Imperial Crown

Thank you very much for the 100 reward from Qidian Dad [Jianzhu, Qidian Reading iOS]!

…

Listening to Dalton's words, Little Peeler pursed his lips, grabbed a human leather glove next to him, and frowned like noodles stuck together.

He really didn't expect that the originally stable Nord Province would be disturbed by a statement from Raven.

Even he didn't expect that Raven would dare to send troops to attack the Principality of Eivor.

This is simply too crazy!

But, that's right, Raven should be so crazy.

If he didn't have this crazy energy, how could he have obtained the wealth and strength that overwhelmed a group of viscounts with his status as a baron?

"Raven..." Little Peeler's red and white eyes were full of doubts: "What are you thinking this time?"

Every time, there is a very rational motive behind Raven's crazy performance, so this time, he can't really attack Eivor.

Raven must have something he really wants, but it's just hidden behind this seemingly ridiculous behavior.

Power, wealth, women, status...

Little Peeler's eyes lit up.

That's right, status!

Although Raven is now famous, his wealth, power, and land are all the best among the nobles in the province, but the only thing he lacks is status.

To be precise, it is the title.

He should want to take this opportunity to show his value to Marquis Anthony.

No, Anthony doesn't have this ability. The only one who can really decide whether Raven can be promoted is His Majesty the King.

"You are really amazing!" Little Peeler slammed his palm heavily.

The empire has been defeated again and again recently. If His Majesty the King heard that there is a person who is so loyal to the country, he would definitely set an example.

Then the title of Viscount would be easy to get, wouldn't it?

"Lord Little Peeler." Seeing that his lord did not respond for a long time, Dalton had to bite the bullet and remind him: "There are only 13 days left before the time set by Baron Raven..."

"Heh, do you think I'm afraid of Raven?" Little Peeler glanced at Dalton.

Just when Dalton was silent, he smiled again: "Yes, now Raven is powerful and righteous, I do have to be afraid of him."

"Reply... Forget it, just tell these nobles on the Sky Eagle Platform that Baron Raven is doing such a grand thing, and our Hippoc County must of course fully support it."

"This time, it's up to you to take 1,000 soldiers and respond to our supervisor."

Dalton was a little surprised: "Are you sure they are not serfs?"

"Serfs still have to grow food." Little Peeler put on human leather gloves on his hands: "Take ordinary soldiers and listen to Raven's orders carefully-anyway, food has always been scarce, what's wrong with asking him to help raise some soldiers?"

"But you have to be smart, if Raven really attacks the Sighing Wall for show, you have to run as fast as you can."

"Yes, Lord Little Peeler!"

As the news of Little Peeler's response to Raven spread, the five northwestern counties basically reached a consensus.

The nobles' thoughts were generally similar to Little Peeler's.

They all thought that Raven just wanted to put on a "patriotic show" to earn some political prestige for himself.

As the saying goes, he was just crazy about the title.

Now the nobles' territories have not yet fully recovered, and supporting the army itself is a burden.

Giving Raven a part of it, no matter how long it takes, even if it's only 3 or 5 months, can save a lot of food.

After the news was brewing in the five northwestern counties, it soon spread to Mon'en City.

At first, the citizens of Mon'en City thought it was just a boring joke.

After all, attacking a country with the power of five counties is outrageous no matter how you look at it.

But the direction of things that happened next forced the citizens to take it seriously, and even with a hint of panic.

As the locust plague gradually passed, the originally high grain prices gradually fell back to a level that the citizens could barely accept.

However, shortly after the news arrived, the price of coarse wheat rose sharply, from 11 copper coins per pound to 23 copper coins in just 2 days.

Merchants are more sensitive to prices.

Food is secondary. The prices of strategic materials such as horses, leather, and iron ore are also soaring.

Public opinion began to ferment in the city of Monen.

Citizens complained about the rising prices, and merchants began to inquire whether the war would really start, and what attitude Earl Tyrone of the Slater family would have.

Just as the discussion in the city was raging and gradually became a boiling trend.

Earl Tyrone and Archbishop Thomas, who kept a considerable distance on the surface, gathered together.

The place where the two met was a secret manor on the banks of the Monen River.

