Chapter 253 Where to attack? That is the question
Although he was promoted to Marshal very quickly, the speed at which the new Marshal of the Kingdom of Sarleon dispatched troops was extremely slow.
Li Ang hadn't even started to organize his army, but instead started to train new soldiers...
It looks like the lord is planning to train his soldiers before going to war - which is almost like being hungry, so he will start by growing vegetables and raising pigs...
Because the lord actually didn't want to fight at all. He hadn't had time to digest the newly acquired territory. Moreover, Leon knew very well why Ulrich appointed him as marshal at this time.
This is not because Ulrich trusts him... In fact, Leon feels that Ulrich doesn't trust him even a penny.
At this time, naming himself marshal is actually just looking for someone to take the blame, isn't it?
The lord even felt that the marshals appointed by King Ulrich were probably all scapegoats - of course, the nominal title might be "pillars of the country who shouldered heavy responsibilities in times of national crisis."
When the overall situation of the Sarleon Kingdom was better, King Ulric would serve as the marshal himself, just like when Leon followed Earl Oden and Godric to participate in the first war against the Bacchus Empire. At that time, the Sarleon Kingdom was strong in both military and military, and His Majesty the King did not give the position of marshal to any lord.
The previous Marshal, Duke Brunus, was sent by Ulrik to save Lion Lake City from its dire situation when the Kingdom of the Fierce Lion was facing internal and external troubles. He was also a scapegoat - Brunus did not get any of the recovered territories, but fought the most dangerous battle.
Therefore, Brunus was not willing to lead his own troops at all at that time. He would rather defeat the king's troops and take the opportunity to plunder the land quite brutally. He also seemed very tactful when negotiating a deal with Leon.
By now, Brunus was defeated, Qicha Fortress was lost, the national treasury was out of money, so the lord became the current scapegoat.
And King Ulric probably learned the lesson from Brennus’s time as Marshal—Brenus defeated the Lion Knights and the Royal City Guards at Eagle Claw Castle...
So Ulrich no longer let the marshal lead his troops. All the support he gave to Leon, the new marshal, was actually just the silver scepter.
In other words, Ulrich did not provide a single soldier or any other material assistance, but only sent an official appointment document and asked Leon to recapture the Qicha Fortress.
Isn't this just like freeloading?
A country's marshal is nominally the military leader of the entire country and has the power to command and dispatch the troops of various lords, but with power comes equal obligations - the marshal has the responsibility to provide necessary support to the lords who obey the dispatch, such as military supplies such as food, fodder, and weapons.
But Ulrich gave Leon nothing... Isn't this just expecting Leon to be the one paying the bill, providing labor and food and be the one being taken advantage of?
They had to risk their lives to attack the strong bastion of Qicha Fortress...
Although it is true that you can receive money when providing military support to other lords, and you can also take the lion's share when the spoils are distributed, the problem is that this battle is to recapture the Qicha Fortress, and I am afraid that I will not get any spoils...
Even if the Qicha Fortress was recaptured, the lord would not gain any benefits - could Ulrich give this gateway to the capital to Leon?
To be honest, even if Ulrich really dared to confer the title, Leon would not want it...
The lord knew that if he became the lord of Qicha Fortress, his treatment would be completely different from that of Sir Lehman, and King Ulric would definitely not give him a single penny or a grain of food.
There were no residents near the Qicha Fortress. This purely military fortress had previously relied entirely on Sarleon City for military supplies. Once Sarleon City stopped providing anything, this fortress would only be a waste of money and food for Leon, and he would also have to bear the heaviest and most sensitive responsibility...
Therefore, the lord certainly had no enthusiasm for this appointment. He did not want to use his own troops to evaluate General Agasson's combat effectiveness.
Li Ang's current reaction is to slowly reorganize the army and delay it for a month or two. After all, it is customary for the marshal to arrive at the assembly point last. The big guys are always the last to arrive...
But the merchants in Changhe Town were quite excited when they heard about this.
They have not forgotten the time when the lord took them to Bacchus to do business - they first gathered at Qicha Fortress, then entered the jurisdiction of Sava River Fort, and then they sold in Bacchus, and everyone became rich.
At that time they deeply realized that 'war is wealth'.
Moreover, Lord Li Ang was able to make a fortune with such a small army at that time. Now that Lord Li Ang has become the marshal of the kingdom, it is obviously even more appropriate...
Wouldn't this make a lot of money?
