Time flies, and autumn is already here in the blink of an eye.
Entering the Acasta Plain in mid-November, the sunshine is much softer than in previous months.
More and more people choose to walk outside on the grassland when the weather is fine, letting the warm sunshine shine on their bodies and the breeze blowing on their faces, which makes them feel comfortable.
Being able to have so much free time now is inseparable from the increasingly comfortable life. Three months after the civil war ended and the new king's policy changed, the common people who were still a little worried were completely reassured.
From north to south, merchants who poured in in large numbers after the territory's borders were opened brought a dazzling array of goods. Many mineral resources that were originally controlled by the nobles and privatized with extremely low operating efficiency have gradually opened up jobs under the new king's order. People only need to pay a certain fee to apply for identification, and people can get quite good results. of remuneration.
The southern nobles, who were originally very resistant to this, gradually realized that it would be a win-win situation if they cooperated.
In addition to labor, how to transport and sell the mineral resources they originally had is also a huge problem. Out of resistance and disdain for business, the nobles originally would rather let those things eat dust and rot in their own warehouses than sell them. But now, after being forced to sell them under the tough new policies, they are holding heavy bags one after another. of Otolo gold coins, they only regretted that they had not been able to hoard more before.
The theory that only talks about spirit without material is empty. And vice versa, when material, wealth and the like are abundant enough, the once tense and tense southern nobles will naturally relax.
The best state administrators fight bloody wars.
Edward used tangible benefits to make these sympathetic southern nobles stand with him. Although he still cannot give all trust, at least on the road of national reform, he can be sure that these people will no longer take a tough attitude.
The market demand of the vast Western Otolo Empire is extremely huge. After the unification of Avenela, the border gates of the Grigori Rift Valley have become increasingly busy. There is an endless stream of merchants in Otolo. Groups of caravans exchange raw materials for infrastructure construction and various food and clothing in exchange for Avenella's precious mineral resources. The needs of the merchants for food and accommodation during their travels have given rise to resulted in the migration of more practitioners.
The existing city-states became increasingly prosperous, and some people with a keen sense of smell near the main roads quickly went to cut down trees to quickly build new villages and towns, and the laws regarding these things were being improved every day.
Officials at the grassroots level dispatch stationed security soldiers, train and equip the soldiers, and provide various supporting infrastructure. The elite grassroots cadres of the Northern Army who survived the war are scattered all over the place like a wide net. With their joint efforts, everything is developing in an orderly direction——
It now seems certain that Avenella will replace Civalier as the most powerful and wealthy kingdom on the west coast.
No one thought that everything could change so much in just two years. After the civil war ended and stabilized, the number of Sivalier refugees from Inznil on the northern border of Avenella was increasing day by day. The Sivalier border soldiers who used to take tough measures to stop them are now even unable to do so. If you want to escape, you will naturally turn a blind eye to this.
As an important outpost on the northern border, Fort Ellen has been under construction since the victory in the Battle of Acasta. It has now broken away from the level of "fort" and has reached the level of a castle.
Forty percent of the well-trained Northern Army soldiers left over from the original were stationed here. In addition to serving as a standing army, many of the outstanding personnel have also been promoted to non-commissioned officers. Every day at the gate of Ellenburg, you can see as many as a thousand new recruits training hard and sweating. The unison of the war cries was earth-shattering, in stark contrast to the demoralized Sivaliers next door.
They were equipped and supplied to a stable standard, and the new king, Edward I, was well known for his intention to create a standing army. Perhaps out of a sense of comparison, the chefs at Ellenburg deliberately fanned the aroma of the food toward the simple Sivalier defense line next door when cooking, making the starving soldiers there stretch out. He stretched his neck and swallowed hard while inhaling the aroma.
What flourishes must decline, and it remains unchanged forever. The decline of Sivalier is a foregone conclusion, and the nobles and bishops who are good at intrigues are still trying to squeeze out the last bit of value from this once most powerful kingdom.
