Old News

Victor was somewhat surprised by the implication in Vitri's words. Raine Kingdom overthrowing the Silver Maple Family's rule over the Grand Duchy didn't make sense, as Raine Kingdom had no significant stake in the Grand Duchy of Vera.

Although the two were considered neighboring countries, they were separated by the Tears of God, a massive inland sea. This vast inland sea stretched from the northern to the central parts of the continent, covering over 6 million square kilometers, directly cleaving the eastern and central parts of the continent. It also had peculiar weather patterns, and its waters were filled with undercurrents. Trade was the primary interaction between the eastern and western shores.

In contrast, Raine Kingdom was more inclined to expand into the chaotic lands in the central and southern parts of the continent. This region was vast and lacked strong political entities, consisting mostly of duchies and powerful independent nobles who were constantly at each other's throats. However, they were united against external enemies. Coupled with the pressure from the Fas Kingdom to the west and the Barbarians of the Skyline Grassland to the north, Raine Kingdom's southward expansion had been slow.

Therefore, Victor didn't understand the point of Raine Kingdom stirring up trouble in the Grand Duchy of Vera now. It wasn't their direction of expansion, nor did they have any deep-seated hatred.

Vitri seemed to sense Victor's hesitation and questions, and directly addressed him, "Victor, you are a well-read person. You should know the reason for the Grand Duchy of Vera's independence, shouldn't you?"

"Wasn't it because the East Sea Alliance turned a blind eye to the nobles fighting the Barbarians in the north, enjoying the fruits of their bloody battles without being willing to pay the price?"

Vitri smiled, "Indeed. But why did the East Sea Alliance move north? You know, the Barbarians occasionally raided south back then, but as long as a few key strategic points were held, their attacks could be firmly blocked."

Victor wasn't particularly surprised by this. While the danger of Barbarian incursions could be prevented at a lower cost, the East Sea Alliance's situation at the time forced them to expand northward. He had meticulously studied this history and was well aware of the underlying reasons.

At that time, the East Sea Alliance was a nation led by a council of nobles, without a monarch to command everything. All matters were coordinated and handled through joint deliberation by the nobles. It was divided into an upper and a lower council. The upper council consisted of representatives from eight nobles of Marquis rank or higher, while the lower council comprised over 200 minor nobles. Normally, the upper council would propose resolutions, and if half of the lower council approved, the alliance could execute the resolution. If the lower council passed a resolution with a two-thirds majority, they could directly veto the upper council's resolution. The mutual checks and balances between the upper and lower councils indeed played a significant role.

The East Sea Alliance had three expansion directions: northward to fight the Barbarians and claim land; eastward across the Silver Moon Strait to attack the Scorching Sun Islands; and southward to attack the chaotic lands formed by numerous duchies in the central and southern parts of the continent. To the west lay the inland sea, Tears of God, offering virtually no possibility for expansion.

The East Sea Alliance itself was a coastal nation with a strong navy. However, the Xister Kingdom, which dominated the Scorching Sun Islands, despite having a small population and limited territory, managed to firmly repel the East Sea Alliance's probing attacks using its home advantage.

The duchies near the East Sea Alliance in the chaotic lands responded swiftly to the alliance's probes. As soon as the East Sea Alliance made any moves, they would quickly cease their internal disputes and unite to resist.

Although the chaotic lands were in disarray, trade was prosperous, and the land was fertile. Due to frequent wars, the various small states were not weak. The East Sea Alliance once dispatched two legions to raid the border fortress of one of the duchies. They were blocked immediately and subsequently surrounded by the forces of that duchy, resulting in the annihilation of both legions. At that time, the contemporary Marquis of the Papyrus Family, one of the eight families in the upper council who led this military operation, also perished.

With difficulties on both the southeast and southern fronts, the East Sea Alliance was forced to expand northward. Led by the Silver Maple Family, one of the eight families in the upper council, they began a fifty-year northward war.

Initially, many nobles in the East Sea Alliance were united in purpose. Over thirty years, they expanded northward by over 200,000 square kilometers, completely occupying both banks of the Blackwater River and stabilizing the territory on the north bank. This comprised parts of the western, central, and eastern regions of the present-day Grand Duchy of Vera.

However, it was later discovered that most of the benefits were reaped by the northern nobles of the East Sea Alliance, while other nobles merely got to "drink the soup." Gradually, other nobles became less enthusiastic about participating in the northward war, and fierce conflicts erupted within the upper council. The Silver Maple Family was forced to abandon their ancestral lands and transfer all their forces to the newly occupied territories, which were then the Grand Duchy's directly administered counties.

Other surrounding countries, including the Xister Kingdom, the duchies of the chaotic lands, and the Raine Kingdom across the sea, were intimidated by the East Sea Alliance's northward territorial expansion. They intervened to delay the alliance's northward push and attempted to sow discord within the alliance.

This continued until the fiftieth year of the northward war. The conflict between the northern nobles and the internal factions of the alliance grew increasingly severe. Ultimately, led by the Silver Maple Family, over fifty nobles seceded from the East Sea Alliance, establishing the later Grand Duchy of Vera.

This led to the complete failure of the East Sea Alliance's fifty-year northward strategy, losing almost all the land they had claimed. Although they compensated for some of the losses by accepting the original territories of the seceding nobles, it was still unacceptable to the East Sea Alliance. Therefore, the East Sea Alliance organized a punitive expedition of 10 legions to attack the Grand Duchy of Vera.

The Grand Duchy of Vera, at that time, only covered 200,000 square kilometers with a population of several million. Facing the East Sea Alliance's punitive army, they resisted with great difficulty. Fortunately, various external powers were hindering the East Sea Alliance. The Grand Duchy of Vera, with the advantage of its battle-hardened army, managed to repeatedly defeat half of the punitive forces by prolonging the battle lines and counter-attacking. They even launched counter-offensives into East Sea Alliance territory, conquering the territories of over a dozen nobles.

Ultimately, mediated by the surrounding countries, the East Sea Alliance grudgingly recognized the Grand Duchy of Vera, but the deep-seated hatred between them was cemented. The Grand Duchy of Vera had been established for less than 80 years, yet major wars erupted between them every few years.

This also firmly tied the Grand Duchy of Vera's most powerful southern noble coalition to the southern counties, indirectly leading to Grand Duke Mora's disadvantage in the early stages of the war.

Victor sorted through this history and said to Vitri, "The reasons back then were no secret, but the situation now is different from then. Compared to the Silver Maple Family and the nobles who supported them back then, Count Colt and the Northern Noble Coalition are far less powerful."

Vitri smiled and said, "Of course. However, we don't want the Iron Birch Family to become the new Grand Duke, nor do they wish to dominate the Duchy. They simply want to advance further and find more support for their northward expansion."

Victor was suddenly startled, "Has the Raine Kingdom found a safe shipping route across the inland sea?"