I'm not a lord

Chapter 16 I Am the Baron

On the third day in White Bear Territory, Lin En still got up early.

While having breakfast with the five brothers, old Albert came alone to report.

"Master, do you have any plans for today?"

What Lao Ai hopes for most now is to continue to follow the lord to inspect the territory.

He had already arranged the two important tasks of promoting composting and heavy plowing yesterday.

His son, little Albert, was sent by him to demonstrate composting to the serfs, and he would most likely come home smelling bad tonight.

The other managers in the territory were also experts in farming, and with Lao Ai's repeated instructions, nothing could go wrong.

As for Lao Ai, his most important job right now is to serve the lord well and hope that the lord can come up with some new technology.

He knows what is important and what is not.

The importance of the heavy plowing technology alone to the White Bear Lord is far greater than a hundred of him.

If an assassin jumped out to assassinate the lord at this time, old Albert would even be willing to push his son out to block the knife for the lord.

Of course, Lao Ai has more than one son.

Lin En drank the last half cup of hot milk in one gulp and wiped the corners of his mouth with a towel. "I plan to patrol the outer forests of the territory."

Before coming to White Bear Territory, Lin En had already made a rough plan.

Try to improve the agricultural planting level of the territory before spring plowing, and then explore the surrounding area of ​​the territory and use the map function to find resources.

Then make further detailed arrangements based on the resources found.

But Lynn didn't expect things to go so smoothly.

In less than two days, the composting and heavy plowing technology were implemented smoothly.

Then he naturally had to strike while the iron was hot and find peat as soon as possible to make up for the lack of compost.

When Lao Ai heard that the master wanted to inspect the forest, his hair stood on end. He immediately asked, "Master, which direction of the forest do you want to inspect?"

"I plan to go to the north first."

In fact, the only two directions Lin En could explore were the north and the west.

South of the White Bear Territory is Yagna's hometown, the Shallow Beach Territory. The two territories are separated by a forest whose ownership is unclear. They are connected by a dirt road and can be reached in a day's hike.

Going east, across the Baihe River, you will face steep mountains nearly a thousand meters high.

This mountain range stretches for hundreds of kilometers from north to south, with few people traveling inside. It is a natural watershed in the Dukedom of Swamp.

On the other side of the mountain is a earldom under the Duke. With the current strength of the White Bear Territory, it is impossible to expand eastward across the mountains.

The remaining two directions are all endless primeval forests, which are also the directions in which the White Bear Territory can nominally expand outward.

The White Bear Territory Baron, also known as the White Bear Territory Pioneer Baron, has the power to expand territory externally.

Without a second thought, Lao Ai began to dissuade him: "Master, the north is where the barbarians live. It's dangerous!"

The barbarians he was referring to were the indigenous people of the northern region.

About two hundred years ago, due to overpopulation and serious contradiction between population and land in the southern border, military migration to the northern border gradually began.

To put it bluntly, it was to massacre and enslave the uncivilized indigenous people of the North and seize their homes and lands.

The so-called Northern Kingdom, and the legendary King of Conquest of the North, were both built on the bloody suppression of the indigenous people. After decades of brutal wars of conquest, the relatively warm and habitable lands of the North were occupied by immigrants from the South.

In order to avoid being hunted down, the few remaining indigenous people in the North were forced to migrate to the cold ice fields further north and were collectively referred to as "Wilderness People".

Among the three dukes of the Northern Kingdom, the Duke of Swamp's territory is located in the northern region and is responsible for resisting the deserters.

The White Bear Territory is the northernmost territory within the Duke of the Swamp. Further north is the settlement of the wild people.

In a sense, White Bear Territory is a bridgehead for resisting the southward migration of the barbarians.

Whenever the Duke wanted to conquer the barbarians, he would usually pass through the White Bear Territory and head north along the White River, relying on water routes to transport supplies and food.

This is why the White Bear Lord is directly under the Duke of Swamp.

"Don't worry. I don't think the barbarians would want to test the sharpness of my sword. Besides, White Bear Territory has not been harassed by barbarians in the past thirty years. Perhaps they have migrated to the wilderness further north."

As the leader of the horse bandits roaming the northern border, Lin En naturally would not be afraid of the barbarians who could not even afford armor.

In his eyes, the barbarians are the most suitable population resource for the White Bear Territory.

One of the main reasons why he chose the north as the direction of his first exploration was to search for traces of the desert people.

In the farming era, there is strength in numbers. However, the more than 3,000 people that Bai Xiong currently has cannot support his ambitions at all.

"Master, it's because they haven't come south in almost thirty years that they're in danger! The barren folk are extremely cunning. They won't easily leave the forest without enough people. Thirty years is enough time for them to reproduce for two generations. In the past two years, serfs have already spotted the barren folk. They must be planning a war right now!"

When old Albert was still a little boy, he personally experienced the war with the savages.

Thirty years ago, a small group of barbarians wearing animal skins and with disheveled hair robbed the White Bear Territory under the cover of night, killed the serfs of a farm, and stole hundreds of livestock.

The White Bear Baron at that time immediately led his knights into the forest to chase. After investigation, they found that a large number of barbarians had appeared in the forest to the north, and the number of people might exceed 10,000.

After receiving the news, the former Duke of the Swamp quickly summoned 500 elite knights and advanced northward along the White River, penetrating more than 300 kilometers into the forest, killing countless people and destroying the nests of the barbarians, which in turn brought about these 30 years of peace.

Thirty years have passed, and there are very few people left who experienced that war.

But Lao Ai still remembers the white river that was dyed red and the corpses floating downstream.

In recent years, figures suspected to be deserters have appeared again in the forests to the north.

Occasionally, a serf collecting firewood would see a human figure flash by in the forest.

But there are very few of them, and they run away when they see people, so it cannot be confirmed that they are refugees.

But Lao Ai had already smelled the slight smell of blood before the war.

In the past two years, he oversaw the renovation of the castle's outer fence, added four watchtowers, and built a large granary inside the castle.

Once the war breaks out, everyone in the territory can hide in the castle and rely on stored food to survive until the Duke's reinforcements arrive.

"Isn't that perfect? ​​As a baron, I have the duty to scout the enemy. As long as I can confirm any trace of the Savages and report it to the Duke, he will immediately arrive with a large group of cavalry, and the risk to White Bear Territory will naturally disappear."

Having said that, if Lin En really discovered any traces of the savages, he would naturally not report it to the Duke of the Swamp.

The barbarians are the most precious population resources, and it would be a waste to massacre them.

"But, sir..."

"No need to say more, I am the Baron! I will take all the responsibility!"

(End of this chapter)