Emperor Marius seems to know a little bit about Livius. After receiving the report from Livius, he probably guessed that this guy was going to kill him first and then show off, so he directly ordered a reprimand, saying that he was not allowed to expand the army 'privately'.
But Marius probably didn't expect that Livius would impose mandatory conscription as soon as he took office...
Shield Wind Fortress is the farthest castle from the capital Siyuan City. It is indeed as high as the sky and as far away as the emperor.
Livius is not a law-abiding person to begin with, and his family is an important member of the Bacchus Empire Presbyterian Church. He was used to being rampant in the previous territory, and his style has always been relatively unrestrained.
Now that I have been sent to the border area, I still feel a little resentful. Originally, I wanted to create a fait accompli for military expansion first and then get the military expenses.
But since the response given by Emperor Marius is that he is not allowed to 'expand the army privately', then the emperor's intention is very clear.
This was aimed at him, and they had no intention of letting him capture White Deer Fortress. They probably wanted to take away his military power in a year's time on the excuse of "having a strong army but doing nothing".
Of course Livius will not sit still and wait for death. He is just arrogant and domineering, but he is not a fool. A warlord family like his knows better than anyone else the principle that "only when you have soldiers in hand can you be strong."
If it weren't for Shadow Infantry, he wouldn't have dared to be so arrogant in the territory...
But he would not confront the emperor directly. After all, he also knew that he was hated by people. If he really wanted to be punished according to the law, he should have been hanged eight times long ago.
Therefore, he will never make principled mistakes - such as openly disobeying orders or collaborating with the enemy to commit rebellion.
Even Marshal Kairos, who is the most opposed to reform, has been obeying the orders of Emperor Marius. Of course, Livius will not disobey orders either and must endure it.
White Deer Fortress still has to fight, and it must be won.
But the problem is that Livius has already forcibly recruited more than 2,000 civilians...
The villages that deserve to be offended have already been offended, so we can't just let these young men go, right?
That's such a shame...
So with a stroke of his pen, Livius changed the nature of 'Imperial Second Legion' and turned it into a militia group with a banner.
This is reasonable and legal.
Of course, a governor-general has the right to requisition civilians, and the wages can be owed first and then settled later. After all, when the country encounters war, the local civilians do have the obligation to support the army.
Moreover, equipping a large number of civilians with flags can disrupt the enemy's sight, which is also a normal combat behavior.
The two thousand civilian army, led by Lord Lord Fabius, son of Livius, began to move closer to White Deer Fortress.
But Livius did not let this civilian army transport supplies or build city defenses. Instead, Lord Fabius took these civilians to Noldo Forest north of Shield Wind Fortress - that is, the area between Shield Wind Fortress and White Deer Fortress, and began to cut down trees to build camps...
Because this can force White Deer Fortress to send more troops.
The civilian group he sent was under the banner of 'Imperial Second Legion'. Although the location he sent to log wood was in a forest about two hundred miles away from White Deer Fortress, it wouldn't take long for White Deer Fortress to find that Bacchus Empire's 'large army' was building a camp.
In Livius's view, if a "large army" of more than two thousand people is allowed to build a camp so close to White Deer Fortress, White Deer Fortress will definitely strengthen its armaments, so it will definitely send more troops for defense...
Then Livius can ask Emperor Marius to change orders or send additional reinforcements on the grounds that "White Deer Fortress has too many troops stationed".
Yes, Livius is not a fool. He just wants White Deer Fortress to increase the garrison. He wants to use this method to make Emperor Marius change the original order given to him.
If White Deer Fortress discovered that 'Imperial Second Legion' with more than 2,000 people was building a garrison, no matter what, he would have to gather a large number of troops to take precautions...
Then the order Emperor Marius issued to 'capture White Deer Fortress within one year' would appear very unreasonable.
In this case, Emperor Marius will either send reinforcements to Shield Wind Fortress, or ask Livius to expand its manpower, or even directly change Livius's mission from 'capture White Deer Fortress' to 'defend Shield Wind Fortress'.
