Warhammer Throne

August 2514 in the imperial calendar.

In the next few months, whether it was the Knight King of Bretania, Carl-Franz, the Grand Duke of Nord Theodoric Gesser, or the ice and snow of Kislov Queen Catalyn, they are all afraid of the large-scale assembly and strange silence of the barbarians. The human kingdoms in the north of the old world have continuously sent scouts and spies to Norsca to obtain information to confirm whether the barbarians really intend to be large-scale. Go south.

As for Estalia and Tyrell, it still doesn't matter how they hung up.

At the beginning, everyone was very nervous and very on guard. A batch of troops were deployed to the front line to prepare for a possible large-scale invasion by the barbarians. At the same time, the courts of Bretania, Kislev, and the Empire also continued. There were several meetings to discuss how to respond, and even sent messengers to communicate with each other to prepare for coordinated operations.

In the end, however, the news came astonishing everyone.

It's fighting! It's really fighting!

But it was not the northern barbarians that went south, but the pirate fleet of Nosca and the Dark Elf’s Black Ark fleet fought in the Chaos Sea. Hundreds of Nosca dragon ships and the dark elves fought a terrible naval battle with the entire Black Ark fleet. No battle is won or lost.

Subsequently, Valkyrie, the wife of the blood god, personally led a Chaos army of more than 35,000 people and began a war with the dark elves of Nagaroth. This battle was fought by the Witch King Malekis and the Queen Morasi. The dark elf kingdom was caught off guard. It was once broken through the northern defense line carefully established by the dark elf. After looting several dark elf fortresses, it rushed to the capital of Kane’s bride Hulliburn, Hal-Guncy, Karond, and the front line of Mt. The barbarians even built a fortress of chaos on the deadwood kingdom of the dark elves, called the Frozen City, to show their achievements.

Malekiss was forced to withdraw his fleet and main force preparing to attack the Osuan Barren Isles. The Witch King ordered his subordinate Malus-Black Blade to lead the army of dark elves to fight against the army of chaos in Valkyrie, the dark elves and the chaos tribe. The blood warmed the ice sheet of Nagaroth.

The beginning of the battle was favorable to Valkyrie, because the blood god’s wife has never lacked a full-armed horrifying berserker to follow, but the dark elves are a richly armed race, especially the 95,000 dark elves stationed along the northern line. The defenders were also Druzzi's elite and well-tested fighters. Gradually, the dark elves stabilized the situation and contained the chaotic offensive.

At this time, almost all the human kingdoms have received information, that is, the Norskar Barbarian has responded to the call of the Chaos Wasteland Barbarian and is ready to assemble all their forces to fight the dark elves.

That's it! So this is ah!

The barbarians did not plan to fight us, but plan to fight the dark elves to the death!

That's okay, I can finally rest assured.

The humans in the entire old world breathed a sigh of relief almost at the same time, and the electors of the empire shouted for luck, and even ecstatic.

Okay, the barbarians play dark spirits, **** are playing bastards!

The imperial electors who had been worried about them even held a banquet to celebrate.

The imperial capital Brunswick, the imperial palace, the imperial parliament.

Every year, the emperor’s Rick guards are inspected in the capital so that all citizens can witness the strength of the emperor’s guards. This is usually carried out by Marshal Rick. This is for him to check whether his knights are fully equipped and weapons. This is a great opportunity for the newly recruited knights who performed the vigil and sworn into the Knights after the last review. It’s about a training and test that can be traced back to Rick’s guard. There is no such formal and strict tradition of the times.

Since modern times, the first inspection of a new knight has become a symbol of his final acceptance as a member of the Knights. For noble families who intend to gain more influence in the imperial court, this is their participation in the ceremony and bathing. An excellent opportunity for honor.

The Emperor Karl-Franz inspected Rick's guard who was loyal to him during the day. The Emperor’s face was a little stiff because he smiled for too long, and he even wondered if he could make expressions other than smiles.

But the emperor was destined to be tired. He had just reviewed the Rick guard during the day, and he immediately convened a cabinet meeting in the evening.

Several core courtiers of the emperor sat together. Emperor Karl looked around and said with some regret: "Gelt is not here?"

"Our chief great wizard and great alchemist brought a message saying that he can't get out of one of the most important gunpowder improvement experiments now, but he gave a suggestion that as far as the current situation is concerned, it is not recommended to relax your vigilance." Count Walfin, the chief spy of the Empire, said cautiously: "But the information I got here is that the barbarians are indeed fighting against the dark elves in the remote and cold continent of Nagaroth, and the Norsca barbarians are indeed planning to do their best to provide support."

