When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1059 Resist or perish, the choice is yours.
Bradak blinked repeatedly, fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead and the back of his neck.

The Five Cities Alliance believed that everything would be fine as long as the Holy Alliance or the Fran launched an attack.

But now, faced with the stark reality, neither the Holy Alliance nor the Fran will launch an attack.

In other words, attacking is not an order.

Therefore, all the plans of the Five Cities Alliance based on this have become a pipe dream.

This isn't a matter of intelligence; it's the difference in perspectives caused by status and hierarchy.

Even the city hall and city council of a free city are seen as high and mighty by ordinary people.

From the perspective of the senior management of the Holy Alliance, the senior management of Fran, and even the senior management of Leia, the decisions and understanding made were very naive.

For example, the uprising of the Five Cities Alliance was timed perfectly.

It just so happened that both the Holy Alliance and Fran were unable to provide support to them.

Horn wondered if the Five Cities Alliance uprising was deliberately instigated by Duke Omes.

Firstly, eliminating them would significantly increase fiscal revenue and restore the kingdom's dwindling prestige.

Secondly, it can serve as a warning to others and reduce the occurrence of similar incidents within Leia.

The third point also diverted attention from the current internal crisis of the nobility in Leia.

The expenses and ransoms from the previous wars led to the bankruptcy of many nobles.

However, for the sake of their noble dignity, they refused to sell their property, but the land's output was insufficient to pay off their debts.

Even in order to maintain appearances, they continue to borrow money.

By robbing Peter to pay Paul and relying on his accumulated wealth, Omes managed to keep the kingdom afloat.

Of course, the nobles of the Thorn Garden also rose to prominence, and through marriage alliances, claims, and buyouts, they amassed the estates of bankrupt nobles.

This further led to the emergence and prevalence of bandit knights, with many nobles turning to the seas to become mercenaries.

Many nobles, on the other hand, had no choice but to rely on powerful local nobles or band together for mutual support.

If this continues, I'm afraid the kingdom will be engulfed in rebellion.

Both the Holy Alliance and France have a set of methods to resolve this debt problem.

The Holy Union had its work relief program and the development of Black Snake Bay, while the Franco Union had its pioneering land and the option to lie down and be ridiculed.

Both sides have extremely strong control over their respective countries, so bankruptcy is no big deal.

In Leia, however, they clearly lacked both the administrative capacity and the advanced financial tools available.

But even if they did have it, given the Kingdom of Leia's bankrupt reputation, it would be difficult to utilize it.

In the past, this would have been a time when the king would take the lead in shifting the conflict abroad.

Another war will solve all the problems.

But now it turns out that Leia can't beat anyone.

As for the Norn people to the north, they are even poorer than them. Should we send troops there to help them?
Meanwhile, the more affluent Norn lords to the south are separated by the Holy Alliance and the entire Dragonsleep Mountain Range, making them far out of reach.

Since there's no way to shift the blame externally, the only option left is to shift it internally.

If we can't beat the Franco and the Holy Alliance, we can't beat you?

This led to a surge of bandit knights appearing along the roads of the Kingdom of Leia, robbing merchants, artisans, and travelers everywhere.

Some towns in Leia chose to expel the bishops, largely due to the activities of bandit knights.

Even without the Holy Path Sect, there would be other theories to support them.

Now that the Holy Path Sect exists, they will naturally choose it, since the Holy Alliance is a powerful force under Leia's command.

"This this……"

Sweat slid down Bradak's face, leaving behind deep lines and wrinkles.

If what the Holy Alliance says is true, then the Five Cities Alliance, as the first to stick its neck out, will inevitably be severely punished by the Regent.

The thought of that hopeless future almost made him faint.

Seeing Bradak's embarrassed look, Horn, who had been concise, offered some words of comfort: "But at least you made the right choice; you came to us for help."

If it were France, they would only be loyal to their own interests.

The Holy Alliance wouldn't dare say it's not for its own benefit, but at least we can extend a helping hand to you out of consideration for our shared lineage with the Holy Path Sect.

It's impossible for Horn to say that he was prepared to watch these cities that had rashly raised an army die.

After all, they were brothers from the same clan as the Holy Path Sect, and they were among the first to rise up in rebellion.

