I'm not a lord

Chapter 270 The truth is only within range
In the coming months, military operations in the Baihe Territory may be temporarily suspended due to factors such as climate, personnel, and transportation constraints.

A ceasefire in the military sphere does not mean that Lynn will also cease fire in the diplomatic sphere.

On the contrary, Shirakawa Territory has recently been going all out in diplomacy.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under the leadership of Calybo, was always operating at full capacity, not only consolidating relations with the Count of Mirror Iron in the South, but also maintaining frequent contact with nobles in both the East and West.

Military affairs, diplomacy, and domestic affairs are the three driving forces that determine the speed of territory development, and none of them can be neglected.

Even if Lynn manages military and domestic affairs very well, it will be difficult to truly break out if he is surrounded by mortal enemies.

Managing a territory without engaging in diplomacy is simply a case of forcing oneself to endure hardship, and Lynn has a sweet tooth when it comes to this, never willingly taking on any hardship.

To the east of the White River Territory, there are a group of newly appointed nobles appointed by the Duke of the Marshland, as well as native nobles from the Crown Territory.

With Lynn's current strength, he can already exert a certain influence over these minor and medium-sized nobles.

In fact, several minor nobles from the east had already sent envoys to Lynn to express their goodwill and invite him to join the 'anti-Otto III coalition,' but he politely declined.

These nobles were indignant about this, but dared not completely offend Lynn, and even shamelessly begged Lynn to sell them some grain.

If the Duke of the Marshland were to fall in the future, these minor nobles might have to rely on Lynn to take up the banner of the North.

To the west of Baihe Territory lie the three major duchies.

Aside from the Duke of the Swamp, with whom he had a complete falling out, Lynn's relationship with the other two dukes was generally quite good.

The Duke of the Valley also dared not break ties with Lynn, and even though the marriage alliance between the two sides fell through, they still maintained a superficial diplomatic exchange.

The Duke's eldest daughter also wrote several private letters to Lynn that sounded like love letters, repeatedly inviting him to send an envoy to White Eagle Castle for further discussion.

The young girl was quite proactive, but unfortunately, Lynn had no chance of marrying her at this point.

Even without Chloris, the former princess, Lynn would not have been able to marry the Duke of the Valley in order to maintain the fragile alliance with Earl Mirror Iron.

As for the Duke of Meadow, he is currently Lynn's main focus.

When Kalebo returned from his mission to Mirror Iron Territory, he was immediately dispatched to Wolf Fortress and received a personal audience with the Duke of Grasslands.
"My lord, the Duke of Meadows is still hesitant. He hopes to maintain the balance of power among the three duchies of the past. He knows very well that this is wishful thinking, but he finds it difficult to break free from the shadow of the past."

Caleb's statement, though seemingly abstract, accurately captures the current state of mind of the Duke of Meadows.

To put it bluntly, this bandit duke was afraid that his position would also be coveted, and that the northern border would continue to be unstable.

Because the territory was developed the latest and had the worst climate conditions, resources and population on the Great Grassland were quite limited.

Limited by his strength, the Duke of Meadows could only ever be a troublemaker, unable to have a decisive impact on the situation in the North.

Previously, the Duke of the Swamp launched a large-scale invasion of the Crown Territory, with his sights set on the Northern Crown, while the Duke of the Grasslands could only watch from behind, at most sending some cavalry to harass them, like a tortoise pushing its back from behind.

Now that Lynn has suddenly risen to power and controls the entire White River Territory and Turbulent County, the Duke of Meadows has recalled all the plundered cavalry, making it clear that he does not want Lynn to expand too quickly.

If you put yourself in Lynn's shoes, you can understand this too.

The two dukes, the Grassland Duke and the Swamp Duke, have been locked in a love-hate relationship for over a century. Despite constant friction, neither has ever threatened the other's core interests.

If it were Lynn, she wouldn't want a fierce-looking, aggressively muscular tattooed man to suddenly move into the room next door.

After saying this, Kalebo handed a wooden box to Lynn: "My lord, here is also a letter in the handwriting of the Duke of Meadow."

Inside the wooden box lay a deep yellow parchment scroll, bearing the wax seal of a wolf's head, symbolizing the Duke of Meadows.

Lynn merely glanced at the scroll, too lazy to even open it.

Even without looking, he could guess what the Duke of Meadows was saying: he was simply urging him to prioritize the bigger picture and cooperate with the Duke of Swamps to fight against Otto III.

