I'm not a lord

Chapter 256 You don't want Otto to wear the Northern Crown either, do you?
Chloris did have some knowledge of the situation in White River Territory, but not much.

The three stewards she sent stayed in Canglu County as tutors from beginning to end, and could provide her with very limited information.

Chloris knew very little about the exact number of troops under Lynn's command, or the true war potential of White River Territory.

All she knew was that Lynn had been invincible for the past six months, first taking Baihe Territory, then occupying Sanhe City, and then attacking Tuanliu County, achieving remarkable results.

Based on these achievements, she believed that Lynn's army was no less formidable than the Duke of the Marsh's court cavalry.

Of course, this is purely her personal speculation.

She urged Lynn to aim for the Crown of the North and even the creation of an empire, partly to use Lynn's power to realize her personal ambitions, and partly to test him.

In negotiations, reasonable probing is normal and will not affect the relationship between the two parties or subsequent cooperation.

If Lynn readily approves of her plan and is willing to marry her now, it shows that Lynn is quite confident in his own abilities and is willing to take the corresponding risks.

Conversely, if Lynn has rejected her plan now, it means that White River Territory's overall strength is still lacking and it cannot be an enemy of the entire North like the former Duke of the Swamp.

After leaving the castle hall and settling into the suite Lynn had specially arranged for the mother and daughter, former Queen Katarina immediately began to complain:
“I told you long ago not to be too hasty. Now look what’s happened, Lynn has detained us. We only have one chance to choose, and we’ve already used it all.”

While she called it a complaint, Katarina's feelings for her daughter were actually more of heartache.

When they first arrived in Sanhe City, they were in the shadows and their identities were not yet exposed, so they still had room to maneuver. If things went well, they might even be able to return to the Southern Territory.

That cloth merchant ship belonged to their family, and the captain was considered a loyal follower of the family.

But Chloris seemed to have given up on Lynn.

Having only been in Sanhe City for two days, she couldn't wait to contact Mayor Leon, which led to her being granted an audience with Count Baihe.

This is tantamount to handing over one's fate and future entirely to others.

Currently, the mother and daughter can only live in the accommodations arranged by Lynn. Although they have a few maids and guards brought from Amber Harbor, the entire castle is under Lynn's control.

Without his permission, the mother and daughter could not go anywhere, like canaries locked in a cage.

"Mom, don't worry, Earl Baihe is just waiting for the right time. He will definitely marry me." Chloris stroked her mother's hand to comfort her and declared her victory directly.

will win.

She will surely become Lynn's wife and help her husband stand atop the mountains in the North.

Katarina raised her hand and touched her daughter's smooth cheek, then turned to look out the window at the slowly flowing White River and the lush green mountains on the opposite bank, a faint smile barely forming on her lips:
"I hope so. Well, the scenery in White Bear Territory is quite nice. I can relax here."

After nearly a month of being tossed about on the ship, Katharina was exhausted both physically and mentally, and desperately needed a quiet place to heal her body and mind.

Chloris helped her mother to the windowsill, and after sitting down, she gently smoothed the weathered strands of hair on her mother's forehead with the soft river breeze, and said, "This place is now called White Bear County. After Lynn became a count, he abolished all the baronies, and all the territories are now directly governed by his court."

"Oh, is it so?"

Katarina didn't care about this; she found it difficult and didn't want to distinguish between the merits of the two systems.

Chloris then added, "Also, White Bear County is likely to become a battlefield soon, and we may be moved to another castle in the south."

"battlefield?"

Katarina frowned, surprised. "But isn't this the northernmost part of White River Territory? I see mountains on both sides of White Bear County. Who could possibly attack this peaceful paradise?"

Chloris pointed to the rolling mountains to the north and said with certainty, "The enemy must be the barbarians from the wasteland."

Katarina grew increasingly puzzled: "Wilderness? But haven't the Wilderness all submitted to Lynn? I can see blue-haired Wilderness maids in this castle."

Katarina wasn't particularly averse to the blue-haired wastelanders.

The barbarian maids in the castle were all clean and well-dressed, and they would bow respectfully to the mother and daughter, which was far from the dirty and vulgar barbarian image she had imagined.

