dognovel Chapter 471: A pile of unread messages after returning
Chapter 471: A pile of unread messages after returning
With the end of the war in John's territory, the residents who had previously fled to the forest for refuge due to the war began to be sent back to their respective homes on a large scale.
As an important city in the territory, the Earl's Castle is naturally a key area for residents to return.
Since Yoda's army had failed to penetrate Earl's Castle in previous attacks, much of the city had been preserved relatively intact.
More than half of the residential areas did not suffer serious damage. Although the houses were slightly damaged, they can still be lived in after simple repairs.
The administrative and commercial areas near the inner castle are almost the same as they were before the retreat.
In addition, a large number of troops are still stationed here, so when people flock to the Earl's Castle again, the order in the city is very stable and no large-scale criminal activities occur.
But the local residents developed a special habit during the war, which was reading newspapers.
Over the years, printing houses have continued to develop and the output of newspapers has increased significantly.
The printing factory has gradually developed from a simple workshop with a few printing machines to a formal factory with hundreds of printing machines and a large number of professional personnel.
The content of newspapers has also been continuously enriched, extending from the initial simple news reports to multiple fields such as politics, economy, and culture.
Among the many types of newspapers, military newspapers are the most popular among residents.
Those who fled during the war regarded military newspapers as an important channel to understand the external situation. They would eagerly pay attention to the content of the war report every day, especially during the critical period of the war, when every word of the war report touched their hearts.
If they find in the battle reports that the situation is gradually becoming favorable for their side, they will be full of hope and look forward to returning home and reuniting with their families as soon as possible.
Lady Matilda saw the influence of newspapers among the general public and made an important decision.
She distributed military newspapers directly to the rear for free, ensuring that every village and town had at least one copy, and some larger villages and towns even had several copies.
This move made the military newspaper more widely disseminated.
In public places in every village and town, such as squares and markets, you can always see such scenes:
The residents who could read took the newspapers and read aloud to the other illiterate residents.
Everyone sat together and listened attentively to the war reports from the front line. Even the children were interested in what was in the newspaper.
In addition to being concerned about the battle situation between their own army and Yoda's army, the residents are also very concerned about the movements of the Midlan army.
Since the majority of the population in John's territory are Mitlan people, and Mitlan and Yoda have been at war for many years, when the Yoda Empire invaded, many residents believed that it would be difficult to defend the land with only the army in the Earl's territory.
They felt that only if King Midlan sent troops to support them would they be able to resist the attack of Yoda's army.
Therefore, the settled refugees will follow the latest news from the Midland Army every day after resuming their work.
However, no matter how long they waited, the Midland army never showed up.
The war reports kept coming in with news that Yoda in the south had captured the town of Midlan and massacred a large number of residents, which made the Midlan people in John's territory very disappointed and angry.
They originally believed that as subjects living on the front line, when the Yoda Empire invaded the border, King Midlan would be able to quickly send troops to support and fight against the Yoda Empire, but the reality disappointed them.
It was not until John's territory launched a major counterattack that the war report reported that King Midland had ordered the standing army and other noble armies to attack.
But the news was not enough to calm the discontent of Midland residents. Some people started cursing after hearing the news.
Amidst the scolding, a voice suddenly rang out from the crowd:
"In that case, why don't we become independent?"
"Although we have repelled the Yoda Empire, Yoda is still a powerful country. No one knows how it will act in a few years. It may come back again. By then, will we still help the king guard the border?"
"This war has already cost many lives. If it happens again, we simply cannot afford it. It is better to declare independence directly while the southern part of Midland is still at war with the Yoda Empire and the king has no time to take care of this place. This way we can avoid becoming a victim of the Hundred Years' War."
In the meeting room, John sat at the upper seat, looking at everyone present, then fixed his gaze on Wesker and asked:
"So, the residents in my territory think that now is a good time for independence, and most of them agree to independence?"
Wesker bowed slightly and responded calmly:
"That's right, sir. At least in Earl's Castle, this statement has won the support of most residents. They have now begun to discuss the draft national flag."
After thinking it over, John decided to put the matter aside for the time being. According to the intelligence obtained in Wendam, it was an indisputable fact that the old king did not help the dying, and he would definitely not get involved with him.
Are you kidding? If you don't help your brother when he is in trouble, then he will stab you in the back in the future. It's already a sign of loyalty if he doesn't stab you. What's more, as a feudal lord, if you don't protect the territorial integrity of your vassal, why would they recognize you as their monarch and bear military responsibility and pay tribute for you?
But in his mind, this matter still needs to wait until the meeting of various countries after the armistice to be decided.
"Let's not talk about this for now. Let's talk about what happened in the Dharma King's Hall first."
John changed the subject and asked:
"Didn't they say before that they would canonize me? Now that they know I'm not dead, what are those people in the Holy City discussing?"
This is also an important reason why John believes that the territory has a tendency towards independence.
He was canonized, and from then on everyone respectfully called him Saint John. Moreover, when the King of France canonized him, he also prayed to the God of Light to promote himself to an angel.
If the King of Midlan keeps me as a vassal at that time, one can imagine the awkward situation every time they meet, and it becomes a problem as to who will kneel down to whom.
Before Wesker could speak, Pross quickly spoke:
"There is no clear result yet. But the coffin used to bury your body during the canonization has already arrived at the Earl's Castle. Your Excellency, please take a look..."
As soon as he finished speaking, he was interrupted impatiently by John:
"Stop, stop, stop talking about that coffin. I can't possibly go in there and find someone to bury me alive. That would be too unlucky. If you want it, I'll give it to you. Just think of it as finding a coffin for yourself in advance."
After hearing this, Pros' face turned red. He wanted to explain but didn't know how to start, so he could only lower his head. The scene was a little awkward for a moment.
John looked at the various documents on the desk and sighed slightly.
Having not dealt with government affairs for more than a year, the once familiar affairs now made him feel a little unfamiliar, just like finding his mobile phone full of unread messages after oversleeping. The strange feeling made him feel a little overwhelmed.
"It seems that I will have to trouble you all to work overtime."