After saying this, everyone fell silent. In fact, everyone has not thought about this problem. It is impossible to build a long defense line that can block tens of thousands of troops in two months. However, this is the only way at present, so they can only force Take this path yourself. Raymond explained: "Freddy is right. After Leonard pacifies the country, he will no longer have any worries, so he will not retreat after suffering a certain loss like last time, but will use thunderous momentum to Completely defeat us." "A hastily established defense line like this cannot withstand the attack of Dirk's army. Moreover, Gaspard is currently in a bad situation and needs a lot of funds for restoration and construction. There is really no need to waste it here. "It's a fruitless thing." "So, do you have a better idea?" Bryce asked. "No." Raymond said without hesitation: "There is still a chance of winning with all-out defense, but otherwise we will definitely lose." "But you just said" Makudi felt that he was completely confused. Raymond said: "We already have a solid defense line, so there is no need to waste people and money to build another one." As he said, he tapped his fingers somewhere on the map: "For the decisive battle with Leonard, choose Come here.¡± Everyone came over to take a look, and there was¡ the Seal of the Giant! "You want to resist Dilk's army at the Giant's Seal." They finally understood what Raymond meant. Raymond nodded: "Yes, the Giant's Seal is a natural and dangerous pass. We have spent several years building a defensive fortress. There is no place more suitable as a battlefield than it." With the natural danger of the Giant's Seal, It is indeed more suitable for defense than a temporary defense line, but this creates new problems. "In this case, wouldn't it be necessary to let the enemy into Gaspard?" Bryce said. The Seal of the Giant is located at the junction of East Gaspard and Headington. The Kingdom of Dirk is located to the west of Gaspard. It would be safe to choose the battlefield at the Seal of the Giants, but it would also mean giving up the entire territory of Gaspard to Leonard. This made Blaise and others, who had finally liberated Gaspard and supported Sophia on the throne, deeply unacceptable. "How can this work?" Makudi was the first to object: "Wouldn't this allow Gaspard to fall into Leonard's hands again? Our previous hard work will be in vain." Bryce also said: " We must keep Dirk's army out of the country. "For them, allowing Dirk's army to enter Gaspard is no different from betraying the country. These soldiers obviously cannot accept this. "In this case, we will definitely lose." Freddy said unceremoniously: "That would be giving Gaspard to Leonard." Helmi also said: "As long as we can defeat the enemy, we will lose everything. The land will be recovered sooner or later. There is no point in fighting the enemy head-on when there is no chance of winning. "Of course it is no problem for you." Makudi snorted, "The war will not reach Haiding anyway." "What do you mean by abandoning our Gaspard land?" Harold was furious. He slammed the table and stood up: "Are you saying that our boss has selfish motives?" "We didn't say that." Bryce said forcefully: "But as Gaspard's soldiers, we will never give up. "Our own country." "That's no different than waiting for death." Hillness said: "At that time, Gaspard will also fall into Leonard's hands, but we will not even have the last strength to resist." "That's better than fleeing without a fight and giving up territory to the enemy." Gaspard's man said. After Sofia's restoration, Bryce and others returned to their motherland and naturally regained their sense of belonging to Gaspard, while Headington remained loyal to Raymond. Therefore, the two sides have different focuses on the same strategy. As a result, great differences inevitably arose. Bryce and Makurdi are not stupid people, but as the saying goes, caring leads to chaos, the honor of the military, the responsibility of defending the land, loyalty to Sophia, and resisting foreign enemies. Determination to protect the people When these factors are added together, they can no longer see the overall situation, but are stubbornly limited to Gaspard. Therefore, what was obviously a very simple strategic concession became unacceptable to them. Raymond saw this clearly, but he could not convince Bryce and others. Because as Bryce said. The war would not reach Headington, but they had to hand over Gaspard to the enemy. Raymond's side naturally didn't care, but as Gaspard's soldiers, how could they accept it? At this point, the two sides inevitably fell into a dispute. Especially when there is only oneIn the case of a choice, no one can convince anyone, and things become troublesome. "If Lord Raymond must choose the battlefield at the Seal of the Giant, then please allow our Gaspard Army to defend Leonard alone." Finally, Bryce said. "Don't you understand? There's no chance of winning like this." Freddy said solemnly. Makudi snorted: "At least we have fulfilled our duties." "The so-called duty is to die in vain and then let the enemy occupy your country?" Helmi said