When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1250 Rebuilding Norn

After the morning meeting, Horn ate breakfast quickly and headed to the fortress complex further ahead without lingering.

He had just spotted Groyev in the crowd and immediately remembered the young bear lord from the report.

As it happens, Young Bear Lord is currently on the border of Shattered Stone Plains, and the Holy Alliance needs his cooperation for many of its subsequent strategies.

So Horn went there himself, to both investigate and meet with the people.

As for Andrei, he was accompanied by nearly a thousand cavalrymen and centaur guards.

Alexei's Norn Restoration Army camp was only a hundred miles from the front lines of both sides.

If a vampire cavalry unit were to wander over and startle the Holy Grandson, would he still be able to keep his job as the commissioner of the military district?
From afar, you can see a flag fluttering at the entrance of the camp.

Those were wings made up of two white scars, with an eagle's head in the middle.

Beneath the flag was a long, brown encampment, sprawling across the bluish-gray grass.

"This is the camp of the Restoration Army." Groyev forced a smile as he stood beside Horn and Andrei. "I have already sent someone to inform His Excellency Alexei."

Standing in front of the camp, facing the curious gazes of the passing soldiers and merchants, Horn carefully observed the camp before him.

Compared to a military camp, this place is more like a market.

Norn merchants, vampire merchants, and even centaurs come and go, all trading here.

This was one of the privileges Horn granted to Alexei: a portion of the border trade concessions.

Around the camp walls, along the lakes and streams, you can see many rye fields and a large number of Norn farmers working.

Compared to the previous desolation and quietness, it now has a lot more of a lively atmosphere.

However, compared to the chaos in front of the camp wall, the barracks, drill grounds, and arrow towers behind the camp wall were all built in an orderly manner.

That young bear lord Norn didn't waste his time at St. Tangier Military Academy.

Before long, a travel-worn Alexei arrived swiftly with a dozen or so centaur attendants.

Upon seeing Horn, Alexei hurriedly dismounted and bowed, while the centaurs knelt in fear.

During the Battle of Ladenburg, Saint Sun was famous for his mastery of thunder, which terrified them.

Later, when the vampires invaded, some of the centaur tribes that had been assimilated into the Norn tribes, as well as those that refused to submit to the vampires, migrated to the Holy Alliance.

Anyway, the campaign to grant citizenship to those who joined the army on the border of the Holy Alliance hadn't ended, and the Shattered Stone Plains were quite suitable for their survival, so they simply pledged allegiance to the Shattered Stone Plains.

Andrei is resourceful; nowadays, almost every military commander on the border has a group of centaur guards as a fashion item.

Andrei even specially packed a batch for Horn, so that Horn could take another 500 centaur cavalry when he left.

"I came here ten years ago, and it's much more lively now."

"Your Majesty, please forgive us, we..."

“This isn’t blaming you,” Horn interrupted him. “Where did all these people come from?”

"They are all from the Norn savage tribe..."

Because the Roaring Corridor is relatively poor, it is mostly in a medieval state except for a few wealthy major cities.

Despite acquiring a large portion of territory, the vampire lord did not reap the rewards he had anticipated.

Many vampire lords even have to sell cattle and horses to the Holy Alliance to ensure their profits.

In this situation, their only options were to head south to the more prosperous South Norn and seek resources from within.

When they looked into their territory, oh dear, there were still quite a few tax-paying groups—the Norn savage tribes.

Although they are called a savage tribe, they are actually similar to ordinary Norn villages, except that they are an autonomous entity.

Compared to loyalty, the relationship with the lord is more like that of a vassal or even a partner.

But the vampires didn't care about any of that and immediately began trying to annex these savage tribes.

Based on what he had learned in his diplomacy class at St. Reichstag University—that the enemy of my enemy can be my friend—Alexei vigorously courted these savage tribes.

In addition to sheltering savage refugees, savage tribes along the border would send large numbers of young men to join Alexei's restoration army.

"Now the Restoration Army, including combat and auxiliary troops, numbers over ten thousand." Alexei accompanied Horn on the grassy path. "If it weren't for His Majesty granting us trade privileges and equipment aid, how could the sinner Alexei have reached this point today?"

"Even though you are from a noble family and we will inevitably be enemies in the future, right now our enemies are vampires..."

"We will not be enemies."

Horn stopped and turned to look at the young man with the short, stiff beard: "Do you know what you're saying?"

In the Holy Alliance, enemies and friends are distinguished not by culture or race, but by system and class.

