Chapter 201: No-cost Transaction
Gregory IV and Brennus finally reached the city wall.
Both of them had sweat on their foreheads.
"Your Majesty Gregory, I heard that you brought your troops here to hunt down the rebels? Do you plan to continue the hunt?"
The lord did not greet, but asked directly with a smile, as if he was the king.
"Sir Leon, since the rebels are no longer here, I would of course prefer to withdraw my troops. If you have no objection..."
Gregory IV's legs were a little weak and his heart was a little insecure. The words he said were totally unlike what a king should say. Simply put, he seemed a little cowardly.
"Of course I have no objection, if you are willing to surrender..."
Leon's request was so high that even Brunus couldn't believe it - the Duke even dug his ears, obviously thinking that he might have heard it wrong.
"This is impossible! Lord Leon...if this is the case, then let's fight to the death!"
Although Gregory IV seemed a bit cowardly, he would never agree to such a humiliating condition. Surrendering to a baron? He might as well die on the spot...
"But you invaded my territory, you can't just leave like that, right? You have to leave something behind... If you are really not afraid of death, I can also let the Noldor elves send you off..."
Li Ang still shook his head with a smile on his face.
When Duke Brunus saw that Leon was planning to blackmail Gregory IV, his eyes widened and he didn't even know whether he should speak or not. He simply found a battlement and sat down to watch the two men negotiate.
This marshal now seems like Li Ang's subordinate...
"Your territory? This is the rebels' castle! It's ownerless land!"
Gregory IV argued.
"Well... this place can probably be considered Baron Leon's territory now. He is a rebel. Since he led his troops to occupy the rebels' castle, this territory is indeed his..."
Brennus did answer for Leon. This scene was obviously intended to blackmail Gregory IV, so Brennus was not the kind of person who would turn his elbow outward.
"Look, Your Majesty Gregory, you heard it too... And when you attacked Eagle Claw Castle, this place didn't belong to the rebels! Besides... my Fletcher Village was also invaded by Earl Stephen. Wasn't this arranged by you? There should be no excuse for the Stern Crow Army to invade Fletcher Village's territory? You came to suppress the rebellion, but your troops attacked all my territory! Tell me, should you compensate me for my losses?"
Li Ang acted quite arrogantly, as if he had really suffered a huge loss.
Gregory IV really had nothing to say about the arrangement in Fletcher Village - it was indeed he who arranged for Earl Stephen to block the eastern lord of the Kingdom of Sarleon there.
Although he did not let Earl Stephen attack Fletcher Village, since Leon came here, it means that he must have repelled Earl Stephen, so the losses were indeed caused by the invasion of the Kingdom of Crow Stern.
"So what are you going to do? I won't surrender even if my entire army is wiped out!"
Gregory IV did not make any more excuses and stated his position directly, looking like a bachelor.
"How about this, Your Majesty? Let your troops disarm. I allow you to take all the noble lords away, but your soldiers must stay here. You can pay to redeem them within a month - but if I don't receive the money after a month, I will sell them to Singal. Is this not putting you in a difficult position?"
Leon offered conditions that seemed very reasonable, so good that Gregory IV could hardly believe it.
This approach was indeed in line with Gregory IV's wishes.
As long as all the nobles can go back, it doesn't matter if the civilian soldiers stay here. Anyway, to Gregory IV, civilian soldiers are like leeks...
As for whether to redeem the soldiers after returning to the country - they were all conscripted soldiers by various noble lords, and whoever was willing to redeem them could just let the lords pay for it themselves.
"If that's the case, then of course..."
Gregory IV was about to agree, but Leon put his hands in front of him to stop him.
"Your Majesty, I haven't finished yet... It's very dangerous for a group of nobles like you to cross the Jatu Grassland without soldiers - there must be someone responsible for security, right? It just so happens that I specialize in this business..."
The lord's raised hand turned into a gesture of counting gold coins.
"Don't worry about that, Lord Leon!"
