Chapter 323 Paying the Ransom
Shortly after Edmund arrived at the front line, Simone received authorization and sent an envoy to Richard's military camp.
After receiving the news that the envoy had entered the camp, Richard immediately received the person.
The place where Richard received the envoy was very casual, just in his military tent.
Richard's military tent was quite large, with a total of four open tents. Inside were not only a war room and a conference room, but also a data room and a reception room. Because a complete sand table was built in the war room, the sand table was a new item invented by Leader Harland and was not suitable for envoys to see. The data room stored a large amount of intelligence documents and was not suitable for receiving outsiders.
The place to meet the envoy was in the reception room, and he was only accompanied by a few personal staff officers and guards.
The envoy was in his thirties, very handsome, and looked polite. He should have received a complete aristocratic education and came from a large aristocratic family.
"Dear Duke Harland, I was entrusted by the commander of Simone's army to express my respect to you on his behalf. Thank you for sending back the body of the commander of Caesar's army. Although we are divided into two camps, your actions still make us I feel respected."
Some time ago, Simone sent someone to shoot a letter to Richard's military camp, hoping that Richard could return Caesar's body and let the Eunice family bury him.
In the unspoken rules of the Dawn Continent, noble demeanor is important. Even the defeated nobles should be given dignity to facilitate redemption after the war.
The Eunice family is a ducal family of the United Kingdom on the East Coast, and Caesar is an important member of the Eunice family. Even if Caesar died in battle, he would be given the most basic treatment. He would not insult the body or cut off the heads of nobles to show off his military exploits.
Generally speaking, those who do this will be regarded as barbarians by the nobles of the Dawn Plane.
Although Richard was a first-generation nobleman who did not pay much attention to noble etiquette and was considered by the nobles to be a barbaric northern Xinjiang native, he was still a civilized person after all. After receiving Simone's letter, he sent someone to purchase a coffin and sent Caesar's body back to Simone's camp.
Richard also wrote a letter, explaining the place where the war dead were buried, and explaining the reasons for burying the bodies. If the United Kingdom of the East Coast is willing, it can send troops to dig out the bodies and take them back to bury them in their hometown.
However, the commanders of the United Kingdom on the East Coast also knew that the stinky corpses would cause a plague and did not act rashly.
On the contrary, it was the corpses of Caesar and other senior officers that Richard kept in order to claim credit. This time, they were all given to the people on the east coast.
After going back and forth, the two sides had an excuse to communicate. This time the envoy came to Richard's military camp and brought a large number of condolence gifts, including more than a dozen pigs, dozens of sheep, and ten jars of wine, enough for the soldiers to eat. A meal.
Richard was noncommittal about the envoy's compliment. He raised his hand and said, "The envoy was sent by the Commander of the Simeone Army. Could it be that he is also a member of the Younis family? I come from northern Xinjiang and I don't like to talk in circles. Commander of the Simone Army sent you. Come on, what's going on?"
"The Duke guessed it right. I am indeed a member of the Eunice family, and my name is Sutton. Since Duke Harland asked about it, of course I won't hide it. The commander of Simone's army sent me here. , Mainly want to discuss the redemption of prisoners."
After hearing this, Richard immediately smiled and said: "It is too early to talk about redeeming prisoners now. The two countries are still at war. The eight thousand soldiers we captured have been trained for many years. Veteran. If I let you redeem the prisoners, we will soon be able to form an elite army. Do you think I look like a confused person?"
Seeing Richard's somewhat joking expression, Sutton's face was filled with confusion. There was no expression of anger at all. He bowed respectfully to Richard and said: "Your Majesty the Duke, you are serious. In the last battle, our East Coast United Kingdom has learned the reputation of the elite soldiers of Northern Xinjiang. Even if the soldiers of the Sixth Army are released, they will not dare to Fighting against the Duke's elite."
After hearing Sutton's flattering praise, Richard carefully weighed the pros and cons, and was not worried about letting the defeated generals like the Sixth Army go back.
Because after the battle, Richard had already issued a transfer order to Northern Xinjiang. Mobilize the 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th infantry brigades to go south to strengthen the military strength of Haaland and maintain the balance of power. After all, there are more and more soldiers under Richard's command. If the number of direct troops is too small, he may be looked down upon and unable to command.
In another twenty days or so, Haaland could arrive at the battlefield with four infantry brigades.
When the new troops of the four infantry brigades arrive, the strength of Haaland's army will be even higher. These four infantry brigades are all old troops that have been in the army for many years. Although the resources invested are not as good as those of the first brigade, their combat effectiveness is far better than that of the tenth brigade. 3. The two newly formed brigades of the 14th are powerful.
In addition, the coalition forces of the four dukes will arrive within ten days. By then, Richard's subordinates will command a field army of nearly 60,000 people.