As for whether those two thousand civilians will be killed by White Deer Fortress people...
He doesn't care.
Livius still has many strengths, such as adapting to changing circumstances - otherwise he wouldn't be a governor.
After sending the civilian army to start logging and building the camp, Livius began to continuously send scouts to White Deer Fortress to investigate.
Then he discovered that White Deer Fortress lit the beacon without encountering an enemy.
At that time, the peasant army had just started cutting down trees to build camps. Livius thought it was because White Deer Fortress had discovered his army of peasants. He was still lamenting that White Deer Fortress's detection efficiency was very high, and it was discovered so quickly even from two hundred miles away...
In fact, it was just because after Li Ang was taken away by Lion Knight Order, Amy lit the beacon directly according to Li Ang's instructions.
White Deer Fortress There were a lot of things going on at that time. Amy In those days, I was focused on the safety of the lord. I didn't send any scouts too far to the south. I didn't know anything about the civilian army two hundred miles away.
But Livius felt that his plan had succeeded. After all, according to common sense, after White Deer Fortress lit the beacon, Long River Town's army would soon come to help.
So he immediately sent an urgent message of eight hundred miles to the capital Siyuan City again - this time he directly said that White Deer Fortress's military strength had increased to 2,000 people and hoped that Emperor Marius would send him additional reinforcements. Otherwise, let alone an attack, it would be a problem to even defend Shield Wind Fortress.
Livius This time he did not directly say that he would expand the army.
Because he knew that in such a situation, it would be better to recruit new troops on the spot than to dispatch reinforcements from other places. Emperor Marius would most likely agree to his new formation of 'Imperial Second Legion', and would also ask other lords to obey his command.
After that, he kept sending more scouts, intending to see White Deer Fortress's specific reaction.
But since then, none of his scouts have come back.
Of course, it's a good thing that the scout didn't come back. Not coming back means that White Deer Fortress is indeed strengthening its defense.
And in Livius's opinion, sending out scouts continuously can also make White Deer Fortress convinced that Bacchus Empire is about to attack.
At least the beacon fire of White Deer Fortress is always lit.
But it didn't take long for the governor to discover that something was wrong...
The spy sent by the Bacchus Empire to White Deer Fortress has returned.
Those spies are Justus's subordinates, and their original mission is to spread rumors about Li Ang.
Although the rumors did not directly disrupt White Deer Fortress, they did get the planned result - Li Ang was indeed arrested by Lion King.
Then, White Deer Fortress lit the beacon fire, but Lionheart Kingdom did not have reinforcements to support them.
This also gave these spies a mislead - they thought that the rumors they spread played a role, and Lionheart Kingdom seemed to be experiencing civil strife.
Then Amy followed the Lord's instructions and brought Sir Roland to White Deer Fortress to take charge of defense.
Roland is a careful person, and he has spent half his life dealing with various heretics and is very good at finding those mysterious people who hide in dark corners and do things.
As a result, the spies sent by the Bacchus Empire to White Deer Fortress suffered huge losses in a short period of time.
So the spies had no choice but to stay silent for several days, not daring to show their faces. Naturally, they had no idea what happened during those days.
And then, they discovered that Li Ang was back.
As Li Ang returned, White Deer Fortress seemed to have started a civil strife - several troops took action in the city, and I don't know why.
Later, the spies got the result. It was Li Ang who launched the rebellion in White Deer Fortress!
Li Ang is really treason!
But the rebellion launched by Li Ang seemed to have failed. He was expelled to Wheat Fragrance Territory by Godric's daughter--White Deer Fortress's soldiers did not rebel with Li Ang.
This kind of news naturally needs to be sent back to Bax in the fastest possible way.
So the remaining spies returned to Bax as quickly as possible, and the closest one was Shield Wind Fortress. Livius was the first Lord Bax to get the news.
However, after Livius got the news about the spy, he was in a bit of a dilemma...
Because there is such civil strife in White Deer Fortress, it is obviously the best opportunity to attack.
Although it is not certain how much damage Li Ang's rebellion caused to White Deer Fortress, at least this is the best opportunity that has appeared in decades!
