131 – Conflict (3)
“This… What the hell?”
The troops who entered the barony were shocked in many ways.
No matter how much I thought of using it as an advance supply base, wasn’t this place developed for the purpose of trade in Carolingian?
But I can’t find any traces of it.
Isn’t the entrance too bloody like this? It is very clear that the land dug in dozens of layers and the temporary wooden pagodas that were simply built were clearly intended for battle.
“Ha ha ha…”
Numerous supplies are lined up in well-organized warehouses. Starting from the whetstone to straighten the blade of the sword, tools to temporarily reinforce the armor, countless arrows and spare equipment, and finally a lot of food that we don’t know when it was made.
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Most of the soldiers are illiterate and unlearned, but the shape of the warehouses and the items stored in them thrills them instinctively that they were not designed for trade.
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Military officers, such as knights and commanders, also realized how efficiently this warehouse was designed thanks to military science learned over their shoulders through various battles, or military science learned professionally at military academies, similar to what soldiers felt. More than the soldiers, they each have fear and respect for the king.
Of course, this place was not designed for trade, but was designed from the beginning as a logistics hub, and since Caroling was in the middle of a civil war, trade goods were also focused on munitions, but the soldiers here have no time to realize that.
Thanks to the terribly bad reputation of the king and several vicious rumors, the soldiers suffer from confirmation bias and conclude that this warehouse was also designed for war from long ago.
“Uh, come on… Come on…”
‘Are they using slaves?’
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Moreover, the workers in the warehouse do not seem to lead normal lives.
It’s dirtier than serfs. Even the wrists and ankles have something like iron rings attached to them.
Of course, the workers, that is, the merchants, are wearing shackles as they are definitely prisoners, and it is because they have so much work that they don’t even have time to wash the dirty things, but the soldiers have no way to know.
“Do you need anything?”
“That… First of all, the soldiers need a place to rest and supplies…”
“Okay. We’ll send someone to take care of the supplies in advance, and we’ll send someone to take you to the lodging where you can rest.”
The commander, who was always strong and rude to his subordinates, naturally becomes more polite in the atmosphere of a manager who is so heterogeneous.
Although it is clear that the manager in charge of the supply base is a commoner, the work-worn atmosphere, the deep tiredness on his face, and the appearance that seems to collapse at the slightest touch make even the most authoritative person reluctant to speak out. It is the law.
“And sir, there is one more thing.”
“One thing?”
“Yes, aren’t you heading to Lutecia from now on? Then there is a message from His Majesty to take them.”
“…!”
As the top commander of this division, he realizes that there is something he does not know about this war, and is overcome with a strange feeling of displeasure.
The commander wonders who is so talented that His Majesty separately commands him, and turns his head in the direction pointed by the manager, but soon that curiosity is covered with more curiosity and disappears.
Because they didn’t look like soldiers at all.
He has some muscles, but those muscles aren’t the ones he developed while training his weapon. Yeah, it’s like a carpenter’s muscle.
However, their attitude is so confident, and there is a strange cylinder next to them, so the commander cannot speak out prematurely.
…………
“ㅡSo, I, Claude, the rightful ruler of the kingdom of Rotaring, have told me that I will reclaim the throne of Caroling, which should have come to me… Your Highness.”
“…”
The throne room is silent.
The throne without an owner remains empty, showing the crisis Caroling is facing.
Of course, the crown prince is standing in front of it and watching the government affairs, but the visual burden of the empty throne cannot be removed.
“…Your Highness, you must ascend the throne as soon as possible!”
After a long silence, another lesser servant proposes to the crown prince to wear the Carolingian crown as soon as possible.
In the past, all nobles, including the crown prince, would have risen up against such disrespectful remarks and denounced the person who made those remarks, but now no one is doing that.
“…I can’t.”
“Your Highness!”
“Your Majesty is still alive and well! Clearly, it is treason to ascend the throne even though Your Majesty is still alive and the former king does not show his will to ascend! Isn’t it? If I ascend the throne in this state, will I be able to gain legitimacy?!”
“Justification is enough for Your Highness to be the crown prince!”
“Stop!”
At the repeated request of the servant, the crown prince shouted at him loudly once, and the minister lowered his head in sorrow and shut his mouth.
