I'm not a lord

Chapter 292 Three Months in the Northern Territory, All-Out Attack

In late February, Lynn issued a mobilization order, requiring all legions on expeditionary missions to assemble at the western suburban county camp by March 5.

The cavalry corps under Hugo's command received a rare week's leave before setting off, and most of the cavalrymen returned home to say goodbye to their families.

Cavalry squadron leader Leshek was from Shallow Beach County, but he had moved his entire family to River Marsh County last autumn so that he could see them more easily.

Officials from both counties arranged for him to exchange farmland for land and provided him with a beautiful and spacious two-story house, so his property did not suffer much loss.

At the doorstep, the wife nestled in the warm embrace of the young cavalry captain, tears streaming down her face: "Darling, the children and I are waiting for you at home. Promise me you'll come back."

Leshek gently patted his wife's back, comforting her, "Don't worry, when have I ever not come back? Next time I come home, I'll bring you a brick from the Golden Deer Castle and a brand new medal."

Before serving Lynn, Leshchek was a fiefdom knight under the Baron of Shallow Beach. He fought for his lord in his teens and after inheriting the land, he frequently carried out various missions, narrowly escaping death many times.

For a born warrior like him, the battlefield is his true home, and family is just an occasional harbor.

But for a young wife, her husband is everything.

Hearing Leshchek's words, even more tears welled up in his wife's eyes: "I don't want anything, I just want you to come back safe and sound."

"Alright, I'm the company commander, I still have to go and urge the other soldiers on." Leshek had to reassure his wife for a while before finally pulling her out of his arms.

Leshek felt that his current position as cavalry captain was not much different from that of a former fiefdom knight.

They're both for the lord to do things; the only difference is that the compensation has changed from land and population to regular cash payments. What's the big difference?

From some perspectives, cash is actually more advantageous than territory.

For some knights, the title of Territorial Knight is more like a burden, something that the upper-level lords dumped on them to save trouble.

Once you take over a territory, you have to purchase your own warhorses, armor, and weapons, and you also have to pay for your own servants.

In order to raise this large sum of gold shields, the knights had to devote their energy to managing their territory.

Because the North is sparsely populated, many knights even have to work in the fields themselves during the busy farming season, using their human hands to cut wheat.

When famine and war come at the same time, many knights may even go bankrupt.

Because the equipment and troops demanded by the lord are constant and will not be reduced due to poor harvests, if they are reduced, the enemy will break their bones on the battlefield.

To satisfy the lord's 'blood tax,' some cavalrymen had to pawn their territories for cash. If they were unfortunate enough to die on the battlefield, their territories and wives and children would all become the property of others.

Now Lynn has exchanged the unpredictable harvests of his territory for a guaranteed salary, and has also provided warhorses, weapons, and armor free of charge, which has saved Leshek a lot of trouble.

Of course, territories also have the significant advantage of being 'inheritable'.

In the past, as long as Leshek and his wife's son grew up safely, his son would inherit the family business and the knighthood after his death.

But Leszek did not want his son to inherit his identity and career.

Is it so easy to do a job where you risk your life?

Besides, it's just a small knightly territory. What good would it do to inherit it?

Knights aren't even nobles; at best, they're just warriors who could die on the battlefield at any moment.

In the past, there was no other choice; if you wanted to get ahead and become rich, you had to join the army.

But now the White River Territory clearly has more options, and Leshek hopes that his son will go to school and study hard when he grows up, so that he can get a safer and more respectable job in the future.

After bidding farewell to his wife, Leshchek mounted his horse and went to inform the cavalrymen of his squadron to return to their unit as soon as possible.

Most of the cavalry soldiers moved their families to River Marsh County, which is closer to the lord, and there are rumors that a primary school will be opened there.

Among the various legions in the White River Territory, the cavalry have the highest income, which is more than enough for them to cover the education expenses of their offspring.

Many cavalrymen shared the same idea as Leshek: they hoped to send their sons to school rather than to the military.

Of course, if they could have several sons, they wouldn't mind choosing a strong son to inherit their father's business; the treatment of a cavalryman was quite attractive.

The following day at noon, Leshchek arrived at the military camp in the western suburbs with his men who had returned home to visit their families, and carried out the final preparations before setting off.

