I'm not a lord

Chapter 76 Neighbors' Alertness

The layout of the Shoal Territory is similar to that of the White Bear Territory. Both are located on the west bank of the White River, and the baron castles are also built on the river bank.

However, the population of Shoal Territory exceeds 5,000, and the area of ​​arable land and grassland is nearly twice that of White Bear Territory.

In this era where population is productivity, the overall strength of the Shoal Territory is naturally far superior to that of the White Bear Territory.

This can be seen from the appearance of the castle.

The White Bear Territory's castle only has a main building made of brick and stone. The walls are made of wood, and the watchtower is made of rammed earth, which is quite shabby.

In contrast, the Shoal Territory Castle has two walls, an outer wooden fence and an inner brick and stone wall with many shooting holes, so its defensive performance is self-evident.

The Shoal Territory also has a larger rated military force than the White Bear Territory. There are eight knights below the baron rank, with more than twenty retainers under their command, and their equipment is also relatively sophisticated.

With Lin En's current strength, it is not difficult to plunder the Shoal Territory, but it is almost impossible to attack the castle head-on.

The nominal ruler of this territory is now Yagna's half-brother, but the actual ruler is her stepmother Flora.

Flora is actually only 25 years old this year. She is a mother who is honored by her son and relies on her status as a baron mother to rule the Shoal Territory.

She was sensitive and suspicious by nature, and noticed the abnormality of her northern neighbor very early on.

Generally speaking, merchants from Sanhe City would only go north along the Baihe River in the autumn, purchasing grain while selling iron ingots, salt, cloth and other daily necessities.

But since May this year, a boat has passed through the shoal and headed north every ten days or so.

It would be fine if they were just passing by, but these ships did not stop in the Shoal Territory at all. It was obvious that they were heading straight for the White Bear Territory.

After more than a month of observation, Flora realized that something surprising had happened in the northern polar bear region.

Today, when she saw another ship flying the flag of Trois-Rivières sailing north along the river, she immediately sent for Knight Henry.

"Honey, do you miss me that much? It's still daytime."

Henrik is in his early thirties, has curly chestnut hair and a handsome face. He is Flora's lover.

As soon as he entered the bedroom, he couldn't help but put his hand into Flora's skirt, and his tone was very frivolous:
"Or is it that our child wants to see his father?"

The maid who led the way was already accustomed to this, so she tactfully left the bedroom and closed the door.

Flora gently slapped Henrik's hand away, her brows slightly furrowed. "Stop messing around. I have something important to discuss with you."

Her tone was serious, completely devoid of her usual coquettishness.

Seeing her expression, Henrik put away his frivolous behavior, straightened his clothes, and sat down beside her.

"What's wrong? So serious."

Henryk was a knight of the Shoal Territory. He was a skilled warrior but a playboy. Although he had a wife and children at home, he could not help but have affairs with other women.

Most of the beautiful young women in the territory have been harassed by him.

Flora was born into a knight family. Due to family pressure, she married the elderly and bedridden former Baron of Shoal at a young age.

What kind of story could there be between a playboy and a lonely wife?
At a banquet, Flora was attracted by Henrik's handsome appearance, and Henrik also coveted the young and beautiful Baroness.

After the banquet, the two of them hit it off and began a secret underground love affair.

The three-year-old heir to the baron is most likely their son.

When the former baron died completely, Flora bribed the county governor to make Henrik the guardian of the new baron, and the two of them got together openly.

Now Flora was pregnant again, and the baby in her belly was Henrik's child. If it was a boy, the two would find a way to help the child become a baron.

Although the probability of success is low, Flora thinks it is feasible.

The Duke of Swamp's primary goal is the crown. As long as the Lord of Shoalland remains loyal and offers enough gold coins, it may not be impossible for the Duke to turn a blind eye.

But right now, Flora felt the threat from the north.

"Today, another boat went to White Bear Territory. Just like the previous times, I saw a lot of people on board."

The cabins of transport ships were very small these days, and every time Leon transported fugitive slaves to Lynn, he had to let them squeeze on the deck.

After more than ten days of wind and sun, we had to eat, drink, defecate and urinate on the deck.

It looks like a slave ship from another time and space.

Flora was high above and could see the densely packed heads on the deck at a glance.

"What's wrong with loading a few people? A galley can only carry sixty to seventy people at most. If we assume it takes ten days to transport one, that's only a few hundred people in two months."

Henryk was very disdainful of this. It was just a few hundred serfs, and it was nothing more than cultivating more land.

Moreover, considering the grain production and the amount of cultivated land that White Bear Territory has, these serfs simply cannot be transformed into territorial strength in a short period of time.

It even requires the White Bear Leader to spend extra food to feed it.

In Henrik's opinion, it would take several years for the reclaimed land to produce stable output.

The expansion of arable land and population in a territory requires gradual progress. Too much population pouring in within a short period of time will disrupt the balance of the territory.

The Shoal Territory has grown to its current size through more than a hundred years of accumulation.

Flora gazed out the window at the White River, her brow furrowed. "I just find it strange. What does White Bear Territory need so many people for? Besides, it's long past the farming season. What can these people do in White Bear Territory? And what will they eat?"

Henrik disagreed. "Perhaps the Earl's second son was being foolish. He thought that as long as he had more people, he could build up his territory. By winter, he'd realized the disadvantages of having too many people."

"Tell me, is it possible that he discovered some mineral deposits in White Bear Territory?"

Flora thought for a long time, and suddenly an idea came to her mind.

This is a very reasonable speculation. If a territory suddenly adds hundreds of people, the only thing they can do besides farming is mining.

"If there really is a mine in White Bear Territory, how come no one has discovered it for over a hundred years? And this new baron has only been here for a few months and he's already discovered it? Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Henrik shook his head decisively, directly denying the correct answer.

Seeing that Flora was still thinking hard, he directly carried her to the bed and said, "Don't always look so sad. It will only make you age faster."

But when she thought of her stepdaughter Yagna who married into the White Bear Territory, she suddenly opened her eyes.

"Yagna must still be in White Bear Territory. No, I have to send someone to White Bear Territory."

Jagna once caught Flora and Henrik having an affair, but the former baron was already terminally ill at the time, which allowed the adulterous couple to escape unscathed.

There are unwritten rules between territories, and people cannot be sent to sneak into neighboring territories at will.

If they are caught in the act, it is very likely to cause conflict or even war.

But Flora didn't care, she just wanted to find out what was going on in the north.

(End of this chapter)