I'm not a lord

Chapter 214 The Underlying Logic of the Army
The rainy season in the North never reasons with anyone.

The rains were particularly heavy in late July.

The low, leaden-gray clouds seemed to weigh down the city of Sanhe, and large raindrops pounded the ground incessantly, splashing mud and raindrops that rose half a foot into the air, filling the air with an unpleasant damp smell.

Kalebo was sent as an envoy to the White River Territory despite the wind and rain.

When he left, the wind and rain continued, and the rain was even heavier.

Just yesterday afternoon, a merchant ship attempting to sail upstream was torn to pieces by the combined forces of wind, rain, and whirlpools. The bodies swept downstream were neatly stacked on the riverbank, with the broken masts stuck beside the bodies, serving as makeshift tombstones.

After witnessing the horrific state of the corpses, Kalebo had no choice but to abandon the dangerous Quiet River waterway and return to White Eagle Castle by land.

The return journey might take him more than half a month, and the journey would be arduous, involving trekking through mountains and rivers.

On the surface, Caleb's visit can be described as a complete failure.

The gifts were given, but the marriage and alliance came to nothing.

Just before setting off, Kalebo rode his horse back and looked at the western suburban palace through the misty rain, his heart filled with the joy of a successful mission.

At first glance, Lynn's three demands seemed increasingly unreasonable.

She demanded a dowry of 20,000 gold shields, wanted to keep all the spoils of war, and even tried to forcefully seize the right to inherit the Valley Duchy.

It's true that the conditions are excessive, but since Lynn is willing to set them, it means that he does not deny the possibility of a marriage alliance with the Duke of the Valley.

Upon closer examination, these conditions are not actually that unreasonable.

Giving a daughter a dowry is a well-established custom in the North, and nobles with higher titles are expected to have larger dowries.

Is it excessive for the Duke's daughter to have a dowry of 20,000 gold guilders? Not at all.

As for the latter two conditions, in Kalebo's view, they were simply Lynn's way of ensuring his dominance in the subsequent league.

That's not excessive.

Before Kalebo left White Eagle Keep, the Duke of the Valley made it clear what was most important in the North right now: strength!

Compared to genuine ability, titles and backgrounds are utterly meaningless.

If Lynn truly possesses sufficient strength to wipe out the arrogant nobles of the Valley Duchy, then shouldn't he rightfully have the right to distribute the spoils of war?

Ultimately, Lynn's third demand was a bit excessive; directly asking for the right of inheritance was tantamount to treating the Duke of the Valley like a commoner.

But that doesn't mean we can't talk about it.

Diplomatic negotiations are essentially a matter of one side making an offer and the other side negotiating, no different from buying vegetables from a vendor at a market.

Kalebo believed that Lynn's purpose in making the third demand was still to get the Duke of the Valley to agree to the first two demands.

They usually start by asking for 200, and then reduce it to about 150.

Although Caleb couldn't make the decision, he believed his duke would most likely reluctantly accept it.

Even if Lynn were to take all the noble territories he had conquered in the future, it would not be without benefit for the Duke of the Valley.

At least it could deter the other unruly nobles, making it easier for the Duke of the Valley to carry out his centralized power movement.

Even if the negotiations ultimately fail, Kalebo himself will still gain something.

For example, Lynn's friendship.

This is the friendship of a powerful earl, a rare and precious thing in the increasingly turbulent Northern Kingdom.

Kalebo was naturally full of confidence about the task Lynn had assigned him to recommend talented people.

As time went on, Lynn's reputation spread rapidly throughout the Valley Duchy.

When Kalebo visits the White River Territory again, bringing a ship full of talent will be a piece of cake!
With joy and the two barrels of fine wine Lynn had given him in return, Caleb embarked on his journey home.

Two days after Caleb left, Lynn, accompanied by Captain Carroll of the Royal Guard, went to inspect the military camp.

The entourage also included more than ten secretaries that Lynn had recently recruited in Three Rivers.

Taking advantage of a break in the rain, he held a small-scale internal military parade in the barracks.

On the one hand, it was to review the recent situation of the army, and on the other hand, it was to let the newly arrived secretariat see just how wealthy Lynn really was.

As August approached, after two weeks of reorganization, the troops of the four main generals had completed initial integration.

