Chapter 295 The Principality of Idar (Two in one! Please subscribe!)

Bruno was very happy,

but the second prince Rez was very depressed.

Because he was forced to "voluntarily" spend money to buy the land.

Returning the western part of the Valens Plain to the Norman Empire was a difficult decision that Odin monarch Areo O'Sullivan had to make after weighing the pros and cons for a long time.

It can be seen from the map that if he does not return this land to the Norman Empire, then this flat plain will be sandwiched between the Second Prince Rez and Lord Idar.

In fact, Areo O'Sullivan has never cared much about the army of the Second Prince Rez. After all, it has been a long time since Odin's army has chased and beaten the Norman soldiers. Everyone has long been accustomed to it, and the Norman Empire's army has never taken the initiative to attack.

But the problem is,

Being next to the bug-like existence of Lord Idar really made him feel uneasy.

When the territory of Idar was only the size of an earldom, he could rub Marshal Odin Portia Mariano on the ground. Then, when Idar completely controlled most of the land in the eastern part of the empire...

Wow! All Areo O'Sullivan wants is for Idal to be as far away from him as possible.

The return of land, purchase of food and military equipment, and making certain concessions in the peace agreement were all based on such considerations.

Furthermore,

You have to pick on the weak ones. After signing an armistice agreement with Lord Idar, wouldn't it be nice to bully the Norman Empire, which is currently busy with a civil war?

As for Idar Territory,

In fact, Bruno, Old Ford and others also hold similar views as the Odins.

If Idar wanted to expand abroad one day, why not attack the Norman Empire in the west or the Kingdom of Basel in the south? Why would they go to the Odin Empire, which has a vast territory, a sparse population and a strong army, to show their presence?

then,

The two gangsters hit it off immediately, and the Peace of Valence came into being.

only……

This made the second prince, Rez, complain bitterly.

A few days ago, the Odin Empire's messenger came to the second prince Rez's tent on the Sognefjord, and expressed the Odin Empire's willingness to return part of the territory to its original owner.

Returning the things is of course a good thing, but the problem is... the Odin Empire wants money!

The western part of Valens Plains, one price,

Twenty-five thousand Norman gold coins! To be honest, this price can be said to be fair, but... Second Prince Rez can't come up with so much money at once! During the days when the Odin Empire and Idar were at war, Rez was not idle at all.

The messengers under the command of the Second Prince Reiz traveled back and forth between various aristocratic territories in the west, central and even southern parts of the empire, spending money lavishly throughout the Norman Empire and gaining the support of a large number of noble lords.

At the same time, he also spent a huge amount of money to build weapons, recruit soldiers, and try his best to win this civil war in the empire.

so……

The treasury of the Second Prince Rez had long been emptied out. Even if a rat sneaked in, it would eventually run out crying.

Under such circumstances, twenty-five thousand gold coins was really a heavy burden for the second prince Rez .

but,

He had to pay the money! The north returned the land but you didn't want it, and the south was ready to go to war at any time. If you offended both the south and the north at the same time, do you still want to survive on this continent? Therefore, after calling a meeting of his subjects overnight to raise money, the second prince Leiz finally raised less than 5,000 gold coins, which was barely enough to pay the down payment.

As for the remaining money...

The loan was repaid in nine years, with a total of 38,000 Norman gold coins in principal and interest.

However, while raising money for the down payment, the outcome of the war between the Odin Empire and the Idar Territory also reached the ears of the second prince Rez.

Then……

He was confused.

Because to the second prince, Rez, the Territory of Idar was a very unfamiliar name.

Where is this?

Is he really a vassal of the Norman Empire? How could the Norman Empire have such a powerful vassal?

To be honest, there are few nobles in the eastern part of the empire that Second Prince Reiz has heard of.

After all, the desolation and hardship in the eastern part of the empire was well known. Before this, he had no mood to study how many small nobles were entrenched in the eastern part of the empire.

Anyway, no matter how many nobles there are, they will bow their heads and call me daddy when they see me.

But now...

As soon as he heard the name Idarling, he felt extremely...awkward.

