Lord Harland

After making a decision in his mind, Richard immediately returned to his homeland with Queen Sophia.

Although Richard was open-minded and would not pursue Martin who came forward to offer advice, Sophia secretly hated her and would have been ready to attack Martin if Richard had not strongly objected.

Although Queen Sophia's family is not as powerful as the palace lady Undine's family, their influence in the military is also insufficient. But Sophia herself is a legendary magician, and the Stowe family is relatively powerful in the mage class.

When the Harland Mage Association was established, it was still an apprenticeship system, and the magicians mainly relied on Sophia and Wendy's personal teachings. Because of this historical connection, the two men were very influential among the early apprentices.

Most of these early apprentices are already the backbone of the Mage Association. After nearly thirty years of accumulation, Sophia has promoted many talents from the Mage Association and trained many students. Margaret and Philip have always been protected by many magicians.

Although Undine later joined the Mage Association, her influence among the mages was far from enough compared to Sophia's.

Sophia's brother Rogge has also served as the top civil servant for nearly 20 years. Although the civil servants of Harland Kingdom are not as high-status as the generals, they hold considerable power. If Stowe was afraid that the family would take action against Martin, he would naturally have countless overt and covert methods to make the Martin family extremely uncomfortable.

But in this case, the queen's side will inevitably have internal strife with the conservative forces in the army.

Now Richard is still in charge and can suppress the internal fighting between the major forces.

Once Richard has an accident, the internal conflicts may become uncontrollable.

When conflicts break out, there will inevitably be a brutal and bloody conflict. Only when a conflict breaks out and the final winner is determined will the situation stabilize. This is also the inevitable path for almost all kingdoms.

Even the bloodline of gods like the Holy Radiant Empire, where the creator of the country became a demigod, has come this way step by step, unable to stop the internal fighting among his children and grandchildren.

Richard was very open-minded about this. In his mind, he could suppress it as long as he could. If he couldn't suppress it anymore, he would simply let it go. However, with Richard's own prestige, he can easily suppress him within one or two hundred years.

As for the future, he probably won't even recognize his own descendants, and of course he won't have any deep feelings. It all depends on their own abilities. If those who are not capable enough lose their power and position, Richard will not interfere.

After returning to his homeland, Richard continued to convene important ministers from both the military and political sides to discuss countermeasures, and soon unified their opinions, and then wrote a letter to consult Thoros and Sylph in the red moon plane.

After the high-level officials unified their opinions and made decisions, Richard appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Stevens Hogan as the plenipotentiary special envoy to handle the affairs of the Delong Kingdom.

Of course, it is Martin who actually holds the decision-making power at the front. After all, it is Martin who has the final say in mobilizing the resources of the Rex Province.

Martin's power and status in the Harland Kingdom far exceed that of Stevens. There is no need for Martin to use Stevens, just to control the big and small and provoke conflicts. Richard himself has enough prestige and does not need to use such power tactics.

After Stevens arrived at the Rex Province with some of his entourage, he immediately contacted the four border Dukes and took the initiative to intervene in the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Delon.

At this moment, it has been about three months since the civil war broke out in the Delong Kingdom.

Although King Anton's army was strong, it was opposed by the vast majority of the nobles in the country and could not quell the rebellion in three months.

After all, the rebellious nobles have a strong local foundation. Even a small baron has built a strong castle and hoarded a large amount of weapons and food in the castle. The private army under his command is not a weak force, it is completely a an independent warlord.

According to the historical traditions of the Dawn Plane, it often takes a long time to quell the rebellion of local nobles.

King Anton's army was beaten to death under the Lion Rock Castle. Even King Anton personally went out to the battle and climbed to the top of the Lion Rock City, but was beaten back by the defenders.

Lion Rock is just an earldom. Behind the rebellious nobles are the three duchies of Marcel, Peron and Ram. It will take at least several years to defeat the domestic noble forces without the intervention of external forces.

After all, in terms of strength, the balance of power between the two sides was evenly matched. If it weren't for Isaac and the two Dukes of Hubble who lost their territories, the power of the hereditary nobles might have been stronger.

Among the six great dukes of the Delon Kingdom, only the Sith Duke family, which has been married to the royal family for generations, expressed support for the reform. The remaining five dukes have raised the flag of rebellion and will not give up until the new law is repealed.

