The Knight's Journey to the Empire

"Your Excellency the Duke, as you said, we should indeed march north as soon as possible to suppress the rebellion and recover the lost territory. This is in the interests of the kingdom." Prime Minister Hein said in a deep voice.

Although in the royal court of the Kingdom of Essex, Prime Minister Hein was in charge of internal affairs, he was also familiar with military affairs and knew that the plan proposed by Duke Balhams was the one that best suited the interests of the kingdom.

But he suddenly changed the subject and said, "But, Your Excellency the Duke, you must understand that the current situation of the kingdom is not so ideal."

"First of all, although there are some cracks in the alliance between the Principality of Glia and the Kingdom of Midburg, the two countries have not reached the point of life-and-death hatred. Moreover, the rulers of the two countries are not fools who are good for nothing. They also understand the principle of "the lips and the teeth are cold". They also know that if they rely on the strength of their own country alone, they cannot resist the attack of the kingdom, so there is still a possibility for the two countries to unite."

"Secondly, the Free City of Ancortina in the northeast will definitely not watch us send troops to attack the two countries. So if the kingdom rashly launches a war, it may face a situation of fighting on three fronts. With the kingdom's current strength, unless all battles are won and resolved quickly, the kingdom will easily fall into the quagmire of war and be unable to escape. But obviously, that is impossible. We can't and dare not gamble!"

"Then there is the lack of foundation of the kingdom. Twenty years ago, the great flood and serf uprising in the east of the kingdom caused serious losses to the kingdom and almost damaged the foundation of the kingdom. Now, after ten years of recuperation, the kingdom has recovered, but the accumulated foundation is not so able to withstand consumption."

"Finally, the city-states and principalities in the south of the kingdom definitely don't want a powerful empire to appear in the north to check and oppress them, so we must also be on guard."

"Therefore, the Kingdom's Northern Expedition must not proceed rashly, otherwise the consequences will be unpredictable, and the Kingdom will lose this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in vain!"

Twenty years ago, the eastern part of the Kingdom of Essex was hit by a powerful hurricane from the ocean.

That time, the wind was howling, the waves were surging, the rain was pouring, and the sky was dark.

The entire eastern part of the Kingdom of Essex was severely affected and devastated.

The huge flood was more than three meters high and raged for more than a month before gradually receding.

Civilians in the east were in mourning, all the fields were barren, poultry and livestock were dead everywhere, and the losses were incalculable.

And after a great disaster there will be a great epidemic.

The outbreak of epidemics following the flood made the disaster even worse.

Finally, because the kingdom's rescue forces and relief supplies failed to arrive in time, and the surviving victims had nothing to eat, they had a hard time surviving.

So, under the instigation of some people, the most serious serf uprising since the founding of the Kingdom of Essex broke out in the east.

It took the Kingdom of Essex five years to quell the serf rebellion and maintain political rule and social stability in the eastern region.

The previous King of Essex, His Majesty the Fifth, was overworked and became ill while dealing with this disaster and riot. He eventually died suddenly at his desk and sacrificed his life for his country.

If it were not for Chris VI, who later succeeded to the throne, who adopted an iron-blooded policy and took iron-fisted actions to suppress the serf uprising with force.

Perhaps this riot will continue to rage for several years before it is quelled.

This disaster and riot almost shook the foundation of the Kingdom of Essex. It took the kingdom a full ten years to recuperate before it slowly recovered.

Fortunately, the Free City-State of Ancordina and the eastern part of the Kingdom of Midburg were also severely affected areas at that time.

Otherwise, the three forces are likely to unite and attack the Kingdom of Essex to forcefully eliminate this potential threat to the country's destruction.

In the east of the Knight Continent there is a mighty river called the Carolina River.

The Carolina River originates from Mount Blanc in the Cadelete Mountains, the highest peak of the largest mountain range in the central region of the Knight Continent. It is one of the largest rivers in the Knight Continent.

The Carolina River flows roughly from east to west with abundant flow. It flows through more than 30 countries and city-states on both sides, making it a famous "Mother River".

The middle and lower reaches of the Carolina River is a flat, open alluvial plain, and it is also the largest plain in the eastern part of the Knight Continent - the middle and lower reaches of the Carolina River Great Plain.

The Carolina River serves as the boundary, and the entire middle and lower Carolina Great Plains are divided into two north and south parts.

The northern part of the Carolina Plains is called the North Carolina Plains, and the southern part of the Carolina Plains is called the South Carolina Plains.

Among them, the North Carolina River Plain is the southwest, south and southeast of the Kingdom of Essex. It is an important grain-producing area and economically prosperous area of ​​the Kingdom of Essex.

There was no unified kingdom or empire in the South Carolina River Plain. Instead, there were more than a dozen city-states, small principalities, and republics of varying sizes.

During the era of the Essex Empire, this was a border buffer zone between the Essex Empire and the powerful Kingdom of Ross in the southeast of the Knight Continent.

Half of the city-states and small principalities submitted to the Essex Empire and paid tribute every year to maintain peace.

Now, with the disintegration of the Essex Empire, they have reached an equal status with the Kingdom of Essex and finally no longer need to pay tribute.

So, in general, they were unwilling to see the Kingdom of Essex restore its former glory as a powerful empire.

If the Kingdom of Essex marched north to suppress the rebellion and recover lost territory at this time, these small countries would most likely unite to put pressure on the Kingdom of Essex and hinder its progress.

As the saying goes, old ginger is spiciest and old urine is smellier.

The elderly Prime Minister Hein gave a clear and easy-to-understand analysis, listing in an orderly manner the drawbacks and difficulties that the Kingdom of Essex might face.

All the ministers in the royal court's meeting hall were impressed and praised him in their hearts after hearing this.

Even King Chris VI and Duke Balhamus nodded in amazement after hearing this.

But despite his admiration and support, Duke Balhams still insisted on his political views and believed that he should march north to suppress the rebellion and recover the lost territories of the empire as soon as possible.

Moreover, he could vaguely feel that his good brother, His Majesty King Chris VI, had ideas that coincided with his own political views.

But unfortunately, Duke Balhams could not find any good reasons to refute Prime Minister Hein's political views.

So he looked at the ministers standing behind him, hoping that someone would stand up and turn the tide and support him.

But soon he was speechless.

Because most of those ministers were fat and big-eared.

At this moment, they either bowed their heads and obeyed in obedience, or looked into Prime Minister Hein's eyes with full conviction.

But no one is willing to stand up!

Duke Balhamus sighed imperceptibly.

No wonder he was often at a disadvantage in the factional struggles in the royal court!

Not afraid of god-like opponents, but of pig-like teammates!