Imperial Crown.

Chapter 363 The Principality's First General
Previously, when the Eivor people retreated, many of them were so scared that they collapsed on the spot.

Later, the Eagle Army gave chase and captured many more tongues.

So under interrogation, the situation at that time was restored, and this made Raven shake his head repeatedly, not knowing whether to cry or laugh.

The core factor of the enemy's defeat, in the words of the prisoners, was:
"Do you know how big of a shock it is for soldiers who have never been on a battlefield before to have 2 heavy cavalry charging towards them?!"

The iron hooves of 2 heavy cavalry trampled the ground, just like a flood gushing out from the plain, almost bringing with it the power of nature.

The fear of being crushed into pulp in the next second is something that cannot be understood by anyone who has not experienced it personally.

The Eagle Army was fully armored this time, so that they could immediately engage in battle after arriving at the site and catch the enemy off guard.

At first glance, they really look like heavy cavalry.

But if you look at it from the perspective of an experienced person, you will find that it is not the case at all.

Except for the really heavy cavalrymen in front who were wearing armor, most of the war horses didn't even have tunics, let alone vests.

In terms of weapon configuration, real heavy cavalry must be equipped with lances and knightly swords, while ordinary infantry seems to be casual, with lances, swords and shields, or simply crossbows on the horse's buttocks, and very little equipment.

Moreover, after fighting for such a long time, the opponent should be very clear about the deployment of Raven's troops and know that Raven cannot conjure up cavalry out of thin air.

After all, heavy cavalry and infantry wearing heavy armor and riding horses are two completely different concepts.

Why could Raven only gather 1000 heavy cavalry?
The limited number of horses is one thing, but riders also need long-term training.

Especially in an inland agricultural province like Nord, most soldiers have no experience in riding horses. It would take at least 3 to 5 years of training from scratch before they can learn the ability to fight on horseback.

Just like this time, although Raven advanced quickly, many people fell behind in the process, and many soldiers tied themselves to their horses with ropes to prevent themselves from falling off.

"It's fine if you don't understand, but don't the nobles leading you understand either?"

Hyena asked as he interrogated his captive.

The prisoner's answer was straightforward:

"They are the ones who run the fastest!"

"Of course, there were some who were frightened silly, but their knights and nobles all had horses, and the horses took them away and directly destroyed their own formation."

Although the answer was a bit nonsensical, after listening to it, Raven basically guessed the other party's overall mental journey.

The moment the enemy saw his 2 troops, they must have been stunned. Most of the ordinary soldiers were frightened, and the grassroots nobles and knights fell into panic, ushering in the first wave of chaos.

Unfortunately, their commander had no war experience and failed to control the team at the first time, which led to the unstoppable collapse.

In that situation, it is indeed not easy for people to calm down and think.

The subsequent overall retreat of the enemy army is easier to explain.

As the saying goes, three people make a tiger. The defeated soldiers were clamoring for 2 heavy cavalry, but the camp in the rear could not get close enough to investigate, so from a distance it seemed that 2 heavy cavalry was about the same.

Maybe they thought that Molinier's reinforcements had arrived!

And Quentin has never been a courageous man.

2 heavy cavalry, flat terrain, if they really want to break through, the camp is not completely safe -

Chaofan took the lead to blast open the village wall, and the heavy cavalry rushed in, so no matter how many people there were, it was useless.

What if we were to fight a field battle with 2 heavy cavalry on the plains?
Not to mention Quentin, even Raven himself wouldn't have such a big dream.

Therefore, it is not surprising that retreats and evacuations occurred one after another.

It can be seen that Quentin thought about his retreat, otherwise he would not have set fire to his own camp.

"Sir, what should we do next? Continue chasing?" asked the hyena.

Raven was slightly moved, but still shook his head: "Don't chase them anymore. Integrate the remaining camps and clear a few places. Wait for Earl Jonah to join us."

When the enemy is retreating, pursuing them closely can indeed expand the results of the battle.

But now, after riding for six consecutive days, the soldiers were seriously exhausted. If they continued the pursuit, especially at night, they would probably suffer heavy losses, which would not be worth the cost.

Thinking of this, Raven sighed with some regret.

The reason why he did not wait for Jonah and started to advance immediately after the warhorse arrived was to kill as many of the enemy's manpower as possible in Winterspring Valley and further reduce the enemy's strength.

After that, whether it is war or negotiation, we will have more confidence.

This time, although a great victory was achieved unexpectedly and a lot of supplies were seized, the food reserves alone, the food left in the camps were enough to sustain Raven for another two and a half years.

However, the casualties to the enemy personnel are quite limited.

Raven recalled what the woman named Q had said to him before.

