I'm not a lord

Chapter 238 The Runaway King and the Missing Princess

"The situation in Amber Harbor and even the Southern Territory is beyond our control; we can only wait and see."

Lynn was indeed powerless to fight a war hundreds of kilometers away.

If possible, he would certainly prefer Amber Harbor to remain in chaos.

Currently, Maurice has the title of king but not the power, while the Duke of the Marsh occupies half of the Crown Territory but has no title of king.

Let them waste their time inside and outside the besieged city until the end of time, preferably locked up for life.

The crown has always been on Morris's head, which is obviously more advantageous to Lynn, since a crown without substance is the least threatening.

If Otto III of the Southern Territory also wants to get involved, then the three of them will be fortunate enough to have a happy ending.

But this is simply unrealistic.

This battle for the throne is like an unrestricted fight in an octagon. All parties involved have extremely limited physical strength and energy, and as time goes on, a final winner will eventually emerge.

"Two brown bears fought under the beehive, but in the end, it was the fox who stole the honey. In this battle for the throne, Otto may have the highest probability of winning."

Victor expressed his concerns with a classic Northern proverb, similar to "when the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits."

The illegitimate son, Maurice, and the Duke of the Marsh have been 'entangled' for more than half a year, and one of them could fall at any moment.

Otto III had been conserving his strength in the south, and then suddenly launched an attack into the north with fresh troops; his ultimate fate was self-evident.

Even if he were to be crowned king in Amber Harbor, would the local nobles of Crown Territory swear allegiance to a king from the South?
Hard to say!

Will the other three dukes approve of this new king?
That's even harder to say.

At least the Duke of the Marshland would not approve.

Once Otto is crowned Lord of the North, he will most likely push the turmoil in the Northern Kingdom to a new climax.

Chaos is a ladder, that's true, but most people aren't ambitious; they just want to live a peaceful life.

“Maurice has bought me enough time; we can’t ask for too much from him.”

Lynn felt only gratitude towards her illegitimate son, Maurice.

This is true.

Perhaps Morris was prejudiced and looked down on Lynn, who came from a humble background.

Regardless, he managed to hold off the Duke of the Swamp for more than half a year, buying Lynn precious time to develop.

Forced by the situation, he reluctantly gave Lynn two titles.

It's better than nothing, but it still serves some purpose.

Speaking of Maurice, Lynn suddenly thought that if Amber Harbor really fell, the bastard king would most likely choose to flee.

So where will he flee to? Will he return to his hometown, the Earldom of Crown Territory, or go into exile in the South? Or perhaps seek refuge with other nobles in the North?

If he escapes to Sanhe City by boat, how should I treat him?

Believe it or not, this could actually happen. Lynn currently holds the title of Royal Executive Officer, and nominally, he is obligated to assist the King in suppressing all rebels and traitors.

It's understandable that the king, having lost his capital, would seek refuge with him.

With this thought in mind, Lynn said to Victor, "There's no need to worry too much about Amber Harbor. No matter who becomes king, the development path of White River Territory won't change much."

External changes at most require Lynn to slightly adjust his diplomatic strategy.

The domestic and military strategies of Baihe Territory will not be shaken in the short term.

Domestically, they developed agriculture, trade, and handicrafts, while externally they continued to expand westward, striving to swallow up all the marshland duchies as soon as possible.

Half of Turbulent County has already fallen into Lynn's hands. If they can hold out for another month or so, by the end of September, they should be able to take over the remaining dozen or so castles and completely occupy Turbulent County.

Before the real winter arrives, Lynn has about two months to expand outwards, and perhaps he can push further west by a few dozen kilometers.

He can spend a winter digesting the newly occupied territories and integrating the army, so that his war machine can start running again next spring.

The more chaotic the North became, the more excited Lynn became, because he didn't have to consider the consequences of 'overexpansion' at all.

Meanwhile, in the heart of the North, the capital city of Amber Harbor is undergoing the most devastating siege in its history.

"Attack the city with all your might! Anyone who retreats will be beheaded!"

Duke Lothair of the Marsh realized that time was running out, so he committed all his court cavalry to a massive assault on the northwest corner of the walls of Amber Harbor.

