Warlords of the witcher world

Chapter 163

While Geralt was on the trail of the Thorn King, the political landscape in the north was being shaken by Foltest's death.

After Aedirn annexed Kaedwen, both Redania and Aedirn chose to mobilize and prepare for war.

Temeria, without its ruler, seemed like a delicious cake, making both Radovid of Redania and Herme of Aedirn salivate.

However, neither side invaded Temeria immediately, because both sides needed to observe the situation in Temeria and the attitude of the opponent.

It is easy to get targeted by all parties if you are the first to act rashly, so you must be cautious.

In this way, although the north now looks like a war is about to break out, all parties hold back their excitement, observe the development of the situation, and decide whether to invade based on the domestic situation in Temeria.

Many are dismayed that peace has only lasted two years since the Second Northern War, with local wars in between, and now another major war sweeping the North is about to begin.

Temeria in particular was in an atmosphere of mourning, as the people mourned for their much-loved monarch and feared that the throne was vacant.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Temeria is likely to become a spoils of war between Redania and Aedirn in the future-this is something that every Temerian does not want to see.

There are also Temerians who are working hard to maintain the situation and prevent the internal conflicts in Temeria from breaking out, but no one is optimistic about whether they can stabilize the situation.

In short, for the fate of Temeria, now Redania and Aedirn can be said to have entered a state of combat readiness.

However, this is only on the surface.

In fact, both Radovid of Redania and Herme of Adenia have different plans...

"So, is this the answer from Wiesekide? He is really stubborn, but I am not surprised. He finally returned to Sintra. It is indeed a bit embarrassing for the marshal to give up his homeland and flee again. He's gone. But it's okay, Vesekid still has a lot of power, enough to disgust the Nilfgaardians."

On the watchtower of Wengerburg's school grounds, Herme was listening to Charon's report, and in his hand was a scroll of combat readiness, which recorded the mobilization of various troops.

Under the watchtower, there are groups of conscripted soldiers who are receiving their smocks. Under the scolding and whipping of the officers, they formed a neat queue and received their equipment in an orderly manner.

Compared with the previous conscripts, the people of Aden, who have accumulated a lot of experience, are doing much more decently now, and they can't see the chaos before.

And for this recruitment, everyone is also very enthusiastic, and there is an endless stream of applicants.

After all, how many people have made a fortune from the annexation of Kaedwen before, everyone has seen it all.

People always want to chase wealth, and now that Temeria has no king, people regard the war on Temeria as a shortcut to prosperity.

On the watchtower, what Herme and Charoen discussed was the Marshal of Sintra, the Chief of the Sintra District, Wisekid, and the former leader of the Restoration Army of Sintra.

After the Northern Alliance defeated Nilfgaard and took back part of Sintra from the southerners, the Marshal of the Sintra Exile Army, the largest Sintra armed force, became the administrator of Sintra .

Originally, North Sintra should be handed over to the royal family of Sintra, or its closest blood heir, but because the royal family is almost completely wiped out, and the young lion is queen in Nilfgaard, the northerners can only rule out this. .

And if other royal families are to inherit, it will involve a series of unclear genealogical relationships, and what is more terrible is various intricate political relationships.

No one wants others to acquire North Sintra, which leads to extremely serious contradictions. As a result, no matter who inherits North Sintra, it will face opposition from others.

As for dividing up Sintra, this is unacceptable. A broken Sintra is not in the interests of the north. What the north needs is a strong gate that can resist the invasion of Nilfgaard—or, more bluntly, a buffer zone — rather than a broken fiefdom.

So in the end, everyone decided not to occupy Sintra, but to set up the Sintra administrative area, and let Wesekid, the powerful Sintra, manage it.

Wisekid never imagined that the power would finally fall on his head. As a senior nobleman, he knew very well that it would be very difficult for Sintra, which was recovered by the Northern Alliance, to fall into Sintra's hands. Mentally prepared for annexation.

And now, not to mention that he has obtained the power of Sintra, it is also a blessing in disguise. Soden was also assigned to the Sintra area by the Northern Alliance to "strengthen its strength".

Wesekid, who was hit in the head by the sudden power, was a little dizzy, but he was an experienced politician and nobleman after all, so he quickly figured out the situation and started his actions.

He quickly appeased both North Sintra and Soden, and proceeded to organize an army against Nilfgaard, as the northern states had hoped.

He did a very good job in this matter. Vesekid rebuilt the militia system in Sintra according to the system of the Nilfgaard immigration group, and then used the assistance of the northern countries to maintain a mobile force of tens of thousands. .

These forces have greatly stabilized the situation in North Sintra.

