HCB Chapter 473 End of War Negotiations
Chapter 473 End of War Negotiations
In 1458, the main force of Midlan, led by the king, advanced rapidly all the way and directly reached the Dordore Castle controlled by the Yoda Empire.
The huge and solid defense system of Dordore Castle caused great suffering to the Midland army.
The city walls were covered with fortifications and towering arrow towers. At the same time, Governor Goron's soldiers and the Purple Rhino Knights under the Persian masters who had fled here were on high alert.
The Midlan army launched several attacks, but was stubbornly repelled by the Yoda soldiers.
At this time, the Yoda Empire was in turmoil.
The former emperor Ludwig had just been imprisoned, and the nobles who opposed Ludwig restored the former emperor's noble council.
The governors and nobles who were originally supported by Ludwig initially expressed strong opposition to this. They gathered together and emotionally demanded that the rebellious nobles immediately release Ludwig.
They believed that Ludwig was the legitimate emperor and that the actions of these rebellious nobles were a betrayal of the empire.
However, after the Council of Nobles proposed the conditions of not depriving them of their positions and titles and territories and inviting them to join the Council of Nobles, the governors and nobles of the Ludwig faction weighed the pros and cons again and again and said helplessly:
"Ludwig, I won't consider it."
At this point, Ludwig's regime was declared over.
As soon as the new aristocratic council resolved the civil war in the empire, it realized the importance of Dordor Castle.
On the one hand, they sent John's father-in-law, Count Reginale, to negotiate with the Northern Alliance forces and expressed their willingness to negotiate a ceasefire; on the other hand, they sent troops to Dordore Castle to assist in defense.
However, before Yoda's army reached Doldore, divisions began to appear within the Midlan army.
King Midlan's goal is to take advantage of the current favorable situation to capture Dordore Castle in one fell swoop and expand his advantage in the war.
But the nobles showed through their actions that they were not fools.
The only way to attack Dordore Castle is to rely on human lives. In the previous attacks, a large number of soldiers had been killed and wounded.
What's more, the king's own army is firmly in the center, while the troops attacking the city on the front line are those of the nobles themselves.
The nobles thought, we'll just fight you a few rounds for your own good measure, do you really want us to spend all our wealth?
Moreover, the nobles also saw through the king's ultimate goal, which was to strengthen central power and weaken the power of local nobles.
Before, when Earl John's territory was invaded, you didn't go to rescue him even though he was your promoted vassal. But now you're asking us to help out during the siege. Do you really think the cannons on the opposite wall are just for decoration?
Soon at a military meeting, a noble from Midlan stood up and took the lead in attacking, saying angrily:
"Your Majesty, look at the defenses of Dordore Castle. Every time we attack, we have to pay a huge price. We can't continue to fight like this. Countless of our soldiers have been killed or wounded. If this continues, all our nobles will lose their wealth!"
King Mitlan frowned and said:
"I know that attacking the city is difficult, but now is a good time to expand our victory. As long as we take over Dordorei Castle, we can further control the situation, and then we won't have to worry about the invasion of Yoda's army."
Another noble retorted:
"Your Majesty, the best time to send troops was when Count John's territory was invaded. Why did you wait until now? Is the wall of Fort Doldore now more fragile than a few months ago?"
The implication is that you, the king, do not follow the rules and now you have lost all your prestige in the eyes of the nobles. If you want to defeat Dordorei, you have to give the nobles more benefits.
In this way, the two sides were deadlocked. After the reinforcements arrived and stationed in Dordore Castle, King Mitlan sighed helplessly and said:
"Come on, let's negotiate."
As a result, the peace talks between the Yoda Empire and Midlan and the peace talks with the Northern Alliance were carried out simultaneously near Fort Doldore.
Originally, as a vassal of the King of Midlan, John was not qualified to send a representative, but Yoda said that if John was not allowed to come, he would not negotiate with Midlan, so the King of Midlan had to agree to let John send someone over.
The representative sent by John was Simon. Soon a tent was set up in front of the west gate of Dordore Castle, and representatives from various countries began negotiations.
As the victorious country, the Northern Alliance's bargaining chips were very clear, that is, they wanted to designate the Yoda Empire's territory occupied by the coalition forces as the alliance's legal territory, and demand compensation from the Yoda Empire for the damage caused by the invasion.
