I'm not a lord

Chapter 315 A clever plan attracts all sides to join.

On the vast, green plains, a large number of cavalrymen were slowly marching.

These cavalrymen were Lynn's cavalry legion, and they were lined up in long columns, deliberately avoiding the tender wheat seedlings that had just sprouted on both sides of the road.

Their mission was to rescue and control the families of a group of Golden Deer Palace cavalry.

In the group, the company commander, Leshek, skillfully controlled the speed of his horse and even had the leisure to admire the scenery on both sides of the road.

In previous years, when he was still a knight of the Shallows, he represented his lord on three missions to Golden Deer Castle and was even received by the former Duke of the Marshland, Lothair.

At the time, he was just an insignificant baronial envoy. In addition, the baronial territories in the White River region were relatively independent. Therefore, in the eyes of the locals, he was just a stinking outsider begging for food. He suffered a lot of prejudice and discrimination when he stayed at manors and inns.

Now, he has transformed into a cavalryman under Earl Lynn of White River, and has repeatedly distinguished himself in battle, rising to the rank of company commander, leading fifty fierce and elite cavalrymen.

Whether in Oakshire or Golden Deer, the locals always treated him with utmost deference and respect.

This return visit undoubtedly filled him with a myriad of emotions.

After walking for a while, the outline of a city gradually appeared in Leshek's field of vision. He raised his hand and pointed, shouting, "Commander, Golden Deer City is just to the left."

Because of his past diplomatic experience, Leshchek was specially assigned by Hughes to be his guide during this operation.

Of course, there were also local guides from Golden Deer County in the army.

This time, Lynn specially assigned several court cavalry prisoners who were eager to rescue their wives to the cavalry regiment.

With these prisoners leading the way, and with the cooperation of the local forces in Jinlu County, this mission should not encounter too many setbacks.

Hugo looked in the direction of the sound and, judging from the size of the city walls alone, Jinlu City was not larger than Sanhe City, and its permanent population was probably less than that of Sanhe City.

Due to factors such as location, the long-distance commerce in this city is not as prosperous as that in Sanhe City, and there are relatively fewer business travelers.

The main function of this city was to provide handicrafts and service industries for the nobles and knights of Golden Deer Castle.

A cavalry squad leader next to Hugo looked up at the city wall and said disdainfully, "This is Golden Deer City? It doesn't look very big, much smaller than Three Rivers City."

This squad leader was from Three Rivers City and had served the local church. After switching to Lynn, although his salary didn't increase much, the rewards for his military exploits were several times his fixed salary, making his life much more comfortable than before.

Another squad leader from Baihe Territory laughed and said, "Don't underestimate Jinlu City just because it's small. The girls here are even more beautiful and gentle than those in Sanhe City. After the war, I'll take you into the city to broaden your horizons!"

"keep your word?"

"When have I ever lied to anyone?"

The situation in the swamp territory was becoming clearer, and the mission was quite easy, so the cavalrymen were quite relaxed, and many of them even began to look forward to the celebration after the war ended.

As Hugh's main cavalry force approached Golden Deer City, the militia on the west gate wall were also observing these strangers.

A young, pale-faced militiaman squinted and asked with a puzzled look, "Are they the Earl of White River's cavalry? They don't seem particularly special. Can they really defeat the court cavalry of Golden Deer Fortress?"

The court cavalry enjoyed a high status and prestige throughout the Marshlands.

Although their military discipline was not strict and they often engaged in petty theft while marching, they were still good fighters!
Since its formation, this cavalry has followed Lothair in battles across the land and has almost never suffered a defeat.

Whether it was the Duke of Meadow, the Duke of the Valley, or King Maurice, they were all defeated by the court cavalry.

In the martial north, as long as an army has enough martial spirit, minor flaws can be tolerated.

Because the overall environment was so bad, no army had a logistics system and had to forcibly 'requisition' military rations during marches.

This is why Lynn earned the reputation of "the armored saint" in the Swamp Territory. There is no other reason than that his army did not plunder or extort, and was virtually incorruptible.

An old soldier carrying a spear reprimanded the new recruit who had spoken up earlier: "Count Baihe? He's about to become a duke. You're just too ignorant. When the army is on a long march, they don't wear armor. From a distance, they all look pretty much the same."

Another veteran sighed, "Yes, the court cavalry doesn't look particularly special from a distance, but if you get closer, you can see the murderous aura they exude. Even the court cavalry that dominated the northern border was completely defeated by Earl of White River. This swamp territory is really going to change hands."

The old soldier carrying the spear grinned, his tone clearly sarcastic: "We don't know if the Swamp Territory has changed masters, but Golden Deer City has indeed changed masters. You all saw it, didn't you? This morning, several carriages drove out of the west gate; those were all grain and supplies to be presented to Earl Baihe."

He didn't look down on Earl Lynn of White River, but rather on the opportunistic Golden Deer City Council.

This city council used to be a staunch supporter of the Duke of the Swamp, and would send many militiamen to support the Duke in times of war.

In the recent Battle of the Sami River, Jinlu City also sent militia to assist, and many of them were killed or wounded.

