Warlords of the witcher world

Chapter 61 Public Opinion Offensive
"Asshole! Who does that upstart think he is, and he talks to His Majesty like this! Does he know what he is doing? Has he figured out his identity and position?"

In the gorgeous tent of King Kaedwen, a knight with a unicorn emblem on his body said angrily. He was wearing a bearskin cloak, which is often the style of Kaedwen nobles.

Judging by his tone, it seemed that if Herme was in front of him now, he would beat up this man who disrespected the king, so that he would know what respect is.

However, considering the rough personality of the Kaedwenians, if Herme was really here, he would indeed be beaten up.

"Is that what the Count really said?"

In contrast, King Kaedwen, who has always been known for his roughness, is now very calm, and he just asks with his rough voice.

However, due to his rough and normal behavior and his habitual loud voice, even if he didn't lose his temper, he still looked very scary in the eyes of everyone.

To put it euphemistically, this is the air of a king, but if it is not euphemistic, it is like a brutal bandit leader.

This is also the biggest problem of this monarch, Henselt does not have the appearance of a king.

With rogue eyes, a large rosacea nose, and a bushy beard... he looked more like a villain than one of the most famous kings in the North.

Conscious of his modest looks, Henselt would wear well-chosen stately attire, and always took care to wear the Royal Order.

He always wore a broad belt decorated with silver towers, a necklace wrought in gold, a crown crowned with royal unicorns on his head, fine scarlet robes, and neatly trimmed clothes. Weasel fur for decoration.

It's just that even with the fancy clothes, his essence is still revealed from time to time.

At this moment, facing the king's question, the soldiers of the Brown Banner Battalion who were released seemed very afraid. Many of them shrank their heads subconsciously, but they still gave an affirmative answer.

Because if you don't answer His Majesty the King in time, then the next thing may be miserable. King Henselt has never been a benevolent person.

"Yes, Your Majesty, that's what he said."

"Then go down, all go down."

To the soldiers' surprise, Henselt signaled them to leave, not intending to do anything to the prisoners.

The released captives were obviously uncomfortable with this, but they didn't say much, they just retreated silently.

After bowing cautiously at first, they walked out quickly.

Because the king's temper is hard to say, and the mood at the next moment may be another situation that is turned upside down.

"Your Majesty, we should launch an attack immediately, cross the Pontar River immediately, and teach that upstart a profound lesson, let him know his identity and status, and let him know what etiquette and status are."

The Kaedwenian knight continued to clamor for war, and the king had a look of boredom on his face, this guy was too loud.

"That's enough, Trive, shut up, you're babbling like a gossip, almost like a fanatical raccoon, don't use your courage and anger on these things. Vandergrief Te, what's your opinion?"

(The raccoon can be understood as the flat-headed brother of the world of demon hunters, a civilized non-human race. Before the arrival of human beings, they were distributed all over the mainland, but now the number is very small.)
King Henselt was never merciless when he reprimanded his subordinates, and the knight was indeed honest when he scolded him like this.

This is Henselt's court. When the king speaks, everyone must obey unconditionally. Henselt pursues such a rule that controls everything.

The Vandergrift he inquired about was a tall general, a little bald, but it didn't affect his majesty. He was also wearing a set of fine-crafted plate armor. His big beard gave him the rough temperament of a Kaedwenian.

A recent rise to the ranks of Kaedweni's army, the general rose to prominence through the suppression of Scoia'tael and was known for his combat prowess, but he was also criticized for wasting soldiers' lives.

But the king doesn't care, as long as there is victory.

Now the general is quite eye-catching in the Kaedwen court, and has also been recognized and valued by the king. It can be said that his status is constantly rising.

"Your Majesty, this matter is indeed unavoidable at the moment. My opinion is that since the nouveau riche on the other side of the river sent a step, then why not go down this step, and continue to observe the development of the battle in Aden. If Aden The people of Dian will really collapse across the board as the intelligence said, and it will not be too late for us to advance into Loumark again. Your Majesty, maintaining the security of the southern border can be said to be the most important reason for us to send troops, and if we fight with the defenders of Aden, we will return to war In the long run, everything will be untenable, and it will completely tarnish the reputation of our country, and Nilfgaard will get all the benefits."

