"Why?" Lothar was puzzled. In his opinion, as the highest military commander of the kingdom, he should be with his soldiers.
"The seven kingdoms need a reason to unite and work together." Duke's answer made everyone suddenly realize.
Yes, the Arathor Empire.
The same race, origin, and clan, especially when facing a powerful enemy, these are the best reasons to unite. Moreover, there is no deep hatred between the seven human kingdoms. Abandoning the heirs of Emperor Soladin was indeed unkind, but after all, there was no fighting.
Therefore, the identity of Lothar as the heir of Thoradin is very important.
"Your Majesty, I..." Anduin also found it difficult to deal with such a sensitive issue.
"It doesn't matter. After all, it was your ancestor who gave up the throne to my ancestor. To outsiders, it does seem like usurpation. However, in matters concerning all of humanity and even the entire world of Azeroth, such small details are nothing. You can leave the training of the troops to Bolvar."
Anduin thought for a moment and nodded.
In the final analysis, Llane, Anduin, and Bolvar are all extremely upright people. When they are not restrained by those annoying aristocratic forces, they can exert their full strength.
"Bolvar, then the training of the troops, my queen, and Varian will be left to you." There were not many capable people under Llane's command. Some nobles who were originally in high positions either turned into demons in the middle of the sea or were slaughtered by demons.
This is almost equivalent to the position of regent, which is definitely the highest position among high positions.
"I will obey your command, my Lord." Bolvar bowed deeply.
Llane turned to look at Duke, he took a deep breath, raised his hand, and a waiter handed him a small spoonful of melted wax. Another waiter handed him an official document, opened it, and poured the wax on it.
Then Llane took out the royal seal from his arms and stamped it heavily on the wax.
Duke took a look and saw his own name.
King Llane turned his head and smiled at Duke: "Edmund Duke, please kneel down."
Well, the boss has issued a blank check, so you have to kneel down.
"Edmund Duke, in order to thank you for your great achievements and to commend your loyalty, bravery and wisdom, I will now appoint you as the Duke of Karazhan of Stormwind Kingdom, and allow you to have twice as many private soldiers as a normal duke. Your fiefdom includes the following parts: from the East Valley Logging Mill in the north to Karazhan of Deadwind Pass in the south, from Mistmantle Manor in the west to Triangle Junction in the east. I also know that many places are located in the occupied areas captured by the orcs, but I believe that one day our Stormwind Kingdom will take back this beautiful and rich land."
I thought it was over, but it's not over yet.
"You are appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Stormwind Navy, in charge of all naval vessels, and are allowed to recruit no more than one-fifth of the total naval force into the navy."
Duke was suddenly moved. The nobles of Stormwind had strict restrictions on their private soldiers at all levels. A duke could not have more than 5,000 soldiers, twice that would be 10,000. This was legal and could be put on the table.
As for the fiefdom... No one knows better than Duke how powerful Stormwind Kingdom would become. In history, because other human kingdoms were destroyed or declined, Stormwind became the biggest benchmark for humans. Stormwind City absorbed a large number of refugees from the north, and its rapid growth was even more exaggerated than the later Scourge.
Deadwind Pass was indeed blown to pieces by Medivh's huge explosion, but the rich lands in Elwynn Forest, such as the Eastvale Lumberyard, are definitely first-class fiefdoms.
Moreover, as the commander-in-chief of the navy, this undoubtedly means that the entire Stormwind's sea power and all the benefits derived from the sea will be handed over to Duke.
Everyone knows that with Stormwind almost completely destroyed and even the Western Wilderness being completely destroyed, if Stormwind wants to survive, it must rely on Duke. However, Llane is very courageous, which is rare in the world.
Without any hesitation, Duke bowed his head and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your gift."
Llane smiled, and finally sighed: "What kind of gift is this? If it weren't for you, even if Stormwind Kingdom wasn't completely destroyed, I'm afraid at most only tens of thousands of people would have escaped. Maybe even I would have died in Stormwind City. I made these empty promises, and I am the one who feels extremely guilty."
"Your Majesty, you have done a good job." Anduin and several other ministers comforted Llane.
"Alas, the resettlement of nearly 600,000 soldiers and civilians is a headache. Unfortunately, we have nothing. If all else fails, we can try to ask other countries to absorb our citizens."
Yes! No money! No food!
How to get through it?
Anduin and the others looked at each other in confusion.
In a critical moment, I only thought of human life first and rescued people first. Now that the people have been rescued, I am also dumbfounded. Food, drink, defecation and urination cannot be missed. If there were only tens of thousands of people, maybe I could beg for help from various kingdoms. But there are 600,000 people here!
Just thinking about it is terrifying.
Unfortunately, when he fled, he brought almost nothing with him except his weapons.
Not to mention that Duke Ferrens, who was originally in charge of internal affairs, was dead. Even if he wasn't dead, he would probably have been frightened to death on the spot.
"Duke, could you please go to Alterac, Stromgarde and Dalaran to negotiate with the leaders of various countries? Moreover, our treasury is empty. I wonder if you can lend some money to the kingdom in your personal name..." Llane's face almost turned red when he said this.
On the one hand, he really had no talented people around him. Bolvar and his knights were indeed fair knights, but they were definitely not good at diplomacy. Moreover, if he went to beg like a beggar, it would be strange if the other party would be happy with him.
On the other hand, it was a disgrace for a king to borrow money from a duke, and the richest man here was the duke.
"Your Majesty, please don't worry about the treasury." After saying that, Duke snapped his fingers, and then two burly male Nagas came out of the sea carrying a huge box.
The Wrynn family guard took the box and opened it. A burst of golden light almost blinded the eyes of Llane and other poor guys.
Gold bars! Lots of gold bars!
These gold bars engraved with the lion emblem are undoubtedly the gold bars commonly used within the Stormwind.
"These are..." Llane stuttered.
"Your Majesty, have you forgotten? A while ago, when those nobles were fleeing, they encountered the Bloodsail Pirates. In order to escape, their ship turned and dropped a lot of valuables. Then my murlocs picked them up."
Llane suddenly remembered that because those nobles colluded with the devil, they had been demoted. According to the laws of the kingdom, their fiefs and properties would be confiscated...
At this moment, Anduin, Bolvar and a group of royal guards saluted Duke.
"Edmund Duke, you have a heart that shines with divine light."