This young master truly has the ambition of a hero.

Other nobles immediately jumped out to object, saying that these people were talking without understanding the situation.

For this southern expedition, the empire not only mobilized one-third of the royal guards, but also a large number of the private armies of the southern nobles. As a result, many of the southern nobles' fiefdoms are now in a state of undefended vulnerability. The southern gate of Charles City has been breached, and tens of thousands of royal troops have marched straight in, with no one able to stop them.

The nobles who suggested continuing the advance were mostly lords from the heart of the empire. The "strategic depth" they spoke of was nothing more than the home of these southern nobles.

So you guys don't even care that my house was vandalized, looted, and burned?!

The two main factions argued endlessly about this, and because the southern nobles were more numerous, and some timid fence-sitters began to side with them, they gradually gained the upper hand.

Bailey sadly discovered that although he was a prince of the empire, he was not the crown prince and did not yet have absolute authority. He actually preferred to continue the advance, but the southern nobles who wanted to retreat and return to defend the capital, while not openly opposing him, kept advising him not to be "greedy for merit and rash" and to "take the safe route," which actually made Bailey waver.

If Dick were here, he would know the importance of speed in warfare, so no matter what to do, if he really couldn't make up his mind, he would rather flip a coin to decide than hesitate and waste time.

The best strategy is to attack.

The middle strategy is to send reinforcements.

The worst option is to split the troops into two groups.

As a result, Pele chose the playing style that received the most criticism.

He stayed in the same spot all day, listening to his swarm of insects arguing amongst themselves.

So when Reinhardt, who had led the Second Eastern Army Corps to accelerate forward and had already covered more than 50 kilometers a day later, was surprised to find that Bailey had not followed as agreed, and the four army corps that were supposed to advance side by side had actually run in four different directions.

The Eastern First Army Corps encountered layers of enemy resistance and its advance was slow. The Western First Army Corps was halted, and the Western Second Army Corps, without His Highness's orders, turned back to reinforce the enemy. Meanwhile, the Eastern Second Army Corps, which he led, could now almost see the enemy fortress with the naked eye.

Reinhardt: I've arrived at Maple Dew, where are you guys?

The disarray of the entire legion ultimately stemmed from Bailey's lack of prestige as commander, coupled with the excessive ambitions of the nobles below him. In a favorable situation, it's certainly possible to focus efforts in one direction; after all, the original plan was to fight on the mainland of the Maple Dew Kingdom, and naturally, everyone would scramble to seize what belongs to another.

But now, Wang Guojun's surprise attack caught them completely off guard. With their backyard on fire, morale plummeted.

Such a terrible situation is something even Reinhardt couldn't handle.

He couldn't help but wonder what would happen if his father, Lu En, were the commander of this southern expedition.

Rune was an Imperial War Marshal who made outstanding contributions to the Empire in the first half of his life. Even though he had not led troops into battle for more than a decade after rising to a high position, his reputation remained.

In fact, Reinhardt is now a corps commander, and his soldiers are willing to obey him, not only because of the appointment by the Third Prince Bailey, but also because of his title as "son of a war marshal." Many of his subordinates had followed his father, Rune, and therefore respectfully address him as "Young Marshal."

The most crucial point is that Rune himself is the leader of the southern noble group of the empire. Many southern nobles follow his lead. People that Bailey cannot control can be made to submit with just a glance from Rune.

However, thinking about these things now is pointless. The Duke is not here, so Reinhardt can only order his troops to prepare for the attack while urging his mages to set up the fixed communication magic circle as soon as possible. He needs to know what the Third Prince is doing.

After a day of hesitation, Pele was beginning to realize that he had unwittingly committed a cardinal sin in military strategy. But before he could make a decision, devastating news arrived.

The Second Western Army Corps, which had led its troops back to reinforce without authorization, stumbled into an ambush set up by the Kingdom's heavily armed forces on its hasty retreat, just like a blind pig running around blindly.

It turned out that the Kingdom, having captured Charles City, did not continue northward into the heart of the Empire. Instead, it sent only a small force to launch a feint attack, creating a false impression, while its main force turned south to ambush the Imperial army on their retreat route. Having controlled the Linzao Basin for so many years, the Kingdom had thoroughly studied its terrain and knew exactly where the best place to attack was.