The land in the east of the empire was ceded by the empire itself, but the vassal in the east of the empire, Lord Idar, defeated the Odin people and snatched back nearly two-thirds of the land in the east of the empire from them.

at the same time,

Count Idar was a vassal of the Norman Empire, but not all of Idar's lands were Norman territory.

And according to gossip, this war was completely initiated by the Idar people. In addition, the Idar people even took over the Mann Fortress and the Imperial soldiers guarding the fortress...

You say he is a hero but not entirely; you say he made mistakes but you dare not say it.

Because this guy just rubbed Odin's dog head on the ground. Although Rez is not sure about the strength of the Idar people at present, if the Idar army turns around and causes trouble for him, then Rez will not have to fight a civil war.

Because the second prince Rez, like the eldest prince Pizman, had proclaimed himself the only emperor of the Norman Empire half a year ago.

Therefore, a loyal minister like Lord Idar who has made great contributions to the defense of the country must be rewarded! Even if he is dissatisfied with Lord Idar's private reorganization of the imperial soldiers directly under the royal family, he must keep such thoughts to himself, after all...

At this time, the civil war has not yet begun. A character like Lord Idar who can beat the Odin Empire up must be won over! Otherwise, the eldest prince Pitzman, that bastard, will definitely get there first! Rez Alexander thought secretly.

After discussing it with his staff and consultants for half a day, Rez Alexander finally made a decision.

"Draft a reward for Count Idar..." Rez paused and glanced at the clerk beside him.

The man immediately understood and whispered, "Bruno Stuart, Stuart family."

"...cough cough" Rez Alexander coughed a few times and continued: "... Count Bruno Stuart of Idar defeated the invasion of Odin's army and maintained the dignity of the empire. He will be promoted to Duke of Idar. All the territories under his jurisdiction will be the territories of the Principality of Idar. The specific rewards will be left to you to formulate."

"I understand!"

This was the first time since the establishment of the Norman Empire that an earl was directly promoted to duke.

However, as he urgently needed to win over Lord Idar, Rez could not care less. Anyway, it was impossible to take back the territory of the eastern part of the empire from the Stuart family in a short period of time. It would be better to give it away as a favor, which would make him appear open-minded and magnanimous.

and,

Once Bruno accepted the reward from the Second Prince Reiz, it would mean that he acknowledged that the Second Prince Reiz was the emperor of the Norman Empire, which would naturally make Bruno a supporter of the Second Prince Reiz and stand on the opposite side of the First Prince Pizman. This was a win-win situation! "So, everyone here, let's talk about the current situation."

After finalizing the reward for Count Bruno Stuart of Idar, Rez Alexander finally gave the order.

Although Rez won the support of many nobles by spending money all over the country, he knew clearly that the nobles of the Norman Empire were a group of people who would not give up until they saw the rabbit. Although they agreed verbally, most of them were fence-sitters.

I gave away gold coins and valuables just to make them cheer for me and not cause trouble for me.

The one you really have to rely on is yourself! "Although the eldest prince Pitzman has a violent temper, he is the owner of the imperial capital of Saint Lawrence and claims to be the orthodox imperial family. According to the information we have learned so far, his lackeys have already gathered an army of more than 100,000 people for him." Teodoro Lawton said in a deep voice.

The status of this Norman military commander in the Norman Empire is almost equal to that of Portia Mariano in the Odin Empire.

"In this war, we may face three external variables, the noble group in the west of the empire, the Odin Empire in the north, and the Idar Territory in the east." Teodoro Lawton changed the subject and said, "The Odin people have just signed a truce agreement with us, and they should not tear each other apart so soon; although the nobles in the west are powerful, they will not make any moves at least in the early stages of the war; as for the guy who just showed up in the east..."

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

"The death of Marshal Portia caused a sharp drop in the morale of Odin's army. The Idar army could have taken advantage of the victory to pursue the enemy, but they did not do so. Moreover, the Idar territory has been particularly peaceful over the years. In addition, Your Majesty has decided to make him a duke. A large amount of territory needs to be digested and managed by the Stuart family, so... in the short term, this civil war should not involve any other third-party forces." Marshal Theodoro analyzed.

"More than 100,000 people?"

