Chapter 294 Rise Up! Idar Territory! (Two in One!)
[For ease of reading, the latest map after the signing of the Treaty of Valens is placed in the Easter Egg Chapter at the end of the chapter and in the Book Friends Circle. ]
Simon Griffiths felt that the people of Idar showed little respect to their 69-year-old comrade.
Because of his arrival, Idar's army did not stop its advance.
According to Sam Layton, fighting and negotiating at the same time can effectively improve the efficiency of negotiations...
This is simply unethical! In general, wars should be fought to a certain extent, but the Idar people in front of them were obviously fighting recklessly! Not only did they come prepared, but they also interrupted Simon Griffith many times and listed a number of unacceptable proposals.
When has the Odin Empire ever suffered such a huge loss? Simon Griffith felt that if he just agreed to the conditions given by the Idar people, he would definitely be chopped into pieces by Areo O'Sullivan when he returned.
But if he didn't agree... Idar's army was about to pass through the Valens Plain and march towards the Sogn Plain! We can't let Idar's army cross the Valens Plain! This was the death order that Odin Lord Areo O'Sullivan had given to Simon Griffith.
so……
The 69-year-old comrade finally came to Sam Layton again.
"Please take a seat."
Sam Layton said calmly.
Seeing this,
The soldiers nearby brought a chair, and Odin's attendants hurriedly helped the old man sit down.
"Ouch...slow down, slow down, my old bones are about to fall apart..." Simon Griffith groaned breathlessly.
"Why did you, envoy, come to me instead of resting in the tent you were assigned to?"
"General Sam Layton..." Old Man Simon coughed a few times. "In my opinion, war is really a waste of money and effort. I have always believed that we should value peace. The Odin Empire and Idar Territory will definitely be able to live in harmony."
Sam Layton looked at him seriously with eyes that showed him care for a patient, and said, "Wasn't it the Odin Empire that first provoked this war?"
"No, no, no! That's not the case. The cause of this war was clearly Odin's general Raymond O'Sullivan who sent troops to provoke without permission. It was not the intention of the Odin royal family." Simon said hurriedly.
Anyway, Raymond O'Sullivan is dead, so it's not a big deal to take another blame. It can be regarded as making some other contributions to the Odin Empire after his death.
"Oh? Is that so?!" Sam Layton suddenly realized.
"So... General Sam Layton, His Majesty Areo O'Sullivan, the Lord of Odin, feels that... ending this war as soon as possible will be of great benefit to both of us."
"You are right, but I feel that... we have only been fighting for such a short time, and the soldiers under my command have not yet gained enough merit, so... I also hope that you can understand the painstaking efforts of a general. Once we have accumulated 100% of the war score and seized enough spoils, I promise to come to you for peace talks."
Hearing this, Simon was so angry that he almost vomited blood.
He had been in the Idar military camp for two days, but Sam Layton, the commander of the Idar army, had no intention of negotiating.
It's simply unreasonable! But...
Thinking that the Idar army would soon pass through the Valens Plain, old man Simon could only suppress his dissatisfaction and said, "General Sam Layton, you can set Idar's negotiation conditions, otherwise I will not be able to explain to His Majesty Areo."
After stalling Simon for a few days, Sam Layton felt that the time was right, so he opened his mouth like a lion and said, "First... all the territories that the Odin Empire had seized from the Norman Empire should be transferred to Lord Idar."
"That's absolutely impossible!"
Although at this moment, the Odin Empire was the party that most wanted to make peace, but... the conditions offered by the Idar people were simply unacceptable to him.
To expand territory and grant fiefs to vassals was one of the purposes of Areo O'Sullivan, the monarch of Odin, in launching this war.
The Odins could give up some of their land, but if they gave away all the stolen land, Areo O'Sullivan would not be able to explain to the tribes in the Odin Empire! The expected verbal battle did not occur, because the Odin Empire's envoy was an old man who had to gasp for breath after speaking a few words, while the Idar side had Sam Layton who only knew how to lead troops to fight.
However... the negotiations were not without progress. After a few days of communication, Sam Layton had at least roughly figured out the core interests of the Odin Empire that it would never give up.
