Chapter 366: Empire in Turmoil (Two in One! Please subscribe!)
Bruno arrived at Idar Public University on the morning of the next day, accompanied by Mundell and others.
In order to ensure that the test-taking process of the candidates is not affected, Bruno even temporarily stopped the construction of Idar Public University.
The morning exam was about mathematics, which was also the most difficult subject in the minds of most candidates.
Of course, the questions in the test paper also focus on the basics. In addition to simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and geometry knowledge, the remaining major questions are applications of practical problems.
Moreover, in the civil service examinations, the proportion of mathematics is not high.
As for those slightly difficult questions, Bruno left them all for the subsequent entrance examination to Idar Public University.
In his previous life, Bruno had only been a candidate.
In this life, he walked quietly in the examination room, quietly observing the candidates with different expressions.
Some people have obviously put in a lot of effort and are confident about the questions on the test paper.
There are also a few people who are scratching their heads and just trying it out for fun.
But what made Bruno feel gratified was that the educational policy he implemented in the Principality of Idar had obviously achieved considerable results.
Even though there were some questions that they did not know the answers to, the vast majority of candidates did not have any major problems with their spelling abilities.
At least……
It shouldn't be a problem to select a group of available talents that the Principality of Idar urgently needs.
You know, ever since the Principality of Idar annexed the entire eastern part of the empire, Bruno's grassroots administrative personnel have been in extreme shortage.
There are even many civil servants who have multiple jobs and are extremely busy every day.
But there was nothing that could be done about it. The original local aristocratic rulers had already fled the eastern part of the empire with their families. Bruno had no choice but to force the issue and transfer more than half of the grassroots administrative staff from Idar County to maintain the normal operation of the Principality of Idar.
However, this situation will definitely not continue forever. The lucky ones who pass this exam will become the new batch of grassroots backbones of the Principality of Idar and will be sent to various working communities, towns and villages in the Principality of Idar to enrich the ranks of civil servants in the Principality of Idar.
…
Outside the examination room.
Not only Bruno and the candidates themselves attach great importance to this civil service examination, but also the candidates' family and friends.
For all the people who take the exam, this exam is definitely a turning point in their lives. Whether they pass or fail, it will have a profound impact on their future life trajectory.
While the exam was in progress, police officers from the Idar Public Security Bureau set up a cordon outside Idar Public University early in the morning.
The candidates' family members and friends gathered in groups outside the examination room, waiting for the news of the end of the examination.
To be honest, they are even more nervous than many candidates in the examination room.
The crowd gathered outside the examination hall was not only the candidates' families, but also those smart businessmen who had long spotted this opportunity.
Led by the Idar Chamber of Commerce, a large number of vendors hung banners and started advertising at the school gate, selling their goods to the families of the candidates who were eagerly waiting outside the cordon.
In Bruno's opinion, this scene was even somewhat similar to the end of the college entrance examination in his previous life.
but……
To be honest, although the families of these candidates are anxious and extremely nervous, this is just an ardent hope for their loved ones to have better development.
Even if they don’t achieve the desired results, it is just a failed attempt. They still have the opportunity to start over, and their daily lives will not encounter too many setbacks.
These civilians who have experienced war and poverty know very well in their hearts that compared with those civilians who still live in the inland of the empire, their living environment at this time is really like the Kingdom of Heaven.
…
While the people of the Principality of Idar were focusing all their attention on the ongoing examination, the war in the interior of the empire had already lasted for more than half a year.
This also made ordinary people living in the inland of the empire miserable.
Only those who have experienced war can personally feel the tremendous impact that war has on normal social life and understand the heart-wrenching pain.
The lives of the common people in the Norman Empire were already very miserable.
In peacetime, they not only had to pay extremely heavy taxes to the noble lords who oppressed them, but also had to bear the tithes levied by the church.
After paying various taxes and fodder, there was not much food left in their hands.
And now, the outbreak of war has increased the demand for food and fodder.
Whether it is the people living in the area actually controlled by the Second Prince Reiz or the people living near the Imperial Saint Lawrence, more taxes are imposed on them.
Those in high positions demanded food, wages, and weapons from their vassals, and the vassals demanded food and wages from the vassals below them, and all these things would eventually fall on the heads of ordinary people in the Norman Empire.
Therefore, the people in the rear of the battlefield are actually not much better off than those in the war zone.
They may not have to face the sharp swords and the raging flames of war, but the increasingly heavy taxes are enough to defeat them, leaving the inland of the empire full of starving people.
Therefore, as soon as the civilians saw the nobles' private armies entering villages and towns and manors, they would tremble and shiver all over, fearing that the last grain of food in their pockets would be ruthlessly taken away by the soldiers.
Under such circumstances, more and more homeless refugees emerged in the inland of the empire. They could only rely on grass roots and tree bark as their daily food, and could only rely on their bare hands to fight the beasts in the forest, wandering between life and death.
It's like a cycle. The more homeless refugees there are, the less taxes the nobles can collect. The more they will exploit the people who are already struggling, making the living environment of the civilians even worse.
What is surprising is that not only the inland of the empire which is directly under the rule of the Norman royal family, but also the western part of the empire which follows the lead of Duke Rune and Duke Carter, has increased the taxes levied on the people and expanded a large number of troops in the past six months.
In addition, even the nobles in the western part of the empire, like the Principality of Idar, began to selectively accept some homeless people who fled to the western part of the empire.
But unfortunately, although half a year has passed, the war situation has not gradually eased, but has gradually become more and more intense!