"Like our Northern Kingdom, the Wasteland is home to many different forces. Lynn has only conquered two of the nine tribes of the Wasteland. Will the remaining seven tribes just stand by and watch him devour the Wasteland? Lynn is destined to wage a large-scale war against the Wasteland, and the location of the war should be in this White Bear County."

Chloris was so certain because she had access to fairly detailed information.

She had learned as early as Amber Harbor that Lynn had conquered two great barbarian tribes.

Upon entering Sanhe City, she confirmed this information through various inquiries.

Upon arriving in White Bear County, Chloris saw her people busily digging the castle's moat.

Furthermore, with Lord Lynn himself in White Bear County, and considering intelligence from various sources, she could easily deduce a relatively reasonable conclusion.

The facts are largely consistent with her deductions, with the only discrepancy being the timing of the outbreak of war.

While the mother and daughter were talking, Lynn had already brought Leon to the paper mill north of the castle.

Lynn walked through the workshop's backyard, where papers were drying, and said to Leon, "I predict that White Bear County may face war as early as November, but it could also be next spring, depending on when the Rift Valley Tribe unifies the wasteland."

The White Bear County is separated from the wasteland by a towering watershed mountain range, and even the most elite scouts familiar with the roads would take more than half a month to make a round trip.

It is currently the first week of October, and at this moment, Augusta, the chieftain of the Rift Valley tribe, should have already launched the final offensive against the remaining three major tribes.

If all goes well for him, then the Rift Valley Tribe is very likely to lead tens of thousands of people from seven tribes to attack White Bear County before winter arrives.

The scene was like a blue, surging river suddenly bursting forth from a silent forest; regardless of its destructive power, its sheer scale was certainly extraordinary.

If Augusta encounters trouble in the war of unification, he will have to wait until next spring to be able to head south.

The winters in the North are too terrifying; few dare to launch a large-scale war in the midst of the blizzards, as it would be tantamount to sending soldiers to their deaths.

Even someone as powerful as the Duke of the Swamp wouldn't dare.

Leon followed closely behind Lynn and replied, "This kind of war is really unbearable; we can only passively wait for the enemy to attack."

The expedition across mountains and valleys would require an enormous number of laborers; the current population of White River Territory could not afford a war to launch an offensive against the wasteland. Lynn stopped before a piece of nearly dried bark paper. He reached out and squeezed the paper, carefully feeling its resilience, before saying:

"However, this is also an excellent opportunity to completely conquer the Wilderness People. In order to completely subdue the Seven Wilderness People, I will probably mobilize the city defense forces of Sanhe City this time."

Currently, Lynn's main force is in Turbulent County in the west, while the remaining eight hundred veterans are all stationed with the fourth brother, Joseph, in the western suburbs of Three Rivers. He only has the thousand new recruits led by the fifth brother, Andre.

The total population of the seven tribes of the wilderness exceeds 50,000, even more than the local population of the six counties under the jurisdiction of Baihe.

To completely enclose this enormous 'dumpling filling,' Lynn needs a dumpling wrapper that's big enough.

In his plan, the two troops under the command of the fourth and fifth sons must participate in the war. In order to ensure that the secret is not exposed, he even has to transfer some troops back from Turbulent County.

If necessary, the 300 city defense militiamen of Sanhe City may also participate in this "dumpling-making" team-building activity.

Baiheling currently has very convenient transportation. As long as arrangements are made properly, mobilizing the city's militia in a short period of time should not have too serious an impact.

At that time, it might take 3,000 professional soldiers, plus the security forces of each county, to barely contain this huge and delicious dumpling filling.

Upon hearing this, Leon immediately straightened up and declared, "Sanhe City will always obey your orders, sir."

He knew very well where his power came from, and he also knew very well who controlled the future of himself and his family.

Leon is willing to be an enemy of anyone and any rule as long as Lynn's demands are met.

While the traditions of the autonomous city are certainly glorious, in the ever-changing North, some traditional rules must be broken or abandoned.

If Mikawa City wants to maintain peace and prosperity, it can only rely on the whims of Earl Shirakawa. What's a little mobilization of city defense militia for the sake of the Earl's great cause?
If necessary, even if it means facing immense infamy, Leon must rally the citizens' armed forces to fight for the Earl.

