I'm not a lord

Chapter 196 Captured in One Net

Jürgen, as expected of the mayor of Terreux, doesn't need anyone else to maintain his dignity; he can maintain it himself.

Faced with Leon's sword, he obediently put down his daughter, then raised his hands and decisively surrendered.

His wife and servants, who had followed him out of the mansion, were captured by the soldiers Leon brought.

The servants were relatively calm; they were only employed by the mayor, and it was highly unlikely that they would be the ones ultimately targeted in the purge.

According to the laws of the municipality, the downfall of an official can implicate only his immediate family members; his collateral relatives and family servants can avoid punishment by paying a fine.

But Jürgen's wife and other immediate family members were not so lucky.

Looking back at the more than 100-year history of Sanhe City, whenever a mayor fell from power, whether due to political or military reasons or corruption and bribery, his immediate family members were always implicated.

At best, they will have to pay huge fines and become ordinary citizens.

In severe cases, they would be stripped of all their property and expelled from the country, unable to even become citizens. Being taken in by a country lord would be considered lucky.

There is no banking industry in the inland areas of the North, and the enormous wealth accumulated by the Jürgen family over generations was kept in a safe in their home.

With Jürgen's capture, this fortune ended up benefiting all those who came after him.

His wife couldn't help but scream hysterically at the thought of her possible miserable future.

"Do you know who I am? Stop right now, I am..."

The woman's scream had barely left her lips when she was immediately slapped to the ground by two soldiers, leaving her lying there unconscious, twitching slightly.

Compared to his devastated and frantic wife, Jürgen's daughter was much more well-behaved.

The fourteen-year-old girl, dressed in a white nightgown, looked down and hugged her father's arm, her lips tightly clenched.

Jürgen patted his daughter's head, signaling her to keep quiet.

He then reached out and allowed the soldiers to tie his hands with ropes, his eyes fixed on Leon, who had sheathed his sword, and asked with unusual calm, "Was all of this orchestrated by Earl Shirakawa?"

Jürgen has already seen his future.

He was first imprisoned, then tried and beheaded.

The charges are already prepared.

The Duke of the Marshland has been labeled a traitor by the royal family, so the mayor who supports the Duke is naturally a traitor.

Earl Lynn of White River nominally holds the position of royal executive officer, possessing the power to judge all traitors and rebels.

To put it bluntly, this is a gamble where only the winner takes all, and the loser will lose everything, including their reputation, wealth, and even their life.

Jürgen had enjoyed power and wealth in his life, so he could be considered to have had his fill.

Moreover, he was religious and firmly believed that people could reach the Kingdom of Heaven established by the Three Saints after death.

Therefore, he was able to calmly face death after his defeat.

His only regret was not fleeing during the day, which implicated his wife and daughter.

You shouldn't have listened to Rotegi's nonsense!

So what if they're criminals? It's better than their families being destroyed, right? Golden Deer Castle won't make things too difficult for them.

But now that things have come to this, there is no use regretting.

As he observed the mayor calmly accepting his fate, Leon's狰狞 (zhengning, meaning ferocious or hideous) face gradually regained its composure. He did not directly answer Jürgen's question, but instead instructed the soldiers beside him:
"Put them all in jail and keep them under strict supervision."

After the soldiers took the mayor's family away, Leon looked back at the city engulfed in flames and felt a sense of unreality.

So I've already captured Mayor Jürgen? It's that simple? The once high-ranking mayor is about to become a prisoner?
Leon felt a little disappointed.

Jürgen didn't resist or beg for mercy; he even obediently surrendered, making me feel too embarrassed to stab him twice. It was too easy on him!

However, the thought of becoming the new mayor and sentencing Jürgen to death in front of all the citizens filled Leon with elation.

He then quickly shook his head, gripped the hilt of his sword, and sped toward the residence of the next city councilor.

The city has not yet been completely captured, and there are still Count Blackwood's cavalry and several manors loyal to the church outside the city, so it is far from time to be happy.
Meanwhile, Count Black Shirt, who was fast asleep, had already been awakened by his servants and saw the towering flames in the city.

"Go to the West Gate immediately!"

It was just dawn, and the dark gray sky seemed to have been slashed open by a sharp blade, leaving a bloody mark. Faint metallic clanging could be heard from the morning mist that filled the earth.

The count dared not delay. He first instructed his deputy to wake all the soldiers, then mounted his horse and led sixty cavalrymen on night duty toward the west gate of Sanhe City.

As the brother-in-law of the Duke of the Marsh, Count Blackwood was well aware of the importance of Three Rivers.

The Duke sent him here in the hope that he could ensure the safety of the army's rear.

