I'm not a lord

Chapter 297 Welcoming the Royal Army with Food and Drink
Upon hearing his nemesis Harvey's teasing, Earl Reiner almost burst out laughing. He walked down the corridors of Amber Harbor Palace, puffing out his beard and glaring, and said:

"You think you can just get a duchy for free? You really think that swampy territory is easy to conquer? Earl Lynn of the White River, and Laszlo, who inherited the title of Duke of the Swampy, which of those two is easy to deal with?"

Reiner had already gathered relevant intelligence in advance and had a certain understanding of both opponents.

Especially Lynn, who built a genuine earldom from scratch. With such ability and skill, he would definitely be a big shot in the Southern Territory.

Reiner's ultimate goal is Golden Deer Fortress, which requires him to first pass through Three Rivers and White River Territory, which are guarded by Lynn.

Although Lynn is currently locked in a fierce battle with László, the number of troops stationed at his stronghold should not be large.

Kleiner didn't actually have many troops under his command. He estimated that he could only muster about ten thousand men at most, and he could recruit some bandits and refugees along the way.

With such a small force and no systematic logistics, they were tasked with a long march to capture Sanhe City and Baihe Territory. This was the first time in Reiner's life that he had taken on such an extremely difficult mission.

Harvey stopped, glanced at Reiner, and said half-jokingly and half-seriously, "If you think it's too difficult, how about we change our target?"

Reiner shook his head with feigned helplessness: "Never mind, I have already promised His Majesty the King that I would wipe out the rebels in the Swamp Territory. As a true nobleman, I must keep my word."

However, while the swamp territories are more difficult to conquer, they are much richer than the valley territories.

Reiner came to earn land for his family and youngest son, so naturally he wanted to earn as much wealth as possible.

"You little rascal, heh heh." Harvey sneered, then strode forward, ignoring the old fox who had gotten the better deal and was now acting innocent.

Leiner quickly caught up and asked, "When do you plan to officially send troops?"

Harvey replied impatiently, "Next week."

"Next week? So soon? I was planning to wait until mid-April or late April before sending troops, but it seems I can't delay any longer." Reiner's surprise was genuine.

Although temperatures in the North have risen somewhat in March, the melting snow makes the roads muddy and severely slows down the pace of marching overland.

Waterways were relatively accessible, but Leiner had neither the money to rent a fleet of ships nor the money to purchase provisions for his army of tens of thousands, so he had to 'levy' supplies along the way.

Therefore, he could only travel by land.

They had planned to wait until mid-April, when the roads were completely solid, before setting off, but their old rival was rushing to set off in March, so Reiner certainly couldn't fall behind.

“I’m just afraid things might change, which is why I’m setting off as soon as possible,” Harvey said somewhat cryptically.

But Reiner still caught the unspoken message from his old rival.

The so-called 'change of circumstances' was nothing more than the fear that Otto would renege on his promise and remove them from their positions as commanders.

Otto generously offered two duchies with a wave of his hand; who knows if he'll change his mind because he feels the pinch?
Both of them were quite old and had come to earn territory, and it wasn't easy for them to travel all the way to the North. Of course, they wanted to secure their gains as soon as possible.

As for the difficulties such as treacherous roads, the two of them didn't care at all.

Being in your fifties is precisely the age when you should be striving and working hard.

They were fearless in their pursuit of territory and titles, and the muddy roads could not deter their determination to advance.

But these two southern earls had no idea that Otto wanted them to set off as soon as possible.

“My dear, my plan is going well. When you come to the North again, you will see a complete, unified and united new kingdom.”

At the dock in Amber Harbor, Otto and his wife bid farewell in the cool sea breeze.

At this moment, the man who carried the weight of two great kingdoms on his shoulders was filled with pride and confidence, as if the entire Northern Territory was already in his grasp.

Queen Sofia lingered with her husband for a long time before raising her head and saying, "I hope so too, but next time I come to Amber Harbor, I don't want to see any of those annoying bastards."

Sofia is extremely controlling, especially when it comes to her husband's crotch.

Before coming to the North, she was almost inseparable from her husband, constantly keeping an eye on those bold, young, and beautiful girls.

Otto was extremely annoyed by this, but at that time he was eyeing the throne in the North and could only accommodate his wife in some ways.

Moreover, Sofia was quite beautiful when she was young, and she had a great figure, which was enough to keep Otto's heart.

