Strategy for the Journey North

Strategy for the Journey North

Ever since Fatty Shi and Yuri had become Norton Family Knights and agreed to make the journey north with him, Lorist had felt matters slipping out of his control and heading somewhere unknown.

At the Clan Knights' meeting, Lorist explained his plan to transport supplies back to the Norton Family. Fatty Shi laughed at it. Though he was now a Clan Knight, he spared Lorist, the man about to become the family's new lord, no courtesy at all. He took out a map of the Northlands and argued that Lorist should be thinking about how to cure the Norton Family's long-standing ills and give it new life, not how to keep it going a little longer with a shipment of supplies.

A thriving family with room to grow, Fatty Shi said, had to be capable of renewing itself. It had to adapt when circumstances changed instead of clinging stubbornly to tradition. Unfortunately, Lorist's proposed shipment looked more like a way to prolong the Norton Family's decline than a plan for its lasting development.

Lorist flushed and felt a pang of guilt. Fatty Shi had seen straight through him. He really had intended to deliver supplies to the family, wash his hands of the matter, and return to his carefree life in Molent City. He could hardly admit that now. Fatty Shi would come at him swinging. His friends had given up their comfortable lives in Molent City to follow him into a pit of fire, while he had planned to stroll around its edge and head home. What would they think if they found out?

Fatty Shi went on. In his view, the Norton Family's decline had one root cause: too much land and too few people. Solve that, and nothing could stop its rise.

The winter Demonic Beast Tide was no real obstacle. If the Norton Family could hold its present safe territory, then with enough people it could expand that territory. With proper defenses, the tide might become nothing more than a winter harvest of pelts.

As for the Mountain barbarians, Fatty Shi had questioned Sertkamp and discovered something important everyone had overlooked. Conflict with them had intensified over the past century, but the family had always fought defensively. The barbarians came down from the mountains to raid, and the family sent troops to drive them back. If the family wiped out a raiding force once or twice, it could enjoy peace for a long time instead of being drawn into endless skirmishes. To deal with the Mountain barbarians, they had to strike their strongholds, kill those who resisted, and put the rest to work building roads, mining, and clearing wasteland. There would be no shortage of work for them. Fatty Shi's voice was murderous.

The third problem facing the Norton Family was its territorial garrison. Fatty Shi believed the problem stemmed from the territory's small population: the garrison members' families were so closely bound to the Norton Family that clearing them out was difficult. Six years of civil war had devastated the former Krissen Empire. Refugees and bandits were everywhere. On the journey north, they could gather refugees, select able-bodied people with families, and form a family army. They would suppress bandits and train their troops along the way. By the time they reached the Northlands, they would have a seasoned force capable of crushing the garrison. The refugees would also fill the territory's population shortage. One move would solve several problems.

Territorial disputes did not concern Fatty Shi. Those were trifles. Once they returned with troops, that Viscount had better hand back the mine and surrender his unlawful gains. Otherwise, they could launch a Lord War, wipe out the fool's entire family, and take his territory. The Norton Family would not object to having more land.

Duke Lugins was the one difficult matter. His Grace the Duke was incurably greedy, forever devising ways to squeeze wealth from the nobles under him. He was a stinking bloodsucker clinging to the Norton Family. For now, the family was too weak to do anything but endure the loss. Lorist would have to decide how to handle their relationship. Fatty Shi's advice was simple: if they had a strong enough army, crush His Grace the Duke outright. If they could not face him openly, they would have to feign compliance a while longer.

Fatty Shi pulled over the latest map of the former Krissen Empire and pointed across it. "Look. The former Krissen Empire is now divided into three kingdoms and seven duchies. The Duchy of Rulm, beside the Farich Plain, has already sided with the Forde Commercial Alliance. Next is the First Prince's Kingdom of Redlis. He holds seven of the Krissen Empire's former twenty-nine provinces, giving him the most land and the greatest strength. Then come the duchies of Fakel, Fulendo, Handra, and Sabaj. Those four hold the empire's wealthiest central region and have formed a defensive alliance. They're locked in constant conflict with the Kingdom of Redlis."

"The Third Prince's Kingdom of Antinak is the smallest, with only three provinces, but he controls the former Imperial Capital. He was also the old emperor's chosen successor and commands great respect among the empire's nobles and subjects. If the Commercial Alliance hadn't stirred up the First and Second Princes to rebel, he would have become the next emperor. The Alliance has kept him under pressure, leaving him weaker than even the duchies. The Norton Family should seek his friendship. If it must swear allegiance to anyone, it should be him, because he represents the Krissen Empire's imperial line."

