In December 1445 of the Holy Calendar, the Castel Territory received its first snowfall after the beginning of winter.
As a coastal county, it doesn't snow every year in Castres, but this year's climate is obviously colder than in previous years. Snowflakes fall from the sky, dyeing the earth a little white.
Five days have passed since Charlotte woke up, and the rebels of the Leglis family are still stationed in the upper reaches of the Dorne River. They seem to have forgotten to continue the attack, with no intention of crossing the river, and even built a long-term camp on the north bank.
Outside North Port, the aristocratic troops summoned from all over the country have been prepared, and large and small tents have been set up along the side of the Castel Bridge, with no end as far as the eye can see.
Along the coastline, shipping is busier than usual. There are cargo ships setting sail at the North Port pier almost every moment, and at the same time, new cargo ships are reefing their sails and entering the harbor.
Strategic materials transported from various places gathered in Beigang, supporting the operation of tens of thousands of troops. The daily consumption of military rations alone was an astronomical figure.
The tense atmosphere can be felt almost everywhere in Beigang, and the pace of approaching war is so compelling.
Especially when more and more warships enter the port, military sailing ships from various noble families line up in a row, and the row of dark stone cannons on the side of the ship looks particularly oppressive.
For a time, the rumor that the young earl of Castres appeared at the meeting of nobles and summoned the nobles to prepare to go north to meet the rebels also spread in Beigang.
Almost all the citizens of Beigang focused their attention on the Earl's Mansion in the center of the city.
In the tavern, while drinking, every drinker was making bets on when the young count planned to leave the city to quell the rebellion, and how many troops he would summon.
Some said 20,000, some said 30,000, and some even said that a full 50,000 were gathered.
However, no matter how people discuss it, one thing seems to have already reached a consensus in Beigang.
That is, although this rebellion in the north is huge, it will eventually be extinguished by the little count.
The reason why people make this judgment is also very simple.
First, Castor mobilized almost all the nobles in the entire territory.
Even though the Leglis family is rich in martial virtue, their absolute strength is definitely at a disadvantage in the face of a coalition composed of the private armies of more than three-quarters of the noble families and the elite troops of the Castel family.
Perhaps the nobles could not work together before, and it was difficult for the scattered Northland to resist the army summoned by the Leglis family.
But now that the young earl has personally appeared in the noble council, the nobles have also found their backbone.
A territory of scattered sand and a territory of concentrated strength are two different things.
In the eyes of many people, the Legris family rebels stationed in the upper reaches of the Dorne River have missed the best opportunity to capture North Port.
On the other hand, as time goes by, more and more cargo fleets travel to the Tulip Counties.
Even the dullest businessman could smell something different, that is, the garrison of the Boulder family stationed in the Tulip Earldom seemed to have begun preparations for war.
Thinking of the relationship between the Bold family and the Castel family, many people think that the Duchess of Bold, who declared neutrality, may not really remain neutral.
Especially as time went by, there were also rumors coming from the direction of Tulip Earldom.
It seems that a drunken officer spilled the beans in the tavern, saying that the Principality of Boulder was also ready to join the war.
After this news came out, many people believed that this was probably some kind of agreement reached with the Boulder family after the young Earl of Castel appeared.
The Boulder family, a member of the Castel clan, will no longer remain neutral, but will join the war as a lord to help Castel suppress the rebellion.
Of course, in addition to these arguments, there is also another completely opposite statement circulating among other nobles in Beigang.
That is, there are still many people who believe that the Bold family is not trying to suppress the rebellion, but is targeting the Castel family.
They are with the rebels.
There are many people who believe in this conspiracy theory.
The evidence they gave was that Count Castells had suffered an ambush on his way to the territory.
This ambush was ordered by the third prince Philip, the husband of the Duchess of Bold.
These two statements were diametrically opposed and led to fierce quarrels in taverns and various aristocratic salons.
It was not until two days later that a nobleman who claimed to be the envoy of the Boulder family came by boat from the Earl of Tulip and asked to see the young Earl of Castells.
"Your Majesty, the Duke is very happy to know that you are safe and sound. He sent me to ask you if you need the support of the Boulder family."
"As the backing of Castel, the Boulder family is willing to help you put down the rebellion as soon as possible and restore order in the North!"
In the reception hall, the messenger smiled and said respectfully.
Charlotte looked at the envoy of the Boulder family expressionlessly.
After a moment, he said calmly:
"Oh? But didn't Bold already declare that he would remain neutral in this matter?"
"Your Majesty, the Duke did not know about your safety at that time. There were rumors everywhere in the south that something might happen to you. Your Majesty, the Duke, declared neutrality for the sake of stability, but in fact... the Tulip Earldom has been preparing for war."
The messenger replied respectfully.
As he spoke, he looked at Charlotte with hope:
"My Lord Earl, what do you think?"
Charlotte looked at him deeply, smiled slightly, and said:
"Your Majesty the Envoy, thank you Bold for your support, but... this matter is very big, and many nobles in Castel may not want to see higher-level lords intervene. I need to discuss it with the nobles, and then I will give you some advice.
You reply."
After sending the envoy away temporarily, the smile on Charlotte's face completely disappeared.
She came to the window, looked at the densely packed and spectacular military camps on the shore, and asked softly:
"What do the nobles in the territory think of the envoy from Boulder? I heard that he seemed to have already publicized his intention before meeting me."
Behind Charlotte, Sebastian in a tuxedo said respectfully:
"Master, there are different opinions. Those who know the truth about the ambush in the Violet Forest do not believe them. However, the vast majority of the nobles still believe that the Boulder family is here to support Castel and assist us in countering the rebellion."
"Assist us to counter the rebellion? Hey, Sebastian, what do you think?"
Charlotte sneered.
Sebastian pondered for a moment and said:
"The third prince once wanted to kill you. He covets Castel so much, so he must not really have good intentions. Although no definite evidence has been found, I also think that the members of the Leglis family
The rebellion probably also had Bold's support."
"Yeah, they definitely don't have good intentions."
Charlotte sighed.
"Master, do we want to take a preemptive strike? Or should we continue to investigate Bold's movements?"
Sebastian asked.
Charlotte pondered for a moment and said:
"Continue the investigation and don't act rashly for the time being. If Bold really wants to target us, Earl Tulip's garrison and rebels alone may not be enough. They will definitely have other actions."
Sebastian looked hesitant:
"But... if they really want to attack us, wouldn't the longer they delay, the more prepared they will be?"
"Don't worry, delaying is also good for us. After all... we are not without backup."
Charlotte said.
"Backup?"
Sebastian's heart skipped a beat.
He followed Charlotte's gaze and saw Charlotte's eyes looking through the window toward the sea outside.
That is the direction of Falling Star Kingdom.
Sebastian's expression moved slightly, thoughtfully.
At this moment, there was a sudden noise outside the hall, which attracted the attention of the two people.
Charlotte frowned slightly, turned and looked out the door:
"Sebas, go see what's going on outside."
"As commanded."
Sebastian bowed and left.
After a while, he left and came back with a strange expression:
"Master, something happened to Bold's envoy. They were kidnapped outside the Earl's Mansion."
"Huh? Got kidnapped?"
Charlotte was stunned.
Sebastian's expression became even weirder:
"Yes, it was the people of the Romain-Fol family who did it. They are now outside the Earl's Palace asking to see you."
I didn’t have time to finish writing, so I posted it twenty minutes late!