Chapter 267 Chief Foreign Affairs Officer
At this time, several teammates returned to Li Ang's team.
That's Sarah and Anson.
As Le Ang's foreign affairs officer, Sarah brought a few female explorers with high martial arts skills to join the army group when Le Ang decided to send troops. However, Le Ang sent troops very quickly, and Sarah hurried from Bailu Fort but could only catch up with Le Ang's troops outside Turda Fortress.
Anson was brought by Lisadilan to treat the Lord's injuries - but Leon did not go to the direction of Karen Deer Castle, so Anson arrived at this time. His medical skills were not used, and he only had time to check Leon's body.
Although Leon's heartbeat rate was worrying, at least Anson was sure that the lord was as strong as a wild boar, so everyone was relieved.
Then Leon decided that his target was Ashcomb, Anson's hometown. Anson naturally planned to go there and take a look, and maybe he could bring his parents to live in Leon's territory.
Anson's current status is already quite high. As the acting governor of Karenluk Castle appointed by Leon, this is actually a status equivalent to that of an ordinary baron, but he does not have a formal title.
The Radiant Knights have also considered Anson as one of their knights, but have not issued him the knight's badge - Anson is currently unable to pass the knight assessment, and the Radiant Knights' requirements are quite strict.
But Anson received a Glorious Cross medal jointly awarded by General Cleon and Knight Commander Sir Loris. In fact, this medal is much more prestigious than the status of knight. It is a recognition of people who have made significant contributions. Such a medal has only been issued three times in the entire history of the Glorious Cross.
This medal means that Anson can get help from the Shining Knights and Plague Repellents when he is in trouble, but the Knights cannot be involved in power struggles or wars between countries.
And Sarah...she was originally asked by Amy to come and monitor the lord.
Amy will stay in White Hart Castle to develop the economy. When the lord is away on a military expedition, only Amy can keep many industries, including the bank, running smoothly.
But Amy was obviously not very confident about an underage elf girl staying with Leon, so she asked Sarah to bring a few female soldiers to "protect" Leon...
However, although Sarah is Amy's good friend, she still cares more about the lord's orders, and she must complete her job first.
This is D'Shar, after all.
As Leon expected, Sarah was indeed a D'Shar, and she was familiar with all the D'Shar lords.
Those were the people she had called uncles when she was very young...
She once told Li Ang that if she revealed her surname, it would bring shame to the surname.
Therefore, Li Ang never asked her last name.
But the fact that Sarah could say something that brought shame to the family name obviously meant that Sarah's father had once been a top lord of D'Shar - and must have been an enemy of Cardan, otherwise Sarah would not have kept silent about it and would not have left her home.
This time, Sarah told the Lord everything about herself.
In fact, after knowing everything, Leon felt that it was not Sarah who brought shame to that surname... Instead, it was the surname that Sarah had never mentioned that had been bringing shame to Sarah.
Sarah's father's name is Sharfan Sheikh.
The name 'Sarah' also comes from the first half of her father's name - she is the eldest daughter in the family.
Sharafan Sheikh was once a powerful leader of the Desha Desert tribe. He was sharp with a sword, skilled in riding and shooting, and was brave and tenacious.
Before Sarah was born, Sharafan Sheikh had followed the current Bahad Khan Kadan in his battles, made great contributions in Kadan's establishment of power, and became the leader of the powerful desert army 'Savalan the Wind of Death'.
'Death Wind Savaran' is a traditional strong army composed of warriors selected from various desert tribes. These brave horse cavalrymen come from various nomadic tribes. These warriors who come and go like the wind in the desert were once highly respected in Desha. Their scimitars and fast horses have frightened countless enemies.
Since the D'Shar acquired Singar one hundred and fifty years ago, the D'Shar people began to gradually shift from nomadic to settled, and the simple tents and stalls in the desert oases slowly evolved into small cities and villages.
Many people no longer live by moving around, instead they settle down in cities and turn to urban life.
After Bahad Khan Kadan came to power, in the process of implementing the hereditary system, most of the people who were given high titles were lords who were more interested in settling down - city residents and merchants were the main taxpayers , and how much benefit they could bring to him was the standard for Kadan to distribute each title.
It is already difficult to collect money from nomadic people who move with the water and grass, and letting people settle down will help the vested interests consolidate their power.
Therefore, Bahad Khan Kadan and various caliphs and bayis are promoting the process of Desha's transformation from nomadic to settled.
As a result, the citizens and merchants of cities such as Toba, Nalda, and Ashkoman grew in influence in D'Shar, while the prestige and power of the desert nomadic tribes waned.
