Warhammer

The news that Rhine said made Celestine's pupils shrink, and a golden light flashed through them.

127: Imperial Expedition

"What does he want?" The "biological mother" who was very concerned about the movements of the baby coming out of her belly immediately asked what she wanted to know, and this was also the crux of the problem. Rhine grinned and spread out his empty hands.

"Nothing, that's what the dwarves said." To prevent Celestine from not believing him, he added, "The dwarf envoy stationed in Altdorf received a message from the Eternal Peak about the alliance, and came to ask when we could send troops. The Imperial Council tried to delay the matter... Then the dwarf envoy flew into a rage in the court, accusing us of not abiding by the covenant. The newly emerged alliance didn't even earn a few gold crowns from the dwarves, but was willing to send troops without a penny to fulfill its obligations to the allies of order."

When he said this, Rhine's face seemed somewhat relaxed. It was obvious that he was pleased that the bureaucrats of the Imperial Council were humiliated by the dwarf.

"Your Majesty convened an emergency imperial meeting and asked the military to come up with a plan for sending troops as quickly as possible. He also informed the archbishop, hoping that this matter could also gain the support of the Ecumenical Council."

Failure to abide by the covenant is, in itself, a serious accusation against the Empire, which is the big brother of the Western Continent and the main force of the Order Alliance.

If the Aiel in the south were to send troops for money, it would be fine. It would just be a bigger commission, directly hiring a country. It would be reasonable to take money and buy lives. The Empire has many ways to delay with the dwarves, play word games, and make all kinds of excuses...

But in order to realize his identity as a "wild dwarf", Aiel spared no expense to support his pagan half-brothers (bushi), and resolutely (for the time being) refused to accept a single gold crown or silver shilling from Eternal Peak, and volunteered to send troops, making the dwarves so excited that their beards trembled, and they shouted "Gronni is above", saying that the short-lived race actually has such a reliable "internationalist" spirit.

Even so, at a time when their own country had just finished a war and had a lot of problems unresolved, they came all the way to help their teammates gank without even recovering their status. There is no harm without comparison... This made the Sigma Empire, as an ally that had signed an "unbreakable" pact of eternal mutual assistance with the Kingdom of Mountains, seem to have failed in its duty.

The dwarf envoy stationed in Altdorf was reading a telegram sent from home - rune communication, dwarven technology.

Seeing that a team of recruits was formed by a little-known Bronzebeard clan, with just one visit, they were able to get the full support of an entire country for the dwarves. When the news was conveyed, the second expeditionary force of 20,000 people had already boarded the ship and set off, first heading to the Giant Tower, and then to Haimen Pass to launch the Eastern Expedition to support the front line.

Looking back, he had stayed in Altdorf for so long. He had spent a lot of money, gotten angry a lot, and suffered a lot, but nothing had been accomplished. Every time he had to argue with the human side and endure the maze-like structure and evasion of the Imperial bureaucracy, the vast majority of those who had been sent from Altdorf to the Kingdom of Mountains to participate in the war in the Mountains as "Imperial reinforcements" were actually mercenaries who were paid to do the job. Many of them had even been workers or farmers before and were just civilians.

Only a very small number of chivalrous men were called upon to spontaneously organize themselves into teams and head to the mountains to support their allies.

This made the dwarf envoy a little upset, so he lost his composure in the palace... But Rhine didn't care about that. Although he was different from Celestine and he was not just a "pure warrior", he couldn't care less at the moment. Even as the emperor's "favorite general", he couldn't lead such a national strategic event.

His only concern right now was Celestine.

The latter's first reaction after hearing the news was not to question the motives of a certain kid, but to fall into deep thought, which was somewhat beyond Rhine's expectations.

He thought for a moment, then told the news he knew: "The soldiers of the Alliance have passed through Blackwater Bay and headed for Seagate. It is said that the vanguard has arrived in the Badlands and started fighting with the greenskins." "The attitude of the dwarves forces the court to take action to respond, otherwise it is likely to cause a crisis of trust between the two countries; the returnees are also making a fuss about this matter, attacking the current situation of the church, believing that not fulfilling their duties to their allies is a betrayal of the Emperor..."

