I'm not a lord

Chapter 206 The Great King Maurice

After the meeting, the mayor of Amber Harbor requested a private meeting with King Maurice.

For the past two months, the battle has been led by the mayor and city councilors.

Although Maurice was the king and the nominal supreme commander, he knew nothing about military affairs. At most, he would go to the front lines a few times and act as a cheerleader for the citizens.

Moreover, the citizens are not only fighting for the illegitimate king, but also for their own lives and property.

The same goes for city councilors.

The only real commander who can direct all citizens and city councilors is Neil, the current mayor of Amber Harbor.

During the war, he was always in armor and carried a sword, traveling between the front lines and the palace every day.

It's fair to say that Maurice's life was in Neil's hands.

If Neil decides to defect, Amber Harbor will fall into the hands of the Marsh Duke in an instant.

Therefore, Maurice still had to give him face.

In a drawing room of the palace, Maurice and Neil sat facing each other and talked.

“Your Majesty, I still believe that the Earl of White River should be given more rewards, not just on paper, but in a more practical way. You could even grant him the title of Duke of the Marsh.”

Neil, dressed in armor and wearing an iron helmet, had a face tanned to a light brown. Sitting there, he looked more like a general than a mayor.

Neil has been under a lot of pressure these days and hasn't had a good night's sleep.

Because that scoundrel Duke of the Swamp often sent out small groups of troops to launch surprise attacks at night, and frequently blew horns and beat war drums in the middle of the night, making the whole city feel like it was on edge.

In order to end this damned war as soon as possible, Neil naturally hoped that Lynn could continue to exert his strength.

Morris shook his head slightly, but his tone was resolute:
“Neil, there is no way that is possible. I will not grant Lynn the title of Duke. Earl of White River is the limit I can give him.”

Neil immediately defended himself:

“But Your Majesty, if the title of Duke of Lynn Marsh is granted, he will likely send troops to attack Golden Deer Castle. Lothair will not be able to leave Golden Deer Castle unattended. Even if he does not retreat, his court knights will force him to retreat.”

Neil's reasons were very valid.

Lynn is currently only the Earl of White River. If he obtains the title of Duke of the Marshland, he will try to take over Golden Deer Castle in the center of the territory in order to solidify this title.

With their stronghold in danger, Lothair, that plague god, will surely lead his army to retreat, and Neil will be able to sleep soundly for a few days with a great weight lifted off his shoulders.

But Morris scoffed, “Give Lynn Marshland the title of Duke? That will only create another ambitious man like Lothair.”

Neil, don't forget, Lynn was a bandit before. He's more brutal and has no moral bottom line than Lothair. If someone like that becomes a duke, it will be a disaster for the entire North!

In order to truly persuade the mayor, Morris paused briefly and then said sincerely:
“Neil, believe me, even if Lynn isn’t given a new title, he will tear apart all the forces around him like a mad dog. That’s the nature of a bandit, forever hungry and never satisfied!”
Giving him a higher title would not only be useless, but would also create more problems for the future!

Morris was reluctant to grant Lynn a higher title, nor was he willing to give the Duke of the Marsh a higher title than other nobles.

This is certainly related to his high self-esteem.

Although he was an illegitimate child, he was the legitimate son of the king and a royal count before inheriting the throne.

Through the Archbishop of Amber Harbor's pardon, he was also successfully legitimized and became the rightful heir of the Urenius family.

He believed he had the right to look down on anyone of low birth, including Lynn and the nobles under the three dukes.

Was Maurice stupid?

He believed he was definitely not stupid.

His rejection of the proposals from Princess Chloris and Mayor Neil was not merely due to considerations of social status.

Issuing a title is easy, but revoking one, along with the claims and territory associated with it, is extremely difficult.

Lynn is destined to be on the wrong side of the royal family; his ambition is no less than that of the current Duke of the Swamp.

In Maurice's view, granting such a person the title of duke would cause endless trouble!
“Your Majesty, I must admit, you have convinced me.”

Mayor Neil paused for a moment, then finally withdrew his suggestion.

He wasn't completely convinced, but he had to admit that the king's words made some sense.

At least for now, he can't persuade the king.