So the merchants rushed to the Lord's Hall of Changhe Town to ask to see Li Ang, hoping to " provide supplies to the army."
This was actually the merchants ' trust and support for Li Ang. The lord certainly could not discourage their enthusiasm. Besides, it was a win-win situation for the merchants to provide supplies to the army. At least they did not have to supply food and fodder to other lords themselves, so Li Ang agreed to everything.
But just three days later, the lord regretted his decision - he agreed too readily...
Li Ang didn't expect that the merchants' efficiency this time was particularly high.
While Leon's army was still completely inactive, the merchants had already spontaneously organized a huge convoy of thousands of carriages and were ready to go. This was several times larger than the scale of the previous trade event a year and a half ago.
The merchants were so efficient this time because Leon acted too quickly when he went south to deal with the Snake Cult a few months ago. It took only three days from decision to dispatch. The merchants were still spending the winter in Mao's house at the time and were slow to react and did not have time to catch up.
After all, Leon was dealing with the Snake Cult and the Red Death at that time, so it was naturally impossible for him to bring merchants with him.
But the merchants didn't know. They thought that they were too slow to catch up with the lord's troops last time, and probably missed hundreds of millions of dollars because of this - because Leon "captured" the Karen Deer Castle of the Bacchus Empire with a single army, they thought that the lord had won a great victory over the Bacchus Empire.
So this time, the merchants felt that they must not miss the opportunity again. Lord Li Ang was so elusive and his troops were dispatched too quickly...
As a result, a huge caravan appeared outside Changhe Town within a few days. There were thousands of merchants and their hired servants alone. It looked like a large army surrounded Changhe Town, and the number of people was still increasing...
Of course, so many businessmen did not only come from Changhe Town, but also many fearless people came from surrounding areas.
Today, business in Li Ang's territory has flourished, and the number of merchants is indeed much greater than before. In addition, with the existence of Changhe Express, carriage transportation is more convenient, so naturally more merchants are participating.
However, things are different now...
Li Ang's strategic goal this time is to recapture the Qicha Fortress, not to waste time by running to the Sava River Fort like he did in the past.
Besides, the lord only planned to consider how to take back the fortress, and had no plan to attack the Bacchus Empire. Leon knew that the Bacchus Empire was facing tremendous pressure now, and everyone from top to bottom would fight to the death. It would not be worthwhile to fight to the death with Emperor Marius who was forced into a desperate situation.
The war to recapture Qicha Fortress is not as suitable for business as the last time - Qicha Fortress is different from the original Sava River Fort. There are no residents around it who can come to shop, and the lord does not intend to maintain a long siege.
This meant that the caravan could only do business with the soldiers during the time when other lords of the Sarleon Kingdom came to gather.
However, since many merchants had the experience of accompanying the army last time, most of the goods they brought were not the meat, drinks, entertainment and other supplies needed by the soldiers. They brought a large amount of northern specialties such as fur and oil that the Bacchus people were relatively short of - these things had higher profits in Bacchus...
But the problem is that the soldiers definitely don't need these things, and the caravan is too big...
If we really do business with soldiers, we will probably lose all our pants - maybe the number of customers will be even less than that of merchants.
Besides, the Lord is not planning to send out troops for the time being. In fact, Li Ang is really planning to train a group of new soldiers before setting out...
But these merchants are too enthusiastic. They have already loaded the cars and are waiting to start. In order to improve efficiency, they even pay a higher price for the goods.
Although the farmers in Changhe Express and the villages and towns in Lieshi Territory made a fortune due to the massive purchases of goods by merchants, the lord was quite distressed - these merchants were the backbone of tax payment in his territory. If they lost all their wealth, he would also be poor in the future!
Moreover, many businessmen went to Pande Bank to borrow money in order to catch up with this business...
If this drags on for two months, it's hard to say how the war will turn out, but if these merchants who have taken out loans fail to sell the goods they bought at high prices, I'm afraid they will all be forced to become deadbeats!
Leon had no choice but to issue a marshal's call, asking all the lords of the Fierce Lion Territory to gather to the east of the Qicha Fortress, and let Eric command the Changhe Express convoy to set off with the merchants first.
The merchant caravan must first go to the vicinity of Qicha Fortress to respond to the call of those Fierce Lion Territory lords and do the business first. Otherwise, they will probably lose a lot of money if they wait in Changhe Town.
So, just like before, a huge army of merchants set out towards the Qicha Fortress.
