Aranza spread out the magic paper on the table, and held the beautifully crafted magic pen in his fingers and turned it around twice. He did not rush to write a reply, but leaned his rarely relaxed body on the large sofa, but
The texture of the sofa seemed not soft enough, and Aranza felt an uncomfortable squeeze on his back. So, after moving awkwardly on the sofa a few times, he stood up again.
He opened the curtains of the floor-to-ceiling windows on one side of the room, and what he saw was a quiet autumn night scenery - most of the farthest woods were hidden in the darkness, and the vague outlines outlined the trunks of each old tree, and further on
The road back is a tired one after a long day, with only a few street lights dimly lit.
Then, his sight slowly retracted, and finally fell on the Alice Fortress in the middle of the darkness that night. You could see a few lights that had not been extinguished in the Alice Fortress. A large number of manpower was deployed to Noland City and Sophie City to stay behind.
There are only a few dozen servants in Alice Fortress. They turn Alice Fortress into a simple castle. While taking care of Alice Fortress, they live a quiet life. The faces they meet every day are familiar.
The relationship between them became familiar, and they occasionally sat together to chat, and occasionally gathered together to drink. It turned out to be an ordinary and peaceful small circle.
At this time, there were several rooms with magic lights on. Through the blurred windows, Aranza could see a few guards gathering together for a drink, and the other maids chatting in the dormitory.
Aranza also longed for such a carefree life. However, after every step he took, he always found that he was getting busier and busier, like a planned machine that could only run tirelessly. Fortunately,
, some of the people who follow him have already lived a life without seeing the smoke of gunpowder, even if it may be short-lived.
A gust of wind carried the feeling of autumn and slapped Aranza on his face. He closed his eyes and smelled the smell in the wind. The smell of autumn was already ripe. I am afraid that winter will come soon. A smile suddenly appeared on his lips.
, and at the same time, he reached out and touched his chin, and found that a lot of fine stubble had grown here before he knew it.
They made Aranza's young face look more mature.
Until then, he turned around and walked back to his desk, sat down on the large and uncomfortable sofa, then picked up the magic pen and wrote a reply on the magic paper with the beautiful handwriting that every noble should learn: The plan remains unchanged.
, strictly implemented.
This letter was for Old Follett. Aranza took out another piece of magic paper and wrote the same content. This letter was for Kim Gates. The difference was that Aranza added a line of small words at the end: Winter will come.
Come, please be prepared.
It didn't take much time to write a few lines. Aranza reached out and pulled the rope on the side of the table. The bell on the other side of the rope immediately rang loudly. Before he could, the servant who heard the bell hurried through the silent corridor and carefully opened the office.
The door appeared in front of Aranza.
"Well, send these two letters and use the micro-magic teleportation array."
Aranza handed the sealed envelope to the servant, and said deliberately: "Make no mistake, this letter is for old Follett, and this letter is for that fat guy Kim Gates."
"I will take care of it immediately."
The servant firmly remembered Aranza's order and hurriedly retreated.
Not long after, the sleeping old Follett and Kim Gates were boldly awakened by their subordinates, and each received the reply sent by Aranza.
Old Follett was in front of the desk in his bedroom, with the help of the weak magic light, squinting his sore sleepy eyes, and his eyes fell on the only line of words on the magic paper. This line of words instantly made him sleepy, but it cost him nearly
It took half an hour to chew it to the point where it could no longer be chewed.
Old Follett tremblingly put down the magic paper with still fresh handwriting. At this time, he was like a dying old man who suddenly received an unexpected letter. After a long silence, he sighed in a tired voice: "Your Highness...Okay...
Big appetite…”
On the other side, Kim Gates also struggled to hold up his fat body, but refused to leave the warm bed. He leaned on the bed and read Alanzatian's reply with notes. His eyes read the last line, and the fat man immediately read it.
His whole body was shaking, and he couldn't care less about resting. He awkwardly rolled out of the bed. The woman on the bed also cleverly took Kim Gates' clothes and put them on him one by one.
He rubbed his fat face vigorously with his hands to refresh himself, but he no longer had the patience to wait for the woman to put on the last extra vest for him, and quickly left the bedroom and went straight to the office at the end of the corridor. After a while,
Officials of all sizes under King Gates were alerted, and almost everyone received their orders. Uneasy, the subordinates crowded into carriages and rushed towards the major cities close to Sophie City.
go.
The task they were given was to bring the conscription order to the designated city and supervise the local nobles to complete the conscription work. This should have been an enjoyable job, but the officials on the carriage were either constantly wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads, or racking their brains to think of countermeasures.
, no one thought that after arriving at their respective destinations, they would be entertained by the local nobles and enjoy the fun of local beauties.
Kim Gates did not equip any official with an escort, not even one or two bodyguards.
