The dark clouds of war have appeared over Hanma City, but the city is still drinking wine and dancing.
The first muffled thunder in the dark clouds came from three people who looked like beggars.
A middle-aged couple came to the city gate with a teenage child. The tattered and dirty clothes and the dirt on their faces and hands were not freshly wiped off.
They looked very tired, and the guards at the city gate tried to stop them, but the middle-aged man took out a letter from his arms, and the three of them were quickly sent to Duke Wesson's mansion.
Frederick went to Shupaiya's home today to attend a cocktail party held by him. Shupaiya had just introduced Bockner, who runs the shipyard, to him. Before he could introduce other big businessmen, someone came and whispered a few words in his ear.
.
"I know." Frederick's face darkened, making Shupaiya and others feel a little bit in their hearts.
"I have something urgent to leave." His words made everyone present feel uncomfortable, "Please help yourself."
After speaking, Frederick turned around and left without hesitation, leaving a group of people looking at each other.
In the living room, Helmut, who had rushed back on horseback, met his parents and younger brother, and then listened carefully to the latest information brought by his father.
Helmut's family was a down-and-out noble, but he still had the ability to eat, so Helmut's father worked as a low-level military officer in the Kingdom of Dama to make money.
After receiving his son's letter, he initially pretended that nothing had happened, and then the whole family took advantage of the last Sunday in September to go to church and ran away quietly. The money and other things at home remained untouched and were in the cupboard.
There are also new sausages and olive oil bought the day before.
They brought news that shocked Frederick and Helmut. Dammar had assembled an army of 60,000 men.
Although more than half of the army of the Kingdom of Danma are conscripted farmers, the main force is the 10,000 standing army formed by each lord and the 15,000 mercenaries hired from the Dark Land.
The regular army here in Hanma City includes 3,500 from the cooperative organizations in the upper reaches and 2,000 from the city defense force in Hanma City. Each shipowner can gather several thousand soldiers on board and more than 10,000 sailors with combat effectiveness.
"There are two more pieces of news." Frederick relayed the latest information to the Archduke of Mainz and Archduke Byrne. "The first one is that there are spies from the Kingdom of Dama in the city, and they will try to seize Chengmen. The second one is that Pia
The Kingdom of St will simultaneously surround the West City and distract our combat power."
After hearing this, the Grand Duke of Mainz raised his right hand and wanted to hit the armrest of the sofa to vent his anger. Frederick hurriedly said: "Don't smash it! This is an antique sofa that is two hundred years old!!"
The Archduke of Mainz glared at the Archduke Byrne, put his hand gently on his thigh, and still said angrily: "It is impossible for the Kingdom of Damma to gather so many troops without leaking the news in advance, but there is no news in the city. The top officials
Someone must be colluding with the Danma Kingdom!"
Hanma City is a free city like the city of Nuremberg in Weissensee. As long as you pay enough taxes, the government will not care. The mayor, judges, etc. are elected by the citizens. In fact, several big families take turns to take charge.
For these high-level families, it doesn't matter who pays taxes, it just depends on which side pays more.
Obviously, the Kingdom of Danma now gives more.
They, the old gangsters, have experienced a lot of similar things, and they have also made plans in this area. There is no need for conclusive evidence, they can just smell what kind of fox is coming from the other side.
Frederick relied on the power of victory in the Six-Day Defense War and the fact that all the people in Nuremberg who had paid for mercenaries had their homes ransacked, so that their families, men, women, old and young, were physically stripped of their underwear.
He lost this city, but in Hanma City, he had no right to speak.
The same is true for the two Grand Dukes. They are guest troops and cannot integrate into the power system. Even if they kill all the senior officials of Hanma City, it will be useless unless they kill the Elbe River and block it.
"We can only rely on ourselves." Archduke Byrne said in a deep voice, "We can call Earl Delden to discuss it together."
The Archduke of Mainz nodded.
Frederick also agreed. He had some friendship with Mrs. Delden, and he also sent a batch of revolvers, so he could talk to her.
Moreover, Earl Delden is the deputy head of the royal knights. In addition to the vassals, he also brings the knights under his control, and he is also very powerful among the nobles of all parties.
Now, like other nobles who came to garrison the Elbe River, he thought this was a fishing trip and everyone was living and drinking in the city.
Earl Delden arrived soon. He had just woken up and thought Duke Wesson was inviting him to dinner and drinks, but he was shocked by the latest military situation.
"Ask for help." He said in a deep voice, "The four of us jointly wrote a letter to the king and asked him to send a group of royal mages over."
Frederick and the other three had the same idea just now, so they naturally agreed.
Then Count Delden asked: "How do you plan to fight?"
Archduke Byrne pointed at Frederick and said with a smile: "Listen to this kid's idea. Maybe my son will have a three-day and three-night banquet to celebrate."
Frederick sneered deliberately, and then revealed his plan.
After hearing this, Earl Delden frowned and asked Frederick: "Do you really have a grudge against the two of them?"
Frederick smiled and said nothing.
Grand Duke Byrne said: "Just kidding, don't underestimate us. As long as you act according to the plan, we will have no problem."
Seeing what he said, Earl Delden could only say: "Well, I hope you can hold on."
After the four people discussed some details, they went to work separately. In the next few days, some minor and minor things happened in Hanma City.
The next night, when the Earl of Delden was attending a ball, a knight of the Royal Order had a quarrel with another knight.
Seeing that the two of them were getting more and more noisy and excited, and were about to take action, Count Delden went over to dissuade him, and said: "It seems that you all have some time to spare, so let's do this. I will hold a knight's competition in my defense area in 10 days.
I'll let you two play the first game, okay?"
"Okay, okay!" Frederick immediately answered happily from the side, "I have given out the bonus, the first place is 1,000 florins, the second place is 600 florins, the third and fourth place are 400 and 300 florins.
200 florins for reaching the quarter-finals, 100 florins for the top 16, and no matter which game you win, you get an extra 50 florins!"
There are not many group entertainment activities these days, but the knight competition is very popular, and with generous bonuses, many people are tempted.
For those who are strong, 1,000 florins is a considerable amount of income, and more importantly, the honor of first place.
The winning bonus of 50 florins is also very attractive to those knights with mediocre strength. If you can win two games, it is equivalent to almost a year's income.
The people of Hanma City suddenly discovered that the number of foreign nobles who came to attend cocktail parties and dances on the second day suddenly decreased by more than half. On the third day, all those people fled to Count Delden's defense area, and even many local martial arts masters
Gaoqiang locals also went.
At this time, several things happened. The armies of the Archduke of Mainz and the Archduke of Bain clashed with the locals because they stole chickens and ducks from the village. Although no one was killed, many farmers were beaten into pig heads.
As the lawsuit reached the top, the two justices were urging their men to train in order to achieve good results in the conference, so they impatiently decided to build a winter camp outside Hanma City, and everyone went in to wait for winter to come.
The place is not far from Hanma City, on two hills more than 500 meters outside the gate of Dongcheng.
This matter was discussed among the senior officials of Hanma City for a long time. They thought that including the civilians, there were only more than 3,000 and less than 4,000 people, and they would not be able to build a strong fortress for a while, so they agreed.
Then Frederick came on the stage to burn the earth and wood souls and display his banknote abilities.