in his stomach. The deerskin wine naan in his hand rose and fell with the horse's back, causing the liquid inside to stir and make bursts of sound. Angus raised his broad palm and wiped a handful of the remaining juice on his beard,
then looked at Art's reaction with interest.
As the commander of the Welsh Legion and also the commander of the Palace Guards, Art wanted to use the sword in his hand to take possession of the land and wealth of the Lombards more than anyone else.
As a military officer and an earl of a province, Art is well aware of the huge cost of the army going out to fight. Once the war stops, this army of thousands of people will be like a huge gold-swallowing beast, consuming countless money, food and supplies every day.
But reason told him that now was not the best time to continue attacking the city.
Matt was still tightly wrapped in his burqa, and just replied lightly: "Writing is like clearing land for farming. Only by planting food on the land that has been reclaimed to ensure that the family will not go hungry this year can we cultivate more land, harvest more food, and feed more people in the future."
"This, Master, how can fighting be the same as farming? These are completely different things." Ron couldn't understand.
Matt patiently explained: "Okay, let's put it another way. If your father and mother plan to open up forty acres of wasteland in the valley to grow food, but the surplus food in their hands is only enough to last until the next year's food harvest season. Do you think it is better for them to clear the land at once and then plant food, or is it better to open up a small part first and sow the seeds, wait until the next year's harvest, and then continue to cultivate the remaining land?
Ron held the reins with his left hand and held his chin with his right hand, and began to fall into deep thought.
"The cultivation of forty acres of land will only last until the second year. According to the cultivation speed of the villagers in the valley, they will at least need to cultivate..." Ron's fingers kept expanding and contracting with the numbers in his mouth, calculating a difficult problem that was beyond his ability.
"Oh, God," Ron opened his eyes wide, "Master, do I understand what you mean? If my father and mother want to reclaim so much wasteland at once, it will take at least more than two years. But the family's surplus food will definitely not be able to last for so long,
In this way, my father and mother They will starve because they have not made plans for the future -"
Matt smiled and nodded, and said: "As long as you understand, you have not been with me in vain for so many years."
"Hehehehe-..." Ron rubbed his head and giggled, the scars on his face made him look a little stupid.
"My lord, what should we do next?
Angus on the side couldn't help but interject after hearing this.
“Sergeant Major, isn’t the purpose of our trip south this time to solve the next problem?” Art turned to Angus and said to the side.
"Sir, what do you mean-"
"Sergeant, why are you talking like a woman now, hesitating and not happy at all."
Art has already seen through the little thoughts of the high-ranking officers headed by Angus and Odo. So he pretended to be serious and asked: "Don't think I don't understand. On the surface, you and Odo agreed to suspend the attack on Sauronburg, but in your hearts you want to capture Sauronburg more than anyone else! If I hadn't said it before, I'm afraid you would have already fought against the defenders of Sauronburg!"
“Sir, you have wrongly blamed me and Brother Odo. As long as it is an order given by you, my lord, Brother Odo and I will absolutely obey!” Angus said seriously.
"Stop flattering me, do you think I don't know what you are doing behind my back?" Art asked, looking at Angus, whose face was burned red by strong alcohol.
"Sir, I, we——" Angus was speechless for a moment.
"Okay, you don't want to speak, then let me ask you, what did you call the task force leader Stanley over early the morning before yesterday? I remember that he had just returned from the direction of Solenburg. And at noon the day before yesterday, a squadron The cavalrymen disappeared en masse, and even Jafar, the deputy commander of the cavalry company, was nowhere to be seen. It was not until the evening that soldiers saw them carrying the heads of several Lombards back to the military camp.
Matt excitedly raised his left index finger and planned to continue speaking, but was suddenly grabbed by Angus and slowly put it down.
"What, what did the sergeant major say?"
Looking at Art's eagle-like eyes staring closely at him, Angus felt that he had no secrets in front of him.
But there is one thing, Angus understands Ye Te better than anyone else. Ye Te will let his subordinates do anything that is beneficial to themselves and the legion. As long as it is profitable, they will not care about the so-called chivalry and moral restraints in the eyes of the world.
As the deputy commander of the Welsh Army, Angus and Odo also learned the essence from Yete, and always wanted to get some benefits from the enemy.
Hence, Angus learned from Stanley about the defensive arrangements outside Sauronburg, and discussed with Odo to send a cavalry squadron to raid and test the reaction of the Lombards, so as to provide valuable information for the subsequent attack on Sauronburg.
The two of them thought that the matter was airtight, but they never thought that it would not escape Art's eyes.
Angus no longer concealed anything after seeing this, but told Ye Te the whole story one by one.