dissatisfied: "Then it is better to retreat without a fight. , at least less people will die. " "This is our country, what do you people from Headington know?" Bryce was furious. "Aren't we also here to help you fight the enemy?" Sheernis said not to be outdone. No one on either side was convinced by the other. At this time, the anger of both sides was about to reach its peak. Only because the friendship between fighting together in the past was still there, they did not completely break up. Once a quarrel breaks out, the consequences will be disastrous. "Lord Raymond, think of a solution quickly. There must be no splitting at this time." Freddy whispered to Raymond. Only with Headington and Gaspard working together can they defeat Leonard. If both sides fight on their own, only defeat awaits them. "Stop talking!" Raymond suddenly spoke up, interrupting everyone. "Let Sophia decide." ****************************************** ************************ "Just do as Raymond said." Everyone found Sophia and after hearing the cause and effect of the matter, Sophia immediately did not hesitate. Showed attitude. "But Your Majesty, if this happens, we will have to give up almost all the land." Bryce was shocked and said hurriedly. "The land will not disappear. As long as you defeat the enemy, you can take it back again, right?" Sophia said calmly. "But" Bryce was at a loss for words. Makudi also advised: "Your Majesty, we have finally recovered our country, and the people are expecting you to make a difference. If you announce to give up the land at this time and evacuate again, I am afraid you will lose popularity." Sofia Said: "If I am asked to sacrifice the lives of soldiers to fight a battle with no chance of winning, then I would rather lose the so-called popularity. But I believe that the people will understand me." After that, she said without doubt: " There¡¯s no need to say anything, it¡¯s just decided. From now on, you don¡¯t have to ask me about any military matters, you must listen to Raymond.¡± Bryce and others took a look at each other. Finally, he lowered his head helplessly and said, "Yes, we understand." "Sofia, thank you." Raymond said to Sophia. As soon as Sofia came forward, she solved the problem and avoided the situation from getting worse. Especially her unreserved trust in Raymond moved him deeply. "Because what you said is correct." Sofia smiled slightly: "And I said, no matter what you do, I will listen to you." "Hey" Harlot's eyes lit up behind him. It seemed like he was going to say something stupid again, but Hillness had a sharp eye. He quickly covered his mouth. "Shut up!" Under Sophia's decision, a storm of internal division passed just like that. Afterwards, Sofia began to make arrangements with all her strength, and Gaspard used these two months to evacuate all the people west of Aulat City to the direction of Headington. This way, they can avoid being harmed by the flames of war. You can also use the "scorched earth policy" to try your best to create difficulties for the Dirk Army. Having just restored the country but carrying out such a large-scale evacuation operation, Sophia's policy was unsurprisingly criticized by many people. Many nobles also accused her of being cowardly and giving land to the enemy. But most people still understood her approach. From the east of Aulat City, from countless villages, small towns and cities, hundreds of thousands of people, old and young, left their homes and evacuated towards the east. However, the journey was orderly and there was almost no chaos. This was because they all believed in their Majesty the Queen and believed that this was only temporary and that they would be able to return home soon. While Sophia was busy arranging the evacuation, Raymond also returned to Headington. Generals such as Bryce and Hermi are now gathered at the Giant's Seal Pass to prepare for defense. Raymond does not need to worry about it for the time being. So he came back for two things this time. One was to check the development progress of the artillery, which was an important secret weapon for him to defeat Leonard. Second, it¡¯s for the decisive battle between Kress and Gru. Last time in the battle to wipe out the Necromancer fleet, Kress was seriously injured, soLuo Lu agreed with him that after Kress recovered from his injury, the two would have a duel to determine the winner. Now, this deadline is approaching. This duel can be said to be a duel between the two strongest humans in the world. Even if the decisive battle with Leonard is imminent, Raymond does not want to miss this event. *************************************************** **************** As soon as he returned to Headington, Raymond went straight to Alina's workshop. Fortunately, Mary did not disappoint everyone. As soon as she arrived, the development speed was greatly accelerated. While Raymond was assisting Sophia in her recovery, she had already assisted Alina in stabilizing the gunpowder formula, so that accidental explosions of gunpowder and cannon explosions would no longer occur. Now, with the joint efforts of two generations of geniuses, mother and daughter, and with the help