I'm not a lord

Chapter 282 Lynn's Naval Forces

After the conferment ceremony, Lynn held a grand banquet at the Western Suburbs Palace.

Kunno, a councilor of Sanhe City and commander of the city's militia, sat in his armchair, staring blankly at the flickering candlelight on the table, and couldn't help but sigh:

"I never imagined that I would receive a noble title in my lifetime."

After saying that, he even chuckled a few times, "Hehe, Knight, I'm a knight again?"

Kunno's ancestors were barons appointed by the Duke of the Marsh, and their fief was located in this western suburb.

After several generations, one of his ancestors voluntarily gave up the territory and led his family into Sanhe City to form a militia.

Since then, the hereditary title of baron has been passed down to the head of the militia.

The family's territory became the western suburbs of Three Rivers City, and now it is the western suburbs county under Lynn's rule.

Kunno truly never imagined that he would have the chance to become a nobleman in his lifetime.

Even though it's just an honorary knight title, it's still a knight, isn't it?

Marcel, the grain merchant sitting next to him, echoed, "Who can argue with that? How did a grain merchant like me become a knight?"

Lynn did indeed only grant four of the more prestigious baronial titles, and they were all given to his own men.

He was generous with the knighthood, awarding it not only to outstanding officers in the army but also to several core councilors of Three Rivers City.

Members of Parliament such as Quinn and Marcel played a significant role in Lynn's capture of Three Rivers.

The former led the militia to defect in the face of battle, while the latter welcomed Lynn's army into the city and helped Lynn win over many of the city's business guilds.

Moreover, Marcel also contributed his own younger brother and daughter. Shouldn't such a loyal subject be rewarded?
Lynn always rewarded those who had made contributions, so he took advantage of the opportunity of this first batch of conferment of titles to include these members of parliament as well.

Anyway, it's just an empty title with no corresponding territory, and the annual title bonus is negligible, so it's fine if it's given out.

In fact, even without the title granted by Lynn, councilors of large municipalities were already known as 'city aristocrats'.

In terms of resource mobilization, these urban nobles were in no way inferior to ordinary knights or even barons.

For example, the militia commander Kunno commands three hundred militiamen, all of whom are fully equipped professional soldiers. An ordinary baron could never muster so many troops.

Marcel, the grain merchant, was even more powerful. He was one of the top grain merchants in Three Rivers City and almost monopolized the grain trade in the southern Mirror Iron Territory. He owned two large merchant ships that could be converted into armed merchant ships at any time to participate in missions such as plundering, blockade, and troop transport.

His younger brother Victor also served as a notary in the city. The family's influence in the city was deeply rooted, making them a prime example of collusion between officials and businessmen.

Lynn's bestowal of honorary knighthoods upon them, in a sense, required these urban nobles to prove the value of the titles.

The urban class in the North is powerful, especially in the Crown Territory, where even the capital city of Amber Harbor is an autonomous city.

By bestowing titles upon the councilors of Three Rivers, Lynn was making a statement to the other cities in the North: my territory of Lynn can accommodate all classes; as long as one submits willingly, one can be spared the pain of war, and if one performs meritorious service, one can also receive corresponding honors and titles.

Although it's just an empty title, tell me if it's called a knight or a noble title.
Quinno raised his glass, clinked it with Marcel's beside him, and said with a smile, "Mr. Marcel, no, I think I should address you as Sir Marcel."

Marcel smiled knowingly: "From today onwards, I shall also address you as Sir Quinno."

The two legislators admired each other and flattered one another.

After chatting for a while, Kuno suddenly changed the subject and began to complain: "But I heard that Isaac and Linas also received knighthoods. They are just two lowly craftsmen. Why do they deserve noble titles?"

Isaac is the guild master of the blacksmiths' guild in Three Rivers, while Linus is the guild master of the foundry guild.

Both of them were also members of the city council and provided a large number of excellent craftsmen for the development of the territory.

With the idea of ​​not showing favoritism, Lynn also awarded two honorary knight medals to the craftsmen's guild, naturally to encourage the artisans' hard work and dedication over the past six months.

However, in the eyes of nobles in cities like Kunno, this actually diminished the value of the knighthood.

Who do you think you are, to wear the same medal as me? You craftsmen who make a living by your skills, do you even deserve it?

