Lord Harland

After arriving at Black River Castle, Richard quickly met his old acquaintance Baron Rice.

Baron Rice is closer to Black River Castle and has been at Black River Castle for two days.

After meeting Richard, Baron Rice took the initiative to invite Richard to a tavern.

This tavern is the property of Baron Rice. The decoration is very high-end, and the interior uses rosewood from the southern part of the Grant Kingdom.

Most of the wines sold there are expensive wines.

Now in the liquor market of Black River Fort, the people at the top are still used to drinking red wine, while the middle and lower classes are already used to drinking white wine from the Haaland territory.

With the popularity of white wine, sales of red wine have dropped by more than half.

A large number of soldiers, mercenaries, and hunters who have drinking habits used to only drink red wine occasionally, but now they have basically become loyal customers of white wine.

Red wine increasingly feels like a luxury product that can only be served to a small number of people.

The temperature in the northern Xinjiang region is lower and the grape production is less. Only the Duke of Jonathan produces a small amount of red wine. The red wine sold mainly comes from the three counties of Paulus, Charlotte and Marcel.

Although Southern Earl is very powerful, it can be called a dragon in the wine market.

But in the northern Xinjiang region, there is nothing that can be done against the Haaland family.

After all, red wine is transported from more than a thousand kilometers away, and each bottle must be made in a higher-priced glass bottle. It cannot compete with locally produced white wine.

Unless dirty means are used to assassinate liquor sellers and violently attack competitors.

But in this case, the Harland family will not sit still and wait for death. They will also use violent methods. It may not be the third Earl of the South who benefits from killing.

Unless Richard wants to sell liquor nationwide and seize the remaining market, the three earls may be tempted to start a business war.

Baron Rice's tavern is basically not open to the public. It is like a private club in the previous life. It only deals with noble business. In addition to acquaintances of the Rice family, it receives senior bureaucrats from Heihe County.

There was a stage in the middle of the tavern, with several scantily clad dancers standing there.

These dancers perform sexy dances and look beautiful and young.

Richard knew that these dancers were Baron Rice's prostitutes, used to entertain distinguished guests of the Rice family.

In addition to Baron Rice, there were also several acquaintances of Richard in the tavern, namely Baron Duck, Baron Barton, Baron Barzel, and Baron Dirham.

Because Richard purchased salt from the Duke of Jonathan, Baron Rice and others knew that the Harland family and Archon Jerram already had commercial conflicts.

Although they didn't know anything about Jerram hiring mercenaries to attack Richard, the two families almost fell out directly.

But the instinct of the nobles is to avoid trouble. During this period of time, they are still unwilling to get too close to Richard to avoid being implicated by the Harland family.

After all, during this battle, Archon Jerram was responsible for managing the logistics of the entire army.

Jerram's casual operations can make the army in Harland's territory very uncomfortable. If he is in the same army as Richard, he may suffer unreasonable disasters.

In a war, food supplies come one day early or one day late, and whether the logistical supplies are sufficient or not is a very big deal.

There is no reason for them to be careless, and there are many things to consider ahead of time.

But after Richard brought his army to Black River Fort, he met the soldiers from Harland Territory. After discussion, Baron Rice and others immediately changed their views and decided to follow Richard to take action and gain military glory.

The soldiers in Harland's territory were well-equipped and marched in neat steps. It was obvious at a glance that they were elite soldiers who were not weaker than the main army.

In addition, Richard also has Warcraft Cavalry under his command.

In this counter-insurgency war, the main army only dispatched two brigades to go south, and did not send Warcraft cavalry.

The soldiers led by Richard may be the main force in the counter-rebellion army, second only to the main army.

Depending on the income of the territory, a barony can basically support one or two squadrons of soldiers.

For example, the Barony of Rice only has two squadrons of regular troops.

Because the Baron of Dirham was completely eaten by Richard and others, there are now less than 2,000 people in the territory, and a squadron of serf soldiers with extremely weak combat effectiveness has been organized and trained.

With this kind of army that is not even equipped with spears, Richard can easily defeat the Dirham Squadron by sending out a small group of soldiers.

Even tens of thousands of rubbish serf soldiers will be easily disabled by Richard's thousand elite soldiers.

Because the situation was unclear, Baron Rice and others did not invest in the main force of the territory. Instead, they organized and trained a squadron of serf soldiers to fool the province into completing the recruitment order.

Baron Rice and others also know the quality of the soldiers they lead. Do you also know what responsibilities such a soldier can bear?

When going to counter the rebellion this time, these serf soldiers were either used as cannon fodder to fill trenches or escorted grain from the rear.

Baron Rice and others knew that their relationship with Archon Jerram was only average, and they would not be able to get the job of transporting grain to the rear, so they would most likely be destined to be cannon fodder.

If they were asked to draw out the main force in the territory, they would not be able to agree.

If the main force is lost in the counter-insurgency war, how can we resist the orc invasion?

Maybe it will be the fate of the two baronies of Stowe and Dirham.

Stowe was afraid that the Baron also had a genius daughter, Sophia, who had the discerning eye to find a good husband who was capable, powerful and could make money, so that the territory could be turned around.

Look at how miserable the Dirham Territory is now. Years of accumulation have been ruined, and we don’t know when we will be able to turn around.

Even if he died in the counter-rebellion war, his son would still inherit the territory, and everyone would still be a hereditary noble, with their strength intact.

Therefore, even if they would die in the counter-insurgency battle, they were unwilling to use their elite soldiers to counter the rebellion.

Seeing Richard leading three main squadrons, a Warcraft Cavalry squadron, and two hundred auxiliary soldiers, Baron Rice and others immediately decided to go for it.

As for whether Consul Jerram might be up to something, it was not something Baron Rice considered.

If Jerram ignores the overall situation and deducts military rations if it is too obvious, everyone can take the evidence and file a joint complaint at the meeting of nobles.

A group of nobles objected, and the position of consul of the province of Jerram may not be saved.

Many people on Nolan's side are vying for this lucrative job.

King Charles does not have only Felix as a prince, and Jerram's position is not as stable as a mountain and cannot be shaken.

Counting the United Kingdom of Sharpfield, there are a total of twelve baronies in Black River County.

The only territory directly under the royal family is around Heihe Castle.

The Harland family has three baronies, plus the five barons of Rice, Duck, Barton, Bazel, and Dirham. The command of the private army of the nobles in Heihe County has fallen into the hands of Richard.

Besides, Baron Sharp has a good relationship with Richard and will definitely support Richard.

The remaining Baron Green, Baron Sauron, and Baron Wilden have close relations with Viscount Romen, and are expected to join the Romun County Noble Alliance and fight with Viscount Romen.