I'm not a lord

Chapter 235 The Second Year's Harvest and Cannon Casting

After listening to Augusta's assassination plan, Carula put down the half-empty bottle of oat wine on the table and commented, "Your plan is a bit rough."

She deliberately released a group of slaves from other tribes, then led them to flee to the White River Territory in the south. Karula then hid among them, waiting for an opportunity to assassinate Lynn.

At first glance, the plan seems quite reasonable.

However, upon closer examination, the flaws become apparent.

The main problem is that I can't consistently get close to Lynn.

Even the wild people knew that the high-ranking members of a tribe could not easily come into contact with prisoners from other tribes, especially those who had just been captured.

Lynn was, after all, a high-ranking nobleman of the Rui people. How could he let Karula get close so easily?
No matter how strong Karula is, she can't use a bow and arrow like a sniper rifle.

Moreover, bows are rather large, and when using them, one must stand upright, making them difficult to conceal.

On the surface, Carla may seem like just a drunken warrior, but in crucial moments, she always manages to see the key to victory.

Augusta didn't refute, nodding and saying, "It is indeed crude, but it is the most likely plan to succeed. After all, you are also a member of the Wilderness, and this is the only way to get close to him."

He paused, then suddenly teased, "If you were willing to use another method to approach Lynn, it would be much easier."

After saying that, Augusta stared intently at Carula's handsome and pretty face.

It wasn't that he was lusting after the woman's beauty, but rather that he had always suspected she wasn't a member of the wilderness.

He wanted to test the waters when he had the chance.

Indeed, Karula's physical characteristics are exactly the same as those of the Wildlings.

But reason and intuition both told Augusta that she was most likely not a member of the Wastes.

Which barbarian woman could take on ten tribal warriors single-handedly and defeat them?
Moreover, Karula's past is completely shrouded in mystery.

Two years ago, she appeared out of nowhere in the Rift Valley tribe as if she had sprung from a stone, and she never revealed her parents or her past to anyone.

She conquered the Rift Valley tribe entirely through her extraordinary martial prowess.

The fierce and warlike barbarians admired the most capable warriors the most. The bravest and most skilled warriors who charged to the front of the battlefield always earned their respect.

At that time, Augusta was planning to conquer other tribes, so he simply went with the flow, praising Karula as a 'war goddess' descended from the heavens, and made full use of her strength and mystery to annex tribes one after another.

But the more smoothly everything went, the more terrified Augusta became.

In every battle, Karula is always at the forefront, often able to break through enemy lines despite being hit by a hail of bone arrows and spears.

Yet she was never injured, nor did she bleed. Keep in mind that when she went to the battlefield, she often wore only a single layer of animal hide armor!

This isn't a human; it's clearly a monster in human skin!
Moreover, Augusta was even more worried about the patriarchal chair he was sitting on.

Karula was incredibly skilled in combat; she consistently earned top honors in the wars that annexed the three major tribes, and her prestige within the tribe grew steadily.

If things continue like this, what will happen if a warrior from the tribe drapes Karula in a black bear skin symbolizing the tribal chief?

Can Augusta continue to serve as the patriarch?
Many nights, he would dream that Karula would lead a rebellion, rush into his room and cut off his head, and then he would wake up suddenly, wiping the cold sweat from his brow.

Even without the pretext of assassinating Lynn, he wanted to find an opportunity to transfer Karula away from the tribe.

The only option is to transfer them; killing them is definitely out of the question.

It's all Augusta's fault for elevating Carula's status too much.

Even the clan leader didn't dare to kill the 'God of War'!

And even if he dared to give the order, which of the warriors below would dare to take action?
This Rift Valley tribe isn't a one-man show by the clan leader alone; there are elders below him, and below the elders are leaders.

However, if Carla were willing to marry Augusta, or his fifteen-year-old eldest son, things wouldn't be so complicated.

However, Karula never showed any 'womanly' desires. The only thing she seemed to love was oat wine, and she never got drunk. She drank it like water.

As long as Augusta is willing to provide a constant supply of fine wine, she can get whatever she wants.

Despite Augusta's numerous attempts to probe her, Carula simply tilted her head back and downed the last half-bottle of wine in one gulp, replying calmly, "Is there any more? Wine?"

Augusta was used to the failed attempt. He replied to Carula, "As long as you kill Lynn and help me take his White River Territory, you can have as much wine as you want. The Rui people are good at farming and brewing. I will enslave them to brew endless wine for you."

