Jean. Bett never wanted to become an enemy of the King of Graycastle!
Although he had never really dealt with the people of Graycastle, he had heard quite a few rumors about them. The Army of Divine Retribution, which swept through Wolfheart and the Eternal Winter, was defeated by the people of Graycastle; the allied forces, gathered by the Dawn nobles, were crushed in a single day; Roland Wimbledon was invincible in the kingdom, uniting the entire country in just half a year; it was even rumored that Graycastle had a hand in the recent changes on Duke Island.
He originally thought these rumors were shocking enough, but he didn't expect the First Army to have been fighting alien devils for a whole year—if any other lord had claimed this, he would have scoffed, but when it came from the mouth of the commander of the First Army, the baron found himself unable to easily voice his doubts.
Of course, whether true or false, Deepwater Bay was not qualified to try it out personally.
The problem was that the King of Graycastle's plan was too grand, or rather, too fanciful. If the other party only wanted the throne of Wolfheart, Jean. Bett would not hesitate to pledge allegiance. But the fact was that the other party wanted to move the entire population of the two kingdoms! Listen to what this commander said: multiple routes, sea and land transport in parallel, first the villages and then the towns, as if he wouldn't stop until everything was moved. Most nobles didn't care too much about the lives of their people, as long as they died worthily, or could be exchanged for enough benefits. But moving everyone away was another matter, which meant that the territory would be empty, no grain could be harvested, tax revenues would plummet, and industries would be unattended... unless everything was beyond redemption, it would be impossible to agree easily.
Even if the First Army was strong, it would be difficult to be enemies with all the nobles at the same time, right? After all, this wasn't Graycastle. Without the support of the locals, the burden of marching and logistics would increase greatly, and they insisted on dividing their forces, as if they regarded the nobles of the two kingdoms as air.
After a long silence, Jean. Bett lowered his voice and said, "I don't quite understand why the King of Graycastle insists on doing this. If the devils don't intend to cross the Impassable Mountain Range to attack, we can fully support him here. But once the people are gone, the cities, farms, and mines will be deserted, and the losses will be difficult to estimate."
"I can't answer that question. As the commander of the First Army, my only task is to complete the task assigned by His Majesty. But..." Iron Axe paused slightly, "As long as you personally go to Neverwinter City, you should be able to get the answer."
"Alright, then I only have one last question..." The baron licked his slightly dry lips, "You said before that the nobles are all voluntary. What if I decide to go with you?"
Iron Axe nodded and pointed to the official beside him, "This is Remy, the transfer personnel officer from the Administrative Hall of Neverwinter City. He will tell you His Majesty's intentions."
"Hello, Mr. Baron, then you are a member of the Kingdom of Graycastle." The personnel officer quickly flipped through the documents in his hand, "First of all, it can be confirmed that Roland Wimbledon is a benevolent monarch, and he will not mistreat anyone who has contributed to Graycastle. Since Graycastle has abolished the system of enfeoffed nobles and unified the national laws, you will lose the right to inherit and enfeoff land. But as an experienced administrator, you can join the Administrative Hall and become a magistrate of a region, or develop new territories for His Majesty—such as the Fertile Plains. Of course... if the devils do not invade the Four Kingdoms, you can continue to manage Deepwater Bay. If you are lucky, the area you are responsible for may now be many times larger, after all, not every noble will make such a choice..."
The content of the document was very long, and the other party recited it for nearly a quarter of an hour before stopping, and all aspects of the situation were considered, which was obviously not fabricated in a short period of time. Jean. Bett realized that the person who wrote this must be a minister of outstanding ability, and he asked himself that he could never write such a comprehensive document.
In short, the content was to exchange short-term benefits for long-term benefits. As long as he performed well, he could get far more than a harbor lord—as for whether these two were worth it in comparison, it was a matter of opinion.
It was unwise to make a decision in a hurry in the face of an unknown future, but when the present was bad enough, the choice didn't matter so much.
Compared to being hanged or burned to death, he hoped that the future would at least offer a way out.
Moreover, a large-scale population transfer was by no means something that could be completed in a year or two. During this period, he could
continue to stay in the position of the lord of Deepwater Bay without worrying about the covetous eyes of the other two families.
Jean. Bett took a deep breath, "I am willing to join the King of Graycastle and serve his kingdom."
"A wise choice." Iron Axe's expression remained unchanged, as if he had expected this result long ago, "Then from now on, you can mobilize the people around you for relocation. We have a dedicated team responsible for this, and they will give you the most appropriate advice."
"So fast?" The baron couldn't help but be stunned.
"That's right, I won't stay here for too long. At most three days, the First Army will continue to advance inland into Wolfheart."
"But—" Jean. Bett hesitated for a moment, and finally gritted his teeth and said, "The knights of Fang and Red Stone Gate may not let me do this. They may not dare to openly confront Graycastle, but Deepwater Bay only has some patrol teams, and it's easy to interfere with my orders."
These words were really embarrassing, after all, half an hour ago, he had said that only he could make decisions in Deepwater Bay. However, the baron knew that he had to bring it up at this moment, otherwise, if those two families knew that he had joined Graycastle, and Deepwater Bay was wide open, they might cause some trouble in secret. At the same time, this was also a test. If the other party didn't seem to care, then the previous promises would be greatly discounted.
However, Iron Axe's answer still exceeded his expectations.
"Deepwater Bay is one of the key hubs of the relocation plan, and there must be no accidents, so even if the First Army leaves, I will leave hundreds of people stationed here." The Mojin man nodded to an attendant, who quickly left the reception room, "In addition, before arriving here, I also had a certain understanding of the situation in Wolfheart—as I said before, it's not just open confrontation that is called obstruction, secretly using means is also a kind of hindrance. In order to avoid the latter from dragging down the efficiency of the relocation plan, we often take some proactive measures to dispel the fluke of such people."
"You mean..."
"Hearing is saying, seeing is believing even more directly." Iron Axe stood up, "Don't worry, the threat you are worried about will soon cease to exist."
...
"This rain shows no sign of letting up." Jilinggui stretched his hand out of the stable shed, feeling the rain curtain falling from the eaves.
"So what," White hammered his aching broken leg hard, "why are you still hanging around here?"
"I don't want to get soaked, besides, this shed was built by the lord for everyone to use, I can stay as long as I want." He turned his head and made a face.
"You—" The old coachman was immediately choked speechless. This damn little imp, it seemed that he wouldn't learn to respect his elders unless he suffered a little. Just as White got up and planned to slap the other party a few times, he suddenly noticed a team of Graycastle people leaving their garrison.
Even in the pouring rain, these hundred or so people formed two neat columns, and their rapid footsteps splashed a series of water on the slab road.
What was most eye-catching was the things they carried on their backs—all kinds of metal tubes of different lengths and thicknesses, with a cold light all over, and like the black equipment erected in the sentry post, they exuded an ominous feeling.
Watching the group of people gradually disappear into the rain, White suddenly realized where this ominous feeling came from. Regardless of length or thickness, those metal tubes didn't look like things that a blacksmith could hammer out. Creations beyond human power meant something extraordinary in themselves.
Other rain shelters also noticed this scene, and whispers rang out in the shed for a while.
White was surprised not to hear Jilinggui's muttering.
He turned his head and found that he was all alone.