Even if it costs a fortune to buy a horse's bones, Horn will not allow the Five Cities Alliance to be easily destroyed.

"Can you help me?" "Of course, we can provide you with a lot of supplies, including retired veterans, officers, clockwork guns, and quartermasters who are proficient in political and logistical matters."

They will help you build an army from scratch…

"You mean we have to play it ourselves?"

“How novel!” Carrie rolled her eyes. “Are you suggesting we fight for you? Let me put it bluntly, if we fight you all together, everything will be ours.”

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch,” Jeanne added.

Faced with the double attack from the two saintesses, Bradak was speechless.

"Hoping for a savior won't work. We'll help you, but you also need to fight your own battles." Horn pointed to the others present. "We faced far greater difficulties than you did, but we still managed to get through them little by little, didn't we?"

Can Dawn Island be compared to Thousand Rivers Valley?

"Why not?"

Bradak initially found it absurd and infuriating, but after Horn and the other saints said that, he was taken aback.

Yes, why not?

If you are not independent, you will inevitably be controlled by others if you receive help from them.

It's just that cities are so used to being controlled by others that they haven't thought of this point.

But then Bradak realized something was wrong: "How could we possibly defeat Leia with just us and our newly assembled army?"

Throughout Leia's history, urban uprisings have occurred more than once.

The bad ending was the massacre of the city; the good ending was that they turned to the church.

Longbow Fortress had surrendered to the church after their uprising failed, and now they were being asked to revolt again.

"The Holy Alliance's uprising has already shown you how it did: bonds, the Salvation Army, clockwork guns..."

"You also have noble knights to help you hold off the enemy."

Carrie sneered, "Don't you have any?"

Will the nobles stand on our side?

“Don’t you have money? Besides, who says you can’t win over nobles?” Carrie pulled a list from her bosom, but instead of handing it to Bradak, she looked at him with amusement.

For the Five Cities Alliance, the nobles of Dawn Island, especially the lower and middle-ranking nobles, are indeed potential targets for winning over.

Faced with internal and external pressures, many lower-ranking nobles and even counts in Windmill Lands chose to convert.

After all, no matter how many victories they report in battle, the battlefront is one of national humiliation and loss of sovereignty.

Since the old ways no longer work, let's just integrate into the new era.

Some radical nobles even went so far as to sell their property and go all in on industry and commerce.

The nobles of Windmill Land, the nobles of Fran, and the nobles of the Holy Alliance all wisely devoted themselves to industry and commerce.

Why is it that the Leia nobility is not eligible?

"These reforming nobles within Leia also stood on the opposite side of the Church."

In this respect, you are allies; they are using their superior strength and influence to fight against the Church.

This was one of the Salvation Army's signature tactics against the Church and the nobility.

A kingdom is not the same as a royal family, and there are different levels of nobility.

The joys and sorrows of nobles are not shared; a bankrupt nobleman who looks at a nobleman who has made a fortune through mergers and acquisitions will only find the latter noisy and hateful.

Sisi immediately replied, "Even between brothers, accounts should be settled clearly. We don't ask for much in return, but we at least demand the right to know."

How many do you have? How much do you want? How far will the fighting go? Who are the enemies and your own people?

These are all issues worth discussing, and we will send Zhongsi to guide you on how to start an uprising.

"As long as you can establish a firm foothold, you will receive support from more than just this paltry sum from the Holy Alliance."

“The money of the commoners plus the knights of the nobility may not be enough to replicate the victory of the Thousand River Valley War.” Horn stood up, leaning on the table. “But if we add the clockwork guns and officers of the Holy Fathers, and the cohesive will of the Holy Path Sect, we might actually be able to replicate the Thousand River Valley War.”

By then, once you have established yourselves, the Holy Alliance will fully accept you as Holy Alliance member states with national sovereignty.

Value is something you create yourself; if you truly fail...

Your future fate will likely be that after seven or eight years of suppression, you will be completely incorporated into the Holy Alliance.

It's no longer possible to get those favorable conditions again.

Resist or perish, the choice is yours.

　P.S. I'm desperate. I've been saving the outline and settings on an online website called Mubu, but I haven't been able to log in for the past few days for some reason. I'm really sweating bullets, bro.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)