I'm not a lord

Chapter 48: Countermeasures (Please read!)
Lin En actually just received the news at noon today.

The third brother and Leon sailed down the river in a paddle boat. As soon as they set foot on the land of Three Rivers City, they heard the news of the king's death.

These days, news spreads very slowly, and the territories are relatively closed, with very little communication.

If he had not sent the third brother to Sanhe City to pass on the information, but instead waited for the natural spread among the people, Lin En would probably have to wait until the autumn harvest to learn of this important news.

In fact, more than half a month had passed since the king's death.

The king, who was old and extremely weak, did not survive until spring.

Even though he was a powerful warrior famous throughout the continent when he was young, even though he was the most noble being in the entire North, even though he could obtain the full power of the church's divine arts to prolong his life, he still could not escape the punishment of time.

All I can say is that the only fair thing in this world is that everyone will die.

The king's posthumous title was 'The Extinct' Velez.

All the merits and achievements he created during his lifetime will be covered by the stain of having no descendants.

Future generations will only remember that he was the last king of the 'Northern' dynasty, or the 'Urenis' family. It was his low fertility that ended a great dynasty.

But it is unknown when the Northern Kingdom will be able to decide on the next king.

Wars these days are very slow.

Lin En estimated that if the Duke of Swamp wanted to send troops to attack the crown territory directly under the royal family, it would not be until June this year at the earliest.

It takes a lot of time to gather troops, prepare weapons, and supply food and supplies.

And the Duke also needs to consider the actions of other competitors.

But this also means that Lynn is very likely to receive a call-up order from the Duke.

Before dinner, he specially summoned all the bandits to the castle for a meeting.

"This is a letter sent by the third brother. The king is dead."

Lin En placed the letter on the table and looked around at the twenty horse bandits sitting around the long table.

The fourth brother glanced at the letter casually: "The king is dead, so what? There will always be someone to wear the damn crown."

For the horse bandits, the king's death was as important as what to have for breakfast the next morning.

The former may not even be as important as the latter.

After all, the latter is closely related to whether the intestines are unobstructed. If the toilet is not smooth, the bandits will be furious.

The fifth brother even slammed the table disrespectfully and said, "That old man should have died long ago. If my eldest brother were king, he would have locked up all three dukes in the palace tower long ago. Don't you agree?"

A group of younger brothers followed suit, as if as long as Lin En gave the order, they would rush into the palace, snatch the crown and put it on their eldest brother.

Well, by the way, let’s also deal with the three great dukes of the kingdom.

The second brother sitting next to Lin En glared and said, "Everyone, be quiet. Can't you see that big brother has something to say?"

The bandits then stopped and focused their attention on Lin En.

Lin En raised his right index finger and tapped the table lightly:

"Now I have entered the White Bear Territory. Nominally speaking, I am a baron under the Duke of the Swamp. Now that the king is dead, the Duke is very likely to send troops to fight for the throne. When the time comes, he will definitely come to the White Bear Territory to recruit knights.

According to the letter of appointment, White Bear Territory needs to provide at least five regular knights, plus no fewer than fifteen knight attendants skilled in horsemanship."

Upon hearing this, the bandits looked at each other in confusion.

They'd actually been enjoying themselves quite happily these past few days in White Bear Territory, feasting on meat and drinking wine with no pursuers. They'd even made a small fortune from the demon bear's fur.

If you get bored staying in the territory, you can take turns going to Sanhe City to have some fun.

These days are indeed very comfortable.

But what is this Duke's Recruitment?
They would only obey Lynn's orders, so why would they care about that bird duke?
"Brother, can we refuse this? You can't ask us to accept orders from others, right?"

Lao Liu was the first to ask a question. Among everyone present, he was the one who could best guess Lin En's thoughts.

Since the eldest brother has brought up this issue for discussion, it means that he definitely doesn't want to go.

Lin En looked at Lao Liu with admiration in his eyes. "Of course we can refuse. One of the duties of the White Bear Baron is to guard against the barbarians in the north. Now that the barbarians are infesting the territory, we can use this as an excuse to refuse the Duke's call."

The bandits were overjoyed when they heard this. Lao Wu slammed the table again and said, "This barbarian is actually useful to us? That's perfect. We can just use this as an excuse to reject him and that's it!"

"That's not a good idea. What if the Duke of Swampland uses the excuse of deserters appearing and sends his troops north? Wouldn't we be completely exposed then? And mining salt is just a pipe dream."

Lao Liu is indeed an educated person and he saw something wrong at a glance.

No one present could quite grasp the character of the Duke of the Moor.

What if the Duke is the reverse Chiang Kai-shek, and if he wants to stabilize the country before he can stabilize the country?
When the army enters the White Bear Territory, Lin En and his men will have no choice but to run away.

"It's really not appropriate, so I'm considering another way to refuse the call-up, which is to pay money."

Lin En naturally considered using the excuse of being a barbarian to refuse conscription, but after thinking about it, he decided to spend money to avoid disaster.

According to the custom at that time, barons who owned fiefs were obliged to perform three months of military service every year.

But as long as you pay enough "shield tax", you can be exempted from military service.

The upper class nobles would be happy to see this happen and would use the money to hire mercenaries to fill the vacancies in the army.

Generally speaking, vassals in wealthy areas would choose to pay taxes.

People die in war.

Besides, how can going to war be as comfortable as enjoying life at home?
The vassals in poor areas found it difficult to afford this huge tax and had no choice but to pay it with their blood and lives.

Although Lin En didn't have much cash on hand, he could ask Leon for money.

Leon had no reason to refuse it, just considering it as his sister's dowry.

"Of course, we have to be prepared for both scenarios. If the Duke forcibly recruits us, we may have to leave White Bear Territory or negotiate with the Duke's envoys.

It's not convenient for me to come out, and I'll be in the northern part of the territory supervising road construction for a long time. Sixth Brother, you will be responsible for guarding the castle from now on and receiving the Duke's envoys on my behalf."

Lynn then made arrangements.

Lao Liu's image is more elegant, easy-going, and cultured, which makes him suitable for diplomatic work.

The fourth and fifth sons were a bit unattractive, so they could only go to the north with Lin En to work on the project.

"Also, Second Brother, take five people to the intersection on the south side of the territory and build a watchtower. Take turns guarding it day and night, and don't let anyone leave the territory.

Lao Liu, besides staying behind to guard the castle, you also have to watch over the dock. No one is allowed to leave by boat without my permission. I'll leave five people for you. Is that enough?"

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!"

(End of this chapter)