When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 766: Discussion in the Camp
In the north of the Thousand River Valley, the Hematite Mountains are the natural geographical dividing line between the Gravel Plain and the Thousand River Valley.

Including the Obsidian and Amethyst Mountains, these three mountain ranges are all derivatives of the Dragon Sleeping Mountains.

The entire Longmian Mountains are shaped like a "仌", with countless horizontal mountain ranges extending from both sides of the vertical mountain range.

It starts from the Furnace Plateau in the north and ends at Black Snake Bay in the south.

Qianhe Valley can even be said to be a country built on the Longmian Mountains.

In late autumn, the bare cliffs of the Hematite Mountains that have been gnawed by sheep should be covered with half-yellow and half-green golden grass.

This special grass and the thunderstorm climate unique to the northern scree plains make the local sheep's wool tough and long.

Today, the grassland under the blue sky and clear water has disappeared, leaving only patches of bald mud.

That was fast-flowing floodwaters that flooded the grassland bottomlands.

It is conceivable that next year, this grassland will be prosperous, but this year the sheep will go hungry.

The fast-flowing floodwaters climbed up the river banks, spreading out a yellow carpet and swallowing up fences and thatched huts.

Under the golden sunset, it looked like yellow and black linen patches were patched on the green velvet.

The air was filled with the smell of mud and fish, and even the wind blowing on our bodies was damp and cold.

In the Ladenburg Highland Camp, there is not only the smell of fish, but also the smell of rust.

It comes from both the soldiers' rusty weapons and their bloodstained bandages.

More than 12,000 combat soldiers and more than 10,000 civilians went to the battlefield.

According to Andre's statistics, there were less than 8,000 combat soldiers and just over 4,000 civilians left in the camp at this moment.

Although there are still some defeated soldiers returning, it is unlikely that their number will exceed eight thousand.

After the first battle, nearly 40% of the soldiers were killed.

This was only saved because Meliati tried her best to cover the retreat and block the pursuers.

However, under the raging flood, Meliati fought back several times but still failed to turn defeat into victory.

Meliati, who once dominated the Norn Kingdom and defeated Lord Codburg and other Norn monarchs, was defeated just like that.

Until now, there are still many people in the army who cannot believe it.

That's Grand Duchess Meliati, how could she be defeated so easily?
"This defeat is not due to our fault." Andre slammed the table heavily. "Duke Yichao is so cruel that he dared to dig the Innocent Dam and abandoned his people. The Holy Father and the Lord will definitely punish him."

The previously noisy hall finally became quiet.

There was contempt and disdain in the eyes of officers and knights at all levels, but they had to listen to the opinions of this Frank.

After the great flood in Yantan, Andre was the most cunning, ran the fastest, and preserved his strength the best.

Later, when this camp was established, they frantically absorbed mercenaries under the pretext of maintaining the organization.

At present, Andre is actually overwhelming these knight counts with the force of more than 4000 soldiers.

Andre cleared his throat: “Everyone, based on the current situation.

Due to the flood and several counterattacks by the Tyrant Prince, the Gravel Plain side will no longer pursue.

The lords of the southern river valleys and villages are at least enough to give Duke Wing Nest and his men a hard time."

Disdain for Andre's character does not mean distrust of his abilities.

Hearing Andre say this, many knights and earls breathed a sigh of relief.

Since the collapse of the Innocent Dam, all their baggage had been washed away by the flood, and the muddy grassland made it difficult for vehicles and horses to travel.

After going through so much hardship along the way, these knights and nobles finally had a good night's sleep.

A mountain earl stood up and said, "Sir Andre, let me be frank. No matter how you look at it, we have lost this battle.

It's not that we can't afford to lose, we just admit defeat, but how should we deal with this afterwards? There must be an explanation, right?"

Everyone knew what the mountain earl meant.

The battle had already come to this, and there was no point in hiding the defeat. The biggest blame had also been shared by the Duke of Wing Nest, and now everyone's main goal was to figure out how to clean up this mess.

"Let me get this straight." Andre looked around at everyone present. "We have two top priorities. One is to protect the border. You don't have to argue about this. I'll take care of it."

Who is arguing with you?
Instead, it made everyone feel at ease and continue to stay in the Gravel Plain, fighting against the people of the Gravel Plain in the face of the flood?
Forget it, let’s go back to Hotam County as soon as possible.

"Do you have any objections?"

Naturally, everyone shook their heads. They were just the remnants of a defeated army, and Andre was the only one who maintained the organization. Who else could it be except him?

"Well, the second thing is the war bonds." Andre said, "Let me remind you that we are not so good at war bonds."

"Just tell me the number."

Andre held up three fingers.

"Thirty thousand gold pounds?" a knight asked tentatively.

"Three thousand pounds. After this war, apart from the losses and miscellaneous expenses, we can squeeze out a maximum of three thousand pounds to pay for the bonds."

"This is less than one tenth of the original amount. Have you really confirmed it?"

Andre rolled his eyes at the people: “The account books made by dozens of old clerks and accountants are available for you to check at any time.

Our booty is either soaked in water or lost on the roadside, and now we can’t even pay the bonds even if we empty our pockets.”

These mountain nobles fell silent. They looked at each other and an idea came to their minds.

If you can't solve the debt, then you can only solve the creditor.

"I know you can't afford it. I can't afford it either." Andre deliberately raised his voice to attract everyone's attention. "But I have a way."

"what?"

"The lord of the Holy Court has a channel with the Franks." Andre slowed down his voice and lowered his tone. "He is willing to lend us a hand. As long as the negotiations are completed, he will immediately come to Upper River County to meet us. What do you think?"

The one from the Holy Court...

The nobles felt their scalps tingling and their teeth aching.

Both the mountain nobles and the plain nobles suffered a lot at Horn's hands.

The core area under his rule, Langsand County, was known as a country without a lord.

In the later period, whether it was the prevalence of the Holy Way Sect or the establishment of the Holy Alliance with the Black Snake Bay, the nobles strongly resisted.

But on the other hand, the cloth trade in Holy Trinity, the spice and sugar trade in Black Snake Bay, the meat sales in North County and other initiatives have made the market prosperous.

The variety of goods and the scope of transportation increased significantly, the status of the nobles declined, but the living standards actually improved slightly.

This little benefit would not make them completely surrender to the Holy Grandson, but that is not the case.

If this disadvantage were to force them to fight a civil war, it would not be to that extent.

Every move was just right, and the despot cooperated perfectly.

Every step that Shengsun took stepped on the nobles' prostate glands, making them feel both pleasurable and painful.

But in the final analysis, the mountain nobles both feared and loved Meliati, but were both afraid and afraid of Horn.

"Can we not meet in person? We can use our family assets and then negotiate with Lady Catherine, maybe..."

"Ms. Catherine is a neutral bank. Senior partners of the Magde Chamber of Commerce also need to make money." Andre shook his head. "The notice has been delivered. You don't want to see the Patriarch angry, do you?"

The nobles looked at each other.

After this battle, they, who originally had a slight advantage in military strength, have now become equal to the Holy Court.

Meliati, who was originally able to compete with Horn, was seriously injured and was only awake for a few hours every day.

At present, no one can take on the responsibility of rallying the nobles' will and protecting the sleeping leader.

"Your Highness, Patriarch, when will you arrive?"

(End of this chapter)