The combat effectiveness of the Sixth Army of the United Kingdom on the East Coast is just that. Even if it is fully restored, Richard will still be confident of defeating the enemy when reinforcements arrive. Moreover, even if the 8,000 captive soldiers of the Sixth Army were sent back and became prisoners after being defeated, it would be difficult to restore morale and morale in a short period of time.
Richard pondered for a moment and immediately put forward the conditions. "It is not impossible to release the prisoners, but what price are you willing to pay? I am not short of money, population, and food now. Unless you are willing to provide Warcraft horses and enchanted armor, otherwise I will not let them go easily."
Richard Although the conditions are a bit high, in a state of war, trading Warcraft horses and enchanted armor will undoubtedly strengthen the enemy's strength. Simone does not dare to make such a decision easily.
"I have not been authorized to request His Excellency the Duke, but I think we can negotiate. I will persuade the commander of the Simonyi Army to agree."
Richard entertained the envoy for lunch and sent the envoy back to the Simonyi Army Camp.
After Sutton returned to the military camp, he recounted the conversation with Richard and then put forward his own opinions.
"According to my observation, Duke Harland is willing to negotiate. His expression is very calm and firm, as if he is not worried about us at all." After listening to
Sutton's report, Edmund showed an expression of approval.
"I have just received a tip from intelligence personnel. The Kingdom of Grant has formed a coalition of four dukes, and Duke Harland has also mobilized more than 6,000 soldiers from northern Xinjiang. These two troops will be reinforced on the battlefield within a month. With this With nearly 30,000 new troops joining us, our pressure will increase greatly.
The Grant Kingdom has transferred 30,000 people from the north, so we need to mobilize 50,000 people to block the enemy. Seeing that the situation is getting worse, we must reach an agreement with the Grant Kingdom as soon as possible We have a tacit understanding that we cannot continue to increase troops. If the scale of the war is expanded, it will not be a good thing for both sides." Seeing
Edmund's opinion, Simone hesitated for a moment and said: "We have built a large camp in the Hubble Mountains, and we will be there at any time. Threaten the retreat of Steven's Department. Even if we do not plan to continue the attack, Duke Harland will not trust us.
If we choose to retreat, although we can win the trust of the Grant people, we will give up the favorable terrain. Once the Grant Kingdom army invades, We will be passive..."
Edmund interrupted Simeone's words, and the expression on his face told everyone that it was impossible for the higher-ups to accept the retreat and hand over the strategic location to others. "The decision of the noble council is that we cannot withdraw our troops, but we must reach a tacit agreement with the Grant Kingdom not to continue to expand the war. You must grasp the scale of this. You can tell Duke Harland this meaning when talking about redeeming prisoners of war. Ha. The Duke of Rand is the commander-in-chief. As long as he does not plan to expand the war, the battle line will be able to maintain stability."
After hearing the information provided by Edmund, Simeone said with a troubled face: "The Kingdom of Grant has increased its troops. We rely on the two legions. There is no guarantee of holding the camp. I hope the parliament can agree to continue to increase troops and send us a legion of reinforcements."
After Edmund came to the front line, he had already learned the real intelligence on the front line and knew that what Simeone said was right, the northern frontier of the Kingdom of Grant The legion's combat effectiveness indeed exceeds that of our own, and additional troops must be added to the front line to maintain balance.
"We can add another legion. I will explain it to the parliament and mobilize the 19th legion to station in the Dukedom of Hubble. But this is the last reinforcement. We cannot expand the war." Seeing Edmund set the tone,
Sa Dun asked: "Sir Speaker Edmund, Duke Harland has requested to use Warcraft horses and enchanted armor to redeem the prisoners. Can we agree?"
"This is something that your Younis family should consider."
Shortly after the meeting, Edmund returned to Kanas Castle, the capital of the United Kingdom on the east coast.
A few days later, the patriarch of the Younis family, Duke Bolton Younis, came to Simone Camp.
Bolton is just a six-ring magician, and his professional level is not as good as Caesar and Simone, but he is high in the succession. His mother clan and wife clan are not weak and have many supporters, so he can hold the position of clan leader and duke. Sit tight.
After receiving the news that Caesar had been killed and the Sixth Army was annihilated, Bolton was in an unusually bad mood and fell into a long period of insomnia, unable to close his eyes every day.
The Eunice family only controlled two legions. The loss of Caesar and the Sixth Legion was equivalent to losing half of their strength. The aristocrats of the United Kingdom on the east coast are fiercely competitive and have lost half of their strength. The situation of the Younis family has also become precarious. They may lose the title of duke at any time and be replaced by other nobles.
