"----I like the neatly arranged spearmen advancing together, stabbing the enemy soldiers on the opposite side until they bleed and fall to the ground wailing!
I like the newly equipped cavalry to lead the charge, crushing those idiots who dare to use their bodies to intercept, and making them unable to get up again!
When they see my flag, they will be terrified!"
Earl's voice was cadenced and breathless.
"Knights of the House----"
Titus's eyes swept across the group of middle-level officers in the audience. Everyone felt that Master Earl on the stage was looking at them, and they couldn't help but raise their chests and raise their heads.
"----You must have learned from your commanders that you will soon have your own regiment, your own number, and your own regiment flag!"
He paused and then added a wave of incitement, "Do you want the new military flag to become a trophy of the enemy and be trampled under their feet?
Or should it become a nightmare for its enemies, causing everyone who sees it to tremble and dare not look directly at it?
Look me in the eyes and answer me!"
"Make it a nightmare for your enemies!"
After all, Rosso·Brune came from the mountains and had seen too few tricks. He was the first to respond and shout loudly, and he looked completely excited.
The speaker on the stage was a little speechless, but the feedback from the audience was indeed very good, and it was a mistake.
The officers surrounding the stands could no longer suppress the excitement in their hearts and shouted in unison with Captain Rosso. The sound was deafening, like a flash flood.
Their eyes became fanatical and determined, as if something was completely erupting at this moment.
"Good! Very energetic!"
Titus responded with praise and continued his speech, "Everyone, I look forward to the war, and even more to the victory of the war!
Let us take up arms, rush to the battlefield, and repay the tragedy that happened in Dornish Marches twice on those damn bandits, and repay twice as much on the Dorne enemies on the other side of Chishan!"
The emotion in the audience has reached its extreme. Every centurion is excited, and many people roar in response.
When Titus saw this, he felt that he was almost done. He straightened his right arm suddenly, raised it forward, and shouted, "Victory!"
"Loyal!"
The corps commanders were the first to react. The four knights raised their hands at the same time, pointed the little finger of their right fists inward, and struck heavily on the left side of their chests.
The knights behind him followed closely, and the sound of tapping gradually converged into a dull and powerful hammering sound that resounded throughout the square.
"Loyalty! Sincerity!-
"Loyalty" over and over again echoed in front of Starpike, declaring their absolute loyalty to Starpike Earl, and also heralding the official start of the battle of revenge.
The ceremony is over.
Titus put down his arms and his face returned to calm.
He said no more, turned around sharply, and walked off the platform.
At the top of the stairs under the high platform, Captain Wenda had already been waiting there. Deep in his right eye, with an unconcealable smile, he was waiting for her Master Earl.
The sun shines through the clouds and falls on the metal surface of Titus's new military ceremonial uniform. It reflects the dazzling light and illuminates countless faces full of fighting spirit on the square.
Titus led the guard captain back to Main Keep. What he was thinking in his heart was:
Chaos as a ladder?
No, war caused by chaos is.
And gentlemen, I happen to really like war.
The signs of war are slowly emerging.
After receiving the assembly order from the guardian of Titus, the lords of Dornish Marches were busy counting their men and horses, raising food and fodder, and were preparing to rush to the territory of Nightsong to join the army.
Starpike Earl's four major corps are also completing their final reorganization in full swing.
Behind these preparations, Starpike quietly laid out another chess game.
Titus, who believes in "Next to the velvet bed, will not allow others to have a sound sleep", released a smoke bomb - he will first deal with the barbarians outside his home.
If the Dorne nobles on the opposite side are not vigilant enough, these deception methods will succeed, making them mistakenly think that this new--
The rising young Earl is just picking on the weaklings.
The first move fell on the clan tribe of the Red Mountains.
Titus, in the name of the supreme ruler of the six cities, issued a bloody reward order to the entire territory under his actual control.
This policy, which the Reach Dornish Marches people privately called the "Headhunting Order," was like a huge stone rolling into the originally calm lake, instantly causing waves in the territory represented by the six castles.
In all major villages and settlements, there are dedicated people sent out to read out loud.
The decree clearly stipulates:
Anyone who can capture the head of the Red Mountains, a young and strong male native, can use the red head to go to any castle in the Six Cities territory in exchange for a bounty.
Each head is worth one gold coin.
The generous remuneration is enough to make any civilian's heart flutter.
The indigenous people of the Red Mountains live deep on the mountain ridge plateau all year round. Because of the terrain and sunshine, the faces of the tribal people are generally flushed, and they will braid their hair in some kind of traditional way.
This has become their most distinctive logo, and also makes the goal of "headhunting" extremely clear.
