I'm not a lord

Chapter 368 The Struggle for Grain Routes
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will take charge of Amber Harbor. Kalebo and his men have rested all winter, so it's time for them to get some exercise."

Winning over large autonomous cities is actually a very time-consuming and meticulous task. When things were smaller, Lynn would personally take charge of it.

For example, before capturing Three Rivers, Lynn maintained close contact with Leon for a long time and also met with a large number of city representatives in River Marsh County.

Now that the business has expanded so much, this kind of work has to be handed over to specialized departments.

The diplomatic environment in the North is not actually that complicated, consisting of a few core powers and a few medium to large autonomous cities.

If we only consider the North and want to save money, Lynn shouldn't have set up a separate Ministry of Foreign Affairs and kept a group of diplomatic officials.

In his plan, the North was merely a 'training ground' for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to practice on; the diplomats' future stage would be the South, where the situation was many times more complex.

After giving the orders, Lynn instructed Victor, "Also, call Leon and Hawke here. I have an important task to assign them."

Before long, the fleet commander and deputy commander, who were still counting the spoils of war, were brought before Lynn.

"Congratulations on your easy victory over the Amber Harbor Fleet. From today onwards, the fleet you command will be known as the First Fleet of the North."

Lynn first smiled and applauded, congratulating the two on their great victory today.

Leon dared not take credit for himself and immediately replied, "Your Majesty, our easy victory is entirely due to the cannons you provided. This is entirely your victory and glory; we were merely following your orders to complete our mission."

As a participant in the war, Leon was all too aware of the strategic and tactical value of artillery.

Especially the breech-loading cannons mounted on the ship's sides, these things were like the Grim Reaper's scythe, capable of reaping the lives of enemy sailors at will.

Even a mere glancing blow from a shell could result in death or serious injury; a salvo of four shells would leave the enemy ship's deck almost entirely devoid of sailors.

According to rough post-war statistics, Neil's fleet lost at least a thousand lives and another thousand were captured, while Leon's casualties were just over three digits.

The ship casualty ratio was even more alarming; more than fifty of Neil's warships were sunk or captured.

On Leon's side, not a single warship sank; only five ships leaked due to the collision, and three of them sustained minor damage and could be repaired and returned to the battlefield.

When military technology and combat concepts are far ahead, it is easy to achieve astonishing casualty ratios in naval warfare, and there are many naval battles with similar casualty ratios in real history.

In an attempt to gain favor with Lynn, Captain Hawke, a rough and unrefined man who had spent half his life in the past, racked his brains and used all his eloquence to reply in a sickeningly sweet manner:

"As Mayor Leon said, there would be no victory today without Your Majesty. After this naval battle, the sailors have come to regard Your Majesty as the sun and stars that guide them forward. You don't even need to speak; just point in any direction, and they will steer their ships to fight for you without hesitation!"

Leon, not to be outdone, also began to flatter: "Indeed, under His Majesty's leadership, the previously fragmented North will be more united than ever before! Judging from the current situation, it's only a matter of time before His Majesty conquers River Bend, perhaps as early as next week. And taking River Bend will be equivalent to holding the key to Amber Harbor. At that time..."

Seeing that the two were getting more and more carried away with their conversation, Lynn waved his hand to interrupt the spellcasting, and then said, "Alright, I didn't call you here to listen to these flattering words. I have an important task that only you two can currently undertake."

The two immediately fell silent, simultaneously adopting a submissive and respectful demeanor.

Lynn paused for a moment, then slowly issued the instructions:

"Next, the fleet needs to be divided into two parts. One part will be responsible for monitoring the more than 200 kilometers of river from Sanhe City to Hewanbao to prevent Otto's troops stationed on the south bank from secretly crossing the river northward. Hawke will be in charge of this part of the ships."

The remaining ships will be under Leon's command, carrying all heavy artillery to surround Riverbend Fortress and coordinate with the army in a general offensive. I can only give you one more day to prepare; the final deadline for deployment is the morning after tomorrow.

Right now, Lynn's main force must be engaged in the siege of River Bend.

Therefore, it was necessary to prevent Count Tristan from attacking his rear from the south.

According to the intelligence Lynn possessed, Tristan's troops were Otto's elite forces, and included a large number of highly mobile cavalry.

The Nier fleet that participated in this naval battle consisted of ships that were converted from medium to large merchant ships from various autonomous cities within the royal domain.

