Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 150 The Runaway War Machine!
Franconia, Calais region.

This place is across the sea from Kent County in the British province, which is about 30 to 40 kilometers away in a straight line.

At this time, Quveto, dressed in disguise, has arrived here. Anya has a chamber of commerce in a nearby town. Because of a massacre on the coastline at that time, Quveto was dismissed from his position and sent directly to the Frankish region to recruit more young and strong exiles.

"Lord Kweto."

A man dressed in Gaulish style greeted him, bowed his head and took the initiative to greet him, and led the way to the residence here.

Kveto was taken down.

But everyone knew it was only a matter of time before he rose again. After all, he was the old man who had followed the Governor-General, the earliest leader of the exiles. Even if he fell, he would still hold the title of Commander of the British Maritime Militia. If he had the opportunity to make merit in the future, he would immediately be able to lead a regular British regiment.

Moreover, the massacre on the coastline at that time was the revenge of the British. Quveto took the blame on his own initiative and won the hearts of many legion centurions.

Such a person may become an important figure in the British Empire again at any time.

inside the room.

Kveto looked at the others, frowned, and asked, "Where are the others?"

"Why are there so few people?"

"Haven't those secretly recruited exiles migrated here yet?"

A man next to him looked troubled and said cautiously, "Lord Kveto, something has gone wrong."

Kveto's eyes narrowed and he asked in a deep voice, "What happened?"

The man whispered, "The person has been detained."

"The Franks said they were runaway slaves, and they were all detained on the border at Calais."

Runaway slave?

Many Frankish tribes did have slavery.

Kveto seemed to have keenly sensed something and said in a deep voice, "Tell me in detail what happened."

The man looked at his companions and said in a variety of words: "Most people are fine."

"They are the Bagaudas, refugees from Burgundy."

“They are basically bankrupt farmers.”

"But there was a small group of people, small Frankish tribes that were defeated and annexed. They were stripped of their status and turned into slaves. Some heard the news about Britannia and quietly fled to join the exiles."

"Some people were unwilling to be slaves to the barbarian nobles, so they also fled with them."

"It is said that several slave overseers were also killed."

Killed someone?

Kveto was not frightened when he heard this, but rather a little excited. He asked, "What about our people?"

"Is anyone dead?"

The man replied cautiously, "There were no casualties among those who secretly recruited the exiles."

"But more than a dozen escaped slaves were executed, their bodies nailed to the roadside intersections."

"Some of the others who fled from Burgundy also died."

dead!
That would be great.

Kveto could barely contain his excitement and said in a deep voice, "Block the news immediately. I'll go negotiate with them myself."

"Send word to Monsignor Severus, and then send a letter to London."

"Deliver it to the Governor personally!"

The British province has been continuously absorbing population from Gaul, mainly young and middle-aged exiled Bagaudae people.

Historically, these people were absorbed by nearby barbarian tribes, but they were also at the bottom of society, barely able to survive. Among them, the Franks and the Visigothic Kingdom were the most well-fed, and they had hundreds of thousands of young and middle-aged laborers almost out of thin air.

But now, the biggest piece of cake has basically been eaten by Duncan.

After all, Duncan started his career by relying on exiles. In the early legion, exiles accounted for a large proportion, so his reputation spread later. After knowing that the exiles joined Duncan's army and divided the land, more and more people in the Bagauda army were tempted.

Since the beginning of their recuperation in the British province, Severus and Quetzal have transferred at least tens of thousands of young and middle-aged people from Europe.

These are all young and middle-aged laborers!

The Frankish tribal chiefs were heartbroken, but there was nothing they could do. Duncan's prestige was too formidable, and his record was impressive. Even across the sea, they dared not act rashly. But recently, they were a little impatient because the situation had formed a chain reaction.

There are some things that are beyond Duncan's control.

For example, people struggling at the bottom of society yearn for a better life!

This is the power of the human heart.

When you were working like a slave and a serf in Europe, you heard that in the British province across the sea, as long as you joined as an exile, you could obtain the status of a free man, and then have the opportunity to allocate land and live an upright life. What would you do?
Even though it is not so easy to divide the land now, as long as you join the army, you will have the opportunity to make military achievements and get promoted. Do you want to give it a try?
Would you rather be a slave for the rest of your life, or would you rather risk your life and live like a human being for the rest of your life?
The root of everything lies here.

