Chapter 495: Analysis of Lacuno

"Stop it, Charles. There are protesting knights outside."

After closing the windows of the tower, Lacunio spoke earnestly to Prince Conde.

"What are you afraid of? The money for the war hasn't been raised yet. If I show off now, they will think I'm afraid." Prince Kongdai snorted coldly and said disdainfully.

Listening to the shouting outside the window, Lacunio shook his head.

He knew that with Charles's personality, no amount of persuasion would be of any use.

He did not waste time, but continued the previous topic in this small study room: "In addition to military supplies, our next focus will be Kasha County in the south."

"A lot of castles have been built in Kasha County during this period. If the war had been fought at the beginning of the year, it would have been understandable. But it's October now, what's the point of fighting?" Prince Kongdai also learned a lot about the situation in Kasha County.

"Just shut up and listen to my analysis."

Lacuno is not a good-tempered person. He was interrupted again and again and became angry.

Especially in such critical matters, as the team leader for so many years, he has his own authority.

Prince Kongdai choked, but still closed his mouth in dismay.

"You made the Lancers eat, it's a bit rough, but you do it anyway, after all, it can quickly raise military funds.

As long as we can win, these are all minor details. The question is how can we win? "

"I will attack the north, and the Osra family's army will attack the south. We will then react accordingly." Prince Kongdai spoke without hesitation. This was his usual practice.

When the Pope was in power, if there was anything that required his involvement, the Pope would propose the target, Prince Condé would come up with the idea, Mizam would come up with the plan, and then cooperate with the local army.

Now that Mizam and the Pope are dead, there are problems with strategy and implementation, and only Prince Condé's tactics remain.

"The general direction is correct, but the detailed direction is a mess." Lacunio shook his head helplessly and took out a map from behind him.

He knew very well that Prince Kongdai came from a humble background, had not received much education when he was young, and had always been trained to be a brave general.

When asked about how to charge in battle, how to control the marching speed, and how to detect the enemy's intentions, Prince Kongdai was an expert at all of them.

If you ask him questions about grand strategy, he can only talk nonsense like he is now.

“Currently, the main uprising forces in the Thousand River Valley are divided into two groups, the Horn Salvation Army in the south and the Duke Meliati Army in the north.

The Meliati in the north have been operating for a long time, and there are almost no loopholes within them. It is difficult to split them. You are right to say that they are the main enemy. "

But your proactive attack on them is not necessarily correct.

But Lacunio didn't say this half sentence. Prince Condé was stuck in a dead end and it would not be easy to change.

Based on the necessity of attacking the north, Lacunio had roughly figured out the next plan after a month of investigation and planning.

“Since the North must attack, we must think about how to suppress the uncertainty in the South. We need them to be in internal chaos.

The Southern Salvation Army seems to be a whole, but in fact it is composed of four parts: the merchants and citizens of Rapid City, the Salvation Army headquarters in Daze Township, the Kush Knights in Jinhe Township, and the Brago Monastery in Kasha County.

They are basically the core members of the Juano faction and the Holy Way faction.

The biggest difference between the Juano sect and the Holy Way sect is their attitude towards the nobility and land.

The Juano faction proposed that [church property should be returned to the public and the fixed tax should not be increased], that is, the church's land should be returned to the public and a fixed tax should be collected per acre of land. The specific amount would be negotiated between the church and the lords on behalf of the people.

The Holy Way sect was even more radical. They practiced "direct rule by the Holy Father, nobility is necessary", which meant depriving all religious and secular nobles of their status and power.

In other words, if a knight converted to Juanoism, he would lose some of his land but still retain his title. However, if a knight converted to the Way of the Holy, he would lose his title and only retain some of his land. If he resisted, he would even be arrested and hanged.

The first three were forged in war and are difficult for us to split, but the Blago Monastery is different. It is the only one that is peacefully united.

The Shadowless Man had investigated and found that the attitudes of the Blago Monastery towards the Salvation Army and the Church were somewhat ambiguous. To be more precise, they were frightened by the Salvation Army's large-scale land distribution.

The Blago Monastery is a religious order, and there are also some Juano religious nobles within it, not to mention the secular nobles.

Their main goal is to break the invisible promotion ceiling within the existing system, not to break the existing system.

After the Battle of Rapid City, the Saviors became very powerful, and with the power of two wars, they even sent troops to garrison Xiaochi City, an important city in Cassia County.

For their own safety, they allowed Dean Ludwick to visit the Salvation Army in an attempt to consolidate the alliance.

Horn, who was born a farmer, was a rare genius. If he had not rebelled but chosen to join the church, he would probably have become a cardinal... What a pity... Oh, why did I go off topic...

I think Horn probably saw this when he summoned Dean Ludwig at this time.

I think with the one-region-one-system he implemented in the Savior Army's territory, and the methods he used against the Knights of Kush, he should be able to come up with some kind of one-army-three-system to temporarily appease the Brago Monastery.

It’s not that it’s too late, but it will be much more difficult.”

Prince Kongdai sat in the armchair, his eyes as clear as a primary school student: "Ah?"

Lacunio took a deep breath and touched the area under his nose: "Do you know what to do?"

"Win over the County of Kasha." Prince Kongdai smacked his head and finally gave an answer. He was not stupid, but he just couldn't see the overall situation. "But what can we do to win them over?"

"Meet the demands of the Juano faction? Rehabilitate Juanno, allow the church property in Cascia County to be nationalized, and exempt taxes. Isn't that a good idea?" Lacuno said a lot of things casually.

“Won’t this anger the church?”

"You originally maintained your relationship with the church because you were afraid of becoming the first to stand out and causing other nobles to remember your former royal identity and target you.

During the Leia Civil War, the church was already divided, with military and financial power split, and its power greatly reduced.

The other nobles are trapped in civil war, and with the Osra family backing them up, why do you still want to be on good terms with the church?
Mizam is still somewhat useful. I don't know how you got old Duke of Omes to support you, but that old guy is not one to suffer losses. He must have some conditions in mind.

Anyway, no matter what the conditions are, you should give him whatever he wants."

As Prince Condé nodded in a pretentious manner, Lacunio held up two fingers:
“You just need to do two things.

First, marry into the Osra family and take the opportunity to establish an alliance.

Second, we sent out all the Demon Hunters and Shadowless, using both soft and hard tactics, telling them that we are willing to give them autonomy, taxes, and troops...

They had to take care of everything themselves and swear not to use troops on the land of Kasha County. The Salvation Army could not offer such conditions.

The only requirement is to remain neutral in the war and grant us military access..."

"Then we take the opportunity to destroy them?" Prince Kongdai asked excitedly.

"As a king, you must keep your word." Lacunio said with his eyes wide open, "Only then will your words have influence. The right of passage is the right of passage."

Prince Condé lengthened his philtrum and nodded blankly.

This kid, after being away for half his life, how come he still looks like a newbie when he returns? Lacunio rubbed his forehead:
"We don't ask Kasha County to surrender immediately, but as long as it is in chaos, the defense line of the Salvation Army and the bandits will be doubled in an instant, and we will even have the opportunity to come into contact with the Kush Knights."

With a piece of charcoal in his hand, Lacunio drew a black line along the Ibe River:
"By then, the Salvation Army will have lost its offensive power and can only defend. If the South cannot move, the battle in the North will be easier to fight."

(End of this chapter)