Lynn tapped the long table lightly with his right index finger, curled the corner of his mouth, and said disdainfully:

“Once Lothair is completely out of the picture, the Duke of Meadows will be able to see the situation clearly. At that time, he might even join me in dividing the Marshland Duchy. If he is still on Golden Deer Castle's side then, we will sweep them all into the dustbin of history.”

After expansion, Lynn's army had grown to nearly 10,000 men, including 500 heavy cavalrymen under the second brother, 2,000 infantrymen each under the third and fourth brothers, 4,000 barbarian soldiers under his own command, and 1,000 new recruits under the fifth brother.

These are all professional armies capable of training, marching, and fighting around the clock.

By next spring, these troops will be fully equipped with weapons and equipment and possess considerable combat capabilities.

In addition to these professional armies, Lynn could also mobilize the city's militia and civilian armed forces.

With such an army at his disposal, Lynn wouldn't be afraid of anything, not just one duchy, but even if all three duchies attacked at once.

What could stop his advance from a swamp duchy that had been greatly weakened, plus a grassland duchy that was impoverished and weak and full of bandits?

Thinking of forming an alliance to curb his development? What a joke! He'll take care of both of them!

Of course, Lynn also wanted to fight against Otto III, and, incidentally, save the Northern Kingdom as well.

But he distrusted the nobles of the North, and it was even less likely that he would fight alongside these scheming traditional nobles.

Who knows, someone might stab him in the back?
Lynn always believed in one principle: what anyone promises you doesn't count; only what you can decide for yourself counts.

This was a bloody lesson he learned from his time as a bandit.

Similarly, any promises of alliances or armies made by anyone else are meaningless; only the strength and army that one holds in one's own hands count.

Lynn's decision to save the North was contingent on his ability to effectively control vast resources and an army.

By next spring, he will inevitably launch a major westward offensive, swallowing up the most fertile regions in the northern interior, and then seize the opportunity to expand eastward or westward.

Anyone who dares to hinder his development will be utterly crushed by him.

Lynn reached out and closed the wooden box, instructing, "Kalebo, you can rest peacefully in your territory this winter. Don't worry about the Duke of Meadows anymore; he's just a clown."

Lynn's attitude toward the Duke of Meadows, an indecisive opportunist, was to try to win him over if possible, and let him go if he couldn't.

"Yes, sir." Kalebo secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had been traveling for the past two months and hadn't had time to properly conceive with his newlywed wife.

Two days later, Lynn arrived at the foundry in the western suburbs to personally inspect the cannon casting process. After more than three months of natural air drying, the clay molds needed for casting the cannons had basically dried out, and the internal wax molds had been emptied through firing, making it possible to proceed to the next step of the casting process.

Inside the drying workshop of the foundry, Linus, the guild master of the Three Rivers City Foundry, reported to Lynn: "Sir, we made a total of thirty clay molds. Eight of them cracked, while the remaining twenty-two were in perfect condition."

Making clay molds is never 100% successful. Due to slight differences in the proportions of the materials, some clay molds will become inferior products during the drying process and will not be able to withstand the pouring of molten copper at thousands of degrees.

The standard practice in foundry guilds is to make clay molds at a ratio of one to three, meaning that one finished product corresponds to three clay molds, which basically ensures that there are no mistakes.

Even if the casting fails, the molten copper can be reused; only the clay mold will be lost.

The bronze bells used in the churches and monasteries of Three Rivers were all cast in this way. Today, most of these bronze bells have been melted down into molten copper, with only two essential ones remaining for telling time.

Lynn personally inspected each clay model, and after confirming that it was in perfect condition, he gave the order: "Very good, then let's begin casting."

At his command, the craftsmen lifted the half-person-high dried mud mold and carefully buried it in the pit that had been dug in advance.

The clay molds are all with the cannon muzzle facing down, which makes casting easier and increases the success rate.

Beside the pit, the craftsmen had already set up the furnace. Once the clay mold was buried, they would immediately start smelting copper.

Bronze has a very low melting point and can be melted using only the most primitive open furnace and a cowhide blower.

To improve efficiency, a large number of craftsmen from the city's forging guild also came to help.

By evening that day, all twenty-two clay models had been cast.

Seeing that the casting work was completed smoothly, Linus breathed a long sigh of relief and said to Lynn, "Sir, according to experience, the bronze cannon can be dug out after the molten bronze cools down naturally in three days."

Casting bronze cannons was the first task the lord assigned to the guild; if they failed, Linas would lose face in the city.

