plumnovel #543 - Entering Honey River Township
#543 - Entering Honey River Township
"Defeated?"
The moment Barney Foss pushed open the doors to Kush's palace, Prince Condé's barely restrained roar assaulted his ears.
Upon seeing Barney Foss, he instinctively quieted down, but after realizing who it was, he restrained his anger and motioned for Barney Foss to stand aside.
"What does Putzrio say?"
Lacunio leisurely sipped his black tea from a bone china cup: "The Short-Hair rebels can't enter the basin. Even if they were to force an attack, it would take more than a month to recover the entire territory."
"Putzrio, still a descendant of a prestigious family," Prince Condé pinched the letter in his hand, "Hmph, Lainer, a titled knight? Are all the people from Thousand River Valley useless cowards!"
After cursing a few times, he suppressed his anger over the Battle of Lapper River.
After all, this battle didn't affect the overall situation. Losing was losing. He wouldn't have been so furious usually, but he had been quite irritable these past few days.
To protect that Count Gairinon, the nobles and clergy had been constantly harassing him, which fueled his anger.
"Barney Foss, you wouldn't be here to plead for Gairinon too, would you?"
Barney Foss forced a smile, just as he was about to answer, Lacunio grabbed his sleeve, pulling him down to sit.
Picking up a golden goblet, Lacunio poured Barney Foss a glass of wine: "Don't look so miserable, have a drink. A little time won't matter."
Hesitantly taking the wine, Barney Foss first took a small sip, put it down, hesitated for half a second, and then drained it in one gulp, before straightening his neck:
"The new Pope has sent a letter, questioning why you are arresting the devout believer Count Gairinon?"
"Devout believer Gairinon..." Prince Condé was first stunned, then the confusion in his voice turned into suppressed anger, "I ask you, who wrote the letter to the new Pope?"
Barney Foss shook his head with a wry smile: "I really don't know about that."
"Good, good, there's actually such an influential noble lord who can send letters to the Holy See City in half a month, good."
Prince Condé began to laugh in anger.
Just as Horn was sailing to Rapid Falls City, the Shadow Man reported to Bishop Matteo about Gairinon's suspected interaction with the Holy Son Army.
Matteo submitted it as a routine report to Prince Condé, who, always straightforward, immediately paid a surprise visit to Gairinon's home.
And successfully discovered a black market dealing with the Holy Son Army near his manor.
Of course, there was no direct evidence that this black market was run by Gairinon.
But in Prince Condé's view, if you can't control the black market near your manor, are you even a noble?
"What, does this Pope Priano also want to put a leash on my neck? Without his support, I'm doomed? Does he think he's the only Pope?"
"Your Highness, be careful what you say!" Barney Foss was so frightened that he jumped up from his chair. Such words should not be spoken carelessly.
Laya was currently in civil war, with two Popes of Fran Laya standing side by side, a sensitive time.
The churches in Thousand River Valley belonged to the Northern Pope's faction. If these words were spread, things wouldn't be stable for a while.
"Sir Barney Foss, could you please leave for a moment?" After politely seeing Barney Foss off, Lacunio turned around, striking a lecturing pose.
"You can't guarantee everyone is loyal, Charles, you have to guarantee everyone is usable!"
"One or two I don't care about, but so many people, are you going to expose my back to this group of ungrateful nobles?" Standing in front of the window, Prince Condé turned his back to Lacunio, trying to suppress his anger.
"Isn't it just one Gairinon? Why involve so many?"
"It's obvious he's colluding with the enemy, yet the nobles are pleading for his acquittal, acquittal, not a reduced sentence. Am I being unreasonable?"
"Charles, you need to think more." Lacunio's tone softened, he pressed on Prince Condé's shoulders, "I ask you, why does everyone believe Gairinon couldn't possibly be in cahoots with the Holy Son Army?"
"Because they're in the same gang, protecting each other," Prince Condé asserted, "I saw through it long ago."
Lacunio was somewhat helpless. His student was usually fine, but once he got heated, he often did impulsive things without thinking.
He hadn't even been promoted to Grand Knight yet, but he was already showing signs of it.
