Hidden Pawn? Inside Man?

"The Central nobles, it seems they've been having a tough time lately."

Alex asked curiously, "What do you mean by that?"

Victor continued to tell Alex what he had found out that morning.

After listening, Alex laughed heartily, "I know that the governor of Blackwater City should be Pelei Pelle Red Maple, Court Noble Ducal House. He was appointed by Mora after the Civil War."

I heard he was originally Mora's servant, and I thought he was just a sycophantic scoundrel, but it turns out he actually has some ability; he just doesn't use it for good.

Victor nodded. "That's true. But this guy shouldn't be easy to deal with. Although he's a despicable person, he's also stockpiled a lot of food for Mora."

"We need to pay attention to this matter. I'll see if I can arrange for our spies in the city to handle it. If not, we can create some kind of accident."

"We can try other methods. Since this Viscount Pele is so greedy, is there any way to buy a batch of cheap grain from him and send it to Iron Birch's territory in Boler County? That way, if we march south to attack Blackwater City, we can save the trouble of procuring grain from the Three Counties of the Northern Frontier in advance."

"That makes sense. I'll try to get in touch with someone. It just so happens that some of the grain traders who are speculating on grain prices are partners of the Chamber of Commerce."

"Alex, I'm still a little worried. Such a large-scale reduction in grain production in the Central Region may affect other parts of the duchy. After all, the Western Three Counties suffered from the war and are still recovering. When we march south, we need to consider not only the army's food supplies but also the grain reserves in the occupied territories."

"You have considered things very thoroughly. The grain trade in the Three Counties of the Northern Frontier is not very developed. Everyone prefers to be self-sufficient. Every time my father conscripts an army, each noble family prepares its own food supplies. If we are to fight this time, relying solely on self-prepared food supplies may not be enough."

"There's one more thing I need to trouble you with. There are quite a few refugees in Blackwater City. Do you have any way to get them to Golden Sunflower Territory in Boler County? It would be such a waste if these people just hang around like this and don't survive the winter."

Alex thought for a moment, "Okay, the merchant guild also deals in slaves. I'll arrange for someone to handle it together. But Victor, you really don't discriminate. I remember you still owe me a lot of food, right? You've brought in so many refugees this time, at least several thousand. Can you afford to feed them?"

Victor chuckled and patted Alex on the shoulder, "Isn't there you? Prepare some more wheat and send it over with us. Anyway, your family is so big, you won't be short of this little bit of stuff. You can pay me back with the profits from the flour later."

"By the way, we also need to keep an eye on the Third Legion, at least I suggest paying close attention to the Third Regiment under Viscount Taros."

"Don't worry, this Viscount Taros shouldn't be an obstacle for us."

Victor narrowed his eyes. "Is this also a spy you planted?"

"How could that be? A viscount of an independent noble family, how could he be a spy? He should be considered a potential collaborator. I got a lot of information from him."

"So, if we lead our troops to the gates of Blackwater City, wouldn't we be able to use him as an inside agent?"

Alex stroked his chin. "That depends on his choice. He himself doesn't really want to be an inside man."

However, I don't think it's a big problem. Even without his help, we can still take Blackwater City.

"It's good to reduce casualties. His troops are quite strong. Actually, I'm a little curious. During the Civil War, didn't you focus on eliminating officers of your direct corps? You killed quite a few Regimental Commander, right? How come this Regimental Commander and his troops didn't suffer any losses?"

"How could that be? We treat everyone equally, okay? It's just that Viscount Taros's luck is a mixed bag."

"Back then, your family was always with Grand Duke Jola's main force, right? Do you remember how Grand Duke Jola annihilated three of Mora's legions in the Western Three Counties?"

"Of course, I also participated in the war at that time, and my first kill on the battlefield was in that battle."

"At that time, Grand Duke Jola left half a legion in the Western Three Counties to suppress Western Three Counties, and Viscount Taros was in charge of leading that force, which just happened to avoid our advance."

"I see. I really didn't know about these things. Back then, I was serving in the Light Cavalry battalion of the Eastern Noble Legion with the Golden Sunflower Territory cavalry."

However, it seems this Viscount Taros was very lucky; he survived the Civil War and his military rank wasn't completely demoted. Is Mora really that easy to talk to?

"I already mentioned that Viscount Taros's family has served in the Duchy Army for many years and has a good network of connections within the military. In addition, they paid a lot of money to keep his position, but he was demoted from Legion Deputy Commander to Regimental Commander and was assigned to the Reconstruction Legion."

His family's territory suffered heavy losses. The Honeysuckle family's territory was already poorly managed, and to raise funds for fines, they sold off many serfs, severely weakening them.

Suddenly Alex clapped his hands. "That's right, I know why you said his troops are strong. I have intelligence. His territory is in financial difficulty, but he is unwilling to disband his private army. He has stuffed them all into his own troops. Those veterans you saw should all be his family's private army."

At this moment, Victor seemed to have thought of something, "Honeysuckle family, I seem to remember them, aren't they the branch family of the Honeysuckle Territory in the western Ent County?"

"It seems you've learned heraldry quite well, Victor. Not bad. But it's not appropriate to call them a branch family. They haven't split up and have always claimed to be the legitimate ones."

"That can't be right. The Honeysuckle family has always been Count, while the Honeysuckle family is a viscount. How dare they compete with the Count for legitimacy?"

"I'm not too clear about that history, but the two families were indeed once one, but they have completely turned against each other."

To counter the Honeysuckle Count's family, the Honeysuckle family has relied on military service and the power of the duchy's military to barely avoid being suppressed.

During the Civil War, Taros led his troops to suppress the Western Three Counties in order to take the opportunity to retaliate against the Honeysuckle family.

But who would have thought that karma would come so quickly? Jorah was killed in battle, and the Honeysuckle family, because they helped Jorah, saw their influence in the Duchy's military greatly diminished, and now their territory has suffered heavy losses. It's possible that Count Sibeth Honeysuckle will soon take action against them.

Victor had never been interested in the infighting among these nobles, but he understood what Alex meant: the Honeysuckle family was in a bad situation, they didn't have many options, and there was a high possibility of turning them against their cause.