After hearing the request of the Northern Alliance, Count Castori of the Yoda Empire discussed it with his entourage. Count Castori knew that with the current strength of the Yoda Empire, it was beyond its ability to recover the occupied territories.
After weighing the pros and cons, he slowly nodded to indicate that he could accept these requests. Preserving strength is now the most critical thing for the Yoda Empire.
However, Count Castori also put forward his own request. He said solemnly:
"We are willing to cede territory and accept compensation, but General Dougal's body must be recovered. At the same time, more than 100,000 Yoda soldiers, including Adam, must be released."
Simon responded immediately:
"Adam, as the leader of the invasion, his actions have brought great disasters to multiple countries, and he should be put on trial. Moreover, the Yoda prisoners of war need to wait until the construction of the region is completed before they can return to Yoda."
After the general conditions were determined, both sides sent people to negotiate the specific conditions at another day. The next step was the negotiations between Midlan and Yoda.
Minister Hoss, the representative of the Kingdom of Midland, stood up and demanded that the Yoda Empire return the Midland territory occupied by the Yoda army, including Fort Doldore.
He fixed his eyes on Count Castori and said:
"Fort Doldore is an important stronghold of our Midland and must be returned."
Count Castori did not flinch. He replied coldly:
"Fort Doldore will never be returned, otherwise the Mitlan army can enter the heart of the Yoda Empire from the southern plains at any time."
Minister Hoss didn't waste any words and threatened directly:
"If you don't return Doldore Castle, the Mitlan army will send a large army to invade the Yoda Empire from the north, and your losses will be even greater."
Count Castori said calmly with a smile:
"If you dare to do this, the Yoda Empire will support John, who has become a saint, to become independent from the Mitlan Kingdom and establish a new country on his own. And as long as the Mitlan army attacks John's territory, the Yoda army will definitely stand on John's side."
Minister Hoss was so shocked by Count Castori's words that he was speechless for a moment. This proposal undoubtedly touched upon the most undiscussable issue in the Kingdom of Midland: whether John could gain independence from the Kingdom of Midland.
If John establishes an independent country, it will be a double-edged sword for Midland. The good news is that Midland does not have to worry about the invasion of Yoda's army in the north. The bad news is that Midland loses part of its territory and a capable army. Now John will have to become independent sooner or later.
Yoda and Mitlan negotiated on this issue for nearly half a month.
Eventually, the results of the negotiations were reported to the King of Midlan and the Yoda Noble Council.
The two sides chose another place and held direct talks between the king and the parliament of nobles.
During the meeting, King Mitlan looked at Count Castori, the representative of the Yoda Noble Council, and said slowly:
"We can't continue to argue endlessly like this. For the benefit of both sides, we are willing to make some compromises. The Kingdom of Mitlan and the Yoda Empire will maintain their original borders and cease fire for half a year."
Count Castori nodded in agreement, and the Kingdom of Midland continued:
"At the same time, we also approve and support John's decision to establish an independent country. The newly established country will withdraw from the war between Midland and Yoda, but as a neutral country, John must allow the two countries to develop normal diplomacy with it."
After the two big bosses were dealt with, the Yoda Empire began talks with the Hall of the King of Law.
As soon as the representative of the Dharma King's Hall, Fidelicao, entered the meeting room, he was full of arrogance. He stood in front of the representative of the Yoda Empire and said loudly:
"The Yoda Empire must hand over Ludwig. He is a criminal and must be tried by the Hall of the King of Laws."
Count Castori frowned and said:
"No matter how sinful Ludwig is, he is still the former emperor of the Yoda Empire. Only the Council of Nobles can judge him."
Fidelicao's expression became even uglier, and he continued:
"Not only that, you must return the power to appoint clergy to the Hall of the King of Law, and change the name of 'Empire' to 'Kingdom'. This is the bottom line of the Hall of the King of Law."
Count Castori sneered:
"Humph, it's not that easy to get our power. Our Yoda Empire has its own traditions and systems. We will not let your Hall of the King of Laws manipulate us. You are being unreasonable."
Federico was irritated by Count Castori's attitude and he shouted:
"If you don't agree, don't blame us for being rude. The French King's Office is not to be trifled with."
Count Castori responded:
"Then you can try. The Yoda Empire is not a soft persimmon that can be bullied."
The two sides were deadlocked and finally had to agree to the condition that the clergy would be appointed and dismissed by the French King's Office to ensure the most basic cooperation.