Berserk, Total War: Second Son of Nobles

John suddenly remembered that it was not only Midland that was fighting against the Yoda people. The Grand Duchy of Grant to the north of Midland was also a target of attack by the Yoda people.

The Duchy of Grant is an island country to the north of Midland. The country's territory is very small, so small that one can cross the entire island by riding a horse for three days.

Although the local area is located in the north of Midland, it has many ice-free ports, so it has gradually prospered by trading with various countries.

This country is located in the basin of the entire island and is also located in the crater of the island's extinct volcano. The country's capital, Nord, is located in the center of the basin.

Nord is surrounded by mountains. In addition to being able to defend against foreign enemies, it also has very rich iron ore. Relying on iron ore and fisheries, the economy of the entire country is also steadily improving.

However, with such a good geographical location, it is impossible for other countries not to envy it. The Grand Dukes of all generations also knew that they would be attacked by other countries sooner or later, so they built closer relations with Midland in the south and the Principality of Is in the north, and built many star-shaped fortresses around the capital. At the same time, the locals also paid attention to the development of artillery, and placed a large number of artillery in the capital and fortresses. In addition, the custom of the whole people advocating the use of force can recruit a large number of high-quality troops in wartime.

Soon the war began.

About twenty years ago, the Yoda people began to attack the Grand Duchy of Grant, and Grand Duchy of Grant led his soldiers to fight desperately. However, as more and more Yoda people landed, the Grant people could no longer hold on and retreated to the basin.

During this period, Grand Duke Grant wanted to seek help from the Kingdom of Midland, but Midland itself was in such a weak state that it had no extra troops to help Grant. The Principality of Isu was also dragging its feet and provided all support except for help.

The Yoda people built a fortress called Chusta on a plain on the island, and also established a number of concentration camps, locking up all the local people. They also selected local children for brainwashing and forced them to change their beliefs. Every day in the concentration camps, Yoda officers would tell them that their god was Emperor Yoda, and if anyone raised any objections, they would be executed directly.

There are currently two speculations about the Yoda's purpose of occupying this island:

First, seize the rich local iron ore resources and brainwash the locals ideologically to use them as cannon fodder in the attack on Midland.

Second, the area can be used as a springboard to attack Midland and attack the undefended northern region of Midland, but this will have to wait until the full capture of the Grand Duchy of Grant.

Of course, this island country is also famous because of one person, that person is the Fire Dragon Knight Guren Berdo, but he is still a teenager and has not yet become an apostle.

If the Yoda people really succeed, John will be in trouble. Being attacked from the east, south and north will definitely be very disadvantageous.

However, we cannot attack him directly at the moment, because it is a truce period now, and attacking him would violate the treaty. Also, John does not have enough ships and is not capable of ocean voyages.

The shipyards were now working on the carrack and were beginning to place guns, though of very small calibre, on other smaller ships.

Currently, John's entire fleet has more than 50 regular warships, but most of them are small kerks, which make it difficult to install cannons.

So if John wants a bigger and better boat, it seems that he can only buy it from Midland at the moment.

Many ships of Midland’s navy are equipped with cannons, and its overall naval strength can be said to be among the best in the continent. It is currently mainly stationed in the western and southern waters of Midland.

But John was curious. He had a large fleet in the south, which could be explained as protecting trade routes and pirate ships from other countries. But there were no island countries across the sea from him in the west, nor major trade routes. Who was he defending against by putting a bunch of warships there?

In short, if Midlan could use warships to break through the blockade in the north of Yoda, and then directly transport the soldiers in the rear to the north of Yoda, while all his troops were concentrated on the border, he could directly take down his hometown in one wave, and there would be fewer troubles.

So John immediately sent Simon to Le Havre, the largest trading port city in northern Midland. This city specializes in trading with various northern island countries. In addition, the local shipbuilding industry is the best in the entire northern Midland because of its tall coniferous forests as materials.

At the same time, John also began to expand the port in the northern part of the territory to avoid having no place to store the ships when he returned.

Simon went on this business trip under John's banner, bringing enough money, more than 300 sailors, 1000 guards and more than a dozen carriages, and marched towards Le Havre in a mighty manner.

All the nobles along the way greeted them with smiles when they saw the army under John's banner. Sometimes, when they arrived at a Black Watch mercenary branch, some Black Watch troops would come to assist in the escort. So after more than a week of bumpy journey, Simon and others arrived in Le Havre.

When the local mayor heard that it was Governor John's men who were visiting, he entertained them with the highest local standards and held a luxurious banquet in the castle. Normally, a businessman was not qualified to attend, but because John had been in the limelight recently and he possessed the most powerful military force in the entire northeast of Midland, the mayor decided to be cautious and not cause trouble.

During the banquet, Simon explained to the city lord John's request to purchase warships, so he decided to take Simon to visit the shipyard in person tomorrow.

"Sir, why are you so enthusiastic about that businessman? It would be fine if Lord John came, but that man is obviously a businessman. Don't you look down on them the most?" asked a confidant after the banquet.

"Don't tell the merchants that. If they all run away, what will we eat?" The city lord first shut up his confidant, then said:

"I made such a big show first to show my goodwill to him, because I heard that Governor John has a bad temper. He has so many soldiers. It would be bad if he brought them to cause trouble for us by land or sea. Also, John is well-known for his ability to fight. He dared to take the initiative to attack when he saw Yoda. If he won a battle with our ships, our orders would definitely increase dramatically, and even His Majesty the King would place an order with us. Now you understand, if you want to do business well, you must find someone who can promote it. No one will buy your products if no one stands up for them."

The next day, the city lord took Simon and others to the shipyard. He first took Simon and others to visit the shipbuilding process, and then took everyone to see the built ships.

"Because most of our ships are ocean voyages, the lowest type is a brig. Recently, they have been installing cannons on ships, so we are also adding cannons to our ships. This type of ship can be equipped with up to 2000 cannons, which is enough to deal with some pirates. The price is about gold coins."

Seeing that Simon didn't seem very interested, the city lord led everyone to another port to watch. The ships here were much larger than the last time.

"All the ships here are prepared for naval battles. Look at this huge hull, the ram, and the huge mast. Moreover, all the ships here have 36 cannons. Take a look and see which one you like."

Simon searched for a long time and suddenly saw a blue-painted ship.

"This is it."