Van der Grift spoke with eloquence, showing his suggestions and attitudes, and the thinking and logic shown did not match his rough appearance at all.

But this is just like the country of Kaedwen, which looks rough and unreasonable on the outside, but always speaks out some philosophical truths without knowing it.

King Henselt sat on the throne, thinking about the general's suggestion.

The servant brought the wine glass carefully, because the king always frowns when he thinks, and looks like he will be furious in the next moment.

Henselt took the wine glass in his hand as if snatching it, and then gulped it down. He drank the best wine in the north like beer.

He didn't care that his beard was covered with wine, and the wine even dripped onto his fine clothes. This scene was too much like a bandit boss drinking.

But in the eyes of the already rough Kaedwenians, this is quite regal.

Everyone was silent, because everyone knew that Vandergrift's words had indeed reached the king's heart, and the king needed to think about it now.

Yes, Henselt's invasion this time was a tentative one, not determined to annex the entire Upper Aedirn, otherwise he would not have sent part of the Brown Banner Battalion to test the response.

Occupying Upper Aedirn, on the one hand, is to take the land that Kaedwen covets, and on the other hand, it is to seek the southern buffer zone and prevent the war from spreading to its own land.

According to Henselt's spies in the south and some information from Nilfgaard, King Kaedwen judged that Aedirn was likely to be defeated, so he began to try to infiltrate the upper Aedirn region, and this temptation came about.

And now, with the arrival of the nouveau riche from Hakland, Upper Aedirn, which would have silently accepted being taken over by Kaedwin under the silver bullet offensive, has become full of combat effectiveness.

The nouveau riche of Hackland, this is what many places call Herme, because Herme has made too much money in the past four years, money that anyone who knows a little bit about these things will be jealous of.

However, this did not affect Herme's reputation among the people. Among the people, he was still the heroic general, the patron of God Cliff, and a famous writer.

If Upper Aedirn is forcibly occupied, a long war will inevitably follow.

Among other things, around Vergen, the two sides can launch a long offensive and defensive battle, and such a long battle will only benefit the Nilfgaardians. Let the Adenians go south and fight the Nilfgaardians.

From this point of view, there is no need for the Kaedwen army to advance, because after it is determined that Kaedwin will not do anything for the time being, this army will definitely go south to join the battle.

Therefore, it will not be too late to act on the day when the situation in Aden really collapses and its army is completely destroyed.

As for this failed temptation, there was still a lot of money in vain, and the king didn't have much regret.

He didn't get angry because of this, but the finger that stretched to the south bank of the Pontar River was poked out a few small scratches, which was nothing.

Soon the King of Kaedwen decided what he should do. His view was simple. If the people of Aedirn could hold the front line, he would do nothing.

And if they collapse across the board, don't blame yourself for their actions.

After drinking the wine in his hand, Henselt had almost considered this idea, so he opened his mouth and asked the clerk to record his next plan,
"Well, do as you say, come, and record what I say, 'I, Henselt, King of Kaedwen, Heir to the Dynasty of Unicorns, King of Ard Kalai , Grand Duke Ben Ade, has received the message from Earl Herme, and we humbly accept the earl's discovery of these problems...'Damn it, I feel a little sick, call me all those pens, Isn’t it just for now that you raise these wastes on weekdays?”

Under the yelling of the king, the writers and diplomats accompanying the army came immediately, and then began to work under the order of the king.

Seeing this, some Kaedwenians are very sorry, because this means that the war they hoped for will not be possible in the short term, and some people are glad that these people are more happy to see the unity of the North than to stab each other in the back.

However, the most people still stand there without expressing any opinions. The king does what he says, and drifts with the tide.

.

"Ah, it must have been written by those pens under Henselt's hand. The words are not like what the king would write. This makes me feel a little nauseous."