——My lord, this is what happened. Although the Lombards have deployed a large number of open sentries and hidden stakes outside Sorlon Castle, in my opinion, they are just scapegoats sent by the city's defenders. So after a few rounds outside the city, the guys from the cavalry squadron brought back a few Lombard heads. "
Att listened quietly to Angus's story without saying a word.
"By the way, my lord, according to a captured Lombard soldier, although there are more than 2,000 defenders in the city, most of them are strong men improvised by lords from various places. The only ones with any fighting ability are the three to four hundred men sent by the Lombard court." Angus's tone was full of contempt for the Lombards.
But Art immediately poured cold water on him.
"Sergeant Major, if you have known about every siege of Sauron Castle, you will know that no one has ever attacked Sauron Castle from the front. Even if there are only three to four hundred elites of the Lombard Palace in the city, I dare not say that we can definitely win it."
"This~" Angus froze in place after hearing this. He knew full well that Art wasn't joking.
"Sir, wait for me!" Angus galloped after him.
Late at night, the group finally arrived at the market town. After enjoying a meal at a tavern in the market town, the guard told Art that the commander stationed in the market town had gone out on inspection early in the morning the previous day and might not return until two days later.
Hence, Art called the secretary in charge of government affairs here to his residence. I learned in detail about the general situation of Ichiban market town and put forward some opinions on the problems existing in the occupied area. By the time the clerk left, it was already early morning. Art dragged his exhausted body and fell asleep. After a while, thunderous snoring could be heard.
In the early morning of the second day, after Art had a simple breakfast, he patrolled around the market town under the escort of the guards. A detailed understanding of the operation of free markets and shops and warehouses in the city was made. The situation here is similar to that in other places. The war has disrupted commerce and blocked the flow of goods.
At noon, Yat, accompanied by the secretary, checked the market town population, tax types, tax revenue and other matters related to direct benefits recorded in the document. In addition, the defense of the market town and the surrounding rivers, forests, and land conditions are also issues that Yat is concerned about.
In the afternoon, Yat and others left the market town and headed south to Rawati.
At this time, the citizens who once again defended Lavati's independence and freedom had long forgotten the battle a few days ago and seemed not to be affected at all.
But the wealthy businessmen and nobles who single-handedly created Lavati's prosperity, freedom and independence were not at all relaxed. A city autonomy conference led by Lavati merchants and other autonomous cities in Lombardy, with the participation of other autonomous cities in Lombardy, is being prepared to oppose the tyrannical rule of the Duke of Lombardy...—
The luxurious mansion where the commercial guild is located in Lavati City has a hall large enough to accommodate hundreds of people filled with tables and chairs. The busy servants were cleaning the furnishings, tables and chairs in the hall, and all the dusty candlesticks on the walls were replaced with brand new ones.
The smooth and new wooden chair at the top is next to a large wooden-colored leather chair. The heraldic flag of the Kanlavati Merchant Guild hangs on the stone wall behind the chair. The tables and chairs in the house are arranged on both sides with the line connecting the main entrance and the heraldic flag as the center line.
This urban autonomy meeting was naturally proposed by the host Rawati. From the moment the Duke of Lombardy led his cavalry to sack Lavati, the seeds of hatred were buried in the hearts of the merchants and nobles who established this autonomous city.
Since the war between the Count of Burgundy and the Principality of Lombardy, the Lombard army has been retreating steadily, losing large areas of territory and huge amounts of money. In order to reverse the unfavorable situation, the Lombardy court expanded its army and increased taxes in various places, causing complaints from all over the principality. However, to everyone's expectation, Burgundy and Provence were unstoppable and successively annexed large areas of territory on the northern and western borders of Lombardy. The Lombard court sent thousands of troops many times to try to reverse the unfavorable situation, but they were all repulsed.
The news spread back to the capital Milan and surrounding cities, and people were panicked for a while. After the Duke of Lombardy returned to Milan, he intensified his efforts. In addition to plundering the money of the people in the castles, manors, counties and cities under his rule to recruit troops, he also unilaterally tore up the agreements previously signed with other autonomous cities in the territory, sent people to break into the autonomous cities, looted the wealthy merchants in the city for various reasons, and massacred many business guild leaders who were believed to be colluding with the northern army. For a time, people in various autonomous cities were panicked.
After learning the news, Lavati seized the opportunity and quickly sent people secretly to other autonomous cities, secretly inviting important figures from various commercial guilds to come to Lavati to discuss the current situation facing the autonomous cities in Lombardy. Trying to unite other autonomous cities to resist the Lombard court and defend the urban independence and freedom they have always pursued.
The autonomous cities, which had already been suffering for a long time, immediately responded to Lavati's call and decided to come to participate in the city autonomy meeting in an attempt to overthrow the rule of the Lombard court.