Imperial Crown

Led by Eric, all the officers stood up and beat their chests with their hands, causing a muffled sound.

"Lord Baron!"

"Everyone, sit down." Raven led Simon to the conference table, pointed at the new map and said, "This is the result of Simon and others in the past six months."

"The overall map of the Principality of Eivor, one of the five franchising countries in the northern province of Nord and the city-states of Feton."

"Now, let Simon explain the situation in the Principality of Eivor in detail."

After more than half a year of exposure to wind and sun, Simon's skin became dark and rough.

Even so, he still has a hint of childishness, and his baby face makes him look more like a shepherd's boy than a knight.

But as he walked to the map table and paid a military salute to the officers present, his serious temperament was revealed, and he spoke even more loudly:

"The Principality of Eivor belongs to the basin terrain. It is bordered by bloody highlands to the west and is surrounded by mountains to the north, east and south. Overall, it is high in the southeast and low in the northwest. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack."

"The longest span from east to west is 430 miles, and the longest span from north to south is 490 miles. The total area is about 210,000 square miles, or 540,000 square kilometers, and the total population is about 17 million."

“The principality has a total of 18 regions, which we call ‘counties’.”

“The location of its capital is ‘Evor County’ in the center of the principality, which is called ‘Blue Castle’.”

"Besides that, the most important piece of land is Boland County in the southwest of Eivor County. There is a high-grade gold mine that has been mined for 300 years and is still being mined today. It is also the financial and tax center of the Principality of Eivor. "

"At the north and south ends, in order to defend against the Empire and Insa, a fortress was built respectively. The one in the south is called the 'Wall of Sighs' and is known as an unbreakable fortress. The Count of the Principality, 'Wanda', leads two legions. Stationed.”

When Simon introduced, his fingers kept moving on the map, clearly organized, and he was obviously well prepared.

Eric frowned in thought.

Every move made by the Lord Baron had a deep intention, but this time, he couldn't understand it.

The Principality of Eivor is far away on the northern border of Nord Province. Why are you taking out its map now?

Eric was not the only one who had such doubts, but without Raven's permission, they did not dare to discuss with each other, so they could only exchange suspicious glances.

Raven had no idea of ​​letting them talk for the time being. He nodded and motioned for Simon to take a seat, and then clapped his hands. Immediately, an attendant came in and presented a stack of documents to each officer.

Picking up his share, Raven didn't look at it. He obviously already understood:

"In the Principality of Eivor, there are three people who hold the highest power."

"The highest one is, of course, the head of the principality, Grand Duke Eivor VIII, who is also the person on the first document in your hands."

"He is 43 years old. He was selected from a branch family and inherited the position of Grand Duke 13 years ago because the previous Grand Duke died."

"He was obsessed with art in his early years, and he has not stopped a little since he came to power. He is full of artist style and is known as the 'Grand Duke of Vanilla'."

The officers present burst into laughter. In their eyes, the so-called "artists" are just a group of swingers who only know how to eat, drink and have fun. It is a joke that such people can become kings.

But Raven did not laugh with them. He waited until they laughed before continuing:

"Next is the second person, Prime Minister of the Principality of Eivor, Gatugen."

"This man is 53 years old. He is young, strong and energetic. As a trusted minister of the previous Grand Duke Eivor, he has held the power of the duchy for nearly 20 years."

"What's rare is that even though he has great power, he has always been respectful to Eivor VIII. Although there are rumors that he is dissatisfied with Eivor's various actions, but judging from his behavior, he still mostly encourages and advises. ”

"You can think of him as a younger version of old Gordon."

Having said this, Raven picked up the cup and took a sip of tea: "As for the third person, Marshal Quentin of the Principality, I won't introduce him much, you can just see for yourself."

Hearing this, Eric skipped the second document that he had not yet read, and his eyes fell on the third piece of parchment.

There is a portrait painted on it, with a square face, wide mouth, thick beard, and a smile on his lips. He looks like an extremely rough and heroic nobleman.

But now he is 37 years old, but he is still only at the second level. This is a bit embarrassing for a marshal of a principality.

Moreover, the information also said that he was originally just a knight heir in Piercho County.

Because his sister was married to Eivor VIII, she was promoted to the rank of Marshal of the Principality due to nepotism and took charge of the Guards Corps in place of His Highness the Grand Duke.

"Have you finished reading it all?" Raven moistened her throat.

Eric was the first to nod, the other officers a little slower.