But the problem is, Livius just sent back the news to Siyuan City that 'White Deer Fortress's military strength has increased to two thousand people'...
Originally, this was just an exaggeration of the enemy's military strength in order to obtain more military spending and military support.
But if Justus's spies pass the news that White Deer Fortress is involved in civil strife to Siyuan City, then the nature of the situation will change!
Livius said that the great opportunity for attack was that the enemy was sending more troops. This was no ordinary false military report. It could even be considered as a deliberate attempt to deceive the emperor with evil intentions. Emperor Marius would definitely be furious.
After all, Bax was founded by General Osa through war and conquest. You may understand that it takes a small amount of free money, but this kind of falsification of military intelligence is almost unforgivable.
And Livius doesn't know how many spies Justus has. Besides, spies are also sent from other places, so he can't kill these insiders.
Then we must seize this opportunity and capture White Deer Fortress first, and then the fake military report will become "This is a trick used by the enemy to deliberately frame the governor"...
Yes, Livius is very adaptable.
But this means that it is difficult for him to cooperate with other lords, otherwise the false military reports will be untenable and difficult to explain.
But at present, he only has 800 soldiers in hand, and the two thousand farmers don't even have equipment. The internal situation of White Deer Fortress is unknown, and it doesn't seem too confident to attack alone.
So Livius is a little confused...
However, just when Livius was struggling, he got a piece of great good news.
When Risadiran came to Shield Wind Fortress, this place had already been guarded very closely by Livius.
Livius still has many strengths, such as adapting to changes and protecting one's own safety.
In order to avoid disastrous consequences of his usual misbehavior, the governor always takes special precautions in his castle.
A high-level killer like Risadiran couldn't find a way to enter the city for a while. There were many soldiers guarding almost everywhere.
Fortunately, the Elf Killer's mission this time was not to enter the city to kill people, but to deliver a message.
Since the Lord's request was to deliver the letter as soon as possible and there was no need to keep it too secret, Risadiran used an unconventional method.
Instead of entering the city, he hid in the forest behind Shield Wind Fortress, used the protection of the trees to sneak up on Shield Wind Fortress, and then shot an arrow into the castle.
In order to avoid misunderstanding, and because he could not recover the arrow, he did not use Noldo arrows, but an ordinary cone-headed arrow.
Noldo Elves's archery skills and range are both top-notch. The arrow tied with the letter drew a wonderful parabola and accurately shot into a small window in the middle of the Shield Wind Fortress tower.
The main reason for shooting at that window was that Risadiran saw that there seemed to be someone there - someone had to see the arrow.
As a result, after the arrow passed, a howl came from a distance...
It seems that there was accidental damage, but to Risadiran, it doesn't matter. The most important thing is to complete the task quickly. Things like accidental damage are trivial, they are all enemies anyway...
Moreover, since the person was shot, the mission could definitely be completed, so Risadiran turned around and ran away.
The mission was indeed accomplished - the person who was hit by an arrow in the castle happened to be Livius himself.
Of course, his injury was very minor, just a scratch on his skin.
But the position is a bit awkward, the injury is right between the legs.
Noldo Elves is obviously not familiar with the structure of Shield Wind Fortress...
Of course, only big shots would live in the tower of this castle. The small window in the middle of the tower is only one foot long and wide. In fact, it is the vent of the toilet, which is just at the waist of the person. This is so that when squatting or sitting down, he can face the window.
Poor Governor Livius was going to the toilet and had just finished lifting up his pants. Unexpectedly, an arrow flew in from the window, then grazed his crotch and plunged into the wall behind him.
He was almost castrated on the spot.
But fortunately, Livius did see the letter sent to him by the lord.
The content of the letter made him feel as if a big pie had fallen from the sky, and it just landed on top of his head...
There was a secret letter tied to that arrow.
The letter was written by Li Ang himself. It looked a bit sloppy. I guess I was nervous and urgent when I wrote it.
The letter expressed his admiration for Livius, and asked Livius if he still remembered the lord's kindness in letting him return to his country...
