I'm not a lord

Chapter 150: Identity Exposed (Additional chapter for the leader Xiaohu who is very sleepy)

"Look at what you did that time!"

In the military tent, it was afternoon. The Duke of Swamp looked at the Earl of Cold Wind who was rushing over and threw the secret letter in his hand directly to him, almost hitting the Earl in the face.

The Earl took the letter in a hurry and was shocked to see that the usually calm Duke had rarely lost his composure.

Before the Earl could open the letter, the Duke of Marsh slammed the table so hard that the golden goblet on the table also jumped up:

"Your son Roman actually dared to use my name to openly invade other nobles' territories! You still want to take the blame for him this time?"

The Duke was really furious.

He was making great progress on the front line, but someone was making trouble for him behind him.

The troublemaker was none other than his most trusted and favored son.

The secret letter the Duke received was sent by Jurgen, the mayor of Trois-Rivières.

In the letter, Jurgen adopted the data provided by Baron Heron.

He claimed that Baron Roman of the White Bear Territory had an army of nearly a thousand, including a large number of longbowmen, and under the banner of the Duke, he invaded four baronies to the south.

What does it mean to have an army of nearly a thousand people?

The Duke now has less than 4,000 combat-ready soldiers at his disposal.

How could the Duke not be furious?
He strongly suspected that these troops of Roman were provided by Count Cold Wind.

Otherwise it simply cannot be explained.

How could a small baron mobilize an army of thousands of people?

Among them were even hundreds of elite infantrymen wearing armor, as well as a large number of longbow mercenaries who were suspected to be from the southern border. They were by no means vulnerable conscripted serfs.

Who provided him with money and troops?

After suspecting Earl Frostwind, the Duke's anger value doubled.

Well, my soldiers are fighting desperately, but you, the Cold Wind Family, are sending your troops to my rear to cause trouble?
If Earl of Frostwind had not been fighting on the front lines in yesterday's battle, the Duke of Swamp would have even wanted to capture him without any interrogation!

After reading the letter, the Earl naturally realized the seriousness of the problem, not to mention the Duke's murderous eyes and the murderous intent emanating from him.

But he did not panic. Instead, he responded calmly: "Sir, I just wanted to talk to you about my second son Roman. I suspect that my second son has met with an accident."

The Duke of the Swamp's anger softened slightly when he heard this. "What do you mean? Are you trying to say that Baron Roman, the one with the last name of the cold wind, is not your son?"

"My lord, do you still remember that last December, you ordered me to contact this second son?" Earl Hanfeng held the letter, raised his head and faced the Duke.

"Last December?" The Duke of the Marsh thought for a moment and nodded. "I remember now. That happened, but how does it relate to this incident?"

Earl Frostwind replied slowly, "After receiving your order, I immediately arranged for someone to deliver the letter, but until now, I haven't received any reply. Logically, those messengers should have returned to Riverbend by February at the latest."

The Duke of the Swamp frowned and continued to ask, "Is it possible that there was an accident on the road?"

In the winter in the north, various situations frequently occur on the roads. The climate, road conditions and even the elusive horse bandits are all sources of accidents.

For example, the secret letter sent by Jurgen this time required two waves of messengers to be dispatched just in case.

Earl of Cold Wind's tone remained firm: "I have arranged ten people to deliver the letter. They are all strong servants loyal to me. I also ordered them not to stay too long after arriving in White Bear Territory, and to return to River Bay Castle as quickly as possible." "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?" The Duke of Swamp finally realized the seriousness of the problem.

"Just last week, I sent another group of personal guards to Sanhe City to gather information. I just want to confirm the truth before reporting to you." Earl Hanfeng's answer was flawless.

Due to the poor road and communication conditions in those days, the count was helpless.

He had to confirm it again before he could tell the Duke the truth.

However, he didn't expect that this group of confidants were still on the way, and Leader White Bear gave him another big job.

Then Earl Frostwind added:

"My lord, although my son Roman has some ambition, he absolutely lacks the courage or ability to start a war. Moreover, I have never given him even a single gold shield since he left home. With only the resources of White Bear Territory and Shoal Territory, he could never support an army of thousands of men. Therefore, I suspect there is a greater conspiracy behind this matter."

No one knows a son better than his father, and Earl Cold Wind knows his second son's character very well.

That guy does have ambition, but he lacks the ability and insight to match his ambition.

If Roman really had the ability to turn decay into magic, why would the Earl, who was too busy to treat him, kick him to the White Bear Territory to watch the giant bear bare its teeth?
When he thought about the high probability that his second son had met with misfortune, Earl Hanfeng felt very guilty.

No matter how stupid or dumb he is, he is still his biological son and the second in line to the family.

"A bigger conspiracy." The Duke of Swamp had an extremely sensitive political sense. He chewed on this sentence and his expression suddenly changed.

According to Earl Cold Wind's analysis, the incident in the White River Basin must be a long-planned conspiracy.

Someone learned of Roman's whereabouts in advance, ambushed and killed the unfortunate kid on the way, stole his title and territory, and then occupied the entire White River Basin except Sanhe City under the banner of the Duke!

Although the six baronies in the White River Basin are somewhat baronial, their geographical location is very important.

If the Duke's army wants to return to Golden Deer Castle, it must pass through Sanhe City.

If the fake baron continues south and captures the city of Three Rivers, the Duke's retreat will be completely cut off.

When the bad news came, the entire army on the Eastern Expedition was in panic.

Then who in the North has the strength and courage to challenge a duke and earl?

Obviously it could only be another duke, or the royal family of the North.

The Duke of Moor quickly identified the few suspects.

Combined with the geographical location of the White River Basin, he believed that the Duke of the Valley was the most suspicious.

Going south from Sanhe City and crossing the Jinghe River, you will reach the Mirror Iron Territory under the command of the Duke of the Valley.

By taking over the White River Basin and Three Rivers City, the Duke of the Valley will be able to expand his territory to the northernmost tip of the Northern Kingdom and cut the Duke of the Swamp's territory in half!

If all this is a conspiracy of the Duke of the Valley, then it makes perfect sense.

With the financial resources of the Dukedom, it is no problem to support an army of thousands of people. It is also possible to secretly train a longbow unit or spend money to hire a group of longbow mercenaries from the southern border.

Seeing the Duke of Swamp's face becoming increasingly embarrassed, even the shrewd Earl of Chillwind realized the seriousness of the situation and expressed his opinion on the spot:
"Sir, I believe we should immediately send troops to garrison Sanhe City and attempt to recapture the Baihe River Basin!"

Count Frostwind's words were both a warning and a way to completely distance himself from the fake Roman.

(End of this chapter)