Lynn smiled and waved to Leon: "Come here and take a look at this paper. I plan to start selling this paper to the public next year."

Leon strode forward, first carefully examining the color of the paper, then mimicking the action by squeezing the paper, and replied, "Compared to the paper you provided to the city council, the color is darker, and the toughness and thickness are also a bit worse."

As the paper mills' production capacity gradually increased, Sanhe City now also uses high-quality linen paper, and officials from various departments of the city have praised this paper highly.

The church-affiliated schools even tried to purchase this paper from Lynn, but he refused them without hesitation.

Just kidding. The Church of Three Rivers has not yet completely submitted to Lynn. Several well-known priests are still unwilling to serve his court and are only willing to accept the positions assigned by the city council.

Lynn replied with a smile, "The materials are different. The paper I gave you is the highest grade linen paper. The raw materials used in this paper are much lower grade, but the corresponding cost is only one-fifth of that of linen paper. It is truly a good paper that is both high-quality and inexpensive."

Currently, under the management of boss Lloyd, the paper mill is thriving. It has not only overcome the difficulties of making paper from bark, but has also recently increased the production capacity of this type of paper.

According to his optimistic estimate, the paper will be available in large quantities by next spring at the latest, enough to meet the needs of the entire territory and still have room for external sales.

Leon exclaimed in surprise, "One-fifth? The price of one piece of parchment could buy twenty or thirty of these sheets?"

He touched the light, pale yellow paper in his hand, yet he could feel its heavy weight—the weight of the Northern Golden Shield.

As a businessman, he was all too aware of the trade value of this kind of paper.

If this document could be sold to the culturally and educationally developed southern region, the profit margin would be absolutely terrifying.

At this moment, Lynn turned to look at Leon and suddenly asked, "If you're willing, how about you take full charge of the territory's paper trade?"

Overwhelmed with joy, Leon instinctively replied, "I do, of course I do!"

The next second, he instantly realized what was happening and immediately bowed, "Thank you for your generosity and kindness, sir!"

Lynn patted Leon on the shoulder and encouraged him, "You must seize this opportunity and use the privileges of the paper trade to build a caravan loyal to you. This will help you consolidate your position as mayor. Do a good job, and I will still support you as mayor in two years."

Before Lynn took over Three Rivers, the city was dominated by merchants, and whoever was richer had more say in the city council.

Those who can sit on the mayor's seat are invariably the presidents of large merchant guilds.

Although the power structure within the city has changed, merchants still hold the upper hand overall.

Leon was previously just a black market merchant with very little influence in the city.

It's no wonder that rumors have surfaced in the city that Marcel, a major grain trader, will take over as mayor.

Lynn's decision to grant Leon the privilege of the paper trade was a valuable opportunity for him to form a merchant guild.

With this privilege, Leon can cultivate a loyal team of merchants and reap huge profits from the paper trade, thus consolidating his influence in the city council.

Lynn's expectations for Leon went far beyond just having him as a puppet mayor.

Incidentally, Lynn did not entrust the salt trade of White River Territory entirely to Leon, as the latter lacked commercial channels and trading ships to transport salt to various territories in the North.

The paper trade, on the other hand, was a true creation from scratch, and it was the stage that Lynn built for Leon, the perfect place for him to shine.

This can be considered a reward for his unwavering loyalty.

"My lord, I will certainly not let you down!"

Leon looked up, tears of gratitude streaming down his face. He was now incredibly grateful for his decision.

Giving his younger sister to the adults really brought about an opportunity for the family to take off!

Afterwards, Lynn introduced Lloyd, who was in charge of the workshop, to Leon, leaving the specific details of production and trade to the two of them to discuss themselves.

As evening fell, Lynn returned to the castle and immediately received a letter that left him both amused and exasperated.

This letter was actually written by Lord Lothair, the Duke of the Marsh.

Along with the letter, scribe Victor briefed the Crown Territory on the latest developments:
"My lord, according to intelligence from the royal domain, Lothair has gained the support of seven counts. He is building an army and preparing for a decisive battle with Otto. He has also invited you to join him in the war."

Lynn dismounted and opened the envelope at the castle gate. The gist of the letter was: You probably don't want Otto to wear the crown of the North either, do you?

(End of this chapter)