In the end, Sam Layton did not order to continue advancing, because if the Idar army was too pressing, Sam Layton could not be sure whether the Odin army would fight to the death under the leadership of Areo O'Sullivan.
In this era dominated by cold weapons, the morale bonus that a king can bring to his soldiers is highly uncontrollable. It may increase by 5%, or it may increase by 50%!
The Idar army did have excellent equipment, but again, the Idar army had less than 3,000 men! And some of them stayed on the banks of the Eider River to guard the prisoners!
So... since the Odin Empire has taken the lead in showing its sincerity in peace talks, and the Idar people have already taken the initiative in the negotiations, then there is no need for Sam Layton to be stubborn any longer.
War is just a means.
Since it is now possible to reach a reconciliation through peaceful means, there is naturally no need for the Idar people to choose war.
after all……
Even with the advantage in weapons and equipment, war will eventually lead to death! Bruno actually didn't have much hope for Sam Layton's negotiation skills. The reason why he had Sam Layton come forward to talk to Simon Griffith was more to make a position clear... Idar was not worried that the war might continue.
Although Idar's army defeated Odin's army on the battlefield, many of Odin's generals still had an idea in their hearts - Idar was only an earldom after all. Even if Idar had powerful equipment, if a long war was fought, the Odin Empire could also win with its own strength.
However, Sam Layton's advance shattered the Odin people's fantasy and made Odin's monarch Areo O'Sullivan completely give up the idea of continuing to fight with the Idar people.
Old Ford finally arrived in the afternoon of the next day.
Every profession has its specialties. Sam Layton is indeed good at leading troops in battles, but when it comes to presiding over negotiations, he is somewhat lacking.
After all, old Ford was knowledgeable and experienced, and he also participated in and led the signing of the Treaty of Sollenberg, so he had some negotiation experience.
Old Ford and Simon Griffiths are both over fifty years old. When the two old men play opposite each other, they will not be accused of being unsportsmanlike by the Odin people.
There is no other way! The Idar people have always valued peace and convinced others with reason.
…
The land issue, the prisoner of war issue, and the compensation issue.
The verbal battle between the two sides around the above three main issues lasted for a total of four days.
Odin's messenger Simon Griffiths almost fainted from anger several times, so much so that after the first day of negotiations, Idar's military doctor was always on standby outside the tent of this Odin's messenger.
For four whole days, from seven or eight in the morning to seven or eight in the evening, roars of "friendly exchanges" between the two sides could be heard from the tent from time to time.
But even so, the peace agreement was not finalized until the Idar people threatened to continue their march towards the Sognefjord.
The war between Idar and the Odin Empire.
Finally at this moment, it ended...
On March 11, 538 New Calendar, the First Ioan War ended with the total defeat of the Odin Empire. Odin's messenger Simon Griffiths signed the Treaty of Valens, which had been despised by the people of the Odin Empire for nearly a hundred years. But at the same time, this treaty was also regarded by some progressive elements of the Odin Empire as an important turning point in the Odin Empire's transition from barbarism and backwardness to a civilized society.
…
As a special negotiating envoy sent by Count Bruno Stuart of Idar, Bruno had given Ford Old Man a series of "minimum requirements". As long as the final negotiation results were better than these "requirements", Ford Old Man could make the decision and sign an agreement with the Odin people.
only……
When the final version of the armistice agreement was placed on Bruno's desk, he could not help but stand there in a daze.
It was not because the conditions were too harsh, but because... this peace treaty was extremely beneficial to Idar, even far beyond Bruno's previous expectations! The Odin people certainly did not want to give Idar an advantage, but... when the fleeing Odin soldiers brought back the news about Idar's army, even though Areo O'Sullivan ordered the news to be blocked immediately, it was of no avail.
Nearly a thousand fleeing soldiers meant nearly a thousand mouths to feed. The marshal was killed in battle, the priest was blown up, how could such explosive news be easily blocked? So...
Under the relentless pressure from the Idar people and the combined effect of many factors, the once invincible Odin Empire finally surrendered. With the tacit approval of Odin's monarch Areo O'Sullivan, Simon finally signed the Treaty of Valens, which was extremely beneficial to the Idar Territory.
