I'm not a lord

Chapter 156 Lin En is nothing to worry about

The messenger returned from Amber Harbor even faster than he had left.

The Duke of Marsh soon learned that the royal family had flatly rejected his offer of surrender.

In his reply, King Maurice humiliated the Duke in every way and declared that he would never hand over the throne to a shameless usurper.

He also asked the Duke to withdraw his troops immediately in the name of the king, otherwise he would definitely capture the Golden Deer Castle in the future.

He even vowed to exhume and mutilate all of the Duke's ancestors for eighteen generations.

"Who does he think he is? Ha? A vile and shameless bastard, a cowardly deserter from the battlefield! That crown never belonged to him! He is nothing!"

Seeing the envoy returning in disgrace, the Duke could no longer restrain himself and cursed the current King Maurice in the military camp.

But his defense has just begun.

Not long after, the envoys who visited the city of Coron also brought back bad news.

"Your Excellency, some members of the Cologne City Council are willing to pledge allegiance to you, but the militia refuses to surrender. They have taken control of the city gates and walls, and are inciting citizens to attack the delegation."

The messenger returned with big bumps on his head and a fishy smell all over his body.

He was evidently surrounded by rotten eggs and hard stones in the city.

Fortunately, the citizens were kind-hearted and did not take his life.

Cities, especially municipalities, generally choose to fight to the end when faced with war.

Because the military discipline of the army these days is so poor, they are like locusts, looting wherever they go.

Not to mention leaving even a needle or thread for the common people, they would not even spare the sackcloth clothes that the serfs needed to cover their bodies.

Everything that could be taken away was taken away, and everything that could not be taken away was burned. This was the true meaning of the Three Alls Policy.

Moreover, cities are often far richer than rural territories and will suffer more thorough looting.

For the citizens, since opening the gate and surrendering would not save them from being looted, they might as well fight to the end!
Most of the soldiers in the city defense militia come from middle-class families in the city. In order to protect their property and families, they will fight to the death.

It is for this reason that the Duke of Swamp did not dare to attack Amber Harbor directly.

As the largest city in the North, Amber Harbor has a permanent population of over 20,000. Its professional militia alone has 800 members, and there are thousands of armed citizens, giving it an astonishing war potential.

"How dare this mob hurt my messenger! Once we capture the city, I will kill them all!"

The Duke was furious again, but at the same time he began to wonder.

It was he who defeated the royal army in the battle north of Cologne and almost captured King Maurice alive.

But why did the situation develop in a completely different way from what he had imagined?

It would be fine if King Maurice was unwilling to surrender.

How dare the mere city of Coron dare to fight him to the end?
He doesn't understand.

Who gave the citizens the courage?
The runaway king?
More than half of the militia in Cologne City had been killed or wounded when they followed the king in the previous battle. Now there are only two or three hundred professional militiamen left in the city.

The main force defending the city was just a group of armed citizens who had not received professional training. How dare they do that?

Indeed, even if the city of Cologne opened its gates and surrendered, it would still be looted.

But if they really hold on to the end, and the army breaks through the city gate, it will not be a simple looting.

But a massacre!

Soldiers who suffered casualties during the siege would vent their anger on the city residents.

The looting and killing will continue for at least three days.

The soldiers would then burn the city to the ground, leaving only a broken wall and ruins.

In addition to the king and the city of Cologne, the changes in the White River Basin also worried the Duke of the Swamp.

Fortunately, Sanhe City blocked the rebels of unknown origin.

Mayor Jurgen has always been prudent in his work, and the city's militia did not follow the Duke on the eastern expedition, so defending the city should not be a problem.

The Duke of the Marsh is not without good news at the moment.

When the news of his victory over the royal army spread, bandits, horse bandits and mercenaries from the areas surrounding the city of Cologne came to join him, providing him with valuable reinforcements.

Although these people had poor military discipline and low combat effectiveness, they brought their own food and did not need a salary, but only a "legal looting certificate" issued by the Duke.

The Duke can release them to harass territories and cities that are still loyal to the royal family, thus tying up a lot of royal military forces.

In fact, that's exactly what he did.

He will do anything to win.

"Gather the troops immediately and begin the siege tomorrow! Within three days, I will hold a celebration banquet at the City Hall in Cologne!"

Since the city of Cologne refused to accept the toast, the Duke had no choice but to treat them to a penalty drink.

Only the blood of the citizens can quell the anger in his heart.

In recent days, the military craftsmen have built siege towers, battering rams and several simple catapults, which, together with the court knights who are eager to fight, are enough to break through the city.

that's the truth.

Since its founding, the city of Coron has not experienced a siege for more than a hundred years.

When non-professional armed citizens faced professional soldiers who had received professional training, they were naturally crushed without any suspense.

