Chapter 436: Peacekeeping Force
In early June of the 359th year of the Pandrian calendar, the "peacekeeping force" entered Qiaoyan Bay.
The trading post in Qiaoyan Bay was built, all the warehouses in the port were requisitioned, and grain was piled up into mountains.
Leon and Amy also achieved their wish and became the largest grain merchants in the entire Pande continent.
To be honest, many people don't understand why Leon doesn't just conquer Firdsvain and Ravenstern with force - judging from the current strength, it is completely possible.
Moreover, there are very legitimate reasons for sending troops to both Firdsvain and Ravenstern.
But neither Leon nor Alina were willing to resort to military conquest.
Because there is no need...
Even Zakar knew that if fair trade was possible, war should be avoided as much as possible. The merits and glory gained by stepping on countless bones did look dazzling, but the price paid and the rewards obtained were really far less than trade.
There are many ways to conquer, and war is actually the least cost-effective way.
Of course, if you want to use a more cost-effective method, strong military strength is a must. Many methods will only be effective under military suppression and deterrence - some things can be done without, but they cannot be absent.
The 'peacekeeping force' formed by Li Ang is used for military suppression.
This force currently has seven legions, with Li Ang himself as the marshal.
Godric led the First Legion, and the current Grand Master of the Horn Summoning Rangers, Charles, and Knight Commander Raphael were the legion's adjutants. Ralph no longer wanted to fight everywhere, and he planned to work as the military officer of Changhe City until retirement. The members of the First Legion were originally mostly merchants, farmers or self-employed farmers, including nobles and civilians. They were representatives of the new middle class of the Pende Empire; they were under the jurisdiction of the Horn Summoning Rangers.
Klose led the Second Legion, with Sigismund as his adjutant. They were a typical group of meritorious soldiers, most of whom were from Mettenheim and members of the Free Corps who had followed Leon in his campaigns. They were military representatives, and they were under the command of the Knights of the Silver Hand.
Eric led the Third Legion, and his lieutenant was Darion. This legion represented the civilians of the Pendor Empire, and most of its members were originally farmers, tenants, or craftsmen; it also had the Griffin Knights under its command.
The commander of the Fourth Legion is the Paladin Roland, the adjutant is the Twilight Knight Alistair, and all members are believers of the Goddess of Justice or the Dark Goddess. They are representatives of the faith in the 'Old Gods' - Leon did not deliberately stop any faith, even though he was establishing the 'God of Wealth', he still had to tolerate other faiths, allowing multiple faiths to coexist and avoid a single dominant force, in order to ensure that the concept of the God of Wealth remained consistent. The Knights under the Fourth Legion were naturally the Knights of the New Dawn.
The Fifth Legion was a new legion that Jocelyn had just reorganized, with Dumbledore and Andonga as adjutants. This was a typical "foreign mercenary legion", which included the Misty Mountaineers brought by Andonga, members of the Ebony Gauntlet Knights reorganized by Dumbledore, and previously captured Malitines and a small number of Jatu people - they represented the foreigners who defected to the Pendor Empire, which was a testimony to the new Pendor Empire's inclusiveness in terms of race and nationality; it was under the jurisdiction of the Ebony Gauntlet Knights.
The Sixth Legion is mainly composed of the Immortal Legion of the Bacchus Empire. The legion commander is Justus, the adjutant is General Brutus, and it is under the jurisdiction of the "Immortal Knights". In order to commemorate Emperor Marius, the Immortals and the Imperial Guards were defined as a knightly order by Leon, and the remnants of the original Shadow Legion were also merged into it. They represent the current aristocratic forces of the Bacchus Empire - now there is no distinction between Pende and Bacchus.
The Seventh Legion was the former Second Legion of the Bacchus Empire. Its commander was Governor Cleon, and its adjutant was Knight Commander Loris. It was under the jurisdiction of the Knights of the Radiant Cross. Cleon had been appointed by Alina as the Governor of the West. Cleon was in charge of everything from Ashcoman and Turda Fortress to Sava River Fortress and Leyla Fortress. This legion represented the civilian class of the Bacchus Empire.
The Noldor troops did not join any legion; they were Leon's direct guard, commanded by Lisadiran.
The three queens, Amy, Wendy and Alina, no longer went out to fight. They were all busy governing the country. Unlike Leon, who was free and could appoint himself as a marshal to go out and have fun...
These seven legions and the Noldor Guard have a total of 23,000 people, representing almost all groups in the entire Pendor Empire, and each legion has its own subordinate knightly order, which is of course intentional.
The Knights are all powerful armed forces, and they should be subject to certain restrictions. However, each Knight Order is essentially a representative of various groups of people, and they do inherit some good culture, so they cannot be restricted too much.
Similarly, each legion itself also needs some supervision, otherwise it is inevitable that parasites or ambitious people will appear over time.
Therefore, Leon used the legion to govern the Knights Templar, and also used the Knights Templar to supervise the peacekeeping forces. This can be considered a win-win solution.
Of course, the total establishment of the peacekeeping force is more than seven corps...
