Suffolk County Turmoil

Just then, a voice came from outside the tent. "Viscount, I'm back."

Victor immediately recognized the name Michael and said, "Michael, come in."

Michael quickly pulled back the curtain and came in.

"My lord, Baron Russell has already left, taking with him the private army that was released along with him."

"Give them all weapons!"

Victor had instructed Michael to remember to distribute some self-defense weapons to Baron Russell's private army when he saw him off.

This place is quite a distance from Huangqin's territory. Recently, Suffolk County has been in turmoil due to war. Many noble territories' private armies were led to war by their lords and were wiped out. This has led to many refugees attacking these noble territories to obtain supplies.

Originally, there were some unclaimed wastelands in the Eastern Region inhabited by some refugees who were contemptuously called savages. In the past, these people could only rely on the barren land for farming and had to endure the occasional raids by nobles with their troops.

These malnourished refugees without steel weapons, even if they gathered in groups of hundreds, could not deal with a dozen or so fully armed noble lords' standing troops.

However, many noble territories no longer have armies, especially the standing army, which was almost entirely wiped out during the war. These refugees saw an opportunity and gathered together to attack farms in many noble territories, further escalating the chaos in Suffolk County.

The number of refugees who obtained supplies and even people from the farms has further increased, reportedly reaching a scale of a thousand at its largest. If they were to encounter the newly released and unarmed Baron Russell and his private army, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Victor didn't want to be captured by the refugees right after releasing them, or his reputation among the duchy's nobles would be ruined.

However, Victor would not fully arm all the released noble private soldiers. At most, he would give a few men a spear and a longsword, enough for them to have some self-defense capabilities and protect Viscount Russell safely back home.

In fact, Victor originally did not intend to release these nobles so early, but the battle at Rotten Tree Beach was so fierce that the Southern Marching Legion suffered heavy losses and there were few people who could continue to fight.

Victor couldn't possibly take this small force south to Cornwall County. He would be facing at least four legions of enemies, including the southern nobles and the Duchy's Direct Legion. His only ally Ironvine Territory, had also been badly defeated and didn't have much strength to support him.

So Victor changed his original plan. He decided to obtain troops from these captured nobles, with each family sending between 500 and 1,000 men, which would amount to an army of men.

Then, by adding his original allies, such as Great Oak Territory, Blue Rose Territory, and Black Oil Pine Territory, he could assemble a large army, which would increase his forces to around 100 men, giving him the ability to intervene in the southern Cornwall County battlefield.

For this plan to be implemented, Victor had to keep an eye on Baron Russell's safety, so he questioned Michael very carefully.

Fortunately, Baron Russell was quite clever. Victor had reminded him to be careful, and Baron Russell was cautious when he left. He even selected a group of junior officers from the released private army to ensure that the troops still had a certain degree of organization.

At the same time, Baron Russell redistributed the weapons, formed different units, and the remaining soldiers went into the woods to find a batch of sticks to use as weapons.

After listening to Michael's introduction, Victor was quite impressed with Baron Russell. He was cautious and knew a bit about tactics, not the kind of good-for-nothing who was just a drunkard. Even the cuckoldry that Victor had previously thought of disappeared a little.

But how could such a rare and outstanding nobleman be captured by his army? It should be noted that the battlefield was chaotic at the time, and several nobles took advantage of the chaos to escape, and not all of them were captured by the Northern Alliance army.

"You've forgotten, Lord Victor. Baron Russell, like Young Master Totti of Red Hemp Territory, was captured in a naval battle. It's not so easy for them to escape at sea."

"That's right, I'm sorry, I might have forgotten!" But Michael's words reminded Victor, "We don't know where our fleet is. Sodoma and our fleet performed quite well this time. I hope he can bring the fleet back from the Northlands as soon as possible. I still have a lot of things that I need them to help send back to the Northlands."

Not to mention the supplies and wealth available for the army, the number of serfs alone, which is nearly 100,000, is unknown how many trips the fleet would have to make.

"Commander Sodoma will definitely return as soon as possible, Your Excellency, you don't need to worry."

Victor smiled at Michael's words of comfort and turned the page. He had other work to do, so he let Michael leave first.

The southward-bound army is now not far from Sunset City. Following a river, at a normal marching speed, it should take them about a day to arrive.

However, large armies always encounter various problems when marching, which slows down their marching speed, especially now that the Southern Marching Legion is carrying six figures of serfs and prisoners, which seriously hinders their marching speed.

Sometimes Victor wanted to take the main force to Sunset City to rest first, but in reality, it was not allowed. With six figures of serfs, it was barely enough to support even a small number of serfs on the march, relying on the Southern Marching Legion and the private army of Great Oak Territory.

Victor didn't want these serfs and prisoners to collapse due to insufficient guard; that would be terrible. Other things were one thing, but what if they turned into new refugees?

Such a large number of refugees would be unbearable for most baronies, let alone Suffolk County, which was in a state of desolation after the war. The entire Suffolk County might be ravaged and ruined by these serfs and prisoners.

So Victor simply slowed down the march, trying to be as safe as possible, and finally arrived at Sunset City on May 3.

Victor learned from Sunset City that the Coastal Defense Fleet of Great Oak Territory had already sailed upstream along the Blackwater River. Judging by the time, they should have already reached Golden Sunflower Territory, and the wounded, both lightly and heavily, who were left behind on Rotten Tree Beach had already arrived in the territory.

However, Victor could no longer concern himself with the affairs of the Golden Sunflower Territory. He handed over the army to four Regimental Commander and led his Guard Cavalry and Personal Guard to the Lord's Mansion in the Great Oak Territory.

Now that the army had returned to Great Oak Territory, there was no need to hide the news of Count Black's death. After Steward Magnus communicated with the heir Brando in advance, it was decided to hold a funeral for Count Black as soon as possible and complete the succession of the Count's title after the funeral, so as not to affect Victor's southern expedition.

When Victor learned of this, he could not turn a blind eye. Moreover, the news had just spread and some dissent had arisen within the Great Oak Territory. Victor decided to fulfill his duty and protect Brando, the heir to the Great Oak Territory, in his inheritance of the Count's title.

When Victor arrived at the Lord's Mansion Sunset City, he found that a large number of people had already gathered there, including civil officials and soldiers, who were probably all retainers of the Great Oak Territory and members of the Great Oak Family.

They also noticed Victor, who had arrived with an elite army. As for Victor's identity, everyone recognized him as the Viscount Golden Sunflower, who had swept through the eastern Coalition of Nobles, based on the military flag embroidered with the Golden Sunflower Crest.

Victor moved directly into the manor, where he stayed with Brando alongside Steward Magnus, while his Personal Guard was stationed outside the manor.

Upon seeing Victor's arrival and the entry of this elite force into the manor, some people who had harbored ulterior motives immediately backed down. However, some people remained indifferent, especially several members of the Great Oak Family.

Soon these people began to gather together, knowing that Victor had come to preside over the funeral of Count Black and the ceremony for Brando the Count.

But they didn't want Brando to inherit the title. After all, each of them had the blood of the Great Oak Family and the right to inherit the Great Oak Territory. Originally, when Count Black was alive, they really didn't have much of a chance, but now it's different. The Old Count is dead, and the only direct descendant left is a child who is only 7 years old.

Moreover, these people also held considerable power, which they had to relinquish after Count Black's defeat in the Civil War.

But after Brando inherited the Count's title, they couldn't guarantee that they would retain these powers. It would be a great pity if Brando back, so they had to find a way to stop it.