I'm not a lord

Chapter 211 The Princess and the Duke's Decision
Chloris burned the secret letter from the Southern Territory after reading it.

There is currently no clear intelligence to prove that her brother-in-law will definitely use force against the North; there are only rumors about it.

Sending troops from the south to conquer the north is no easy task.

Although the North and South are connected by land, a towering mountain range with snow that never melts lies between them.

If they wanted to travel by land, they could only take winding and steep mountain paths, with no villages or shops in sight, no food supplies, and if they were ambushed, they would all perish—it was a death march.

Therefore, in most cases, travel between the two regions was by water.

Two hundred years ago, the first King of the North set sail from the Kingdom of Rui in the South, landed near Amber Harbor, repeatedly defeated the Wildlings, and finally established the Kingdom of the North.

But the North is no longer the domain of ignorant barbarians, but a feudal kingdom built by immigrants from the South.

To completely conquer this vast land filled with nobles and castles, it would be unrealistic to do so without tens of thousands of elite troops.

Chloris's brother-in-law, Otto, is the current king of the Kingdom of Rui, whose overall strength is considered above average in the Southern Territory, which is rife with political factions.

The difficulty of a single nation swallowing another while crossing oceans is unimaginable.

Fortunately, the Kingdom of Rui and the Kingdom of the North share the same origin, and the first King of the North was once a count in the Kingdom of Rui.

Nearly half of the first nobles of the Northern Kingdom also came from Rui.

After the establishment of the Northern Kingdom, the two countries had many exchanges in commerce and diplomacy, and the royal families of the two countries frequently intermarried and had a close relationship.

From a cultural and linguistic perspective, the obstacles to merging the two countries are not particularly high.

Otto married Chloris's sister, thus possessing a legitimate claim to the Northern Crown, and had previously expressed interest in and ambition for it.

However, the nobles of the Crown Kingdom in the North ultimately chose the bastard son Maurice, completely shattering Otto's dream of merging the two countries through diplomatic means.

With the Northern Kingdom currently in turmoil and the king's authority crumbling, Otto could indeed be considering annexing it by force.

In the southern border, expanding territory is indeed quite difficult.

The various regimes formed alliances and coalitions everywhere, making it a situation where a single move could have far-reaching consequences.

Even the leading powers in the southern border dare not easily start a war.

The North is geographically separated from the South, so there is no need to worry about external interference when conquering it.

The biggest challenge was how to transport the army from the south to the north.

According to the secret letter, Otto has recently been systematically recruiting merchant ships, which seems to indicate a prelude to military action abroad.

Furthermore, autumn is approaching, coinciding with the traditional war season on the continent of Dievas.

Chloris didn't really care whether King Maurice lived or died.

Her father left no male heir, so her status as a princess was destined to be lost.

No matter who becomes king, it will be difficult to tolerate the 'right to claim the throne' that is naturally inherent in her blood.

At present, Chloris and Morris have completely broken off relations.

She was no longer allowed to attend court meetings and banquets, and the king's guards were seen outside her bedchamber.

Perhaps next month, Maurice will throw Chloris into a convent and assign several senior nuns to watch over her day and night.

To put it another way, no matter who becomes king, Chloris's fate shouldn't be any worse than it is now.

Oh, except for the Duke of the Marsh.

She didn't want to marry her nephew.

In fact, Chloe initially had high hopes for her uncle Maurice.

After all, they all share the surname 'Urenis'.

Moreover, Maurice lived a secluded life for decades, and his personality and abilities remained unknown to outsiders.

It's normal for Chloris to have some fantasies about it.

But after observing him for several months, she gradually realized that Maurice was destined to be a hopeless case.

Putting aside the inherent disadvantages of being born out of wedlock, Maurice's biggest problem was that he had ambitions that did not match his abilities.

In short, it means being ambitious and eager for quick success.

Morris's past restraint now seems to have been nothing more than cowardice.

Those who are timid and cowardly are prone to losing control when they rashly acquire wealth or power that is difficult to manage.

Such a person might achieve some small victories, but it's almost impossible for them to live to the end.

Especially in the North right now, order has collapsed and chaos is everywhere.

Only the truly strong, with both physical and mental prowess, can stand out.

Once Maurice has squandered the last vestiges of royal authority, the two-hundred-year reign of House Urenius in the North will come to a complete end.

The cheers outside the window grew louder and louder, and Chloris began to seriously consider her future path and what else she could do.

She was ultimately a frail woman, without inheritance rights, enormous wealth, or formidable personal bravery.

She may not be able to reverse the fate of the country, but she can at least slightly change her own fate.

Three days later, Duke Lothair of the Marsh led his army to the city of Tot, located on the north bank of the Tranquil River.

Tote City is naturally an autonomous city, and its name is pronounced "Men" in the common language of the mainland. Therefore, it can also be called Menda City.
The city is about 60 kilometers from Amber Harbour. It is small in size and has a permanent population of about 5,000.

Thoth was originally the most loyal autonomous city of the Northern Royal Family and the true western gateway to Amber Harbor.

