I'm not a lord

Chapter 21 Is all this worth it?
In Lynn's bandit group, except for himself and the third brother, the others did not have a clear understanding of being a noble and managing a territory.

Their mentality is still stuck in the era of horse bandits. They lack the necessary knowledge and the patience to wait for the harvest.

Compared to Sanhe City, which has a permanent population of 8,000 and 500 prostitutes, White Bear Territory can be said to be a truly remote and poor place.

Apart from watching the giant bear bare its teeth, there are no other popular entertainment activities in White Bear Territory.

If this group of energetic single horse bandits were allowed to stay in the territory for a long time, and then sell the grain for money and divide the spoils in August or September, the country would probably be in chaos.

Lin En had thought about finding wives for these bandits to calm their restless hearts.

However, due to their true identities, it was obviously impossible to allow them to marry locally before completely controlling the territory.

Of course, Lin En could also rely on the prestige he had accumulated over the years to intimidate these ferocious horse bandits who chopped people down like gnawing bread, and let the soft and generous White Bear Leader slowly wear away their banditry.

But now, he has a better way.

Paint a big pie to ensure that the bandits can always maintain their loyalty and morale, and then use potential enemies to inspire their fighting spirit.

Now the big pie is in hand. The salt mine is right there, less than 50 kilometers away from the White Bear Territory, and it seems to be within reach.

The enemy also appeared, namely the deserters who discovered the salt mine first.

By the time the pancake is completely cooked, this group of horse bandits will have basically completed a brilliant transformation and become the staunch defenders of the territory.

"Brother, if we want to compete with the deserters for the salt mines, I'm afraid the number of people we have now is not enough."

As expected, Lin En had just finished drawing the cake when Lao Liu started preparing sesame seeds.

But as soon as the sixth brother finished speaking, the fourth and fifth brothers started to make noises:
"Why isn't it enough?"

"That's right, the fight hasn't even started yet and you're already backing off. Are you still a bandit?"

Although there are only more than 20 horse bandits under Lin En, each of them is elite, and each person has at least one set of excellent chain mail armor. The weapons they are equipped with are also first-class in the North, and there are three heavy crossbows alone.

With their firepower level, clearing an ordinary barony is like a piece of cake, and they come and go like the wind, so the pursuers can't even see the dust raised by their horses' hooves.

Facing the shouting from the fourth and fifth brothers, the sixth brother once again assumed the attitude of a teacher:
"Thirty years ago, the former Duke of the Swamp dispatched a full five hundred knights. Note that these were five hundred regular knights with their squires. The entire army would definitely not have numbered less than three thousand.

"It took such a large force to drive the barbarians back to the northern wilderness, and even then, they were only driven away, not completely wiped out. And just thirty years later, the barbarians were able to move south again. Just imagine how many barbarians there were? Even if they were all unarmored and rushed forward, their sheer numbers would crush us."

After being scolded by the sixth brother, the fourth and fifth brothers immediately stopped fighting.

Lin En took over the conversation at this time:
"There's no need to boost others' prestige. The barbarians must have suffered heavy casualties back then, otherwise they wouldn't have dared to move only in the depths of the forest. What we need to do now is to find out the exact number of these barbarians and the level of their weapons and equipment.

I plan to recruit laborers in the territory in May to build a road through the forest, which will allow us to make contact with the barren tribes. Before then, you must not slack off in your training and must always be prepared for battle. As long as we can completely capture that salt mine, we will earn enough gold coins to fill this study."

Drawing a pie in the sky is just the first step; developing a feasible plan is the crucial second step.

Through the plan, Lynn initially tied the horse bandits to the territory and pointed out the direction for them to move forward.

"Understood, brother!"

The fourth and fifth brothers were instantly filled with fighting spirit, and they wanted to train their twenty younger brothers overnight.

Why risk your life to become a bandit?
Isn’t it just for endless money?
With money, you can be anything. Lao Liu then suggested, "Brother, I think we could try to recruit some militiamen in our territory and train them for a few months. They might not be very useful, but at least they can help boost our power."

He was the one with the fastest change of mind among the brothers, no slower than the third brother who went to deliver the letter.

Now he has begun to think from the perspective of a territory manager and try to mobilize resources in the territory.

I have to say that reading books does make one’s brain more intelligent.

What Lao Liu could think of, Lin En would naturally think of.

"White Bear Territory already has conscripted soldiers. Those stewards and village heads all have weapons at home, and their stables are stocked with horses capable of carrying people. Otherwise, how do you think they can keep the serfs in line? However, White Bear Territory's farming workload is already heavy enough, so conscripting them for training wouldn't be worth the effort. However, I will consider your suggestion."

In the feudal manors of the North, people's rights and obligations are generally equal.

Simply put, the more land you own, the greater the responsibility you need to bear.

The stewards and village heads of the White Bear Territory have already escaped the category of lower-level serfs. They own large tracts of land that do not require taxation and can enjoy far more food than the lower-level serfs.

Accordingly, they needed to take on the task of managing serfs, and when necessary, they had to take up arms and go to war with the lord.

As for the serfs who guarded their pitiful allotments of land and could barely make ends meet in good years, they only had to farm and pay taxes. Their physical condition was not enough to support them in the battlefield.

War is not simply a matter of numbers. Weak soldiers who cannot withstand the impact will only disrupt their own army formation, which is a completely counterproductive effect.

As for the lords and knights at the top of the territory, as the owners of the territory, they naturally bear the heaviest responsibilities.

They need to constantly hone their martial arts and physical fitness, wait for the call of the upper nobles at any time, and be prepared to sacrifice on the battlefield.

Lynn patrolled the forest to the north, risking encounters with the wild people, which was also a manifestation of the lord's responsibility.

Since he enjoyed the efforts of his subjects, he needed to be responsible for all the subjects in the territory.

After the small meeting in the study ended, the fourth, fifth and sixth brothers left the castle with high morale. Their residence was next to the castle.

They also have properties on several other estates.

The territory in the north lacks everything, except land and houses.

After the three men left, the second brother, who had been guarding the door to prevent anyone from eavesdropping, walked into the study and said, "Brother, it's getting late. Go to bed early."

Lin En picked up his pen and was about to finish the map. Upon hearing this, he looked up and smiled, "You really care about others."

"Brother, ever since you became a baron, I feel like you haven't been able to stop for even an hour. Isn't that tiring?"

After only ten days in White Bear Territory, Lao Er already missed the days of being a horse bandit.

We were so free back then. We could go wherever we wanted and rob whoever we wanted.

Now they are all trapped in this seemingly vast but actually extremely narrow White Bear Territory, and the eldest brother is so busy every day that he has no time to rest.

Either he was inspecting the farm or exploring the primeval forest.

Is all this worth it?
(End of this chapter)