Chapter 625 Recommendations
Chapter 625 Suggestion
Antonio rode a white horse as he made his rounds through the Gabora military camp.
The moans of wounded soldiers constantly reached his ears, and despite all the years of military service, his heart was still hard after hearing these agonizing sounds.
He knew that many would not be able to survive the fever behind them and leave this world forever.
Whenever this happened, Antonio would long beyond measure for the heaven that the church preached was real, though he hated the church at the same time.
Those who were uninjured or less injured would salute and cheer the commander-in-chief as they saw him pass nearby.
Antonio, for his part, saluted them with a cold look, careful to hide his grief from the world.
Gabella’s culture makes his soldiers long for a cold, rather than a benevolent, commander-in-chief.
Antonio and his army are in the Kingdom of Creel – a vassal state in the northern part of the Gabella Empire – fighting head-on against an army of orcs moving south.
Although he has successfully gained power in a coup d’état, the threat of the orcs in the north is also real and ongoing, and Antonio, who has taken control of the center of the empire, can’t let it go without greatly diminishing his own legitimacy.
So after the situation in the imperial capital was initially stabilized, Antonio left the old marshal MacDonald to sit in the rear and personally lead the army to deal with the orcs.
The spear from the south and the shield from the north collided head-on, and the two sides fought several consecutive battles in the land of Creel, with each other winning and losing.
On the whole, the orc cavalry is superior, and the army is more, its headquarters plus the human servant army, a total of more than 100,000 people.
The Gabella army was more elite, but smaller – Antonio needed to leave some of his elite behind to defend the still unstable rear.
A man on horseback approached, Antonio’s second-in-command for this expedition – Siegfried.
He flashed a smile, there was no need to be dignified in front of Siegfried.
“Have you finished patrolling the piece you are in charge of?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“How’s morale?”
“Very high, Your Highness! Everyone is eager to beat up the steppe barbarians again tomorrow.”
“That’s good!”
Ziggy flew over to walk with Antonio.
“Your Highness, I seem to see a worried color between your brows! This is not like your previous style.”
His tone was light, as if he was intentionally enlivening his friend’s mood.
“Oh, my dear Siegfried!”
Antonio confided to him.
“I have never fought a battle like this-not in inferiority of force, but …… in having an unsettled rear, and going away from Gabella to fight the enemy.”
This was exactly what Antonio was uncomfortable with, in the past, although there were guys like Felix and the Diaz family in his rear against him, but with his father Bartlett overseeing the whole situation, his own big rear was generally stable.
But now it is not the same, his authority has not yet been established, and the lords everywhere have a wait and see attitude towards the situation in the imperial capital, even …… ambitious.
A warm touch came from his shoulder, and it was his best friend who put his hand on his shoulder.
He was met with a wave of strength channeled into him.
“All difficulties will be overcome.”
Siegfried said in a simple voice, “Antonio, we’re all by your side.”
“I always thought so too!”
Antonio responded to him, the boredom in his mind much lessened.
Together, the two returned to the large tent in the center of the camp to prepare for a drink, but were surprised to find someone already waiting inside. Master Aldrich, the renowned Maester of the Maester’s Tower, saw Antonio and Siegfried enter and stood up to greet them.
Antonio asked suspiciously, “Honorable Mentor, is there anything important at this late hour?”
Aldrich’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as he solemnly said to Antonio, “Your Highness, I have come to make some suggestions to you.”
“Oh? Please sit down and elaborate.”
Antonio extended his hand to him.
After all three were seated, Aldrich then said softly, “Perhaps my advice is not flattering, but the situation has developed in such a way as to allow me to say nothing.”
“Have you received any updates?” Antonio gestured for him to continue.
Aldrich nodded, “Several students have sent me cryptic news that several lords in the southeast are plotting against you, your highness!”
Antonio’s face went cold.
The maesters that came out of the Imperial Capital’s Maester’s Tower had always been highly sought-after talents by the lords all over Gabella, and they spent a lot of money to recruit the maesters under their command, either to take care of their territories for them, or to advise them, or to educate the next generation for them.
These maesters, who walk around the empire’s major territories, are an important part of Gabela’s ruling class, and each of them holds an important position.
Therefore, the information Aldrich had obtained should be very reliable.
“These guys who don’t know how to die!”
Siegfried, who was sitting next to him, commented disdainfully.
But he also frowned, had the instability within the empire even reached the point where someone was bold enough to openly confront the imperial capital.
Antonio looked to Aldrich, “Mentor, I remember you said you were here to make suggestions.”
“Yes.” Aldrich nodded, “As a matter of fact, I suggest you make some concessions to the orcs!”
“Absolutely not!” Antonio flatly refused without even thinking about it.
“You’re asking me to give Creel away? How would that make people look at me, someone who just gained the power to rule the empire, and the first thing he does when he comes up is to sell out the empire’s interests?”
Aldrich shook his head, “Not Creel.”
“Not Creel?”
“Not Creel! The strongest desire of the orcs for millennia has been to gain a plain that can be plowed, whether it is Creel or not is of no importance.”
Antonio was a bit puzzled, “Then where should it be? I don’t think it will work as long as it’s involved with the Empire, whether it’s our own territory or that of our allies.”
Aldrich looked at him and spoke slowly, “Nerodan!”
Antonio and Siegfried rose in surprise together.
“That’s Aldo’s land!”
“Yes, Aldo’s land.” Aldrich said in an aggravated tone, “Isn’t this just right? We preserve the benefits, and the orcs gain.”
“That won’t work either!”
Antonio was still shaking his head, “We’ve already weakened Aldo with Giles. If we let the orcs occupy Nerodan, Aldo’s hinterland will be directly exposed to these barbarians, it’s too dangerous, and that will throw the entire western continent out of balance.”
“It takes time for the balance to be broken! Besides, the defense of the northeast has cost Aldo countless amounts of money and food, so if we lose Nerodan, perhaps Aldo will be able to build up more strength.”
Aldrich insisted on his point of view.
“It’s time to move the dark pawns we’ve placed in Nerodan.”
(End of chapter)