Most of them were civilians or even serfs. They didn't know how to read originally. Although they were forced to learn how to read at Raven's request, their skills were quite average. Many of them could only read. As for writing - they could actually write. Say your name.

So when you encounter a word you don’t know, you can’t help but whisper and ask each other.

After all the officers put down their documents, Lei Wen said, "Although this last person has only moderate power in the principality, he is very important to us."

"That is Count Wanda who is stationed at the Wall of Sighs."

"He is 44 years old. Although he has never entered the principal center, he has level 4 strength and is one of the top powerhouses in the Principality of Eivor."

"Although the two Iron Birch Legions under his command are only level 2 legions in name, Count Wanda himself is an upright person and runs the army quite strictly. There is no common situation of empty pay."

"Therefore, the combat effectiveness of these two full level 2 legions cannot be underestimated."

Eric looked at the document in his hand. Count Wanda on it was gentle and looked more like a scholar than a knight.

Considering the Quentin from before, he couldn't help but sigh, people really can't be judged by their appearance.

"Okay, that's all I have to say for now."

Raven clapped his hands and focused everyone's attention on himself:

"Now that you have the most basic understanding of the Principality of Eivor, it's time for you to speak."

“The last document in your hands is an aerial view of the wall of sighs.”

"Today, my question is, how to conquer this fortress."

The officers were surprised at first, and then started a heated discussion - after all, they had been idle for too long, and this kind of sand table deduction-style issue was also a kind of exercise.

Slowly, various ideas continued to collide, and various combat methods were proposed one by one.

Some people say that dozens of trebuchets can be set up to bombard the city wall in turn, and they can rush in as long as there is a gap.

But someone immediately retorted, lamenting that the walls of this fortress were 8 meters high, and there were crossbows every 30 meters. It was not easy to handle it with trebuchets alone.

Others say that you can send internal troops into the city, and once the siege begins, open the city gates from the inside.

This actually won the approval of some people.

But the problem is that as a military fortress, Sigh Wall has extremely strict censorship. How to sneak in with weapons is a problem.

Others say that rotting corpses can be thrown into the city to create a plague and reduce the combat effectiveness of the defenders in the city.

Eric did not join in the discussion, he just stared at the map quietly.

The defensive power of the fortress garrisoned by 10,000 people is almost as good as that of Eagle City. It is not wise to attack forcefully.

He was wondering if there was any way to attack the city.

At this moment, he saw the faint smile on Raven's face, looked at the map carefully and flipped through the documents in his hand, and a hint of surprise rose in his heart.

"My Lord Baron, I have a question."

There was a hint of appreciation in Raven's eyes, and he said, "Ask."

Eric swallowed.

Originally, in his opinion, the Baron raised this question because he wanted to use it to conduct a practical exercise to test the defense capabilities of Eagle City and to effectively train the army.

This is what most officers think.

But looking at the map of the Principality of Eivor, a brand new idea came to mind.

There is a mountain range between the Principality of Eivor and the province of Nord.

If you want to attack the Principality of Eivor, you have to take a detour from the Bloody Highlands, travel thousands of miles, and break in from the west of the Principality of Eivor.

Or, face the high wall of sighs in Tiehua County.

Thinking back to the documents Raven distributed to them, a bold guess emerged:

"Lord Baron, do you want to attack the Principality of Eivor!?"

These words echoed in the conference room, immediately making the whole room silent, so quiet that even breathing could be heard.

That was the heavy breathing from everyone present.

The Principality of Eivor is larger than the province of Nord, with a population of 17 million and a permanent army of more than 200,000. This is not a goal that the Griffith family can defeat with its current strength.

But the officers were not surprised.

In the early years, Lei Wen dared to rush to the bloody highlands with more than a hundred men. Now he has two legions in his hands. Why can't he attack a country?

Raven nodded: "Yes, I just want to capture the Kingdom of Eivor!"

As he spoke, he looked around the audience: "What, you don't have confidence?"

The officers exchanged looks with each other, some hesitant, some excited, some excited, some frightened, but no one flinched.

Under Eric's leadership, they all stood up:

"Swear to the death to serve the Baron!"

"Very good!" Lei Wen said with a smile: "Then starting from today, prepare the army for war, and set off on time on April 1, 17 days later!"

"After that, a backup copy of the map will be sent to you. Don't stop thinking. I hope each of you can come up with a qualified strategy."

"The meeting is dismissed!"

The officers left with mixed emotions. They all knew that the Baron's order could not be questioned, but the fact that they were about to attack a country still made them feel so unreal.