The struggle between the two sides was extremely cruel. Three months after the outbreak of the civil war, King Anton had already captured seventeen castles and executed seventeen hereditary nobles who had rebelled.

Until it was blocked by Lion Rock Castle.

The terrain of Sierra Leone Castle is dangerous, and the Earl of Sierra Leone family has ruled this area for more than a thousand years.

For more than a thousand years, the Lion Mountain family has continuously raised the city wall, and now the city wall is as high as 26 meters. It is difficult for low-level professionals to easily climb up. Even if King Anton's army is brave and good at fighting, there is nothing they can do against the Lion Rock Fortress in a short time.

King Anton tried many methods but could not shake this strong city. They had no choice but to besiege Lion Rock, hoping to use up the food in the castle and force the defenders to surrender.

It was under this situation that Stevens rushed to the border of the Delon Kingdom.

In fact, after the war between the two countries, Martin entrusted Odaye to lead the caravan from the Rex Province to the territory of the Four Dukes on the border to negotiate the purchase of serfs.

In just three months, Lord Harland paid a large amount of supplies and exchanged 300,000 serfs from the four duchies of Allen, Crean, Visia, and Guevara.

The four great dukes on the border of the Delon Kingdom were originally the four marquises in the east of the Grant Kingdom. These four families have been married to the Grant royal family for generations. They are not only local nobles, but also have great influence in the central government. In fact, they are part of the central ruling class. From their From the bottom of my heart, I don’t want the Kingdom of Harland to eat too many people.

But the reality is not determined by their will.

First of all, the Kingdom of Harland is now their neighbor. Whether it is Allen, Guevara, Crean, or Visia, they are all very afraid of Richard, the tiger.

If the tiger is angered, it will eat people. Once the thirty-year peace contract has passed and the Kingdom of Harland is offended too harshly, it will give Richard an excuse. After the war broke out, the Fourth Duke knew that his side was by no means an opponent.

If you are not careful, you will become a landless noble. Therefore, no matter how worried they were, they did not dare to refuse the Harland Kingdom's caravan to purchase serfs without sufficient reasons.

Secondly, because of the outbreak of war in the Delong Kingdom, a huge wave of refugees formed in the border areas. Even if the local nobles tried their best to stop it, they could not stop it at all. In just three months, about a million people poured into the territory of the four border dukes. Except for a few fleeing nobles, this part of the population was demoted as slaves by the four dukes.

The population increased by one million, but the supply of food was not sufficient. In order to avoid a possible food crisis, the four Dukes all need to sell some of their slaves in exchange for supplies.

Moreover, in order to replace others, Harland will sell alchemy bombs, magic hot air balloons and other in-demand supplies.

The trade of people for weapons is also beneficial to the four neighboring dukes.

Because of the above reasons, this transaction could be completed smoothly, and the participants almost achieved a win-win situation. Even businessmen such as the manager Odaye also received a lot of benefits.

After Stevens arrived at the border of the Kingdom of Delon, he immediately visited Marcel, Peron, Ram and other powerful nobles in person.

Although the rebel alliance of the Delon Kingdom is led by five dukes, Isaac and Hubble have lost their territory, and nine out of ten of their backbone members have died. Although he has not been demoted in these years and only has an empty title. The reason why he can still maintain a false title is that he relies on the support of his in-laws in the past generations. The actual power he holds is not as good as the four hereditary earls.

Among the rebels now, the ones who really speak the language are Marcel, Peron, and Lahm.

After the Kingdom of Harland sent a special envoy, although the great nobles such as Marcel, Peron, and Ram were entangled in their hearts and did not like the intervention of foreign forces. But in order to win and survive, they still respectfully received the special envoy from the Kingdom of Harland, and there was nothing unusual about it on the surface.

Most politicians have very deep secrets that cannot be easily seen through.

Stevens visited in person and soon became a guest of the three Dukes and began trade negotiations.

The main issue is the exchange of people for supplies. Whether it's food, cloth, weapons, armor, or even alchemy bombs that have been severely reduced due to war damage, magic hot air balloons and magic crystal cannons are all on the list that Richard has drawn up for sale.

The price increase for transporting materials to border areas is only about 40%. If the three Dukes transport it themselves, the Harland Kingdom can be sold at the original price.

