I'm not a lord

Chapter 316 Sir, why don’t you establish the Marshland Principality?

Lynn hosted a banquet in the woods near the military camp for the surrendered generals, led by Earl Wolf.

This grove of trees is located at the border of two estates, and next to it is a babbling brook leading to Golden Deer Lake. It offers views of natural beauty and distant rural smoke rising from chimneys, making it a very pleasant place.

The guards set up chairs and long tables by the river, while the army cooks served various wines and carefully prepared delicacies.

Wolf sat to Lynn's right. His chair was a head shorter, and his somewhat stiff posture made him appear uneasy, his back unconsciously tense.

He lowered his head, took a sip of the warm mead, and said respectfully:

"My lord, when I last saw you in Three Rivers City, I was convinced that you would become the new master of the Swamp Territory. That is why I requested the court to transfer me to Canyon County. As it turns out, I made the right judgment and choice."

Regardless of whether Wolf went to Canyon County voluntarily or was forced to do so, he now genuinely wants to serve Lynn.

The court at Golden Deer Castle is on the verge of complete collapse. Wolff was suspected of betraying the Duke of the Marsh at River Bend Castle last year, so it's not surprising that he has betrayed them again.

Betrayal is like cheating; once it happens, it will happen again.

Although Lynn despised the repeated betrayals, now was a crucial time to incorporate the forces of the Swamp Territory.

Wolf was the first Marshland court earl to surrender to Lynn, and his submission was of profound significance.

With him as a shining example, it will be much easier and more convenient for Lynn to persuade the garrison at Golden Deer to surrender.

Once things settle down, Wolf can be sidelined and given a position with no real power to retire in, and no one can criticize that.

Lynn ran his fingertips along the cool silver goblet, his gaze sweeping over Wolf's tense face. Instead of immediately responding, he casually asked, "Is things relatively peaceful in Canyon County lately?"

Wolff paused for a moment upon hearing this, then put down his glass and replied:
"As soon as the news of the victory at the Sami River reached Canyon County, the local governor fled back to Golden Deer Castle. However, thanks to the efforts of the local garrison and the assistance of the city and manor, Canyon County remained stable. The Duke of Meadows in the west, under pressure from your army and prestige, did not dare to take advantage of the chaos to attack Canyon County."

Wolf was the commander of the garrison in Canyon County. He emphasized the garrison to prove that he was truly capable and not just a mediocre sycophant.

Lynn smiled, his tone becoming gentler: "Your ability and merit in protecting Canyon County amidst the chaos is commendable. My court is in dire need of someone like you. Are you willing to fight for me?"

“Of course, my lord, my sword is ready to be wielded for you!” Wolf was overjoyed and immediately stood up and knelt on one knee.

The generals he brought also knelt down and pledged their loyalty to Count Shirakawa.

These generals represented hundreds of troops stationed in Canyon County, and their surrender meant that the county had completely fallen into Lynn's hands.

Lynn then picked up his wine glass and drank heartily with the surrendered generals.

These surrendered generals all possessed court noble titles granted by Golden Deer Fortress, but they were not feudal nobles in essence; rather, they were court military officers with noble titles.

After several rounds of drinks, Lynn grabbed Wolf's arm and asked, "Since you are the Earl of Golden Deer, you must know all the generals in Golden Deer?"

"My lord, do you want me to persuade them to surrender?" Wolf, though slightly drunk, immediately understood.

Lynn nodded slightly: "That's right. Write a few letters for them and say that as long as Golden Deer Castle is willing to open its gates and surrender, I will pardon everyone in the castle, including that young duke. Their property in the castle will be preserved, and their original titles will remain unchanged."

Lynn has captured all the strongholds along the shores of Golden Deer Lake, and even the most important Golden Deer City has submitted.

The only remaining target is Golden Deer Castle on the island in the middle of the lake.

Since Wolfe had already become a traitor, he had to make the most of his position. He had to do his best to seduce the city's defenders in his letters and induce them to give up resistance and surrender as soon as possible.

"My lord, I will never refuse your order to kill the enemy, but I am truly not good at writing letters." Wolf did not mean to refuse, but he was genuinely not good at writing.

"My secretary will be responsible for drafting it; you can just copy it when the time comes."

