A quarter of an hour later, Lane got dressed with the help of Hardy and came to the study.
Mossack and the old butler Ens had been waiting inside for a long time.
Hardy poured wine for the two old men and Lan respectively, and then stepped aside.
"Tell me about it, Lan." Mossak didn't drink, but looked at Lan with a smile on his face. "You must have gained a lot from this trip to the north. You have already told me part of it when you were in Novigrad, and you also shared part of what happened later in the letter. So what did you gain from this Northern Conference? Is it really like you said outside, that you have gained the support of other kings?"
"Half of Novigrad is under Lann's control" was the message that came back when Triss brought Orphir back. The two old men were in disbelief for a while. You know, Novigrad is the first city in the North. The prosperity of the city even exceeds some small countries in the North and some medium-sized countries. Even Vizimir II couldn't guarantee his control over Novigrad. Now Lann said he had done it?
It can only be said that Chapelle, the alien among the shapeshifters, is too crucial. After knowing the truth, Mossak had to sigh at Lann's luck; of course, it was also Chapelle's luck to meet Lann, otherwise he would have been burned at the stake sooner or later.
As for the old druid's questions about the talks in the North, Lann shook his head slightly.
"I did sign some agreements with them, but how much of them will be effective and to what extent remains to be seen."
"The North has indeed reached a consensus, but we are still a long way from 'full cooperation'. In terms of military support and resource allocation on paper, we may be able to drive Nilfgaard away, but this will inevitably cause Cintra, which is already dwindling in population, to suffer greater losses, so we need to take a long-term view."
The main purpose of what Lann said to the people outside was to "encourage" them, but the actual situation was still different. Lann then summarized the gains of this time with the old druid and the old butler:
The full support of the United Kingdom of Lyria and Rivia, the military support of Aedirn, the sea transport support of Redania, the resource support of Temeria, and Kaedwen's promise not to cause trouble.
At the same time, these countries will also issue a joint boycott of Nilfgaard, calling on the northern countries to boycott Nilfgaard in various aspects such as trade. As for how much of it can be achieved in the end, it is unknown.
"As expected of Henselt." After hearing Kaedwen's promise, Mossack couldn't help but sneer.
Afterwards, everyone began to calculate Cintra's current strength and began to formulate the next strategic plan.
Queen Calanthe worked hard to make Cintra the "fifth kingdom" after the four northern kingdoms, and at its peak, it was able to gather an army of 20,000. However, due to the trap set by the Nilfgaardians, the main force was wiped out in one battle, and then the scattered soldiers were cleared out, and now there is really not much fighting power left.
"If the forces gathered by Brokilon now are combined with those of Marshal Visekid, and with the young and strong men who are constantly being gathered and joining the army, we will be able to mobilize about 5,000 troops in a month."
Mossak analyzed: "But these 5,000 people can only support one battle. If we cannot drive out Nilfgaard in one fell swoop and fall into a protracted war, then our logistics will be difficult to support. At least half of the 5,000 people will have to retreat and serve in logistics positions."
Lann pondered for a moment: "Does that mean our real 'standing army' level combat power is only about 2,000?"
Mossak nodded.
The Northern Kingdom's army is mainly divided into two types: standing army and conscripted soldiers.
The standing army is a professional army that is completely off-duty and whose mission all year round is to train and prepare for war. It is mainly composed of knights, royal guards, and city guards. A powerful army may also have a special numbered legion.
Conscripts are essentially peasants. They only fight for the king for a few dozen days a year, and they don't have much combat power. They are basically used as logistics or cannon fodder. Once this mandatory period is over, if the battle is not over, the king will have to pay to hire conscripts to continue fighting for him.
During the Calanthe era, Cintra was full of martial virtues, and it was like everyone was a soldier. The quality of the conscripted soldiers was also the best in the North. Now that the country was destroyed and the family was ruined, the conscripted soldiers were naturally on standby at all times and volunteered to join the army. But they were willing to fight, and Cintra now did not have the capital to allow all of these more than 3,000 people to leave their jobs and become soldiers. They had to do production work on a daily basis, and even occasionally helped the standing army that was not fighting on the front line.
So, as Mossak said, these 5,000 people were only capable of "one battle". After the first battle, most of these soldiers would have to be put back into production. Even if their casualty rate was a little higher, the existing structure of Cintra would have to be rewritten and the entire structure would collapse.
In addition to the 5,000 men in Cintra, there are also the United Kingdoms of Leiria and Rivia, as well as Aedirn, who can clearly provide military support.