"If his purpose is detrimental to the dwarves, then we must stop him; if he wants to gain the trust of the dwarves by helping them and do something in the future, then we must also be wary of his actions." Celestine suddenly spoke, her brows frowned, and her beautiful, heroic face, which also had a hint of maternal beauty, revealed a coldness.

She could just sit back and watch the "son of the devil" she gave birth to live behind closed doors in the southern world that was already under its control. As long as she didn't do things like massacres or blood sacrifices to summon devils, she could also not do anything substantial because Sigma had no oracle.

But Al walked out of his independent kingdom, used the dwarves as a breakthrough point, and officially stepped into the platform of the old world. This is something Celestine must be vigilant about.

El is her child, and Celestine is also responsible for the destruction and disaster he caused.

In the south, since it has become the "country of believers" of Ai'er, there is no other possibility to solve the problem except to completely destroy it through war, so Celestine has no way to interfere.

But in other areas, especially when it comes to forces like the dwarves, who are vital to the Order and allies of the Sigmar Empire, she has to do something.

Rhine was slightly distracted by his cousin's sudden determination and sternness, but he quickly reacted and said, "His Majesty's attitude is very firm. If the alliance joins the war and we stand aside, it will be a heavy blow to the alliance with the dwarves. An expedition is probably inevitable. He has summoned me and said that he would let me join the expedition. I will try my best to find out what he wants to do."

"If he was planning to sabotage and backstab the dwarves, if we can expose him, then after the war in the Badlands, maybe we can... disclose his identity? Unite with the dwarves, Bretonnia, and other places to launch an expedition against Lianmang."

"If it's the latter, as long as we fulfill our responsibilities as allies and maintain the relationship between the dwarves and the empire, then even if he gains the dwarves' trust, it won't be a bad thing for us."

"At least things haven't gotten out of control yet."

Celestine stood up and paced back and forth by the lake.

Rhine said nothing and continued to sit in the chair.

He knew that his cousin needed more consideration at this time.

Celestine was not a lady from a noble family, but she was also a noble woman who was gentle to those around her. She had a slightly aloof personality, was very talented, and had a stern temperament. She had fascinated Rhine since she was a child. She was close to her cousin, who would definitely be better than herself (in Rhine's language) if she were a man, but also felt a little in awe of her.

He knew that Celestine never liked to carry any burden, or be oppressed or bound by anything, otherwise she would not have chosen to travel abroad after her family intended to send her to marry.

That disastrous journey caused Celestine to suffer terrible torture and lose the symbol of purity (only Al himself knew that Celestine's virginity was lost when he was born). It also left her with indelible psychological scars and created a bomb in this world that might explode at any time - and it was Celestine's womb that conceived him.

“All this must be…” Celestine stopped talking halfway through. She walked to the lake, squatted down, stretched out her hand and gently stirred the water, feeling the coolness of the water.

The two fell into silence.

After all, they now have almost no way to effectively deal with Al.

One is a general "favored" by the emperor, but he is only a leader of the younger generation. If he wants to reach a level where he can influence national affairs, even if he has military achievements every year, it will be at least until Rhine is around 40 years old.

Celestine is in a very special position. If she stands up and declares El a devil, it will probably play a significant role, but it will also have an unimaginable impact on the current situation. Without the word of God, neither Celestine nor Rhine can make this decision.

"Anyway..."

128: The Second Chivalrous Expedition

The palace's foreign affairs officer bent his body and accompanied the dwarf delegation who were walking angrily towards the palace on the avenue, bowing repeatedly and asking for a little more time.

He said to the dwarf, "The issue of sending troops has entered the process of the imperial meeting. What follows are all procedural issues. Please go back first. We will probably have a definite reply the day after tomorrow at the latest." The official looked very respectful and his attitude was sincere. He was thinking that he would change his post tomorrow and leave Aldolf immediately to avoid it for a while. Whoever wants to deal with these dwarfs can do it.

Before the dwarven ambassador to Altdorf, Grace Blackbeard, could say anything, the dwarves in his entourage could not wait to mutter, "Process, process! Your human process is even longer than the process of learning to pass an invention! Tall man, don't think the dwarves don't know what you are thinking!"

