Unknown Knight

Soon, under the dual-opening mode, half a month later, Aix purchased a lot of food, causing the surrounding food price to rise from 10 copper coins a bag of wheat to 25 copper coins a bag. His funds on hand had been almost used up, and the two new warehouses built by Amanti were basically full.

At the same time, other caravans also joined the competition. Although these caravans did not have a strategic vision, they had backgrounds and were the first to get the news of the war and quickly started buying up food. At this time, Aix was no longer able to compete with them, so he had to drive the grain carts back home and notify Manide to suspend the task of collecting grain.

As expected, the war broke out soon. Previously, the Nord Kingdom used the excuse of losing a cow on the border, and then recently there were frictions, pulling and heating up between the Nord Kingdom and the Swadia Kingdom on the border. Finally, the two sides were on the verge of a war, gathering their troops and seemed ready for a big fight.

However, the Nords, who were ferocious and brutal in the past, behaved very restrained this time. They only gathered their large forces in the city of Sargos and never dared to invade the heartland of the Kingdom of Swadia on a large scale.

Immediately afterwards, Sera Khan of the Khergit Khanate stationed a troop at the Fort of Sajchi, which borders the Kingdom of Vaegir, and harassed the villages and caravans near the city of Kudan. After learning that the war had broken out between the Kingdom of Nord and the Kingdom of Swadia, the King of Vaegir, Yarogerk, felt relieved to send his army to the city of Kudan for support. As a result, the army was ambushed by the Khergit army, which was good at field battles, and was defeated in the field between Fort Roma and the city of Kudan. The strength of Vaegir was greatly damaged, and Lord Voldratboye had to lead the remnants to retreat to the city of Kudan.

Although Sera Khan led a large army to besiege the city of Kudan, the early winter weather brought heavy snow to the already cold Kingdom of Vigia, making the siege extremely difficult, and the two sides immediately fell into a stalemate.

Next was the Rhodok Kingdom, which was the last to suffer. The shrewd Rhodok King Gryfus, with the help of intelligence brought back by his caravans scattered across the continent, knew that the large army of the Swadian Kingdom was tied down near the border of the Nordic Kingdom, and most of the nobles in the country were dissatisfied with Marquis Dilinard's behavior of eating alone. Many nobles in the cities of Dhrim and Suno announced that they would not give any support to Marquis Dilinard. This made King Gryfus determined to quickly send troops to besiege the city of Uxhall.

Fortunately, the Marquis Dilinard was self-aware and knew that he was hated, so he made preparations for city defense very early. The city was built extremely solid. The two sides were in a stalemate for a while and the battle was very brutal.

For King Aix and King Ragnar, the situation was just like playing chess, and they played according to the previous move. The two often sent letters to communicate their analysis of the entire war.

Soon, the Kingdom of Swadia was the first to give up. They found that the Kingdom of Nord did not seem to have any intention of invading them on a large scale, and the previous conflicts did not cause too much damage to their side. The hatred between the two sides was not high, and they were unwilling to expand the war.

In addition, the city of Uxhall sent one letter after another asking for help, and Marquis Dilinard even used his olive oil business as a condition. So King Harlaus of Swadia tried to send an envoy to the Kingdom of Nord to propose a truce. After offering to pay the Kingdom of Nord 10 oxen, King Ragnar agreed very readily, which made King Harlaus feel a little guilty after receiving the truce and couldn't believe it. After confirming that the other side had withdrawn, he immediately turned his troops to support the city of Uxhall, but just halfway through the march, he received the news that the city of Uxhall had fallen.

This city was an important town that separated the north and the south of the Kingdom of Swadia and could not be lost. King Harlaus had no choice but to set up his troops around the city of Uxhall. The two sides fought a protracted battle over the city and the war was extremely bloody and brutal.

The four countries fought against each other around the two cities, and the war lasted until the end of the year. All four sides suffered heavy losses. The only nearby kingdom that did not suffer any losses was the Kingdom of Nord. Under the leadership of King Ragnar, this kingdom was like a hungry wolf, licking its fur, sharpening its claws, and ready to come down and share the food at any time.

As the war dragged on, the consequences of the war became more and more serious. He didn't know what was happening in the Kudan City, which was far away from the valley, but he was clear about the situation near the nearby city of Uxhall. He heard that the villages around the town, such as Norma and Yerige, were no longer inhabited. Aix was now stationed in the city of Suno, and every day he could see a large number of refugees fleeing there.