Gregory IV's face began to twitch again.
"Oh?... It seems that you and the Jatu warlord Zakar do have some shady deals... Well, I wish you good luck. I hope you won't encounter any bandits after you leave Eagle Claw Castle..."
Since the king doesn't care about his own safety, there's no need for the Lord to force it...
"You! Duke Brennus, are all the young lords of your Sarleon Kingdom such shameless people now?!"
Gregory IV felt that he was being threatened and turned to Brunus angrily and asked.
"Heh... Why do you think he was able to become a rebel at such a young age? I don't even have the qualifications to use the golden emblem..."
With a hint of mockery on his face, Brennus turned around and made some sarcastic remarks.
"Okay...Okay! Sir Leon, just tell me how much money you want!"
Gregory IV simply asked directly. He didn't want to stay here any longer, lest he get angry and get hurt without treatment.
"Talking about money hurts our feelings... Just give me the Dark Falcon Castle. You don't plan to take it anyway, right?"
The Lord smiled even more brightly. How could there be a king who doesn't cherish his life...
Brennus' eyes widened again; Leon's request was once again beyond his expectations.
“That’s the Stephen family’s territory! How could I possibly give it to you?!”
Gregory IV was also shocked. He had already prepared himself to be ripped off, but he did not expect that Leon would actually ask for the castle!
"You are planning to sell the Dark Falcon Castle to Zakar, why are you still talking about the Stephen Family... Earl Stephen's cavalry withdrew a few days ago and left you here - you are a cowardly deserter. If you don't take back his Dark Falcon Castle, I can't stand it..."
What the lord meant was to let Gregory IV punish Earl Stephen for withdrawing his troops early on the grounds of "cowardice", take back his Dark Falcon Castle territory, and then transfer it to Leon.
"Are you blackmailing me? What if I don't agree?"
Gregory IV did not directly object, but he was quite dissatisfied with Leon's approach.
"Your Majesty, just tell me directly whether you agree or not. If you agree, just write a transfer document and stamp it. Duke Brunus will be a ready-made witness... Speaking of which, if you give me that shabby place called Dark Falcon Castle, I can naturally send people to 'protect' you when you return to the country, right? Otherwise, do you think my subordinates are willing to go to your icy and snowy place?"
Li Ang looked nonchalant - indeed he didn't care, since he was not the one running out of ammunition and food.
"You are nothing but a bandit! A robber! How can there be a noble like you? Don't you have any sense of honor?"
Gregory IV's eyes turned red, he cursed under his breath, and looked like he was about to go crazy.
"Your Majesty Gregory, I am the lord of the Kingdom of Sarleon. Expanding territory for the kingdom is the greatest honor for a noble lord..."
The lord was completely unmoved, and the kind smile on his face did not change at all.
"Okay... I'll give you the Dark Falcon Castle! Let's see how you deal with the Jatu and the Misty Mountain people there!"
Gregory IV said in a low voice, gnashing his teeth.
"Then please find a place to write a territory transfer document. Remember to write a ceasefire agreement as well. Duke Brunus and I will sign it together later... Do you need me to find someone to help you write it?"
The Lord gave a considerate reminder.
Gregory IV snorted, turned around and walked down the city wall without paying any more attention to Leon.
However, on the way back to his troops, Gregory IV looked less cowardly. Although he was slaughtered, he knew that his safety was at least guaranteed.
There were only two people left on the city wall.
"Your Excellency the Duke, let's make a deal..."
Leon turned to look at Brennus, his face no longer smiling but with a serious expression.
"You want Eagle's Claw, right?"
Brennus twirled his beard and looked at Leon. When he saw Leon asking Gregory IV for the Dark Falcon Castle, he thought he roughly understood Leon's intention.
"No, there is nothing to discuss about Eagle Claw Castle. This is the spoils of war that I deserve... What I want is Changhe Town."
Leon glanced at the Lion Knights and the Royal City Guards who were still sitting in the city, then turned to look into Brennus' eyes: "Lord Brennus, withdraw your people from Changhe Town. I'm going to fight against the traitor Granlon..."