of Thor, the world's first real artillery is gradually being born. "Boom!" Amidst the loud noise, flames erupted from the muzzle, and the iron projectiles were ejected at high speed, hitting the raised mound hundreds of meters away, immediately blasting a gap in the huge mound. Then, a dwarf quickly ran forward, used a long pole to clean the gunpowder residue from the barrel, poured in new gunpowder, tamped it down, and then poured in the second cannonball. The dwarf responsible for shooting held a torch. The fuse was lit. At this moment, everyone's hearts were in their throats. The fuse ignited the gunpowder in the barrel, and there was another loud noise. The cannon was fired for the second time, cutting another gap in the mound in the distance. "Success!" Everyone cheered immediately. "This is the first time a cannon has fired continuously, and today's test demonstrates the cannon now being built. Both the range and power are impressive, and more importantly, the ability to shoot continuously is the most important point in applying it in actual combat. Raymond, who was watching on the sidelines, also sighed in his heart. The power displayed by the cannon just now convinced him that his insistence on investing in the first place was a correct decision. As long as a few more of these things are made, they will definitely have a surprise victory when fighting Leonard. "Alina, thank you and your mother, my investment finally makes sense." Raymond said happily to Alina. "Hehe. No need to thank us. If you want to thank, just thank Uncle Sol." The experiment was successful, and Alina was also very happy. "Mr. Sophie?" Raymond was startled. Alina nodded and said: "Yes. If it weren't for the improvement suggestions put forward by Uncle Sol, we wouldn't have been able to make it so quickly. In terms of credit, Uncle Sol is the biggest contributor." Mary also came over at this time: "Yes, Sol's suggestion helped us avoid a lot of detours. Otherwise, if we just fumbled, we might not be able to complete it in a few years." When the two said this, Raymond also remembered it. When Erina had just made the prototypes of gunpowder and cannon, Thor named them without hesitation. After that, he also abnormally helped Alina to tinker with this thing, but I didn't expect that he would play such a big role. This person is really incredible. So, he said to Saul: "Mr. Saul, I really appreciate your help." Saul laughed: "Didn't I tell you earlier? This thing is also of great use to me. Of course I hope it will be completed soon. " At this time, Mary stared at Saul with a strange look on her face and said: "Sometimes I can't help but wonder if you already knew that there was such a thing, otherwise why would you always make the suggestions right? This is simply unbelievable. "Hahaha, it's just a coincidence." Saul laughed quickly. Fortunately, no one would really pursue it. Saul changed the topic and quickly fooled him. In fact, only Thor knew at this time that what they have made now is just a very primitive cannon. Smoothbore, muzzleloading, solid ammunition, no powder cartridges have been developed yet, it can only be fired using loose powder, the sights are also very primitive, the caliber is unsatisfactory, there is no muzzle brake, and it can only be fired from a fixed positionetc., in general , in the world where Thor came from, this was something that had long since been eliminated. ¡° However, this cannot be blamed on Thor. He was not an expert in military affairs or foundry, and he had only vague memories of early cannons, especially the details. Therefore, he can only put forward some vague suggestions for modification based on his impression, but he cannot tell the specific improvement method, so it is often finalized by Mary, Elena and the dwarves. But as Mary said, even if it is just some vague suggestions, Sol's role is extremely huge. Without him, even this primitive thing in front of us would probably have taken several years, or even more than ten years, to make. The only consolation is that the dwarf¡¯s casting level far exceeded his expectations. These naturally forged races have accumulatedWith extremely amazing skills, the artillery cast by them has reached a very high level of craftsmanship. Therefore, although the technology is still relatively primitive, the artillery is far ahead in terms of durability, caliber ratio, etc. "Forget it, let nature take its course." Thor said to himself. The thing in front of me is already the limit of what I know. If artillery wants to develop in the future, it can only rely on the efforts of the people in this world. "When can it be put into actual combat?" This is the question that Raymond is most concerned about. "Ever since Miss Alina invented the cannon, we have been trying to forge it. We failed many times during this period, and finally found some tricks." The dwarf blacksmith Ozama said: "It's just that we are short of manpower and the cost is very high. This has been done on and off for more than half a year, and so far only more than 10 cannons have been built. "Thanks to the presence of the Lowell Chamber of Commerce, Headington's industrial capabilities