The United Kingdom of Leiria and Rivia is also fighting a national defense war like Cintra, and if they are fully mobilized, they can gather about 15,000 troops and can fully devote them to the battle.
Aedirn is a big country, and the standing army plus the conscripted army can probably gather 40,000 people. But they are only there as support, and they are thankful to be able to send 10,000 people to help. If there are more, they themselves and even other countries in the North may have objections.
Lann pondered for a moment, and said to the old butler and the druid: "Let all these 5,000 people take off their jobs and strengthen their training."
Looking at the two elders who were hesitant to speak, Lann smiled and said, "What I gained this time is not only the help from the northern countries, but also wealth, a huge amount of wealth. Not only is it enough to support us in restoring and rebuilding our country, it is even enough for us to hire a mercenary group to replenish our troops."
Ens reflexively opened the account book in front of him: "That will cost a lot of money."
Lane laughed and said, "I do have a very 'large' sum of money."
Cintra has 5,000, the United Kingdom has 15,000, Aedirn has 10,000, so all in all there are no more than 30,000 people.
And what about Nilfgaard?
During this period, through the intentional and unintentional intelligence support from intelligence organizations of various countries and the help from Novigrad, everyone now has a general understanding of Nilfgaard:
First, Nilfgaard unified the south, with a population of between 30 and 50 million. This number fluctuates because the local intelligence is not very detailed.
In comparison, the population of the entire North is about 30 million. Among the four northern countries, Temeria and Redania, which have the largest populations, have a combined population of about 10 million.
What was truly terrifying was Nilfgaard's military strength. The entire Black Sun Empire had a standing army of 350,000, plus civilians, logistics, conscripted troops, etc., so it was no problem for them to claim to have an army of one million.
This is a million-strong army, which is smaller than the entire northern army combined. Every intelligence agency in the north was stunned when they received this news. This is a number that makes people despair just by hearing it.
Fortunately, Nilfgaard did not send out all its troops this time. First, its internal integration had not been completed, and second, they still needed to leave people to guard the rear. This time, Nilfgaard sent a vanguard of 100,000 troops to attack the northern border. Only after opening the gap in Cintra and establishing a base, the troops behind would be sent over.
This is also because Nilfgaard is fighting a long distance and the logistics are very tight. Therefore, Nilfgaard is eager to capture Cintra in one battle and turn this gateway to the north into its own province. It will become a springboard for launching a general offensive towards the north.
Of course, this strategic goal has not been achieved to this day. However, according to intelligence, Nilfgaard has gathered in "Lower Soden" next to Cintra and "Anglin" across the river from Lyria, and established temporary military bases in these two places; several cities south of Cintra have also been built as temporary war fortresses.
In other words, if Lann wanted to drive Nilfgaard away, he had to speed up the process before Nilfgaard's follow-up troops came to gain a foothold. And Nilfgaard obviously knew about the North Border Talks, and they would definitely be on guard against the movements of Lann and his party.
Mossak analyzed: "According to intelligence, Nilfgaard's army was defeated by the Northern Alliance in the Battle of Sodden Mountain. Our original battle in Cintra and the subsequent battles also consumed more than 10,000 of their troops."
"Even so, there are still more than 60,000 people." The old butler Ens frowned.
"There are also many factions among the Nilfgaardians. I heard that their emperor Emhyr executed a group of older officers, which strengthened the cohesion of the troops. But this also made their officers and soldiers lack coordination. In addition, their current bases are all occupied lands, and a large number of natives have been captured as slaves." Mossak said meaningfully, "They are not standing firmly now."
