I'm not a lord

Chapter 340 Otto's Attack

"My lord, according to reliable sources, Otto has personally led an army of over 20,000 men out of Amber Harbor and is currently advancing northward inland along the Quiet River. Their target is still unclear."

Count Harvey, however, made no significant move, continuing to lead his more than ten thousand troops stationed on the eastern side of Mirror Iron Territory, only sending out small groups to harass it.

After Victor finished reporting the military situation, he handed the official documents to Lynn with both hands.

Lynn took the official document and casually said, "It's not surprising that Otto sent troops. With 20,000 professional soldiers, plus their families, the number is almost 100,000. He is under great pressure to supply food. The land around Amber Harbor alone cannot feed so many people. Even if it weren't for the war, he would still have to take these people to inspect the western part of the royal territory."

One reason why the Shang Dynasty in ancient China frequently moved its capital was due to problems with food supply.

In an era when agricultural production and transportation were underdeveloped, it was difficult for the food from a single region to supply the large population of a capital city.

By the Tang Dynasty, the grain produced in the Guanzhong region could not supply the officials and the imperial guards, and the emperor often had to take a large group of people to the eastern capital for food, which was almost like begging.

This is also common on the continent of Dievas. Some high-ranking nobles in the southern region often take their entire court on tours, with entourages often exceeding ten thousand people. They eat wherever they go, comparable to a locust swarm.

The royal domains of the North had been ravaged by war, and agricultural production in various regions had suffered varying degrees of damage, with the area around Amber Harbor being particularly hard hit.

This land had first suffered from the scorched-earth policy of the bastard Maurice, and then was twice plundered by the Marsh Duke Lothair, so it was clearly impossible to supply Otto's army in the long term.

Lynn sat in a high-backed chair, flipping through official documents, and said, "I have already ordered Andrei to strengthen the defenses of White River Territory. I am not afraid of small groups of enemy troops harassing us. If Otto personally leads tens of thousands of men to visit us, then I will have no choice but to return to White River Territory to receive our distinguished guests."

To be honest, Lynn really doesn't want to use troops on a large scale right now.

He had only recently taken over the Marshland, hadn't even warmed his seat at Golden Deer Castle, and had just married a beautiful wife. Wouldn't it be better to stay home and develop his strength for a while?
Furthermore, local administrative reforms in the swamp territory are still in their infancy, and local strongmen occasionally cause trouble. There are even tough nuts like the Black Shirt Earl's territory that refuse to submit.

Lynn naturally wanted to take a year or two to properly digest this newly acquired prize. Once he was fully developed, he could lead a powerful army and, with the support of a bountiful treasury, storm into the Crown Territory.

It should be noted that the Swamp Territory has a population of over one million. As long as agricultural reforms can be initially completed, supporting an army of twenty to thirty thousand in the short term is not too difficult.

This does not include the Shirakawa Territory, which has already completed its initial agricultural reforms and is still absorbing large numbers of displaced people.

But Otto wasn't a political idiot, and it was clear he wouldn't give Lynn that much time to develop.

Foreign Minister Kalebo then said with a wry smile:

"My lord, besides Otto, Count Mirror Iron in the south has also been making quite a few moves lately. He seems to want to marry off all his sons and daughters whom he has saved up for decades, and the marriage partners are all from the earl families of the Valley Territory."

In the past month alone, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent four gifts of money. Today, an envoy from the Mirror Iron Territory arrived at Golden Deer Castle, and unsurprisingly, he's here again to ask for more money.

Both were marriages, but Lynn married a proper princess, while the children of Earl Mirror Iron, lacking such means, could only seek marriage alliances with other earl families.

But Count Mirror Iron succeeded by winning through sheer volume.

On the surface, he had five sons and four daughters, all of whom were legally born to his legal wife.

Although he only married one wife, she was very fertile, giving birth almost every one or two years, much like a sow giving birth to piglets.

For nobles, it truly meant 'many children, many blessings' in the literal sense.

Each additional son provides greater security for the right to inherit the territory, while each additional daughter is almost equivalent to gaining a steadfast political ally.

With just this wave of political marriages, which came as a shower of flowers, Earl Mirror Iron was able to firmly control the entire Valley Territory.

After hearing this, Lynn chuckled and said, "That old bastard is really shrewd. He just gave me a wedding gift, and now he's going to take it back double. I think it won't be long before we hear that he's declared himself the Duke of the Valley."

Kalebo took a sip of light wine to moisten his throat and analyzed, "Count Mirror Iron definitely wants to declare himself duke before you become king, so that he won't have a nominal vassal relationship with you."

“I took advantage of him quite a bit back in Perch City, so let’s let him off this time.” Lynn put down the official documents and waved his hand magnanimously.

By granting Count Mirror Iron's request once, at least the superficial alliance between the two sides can be maintained.