He walked out of the team and came to the human bureaucrat in a menacing manner, glaring at the latter with his big copper bell-like eyes: "Your two predecessors were transferred from their posts immediately after making such promises every time! You are so deceiving and deceiving the sons of the mountains!" Although he was not roaring at the top of his voice, it was no different from bursts of muffled thunder in the ears of the foreign affairs officer who was nearby, which made big beads of sweat ooze out of his forehead. He secretly cursed his two predecessors for doing everything they could to shirk the blame and blocking his way. Now the thunder exploded here.

You can't avoid eating leftovers.

He was thinking of an explanation for how to fool the dwarves. The court was particularly troubled by these dwarves who clamored for the empire to "fulfill the covenant" every time they came. It was difficult to explain this matter, as humans were indeed in the wrong, so they could only appease and persuade them with kind words. Later, they simply threw the matter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was like a nobody, and asked them to "do their best to solve the problem for the dwarf allies."

solve?

Solve the shit!

Here he is referring to Sigmar's oath to the Emperor of Ka to fully support the Dwarf allies in regaining lost territory. The final result can only be two:

First, he was "mentally ill" and unable to perform his duties, so he could not be considered a normal person at all, and had no right to make promises on behalf of the empire;

The second is that he packed his own bags and "took the initiative" to go in person to support the dwarves in their war efforts.

The court just didn't want to be bothered by the dwarves anymore, so they simply threw the task to the people below. The dwarves' disturbance was only a temporary headache for the bigwigs, but for these people, "not being able to solve the problem" meant the end of their future...

The officials were thinking rapidly, trying to find a statement that could appease the dwarves and prevent them from causing trouble in the palace. However, the leading dwarf ambassador, Grace Blackbeard, suddenly stepped forward, patted the noisy dwarf on the shoulder, and motioned him to return to the team.

This made the official look stunned.

Although this ambassador was somewhat "un-dwarf-like" by the traditional dwarf standards, being relatively smooth and easy to deal with - this was based on the dwarf standards. From an official's perspective, Grace was actually the type that was more difficult to deal with.

When he stepped forward to stop the clan members from making noise, the officials were a little worried. They thought he would not go to the bigwigs in the palace again. He wondered if he would be too late to find a car to hit himself and play a trick. However, he might still be exiled from Aldorf...

Just as he was worried, the dwarf ambassador had a calm expression and said to him in a peaceful tone: "Don't worry, as a servant of the Emperor of the Empire, the Eternal Peak envoy will not make any requests that are too difficult for you this time when he asks to see His Majesty the Emperor."

He stopped and looked at the palace gate, which was quite magnificent and could accommodate a giant beast like the four-armed bull Alastair. "This is just a normal foreign affairs activity." After saying that, the dwarf continued to move forward. The foreign affairs officer was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly followed him, asking carefully, "Can I know what it is... If it is more important, maybe I can report it to the emperor first... No, to His Majesty?"

He was afraid that the dwarf would cause something big without making any noise and upset the important people in the court.

As the person responsible for filling this "hole", he will definitely be held accountable when the time comes.

Grace laughed at this and patted his chest out of habit. Even though he was not wearing armor, it still made a thumping sound. He said, "Nothing special, but we have to say goodbye to His Majesty. Eternal Peak wants us to go back."

The foreign affairs officer breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they were not urged to send troops again.

If a replacement is made, there will at least be a period of time. Although the new ambassador may not be as easy to deal with as Grace, by that time... it will not be his turn to think about these things anyway.

He thought about it and asked, "So, when will the new ambassador arrive?"

The dwarf's answer made the foreign affairs officer stunned for a moment, and he was instantly horrified.

"New ambassador? There is no new ambassador!" Grace said, leaving the foreign affairs officer where he was, and the entourage made a noise mixed with ridicule.

The foreign affairs officer was struck by lightning, not caring about anything else and hurriedly chased after him, even disregarding the rules of etiquette and the dissatisfied chatter of the dwarves, and stuck to Grace.

"Why?" He anxiously asked the dwarven ambassador, but Grace just said, "The mountains need warriors now. There is no need to waste manpower on meaningless things like diplomacy. We need to return to the great cause of the dwarves."

