Chapter 265: Friends' Wine
Leon finally agreed to Marius's conditions.
What he originally wanted was the land north of Walwyn Castle and south of Shieldwind Fortress.
In the eyes of others, that place is just a large amount of wasteland and small villages, and the only densely populated territory is Imer Village.
But for Leon, it was an important deep area and the only place he could truly reach with his current identity. It was also the last gap in the outskirts of the Noldor Forest.
After obtaining this belt of several hundred miles in depth, not only will the Noldor elves be able to appear in all of Leon's territories, but Leon himself will also have the confidence to face any force - including the Kingdom of Sarleon.
Moreover, Imer Village has potatoes and corn planted by Dean, and together with the surrounding small villages, the total population is over 10,000.
In fact, this deal was quite a good deal for Emperor Marius. He spent almost no money. The only thing he used for the deal was a knightly order that did not belong to him, and it was just an excuse, or a name for sending troops.
The excuse was Titus.
Speaking of which, Titus was not from the Bacchus Empire. He was originally an officer of the Ash Empire.
Many years ago, Titus was sent to Pendor by the Ashborn Emperor Marius. He was one of the first Ashborn to make contact with Emperor Marius.
In fact, he had nothing to do with the Phoenix Knights when he was in the Ashborn Empire. He was originally a fleet officer. When he was sent to the Pendor continent, he served as a fleet escort officer for the diplomatic mission.
At that time, the Bacchus Empire was thriving, but the Ash Empire on the Amara continent was fighting a very difficult battle with the Snake Cult, so Emperor Manius sent an envoy to ask for help from Emperor Marius of the Bacchus Empire.
As fellow Bacchus, although separated by two continents, they are of the same origin and race, so it is natural for them to support each other when facing the Snake Cult.
At that time, Emperor Marius also noticed the threat of the Snake Cult. Although the delegation sent by Manius was poor and brought almost nothing except sincerity... Emperor Marius still agreed to the alliance and not only provided a lot of material support to the Ash Empire, but also sent several more advanced warships.
The continent of Amala was occupied by the Snake Cult for many years. The Ashborn Empire was rebuilt on the ruins, and technological development has not made any progress. Even the diplomatic missions are still using old ships from hundreds of years ago.
Although the new warships of the Bacchus Empire are not too powerful, they are indeed much more advanced than those of the Snake Cult, and the Ash Empire can also gain some advantages because of this.
At that time, this matter was criticized by the Senate, saying that Emperor Marius was spending the national treasury to unilaterally subsidize other countries, which was a waste of national strength.
But Marius said on the spot that "people who say such things are most likely related to the Snake Cult", and maintained the alliance with a firm attitude.
At the same time, in order to maintain contact with the Ash Empire, Emperor Marius kept Titus in the Bacchus Empire and gave him the high position of general.
This title was originally a courtesy to envoys from afar, and was also to facilitate continued cooperation with the Ashborn Empire. No one objected to giving Titus the title of general. After all, it was just an empty-handed general with treatment but no power.
This generous appointment gave Titus the idea of serving in the Bacchus Empire for a long time.
——Even if he is a figurehead general, he is still a general after all!
Besides, during the time when Titus came to the continent of Pendor as an escort officer, he saw what the Bacchus Empire looked like before it was massively harmed by the Snake Cult.
It was prosperous, wealthy, clean, and full of life. Even the fallen women in the alleys of Siyuan City were prettier...
Life here is much better than in the Ashborn Empire which is full of ruins.
But as an outsider and a figurehead general, the people of Bacchus didn't really like him. Although they were all polite about his identity, no one would really treat him as one of their own.
So Titus has been trying to figure it out ever since.
Soon after, the Bacchus Empire went to war with the Sarleon Kingdom.
Titus got his chance in the war—at least in name he was a general and should have fought.
Titus used up all his savings and even sold the ship that originally belonged to him, assembled a ragtag army, and made great contributions in the war against the Kingdom of Sarleon.
That battle was not a great victory. Almost all of the ragtag troops he had just recruited were killed or wounded, and the losses were far greater than those of the Fierce Lion Kingdom.
But the strategic result was good - he held the Sava River Fort for the Bacchus Empire.
In this battle, Titus took no prisoners.