Thus, the more than 100,000 men of the Second Western Army Corps were trapped in a low-lying area with extremely unfavorable terrain. Moreover, the enemy used a large number of mages to dig canals with earth magic to divert water from the nearby river into the low-lying area. Although it did not directly cause the disastrous flooding of the Seventh Army, it did trap the Second Western Army Corps in waist-deep sewage and mud.

The entire Second Western Army Corps was like an unlucky fellow who had fallen into a cesspool and couldn't climb out anytime soon. A group of burly men stood around the cesspool, holding sticks and ready to hit him on the head.

Chapter 240: Northern Self-Defense

News of the war in the south has not yet been made public, but in the capital city, a place known for its outstanding people and resources, some information has already been transmitted through private channels and has begun to circulate among a small number of high-ranking officials.

Some people still believe that the problem is not serious. They think that the temporary setback will only result in the deaths of a few thousand or tens of thousands of civilian soldiers. They believe that His Highness the Third Prince has an army of nearly 500,000 and will definitely be able to achieve victory as planned.

Others, however, sensed something was wrong and planned to take advantage of the situation to cause trouble.

Rita, who was in the underground intelligence station in the capital, quickly obtained the relevant intelligence. At the same time, she also collected information on the movements of various political groups in the empire, providing Dick with a reference for analyzing the situation.

The intelligence station I set up in the capital is currently headed by Rita. Although she has only about ten people under her command, they are all top students from the first class of the spy training program. They have experience in intelligence operations in the north and can easily handle things in the capital.

In fact, intelligence work in the capital is easier than expected. Although there are many factions and various forces from both the legitimate and criminal worlds, the chaos has its advantages. It makes it easier to fish in troubled waters. Many intelligence brokers are money-grubbing and can get anything they want as long as they have money. In many cases, they don't even need to spend money because some people will deliberately leak information that should be strictly confidential in order to create chaos. The main difficulty is actually distinguishing between truth and falsehood.

For security reasons, the Imperial Capital Intelligence Station, which is at the forefront of the intelligence war, is only responsible for collecting various intelligences at this stage. However, the headquarters in the rear has many more things to consider when analyzing intelligence.

On the surface, the intelligence station is a flower shop located in an affluent area, primarily catering to the elite. Because these people frequently host banquets, their demand for decorative flowers is substantial. Furthermore, the intelligence agents disguised as flower shop employees often come into contact with the servants in these noble residences, sometimes even providing door-to-door services, which to some extent facilitates their intelligence work.

Despite the seemingly peaceful and prosperous capital, the undercurrents beneath the surface have never ceased. If some hope for the Third Prince's victory, then others certainly hope for his defeat. These astute individuals, sensing the current setbacks in the southern campaign, decisively intervened to further intensify the Third Prince's efforts.

What's even more intriguing is the attitude of the old Emperor Hesse VII... Well! This old devil hasn't shown any attitude at all, and he hasn't attended court for a long time. A large amount of government affairs have been directly handed over to the prime minister, because the power of the entire civil service group has been unprecedentedly strengthened, and these politicians are also the most steadfast royalists at this stage.

It was these royalists who rejected the request to send more troops to reinforce the south. Some people speculated that the civil service group might want to use the royal army to weaken the power of the southern nobles, so as to lay the groundwork for the central government to intervene in the local areas later.

After briefly categorizing the intelligence they had gathered, Rita sent it back to the rear. Their main task at this stage was to act as quiet observers lurking in the shadows. Moreover, judging from the current situation, even if they did nothing, there was no shortage of people here who wanted to step on the gas and speed things up.

So Rita's job was quite easy, so easy that she was a little bored.

"Sigh~! I really want to go back soon. What kind of reward should I ask my master for then?"

Meanwhile, in Lagug, Dick was facing the most serious internal strife in the history of his group, and he himself became the target of criticism, which was extremely rare for him, and was collectively criticized by his female subordinates.

The reason is that during Dick's body conditioning period, he was exclusively taken by two mature women. Some people protested vehemently, saying that this was not body conditioning at all, but rather fattening him up before eating him!