The Duke of Swamp first used a catapult and heavy crossbows to suppress the militia crossbowmen on the city wall.

Afterwards, a death squad consisting of court knights and powerful mercenaries began to climb the city walls with the help of towers.

This tower is made of thick logs, more than ten meters high, with rollers underneath and covered with thick cowhide. It is also equipped with movable ladders and heavy crossbows, making it extremely effective in siege operations.

The day after the siege began, the Duke of Swamp's army successfully occupied the north gate of Cologne.

The success of the war was beyond his imagination.

This also made him realize that these autonomous cities in the Crown Territory were soft persimmons that could be easily crushed.

Even Amber Harbor didn't frighten him so much anymore.

The street fighting in Cologne lasted for three full days.

Of course, it was a one-sided massacre of the city's citizens by the Duke's soldiers.

In the end, there wasn't even a single living adult male citizen left in the city.

More than 6,000 citizens were massacred, and thousands more are missing.

The Duke of the Swamp stood on the tower of the Town Hall, looking at half of the city of Cologne engulfed in flames, feeling a little sad.

When his eldest son wore the Northern Crown, the city of Coron should have become their family's municipality, paying more taxes every year than the city of Three Rivers.

But now it is about to become a ruin.

But this is a necessary price to pay.

If he didn't massacre the city of Cologne, how could this usurping vassal intimidate the many cities downstream of the Jing River?

After four days of siege, eighty of the Duke's five hundred court knights were killed or wounded, and the casualties were even greater than the battle that defeated the king.

From Coron City to Amber Port, you will pass through more than a dozen cities of different sizes along the way.

Does he want to attack them one by one?

It's simply not realistic!

Even if he could bear it, the soldiers under his command would not be able to bear it.

The city of Coron will become a role model, a 'good role model' that will terrify many cities in the Crown Territory.

The Duke of the Marsh called his eldest son, Laszlo, and said:
"Send an envoy immediately to tell the eastern cities to surrender or die! Also, send another envoy to Amber Harbor with the head of the mayor of Coron!"

After conquering the important cities loyal to the royal family, the first thing the Duke of Swamp thought of was still to persuade King Maurice to surrender.

Why go to war when you can get something at the negotiation table? The Duke of Swamp's offer was even better than last time.

He promised to guarantee the special status of the Urenis family, and was willing to give Maurice the title of duke, and even set aside a large territory in the crown territory for Maurice as a fief.

Everything is to end this damn war as soon as possible.

Somehow, the Duke had sensed the coming crisis.

The shocking changes in the White River Basin and the sudden cessation of the Duke of the Valley require no time to waste.

While sending out several messengers, the Duke of Swamp also began to gather his troops and prepare to continue marching eastward.

At this moment, a group of messengers hurried over from the west.

The messengers brought two letters in total.

One letter was from the Duchess of Golden Deer Castle, and the other was from Jurgen, the mayor of Three Rivers City.

"Lin? Lord Lin of the White River? This guy has taken over six of my baronies, and he even has the nerve to ask me for special privileges and the title of earl?"

After reading these two urgent letters, the Duke of Moor laughed out loud in anger.

He finally knew who was stabbing him in the back.

Just by looking at the name, he knew that Lin En must not be of noble origin.

No great noble would use such an unknown name.

Earl Frostwind, who came upon hearing the news, analyzed:
"Your Excellency, this Lin En calls himself the Lord of the White River and has requested that you grant him special privileges and the title of Earl. I don't think he's under the orders of the Duke of the Valley. He's probably just a bandit leader or mercenary group leader. Such people, after gaining status and wealth, are prone to indulge in pleasure and are not difficult to deal with."

In the massacre in Cologne City, Count Cold Wind reaped great rewards.

His personal guards alone seized goods worth two to three thousand gold shields, which was equivalent to his territory's entire year's income.

His eldest son Connor was still plundering wealth in the city, and he had taken more than his father.

The court knights under the Duke of Swamp naturally started looting, and even several internal conflicts broke out in the fight for property and women.

The so-called aristocratic reserve and etiquette disappeared in the feast of looting.

At this moment, seeing the real name of the 'enemy who killed his son', Earl Cold Wind's good mood came to an abrupt end.

He wished he could grow wings and fly to Baihe River to chop off Lin En's head and use it as a sacrifice to his second son Roman.

But reason told him that the Duke could not return at this time, so he could only follow the Duke.

Just as Earl Chillwind was pondering this, the Duke of Swampland put down the secret letter in his hand and suddenly asked, "Do you think I should meet his request?"

The Earl lowered his head and thought for a moment, then replied cautiously:
"My lord, all power is in your hands. If you wish, you can ennoble even a dog. My suggestion is that you can secretly promise him special privileges, but not openly grant him the title of earl."

At this time, it was impossible to give an ambiguous answer to use a non-stick pan, so the count made the safest choice.