Titus's decree even included detailed identification instructions, and even the unique hair accessories and earring styles of the indigenous people were clearly marked, for fear that someone would use the heads of old, weak, women, children, or other places to claim gold coins.
The purpose of this decree is obvious. It is not only to weaken the effective strength of the Red Mountains indigenous people through the hands of the people in the territory, but also to inspire the brave spirit of the people in the territory.
After all, the civilians of Dornish Marches often suffer from the plunder of the indigenous people, and they already have deep grievances. Now with the blessing of rewards, the desire for revenge and profit are intertwined, which will give rise to incredible strength, and it is enough to give birth to a fierce fighting spirit.
Even if it is not called "Extermination Order" or "Demon Slaying Order", no one doubts the effectiveness of this decree.
There is no way Red Mountains can compare with the Reach in terms of population.
The wealthy areas on the south coast of the Mander River are not bad, but farmers, Hunter, idle knights, mercenaries, and even unemployed vagrants in the frontier territories are beginning to get ready to take action.
Many people spontaneously formed teams and headed into the mountains carrying short knives, hunting bows, and crude spears.
Some people even predict that before long, "Bounty Hunter" will become a new profession in the Six-City Leader.
The indigenous people of the Red Mountains, under the threat of this bounty order, will definitely pay a heavy price. Not to mention the eradication of the race, the number of ethnic groups will also be drastically reduced. The once frequent raids will probably stop and shrink in the short term.
Titus's methods are of course not limited to blood and brutality.
At the same time as he promulgated this reward order, he also launched a set of tolerant "resistance policies" targeting the indigenous people in the direction of the Red Mountains.
One strong and one soft, two-pronged approach.
The decree for the natives of the mountains states that anyone who cannot survive due to the barren mountains - or who yearns for a stable and better life in the plains and is willing to accept the rule of Starpike Earl, can go to Dornish Marches on the Reach side through three specially opened "safe passages".
House Peake soldiers are stationed along these three passages. It is strictly forbidden for anyone to use force against defectors to ensure their safety as much as possible.
Tribal people who come to seek refuge only need to arrive at any castle in the territory to complete registration, explain their origins and family members, and change their clothes to receive asylum from Earl.
Earl will lease them fertile land and farm tools needed for farming in the "special zone", allowing them to settle down and farm and become self-sufficient.
If you are a skilled craftsman, you can be assigned to work in the corresponding workshop and make a living more easily.
In the long run, Titus plans to relocate more and more defectors back to the edge of the Red Mountains. Then he will use the terrace method he observed from Riverlands's Quiet Isle in his early years to reclaim the slopes that were originally difficult to cultivate.
Later, these new lands were gradually incorporated into their own territory.
This not only expanded the area of arable land in the territory, but also allowed these former indigenous people with property to fully integrate into their own rule, and gradually became the outer defenders against invaders from the mountain range.
Regarding this "big purge" that seemed to only target the Red Mountains tribal people, Wangjiacheng and Skyreach, which are adjacent to Dornish Marches, seemed indifferent at first.
It seems that in their view, Lord Dornish Marches going into the mountains to suppress bandits is a commonplace thing. He just changed it to a more extravagant, violent and arrogant way, and it is not worth making a fuss about.
They have not yet realized the deep intention behind the two black Earl decrees, nor have they realized the power of this strategy of "taking the people as a blade and applying both kindness and power" - the former can weaken the indigenous threat, and the latter can subtly turn enemies into people, expanding territory and population resources.
Compared to being indifferent to the situation of the Red Mountains tribe, Franklin Forrester and Dagosh Manwudi are obviously more wary of threats from the north.
After they noticed the unusual movements in Titus's territory, they significantly increased the frequency of surveillance on the northern pass.
Obviously, they feel guilty after having done a series of good things before, and they are also afraid of revenge from Dornish Marches.
Old Falcon and the others do not understand that the essence of war has always been the unstable interaction of three things: intense emotions, politics, and luck.
When they aroused the common hatred among the Dornish Marches lords, and their own castle happened to be blocking the only way for Dorne to go south, it was destined that Titus, who had always been lucky, would fight with them.
Just as the common people of the Reach Dornish Marches gradually figured out the benefits brought by the new policy, and after the first batch of crab eaters made enough extra money, more people enthusiastically devoted themselves to this once-in-a-lifetime bounty business.
To the north of the Red Mountains, you can see "hunters" who form teams to enter the mountains everywhere.
The Stormlands lords who had previously received the Titus order finally led their troops to the scheduled meeting point - the northwest side of Prince's Pass, which was built under the Nightsong between the cliffs.
House Manwoody of Wangjiacheng, who once claimed to "rule the entire Red Mountains":