"I can give massages, and I can give birth to your child!"

A certain infatuated dragon girl said this at a denunciation meeting, and immediately received many voices of agreement and support.

To quell public anger, Dick signed a series of "unequal treaties," increasing the number of shifts for "Night Gadgets" and allowing Dick to take a day off for his penis on Sundays, but only if he had a date with the outstanding contributor of the week.

Everyone works so hard for you, you can't not give them this "emotional value," can you?

In short, the matter was thus quelled. Although it seemed to have caused a great disturbance, its scope was limited to the "inner palace." The people of Lagug had no idea that such a major "political upheaval" had occurred in the high ranks of the lord's mansion.

After resolving the internal issues, Dick, back in his post, refocused the territory's work on development. He saw the fighting in the south as a rare window of opportunity for growth, and potentially the last period of calm before the onset of full-blown turmoil.

The conversation with Prince Heinz that day, to some extent, confirmed Dick's earlier suspicions: why Hesse VII had acted so many incomprehensible and perplexing behaviors over the past decade. The old man was likely truly mentally unstable. His early life was hardly that of a wise ruler; he had merely created a false and distorted prosperity by stealing Earth's technology.

The empire clearly had the conditions to promote industrialization, but no one was willing to do so.

The technology could clearly be extended to the entire empire, but it's limited to the capital region.

Extreme imbalances in development can create a sense of "difference" in living environment that spans thousands of years, even though people in the same country live only a river or a street apart.

Even so, some people still praise Hesse VII as "the most perfect man of all time," who brought the empire a great "golden thirty years."

Taking advantage of the chaos in the south and the capital region, and with Prince Heinz's deliberate cover-up, Dick planned to push forward his desired "Northern Group" over the next six months.

To put it bluntly, it means establishing a separate central government, creating a de facto separatist regime.

Northerners harbored resentment, but this resentment was ignored by the capital. The higher-ups disdainfully believed that the North was sparsely populated and poor, and that even if a rebellion broke out, they could be easily subdued with a slap. In this environment of neglect and alienation, Dick felt it would be impolite not to rebel.

So Dick began hosting banquets, inviting allies within the Northern Alliance to gather on his territory. While everyone was chatting casually after the meal, Dick suddenly proposed further strengthening the Northern Alliance's organizational structure, removing the barriers between fiefdoms, and transforming it from an initial quasi-military alliance into a political community. He envisioned establishing a unified, coherent "united government" to achieve comprehensive integration of resources within the alliance.

Dick's words were rather cryptic, but they weren't hard to understand. None of the lords present were fools; some even subconsciously looked around to see if axemen were lying in ambush behind the bushes in the garden.

Dick patiently observed the expressions of these lords, and without exception, they were all hesitant, indicating that they were only weighing the pros and cons, and not one of them jumped out to shout "I object".

Great! Looks like there's no need to slap anyone in a big fight.

Chapter 241: Power Consolidation

Without a doubt, Dick's "proposal" has clearly crossed the line. The formation of the Northern United Front could be said to be a military alliance formed out of necessity due to the direct threat from the orcs. But now Dick wants to take this military alliance a step further and unify the existing 21 lords' commands, making them all obey Dick, the leader of the alliance. This is clearly an attempt to create "separatism"!

However, none of the lords present hesitated and explicitly objected.

In fact, the northern lords had long harbored resentment towards the imperial high command. This was not only because the emperor and court officials had ignored the north during the orc invasion, but also because of the centuries of oppression and discrimination that had followed.

It's important to know that the North was originally a "place of exile." The first immigrants sent there were descendants of those who lost in the political struggles of the capital, as well as many bankrupt civilians and fugitive criminals.

Therefore, the people in the north are inherently rebellious. However, they are completely crushed by the wealthy central government in the economic and military fields. Because they cannot win, they have no choice but to obediently tuck their tails and act like dogs. But this resentment has never disappeared. First, people dare not speak out, and second, they lack a leader with sufficient prestige to take the lead.

Prior to this, the most likely candidate to become this leader was undoubtedly House Richard, the only marquess in the North, followed by the ambitious House Hoffman.