Of course, as an experienced foundry worker, Linus was quite confident about this task.

The bronze cannon is much smaller than the church bell, but the manufacturing process is basically the same, so there's no reason why he couldn't make it well.

A clear smile appeared on Lynn's face as he replied, "Very good. I will come back in three days to witness the excavation of the bronze cannon."

Based on his knowledge, the casting of this batch of bronze cannons was quite successful.

Three days later, all that is needed is to dig these bronze cannons out of the ground, smooth the inside of the cannon barrels with a file, and drill a breechblock at the breech to create a bronze mortar that can be fired at any time.

As for the shells and gunpowder needed for mortars, they were actually the easiest things to manufacture.

Solid stone or iron balls can be used for cannonballs. Considering the cost and difficulty of production, Lynn has ordered the stonemasons of Three Rivers to make hundreds of stone cannonballs.

As for gunpowder, it is essentially a mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal.

These three materials are not difficult to obtain; saltpeter is found near rural toilets and stables.

At this time, sulfur was used as a medicinal material, and in some areas it was also used to improve the soil.

Although no sulfur mines have yet been discovered in the North, the various municipalities regularly import them from the South, and there is a considerable stock in Three Rivers.

Charcoal goes without saying; it can be made from low-fat hardwood.

In short, the technology for making cannons was actually very primitive. Even with the North's low level of productivity, it still possessed the complete technology to make cannons.

The only thing the North lacks is the corresponding knowledge.

And this is precisely what Lynn has in abundance.

Under his guidance, the foundry guild in Sanhe City was able to complete the casting of cannons within four months, and the pharmacists were able to quickly prepare the gunpowder in the most appropriate proportions.

Once the molten copper has dried completely, Lynn will obtain the 'truth' of this era.

In the age of knights, when castles were everywhere, cannons were the only truth.

With cannons, he no longer needed to take on the castle in Turbulent County by force as he had in the past.

If ten cannons were brought over, a single salvo would be enough to destroy the towers and battlements of the castle. Before the infantry could even launch an attack, the defenders inside the city would likely surrender immediately upon seeing this display of force.

After returning to the palace from the foundry, Lynn was in high spirits. After dinner, he was preparing to have a good chat with the niece of the scribe Victor.

But then Foreign Minister Kalebo suddenly showed up, claiming he had something urgent to discuss.

Lynn had no choice but to leave the beautiful girl who had just gotten into the zone and put on his coat before heading to the study in the palace.

As soon as he entered the study, Kalebo rushed up to him, clutching an opened parchment letter in his hand, his face full of anxiety: "My lord, this is an urgent letter sent by Duke Herman of the Valley."

Lynn took the letter, placed it under the oil lamp, and muttered, "Hermann lost to Count Vasa of Mirror Iron in Slate Rock Territory? Judging from the contents of this letter, it seems to be a major defeat?"

Previously, Earl of Mirror Iron had conquered the Silithid Territory to the west, and his forces were now aimed at the White Eagle Castle, the residence of the Duke of the Valley.

Hermann was forced to fight. He gathered a few minor nobles and his own ducal guard, putting together an army of two or three thousand men. He then marched eastward, attempting to engage Count Mirror Iron in a decisive battle.

Due to the chaotic origins of his army, Hermann found himself in the same predicament as Duke Lothair of the Marshlands.

Despite being on the defensive, they can only seek a strategic showdown with the offensive side.

The result is naturally conceivable.

After years of lying low and exhausting his family fortune, Count Mirror Iron painstakingly built a direct heavy armored force of two thousand men. How could Hermann's ragtag army possibly match such an elite force?

Kalebo analyzed, "Siyan is mountainous with valleys everywhere. The decisive battle is very likely to take place in a valley. Once defeated, it will be difficult to escape. It is foreseeable that Hermann's army will suffer heavy losses and he will have to ask you for help again."

Lynn carefully read the letter. It bore the familiar handwriting of the Duke of the Valley. He frowned and said, "But geographically speaking, shouldn't the Earl of Mirror Iron's messenger have arrived first?"

After a moment's thought, Kalebo continued his analysis: "Vasa must have intentionally blocked the news. He definitely wanted you to receive the news as slowly as possible so that he would have more time to digest the fruits of victory."

The alliance between Lynn and Vasa was formed rather hastily, and they did not solidify their relationship through marriage. They came together simply because they were strategically complementary.

To put it bluntly, it's a plastic alliance that could collapse at any moment, so it's normal for them to be wary of each other.

(End of this chapter)