However, before the steward had left the territory of the Silte family, Roland had already received a flying bird message from the Second Army of the Fortress.
Half an hour later, Pero's letter of request for help also arrived at the town castle.
Due to the limited information carried by the flying messenger, he pieced together the contents of the two notes to confirm a surprising piece of news.
The Four Great Families of the Western Territory had actually rebelled!
Where did they get the confidence to dare to rebel under his nose?
Roland immediately summoned Carter and Iron Axe, slapping the notes in front of them.
"Your Highness, this is..."
"A message from the Fortress," he said, quite annoyed. Winter was coming to an end, and the New Year was only three days away. Not to mention the many things involved in building the city, he also needed to guide the completion of the town's three-way communication facilities. To cause him trouble at this time, did these nobles not know how to spell death!
According to the secret report, the nobles in the city first led a group of retainers to raid the city guard soldiers. By the time the patrol team on the city wall noticed something was wrong, the raising and lowering mechanism of the North Gate's drawbridge had already fallen into the control of the nobles. They had no choice but to light the beacon fire and hold fast to the spot, relying on the city wall.
The other members of the Second Army who observed the beacon signal followed the emergency response procedure, dividing the ten groups remaining in the garrison area, about fifty people, into two teams. One team advanced towards the North Gate, and the other rushed to the Fortress Castle. Pero's secret letter was sent out by the second team after engaging the enemy in the castle area. It was only then that they understood that the enemy they were facing was the local nobility.
"Pero. Hellman mentioned that the attackers besieging the castle were holding the flags of the Four Great Families, so they must have planned this rebellion long ago," Carter frowned after reading the note. "And to get this bunch of loose sand to band together, the nobles must have a new backbone."
Indeed, the Four Great Families... or rather, the five families under Duke Ryan were all great nobles of equal status. To get them to put aside their prejudices and cooperate with each other, it was highly likely that a larger force had stirred up this muddy water. Otherwise, relying on the stubbornness of several Earls who refused to submit to each other, it might take more than a decade to see results.
And at this time, those who still had the leisure to intervene in the Western Territory were only one or two possibilities.
"You mean... Tiffeco of the Royal Capital?" Iron Axe looked at the Chief Knight. As a Morkin tribesman, he was not as sensitive to the political situation of Graycastle as Carter was.
"I wouldn't be surprised if it was the Church," Roland curled his lips. "From what they did in the Dragonfall Ridge, it can be seen that attacking the Western Territory was only a matter of time."
"The problem is... the second letter mentioned that firearms seemed to have appeared in the enemy's ranks," Carter frowned. "Do they already know the huoyàodepèifang?"
"Snow powder is no longer a secret to the Church and Tiffeco, but there is still a long way to go to use it flexibly," the Prince gently tapped the table. "I'm just curious, even if they have the support of a behind-the-scenes force, distant water can't quench a nearby fire. The closest to the Fortress is still Border Town. Where did they get the confidence to fight against the First Army soldiers?"
"Probably because of the Months of Demons," Iron Axe thought for a moment before answering. "Although you used thunderous means to defeat the Duke's Knights last time, you did not show outstanding siege ability. Now that the roads are blocked by heavy snow, coupled with the invasion of demonic beasts on the border, it is the best guarantee for their successful rebellion—you will not have the spare strength to attack Longsong Stronghold until at least two months later."
"And then be blocked by the towering city walls and guns?"
"That's right," Iron Axe couldn't help grinning. "They also have the weapons you have, plus the towering city walls, and even reinforcements from behind-the-scenes forces. It's not impossible to defeat you at the foot of the city walls—I think that's what they think."
"However, they know nothing about the power Border Town possesses," Roland stood up. "Iron Axe!"
"Give the order, Your Highness!" he immediately stood at attention.
"The First Army will now enter a state of readiness for expedition, and will depart early tomorrow morning," the Prince said loudly. "Five hundred people, carrying six field guns. You will arrange the specific expedition team."
"Yes!" Iron Axe gave a standard military salute.
Now, the scale of the First Army in the town has expanded more than four times from the initial five hundred militia, and the entire army has more than two thousand two hundred people. The revolving buqiang has basically been replaced, and the output firepower is no longer the same. Moreover, thanks to the improvement of the soldiers' cultural level, the First Army's execution efficiency of orders has also been greatly improved. As long as a preparation order is issued, there will be special personnel in the army to allocate dànyào and rations according to the number of combatants and the number of days. The logistics work for a scale of five hundred people can be completed in about a day—compared to the Knights and mercenary groups that take half a month to prepare for an expedition, this can be described as an incredible speed.
And they will depart on eleven paddle steamers from the town, heading straight to the Fortress City—after entering mass production, a ship with reinforced concrete as its base is launched every five days. This is still under the circumstance of deliberately slowing down the construction speed, and the xiànzhi of its quantity is only in the crew and the steam engine.
"Carter!"
"Please give your orders, Your Highness," the Chief Knight raised his head.
"You stay in Border Town."
The knight's mouth instantly drooped, "Wh... what? No, Your Highness, how can you leave me behind again!"
"Now is the Months of Demons, and the threat of demonic beasts is greater than those nobles," Roland said unmoved. "Take good care of my town."
After the two retreated, he sighed, "This time, the witches also need to accompany me."
"I will follow you wherever you go," Nightingale smiled.
Considering that the opponent may be the Church, before all members of the First Army are equipped with God's Punishment Stones, only witches can effectively deal with the Pure's sneak attacks. Roland finally set the list on Wendy, Lightning, Maggie, Sylvie, Nana Wawa and Nightingale. If you add the three combat witches of Sleeping Island, it will be difficult for the Pure to threaten himself.
Roland walked to the window and looked out at the white mountains and snowfields.
If the Impassable Mountain Range is regarded as the Fortress City Wall, then the wilderness north of the mountain range is equivalent to the territory of the Four Great Families, and it is also a place where his power cannot radiate. Elk, Wild Rose, Maple Leaf, Running Wolf... They have operated in their respective territories for a hundred years, forming unique laws and customs, and even the Western Territory overlord Ryan family rarely interferes. He originally planned to slowly divide and absorb these noble territories after building the city, but this rebellion gave him an opportunity—an opportunity to annex the vast land and population outside the Fortress in one fell swoop.
He doesn't intend to let these nobles go again.(。)