A bright smile appeared on Morris's face: "Neil, we will definitely win this war, and it will be a complete victory. In the near future, I will restore the glory of the royal family and share it with you."

After Neil left the reception room, Morris's smile gradually faded. He sat down in a chair and fell into deep thought, constantly reflecting on and reviewing the events of the past few months.

After much reflection, Maurice believed he had grasped the situation in the North and gradually conceived a grand and clear plan.

The war waged by Lord Lothair, Duke of the Marsh, was both a crisis and an opportunity for him.

War is like a blacksmith's hammer, striking hard with each blow, sending up countless sparks.

If an iron ingot can withstand a thousand hammer blows, it can be transformed into the toughest steel.

Forged into a sword, it can cut through iron like mud; forged into a shield, it can withstand any attack.

Through the trials of war, Maurice can eliminate all the 'impurities' within the royal family and court, and gather a team that is absolutely loyal to him.

The effect is indeed very good.

As the Duke of the Marsh marched triumphantly along the River Stillness, seemingly on his way to his loyal Amber Harbor, the principal officials of the palace either slipped away under cover of night to return to their respective territories or went directly to the Duke.

Morris effortlessly replaced all the important official positions with his own people; this is how Earl Brun, who had been sent as an envoy to the White River Territory, rose to power.

In this respect, Maurice should even thank the Duke of the Marsh.

Because of this spontaneous 'great purge,' he completely shed his status as a puppet king and gained a little real power.

His next task was to defeat the Duke of the Marshland in Amber Harbor and reclaim the power and prestige that rightfully belonged to the King!

Indeed, Morris knew almost nothing about military matters.

That's why he suffered a major defeat north of Cologne, and almost became a prisoner of the Duke of the Swamp.

However, having learned from his experience, he resolutely implemented a scorched-earth policy around Amber Harbor, effectively delaying the Duke of the Marsh's offensive.

Currently, the situation in the war is quite favorable to him.

Despite the formidable power of the Marsh Duke outside the city, he was utterly helpless against the impregnable Amber Harbor.

Therefore, Morris believed he was destined to win the battle, and that even the arrival of the three saints would not change the outcome of the war.

The enemy forces outside the city numbered at most twenty or thirty thousand, of which at most ten thousand soldiers dared to charge the city walls. However, the combined military and civilian population inside the city exceeded sixty thousand, enough to mobilize tens of thousands of combat troops, and they also had the two barriers of sturdy city walls and continuous rain.

This is a simple math problem.

Even with 10,000 against 10,000, he's still on the defensive, so the advantage is his!
that's the truth.

Over the course of two months, Maurice frequently went to the city walls to cheer on the troops and even personally went to the battlefield several times to boost morale.

In his view, wasn't the Duke of the Marshland getting nothing at all?

When it comes to being a cheerleader, Maurice is quite enthusiastic.

Almost every day, he would brave the scorching sun and torrential rain to boost morale on the smelly front lines of the battlefield.

He knew that this war was not only helping him hone his troops, but also helping him win over the hearts and minds of his people.

Once the battle for Amber Harbor is over, Morris can use his prestige to recruit an elite army in the city.

With this army, he can recover all the lost territory.

Morris was all too familiar with the ways of the nobility these days.

Despite the fact that the Duke of the Swamplands occupies most of the Crown Territory, these territories are only temporarily loyal to him.

Once Lothair is defeated at Amber Harbor, most of the nobles who had pledged allegiance to him will flee in an instant.

To put it bluntly, they'll side with whoever wins.

Morris is the king, possessing both righteousness and legitimacy. If he can win this battle, a large number of nobles will immediately come to surrender, which would be equivalent to winning back most of the lost territory!
Once he reclaims all the Crown Territories, he could even seize the opportunity to invade the Marshland Duchy and bring this unruly land completely under his rule.

At that time, his achievements may even rival those of the first King in the North who founded the kingdom!
Become the great king of the Zhongxing Wurenis family! Even after death, you will be honored with the title of 'Great One'!

Lynn and Three Rivers City were an eyesore and a stumbling block in his way.

Morris not only looked down on Lynn, but even regarded her as a potential enemy.

He and Lynn are only temporarily allied because of a common enemy, and they can turn against each other at any time in the future.