“…I can’t handle immorality. To covet the throne when Your Majesty is alive and has no will to ascend, isn’t it completely different from a traitor?”
“…!”
But before long, the words of the crown prince open the eyes of the servant.
Are you repeating what has already been said?
He looks tired more than anything, but his words subtly conveyed emotion. Doesn’t it sound like you’re saying that as long as you don’t have a problem with immorality, you can become king at any time?
‘…Okay.’
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. Please forget about this.”
“It is allowed.”
After the servant’s apology, the commotion in the audience room quickly subsided.
After that, only empty discussions that were not particularly nutritious continued, and under the judgment of the crown prince, each of them decided to come up with a good opinion until tomorrow, and the meeting was abandoned.
And the next day, the body of the Carolingian king was found, and the Crown Prince was inevitably crowned as the Carolingian King with the support of his subjects.
Of course, other claimants to the throne did not concede, declaring that the crown prince had committed the immorality of murdering the former king or that he had not undergone the traditional coronation ceremony.
…………
“The Rotarings are coming!”
“…Finally.”
The crown prince, no, Louis XII nodded his head slowly as if nervous at the scout’s report.
In the meantime, I have prepared enough.
As long as the king’s authority was not completely destroyed, the support of the nobles was also restored, and the fragmented army was at least united and able to speak at least.
Funds were also barely blocked for now.
Of course, the gold mine suddenly sprang up from the ground and the funding problem was not solved, but a lot of money was borrowed from various places. Since losing this war would end everything anyway, I didn’t care about interest rates at all.
If you win, you’ll have to pay it back someday, and if you lose… Don’t think about it.
‘… Tsk, I should have acted a little bit quicker.’
Even thinking about it now, I get a fever.
Since he had no choice but to poison his father and ascend the throne, wouldn’t it have been better if he had poisoned his father from the beginning and ended the civil war quickly? No, it’s not that it wouldn’t, it certainly would have been.
…No, let’s not worry about the past. Even thinking about it won’t help you solve the problem you’re facing right now.
“Are there any messengers from Lord Lotharing?”
“Yes, they say they’re coming across the battlefield. What do you want to do?”
“Killing a god of death is not the law of the battlefield.”
Shouldn’t you listen to what he’s saying first?
Even so, I don’t expect things to go smoothly just by talking, but at least I’ll get something before and after.
“Duke of Lutesia, follow the orders of Her Majesty Claude, King of Lotharing and King of Caroling!!”
“…”
Of course, that expectation goes beyond being shattered and is shattered into powder.
The messenger of the Rotaling army does not enter the castle, but hovers around the outside, and does not hesitate to make such extremely bad remarks.
A duke of Lutesia? It was not the attitude of a person who was aiming to negotiate something.
If he was reluctant to acknowledge me as king, at least he would have called me by name, without title.
“The one who committed the immorality of murdering her father without shame and usurped his father’s title—-“
Piyuung!
“ㅡKuk!!”
The Rotaring messenger’s words are cut off by dozens of arrows that are nearby.
The messenger glanced at the soldiers above the castle gate after shedding an arrow, then turned his horse and left.
“…Well done.”
The knight fired without permission, but I don’t feel like blaming the knight.
The Carolingian royal family hadn’t been lowered enough to have to react to such lowly comments one by one.
…Even if you’ve fallen that low, you’ll have to gradually recover from now on.
“… Huh?”
After praising the knight like that, I turned my head to the place where Lord Rotaling was setting up camp with a confused mind, but something strange caught my eye.
Something bigger than a person was installed at an angle, like a huge, elongated bucket turned upside down.
This is the first thing I see, when did you install it?
Looking at the color, it seems that the material is a bit like bronze, but no matter how wealthy you are, you can’t use bronze that much, so maybe it’s just the color.
Hmm… What ritual do you do before a battle? Well, since it’s that far away, you don’t have to worry about it.
Quaaa!!
“What, what- huh?”
As I was looking at the strange object, I suddenly heard a huge thunderclap in my ears, and it took me a few seconds to realize that the thunder was coming from the strange object.
That’s because a huge boulder was coming out of the object along with black smoke and flying towards this place. Thanks to the fact that I had been staring at that bizarre thing for a while, I could see the whole process of stones protruding and flying all the way to Lutesia.