"If that were the case, not everyone, including the bishop, would oppose you." Lacunio patiently explained to him, "Is everyone in the county a Short-Hair?"
Prince Condé was silent for a moment: "Then what's the reason?"
"Gairinon is a noble, the Holy Son Army and the Short-Hairs are in the same gang, their goal is to overthrow the nobles and the church." Lacunio spread his hands, "How could they support people overthrowing themselves? Do they want to commit suicide?"
Prince Condé's furrowed brows slowly relaxed, he stood up and walked around the room twice: "Then what about the black market?"
"Perhaps for profit, perhaps the steward acted on his own, maybe it's just stupidity."
Prince Condé didn't speak.
Looking at Prince Condé's thoughtful gaze, Lacunio knew he had been persuaded.
Lacunio didn't care about these so-called "ungrateful" and "fence-sitting" nobles at all; it was a common ailment among nobles.
The most important thing for the current Thousand River Valley strategy was the stability of Hotham County, otherwise the decree couldn't go anywhere.
As long as they could win, these nobles colluding with the enemy would naturally come down from the wall.
Even if they wanted to settle accounts, they should do so after a great victory, using the momentum of victory to precisely sweep away these fence-sitters.
They hadn't even won yet, what were they settling accounts for?
"Are you sure they aren't colluding with the enemy?"
"With Moliati, maybe, with the Holy Son Army? I'm sure it's impossible."
Seeing the conflicted look on Prince Condé's face, Lacunio, who knew him extremely well, knew that he had been persuaded, but was still struggling due to his pride and preconceived notions.
Lacunio didn't let him think too much and said directly: "In the future, they will all be your vassals. You can't continue to imprison him, as that would cause dissatisfaction among the nobles, and you can't let him go, as that would damage your prestige."
"Then what should I do?" Prince Condé asked subconsciously.
Lacunio replied concisely and clearly: "Let him atone for his sins and go to the battlefield with you."
Prince Condé's expression instantly relaxed. Once he entered the military camp, wouldn't he be able to manipulate him as he pleased?
Even if he died on the battlefield, it would just be because the battlefield was dangerous, and no one else could be blamed.
Lacunio changed the subject: "Has the time for the deployment to Deer Horn Village been confirmed?"
"Confirmed."
Prince Condé had resolved a matter of concern, and his whole person relaxed a lot: "Departing in three days. I haven't told anyone except for a few company commanders from the decree units and the heads of the mercenary groups."
"That's good." Lacunio trusted Prince Condé more in troop deployment and military matters, after all, he was a student he had personally trained.
"If it weren't for you, I really wouldn't know what to do. When I become the Prince of Thousand River Valley, I'll definitely grant you a Duke title."
"I've already dedicated myself to the Holy Lord, what's the use of a title? Rather than a title, you should have more sons and continue the bloodline."
"Don't worry, one of my mistresses is already pregnant, so there's no need to worry!"
"One isn't enough, there are still three days, you should perk up and try harder."
Smiling, Lacunio lowered his head to look at the map on the table.
The Kingdom of Laya was still in civil war, and with the current balance of power between the two sides, it wouldn't end in a year or two.
The church was busy with the two Popes, and both the Kingdom of Noen and the Kingdom of Fran could only provide all support except for sending troops.
Thousand River Valley was already a no-man's land.
The Gravel Plains noble coalition had secretly gathered, while the Salvation Army was being restrained by Putzrio on the Southern Nauan River line.
Everything was ready, only the final push of the domino called 'Gray Horse Knight Wayne' was needed.
Even if Moliati's Mountain Boar Knights or the warlock Horn's Short-Hairs were more capable, it would be too late.
Reaching out, Lacunio deftly flicked away the castle chess piece placed between Honey River Village in Upper Rivo County and Deer Horn Village in Lower Rivo County.
"The moment of destiny has finally arrived."
Three days later, at dawn, four decree companies quietly gathered outside of Flying Falls Fort, heading northeast in the dark.
In the forefront, Razburg was already garrisoned with infantry who had set out in advance, and their target had been determined—Honey River Village in Upper Rivo County.