In Vergen's chamber, Herme held the credentials sent by Kaedwin.

He looked at it like he was having fun, and then showed the letter to everyone in the meeting.

People reacted differently, some were looking at it like Herme, some were reading it maliciously.

Here, the mayor of Vergen, Cecil, has the greatest dislike for Henselt, which can be seen from his address to King Kaedwen,
"That ugly pig was subdued. This really surprised me. I thought it was impossible. After so many years, this is the first time I've seen this guy subdue."

Henselt, as the dwarves of Vergen call him, has been plagued by Kaedwen for decades in this autonomous dwarven city.

As the center of Upper Aedirn, when the war broke out, it was always the place where the Kaedwenian cavalry harassed it for the first time, which made the Vergen dwarves miserable.

His insults to Henselt aroused the unanimous agreement of all the dwarves present. Henselt is a pig, and some people are attacking King Kaedwen's fertility, and the words are getting more and more obscene.

"This troublesome matter has finally been resolved, huh, I don't have to worry about it for the time being, I have to thank you, Lord Herme."

Cecil continued, there was a lot of joy in his tone, and that expression appeared on his face involuntarily, because he thought of something that was not suitable to say.

That is, the dwarves did not pay much in this series of events, but got a lot of things they longed for.

Vergen's influence now spreads throughout Upper Aedirn, the larger towns are garrisoned and governed by the Vergen dwarves, and the heavy taxes and political oppression imposed on the dwarves by a series of local rulers has been abolished.

But on the other side, except for those dwarves who are most concerned with politics and economics who noticed these unspoken words and had the same satisfied expression on their faces, the other dwarves were still discussing "can Henselt stand up?" similar topics, and the words are getting more and more excessive.

"Now that the matter of Kaedwen is over, Mayor Cecil, are you ready for what I need?"

Homer didn't join in the dwarves' more vulgar discussion, and asked about things related to his troops, that is, some of the rewards Vergen would pay for their gains.

"Five thousand helmets, three thousand breastplates, and enough food to feed the citizens of Wengerburg for a month. Commander Herme, we have prepared these things, and you just need your people to come and take them away." .”

The dwarf in green poured a large amount of beer into his belly, wiped off the foam and alcohol stuck to his beard with his sleeve, and said proudly.

As a dwarven city, Vergen naturally has a well-developed forging industry, and many knights and soldiers' equipment in the Kingdom of Aedirn are produced from them.

Moreover, Vergen is still a trading city and can mobilize a lot of supplies. For them, it is too simple to get a batch of armor and food.

In fact, many of the things here are the bottom of the box of the Vergen dwarves, intending to sell them at the right time, but now, the dwarves think it is most appropriate to give these things to Herme.

The reason why Hemei wanted weapons was very simple. There were still too many unarmed naked men (referring to Cossacks) under him, and he had to arm them as much as possible, so as not to end up fighting with armored men.

Even just wearing an iron helmet is much more likely to survive than not wearing it.

As for food, Herme knew that the Nilfgaardians would stage various three lights in the south, so food was very important, and he had to make some preparations for the possible three lights.

"Next, I will lead the army to the south, Lord Cecil, in order to ensure the safety of Vergen, I will leave 500 people behind. This is not a large number, but it is already the limit I can take out."

Herme left these troops, on the one hand, it was indeed for the safety of Vergen, and on the other hand, it was also to ensure the control of Vergen.

For this point, Cecil is also clear, and he is willing to accept it, but he can't say it directly.

The truth of politics is like this, things cannot be explained too clearly.

"Of course, Earl Herme, you can safely embark on the road to the south. May you come back victorious. I hope you can beat those black dogs well."

In his heart, Cecil was still very disturbed by the departure of Herme's army.

After all, there is no army in charge, facing Kaedwen's army on the other side of the river is still involuntarily scary.

But he also knew that he couldn't comment on it. Herme had basically completed everything that should be done, and it would be meaningless to let Herme and his army stay here now.