When Duncan decided to change certain aspects of the world's order, he already had countless potential enemies, the vested beneficiaries of the existing order.

It is impossible to eradicate slavery in this era, but we cannot refrain from doing so just because we cannot do so.

Even if the train of the times will rumble forward, leaving behind hundreds of millions of people, since he is already the king, he must find a way to bring along as many people as possible who have been left behind by the times.

This is the king’s responsibility and the king’s obligation.

Originally, the relationship between the Franks and the Visigothic Kingdom was very bad. Due to territorial and population disputes, they were already hostile to each other. But now that the exiles were taken care of by Duncan, they actually had a vague alliance relationship.

Not only that, other barbarian tribes, due to various reasons, perhaps the rise of the British Kingdom or some advanced systems, formed a relationship of common hatred and shared enemy.

The butt determines the mind.

To use a historical example, the current British Kingdom seems to be targeted by the "Anti-French Alliance" of later generations.

Even if Duncan did not extend his hand into Europe, they still felt a huge threat.

Behind this, the Frankish leader Merovingian was one of the main actors.

Interests are the root of the conflict.

The British Kingdom has eaten too much and has left them with nothing to eat.

Moreover, certain systems of the British Kingdom made their ruling foundation unstable and their interests damaged. More and more slave farmers wanted to flee to the islands, and they would not hesitate to sacrifice their lives if given the chance.

Some slaves even swam across the ocean with just a piece of rotten wood.

The bankrupt has nothing to fear.

A person who has nothing and does not even have the most basic personal freedom is really not afraid of death at all.

But the voices of the lowest classes of European society had not yet reached Duncan's ears. The reason was simple.

The existing ruling group controlled personal freedom. They sent supervisors to strictly guard the slaves and confine them to the land, leaving them no chance to escape.

Want to run? Not that easy!

In the end, all this could only break out in a bloody way. A group of exiles from Burgundy who wanted to migrate to the British province were harassed by the Franks at the border of Calais and were stopped.

The presence of the exiles, coupled with their rebel origins, led to a riot on a nearby slave plantation.

In fact, the dead knew more than Kvetto.

Because Merovice urgently mobilized a light cavalry and killed hundreds of people, even the leader of the exiles was killed, but when the news reached them, it was only a dozen casualties.

Quetto traveled alone to the region of Île-de-France, intending to negotiate with the Frankish tribal leaders.

Let them release him.

But something unexpected happened.

Merovingian detained him, but did not deliberately make things difficult for him, nor did he let him leave. He directly sent an envoy to London to request negotiations with the Governor of the British province.

The Frankish leaders put forward their demands.

The first was to compensate Frank for his losses, including escaped slaves, lost property, etc., totaling about 60,000 gold coins.

The second rule was that trade in the coastal areas surrounding the Franks must be taxed. Although nominally part of the empire, this was already Frankish territory, so the taxes naturally fell to them. (Originally, no taxes were paid at all; Anya, shrewd enough to avoid all taxation in her capacity as Governor of Britain, had done so.)
The third point was to stop recruiting Bagaudae refugees. Since they were on European soil, they were their subjects, and they had the right to dispose of them. Of course, the envoys stated that the Frankish leaders and the Visigothic Kingdom would properly resettle these refugees. (As serfs)
Originally, they wanted to add another clause, asking the Kingdom of Britain to send back the fugitives, but considering Duncan's reputation, they decided to give up.

The key point is the third one. They can no longer recruit exiles, which will shake their base.

Everything else is negotiable.

After all, Merovice didn't expect Duncan to compensate for the losses. As for trade taxes, to be honest, many people were jealous. This was pure silver. Anya made the trade in the British Channel flourish, so naturally they wanted to get a piece of the pie.

This one can be negotiated, but I have to share some of my profits. You can't do business on my territory and expect not to pay taxes, right?
But the result was unexpected to everyone.

The demands of the Frankish and Visigothic envoys directly aroused the enthusiasm of the British people, who even threw stones at the inn where they stayed and almost set it on fire.

What do you mean by "your territory"? Once we take it, it's our territory!
The military's attitude is clear.

Such unreasonable demands cannot be agreed to at all. At worst, a war will be fought. The Seventh Legion of Kent has already entered a state of combat readiness in advance.