Upon seeing the unrest breaking out in the city, his first thought was to enter the city and quell it.

Three hundred fully armed cavalrymen would be a formidable fighting force anywhere, and often even have the ability to turn the tide of battle.

Earl Blackwood originally intended to station himself in the city of Mikawa.

However, his cavalry was so undisciplined that if they lived in the city, they would probably harass the citizens every day.

To avoid further provoking a backlash from the urban class, he was forced to station himself outside the city.

He was certainly aware of the seriousness of military discipline issues.

Unfortunately, these cavalrymen came from various territories and did not have an absolute superior-subordinate relationship with him.

He was only qualified to temporarily command these unruly noble cavalrymen because of the conscription order signed by the Duchess.

Fortunately, these cavalrymen had all received professional knightly training and were equipped with excellent weapons, armor, and high-quality warhorses.

Even if they just charge forward in a scattered manner, they can still unleash a powerful impact and combat strength.

The cavalry garrison was just a few minutes' walk from the west gate of Sanhe City.

As Count Black Shirt galloped at full speed, he prayed in his heart, hoping that the militia could hold the west gate firmly so that he could enter the city smoothly to quell the rebellion.

A few minutes later, Count Blackwood arrived outside the west gate and saw the open gate and the empty city walls.

It looks normal, yet it has a hint of eeriness.

Normally, if the militia had not participated in the rebellion, the West Gate should have been wide open to facilitate the entry of this foreign aid force into the city.

The strange thing is that the West Gate has two hinged gates, but only the first gate was raised, while the second iron gate remained in the lowered position.

Moreover, even though no one could be seen on the city wall, the faint sounds of battle cries could still be heard coming from inside the city.

Earl Blackwood's extensive war experience told him that there was likely a trap at the city gate.

But he was still unwilling to give up and ordered three cavalrymen to approach the city gate and shout a message.

The three men spurred their horses forward and shouted, but received no response.

As they stepped through the city gate with puzzled expressions, preparing to see what was happening inside, they suddenly heard a strange noise overhead.

Just as the three men were about to look up, heavy stones and sharp arrows rained down from the sky, killing the three cavalrymen and their horses in the dark city gate.

Blood splattered, and then Kuno's soft sigh echoed from the hole above the city gate: "Unfortunately, it wasn't Earl Blackwood himself." All of this was orchestrated by Kuno, the militia leader.

Dozens of holes were opened above the gate of the west gate of Sanhe City, allowing the defenders on the city wall to kill enemy soldiers who rushed into the gate.

Kunno originally intended to kill Count Black Shirt, who was the first to rush into the city gate.

However, the Earl had extensive combat experience and was not fooled by such a flawed trick.

If Kunno wanted to trick the Earl, the best way would be to open both city gates and deploy a large number of militiamen on the city walls, pretending that the militia had not yet defected.

This way, they could seize the moment when the count rushed into the city gate and try to kill him with a crossbow.

But Kunno dared not take the risk. If he were to let Count Black Shirt and his cavalry into the city, the variables would be too great, and he could not bear the responsibility.

Therefore, he could only resort to a compromise: to use a scheme with obvious flaws and deceive as many people as possible.

Fortunately, he did not come away empty-handed; he killed three knights, which weakened the count's forces somewhat.

Two hundred meters away from the city gate, Earl Black Shirt looked at the three fallen cavalrymen and his expression changed drastically.

Clearly, the west gate of Sanhe City has fallen into enemy hands.

Regardless of who this 'enemy' is, it is clear that he or they harbor deep hostility towards the Duke of the Marshland.

A knight immediately sought the advice of Earl Black Shirt: "Your Excellency, we definitely can't get into Ximen now. What should we do?"

The city of Sanhe was very well fortified, with each gate having two heavy cast-iron doors and the city walls being over twelve meters high.

They now have only about sixty riders, and on flat ground they can be fearless against conscripted infantry ten times their number, but when faced with heavily fortified city gates and walls, they are helpless.

"Follow me to the North Gate!"

After a moment's thought, Count Black Shirt made a decision that he would regret for the rest of his life.

Sanhe City has only two land gates: the west gate and the north gate, which are also the only two entrances for Count Blackwood into the city.

Now that the west gate has fallen into enemy hands, only the north gate still offers a chance to enter the city.

Judging from the current situation, the North Gate has most likely fallen as well.

But Earl Blackwood wanted to try one more time.

His troops were all cavalry, and their superior mobility gave him an equally high degree of leeway.

Given the flatness of the western suburbs of Sanhe City, he was confident that he could make a safe retreat.

Moreover, his good brother-in-law's campaign in Amber Harbor was going very poorly, and he had to do his best to protect Three Rivers, the pivotal city.

