The plummeting price of tulips is undoubtedly a sudden and huge disaster.
Because when tulips just started to rise, he always maintained a certain degree of rationality and did not take action easily.
This should be a good thing, but unfortunately...
In the end, under the persuasion of his noble friends and the social atmosphere of the entire Kingdom of Basel, he became a speculator to participate in this tulip feast.
In any era, entering the market at a high position is very dangerous.
Because Viscount Javier missed the best opportunity to enter, at this time, he felt more anxious than any nobleman in the Kingdom of Basel.
The current market price of tulips has dropped to around Viscount Javier’s cost price!
and……
This price is still plummeting all the way!
Seeing that the attendant he sent out to inquire for information hurried back from outside, Viscount Javier no longer cared about the dignity of the nobles, and asked in a panic at the first moment:
"How's it going? Are the prices on the market still stable now?"
"Still falling!"
The attendant's face looked extremely unhappy, "The current price is nine gold coins and one shilling, which is about to fall below nine gold coins!"
Hearing the words,
Viscount Javier couldn't help but staggered a bit, his whole body trembling.
You know,
Just yesterday morning, the price of tulips was still hovering around nine gold and fifteen shillings.
In just one day,
It has actually dropped more than a dozen silver shillings!
"Don't worry about so much! Sell it quickly! Since the current market price is nine gold coins and one shilling, let's sell it for nine gold coins! As long as it can be sold!"
finally……
Viscount Javier made up his mind.
"But..." The attendant stopped talking.
"What's wrong? If you have anything to say, just say it quickly!" Viscount Javier frowned, with some anger in his brows.
"Although the current market price is nine gold and one shilling, this is only the price listed by other noble gentlemen. No one buys tulip bulbs at this price..."
The attendant answered cautiously.
"What?!!"
"And...it is said that in Basel City, the price of tulips fell below nine gold coins yesterday..."
Hearing this, Viscount Javier felt like the world was spinning, and he suddenly collapsed on the seat behind him.
"What should I do...what should I do..."
…
Viscount Javier is very anxious,
But in fact,
The King of Basel is more anxious than he is!
That's all. In order to hire those mercenary legions, I paid with tulips!
Count the time,
Now at this time,
At Mann's Fortress, the battle has just begun.
If news of the plummeting tulips reaches the northern front...
Then this war launched by the Kingdom of Basel has become a complete joke!
actually,
If it were before,
Losing the war would at best damage the dignity of the Kingdom of Basel, and at worst it would mean admitting defeat.
But the problem is...
this time,
In the northern part of the Kingdom of Basel, there are more than 4,000 mercenaries who have not received their due wages!
Those are more than 4,000 battle-hardened soldiers!
He is a warrior who has truly seen blood!
If they are full of anger in their hearts, fight back, and come to ask for money from me...
Not to mention that this war will end in vain,
Even the entire Kingdom of Basel will be plunged into lasting turmoil!
so……
From the first day when the price of tulips began to plummet, the sky above the Royal Palace in Basel was shrouded in an invisible cloud.
what to do?
How can we avert the coming disaster?
at this moment,
King Clark Poulsen of Basel felt extremely remorseful and questioned himself again and again as to why he made the decision to attack the Principality of Idar.
but……
After all, the cruel facts will not start again because of his regret, so the King of Basel had to make his own decision with tears in his eyes - rescue the market!
The King of Basel knew very well,
The price of tulips must not plummet at this most critical time!
and,
There was always a glimmer of hope in his heart.
Although it is unknown who is selling such a huge number of tulip bulbs, His Majesty the King stubbornly believes that these bulbs will eventually be exhausted!
He thought wishfully...
As long as we survive this trough, the price of tulips can return to high levels!
As long as it survives this trough, the Kingdom of Basel will definitely annex its northern neighbor and become a powerful force that cannot be ignored on this continent!
so……
The price of tulips was actually stabilized by him!
Although the army of the Kingdom of Basel has long been weak, the foundation and accumulation of the Basel royal family over the past century cannot be matched by any force.
As a large number of gold coins from the Basel royal family entered the market, the price of tulips... finally stabilized when it dropped to eight gold coins.