"So your suggestion is to relax your vigilance? Walfen, you idiot, do you know that the barbarians have already dedicated everything they have to the **** of darkness? How do we know that the other party will Will not suddenly turn around to attack the empire?" Marshal Rick Kurt Heilberg still maintained his anger and vigilance, he exclaimed dissatisfiedly: "We must not take it lightly, you think we should relax our vigilance and disband Our army, you are wrong, Walfen, you are ridiculously wrong!"

"But we can't go on like this!" The spymaster also launched a counterattack: "This is what the intelligence shows, yes, we should probably be vigilant, but it's August now, Heilberg, look at your horoscope. It's already August!"

"August?" Heilberg was stunned, Marshal Rick didn't understand why the other party said this suddenly.

"The autumn harvest is coming soon, my marshal." Mrs. Hawkswall, the chancellor of the exchequer, looked at Heilberg with a displeased look. She seemed to be watching a madman and an idiot: "The autumn harvest is coming in September, and the military complains. , You have to know that the food we use as military expenses... and the basis of taxation is agriculture. If [biqudao.info] we continue to send heavy troops on the border, we don’t have to wait for the barbarians to come, our own The treasury can raise rats!"

"But..." Marshal Rick blushed and wanted to fight again.

At this moment, the emperor spoke, and Karl Franz said with some frustration on his face: "If the electors themselves start to relax their vigilance, then what use is there for us to insist here? The army cannot be stationed for a long time. Outside, the leader of Rick is already very opinionated about this."

Heilberg had to admit that the emperor was right. In the army led by Rick, there were not many professional soldiers who were really completely off-the-job. Most of them were semi-professional soldiers. Salaried soldiers, this kind of soldiers cannot leave the territory to fight for a long time, especially when the autumn harvest is approaching, and there is no fighting on the front line. Soldiers are very dissatisfied with this inexplicable recruitment.

Isn't it all right now?

What the barbarians have to deal with is the dark elves, what's up with my empire?

To make matters worse, the emperor’s actions have harmed the interests of homeowners and citizens among the middle class.

A well-known female artist and writer of the empire, Mrs. Squier, who wrote many books, said in public: "Testing the civilized scale of a country is never based on how tall your palace is and how fast your carriage is. It depends on how powerful your weapons and military are, not how advanced your technology and art are, not how luxurious your meetings, how gorgeous fireworks, or even how many businessmen you have to go out and buy the world. Test you There is only one thing: your attitude towards the disadvantaged."

Afterwards, this Mrs. Squier began to give speeches and rhythms at aristocratic salons and banquets in the capital, making the emperor disgusting. However, the theory that many high-ranking officials and dignitaries in the emperor's court especially ate her and kept protecting her.

On the contrary, the emperor really can’t help it. After all, this sounds reasonable, and he is still speaking for the citizens and the poor. It is a natural political correctness. This rhythm is very successful. Everyone feels that the emperor is making a fuss and expanding his power. It hurts the interests of the Rick people.

And there is a song "We hope the old emperor Luitpolder will return" in the city of Braunschweig.

We hope the old emperor Luitpold will come back

We hope that the old emperor Luitpold will return

The one with the beard, the long beard

The one with the beard, the long beard

Our parents are talking about the good old days

A long time ago, that era of peace

But it was really good then, good days back then

...

The meaning of this song is nothing more than that the new emperor of Kas is too bad. There are too many wars and conquests and heavy taxes. People prefer the old emperor Luitpold, but Karl-Franz knows deeply. His father, Luitpolder, was nothing more than a set of national policy of maintaining stability by being a throwaway emperor, governing by doing nothing, compromising with the nobles and electors, and avoiding war as much as possible. He cleaned up the mess, now his people blame themselves for doing too much?

At the same time, a new argument appeared in the imperial court, and it spread extremely fast.

That is the "Brittania Threat Theory". Many scholars and bureaucrats believe that the northern barbarians will fight against the dark elves, and the empire can at least enjoy a good life for several more years. The kingdom of knights, which rises rapidly and once again won the victory of Orbion's Great Expedition, will become the true enemy of the empire, and it must be guarded and sanctioned, and it can even use force.

There is a market for this kind of argument, and it spreads wildly around Braunschweig.

"Can't we leave a few elite legions?" Marshal Heilberg insisted: "Your Majesty, Gelt also said, we can't let our guard down."

"Enough, Heilberg, where does the money come from?" Mrs. Hawkswall said frustrated and angrily: "You can have a good time, but who will pay the money? Do you know that your Majesty is beginning to use himself Your private vault?"

Heilberg suddenly understood something. Marshal Rick turned his gaze around the emperor’s private cabinet. He sighed, "I see, all of you want to be able to withdraw your defenses, right?"

Everyone did not speak. After several minutes of silence, the Imperial Privy Council and Chief Foreign Minister Baron Amadeus Mencken finally spoke: "Kurt, there is an argument that people think that if we don’t withdraw In the army in the north, then the Norskars will not rest assured to fight the dark elves, and even some Norskar chiefs directly ask for the'protection money' from some Nord lords and Marienburg merchants...some people have already given it. , Do you understand what I mean?"