The public's attitude is also very clear.

There is no need to say anything about those fleeing exiles. In one word, fuck it, I can't live anymore and have fled to the other side of the sea. How dare you be so aggressive? Do you really think that the exile army has no temper?
They also have a historical record.

The rest of the British people were already a little war-mad.

Those barbarian foreign legions are just waiting to gain military merits to make a name for themselves. You still dare to make such a request at this time. It is simply like throwing a pillow to your hand.

The British are neutral, but they also desire military merit, and what is their attitude towards this request?

Do you think we are still weak British people who are bullied by others?

The times have changed.

Do you think the Franks and Visigoths have united?

Are we afraid?

For a time, the public's call was high. Not only the many British legions, but even the Celtic barbarians responded, and the Picts also recruited a barbarian army of thousands of people.

Hit him!
Charge into the European continent! Directly capture the port of Calais!

First destroy the Franks, then destroy the Visigoths.

The British Legion reorganized by Duncan was already hungry and thirsty. The entire British Island had been pacified, and only the marginal islands remained, which were of no value at all. In comparison, the vast plains, rich resources, and huge population of the European continent were all excellent opportunities for them to make achievements.

Once a huge national war machine is set into motion, it cannot be easily stopped by one or two people. Even Duncan can only use his prestige to control this terrifying war machine.

The British Parliament did not hesitate to rebuke and expel the Frankish and Visigothic envoys.

They flatly rejected such an outrageous request.

The exiles from the Bagauda people are fleeing to Britain because the system here is better, and it is impossible for them to give up recruiting young and middle-aged exiles.

The young and middle-aged population is the foundation of a country.

Pay taxes?

You think you can tax us? Even the Empire doesn't dare to collect taxes from the British provinces!
compensation?

Don’t even look at how much you weigh!

What the European powers did not expect was that the British high-ranking officials did not even think of negotiating with them. On the second day after the envoys were expelled, dozens of warships crossed the sea to the port of Calais, and then the British Sixth and Seventh Legions took only half a day to capture the area.

The news reached London on the third day, and the whole of Britain was in an uproar.

Dear gentlemen!

We long for war.

In the dimensional space, the British Kingdom's national concept of military expansion has turned into a burning flame. The war mobilization order has just been issued here. The British Seventh Army marched straight into Flanders and captured Flanders. The Sixth Army captured two counties in a row, first Artois, and then invaded Picardy. If it weren't for Duncan's order not to underestimate the enemy and advance rashly.

Their next step was to attack Île-de-France, the area that later became Paris.

This military conflict shocked the entire Gaul region.

Because Duncan was still in control of the overall situation in London at that time, without his participation in the war, the barbarian foreign legions of the Seventh Legion had amazing combat effectiveness and completely took over the imperial border defense line of that year. The Sixth Legion was led by several generals, plus a mixed auxiliary coastal militia, which was more than 3,000 people, and actually defeated the Frankish garrison.

For a while.

There were only two British regular legions and more than two thousand auxiliary legions, totaling about four to five thousand people, which forced Merovingian to issue a general war order and summon the chiefs of the Frankish tribes in the northeast of France to meet the enemy.

He even suspected that these British soldiers were taking drugs. After all, the Germanic berserkers did take drugs. When Duncan didn't lead the army personally, how could they have such high fighting spirit and such terrifying morale?

Once the war starts, it will not stop easily.

The entire British Kingdom, from Kent in the south to Cornwall in the west, and north to Scotland and Ireland, along with the three newly reorganized barbarian foreign legions, was on the verge of action. Few cared about Quetto's safety at this point. Even in Wales, the indigenous chiefs, Gaillard and Chatwin, had recruited over two thousand men, plus hundreds of Highland Indigo Swordsmen.

The Pict barbarian soldiers had crossed Hadrian's Wall, but this time they were no longer going to invade England; they wanted to fight further.

"I never thought that I would have the opportunity to conquer the European continent in my lifetime!"

Drest looked at the distant strait, then turned his head to look behind him. One by one, the sturdy tattooed totem guards held black swords and looked at the Normandy plains with fiery eyes.

That fertile land is the dream of many people.

This land was originally the territory of the Vikings in later generations, but now it is likely that whoever makes military achievements will be given the land.

………………

(End of this chapter)