Lynn's words completely dispelled Wolf's concerns, and he immediately replied, "Yes, sir!"

Recruiting his comrades and nominal lords to surrender would certainly damage his reputation if word got out, but Wolf didn't care about that anymore.

He saw it clearly: Lynn's ambitions were in no way inferior to those of the former Marsh Duke Lothair.

This count is so young and ambitious that he is bound to see the entire Northern Kingdom as his prey.

A true king is never stingy with rewards; as long as Wolf completes the task of persuading Wolf to surrender, he will be set for life.

He no longer cared about the infamy of surrendering to the enemy and writing letters to persuade his comrades and lords to surrender.

Once the Earl of White River becomes the Lord of the North, Wolf will be able to be ranked among the meritorious officials and leave his good name in the history books written by the new dynasty.

After drinking another glass of wine, Wolf suddenly asked:
"My lord, if I may be so bold as to ask, will you be changing your title in the near future? With your current reputation and power, the title of earl is no longer quite appropriate for you."

“You’re right, I have indeed been considering changing my title.” Lynn made no attempt to hide his desire for a higher title.

As Wolfe said, the title of Earl of White River alone is not enough to match the territory that Lynn possesses.

Moreover, there are several court earls in Golden Deer Castle. If they all voluntarily submit, under what pretext can Lynn command them?

Although Lynn was a powerful earl with his own fief, while marshland generals like Wolf were merely court earls, there was a clear difference in their status.

But it's ultimately unreasonable for the count to command other counts.

Wolf immediately suggested with excitement, "With your prestige and influence, you can call yourself Grand Duke, and the Marshland will be renamed the Marshland Duchy. This way, you can completely get rid of the influence of that false king and Amber Harbor, and it will be more convenient for you to lead the entire duchy to resist the invaders from the south."

The title of 'Grand Duke' is naturally a higher title than that of a duke.

The regions ruled by a Grand Duke are usually called duchies, which are relatively independent political entities.

In the southern part of the continent of Dievas, there are several duchies that are independent of the kingdom.

This title has appeared in the history of the North before. One Duke of the Meadows called himself the Grand Duke, but later relinquished it due to pressure from the King and two other Grand Dukes.

Given Wolf's knowledge, he was most likely unaware of the background; perhaps it was a suggestion he received from an official in Canyon County.

Besides military commanders, the swampy territory must contain many talented individuals; we need to keep an eye out for such talent. Lynn's thoughts stirred slightly, but he replied with a smile:

"Grand Duke? That title sounds impressive, but I don't have time to consider changing it right now. I'll consider your suggestion after we take Golden Deer." Conquering territory requires military generals and armies, but governing it requires civil officials and clerks.

In fact, Lynn had already ordered a group of outstanding graduates to be recruited from schools in Baihe territory to go to the army and await orders.

However, governing this vast new occupied territory could not rely entirely on outsiders. Lynn also needed to promote a group of outstanding local intellectuals to help him appease the people.

As the saying goes, it's easier to conquer a country than to govern it.

This matter is even more troublesome than conquering the Swamp Territory. From May of this year to the beginning of next spring, Lynn will likely have to devote most of his energy to reforming the administrative system of the Swamp Territory.

The following morning, Lynn sent two more prisoners to visit Golden Deer Castle with several letters.

In addition to the current Duke, Olge, the three court counts in the castle also received personal letters from Wolf.

The young duke summoned his generals to the hall and openly discussed the new letter urging surrender.

"You should all know the contents of the letter. Let's discuss your thoughts."

After speaking, Olger looked around at the generals below the stage, but no one was willing to take the initiative to express their opinion.

Less than two weeks after Lynn arrived at Golden Deer Lake, all the outposts on the lake's perimeter fell one after another.

The city council of the autonomous city of Golden Deer City further exacerbated the situation by withdrawing half of the warships loyal to the city, leaving Golden Deer City completely isolated.

Moreover, Lynn seems to be constantly mobilizing reinforcements, with a new army arriving at the Amber East Coast camp almost every day under a new banner.

Conservative estimates suggest that the army in that camp numbered close to 10,000.

At present, Golden Deer Fortress is facing a very serious situation, and the slightest carelessness could lead to the fall of the city and the loss of its inhabitants.

