How about episode 183? You just got it, right? (3)
Everyone’s good mood suddenly sank. It was impossible to feel good when they were talking so openly about taking soldiers away.
‘This guy really crossed the line when I said let’s see.’
‘Where in the world is there a person who asks for soldiers in exchange for food?’
‘How much do you want me to give you? No matter how much, our lord won’t allow it.’
If the military power is weak, it is difficult to control external threats as well as dissatisfied residents. In some ways, military power can be seen as the foundation for maintaining a territory.
But it was hard to say no here, because I had just seen right before my eyes those who had spoken wrongly get kicked out immediately.
Jiselle spoke softly to those who were at a loss.
“Oh, I’m not asking for that much. The minimum is 50 people. Smaller baronies will send that many, while larger ones will send a little more. We’ll do it within a range that doesn’t burden either party. In return, we’ll provide six months’ worth of food according to the size of each territory.”
It was a more reasonable proposal than the initial statement of asking for soldiers to be handed over. Some of the envoys nodded at the mention of six months’ worth of food.
In a small barony, fifty people is not a small number.
But it wasn’t so many that I couldn’t give them at all.
If we could get over 50 soldiers and get six months’ worth of food, it would actually be a good deal.
The game of wits has begun again.
The messenger of the small baron quickly finished his calculations and raised his hand.
“We will provide 50 people!”
“I like your quick decision. Since you said it first, I’ll give you eight months’ worth.”
“thank you!”
The mood had now completely shifted to Jiselle. The messengers who had missed their first opportunity shouted urgently.
“We will provide 100 people!”
“That’s the Baekjak territory, right? It’s so big, and you’re only giving us 100 men? Give us 200.”
“Uh, that’s… … .”
“If you don’t like it, just quit. Get out.”
“No! I will do that!”
Once the waters were cleared, there was no trouble from then on.
They all vied with each other to provide soldiers according to the size of their territory.
In such a passionate atmosphere, there was someone who was speechless.
Jiselle pretended to know while looking at the hesitating man.
“Hey, it’s been a while. How are the Count and your aunt?”
“Oh, Your Majesty. No, Baron. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.”
The man greeting with a nervous expression was the governor of the County of Loges.
The place where his cousin, Cain, who had previously dueled with Giselle, was the successor. The General of Loges asked, sweating profusely.
“How much should we send?”
The County of Loges was as poor as Perdium, and it was not like Perdium in that it had to fend off the northern barbarians or the forests of the devil.
It was poor there because they simply had nothing.
The number of armed men is less than a thousand, and even if we gather conscripts, it will not reach two thousand.
But even in such a situation, Rogers had sided with Ferdium in his previous life and was destroyed along with him. Giselle did not forget that loyalty and kindness.
“But we’re relatives, so I can’t be rude to you. I’ll just give Rogers a year’s worth of food.”
“Oh, oh!”
The General of Rogers smiled happily. That must be why everyone was singing the song of connections, connections.
Other people also looked extremely envious.
I couldn’t ask why they were giving it away for free. Count Ferdium’s sister was Countess Loges, so there was ample justification.
“Oh, but if I just give it to you, it looks a bit weird, so I’ll only take one soldier.”
The General of Rogers nodded with a bright smile. If they are giving out food like that, what could be the problem with one soldier who is not even a knight?
It’s just like completely blindly pretending not to notice.
Looking at him like that, Jiselle smiled evilly.
“Kane. Send Rogers’ successor here. He didn’t pay me back.”
“You didn’t pay me back?”
The General of Rogers looked puzzled at the news he was hearing for the first time.
“Yeah, you borrowed a thousand gold from me and you didn’t pay it back. That’s why I don’t do business with family. I’m really disappointed.”
“Oh my, you mean a thousand gold?”
A thousand gold coins! How can you borrow that much money?
The General of Rogers gave him a suspicious look.
He knew very well that Jiselle was a scoundrel. It was a well-known story that she and Cain used to go around harassing and playing with the people of the territory.
So I couldn’t believe that what he said was true.
“Is that true?”
“Yeah, I guess that Cain guy didn’t say anything.”
“These days, Confucius is quietly studying in his territory.”
“He’s studying? You know that’s really funny, right?”
“… … .”
General Rogers lowered his head, speechless.