As the front line of the war, the border between North and South Sintra has always been in constant conflict. Both the North and the South have acquiesced to the conflict here, and both hope to have certain interests in such small-scale conflicts.

Under the leadership of Wisekide, the North has never lost a single border conflict, and almost got in the face of the South several times.

"Just don't mention his feelings for Sintra. After all, Marshal Vesekid manages Sintra as his family's fiefdom. This marshal sees a future, which is extremely bright for his family. As long as His reign continues, and his family may one day become the true royal family of Cintra."

Charon called Vesselkid Marshal, and this officer preferred his title because it represented strength.

"Indeed, if the confrontation between the North and the South continues, Vesekid may become the true ruler of Sintra one day sooner or later. His idea is very good, but it is a pity that the situation is changing too quickly. Speaking of the current South Sintra Has the number of Nilfgaardian troops found out?"

"No, I'm sorry, Lord Protector, the security of Nilfgaardians is very strict this time. I have already lost three teams of best scouts and two One of the best spies, and many intelligence officers are at risk."

Charon complained to Herme that the elite of the Empire's intelligence department must have gone north this time, otherwise it would be impossible to cause this effect.

Charon's wrist is still not good enough for such a time-honored brand.

"Then how about telling me about Temeria? Will our Natalis still be in control?"

Herme did not intend to embarrass Charon on this topic, and he was not in a hurry to know the information now. For him, it was enough to confirm that the Nilfgaardians were gathering heavy troops.

"Nataris announced three days ago that Temeria has entered a state of full mobilization, requiring men of the right age to be drafted into the army, and ordered the militias and nobles in various places to be under the jurisdiction of the military department."

"That's right. This is a smart man. He knows that he must hold his weapon firmly in order to survive on the political stage. The most important thing is his loyalty to Foltest. The King of Temeria chose a good marshal for himself. It's just that It's a pity that Foltest didn't leave anyone who can support the current situation. It is impossible for someone like Vernon Roche to do dirty work on the stage, and John Natalis is just a pure soldier. He only understands war but not politics, and he can certainly stabilize Temeria in a short period of time, but turmoil will inevitably occur over time."

Heme talked eloquently about the situation in Temeria, and he spent a lot of time studying Temeria. After all, Heme regarded it as an important step towards the peak of power.

"Yes, Lord Protector, you are still as wise as ever."

Charlene followed Hemei's wishes and flattered him, and Hemei was indeed very useful, with a satisfied smile on his face.

"So, about the letters from the nobles of Temeria..."

"It doesn't matter at all."

Herme didn't wait for Charlene to finish, and said directly,

"That's just a group of weeds who want to eat at both ends. I won't give them this opportunity. Now this group of people still has some bargaining power, but when the Nilfgaardians go north again, they have no choice at all. Come lick my boots."

"Yes, Lord Protector."

Charlene agreed with Herme's words very much, and he thought so too.

Speaking of which, Charron was very surprised why Herme was so sure that the Nilfgaardians would go north again. He also confirmed this after he paid a lot of money recently and confirmed that South Sintra was heavily populated.

But he didn't think much about it afterwards, the protector is always right, the protector is always right, this has been proven many times in the past few years.

But, as an intelligence officer by nature, he couldn't help but to inquire about Duke Hu's secrets, but unfortunately there was nothing in the end - of course not, after all, all the information was in Duke Hu's mind.

"Radovid of Redania, has he...has any activity lately?"

"Radovid mobilized the Redanian army, but it is strange that a large number of Redanian troops are gathered near Novigrad, not Temeria. The atmosphere in the city is quite tense now, and people think that Radovid is likely to take the opportunity to take Novigrad."

Charon noticed keenly that when the puppet king of Redania was mentioned, the Protector immediately became cautious.

He didn't understand where this caution came from. Wasn't that Radovid just a sorceress' puppet?

Hearing this news, Herme pondered.

Radovid going to take Novigrad?Although logically speaking, this did make sense, but Herme didn't think it was right.

Now that he knew that the Assassin King had gone to Kovir, the plot would naturally shift to Kovir. Thinking that Radovid was going to give Philippa a big job, Herme wondered what would happen to the bald head.

I don't know why, but the Duke Protector always has a strong uneasiness in his heart.

But after thinking about it, I can't get any answer just thinking about it here, Duke Protector finally sighed.

"Continue to monitor Redania. If there is any change in Radovid, please notify me immediately."

"Yes, Lord Protector."

.

"The Third Northern War...huh."

Looking at the army passing through the pass in front of him, Torres, the resurrected usurper, looked into the distance, where was the Northern Territory, and said disdainfully.