have been greatly enhanced, and there is no shortage of raw materials, which can support the continuous work of dwarf craftsmen. Experiment and improve the art of casting cannons. But even so, despite all their efforts over the past six months, they have only produced more than 10 qualified cannons. "No matter how much money you want, you can go to Rickett to get it." Raymond said simply: "As long as it can speed up." "There is another troublesome thing, that is, these cannons can only be fired at a fixed time now. I'm afraid There is no way to use it in the field," Mary said again. "It doesn't matter." Raymond wasn't worried about this. He planned to fight defensively anyway. Finally, Raymond made an agreement with them that no matter how many cannons were cast in two months, they would be sent to the Seal of the Giant Fortress for installation. Now. Raymond has pinned a large part of his hopes of victory on these new weapons. *************************************************** **************** After bidding farewell to Alina and her daughter, Raymond and Saul walked towards Lovell's station together. Along the way, both of them were speechless. Ever since he learned about the father-son relationship between himself and Sol, Raymond always felt a little weird every time he faced Sol alone. He could no longer find the natural feeling of getting along with each other that they had when they were on the run. The same seems to be true for Sol. The silence between the two along the way made the atmosphere quite subtle. To break the embarrassment. Raymond simply told Thor what happened during the Gaspard Restoration War. In fact, Raymond couldn't figure out why he did this. Rather than just chatting, it was more like a son reporting to his father what he had done. He is no longer a child who needs to act like a spoiled child, but for Raymond, who has had no father since childhood, when he and Saul come together, the other person is his closest blood father. It will unknowingly affect his thinking. Finally, Raymond said: "After Leonard pacifies the country, he will definitely send troops eastward immediately, because he will never allow a Gaspard that is not under his control to exist, let alone sit back and watch Headington continue to grow. "How much time do you have?" Saul didn't ask why Raymond said these things to himself. He glanced at Raymond and said. "Two months, less than three months at most." Raymond said. Thor snorted: "No wonder you are so anxious. It seems that Elena's invention came out at the right time." "So. Are you sure?" "Of course." Raymond said without hesitation. . Unexpectedly, he answered so simply. Thor was a little surprised and said: "Are you so confident?" Raymond nodded: "This is a life-and-death battle for Gaspard and Headington. We must win. Besides, , I never thought I would lose." Seeing Raymond's confident face, Sol couldn't help but sigh. As expected of Amada¡¯s bloodline. At least this kind of strong self-confidence from the bottom of his heart is something I can't give him. However, this boy's handsomeness must be inherited from himself Saul didn't know that Raymond already knew about the relationship between the two. He is still worried about how to break it to Raymond, which makes him feel uncomfortable when facing Raymond. Sometimes, there is always something unnatural. Taking a breath to calm down, Sol decided to deal with it in his own way for the time being, that is: worry about tomorrow. Don't worry about him, just put it off for now. So, he asked Raymond: "So, what are your plans in the future?" "What?" "I mean, what are your next plans after the war is over." Saul said. As he spoke, he pointed around: "Headington already has a very vast territory, but it still doesn't have a formal title. I don't think even you can tell that Headington has gathered so many towns. What kind of form is there for multiple people? In the past, there was Princess Sophia supporting the facade, and there was a big enemy outside, so no one thought about it.??Question, but what about after the war is over? " "Sophia has ascended the throne, and Headington and Gaspard have been completely separated. You can't continue to rule in such a muddle. Are those who follow you willing to remain without any identity? ¡± After all, he is someone who has been fighting for so many years. Thor can see at a glance that the biggest problem facing Raymond is not the enemy that is about to attack, but how to deal with himself after the war. As he said, now Headington is neither a country nor a vassal of Gaspard, but it has gathered so many towns and people, as well as a large number of talents. It is really a bit unclear. However, even if it can rely on the pressure of foreign enemies and Raymond. united with his personal charm, but after all, it is not a long-term solution. If Raymond cannot find a solution, it will become very troublesome sooner or later. Raymond himself has not thought about this, but he does not see it as clearly as Saul. . Only when I heard what he said did I realize the seriousness of the matter. (To be continued, please search Piao Tian Literature for better and faster updates!