Brennus couldn't remember how many times he had been frightened here, but this time was the most serious.
He even shuddered and pulled out a tuft of his beard, but he didn't seem to feel any pain.
"...How do you know?...How do you know that the troops that Granlong recruited in Changhe Town were sent by me?"
After a full half minute of silence, Brennus asked this question in a low voice.
"You are the most powerful duke in the entire kingdom, with a rich territory, a large population, and a strong military force... But this time you only brought the king's troops with you. So where are your direct troops?"
Li Ang shook his head gently: "Your son Malbert previously replaced you as the administrator of Changhe Town, and after Granlong occupied Changhe Town, he was able to easily recruit a large number of powerful troops in a short period of time... Ha, even if it's just a guess, I can guess it!"
In fact, Li Ang was just guessing, but he knew that the probability of guessing correctly should be higher.
After Granlong occupied Changhe Town, he recruited a powerful force of more than 500 people in just a few days. This was not in line with common sense.
The only person who had the opportunity to arrange so many undercover soldiers 'waiting for recruitment' in Changhe Town was Lord Malbert, the son of Brunus - after all, he was the administrator of Changhe Town.
And judging from the acting skills that Malbert has shown before, he also has this ability. This dandy boy who looks like he is traveling around all day is actually very shrewd.
There was hesitation and doubt in Brennus' eyes, and he did not speak for a long time.
"There are only two of us here now, Lord Brunus, I'll be frank - I know you probably want Granlong to stay in Changhe Town for a while longer, so that you can keep the thief and gain a lot of benefits... and when necessary, you can always work together to kill Granlong, or replace him with another 'rebel' to continue to stay in Changhe Town. But that will only bring benefits, you will never get Changhe Town - the only one who can get Changhe Town naturally is me, the rebel!"
Leon simply told Brunus what he was thinking.
"Le Ang, I still underestimated you... I can withdraw from Changhe Town, but do you think you can become the master of Changhe Town? His Majesty will not be happy, and all the nobles will not be happy..."
Brunus looked at the young face of the lord and shook his head slowly.
"Ha, that's my business... Your Majesty will be pleased..."
Li Ang smiled and looked at the troops sitting in the city. More than half of the Lion Knights were killed or wounded, and the rest were basically all injured. And only more than 300 people of the Royal City Guards were still alive.
"Then I'll be frank. I can't afford to suffer losses for nothing. Since you said it's a deal, what price are you going to offer?"
Brennus frowned and began to ask the price.
"Talking about money hurts our feelings...why not send all the people you have arranged in Changhe Town to Shihu City? Shihu City is much richer than Changhe Town, and it is closer to Qiaoyan Bay, so you can get more benefits..."
Li Ang's business has always been fair, and he doesn't have to spend any money.
"How can I save it? There is no way that Lion Lake City will be given to me. It will definitely become a territory directly under His Majesty... and there are no rebels in Lion Lake City right now!"
Brennus didn't quite understand. In a place where there were no rebels anymore, how could he keep thieves and reap the benefits?
"Who said there were no rebels...didn't Fothergill run away?"
The Lord spread his hands and said, "As long as we all say that he is still in Lion Lake City, he must be in Lion Lake City... This is much easier to control than Changhe Town!"
Brennus was stunned for a long time before he shook his head and sighed: "You are really good..."
Lion Lake City is indeed richer than Changhe Town, and Brunus does think Lion Lake City is more convenient - he is currently in control of Lion Lake City, and as long as Leon can agree with him to declare that Lion Lake City is occupied by Fothert, he can even rob the entire Lion Lake City!
Anyway, the nobles who remain in Lion Lake City are indeed those who supported Fothert before, and they are all real traitors. It is reasonable to rob them all - those nobles who are unwilling to rely on Fothert have long been driven out of Lion Lake City, and no one will cause trouble for Brunus because of this.