"Finally, let's look at the Second Prince's Kingdom of Iberia, where the Norton Family's territory lies. First, the man himself. He has never had a good reputation among the imperial nobility. He's harsh and ungrateful, bullies the weak and fears the strong, loves money and women, and prefers plotting in the shadows. As a ruler and commander, he's mediocre. To put it bluntly, the Kingdom of Iberia's nobles are a scattered lot. They answer to the Second Prince in name only. Defiance is common, and Lord Wars break out constantly. If not for the strong support of his father-in-law, Grand Duke Fisabrun of the Northeastern Great Grassland, the Second Prince could not even have founded a kingdom."

"The Kingdom of Iberia holds five provinces in the former Krissen Empire's northeast, including the Northlands Plateau. The Duchy of Madras also belongs to the kingdom in name. Its present enemy is the Duchy of Melain. Grand Duke Melain is fiercely loyal to the Third Prince and stands between the Second Prince and the former Imperial Capital. To seize the capital, the Second Prince must first overrun the Duchy of Melain. But Grand Duke Melain was the old empire's military commander, and his troops are veterans of its defense forces. The Second Prince has campaigned against him for two years running, losing men and officers without gaining a thing."

"The Second Prince has two dukes, seven marquises, nineteen counts, more than forty viscounts, and over a hundred barons beneath him. He created more than ninety of those titles himself. He sold titles on a grand scale to establish his kingdom. It even reached the absurd point where a newly appointed marquis held less land than a neighboring baron. One of the two dukes is his father-in-law, Grand Duke Fisabrun. His Grace once commanded an imperial border legion against the mounted tribes of the Northeastern Great Grassland. He backed his son-in-law in the struggle among the three princes. He's the strongest of them all, and he practically built the Kingdom of Iberia with his own hands."

"The second duke is Grand Duke Lukins of the Northlands. Look at the map. The Northlands Plateau covers half the Kingdom of Iberia, though it has little population for its size. The Norton Family's territory alone takes up a third of the Northlands, most of it undeveloped wilderness. Grand Duke Lukins holds its prosperous southern region, just across the Mithrobro River. Duke Lugins has always been ambitious. He wants to turn the entire Northlands Plateau into the Duchy of Lugins. But his military strength is weak, and Grand Duke Fisabrun's legion forced him to accept a place in the Kingdom of Iberia. He's now trying to raise a Northlands legion to counter Fisabrun's forces and serve as the military foundation of his future duchy."

"When the Kingdom of Iberia was founded, the Second Prince won Duke Lugins's support by promising him authority over every landed noble on the Northlands Plateau. That's why he transferred the Norton Family to Duke Lugins's jurisdiction. But the Second Prince played a trick, too. He created more than ninety nobles at once and granted over forty of them land on the sparsely populated plateau. That Viscount whose land borders the Norton Family's was one of them."

"The Second Prince claimed he had granted so many new estates in the Northlands to speed up development. In truth, he wanted to make trouble for Duke Lugins and plant his own people there. Countless disputes erupted between the old and new nobles, along with several Lord Wars. Three new nobles and one old landholding noble have already been killed with their families. Duke Lugins has also abandoned his original policy of stopping those conflicts. Now he quietly encourages them, letting wars wear down the noble families until they're forced to turn to him. The Northlands are in turmoil, and every landed noble is gathering people for protection."

"That's the situation beyond the Norton Family's territory. It's the perfect chance to profit from the chaos. If we're strong enough, we might even unite the Northlands Plateau. It's also why I oppose Lord Locke's plan to ship supplies north. A huge wagon train would make us a tempting target. Lords and bandits alike would want a bite of it. Gather a column of refugees, though, and every lord will worry that he might be our target. As for bandits, they'll give the family army practice. We should avoid killing too many of them. Their able-bodied leaders can join a unit of soldiers willing to risk their lives, taking the lead in assaults on forts and cities. The rest can work for us and help clear land when we reach the Northlands." With that, Fatty Shi finished laying out his strategy for the journey north.

Everyone applauded enthusiastically, Lorist included. Fatty Shi had always seen the larger picture. It showed in the mercenary jobs he had taken when he led Lorist and their friends as an adventuring party. He never accepted a task beyond the party's abilities. Over all those years, members had been injured, but none had died. No one was better at steering clear of danger.

Unfortunately, Fatty Shi did not know Lorist had intended to deliver supplies to the family and then leave it to its own devices. His father had stung him so badly that he was now determined to settle in the Northlands and earn himself a hereditary title. That was why he was planning so far ahead.

Lorist raised a hesitant objection. Fatty Shi's strategy was excellent, he said, but gathering refugees would be too costly. If ten thousand reached the family territory, they would bring more problems. There was no spare farmland to cultivate, the Northlands were barren, and feeding so many people would be impossible...