The first is the issue of land division.
According to the armistice agreement signed between the Second Prince Rez and the Odin monarch Areo O'Sullivan, the Dorne Territory, the Valens Plains and the areas east of the Almis Mountains all belong to the eastern part of the empire.
Therefore, they were all designated as the legal territories of the Odin Empire in the armistice agreement.
However, in the latest "Peace of Valens", the Odin Empire made a great deal of concessions to the Idar Territory.
Out of geopolitical considerations and fear of the mysterious weapons possessed by the Idar people, the Odin people had to reluctantly give up and divide the Valens Plain into two along the central axis.
In addition to ceding all the areas east of the Eider River to the Idar Territory, the two sides also agreed to use the Valens Plain as a military buffer zone, with the eastern region controlled by the Idar Territory, and the western part of the Valens Plain... controlled by the Norman Empire (Second Prince Rez)!
That’s right!
Although the two parties signing this agreement are Idar Territory and Odin Empire, Odin monarch Areo O'Sullivan really doesn't want to see the Idar people, a group of dead perverts who can fight against ten thousand with three thousand.
So... after forcibly demanding a ransom of tens of thousands of gold coins and a large amount of food and supplies from the second prince Rez, Areo O'Sullivan handed the western part of the Valens Plain back to the hands of the Norman Empire, thus eliminating the direct land border between Idar and the Odin Empire.
Looking at this part of the "Peace of Valence", Bruno felt confused. Isn't this equivalent to the otherworldly version of "The Three-Nation Intervention to Return Liaodong"?
Not to mention other terms, in terms of land alone, the Treaty of Valens allowed the Idar Territory to directly occupy nearly two-thirds of the eastern territory of the empire, becoming the biggest winner of the war, while the originally aggressive Odin Empire only retained part of the area north of the Dorne River.
You know, that occupies two-thirds of the land in the eastern part of the empire! After this battle, Idar became the most powerful vassal with the most extensive territory among the many nobles of the Norman Empire!
The land area of Idar Territory has expanded by more than ten times! Of course,
The benefits that the Treaty of Valens brought to the Territory of Idar were by no means limited to land.
In order to promote peace between Idar Territory and the Odin Empire, the two sides also exchanged interests in other aspects and made many promises to each other.
for example……
Lord Idar needs to release more than 3,000 captured Odin soldiers. Within five years, Lord Idar should not initiate any attack on the Odin Empire, nor interfere with the Odin Empire's war of aggression against the rest of the Norman Empire's territories.
The Odin Empire can purchase food in Idar Territory at preferential prices within five years.
The Idar people will export some melee weapons to the Odin Empire and give priority to weapon purchase requests from the Odin Empire.
But in the meantime…
The Odin Empire should reveal the secrets about the Forest of Beasts and the Church of Light to the Idar Lords, and allow the Idar people to walk freely in the Forest of Beasts.
The Odin Empire leased the Port of Dorne on the east coast of the Forest of Beasts to the Idar Lord indefinitely, and allowed the Idar Lord to set up a temporary concession with a total area of no more than 30 square kilometers in the eastern plateau area of the Odin Empire.
The Odin Empire should allow the Idar people to conduct mineral exploration on the eastern plateau of the Odin Empire, and the Idar people will have the priority mining rights for ten years for all minerals discovered by the Idar people...
…
actually,
Apart from the fact that he was struggling for a long time about sharing the secrets of the Warcraft Forest and the Church of Light, Simon Griffith didn't care much about the establishment of concessions and mineral exploration, which were what Bruno cared about the most, and agreed to it without thinking.
This is also the main reason why the Treaty of Valens was criticized by the people of Odin afterwards.
But to be honest...
After all, the limitations of the times were there. In Simon's opinion, what could a tiny place like Dorne, plus a concession located northeast of the Odin Empire, do? As long as the Idar people agreed to supply food and sell weapons to the Odin Empire, and it would not affect the Odin Empire's harassment of other noble territories in the Norman Empire, then...
Everything is negotiable!
Not today.
(End of this chapter)
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