The families of these militiamen naturally resented Lynn and hoped that the city council would continue to assist the Duke of the Marsh in resisting the enemy.

It was clear that the situation was dire; the city council of Golden Deer City had simply surrendered to the enemy, showing no intention of resisting whatsoever.

Of course, the city council still has to consider its image to some extent.

Instead of surrendering outright, they publicly declared that they would remain 'absolutely neutral' in the ensuing war and retrieved the warships and crew that had been lent to Golden Deer Fort.

Declaring neutrality under these circumstances is no different from taking sides.

The city councilors had already made contact with Lynn and promised to facilitate and support the cavalry regiment's operations.

Just as the militiamen were discussing this, their captain walked up to the city wall: "Don't think too much. There is no unclaimed territory in the North. Every territory needs an owner. But no matter how the owner of the Swamp Territory changes, Golden Deer City is still Golden Deer City."

The defection of Jinlu City is a foregone conclusion, and these minor figures below can only go with the flow.

In any case, not fighting is better than fighting; at least no one will die.

Moreover, Lynn had already promised the city council that she would continue to maintain Golden Deer City's status as an autonomous city, so the two sides reached a consensus after only one day of negotiations.

After receiving ample supplies on the outskirts of Golden Deer, Hugh led his cavalry legion along the road toward the target manor.

A day later, the cavalry easily stormed a medium-sized manor on the north shore of the lake, rescuing and taking control of the thousands of women and children inside.

These women and children were the families of the captured palace cavalrymen.

Logically speaking, the authorities in Jinlubao should keep a close watch on these family members.

The manor was poorly defended, with fewer than fifty soldiers guarding it, most of whom were conscripted serfs who would lay down their weapons and kneel in surrender at the sight of the menacing cavalry.

It is clear that the Golden Deer Fortress forces had no time to attend to the various outposts around the lake, and were only focused on defending the castle.

Following Lynn's orders, Hugh left a hundred cavalrymen to protect the manor and the women and children, while he led the main force westward, capturing manors and small castles along the way.

Besides Hugo, another infantry force was operating on the south bank of the lake, similarly sweeping through small and medium-sized strongholds along the way that were unwilling to explicitly submit.

In the main military camp on the east bank of Golden Deer Lake, scribe Victor strode into the tent: "My lord, the cavalry regiment has sent a report of victory, having successfully rescued the families of the court cavalrymen."

Lynn was examining the detailed map of the newly drawn Golden Deer Lake region when he heard this. He turned around and ordered, "Take the victory report and the messenger and come with me to the prisoner-of-war camp."

Before long, he put on his coat and, along with Victor and a squad of guards, headed to the prisoner-of-war camp to the east of the military camp. It was called a prisoner-of-war camp, but it was actually a separate camp set up within the barbarian archers' encampment, where the barbarian archers were used to guard these highly skilled prisoners of war.

When they arrived at the main road in the center of the military camp, the group ran into a 'reinforcement' that had just arrived at the camp.

The reinforcements numbered about five hundred men, carrying a red flag with a white bear on a red background. The soldiers were covered in dust and looked as if they had just come from a long march.

Standing by the roadside, Victor looked at the soldiers shouting "Long live the Earl" and couldn't help but say, "My lord, your wisdom is far beyond that of ordinary sages. Even if a fool like me racked my brains, I could never come up with such a brilliant plan as yours. It is my good fortune to serve you."

The brilliant plan he spoke of was actually just a little trick Lynn casually devised.

Lynn set up his base on the east bank of the lake, near the land bridge leading to Golden Deer Fortress, which was no more than three kilometers away from the fortress.

If the weather is good, enemy soldiers standing on the watchtowers of Golden Deer Fort can clearly see the wide avenues in the military camp and rows of white tents.

Every night, Lynn would have a group of soldiers sneak out of the camp under the cover of darkness, and then return to the camp in a grand manner under a new banner at noon the next day.

Whenever a batch of "reinforcements" entered the camp, they would set up new military tents and raise a large number of flags. They would also bury more cooking pots so that more smoke would rise when cooking.

This move creates the illusion that reinforcements are constantly arriving at the camp, which can both deter the local forces in Golden Deer County and intimidate the garrison inside the castle.

Thanks to the strategic deterrence of its own camp, the garrison at Golden Deer Fort, even though they knew Lynn was nibbling away at the outer strongholds, dared not send troops to support him.

However, from God's perspective, Lynn's actions were somewhat unnecessary; he overestimated the strength of the enemy.

The Golden Deer Castle garrison, led by Count Gae, had no intention of leaving the city; they had long been terrified of the White River Territory's army.
Even if Lynn hadn't conjured up a reinforcement army out of thin air, they wouldn't have dared to leave the city for open battle.

When Lynn arrived at the Wildling camp, Carula was giving a lesson to a group of Wildling soldiers, and even the deputy commander, Little Soward, was being trained.