As a result, Sharafan Sheikh and other traditional nomadic leaders like him will naturally lose their voice.
They also followed Kadan to fight and helped him to the position of Bahadur Khan, but they did not receive any reward and instead suffered losses...
As a result, many desert chiefs led their tribesmen to openly oppose the settlement policy, as well as the comprehensive hereditary succession promoted by Kadan, and even more so Kadan's turning the title representing faith into a hereditary title.
They still maintain their nomadic traditions and intend to return the D'Shar to the days when the tribes were elected.
Sharafan Sheikh was the leader of those desert tribal chiefs who intended to maintain tradition. He believed that settlement and hereditary system would make the Desha people weak, and the desert warriors would lose their blood and courage, and sooner or later they would be reduced to the same status as the corrupt nobles and old farmers in Sarleon.
As a result, the former comrade-in-arms became a thorn in the side of Bahad Khan Kadan - Sarafan became the biggest obstacle to Kadan's implementation of centralization.
The result was that Bahad Khan Kadan ordered the exile of Sarafan and others and drove them out of the Principality of Desha.
In fact, this could be considered as Cardan's consideration of the old friendship. After all, they were once comrades-in-arms, so he did not kill Sarafan.
But what Bahad Khan did not expect was that, unlike most of his exiled vassals, Sharafan Sheikh did not leave. He chose to stay in Desha, ready to repay Bahad Khan's "favor" at any time.
The elite soldiers under Sharafan remained loyal to him, and his reputation and prestige also attracted many brave desert tribal warriors to join him.
They agreed that after defeating Bahad Khan, they would abolish the principality's hereditary and settled policies, return the title bestowed by the gods to the gods, and let the Desha return to their former nomadic state.
So he formed an alliance with some Desha tribal chiefs who were also exiled, together they formed a large cavalry, and launched their "holy war" to restore their nomadic traditions and beliefs.
Their base was in the southern border where he was exiled - it was a barren desert at the southernmost part of the entire continent, but now, a castle appeared there, the 'Holy War Castle'.
Sharafan Sheikh, the avenger, has been fighting against Bahadur Khan Kadan during his twenty years of exile. He has been excluding settlers under the banner of "restoring the Dsha tradition" and even launched a so-called "holy war".
But in fact, in order to fight against the troops sent by Cardan during these twenty years, he also built a holy war fort and turned himself into a settler...
Moreover, in order to win over people, Sharafan even gave his wife and daughter to a tribal leader.
He had a majestic black horse, whom he regarded as a brother and a god, but he treated his wife and daughter as bargaining chips that could be traded at will.
Sarah's mother committed suicide on the day Sarafan gave her to a tribal chief.
Sarah also escaped from Desha on that day. She was seventeen years old at that time.
In order to escape, she killed the tribal leader - a dirty chief in his fifties who had never taken a bath in his life and smelled of horse manure. He was the fighting force that Sarafan intended to exchange for his beautiful wife and daughter.
This so-called powerful tribal chief was stabbed to death in his bedroom by Sarah when she was just seventeen years old.
Therefore, Sarah was very concerned about the war in Desha.
Sarah really wanted to know how the man who abandoned his wife and daughter would react if he saw her.
If possible, Sarah would like to ask the man in person whether he was abandoning his wife and daughter to carry out the jihad really for the sake of tradition and faith?
Of course, that man was at the southernmost tip of Desha, and Leon's army had just arrived at the northeastern border of Desha.
…
Turda Fortress.
This is a sturdy castle that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is backed by mountains to the north and borders the desert to the south. It is the border gateway to the northeast of Desha.
"Your Excellency, Khan Gaiwan, I am Sarah, the chief foreign affairs officer of Earl Leon, Marshal of the Kingdom of Sarleon. I have brought you Lord Leon's kindness and help..."
Sarah stood in front of Ghavan Khan with a professional smile on her face.
"Goodwill and help? I saw the Sarleon Kingdom's army, but I didn't expect that Earl Leon would let a woman negotiate..."
It seems that Qawan Khan is a relatively traditional Desha man, who somewhat looks down on women.
"There's nothing I can do about it... Qaiwan Khan, Lord Leon has to go and challenge Bahad Khan Kadan, and his other subordinates have to meet the two caliphs, Bahaman and Tahir. They are all busy, so only a woman like me can come to see you. But... at least I am Lord Leon's chief foreign affairs officer."
Sarah smiled, found a chair and sat down without any courtesy.
