Countermeasures (Please Keep Reading!)

Countermeasures (Please Keep Reading!)

Lynn had actually only received the news at noon today.

Lao San and Leon had taken a sail-and-oar vessel downstream. They had barely set foot in Three Rivers City when they heard the news of the King's death.

News traveled incredibly slowly these days, and the territories were relatively isolated from one another, with very little communication.

If he had not sent Lao San to Three Rivers City to relay information and had instead waited for word to spread naturally among the common folk, Lynn feared he would not have learned this major news until the Autumn Harvest.

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

The elderly King, whose body had been exceptionally frail, had ultimately failed to hold on until spring.

Even though he had been a powerful [Warrior] renowned across the continent in his youth, even though he had been the most esteemed figure in the entire north, even though he had received the church's full support of divine magic to prolong his life, he still could not escape the judgment of time.

It could only be said that the one truly fair thing in this world was that everyone died.

This ruler's posthumous title was Veles the 'Childless.'

All the achievements and accomplishments he had created during his life would be overshadowed by the stain of having no heirs.

Future generations would remember only that he had been the last King of the 'Northern Kingdom' dynasty—the Urinis family—and that his poor fertility had brought an end to a great dynasty.

But when the Northern Kingdom would choose its next King remained unknown.

Wars were exceptionally slow these days.

Lynn estimated that even if the Marsh Duke intended to send troops into the Crown Territory directly controlled by the royal family, the earliest it could happen would be June of this year.

Gathering troops and preparing weapons, provisions, and baggage all required a great deal of time.

Furthermore, the Duke needed to consider the actions of his other competitors.

But this also meant that Lynn was very likely to receive a summons from the Duke.

Before dinner, he specifically gathered all the Horse Bandits in the Castle for a meeting.

"This is a letter Lao San had someone deliver. The King is dead."

Lynn placed the letter on the table and looked around at the twenty Horse Bandits seated along the long table.

Lao Si casually glanced at the letter. "So the King's dead. What does it matter? Someone's going to put on that damned crown anyway."

To the Horse Bandits, the King's death carried about as much weight as what they would eat for breakfast tomorrow.

The former might even have been less important than the latter.

After all, the latter was closely related to whether their bowels moved smoothly. If they had trouble relieving themselves, the Horse Bandits would fly into a rage.

Lao Wu even slapped the table disrespectfully. "That old bastard should've died long ago! If Big Brother were King, he'd have locked all three Grand Dukes in the Royal Palace tower ages ago! Don't you all agree?"

A group of underlings below him immediately joined in the racket. It looked as though, with a single word from Lynn, they would charge into the Royal Palace, seize the crown, and put it on Big Brother's head.

And while they were at it, they would deal with the Kingdom's three Grand Dukes too.

Second Brother, seated beside Lynn, glared at them. "Quiet down! Can't you see Big Brother has something to say?"

Only then did the Horse Bandits settle down, all eyes turning toward Lynn.

Lynn raised his right index finger and lightly tapped the tabletop.

"Now that I have taken control of White Bear Territory, I am nominally a baron under the Marsh Duke. With the King dead, the Duke will very likely send troops to contend for the throne. When that time comes, he will certainly come to White Bear Territory to summon knights.

"According to the terms of the writ of appointment, White Bear Territory must provide at least five regular knights, along with no fewer than fifteen skilled mounted squires."

At those words, the Horse Bandits immediately looked at one another.

They had actually been having a rather good time in White Bear Territory these past few days. Every day, they could eat meat by the mouthful and drink wine by the bowl, with no troublesome pursuers chasing after them. They had even made a small profit in gold coins from the Demon Bear's pelt.

Whenever they grew bored of staying in the territory, they could take turns heading to Three Rivers City to have some fun.

Life had truly been quite comfortable.

But what the hell was this Duke's summons?

They only followed Lynn's orders. Why would they care about some damned Duke?

"Big Brother, can we refuse this? You can't possibly make us take orders from someone else, can you?"

Lao Liu was the first to raise the question. Of everyone present, he was the best at reading Lynn's intentions.

Since Big Brother had brought this matter up for discussion, he clearly did not want to go.

Lynn looked at Lao Liu with appreciation. "Of course we can refuse. One of the duties of the Baron of White Bear Territory is to guard against the Wild People in the north. Now that Wild People have appeared in the territory, we can use that as an excuse to refuse the Duke's summons."

The Horse Bandits were delighted at once. Lao Wu slapped the table again. "The Wild People are useful for something like this? Perfect! We can just use that excuse and be done with it!"

"That wouldn't be very appropriate. What if the Marsh Duke uses the appearance of the Wild People as an excuse to send troops north instead? Wouldn't we be completely exposed then? Mining the Salt Mine would be nothing but a dream."

Lao Liu truly deserved to be called an educated man. At a glance, he saw the problem.

No one present could gauge the Marsh Duke's temperament.

What if the Duke was the opposite of Chiang Kai-shek and insisted on settling external threats before internal ones?

Then, once a large army entered White Bear Territory, Lynn and the others would have no choice but to flee with buckets in hand.

"It is indeed not ideal, so I have considered another way to refuse the summons: paying money."

Lynn had naturally considered using the Wild People as an excuse to refuse the summons, but after thinking it over, he decided it would be better to spend money to avert disaster.

By the customs of the time, barons with fiefs had a military service obligation of three months every year.

But as long as they paid enough 'shield tax,' they could be exempted from military service.

The upper nobility was happy to see this and would use the money to hire mercenaries to fill the shortage of troops.

Generally speaking, vassals in wealthy regions chose to pay taxes.

War got people killed.

Besides, how could fighting a war possibly be as comfortable as enjoying life at home?

Vassals in poor regions, however, could hardly afford such an enormous tax and could only pay it with blood and lives.

Although Lynn did not have much cash on hand, he could ask Leon for money.

He could treat it as his sister's dowry. Leon had no reason to refuse.

"Of course, we need to prepare for both possibilities. If the Duke forcibly summons us, we may have to leave White Bear Territory or negotiate with the Duke's envoy.

"It would not be convenient for me to show myself, and for quite some time to come, I will be in the northern part of the territory overseeing the road construction. Lao Liu, from now on, you will remain at the Castle. You will represent me and receive any envoys sent by the Duke."

Lynn then made his arrangements.

Lao Liu had a refined, easygoing appearance and was educated, making him suitable for diplomatic work.

Lao Si and Lao Wu looked somewhat rough around the edges, so they could only head north with Lynn to work on the construction project.

"Also, Second Brother, take five men to the road junction in the south of the territory and build a watchtower. Guard it in shifts day and night. No one is allowed to leave the territory.

"Lao Liu, aside from remaining at the Castle, you must also watch the docks. Without my permission, no one is allowed to leave by boat. I'll leave you five men. Is that enough?"

"I guarantee the mission will be completed!"