From the perspective of the Avenella people, most of the hatred has disappeared at this moment, leaving only sighs and sorrow.
The Kingdom of Knights is unable to unify and pose a threat due to constant civil strife. This is a good thing, but it is not always a good thing.
The news that Isabel de Avalon was in the Northern Army was leaked during the Civil War. Now it was impossible to deny it, so Edward weighed it and chose to announce the news.
After all, it would be more convenient for him to use more troops to protect the legitimate royal heir of Sivalier, even though most of the nobles of Sivalier would not dare to challenge their current relationship with the Otolo Empire. Avenella becomes more and more intimate, but she must be wary of others.
But this is exactly the problem we are referring to when we say "not all a good thing" - as the king of a country, there is a huge gap between the status of Edward I today and when he was still a prince, and Under such circumstances, his marriage has naturally become the focus of many people's attention.
Since ancient times, royal marriages have always been used as a political tool. At the moment of civil strife in Sivalier, Princess Isabel existed in Avenella, and neither she nor Edward had a marriage contract. In the hearts of the nobles in the court, Edward naturally knew what he was planning.
Since Avenella could not withstand such a purge, he retained the status of most of the old nobles. But these old diehards who were exactly the same as Ashbern II seemed to be unable to settle down and develop stably. Once they saw opportunities for neighboring countries to take advantage of, they immediately began to make some small moves secretly.
He started planning the king's wedding without permission, and even started to hint and pressure in various aspects. As the situation becomes more stable, and it is confirmed that Edward will not attack them, things like this will only become more and more rampant.
At the moment, Edward can still suppress it on the grounds that the country has just settled down and it is not the time to do such a thing, but even so, he still suffers a lot of unnecessary pressure.
The king's affection was only a secret among close acquaintances, but even though the blond lady was promoted to a title like many other northern nobles after the civil war, she was still not a good match. Marrying a low-level noble under his own family instead of taking advantage of this opportunity to expand his influence is simply rebellious in the eyes of the high nobles who still retain traditional ideas. The pressure they exerted in various aspects also made Edward miserable, so much so that when he had a drink with the sage in private, he sighed bitterly:
"People always envy the king for his supreme glory and wealth. In the minds of the people, the king is also extremely free and can do whatever he wants. However, when he actually sat in this position, he found that he was subject to far more restrictions than an ordinary person."
"With a status that cannot even hold the hands of the one you love, how can it be called freedom?"
The relationship between the king and the royal nobles, as well as other southern nobles who sided with Ashberon II in the civil war, was very delicate. Although they have tasted the sweetness after being forced to open up their territories, what these older generation nobles often think when eating this cake is "Why can't I have it all?" Therefore, some small actions they make in secret always make people feel uncomfortable. The situation is even more embarrassing.
In addition, many of these nobles, including the two remaining Grand Dukes of the South, tried to climb up their status and enter the core power circle of Avenella by facilitating the king's marriage.
Although the civil war has ended, the political intrigue has just begun.
In such a situation, Edward's affection for his children could only be temporarily compromised.
"Even if they know there is an external threat, they only want to make the people in Sivalier look good. If it is just related to me, forget it. Their calculation will drag down the newly stabilized country again. Into the quagmire of war!"
"This kind of mentality is ultimately a petty and short-sighted mentality. I have always been bullied and looked down upon by Sivalier. Now that the civil war has finally ended, I see that the struggle is still going on there. I feel that I have a good hand, so I want to take this opportunity to fight. Make the other party surrender."
"Plus the fact that the regime has just been replaced and realizes that their position is not yet stable, they still want to use this opportunity to become a major contributor to the conquest of Sivalier. These guys are simply! Unreasonable!"
Although he has many confidants, Edward, who has become the head of a country, can only show weakness and anger for a moment, and that is only when he stays in the small house he gave to Henry and Mira, and faces our Mr. Sage. .