Marcel took a small sip of the rich mead and reminded him, "You can only say this to me, don't go around telling everyone. The Earl has his reasons for doing this."

Marcel is now firmly tied to Lynn's warship.

His younger brother Victor was a court scribe, and his daughter served the Earl at the Western Suburban Palace.

Marcel himself also shouldered important trade and diplomatic missions; the grain sold from White River Territory to Mirror Iron Territory all went through his transportation channels.

Therefore, Marcel was able to know many political secrets within the territory.

For example, Lynn once ordered Linus to forge a batch of bronze weapons, which were said to be some kind of powerful siege weapon.

Isaac's skilled blacksmiths simply moved to Chixi County and are currently forging an unprecedentedly sturdy suit of armor.

Lynn made no secret of his high regard for the artisans, even condescending to serve as the lifelong president of the city's general guild as a lord.

Although Marcel, out of professional habit, looked down on lowly craftsmen and believed that Lynn had given them too many privileges and preferential treatment, he dared not make any rash comments.

If this affects the future of his family, he will regret it deeply.

Kunno looked at the several artisan representatives sitting at the opposite table, only to see Linas smiling and raising his glass to him.

He pursed his lips and said, "I was just complaining. Who in Sanhe City doesn't know that the Earl values ​​craftsmen? They hold half of the council seats, and now they've acquired two knighthoods. Even I don't dare to offend them easily."

Although Kunno was the leader of the militia, he was actually aligned with the business class.

After all, the militia's funding was provided by the city council, and in the past, Three Rivers City was dominated by merchants, with most council seats in their hands.

Maintaining a balance between the merchant class and the artisan class was naturally part of Lynn's plan.

The monolithic Sanhe City was clearly not conducive to his rule.

The banquet ended late at night, and the attendees stayed overnight at the Western Suburbs Palace.

Lynn did not rush to rest, but instead held a small meeting with several core city councilors in the study on the second floor of the palace.

"The Jinghe River is expected to be fully navigable by mid-March. Before that, the city council must gather all available boats."

Lynn's mobilization of ships was clearly for the purpose of starting a war. As the number of troops under his command rapidly increased, inefficient land transport could no longer meet his needs.

To leverage the shipping advantages of the Jinghe River, armed vessels are needed to ensure the safety of the waterways.

Naval forces are a branch of the military that requires a lot of time to develop and can be trained quickly, unlike the army.

If Lynn were to start building ships and training a navy now, it would take at least five or six years to complete the project.

Time was of the essence, so he had no choice but to make do with the existing water resources, namely the armed merchant ships of the various business guilds in Sanhe City.

The people of the North are known for their fierce and warlike nature; there are horse bandits on land, and naturally, there are water bandits on the water.

The armed merchant ships of Sanhe City have extensive experience in naval warfare and escort. They had previously been ordered by the city council to plunder River Marsh County under Lynn's command, but were turned away by his Yokogawa Iron Chain.

Leon, sitting to Lynn's right, stood up and replied, "My lord, I issued the order last December. Now all the merchant ships of the various guilds are undergoing intensive repairs. By March of this year, the city council should be able to provide one large river fortress, about twenty medium-sized transport ships, and about fifty small assault ships."

River fortresses, as the name suggests, are large armed vessels that resemble fortresses. Their outer layer is covered with thick wooden planks, which can easily block crossbow bolts. They can also be equipped with small catapults and are professional warships, often exceeding forty meters in length.

Even with the wealth of Sanhe City, it could only support one river fortress ship like this.

Having been spared from war for many years, this ship has been stored in a dry dock for decades and is currently undergoing intensive repairs.

Medium-sized transport ships, also known as armed merchant ships, can transport personnel and supplies, and are equipped with arrow towers and crossbowmen to serve as the middle force of the navy. They can usually carry sixty to one hundred people.

Small assault boats are actually sampans. They generally do not have sails, can only seat about ten people, and are powered by oars. They are suitable for rapid assaults and boarding operations.

These seventy or so boats represent all the naval forces Lynn can mobilize.

Is it shabby? Of course it's shabby.

However, in the context of the North, this is already a considerable number of naval forces.

The inland regions of the North do not place much importance on naval power, and most lords do not have a professional navy.