Companies like Leia and Norn, with their purely feudal systems but relatively weak, are considered medium-sized enemies. The Fran, though reactionary, possesses an advanced system, making them minor enemies with whom some cooperation is possible.

As for vampires, just looking at their extremely reactionary system, coupled with their innate racial xenophobia that doesn't treat people as human beings, they are a formidable enemy.

Even within the Holy Alliance, Black Serpent Bay is considered a medium-sized friend, while the Dawn Federation, along with its nobles and oligarchs, is considered a small friend.

Therefore, the overall strategy is to first engage allies and minor enemies, or even medium-sized enemies, in a decisive battle against the major enemy.

Then, pull your allies and small enemies to fight the medium enemies, then pull your medium allies to fight the small allies, and finally divide the enemies and allies again.

Constant infighting, constant internal purges, constant salami slicing... so in Horn's eyes, the two sides are friends now, but may become enemies in the future.

Alexei's words really gave Horn a sense of "what does it mean?"

"I intend to follow your example."

“Imitate me?” Horn was taken aback for a moment. “What do you mean?”

“I studied the Holy Alliance’s system and discovered that every link in the chain is indispensable to the Alliance’s strength.” Alexei raised his head and looked directly at Horn for the first time with courage. “But the most fundamental thing is the Holy Way and the Republic. Only these two can lead Norn to prosperity.”

"Don't you want to be king?"

"Who says a king has to wear a crown and be in a palace?"

"Oh?"

"The king in the hearts of believers is a king even without a crown; otherwise, he is just a devil who usurps the throne."

Horn stared at him for a long time, then suddenly burst into laughter: "Good lad, you have ambition. I'll be waiting for that day."

"That day is not far off."

"That day won't be long, and if you take too big a step, you'll hurt yourself."

"Huh?" This time it was Alexei's turn to understand.

Horn didn't reply. He walked to a large rock, climbed up, and looked out at the settlements in the distance.

The vampire invasion of Roaring Corridor has actually increased the population of Shattered Stone Plains considerably.

As for whether they will return, stay in the Holy Alliance, or assimilate into the Shattered Stone Plains, Horn is not worried.

The Norn, especially the Norn Wildlings, had little concept of the Norn people.

The Norn nobles' identification with the Norn Kingdom is entirely based on their own legal principles. Culturally, the various regions of Norn are incredibly diverse, and some even speak different languages.

The Holy Alliance's inclusive attitude towards different cultures will only allow the Shattered Stone Plains to absorb more and more people.

Do you want to restore your kingdom?

"think."

"May I give you some advice?" Horn asked, his hands behind his back, looking down at the farmers diligently tending their fields.

Alexei acted swiftly, pulling a small notebook and a Dick gold pen from his pocket: "Please speak."

“The vampire invasion was both a crisis and an opportunity. Charles VIII used it to suppress his domestic political enemies and begin to implement reforms.” Horn pointed at him. “You should follow suit, and I personally think the best entry point is these Norn savages.”

"Are you saying that I'm cultivating relationships with the nobility at the top and with the savages at the bottom?"

"Yes, politics is about uniting a large group and cracking down on a small group. If you can unite the majority of forces, you've already won half the battle."

“I tried, but they couldn’t understand the teachings of the Holy Path Sect; they simply opposed vampires…”

"That's right. The construction of self-identity is never based on the self, but on the enemy. It is precisely because we have a common enemy that we have a common self."

Seeing Alexei's bewildered expression, Horn sat cross-legged on the large rock: "I ask you, since they can't understand, why don't you say you are a god-man reincarnated from the Norn mythology?"

"Ah, but that's heresy..."

"Who cares if it's heresy or not? This is the only truth that the Norn savages understand."

There are two foundations to communication: the same platform and the same logic.

They can't understand the teachings of the Holy Way in a short time, and there's no time or environment to spread them, so what can be done?
First, Horne promoted the idea of ​​"being possessed by the Father," then the "heavenly dream," and now he has the theory of "heaven on earth."

If you really want to know, none of these points have anything to do with the fundamental doctrines of the Holy Way Sect, but they can unite people.

On a shared platform, using shared logic, we establish a common enemy and a shared vision.

An imagined community was born.

Seeing Alexei's half-understanding look, Horn smiled and said, "I will send a group of scholars, and you can find a group of wild sorcerers. With this idea in mind, suitable ideas will soon emerge. Your father's name alone cannot bind together the loose Norn people."

(End of this chapter)