That evening, the second brother, Hugo, summoned all the cavalry in the open space in the middle of the camp. Looking at the familiar faces, his voice was very impassioned:
"The Earl's mission for our cavalry legion is to act as the vanguard of the entire army and be the first legion to enter Oakshire. I demand that you crush all enemies in front of you and occupy every piece of land you see. Do you understand?"

Leshek led the shout: "Understood!"

He had already received a bronze medal from the lord, but he still craved more merit.

Each medal brings not only profound honor but also substantial financial rewards.

Leszek hoped to accumulate more wealth for his son before he died in battle or became too old to work; this was his simplest of wishes.

A week later, Hughes led his cavalry legion westward.

In early March, the road conditions in the North could be summed up in one word: terrible.

Although Old Albert had made some minor repairs to the road from West Suburbs County to Turbulent County before winter last year, the road surface was covered with a thin layer of ice due to the snow and low temperatures, making it easy to slip and fall.

After traveling only ten kilometers or so, one of the wagons belonging to the Leshchek squadron had a problem with its wheels and was forced to stop by the roadside for repairs.

Leshek stood by the roadside, watching his allies pass by, and stamped his foot anxiously: "How long will it take to fix this piece of junk?"

The sound of the carpenter accompanying the army, panting heavily, came from under the vehicle: "It will take at least two more hours."

"It's almost dark! Why don't we just spend the night here?" Leshek was so anxious his throat was almost hoarse, but he had no other choice.

The wagons were carrying the rations for their squadron for the next two weeks. Before arriving in Turbulent County, the entire squadron relied on the food on these wagons to survive.

However, Leshek quickly lost his patience, as news came from the front that two more squadrons' wagons had also broken down and had to stop for repairs.

By nightfall, the entire army had only traveled less than fifteen kilometers in a day, and the cavalry corps of a thousand men stopped by the roadside to camp for the night.

Long marches during the transition from winter to spring are prone to various problems.

Not only would the wagons transporting supplies have problems, but the warhorses and soldiers would also have problems.

In the barracks, it was not uncommon to see soldiers slumped on the ground rubbing their sprained ankles, and some soldiers' beloved horses had also fallen over on the road. Fortunately, the heavy cavalry were equipped with two warhorses, and some of the wealthier cavalrymen would even pay out of their own pockets to buy an extra one, so they were not afraid of not having a horse to ride on the battlefield.

While having dinner around the fire pit, several soldiers complained to Leshek, "Sir, this road is too difficult to travel. Couldn't we have postponed our departure by two weeks?"

Leshek's response was always the same: "This is the lord's order, who dares to disobey? It's just a little slower, it's not like we can't travel this road!"

The day after the cavalry legion set off, Soward's two thousand barbarian archers also embarked on their journey, followed by Joseph's two thousand infantry.

These four thousand soldiers naturally encountered numerous problems on the road, and could only travel a maximum of twenty kilometers per day.

At that time, Lynn was overseeing the transport of military rations at the river marsh dock.

Upon receiving the military intelligence from the front, his gaze turned to the transport ships that were loading food and supplies.

The road ahead is indeed difficult, but time is even more precious.

Soldiers struggled to move on the icy roads, and the transport ships faced the same risk of colliding with the floating ice.

Lynn risked almost everything to win the war.

If he were to lose, the consequences would be too much for him to bear.

Just then, Mayor Leon jogged up to Lynn to report: "Sir, the ten transport ships that have set sail first are fully loaded and ready to depart at any time."

Lynn simply nodded slightly: "Yes, let's set off immediately."

At his command, the ten transport ships sailed out of the port in succession, escorted by more than twenty small assault boats.

The following morning, the next batch of ten transport ships entered the dock, and the long-waiting laborers began loading grain and military equipment onto the ships, while the artillerymen carefully pulled the dozen or so bronze mortars onto the deck.

Seeing the transport ships leave the dock with his own eyes, Lynn finally felt a little relieved.

If the soldiers and horses are not moving, the grain and grass will go first.

For long-distance campaigns, provisions are more important than soldiers.

If this batch of supplies and weapons can be successfully transported to the front lines, the war can be won by a large margin.

