After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

It was another beautiful day. A light drizzle fell in the morning, and the sun shone through the clouds, illuminating the vast wheat fields.

In the eastern part of the Northern Territory, several calm rivers flow through the flat, fertile land, and the high mountains to the north provide a natural barrier, making this a rare land of plenty in the Northern Territory.

Jim, the commander of the Marquis's private army, has been quite worried lately.

Because of the Duke's special envoy, Mr. Jacob swaggered into the Marquis's mansion again.

Jim found it difficult to reconcile the erudition and refinement of a scholar with the shamelessness of a thug in one person, but Jacob presented him with the perfect example.

"Commander, you don't want the old Marquis to suffer because of your rudeness, do you?"

This was the first thing he said when he first met Jacob.

Jim was helpless. The lives of the Marquis's family were in the Duke's hands. He could neither advance nor retreat. He could only hold on and hope that his group would make the Duke wary and prevent him from killing the entire Marquis's family.

Jacob said he had been ordered to the Marquis's study to find some lost books. Jim didn't believe this flimsy excuse at all.

But as Jacob said, he didn't let any soldiers into the city and went alone into the heavily guarded Marquis's mansion. Would Jim suspect him because of this?

If Jim doesn't even agree to this request, then he'll have no choice but to go back and report it to the Duke.

Left with no other option, Jim had to agree to the scoundrel's request, allowing him free access to the Marquis's study, but forbidding him from bringing or taking anything with him. Even if he found some books, they would have to be inspected before he could take them.

"The master hasn't come for a few days. Is he going to the study again today?"

Jim greeted him politely as usual. Jacob walked into the hall, looked around, and then casually replied, "No need, I'm here to help find someone."

"Who are you looking for? Does the gentleman know anyone at the Marquis's mansion?" Jim became more wary, but Jacob calmly took out a long list from his pocket, which was densely filled with names, places of origin, and home addresses.

The long list fell to the ground. Jacob coughed lightly and began calling out names: "Arman, Elfins, Bob... Jack, Jess..."

Jim's mind went blank for a moment. He snatched the list from Jim's hand, exclaiming in shock, "Where did you get this soldier information?!"

It's no wonder he was surprised, because Jacob's list was full of the names of his soldiers.

"What is the commander doing?" Jacob was not angry that the list had been taken away. He said seriously, "Commander, give the list back to me. The parents of these people are already waiting outside the city. I need to reunite them with their families."

Jim tossed the list aside, his expression changing drastically. He swiftly drew his sword, held it to Jacob's neck, and snarled, "Jacob, you scoundrel, you were definitely up to no good!"

"What are you saying, Commander?" Jacob cupped his hands in greeting, his eyes showing no fear whatsoever, and smiled calmly.

"It's better for them to reunite now than for their parents to go back with a corpse later, isn't it?"

"Could it be that the commander can guarantee that all your brothers will be able to return home safely from now on?"

With a clang, the sword in Jim's hand fell to the ground. He understood; he understood everything.

Jacob entered the study, not to look for any books, but to search for the list of the Marquis's soldiers, and then spent several days memorizing all this information.

Now he's brought all the soldiers' relatives here; he's trying to undermine their morals!

At this moment, the soldiers whose names were called all had strange expressions; they seemed unsure how to deal with this absurd situation.

But when she heard that her parents had arrived, a hint of expectation appeared in her eyes.

Those whose names weren't called became nervous; they hadn't been home for over six months and were completely unaware of what was happening at home.

"Sir, what about me? Have my parents arrived yet?"

Upon hearing these words, Jim painfully closed his eyes and staggered back a few steps.

Torn between loyalty to the marquis and his brothers' filial piety towards their parents, he was shocked to realize the cruelty of the future when these two emotions were weighed on the scales of fate.

No one knows when the Duke will deal with his private army. It may be today, or it may be tomorrow. In any case, when that day comes, it will be the day when countless families are torn apart.

"If the commander is still worried, how about booking a restaurant and inviting the soldiers and their families for a meal?"

Jacob's words were gentle, yet they sent a chill down Jim's spine. He suddenly opened his eyes and said, with a mixture of sigh and laughter, "Killing without a knife, sir, you are truly shrewd."

Half an hour later, the city gates opened wide, and a large group of old farmers craned their necks, stopped to look around, but still did not see the person they wanted to see.

Only Jacob came over with a smile and invited them into the city.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please follow me. The commander has prepared a feast to celebrate your reunion with your children!"

A large group of people entered the city in a grand procession. The city hadn't been this lively in a long time. Ever since Red led his troops into the Marquis's mansion, emptied its inventory, and left the news that the Marquis's family had been imprisoned, the city had quickly become quiet.

On one hand, residents were fleeing in droves, and on the other hand, Jim issued a strict martial law order, forbidding outsiders from entering the city without permission.

So, when the restaurant owner was sitting idly at the entrance, and suddenly saw a large group of people heading straight for the restaurant, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief, then jumped three feet high and shouted anxiously inside, "Quick, quick, go buy ingredients! Lots of customers have arrived!"

