Unknown Knight

Chapter 419: Post-War Peace Negotiation

The triumphal procession and subsequent celebrations lasted three days.

On the second day, the Swadian captives escorted by Count Resarit returned to the city of Zhivadin, and the celebrations entered a new climax.

Resarit brought back a total of more than 2,800 Swadian prisoners, plus the more than 3,200 Rhodok prisoners captured by Aix in Tilburg. In this battle against the three kingdoms, Aix captured a total of more than 6,100 people.

Such a large number of prisoners is almost equivalent to the entire military force of a country. Such a result can be said to be extremely brilliant, and the influence it brings is not to be underestimated.

But under such a good situation, Aix received the envoys sent by the Kingdom of Swadia and other three countries to negotiate peace, and finally agreed to their request for peace.

To be honest, if this battle had taken place three years later, Aix could have completely unified the continent directly by virtue of the victory in this battle.

But just like a person, the power of a country is limited.

In recent times, Aix has frequently used troops. He first used the strategy of luring the snake out of its hole, trapped King Yarogerk in Roma Castle, and then integrated the entire country of Vigia.

He then sent troops to capture the cities of Tiha and Talboliya and other places, and executed Eden with the Blood Eagle punishment to avenge his old grudge.

Now, with the strength of one country, it is facing the attacks of three major powers head-on. Although it seems that the victory was achieved without much effort, the manpower and material resources consumed are also huge, especially the most scarce food and grass.

The Kingdom of Vijia was originally located in a cold and bitter land, and the grain production was not much.

Although the territory has made great progress in seed selection and breeding and improving soil fertility in recent years thanks to the efforts of the Institute of Biology and the wise "leadership" of Aix, the food shortage situation has been alleviated to a certain extent.

However, the Kingdom of Vigia is located in a bitterly cold place after all. The harvest in one season each year is not much, and the crop yields are often reduced due to the long winter.

In addition, the blockade by surrounding hostile forces in recent years has made it difficult for Aix to implement its plan to purchase grain from grain-producing areas. Although it costs a lot of money, the amount of grain purchased in the end is very limited.

Therefore, Aix has never had much food reserves. After the successive consumption in the recent wars, he now has very little food left.

If he insisted on launching a foreign war at this time, he could only adopt the strategy of fighting to support the war. However, in this way, not only would the "good man" image that he had worked so hard to build up collapse, but given Aix's character, he would never do that.

Besides, the enemies are not stupid. Although they cannot defeat Aix in a head-on confrontation, once they passively adopt the strategy of clearing the countryside, Aix may be put into a dilemma of having no food available.

If this were the case, once the enemy with sufficient food and grass was in a stalemate with Aix's army, the first to give up would be Aix's army. At that time, the enemy would turn around and attack him, which might break Aix's undefeated golden body. The consequences of that would be catastrophic, and the risk was too great.

After so many years, Aix, who is no longer easily impulsive, will not take such risks so rashly. With his current momentum, as long as he develops for a few more years and has sufficient food reserves, he can launch the next military operation step by step.

So at the military meeting, Prince Aix rejected all objections, especially the strong suggestions of warmongers such as Fatis and Desevi, and decided to negotiate a ceasefire and peace with the Kingdom of Swadia and other three countries.

In fact, from some perspectives, the benefits that Aix can gain from negotiating peace with the three countries now are far greater than the benefits of launching a war. The advantages accumulated from defeating the three countries before can also be realized through peace negotiations.

Among them, the more than 6,100 soldiers and more than 20 lords and earls captured this time are the biggest trump cards in Aix's hand. Through a series of interrogations and investigations by the "political and legal" system personnel led by Bandak, the composition of these prisoners was thoroughly grasped.

Among the more than 6,100 captives, the most valuable ones are the more than 3,200 from the Rhodok Kingdom, including more than 300 Rhodok sergeants, more than 400 Rhodok sharpshooters, nearly 1,000 senior Rhodok spearmen and crossbowmen, and the rest are ordinary Rhodok soldiers and militia.

Regarding the treatment of the Rhodok captives, Aix decided to let the Rhodok Kingdom exchange these captives for food and supplies. After all, the two countries are not connected territorially now, and it is not realistic to have territorial demands. Even if they are asked to cede one or two enclaves, they may not be able to defend them.

However, not all prisoners can be exchanged for food and supplies. For example, Aix is ​​not going to release any of the most elite Rhodok sergeant and the Rhodok sharpshooter with excellent shooting skills.

They are the backbone and mainstay of the Rhodok Kingdom's army. Letting them go back is truly like letting a tiger return to the mountains, including senior Rhodok soldiers. Aix is ​​only prepared to release half of them as a token of his appreciation.

After negotiating with the envoys of the Rhodok Kingdom, Aix finally decided to release 2,300 captured Rhodok soldiers in exchange for enough food for the 5,000 troops for two years, 3,000 gold coins, and various military supplies worth at least 2,000 gold coins.

As for the 900 Rhodok sergeants, Rhodok sharpshooters and nearly half of the Rhodok veteran soldiers, Aix insisted that there were no such prisoners.

In fact, Aix and others were imprisoned in a mine near Tangquan Fortress, where they would undergo "labor reform" until the time came for them to be released.

The composition of the more than 2,800 captives of the Kingdom of Swadia was not very important. They were mainly ordinary Swadian soldiers and temporarily recruited militia.

Not many Swadian knights and heavy cavalry, the real core combat force of the Swadian Kingdom, were captured, mainly because these people had mounts and could escape quickly when they were defeated. Only a dozen Swadian knights and more than thirty heavy cavalry were captured.

The two countries are neighbors, and Aix made territorial demands to his former employer, King Harlaus, asking Harlaus to exchange all the captives for the lands of Tilburg and Lundiaburg, and to acknowledge that the two territories of Talbolia and Reporet that he had previously occupied belonged to him.

Although the King and ministers of the Swadian Kingdom were very dissatisfied with Aix's territorial demands and expressed strong condemnation and protest, they finally agreed reluctantly.

They had no choice but to agree. These territories, including Talboliya and Reporet, were originally occupied by Aix. Tilburg and Lundiaburg were right on the border, so Aix could take them down at will.

If they agreed to Aix's request, they could get the released prisoners. If they really waited for Aix to attack on his own, the kingdom might lose even more territory, and they would forget about taking prisoners.

So after some hesitation, King Harlaus had no choice but to accept the conditions proposed by Aix.

As for the Khergit Khanate, which was the first to send envoys to seek peace, although Saiga Khan retreated in time and not many people were captured by Aix, the Khergit Khanate was in a precarious situation due to being attacked from both sides. It had to agree to Aix's request and signed an unequal armistice treaty.

The treaty stipulated that the Khergit Khanate recognized Aix's occupation of Turbuk Castle and its surrounding pastures, and paid compensation of three thousand horses and five thousand gold coins as compensation for this active invasion.