Just this March, the city council sent about a hundred crossbowmen to assist King Maurice in the war north of Koren.

These crossbowmen all met tragic ends.

They did not die from enemy arrows or lances, but were instead mercilessly trampled by their own cavalry, with only one in ten surviving.

After winning that war, the Duke of the Swamp carried out a brutal massacre in the city of Coron.

This brutal act utterly terrified the city of Tot.

The moment the Duke of the Marsh's vanguard appeared on the western outskirts of the city, the city council eagerly opened the gates and surrendered, offering up large quantities of grain, ale, and the Northern Golden Shield.

The Duke of the Marshland has always maintained a policy of preferential treatment towards cities that surrender spontaneously.

When his army passed through the city of Tot, it did not even enter the city, but instead camped outside the city to receive supplies.

When the siege of Amber Harbor began, Tote City once again became the Duke of the Swamp's grain transit hub.

Grain and supplies seized or requisitioned from various places would first be transported to Tot, and then carried by local citizens and farmers to the front-line military camps.

That is why the Duke of the Marshland chose to rest here for a while.

The abundant supplies stored in the city relieved the entire army.

However, Tote was not so lucky this time, as tens of thousands of soldiers, men and horses alike, poured into the somewhat narrow city.

The citizens' houses, property, wives and daughters were conscripted, and they themselves were forced into the army as laborers.

That evening, in the town hall, the Duke of the Marsh summoned his confidants for a small internal meeting.

Three days later, the Duke of the Marshland had more information, including Amber Harbor to the east and White River Territory to the west.

"The bastard Maurice did not send troops to pursue us. It seems he is still living in the shadow of the forest north of Coron. It's a pity. If he were a little bolder, we could have taken another gift from Amber Harbor."

The Duke of the Marsh sat in the former mayor's wide armchair, his tone still relaxed.

The crowd below immediately burst into laughter. They had all participated in the war north of Koren and witnessed the great defeat of the royal army.

Even though they didn't gain much advantage at Amber Harbor, they didn't take King Maurice seriously.

If that coward hadn't been hiding inside the thick city wall's tortoise shell, they would have torn that old tortoise, Maurice, to pieces long ago.

Hearing the laughter from the audience, the Duke of the Marshland couldn't help but smile as well.

It seems that his core members have not suffered a blow to morale due to a minor setback.

This glimpse reveals that the morale of the entire army is still sufficient for a battle.

These days, in addition to comparing training levels, equipment levels, and command capabilities, the overall morale of the army is of paramount importance in warfare.

If morale collapses, even the most elite troops will become nothing more than fish on a chopping block.

During the retreat, the Duke of the Marsh personally covered the rear and calmly directed the entire army to retreat, a move that clearly preserved the morale of the troops.

"We will rest in Tote for two days and reorganize the army. The number of soldiers under your command will be increased."

Subsequently, the Duke of the Marsh issued an order to reorganize the army.

After three days of forced march, the entire army needed rest.

He could take this opportunity to cut some of the old, weak, sick, and disabled, and select the survivors from the cannon fodder troops to supplement a group of generals loyal to him.

Upon hearing the Duke's order, the generals below applauded in agreement.

In the increasingly chaotic North, power is directly proportional to the 'strength' one possesses.

Although these generals all had to obey the Duke, who would complain about having too many soldiers under their command?
Once the duke dons the crown, they will still have to rely on their army to fight for a higher title.

Or if the duke is defeated and killed, they can still rely on their army to be mountain kings for a while.

After the applause subsided, the Duke of the Swamp finally began to speak about the White River Territory.

He straightened his face and said seriously, "Maurice poses no threat to us. The bandits and brigands around Amber Harbor alone are enough to give him a headache. Our biggest threat right now comes from the west, from White River Territory and Three Rivers City, and from Lynn."

On the third day after Lynn occupied Three Rivers, he opened the city gates, which gave the Duke of the Swamp more information about the rain that night.

According to the intelligence he currently possesses, Lynn did not forcibly seize Three Rivers City, but rather received strong support from some of the city's merchants and craft guilds, and together they took over the city.

As for the Duke's brother-in-law, Earl Blackwood, who died in battle, he perished during the retreat.

On the bright side, Lynn's forces may not have reached a terrifying number; he still needed the help of an inside man to take Three Rivers City.

From a pessimistic perspective, Lynn has already gained the support of the major factions in the city, and it will be very difficult for the Duke of the Marsh to retake the city through diplomatic means alone.

In short, the Duke of the Marsh now faces two paths: remain in the Crownlands or return to Golden Deer Castle.

Faced with such a crucial decision, the Duke, who was always autocratic, chose to convene a meeting to listen to the true thoughts of his key members.

After a brief silence, László, the eldest son of the Duke of the Marsh, spoke first: "I believe we should continue to ignore the west and launch another attack on Amber Harbor after a period of rest! I am willing to fight for my father, and my soldiers are also willing to fight for you!"

“I agree!” Earl of Cold Wind immediately echoed.

(End of this chapter)