The last remaining siege equipment was also deployed. Ten siege towers, each carrying elite soldiers, slowly approached the city wall under the cover of thousands of crossbowmen.

"Protect the city, for Amber Harbor!"

On the city walls, Mayor Neil led the armed citizens in a fierce battle against the Southern Army, vowing never to retreat.

Just as the two sides were locked in fierce combat, in a secluded drawing room of the palace, King Maurice was plotting with his wife and several trusted officials.

The core issue of this secret meeting was how to save Maurice's precarious throne.

Count Brun had just returned from the city walls and witnessed the ferocity of the battle. He asserted, "Amber Harbor is clearly no longer defensible. Lacking reliable and powerful reinforcements, that traitor Lothair could breach the walls at any moment."

Morris's top henchman, the royal prime minister, asked, "Aren't there volunteer troops from the South? They're all of noble birth, so their fighting strength should be quite high."

Earl Brun rolled his eyes at the Prime Minister: "Those volunteers are all here for the money. Do you think they would risk their lives for His Majesty? Right now, the most intense fighting on the sections of the city wall is being held up by the civilian militia. Those volunteers are completely unreliable!"

Although both were Maurice's lackeys, there are differences between lackeys.

Earl Brun was at least a loyal subject, able to travel to all the major powers in the North for the king's sake, and even inspect the battle situation from the city walls during the most intense fighting.

In terms of ability, he was definitely among the best of all the court officials.

In contrast, this royal prime minister in his forties was nothing more than a mouthpiece for Maurice, doing nothing but relaying messages to the illegitimate son of the king and using his limited power to embezzle money, completely unconcerned about the situation on the front lines.

It is said that this fellow has already secretly prepared a boat at the dock, ready to flee with his family and property at any time.

Earl Brune has always looked down on these kinds of insects.

King Maurice waved his right hand to signal everyone to be quiet, then calmly said, "There's no point in arguing about these things anymore. The most important question now is where we can go and where we should go after leaving Amber Harbor."

Although Maurice's mental state was no longer stable and he would occasionally have a fit of madness, grabbing anyone in the court and hurling insults at them, even his two own sons.

But occasionally he would regain his senses and maintain a fairly sharp insight. He knew perfectly well that Amber Harbor couldn't be defended, at least not in his hands, Morris.

Despite his daydreams, he always managed to maintain a degree of rationality in critical moments when his life depended on it.

Even if Mayor Neil and the citizens' armed forces did manage to defeat the Duke of the Swamp, how could they possibly stop Otto III's southern army?
Although Maurice did not receive the secret letter from the South, he was not deaf or blind.

The ministers in his court, along with five hundred palace guards, and his mother's grain merchant family, were not all useless.

Moreover, some information simply cannot be kept completely hidden.

Based on intelligence gathered from various sources, Morris was able to deduce that Otto in the south had most likely already led his army out.

Perhaps in just a few days, he will be able to see the Royal Flag of Rui rising from the sea from his window in the palace.

If you ask whether he was panicked or not, Maurice was definitely panicked.

But what's the use of panicking at this point?

What he needs to do is find a way to make a living.

Death is the only hardship of all ages, and he had no intention of dying for the Northern Kingdom.

But after Morris finished speaking, the narrow drawing room fell into a deathly silence.

Given the current situation, running anywhere seems like the wrong thing to do.

Returning to the Earl's territory before Maurice's coronation?
Even if you squeeze every last drop out of a small earldom, you can't muster many troops. It's not much different from staying in Amber Harbor; you'll be caught sooner or later anyway.

Other factions in the North, such as the Dukes of the Meadows or the Dukes of the Vale?
This plan is slightly more reasonable. Putting aside the Duke of Waste Valley, the Duke of Grassland still has considerable strength.

The problem is that these two dukes are not powerful enough to support Maurice's restoration of the kingdom, and they are not exactly virtuous and loyal ministers.

Finally, it was Maurice himself who broke the silence in the room: "I've been thinking a lot these past two days. We can go to the Southern Territory and leave Amber Harbor to Neil, Otto, and Lothair to fight over."

Otto has many enemies in the south. We can seek refuge with a kingdom that opposes him, recruit an army, and launch a counterattack against the north. Even if we can't raise enough troops, we can still live a relatively stable life.

To be fair, when he's sober, Morris does possess a pretty good political mind.