Now Herme's army should go south to stop the Nilfgaardians who are going north, and tell those men in black who the north belongs to.

From Herme's point of view, he didn't want to stay in the north alone, and all of his available combat power was pulled to the south.

Because in his opinion, if the battle in the south fails, it will be useless to keep more troops in the north.

In the original book, after Aedirn's army was completely defeated and even the capital was captured, Kaedwin and Nilfgaard directly carve up Aedirn.

Therefore, in Herme's view, if they are defeated in the south, it will not matter how many people stay in the north. Can there be as many people as Kaedwen and Nilfgaard combined?

But in the end, after careful consideration, some troops were still left to ensure this back road. This was not for maintaining local security, but because it really didn't work. He still had the option of going to Hackland to become a toubob.

When the time comes, he will run to the east, and he will still be a rich man.

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Great armies marched out again, now armed with gifts from the dwarves of Vergen, and many Cossacks in solid armor.

The Cossacks were so pleased with the armor that they polished the breastplates and helmets every day before walking on the road with their heads held high.

Thanks to the well-developed road system of the Kingdom of Aden, Heme's army was able to quickly enter the Lower Aden area. This is the benefit of having a good road system.

Herme had been here before, and this place and the Posada area were the main areas where he suppressed the Scoia'tael, and it was also one of the most prosperous areas in the Kingdom of Aden.

It was also here that all kinds of turbulent scenes appeared in front of Herme and the others.

The beginning of entering Lower Aden was okay, it was still the usual calm scene, the farmers were still working in the farmland, and the war in the distance was just a talking point for people.

But the closer to the south, the more obvious the impact of the war, and more and more people began to discuss the war, many of whom were worried.

Herme's army even found a fleeing crowd in front of them.

Although the number is small, the presence of these people has already expressed some signals.

And subconsciously, these people moved closer to Hemei's army to seek shelter.

But Hemei couldn't take them with him, so he could only distribute some food to the refugees, and then let them go to Upper Aden.

At least it is still safe there, and it is impossible for chaos to spread there until the Aedirn army in the south is completely defeated.

Most of these people were frightened by all kinds of war news and went north, hoping to stay away from the war.

Therefore, the news brought by these people is various, and Viato has to record all these things.

But this is not the end. When analyzing the information, we have to add the information obtained through the villages and towns, which are also various.

Some say the south has fallen, others that the Nilfgaardians have taken the capital, and others that the king has fled the land.

Then, in contrast, some people say that the king has won, which is just the rebellion of the defeated Nilfgaard. Some people say that the army has retreated, but it is organizing a counterattack. counterattack to reverse the situation.

The most common ones are the rumors about the various atrocities committed by the Scoia'tael and the Nilfgaardian army. These rumors are the main reason for scaring this part of the people to go north.

In short, this is a panic, and there are all kinds of anxious news everywhere.

Fortunately, the passing of Herme's army has greatly calmed people's hearts. For the people, seeing the appearance of the country's army is the most reassuring thing for them.

Among these mixed news, following the official report, Herme still found something useful.

He spent a lot of energy for this, and he still pulled his guards to do this together.

Because it is too difficult to analyze what is useful from a series of contradictory and exaggerated news.

"The king is definitely still there, and the troops on the front lines are not in total disintegration. Now we can see from these reports that there are reports of Nilfgaardian army and Scoia'tael activity everywhere. I think this is a message adopted by the enemy in the south. Fighting, using high-speed cavalry and guerrillas who are good at hiding to create chaos in the hinterland of our country."

At the war meeting, Herme made such a conclusion.

Because he remembered that in the original book, the Nilfgaardian adopted the tactics of the Scoia'tael leading the way and the cavalry's rapid raid, and successfully divided and surrounded the Aedirn army, which was caught off guard by the rapid fall of Livia.

Then it is certain that they use this form to carry out information warfare and create panic.

This point was just a suspicion at first, but it was finally confirmed by Herme after annihilating many Scoia'tael commandos and Nilfgaardian rangers.