"Although according to my husband's suggestion, the Kingdom Military Academy was opened to train outstanding successors regardless of gender. But it will still take a long time to replace these old stubborns..."
"It seems that this is the only way."
The candlelight flickered, and Edward let out a long sigh. And time passed by, another half month passed, almost at the beginning of December. It extends from Fort Ellen to the seaside. Looking south, you can see the shore of the tidal flat where the archers were when they ambush the Sivalier cavalry. A simple pier that is not too big and full of exotic style due to the background of the builder stands majestically.
The person responsible for maintaining the operation of this dock is Yin Yaji, the southern merchant manager who has a good relationship with Henry and the others. During the war, he sent a large amount of supplies. After being convinced that they were on the same ship, this manager stayed. Avenella, with his rich experience, presides over all matters related to domestic business.
Among these, the top priority is naturally to build the Yavenera people's own wharf to avoid relying on the Vasa Port in Sivaliya.
Waterway transportation has been an important means of commerce and trade since ancient times, which is why most developed civilizations sprout in areas such as rivers. The carrying capacity and operating cost of water transportation using water power are far beyond that of land transportation. After the completion of the simple small dock, water trade with the Southern City-State Alliance can also proceed smoothly - this is written in Edward and the Felix Family. In the treaty, as a sign of their undivided support, Rosemary's family sent not only businessmen and supervisors, but also shipbuilders and dock managers who came with their families in an endless stream, as if they were going to be there. Ecasta seems to have settled down.
But despite the above purposes, when the dock was completed in early December, the first southern merchant ship to set off was not performing business.
Its destination is not the south, but it is sailing in a straight line, intending to go to the east coast.
In addition to our Mr. Sage and Little Mira, the people on board the boat were also escorted by several grassland warriors, Muna, who was determined to learn from the most cunning and cunning people in order to seize the throne of the grassland, and the envoy from the Kingdom of Yavenela. Ming Na travels with her identity.
Now that she is a baron, she naturally does not travel alone, and the reason why Edward I had no choice but to send Minna away was that he was worried that their love affair would be exposed, and those restless nobles wanted to remove obstacles for him to marry Isabel. Harm her.
Under various circumstances, taking temporary refuge in a foreign country until Edward gradually deprived the nobles of their power and making them unable to resist before returning to their homeland naturally became a helpless choice.
But in addition, Minna's trip to the east coast as a representative appointed by the king is also paving the way for Avenella's future.
It is impossible for the kingdom to be tied to the same warship as the Otolo Empire. The empire has already criticized the acceptance of the Luoan royal family that was conquered by Otolo, and Edward initially launched the civil war precisely to obtain country’s independence.
Therefore, even when facing the mysterious and covetous huge Laman Empire, they need to be as neutral as possible. Knowing yourself and your enemy means you can win a hundred battles. In order to be fully prepared, Edward must send trustworthy personnel to establish diplomatic relations with Padrosi.
It would be fortunate if war could be avoided through diplomatic means, but if not, there must at least be some countermeasures.
The east coast is not monolithic. In addition to the northern countries and a series of city-states in the south, there are also various different voices within the Padrosi Empire. As an envoy of Avenella, the person chosen must be approachable, good at learning foreign languages, smart and smart, and his status cannot be too high or too low.
Both emotionally and rationally, Ming Na is the best candidate.
Therefore, at the beginning of the last month of the year 192, the blond lady had to set sail on a boat amid entangled emotions and follow the eastward wind all the way away.
She turned her head and looked at the smaller and smaller Ecasta Plain and was in a daze for a while, but after all, Edward, who had many things to do and needed to avoid people, was still unable to show up to see him for the last time.
Mira quietly accompanied Ming Na, who was in a somewhat gloomy mood.
The waves lapped against the side of this medium-sized merchant ship.
The sun sets, the moon rises, and the stars move.
Time flows quietly.