Keynes XVI's words were so thoughtful and warm, as if the two of them were really on the same front.

But Raven knew one thing, that is, never talk about friendship with the emperor.

If he could not conquer the Principality of Eivor and obtain military access within this year, then his "brother" Keynes XVI would definitely not share his suffering.

"Blue Castle..."

Raven muttered these two words.

Do we really have to take over the capital of the Principality of Eivor by force?
……

After 10 days.

"Someone, bring me some wine."

Blue Castle, the residence of the Grand Marshal.

Quentin sat in the dark study. The curtains blocked out the sunlight, but the fireplace was burning, making the whole room stuffy and dark.

His clothes were wrinkled, his face was red and greasy, and at his feet were various overturned wine bottles.

The remaining wine flowed all over the floor and evaporated under the smoke of the stove in the house, filling the air with the smell of wine and making the fluff on the carpet stick together.

The door opened and a maid walked in cautiously, bringing a large barrel of wine.

Although this kind of wine is not cheap and can be sold for 1 gold coins per barrel, it is not even worth the Marshal's attention.

But now, Quentin didn't care about all that. He took the barrel, cursed him to get out, bit off the cork on the barrel with his teeth and poured the wine into his mouth.

thump.

The door was closed, blocking out the direct sunlight that entered the house.

The alternation between light and darkness made Quentin's eyes hurt a little. His hands loosened and the wine barrel rolled down and ran a long distance.

Gudu, Gudu, Gudu...

The bright red wine flowed on the ground.

Quentin just watched numbly:

"Will my head look like this when it falls?"

Since returning to Blue Castle, Quentin has locked himself in his room and been drinking.

He knew that he didn't have many days left.

The defeat of Bolan City was blamed on Count Frank, but the failure of Winterspring Valley was beyond reproach.

"It's over, it's all over!"

Prime Minister Gatugen has long been dissatisfied with Quentin. Quentin killed Frank. Now after two consecutive defeats, Gatugen will definitely make Quentin pay the price.

After the Battle of Winterspring, Quentin brought the remaining nobles and troops back to the Blue Castle and slapped Eivor VIII hard in the face again.

So when Quentin returned to the Blue Castle and asked to see Eivor VIII, he was turned away and couldn't even see his own sister.

I have offended everyone inside and outside!

That's why Quentin behaved like this, getting drunk all day long, just hoping to get through the difficult time waiting for punishment.

But in a trance, he could always see that scene.

The palace eunuch came to read out His Highness's decree, depriving him of his title of Grand Marshal, and then Gatugen and his faction would dig up everything he had done before and crucify him completely!

What would be the outcome? Hanging... or even more brutally, beheading?
"Wait, you can't go in there!"

"The Marshal said that anyone who..."

Amidst a quarrel.

thump—

The door was kicked open and the Marquis of Aragon appeared in the room.

"It's you." Quentin sighed, acting very calmly:

"…It seems that His Highness is preparing to publicly try me."

"I'll go wash up, change my clothes, and then go with you."

Aragorn stepped forward and said, "Marshal, you should change your clothes. After all, there is a great joy waiting for you!"

"I admit what I did." Quentin stood up shakily and said with dissatisfaction:
"But killing Frank was a decision we made together. Even if you didn't just stand by and watch, you shouldn't humiliate me like this, right?"

"Ah? What?" Aragorn was stunned, then he realized that Quentin had misunderstood, and shouted:

"No, no, Marshal, you misunderstood!"

"It is indeed a happy event. The cabinet meeting has decided that you will be responsible for the defense of the entire Blue Castle!"

"Now in the Blue Castle, the reinforcements from all over the country, the Royal Guards, the city defense forces, and the mobilized militia, a total of 32 troops, are all under your command!"

"Ah?" Quentin stood there in a daze and shook his head.

Am I still drunk?
Raise your wrist and slap it.

Snapped.

It was crisp and loud, and my palms were burning with pain!
"I'm not dreaming?"

The Marquis of Aragon covered his swollen face:
"No, it's really not!"

Quentin calmed down, walked to the corner of the room, wet the towel, and wiped his face: "Tell me, what happened?"

At this time, Aragorn also took the towel handed to him by the maid, put it on his face and said with a grin:

"You've been staying at home these past few days. You've missed so much!"

As Aragorn told his story, Quentin gradually went from confusion to doubt, and from doubt to clarity, and finally he couldn't help laughing.

Fate is fucking amazing!

It turned out that after many nobles returned to Blue Castle in defeat, they took the initiative to launch a propaganda offensive before public opinion arose.

The core content is how powerful Raven is.

According to these people, the battle of Winterspring was not a matter of them running away, but a real bloody battle with Raven!
The battle was so fierce that the sky was dark, the sun and moon lost their light, and even the laws of creation were about to be wiped out.

