I'm not a lord

Chapter 371 His Majesty's Intentions Were Good

Just as Lynn's fleet was bombarding Riverbend Fortress through the night, a night siege was also taking place at Iron Fortress in Mirror Ironhold.

Large numbers of soldiers, holding torches and various weapons, shone like fiery dragons illuminating the mountain path as they surged toward the fortified castle atop the steep cliffs.

After a fierce battle with the castle garrison, the fire dragon, now slightly weakened, returned along the same route and was replaced by another group of soldiers to continue the siege.

Similar scenes have been playing out multiple times around Iron Fort in the past two weeks.

Earl Harvey, from the southern border, was in charge of command at the front. Every time he saw a group of soldiers withdrawing from the siege, his heart would ache.

Those who were injured or killed were all his soldiers!
Although his more than 10,000 troops were nominally under the command of Otto III, in the eyes of old-fashioned nobles like Harvey, the soldiers under his command were his soldiers.

Moreover, many of the soldiers were recruited from the southern border by him based on the prestige he had accumulated over the past decades, and they already had a certain degree of personal dependence on him.

Otto's instructions to Harvey were to attack the Valley Territory. If he could capture White Eagle Fortress, he could replace Vasa as the new Duke of the Valley.

Although Harvey coveted the title of Duke, he knew that fighting a war was like eating bread; you had to take it one bite at a time. Eating too much at once could not only choke you but also make you feel bloated.

The Earl of Leiner, who died in battle last year, serves as a cautionary tale. This guy actually dared to interfere in Lynn's war to conquer the Swamplands and try to take advantage of the chaos to seize the Swamplands. In the end, he was completely defeated by Lynn and lost his life in the mountains of the North.

Therefore, in the early stages of the war, Harvey patiently captured the outer castles of the Mirror Iron Territory and gradually drove Vasa's army into the Iron Castle.

Faced with this formidable castle, which ranked among the top in the North, Harvey never even considered a direct assault. Since he could get supplies from Otto, he simply besieged it without attacking.

If the siege is maintained for a year or two, the morale of the defending troops inside the city will eventually break down, and they will naturally open the gates and surrender.

Once Harvey defeats the current Duke of the Valley, Vasa, he can march straight into White Eagle Castle and take his place as the new Duke of the Valley.

However, the sound of his abacus was so loud that Otto could hear it clearly even from as far away as River Bend.

Harvey had just finished encircling Iron Castle when Count Tristan arrived and took command of the castle.

Harvey was indignant but helpless about it.

He is now Otto's subordinate, and his ability to wage war in the North is entirely due to Otto's name. Furthermore, his soldiers also require Otto to provide them with military supplies.

The Mirror Iron Territory had long been subjected to a scorched-earth policy by the Vasa, and had already been plundered by the Southern Invaders last year, so there was really not much left to squeeze out of it.

The situation in the western Tin Rock Territory is similar; most of the local residents have already evacuated, leaving behind only barren territory, and even the local mines have ceased operations.

White River County to the north is Lynn's territory, and Harvey neither dares to provoke Lynn nor has the means to cross the river northward.

In short, Harvey is now forced to serve under Count Tristan as a forward siege commander, and must obey the latter's orders to continuously send his soldiers to storm the Iron Fortress.

As a de facto noble military leader, Harvey would naturally care about the lives of his soldiers.

Tristan, however, didn't care. He was a trusted official whom Otto had personally promoted, not a traditional nobleman.

In his eyes, one hundred people are just a number, and ten thousand people are just a number as well.

He didn't care how many people died, as long as he could complete the task assigned to him by His Majesty.

Moreover, depleting Harvey's forces was also one of Tristan's missions.

Tristan brought only 10,000 troops from River Bend, while Harvey had over 15,000 men, mostly impoverished nobles from the South, who were known for their unruly and rebellious nature.

How can he maintain his position as commander without killing some of Harvey's soldiers?

“My Lord, shall we call it a day? Two consecutive night raids on the castle have resulted in heavy casualties for the army, and many soldiers are beginning to waver. It will be difficult to restore morale without a week or two of rest.”

After another round of siege, several trusted generals approached Harvey and complained to him, asking him to postpone the assault on the castle.