Grace's words had only one meaning to the foreign affairs officer:

"It's over!"

"It's all over!"

The dwarves' silent withdrawal of their envoys was obviously not due to the ridiculous reason of "war needs", but rather because they were expressing strong criticism of the Empire's reluctance to send troops.

Regardless of the specific reasons, this was a surprise attack on the palace, and as a foreign affairs officer who liaised with the dwarves, he would inevitably be punished for dereliction of duty.

"What's more--" Grace suddenly dragged out her tone, as if there might be a chance of recovery, which made the foreign affairs officer feel nervous, but what he got was a sarcastic tone: "The dwarves have already gained the support of their allies." Then the dwarf delegation from Eternal Peak stationed in Altdorf went straight to the palace to meet the emperor, and ignored the overwhelmed foreign affairs officer.

......

Today is destined to be an unusual day in Altdorf.

The messengers from the palace took to the streets holding golden books and silk scrolls, bringing instructions from the court and the church.

"In compliance with Sigmar's will, the Empire of His descendants, the direct bloodline of His Majesty Karl Franz the Savior, the legitimate emperor of the Empire, His Majesty Otto Franz I decrees"

"Remembering our ancestors...After going through blood and fire, we formed an iron alliance...Now the four directions are at peace, the seas are calm and the rivers are clear...The mountains are trapped in war..."

"The evil tide of greenskins deserves death! No matter the time, no matter the means!"

"Sons of Sigmar! Take up arms! Our allies need us!"

"This is a great chivalrous expedition that is destined to go down in history. Just like in the Southern Kingdom, Sigmar's descendants will fight for the covenant he signed! Eliminate barbarism! Protect order!"

"In the name of the Holy Trinity - the Legitimate Emperor, the Senate, and the Ecumenical Council - we call on the electors, the subjects of the Empire, and the followers of the state religion to march into the Badlands!"

Iron Alliance!

Chivalrous expedition!

Holy War of Order!

As the court had hoped, these gifts caused a sensation among the people as soon as they were announced, and generated a strong reaction. People on the streets of Altdorf were actively asking the people around them:

"What's a greenskin?"

"Where is the Bad Place?"

Understand these people. Although Altdorf is a metropolis that can be considered "international" by medieval standards, more than 90% of the population in this city is still in the lower-middle class.

The docks and streets are populated by a large number of lower-class civilians, even poor people.

The rich and powerful can move from prosperous and noisy metropolises to quiet and peaceful country villas and suburban estates at any time, but the poor cannot do so. They must rely on the city for work and life.

In addition, after the Great War, Order rose and Chaos declined. Even the once horrific ruins of Duncanwald, the Bloodpine Forest rampant with goblins, and even the Central Mountains filled with Beastmen... after losing the powerful protection of Chaos, the mutations decreased, the Beastmen whose blessings disappeared and the Greenskins who were targeted were repeatedly cleared out. The expansion of any civilized group is a real disaster to the barbarians who once abused them.

129: The prologue begins

Most of them probably have no idea about things like "Ulthun", "Eternal Peak" and "March Princes". They only know which elector states there are in the country, Nord, Midden... Even if they are average, it is not impossible that they regard human countries like "Bretonnia" and "Kislev" as a remote province of the empire.

With no interference from Heaven on either side and no high-dimensional beings cheating, the organized and productive people of Order showed the Chaos what it means to be crushed. The Greenskins, who could pose a threat to Order, were also severely hit because the Gods were still active in the early post-war period, and their forces retreated back to the mountains.

Thirty years after the Great War, there were almost no Beastmen warbands still active in the Empire; in the fiftieth year, the last Greenskin warlord of note was killed by the Provincial Army.

In places like Reikland, the core of the empire, and Altdorf, the capital, many people may not have seen a true "chaos beast" a few times in their entire lives, unless it was in a circus, let alone something like a greenskin.

Most of their lives are spent preparing for tomorrow’s meal. The tedious work and the pressure of life make it difficult for them to think about other things.

They respect the will of the court, but... you really have to tell them what the badlands, mountains, dwarf allies, and greenskins are?