Olger, enraged by the group of dumbfounded generals below, slammed his hand on the armrest and roared, "Nobody dares to speak? Have you all become mute? What, didn't you say two weeks ago that you would defend the castle to the death? Look, this is the consequence of abandoning the city and the manor!"

After a deathly silence, Count Gae forced himself to speak and replied, "My lord, it's not that we didn't want to protect the city and the manor, but the conditions at the time didn't allow it, and our forces were indeed limited."

Another court count with a goatee chimed in:

“Yes, my lord, it’s not that Count Gae is wrong. You can see from the watchtower that the enemy’s reinforcements are like a never-ending river. Even if we maintain our defenses around the lake, we will only be breached by the enemy one after another, and the result may be even worse than it is now.”

With these two high-ranking counts taking the lead, other military officers also voiced their support for Count Gae.

Defending the castle to the death is their shared will, and for now, they can only share the burden.

Seeing that most of the officials were standing with Count Gae, Olger was so angry that his face turned green. He slammed his hand on the armrest again and shouted, "Enough! I just want to know how much determination you have left to resist to the end?"

According to the letter, Earl Wolf, who was stationed in Canyonshire, had taken the lead in surrendering to the enemy and even shamelessly wrote a letter to persuade the military officers in the city to surrender.

Damn it, I should have killed this traitor last winter! Orge hated this 'captain' to the bone and wished he could devour him alive.

What Org feared, of course, was that these military officers, upon learning the contents of the letter, would also consider defecting to the enemy.

As far as he knew, Lynn's envoys to the castle were quite active, and it seemed that the three earls, including Gae, had private contact with the envoys.

But even if Olger knew, there was nothing he could do, as the castle's garrison was under the control of these three counts.

Moreover, Lynn's offer was quite sincere; both his title and wealth could be retained, and even he, as a duke, was somewhat tempted.

This is precisely why Olger is even more afraid of the counts' defection.

If the three counts were determined to defect to the enemy, how could he, Olger, possibly survive? His head would be the best proof of his loyalty!
Count Gae could naturally sense the apprehension and fear in Olger's words, and he immediately replied with a serious expression: "My lord, we have been loyal to Golden Deer Castle since your grandfather's time, and you have no need to, nor should you, doubt our loyalty."

The other two counts also immediately voiced their protests, as if they had been greatly insulted and wronged.

Org was so frightened that he waved his hands repeatedly: "Count, I would never doubt you, but the situation is too bad and it makes me a little uneasy."

This wasn't a lie he made up on the spot.

For the past two weeks, Olger has indeed been suffering from severe insomnia. He has been unable to sleep almost every night, as evidenced by the large dark circles under his eyes.

Seeing the young duke back down, Count Gae immediately pressed his advantage, saying, "My lord, what you should do now is drink a strong drink and then have a good sleep. We will take care of the castle's defenses, so you don't need to worry too much."

The other two counts also rallied in support of Count Gae.

Under the relentless pressure from the three court counts, Olger struggled before finally giving up the argument and obediently returned to his bedroom accompanied by his maid.

After the young duke left the hall, the three counts also left and gathered in a quiet secret room at the bottom of the castle ten minutes later.

As soon as he sat down, Count Gae pulled a yellow envelope from his pocket. He stared at his two old companions and asked, "You should have received this letter too, right? Don't lie to me."

The two counts exchanged a glance, and then each pulled out an envelope of the same color.

"As expected." Count Gae chuckled, then asked, "So what are your thoughts?"

Instead of answering, the Goatee Earl asked, "And you? We'd like to know your thoughts too."

Upon hearing his question, Count Gae immediately understood the true thoughts of his two old companions.

Both of them were considering surrendering.

Count Gae had to admit that it was absolutely a lie to say he didn't want to surrender.

One reason is that Lynn's offer was attractive enough.

On the other hand, Golden Deer Castle is indeed isolated and helpless, and the likely outcome of holding out is certain death.

The only winning point was that Lynn was forced to retreat due to pressure from the invading army in the south.

But Lynn continued to send reinforcements, showing no intention of retreating at all.
Just as the three remained silent, a series of terrifying roars suddenly came from outside the castle.

(End of this chapter)