"Don't I want the soldiers to stop and rest? But this is an order! If we don't attack the city, we'll go hungry!"

Harvey was naturally full of resentment, as Tristan always threatened to cut off his supplies, forcing him to launch a forced attack on the city.

Of course, it's not all bad news.

After two weeks of relentless attacks, Vasa in Iron Fortress suffered heavy losses, and the morale of the defenders also declined significantly.

Although Harvey has already lost nearly two thousand soldiers, if he is willing to sacrifice lives, he might be able to take down this damned mountain castle in another month or two.

However, continuing the assault would inevitably result in more casualties. It was hard to say whether the fortress would be breached first, or whether the soldiers would mutini.

Regardless of whether the soldiers could endure the casualties, the impoverished noble generals from the southern border had already reached their limit.

A young red-haired general immediately retorted angrily, "My lord, Tristan is nothing but a court count without any territory, and he's barely grown any hair in his pants. What gives him the audacity to threaten you? I think we can completely ignore his orders. If he dares to cut off our supplies, then we'll just go and ask him for them directly. That's our food anyway!"

They said they wanted it, but in reality they were just stealing it.

Tristan's troops were positioned behind Harvey, thus controlling the supply route from Luyuan to Iron Fortress.

Last autumn and winter, Otto specifically ordered officials to build a number of granaries in Luyuan Territory and to plunder military rations from various places, all for the sake of this year's war in Jingtie Territory.

Harvey's generals were mostly involved in the grain plundering, so they naturally assumed that the grain belonged to them.

These words immediately resonated with the generals, who naturally sided with Harvey and had long harbored resentment towards Tristan.

The youngest blond general present shouted, "That's right! In terms of title, status, seniority, and prestige, you are far superior to him. What right does he have to give you orders? The king only sent him to assist you in attacking Vasa, yet he arbitrarily changed the order and disobeyed the king's will, even daring to threaten you! My lord, if you say the word, we'll bring him before you right now! Make him kneel and admit his mistake!" "Yes, make him kneel down! What right does this clown who rose to power by flattering the king have to interfere in the war!"

With several hot-blooded young generals adding fuel to the fire, the situation was on the verge of turning into 'His Majesty's intentions were good, but Tristan executed them poorly.'

Further down the story, the plot will most likely involve a mutiny in the army, with young generals launching a rebellion under the cover of night. Count Tristan dies mysteriously in the chaos, and Count Harvey, supported by the generals, is forced to clean up the mess.

But at the crucial moment, Count Harvey did not floor the accelerator, but instead slammed on the brakes.

He sternly surveyed the assembled generals and rebuked them, “Alright, all of you, stop. That’s enough for tonight. I will go and negotiate with Tristan to get him to provide more food, drink, and meat. You’d better keep these audacious ideas to yourselves. We are now in the North, on Otto’s territory, and we must follow the rules he has set.”

And don't forget, at least Otto was willing to provide us with food and promised us titles and lands, while the local Northerners only want us dead! Our main enemies right now are Vasa and Lynn, not Tristan behind us. You must remember this!

Harvey is a seasoned veteran; he can distinguish between primary and secondary conflicts.

Clearly, two groups are vying for control of the land beneath his feet: the people of the South and the people of the North.

Harvey and his generals were all from the South and could only ally with Otto III, who was also from the South.

No matter how great the conflict between the two sides is, it can never compare to the conflict between the people of the South and the people of the North.

Lynn's slogan did inspire the people of the North, but it also completely severed his ties with the people of the South.

At the very least, Harvey doesn't believe Lynn can accept him.

It can only be said that everything has its advantages and disadvantages. Lynn united a group of people, but naturally he had to abandon another group.

That evening, Harvey rode his warhorse to Tristan's encampment, a dilapidated little castle located on the west side of Mirror Iron Territory.

Little did he know that Tristan was preparing to send someone to find him.

“Harvey, you’ve come at the right time. The King has just sent someone with an urgent order.”

"What instructions?"

"I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?" Count Tristan glanced down at the parchment scroll in his hand, feigning ease, even having the leisure to joke.

Harvey pulled out a wooden chair and sat down. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "Let's hear the good news first."

