When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1249 Andrei? Who are you?

In late November, Horn left the Holy See once again, sailing to Jeanne d'Arc Castle, and began his inspection mission from there.

He did not go alone, but brought with him a large group of Fathers monks, including Thomas, as well as a group of accountants, clerks, judges and gendarmes.

In addition, the approximately 500-strong Guardian of the Holy Armor also served the task of protecting the Pope.

Don't think that just because Horn is the Sun of the Holy Alliance, he can do whatever he wants. He's not the real Sun.

Many people at the bottom are not rational and cannot distinguish between kings and queens. What if a literal psychopathic gunman suddenly appears?
Such things have happened before in history. In fact, before Horn came to this world, he had seen a former prime minister of a country shot dead on the roadside.

With this small entourage, Horn began inspecting facilities along the way, including recruit camps, warehouses, barracks, and bastions.

Upon arriving at each location, a mandatory step was to find a small room, personally meet with the soldiers, ask for their opinions, and accept reports from them.

At this time, the Holy Alliance did not have a strong information technology system, and there were many areas that could not be monitored.

Even the relatively transparent politics of the Holy Alliance cannot prevent the low level of control brought about by the Pope's remoteness.

Simply relying on self-discipline to restrain desires is still too difficult for the general public in this era, who are largely detached from sophisticated tastes.

So almost wherever he went, Horn would scold, punish, dismiss, or even hang several officers or local monks.

Monks everywhere were in a state of panic, making all sorts of preparations, fearing that Horn might launch a surprise attack on their territory.

If we were to use a control map from a game to describe it, it would mean that as Horn travels along a certain route, the control and administrative efficiency of the surrounding area increase dramatically.

After inspecting the area from Jenderburg to Red Sand County, Horn continued westward along the river to Fishing Town.

Dawn Federation Patriarch Jeanne and New Gem Federation Patriarch Gilatl were already waiting there.

At the same time, they brought Horn new information: the vampires continued their advance after the surrender of Golden Horn and Eagle's Foot.

Judging from the current situation, they are preparing to leave the central army in Liangwan to maintain stability, while the northern and southern routes will advance simultaneously to attack Changge City.

King Gigi chose to adopt a scorched-earth policy and implement layered defenses, but judging from the initial battle reports, the layered defenses were collapsing one after another.

Neither the strategists nor Jeanne herself, nor even the monks of the Dawn and New Gem Federations, were optimistic about it.

Even some of the towns and oligarchs that had previously submitted began to stir.

Only after Horn arrived in Fishing Town did these people behave themselves a little.

Horn spent almost a month in the two clubs, even spending New Year's Eve in the fishing city.

In mid-to-late January 1461, he set off again, heading north along the River Seine, passing through Upper and Lower Seine and Wolfbridge, two of the five new counties, before heading to Shattered Stones.

However, compared to before, the accompanying monks and even military officers showed signs of opposition.

The reason is simple: everyone knows what kind of person Andrei is.

Back then, they were all people who tried to build up their own military power in the Upper Rivershire border region. This stain alone was enough to make him lose his head after he was stripped of his military power.

But the saint was too merciful and spared his life, even appointing him as the commander of the Northern Army.

They even gave him the authority to form two battle groups!
Most importantly, the border of Shattered Stone Plains is still a frontline area.

Because of the presence of the bastions, the Norn vassal forces and royal army in the Roaring Corridor did not make any rash moves.

What if they find out that Horn is coming, and Andrei then joins them in a coordinated attack from the inside?
Horn, however, disagreed. If this had happened before, he might have indeed had such doubts.

However, after inspecting the garrison posts on the Shattered Stone Plains and meeting with a large number of priests from the interior of the Thousand River Valley, Horn could basically conclude that even if Andre wanted to rebel, he would have nowhere to do so.

If we leave now, it will only make him feel contempt.

Andrei is half wolf and half dog. If you can tame him, he'll be a lapdog. But if you show weakness, he'll take advantage of you.

Around the beginning of February, Horn passed through Silver Bay and arrived at the logistics center of the border fortress complex—the camp outside Lampwick City.

After informing someone in advance, Horn wandered around somewhere outside.

Standing on a small earthen slope, one can see the Longmian Mountains very close by.