Needless to say, the Scoia'tael, since the start of the war, they have taken risks in groups. Many citizens who were originally good non-human races have turned into Scoia'tael.

As for the rangers, it's interesting. These people were sent by the Southern Empire.

It was learned from the captives that Nilfgaard would release many such battle groups every time it advanced a certain distance, allowing them to continuously infiltrate behind the enemy's territory.

Rangers will camp in forests and wilderness, acting like bandits, and sometimes they even pretend to be bandits.

The task of rangers is to destroy and plunder, and create panic. It is a very dangerous job, after all, they fight in groups of a few to dozens of people.

Nilfgaard is like taking out garbage, dumping these outlaws on the opponent's land, anyway, they don't feel bad when these people are dead.

Although the casualties are quite high, many people in the province are willing to do this.

Because a series of wars in the empire have proved that the risk is high, but the reward is also high. The imperial army can always advance quickly. These "soldiers in the enemy's rear" only last for a few months, and they spend a few months as robbers. It is worth it in exchange for future glory and wealth.

That's why some people are willing to go, and there are also people who became nobles after the war in this way.

After learning enough information, for these captives, Herme hanged them on the trees on the side of the road.

These captives were of little value, and it was difficult to dig out information from the elves. Most of the rangers were from the province of Nilfgaard, and they were thrown out as cannon fodder. How could they know any secrets.

Hanging these people can at least save him from wasting food, and it can also give the surrounding residents a little peace of mind.

To be honest, this trick of the Southern Empire is very effective. In the various traditional wars in the north, the war is limited to the border.

Under the leadership of Ni, the influence of the war spread wildly, reaching the hinterland of its enemy country.

Herme lamented Nilfgaard's art of war very much. This kind of experience should have been obtained in countless killings and wars.

And the northern people who faced these tricks for the first time naturally seemed very passive, which led to such a scene.

"The main battlefield of the war should still be on the southern front, in Edsberg. The Aedirn army has not collapsed, and the Nilfgaardians have not fought so fast. Everyone, don't be fooled by those unfounded rumors. "

Hemei continued to emphasize at the meeting that recently there are always some people in the army who are confused by rumors, which made people panic for a while.

He couldn't let such emotions spread in the army, so he held such a meeting.

"Okay, let's stop here today, the meeting is over."

After the meeting, Herme sat alone in the tent, looking quite tired.

It's not that he is worried about the effect of the meeting. As a general who has never experienced a defeat, his words are still very authoritative, enough to calm people's hearts.

His troubles are on the other hand, how should I put it, although he knows the general development of the matter and what the future looks like, but in the face of all kinds of news frantically pouring in from all directions, his heart is still pounding.

There is a saying that three people make a tiger, and here are countless three people conveying a series of different messages.

A lot of times he was thinking that it would be great if everything was really a big loss or a big win for those bipolar information.

I don't need to hold my head in front of the map all day long, and I don't need to analyze whether these things are correct or not.

The reporting of internal information has also stopped, and it seems that there is a problem with the internal information flow of the Kingdom of Aden.

This caused Herme to lose a channel to obtain reliable news, and the cost of distinguishing true and false news increased a lot.

Herme suspects that Nilfgaard may have deliberately cut off the flow of news from the Kingdom of Aedirn. They didn't see that the Scoia'tael and the Nilander Rangers are running around and causing damage everywhere. The station system must be their key target.

There is a post system in the northern kingdom, but the essence of this system is to add an obligation to raise horses and entertain messengers for tavern owners everywhere, and the owner can get a certain tax exemption for this.

But now that there is a lot of chaos, no one is willing to take the initiative to fulfill this obligation, not to mention that the enemy will definitely attack the station.

But despite all kinds of news, Herme was still firm.

In any case, let's get to Wengerberg first and then talk about the rest.

As the capital of the Kingdom of Aden, where news from across the country gathered, Herme would definitely be able to obtain overall information there.

However, Herme's journey along the way has not always encountered troubles, but also good things.