Fatty Shi scoffed. Lorist was contradicting himself. If that was true, why did he plan to send enough grain north to feed the entire territory for five or six years? So everyone could hide in the castle? Better to use that grain to gather refugees, then buy supplies along the road. They should still have ample grain when they reached the territory. A reserve of a year or two would give it the chance to develop rapidly. Yuri asked, "What if we gather so many refugees that the landed nobles along the way refuse to sell us grain?" "What then? Are our swords just for show? We make them sell. We're a column of refugees, not an army trying to seize their territory. All they need is for us to move on. They won't even want to raise troops against us. Victory would still cost them strength and give other lords an opening. Their best move is to hand over grain and see us off as quickly as possible," Fatty Shi said.

And when the refugees arrived, what if there was no farmland? That was no problem either. They could mine, build roads and castles, and hunt demonic beasts. Once the family expanded its safe territory, there would be plenty of wasteland to clear. Many items could come off Lorist's supply list. The ten wagonloads of iron ingots, for instance, would be heavy and awkward to transport. Rather than buy ingots, they should find specialists who knew how to prospect and smelt iron. Pointing at the family territory on the map, Fatty Shi said, "I refuse to believe an area this large has none of the ore we need."

Fatty Shi asked how many Gold Fudes Lorist had planned to spend on supplies. Lorist steeled himself and said ten thousand. "Why keep the other twenty thousand?" Fatty Shi demanded. "Are you waiting for them to breed? We're all going north with you, my lord, ready to risk everything. How can we go without preparing properly? Hand over the money. I'll take charge of buying what we need."

Damn it. That fat bastard knows exactly how much money I have. El's recent payment of his share, along with Lorist's earlier savings, went straight into Fatty Shi's hands. Lorist looked at the little he had left and lamented, How am I supposed to go back to Molent City and enjoy myself now?

With control of the purse, Fatty Shi eagerly discussed what they needed to buy. There were three main categories: weapons and equipment, food and clothing, and wagons. Those purchases could wait. The priority was a reliable armed force. Fatty Shi did not trust an army made entirely of hired men. He knew mercenaries too well: they fought well when winning was easy, but scattered as soon as casualties mounted.

"Here." Bordefinger pointed to a black dot on the map. Lorist looked closer. It marked a coastal city: Port Nubite.

Bordefinger said, "That's in the Kingdom of Haneabada, an island nation where the slave trade is legal. Port Nubite is the largest Slave Trade Port in Galintea. We could buy slaves there and form a family force."

"I know of the place," Fatty Shi said. "I've never been there, so I don't know the prices. I've only heard it's lawless and chaotic."

"My last mercenary job took me there to collect a group of slaves," Bordefinger said. "It really is chaotic. But I ran into a few old acquaintances, former comrades from my legion. They work as bodyguards at the port now. I could contact them and ask about the market. It would be best to wait a few days, though. I'm about to advance to Gold rank. Going there as a Gold Swordsman would make things easier."

Advancing through the Bronze, Iron, Silver, and Gold ranks of Battle Qi involved no special barrier. Once Bordefinger mastered the Great Bloodline Circulation described in the advanced Battle Qi Manual Lorist had given him and could run it freely, he would be a Gold Swordsman.

Fatty Shi nodded. "Good. I'll go with you when the time comes. His Lordship can handle matters here."

Bordefinger had a question. "Knight Shredder, I know you've never been north. How do you know so much about the Northlands?"

"Simple," Fatty Shi said. "The Forde Commercial Alliance's envoys have returned from the former Krissen Empire. They went to mediate the conflict among the three princes and negotiate with the kingdoms and duchies. I used my connections to visit one of them and paid a handsome price for his travel diary. I studied it carefully. That's how I learned about the Northlands."

Bordefinger dipped his head. "Knight Shredder, you've put a great deal of thought into this."

Fatty Shi returned the nod. "No need for thanks. It's what I should do for the family."

Yuri then suggested that Dawnlight Academy had many older students whose prospects had stalled, including quite a few in the Swordsmanship Club. Should they ask whether any wanted to go north? Recruiting people they knew would make the new family force easier to manage.

Fatty Shi praised the idea and put Telman and Yuri in charge. They were to look for people of good character who had reached Silver rank, and warn them that the journey would be dangerous. Anyone who wanted to return after reaching the Northlands would receive twenty Gold Fudes. Those willing to join the Norton Family could be taken on as Clan Knights by Lord Locke, though only after they arrived.

Fatty Shi also asked Telman and Yuri to look for specialists willing to seek a future in the Northlands under Lord Locke: apothecaries, smiths, steelmakers, anyone with a useful skill. The family territory could not develop without people like them.

Bordefinger nodded approvingly.

That brought the Clan Knights' meeting on the journey north to an end. Bordefinger went back to training. Telman and Yuri left to carry out Fatty Shi's instructions. Fatty Shi had even more to do: haggle with merchants and prepare supplies for the trip. One by one, they bowed to Lorist and departed, leaving the room empty.

Lorist sat alone in the study, stunned for a long while. At last, it sank in. It's over. I really am going back to be a lord...