But by the time of the current head of the Richard family, Ard Richard, the man's heart was set on the prosperous capital. He looked down on the poor and unsophisticated Northerners and was determined to move to the south of the mountains to become a "respectable" court noble. His interests were not on the side of the North at all.

Hoffman, on the other hand, suffered heavy losses during the orc invasion. More importantly, his courage and ambition were shattered, and he transformed into Albania in another world, desperately building fortifications within his own territory.

On the contrary, Dick, who came from the interior, rose rapidly after arriving in the north. He first carried out large-scale territorial development, transforming the originally impoverished Ragug into the most prosperous earldom in the north. Then, he charged ahead in several wars, leading the charge against the invading orcs, and even went so far as to visit the enemy capital.

He has the ability and is willing to lend a helping hand to his poor friends.

He's responsible; he really steps up when something goes wrong!

So even though Dick was an outsider who had been in the North for less than four years, he still managed to stand out and gather a group of allies and followers who were willing to follow him, and was regarded as the pride of many Northerners!

This is the people's hope, and the will of the people.

Beneath the empire's apparent prosperity lies a decay that has reached its very core. The imperial family, the court officials, the southern nobility, and other groups, large and small, each with their own ulterior motives, are all simmering with ambition for their own interests.

Undeniably, there are indeed some progressive forces among them who genuinely want to serve the country and its people. However, the entire political circle in the capital is like a quagmire, with various powerful groups acting like maggots in the quagmire. Everyone is interconnected, and if you make any move, everyone around you will be dragging you down!

So Dick never intended to make it in the capital. How could he possibly succeed in his great career if he was with those bastards?

In contrast, the situation in the North is much better. Although it is generally backward, there is much room for improvement. Although the people are tough, they are also very simple-minded.

They have been treated differently for hundreds of years, so as long as you treat them well and make them believe that following you will lead to a bright future, these people will truly be willing to open their hearts and live and die with you!

Dick didn't urge the lords to make a decision quickly, and continued to calmly drink his tea. At this moment, Earl Banner put down the terms and conditions document provided by Dick, looked up at the others around him, slammed his hand on the table, and then shouted at the top of his lungs.

"There's nothing to say, my Banner family is on your side! I know what you little brats are afraid of, but think about it carefully, what have we Northerners gained in return for all these years of subservience? Have the big shots on the other side of the mountains ever given us a second glance? Have they ever really cared about our lives? What benefits have we received? Three years of tax exemption? And think about it, when the orcs invaded, who led us in the resistance? And whose seeds are those corns you're planting?"

The old man's barrage of questions left the assembled lords both mentally and physically stunned. They glanced at Earl Banner, who had spoken first, then looked at the composed Dick himself, each forming their own judgment.

"Eugene's mouth is really foul, but he's right, we Medell family are on board."

“Count me in. Our Bart family is on board. Since the emperor doesn’t care about us anyway, can’t we just take care of ourselves?”

"I've heard there's a saying on Earth: 'The squeaky wheel gets the grease.' We northerners have been too damn honest before, but now it's time to make our voices heard."

"Come on, that's not how you use that phrase!"

The nobles present chimed in with their opinions, and the motion passed unanimously.

The pent-up resentment of the northern lords over the years erupted at this moment. If the nobles at the top of society were in such a state, one can only imagine how much more the common people at the bottom, who were being exploited at every level, were affected.

Thus, the twenty-one lords present all signed the new alliance. Although these lords' fiefdoms were concentrated in the eastern part of the North, this area had been the region with the most rapid development in recent years and had not been directly affected by the war. In addition, the war had caused a large influx of people from the central and western regions to the eastern region. In fact, Dick had brought most of the north under his control.

However, this alliance is not suitable for public disclosure yet and is a secret agreement. The upgraded Northern Alliance will establish a "Parliament Headquarters" in the main city of Lagug. Orders issued from here will be implemented smoothly in the territories of the existing 21 major members of the Northern Alliance, realizing Dick's expectation of "resource integration".

These 21 territories together cover 300,000 square kilometers and have a population of over 5 million. This is only the area under actual control. If we add the "indirectly controlled areas" that can be covered by influence, the size can increase by nearly 50%.

