Berserk, Total War: Second Son of Nobles

John's troops were advancing towards the capital of Balden on the East Balden Road. They no longer had to worry about the war, because there were no bandits.

Through the information of the civilian resistance organization, the bandits in East Barden began to cooperate with the resistance organization to conduct ambushes very early. After the defeat of the Yoda and Barden rebels, they also cooperated with the resistance organization to quickly transport the local villagers to nearby villages to ensure their safety. After the war, because the local residents were already penniless, many villages were directly hit by a devastating blow. The people had no money to make, and the bandits in the mountains could only go down the mountain and return to the normal life of the people. Some of them also built villages directly in the mountains. This land may not be plagued by bandits again in the short term.

John was recuperating in a carriage. Thanks to Behelet being recovered by the system, John felt that his internal injuries had almost healed, with only some external injuries that had not yet recovered. However, he had to continue to command the army and patrol the territory in a short period of time. After all, no one knew whether King Midlan would let him resign and go home because of his current condition.

The closer John's team got to the capital of Balden, the more they saw people from the resistance organization carrying groups of people in carriages to the Midland camp. After inquiring, they found out that these people were Midland prisoners of war who were sent to various castles. The war was over, and the nobles in the castles opened the city to surrender, so they had to be released and returned to the Midland military camp.

Count Milo and his men were waiting outside the door early. When they saw John like this, they asked John what was going on.

"Should I tell you that the third prince turned into a big bird, sacrificed the second prince, and then seriously injured me?" John felt that if he really said that, he would definitely be regarded as a psychopath.

"I was accidentally knocked off my horse by the enemy's city defense equipment, so this happened. When the third prince saw that his uprising failed, he set fire to the castle. The whole castle was burned down, and only ashes were left." John made up an explanation.

Count Milo did not delve into the matter, because such things do happen, but they are rare, so he just agreed with what John said.

"Well, have you found the ashes of the second and third princes?" said Count Milo.

"Here." John took out two small boxes and handed them to Count Milo. In fact, these were only for the third prince, so John divided them into two.

After receiving it, Count Milo quickly took the urn to explain the situation to the eldest prince, asking John to have a good rest. At the same time, he quickly wrote a letter to the capital to inform him of the victory of the war.

For the next week, John lay in bed and was taken care of by others. From time to time, he would look at military documents and inquire about what was happening outside.

After learning that they were completely wiped out in this attack on Barden, the Yoda people did not just accept their fate, but sent another troop into East Barden hoping to gain some benefits. But for some unknown reason, the Yoda troops, which had always been elite, were actually defeated by the civilian resistance organization this time, and had to retreat back to the Yoda territory in disgrace. As a result, the vast rural areas of East Barden are now controlled by civilian organizations.

After hearing about the tragic situation of his two brothers, Borian X cried for a while, buried his two brothers in the royal cemetery, and swore to the nobles in the palace that he would never let the Yoda army enter Midlan.

A week later, with Jules' permission, John was able to walk. Jules was afraid that he would fall, so he thoughtfully prepared a wheelchair for him. The wheelchair in the Middle Ages was really just a chair with two wheels on both sides, and it could not be adjusted, so John didn't like it very much. He would rather walk with a cane than sit in a wheelchair.

One day, when John was looking at the scenery accompanied by his guards, a soldier from Balden came to John and said, "His Majesty the King invites you to discuss the follow-up issues between Midland and Balden."

John actually had something to do when he went to see King Balden, so under the guidance of the soldiers, John entered the Balden Palace for the second time and met King Borlian X in a small room in the palace.

"Greetings, His Majesty," John said, bowing slightly.

"No need to formality, please take a seat," said King Bolian X with a slightly tired look. After a week of office work, he found that being a king was much more difficult than being a prince. He had hardly slept well for a week. He was either reviewing documents or meeting with various ministers, which tortured him to death.

"I summoned you this time to discuss how Midlan and Balden should get along." said Bolian X.

"You should wait until our king gives us an edict to select the negotiators before discussing this matter," John responded.

"No, I mean, let's discuss how the Kingdom of Balden should get along with you, the Forest Governor. After all, the Midland territory closest to Balden is the Forest Governor's territory." Seeing that John did not follow his routine, Bolian X spoke straight to the point.

"Then what are your conditions, Your Majesty?" John asked.

"Recognize the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Kingdom of Balden over the East and West Balden regions, and secondly recognize me, Bollian X, as the country's current and only legitimate king." Bollian X stated his conditions.

"Well, let me think about it. After all, the entire West Balden is now under my control. Basically, the garrison there are all my people, and the daily military expenditure is not a small amount." John said, if you want land, then exchange it with money. If you don't give me money, don't expect me to give up the land.

Bolian X thought for a moment, then said, "I can pay you a considerable amount of military expenses in return for the contribution your troops have made in maintaining social stability in Xibaldon."

So, with John's "extreme reluctance", Belian X reached a contract with John:

1. King Balden paid the Forest Governor 300,000 gold coins as military expenses for the Forest Governor's troops to fight in Balden.

2. The Forest Governor's army must not violate any laws within the territory of the Kingdom of Balden.

3. After the Midland Kingdom and the Balden Kingdom sign a peace treaty, the Forest Governor's troops must withdraw from the Balden Kingdom within one week.

Fourth, open border trade routes, and have the Forest Governor's troops and the Balden Kingdom's troops jointly enforce the law.

After earning 300,000 gold coins with tears in his eyes, John signed the contract, which meant that there was no conflict of interest between the two parties for the time being.

However, John still had a backup plan. He asked a team of knights to disguise themselves as small lords of the villages in West Balden. After all, King Balden, who had just come to power, did not know these small lords. Except for the big cities, the entire West Balden was basically occupied by John's knights. With the support of local farmers and merchants, John actually controlled most of the West Balden area. At the same time, he also asked the soldiers to quickly transfer Binsey's food to the Forest Governor's territory to prepare for winter grain storage.