Previously, he had considered seeking refuge with Otto III in the south.

But Otto has now personally entered the fray to prepare for the struggle for the Northern Crown.

It was no longer appropriate for him to seek refuge with Otto; his fate was destined to be imprisoned until death.

The Southern Territory is not limited to the Kingdom of Rui.

The Kingdom of Rui has been established in the southern border for hundreds of years, making a large number of enemies, including two powerful nemesis-like figures who have existed for centuries.

If Otto III did indeed conquer Amber Harbor and be crowned King in the North, then the importance of Maurice, the former King in the North, would immediately become apparent.

Otto's arch-enemies, of course, could not stand to see the Rui Kingdom grow stronger, so they would try every means to weaken Otto's power.

At this point, they could authorize Maurice to raise troops in the South and then fund his return to the North.

The Southern Territory has never lacked impoverished nobles willing to take risks. With his royal title and generous promises, Maurice should be able to recruit an army with just a small amount of money.

Even if he fails to defeat Otto and reclaim the North, he can still use his claims and army to cause Otto a lot of trouble.

Moreover, as long as Otto wears the crown of the North, the title of king of Maurice will always be a sword hanging over his head.

For the sake of this 'sword', Otto's nemesis would certainly be willing to feed and care for Maurice.

As soon as Morris finished speaking, the sycophantic royal prime minister immediately responded loudly: "Your Majesty, I am willing to follow you forever!"

This flexible and adaptable plan was exactly what the Prime Minister wanted. He was practically destitute and only became Prime Minister by currying favor with Morris, and he had only managed to amass some wealth with great difficulty.

If he can escape safely to the south, then the Prime Minister should be able to enjoy some life.

Following the Prime Minister, several other officials immediately echoed his sentiments.

Seeing the senior officials all expressing their opinions, the Queen, sitting next to Maurice, had no choice but to force a smile of agreement.

Although this plan would mean giving up the hard-won title of Queen and the inherited earldom, it would at least preserve her life and relative freedom, preventing her from spending the rest of her life in a dark tower prison.

Earl Brun sighed; he had actually wanted to suggest that the king seek refuge with Earl White River.

Lynn was indeed of humble origin and ambitious, but among the many forces in the North, apart from the Duke of the Swamp, he was the strongest.

Furthermore, the king had bestowed upon Lynn the titles of Earl and Royal Executive.

Therefore, Lynn could be considered a court official by a narrow margin.

Even for the sake of his reputation, he should entertain the king who had fled to Baihe Territory.

Lynn has not yet married a wife. If the king could marry a royal woman to him, he might be able to borrow an army from him, and there might still be hope for the restoration of the kingdom in the future.

However, if one goes to the South, returning to the North would require crossing the vast ocean, and communication with other parts of the North would be severed. Restoring the kingdom would be extremely difficult, and one might even spend their entire life only able to look towards the ocean with longing.

Earl Brun was quite familiar with the situation in White River Territory and knew that White River Territory under Lynn's command had unlimited potential.

However, the king's proposal was indeed highly feasible and aligned with the interests of the vast majority of those present.

After some discussion, the illegitimate son Maurice and his ministers finalized their escape plan.

He then added, "The biggest risk of this plan is the possibility of colliding with Otto's fleet at sea, so we need to prepare as many ships as possible and assign the most experienced sailors. We may have to take a slightly longer route."

The Crown Prince replied confidently, "The problem of ships and sailors is easily solved; Amber Harbor has no shortage of these things."

Although the city council controls the docks, the attendees all have their own methods, and Morris can also use his maternal family's influence to requisition ships from the grain merchants' guild.

Finally, Maurice looked at Earl Brun and ordered, "Brun, I'll give you fifty guards. Go and take Chloris and her mother into custody immediately. She is a valuable political asset and must be taken to the South."

After making up his mind to run away, Maurice was unusually clear-headed and considered almost every possible problem.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will go now." Earl Brun quickly stood up. Although he was reluctant to leave his homeland, he had no choice but to obey orders.

But just as he stepped out, preparing to lead his troops to control Chloris, he saw two palace attendants guarding Chloris rushing over.

"What happened?"

"Your Excellency, Her Highness the Princess has disappeared!"

(End of this chapter)