The integration process went relatively smoothly. Ruby Eyes expects the initial framework of the new government to be completed within a month, followed by further system improvement, and the railway that Madik had always longed for.

Meanwhile, in the capital, almost everyone's attention was drawn to the dramatic war in the south. With Prince Heinz's deliberate cover-up, they were completely unaware that someone was secretly making "small moves" in another direction of the empire.

Of course! Not all those in the know were aware of the secret. For example, the Duke of Best, who was recuperating at home on the grounds of illness, was looking at the secret letter in his hand with a satisfied smile on his face.

Both children are doing well, and he, as their father, isn't just lazing around at home as many people think. He's been secretly planning for twenty years, waiting for the right opportunity, and that opportunity is almost here!

Chapter 242: Reinhardt's Suffering

On the empire's southern front, the Third Prince, who had been so confident when he set out on the campaign, was now in a very awkward position. The four armies were fighting independently, and Bailey himself quickly exposed his biggest weakness as a commander after encountering unexpected situations: a lack of composure.

Faced with a deluge of bad news, Pele's brain immediately went into overdrive. Instead of thinking about how to solve the current predicament, he was worried about who would bear the fatal responsibility if the situation really took a sharp turn for the worse.

At this time, of the four armies, only the troops led by Reinhard arrived at their battle positions on schedule and launched a fierce attack on the fortress defended by the royal army.

Reinhardt also lacked practical experience and had obvious character flaws, but he was at least a proper professional and had some real talent.

To paraphrase Dick's assessment of his older brother, he wasn't exactly a fool; his personality simply wasn't suited to being a decisive leader. However, if he encountered an opponent as rigid and methodical as himself, they would be evenly matched, and he could surprisingly achieve good results.

And coincidentally, the Kingdom's garrison on the other side was exactly that kind of person!

The troop strength of the two sides was 11 vs. 3. The Imperial Legion had the advantage in troop strength, and Reinhardt's Legion was equipped with heavy weapons for siege warfare, mainly four magic cannons. The transport troops had to go to great lengths to transport these big and heavy lumps of iron to the front line!

In comparison, although the Maple Dew Kingdom also has magic cannons, in terms of cannon performance, compared with the Empire which is extremely willing to spend money on materials, its range and power are far inferior to its opponent. Its advantage is that the cannons are lighter and have a very fast rate of fire.

After both sides set up their formations, the artillery battle was incredibly fierce and spectacular.

The Empire's heavy artillery was incredibly powerful, causing the defensive barrier of the garrison's mage corps to falter. Led by a Saint-level expert, all the mages concentrated their full strength to barely withstand the bombardment, leaving them with no energy to spare.

Meanwhile, the Kingdom's light artillery bombarded the Imperial army's siege forces, causing them immense suffering. Several initial suicide squads were brought to their knees by artillery fire and various long-range weapons before they even reached the enemy's walls, leading Reinhard to abandon his plan to send musketeers to suppress the city walls.

Undeniably, this battle showcased the highest level of conventional military capabilities in the world at this stage, incorporating both cold and firearms, magic, and technology.

Given the Imperial Army's current offensive, Reinhardt had no doubt that they were capable of taking the fortress before them, but the question was how long it would take, and whether they would have the strength to continue advancing after capturing the fortress.

The fall of Charles City had disrupted their logistical support, and even with the most careful rations, their current supplies would only last for twenty days at most. If they didn't receive supplies after twenty days, their soldiers would likely mutini.

The defending troops on the other side were in high spirits, and their commander was also a stubborn man.

Reinhardt initially considered persuading them to surrender, but the cavalryman who was delivering the message had barely run over and before he could even speak when he was pierced through the heart by a powerful spear. It was the fortress commander who did this, clearly indicating that he was determined to fight the Imperial Army to the death and didn't even bother to waste words with them.

There was no other way; they could only continue fighting to the death. Meanwhile, Reinhardt anxiously contacted the other three armies to find out their situation.

The East First Army Corps, which was closest to him, was still advancing slowly. The enemy forces that kept harassing them were some subhuman mountain people. Their fighting strength was not particularly strong, but their main characteristic was that they were annoying.