In addition to the population, the Kingdom of Harland will also accept heavy metals such as bronze, silver, and gold. As for the currency of the Kingdom of Delon, because it is not circulated in the Kingdom of Harland, it can only be sold at a discount after deducting fire consumption.

Of course, the Harland Kingdom likes magic crystals the most. If you use magic crystals to pay the bill, you will be given a small discount.

The three Dukes, Marcel, Peron and Ram, have been fighting with the Harland family and the Grant Kingdom for many years. They are very aware of the power of the alchemy bomb and have also seen the power of the magic hot air balloon. Of course, what impressed them most was the magic crystal cannon. With the magic crystal cannon in hand, the solid city and fortress immediately turned into a bastard.

Seeing that Harland's leader was willing to sell even his trump card on the battlefield, the three Dukes immediately became red-eyed. They have expressed their willingness to exchange the serfs within the territory for food, cloth, weapons, and armor. As for alchemy bombs, magic hot air balloons, and magic crystal cannons, the more the better, ensuring that they can capture enough serfs for the Kingdom of Harland.

According to the price catalog drawn up by Stevens, an alchemy bomb costs fifteen gold coins, equivalent to three serfs.

A set of magic hot air balloons costs 7,000 gold coins and requires 1,400 people.

Of course, after purchasing the magic hot air balloon, you still need to be trained to use it. The training fee is not expensive. The Harland Kingdom provides training and skills, and only needs to add 500 more people.

The most expensive one is the magic crystal cannon. A magic crystal cannon costs 24,000 gold coins and requires the sale of 4,800 slaves. Of course, using the magic crystal cannon also requires training. The training fee is two thousand gold coins, which is equivalent to adding another four hundred people.

At the same time, a magic crystal cannon will come with thirty alchemical shells, which can only support a fierce battle. Purchasing one cannon shell requires one hundred and twenty gold coins, and one hundred rounds will cost 2,400 people.

Super magic weapons are so expensive, and ordinary materials are much cheaper. A set of steel armor only costs ten gold coins, and a set of leather armor only costs about two gold coins. A spear costs one silver coin, a steel knife costs forty copper coins, a heavy shield inlaid with iron costs only about two silver coins, a meal of food costs only three silver coins, a roll of linen costs two silver coins, and a roll of cotton cloth costs three silver coins. It was only about 30 to 40 percent higher than the market price before the war broke out.

In order to raise enough funds, the three Dukes began to collect and arrest people in large quantities. They even sent Warcraft cavalry to attack the empty rear of the royal territory. The goal of the battle was to capture serfs.

For a time, the front line became extremely chaotic. Taking advantage of the opportunity, while negotiating with the nobles of the Delon Kingdom, Stevens placed some espionage personnel inside the Delon Kingdom through the caravan relationship.

The intelligence power of the Kingdom of Harland in the Kingdom of Delon is also very strong. More than 20% of the country's population comes from the Kingdom of Delon, such as Jennings, Sula, Odaye, etc., all of whom are originally from the Kingdom of Delon. .

Because the eating habits and cultural customs are exactly the same, Richard can easily select intelligence personnel and infiltrate into countries such as Delong, East Coast, Grant, and Stanik.

He already had a strong ability to move, and coupled with the outbreak of the civil war in the Delong Kingdom, the intelligence department even penetrated into the hands of hereditary nobles. Many hereditary nobles of the Delon Kingdom have secretly expressed their attitude and are willing to serve the Harland Kingdom.

In less than half a year after Stevens entered the Kingdom of Delon, he had sold 60,000 alchemical bombs, 120 sets of magic hot air balloons, 18 magic crystal cannons, 40,000 sets of leather armor, and 20,000 sets of steel armor. Together with some scattered supplies, 600,000 slaves were exchanged for the Harland Territory, plus the 300,000 people previously exchanged with the four border Dukes. Less than a year after the war started, the Kingdom of Harland had already eaten a big piece of fat from the Kingdom of Delon, increasing its population by more than 900,000.

Due to the civil war in the Kingdom of Delon, not only the Harland Kingdom family was eating meat, but the four border Dukes, the southern royal territory of the Grant Kingdom, and the Maya Kingdom were all eating meat.

According to rough estimates by the intelligence agency, in the nine months since the war broke out, the Delong Kingdom has lost about four million people, equivalent to about 15% of the total population.

Only a small part of the four million people lost died in the war. Most of them became war refugees, fled the border and fell into the hands of neighboring countries.