I'm not a lord

Chapter 243 The New King of the North

The next morning, as Lynn was having breakfast, her personal secretary, Mira, rushed into the dining room carrying a stack of official documents.

"My lord, a delegation has arrived in Sanhe City and wishes to meet with you in person to discuss matters."

After saying that, she handed Lynn a document that explained the origin of the mission and the reason for requesting an audience with the Earl.

Back when Mira first left the Lowlands tribe with Lynn, she was a short, thin, underdeveloped little girl.

She couldn't understand the common language of mainland China, was timid, and even dared not make eye contact with people. She was often dirty and curled up in a ball.

Now, after more than a year of training by Lynn and Leah, coupled with the comfort of a life of abundance, Mira's figure has become increasingly upright, and her whole being has gradually become more relaxed along with her waist-length azure blue hair. Her strong and resolute personality has also gradually emerged.

However, she is still a bit young and her body is not fully developed yet. She may need some time to grow before she can have children.

Lynn finished the last half glass of honey milk, put down the glass, took the documents, and asked, "A delegation? Where are they from?"

Mira replied, "They came from Amber Harbor. They claim to be an envoy sent by the Selmont family to White River Territory to discuss matters related to the salt trade with you."

Selmont is, of course, the saltworks family that once monopolized the salt trade in the North.

They and the royal family behind them took the lion's share, while other nobles took a smaller share.

Now that Lynn is the Earl of White River and controls far more land and people than an ordinary earldom, he is certainly entitled to a share of the spoils.

But when Lynn heard that the delegation came from the Selmont family, he almost lost his composure.

Should we go out and ask around to find out who the biggest salt dealer in the northern inland area is?

Thanks to the diligence of the newly arrived Gaoya tribe, the salt production capacity of Baixiong County's salt mine is steadily increasing, with monthly output approaching 300 tons.

You're asking me to pay a high price for salt from the South?
Yagna, who was breastfeeding her seven-month-old daughter, looked up and asked upon hearing this:

"Selmont family, shouldn't all the members of this family in the North be trapped in Amber Harbor? How can they still send envoys to White River Territory?"

Leah sat opposite Agna and explained to her, "War has little impact on such wealthy merchant families. Moreover, the roots of Selmont are in the South. As long as they can curry favor with the next royal family, they still have a chance to monopolize the maritime salt trade."

"I see." Yagena pondered for a moment, then lowered her head to continue breastfeeding her daughter.

After achieving her revenge and reclaiming her family's territory, her interest in politics plummeted, and now that she has a child, she devotes all her attention to her child.

She had also stepped down from her position in the Treasury, handing it over to a seasoned manager promoted from Shirokuma County.

For the position of warehouse manager, the most important thing is not ability, but absolute loyalty.

White Bear County, as Lynn's 'birthplace,' has very loyal stewards and estate managers, making them well-suited for this kind of work.

Leah then changed the subject: "However, it is said that the Selmont family has a good relationship with Duke Lothair of the Swamp."

Judging by the timing, if they truly came from Amber Harbor, then Amber Harbor was undergoing its fiercest siege when they departed. Their whereabouts and motives are highly suspicious, and Your Excellency must not easily grant them an audience.

And indeed, things turned out exactly as Leah had guessed.

This so-called mission was, of course, a disguise sent by the Duke of the Marsh.

To enhance the credibility of the mission, he ordered craftsmen to forge several exquisite sealing wax seals of the saltworks family and used them to forge a large number of related documents. He also specially hired some merchants and mercenaries to impersonate the mission, and even made complete sets of clothing and flags.

Because the Duke of the Marshland had close ties with the Saltworks family and was quite familiar with them, the fake mission actually managed to deceive many municipalities along the way.

Meanwhile, in order to lure Lynn into a trap, the Duke of the Swamp also used the name of the Saltworks family to promise White River Territory a large amount of salt profits.

The goal was to actually deliver this delegation to Lynn.

Just like Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin, the assassin's weapon was hidden in the wooden scroll of the parchment.

If the assassin disguised as a messenger can meet with Lynn, there will be a chance to succeed.

Lynn had already glanced at the documents and laughed, "The biggest flaw in this delegation is their identity, isn't it? If they really are an delegation from the saltworks family, once they arrive in Sanhe City, they can ask about the origin of the salt in the market and they'll know they should slink back."

He then instructed Mira, “Give the Mikawa City Council an order that I am currently not in Kawanuma Prefecture and cannot meet with these envoys. Tell them to wait. At the same time, order the city council to conduct a thorough investigation of this delegation. If they have not left on their own after three days, or if we have obtained solid evidence, have the militia arrest and interrogate them.”

“Yes, sir.” Mira picked up the quill pen and quickly wrote down Lynn’s instructions on the paper.

Sanhe City still retains the title of an autonomous city, so it must treat merchants from all over the country with courtesy.

