I'm not a lord

Chapter 184: No More Pretense, I'm Showing My Cards
War is a continuation of politics, and negotiation is a continuation of war.

Lynn had laid the groundwork for two months, with trade blockades and the looting of the western suburbs estate, and today he finally laid his cards on the table.

He dropped the pretense and, in front of the envoy, directly demanded that the city of Sanhe pledge allegiance to him.

In the North, a municipality can only have one object of loyalty, or rather, one object of taxation.

To pledge allegiance to Earl Lynn of White River means to betray the Duke of the Marshlands.

The envoy from Sanhe City was sweating profusely, never expecting things to develop in such a bizarre direction.

The city council thought they could appease Lynn with enough gold shields.

After all, although Lynn's previous conditions were excessive, they were only to ask Three Rivers City to accept three times the high price of grain.

While it was painful for the city council to distribute its hard-earned silver to the local lords, it was better than starving to death.

Currently, Sanhe City needs to support an additional 300 cavalrymen and tens of thousands of idle serfs. The remaining grain reserves are not even enough to last a month, and the pressure is immense.

Apart from Lynn's White River Territory, they would have a hard time finding a stable and large-scale food supply.

Under the pressure of multiple crises, the city council had no choice but to swallow its pride, temporarily set aside all old and new grievances, and once again send envoys to Baihe Territory to seek negotiations.

But things are different now.

In Lynn's view, the city council's envoy had no sincerity whatsoever.

Three times the price of grain? That's a joke!

Those were quotes from almost two months ago!

You only start fixing the leaks when the boat is in the middle of the river?

Too late!
Lynn is demanding more than just money; he wants everything in Three Rivers!
Just like during a great famine, ordinary farmers or small lords had to sell their farmland to rich people in order to have enough to eat.

Once the money from selling the land is spent, one might have to sell oneself into slavery in order to get a hot meal.

Even so, people with average strength or appearance aren't qualified to sell!
Men need to be young and strong, and women need to be young and beautiful, in order to sell themselves.

Lynn was only willing to help because he believed that Three Rivers City still had some value.

Who can blame the Earl for being so kind-hearted?
"Count... Your Excellency, this... I..."

Faced with Lynn's outrageous demands, the messenger was speechless.

Such harsh conditions are beyond the authority of even a lowly envoy like him, let alone Mayor Jürgen himself.

The power of a city is by no means the sole domain of the mayor.

Lynn raised his right hand, tapped his index finger lightly on the negotiating table, and patiently persuaded, "Go back and tell the city council that pledging allegiance to me is the only way they can go, and it's also the only way you can go."

Think about it, Sanhe City has a developed handicraft industry and is a commercial and transportation hub on the Jinghe River, but it lacks cheap food and raw materials.

My Baihe Territory has a vast market, as well as abundant and cheap grain and raw materials. Isn't this a perfect match made in heaven?

Stop counting on the Duke of the Swamp. He's only thinking about taking Amber Harbor and seizing the Crown of the North. He can't save you.

As you probably know, I am now recognized by the Duke of the Valley as the Earl of White River, and the royal investiture of me as an earl will be imminent. The three of us have formed an alliance and will soon launch a siege against the Duke of the Swamp, burying him forever in the Crown Territory!

"The only one who can save your Three Rivers City is me, only I, Earl Lynn of the White River!"

Lynn revealed a small portion of his cards to the messenger.

The purpose was to tell the envoy that if Three Rivers City didn't hurry up and sell itself, it wouldn't fetch a good price once the Duke of the Swamp, its powerful backer, fell from power.

Of course, Lynn didn't expect to be able to directly persuade Three Rivers City to surrender to him.

The city has been loyal to the successive Dukes of the Marsh for over a century, which has fostered a path dependency, and most of the city councilors also have close ties with the Dukes.

If Lynn were to easily persuade him to surrender with a few words, he would be more worried about whether it was a trap.

His main purpose was to show everyone in Sanhe City a new path.

That is to abandon the Duke of the Marshland and pledge allegiance to this Earl of the White River.

Once the city council leaders and most citizens knew about this 'clear path,' Lynn could proceed with the next step of her plan at her leisure.

The envoy dared not linger in White River Territory and immediately returned to Three Rivers City by boat, recounting everything he had heard to the councilors. He also brought back a handwritten letter from Lynn urging surrender.

In the letter, Lynn generously promised that as long as Three Rivers City was willing to pledge allegiance to him, he could provide Three Rivers City with cheap food and raw materials at prices comparable to those before the war.

Mayor Jürgen's comment on this was: "Humorous, so very humorous."