At the end of winter, under the bluish-gray sky, the continuous snow-capped mountains really did have the feel of a sleeping white dragon.

At the foot of the mountain lies a vast wilderness, with mirror-like lakes scattered among the golden thread grass and photinia flowers.

Even from a great distance, Horn could see the low-hanging clouds and silvery-white snow-capped mountains reflected in the lake.

Scattered on the massive rocks, waterbirds and rock sparrows perched, chirping sweetly as they pecked at insects in the dark black soil. Taking a deep breath of the pungent, chilly air, Horn's sleepy eyes cleared somewhat.

He didn't come here to admire the scenery.

He tightened his coat, then asked the person beside him, "Is everyone here?"

"Everyone is here and waiting downstairs."

Horn then slowly descended the mountain along the path, where he came across a group of Holy Alliance officers wearing coats and cloaks.

Some leaned against the rocks, some sat cross-legged, and some gathered in twos and threes to chat.

Upon seeing Horn, they immediately stood at attention, many of them even wearing pajamas.

"Good morning, everyone. I apologize for calling you all so early." Horn smiled and waved, and a monk immediately poured hot coffee for the officers. "This is not for any other reason than to check if anyone is absent from their posts. Lord Andrei did a good job; not a single person was absent."

Standing before Horn, Andrei bowed slightly amidst the applause, but his face was dark.

Andrei's dark complexion wasn't due to Horn's arrival; Horn's schedule had been sent to him a week earlier.

The problem is that Horn was supposed to arrive tomorrow morning, but he arrived today.

This group was quite large, with a large number of Imperial Guards, Shadow Guards, and accounting clerks, totaling about 1,800 people.

Horn arrived a day early, but not a single sentry sent word to him, not one!
Even the regional officials he appointed and trusted the most were not among them.

The reason for this is simple: the Holy Grandson told them to keep quiet beforehand.

Even when the grandson of the saint arrived, and the messenger entered the military camp with the imperial edict and woke him from his bed, no one informed him.

There were even officers who led the messenger around, saying, "His Excellency Andrei is over here, sir."

The reasons and actions were perfectly justified, yet they made Andrei break out in a cold sweat.

what does this mean?
This means that all his subordinates, faced with the choice between him and Horn, firmly chose Horn.

If His Majesty the Holy Grandson wishes, he can simply send an envoy to remove his head and return.

The few cronies he secretly cultivated in the army were dismissed like farts in front of the emperor's grandson.

Without saying a word, they put on fawning expressions and rushed to get closer to the grandson of the emperor.

The other generals had strange expressions, some were still scared, and a few couldn't help but laugh.

He, Andrei, is the eldest brother, but can he be older than the grandson of the saint?

Now, with external enemies at hand, the most elite Imperial Guards at home, and the Salamander Legion of the New Five Counties eyeing them covetously.

As for the various settlements, the pastors under Valentel were tirelessly preaching.

The soldiers are involved in all the major events in their lives, from enlisting to marriage and having children.

Those soldiers were all devout followers of the Holy Way Sect, not to mention the Mutual Aid Society, but Horn spent a lot of money to find teachers to help the garrison.

In the soldiers' eyes, the saintly grandson was like a little father to them.

As for Andrei—who are you?
If Andrei says he's not convinced in the morning, the soldiers in the garrison will raise their flags to protect their leader that very night.

Since resistance is futile, submission is the only option.

Oh, so this commissioner of the Shattered Stone Plains Military District was appointed by Andrei, and no one else could do it?

Countless malicious gazes were fixed on Andrei's back, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

“It is what I should do, Your Majesty.” When Andrei raised his head again, his dark face turned red and became extremely obsequious. “I heard roosters crowing before dawn this morning. I thought the roosters had gone mad, but I didn’t expect it was the sun that had come out.”

Isn't it just a competition of who can please whom? Do you guys know how to fawn over someone?
Even after I was stripped of my military power, I still managed to become a commissioner of a military district.

"Alright, since no one is absent from their post, let's not stand here anymore. Let's go into the camp and talk."

With just one word from Horn, the officers immediately followed him to the military camp like stars around the moon.

Just before Horn left, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure in the crowd.

He turned to Petit, who was standing beside him, and said, "After the morning meeting, call... to..., understand?"

(End of this chapter)