The city seemed to have been revitalized. On the top floor of the restaurant, Jim and Jacob sat facing each other at a table.

Even Jim couldn't help but smile as he looked down at the sea of ​​celebration below.

"Commander, take care in the future. I will be leaving tomorrow." Jacob poured a glass of wine for each of them and raised his glass first.

But Jim didn't buy it at all, continuing to tilt his head and chuckle coldly.

"The gentleman left me with a huge mess, and now he wants to leave?"

Jacob didn't mind, downed his drink in one gulp, and responded calmly.

"The commander was just saying that out of anger. I did this entirely out of good intentions. If I may say something I shouldn't, you can't save the Marquis if you live. The more tragically you die, the more furious the Duke will be. At that time, the Marquis will probably die without a burial place."

"Come on, let's not talk about this, let's drink."

Seeing that Jacob was about to pour more wine, Jim grabbed his hand and stared at him intently, saying, "Sir, you are very talented. You have come here to guide us. Why not give us a clear path?"

"Which path to take is entirely up to the commander," Jacob sighed, while Jim increased the pressure in his hands, adopting a somewhat coercive stance.

"The old marquis has been kind to me, and I must repay him."

"What does one person's favor matter!" Jacob quickly withdrew his hand and said coldly, "Last year, the Northern Territory was defeated and suffered a great disaster. Starving people lay dead in the snow in Ice City, most of whom came from the East, known as the land of fish and rice, from the old Marquis's vast territory. Does the commander not know this?"

"If we're talking about favors, the Duke has been far more kind to your eastern region, providing free food relief, free land to cultivate, and unreserved wages! The Marquis has never done anything like that!"

Jim remained silent, speechless.

He knew that the old marquis was not a good lord. Not only was he greedy and seized land, but he also secretly colluded with neighboring nobles to buy up agricultural products from farmers at low prices.

The reason why the famine was most severe in the east was because the old marquis sold most of his stockpiled grain to grain merchants for money. In order to prevent the famine victims from rioting, he even ordered Jim to drive the famine victims to Ice City...

So much so that today, apart from these private soldiers who have received some favors, who in the East cares about the old Marquis's life or death?

Those people who received land were more than happy that the Duke would kill the Marquis, so that the Marquis would not come to collect debts from them later.

To put it bluntly, the marquis favored his private army because he needed a violent group to maintain his rule and better exploit the common people.

Jim understood this perfectly well, and it was precisely because he understood that he was in pain.

He was once just a wandering orphan, without father or mother. It was the Marquis who gave him a bowl of rice, found him a teacher to learn literature and martial arts, and later helped him rise to become a general commanding thousands of people.

Without the marquis title, he would have starved to death long ago.

But if he were to fight to the death for the marquis, none of his brothers, as rebels, would survive. Their parents and families would not only have to endure the pain of losing loved ones, but they would also never be able to hold their heads high in the northern territory for the rest of their lives.

"If I had a duke as a lord to govern the Northern Territory when I was a child, I would have been willing to fight for him for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, I never met him..."

Jim finally picked up his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

He had made up his mind. If he was already so lonely and helpless without parents, what kind of despair must those parents feel when they lose their children?

He couldn't let these comrades die as rebels in their own hometown.

Jacob got up to pour him a drink, his gentle smile returning to his face.

"I have some good news for you, Commander. Would you like to know?"

Jim continued to drink heavily, glared at him, and then slammed his glass down.

"Sir, I know the Duke hopes to resolve the issue of the private armies in the east without bloodshed. Now that things have come to this, is there anything else you need to hide from me?"

Jim now understood how terrifying these scholars were. With such an ingenious way of breaking the deadlock, even if he gritted his teeth and held on to the end, he wouldn't be able to continue the battle.

People are eager to return home. Once the Duke's army arrives, these brothers might join forces to bind him and hand him over to the Duke as a surrender gift that very day.

Jacob shook his head and smiled wryly, "A few days ago, news came from Ice City that someone had successfully rescued Miss Annie. Now, there are no soldiers guarding outside the Marquis's mansion in Ice City."

"What do you mean?" Jim asked, puzzled. The wine glass he had just picked up froze in mid-air. Logically, since Annie had been rescued, the Duke should have been more vigilant. Why would he have withdrawn the guards?

"Doesn't the commander understand? The Duke is really wary of Miss Annie, who has the Star of Wishes. As for that good-for-nothing old Marquis, the Duke doesn't even care about him."

Jim understood, especially the phrase "good-for-nothing," so he stood up and hurriedly asked, "You mean...?"

Jacob said seriously, "If the commander is willing to trust me, then come with me to Ice City. I guarantee that once the Duke accepts your loyalty, he will not make things difficult for the old Marquis."

"I don't believe you. You're a liar, a hypocrite," Jim replied instantly, his nostrils reeking of alcohol. After a brief pause, he looked at him firmly and said, "But I'm willing to believe the Duke, or rather, I've always wanted to see the Duke."

Jacob...for some reason, felt no joy at the success of the mission.