"Stupid!" Heilberg shook his head disappointedly, and Marshal Rick stopped talking.

Emperor Karl-Franz also realized.

In his court career for decades, the emperor deeply understood that Heilberg was a soldier and the others were bureaucrats.

For bureaucrats, maintaining stability, smoothness, peace, and stability are their natural pursuits and political correctness. They are also right. The empire is indeed financially tight, and the war loan owed to the Supreme King has not yet been repaid!

"Withdraw the troops, now, the autumn harvest is the top priority!" The emperor finally made the decision.

"Yes!"

At the same time, in the court of Brittany, Ryan was also in a meeting, and the Knight King summoned the dukes to discuss the movements of the barbarians.

If anyone sees this, they may be surprised to find that the conference topics and the discussion process are almost the same whether it is the empire or the palace of Brittany.

That's it! So this is ah!

The barbarians did not plan to fight us, but plan to fight the dark elves to the death!

That's okay, I can finally rest assured.

marvelous! The barbarians play the dark spirits, the **** are playing bastards!

The dukes of the Knight Kingdom all smiled, clapping their hands and cheering.

In the somewhat rudimentary palace newly built by Musilon, Aurora, as the leader of the intelligence department, reported the situation to everyone.

Yes, it is not the prophet of the lake god, nor the manpower sent by Raun, but Aurora, the mature and beautiful sanctuary witch who is full of moving style and reports in the conference hall in the new palace to report all the recent events. Intelligence summary. Based on the information of scouts and spies and analysis of multiple sources of intelligence, it seems that the barbarians are indeed planning a decisive battle with the dark elves. Dozens of pieces of information have been verified to be correct. In this regard, Aurora did a good job. .

Aurora only feels that she has face and can enjoy the status of reporting alone as a witch in the core power and decision-making level of the human kingdom. The sacred witch only feels that she is a little airy. This is what she used to be in the Garland Council. I dare not think about the status and treatment.

Of course, if all of this didn't come from this guy Ryan, it would be even better, Aurora thought a little displeased.

"So it seems that the barbarians will not call." The dukes expressed their opinions one after another. Francois smiled and said to Ryan: "All signs indicate that the barbarian's target is the dark elves, and we have been vigilant for nothing. ."

"It looks like this at the moment, but we can't take it lightly." Ryan motioned to Aurora to come down and sit behind him, sitting in a position to the left of Beria, who had just returned from Marienburg: "It should be. Precautions are still required."

But Aurora moved her long legs and brought a scent of lavender, and sat directly in the position of the absent court housekeeper Katzenberg. Both Morgia and Sulia glanced at her. Ryan didn't object and said nothing.

"But the autumn harvest is about to come, Your Majesty." Raun reminded in a low voice: "We must guarantee the autumn harvest. Agriculture is the foundation of the nation. The army can't always be concentrated on the northern coast. Army salaries and rations will become a serious burden, soldiers. It’s not a long-term solution for us to stay on the front lines."

"Hmm..." Ryan had to admit that Lawn was right, but the Knight King still felt that something was wrong.

"Can't we keep a few elite legions?" At this time, Duke Berhemond proposed a compromise: "The chaos is really untrustworthy!"

"So, where does the military expenditure come from?" Duke Adehad asked.

"Military expenses are paid out of the treasury. A principality has 700 people. The knights, knight attendants, and professional troops are completely free from production. The military expenses and rations are paid by the national treasury." Ryan said decisively: "Take all your tasks to fight, fight and disturb all day long. The security ranger knights and the elite infantry regiments formed by the return of Bafeng Mountain were sent to me along the northern route! Even if the barbarians do not come, they have the right to go out for training and travel! Tell them that the king takes care of the meals and three meals a day are not troublesome. , And also pay for the army!"

"Hahahahaha!" There was a burst of laughter in the conference hall. Ryan's prestige was so high that no one dared to object, and he also made it clear that the maintenance fee would be paid by the treasury, and the dukes would not object. The distribution of the professional army and 700 people would not affect the vital autumn harvest, so everyone agreed, and even the duke asked if he could send more points.

In this way, the meeting came to an end, and a professional army of more than 8,000 people was quickly formed. Ryan handed over the command to his own Marquis of Loire, the holy grail of Turas-de-Sangel. , And seconded from Bastogne, another Earl of the Holy Grail Galament, Karad, appointed Karad as the coach and Turas as his lieutenant.

After arranging everything, Ryan announced the end of the meeting and he himself would return to Jean City.

The humans of the old world finally breathed a sigh of relief. This year looks like a good year.

Good times, coming power!