He secretly promised Tern the power to stabilize Lin En's position, allowing him to enjoy himself in peace in the White River Basin, and use time to wear down his fighting spirit and sharpness, making it easier to settle accounts in the future.

Not giving him the title of earl openly was to appease other nobles in the duchy.

After all, Lynn is just a rebel leader of humble origin. If such a person can get the title of earl, then what are these nobles like?
Wouldn’t the Dukedom be in turmoil by then?
"That's a good idea. Let's do it this way."

The Duke of Moor quickly wrote a reply to his wife.

Like Earl Chillwind, he also felt optimistic.

As long as Lynn is not instructed by the Duke of the Valley, there is still room for maneuver.

It is impossible for a mere horse bandit or mercenary leader to break through the impregnable Sanhe City.

Since he couldn't be given the title of earl, he could only be given a special privilege to let him settle down temporarily.

Once I take the crown, I can turn around and deal with him.

In order to obtain the crown, the Duke of Swamp was willing to do anything, even granting special privileges to a rebel.

Lynn didn't know that the Duke of Swamp had decided to grant him a special privilege, granting him the privilege of managing the six baronies of White River.

It is the way to know, the way to do things, the way to do things, the way to do things.

Fame and titles are important, but Lynn has more important things at the moment.

That is the trade with Sanhe City.

The waterway from Hezholing to Sanhe City is more than 40 kilometers. It takes two or three hours to go downstream and less than half a day to go upstream. A merchant ship can make a round trip in one day.

After the delivery of 20 tons of iron ingots and 10,000 yards of cloth, Lynn placed several more orders for iron ingots and cloth.

This has caused dissatisfaction among the Three Rivers City Council.

It is certainly gratifying to earn gold coins by selling supplies, but Lin En is like a glutton, all he does is take in and never spends out!

It ate up iron ingots and cloth like crazy, but did not provide much cheap raw materials to Sanhe City.

Every time a merchant came to Hezhaoling to buy food, sheepskin, honey and wood, Lin En was stingy and only willing to sell a little.

Although he sold little raw material, he found many excuses!

"Serfs are disobedient."

"Spring plowing is about to begin, and ditches are being dredged all over the territory, but there's no manpower."

"I just found the account book now. Most of the grain stored last year is gone. Someone might have stolen it during the war."

"Timber? I really don't have anyone to cut down trees!"

"Honey? The beekeepers have all fled. Where's the honey left in River Marshland now? I don't even have mead to drink!"

Not only did Lin En have many excuses, he also strictly restricted the activities of Sanhe City's merchant ships, allowing them only to deliver goods in Hezhao Territory and never allowing them to go any further north.

It seemed as if Lin En only ruled the Heswamp Territory, and the other five territories did not exist.

Soon the city council issued a warning to him, requiring him to meet the merchants' raw material needs and provide 200 tons of grain, 30 barrels of honey, and 500 tons of wood within a week.

Lin En responded quickly: "No problem, fifty tons of grain, ten barrels of honey, and one hundred tons of wood. That's all we have in stock. No more."

This attitude of "reading and replying randomly" completely irritated Mayor Jurgen.

He immediately terminated trade with Baihe Territory and strictly inspected ships sailing from Baihe into Sanhe City to prevent anyone from engaging in smuggling trade with Baihe Territory.

Lin En naturally didn't care. Leon had already taken advantage of the chaos to transport the salt that had been piling up for several months, and he also got enough iron ingots and cloth.

Of course, he's still playing cozy with the city council.

He would treat any envoy sent by the city council with good food and drink.

As for various raw materials, they are still not available.

The main chain that blocks the river has not been built yet, so he has to delay.

During this period, Lynn did not relax the agricultural construction in various territories.

He built a relatively efficient communication and management process in Baiheling.

When the northern territories communicated with him, they would take the water route. It only took a little over two days to go downstream from the White Bear Territory to the River Swamp Territory.

He communicated with the northern territories by land.

In order to improve the efficiency of letter delivery, he even built several "post stations" on the dirt roads in the forest so that messengers could change horses halfway.

Thanks to efficient communication, Lynn can directly manage agricultural production in each territory and provide the best guidance in a timely manner.

Just as Lynn was feigning compromise with the city council while vigorously building his territory, the Duke of Swamp's envoy arrived at the River Swamp Territory.

The envoy did not even carry a personal letter from the Duke, but only granted Linenthorpe the power verbally.

"Zhao Xiao, in order to avoid giving people a chance to criticize, he didn't even dare to issue a special charter!"

Lin En naturally didn't bother to be polite with the envoy and directly kicked him out of Hezhao Territory.

Just a privilege granted verbally?
Are you trying to fool me?
If you, the Duke of the Swamp, don't give me the title of Earl, someone else will!
(End of this chapter)