How could he possibly promote Lynn to a higher rank and title?

After clearing his mind, a confident smile appeared on Morris's lips.

Will you win? Yes you will!
Meanwhile, Princess Chloris was reading the letter from the White River Territory word by word.

The letter was written by three trusted stewards she had sent to White River Territory and delivered to Amber Harbor by merchant ship.

The letter was very long.

This included what the three stewards had seen and heard in White River Territory over the past month, and even their complaints about Lynn.

Chloris was greatly surprised when she saw this:

"Is this Lynn really a bandit? A bandit who doesn't crave pleasure, but instead spends money building a school?"

“That’s right. If he were really just an ordinary bandit, Sanhe City would probably have been burned to the ground by now.”

She then nodded slightly and exclaimed, "This man's vision and knowledge are not like those of a bandit, but rather like that of the eldest son of a great noble family. Could he really be a fallen nobleman who fled from the southern border?"

The population density in the South far exceeds that in the North, and the same landmass has numerous regimes, with wars occurring at a much higher intensity and frequency than in the North.

Due to war and intrigue, impoverished nobles who lost their territories were commonplace in the Southern Territory.

In order to make a living, these nobles either sought refuge with other nobles who had territories and armies, or simply became outlaws, or joined various mercenary groups.

Occasionally, impoverished nobles from the South would venture to the North to seek their fortunes.

It is said that Arno, the leader of the largest mercenary group under the Duke of the Swamp and the leader of the Power Mercenary Group, is of noble birth from the Southern Territory.

They possess both martial prowess and considerable knowledge, making them capable of excelling in any field.

Chloris's family also came from the Southern Territory, and most of her maids and servants were also from there, so it's normal for her to have this guess.

After her initial reflection, she continued reading the letter.

She was soon surprised again:

"After Lynn occupied the White River region, he did not grant fiefdoms to nobles. Instead, he sent officials to manage the various territories and collect taxes. Interesting. Is he learning from the Duke of the Swamp?"

Since the war north of Cologne, the effects of the Duke of the Swamp's centralized rule have become clear to everyone.

Reclaim the fiefdoms, establish a unified tax system, and then use the collected taxes to support an elite standing army.

This army can conduct long-term intensive training and maintain morale even when fighting away from its territory for extended periods, making it virtually invincible in this era.

If Amber Harbor's walls hadn't been deep enough and the citizens' will to resist hadn't been so tenacious, the Duke of the Marshland would have been crowned king long ago with this army.

But Chloris's surprise didn't end there.

In the letter, the three stewards described the administrative and tax system of Heron County in Shirakawa Territory from their own perspectives, described the amazing growth of wheat seedlings in Heron County, and even drew a sketch of a heavy plow in the letter.

Chloris stared at the letter, lost in thought:
"If Lynn is knowledgeable in military affairs, skilled in politics, and even understands agricultural improvement, then if he doesn't succeed, who will?"
It was precisely because he was a polymath that he was able to unify the Baihe Territory in a short time, and then swiftly capture Mikawa City.

"Judging from the current situation, Lynn already possesses an extremely wealthy territory, a very elite army, and controls the trade channels and handicraft workshops of Three Rivers City."

“Give him more time, and wouldn’t he be even more terrifying than the Duke of the Swamp?”

"And another thing, according to the letter, there are even traces of barbarians in his army?"

“It’s not impossible. If you go north along the White River, there’s a road leading to the wasteland at the northernmost part of White Bear Territory.”

"More than twenty years ago, the former Duke of the Swamp must have started a war with the Wilderness People in White Bear Territory."

"If these barbarians live by hunting, then they are natural archers, which explains why Lynn's army has a large number of longbowmen!"

With this thought in mind, Chloris believed she had guessed the truth.

And everything can be explained!
In fact, Lynn deliberately leaked all of this to Chloris and the royal family.

These things weren't exactly secrets to begin with, and as his power continued to expand, they became impossible to hide from anyone.

After all, Lynn couldn't possibly lock up the entire White River Territory.

His barbarian archers couldn't always walk around wearing hoods.

Even if he doesn't reveal it, within half a month, Amber Harbor will be able to learn about the earth-shattering changes in White River Territory through commercial channels.

(End of this chapter)