In the Name of the Queen

"If I use a simple machine to divert canal water into the tunnel, eat this army steadily, and then bypass Hanseatic City and directly capture Bruckberg and Selinks, how should you respond?"

Christine said softly, then she changed the position of the war chess and divided her troops into two groups to capture the capitals of the other two provinces in the three overseas provinces.

This move was indeed vicious and completely rendered useless the artillery positions Roland had deployed in advance.

"Then I will"

Roland picked up the light cavalry and the temple warrior and pushed them forward.

"Change!"

When you are at a disadvantage, try to change sides to break the situation.

When the power is balanced, change houses to open up the situation.

When you have an advantage, change houses to ensure victory.

The home-changing tactic has been widely used since ancient times. Many famous generals have left a mark in history through the home-changing tactic.

Roland didn't read many military books, but he read a lot of history books.

Faced with Roland's strange move, Christine remained silent for a long time, then smiled and clapped her hands.

"you win."

Christine was so polite, which made Roland a little embarrassed.

"The result is not certain yet. After all, I don't have enough troops here. If we continue to fight, the outcome is uncertain."

"If it's a war game, I can indeed defeat you with my rich experience, but this does not represent the result on the real battlefield."

Christine's expression was very relaxed, and she was not frustrated because she gave up to Roland. She was even happy because of Roland's excellent tactics.

After the war, Roland took her to review the situation and asked her about military command.

Of course she knew Roland's little thoughts, but she still readily agreed.

She felt that a not-so-perfect victory could not be considered as repaying all the favors, but it would be almost the same if it was coupled with a few unreserved military lessons.

Christine had no secrets and taught Roland all her understanding of the war through war games.

Roland's understanding far exceeded her expectations.

She originally thought that Roland had not received formal military training and was a pure layman, but these days Roland always had some wonderful ideas that amazed her.

Just like the house-changing tactic just now, most people who have received orthodox military training cannot think of it.

Military skills can be cultivated gradually. Roland has no shortage of enemies and plenty of training opportunities, but he cannot cultivate his wild imagination.

Imagination is fighting power.

Christine suddenly remembered the teacher's teachings, and she admired the teacher even more.

It's a pity that the old man passed away too early and she never had the chance to listen to the teacher's teachings.

There are limits to war games. The chess pieces are cold and thoughtless. Basic numerical values ​​and parameter modifications determine victory or defeat. There are no miracles in war games, but there are in real battlefields.

The persistence of Helenzburg's more than 3,000 defenders exceeded the expectations of the commanders on both sides and became a factor of uncertainty.

This is a change that can never be derived from war games.

Basic military skills can be learned, but Roland's flexible thinking and imagination will never be matched by mediocre generals.

Christine is very optimistic about Roland.

But in Roland's eyes, Miss Saint wanted to give up her career.

Although Christine praised him very much, he knew his abilities very well.

He didn't even pay attention to Zhao Kuo on paper. The only thing he could do in actual combat command was to entrust it to real experts.

Leave the naval battle to Bridges and the land battle to Christine.

Christine wanted to retreat early, but of course Roland refused.

His mind was racing, thinking about how to get Christine to continue to work for him.

Christine is a saint, with devout faith. Temptations such as promotion, wealth and beauty are of no use to her. All she wants is to become an official saint, and even take over the papal crown.

Roland's eyes lit up.

"Kristine, you helped me a lot this time and were the number one contributor to the victory, but you don't need a title and you don't want to be an official here, so it's very difficult."

"It's nothing, I owe you a favor." Kristine was very calm.

She could see Roland's sincerity, but she really didn't need this.

She just wanted to be a little closer to the great goddess.

She knew that Roland wanted to win over her, but she couldn't agree, so she smiled and changed the subject.

"Your Majesty Sylph has not officially ascended the throne, so the title award should be reviewed and decided by the House of Nobles and the House of Commons, right?"

"Yes, you know our country's political system very well."

Christine said disapprovingly: "I am a saint, a candidate for archbishop or even pope, and have received formal political and military training. I heard that you plan to get yourself a count?"

"How much do you have to pay for this count?"