The implication is that Li Ang has to face many important people, and you, Gai Wan Khan, are only worthy of seeing me. But Lord Li Ang has given you a lot of face by letting the officially appointed chief foreign affairs officer come to see you.
"Huh... then what is the so-called kindness and help you bring?"
Qawan Khan looked even more anxious.
"Lord Leon has no intention of attacking your territory. He is even willing to help you get rid of those evil criminals in your territory... Of course, in return, you have to open the Turda Fortress and temporarily take your troops away to avoid unnecessary conflicts..."
Sarah made an outrageous offer.
"That's impossible! If I give up Turda Fortress, I will not only lose my position, but also be hanged on the wall of Toba by Bahad Khan!"
Qawan Khan refused outright, as he was still loyal to Kadan.
"Qaiwan Khan, you may not know... the Inquisition was actually brought in by Bahad Khan Kadan himself..."
Sarah shook her head. She knew that Khan Gaiwan would refuse, but she had already prepared a response: "Lord Leon and I both know your loyalty and bravery, but perhaps Khan Kadan doesn't think so..."
"What!"
Qaiwan Khan was horrified: "Are you lying to me?!"
"Given the current situation, do I need to lie to you?"
Sarah shook her head and smiled. "Ghavan Khan, think about it. Bahad Khan Kadan just lost a battle in Sarleon Territory and lost a large number of elite troops... If he wants to continue to maintain his strong position, what is the best way?"
"this……"
Qawan Khan’s face changed.
"Your brother Bahaman was almost completely annihilated in the Sava River Fortress before... In this case, it should be easy for you to guess why Kadan deliberately let the people of the Inquisition come to your territory to cause trouble... Qaiwan Khan, you can't help your brother Bahaman, so guess who will take over the Ashkoman who currently has few troops? The Baccus Empire? Lord Leon? Or... Bahad Khan Kadan, to whom you have always been loyal?"
Seeing that Ghawan Khan listened, Sarah continued.
"Ms. Sarah...Are you saying that Bahad Khan Kadan will attack Bahaman and take away Ashkoman?"
Gavan Khan was sweating. He knew that what Sarah said might not be an exaggeration. Using the Inquisition to hold him back and then attack his brother - with Kadan's personality, he might do such a thing...
Aishkorman is a prosperous port. With such a prosperous place, Cardan will surely regain his strength in a short time.
Although this is a betrayal... but now facing challenges from all sides, Cardin certainly doesn't care about reputation, just like he didn't care about reputation more than 20 years ago.
"Hahahaha... Ghawan Khan, it's not just Bahaman... If you were Kadan, you would have killed Bahaman, would you still keep his brother to avenge?"
Sarah laughed so hard that her body shook.
"...So, what does Count Leon want to do? Or...what exactly does his army want to do by entering Desha? You said that Count Leon's other troops went to meet with Bahaman and Tahir..."
Qawan Khan was already sweating profusely, and his bald head, which had been deliberately shaved, was shiny with oil.
"Kadan led his army to attack Sarleon! He attacked the royal city, understand? This is the biggest provocation to Sarleon. Earl Leon has just been appointed as the marshal, and he must protect the dignity of Sarleon!"
Sarah said passionately, "But what Cardan did has nothing to do with you. You did not participate in the attack on Sarleon... So Lord Leon must give you a chance to avoid unnecessary losses. As for the others, Khan Gaiwan, since Lord Leon wants to show you goodwill, he should also show goodwill to your brother Bahaman and your nominal superior Tahir... Like you, they did not participate in the attack on Sarleon - you should understand what I mean, right?"
"Hmm... Let me think about it... Let me think about it. Ms. Sarah, can you help me make an appointment with Count Leon?"
Gaiwan Khan sat down, holding his forehead.
He really needs to think about this carefully.
"Lord Leon is very busy... If you want to see him, you have to at least show some sincerity first. Lord Leon's army is still wasting food and grass outside Turda Fortress... To be honest, an army of this size can easily defeat your fortress in one fell swoop. I'm afraid you won't be able to hold out for more than a day - but Lord Leon didn't attack, which shows considerable sincerity. You should repay him."
Sarah persuaded Qawan Khan gently.
A few hours later, the defenders of Turda Fortress retreated, and the gate of this fortress, which was easy to defend but difficult to attack, was opened. Leon's army entered the territory of Desha without any losses.
Today, Sarah no longer needs to use her beauty and singing voice as bargaining chips, she has learned to use her power.
She also understood that if she wanted to win over others, she didn't need her wife and daughter.
