I'm not a lord

Chapter 155 Who is the prey? Who is the hunter?
After reading Lin En's handwritten letter, Sanhe City Mayor Jurgen felt it was incredible.

He had never seen anything so bizarre in his life.

An unknown guy pretended to be a baron and the second son of an earl, and successfully occupied six baronies?
Now you still dare to call yourself the Lord of Baihe?

What a courage!
But soon, Jurgen realized that if Lin En was really an imposter, then everything would make sense.

Because they are counterfeit goods, they entrust the black market merchant Leon to purchase the weapons and armor.

Precisely because he is a fake, he has no bottom line and dares to invade other baronies.

At first, Jurgen was wondering how the poor and cowardly second son of the Count, Roman, could do such a cruel thing that could cost him his life.

Now he finally lets it go.

He believed that Lin En was most likely a mercenary leader, or a descendant of a fallen noble who was hiding his identity.

Of course, for businessmen, the identity of the trading partner is not important, as long as they can make money.

Let the Duke of Swamp worry about the identity issue.

What’s important is that Lin En now has real control over the Baihe River Basin and can influence more than half of the food and raw material supply in Sanhe City.

What Jurgen needs to consider next is how to trade with this emerging power.

But that has nothing to do with Leon.

After the merger of the six baronies, the scale and population are comparable to those of an earldom.

How could a black marketeer get involved in this level of business?

Maggots in the sewer should rot in the sewer forever.

"Leon, you've worked hard this time. Go back and have a good rest. The Moonlight Market cannot do without your management. Also, remember to prepare this year's taxes. The Duke will also levy war taxes this year."

Jurgen sent Leon away with a few words, and then quickly summoned the heads of various business guilds at the city hall.

Including Jurgen himself, these wealthy businessmen almost monopolized all commodity trade in Sanhe City.

After discussion, they quickly reached a consensus.

The first priority is to send a joint delegation to the Hehuan Territory to finalize the purchase and sale prices of various commodities with 'Lord of the White River, Lin En'.

Commodity trading is not a game, especially when the other party is a powerful rebel with certain military power.

Of course, the price must be lowered where it should be.

And we have to press it to death.

In the eyes of Jurgen and others, their Sanhe City completely controls the lifeline of Linn and the White River Basin.

After you, Lin En, revealed your identity, you are simply a local rebel leader, and one day you will be liquidated by the Duke of the Swamp.

Your first priority at the moment is definitely to massively expand the army, and secondly, to supervise the spring plowing production of the serfs in the territory.

Both of these things are inseparable from important iron ingots and various iron tools.

Apart from iron, rural territories were unable to be self-sufficient in commodities such as salt, pottery, spices, and textiles and needed to be supplied by cities.

Our city is willing to sell the goods to you, Lynn, but that takes the risk of being liquidated by the Duke later. What's wrong with making a little more money from you?
Aren’t you just going to get slaughtered?

As the meeting drew to a close, the portly president of the Food Guild suddenly asked, "By the way, are we aiding the enemy?"

The wealthy businessmen sitting at the round table were stunned at first, and then burst into laughter. The conference room was suddenly filled with a happy atmosphere.

Mayor Jurgen even joked:

"Since the war broke out last year, our trade with Earl Jingtie has not only remained unaffected, but has even reached a higher level than before. As for aiding the enemy, we've been doing it for who knows how many years!"

Earl Mirror Iron is a nobleman under the Duke of the Valley. In name, the earl is now at war with the Duke of the Swamp.

But does this prevent Sanhe City from doing business with the Earldom of Jingtie?
No impact at all!
Sanhe City is a municipality dominated by merchants.

By paying high taxes regularly every year, they purchased from the Duke of the Moor the permanent use rights of the land on which the city was located, as well as the special status of a municipality.

Without the permission of the city council, the Duke could not send a single soldier to the city, nor could he appoint officials to interfere in the city's daily management.

The wealthy merchants in the municipality have a very flexible bottom line.

They could swear allegiance to the Duke and fully respect his ownership of the city's land, but they would also provide important strategic materials to the Duke's enemies without hesitation.

Merchants only recognize gold coins.

As long as the profit is high enough, they dare to do business even with the devil in hell.

That afternoon, a delegation sent by the city council set off by boat and arrived in Kawanuma Territory half a day later.

The five business representatives met Lin En as they wished.

The image of the Lord of White River exceeded their expectations.