It wasn't until the map was given to them that they realized that war was really coming.

Only Eric didn't leave.

After everyone dispersed, Eric discussed logistical issues with Raven in a low voice.

Two legions, 10,000 troops, including 1,000 cavalry, consume at least 40,000 pounds of food every day just for people to eat horse chews.

To maintain supplies for the army, at least 20,000 civilians must be mobilized. They also need to eat. Even if the consumption is small, 30,000 pounds will be consumed every day just for transportation.

Calculated in this way, the daily consumption of 70,000 pounds of food can only be sustained for 5 months at most based on Eagle City's inventory.

At this point, Eric looked at Raven's face and continued: "And it's the busy spring farming season now. If 20,000 men are removed at once, the entire territory will collapse!"

Raven said: "I know this."

"Don't worry about the food problem. I will find a solution when the time comes."

"As for the logistics force, we can't spare that many manpower, but there are some in the five northwest counties."

Eric froze on the spot: "Sir, you mean...?"

"We have to thank our King and the Governor for this." Raven smiled and took out a document from his breast pocket.

It was an order letter from the governor. During the locust plague, Anthony appointed Raven as the supervisor of the No. 3 Alert Area, commanding the military power of the five northwest counties.

And this authorization has not been recovered!

Eric couldn't help but give a thumbs up:

"High, really high!"

The war is about to begin, and everything in Eagle City is running as tightly as a machine.

The 1st and 2nd Legions of the Eagle Army have canceled their original exercise plans and their original vacation periods. No one is allowed in or out of the military camp.

Boxes of crossbows were transported from the underground warehouse of Eagle City and sent to the military camp for storage.

A group of craftsmen from the blacksmithing workshop were assigned to inspect and repair the key mechanisms of the trebuchet to ensure that there would be no problems.

The riverside workshop suspended the production of Angel Tears and Angel Kiss, and began to hoard "clear fire oil", that is, alcohol.

Three days later, March 18th.

A statement appeared on the Skyhawk platform.

Baron Raven Otta Griffith, the Sheriff of Snow Maple County and the supervisor of Alert Area 3, issued a conscription order for the five northwest counties.

The empire was retreating steadily in the Northeast, and it was a difficult time.

At this difficult time, as a member of the Empire, Raven decided to respond to His Majesty the King's call to "fully support this war."

The Feton city-states originally formed an alliance with the empire, but when the empire was in danger, not only did they not lend a hand to help, they even secretly provided intelligence to Insa, which was a heinous crime.

In order to punish the Feton city-states and draw Insa's attention, Baron Raven decided to send troops from the five northwest counties to attack the Principality of Eivor.

Use Eivor as a bridgehead to deter Insa and reduce the pressure on the Empire on the northeastern battlefield.

Nobles in the five northwest counties, barons and above, need to provide 200 soldiers; viscounts and above, 500 soldiers, and bring their own armor and weapons.

Before April 1st, gather outside Eagle City.

If you fail to arrive within the time limit, you will be punished for treason according to the order of the Governor!

As soon as the news was sent out, it immediately caused an uproar.

The nobles in the five northwest counties had just experienced a locust plague and were all recuperating. This order directly disrupted everyone's plans!

No one thought that Raven would suddenly issue such a crazy order at this time.

Just when most people were at a loss, Viscount Broca was the first to speak out and express his full support for Sheriff Raven's move.

He set an example and was willing to provide 2,000 enchanted crossbows for free. He also organized 3 brigades with a total of 1,500 troops under the leadership of his son Howell Knight to support Raven.

Later, Lady Doreen from the Gravel Territory and Baron Wessassin from the Kogar Territory also expressed strong support for Raven.

Lady Doreen offered to provide Raven with 10 million pounds of grain, and Baron Wessassin provided 500 pack horses.

After this, Savery County, Essex County, and Hampshire County among the five northwest counties also began to respond in groups.

Only Hippoc County remained silent for the time being.

Because the nobles of Shippok County were observing the reaction of their county chief, the lord of Binziman Territory, Little Peeling.

This county magistrate has always been moody and bullying, so it's not easy to offend him.

"These guys are obviously scared to death of me, and now they're asking for my opinion again!" Xiao Peipi sat in the study, wagging his fingers and counting the letters on the table, with a narrow smile on his lips.

Knight Dalton coughed: "Little Lord Skinny, the entire Shippok County is waiting for your attitude."

…