All five hundred cavalrymen under Hugh's command, plus five hundred cavalry apprentices, had arrived and had already begun formation drills.

Lao Sanyang's two 500-man battalions were also fully staffed. These 1,000 men had received professional recruit training in Baixiong County at the northernmost tip of the country, and only needed a little assembly and drill to form a neat infantry formation.

Compared to the disciplined and well-organized third brother, Joseph's eight hundred men were somewhat lacking.

During Lynn's inspection, the infantry formation of this unit experienced a minor disruption, which was quite embarrassing for the fourth brother.

But you can't blame him.

The fourth brother's troops had absorbed too many local vagrants and rogue soldiers from Sanhe City, including crossbowmen who originally belonged to the church and some of the city's militia.

Although these soldiers are physically fit, they have not received long-term systematic training, so they are bound to make mistakes due to nervousness.

As for Little Soward's seven hundred barbarian archers, they were still some distance from being well-organized in their military formation.

Of course, the archers did not need to be trained in neat formations. When faced with a cavalry charge, they would fire two arrows and then hide behind the infantry.

When attacking castle cities, they need to use skirmish formations and longbows to suppress the crossbowmen on the city walls. At this time, if they were to form a dense formation, they would be no different from becoming sitting ducks for heavy crossbowmen.

Led by the second-in-command's cavalry, four units marched past the platform in succession, shouting "Loyalty! Sincerity!"

This greatly surprised the secretaries who were observing from the side of the podium.

The army they saw most often was naturally the three hundred city defense militiamen under the command of Militia Commander Kunno.

As the saying goes, a good man doesn't become a soldier.

In Sanhe City, those who were reduced to working as professional militiamen to make a living were mostly idle street urchins who lacked skills and craftsmanship.

The impression the militia left on the secretaries was nothing more than that of a disorganized, belligerent, and cunning individual.

Besides the militia, the Power Mercenary Group had been stationed outside the walls of Sanhe City for a long time before the war began.

These mercenaries gave an even worse impression, no different from thieves and bandits.

However, these mercenaries were rich and willing to spend money, which is why the city was willing to reluctantly receive them.

Because they were so familiar with the state of the military these days, the secretaries naturally assumed that Lynn's army was no better.

But today's rather brief military parade completely overturned their preconceived notions.

How could an army possibly form such neat and orderly ranks as a field? How could hundreds or even thousands of people shout the same slogans in perfect unison?

Is this really the military?

Oh my god, what are these blue-haired people with hoods? Could they be the legendary wilderness people?
Could they be holding longbows?

It was with this longbow unit that the Earl defeated the Baron's Alliance in Green Lake Territory.
Even with Lynn standing on the podium, the secretaries couldn't suppress their urge to communicate.

They whispered among themselves, discussing the matter.

At the end of the parade, Lynn raised his right fist above his head, and thousands of soldiers below the stage instantly erupted in a thunderous roar of 'Loyalty!'

The deafening, synchronized shouts completely stunned the observing secretaries.

In this frenzied atmosphere, they couldn't help but hold their breath, and their loyalty to Lynn skyrocketed.

After the military parade ended, the barracks cooks immediately served a sumptuous dinner that Lynn had prepared to entertain the officers and secretaries.

The army that Lynn has assembled currently consists of 3,500 professional soldiers, but the actual number of soldiers in the army is close to 4,000.

The extra people were naturally used to serve and assist the soldiers.

This includes cooks, grooms, laundromats, etc.

As the momentum of this large army spreads throughout Sanhe City, there will likely be another group of merchants accompanying the army, as well as a group of special service personnel.

This was something that couldn't be stopped. Lynn had paid the soldiers their wages and rewards, and naturally they would find a way to spend the money.

Currently, every household in Baihe Territory has been allocated large tracts of farmland. Since these soldiers don't need to spend money on buying land, they can only spend it on personal consumption.

Halfway through the banquet, Victor, who had just taken up the post of secretary, sat down next to Lynn with a wine glass in hand and said hesitantly, "Sir, there are some things I don't know whether I should say or not."

Lynn had drunk a lot of wine with the generals tonight, his face was flushed, but his eyes remained clear.

He picked up his wine glass and clinked it lightly with Victor's, smiling slightly. "Speak frankly. You are my court scribe, and I do not expect you to conceal anything from me in matters of official business. As for personal matters, if you wish me to help you with any problems, you may speak freely."