For example, the Earl of Mirror Iron in the south has a small autonomous city in his territory, and he can't even afford a river fortress ship.

If a conflict were to break out between him and Lynn, Lynn could easily block the rivers and ports of Mirror Iron Territory by leveraging his naval superiority.

But the Duke of the Marshland was an exception in the northern inland, where his stronghold, Golden Deer Castle, was located on an island in the middle of a lake, which was connected to the River Quiet by a natural waterway.

Therefore, successive marsh dukes paid great attention to the development of their naval forces.

It is said that Golden Deer Fortress can mobilize three river fortress ships and more than fifty medium-sized ships, as well as more than a hundred small assault ships.

Compared to a navy of this size, Lynn's naval forces were somewhat inadequate.

Even so, he still wanted to make use of the Jinghe waterway.

This is a very simple math problem.

Suppose he were to send an army of 6,000 to attack the Marshland Duchy next year. If all military supplies were to be transported by land, it would probably take nearly 20,000 laborers day and night to meet the needs of the front lines.

March is the season for spring plowing, and Lynn could not possibly ask 20,000 people to abandon agricultural production to transport grain.

This is mortgaging the territory's future war potential; it's a losing proposition that puts the cart before the horse.

If they were to travel by water, the twenty medium-sized transport ships of Sanhe City would be able to meet all the army's needs.

The manpower and material resources consumed were on a completely different scale.

This is why the ancient East placed great importance on the construction of canals, and why large cities were often located along major rivers.

Before the Industrial Revolution, water transport was more than ten times more efficient than land transport.

No ruler would forcibly use inefficient land transport when efficient water transport is available.

“Leon, I’ll be personally inspecting the shipyard next week. I hope you can give me a surprise.” Lynn gave Leon an encouraging look and gestured for him to sit down.

"The city council will never disappoint you, sir." Leon, who had also been awarded the title of honorary knight, was just looking for a place to prove himself.

No sooner had Leon finished speaking than a member of parliament present immediately disagreed.

"My lord, if you wish to conquer Golden Deer Fortress, I believe it would be more prudent to transport supplies by land as much as possible. Given the wealth of the area surrounding Golden Deer Fortress, your army could even solve its food supply problem nearby."

The one who disagreed was none other than the president of the brewing guild in Sanhe City, whose real name was Belon and who was nicknamed "Barrel" because of his obesity.

Belon wasn't against Lynn's conquests; the Brewing Guild's three transport ships had been repaired and were ready to go to the battlefield at any time. His main concern was the formidable naval power of Golden Deer Fortress.

Incidentally, Belon helped Lynn stabilize the postwar order in Three Rivers, thus retaining his seat in the council and receiving an honorary knighthood.

His opinion actually reflects the opinion of most city council members.

These days, when an army goes to war, how can it solve its own food and supplies problem? Doesn't it all rely on requisitioning food locally?

If the farmers are unwilling to hand over their grain, then just start looting!

Previously, when Duke Lothair of the Marshland went on an expedition to the Crown Territory, he did not consume a single grain of food stored in Golden Deer Fortress; he relied entirely on local requisition and plunder.

To this, Lynn simply replied calmly, "Beron, my army is different, and I do not intend to bring destruction to Golden Deer Fortress, but to completely conquer that land and its inhabitants."

He knew that it would be extremely difficult to change the prevailing social atmosphere, but these were responsibilities he had to bear.

Last autumn, his army did indeed collect some grain in Turbulent County.

But it was a bountiful autumn harvest, and with half the grain collected, the farmers wouldn't starve, and they would have seeds to ensure next year's spring planting.

However, forcibly requisitioning the farmers' grain in the spring would be pushing them to the brink of despair.

The Crown Territory provides a case study of what farmers in dire straits can do.

Lynn did not want the lands he conquered to be overrun with bandits and brigands. Otherwise, he would not only have to send a large number of troops to be stationed there for a long time, but he would also lose a lot of his best labor force, which would be a losing proposition.

He then looked around at the councilors present and continued, “I know what you are worried about. Indeed, Golden Deer Fort has a stronger naval force, but I am not going to confront them head-on. I have my own methods. The city council only needs to carry out my orders and prepare the boats and crew as soon as possible.”

(End of this chapter)