After making up his mind, Earl Blackwood personally led his cavalry to turn around and rush towards the North Gate, while sending a messenger to the military camp to order the follow-up troops to go to the North Gate with him.

As long as he can enter the city, he has the potential to turn the tide with this formidable cavalry!
Meanwhile, Lao Sanyang had already led a hundred soldiers to the north gate.

According to his understanding of war, the core of the Battle of Sanhe City was not inside the city but outside it.

With the militia and armed citizens, the two main armed groups in the city, both having defected to Lynn, taking the entire city is now inevitable.

The key to a great victory lies in repelling the Black Shirt Earl's counterattack outside the city, capturing his three hundred cavalrymen, and seizing several manors loyal to the church.

Therefore, after entering the city, the third brother quickly divided his troops into three routes, each consisting of one hundred soldiers.

Heading west, they assisted militia leader Kunno in defending the west gate and cleared out resistance fighters along the way.

They followed Leon as he swept through the wealthy district in the north of the city, arresting a number of high-ranking city officials, including Mayor Jürgen.

The most elite 100 veterans were personally led by the third brother and rushed straight to the weakest point, the north gate.

As it turned out, his deployment was quite correct.

As soon as the third brother arrived at the North Gate, he saw an armed force attacking the North Gate from inside the city.

The one leading the group was none other than Bishop Rothegi.

Rotegi usually lived in the city, and his mansion was also located in the wealthy area in the north of the city, only about two hundred meters away from the north gate.

As a bishop, he had access to all the wealth of the Church of Three Rivers and commanded armed forces loyal to the Church.

A dozen or so highly skilled swordsmen were stationed in his mansion year-round, and they would also act as his personal bodyguards when he traveled.

Tonight, it was these bodyguards who first noticed the anomaly and woke up the sleeping bishop.

Upon learning of the unrest in the city, Rotegi's first thought was naturally to flee.

With the attitude that "it's better for me to die than for you," he didn't even send anyone to inform Mayor Jürgen. Instead, he quickly summoned the bodyguards in the mansion and escorted him to escape towards the north gate.

On the way, he also met up with two wealthy religious businessmen, and together they temporarily assembled an armed force of more than twenty people.

The one guarding the north gate was a militia captain under Kunno, with a total of only fifty militiamen under his command.

Kunno's task for him was to defend the city gates to the death, neither letting anyone in nor letting anyone out.

Therefore, when Bishop Rothgier asked him to open the city gates, he immediately ordered his militia to respond with crossbows.

Upon seeing this, Rotege flew into a rage and roared, "A bunch of bastards! I am a bishop, what right do you have to stop me! I will strip you of your church membership and ensure you never go to heaven!"

However, the militia ignored this, as most of them came from middle-class urban families and the proportion of them being religious was not high.

Furthermore, with Kuno's death order, they were already prepared for battle.

Seeing that his verbal attacks were ineffective, Rotji had no choice but to send out a hastily assembled group of bodyguards to attempt a forced assault on the city gate tower.

The winches that control the two iron gates are located on the city gate tower, and there are stairs leading to the city gate tower from the inner side of the city wall.

Both sides knew very well that the key to survival lay in the winch.

The militia's advantage lies in their high ground, full armor, and the fact that they are equipped with two-meter-long spears used in land warfare.

Rotege's advantage lies in the fact that his bodyguards are more skilled in martial arts and are equipped with small crossbows with short ranges at their waists.

The battle was about to break out, and the two sides engaged in a fierce fight around the stairs, with the situation becoming extremely intense.

After arriving at the battlefield, the third brother was able to distinguish friend from foe by his clothing and immediately ordered his soldiers to attack Rotegi's troops from the rear.

Caught between two attacks, Rotegi's bodyguards quickly collapsed, either dying from being pierced by spears or dropping their swords and kneeling in surrender.

As for Rotegi himself, he tried to escape when he saw that things were not going well, but he was caught up by the soldiers because he was too slow.

When he was arrested, he was still shouting, "Excommunication! I will excommunication you! You will struggle in purgatory for eternity!"

Having caught the big fish, the third brother showed no joy on his face. He simply ordered his soldiers to slap Rothgi's mouth shut, forcibly ending the bishop's incessant chatter.

At this point, Mayor Jürgen and Bishop Rothegi were both apprehended.

Then the third brother quickly ordered his soldiers and militia to jointly defend the north gate and collect wood to assemble simple barricades.

As soon as he stepped onto the city gate tower, he immediately heard the rapid and dense sound of horses' hooves coming from the west.

He bent down, pressed his ear against the city wall, and discerned the approximate number of the cavalrymen. Immediately, a plan came to mind.

(End of this chapter)