After an army of more than 20,000 people escorted a huge amount of food into Qiaoyan Bay, the 'New Vanskerry Alliance' entrenched there collapsed immediately.
This time, Haakon the Strong Shield was not strong at all and simply abandoned the city and fled.
Haravan, the 'Iron-Courage' of Anson Keep, was not so brave either, and he also fled overnight.
Only the new Lord of Misty Marsh, 'Fat' Hrothgar, was smart enough - he chose to surrender to Leon.
This is indeed a smarter move, because surrendering to Li Ang can at least save your life.
Haakon and Haravan, who tried to escape on board the ship, were intercepted by King Vidis and Gondor the Doomseeker respectively.
Haakon eventually died at the estuary near Ravenstern.
And Haravan was killed by Gondor and Earl Edin near Iron Oak Castle on the west coast.
After several fierce battles, the rebel 'New Vanskerry Alliance' was wiped out, and the Firdsvain fleet also suffered unprecedented losses, with more than half of the navy gone.
The losses were heavy, but King Vidis was very happy because Leon kept his promise and agreed to let him exchange the ships for a large amount of food.
For Vidis, only by killing the rebels and clearing out the unruly pirates in Firdsvain can he get enough ships.
Only with enough sea vessels can we exchange enough food with Li Ang.
Only with enough food can Vidis maintain his position and even his life...
Although Vidis himself knew that trading the ship to Leon would be equivalent to putting his head under Leon's knife.
But now the impoverished Firdsvain has no other choice. The peacekeeping force has already entered Cliff Rock Bay. If they don't do business with Leon, they will definitely be beaten - they can't fight the "peacekeeping force" on an empty stomach, right?
A strong army of more than 20,000 people, what can we use to fight?
Not only can they not fight, they also have to send people to join in - this is also a prerequisite for Leon to agree to trade grain.
Joining the peacekeeping force on behalf of Firdsvain were the original main force of the Firdsvain Navy led by Count Edin the Red Sword, Vidis's own old team, and the Valkyrie Sisterhood of the Mist City.
These troops were reorganized into the Eighth Legion by Leon, and some sand was mixed in - Gondor and his son Inna were appointed as adjutants of the Eighth Legion, and Bodais became the "tactical instructor" of the legion.
Gondor was a friend of Vidis and Edin, and Vidis and Edin certainly had no objection to him and his son serving as adjutants.
But Gondor currently belongs to the Kingdom of Sarleon. Since attacking the Knights of the Old Dawn, he has become a vassal of Amy and has been stationed in Haringosburg before.
Inna is completely Leon's man, and the female heroic warriors only obey his orders.
The father and son served as adjutants in the Eighth Legion. Bodice was in collusion with the Valkyrie Sisterhood in it. In addition, the money and food for the army were also provided by Leon. In fact, the Eighth Legion could be completely regarded as Leon's army - Count Edin and Vidis's old team actually became hostages.
The ships that Vidis traded to Leon also fell into Gondor's hands, and were jointly modified by the people of Mettenheim and John's shipyard - the ironclad ships that Leon promised to give to Gondor were about to be fulfilled.
Ironclad ships are indeed very suitable for Gondor's combat style. After all, the "Doomseekers" are most famous for their brutal ramming at sea.
There are more than 60 large sea ships that Vidis used to exchange for grain, with a net load capacity of more than 60 million pounds. These are all the ships he got that met Leon's requirements.
In this era, displacement is generally not calculated, but rather net load capacity. Net load is the maximum weight of the ship's cargo, that is, the cargo capacity after deducting the weight of personnel, fresh water, necessary consumables and the ship's own weight when it is fully loaded.
These ships of Vidis come from different sources and sizes. If measured by displacement, the full load displacement of these ships should be between 300 and 800 tons - ships over 300 tons are considered large ships in this era.
The exchange condition that Leon gave to Vidis was that the actual net carrying capacity of the ship was equal to the weight of food that could be exchanged.
In other words, the amount of food a ship can exchange for is equal to how much food it can carry at one time in actual operation.
But Leon would only accept ships with a carrying capacity of more than 500,000 pounds - roughly equivalent to a displacement of 300 tons.
The terms of this exchange are certainly very generous, and it is an extremely cost-effective transaction for Vidis now. He can take away 60 million pounds of food at one time, and if he uses it sparingly, it will be enough to allow the famine-stricken Firdsvain to survive until the next harvest season.
But the manufacturing of sea vessels is very troublesome and takes a very long time, so in terms of actual value, Li Ang got a great deal.
Moreover, Leon dared to guarantee that when the next harvest season came, Firdsvain would still have to buy food from him. The food Leon brought in could not be used as planting food because it was all flour and cornmeal...
Leon was a kind businessman. He spared the Firdsvain from processing, which saved King Vidis a lot of trouble. It was really not easy to grind such a large amount of grain. All the mills in the New Pendor Empire were mobilized and worked overtime for more than half a month. It was not easy to grind 60 million pounds of grain into powder...
But what will Vidice do in the winter six months later?
Farming?
He didn't grow that much food, and it was already June.