Li Ang said that he had been persecuted by King Ulrich and could no longer stay in Lion Territory, so he asked Bacchus Empire if he was willing to give him a chance.
To this end, he can join hands with Governor Livius to capture White Deer Fortress as a certificate of surrender to the Bacchus Empire, and hopes that the 'General Long River Town' rewarded by Emperor Marius is not just a lie.
In order to show sincerity, the lord is even willing to give Wheat Fragrance Territory to Livius first.
The most credible thing is that Li Ang said that he would go to the vicinity of Shield Wind Fortress on July 30 to interview Livius on how to attack White Deer Fortress.
Livius sighed while watching, feeling that the strategies of Emperor Marius and Justus were quite powerful.
I guess the letter from Emperor Marius worked?
Of course Livius knows that Emperor Marius is trying to harm Li Ang, and also knows that Governor Justus has sent many spies to spread rumors.
It seems that the effect of these strategies is very obvious...
According to the statement in the letter, plus the news from the spy, Li Ang was probably convicted by King Ulrich and finally escaped. He originally planned to rebel against the country and establish himself on his own in White Deer Fortress, but failed.
So now it is being attacked by White Deer Fortress's army.
Therefore, he wants to cooperate with the Bacchus Empire, join forces with the Bacchus Empire to attack White Deer Fortress, and give Wheat Fragrance Territory to Livius, and then he will occupy White Deer Fortress as a shelter.
Even the reason is made very clear, Bacchus Empire must get Wheat Fragrance Territory, and Li Ang himself can guarantee safety by being in White Deer Fortress.
Livius feels that if it is just a secret letter, then it is possible that Li Ang is deceiving.
But if Li Ang really comes here in person, it will be difficult to fake it. You can catch him first.
Besides, the way Li Ang sent people to deliver the letter was also very consistent with the situation - if this was a fake surrender, who would deliver the letter in such a way that could easily reveal secrets?
An arrow shot in, in such a hurry...
What if someone else sees it?
What if it is not delivered to Livius?
This obviously means that Li Ang's current situation is very dangerous, and it is too late to send an envoy to visit!
And July 30th is tomorrow.
So Livius sent troops to set up a temporary meeting place more than ten miles north of Shield Wind Fortress.
He doesn't want Li Ang to enter Shield Wind Fortress, just in case, what if this is still a scam?
The lord did not cheat. He only led dozens of people to the agreed meeting place and waved a white flag to ask to see Livius. He looked quite embarrassed, as if he had just experienced a battle.
"Lord Li Ang, I really didn't expect you to actually come..."
Livius feels that a pie has indeed fallen from the sky, and this is really the time to surrender.
"There is no way, Lionheart Kingdom is chasing me, and your Emperor Marius is not a good person... However, since you have banned me as 'General Long River Town', you can't break your promise!"
The lord took out the letter Emperor Marius and threw it to Livius.
"Now how do you plan to capture White Deer Fortress? How many troops does White Deer Fortress have?"
Of course Livius knew the contents of the letter, and most of his doubts were eliminated, and he began to ask directly about the plan.
"White Deer Fortress still has about three to four hundred people, but that's not important. As long as I lead my troops outside the city of White Deer Fortress, White Deer Fortress's troops will definitely chase me, and then White Deer Fortress will be an empty city! Governor Livius, it shouldn't be difficult for you to make an empty city, right?"
Li Ang shook his head and gritted his teeth as he spoke, looking like he really wanted to occupy White Deer Fortress.
Although this method is simple, it seems to be quite reliable based on the current situation.
However, Livius still said cautiously, "I don't have many troops at hand. Why don't I send people to Wheat Fragrance Territory first to make sure that White Deer Fortress has no reinforcements?"
Li Ang nodded in agreement. "Indeed, to block Lionheart Kingdom's reinforcements first, you'd better send more troops, and I will send someone to lead the way."
As soon as these words came out, Livius's doubts were gone - this would really turn White Deer Fortress into an isolated city. It seemed that Li Ang was really going to surrender to the empire this time.