In fact, studying was just an excuse, and Kane just stayed in his room and didn’t come out.
No one could figure out why he did that because no one answered when asked. Everyone just assumed he had matured a little and let it go.
Because unlike before, people weren’t bothering me and I was living quietly.
In fact, Kane wasn’t coming out because he was afraid, he was just being stubborn.
I couldn’t ask my parents for that much money, and I had no way of getting it. So I didn’t go out and just hid.
I was too embarrassed to tell the truth, and I was even more afraid of rumors spreading, so I stayed quiet.
That was the reason Kane held out and didn’t pay the money. It was a shallow belief that he would be okay if he stayed in the estate.
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But there was no reason for Jiselle to take that into consideration.
“You can check that yourself. Anyway, that’s my condition. If you want a year’s worth of food, send Kane.”
“But, how about Prince Cain… … .”
Sending him to Fenris as the heir to the estate was tantamount to taking him hostage.
It was not a problem that the general could barely accept.
Looking at him sweating profusely, Giselle spoke softly.
“Go and discuss it with the Count. He must know a lot about my activities these days, so he’ll allow it. We can train and study together here. It’s a good idea for the successors who will lead the territory in the future to join forces. We’re… … cousins, right?”
“I see! If that is what you mean, then of course the Count will grant his permission.”
Only then did the General of Rogers nod.
Ferdium and Loges are virtually blood-related.
Joining forces with Giselle was always beneficial to Kane, never detrimental.
The current Giselle was a rising star in the Lutanian aristocracy, riding on the back of the Marquis of Branford.
“Understood. I will speak well to the Count. It will not be a bad thing for Prince Kane either.”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s really good for both of us.”
Of course, Jiselle’s true feelings were completely different.
‘You’re out if you come here, you punk.’
You dare to steal the mercenary king’s money?
Such a thing cannot happen under the sun.
In his previous life, even the king of a country would not have done such a bold thing.
It seems that he was a bit weak at the time of the duel and thus lacked training.
Those who heard the conversation between Giselle and General Rogers promised to provide as many soldiers as their authority would allow.
If they hesitate for no reason and talk of sending a successor to the territory comes out, there will be chaos.
As negotiations concluded, Giselle emphasized again:
“You know we’re not just sending soldiers, right? We’re sending their families too.”
Then the messengers were confused. They thought they only had to send soldiers, but they were telling them to send their entire families as well. If that happened, more people would escape than expected.
I thought it was a reasonable deal, but it turns out it wasn’t reasonable at all. In normal times, the loss wouldn’t have been this much.
The expressions on the faces of those who had their land’s labor force unexpectedly taken away naturally became dismayed.
Jiselle clicked her tongue at the sight.
‘Tsk tsk, still the same.’
To them, the people of Yeongji were like slaves. No, they were better than slaves. They could collect taxes and didn’t have to feed them.
So, even though I was separated from my family, I didn’t feel any emotion.
We live in an age where everyone takes such things for granted, so there is no need to criticize.
But even though the times were like that, Giselle had no intention of giving in.
Families living apart from each other are a weakness for soldiers. When that happens, soldiers cannot exert their full strength.
Jiselle intended to block such problems at the source.
The hesitant messengers had no choice but to agree to send the soldiers’ families along with them. They had to hand them over so that the rest of the people could survive.
Of course, contrary to my appearance, I was so angry inside that I couldn’t stand it.
‘Damn, let’s just wait and see. If we can get through this hardship, I won’t let you off easy.’
‘The little bastard is running wild, trusting in the nobles of the royalist faction.’
‘We should have attacked here a long time ago and taken the food and rune stones.’
As soon as we heard the rumor, we should have formed an alliance and attacked this place and taken everything.
Because of each other’s greed, we were too late to check the truth.
Now, they could not attack. The high-ranking nobles of the royalist faction were behind them, and the combined number of troops that each territory had agreed to hand over was close to 3,000.
With just one food item, he was able to acquire thousands of soldiers and residents at once.
Jiselle continued, driving a wedge into her words.
“It will take time to relocate the people of Yeongji, so send the soldiers as soon as possible. If they don’t arrive within two weeks, we will pretend this never happened.”
“Oh, I understand.”