At the same time, Lynn also glanced at Victor's panel.

With three stars in attributes, the lowest levels in leadership and strength, and C in intelligence and C+ in internal affairs, this is a typical civil official's attribute.

With a loyalty level of 93, it also possesses two excellent traits that are highly related to law and domestic affairs: [Law] and [Mirror].

More importantly, he is only in his early thirties, which means he has great potential.

Lynn had high expectations for Victor.

For now, he will serve as the palace scribe, in charge of managing all official documents within the palace and leading the entire secretariat.

After he has gained some experience, Lynn plans to have him establish a central court to be responsible for the judicial work of the entire territory.

Victor took a sip of his drink, gathered his thoughts, and asked, "My lord, I'd like to know, is your army truly composed entirely of professional soldiers who do not engage in production?"

As a former city notary, Victor has long been involved in the daily management of the city council and has handled various disputes related to the military on numerous occasions.

He was well aware of how expensive professional armies were these days.

Given the wealth of Sanhe City, the city council was already having a major headache just supporting only three hundred militiamen.

Regimental leader Quinno repeatedly proposed expanding the militia, but the city council rejected his proposals each time.

Simply put, it's just too expensive.

In the past, the Trinity Church in Sanhe City also maintained a group of professional armed forces.

Despite owning ten estates and over 20,000 serfs, along with a steady stream of donations from believers in the city, the church could only support 150 cavalrymen and 150 crossbowmen.

Is it that the church doesn't want to support more soldiers?

It's all because the cost of a professional army is too high!

If we're talking about wealth, the Duke of the Marsh, one of the three dukes, is certainly wealthy enough, isn't he? He even achieved initial centralization of power, and his purse is much larger than that of the other two dukes.

The Duke of the Marshland's court knights were not very large.

Before the war began, the Duke had a total of five hundred court knights.

Each knight had between three and ten squires, depending on their personal wealth.

Overall, the Duke's court knights numbered just over three thousand.

That's right, even someone as wealthy as the Duke of the Marsh could only support a standing army of about three thousand men.

During today's military parade, Victor did a quick count and discovered that the number of people in Lynn's army was no less than that of the Duke's court knights, including five hundred cavalrymen and over a thousand warhorses.

This is a complete money-devouring beast!

The money and resources consumed over a year are simply a bottomless pit!
Victor never doubted his Count's formidable strength.

After all, he was the ultimate ruthless person who could unify the White River Territory, take Mikawa City, and kill Earl Black Shirt in battle.

What Victor was worried about was whether the output of the White River Basin could really support such a large professional army.
If the Earl's White River Territory is completely devoured, then the Three Rivers City will likely follow suit.

Lynn smiled and sized up Victor, his dark eyes seemingly able to see right through people. After taking a sip of his rough ale, he replied with a smile:

“Victor, I know what you’re worried about, but your worries are completely unnecessary. Since I can build this army, I can naturally support it. Besides, you are my scribe. Through official correspondence, you will know the secrets to maintaining the army’s fighting strength and high morale, as well as the specific expenses of this army.”

Lynn certainly had the financial means to support this army.

The main reason was that most military personnel's families were allocated large tracts of farmland and obtained the status of free citizens.

There is no such thing as a free lunch. These farmlands and identities will certainly be 'charged', and the charge will be invisible and painless.

The cost naturally comes from the soldiers themselves, and these expenses are spread across their monthly salaries.

Judging from the wages they received, Lynn's soldiers earned significantly less than the mercenaries.

Of course, even with low take-home pay, an army of over three thousand men was definitely overloaded for the Shirakawa Territory.

Therefore, Lynn had to support his army by constantly waging war and plundering spoils.

The surrender and unified distribution of spoils of war is one of the underlying principles of this army, and it is a principle that Lynn repeatedly emphasized from the very first day of its formation.

It was through this logic that he was able to achieve the effect of using war to sustain war.

The spoils he obtained from looting ten monasteries in the western suburbs of Sanhe City alone were enough to pay his salary and bonuses for more than half a year.

Because he could sustain his war effort through warfare, Lynn dared to continue expanding his army.

If Victor knew that his Count was about to conscript another thousand soldiers, he would probably be so shocked that his eyes would pop out.

(End of this chapter)