In their imagination, a rebel who could occupy six baronies should be a burly, ferocious-looking military leader, who would look very similar to Arno, the leader of the "Power Mercenary Group".

When they actually met, they found that Lin En was elegantly spoken, well-mannered, and young and handsome.

This temperament and appearance are really suitable for the second son of a noble family from the crown territory.

Lynn warmly received the five representatives at the castle in Hemarsh Territory and hosted a sumptuous lunch.

The host and the guest had a very pleasant conversation.

Lynn accepted most of the representatives' demands.

Lower the purchase price of grain and raw materials?
Casual!

Increase the selling price of goods such as iron ingots?

no problem!
Of course, Lynn also made a small request of her own.

He hoped to get a batch of iron ingots and cloth in a short time.

As for the various supplies needed by the city, he is temporarily unable to supply them in large quantities.

"As you know, I just occupied Hezhao Territory last week. The serfs here don't even know me. How could they possibly be willing to be commanded by me? I still need some time to take control of the territory.

Of course, I will prepare the gold shield for purchasing iron ingots and cloth in advance. The quantity I need is not much, twenty tons of iron ingots and ten thousand yards of cloth."

As soon as Lin En opened his mouth, he talked about a big business worth thousands of Northern Gold Shields.

Iron ingots will sell for no less than 50 gold per ton.

The price of a yard of cloth fluctuated around 1 silver coin.

To make a fashionable, high-end double-layer linen coat, you need about two to three yards of fabric.

The single-layer outer garment used by the lower-class serfs to cover their bodies would not consume more than one yard of cloth.

Ten thousand yards of cloth, enough to make more than ten thousand single-layer coats, was the consumption of the Kawanuma Territory for several years.

Lin En plans to gather the necessary supplies for the next few months before the trade embargo begins, and prepare for a long-term trade war with Sanhe City.

He had both iron and cloth in his hands, so he wouldn't panic. The territory was self-sufficient in food and sheepskins, and a lack of luxury goods wouldn't affect the stability of the territory. Hearing about the big deal, the merchant representatives beamed with joy.

The oldest representative immediately responded: "We understand your difficulties and will convey your difficulties and requests to the City Council."

"That's good. I respect the position of the Sanhe City Council very much. I will always maintain peaceful trade with the city, and my army will never set foot outside the Hezham Territory!" Lin En's attitude was very sincere, and he almost patted his chest to make a guarantee.

In fact, as long as Lin En can trick people into giving him the supplies, he will immediately turn against him.

A few gold coins are nothing to worry about.

When he takes over Sanhe City in the future, the gold coins he pays now will be returned to his treasury many times over, so just consider it as an initial investment.

Lin En then wrote another personal letter and entrusted the representatives to take it back to Sanhe City.

Mayor Jurgen received the letter that evening.

As soon as I opened it, Lynn's sincerity was overwhelming.

Combined with what the representatives had seen and heard on this trip, Jurgen was basically certain that he had Lin En in his grasp and also realized that the rebel leader was frantically expanding his army.

Iron ingots are used to make weapons and farm tools, while cloth is the main raw material for armor.

Originally, Jurgen should have been wary of the massive demand for military supplies.

But Lynn's sincerity paralyzed him.

The city's strong defense and the good news that arrived earlier today gave him sufficient confidence.

Jurgen put down Lin En's letter, picked up the victory report on the table, glanced at it, and snorted coldly:
"Just eat without worry. The supplies you buy now will eventually be returned to Sanhe City, including your head!"

North of Cologne, the Duke of Marsh defeated the royal army led by King Maurice.

No one in the entire North could stop the Duke's advance.

Once the Northern Crown is seized, the Duke will certainly have time to deal with Lynn, the ignorant 'Lord of the White River'.

After suppressing the rebellion, the Duke's army will bring the spoils looted in the Baihe area back to Sanhe City for sale.

By then, wealthy businessmen like Jurgen will be able to make another fortune.

Eating both ends is the same.

On the same day, Jurgen held an emergency meeting to determine the amount of supplies to be sold to the Baihe River Basin.

Driven by the huge profits, the wealthy merchants prepared the supplies within a day and quickly sent ships to the Hehuan Territory.

At the dock, Lin En accepted the goods, used wood, charcoal and a small amount of grain to offset part of the payment, and then paid a large amount of gold coins to settle the matter with the wealthy businessmen.