Roland pursed his lips and chuckled. The earl he asked for was Earl Suig.

The main territory of the earldom was the new territory he captured from the Kingdom of Oden plus Helenzburg.

He even planned to merge the Helenzburg and Suig areas in the northern Hanseatic province to create a fourth overseas province.

As long as the propaganda work is in place, in the eyes of the masses, he and Sif are superheroes who opened up new provinces for the empire.

As for the fact that Suyige Province has a small territory and a small population, and half of the land comes from Hanseatic Province, no one cares.

Facing Christine's curious gaze, Roland spread his hands and said, "I don't plan to pay any cost, not even a penny."

Christine was stunned.

She didn't expect that such words with such a lack of political common sense could come out of Roland's mouth.

She didn't think Roland would be so stupid.

The mocking words remained on her lips, and Christine fell into deep thought.

After a moment, her eyes lit up, "You never thought that your application for knighthood would be approved?"

Roland nodded his approval.

Christine suddenly realized and murmured, "So you didn't intend to give these people a title from the beginning, you just wrote a blank check. If the House of Representatives disagrees, you can just push the blame to the House of Representatives, and by the way, you can also arouse the anger of overseas officials and make them your diehards."

"Is all this in your calculation?"

Christine murmured, suddenly alert.

Is Roland also calculating her?

Although Miss Saint recognized Roland's strength and means, she didn't like being calculated by others.

She tried to hold back but couldn't help complaining, "It's a pity that these officials are full of expectations but have to be disappointed."

"Who said it would be disappointed?"

Roland's expression was serious, and he said solemnly: "This time, the application for the title includes a total of seven barons and me, the earl. The royal knights do not need to be reviewed by the House of Representatives, and the Queen can award them on her own."

"Her Majesty knows that the application for the title will most likely be rejected, so she prepared a plan. She will take out the Earldom of Tyrone and give it to the meritorious officials as a territory."

This time it was Christine's turn to be surprised.

The Earldom of Tyrone is the territory of the Sussex royal family. It is currently directly governed by Sif. It is densely populated and fertile, and it is not far from the imperial capital. It is the best territory.

"You are really willing to give."

Christine had no doubt that this was definitely Roland's idea. She didn't think Sif could be so generous.

Roland smiled and explained, "It's just a temporary territory."

"What do you mean?"

"In a month or two, bad news will come. Those who were waiting to become barons will definitely be very disappointed. At that time, the Queen will propose to divide the Earldom of Tyrone into temporary territories for everyone."

After a slight pause, Roland continued to explain, "It's called a temporary territory, but no one will really take over and collect taxes. This is just to solve their level problem first, and then re-reward them in the future."

"So they are barons without territories?"

Christine instantly understood what Roland meant.

Private property is sacred and inviolable, and the Earldom of Tyrone is Sif's private territory. Even if she grants it to foreigners, it is not the House of Representatives to make decisions.

Sif divided the Earldom of Tyrone into several baronies and lent them to this group of new heroes first.

Although there is no territory, it is still a baron.

Although the Royal Knights are also nobles, most of the old nobles do not recognize them, and it is not easy for even the barons to integrate into their circle.

Although the baron is only a lower-class noble, he has officially entered the threshold of nobility.

Looking at Christine's surprised expression, Roland smiled and explained: "If we put forward a temporary territory plan at the beginning, everyone will definitely not be satisfied. Even if they don't say it, they will have some complaints in their hearts."

"When the House of Representatives rejects it, they will have nothing. At this time, they will be overjoyed to be given a discounted baron. Even if they are dissatisfied, it is directed at the master of the imperial capital, not the queen."

"People always like to compromise. If you want to open a window in winter, most others will disagree. Then you insist on removing the roof, and they will be willing to help you open the window."

Christine has never heard of this statement, and she didn't know what to say for a while.

Although she was a little unconvinced, she still accepted Roland's statement.

She could fully imagine how happy these unlucky new barons were when they lost their complete titles and got the consolation prize from the queen.

First make excessive demands, and then get a compromise result?

Christine silently remembered Roland's compromise method.

This method is very common in diplomatic negotiations and business activities, but few people can explain it so thoroughly.