“And send them as a proper standing army. If you send them as sloppy soldiers, they will be sent back immediately.”
“All right.”
The messengers who had been trying to fill the sack with conscripts gave up even the thought of making a trick. If they were to get caught by Jisel and the deal was canceled, the entire territory would starve.
The messengers prepared to return immediately. Time was tight, so they could not afford to delay even for a moment.
After all the transactions were completed, Giselle looked back at Claude with a satisfied expression.
“How is it? You got it quickly? It was easy, right? The number of Yeongjimin has also increased a lot.”
“… … .”
Claude, who had watched the whole process, was at a loss for words.
It was a great skill. People are something that is hard to obtain even with money, but he solved that problem in an instant.
Unlike the immigrants they had received so far, they had obtained trained soldiers, although their fighting power may have been different.
Combined with the forces of the lords, the number was over 3,000. He had prepared the forces as he had promised.
No matter how much I think about it, it would have been absolutely impossible if this drought had not been predicted.
Eventually, Claude had no choice but to admit it. Whether it was luck or real ability, this kid was truly something.
So this time I gave it a thumbs up without complaining.
‘Do whatever you want.’
Giselle, with an arrogant smile, gave new instructions to Gillian.
“Have the new soldiers focus on formal training so that they can follow the control as quickly as possible. Organize the units by mixing them regardless of region. It’s obvious that they’ll only be sending infantry anyway.”
“All right.”
He filled the gaps in the soldiers. He also created hundreds of knights, even though they were half-baked.
Both the prince faction and the duke faction are too busy looking out for themselves to pay attention to this place.
There is no better opportunity than this. I have been preparing for this moment.
Jiselle said with a cold smile.
“Now we will start the war.”
* * *
The soldiers sent from each territory arrived quickly. The lords were also in a state of shock, so they endured their displeasure and wanted to quickly conclude the deal.
The soldiers who had been hastily chased across looked bewildered. It was understandable that they would feel that way, since their place of residence had suddenly changed.
But the confusion was short-lived; the soldiers’ faces quickly brightened when they saw the abundant food provided.
‘Wow, they said there was plenty of food, and it was true.’
‘I’m going to continue living in a place like this? Is this a dream or reality?’
For those who were running low on food and unable to receive proper supplies, Fenris was a dream territory.
Since I only have memories of always starving and struggling in poverty under the wicked lord, my attachment to my hometown disappeared in an instant.
The more he ate, the more attached he became to his new territory. He also said that his family would be coming here soon.
It couldn’t have been bad.
As the soldiers were satisfied, there was no difficulty in controlling them. The soldiers who had migrated were properly disciplined in just a week.
Since the basic training had already been completed, there was no great difficulty. All that was needed was to acclimate them to Fenris’ military discipline.
After all, feeding them well and putting them to sleep well was the best.
However, the soldiers’ mood quickly sank within a few days, as Giselle called up all the soldiers, saying she was going on an expedition.
‘War as soon as we arrive? Where are you going to attack?’
‘This is driving me crazy. But it seems like we have a lot of numbers?’
Unlike the anxious soldiers, Jiselle looked satisfied as she looked at the paraded troops.
The expedition force numbered a whopping 3,000, including knights. Although most of them were infantry, it was safe to say that no other place in the north would have such a large force, except for the great lords.
The soldiers also seemed somewhat relieved that their numbers were greater than expected.
Claude, who was looking around the army with Giselle, asked cautiously.
“Over there… … Everything is good, but why are you going to invade without even declaring war?”
“Of course. Why give us time to prepare? This war is all about speed and timing. We have to end it before the other side intervenes. We can declare war when we get there.”
“Ugh… … .”
That’s not wrong. But if you launch a surprise attack without a proper declaration of war, you’ll be criticized a lot.
Above all, the biggest problem was that it gave the enemies a reason to do the same. That’s why everyone keeps up such useless courtesy.
Shouldn’t we declare war so that we can do politics, ask for help from those around us, and make preparations?
But Jiselle truly thought it didn’t matter. After all, the barbaric age would soon come when all such courtesy would be thrown away.
Claude looked at Giselle with a look of incomprehension, shook his head several times, and then said.
“But are you really going to take him?”
In one corner of the unit stood the debtor Kane, heir to the Loges estate, with a look of bereavement on his face.