It’s a pity that the iron chain across the river has not been built yet.

Otherwise, he would have directly detained both the people and the boat, which would have saved some gold coins.

Along with the goods arrived the news of the Duke of the Marsh's great victory.

In the hall of the Hemarsh Castle, Lynn hosted a small dinner party and discussed the war that took place in the city of Coron.

After eating and drinking, the third brother Yang analyzed:

"This is actually good news for us. At least the Duke of Swampland is unlikely to return to Three Rivers City. He will probably continue eastward along the Jing River after conquering Coron City. Amber Harbor is over a hundred kilometers east of Coron City."

The Duke of Swamp is a famous person in the North, and his many deeds are widely circulated in the tavern.

Almost all drunkards know that the Duke has an unimaginable obsession with power and status.

Such an ambitious man is unlikely to give up his pursuit of the crown at this critical juncture.

Amber Harbor is the largest port city in the North and the outlet of the Jinghe River. It handles almost all of the North's cross-border trade and is also the landing place of the first King of the North two hundred years ago.

The city not only has an important commercial position, but the Amber Harbor Cathedral in the city center is also the coronation place of the kings of the North for generations.

The influence of the Three Saints Religion in the North is indeed not that great, but it symbolizes the more advanced civilized society in the South.

The King of the North was crowned in the church more to gain recognition and support from various forces in the South.

"I think so too, but I'm more interested in the formation the Duke arranged. According to those merchants, the Duke ordered the court knights to dismount and form a lance formation, using lances to resist multiple charges from the royal knights. It sounds like an amplified version of the Battle of Greenwater River."

As Lin En spoke, he used local materials and leftover chicken bones to piece together the military deployments of the two warring parties.

The fourth brother leaned forward, looked at the pile of chicken bones on the table, and exclaimed, "This is exactly the formation that Big Brother arranged at Green Water River. But how did this Duke of Swamp know how to defeat cavalry with infantry?"

Lin En explained to the two brothers: "The principles of military operations are universal. The secret of infantry defeating cavalry lies in well-trained and well-equipped professional infantry.

The group of court knights under the Duke's command have already broken away from the category of aristocratic knights. They receive unified training all year round, and their equipment is no worse than that of aristocratic knights. It is not surprising that they can withstand cavalry charges.

The merchants also overlooked one point: the Duke hired a large number of mercenaries, all of whom were equipped with bows and crossbows, and could perform similar functions to longbowmen.

While explaining, Lynn's evaluation of the Duke of Swamp improved a bit.

The Duke must have summed up the experience of using infantry to fight cavalry through years of cavalry battles.

This man is a master of military tactics. He knows how to train soldiers and how to adapt on the battlefield. He will not stick to the rigid cavalry charge tactics.

When Lin En finished speaking, the third and fourth brothers' faces showed worry at the same time.

In the near future, a large-scale war will surely break out between Baihe Territory and the Duke.

The strength of their opponents worries them.

Lin En, however, looked relaxed, chuckled and consoled him, "Why panic? Warfare doesn't just involve direct confrontations. With the terrain of Baihe Territory, we have countless ways to defeat the invading enemy."

That’s right, Lin En has named the merged six territories Baihe Territory.

Regardless of whether other forces recognize him or not, he is the first lord of Baihe Territory.

In Lynn's view, war is an art.

Faced with different test questions, excellent "artists" will come up with completely different solutions.

Back in Green Lake Territory, Lin En was the attacker. In order to avoid brute force against the castle, he had to lure out the enemy's main force for a strategic decisive battle.

In the current Baihe Territory, he is on the defensive, enjoying the advantages of time, place and people, and can use various means to keep the enemy out of the territory.

With only an army of less than a thousand people at hand, Lynn was confident that he could turn the territory into an iron barrel that no water could penetrate, making it impossible for the Duke of the Swamp to find a way in.

After the spring plowing is over, he will continue to expand his army.

With the batch of iron ingots and cloth provided by Sanhe City, the biggest military supply gap has been solved.

Even if the Duke of Swamp really becomes the King in the North, there is nothing to fear.

It would take him two or three years to integrate the resources of the Crown Territory.

As for now, he is probably still working on bricks in Cologne.

As Linn expected, the Duke of Swamp was still staying at the gate of Cologne.
However, the messenger he sent has arrived at Amber Port and handed the letter of surrender to the current King Maurice.

(End of this chapter)