That afternoon, he finally set off with his personal guard and key officials, and rushed to catch up with the main force that had set off earlier.

Just as Lynn set off, the messenger he had previously sent finally arrived at Golden Deer Castle.

As he had previously analyzed, Golden Deer Lake, where Golden Deer Castle is located, remains frozen, and people can even walk on the ice. Many children from nearby estates are playing together on the ice, seemingly unaware of the shadow of war.

After reading Lynn's letter, László, who had just been granted the title of Duke, flew into a rage. He stood up abruptly from his throne, pointed at the messengers below, and said, "Strip this fool naked and hang him on the castle gate!"

As soon as he finished speaking, two strong guards stepped forward and pinned the envoy to the ground.

"Your Grace, I'm just a messenger, I know nothing!" The messenger was filled with fear and confusion.

The principle that envoys should not be killed in war is a universally accepted rule throughout history and across cultures.

This messenger was from the River Marsh Baron's territory and was a relative of the former baron. After his family's decline, he made a living by doing ordinary work in the city. Suddenly, he was conscripted into the army by Lynn and assigned the task of delivering a message.

He couldn't understand why he was going to freeze to death. Could it be that the gods believed their family's ordeal was not yet over?
Just as he was struggling, a gentle female voice, as melodious as a heavenly melody, came from the high platform: "Let him go. He is just an ignorant messenger and did not mean to offend us."

“Yes, Madam.” Before Duke László could speak, the two guards actually released the bewildered messenger.

Then, László's dissatisfied voice rang out from the stage: "Mother, he was sent by Lynn to humiliate us. He is not a diplomatic envoy at all. He is dead, so be it."

The person who saved the messenger was none other than Anna, the wife of the former Duke Lothair, the mother of the current Duke László, and the sister of the former Earl of Blackwood.

Although her name is rather elegant, this Ms. Anna is known for her martial prowess. In her youth, she once achieved the reputation of winning ten consecutive duels in Black Shirtland.

She is indeed quite old now, but her tall and strong figure remains. When she sits there, she is only half a head shorter than László.

However, it would be a big mistake to judge Anna by her appearance and think she's just a muscular blonde fighter.

Previously, while Lothair was away on campaign, all territorial affairs were managed by Anna.

Anna has always managed the territory in an orderly manner, which shows Lothair's trust in his wife and also reveals her competence in handling government affairs.

However, Anna wasn't without her setbacks, namely Lynn's sudden rise to power.

Of course, this can't be entirely blamed on her; after all, Lothair took all the main forces with him.

Faced with her eldest son's question, Anna simply replied calmly, "He is a relative of the River Baron. If he dies at Golden Deer Castle, what will the other nobles think of us?"

"You've seen this letter before, haven't you? Lynn actually compared you to..." László didn't dare say the rest.

The main reason was that Lynn used some vulgar language in the letter, not only calling the László father and son traitors who deserved to go to hell, but also comparing Anna to a sow that could only grunt.

But Anna rolled her eyes at her eldest son: "Are you going to get angry about this?"

László's face flushed even more. He argued, "Why can't I be angry? My father died for the North. From beginning to end, all he sought was to make the North truly strong. He wasn't a traitor! But yours..."

But before he could finish speaking, Anna interrupted him loudly, "Enough!"

Anna then instructed her guards, "Take the messenger away first."

After the messenger left, Laszlo still did not sit down. He paced back and forth in front of the throne, muttering, "Without a doubt, that bastard Lynn will soon invade Oakshire. I will personally lead the troops there, twist his head off, and bring it back to Golden Deer!"

"He's just waiting for you to leave the castle and fight him." Anna's voice was filled with helplessness.

She had seen too many storms in her life, and Lynn's clumsy tricks couldn't fool her at all.

The purpose of sending this letter was simply to provoke László, to make the young duke's blood boil and cause him to abandon his advantage in defending the city.

“So what? I am Lothair’s son. I have inherited my father’s bravery and your wisdom. Why can’t I defeat him? His territory is nothing more than White River Territory and Turbulent Stream County. How many troops does he have available?”

László's tone was full of arrogance and self-confidence.

(End of this chapter)