Lynn has no intention of attacking Mirror Iron Territory or Grass Territory before completely defeating Otto.

Firstly, these two territories are relatively barren and cannot provide much war potential.

Secondly, these two territories are difficult to conquer due to their terrain, and fighting them would be both time-consuming and resource-intensive, making it easy for Otto to become the easy prey.

Once Lynn has completely driven Otto out of the North and taken control of the Crown Territory, the remaining two duchies can most likely be settled with a single proclamation.

Even if we fail to persuade them to surrender, we can simply overwhelm them with overwhelming force.

Besides, Lynn still has the 'Hela' card in his hand.

Count Mirror Iron had twice asked him for the Hela sisters, but he refused both times. What a joke! These were the family members his good brother Herman had entrusted to Lynn; how could he possibly give away his friend's family to someone else?

However, on the day Lynn got married, Hela seemed to be the one who cried the most. It is said that continuous crying could be heard from her room that night.

There was no other way; there could only be one official wife. Hela arrived a little late, and her claims were of little use to Lynn.

Within two days, news of Otto III leading his army westward spread throughout Golden Deer Castle.

However, the officials and servants inside the castle remained immersed in the joy of the lord's wedding and did not feel the slightest fear due to the enemy's movements.

Since their debut, the lords have never suffered a defeat, and they all firmly believe that Lynn will be able to defeat the powerful enemy and protect the territory once again.

Moreover, they all knew that their lord was about to don the crown of the North and become the only and true king of the North, and that the southerner who was impersonating the king was not worth worrying about at all.

Is there any truth to the saying that a true king cannot defeat a false king?

Meanwhile, the false king they perceived was resting in a small castle on the south bank of the Jing River.

Just as Lynn had guessed, Otto's expedition, ostensibly to quell a rebellion in the interior, was actually really just to solve the army's food problem.

Along the way, he deliberately passed through the territories of his vassals. In each place he arrived, he ordered his vassals to offer grain and fodder to support his army. Several minor barons who had just been enfeoffed in the royal domain were almost bankrupted by his eating!
This was one of the privileges of monarchs in feudal times, namely the so-called 'right to lodging'.

A monarch with this privilege could stay overnight on his vassal’s lands. The vassal was obligated to host the monarch and his entourage, provide the best food and lodging on his lands, and ensure the monarch’s safety.

However, monarchs often traveled not alone or with their families, but with a large retinue.

Just like Emperor Qianlong's six southern tours, each time it was accompanied by a huge entourage, with thousands of guards alone, and most of the palace officials and their families would also accompany the emperor south.

With so many people accompanying them, the amount of food they consumed was astronomical.

Otto's entourage was even larger than Qianlong's; he brought 20,000 new troops with him, and the amount of bread they ate each day was measured in tons.

With such a level of consumption, how could those vassals possibly afford it?
It should be noted that they had been enfeoffed for less than a year, and many of their people had been scattered due to the war. Even with favorable weather this year, they had not been able to accumulate much surplus grain.

Otto's actions not only depleted the precious surplus grain in the territory, but also forced the vassals to pay for the military supplies themselves, causing the price of grain in the surrounding areas to rise.

That's not all. Otto's soldiers used to be mercenaries, thieves, or bandits. Although they had been in the army for more than half a year, their bandit nature was still hard to change.

Once they arrived in the local area, these soldiers were like wild dogs that had been released from their cages, frequently causing violence, theft, and even sexual assault.

Even more fatally, according to mainland custom, after the monarch arrives in a locality, he can also take over the local judicial power, which is the so-called 'circuit court'.

Under the deliberate protection of the circuit court, most of these offending soldiers only received a few lashes and easily escaped local legal punishment.

After all that turmoil, several vassals simply abandoned their territories and fled.

Let whoever wants to be a nobleman be one; I'm not going to serve this damn king anymore!

This was exactly what Otto wanted.

The reason he previously implemented the enfeoffment in the royal territory was mainly due to pressure from the nobles of the Kingdom of Rui.

The army he used to defeat Duke Lothair of the Marsh was cobbled together by the nobles of Rui.

The land they conquered naturally included a share for these nobles.

But Otto knew very well that in order to support a professional army, he would have to take back the territories that had been granted out and appoint officials to collect taxes for him.

The 20,000 troops he brought were there to drive out these vassals.

Once the vassals abandoned their territories and fled, he immediately ordered the accompanying officials to take over the territories.

The monarchs are well aware of the benefits of centralized power, and this approach was not Otto's original creation; many kings in the Southern Territory have done the same.

In order to smoothly take over these territories, Otto also went to the southern border to recruit many officials from the church system.

These officials had dual identities: they were responsible for the political task of governing the local area, and they also shouldered the lofty ideal of spreading the "Three Saints Religion" in the North.

The Trinity had long wanted to extend its reach further into the North, and this time it was a perfect match with Otto.

(End of this chapter)