In order to make up for the dissatisfaction of the dwarves caused by the repeated delays in sending reinforcements, the court ordered the expedition to be announced to the entire city of Altdorf on the same day, calling on all the people of the empire to use such a grand act to appease the emotions of the dwarf delegation. Otherwise, if the delegation stationed in Altdorf really packed up and left in anger, it would be a serious matter.

Although the majority of the common people did not quite understand what the court had suddenly done, and many of them even had only a vague concept of the key points mentioned in it, the problem in western Zhejiang was not big. After the subsequent propaganda and incitement, they would soon shout, "Support our allies!" and "Chivalrous expedition!" as the imperial conference hoped to see.

The church also started to mobilize. The archbishop regarded this expedition as an important opportunity to resolve - at least temporarily suppress - the current division within the state religion. At the instruction of the Great Temple, monks and priests took to the streets holding scriptures, sacred objects and instruments, surrounded by warriors who protected the church, bringing the call of the church. They announced that clearing away filth and slaughtering evil were acts of justice and glory, and that those who died in the war could ascend to heaven and enjoy endless glory, milk and honey.

The court also claimed that the mountains and badlands were places of opportunity to achieve success and gain wealth, and that countless lost treasures were buried there. The borderlands (here the concepts of border princely territories and badlands were mixed together) had large tracts of unowned fertile plains. As long as one went there, even if one did not participate in the war to gain rewards, one could obtain one's own land through reclamation and become a small or medium-sized landlord.

The empire's land annexation problem was extremely serious. In order to obtain cheap labor, some policies and systems even deliberately hit farmers, bankrupting them and forcing them to sell their land and work in factories. Although factory owners used "industrialized production" using machinery and alchemical fertilizers and could obtain more output from the land, in order to suppress food prices and limit a major source of income for farmers, they would deliberately sell large amounts of food when trying to annex land, causing the output value of the land to be underestimated. When the situation was almost the same - the land was in their hands - they began to slow down food production or reduce local food supply in order to harvest the second crop of leeks, or an endless supply of leeks.

A large number of farmers in the empire faced this dilemma: keeping the land, not to mention the hard work, the input and output made it impossible for them to save any money, and they would easily go bankrupt in the event of natural disasters or man-made disasters; but if they sold the land, they would completely lose the guarantee of food and clothing for their family.

Therefore, the majority of the lower-class civilians have always retained their desire for land. When the emperor tells them that they can get rewards by killing enemies, most people may just take it as a fun thing to do; when the church tells them that they can go to heaven by participating in a holy war, people may donate money and materials to show their appreciation, and the more fanatical ones may accept the call and go to the battlefield.

But if going there can help them regain their land, recover from being landless to being self-employed farmers, and get away from the squeezed living space in the empire's developed homeland, then those "families" of workers who live in a small building with several or even dozens of people and spend their days busy walking around in cities and factories may seriously consider it.

After all, such families have no shortage of strong labor. If the empire is willing to cover the expenses of the expedition, no matter how far away the Badlands are, they will not be farther than the New World. Land is not as threatening as the ocean, right?

Therefore, after the subsequent propaganda efforts were in place, Mrs. Aldaw finally showed an attitude of "actively and enthusiastically" participating in the "jihad cause."

There are queues every day in front of the "Jihad Recruitment Offices" set up by the palace in various places. Although it takes a lot of time, those who are determined are still willing to spend a little effort to learn about an opportunity that may change their future.

The "holy war fundraising" conducted openly by the church and secretly led by the court was also in full swing. In the past and until now, legally and traditionally, the emperor has the power to requisition all manpower and material resources in the country in time of war, even the private property of aristocratic lords, not to mention the wealthy businessmen whose status only really entered the mainstream after more than a hundred years of development after the holy war.

However, this rule has not been used for a long time, because without external threats, people are no longer willing to have their property and assets confiscated, and the court no longer has a suitable reason. Moreover, the royal family, which is the richest and feudal lord in the empire, does not have such a need.

But today this tradition finally has a chance to be carried out.

The court, in conjunction with the church and aristocratic forces, directed pressure in the Senate on the new player in the game of power, the Fourth.

Merchants, factory owners, capitalists...