"...Okay, it's settled then. I will withdraw my troops from Changhe Town... But I think you may not get what you want."
Brunus nodded and agreed. He also needed Leon to keep his story consistent with his. Otherwise, if Leon revealed the truth, he would not be able to get any benefits from Changhe Town. Since Leon was willing to cooperate with him in making trouble in Shihu City, it was acceptable.
Leon laughed and extended his hand to Brennus: "Well, happy cooperation, Your Excellency the Duke... We can go and sign a truce agreement with the Kingdom of Raven Stern."
Gregory IV did draft two agreements. One was to transfer the Dark Falcon Castle to Leon as an "apology". The king's transfer would take effect as long as both parties had no objection, and Duke Brunus signed a third-party certificate as a witness.
The other was a ceasefire agreement that declared a truce and acknowledged that the Kingdom of Crow Stern had "recklessly crossed the border". This was actually a letter of credence. Brennus was the marshal of the kingdom and could sign on behalf of the king. Leon was a witness to the agreement.
Dark Falcon Castle has now nominally become Leon's territory. Gregory IV will use the excuse that Earl Stephen withdrew his troops privately to take over Dark Falcon Castle and transfer it to Leon.
Although Dark Falcon Castle is an enclave, it is a legal territory signed by King Stern Crow himself, which at least counts as expanding territory thousands of miles away.
Moreover, Leon asked Gregory IV to transfer the land directly, which was actually equivalent to saving Gregory IV's face - this was not a matter of ceding land in exchange for peace after a defeat, but rather "compensation for the losses caused to Leon due to his reckless military action."
Leon did suffer losses, but not at the hands of the Ravenstern. Instead, more than a dozen soldiers were killed in the battle against the Jatu, including five Noldor warriors under Noelle.
Fifteen hundred civilian soldiers from the Kingdom of Ravenstern were disarmed and remained in Eagle Claw Castle.
The wounded were properly treated by Anson and his men, while the uninjured began to clean up the battlefield under the command of the female soldiers - it was really just cleaning, because the weapons, equipment and valuables on the battlefield had long been taken away by Leon's troops.
The main task of these Raven Stern captives is actually to move the corpses out of the city and clean up the bloody castle...
When everything was settled, Leon sent a troop to escort the nobles of the Kingdom of Crow Stern back home.
To be precise, they were going to take over the Dark Falcon Castle. In fact, as long as Leon didn't let his men act as horse thieves, Gregory IV wouldn't need an escort to cross the grasslands...
The army he sent out was not large. It was a group of 100 Pendor soldiers led by Sir Roland. They were all the lord's own troops, and Andonga was also in the team.
When the team left, Ryan also said goodbye to Leon.
Ryan had never expected Leon to defeat or weaken the Crow Stern Kingdom's troops. In fact, he had never expected Leon to blackmail Gregory IV.
It was actually an unexpected surprise for Ryan that Leon was able to obtain the Dark Falcon Castle.
Amy led the troops to save Ryan's life, so of course Ryan wanted to repay her.
Leon also detained the soldiers of the Kingdom of Raven Stern, creating excellent conditions for the rebels of Ursula and Ryan, which deserves even more repayment.
In addition, Ryan also wanted to rebuild the Falcon Knights in Dark Falcon Castle.
Therefore, Ryan swore and promised that as long as he was not allowed to betray Ursula and the Falcon Knights, he would obey all of Leon's orders, thus selling himself to the lord.
In other words, as long as he is not forced to break his previous oath, he will be Li Ang's employee.
Ursula's rebels had been active around Dark Falcon Castle before. Sir Ryan was able to mobilize a lot of troops in Dark Falcon Castle. Although the Falcon Knights were destroyed, their influence in Dark Falcon Castle was still huge.
This is also the main reason why Gregory IV agreed to Leon's request.
Leon has already learned from Ryan that Ursula has formed an alliance with the Kingdom of Fierce Lions. With the relationship with Ryan, Ursula will also regard Leon as an ally.