There was no trace of locust plague here. The grass and trees were lush and the flowers were in clusters. The three-story building was covered with vines, just like the residence of the legendary forest goblins.

On the third floor tower, the view was wide and you could overlook the sparkling river.

The sun was warm and the breeze was warm.

Earl Tyrone poured Thomas half a cup of fragrant tea, looked at the river and said: "I used to think that the kind of people in the story who usually live in seclusion but can shake the world with a single word do not exist."

"But today, I have to say I admire you."

Although the secret meeting between Raven and Thomas has never been made public, the fact that the church provided Raven with a large amount of food in various ways cannot be hidden from those who are interested.

Thomas straightened the soft round hat on his head so that his smooth forehead would not reflect the clear light on the dome: "Then you admire the wrong person."

"There are only you and me here, and you know that I am not the kind of person who would tell tales." Tyrone said, "What's more, we now have a common enemy."

Thomas nodded gently.

Politics is like this, there are no eternal enemies, nor eternal friends.

Although Thomas had previously used the matter of the Hand of Death to trick Tyrone and made Tyrone fall flat on his face, now that Anthony is dominating the Nord Province, it is a situation that neither of them wants to see.

"The Earl is so frank that it makes me seem less bright." Thomas smiled gently, "But I really didn't hide it from you. Raven's decision to send troops has nothing to do with me."

Tyrone's eyebrows trembled, and he put down the teacup that was originally raised to his mouth, and looked at Thomas and said, "Really?"

"I'm more surprised than you." Thomas smiled bitterly, "Originally, I thought it was your idea."

Otherwise, Thomas would not have met Tyrone on this occasion.

"Then it seems that this idea was really thought up by Raven himself." Tyrone completely forgot that the tea was hot, and when he put it into his mouth, his brows furrowed even more tightly.

"What an amazing young man." Thomas sighed: "He is only 27 years old this year, right?"

"26 years old." Tyrone also sighed: "Are we really old?"

In order to maintain his authority and his position in the eyes of His Majesty the King, Anthony's administration in the Nord Province can be described as cruel.

Not only did he not exempt taxes, but in order to please His Majesty, he also collected a "spear tax" in the spring of this year, and extorted 400,000 gold coins from nobles at all levels.

And he still has a righteous reputation - this money is for "full support for this war."

As an old noble in the Nord Province, Earl Tyrone has the obligation to lead the Slater family to stop Anthony's perverse actions, but he cannot offend Anthony, who represents His Majesty the King.

Originally, the Slater family was greatly disappointed by keeping quiet about the destruction of the Fox family. If Anthony continued to cause trouble like this, the reputation of the Slater family would only get worse and worse.

For Thomas, who represented the Church of Light, Anthony, the representative of the royal power, was also a thorn in his eyes. As long as Anthony was still here, Thomas could not show his strength.

At this time, Raven jumped out and wanted to unify the armies of the five northwestern counties to attack the Principality of Eivor, and the reason was impeccable.

Neither Tyrone nor Thomas believed that Raven's move would be purely for show as the nobles said in the rumors.

Raven would definitely fight.

Although it was impossible for Raven to take down the Sighing Wall with his strength, the Principality of Eivor, as a member of the Fitton City-States, would inevitably lead to a series of diplomatic incidents as long as the war started.

Pulling the neutral Fitton City-States into the water could also involve Insa's energy, which was indeed a strong support for the front battlefield.

This pushed Anthony into a corner. All his previous efforts to please the King pale in comparison to Raven's action.

"What are you going to do next?" Earl Tyrone asked.

"Nothing." Thomas answered frankly: "What about you?"

Tyrone nodded in approval, thinking that Thomas was really an old fox.

The existence of the Church of Light has always been feared by His Majesty the King. At this time, whether Thomas showed support or opposition to Raven, it would arouse suspicion and give Anthony an excuse to attribute Raven's actions to the conspiracy of the Church.

If you do nothing, there will be no trouble.

As for the fact that the Church had previously delivered food to Raven, Anthony would not mention it - who asked Anthony to ask Thomas for food?

No one's ass is clean.

"I want to do something." Earl Tyrone said: "Provide all support other than material."

After that, the two smiled at each other and understood each other.

On the other hand, the busyness of Eagle City did not stop.