“自从他们发现没法攻下辛特拉全境后，主力部队便向东进发攻打米薇女王的联合王国。按照兰恩所说的话，亚甸会对联合王国施以支援。那么我们要对付的就是辛特拉境内如今存在的五千尼弗迦德人、以及驻扎在下索登随时可能过来支援的一万士兵。”
一万五千人，三倍于己方。而且兰恩手下的这五千士兵可是金贵得很，以后可是辛特拉崛起的种子，可不能真的把大半都拼损在这里。
“我们需要计划一次突然袭击，要一次闪电战，一战打掉敌人的主力部队和士气，在援军还没有反应过来的时候就将他们彻底驱赶出辛特拉。”兰恩沉吟道，“我们必须这么做，现在的辛特拉经不起消耗。”
若是要完成这个目的，他们还需要额外的支援。
莫斯萨克肯定道：“史凯利格可以给予我们帮助，他们能够从河上发动突袭拖住下索登的敌军。只是不知道他们可以支援我们多少人。”
以家族为单位的群岛之民，他们的军队总数不过万。但是在大海之上他们能够力敌数倍乃至于数十倍于己的敌人。来去如风的机动性也让他们几乎能够无损地劫掠南方沿海的地区，最适合骚扰作战。
“史凯利格那边我会去谈的，正好探望一下伊斯特姑父。”兰恩说道。
随后兰恩又补充道：“除此之外我们还需要其他的支援，我们需要大量的雇佣兵。北境的雇佣兵我们来者不拒，尤其是柯维尔那边，他们有着庞大的雇佣兵团。正好瑞达尼亚承诺我们开放运船，可以让他们为辛特拉运输士兵，为我们而战。”
恩斯忧虑道：“柯维尔的雇佣兵团确实骁勇善战。但是柯维尔给他们的报酬本身就是天价，要是想要临时雇佣他们，我们起码需要一点五到两倍的溢价。加上长途的运送和后勤，哪怕如今辛特拉所有的钱付出去都支付不起。”
柯维尔王国在北境的最北端，是一个奇葩的绝对中立的王国。它最出名的就是这里的矿产资源，传说柯维尔出产了北境百分之八十的黄金和百分之七十的阻魔金。因此柯维尔哪怕人口稀少，却靠着雇佣佣兵团组建了北境有数的强大军队，甚至曾经击败过瑞达尼亚和科德温的联军。
和这样的一个国家“抢生意”，难怪老管家会一脸忧色。
“我现在很有钱。”兰恩却轻笑一声，“我不但要用雇佣兵补充我们的兵力，我还要给辛特拉现有的士兵进行装备升级。我听说尼弗迦德的士兵都是派发的制式装备，连最低级的士兵都有锁子甲；而北境的征召兵却都是自备武器，甚至连一件棉衣都没有？”
兰恩正色道：“我们辛特拉也要和尼弗迦德人一样，甚至比他们更强。”
恩斯叹气更重了：“这不但需要大笔的钱，还需要很多的工匠和人力，这更不是我们现在可以办到的了。”
“我会去找玛哈坎的矮人，找他们采购装备。”兰恩说道，“甚至如果可能，我还想找他们借一支重步兵，用来对抗尼弗迦德的铁骑。”
花钱雇佣柯维尔佣兵、直接找矮人采购装备、甚至说服矮人出兵支援。这其中无论哪一桩事在恩斯和莫斯萨克听来都是难以置信的。但是他们都没有反驳兰恩，而是在兰恩提出来后开始力所能及地思考如何去达到兰恩所设置的目标。
恩斯掏出一个本子，在上面写写画画了好一阵，半晌之后才确定了上面的数字，将它展示给兰恩看。
“我不知道今天说了多少次这句话了，但是兰恩——这是很大的一笔钱。”
兰恩接过来瞟了一眼，笑道：“那么恩斯，我们现在有没有空着的仓库，我去给你展示一下我现在的财富吧。”
老管家早就知道兰恩有着【物品栏】这种神奇的空间储物能力的了。听到兰恩的要求之后，他和莫斯萨克便将兰恩引到一间空旷的谷仓里面。
兰恩四处打量了一下，左手前伸准备打开【物品栏】，右手则轻轻托住恩斯的后背。
“少爷？”恩斯对兰恩的举动不明所以。
“免得你一会太过激动。”兰恩随时做好了把恩斯契约为【随从】的准备，免得老管家一会被眼前涌现出来的财富崩掉心神。
恩斯叹息一声：“少爷，我是王室管家，从小就在宫中长大的。”
言下之意：老头什么场面没见过？
兰恩扯了扯嘴角，心神沉入系统。
……
恩斯和莫斯萨克这辈子可能都忘不了他们接下来看到的这一幕：
只见兰恩的左手仿佛化成了一个泉眼，源源不断朝外面喷薄名为“财富”的洪流：一开始是各式各样的金色钱币，样式有克朗、弗罗林、奥伦、林塔这些如今流通的货币，随后开始出现精灵统治时期的古金币，再之后是各种连莫斯萨克的学识都无法辨认的金铸货币。
尽是金灿灿的一片，银和铜连点缀的资格都没有。
当着金色的洪流过后，紧接着出现的是红、蓝、绿的灼眼宝石光芒，其中还掺杂着大颗大颗的钻石、翡翠、珍珠。这些熠熠生辉的小东西此刻仿佛变成了路边随处可见的石头。
再之后，翻滚出来了几个镶金的箱子，在半空中翻滚着打开。从里面滚出来了珍珠项链、金铸王冠、宝石戒指这些名贵的首饰和装饰；还能够见到精美绝伦的古董长剑、金银酒杯餐具、光泽润滑的瓷器、框裱好的油画。