"After experiencing the baptism of that bloody battle, these soldiers' martial arts skills have improved significantly. Compared to ordinary training, war is much better at tempering people." Karula stood on the earthen platform on the north side of the training ground, looking at the barbarians practicing in pairs below, and was very emotional.

Most of her martial arts skills come from her bloodline inheritance; her racial advantages give her extraordinary power from birth.

Humans are born weak, yet they can become the ultimate rulers of the continent by virtue of their powerful learning ability.

She had only been leading these barbarian archers for half a year, but she could clearly feel the soldiers' amazing progress.

“But if there were a few more bloody battles like that, neither you nor I would see these soldiers anymore.” Lynn also sighed, as the top decision-maker did not actually like war.

Once war breaks out, the soldiers he has invested heavily in training will inevitably suffer casualties.

Nearly half of the soldiers who died in the Battle of Sami River were veterans he had personally trained in White Bear County. Even the loss of a small squad would pain him.

What he pursued was not how many enemies he killed on the battlefield, but to intimidate others with his power and subdue them without fighting.

As for Golden Deer Fortress to the west of the main camp, Lynn had no intention of launching a full-scale attack, nor was he willing to do so, as the losses from such an attack would be too great for him to bear.

Even if there's only a one in ten chance, he will try to persuade the city's garrison to surrender.

This was the first time Carla had sensed the sadness of autumn in Lynn. She was secretly surprised, but changed the subject: "Once we take that castle, this war should be over, right? You'll have to send me a few barrels of the castle's best wine then."

Lynn generously replied, "No problem. With your war achievements, you are fully entitled to priority in choosing the spoils of war."

It must be admitted that Lynn still hasn't fully figured out Karula.

She was so pure, so pure, that she didn't even seem like a human being.

Moreover, Lynn could sense that Carula seemed to see through everything perfectly; she understood everything that was happening before her eyes, yet she still lived only for a single desire.
After exchanging training experiences with Karula, Lynn arrived at the prisoner-of-war camp with good news.

Upon hearing that their families had been rescued, hundreds of prisoners of war burst into tears of joy.

Overjoyed, many prisoners of war began to consider their future.

Lynn, seizing the opportunity, stood on the makeshift wooden platform and shouted to the prisoners of war:

"Gentlemen, as you can see, Golden Deer Fortress is so powerless that it cannot even spare troops to look after your families, and the cities and manors along Golden Deer Lake have all pledged their allegiance to me."

You must now make a choice: to spend the rest of your lives in humiliation as prisoners of war, or to mount your horses again, gather under a new banner, and continue to gallop across the northern plains.
"And please rest assured, I will not order you to attack Golden Deer. I know what that place means to you. I can assure you that your next enemy will be only those damned Southerners. I will lead you to defend the North!"

Since Golden Deer Castle was "cooperating" with the performance, Lynn naturally wouldn't waste this good opportunity.

He wanted to create an atmosphere that Golden Deer Castle was completely finished, and also an atmosphere that he was the true Protector of the North.

These court cavalrymen were indeed elite and loyal troops trained by Lothair, but Lothair had already been beheaded.

László, who was quite influential among the court cavalry, followed in his father's footsteps.

The current Duke of the Marshland, Olge, is only a fifteen-year-old boy, lacking prestige and unable to command respect.

Lynn didn't believe these captured court cavalrymen would still be willing to die for their cause, especially since he already had their families under his control.

With a combination of carrot and stick, they could no longer be allowed to eat and drink for free in the prisoner-of-war camp.

Lynn never liked keeping idle people around. Keeping these prisoners of war for a month was already the limit of his patience. If they still couldn't be tamed, he might as well sink them into Golden Deer Lake as fish food.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a former court baron of Golden Deer Castle stood up: "Your Excellency, please accept my allegiance. I am willing to become your most loyal servant, to charge into battle for you and kill enemies for you!"

Seeing someone take the lead, more palace cavalrymen stood up and swore allegiance.

They did not flinch or retreat on the battlefield of the Sami River; most of them were captured because they fought to exhaustion or were injured in the hands and feet.

Now, Golden Deer Castle has not only failed to send envoys to ransom them, but has even driven their families out of the castle. In addition, with the deaths of two successive Dukes of the Marsh, they have no reason to continue to be loyal.

Over the course of the month, Lynn's character earned their respect, and they were willing to pledge allegiance to the new master of the swamp territory.

Moreover, Lynn dispelled their last concerns; they no longer needed to turn against their former comrades. They had not betrayed their original masters, but were instead representing the entire North to fight against the damned Southern invaders.

From now on, they will no longer have to bear the stigma of betrayal, but will instead follow their new master to save the North.

What else do they have to hesitate about?

After dealing with the prisoners of war, Lynn received another piece of good news.

Earl Wolf of the Marshland led his troops to surrender.

This man passed through Three Rivers on his way back to the Marshlands from River Bend, and was even entertained by Lynn.

Afterwards, Anna, the regent of the Marshland, arranged for him to guard the border castle in Canyon County.

With the large-scale surrender of Canyon County, Wolf also readily pledged allegiance to Lynn and brought a group of trusted lieutenants from Canyon County.

(End of this chapter)