In this case, the enclave of Dark Falcon Castle will be a territory that can be truly controlled.
Ursula needs a lord who can support them in Dark Falcon Castle, which will give her rebels a retreat. If Dark Falcon Castle remains in Leon's hands, it will not be attacked by the Kingdom of Raven Stern. After all, the two countries have signed a ceasefire agreement.
Leon needed Dark Falcon Castle, on the one hand, to expand his business to Stern Crow Realm and Misty Mountains - some businesses could actually make the most profit in the bitter cold land north of Misty Mountains.
On the other hand, it was to allow Andongjia to recruit the people of Misty Mountain.
White Hart Castle and Wheat Ridge need to wait for the population to grow. It is not easy to expand the size of the army quickly. At present, they can only try to recruit soldiers from the Bacchus who are gradually migrating here - the farmers who originally belonged to Levius's "Second Legion of the Empire".
But there is no need to wait to draw troops from Misty Mountain, and even Dark Falcon Castle can quickly raise a troop.
As for how to ensure the actual control of Dark Falcon Castle and the loyalty of the soldiers - this is why Leon asked Sir Roland to go to Dark Falcon Castle.
It is impossible for a paladin like Roland to betray, because Roland will never be loyal to anyone.
Leon was going to transform a large number of Misty Mountain people from raiders into good citizens. In Roland's eyes, this was basically the fundamental implementation of the will of the goddess of justice. Moreover, Roland was an excellent military training instructor.
Before leaving, Ryan asked Leon a question: "Sir, do you think that Lady Ursula can become the queen of Ravenstern?"
Leon thought about it and did not give a direct answer. Instead, he gave Ryan some advice: "I can make Gregory IV give in only because his troops are exhausted and have no supplies. But even so, he is unwilling to do anything that will directly lose his ruling position... Don't think that catching him or killing him will make Ursula the queen. You can only surpass him in all aspects and prove that Ursula is stronger than him..."
I don't know if Ryan listened to it or not. Anyway, he just saluted respectfully and said, "My lord, I think you are better than the king in every aspect..."
The lord said nothing more, waved his hand and told Ryan to get out.
After cleaning up the battlefield, Amy rebuilt the 'New Falcon Claw' base in Eagle Claw Castle.
She wants to transform the female soldiers of the Griffin Sword Mercenary Group into the new Falcon Claws.
Of course, the extraordinary admire Countess Valera very much. It is a great honor for them to become a member of the new Falcon Claw.
The rebuilt 'New Falcon Claws' only took advantage of the fame of Countess Valera and the nature of Falcon Claws. They were actually an independent armed force - they were not followers of the Falcon Knights. In fact, they had nothing to do with the Falcon Knights at all, and the female soldiers had no intention of joining the Falcon Knights, which had been declared illegal...
Their organization is actually called 'Griffin Claws', but in order to recruit new members, they announced it as 'New Falcon Claws'.
The female soldiers were simply following their idol, Valera.
And Amy was using this method to make them gradually forget Milgan - using idolatry to dilute the influence of the Sea King, which was the same as Emperor Marius using Damia's faith to dilute heresy.
This is just to make these female soldiers completely become Amy's independent force.
Amy will stay in Eagle Claw Castle temporarily to cultivate relationships with her female soldiers. She is now not only the leader of Griffin Claw, but also the lord of Eagle Claw Castle.
This was also done deliberately to take advantage of the influence of Countess Valera. A new Griffin Claw led by a female lord will make more people identify with it and attract many people to settle here.
There are almost no residents in Eagle Claw Castle now, and Leon and Amy plan to use this method to attract people from surrounding villages.
The female lord Amy is not actually legal, but it is reasonable - it is Leon's freedom to let anyone take charge of Eagle Claw Castle.
Also staying in Eagle Claw Castle is Sarah. She will look for more female warriors who are willing to join the 'New Falcon Claw' and form a reliable female soldier unit with Amy.