As an Ashborn, his previous battles were against Snake Worshipers. In addition, Titus was originally a fleet officer, so he naturally had no habit of taking prisoners.
Titus had just arrived in Pendor at that time and had not yet understood the rules among the nobles of Pendor. He did not know that the nobles of the Kingdom of Sarleon would pay to redeem themselves...
Therefore, many noble knights of the Kingdom of Sarleon died at his hands, and those nobles who surrendered were slaughtered by him - Titus's troops suffered too many casualties, and he was basically bankrupt, and the anger in his heart could not be suppressed at all.
As a result, Titus was considered "cruel by nature" by most nobles, and became even less popular...
But in any case, it is an indisputable fact that Titus did make military contributions to the empire.
In addition, it is rare for a person of the Ashborn to fight so hard for the Bacchus Empire.
So Titus became a real imperial general and obtained Sava Fort as his territory - the jurisdiction of Sava Fort was quite large, and most of the Sava River basin was fertile arable land, which was an excellent territory within the Bacchus Empire.
This was originally a place that Governor Livius had always coveted. As a large county on the border, Sava River Fort had a lot of autonomy and could control the border garrisons...
Emperor Marius made Titus the lord of the Sava River Castle, which means he did not treat him as an outsider.
Thus, this outsider became a true general who controlled the army and was barely integrated into the Bacchus Empire.
But Titus had previously slaughtered the surrendered nobles, and this in itself was a never-ending excuse - from then on, the Kingdom of Sarleon no longer needed to find an excuse to declare war on the Bacchus Empire. They would either attack the Karen Deer Castle in the name of "recovering their homeland" or attack the Sava River Castle in the name of "revenge".
In fact, Emperor Marius had originally intended to appoint Titus as Lord of the Sava River Castle - he was actively creating a name for the Kingdom of the Fierce Lions.
The Bacchus Empire must always face a powerful enemy so that the country can be united;
At the same time, when the old guys in the Senate were facing the threat of the Kingdom of the Fierce Lions at any time, they would not suggest anything like asking Marius to resign - they needed Emperor Marius to stop the enemies who might attack at any time.
Marius could only carry out his reforms if these dragging guys in the country didn't mess around.
Titus himself knew that many nobles in the Kingdom of Sarleon had grudges against him. If he was defeated, he might not even have the chance to surrender.
So he must guard the Sava River Fort well and must not be captured.
Besides, he was unwilling to lose the territory that he had obtained at the cost of bankruptcy.
Most Bacchus also viewed Titus as an outsider, and he did not receive much help - he had no other choice but to defend the Sava River Fort with all his heart and be loyal to Emperor Marius.
In fact, Titus has been doing this over the years. He is another form of lone minister.
This is the logic behind the division of territories by emperors like Marius, and there are many more things to consider than most people imagine.
The same logic applies to the business negotiations between Emperor Marius and Leon.
A country or a big force actually needs enemies, and sometimes it even has to personally give the enemy an excuse to declare war - Marius knew this, and Leon knew it too.
Leon had taken the initiative to give Marius an excuse before. He occupied the Karen Deer Fort and the Shieldwind Fortress in the name of "capture", so his territory was "facing the counterattack of the Bacchus Empire at all times", so that the King and other lords of the Sarleon Territory would not hold him back;
At the same time, Emperor Marius also needed to "face the attack that Leon might launch at any time" so that the country could be united.
As enemy countries, they can actually have a tacit understanding with each other.
The excuse Emperor Marius provided to Leon was still the "cruel by nature" General Titus.
The two men reached an agreement in the Lera Fortress, agreeing to attack Aishkoman together, but they would not act together. Leon would lead his army to attack by land, and Emperor Marius' fleet would attack from the sea - a pincer attack from both ends, and Leon would not be regarded as collaborating with the enemy. This was the best option.
Emperor Marius did need to declare war on Desha. He needed horses, he needed to solve the difficulties at home, and he also needed to find a channel for the maritime merchants who had been unable to do business for half a year due to the influence of the rebels and the Snake Cult.
Occupying Ashcoman would indeed allow the Bucks Empire to recover economically.
"Have a drink with me, and I hope we can defeat Ashcomb successfully... But after this, I guess we can never join hands in peace again..."
After the deal was done, Emperor Marius kindly invited Leon to drink.
