"Is everyone here?"
In the council chamber of the Knights' headquarters, Cumberland sat at one end of a long table, looked at the dozens of kingdom officials around him, cleared his throat, and said, "Now that everyone is here, let's begin this week's Kingdom Council meeting."
“Let me start with the military developments.” Cumberland stroked his beard, thinking as he spoke, “According to the scouts’ reports, the barbarians who were plundering the Silver Ring Kingdom’s wealth engaged in a war with the church’s army that lasted for more than half a month. The battle ended in a draw; although the barbarian coalition managed to move most of the wealth, they lost one-fifth of their troops. Although the church’s army successfully used ambushes and luring tactics, resulting in a lower casualty ratio than the barbarian coalition, they fell into the enemy’s trap and failed to intercept the Silver Ring’s treasures.”
With his cane beside the chair, Huggins, still recovering from his injuries, asked curiously, "Did we fall for a trap?"
"The barbarians divided their main force into two parts. The larger part was transporting goods, but the boxes in the carts were actually filled with stones and timber. The other part, carrying the real treasures, took advantage of the lull in the battle to sneak back to the northern border through mountain trails."
Alfonso sat at the table, the indelible burn scars on his face from the assassination attempt on the king still visible. "I have a question," he said. "Which faction in the north did the barbarian army responsible for luring the enemy belong to?"
Cumberland gave the questioner an approving look and nodded, saying, "That's a good question. The barbarian army used as bait was mainly the regular army and auxiliary troops of the Kingdom of Ulster in the northern continent. According to scouts, the ambush of the Kingdom of Ulster by the church army was actually pre-planned. I suspect that this entrapment was an internal conflict within the barbarian alliance. In other words, the Kingdom of Ulster was outmaneuvered by its own ally during this retreat."
Huggins thought for a moment and said, "So, in other words, after this internal strife, a war might break out among the northern barbarians?"
“It’s possible. Choosing to endure after suffering a loss is not the style of northerners.” Cumberland looked out the window and said slowly, “The Kingdom of Ulster is the strongest country in the north. Although it was severely weakened after this battle, the foundation of the kingdom is still there. Through national mobilization and the formation of an army from slaves, they can easily rebuild an army in a short period of time.”
Huggins breathed a sigh of relief: "So, the threat from the north can be disregarded for the time being?"
Cumberland nodded, but his expression remained serious.
The kingdom officials present had only a superficial understanding of the military situation and were not in a position to speak on the matter, except for one person.
Emerson, who was serving as the chief privy councilor, suddenly interjected, "Why were the Holy Guard's troops not involved in this battle?"
Cumberland looked at his former boss and old friend, frowned, and replied, "To be honest, I don't know."
Then he added, “As a member of the Church’s coalition, there is no reason for the Holy Guard City not to participate in a war like this, which is a struggle for property. However, according to the scouts’ reports, the Holy Guard’s flags have not been seen on the battlefield.”
Alfonso turned to Cumberland: "Is it possible that there was also infighting between the Church army and the Holy Guard? I heard that in the battle of Watchtower Valley, the Church army abandoned tens of thousands of civilians and Holy Guards and left the battlefield first."
The latter thought for a moment, then shook his head: "The relationship between the Church and Holy Guard City might be strained because of this, but it hasn't reached the point of a complete breakdown. Besides, based on my understanding of the King of Holy Guard City, wherever there is war, there is that old lion. Therefore, Holy Guard City's absence from this battle is probably due to other reasons..."
Emerson stroked his beard and said with some regret, "If we could establish an embassy in Holy Guard City, we could gather some specific intelligence... Unfortunately, establishing diplomatic relations with other countries requires the king's involvement..."
After saying this, he looked at the throne at the highest point of the hall, which was empty.
At this point, Xiushi Qiao could no longer contain himself and said anxiously, "Thirteen days! It's been a full thirteen days since His Majesty summoned us last time! Why haven't we heard a single word yet?!"
Master Terence, who was flipping through the academy's report, glanced at the monk and said slowly, "His Majesty has his own affairs to attend to. We, his subjects, only need to do our own things according to his wishes."
Seeing the monk open his mouth as if to argue, Cumberland quickly changed the subject: "Joe! What progress have you made on the agricultural development plan His Majesty entrusted to you?"
Interrupted from his speech, Qiao was displeased, but still reported the facts: "Let's talk about the experimental fields first. Since using the 'rhizobium cultivation method' taught by His Majesty, the yield per unit area of legumes is expected to increase by 50%. And most importantly, the disease resistance of the crops has greatly increased, effectively improving the survival rate of the plants. If the technology is promoted, I believe that the first batch of harvest can be stored in less than half a year."
"Regarding encouraging migrants from outside the city to engage in agriculture, as of yesterday, over 2,600 people had registered, and after screening, 940 were confirmed as qualified to farm. More than 30 square kilometers of basic arable land have been allocated, and farming tools and seeds have been distributed. Next, I will contact scholars from the Department of Agriculture at Muxi College to teach the migrants the 'rhizobium cultivation method,' ensuring a successful first harvest before winter this year."
Cumberland nodded in approval with delight, then turned his gaze to the Ragrens next to the monk.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com