Besides, people on the West Coast are not good at farming. About half of the population lives in coastal towns, and the land on the coast is really not suitable for growing crops...
Moreover, Leon would "help Vidis" to bring down the grain price in Firdsvain to a low level not much different from that in Changhe City - providing so much grain at one time was just to quickly bring down the grain price.
Keeping food prices down is good policy and the only way to save the overall economy of the Firdsvain, and Vidis knows it.
But this kind of good governance meant that unless it was a large-scale planting like around Sarleon, ordinary farmers would most likely lose money if they planted crops alone. Firdswell couldn't buy surplus grain directly from farmers at a fair price like Leon did. Moreover, their taxation and ruling methods were really hard to describe. The lords were all pirates and smugglers...
In other words, it is not certain whether farming in Firdsvain can fill your stomach. In any case, the income will definitely not catch up with other industries, unless you own a large farm.
In addition, the Firdsvain people have been migrating to Sarleon in large numbers in the past few months, especially the farmers in the eastern part of the Firdsvain...
Therefore, Vidis will definitely have to find Leon to trade in half a year, otherwise most of the people of Fieldsway will probably run to the territory of the New Pende Empire to make a living.
However, Li Ang only wants big ships and seafood...
If nothing unexpected happens, Fog City will soon become a large shipyard and aquaculture base... and the ultimate boss of these industries may be Leslie - or Leon.
After all, Leslie has bought almost all the properties in Fog City.
The best way out for Vidis is probably to become a middleman who resells grains, and become the Fieldsway agent of Griffin Grain and Oil Company...
All his best friends and elite assets are in Li Ang's hands. What else can Vidis do?
…
In mid-June, King Gregory of Ravenstern and Queen Ursula of Falcon signed a ceasefire agreement in Cliff Bay, and Ravenstern was fairly divided into two.
The troops of the two countries were soon reorganized into two corps.
The Ninth Legion was a force of the Kingdom of Ravenstern. Its commander was Duke Adarian, Lord of the Fallen Bay. Duke Alexis, Lord of the Longsong Harbor, was the adjutant of the legion. The legion was under the command of the Dragon Knights. Leon had arranged this on purpose. Adarian supported Gregory, and Alexis supported Ursula...
The Tenth Legion was a force of the Falcon Kingdom. Its commander was Ryan, the leader of the Falcon Knights, and its deputy commander was Duke Undermar, the Lord of Xiaolu City. The legion was under the command of the Falcon Knights - this was still a deliberate arrangement. Ryan was a die-hard supporter of Ursula, and Undermar was a die-hard fan of Gregory...
In fact, even the territory of Ravenstern was deliberately divided like this by Leon - the Dragon Knights are loyal to Gregory, and their base is in Longsong Port, but Longsong Port currently belongs to Ursula's "Falcon Kingdom"; and the Lord of Xiaofu City, Andermar, is loyal to Gregory, but Xiaofu City currently also belongs to Ursula's Falcon Kingdom ...
Of course, Ravenstern City belongs to the Ravenstern Kingdom, but currently Ravenstern City is actually occupied by Ursula's top henchman Ryan...
Adarian, Lord of Fallen Bay, is a neutral party and does not help either side, but his territory is designated as the Kingdom of Ravenstern, and his territory is larger than that of King Gregory...
It seemed that Leon had fairly divided the Cold Crow Realm into two halves, with the siblings each occupying half, but in fact this was not the case at all.
After the brother and sister were divided into two kingdoms according to Leon's distribution method, it was actually difficult for them to command the great lords under them - and they also had to argue with their subordinates.
It is not easy to get your subordinates to exchange the ownership of the territory. There are too many conflicts of interest. Who doesn’t have some industry in his own territory?
Ursula and Gregory really didn't know how to deal with this situation where you are in me and I am in you.
However, Li Ang asked them to stop fighting immediately, so they had no choice but to stop fighting...
Leon asked them to send troops to join the peacekeeping force, and they had no choice but to send - then Leon brought all those involved in the territorial disputes to the peacekeeping force. Even if Gregory and Ursula could think of a solution, it would be difficult to implement it...
Why did Li Ang do this?
Why else? Li Ang is not a good man, he is a businessman... Shouldn't he charge a fee for mediating disputes?
Both the Raven Kingdom and the Falcon Kingdom are now in the same embarrassing situation - the several lords who joined the peacekeeping force control a stronger military force than the king, but they themselves are not in the territory, and the territory may be held hostage by the king.
This is the first check and balance;
At the same time, the two legion commanders will be restricted by their adjutants, which forms a second check and balance;
In addition, these lords have disputes over their territories, which is the third check and balance...
They were destined to run around in the peacekeeping force, and it was difficult for them to discuss solutions to the problem with their own king. In addition, more than 70% of the peacekeeping force was completely loyal to Leon or his wife - that is, once they joined the peacekeeping force, they could only listen to Leon...
Then, who has the final say in the Stern Crow Realm? That’s hard to say…
After a while, these great lords who joined the peacekeeping force should be able to react. It seems that the only person who can protect their interests is neither Gregory nor Ursula...