The black imperial army held the golden sun high. Their steps were neat and their equipment was the same, with only minor differences. They looked so elite, just like the imperial army before the Second Northern War.

Before coming to Sintra, most people didn't know where they were going, because they were forbidden to talk to the locals along the way, and they were not allowed to leave the camp at will.

This had a very good effect on keeping secrets, and in this way, under the eyes of the northerners, more than 20 troops gathered in South Sintra.

However, the longer so many troops hoard, the more likely they will be exposed. With so many troops, the food they swallow every day is an astronomical figure, and the number of carriages that deliver food to them is very large. Over time, the northerners must I found something was wrong.

What's more, the northerners have never relaxed their investigation of South Sintra. If the imperial intelligence department and warlocks hadn't brought out all the skills they had under the box, they would have been exposed long ago.

In Torres' view, the war was like a joke.

As for the imperial army...it was no longer the imperial army he left behind. He didn't think such an army could conquer the north at all.

In the Second Northern War, a large number of imperial troops were severely damaged and lost, and even completely wiped out, and had to be reorganized in large numbers.

And the Empire, which consumed a huge amount of resources in the Second Northern War, simply couldn't afford to rebuild the army, so what should we do?

Through the suppression of the provinces of Nasser and Matina, Emhyr passed the "National Army Law". According to this law, the merchants and nobles of the empire can contribute funds to designate the reconstruction or new establishment of a certain imperial army.

In other words, Emhyr completed the reorganization of the army through the power of the ancient family and the merchant association.

The ancient families and the Merchant Association will not miss this opportunity. Since the usurper came to power, the imperial army has been firmly held in the hands of the central government. Now they finally have an opportunity to leverage this point. How could they not seize it.

Of course, this does not mean that the original Nilfgaardian army is completely finished.

In fact, thanks to the military system left by the usurper, the troops built with the funds and manpower of merchants and nobles are still under the control of the military department.

But after a long time, it's hard to say... But it's enough to fight the Northern War right now.

Among the more than 20 divisions that went north this time, half of them had a background of businessmen and nobles, and the division commanders were also newcomers without military backgrounds who were selected by businessmen and nobles.

Torres said that it was horrible. It is good to win the third northern war, and you can take it easy. If you lose, then...

Moreover, the quality of these teachers is severely polarized, the bad ones are extremely bad, and the good ones are excellent.

Some divisions are composed of merchant associations and private soldiers from ancient families. Of course, the quality is nothing to say, and some are pure newcomers, and there are even slaves in them.

Of course, the Imperial Army is full of rookies who lack actual combat experience. After all, the Empire lost so many manpower in the Second Northern War.

Today's imperial army is naturally incomparable with the era of the usurper, but it is still barely enough.

The biggest change Torres felt was in his mentality. Compared with the previous imperial army that thought it was omnipotent and could defeat any enemy, the current imperial army obviously lacked that kind of spirit.

More realistically speaking, Torres' thinking is very simple. Relying on the elite army he left behind and the resources in the warehouse, Emhyr failed to conquer the north. Why does he think that this army can do it now?

So in his view, the Third Northern War was a bad drama, and Emhyr, the clown, hurried to finish his part.

Even if they were able to win many northern lands by conspiracy, so what?After all, it is the army that decides everything, and the conspiracy can only stand aside.

He has fought for so many years, but there has never been any battle that can be won entirely by conspiracy.

Torres' experience in war is better than any general in Nilfgaard today. He knows very well that the further north he goes, the greater the logistical pressure on the imperial army, and sea transportation has become impossible due to the existence of Skellige pirates. It can only be transported by land, and the consumption of land transport is too scary.

Not to mention, northerners have always been full of hatred for the empire, and there will be many northern guerrillas to face along the way.

The enemy is also very powerful, such as that Herme of Aedirn, who caused a lot of trouble for the empire. To a large extent, he was the one who caused the empire's complete collapse. It must be very troublesome to deal with such a person.

Not to mention that he still has artillery in his hands. Although the empire now has a lot of artillery, the northerners must be at the forefront, and the empire will have to be suppressed by then.

But, it is good for Torres that Emhyr torments like this, the more chaos the empire is tormented by him, the easier it is for him to take over.

Torres had already decided that after the end of the third northern war, no matter whether the hedgehog guy won or won, he would be killed immediately.

He has been displeased with this guy for a long time, and the more he understands Emhyr's deeds, the stronger his hatred will become.

However, before taking the position, you still have to fight the third war well, don't kill yourself.

Torres saw the war as an opportunity, a chance to win over allies.

Emhyr's war seems hopeless, but his war looks very promising.

(End of this chapter)