Allowing the delegation to stay for three more days can be considered a gesture of courtesy before resorting to force.

“If they don’t leave in three days, then they’re not an envoy from the salt merchant family. They’re most likely spies sent by the Duke of the Swamp to gather intelligence.” Leah paused, then turned her beautiful eyes to Lynn and continued, “Or perhaps, they’re here for you.”

Lynn simply smiled and gently placed the document in his hand on the table:
“Lothair previously captured Riverbend Fortress by poisoning the Earl of Riverbend, so it’s normal for him to try to use similar methods on me now. He’s the kind of ruthless and ambitious man who will stop at nothing.”

Poisoning and assassination can create a path dependency.

When an ambitious person discovers that he can easily breach a seemingly impregnable fortress, he will surely repeat the same method time and time again.

His opponents would naturally be on guard. Of course, this was not the main reason why the Duke of the Swamp suffered a setback with Lynn.

The most important problem is that he doesn't know that Lynn is currently the largest salt trader in the northern inland region.

Lynn captured Three Rivers at the end of June, took control of the city in July, and only began to allow the sale of salt in mid-to-late August.

And it's only September now.

It's normal that the Duke of the Marsh, living hundreds of kilometers away in Amber Harbor, wouldn't know about these 'minor' changes in the west; decisions made remotely will naturally be delayed.

If Lynn hadn't had that salt mine in White Bear Territory, and if he had been less vigilant, he might actually have been able to meet that delegation.

After all, the conditions they offered were very favorable, and they were even willing to reduce the price of salt by 20%.

Few lords could resist such temptation.

This is why the Duke of the Marsh believed that Lynn would absolutely not be able to refuse such a price.

Of course, imagination is beautiful, but reality is cruel.

The mission meticulously prepared by the Duke of the Marshland was destined to benefit Lynn.

After taking control of Three Rivers, Lynn found two new places for the prisoners in the jail.

Keeping prisoners in jail will only make these scumbags eat bread and porridge at exorbitant prices.

However, if they were sent to salt mines and iron mines to perform labor reform work, the effect would be completely different.

Despite the relentless whipping of the labor foremen, their hard work actually managed to drive down the prices of iron ingots and salt on the market.

It’s a win-win!

The prisoners not only earned enough black bread and wheat porridge to fill their stomachs through their labor, but also achieved a sublimation of their personal value.

Previously, the newly appointed mayor, Leon, had tried former mayor Jürgen and former bishop Rothegi, along with other rebels.

The ringleaders were all beheaded, the accomplices were all exiled to mines, and the families of the prisoners could avoid imprisonment by paying a fine.

These days, cities often impose a system of collective punishment on the families of high-ranking criminals, especially political prisoners.

Those who enjoy the pleasures of power and money must naturally bear the corresponding price.

The problem is that almost all of these prisoners' property has been confiscated, and most of their families simply cannot afford to pay the fines.

Ultimately, 90 percent of the criminals' families became honorable miners, including female families, because of gender equality.

In Lynn's eyes, the delegation was nothing more than twenty-odd high-quality miners.

If it really was sent by the Duke of the Marsh, then Lynn should thank him.

A few days later, Little Albert, the county magistrate of White Bear County to the north, sent an urgent report claiming that a group of six or seven hundred deserters had appeared in the forest north of the salt mine.

According to the leader of the wild people, they were three tribes conquered and enslaved by the Rift Valley tribe. They heard that the Earl of White River in the south was kind and generous, so they risked their lives to come and seek refuge with him.

Lynn took this very seriously.

First of all, six or seven hundred people are still people, and they are valuable labor for mine construction.

Thanks to this year's bumper harvest, Baihe Territory is currently not short of food at all, and he could eat it without hesitation even if there were another zero in the number of people.

Secondly, these are wild people who escaped from the Rift Valley Tribe, which will help him understand the wasteland and the internal situation of the Rift Valley Tribe.

Lynn quickly issued instructions: "Place them in the salt mine first, and order Chief Hafdan of the High Cliff tribe to keep a close watch on them. The necessary living supplies will be provided by White Bear County."

This is also one of his usual methods: newly arrived refugees are first observed in the salt mines for a period of time, and only after it is confirmed that there are no major problems are they gradually migrated inland.

White Bear County currently has a thousand new recruits undergoing training, plus four thousand tribesmen under Chief Hafdan, which is enough to handle most emergencies.

Just as peace and tranquility reigned in White River Territory, the aftermath of the Battle of Amber Harbor quickly swept across the entire North.

News of the war's end spread in all directions, centered around Amber Harbor.

On both banks of the Jinghe River, the news spread rapidly westward at a rate of fifty kilometers per day.

Today, travelers in taverns and inns are still arguing about who will ultimately prevail between the King and the Duke of the Marsh.

The next day, they began to marvel at the dramatic changes in the situation.

Everyone was repeatedly chewing on that name—Otto, the new king of the North.

(End of this chapter)