I'm not a lord

Chapter 93 The lives of the barren people are also lives

In the evening, Thorward, the elder of the lowland tribe, arrived at the riverside castle.

He was invited by Lin En to attend the banquet and also to visit his son and daughter who were held hostage in White Bear Territory.

The castle's shadow was stretched by the setting sun, like a man-eating beast lying across the White River.

Lao Suo rode the horse given by Lin En, slowly pulled the reins, and looked up at the four corner watchtowers.

The shadow of the rammed earth watchtower fell on his face, and his Adam's apple trembled unconsciously.

He couldn't help but wonder: How much blood and flesh of tribal warriors would be needed to break through the solid outer wall of this fortress?

In the northern wilderness, the two strongest tribes of wilderness dwellers both have wooden fortresses of similar structure.

revenge?

The flames of revenge had indeed burned fiercely in his chest.

But when he thought about how the refined salt blocks could be exchanged for bags of rye, and that the children in his tribe would no longer cry of hunger, the thought of revenge was instantly blown away by the gentle river breeze.

Given the current weakness of the lowland tribes, revenge is just a distant dream.

The banquet continued in the hall on the first floor of the castle.

The only additional participants were old Soward and two of his tribesmen.

"Father, the Baron has agreed to let me become a knight! He will arrange for a teacher to teach me swordsmanship and horse riding!"

Little Thorward couldn't wait to show off his new identity to his father, and he drew out the long sword given to him by Lynn and swung it in a serious manner.

Looking at his son's noticeable growth and his excitement that was beyond words, Lao Suo was speechless.

Silly boy, why do you think the baron gave you the sword and mail?
He just wants you to work for him!
Then Lao Suo turned to look at his daughter and found that although Xiao Mila was hugging his arm, her eyes were fixed on Lin En, and it was obvious that she had already fallen in love with him.

No, it’s not right to say that I secretly agreed.

Because little Xiaomila is nominally Lin En's woman.

What's wrong with a woman liking her man?
Ugh.
What else can Lao Suo say?

He could only return to the tribe and work hard with his dozen wives, trying to find a way to have more children.

Lin En picked up the wine glass and toasted Lao Suo from a distance:
"Chief Thorward, I originally wanted your son to learn writing and language, and I even found the best teacher for him. But as you can see, he was determined to become a knight, and my repeated attempts to persuade him were in vain."

Old Suo trembled as he picked up the wine glass, took a gulp, and replied, "My foolish son must have received the blessing of the God of War to have the honor of serving His Excellency the Baron."

Lin En's lips curled up into a smile: "So, you don't want him to suffer loneliness in the barracks alone?"

Old Thorward's face was full of confusion: "I don't understand what you are saying, Your Excellency."

Lin En put down his wine glass, tapped the table with his right index finger, and patiently explained:

"Your son will become a regular knight. Every knight has squires. He is a barbarian, so his squires should also be barbarian. I think you need to equip him with some squires. They don't need to be too many, fifty will be enough, but they must be strong enough and not too old."

When facing the savages, Lin En is always patient, like a most experienced hunter.

He wanted to lure the lowland tribes step by step into his carefully laid 'trap' and completely take them into his pocket.

Fifty attendants?
Old Thorward thought he had misheard, but when he looked at Lynn's smiling eyes, he realized that he had not misheard.

He knew very well that southern knights did have the habit of having squires.

But does a knight really need fifty squires?
Is this a bit.
He soon realized that this was not the case of providing servants for his own son.
It was obvious that the Baron was asking him for the warriors in his tribe!

The purpose is self-evident, of course, to make these tribal warriors work for him! Old Thorward saw through Lynn's cunning intentions.

But he bitterly discovered that he had no reason to refuse.

After more than a month of salt trading, the lowland tribes have become accustomed to the good days of having hot porridge to eat.

He couldn't imagine how his people would survive the cold winter this year without the rye provided by White Bear Territory, and how many people would die of hunger and cold.

Old Thorward forced a helpless smile. "Of course a knight should have squires. I'll select the strongest young warriors from the tribe when I return. I only hope that Your Excellency the Baron can take good care of them for me."

Seeing that old Thorward had given in, Lynn's smile grew wider.

As early as when he captured little Thorward, he noticed the savage people's agility in the forest.

The lowland tribes mainly make a living by hunting. They are natural hunters. Even in the forest late at night, they can still walk fast and as if they were walking on flat ground.

Not only are they good at short knife fighting, but they are also masters of archery. They dare to hunt brown bears and wolves in the forest with simple bows and arrows.

At the same time, they do not speak the same language as the Northern Kingdom, and even if they are captured they will not reveal much information.

This is simply the best scout and longbow unit!

It can just make up for the White Bear Army's lack of long-range attacks.

It takes at least five years of training to train a qualified archer, and it would be too slow for the serfs in White Bear Territory to practice from scratch.

More importantly, the barbarians have not been contaminated by chivalrous education.

Their lives are relatively cheap!

Lin En doesn't need to offer these barbarians too high a salary. He just needs to provide them with three meals a day and draw a few big cakes for them, which is enough to make them work hard.

Of course, the main task of the lowland tribes at present is mining, and it is not advisable to withdraw too much labor in a short period of time.

Let fifty people come in first to experience the superior treatment of soldiers, so as to induce more barbarian warriors to surrender voluntarily in the future.

"Don't worry, I will take care of them as I would your sons. If they can achieve military merit, I will reward them with farmland and teach them how to farm."

After that, Lynn picked up the knife, cut off a whole deer leg, and asked little Thorward to carry the plate to old Thor's table.

Lao Suo picked up the wine glass and took another sip. A touch of redness rushed to his old face. "Let me thank the Baron for his generosity and kindness on their behalf!"

He had no choice, and integrating into the White Bear Territory was indeed the best destination for the lowland tribes.

On the way to the castle, he saw laughing serfs singing and dancing around the fire, and also saw ears of wheat waiting to be harvested in the fields.

White Bear Territory is simply the promised land flowing with honey and wine.

It’s a pity that this fertile land that once belonged to the barbarians has become a forbidden delicacy for the southerners.

If the lowland tribes want to return, they can only beg for the favor of His Excellency the Baron.

Old Thorward knew very well that the surface part of the salt mine, which was most easily mined, would eventually be exhausted.

When we need to dig salt mines underground in the future, the mining efficiency will inevitably decrease, and the amount of food that can be exchanged will also be reduced accordingly.

If we want our people to live a good life with enough food, we must farm and have arable land.

In order to continue the tribe, only a part of the tribe can work for His Excellency the Baron.

Not only did old Thorward have no choice, but the entire lowland tribe had no choice.

(End of this chapter)