Raven is not only powerful, but also extremely thoughtful. He has 2 heavily armored cavalry under his command. His previous troop deployment was all so-called smoke bombs.

This inevitably raises questions -

Raven is just a baron. No matter how rich he is, how can he afford to support 20,000 cavalry?

To buy 50 heavy cavalry, one would need at least hundreds of millions of gold coins, and the annual maintenance cost would start at .

This does not include the salaries of retired soldiers.

The answer is, this is all a conspiracy of the Keynes Empire. They have long been prepared to invade Eivor, and Raven is just a cover!
How could Raven have kept this news secret when there were so many wars going on?

The answer is there is a ghost.

It was a group of traitorous nobles led by Frank who helped Raven cover up the secret for the sake of wealth and glory!
Why did Earl Tudor die? Why did Marquis Faraday also die after being captured?

It’s because they discovered the truth, and Raven wants to kill them to silence them!
These two explanations are of course full of loopholes, but the nobles were so unanimous in their opinions that they became the mainstream of public opinion.

Even if someone questions it, they will be drowned out by the saliva of the crowd.

Do you know better than those hundreds of nobles who have been to the front lines?

Since Raven had 20,000 heavy cavalry, it was not surprising that he was defeated after a bloody battle.

New problems arise.

Since Raven is so powerful, why were these nobles able to return safely?

Because in the Principality of Eivor, there is a genius who has never shown his true talent, a true master of war, a great man sent down by the gods to prolong the life of the principality.

Marshal Quentin!
It was precisely because of his superb command and excellent overall view that Raven was unable to wipe out the soldiers of Winterspring Valley in one fell swoop, forcing the nobles to retreat to the Blue Castle.

Previously in Boland City, it was because of Quentin's "meticulous and meticulous" and "decisive and confident" that he was able to find out the traitor Frank in the first time and then lead the troops to retreat in an orderly manner!
A bloody fact is——

Since Raven entered Eivor, Quentin is the only coach who can survive from Raven, and twice in a row!
Once is a coincidence, is twice still a coincidence?

Therefore, now the whole Blue Castle has given Quentin a shining name:
"The principality's number one general!"

In such an environment of public opinion, Quentin's attitude of staying indoors after returning to Blue Castle was interpreted as humility, self-confidence, restraint, etc. Some people even thought that Quentin was making a plan to deal with Raven.

But no one guessed that he was actually scared out of his wits!

This unexpected turn of events made Quentin feel the wonder of fate. After laughing, he asked again, "Your Highness appointed me to lead the entire army. Does that old fellow Gatugen have any objection?"

"That old guy is in such a state of panic that he can barely save himself!" Aragorn sneered.
"Someone must be held responsible for this defeat."

Quentin nodded slowly.

Since he, the original person in charge, has become the hero of the principality and the most famous general, the person responsible can only be Prime Minister Gatugen, who made the decision to station troops in Winterspring.

"Has the plan for his disposal been decided?"

Aragorn shook his head: "Not yet, but it should be a matter of time."

Quentin frowned slightly.

Someone has to do the real work.

If Gatugen gave up, the Blue Castle, which now has 32 troops, would fall into chaos.

But if you think this in your heart, you can't say it out loud:

"I have to talk to His Majesty about this. Prime Minister Gatugen has worked hard for the Principality for so many years. We cannot be too harsh on him just because of a temporary gain or loss."

"The Marshal is really magnanimous!"

After chatting for a while, Quentin simply washed up, changed into new clothes, and came to the Posa Palace.

The nobles had been waiting here for a long time, and they all praised Quentin highly. Only Gatugen looked very cold and indifferent, with a hint of loneliness on his face.

Soon, Eivor VIII appeared and announced in public the news that everyone present had already heard: Quentin truly controlled the entire city of Bolan, with a total of 32 troops.

Then comes the inevitable cocktail party.

The nobles became more and more enthusiastic, so enthusiastic that Quentin even felt a little flustered.

Until Gatugen came to him.

Quentin expected Gatugen to say something harsh, or at least complain.

Unexpectedly, Gatugen just toasted him with a glass of wine and patted the back of his hand:
"For the principality, carry the burden well."

Quentin opened his mouth, his mood became inexplicably complicated, he didn't know what to say, he could only watch Gatugen leave.

But at this time, Quentin didn't care too much, because according to the procedure, he should go to toast His Royal Highness the Grand Duke.

But before he could reach Eivor VIII, a court eunuch suddenly came and said something in Eivor VIII's ear.

The Grand Duke looked shocked and hurriedly left the hall.

Quentin frowned.

What's going on?
……

(End of this chapter)