With a population of three to four million, the entire kingdom couldn't possibly have only a hundred or so ships.

Furthermore, Tristan had previously crossed the Yellow River southward to attack Mirror Iron Territory, so he must have a number of ships used for transporting troops.

Lynn must be wary of this person's possible flanking attack.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Captain Hawke patted his chest and assured him, "Your Majesty need not worry. Tonight I will dispatch ten small fleets to patrol the river overnight, and I guarantee that not a single ship will be able to sail over from the south bank!"

Everyone has small and medium-sized ships that are not qualified to participate in large-scale naval battles.

The city of Sanhe has fifty or sixty small assault boats. These boats are fast and have almost no draft, making them suitable for most waterways.

With just a few assault ships forming a fleet, deployed every ten kilometers or so, and in conjunction with fixed watchtowers and patrolling sentries on the north bank, the entire two-hundred-kilometer stretch of the river could be completely under surveillance.

To put it bluntly, isn't it just blocking the river? This is Hawke's old specialty; he's done this kind of work for the Three Rivers City Council quite a bit in the past.

After a moment's thought, Leon replied, "One day is enough. Tomorrow I will order the sailors to clear a section of the river and prepare the necessary ships."

Lynn then toured the docks again, commended a group of sailors who had fought bravely, and then mounted his horse and returned to the army camp north of the docks under the cover of night.

At the same time, the scout cavalry also brought back urgent military intelligence from River Bend Fort.

"It seems that Otto lacks the courage to confront His Majesty head-on. He has led an army of 10,000 men away from River Bend and is retreating eastward along the Tranquil River. There should still be about 5,000 troops left to guard River Bend."

Victor's tone clearly conveyed regret.

If Otto remains at River Bend, Lynn's fleet will be able to besiege him in the castle the day after tomorrow.

If we can breach the city walls, there is a very high probability that we can kill or capture Otto alive.

The Southerners' rule over the Crown Territory of the North was inherently unstable, and their legitimacy almost entirely stemmed from the Crown of the North on Otto's head.

If Otto were to die, the Southerners' rule over the royal territory would collapse instantly.

At that time, Lynn will be able to easily conquer this rich land that accounts for half of the population of the North, and the unification of the entire North will be just around the corner. Those two incompetent Duke Vasa of the Vale and Duke Samuel of the Meadows will have absolutely no chance of stopping Lynn's advance.

Lynn picked up the oil lamp and walked to the table. By the light, he looked down at the map on the table and chuckled, "Otto is not a fool after all. There are very few monarchs in history who do not know to run away when the enemy is at their doorstep."

Lynn didn't rest during the march; whenever they stopped, he would start drawing maps.

This map depicts the detailed terrain around River Bend Castle, and also marks several manors, cities and castles.

Victor had always been curious about why Lynn could always draw extremely detailed maps based on the scouts' verbal descriptions.

If it were just that the content was detailed, that would be fine. The most terrifying thing is that when Victor compared it afterward, he found that the terrain on the map almost completely overlapped with the actual terrain, as if Lynn had taken a piece of paper and copied it from reality.

Victor couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation for this, and since he dared not speak or ask, he could only attribute it to His Majesty's extraordinary talent.

Speaking of exceptionally talented individuals, Victor had indeed met a few when he was studying at university in Amber Harbor.

In his law school, there was a student who had a photographic memory. Whether it was complex and difficult religious texts or a vast collection of legal codes from various countries, this prodigy could memorize them after reading them only once.

Unfortunately, this person did not stay in the North, but went to work for the Trinity Church in the South, where he was said to be highly valued by the Pope.

Just as Victor was staring at the map in a daze, Lynn frowned slightly as he analyzed the battle situation: "Otto's strategy is very simple, which is to let me besiege River Bend."

Once I'm bogged down in this castle, he'll have time to mobilize the troops in Tristan on the south bank. Whether he attacks from both sides or combines his forces for a decisive battle, it will pose a significant threat to our army.

In the open plains, where there is little cover, as long as the scout cavalry are not blind, the two sides are almost always fighting with their cards on the table.

Lynn was able to detect Otto's movements, and Otto was naturally able to know Lynn's whereabouts as well.

Clearly, Otto was using River Bend as bait to lure Lynn into a trap, and was trying to set a trap around the bait.

Even though Captain Hawke's fleet blocked Tristan's attempt to cross the river and flank him, it was difficult to prevent him from advancing eastward, crossing the river again, and joining forces with Otto.