Tristan smiled slightly: "The good news is that our decisive battle with Lynn is about to begin. He has personally led the main force deep into the Crown Territory. The King has decided to fight him near River Bend. If we can defeat him, the entire North will become our spoils."

Could this be good news? Is Lynn so easily defeated? Tristan's confidence is far too blind. A flicker of doubt crossed Earl Harvey's eyes, and he immediately asked, "And the bad news?"

Tristan put down the scroll in his hand and shrugged slightly: "The bad news is that Mayor Neil's fleet was defeated by Lynn. Lynn's army is approaching Riverbend Fortress from both land and sea, and is now engaged in battle with the defending army."

These are clearly two pieces of bad news! Shouldn't it be that Neil's fleet defeated Lynn's fleet, forcing Lynn to retreat in panic, and then they could use cavalry to divide and encircle them? Earl Harvey's eyelids twitched as he listened, and he asked, "So what? What does this have to do with us? Does the King want us to support River Bend?"

“You guessed right. The king has ordered you and me to immediately cease our offensive against Mirror Iron Territory, lead our troops to the south bank of the Jing River, and seize the opportunity to cross the river and surround Lynn’s forces.” Tristan said, pushing the parchment scroll toward Harvey.

In fact, Otto sent two directives to Tristan, one of which was the one to Harvey, which included concealed military intelligence and explicit instructions to both men.

The other document was only for Tristan to see. Otto ordered him to bring the vast majority of the army to the south bank of the Tranquil River, and if Harvey disobeyed, to make sure he never heard orders again.

Harvey picked up the parchment scroll, glanced at it a few times, and his expression immediately darkened: "I'm sorry, but I find this order very difficult to accept. You should know that we are already in Mirror Iron Territory."

Before he could finish speaking, Tristan raised his hand to interrupt him: "Harvey, I know what you're trying to say. You're just saying that you invested too much manpower and time in Mirror Iron Territory, and that you were just a hair's breadth away from taking Iron Fortress, right?"

Harvey, fearless, stared intently at Tristan with his wolf-like, sharp eyes, and said decisively:

“That’s right. Only one Iron Castle is still resisting in the entire Mirror Iron Territory. Moreover, we all know that Duke Vasa of the Valley is in the castle. As long as we capture this castle, we can take control of the entire Mirror Iron Territory. Compared to the decisive battle with an unknown outcome, isn’t this duchy more important?”

Now that things have come to this, Harvey naturally wants to fight for the interests of himself and his men.

Can the war in Mirror Iron Territory be stopped so easily? Wouldn't the soldiers who died in the past have died in vain?
Compared to Harvey, who was close to a showdown, Tristan's tone was slightly gentler: "Harvey, this is the King's order, and you know very well that only Lynn in the North can stop us from advancing. As long as we can kill him, Vasa's head and the Vale will be your spoils sooner or later."

"The King has a powerful army and the fortified River Bend, and he can mobilize far more troops than Lynn. Why must he insist that I take my poor brothers to River Bend? Those soldiers who have left their homes just want a home in the North." Earl Harvey's tone softened, but he still insisted on his opinion.

“Of course I understand you, but an order is an order. Sorry, my friend.” Tristan left it at that, letting Harvey convince himself.

As Tristan finished speaking, the sound of rapid, hurried footsteps echoed outside, clearly indicating that a large number of soldiers had surrounded the room.

If Harvey doesn't want to be dignified, there are plenty of people who would want him to be.

“I understand. I will follow the King’s orders.” Harvey stood up, his face grim. “I will go back now to assemble the army, and we will depart tomorrow.”

Tristan immediately stood up, lightly placing his right hand on Harvey's shoulder, and said with a half-smile, "There's no need for that, my friend. I've already prepared ink and paper for you. You just need to write a letter to your generals; they'll certainly recognize your handwriting and the ring on your finger."

"Brother, wake up!"

The following morning, the Valley Duke Vasa, who had not slept all night, was awakened by his brother Damian.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw his younger brother's smiling face.

Vasa had been directing the battle on the city walls until late last night, and then led the garrison soldiers on patrol all night. He didn't lie down until dawn, so he asked sleepily, "What happened?"

"Brother, those damned Southerners have all run away!"

(End of this chapter)