Chapter 76 Archduke Fernandez

The sun rises, winter is gradually passing, and some green appears on the earth.

A large number of farmers have been recruited and are working hard.

Derrick rode his horse and took a tour.

The progress is a little faster than expected.

Augusta Territory is still a relatively wealthy place. At least in the Saint Mile Province, there is sufficient water and the land is relatively fertile.

Derrick checked back and forth to make sure that everything is going according to the planned plan.

Then he returned to Augusta City. The general outline was already in place, and the furnace in the blacksmith shop was burning day and night.

"Send all the extra weapons, including heavy armor, to the warehouse."

Derrick said so, which also included the old earl's order.

In fact, the weapons and equipment are all in the barracks warehouse, and the city does not have any function yet.

In such a big city, there are only some civilians and technical workers such as low-level blacksmiths.

Derrick stood on the inner wall that was beginning to take shape, his eyes gradually cold.

If sacrifice is exchanged for victory, is it worth it?

He already had the answer in his heart.

Sorry, I can't be a saint.

Finally, he returned to the barracks.

There were 12,000 private soldiers in the territory training, distributed in several barracks.

The daily consumption was enough to make any noble stunned.

Even the Perez family couldn't afford such consumption.

For Derek, it was the same. Maintaining an army of this size would be enough to go bankrupt in a year.

If he hadn't plundered in the Saint Maitreya Province, he would have gone bankrupt long ago.

The annual salary expenditure alone exceeded 15,000 gold coins. If the basic equipment was 20,000 gold coins, if it wasn't self-produced and sold, I'm afraid it would be close to bankruptcy now.

It is definitely a heavy burden to maintain such a large army for a long time.

But for Derek, if he can get through it, he might be able to afford it. At least most of them died, so there is not so much pressure.

If he can't get through it, there is nothing to say.

Even so, Derek's behavior can be called crazy in this world.

If the overstaffed Holy Maitreya Corps is included, 30% of the entire Holy Maitreya Province's army is in Derek's hands.

"Not enough, not enough, increase the intensity of training, increase the intensity of conscription, I want more soldiers, more elites."

Derek's order even made the knights feel pressured.

However, personal prestige is enough to overwhelm all opposition, at least before he fails.

In fact, except for Derek, the entire Holy Maitreya Province is in full swing of training, conscription and strengthening city defense.

The two countries have not fought for many years, which means that the Holy Cross Kingdom has the ability to launch a huge campaign.

Next, the pressure is on them.

And it has become a consensus that domestic support will be slower for various reasons.

And it is impossible for the barbarians not to be on guard, which involves a large number of troops.

The power of the northern nobles is stronger than it seems.

The entire northern province is a radiation area, and it is considered a member of the northern noble circle.

This is not only reflected in military strength.

When Count Perez called on several nobles to act secretly, Derek saw it again.

A large amount of food was quickly transported to the Holy Mile Province through the channels controlled by the northern nobles.

As a local snake, it is too easy to hide from outsiders.

A lot of food was taken from the bandit Lloyd.

A lot of food was also smuggled from the territories of other horse bandit gangs.

Even if sporadic news leaked, it would not be completely exposed.

This also made Derek realize how strong the local snakes are in this era.

Everything was prepared in an orderly manner. After a spring rain, the shallow water in the river rose a little bit.

News from the Holy Cross Kingdom began to come one after another.

The prince of the Holy Cross Kingdom, the Grand Duke of Holy Light Sebastian Bruno Fernandez, personally served as the commander-in-chief of the westward advance.

The Cardinal Archbishop of the Holy Cross Church personally served as the chaplain of the army.

Count Connor Rad, the Sword of God, served as the deputy commander-in-chief, integrated 200,000 troops, and began to march westward.

The recuperation in recent years has brought the national strength of the Holy Cross Kingdom to its peak. Taking advantage of this opportunity, a wave of direct outbreaks has been launched.

Facts have proved that if it were not for the sudden attack of the barbarians, both countries might have gone north to recover the lost territory, which would have been the real front and back attack.

The attack of hundreds of thousands of troops is enough to destroy the new regime of the barbarians.

Now, the contradiction has shifted.

A Holy Maitreya Province has once again destroyed the peace reached by the two countries in the past 30 years.

And this news once again made the Holy Maitreya Province boil.

A large number of residual forces began to stir up trouble.

The last war of this scale was when the Holy United Kingdom split.

Not to mention the movement of the Holy Maitreya Province, there was also a conflict within the Western Expedition Corps of the Holy Cross Kingdom.

Of the 200,000 troops, 150,000 were serfs assembled from all over the place.

The Holy Cross Church played a great role and was very effective in inciting these untouchables.

Of course, they also wanted to ease population pressure.

For the nobles, the serfs who grew up wantonly were born inferiors and had no use at all.

What they needed were strong slaves, skilled craftsmen, and military talents.

Yes, it sounds absurd. They will not promote talents from serfs, but would rather buy high-priced technical slaves.

But this is the current situation. The supremacy of blood is particularly popular in the Kingdom of the Holy Cross.

The confinement of thinking will lead to various incredible social phenomena.

Ignorance is only relative. Perhaps in the eyes of the nobles of the Kingdom of the Holy Cross, their persistence is correct, the blood theory is the truth, and God is everything.

Therefore, Archduke Fernandez, who has noble blood, was pushed to the throne of commander.

But does he have enough prestige to subdue the army?

Yes, at least before the failure, this signboard is still useful.

If there are no other challengers, Archduke Fernandez's expedition will not have any internal resistance.

But Earl Connor, the Sword of God, also has noble blood, and his devout faith has been recognized and supported by the church, and his many years of military career also have enough prestige.

One failure cannot defeat him. At the meeting, the two quarreled.

"Birch Castle is a tough nut to crack. We need to change direction."

"Are you scared by the Rocks, Count? I am the commander."

"I won't agree."

"I think you took money from that northern knight."

The two parted unhappily, and the Cardinal Archbishop smiled and said nothing.

When Archduke Fernandez returned to the tent, his furious expression instantly subsided.

Yes, he was just pretending to be angry.

Despite the loud noise, he didn't reveal his trump card at all.

The connection with Count Lovett is one of his trump cards.

Even without this information, he can still push through with the number of people.

"As long as I don't make mistakes, I will win."