Just over a month ago, the elite troops of the empire under the command of the Second Prince Rez, despite the obstruction of tens of thousands of Imperial Guards, forcibly crossed the Albona River and officially entered the Central Plains, further escalating the war and causing the situation in the interior of the empire to become tense!
In fact, the total number of soldiers on both sides was not much different, and even the First Prince Pitzman, who was in the imperial capital, had a certain advantage in numbers.
However, the armies controlled by the Second Prince Reiz not only have the famous Imperial Marshal Theodore Lawton in command, but are also some of the most elite troops in the Empire who have experienced wars and fought on battlefields. They are far from being comparable to those cannon fodder and extras.
The failure of the Albona River blocking battle made Pittsman furious.
Not only did he dispatch the three guard divisions that originally guarded the imperial capital, St. Lawrence, to build a defense line in the Central Plains, he even forcibly recruited more than 80,000 cannon fodder soldiers from the interior of the empire, increasing the total number of soldiers stationed in the Central Plains to 130,000.
The addition of the Imperial Guards Division finally allowed Pitzman's army to stabilize its position, forming a north-south confrontation on the central plains.
…
Central Great Plains, late at night.
Unlike the brightly lit Principality of Idar, the inland of the empire was shrouded in pitch-black night early on.
The stars in the sky were hidden behind the thin clouds, flickering from time to time, but the brightness of the starlight was extremely weak, and there was no way they could penetrate the sky under the night sky to bring any mottled light to this land.
Fully armed and wearing bright armor, Rez Alexander sat in the tent with a serious expression.
On the right hand side of the Second Prince Reiz, the elderly Imperial Marshal Theodoro Lawton also had a serious look in his eyes.
Although the army of the Second Prince Rez had been unstoppable during this period, conquering a large amount of land, achieving victory after victory, and even pushing the front line to the central plains in the heart of the empire, Rez did not feel at ease at all.
When it comes to balancing the interests of the powerful people under his command, Rez has a strong talent, which is why many nobles have a better impression of the second prince Rez.
Even though he had signed an extremely humiliating armistice agreement with the Odin Empire some time ago, the Second Prince Rez still had the support of the vast majority of the nobles.
But to be honest, Rez is not good at commanding operations.
Although they had the help of Marshal Teodoro and many famous generals of the Norman Empire, the army under Rez still suffered heavy losses in the battle of crossing the Albona River, and even suffered nearly 10,000 casualties! "How long can our food and supplies last?"
Although Rez already had the answer in his mind, he still confirmed it again and again.
"No more than two weeks at most." Teodoro said in a deep voice.
The army under Rez's command was indeed attacking fiercely, but Rez's confidants, including Imperial Marshal Teodoro, were clearly aware of an extremely serious problem, which was...
Their food and supplies could not last much longer! This was not because of transportation problems such as poor roads, but because... the northern border of the empire had already been plundered by the Odin people, and a large amount of food had been looted.
If Rez had not tried his best to raise food and grass from all over, the army under his command would have faced more serious supply problems.
Half a year had already reached its limit. At this point in time, no matter how hard he tried, he could not squeeze even a drop of food and supplies from the people or the nobles.
On the other hand, although the eldest prince Pizman suffered a serious setback in the previous war, he controlled a large number of relatively prosperous areas in the central part of the Norman Empire and had sufficient supplies of food and grass.
As long as we can delay for another month, the situation on the battlefield will suddenly reverse.
"I have sent envoys to negotiate with other noble forces, but neither the nobles in the west nor the Principality of Idar in the east can provide us with food," Marshal Teodoro added.
Hearing this, Rez couldn't help but nodded.
He had already anticipated such an outcome. Before the situation in the interior of the empire became clear, the old nobles in the west would certainly remain neutral and would not easily express their views.
As for the suddenly rising Principality of Idar...
What made Rez particularly speechless was that during the war, that guy took in a huge number of homeless refugees, causing the food supply in the eastern part of the empire, which was originally very abundant, to become tight.
Even though Rez promised Bruno the power of regent in the Regency Council, Bruno, as the Duke of Idar, continued to recruit refugees and refused to provide food and fodder.
"In that case..."
At this moment, Rez finally made up his mind: "Marshal Teodoro, we can start implementing the plan we made earlier."
Hearing this, Teodoro Lawton looked at Rez seriously and finally nodded.
When Rez finally made up his mind, the Norman generals in the tent filed out one after another with solemn expressions, and the elite soldiers who had been ready for battle also began to act.
That’s right!
Faced with the dilemma of running out of food, Rez finally abandoned the "aristocratic principles" that both sides had always upheld, and gave up the idea of competing with the Imperial Guard Division of Crown Prince Pitzman in a head-on war.
With the joint advice of Marshal Teodoro and others, Rez finally approved a war strategy that was not in line with the aristocratic tradition - night attack and fire attack.
Due to the extremely hot weather, the Imperial Guard Division under Pitzman set up their camp among the mountains and forests.
If Bruno was here at this moment, he would definitely feel extremely familiar with the scene in front of him, even a sense of déjà vu. After all... as a time traveler from the Flower-Growing Family, he did not read "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", one of the four great classics, in vain.
The soldiers under Rez's command were obviously unfamiliar with night combat, and this was their first time to conduct such a night raid.
However, they never cared about the decency and rules which were extremely important in the eyes of the nobles. They only cared about how to survive on the battlefield and how to return to their families safely.
So, when they realized that the war before them could soon be ended in this way, their eyes lit up.
"Shoot!"
Following Marshal Teodoro's order, a rain of arrows and dense flames streaked across the sky.
Under the dark night, a fiery red light finally appeared.
No more today! Thanks to the book friends "登北风望川" and "素衣清颜" for the tips!
(End of this chapter)
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