However……
Just when all the Basel nobles thought that the price decline had stopped, they began to join the royal family in eating large amounts of tulip bulbs, causing the price of tulip bulbs to show an upward trend again...
The Idar people finally gave up their long-held plan to sell tulip bulbs in a controlled manner.
Almost overnight,
Countless tulip bulbs are like a tsunami, sweeping through the markets of the Kingdom of Basel.
No matter how much the Basel royal family and the nobles close to the royal family try to acquire them, the number of tulips on the market is still declining at all.
then……
Falling all the way!
Swept up by so many tulip bulbs, even wealthy people like the royal family of Basel could not withstand such crazy selling.
seven gold coins,
six gold coins,
Three more gold coins...
The price of tulip bulbs has completely collapsed, and the entire Kingdom of Basel is wailing!
Everyone is selling their own tulip bulbs,
But……
No matter how low the prices given by the nobles were, they could never keep up with the plummeting price of tulips.
It’s over!
All is lost!
Seeing the tulip prices plummeting like a waterfall, the King of Basel felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
The gold coins that were smashed out earlier seemed like a splash in the vast ocean, and were of no use at all.
In the madness of the tulip bubble,
Almost all the coins in their hands have been exchanged for worthless tulip bulbs.
And now...
Looking at the tulips piled up in the warehouse, King Basel finally let out the same wail as the other nobles.
at this moment,
No one cares about the war taking place in the northern part of the Kingdom of Basel.
because……
Anyone can see,
Just a week ago, the Kingdom of Basel, which still had the ambition to conquer mountains and rivers, was completely finished...
…
Mann's Fortress.
Idar Army Lieutenant General Sam Layton stroked the battlements of Mann Fortress with his hands and looked at the Basel army stationed not far away.
there,
The flag of the Kingdom of Basel is still fluttering in the wind, flying high.
But in contrast... the camp of the Basel army has long since become dilapidated, and it no longer retains the arrogance and complacency it had when it first arrived.
The army from the Kingdom of Basel arrived at Mann Fortress three days ago.
Then……
They were slapped hard by reality.
In terms of numbers alone, the Basel army is indeed much larger than the garrison of Mann Fortress.
But the problem is...
The Idar army guarding the Mann Fortress never had any intention of running outside the fortress and engaging in close combat with the Basel army.
The only thing the Basel army could do was to use improvised siege ladders to launch a stormy attack on the Mann Fortress regardless of casualties.
There is one thing to say,
The mercenary legions from all over the continent are indeed brave.
Those warriors who have been tempered by the flames of war are very skillful even when faced with the difficult task of siege.
However……
After all, the Idar army was not the army they had encountered before.
This is not only a strong steel army tempered by unyielding consciousness, but also the only professional army with weapons and equipment that spans the ages!
The melee weapons equipped by Idar's army are not short swords, but the well-polished Idar standard sabers; the long-range weapons equipped by Idar's army are not javelins and bows, but magic whale harpoons and magic turrets specially used for defense.
.
so……
Of course the troops attacking the city were miserable.
In this era of extremely backward cultural beliefs, a scene like thunder coming from the sky is enough to more than double the deterrent power of the magic cannon.
and……
The bombardment of magic cannons never differentiates between nobles and serfs, nor between mercenaries and private soldiers.
Regarding this point, Bruno, who is the Duke of Idar, has already made an explanation - under fire, all living beings are equal.
As the magic cannonballs symbolizing justice and peace fell into the Basel army, although the aggressive Basel army would not disperse in a hurry, it could easily thwart its offensive momentum.
therefore……
Except on the first day of the war,
Major mercenary groups, noble private soldiers, and royal guards directly belonging to the Basel royal family rushed forward...
In the next few days, the siege soldiers who took to the battlefield were all forcibly recruited civilians and serfs.
At the beginning,
The general of the Basel army, Wilkin Pittis, also hoped to use these despicable people to consume the ammunition of the Idar people.
But when he discovered,
After the Idar people's artillery fire seemed endless, even civilians and serfs were no longer easily sent to the battlefield.
after all……
If the ammunition of Idar's army is endless,
So the only effect that letting these cannon fodders die is to continuously damage and consume the low morale of the Basel army, and to continuously reduce the prestige of Basel Marshal Virgin Pettis.