As the number of victims increased, the price of grain in the city began to soar. At this time, Aix also began to take action. He first used the grain stored in the early stage to stabilize the grain price, which angered other profiteers in the city. Some even threatened to burn down his granary. Fortunately, now all the caravan members are wearing armor and holding weapons. In terms of combat power, the city defense forces may not be their opponents with the same number. There are also people on guard in the warehouse during the day and on duty at night, so no accidents caused by unfair competition occurred.

At first, these victims had money to buy food, and some even brought some food with them, but as the war dragged on, the little money they had was also used up by the rising food prices. The victims had no choice but to dig up grass roots and peel tree bark. It was winter, the grass was withered, and the bark was dry and hard. The harvest from these things was limited, and there was not much to eat. Soon, there was no more of these things nearby, and some victims had already starved to death.

Aix had no choice but to provide rescue to the victims, but for the countless victims, the food he had was like a drop in the bucket. He did not dare to provide excessive rescue because no one knew when the war would stop. He just set up a porridge stall outside the warehouse and provided the victims with a bowl of thin porridge that was big enough to reflect a person's reflection for free every day to keep them alive.

Even so, Aix's behavior was like a beacon in the dark night. The noble lords who had no worries about food and clothing didn't care about the lives of the victims. No one gave them alms. He was the only porridge stall in the city. Every day, the victims who came to get porridge lined up from outside the warehouse to the city gate. The victims were grateful for his good deeds and affectionately called him "Mr. Good Man".

At first, only the victims spread his good deeds by word of mouth, then the residents of the city also began to spread the news, and finally his good deeds even spread throughout the entire kingdom. People praised his nobility and denounced the injustice and shamelessness of the nobles and profiteers. Wandering poets in taverns even began to chant a poem called "Mr. Good Man".

In comparison, the pressure brought about by this made the nobles in the city have to follow suit and distribute porridge very reluctantly. So many nobles only set up two porridge stalls as a show, hoping that after Aix's stored grain was distributed, they could legitimately stop this unnecessary loss.

Aix didn't care about so many things. When the food reserves were low, he asked Manid and Bandak to lead the team to transport the snow salt processed in the valley to the Kingdom of Nord for sale. He used the profits to purchase food on the spot, and then transported the food to Suno City to use for disaster relief.

No one could have imagined that Aix, an insignificant modern man, seemed to have the hands of the god of destiny, and with the seemingly insignificant compassion in his heart, he changed the history of the surrounding kingdoms.

Originally, the Rhodok Kingdom had a great advantage. They were well prepared, occupied the city, and were in a very advantageous position. The Swadian Kingdom lost the important city of Uxhall, and the army was hastily prepared and the morale of the army was unstable. The surrounding villages were looted, and the country was full of fleeing victims.

When it seemed that these disaster victims were about to turn into bandits and the whole country was about to fall into dire straits, the news that Suno City was providing relief to the disaster victims spread quickly. The surging disaster victims seemed to have found an outlet long ago and rushed to Suno City for food. This gradually calmed the turbulent situation. At the same time, it also allowed King Harlaus, who was suffering both internally and externally, to stabilize the situation and command his army to confront the Rhodok Kingdom with confidence.

On the other hand, the Rhodok Kingdom's original advantages were slowly exhausted as time went by. King Gryphus had hoped to support the war by looting villages to obtain food and fodder, but the harvest was very limited. He had no choice but to send people back to the country to collect food. However, he underestimated the conduct of his nobles, and it was this decision that caused him to lose the fruits of victory.

As the saying goes, poverty and bad water breed unruly people. The mountainous Rhodok Kingdom has a tough folk character. Before the war with the Swadia Kingdom, the nobles levied a war tax. Now they are levying it again, which naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of civilians across the country. This is not the most excessive. The most excessive are the nobles in various places. They are so greedy that they want to squeeze the poor people's bones. Taking this opportunity, the nobles with a conscience doubled the money and grain they should have levied, and the nobles without conscience doubled or even tripled it.

Suddenly, the whole kingdom was filled with resentment. Within a few days, dozens of groups of civilians who refused to pay taxes gathered in the mountains all over the country. They held their usual crossbows and hunting spears, stopped farming and herding sheep, and turned into bandits. They first beat up the tax collectors, then robbed the military rations sent to the front line, and later even broke into the country estates of nobles, causing chaos throughout the country. There was also a trend of merging and growing stronger.

