Returning to Blackwater City

Alex also remembered something. "No wonder Count Laou Allen took the initiative to stop the delegation and told my father to hold on and wait for the right opportunity. It turns out that the Ryan Navy will definitely participate in the war, but it will take time."

Baron Rossi nodded. "Count Laou Allen Beech was a retainer of the King during his time as a prince, and he spearheaded the naval reforms. If it weren't for his relatively short tenure, he would have been the commander of the Kingdom Navy long ago. Even so, the First Fleet is the strongest of the Kingdom Navy's six fleets, with its ships accounting for a quarter of the entire navy."

Hearing this, Alex slapped his thigh and said, "It's a pity that the navy can't go ashore. Otherwise, they could have opened up a battlefield in Fude County and directly attacked Grand Duke Mora's backside."

Victor nodded in agreement, but inwardly thought that Alex was becoming more and more like a traditional Northern Frontier nobles, and all his original elegant manners had disappeared.

But Baron Rossi shook his head. "In order to capture important coastal ports in the southern part of the Tears of God, the Kingdom Navy has also established a very powerful Marine Legion with a total size of more than 30,000 men. Although this force has few Cavalry, it is powerful and has made great achievements in the southward advance. If they can send this force, sweeping through one or two counties in the west should not be a problem."

Alex said happily, "This is really good news. If the Kingdom Navy can send this force, it will definitely help us. They can open a second front in the Western Three Counties and attract the Duchy's forces. At the very least, the private armies of the nobles in the Western Three Counties will not be able to move."

"It's not that easy!" Victor interrupted Alex's rosy reverie.

"The Raine Kingdom Navy only has this one naval legion. Given the current Political Situation within the Raine Kingdom, the army legion cannot be relied upon in the short term. Relying solely on the navy, I don't think the navy can use the entire legion on the battlefield of the duchy. If only half of it comes, suppressing the nobles of Fude County might not be a big problem, but if the private armies of the nobles of Ent County join in, it's hard to say."

During the Civil War, the nobles of the western regions fielded two legions. Even if they suffered heavy losses then, they could have replenished most of their forces now. Fighting on their home turf, they could muster even more troops. Even with just two legions, the Kingdom Navy's Marine Legion might be driven back into the sea.

"That is indeed a possibility." Alex understood the truth Victor was referring to.

Baron Rossi asked curiously, "How many noble families are there in the Western Three Counties that they are able to mobilize so many troops?"

Alex explained to him, "There are two noble counties and one directly subordinate to the Duchy the duchy in the Western Three Counties. In fact, the only truly independent nobles exist in Fude County and Ent County. Strath County is directly under the duchy. I remember my teacher said when I was taking heraldry class that there were only 31 noble families in the two western counties combined. Well, now there should only be 30 left."

There are 22 baronies, 6 viscounties, Count 2 earls, with the Count Lagos Anise being promoted by Mora after the Civil War.

Rossi sighed upon hearing this, "Speaking of which, the strength of the nobles in the duchy is clearly much stronger than that of our kingdom. As for the great nobles of the kingdom, I can't say much, since our family is only a baron and we really can't see their full strength."

Take our Oleander family as an example. Our barony is only a little over 100 square kilometers in area, with a total population of just over 5,000. The standing army in our territory is only a little over 100 people, and with Auxiliary Troops, it doesn't exceed 500 people. This is because we, as a border noble family, came here to resist invasion and militarism.

However, in the few days I've been in the duchy, I've found that the duchy's land development is not bad, but in terms of the strength of the nobility alone, a baron in the duchy is probably about the same as a viscount in our kingdom.

There are many independent nobles in our kingdom; in the Wos Province alone, there are nearly 300 noble territories.

"You should know that one-third of the land in the Wos Province is in the Duke Wiske, and the Royal Domain directly governs one-fifth of the land. Only after that is this land divided equally among our 300 noble families."

"What is the area of Wos Province?" Victor asked curiously.

"I remember it should be 380,000 square kilometers."

"In other words, the remaining 200,000 square kilometers of land will be allocated to the 300 independent noble families. Then I can understand why you can't fight against Duke Wiske even if you unite. The difference in strength is too great."

Alex understood what was going on and said to the two of them, "This is quite normal. The Raine Kingdom has been established for over six hundred years and has not expanded for many years, so the number of nobles must have increased considerably."

However, the kingdom's territory is limited, and the land owned by individual noble families will inevitably decrease. In this regard, large noble families are better able to cope with this situation than small noble families. Therefore, large noble families are becoming stronger and stronger, while small noble families are naturally becoming weaker and weaker.

As for our Grand Duchy of Vera, it has only been established for a little over a hundred years. During these hundred years, we have been expanding our territory, advancing northward from the Blackwater River all the way to the Great Fish River. The area of our territory has more than doubled, and the number of noble families has also just doubled.

Each noble family was fairly powerful. The Barony of Woven Fern was already among the weakest; a typical baronship had a standing army of at least 200, and could mobilize over 500 troops. A baronship like Victor's Golden Sunflower Territory, exceeding this standard, had a standing army of 500 and could muster over 1000 troops.

Victor sighed. "Every country has its own specific circumstances. The Duchy is still in a state of expansion. If it weren't for the fact that the Grand Duke Silver Maple have been suppressing the Northern Frontier nobles, the Count Colt and the Northern Frontier nobles might not have been willing to raise an army."

Alex nodded. "Yes, thanks to the reality of the Duchy, the difference in troop strength between our two sides is not that great now. We decided to raise an army precisely because we saw the possibility of success on our own."

As for the kingdom's help, it would be great if we had it, but it wouldn't affect us too much if we didn't.

"Baron Rossi, thank you for the information. When I return, I will introduce you to my father. My father is a generous man; you will surely receive a reward that will satisfy you!"

Victor looked up at the sky; the sun was almost at the horizon. He clapped his hands. "Alright, Alex, it's dinner time. Let's go eat."

Afterwards, the group returned to their cabin for dinner.

At 8 a. m. the next morning, they finally arrived in Blackwater City.

Victor and Alex stood at the bow of the ship, looking towards Blackwater City.

"Victor, you can go and explore the city. I'm going to the Chamber of Commerce. We'll meet back at the ship around noon."

"Is there no problem, Alex? Blackwater City has Duchy's Direct Legion."

"I have guards with me, and Blackwater City feels like home to me, it's very safe, so you don't need to worry."