Those were the wine jug and cups that Marius brought himself. The jug was placed on a small stove. It seemed that Emperor Marius liked to drink wine that was boiled and then mulled.
"Your Majesty, why do you say that?"
Li Ang took the wine glass handed to him by Emperor Marius and took a sip. The wine was full of sweet fragrance and tasted really good.
"I want to recover the lost territories, and these lost territories are in your hands. I must take them back as soon as possible... As an emperor, there are many responsibilities that must be fulfilled."
Emperor Marius' attitude was serious.
"There is no need to rush to recover the lost territory... Wait... Your Majesty, are you feeling unwell?"
Leon's attitude also became serious. He noticed that there seemed to be a hint of urgency in Marius' words.
Is there something wrong with his body?
Unless he felt that he was going to die soon, he wouldn't say these things at this time!
"Heh... I won't sign any agreement with you. Anyway, the Phoenix Knights are stationed in Karen Deer Castle. Neither you nor I need to worry about being attacked by the other side. This is more effective than any agreement."
Emperor Marius did not respond to Leon's question, but just shook his head and took a big gulp of wine.
Li Ang picked up the cup and looked at it. The wine pot and the cup were silver, but the material did not seem to be silver.
"Agreements are just waste paper. Honesty is the most important thing. Your Majesty, your utensils... Is this a lead wine bottle?"
Li Ang opened the lid of the wine jug, and the warm wine inside exuded a rich sweet aroma.
"Lead wine jugs can make the sour taste of wine sweet. You should try it..."
Emperor Marius nodded and tried to pour Leon some more.
But Li Ang shook his head and refused.
"I must advise you to drink less, and... it's best not to use this hip flask anymore."
After hesitating for a while, Li Ang decided to try to persuade the emperor.
"It's just my hobby... Is there anything wrong with this wine bottle?"
Emperor Marius apparently had no idea of the consequences of heating wine in a lead container.
The Bacchus people had a long history of lead mining and smelting technology, so a large number of lead products have flooded into their daily lives. The process of lead poisoning is extremely slow, and most people do not realize that this metal that brings them countless conveniences can also bring them countless pains.
There is a reason why the population of the Bacchus Empire has not been growing...
"Putting food in a material like lead can cause chronic poisoning... It's better to use a clay pot to store alcohol, my friend."
Li Ang also knew that the impact of heavy metal compounds on humans was difficult to explain in this era, so he gave a specific suggestion directly.
"Thank you...my friend."
Emperor Marius nodded, apparently he had heard it.
Perhaps this is the only time the two of them can call each other friends, and from now on they can only be rivals.
The advice from his friend was effective, and Emperor Marius replaced the lead kettle with a clay kettle when he returned.
But just one day later he changed back...
The wine of that era was rather sour and astringent. Marius had long been accustomed to the sweet red wine heated in a lead pot, and the wine in the ceramic pot was difficult for him to swallow.
So many years have passed, and the poison had already been taken. Emperor Marius shook his head, smiled bitterly, and then acted willfully again.
However, he issued a special decree that same day to increase commercial taxes on lead wine jugs, pots, pans, and other food utensils - and directly increased the tax tenfold.
If nothing unexpected happens, the price of lead food utensils will increase several times, and people who cannot afford it will naturally look for other cheaper alternatives.
…
Three days later, the kingdom's army gathered under the general's flag, and the fleet of the Bacchus Empire also began to set out from Siyuan City.
Leon led his troops to the vicinity of Turda Fortress and stationed in a valley thirty miles east of the fortress.
Leon had been to this valley before - this was where he gambled with Ramon.
And this time, Leon met Ramon here again - he took the initiative to ask Ramon to come and meet him.
They were still at the place where they first met, still riding their horses facing each other.
"Good brother, how are you? Do you remember what I told you?"
When he saw Ramon again, Leon seemed extremely enthusiastic.
"Lord Li Ang... you are now a marshal. Your worth has increased so quickly... What do you mean?"
Ramon obviously has a professional disease, he has to estimate the value of everyone he sees...
"I told you before that I would join hands with you to auction the city lord's position... and even the throne!"
Leon smiled and threw a dice at Ramon: "I'm here to fulfill this deal."
That was the dice that Ramon had once pressed into his hand.