Augusta had already ascertained the general situation of Shirakawa Territory through an inside agent.

Vast tracts of fertile farmland, tens of thousands of people, plus open-pit salt and iron mines.

The abundant resources were something Augusta coveted.

He believed that as long as he could occupy the White River Territory, acquire local resources, and then enslave the local Rui people, he would surely be able to make the wasteland people great again.

Moreover, according to the traitor, Nalin is currently at war with other nobles, and his territory is extremely vulnerable. The northernmost county, White Bear, only has a batch of newly recruited soldiers who are not even fully equipped.

Augusta's overall plan was to use Carula to assassinate Lynn, and then take advantage of the White Bear Territory's weakness and internal strife to march south and seize the White River Territory in one fell swoop.

The barbarians were indeed extremely poorly equipped, but there were many of them.

If a real fight breaks out, the entire Rift Valley tribe, along with all its vassal tribes, will march south. Tens of thousands of people will surge out of the dense forest, enough to scare the enemy to death!

At least Augusta thinks it's possible.

Karula pondered for a moment, her tone still indifferent: "I can try, with my arrows or bone knife, instead of my face."

Augusta grinned and said, "That was just a joke. Lynn doesn't like your type. He only likes little girls. He even asked two tribes that had allied with him for young girls. Hafdan and Sowad actually gave Lynn their twelve or thirteen-year-old daughters as slave girls. They have completely disgraced us barbarians."

"You make the arrangements. I want to go take a look in the south first." Karula put down the empty wine bottle, got up from the chair, and turned to walk towards the door.

Whether it's war or assassination, she sees no difference; they're both just killing people.

Who cares how many bottles of wine they've drunk?

Moreover, the appearance of the barbarian was indeed just a disguise.

She was tired of staying in this wild and barren wasteland, and now that she had the chance, she wanted to go and see the new world to the south.

As for Augusta's little scheme, how could she not know?

They just see through it but don't say it.

She had absolutely no interest in the position of clan leader; managing an entire tribe was too troublesome and tiring, and not suitable for her.

Regardless of who becomes the clan leader, she remains a high and mighty 'war goddess' who can take whatever she wants.

The God of War only needs to drink and kill occasionally, but the clan leader has a lot more to consider.

Augusta suppressed his joy and replied, "I will arrange it as soon as possible."

Karula's agreement to go south was a win-win situation for him. Killing Lynn would be ideal, but even if he failed, Karula would most likely never return.

The 'savage and brutal' Rui people wouldn't care about her so-called status as a war goddess.

Even if she were truly a ferocious monster in human skin, she would still be overwhelmed and killed by the Rui people.

As she reached the door, Karula suddenly turned around, shaking the empty wine bottle in her hand: "Oh, right, isn't today a sacrificial ceremony? They didn't prepare enough wine for me. I need fifty more bottles tonight."

“I will have someone arrange this as soon as possible.” Augusta maintained a smile on his face, but felt a pang of pain in his heart.

This woman can really drink!

She was still not satisfied even though most of the tribe’s grain was used for brewing wine!
She'd better die together with Lynn!
Lynn was unaware that two conspiracies were unfolding against him, but he had never cared about them.

Even if the assassin got close enough to him, he wouldn't be able to defeat him.

He had used almost all the magic stones he obtained from hunting monsters to increase his combat strength.

He usually keeps a low profile, and only the old bandits who have followed him the longest know that the most capable fighter in the entire Baihe Territory is his eldest brother.

Moreover, Lynn can tell at a glance whether there are dangerous people around him; no one can hide from the detection of the attribute panel.

As for his dirty tricks like poisoning, there's nothing we can do about it.

Everything he eats is inspected beforehand by his most trusted guards to ensure it is safe before being served to him.

The chefs who worked for him were also very reliable. They were all people he had brought out from the White Bear tribe and had no vested interests with the outside world, so there was no reason for them to betray him.

At this moment, Lynn is in the castle in River Marsh County dealing with government affairs from all over the country.

The six counties under Baihe County have officially entered the autumn harvest season.

Without any prompting from local officials, the people, with their families, plunged into the wheat fields and spontaneously enjoyed the joy of the harvest.

No one can resist an endless expanse of golden wheat fields.

The bountiful harvests from various places were reflected in a series of official documents reporting the good news to Lynn.