The prestige and command ability of the generals who command the army are a common problem in wars in this era.
A large number of noble private armies belonging to different nobles and led by different knights join forces together, and it is difficult to weigh the interests of all parties.
What's more, this time, there are not only private armies belonging to the nobles, royal guards belonging to the royal family, but also mercenary legions from all over the continent...
so,
The only thing that Wilkin Pittis could do was to send a messenger quickly to request the King of Basel's decision.
no way,
The mission of "conquering Mann's Fortress" is really beyond the scope!
Even those mercenary legions who have experienced hundreds of battles have never seen such a method of fighting that is similar to artillery fire.
Anyway, a sneak attack is impossible, so it would be better to go back and ask the King of Basel if he wants to fight again.
But how did Virgin Pittis know?
Not only is he waiting for news from the King of Basel,
Even the Idar army on the other side was waiting for news from the King of Basel.
The reason is simple,
The Principality of Idar, which has long-distance communication tools, has already learned about the bursting of the tulip bubble through the Idar agents lurking in the Kingdom of Basel.
What's even more shocking is that the Idar people not only burst the bubble, but also terminated the food supply to the Kingdom of Basel at the same time!
then,
Before waiting for the latest order from the King of Basel, the Basel army had already heard the bad news about the plummeting price of tulips and the interruption of food supply.
Then……
Mercenary groups from all over the continent became Spartans.
You know,
The Kingdom of Basel paid them... in tulip bulbs!
It's the tulip bulb that was selling for more than ten gold coins a week ago, but now, it has dropped to one or two gold coins!
And then...
There was no need for the Idars to attack, and the Basel army's camp would naturally be in chaos.
And those Idar soldiers who originally planned to rely on this war to make achievements, were left leaning on the city wall, holding up binoculars to watch the drama.
"Stop watching the show!"
finally……
When the heavily armed Sam Layton came to the city again, he brought the long-awaited good news to the soldiers guarding here:
"Your Majesty the Duke has an order! Anyone who dares to invade the Principality of Idar will be punished!"
Yes,
After these days of gathering, except for the necessary troops stationed on the border to defend against foreign enemies, nearly 20,000 Idar soldiers have gathered in Mann Fortress!
Why does Bruno provide food and grass to the people of Basel?
Rather than bursting the bubble directly and plunging the Kingdom of Basel into civil strife and turmoil?
In fact, many senior officials of the Principality of Idar have already raised questions about this issue.
The reason why Bruno wants to do this is of course not just to give the Principality of Idar a more reasonable reason to declare war.
after all……
As a time traveler, Bruno didn't attach much importance to the dignity of the so-called nobles.
long ago,
The Idar Ministry of Defense and the Idar Central Intelligence Agency have made many assumptions and judgments about the plan to annex the Kingdom of Basel.
It's great to pop the bubble directly,
But in this way,
Those Basel armies scattered throughout the Kingdom of Basel will inevitably need to be defeated or surrendered one by one.
If it were before,
Such a plan is not a bad idea.
But when the external threat from the Church of Light still exists, it is not the best choice.
so……
Bruno finally adopted the suggestion put forward by Defense Minister Sara Coren, waiting for the Basel army to gather, and then... kill them all in one fell swoop!
In this way,
Whether it is to reorganize these troops or put them in prison, it is undoubtedly much simpler and more in line with the long-term interests of the Principality of Idar.
And as Sam Layton's words echoed over Mann's Fortress...
The soldiers of Idar, who had been waiting for success for a long time and were eager to try, finally showed their excited expressions.
Indeed, war kills people.
But……
In the Principality of Idar, where the standards for nobles to be promoted to titles are becoming increasingly strict and standard, military merit is the most convenient way to obtain a title!
Looking at these elite Idar soldiers in front of him, Sam Layton was equally excited.
This is not entirely due to the spirit of the soldiers who dare to fight and fight.
But because...
Bruno once said to him:
"Basel's war of conquest will be the last traditional war of the Principality of Idar!"
"After this, Idar's army will enter the era of tanks and artillery!"