The lord had Eric take the silver scepter that represented his status as marshal and set off under the marshal's flag - this was actually to allow Eric to gather troops near the Qicha Fortress first, so that it would be easier for merchants to "provide supplies" to the troops of other lords.
The businessmen may not make much money in a short period of time, so someone must continue to come forward to coordinate. Of course, this has to be done by someone with a quick mind and good relationship with the businessmen. Eric is undoubtedly the most suitable candidate.
The Lord now dared not wait until the troops were trained before taking action. He was forced to consider how to attack Qicha Fortress and what to do after taking Qicha Fortress...
If Pand Bank does not find a place to absorb the goods in the hands of the merchants, the merchants' loans will cause a large number of bad debts that cannot be collected.
Sarleon's specialty products are not easy to sell in the country, and merchants buy them at a premium...
These guys bought too much and may quickly deplete their family assets because of the inventory they have. When the bank's bad debt rate reaches a certain level, it will create a series of negative effects.
——Merchants will be unable to conduct other businesses, and the business in the territory will quickly decline. Prices will soar due to the imbalance between supply and demand, and the purchasing power of the dinar will drop rapidly. This will cause depositors to panic, and banks will face runs or be unable to maintain normal operations, which will then form a more serious negative cycle.
Moreover, when the territory has not yet completely transformed from a precious metal currency structure to a credit currency system, this negative effect will be reflected more quickly. The magic silver coins that Leon asked the Noldor to make do not yet have full credibility. Currently, they can only be circulated in the White Deer Castle and the Noldor Forest, and cannot be minted to save the market.
Money is only money when it is circulated.
Li Ang now especially understands why some big countries go to war everywhere because of the instigation of businessmen - this is not a political issue, but an economic issue, and they really have no choice but to fight.
A rapidly developing business system driven by finance is prone to economic crisis. It is necessary to find markets in other countries so that domestic businessmen can survive and the domestic economy can survive.
In other words, Leon must expand the scale of the war and fight it in other countries, and it must be a place that can absorb the merchants' inventory.
But now... where should we fight?
The area around Sava River Fort is no longer able to absorb the merchants' goods. In fact, the entire western part of the Bacchus Empire, including the current Siyuan City, may not be able to absorb those goods.
——The western part of the Bacchus Empire was almost completely destroyed by the rebels, and Emperor Marius also burned all the supplies in Siyuan City. The western part of the Bacchus Empire now does not have sufficient purchasing power.
Li Ang had just returned from Bacchus. Although he had not been to the western part of Bacchus, he still knew the current status of the empire.
In fact, the current Bacchus Empire is probably not a suitable customer group. Their harvest for an entire season was affected by the chaos in the country. In addition, they are the country that most needs to quickly popularize the Red Death vaccine. Bacchus is now short of horses, food and daily necessities. Fur, oil and other things are definitely not the Bacchus people's first choice.
What should I do then?
Then we can only go to the Principality of Dexia.
The D'Shar people are probably rich now, and they also need furs and oils, but the Sava River Fort of the Bacchus Empire is blocking the way. They can't go around the west of the kingdom and attack into the D'Shar territory from the direction of Singar, right?
It seems obvious that a new marshal is planning to abuse his power for personal gain...
Besides, although Brennus and the D'Shar had fought a war for a share of the pie before, the Kingdom of Sarleon did not declare war on the D'Shar, because both sides were only trying to launch a surprise attack to gain benefits, and neither of them was officially sending troops, they just met.
To declare war openly over such a thing would be tantamount to admitting that one's own country was a thief who took advantage of the situation and tore up the armistice agreement, so both countries kept silent about it.
Moreover, the D'Shar people were eventually ambushed and crippled by General Titus. They did not have a deep hatred for the Sarleon Kingdom, but they probably had a deeper resentment towards Titus.
It would not be appropriate to attack Desha directly without declaring war. As a marshal, I would easily be regarded as hostile by all other countries... If I want to send troops on a large scale, I must have a reason.
It seems like there's really nowhere to go?
Li Ang was very hesitant.
But maybe Eric really has the best luck attribute. Anyway, as soon as he brought the merchants to the east of Qicha Fortress, the situation changed drastically.
In other words, a huge turning point.
Sava Castle was captured by the Duchy of Desha at this time.
Not only that, the D'Shar army actually appeared near the kingdom's capital, Sarleon!
The reason for sending troops that Li Ang wanted was actually placed right in front of him.