At that time, Otto would still have a mobile force of about 35,000 men, including many excellent noble cavalrymen from the south.

With the two armies facing each other head-on, even with the help of artillery, Lynn's 16,000-strong army was not guaranteed to win.

The Tranquil River is too long to navigate. Even though Lynn Quarion's fleet is the best in the North, it still has a very limited number of medium and large ships.

With only these seventy or so medium and large warships, it would be impossible to completely control the hundreds of kilometers of waterway from Sanhe City to Kelun City.

Even if Lynn wins this naval battle, it will only guarantee the safety of the waterway from Three Rivers to River Bend.

"Victor, what's your opinion?"

Startled by Lynn's question, Victor rubbed his eyes hastily, stared at the map for a moment, and then replied:
"Your Majesty, the way to break this trap is very simple: take River Bend Castle as soon as possible. Otto's fleet has been crippled and poses no threat to a strong castle like River Bend Castle with its strategic location."

If you can capture the castle within two weeks, Otto will lose any chance of winning. According to intelligence obtained before the battle, most of Otto's military rations are stored in the rebuilt city of Kolen.

The distance from Koren to River Bend is over a hundred kilometers. Without naval support, he will have difficulty securing food supplies. At that point, His Majesty won't even need a direct confrontation; simply holding out in the castle for two to three weeks will be enough to force him to retreat back to Koren on his own.

The reason why the Northern powers in the past did not need to build a logistics system was because they did not use many troops in a single war.

For example, when Duke Lothair of the Marsh first conquered the Crown Territory, he only used four thousand court cavalry.

An army of this size deliberately chose to set out between summer and autumn, relying on local plunder and merchants accompanying the army to solve logistical problems.

However, when the size of the army reaches tens of thousands, and both sides in the conflict are willing to go to great lengths to implement scorched earth policies, the logistics system will become extremely important.

The largest naval battle in the history of the North that took place today was fought between Lynn and Otto for control of the river and supply lines.

Both sides recognized the importance of cutting off each other's low-cost grain transport channels.

Given the current population size, productivity level, and transportation capacity of the northern border, it is absolutely impossible to complete the transport of military supplies over hundreds of kilometers by land.

Even someone as wealthy as Lynn couldn't afford to play this game, let alone Otto, who was exploiting the resources of the royal territory.

Victor is in charge of the secretariat and is responsible for coordinating the work of various departments. He knows best how terrifying the daily food consumption of tens of thousands of soldiers is.

The people were manageable, but the most terrifying thing was the warhorses and draft horses. When the four transport ships arrived at the port at the same time, about two and a half of them were carrying hay.

Lynn has less than 20,000 soldiers, while Otto is going to mobilize 30,000 to 40,000.

Without the support of water transport, Otto's army could only leave the city of Kolen for a maximum of one month, which was roughly the limit of the army's ability to carry its own provisions.

After listening, Lynn turned his gaze back to the map and punched the location of River Bend: "Your analysis is correct, completely consistent with my thoughts. Whether or not we can take River Bend as soon as possible is the key to determining the course of the subsequent war!"

The following afternoon, Lynn arrived with several hundred cavalrymen at a small hill northwest of River Bend.

No matter how precise a map is drawn, it cannot replace the commander's pre-battle reconnaissance.

A scout cavalry captain pointed southeast and said, “Your Majesty, please look. That small castle on the north bank is the outer defensive fortification of River Bend Fort. There is also a castle of similar size on the south bank of Jinghe River. This size should be able to garrison less than a thousand soldiers.”

Lynn squinted and observed for a while, then turned to look at an elderly knight in the crowd and asked, "Baron Gae, you once accompanied Lothair to conquer River Bend Fortress, do you have any suggestions?"

Baron Gae, formerly the Earl of the Marshland, currently works in the General Staff of Lynn.

He strode forward, looked in the direction of River Bend Fort, and replied:

"Your Majesty, according to the fishermen in the area, during the dry season, the island in the middle of the river where River Bend Fort is located will be connected to the north bank. Now it is the spring flood season, and the island is surrounded by water. There is almost no open space on the island, making it almost impossible to conquer the castle by conventional means."

"The reason we were able to capture the castle was entirely due to unconventional methods. Besides ordering the maids to poison the Earl of the River Reach, we also planted spies and informants in all three castles beforehand."

(End of this chapter)