When he heard that Pizman had gathered hundreds of thousands of soldiers, Rez couldn't help but snorted coldly: "Although they both have hundreds of thousands of soldiers, the imperial soldiers stationed in the Songen Plain are the most elite! In addition to the Saint Lawrence Guards, the rest of the people in Pizman's hands are probably captured men, not to be feared!"

Marshal Teodoro nodded and said, "The spring ploughing season is approaching, and the imperial soldiers have been on guard for a long time. All you need is your Majesty's order, and I will march south! Straight to the outskirts of St. Lawrence!"

"I can trust you to lead the troops, but... this is a fight for the throne after all, so I want to lead the troops myself." Rez's eyes were bright and determined.

"Since Your Majesty is determined to do this, then... I am willing to serve as your deputy general!"

Marshal Teodoro knelt on one knee and said in a deep voice.

"General Boror and General Horn will each lead an army to cross the Albona River from the east and west sides and advance towards the central plains. The main force will be led by Marshal Theodoro and me, and General Rudolf will be responsible for guarding the Sogn Plain and maintaining stability in the rear." Rez Alexander said solemnly.

"clear!"

…

"The Odin people are shameless in selling the land that originally belonged to the Norman Empire back to the Norman Empire, like they are riding a merry-go-round with their pants off!" Bruno exclaimed.

"ha?"

Mondale, the personal butler standing by, was completely confused.

Speaking of which...

What is a carousel? Hanging Garden.

The official enthronement document sent by the Second Prince Reiz has been placed in Bruno's study.

"Sir... do you really want to accept this reward given by the Second Prince Reiz?" Mundell asked doubtfully.

"Since it's a reward given to me, why should I refuse? Also, don't always call him the Second Prince. Since he has made me a Duke, we should call him His Majesty Reiz from now on."

"But once you accept this reward, it means that you have completely stood on the opposite side of the eldest prince Pizman and become the second prince... er, no, you have become a supporter of His Majesty Rez. But now the outcome of the Norman Civil War is still uncertain, and most nobles are just watching..."

On the side, Mundell expressed his views.

"Rez's supporters..."

Bruno chuckled, then said, "Indeed! I'll probably give Rez all the support except for help."

Hearing this, Meng Dai was immediately shocked by her beauty.

The Earl is truly a man of great wisdom!

"Besides...even if Rez loses, what can Pitzman do to me? Can he change the fact that the eastern part of the empire is controlled by the Stuart family?"

"No! Maybe the document of enthronement that Pitzman gave me is already on the way!" Bruno said to himself.

Although he had always been cautious, at this moment, Lord Idar already had the capital to gain a foothold in the eastern part of the empire and was not afraid of any invading enemies.

Moreover, in Bruno's opinion, if the civil war in the Norman Empire wanted to end, it was obviously too early! "Greetings, Your Excellency the Duke!"

Seeing that Bruno accepted the reward from the Second Prince Reiz without any burden, Mundell quickly changed his words.

This is the Duke!

Hearing Mundell's address, Bruno suddenly felt refreshed.

In fact, after accepting the award, Bruno had three titles in total, namely Count Idar, Marquis of Armis, and Duke of Exeter.

This is a cultural tradition of the Norman Empire.

However, as his first title, Bruno habitually called the land under his rule the Principality of Idar and called himself the Duke of Idar.

Although it is somewhat inconsistent with the tradition of the Norman Empire, but... Bruno has the qualifications to reject this tradition! (Well, mainly because I have always called him Idar Idar before, and I am afraid that readers will not be used to it after changing the name.) Of course, this is also an expression of Bruno's attitude, that is, I can support the rule of the Norman Empire royal family in name, but the royal family cannot point fingers at everything that happens in the eastern part of the empire! Because if it is really in line with tradition, Bruno will at least have to confer several vassals such as marquis and earl after becoming a duke, but... this is impossible! The bureaucratic politics with the civil service system as the core is gradually replacing the original aristocratic politics.

Bruno has always hoped that in the future of Idar, the noble title will gradually evolve into a purely honorary title rather than real power.

"Let the Idar Daily spread the news. The Earldom of Idar will soon become the Principality of Idar!" Bruno ordered.

"I understand! Your Excellency the Duke!" Mundell said with a smile.

Hearing this,

Bruno was refreshed, in two words,

Comfortable!

Not today.

(End of this chapter)