Chapter 390 390-The Annexation of Fran Kingdom
The Foreign Minister of Bretany met with Laurent and said to him, "I want to see the king."
Laurent replied, "He won't ally with you, nor will he give you a guarantee of independence."
Ignoring Laurent, the Bretany diplomat pushed past him into the palace and met with Howard.
Indeed, Howard did not provide the Bretany diplomat with a satisfactory answer.
Phrus sent diplomats to Howard, stating, "Why are your troops stationed near our border? Withdraw your soldiers; we do not wish to engage in war with you."
Howard offered a few inconsequential remarks, while he himself went off to the theater.
Bosiden arrived in Provence to convey the intention of persuading them to surrender.
The Duke of Provence refused outright, believing that Fran Kingdom could ensure Provence's safety and showing disdain for negotiations with Oli Kingdom.
Bosiden had no choice but to return and report back to Howard.
Upon hearing the news, Howard simply acknowledged it and asked Laurent, "Is it alright to just leave Bretany as is?"
Laurent reassured, "It's fine. Right now, Fran Kingdom and Milan are the real troubles. I've heard from Portia that Fran Kingdom has allied with Osland Kingdom. We can't tolerate this."
Howard snapped the pen in his hand and declared, "Edward has gone too far. Declare war on Fran Kingdom; we cannot sit by and watch him grow stronger."
Bosiden tried to calm Howard, "Don't rush, Howard. Fran Kingdom's territory is not small, and now they have the backing of Osland Kingdom. Let's reconsider."
Resarite interjected, "What's there to reconsider? They've already allied with Osland Kingdom. Do you think they'll surrender to you? In my opinion, we should just declare war. I know Edward; he's stubborn and won't listen to reason."
"Let it be, Howard. My cousin is obstinate, beyond the reach of my advice. Let Oli Kingdom march on Fran Kingdom then, better to unify the northern imperial territories sooner rather than later," Anna said after a moment of hesitation.
Laurent stepped forward: "According to Portia, Siko Kingdom has offered Fran Kingdom a guarantee of independence."
Howard, puzzled, inquired, "Siko Kingdom? Aren't they quite remote from us? What does their stance have to do with us?"
Anna added, "Exactly, they're too far away. How could Siko Kingdom possibly concern itself with the affairs of our imperial territories?"
She stood with hands on her hips, making faces.
With a grand gesture, Howard commanded Resarite, "Mobilize my troops, march towards Fran Kingdom!"
Then, he instructed Bosiden, "Deliver a declaration of war to Edward, make it as provocative as possible, and tell him that allying with Osland Kingdom is a direct affront to us. Let him wait for what's coming."
Milan, although allied with Fran Kingdom, hesitated when battle loomed.
Several influential families within Milan were strongly opposed to direct confrontation with Oli Kingdom, disagreeing with the decision to deploy troops.
Despite the Governor of Milan's pleas at the council, he could not sway the opinions of these family heads.
In the end, dejected, he remarked to others, "Let them do as they will. Since they refuse to deploy troops, we won't. When the day comes that Howard demands our surrender, we'll just have to submit."
Siko Kingdom, despite its previous promises to ensure Fran Kingdom's independence, was clearly unprepared for actual conflict.
The death of the Grand Duke of Siko and the succession of a new Grand Duke, who hesitated to engage in this challenging conflict, led to their silence on the matter.
As Oli Kingdom's formidable forces approached, Edward took command personally.
However, outnumbered, his forces were quickly encircled by Oli Kingdom's army, leading to their rapid disintegration.
From the east, Osland Kingdom launched an assault on Constantinople Castle.
Howard, for the time being, disregarded that front, focusing all efforts on subduing Fran Kingdom first.
Edward, leading his soldiers, attempted a surprise attack at dusk, charging down from a high slope, hoping to catch Howard's forces off guard.
However, Resarite saw through the plan.
Ten squads of musketeers, ambushed within the dense forest, opened fire, causing dozens of Fran Kingdom's soldiers to panic and fall from the slope.
Caught between advancing and retreating, and harboring a stroke of wishful thinking, Edward refused to admit they had been discovered, convincing himself the sound of gunfire might have come from elsewhere.