Along the way, many knights, nobles and militias came to join his troops.

Lower Aden is the largest core area of ​​the Aden Kingdom, and there are never a few loyal subjects of the kingdom here.

They are happy to fight for the kingdom, and Herme has collected a bunch of volunteers of all kinds.

This added 3000 men to his army, bringing the total strength to 5000.

It's just that their quality is really uneven, but anyway, they can be used as cannon fodder, and they are still reliable cannon fodder. At least their morale is enough.

The best of them, and one of the most trusted by Heme, was the Esenland militia led by Lechicki.

Esenland is Hemei's "hometown". In other words, these people are Hemei's township party.

Among these people, Herme even saw the people in the Knights territory exempted from tax by him. They are the best equipped among these militias. It seems that they really listened to Herme's words. Arm yourself.

For these people, Herme is quite dependent.

The first is that their equipment and condition are relatively good, and the second is that they are Hemei's township party. For Hemei, this identity naturally brings trust.

I didn’t see that all the people that Herme brought to Hackland from his “hometown” became his confidantes and guards, and Viato stayed by his side all the time because of his identity as a township party and distant relatives.

Now that they are active in Yadian, of course they trust the Township Party.

The leader of this unit, Lechicki, is naturally Heme's township party member. He once studied at Niuburg University, but after being expelled, he went to the military academy. Naturally, Heme wanted to use such a high-quality township party.

And there's no way around that, after all, the Hemei family has some roots in Esenlan's hometown, and the only ones who can be trusted are these folks. They are at least enthusiastic enough about Hermei and are willing to work with Hermei.

Since Hemei became rich, his hometown has often taken the initiative to rely on him. Many Esenlanders have also settled and worked in Sazarburg. Hemei doesn't mind helping his hometown or giving some money. This relationship has been maintained.

Hemei wanted to appoint people on their merits, but unfortunately, only the township party members dared to use him. How could anyone else dare to use them? I don't know you, and I don't understand you, so there is nothing I can do.

And the closer we got to Wengerburg, the more chaotic the sights we could see on the road.

Farmers can still be seen in the vast fields, but the number is generally about a quarter smaller than what Herme had seen before.

The missing villagers are either strengthening their own villages or embarking on the road of escape.

A lot of things scattered on the ground can also be seen on the road, and I don't know what happened.

On the side of the road, you can also see hanged humans and elves. I don't know which faction they belong to. Anyway, the corpses are just like this dangling in the air equally.

Occasionally, villages can be seen burning, no doubt the work of Scoia'tael and Rangers.

However, the garrison that was supposed to suppress these chaos has long since been transferred away, and many lords have also led their troops south.

The militia team composed of the people and local powerful people is also insufficient, and there are not many places that can be defended. In many cases, the residents can only rely on themselves.

Not to mention, there are still monster activities. Along the way, Herme's army has encountered groups of ghouls and scavengers moving on the road several times. For this, Herme is determined to eliminate them.

As for those fleeing north, there are more.

However, the scale is still not large. Although the panic has spread, it has not yet caused everyone to abandon their hometowns and run away.

When asked about the news of the battle, everyone shook their heads wildly.

Then there was good news and bad news, contradictory as always.

There is more news about Wengerburg's question, because someone came out of it here.

They told Herme that although there were no major disturbances in the capital, people were panicked. Instigators appeared on the streets, and various political factions were also turbulent. Later, the capital immediately imposed a curfew.

Neither the king nor the prince knew what was going on, and nothing could be more disturbing.

This made Herme glad that the capital was still there.

Whether the capital falls or not is an important node. If the capital falls, then Hemei can look forward to running away, but now it seems that there is no such thing.

Finally, the minaret of Vengerburg appeared in front of Herme. Seeing the Aedirn flag on it, Herme was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

In any case, at last we reached Wengerberg.

Next, it's time for Hemei to perform and operate, how to change this bad situation through performance, how to turn around this bad battle situation through performance.

For this, he has been preparing for four years, and he is very confident.

(End of this chapter)