Roland not only explained it clearly, but also used this method to win people's hearts.

Christine felt a slight chill on her back.

She worked for Roland, so she would not be sold out like those new barons and have to help count the money, right?

Miss Saint looked at Roland vigilantly with her peripheral vision, and soon felt relieved.

Roland's eyes were very clear, without a trace of impurities.

He would definitely not calculate her like this!

After explaining, Roland fell into deep thought again.

It would definitely not work to ask Christine directly what she wanted. Even if she really had a request, she would not say it.

He had never been able to guess what a girl was thinking, but now he had to guess.

Roland's brain was working so fast that it was almost smoking.

Christine had a special status and was a candidate for Saint, so the way of winning her over with wine, sex, money and anger would definitely not work.

What did she want?

Unable to think of anything for the time being, Roland had to ask casually, "What are the casualties of the Temple Warriors in this battle?"

"339 people were killed, 577 were seriously injured, and 35 of them were physically disabled. It is not easy to train Temple Warriors, and this is a huge loss."

Looking at Christine's distressed expression, Roland understood that this was her direct line. In name, they were Temple Warriors, but in fact, they were her private soldiers.

He asked softly, "How long does it take and how much does it cost to train a qualified Temple Warrior?"

"Temple Warriors are generally selected from young orphans with devout faith. If I train them, I can complete basic training in about a year and a half, and have 70% of the combat effectiveness of old Temple Warriors."

Let's not talk about devout faith for now, just the restriction of orphans is very harsh.

How can there be so many orphans?

Roland fell silent soon, there really are.

In this barbaric era that seems to be only more than a hundred years away from modern civilization, but in fact it is separated by several mountains, war, famine, disease and even the whim of noble lords can create a large number of orphans.

Not to mention the distant past, this Hansa defense war created tens of thousands of orphans.

If you add all kinds of natural and man-made disasters, there are at least 100,000 orphans under his rule alone.

It's really a barbaric world.

Roland suddenly thought of what to trade with Christine.

"Christine, can you do me another favor?"

Christine asked with some doubts: "Are you going to start a war again? If it's just commanding the legion, there will be no problem. But the temple warriors have suffered heavy losses and need to rest. I hope they won't participate in the war this time."

Her words confirmed Roland's guess. The temple warriors are indeed the wealth that Christine values ​​most.

This deal will definitely be negotiated. After all, this is a condition that cannot be refused.

"Am I a warmonger in your eyes? Of course not. The temple warriors need to rest, and so do my troops. Continuous wars will make the soldiers very tired of war."

"Then" Christine stared at Roland vigilantly.

Her greatest value is military talent, but not this. What does he want?

"If you use these more than 4,000 temple warriors as the backbone, and slightly lower the selection standards, without considering other factors, how many people can you expand the army?"

"Starting from 100,000 people." Christine thought for a moment and spoke.

Although she didn't understand Roland's intention, she patiently explained: "But this is built according to the standards of ordinary armies. The reason why temple warriors are strong is because of the high selection standards. If the minimum selection standards of temple warriors are followed, it can be expanded to about 15,000 people."

"Is that all?" Roland was a little disappointed.

"Governor Roland, do you know what nonsense you are talking about?"

Christine was a little speechless. Temple warriors are absolutely loyal and extremely powerful troops. An additional 10,000 people can even affect the results of the saint selection. Is this called only?

Roland knew the limits of Christine's ability and immediately extended an olive branch.

"In recent years, the Governor's jurisdiction has been hit by natural disasters and man-made disasters, and there have been many armed conflicts. There are at least hundreds of thousands of orphans in my jurisdiction. If you can select temple warriors from these orphans, it will be a great help to me."

Christine was silent for a long time, and slowly asked: "Are you serious? After these people become temple warriors, they are no longer your people. They are the religious army commanded by me."

"I know very well. If you are willing to help, I can pay part of the expenses and provide a place to stay."

"What's the price?" Christine's voice trembled slightly. This was a high price that could not be refused.

"Continue to serve as my military commander."

"I will contribute all my wisdom to you!" Christine agreed without hesitation.