Pressure

"Yes, Father, this time the Duchy's legions are all heading north, whether it is the Third and Seventh Legions or the Sixth Legion stationed in the west."

"Do you think we should send troops to support Count Colt?"

Lenster asked his father for advice. He felt strange after receiving the letter. The information sent by the Iron Birch Territory did not make any other requests. It seemed that it was just informing the Iron Vine Family about this matter.

"There's no need. Since Iron Birch didn't ask us to do anything, there's no need for us to do anything unnecessary."

Count Colt was always very rational; he knew that as long as our family remained in existence, we could tie down most of the military forces in the Southern Four Counties.

We're facing three Noble Legions and one Duchy's Direct Legion; even if we wanted to, we couldn't move an inch.

Count Lloyd said with a wry smile.

Although Count Lloyd always appeared confident, who could know the extent of his psychological pressure?

Once winter is over, an army of over 100,000 men from the north and south will be pressing in. The entire Iron Vine Family, including its vassals, is less than a legion.

Even during this period, when Lenster reorganized his army, he only managed to build two new regiments totaling less than 9,000 men, one of which consisted of low-combat-capability Serf Soldiers.

The enemy outnumbered them two or even three times over. Even with the advantage of terrain, how long could they hold out? Even Count Lloyd was unsure.

It can only be said that the Iron Vine Family, having lost the support of the Cornwall County nobles, has gone from a powerful family that dominated the Southern Four Counties and could stir up trouble throughout the duchy to a local tyrant.

Thinking of this, Count Lloyd could only sigh. The final fate of the Iron Vine Family could only be decided after the two sides had determined the victor.

Count Lloyd looked at the anxious Lenster and said, "Lenster, you have done a good job. During this time, you have been in charge of both military and political affairs. You have also been managing the civil service system of the territory. The entire territory has been managed in an orderly manner."

Both Kadok and Ferry are praising your performance in this war. You are truly outstanding. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. You still have me as your father.

From now on, your regiment will serve as your personal guard. You can allocate resources from your territory to them to make them stronger and more loyal to you.

If one day the Iron Vine Family suffers misfortune, having such a force by your side might offer a glimmer of hope.

"Father!"

Count Lloyd stood up abruptly, pulled Lenster up, and held his head in his hands, saying in a very serious tone, "Alright, Lenster, now we just need to do what we should do. The territory hasn't been restored yet, so let's make sure it is restored properly."

With enemy troops lurking on the border, we must remain vigilant and prepare to meet them.

Lenster paused for a moment, but then nodded firmly to Count Lloyd.

"I understand, Father."

"Okay, it's getting late, let's get some rest!"

"Okay, Father, you should get some rest too."

Lenster left the study, leaving Count Lloyd alone in the room.

Count Lloyd stood silently for a moment, then sighed heavily, "Whether the Iron Vine Family can overcome this hurdle depends on fate!"

The Two Rivers Territory of the Northlands, Wood Fort Town.

Victor received a letter from Count Colt, which signaled that the Civil War was about to begin.

He clutched the letter tightly in his hand and walked to the window.

Victor pushed open the wooden window. The view outside was still a world of silver and white, but when he stretched his hand out the window, he could clearly feel that the temperature had risen considerably, the snow on the ground had begun to melt, and the roads in the town had become noticeably muddy.

Victor rang the bell, and soon someone pushed the door open and came in.

"My lord, what are your orders?"

Victor looked up at the person who had come in. "It's Lynn, you're on duty! Send the word that all unit commanders must come to the General Staff for a meeting this afternoon, without delay."

"Yes, sir."

Lynn closed the door immediately, and soon Victor heard him leaving again. This time, although Lynn left in a hurry, he didn't run like before, which seemed to make him more composed than before.

In the afternoon, the General Staff building was noticeably busier, with people coming and going.

Marvin arrived on horseback with several of his men. After they dismounted, the horses were led away by the guards.

Perhaps because they arrived in a hurry, the hems of Marvin's clothes were splattered with mud from the road. Marvin immediately asked a guard for a bucket of water and led his men to clean up the mess.

Marvin came from the private army of the Iron Birch. The officers of the private armies of the old aristocracy all considered themselves quasi-aristocrats and paid great attention to their personal image, and Marvin was no exception.

Just then, another group of people entered the General Staff building.

Marvin noticed that James was in the center of the group, and he immediately stood up straight and bowed to James.

James quickly returned the greeting, "Marvin, you're too kind. Victor already said that everything in the military camp should be kept simple."

Although James and Marvin were both Regimental Commander of the same rank, James was a formal independent nobleman, Marvin would always bow very formally whenever they met, which made James a little uncomfortable.

After listening to James's words, Marvin simply nodded without saying anything else. James knew that Marvin was neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

"Fine, do whatever you want."

After receiving Victor's message, I immediately rushed over from my territory.

"So, do you know what's so urgent?"

Marvin shook his head, then nodded, a gesture that gave James a headache. This guy always spoke in half-truths, sometimes not saying anything at all.

"You mean, you don't know what happened, but you can roughly guess why?"

Fortunately, James and Marvin have a good relationship and have worked together for a while, so they can roughly grasp the situation.

"The reason why the lord has summoned all officers of the platoon level and above is only one: the Civil War is about to begin!"

"Hiss, you mean we're about to set off? No, the ice on the shipping lanes hasn't completely melted yet, and the Iron Birch fleet hasn't arrived. We probably can't head south, can we? We can't possibly go by land."

"I don't know either, but since the Viscount has summoned us, it means he must have a way."

Marvin had great respect for Victor and believed he must have a solution.

James thought Marvin's words made sense, since Victor always managed to solve problems.

The two entered the conference room together. The conference room was already full of people, including Santos and Ron, who were both Regimental Commander, as well as two important officers such as Jack and Jackson, and Sodoma and Blox from the fleet, who were already seated.

Marvin and James quickly found their seats and sat down with their subordinates.

A few minutes later, Baron Brown and Marcus accompanied Victor into the conference room.

Victor led the group to sit down. After looking around and confirming that most people had arrived, he signaled to Saruman to announce the start of the meeting.