The situation is now very different. He has donned the crown of the North and is about to be separated from his aging and fading wife. His heart is pounding with desire for an affair.

Otto gazed at his wife with deep affection, his mustache twitching: "Oh, of course, my dear, I swore to you on our wedding day that you would be the only woman I have ever been with."

In fact, he had already set his sights on two charming maids in the palace, and they had been secretly having an affair.

"I hope you will always remember this vow." Sophia could more or less guess what her husband was thinking, but could only sigh softly.

She originally intended to guard the northern border with her eldest son, Ludwig.

But now the die is cast, and only Otto himself can handle the complex situation he has created. The young Ludwig lacks experience and can only gain experience in the relatively peaceful Kingdom of Rui first.

Otto then bid farewell to his good in-laws, the Earl of Meissen.

He patted Maison on the shoulder: "Good brother, my Rui, and I entrust my wife and son to you."

Otto's words carried a hint of entrusting his son to someone else.

Given the terrible transportation conditions of that era, his long stay in the North as King Rui was, frankly, not much different from being dead.

If Rui were to be invaded by a powerful enemy, Otto, who was far away in Amber Harbor, would certainly not have time to make a decision and would have to leave the decision to his trusted ministers who remained in Rui.

The Kingdom of Rui is Otto's stronghold, and with the king away for extended periods, it needs reliable and capable ministers to guard it.

Count Meissen replied solemnly, bowing his head, "Your Majesty, I will use all my wisdom and experience to protect the Kingdom of Rui and His Highness Ludwig."

Before leaving, he reminded Otto: "Your Majesty, please be careful. The enemies in the North are cunning and troublesome, especially Lynn and Vasa. Their ambition and ability may not be inferior to yours. Also, Arno is absolutely untrustworthy. You must keep a close eye on him and not give him another chance to betray you."

Since arriving in Amber Harbor, Maison has mainly focused on one thing: gathering intelligence on all aspects of the North.

Earl Lynn of White River and Earl Vasa of Mirror Iron were the subjects of his close attention, and he also conducted a detailed investigation into Arno, the leader of the Power Mercenary Group.

Incidentally, Arno has now become a core member of Otto's forces in the North, assisting the king in building a new army loyal to the royal family.

Many of his old subordinates from the mercenary group were in this new army.

The problem is that Arno is not only a morally corrupt mercenary leader, but he has also betrayed his employer, Duke Lothair of the Marsh.

This shameless scoundrel with such moral flaws was able to be regarded as a confidant by Otto.

This incident troubled Earl Meissen, who feared that his good in-laws would also become another stepping stone for Arnaud's promotion.

Otto smiled and replied, "Don't worry, I'll keep all of that in mind." Of course, Otto would keep a close eye on a fickle and unpredictable person like Arno.

The main reason he gave Arno such a high position was because he had his eye on the thousands of 'social scum' in the Power Mercenary Group.

These mercenaries, thieves, and bandits were indeed incompetent at other things, and they took pleasure in robbing farmers and humiliating women, but they were indeed a relatively high-quality source of soldiers.

Limited by pre-war promises, Otto was unable to mobilize the citizens of autonomous cities such as Amber Harbor. If new soldiers were recruited from the farmers, it would not only affect agricultural production in the Crown Territory, but the recruited soldiers would also lack experience and have to undergo a longer period of training.

In contrast, Arnault's men, though seasoned veterans, had at least some real combat experience and a solid foundation.

Using money to recruit these unemployed individuals would also help the Crown Territory return to normal production.

According to Otto's prediction, the noble armies led by Harvey and Reiner would most likely be defeated in the summer.

He must build an army that can fight for him before autumn arrives and decisively defeat the weakened Lynn and Vasa.

With limited time, he could only rely on Arno to build up the army.

Otto is quite adept at discarding someone after they've served their purpose, and he has plenty of ways to deal with a despicable person like Arno.

Just as Otto was bidding a heartfelt farewell to his wife and ministers at the dock, Lynn had already led his army to his most loyal city, Hafen.

In the common language of mainland China, '哈芬' means port.

The city of Hafen is located on the north bank of the River Quiet. It is the largest municipality in Oak County, with a permanent population of about seven thousand, slightly less than that of Three Rivers.

It was now early April, and two full weeks had passed since Lynn officially entered Oakshire.