Perhaps in the eyes of these officials, the problem is that they do not have some force to intimidate the local nobles and make them look shabby, which makes the supervision task much more difficult. In the view of Kim Gates, among the officials sent out,
At least half of them will become dead soon, so there is no need to equip a guard. Moreover, there are not enough Norland soldiers left in Sophie City for Kim Gates to command, and it is impossible to waste them on these officials.
What's more, if the visible threat is too great, it will be difficult for nobles of all sizes to be willing to resist. This is not the result that Kim Gates wants, nor is it the result that Aranza expects.
Both Old Follett and Kim Gates understood what Aranza meant, but the fat man understood it more clearly after receiving one more sentence of reminder.
The conscription was just an excuse. Aranza's real purpose was to get those nobles who were unwilling to break their muscles to resist, and only after they resisted did conscription become necessary.
This is a small trap, and its effect is to put the Noland Army on the positive side of morality.
Although the Kayi State is not considered barren, the requirement to recruit at least two thousand soldiers in each city is still very excessive in the eyes of various local nobles. This task is not difficult to complete, and it is not easy to say that it is easy to recruit all the strong men in the city.
Just capture them and recharge them, but not to mention how the local nobles will be criticized if you do this, it will also be a big blow to the economy of the city that has lost its main productivity.
Of course, Aranza also gave another solution, which was to use part of the private army of local nobles to make up for the difference in conscription. This decision can be described as extremely cruel. If the nobles are unwilling to sacrifice their private armies, the city will be destroyed.
If the strong men in the village are captured and replenished, then because of this decision that will be made public, the residents' accusations will still be directed at the local nobles, rather than the Norland Army who issued the conscription order and recruitment requirements. Because of these shameful locals
The nobles actually sacrificed people to protect their own interests.
In this way, even if they complete their mission, the soldiers of the Norland Army will stand on the moral high ground, and with the cheers of the local residents, point their troops at these nobles who insist on their own interests.
But the deployment of private armies is definitely what the nobles least want. For a noble, the private army is the basic guarantee to protect their interests and power, and no one else is allowed to get involved. Therefore, while denying the idea of forcibly seizing young men,
After thinking about it, the local nobles in major cities encountered new choices, resist or obey.
Hell, they just finished their allegiance to Duke Kim Gates!
That sacred oath was sworn out under the witness of the gods and surrounded by countless civilians.
Resistance means that they push themselves to the back of morality and provide a just reason for the Norland Army's crusade. However, by obeying, the dilemma the nobles will encounter is that the soldiers they can recruit and part of the private army will
Handed over to the Norland Army, the nobles will be faced with the situation of having no available troops in a short time. At that time, Kim Gates may just bribe a bandit group on a certain hilltop and clean them up.
At this time, the nobles will find with fear and consternation, just like old Follett lamented in the middle of the night - His Royal Highness the Prince standing behind Kim Gates really has a big appetite.
What he wants is not the hypocritical oath of allegiance from the nobles, but complete rule!
In other words, it is dictatorship.
Aranza's purpose is actually very simple. He wants to make Kay State completely in the palm of his hand, so that he can feel at ease. He wants no one in this land to hinder his progress; he wants in these cities,
No one can shield his eyes; no one among the travelers and the inhabitants dares to harm his companions.
That's all.
Of course, even a dying rabbit will resist with its sharp teeth that don't match the shape of its mouth.
When the inspectors sent by Kim Gates and Old Follett arrived in their respective target cities, conveyed the recruitment requirements, and organized recruitment speeches without authorization, saying all the things that should only be known to the people and were unfavorable to the local nobles, secretly,
Nobles from all over the country have begun to whisper among themselves.
Enkara City, the former capital of Kaiy Island, the nobles here undoubtedly have the most say. At least in this special period, their words will be listened to by the nobles of other cities.
The son of the city lord, Pierce Redfield, had a gloomy face. He walked quickly through the corridor. His many years of military career gave him amazing strength. The unintentional speed he picked up during his steps actually made the officials behind him panting all the way.
He couldn't even catch up with his footsteps.
"Father!"
Pierce, who was angry, had no intention of being polite, and the heavy door panel was violently pushed open by him, hitting the wall on one side with a harsh impact.
He immediately saw the old city owner standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows enjoying the afternoon sunshine, but he did not feel uncomfortable with his lazy posture. Pierce walked to the old city owner in a few steps, but reversed his previous posture and lowered his voice and said: "
That fat, self-righteous Duke actually stepped on our heads! Father, as long as you give the order, I will lead the army to Sophie City and bring that fat man’s head back to you!”
However, the old city lord was unmoved. He turned his head and glanced at his impulsive child gently, and said: "Control your anger, Pierce. Moreover, Duke Kim Gates is just a puppet. You must
See clearly who our enemy is, and then unleash your anger."