这些易碎的东西刚飞出来的时候还让两名老人紧张地差点惊叫出来，担心出现磕碰损伤了它们的价值。但是紧接着又看到它们滚落在已经铺满了仓库的钱币基底上面，缓缓下陷好似进了沙子里面。
仓库里的钱币已经多得好似海边沙滩的沙子了，这是另外一种更加令人精神振奋的金色。
整个仓库里开始弥漫着一股呛人的香气，或是浓重的麝香、或是芳香的檀香等等，芬芳喷鼻。
恩斯狠狠地咽了一口唾沫，身子剧烈地摇晃了几下。
兰恩拉着老管家一路后退，防止他被这些财宝掩埋。三人一路退到了门口，让金币堪堪没过他们的脚背。
随后兰恩有些担心地看着老管家，正想做什么，却看到呼吸沉重的莫斯萨克把手搭在了恩斯的肩膀上。
饶是见多识广的老德鲁伊，此刻也是心神大震。但是紧接着他的身上升起一阵宛若林间清风的魔法波动，将他和恩斯笼罩在内，连兰恩一时间都感觉到一阵沁人心脾的舒适和放松。
又过了十几个呼吸的时间之后，恩斯终于咽下一口唾沫，润湿了发干的喉咙，能够再说出话来了。
“少爷……这些，都是您的？您是从哪里弄过来的？”
兰恩羞涩地笑了：“其实这些还不是全部，我留了一些当做零花。但是应该足够我们刚刚计划的那些事情了吧？”
“何止是足够啊……”恩斯喃喃自语。
莫斯萨克的身上再一次升起自然魔法的波动，显然他还不足够冷静。
绿色的光芒反复几遍升腾降落，莫斯萨克和恩斯也变得越来越冷静，直到面无表情。
最后，老德鲁伊毫无情绪波动地说道：“我会去联系柯维尔那边的佣兵团，我认识不少熟人。凯尔达也能够帮上忙，我会说服他跟我一起。”
狮鹫学派的大本营凯尔塞壬就在柯维尔王国的最北段，凯尔达一百多年的时间里面也是走遍了这里的每一个角落，结下了不少的人脉。但凡长生者，哪个和统治阶级没有点关系的？说不定现任国王的爷爷的爷爷就曾经被凯尔达救过命呢。
恩斯也冷淡地说道：“这些钱足够雇佣万人级别的兵团来支援我们了……不行，还是不能雇佣太多，不然请人容易送人难。五千人是一个合适的数量。剩下的钱足够给我们自己所属的部队装备升级、打造攻城器械、还有重建战后的辛特拉了。今后一段时间也能够完全靠着从亚甸进口粮食来满足我们的需求了，五千人体量的军团也能够全部投入军事训练当中。”
兰恩被这两人毫无情绪波动的语气弄得有点不太适应了，只能点头认同他们的看法：
“啊……对！就是这样。”
“那么兰恩。”莫斯萨克转过头来，严肃地说，“你接下来的任务就是先去一趟史凯利格借兵，然后去玛哈坎找矮人了。这一切需要紧凑一点，要赶在尼弗迦德对北境诸国的方针做出反应之前。一个月是一个合适的时间，足够史凯利格的战船过来。矮人那边如果真的有重步兵支援的话，我可以找特莉丝、杰隆还有几个德鲁伊朋友一起开传送门分批次让他们过来。”
“嗯嗯，好的好的！”
Ens also turned around and said, "Master, before you go out, you need to meet Her Royal Highness the Princess first. She misses you very much. When we received the news of your return, we also informed Marshal Vissekid. You need to accept his troops, and the princess also needs to accept his loyalty."
"Ah...Okay! I've been missing Ciri for a long time too!"
Lann swallowed and said, "Is there anything else I should be aware of?"
Mossak and Ens looked at each other expressionlessly, and the fluctuations of natural energy began to surge from their bodies again.
"Lan, please put away these treasures first. The door is blocked."
"Yes, sir. And we also need to find a place to store our property. The barn is not very safe after all."
Lann nodded obediently: "...Okay."