Viktor, the clerk, was already desensitized to the exaggerated figures of grain yield per acre and tax revenue on the official documents.

Before the autumn harvest, he had already measured every field in Kawanuma Prefecture with his own two feet and witnessed the unprecedented bumper harvest in Kawanuma Prefecture with his own eyes.

He also gained a deep understanding of the advanced technologies promoted by Lynn, knowing not only what they were but also why they were.

With Kawanuma Prefecture setting a high bar, the yield per mu in the five northern prefectures no longer surprised him.

However, after calculating the actual grain output of Baihe Territory this year, he would still be amazed by the richness of this territory.

In the past, the commercial guilds of Sanhe City monopolized all foreign trade in the Baihe River basin.

The surplus grain from the six baronies would be bought up by grain merchants in the city and made into beer to be sold in various places.

As the city's former notary, Victor handled most of the commercial contracts related to the trade in grain and ale.

Based on the trade volume, he could roughly estimate the grain output of the Baihe River basin.

Overall, the grain output in the Baihe River Basin this year is roughly twice that of the year before last.

After leading his secretariat to complete the statistical work, Victor handed the relevant reports to Lynn: "Sir, the taxes from all regions have been deposited into the treasury, and the specific figures have been compiled."

With Finance Minister Leah on maternity leave, most of the Ministry of Finance's work is currently being handled by the Secretariat.

Lynn took the report, glanced at it, and nodded in approval: "Hmm, well done. The data is clear and organized, and I can understand it at a glance."

In fact, Lynn personally taught Victor how to create reports.

When he first arrived in Kawanuma Prefecture, he put a lot of effort into figuring out how to create tables.

Encouraged by the count's praise, Victor quietly reminded him, "My lord, the taxes of the barbarians are listed separately on the third page."

Lynn quickly turned to the third page and carefully reviewed the specific tax amounts.

Although the rainy season in the Baihe River basin was a little late this year, it did not significantly affect the growth of the wheat seedlings.

The local people have been farming for most of their lives, and with the help of advanced technology and tools, coupled with favorable weather, it would be difficult not to have a bumper harvest.

Lynn was most concerned about the more than three thousand barbarians from the lowland tribes who had just been incorporated into the territory.

By analyzing tax revenue and tax rates, the total harvest for the villagers this year can be deduced.

While Lynn was reviewing the reports, Victor suggested, "A significant portion of the farmland you allocated to the wasteland people is arable land. The harvest from this is more than enough to feed them. I think we should stop giving the wasteland people food subsidies, or reduce them appropriately."

Previously, in order to encourage the relocation of the desert dwellers, Lynn not only provided them with seeds and special loans, but also set up sheds and porridge stalls to provide them with free daily food.

This is a huge expense.

In addition to the four thousand deserters at the salt mine, almost all of Bai Xiong County's surplus grain last year went to the deserters.

"We've been providing subsidies for almost half a year; it's time to stop." Lynn also thought it was a good idea.

Lynn encouraged the wasteland people to migrate inland, naturally because he wanted their remaining value.

He was a tax-collecting lord, not a charitable organization.

The villagers are now self-sufficient, and stopping the porridge distribution will encourage them to work even harder at farming.

Moreover, Lynn's policies towards the wastelanders were already quite favorable. Although it was called taxation, it was actually just collecting the livestock they had lent to them in the form of grain, and it was done in installments over five years.

Lynn then added, "It's good that the subsidies have stopped; the taxes don't need to change. We can gradually increase the taxes next year."

"Yes, sir." Victor bowed and took his leave to go back and draft the relevant official documents.

That afternoon, Lynn received another report from the Three Rivers City Crafts Guild regarding cannon casting.

The casting of cannons was coordinated and managed by the General Association of Handicrafts, with the casting guilds below it carrying out the specific tasks.

Lynn, who serves as the lifetime president of the association, serves as the technical advisor.

Since it was the first time the foundry craftsmen had made cannons, they had to consult Lynn beforehand for every step to prevent any mistakes.

During the rainy season, the guild's sculptors had already made wax models of the cannons.

Once the rainy season ended, the foundry guild immediately began making mud films to cover the wax molds, and now they were preparing to make bronze for casting cannons.

Lynn wrote a reply, detailing the proportions of each material in the bronze and also pointing out the environment required for the clay film to dry in the shade.

Making the mud mold is the most difficult step. As long as this step is successful, Lynn will be able to test fire the bronze mortar next spring.

(End of this chapter)