In the past two weeks, his army has captured twenty-five strongholds of varying sizes in Oakshire and subjugated three municipalities, including Harfen.

None of the three cities put up any decent resistance, and when Lynn's letter of surrender arrived at the city gates, the city councils of these cities quickly declared their allegiance to the great Earl of White River.

When Lynn's banner appeared outside the north gate of Hafen, the current mayor, Daniel, rode out of the city alone to greet him: "Your Excellency, welcome to your city."

There was no one behind Daniel, and not a single soldier appeared on the city wall.

This move was quite audacious, essentially opening the entire city to the invader Lynn, with the fertile city of Hafen seemingly at his mercy.

Lynn glanced at the middle-aged blond mayor on horseback, then checked his attribute values ​​and loyalty on the panel.

No major flaws, three-star rating, loyalty level of over sixty.

This is not the time when Lynn first occupied White River Territory. Back then, he was a newcomer on the political stage of the North and severely lacked prestige.

Meanwhile, Lord Lothair, the Marsh Duke, was at the height of his power, and the entire North seemed to tremble under his iron hooves.

At that time, Lynn wanted to take over Three Rivers, but Mayor Jürgen refused to bow to him and remained loyal to Lothair.

I won't go into the details of what happened next, but the stubborn Jürgen even went to hell before Lothair, and his wife and daughter were taken by the enemy.

Now, if Lynn wanted to conquer a city the size of Three Rivers, he wouldn't need to use force or spend much effort at all. He could simply send his army to the city and offer his terms to win it over.

The situation has changed. Count White River has become famous, while Lothair has long been decapitated.

“Mayor, I have seen the sincerity of Hafen City. I will not enter the city gate. My soldiers will camp five kilometers north of the city for the night. Please send someone to deliver the city gate key and supplies to the troops immediately.”

Lynn did not intend to enter the city, which was a way of saving face for the mayor and the citizens.

In order to win over Hafen, he promised to preserve the city's autonomy and not to send officials to interfere in its daily operations, but to collect taxes and require the city to hand over a certain amount of military supplies during wartime.

Lynn's consistent logic for newly occupied territory like Oak County was to crack down on hardliners and appease the middlemen.

In the feudal aristocratic era, there were very few die-hards who were truly willing to die for the great nobles.

Within Oakshire, there are only the estate stewards and castle lords appointed by Golden Deer Castle.

Lynn resolutely purged these people, leaving none alive.

The centrists consisted of the stewards and managers under the manor's general manager, as well as representatives of the city's citizens.

These people are local bullies whose interests are tied to the local area rather than to Golden Deer Fort.

They usually help whoever wins.

Lynn has now emerged as the winner in Oakshire, while Golden Deer appears to have abandoned the entire county.

Then these local bullies would naturally flock to Lynn, their new master.

To maintain local stability, he will temporarily preserve the interests of the local bullies, and then, once he has taken over Golden Deer Fortress, he will have the time to slowly whittle down their power.

This can be considered a common form of political maneuvering.

Seeing that Lynn and his army would not enter the city, Mayor Daniel of Hafen was overjoyed.

He dismounted, led his horse to Lynn, and bowed respectfully: "On behalf of the entire city, I thank you for your kindness and generosity. The citizens have prepared food and wine, which will soon be delivered to the camp."

In the past two weeks, Lynn's 'civilized' army has become famous in Oakshire.

The mayor was not afraid that Count Shirakawa would break his promise and detain him.

That noon, as expected, Daniel sent a convoy to deliver all the supplies to the military camp. Among them were several carts of freshly baked white bread, a large amount of cured meat, and two carts of fine wine.

Lynn looked at the bill presented by the clerk Victor and gave the order with satisfaction: "Give the word that each soldier will receive two cups of ale today."

What is this called? This is called the people of Hafen City welcoming the king's army with food and drink!

“Yes, sir!” Victor replied, equally invigorated.

For the past two weeks, he has been traveling with the army and has seen a completely new army that is beyond his comprehension.

This army was disciplined and orderly, and did not plunder indiscriminately, nor did it actively disturb the normal lives of the local people.

Naturally, this army also gained the support of the local people of Oakshire.

The estate's stewards volunteered to join them, while the city's citizens sent tons of military rations and fine wine.

The so-called royal army is not the king's army, but the king's army.

In Victor's eyes, he was serving a great king destined to be recorded in history.

(End of this chapter)