Chapter 298：

In late July, the second phase of the War of the Ustors in the Northwest Gulf came to an end. On the western front, the apparent situation returned to what it was when the war broke out. The pressure on the two battlefields prevented the Duke's army, which had just recaptured Pittburg, from continuing to attack. In the other two battlefields, Emden made Arda's army temporarily helpless with the help of the strong defense of Fort Byram, but in the other battlefield - the upper reaches of the Weiss River, the situation was very different for the Duke's side. Wonderfully, almost all the northern areas of the Duke's immediate territory were lost, and Arda's army was stationed on the border of the immediate territory. If it hadn't just been through a big battle and needed to be repaired, it would have gone straight to the city of Center.

The Duke's army commanded by Fergus and Emerson tried many times to drive Arda's army back to the river, but all failed. After the failure of the frontal confrontation, they finally found a weakness of Arda's army-the lack of cavalry. A highly mobile unit.

So they sent light cavalry troops to harass the rear of Arda's army everywhere, destroying supply stations, killing the newly appointed political officers, and intercepting small groups of troops, which made Arda's army exhausted.

It is impossible to quickly cultivate a cavalry, and the allies are unable to provide effective support in this regard due to the threat from the Western Front, so they can only take advantage of Arda's powerful infantry.

The issuance of war bonds relieved the urgent needs of Huxin Town, and a new conscription plan was launched, and notices of enlistment were sent to every household one by one.

In order to increase the enthusiasm of young men to join the army and pave the way for the abolition of serfdom in the future, Paul intends to issue a decree: Soldiers from serf families can become free men after serving in the Arda army. However, the dissuasion by the people in the Government Affairs Council failed. The reason they gave was: this policy may cause those landlords to lose a lot of free labor, and it will definitely create obstacles in the process of conscription.

Paul was helpless, well, he had to find another chance, and focus on the war in front of him first.

Four temporary infantry battalions were formed and concentrated near Huxin Town for day and night training. Due to production problems, only half of them received muskets, and the other half could only use spears and bows.

But even under such circumstances, the staff did not relax the training standards for formations and formations, as well as strict requirements for internal affairs. The high-level does not expect to train every soldier to be so elite, as long as they can understand commands such as advance, retreat, turn left, and turn right, and not retreat without receiving the order.

Discipline is the first element of Arda's army.

During this period, except for a few small-scale trials, neither side made any major moves, and the shelling of Fort Byram by the 1st and 3rd Battalions also stopped.

To Paul's surprise, Maltz Kent actually sent an envoy to request peace talks with the coalition forces. He hoped to restore the situation before the war began. It is a big concession and full of sincerity.

Reactions from the coalition camp were mixed. The Malcolm family and the Johnston family had an ambiguous attitude and seemed a little moved, but the Parker family firmly opposed the peace talks.

The Greimans and Gardners proposed that if the war was to end, Malts Kent would have to recognize their occupation of the north of Emden. As for the territory occupied by the Carter family in Operation Overlord, forget it, it will be an enclave when it comes.

Of course, the result was flatly rejected by Center City. Just kidding, Emden is the Duke's hometown, so how could it be ceded to others casually, not even an inch.

As a result, the Greiman and Gardner families also joined the ranks of opposing the truce. A large number of bonds have just been issued, and if you don't get anything, then wouldn't you owe a debt for nothing.

So the peace talks naturally fell through.

In the coalition camp, the most resolute opponent of the truce was Earl Parker, which made Paul very surprised. Was it only because of his insistence on the tradition and reputation of the nobility that he insisted on overthrowing Maltz, the usurper?

He privately consulted Old Ford, the director of the Government Affairs Council.

"Oh, it's not surprising. The Parker family and the Kent family have had conflicts for a long time."

Manager Ford twirled his gray beard and told Paul about the grievances and grievances between the two families.

"The Parker family, like the Greiman family, are the direct vassals of the royal family-the so-called direct vassals refer to the group of lords who were personally divided by the Rodney family before and after they won the crown-while the Ferdinand family and a bunch of vassals under them, It is the indigenous lord of the Northwest Gulf. Not only the Northwest Gulf, there are many such lords in other parts of the kingdom. Their titles come from various sources, and some are even handed down from the ancient Bella Empire. At the beginning of the dynasty, the chaos In the 1980s, they either cooperated with the Rodney family out of interests, or were forced to serve by being conquered by the Rodney family."

"The Parker family was the first direct vassal entrusted to the Northwest Gulf by the royal family This family represents the authority of His Majesty the King in this land. The Ferdinand family is also a vassal of the royal family in name. When conflicts arise between the duke and the king, it is difficult for him to say something openly due to his duty of loyalty. At this time, he needs someone else's mouth to speak out for himself and call for a group of vassals. Therefore, the Kent family, which was separated from the Ferdinand family, took the role. this role."

"Therefore, the Parker family, which represents the royal family, and the Kent family, which represents the interests of the local lords, have been at constant discord. There have been many conflicts in the past, and each has the lives of members of the other family. However, due to the secret support of Ferdinand, the largest family in the Northwest Gulf , the Kent family has always stabilized the Parker family."

It turned out to be a feud, Paul was thoughtful, so he could be regarded as a [direct descendant] of the royal family.

He asked again: "Isn't the Kent family afraid of being punished by the royal family?"

Steward Ford shook his head and said: "Theoretically, His Majesty the King is the co-lord of the entire Aldo, and everyone in the border is his subject, but in practice, there is an unwritten rule—the vassals of my vassals are not My vassal. The king can certainly use his co-lord authority to force the Northwest Duke to punish his vassals or simply do it himself, but such methods of breaking the rules can be used as little as possible, unless the Kent family publicly humiliates the royal family or launches a rebellion."

Paul murmured, "Isn't the vassal of my vassal my vassal?"

Old Ford nodded: "Yes, the last time Giles Kent led troops south to participate in Her Highness Catherine's counter-insurgency army, it was also under the banner of the vassals under the Duke of Northwest."

After listening to Old Ford's introduction, Paul secretly made up his mind that such a messy feudal system must not exist in his territory.