The Count Sends Troops

A day later, the Great Oak Territory Army, which had already assembled, was gathering at the dock Sunset City to board ships.

Count Black led only three battalions on this expedition, which was only 30% of the total army of the Great Oak Territory.

Looking at it this way, it seems that the army of Great Oak Territory is far smaller than that of Iron Birch Territory, with only about 10,000 men.

However, the border defense pressure on the nobility in the interior was not great, and no one was willing to build too many armies.

Although Great Oak Territory has maintained a sizable naval fleet for many years in order to deal with the invading fleet of the East Sea Alliance.

This is a fleet with nearly a hundred ships of various sizes and a total force of 1,000 men, but not all of them belong to Great Oak Territory. Great Oak Territory owns two-thirds of the ships and troops.

This naval fleet was established under the Great Oak Territory. The coastal nobles of Suffolk County and Cambridge County in the east had coastlines and formed this fleet together with the Count Black in order to defend their own territories.

Logically, such offensive forces should be directly under the directly subordinate to the Duchy, but the cost of investing in the navy is too high. Building a three-masted sailing ship of several hundred tons suitable for sea navigation would cost at least a thousand gold coins, which the Silver Maple Ducal House has never been willing to bear.

However, in order to defend against enemies from the sea, the noble territories along the eastern coast needed to have such a fleet. After many years of discussion and research, the ducal Noble Council finally passed the right for the eastern nobles to form their own fleets 30 years ago.

At that time, the East Sea Alliance fleet was constantly invading the Eastern Region, forcing these people to form their own fleet. It was during this period that the Golden Sunflower Family developed through battles with the East Sea Alliance invading forces.

The initiator of the fleet at that time was the current Earl Great Oak, who has served as the admiral of the fleet for thirty years.

However, from the very beginning of its establishment, this fleet had a major shortcoming. In order to limit this navy, which did not belong to the Ducal House, the Grand Duke Silver Maple required that the largest ships not exceed 300 tons.

This restriction severely impacted the fleet's combat effectiveness. Although it was capable of fighting against the East Sea Alliance Navy, it lacked offensive capabilities.

Although the fleet of the Northern Iron Birch Territory is only one-third the size of this fleet, the ships are generally larger than those of the Eastern Navy. In particular, the largest three-masted sailing ship of the Eastern Navy, which is also the fleet flagship, is only 300 tons, but the largest ship of the Iron Birch Territory fleet has reached 600 tons.

In Victor's view, this is the evolution from the Clark sailing ship to the galleon.

Count Black also valued this naval force highly, and even during the Civil War, he did not allow this naval fleet to participate in the war.

However, this also allowed the Great Oak Family to monopolize the duchy's maritime trade for nearly 20 years, until Iron Birch Territory established an ocean-going fleet, which changed the situation.

Besides preserving his family's legacy, Count Black's motivation for waging Civil War was also to remove the restrictions on the fleet, as he had come to deeply understand the lucrative profits of maritime trade.

According to the generally accepted view within the Duchy, before the civil Civil War, the three major Count within the Duchy, excluding Iron Birch Territory, far surpassed these three in both area and population, and could be considered Marquis even in the two great kingdoms. Among these three territories, Great Oak Territory was the most prosperous.

During his visit to Count Black, Victor also estimated through Number One the data collected on the Great Oak Territory that, with an area of nearly 5,000 square kilometers and a population of around 400,000, the Great Oak Territory's developed commerce, handicrafts, and shipping industries were fully capable of supporting at least a full-strength legion, or even more.

However, Count Black was too old. Even when Victor asked him why he didn't expand the army, Count Black brushed it off by saying he was too old and lacked the energy. As for the real reason, no one knew except Count Black himself.

After the troops had boarded the ship, Count Black joined them. The steward on the shore, along with Brando, watched the Count and his army depart into the distance.

"Grandpa will surely return safely, won't he?"

"Of course, Young Master Brando, we should go home. The master said that even if he is not here, your classes cannot be delayed."

"Yes, Steward Moben."

At this moment, Count Black, who was standing at the stern of the ship, was watching the Sunset City gradually disappear into the distance when an officer walked over.

"Count Lord, this time we have only deployed three battalions, which may not be enough to suppress the private armies of the nobles in Boler County."

There are 18 independent noble families in Boler County. In the past two years, due to the Civil War, they have all begun to expand their armies. These noble families alone can mobilize an army of at least 20,000 men.

Especially those three viscount families, each capable of contributing two to three thousand men. If they were to leave independently, would it affect the plan to coordinate with Viscount Golden Sunflower for defense?

"Yellen, I intend to let them go alone. Besides, I have already set a time limit. I estimate that no more than 12 families will be able to participate in this battle. After all, the Golden Sunflower Family has a deep foundation in the East. Even if some families come, they will only send some Serf Soldiers to make up the numbers."

Besides, I also want to see what Victor is capable of. After all, seeing is believing. If he still can't pass this test after all this, I wouldn't dare to hand Brando over to him.

Yellen, you can also take this opportunity to see what kind of person this Viscount Golden Sunflower is. After all, if he successfully gets through this, you'll be fighting alongside him starting next spring."

Knight Yellen quickly knelt on one knee. "Count Excellency, you promoted me and gave me the opportunity to prove my abilities. I will not obey anyone else's orders except yours!"

Count Black smiled as he looked at the officer, whom he had personally trained. "Yellen, don't you want to become an independent nobleman? Next year's civil Civil War will be the best opportunity. Besides, does that mean you won't even obey Brando's orders after I'm dead?"

Upon hearing Count Black's words, Yellen immediately broke out in a cold sweat. "No, Count Excellency, I didn't..."

Count Black bent down slightly and patted Yellen on the shoulder. "I know you don't mean it that way, but Yellen, I'm old, you're still young and don't have a noble status, and Brando too young. I know you're not comfortable with me handing over Brando and the army of Great Oak Territory to outsiders."

But nothing in this world is perfect. Adults have to make choices. I hope you can take a good look at Victor Golden Sunflower this time and help me judge whether he is the right person for me.

If so, I hope that after my death you will wholeheartedly assist him, and I will recommend you to him, both for your own sake and for the sake of Brando and the Great Oak Family."

"I understand, Count Excellency. Yellen will not fail in his trust!"