It was only when artillery shells hit the high slope, hearing his soldiers' screams, that Edward realized the operation had failed.
Defeated again, only five thousand of Edward's men managed to flee.
The battle on the western front was decisive; in less than a month, Howard had taken complete control.
Howard left a small contingent of troops with Anna to prevent Edward from reclaiming Fran Kingdom and took the rest to confront Osland Kingdom to the east.
Coincidentally, the old emperor of Osland Kingdom had just died, and with low morale, several small-scale skirmishes ended in failure, prompting Osland to seek peace negotiations.
Howard, realizing he couldn't conquer everything at once, demanded two earldoms from Osland Kingdom, thus ending the war with them.
Fran Kingdom proved much easier to deal with afterward.
Howard completely annexed Fran Kingdom, offering no concessions to Edward.
Feeling treated unfairly, Edward demanded an audience with Howard.
Upon meeting him, Howard asked, "What do you find unfair?"
Edward said, "I've heard from others that when you invited Venice to surrender, you offered them favorable terms."
"You extended the same courtesy to the Sirei region and Savoy when they surrendered. They all received preferential treatment. Why am I excluded?"
Howard replied, "Why can't you simply understand that the manner in which they joined my territory and yours was not the same?"
"They came through peaceful negotiations, whereas you were engaged in military conflict."
"Can the post-war treatment be the same?"
Edward argued, "Howard, you and I go way back. I helped you out when you were still making your way up. You owe me favorable treatment."
"At the very least, within the Fran Kingdom region, granting me 10% of the monthly tax revenue to live a comfortable life isn't too much to ask, is it?"
"I'm not asking for much, just some money to continue living my noble life, tending to my garden at home."
Howard responded, "You can still live your life now."
"I'm not trying to bully you, but why did you align yourself with Osland Kingdom?"
"They are considered enemies by the entire continent's civilization. You're allying with them. Even if I wanted to grant you favors, it wouldn't be acceptable to others."
Edward tried to maintain his dignity, but he realized that no matter what he said, Howard was not going to relent.
If Edward continued, it might even come to begging.
But Edward is a stubborn man with a difficult temper.
Back in the day, neither he nor Howard would yield to the other, and now, asking Edward to bow his head is harder than anything.
Edward, growing restless, said, "Howard, now I'm left without any territory, that can't be right, can it? You can't possibly swallow up all my land in one gulp!"
Howard roared back, "Are you joking with me? If I say I've taken it all, then I've taken it all! Not a single piece of land will be left for you!"
Vettel, who had been listening on the side, couldn't help but laugh, addressing Edward, "Valuva family's Edward, it's been many years, hasn't it? All well?"
Edward replied irritably, "I remember you. When I was inspecting Nok Castle from the walls, you climbed up to brief me on the financial situation."
With a smile, Vettel said, "Indeed, the head of the Valuva family certainly has a good memory."
Howard sat down and started eating cherry tomatoes, ignoring Edward.
Edward approached Vettel, whispering, "Help me out here. He's not giving me any preferential treatment. I can bear hardships, but my family cannot. Ask Howard to grant some special privileges to our Valuva family."
Vettel responded, "There might be a way out, but from now on, you'll need to act as part of Oli Kingdom. Convey to the people of the Fran Kingdom area the legitimacy of Oli Kingdom's rule. Simply put, you need to work for us."
Edward saw no issue with this and quickly found common ground with Vettel.
As Howard walked out of the hall, he said leisurely, "Then, let's proceed with that plan."
After leaving the hall, Howard walked alone to the training grounds to practice his swordsmanship.
Becoming a king certainly had its perks, but it also meant he would never again find a vassal who would challenge him with genuine skill in a one-on-one duel.
Whether it was Bosiden specially recruiting a team of swordfighters to spar with Howard, or Howard asking Kaido to practice with him, the outcomes were always unsatisfactory.
The soldiers from the swordfighting team would often feign a few aggressive attacks, then pretend to be weakened, as if it were natural for them to lose.
However, they seemed to forget that if they behaved this way on the battlefield, they likely wouldn't have survived to this day.
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