There are a large number of officers in the Sixth Army who are members of the Younis family, who have children and lead people. These people are the core of the Younis family's strength. As long as these grassroots officers are preserved, the army can continue to be organized and expanded.
Richard led the coalition forces to capture 8,000 officers and soldiers of the Sixth Army. Among them, there were more than 1,200 officers, most of whom were squad leaders. There were about 700 advanced warrior students and more than 500 professionals. Officers above mid-level professionals captured fourteen people.
It is these more than 1,200 people that the Younis family wants to redeem.
As for ordinary soldiers, even though they have received a long period of training and are proficient in various weapons and equipment, their actual status is equivalent to cannon fodder. The Younis family is not willing to spend resources to redeem their soldiers.
Bolton is the patriarch of the Younis family, and it is up to Bolton to decide on the redemption. This person's arrival at the Simeone Military Camp means that the redemption negotiations have already reached the person who made the final decision.
After Bolton arrived, the negotiation process progressed rapidly, and the first deal was concluded in just five or six days. Richard gave back fourteen mid-level professionals in exchange for sixty-seven flame horses.
全歼第六军团后，李察缴获了二百三十多匹烈焰马，加上这六十七匹烈焰马，第二魔兽骑兵大队已经扩充到三百骑。
两个骑兵大队加起来，哈兰德领已经编练出九百名魔兽骑兵。
完成了第一笔交易之后，尤尼斯家族不愿意继续交易魔兽战马。
因烈焰马训练不易，尤尼斯家族也仅仅编练了两个魔兽骑兵大队，大约八百名魔兽骑兵，此外家族控制的马场中，还驯养着三百多匹魔兽战马群，正常的来说每年能够扩编的魔兽骑兵不超过五十名。
现在一场战争第六军团魔兽骑兵大队全军覆没，赎回俘虏交出了六十七匹魔兽战马，十年积聚的力量损失在一场战争中。
赎回了最重要的十四名中高级军官后，尤尼斯家族认为，用魔兽战马赎回低阶军官是一件亏本的买卖，只愿意用附魔甲胄换人。
见尤尼斯家族态度坚决，李察只好答应用五百名职业者军官换回了五百件附魔甲胄，这一批附魔甲胄李察准备装备到第二步兵大队中。
剩下的七百基层军官，基本上只能担任小队长，还没有晋升为职业者，赎金的价值自然更低，只能换取一柄附魔武器，这些武器李察一件不留，准备分给四省贵族联军。
毕竟哈兰德领军队吃肉，也要给敌人留一口汤，吃独食容易遭人恨。
赎回了一千二百多骨干，尤尼斯家族不愿意为剩余的六千九百士兵缴纳赎金，这些人全部被李察编练为奴隶士兵，充当哈兰德领军队辅兵。
斩杀凯撒之后，尽管李察送回了凯撒的尸体。但是他身上的甲胄、附魔武器、随身物品都留在了军中。
凯撒身上的附魔甲胄已经严重破损，李察也没有时间去修复，附魔武器奖励给了立功的马丁。随身物品中价值最高的就是一本完整的呼吸法，里面还写了不少凯撒的心得体会。
This breathing method is called the Fire Breathing Method, and its level is higher than the Mad Lion Legion Breathing Method practiced by Richard. It can be directly promoted to the second level of the legend.
This exercise comes from the first-generation Duke of the Eunice family. This first-generation Duke was an ordinary person who was very talented in practicing breathing techniques. He initially practiced only a half-complete Breathing Technique. Through his ingenuity, he created the Fiery Breathing Technique, and relied on the Breathing Technique he created to advance to Legend and reach the second level of Legend.
However, as Duke Eunice became more prosperous, the people he married were all high-ranking nobles, and the Eunice family gradually acquired the knight bloodline. Family members awakened the knight bloodline and mainly practiced the knight bloodline technique. This breathing method is usually used to train soldiers.
Caesar is not far from the legend and needs to understand various legendary inheritances, so he copied this complete breathing method. When he is free, Caesar will often open this breathing method and write down his understanding. Now Caesar died in the battle, and everything was easier for Harland.
Through transactions with the royal family and the Jonathan family, the Harland family mastered the complete Silver Wolf and Wild Lion Breathing Techniques. William also exchanged the complete Breathing Techniques of the Northern Legion, secretly copied them and locked them in the Harland Territory Library. Counting this Fire Breathing Technique, there are already four complete breathing techniques mastered by the Harland family.
In terms of the accumulation of breathing techniques, the Harland family has caught up with the old duke family, and their magic inheritance is more advanced than that of the Grant family and Grand Duke Jonathan. But in terms of knight bloodline skills, I don’t have much knowledge yet. After all, the Harland family, including the William brothers, is the second generation. Basically, there is not much knight blood, and of course they will not deliberately collect information in this area.
(End of chapter)