The busiest person was Old Gordon. He not only had to count the inventory and sort out the supply, but also had to balance the allocation of resources between the territories. He was so busy that he had no time to rest.

However, after chatting with Fiona for a few words, he took time to find Raven.

Raven was in the conference room at this time, staring at the huge map of the Principality of Eivor, with all kinds of information at hand.

Not only those shown in the previous meeting, but also many important people in the Principality of Eivor, including the Grand Duchess Cui Qi, and everyone in the Duchy's cabinet.

Next to Raven, there was also a thick manuscript with many names written on it, each name was circled and then linked to a keyword.

"Greedy, can be bribed", "Cowardly, can be threatened", "Honest, can be framed"...

Seeing this, Old Gordon waited quietly by the side.

After a long time, until Raven reached for his hand, Old Gordon quietly handed over a cup of warm milk.

"Why are you here?" Raven took the cup and took a sip: "What problem did you encounter?"

"There is indeed one thing, Fiona reminded me." Old Gordon pushed his monocle.

Seeing his action, Raven couldn't help but shook his head and smiled.

This pair of grandparents and grandchildren are simply cast in the same mold. The action of pushing glasses is exactly the same, both of them use the index finger joint to push gently.

"Master, what's wrong?" Old Gordon was a little uncomfortable with the laughter.

"Nothing, you continue."

"Okay." Old Gordon sorted out his thoughts and spoke out his prepared speech: "Baron, after the locust plague, they flew to the Bloody Highlands, which must have caused a lot of damage."

"Last year, there were news that horse thieves had been harassing several surrounding counties, and the Principality of Eivor was also attacked by horse thieves."

"The reason why our territory was not affected is because we have two legions of fresh troops, so the horse thieves dare not invade."

"You attacked the Principality of Eivor this time and took away all the troops at once, leaving the defense empty. If the horse thieves attack, it will be difficult to deal with."

"Well, it seems that Fiona's vision is still as sharp as ever." Raven said half-jokingly: "I want to take her with me on the march."

Old Gordon's expression became serious.

Raven knew that whenever this happened, Old Gordon would start to give serious advice, but Raven didn't want to listen to Old Gordon's nagging: "Don't worry, I have already made arrangements for Bloody Highlands."

"Where do you think the grain I shipped out last year went?"

Old Gordon frowned and pondered for a long time before relaxing his eyebrows.

He was getting older and his memory was not as good as before. When Raven mentioned it, he remembered that the master did transfer a batch of grain last spring. Now he thought that it should have been sent to Bloody Highlands.

"Firebeard and Steel Teeth have been in contact with me." Raven said confidently: "If something really happens, they can lead the horse thieves to other people's territories."

"And besides them, I have a hidden hand."

The bright and dark on Bloody Highlands are enough to serve as two insurances.

And even if these two insurances fail, there is still Nancy, a third-level magician, in Eagle City.

No matter how many horse thieves come, they can't break through Eagle City with Nancy in charge.

Not wanting to continue on this topic, Raven asked, "How is the logistics work going?"

Old Gordon took out a notebook: "Half of the food has been loaded, and I am also organizing people to make a batch of field rations. It will be completed in 8 days at most."

"The grass and soybeans used by the horses have also been sorted into packages."

At this point, Old Gordon smiled slightly: "Of course, there is also the special food for the logistics troops as you ordered."

Raven nodded with satisfaction.

He didn't have so much food that he couldn't finish it. The soldiers recruited from the five northwestern counties had no time to integrate and train. Raven would only let them be responsible for logistics or fill in the line as cannon fodder.

Only the Eagle Army is the real main force.

So, the food given to the troops in the five northwestern counties naturally doesn't have to be too good. It's reasonable to mix some bran and sawdust.

"Okay, if there's nothing to do, go and get busy first. I still have to continue planning." Raven said.

"Yes, sir." Old Gordon bowed, turned around and took two steps, then suddenly turned back and asked: "Is it really okay for you to rush to send troops without consulting the governor this time?"

Raven raised a finger: "It is precisely because I really want to send troops that I cannot inform him!"

As the two were talking, the news that Raven was about to send troops finally reached Fox Castle.

After receiving the news, Akori nervously knocked on the door of Anthony's bedroom.

…