Once again, King Graves tore up the intelligence sent urgently from the country. His face was twisted with anger. It was no wonder that anyone would feel resentful when the meat in his mouth was gone. Moreover, he was known for his greed and stinginess. However, he was good at calculating and had started his business in his early years. He was still shrewd. The king knew that once the news of the domestic unrest spread, he would lose all the results of this war, so he called his secretary and said:

"Tell King Harlaus outside the city that peace talks with them are acceptable."

Outside the city, in the military camp of the Kingdom of Swadia, King Harlaus, who had been panicking for days, regained some peace of mind today. He received a piece of good news this morning that a businessman named Aix had taken the initiative to help with relief for the victims and also encouraged the nobles of Suno City to join in the relief efforts. His behavior calmed down the domestic environment that was about to fall into chaos.

King Harlaus finally has no worries now and can focus on the attack on Uxhall. He came to power unjustly and has been suppressed by the family of the Marquis of Craggs since he came to power. Fortunately, the old man Craggs is dying in the past two years. He thought he could take a breath, but now Uxhall is lost again. If he can take the city back this time, he can not only completely get rid of the doubts at home, but also take the opportunity to expand his influence. But if he fails to take it back, not only will the national strength be severely damaged, but he will have to continue to be the king with his tail between his legs. He has to fight this battle, and he must win it. Thinking of this, he called the secretary and said:

"Draft a document to announce to the whole country that everyone approves of what is it? Oh, what is it? Aix's behavior, and confer him the honorary knighthood as a reward and encouragement."

Watching the messenger who brought the commendation order he had just issued leave the tent, King Harlaus's face became gloomy again. Right now, the Rhodok Kingdom was guarding the city, and his troops were evenly matched with those of the Rhodok Kingdom. He didn't know how long the war would end. He also didn't know how long the merchant Aix, who brought him the good news, could continue to provide porridge. If he couldn't hold on, wouldn't the country fall into chaos again?

Moreover, the spring planting would come in a month or so. If he still couldn't capture Uxhall by then, he would have to dismiss the civilians who made up the majority of the army and go back to the spring planting. Then he would have to withdraw his army and admit defeat. 'Oh, it's so difficult. What should I do?' he said to himself.

At this moment a soldier came to report that the envoy from the Rhodok Kingdom had arrived...

On the last day of winter, the war between the Rhodok Kingdom and the Swadian Kingdom, which had been fought for nearly three months, finally ended. In order to end the war as soon as possible, the two sides did not decide the winner, but made peace. Specifically, the Rhodok Kingdom gave up its occupation of the city of Uxhall and withdrew its troops back home. As a condition, the Swadian Kingdom ceded Wincode Castle located on the border between the two countries to the Rhodok Kingdom. This castle had been previously occupied by the Rhodok Kingdom, and this was just a legal confirmation. In addition, the Swadian Kingdom promised not to intercept the Rhodok Kingdom's caravans in the future and would no longer attempt to manipulate the sale of olive oil.

The contract was signed smoothly. Although the Rhodok Kingdom only gained Wincord Castle and a small piece of territory nearby, it was still a gain. King Graves had also given an explanation to the country and could return home to quell the rebellion with peace of mind. Although the Swadian Kingdom lost some territory, it retained important strategic locations and large tracts of territory, which can be said to have minimized the losses.

The biggest winner of this war was King Harlaus. Not only did he calm down the domestic doubts with his achievement of regaining the city of Uxhall, but he also expanded his sphere of influence. He punished the former lord of the city, Marquis Dilinard, on the pretext of something, and took the city of Uxhall for himself, leaving only one village, Yerege, for Dilinard as its territory.

On the other side, the Nord Kingdom finally came to an end. King Ragnar, who had been planning for a long time, led his troops to surround the strategic castle of Ismorola with lightning speed. What he did not expect was that the army of the Kingdom of Vaegir, which had always been defeated by his own side in field battles, had the advantage when defending the city. The Vaegir soldiers with few shields and thin armor relied on the cover of the battlements on the city wall, and they were in a dominant position. They used two-handed axes to suppress the Nord warriors who mostly used one-handed axes. The noble Javierboye who was defending the city was also extraordinary. With only a small number of troops of his own, he stubbornly repelled the attacks of his own side that were ten times larger than his own.

Finally, after paying a heavy price, the Nord Kingdom managed to capture the Castle of Ismorola. King Ragnar had to stop advancing due to the opposition of a group of nobles. The Kingdom of Vaegir was also helpless against the occupation of the Nord Kingdom because of the battle in Kudan City. The two sides fell into a long-lasting strategic stalemate.