Bishop Rotterge wore a disdainful smile: "I didn't expect Lynn to have some comedic talent. Perhaps he could become a clown in the Duke's court."

At this time, the clown was not the kind with a red nose and heavy makeup, but a court jester who served high-ranking nobles such as dukes or kings.

The main role of clowns and jesters was to act as lubricants within the court, using humorous language to deconstruct the relatively serious court atmosphere, or to serve as a channel of information between the court and the outside world, allowing the rulers to keep abreast of various developments among the people.

Another councilor from outside the city sneered, "He's no good at being a clown. The moment the Duke sees him, he'll smash his head in with an axe!"

The representative of the city's faction, the head of the brewing guild, immediately expressed his opinion:
"Lynn's letter of surrender is worthless, and we certainly will not surrender to him. But there is one thing I think we need to pay attention to: Lynn claims that he has allied with the Duke of the Valley and the King and will soon launch a siege against the Duke."

No matter how deep the conflict was between the faction outside the city and the faction inside the city, they could agree on one thing: to continue to be loyal to the Duke of the Marsh.

According to reports from the front lines, the Duke of the Marshland has now completed the siege of Amber Harbor, and various siege weapons have been transported to the front lines.

At that very moment, the Duke may have already launched an assault on the walls of Amber Harbor.

However, according to Lynn's description in his letter of persuasion, he had formed a tripartite alliance with the Duke of the Valley and the royal family, and would soon launch a siege against the Duke of the Swamp.

As seen on the map, these three major powers have completely surrounded the territory occupied by the Marsh Duke in the Crown Territory.

In the last six months or so, the Duke of the Swamp has been expanding too much, and this is a trap set up against him.

The only gap in this network is Sanhe City.

Bishop Rothgier immediately denied it: "Impossible. This Lynn is not a nobleman at all. He is a bandit leader. Not to mention the royal family, even the Duke of the Valley would not respect him. The Duke of the Valley hates thieves and bandits the most. This Lynn is just bluffing!"

Kuno, the militia leader who always contradicted Rotegi, suddenly said, "Heh, have you forgotten that the Duke of the Valley's envoy just visited the White River Territory a while ago?"

"You!" Rottjee's face immediately turned red after being rebuked like that.

Kunno then looked around at the twenty councilors present and said loudly, "It is clear that Lynn's earldom has been recognized by the Duke of the Valley. I think it won't be long before the royal family also recognizes his earldom title."

This wasn't Kuno trying to embolden his enemies; he was simply habitually thinking about things from a rational perspective.

Given the current situation, let alone Lynn, even if a magical beast occupied White River Territory, King Morris and the Duke of the Valley would rush to acknowledge that the magical beast as Earl of White River unless they were out of their minds.

There's no other reason than to make things difficult for the Duke of the Marshland!
Over the past two months, Quinno believed he had gotten to know Lynn well enough.

He wasn't particularly concerned about Lynn's shrouded past.

Judging from the current situation, Lynn is undoubtedly a capable, shrewd, ruthless, and ambitious man.

Kunno acknowledged that Lynn's abilities and strength were superior to his.

However, as the ruling class of Sanhe City, he had no choice but to be their enemy.

He went on to analyze: "In the near future, we will not only have to face the crisis of food shortages and resist Lynn's constant harassment, but also perhaps the Duke of the Valley's large-scale offensive. This is the price we pay for continuing to be loyal to Golden Deer."

Rotegi retorted, "So, you're saying we should just surrender?"

Kuno didn't even bother to look at Rotegi, and coldly replied, "I'm just objectively analyzing the situation. I'm the militia commander, and the city's defense is on my shoulders, not yours, a bishop who only knows how to amass wealth."

Rotegi slammed his fist on the table and stood up: "I think you've been secretly colluding with Lynn for a long time, which is why you're unwilling to leave the city to provide support no matter what!"

"Think what you want." Kunno leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and began to rest.

But Rotegi seemed to have found Kuno's weakness and continued to pester him: "Look at his attitude, what makes him think he can speak up for Lynn in the city council? They must have been in cahoots all along!"

Without Quinno saying a word, other city councilors immediately came to his aid.

They seized upon Rotegi's disgraceful act of placing refugees in the city and began to attack him.

The city council meeting devolved into a brawl reminiscent of a vegetable market, and today's main agenda items naturally came to nothing.

Mayor Jürgen reluctantly adjourned the meeting. After the councilors left, grumbling and cursing, he looked somewhat bewildered at the empty meeting room.

Now that things have come to this, he doesn't know what to do.

(End of this chapter)