Chapter 118 : The Days Toward the Rostingia Marcher Lordship (2)
Chapter 118: The Days Toward the Rostingia Marcher Lordship (2)
Surprisingly, the one who visited Balud was no mere envoy.
“I am Adrian. I have come to find you as the proxy of Viscount Norten. Are you indeed Balud, the ringleader who heads the peasant rebels?”
A high-ranking individual whose presence in such hostile territory was entirely unexpected. It was Adrian, the eldest son of Viscount Norten. Of course, his behavior was as arrogant as his noble status suggested, inciting rage in everyone inside the barracks.
“How dare you!!”
“Mind your manners, Adrian!”
“Manners? Hmph. You lowlifes grab a little bit of power and now you discuss manners? Do you even know the meaning of honor? You should be grateful that I have stepped forward personally!”
“Did you come here as an envoy or not?”
“This arrogant noble bastard!”
The officers inside the barracks could not contain themselves, as they already held a poor perception of nobles, only to have one act this way.
There was a limit to such insolence.
Considering the force they had built and their organization, they were strong enough to look down on an average noble. They believed they were not at a level to be so ignored.
However.
“Calm down.”
Balud's thoughts were a bit different.
‘If he intended to simply insult us, he wouldn't have sent him in the first place.’
Again, he was the eldest.
Sending his legitimate heir as an envoy, especially to a hostile force.
This could only be seen as an envoy carrying a very important and serious proposal for Viscount Norten.
‘The behavior of an arrogant noble.... It has always been thus, so it is to be expected. It is not as if these elven nobles started acting this way yesterday. The important thing is why they have reached out a hand to me.’
Couldn't they just crush them with force now?
Time was on the side of the Rostingia Marcher Lordship under Viscount Ragnarsson.
The Northern nobles would never suddenly side with rebels, especially peasant rebels who had organized and declared independence.
“B-But....”
“This attitude for an envoy is....”
“Hah. Do you still not see it?”
Silencing the officers' complaints with a gesture, Balud looked at Adrian.
“Sir Adrian is correct. How could I possibly converse on the same level as Viscount Norten. We have nothing to give the Viscount, but conversely, the Viscount has something to give us. Is the reason Lord Adrian came all this way not to speak of that?”
“A-Ahem. That is correct.”
Adrian replied, putting on airs once again.
Inwardly, he was satisfied with Balud's polite behavior.
‘They called him the ringleader of peasants, but he must be the heir of some fallen noble house. Hmm. This will make conversation easy.’
If Balud had impudently tried to act as an equal, Adrian had planned to teach him a lesson. But since he knew his place, it suited Adrian's fancy.
“So.... What is it that Viscount Norten wishes to say, Lord Adrian. I shall open my ears and listen to the proposal.”
“Hmph! Viscount Norten has proposed an unofficial truce to give you bastards some breathing room. Although it cannot be proclaimed to the outside world, he has decided to coexist with you.”
“An unofficial truce?”
“Coexistence?”
Everyone tilted their heads at the story cluttered with strange rhetoric. A truce was a truce, but what did coexistence mean, and what was the meaning of it being unofficial.
In the end, did it not mean they would maintain appearances by saying they were fighting to the outside world while actually not fighting?
‘Could it be.... Is the Marcher Lordship lacking resources?’
‘Did they actually suffer massive damage at Holsten Castle?’
Those who did not know the situation would naturally think that way. They had no choice but to doubt the proposal. They thought it was a proposal to hide the weaknesses of the Rostingia Marcher Lordship.
However, Balud thought differently.
‘He wants to drag the war out.’
The idea was to continue building achievements through staged battles.
They would continue the war externally, but internally, they would coordinate to fight fake battles and gain only the credit.
In short, we should move according to Viscount Norten's plan. That was the gist of it.
And Balud's assessment was exactly correct.
“There must be conditions, right?”
“The conditions are simple. That imperial supply warehouse base you bastards dared to occupy.”
“Hmm. You want us to hand it over?”
“Yes. That place isn't your land anyway, is it? Keeping it only invites attacks from the Emperor, there is no benefit. So, hand it over.”
“While pretending to resist moderately, so it can be handed over as dramatically as possible?”
“You understood perfectly.”
Thinking that they finally spoke the same language, Adrian smiled.
A dramatic staging was necessary.
A staging where Viscount Norten stepped forward to occupy an impregnable fortress.
The rebel forces would now have to play the role of actors in creating the heroic epic of his father, Viscount Norten.
Of course, if they were merely used, they certainly wouldn't follow. Adrian thought of the conditions set by Viscount Norten and slowly continued.
“I know that most of your supplies are in that warehouse base. We shall help you move all of it into your territory before the designated battle date.”
“Ah, through the merchant group said to be operated by Viscount Norten?”
“Yes.”
“Then, we will also need exclusive commercial rights for that merchant group within our jurisdiction in the future?”
“That is also accurate. Balud. We understand each other well. In exchange, we will... your territory? Fief? It is difficult to know what to call it.”
“We are a union of ten people's assemblies. I am merely the Doge who leads them.”
According to Northern tradition, the peasant rebels had joined forces to establish people's assemblies in each village, and the representatives of those ten assemblies had elected Balud as the first Doge.
Doge Balud of Dithmarschen.
That was Balud's current title announced internally and externally. Though no one had acknowledged it yet.
“Fine.... Doge Balud. In exchange, we will smoothly supply necessary goods within the territory of the assemblies. You are lacking right now, aren't you? Using the Viscount's merchant group, you can easily fill the shortage.”
Of course, behind that, the internal commercial rights might fall entirely to Viscount Norten, but what did it matter. The more that happened, the more Viscount Norten would have to protect them.
“Very well. I accept Viscount Norten's proposal. As long as you don't betray us first, we will maintain our faith to the best of our ability.”
“Heh.... It is laughable to hear the word 'faith' from the mouth of a rebel. But I, too, am a noble who knows honor. I shall willingly strive to keep mine.”
A few slightly suspicious and sharp lines were exchanged, but that did not mean the negotiation had failed.
On the contrary, it only served to strengthen the two hands held together as a token of their promise.
Then, a thought occurred to Balud, and he asked Adrian.
“By the way.... Can you control that fiery temper of Viscount Ragnarsson? I know Viscount Norten's excellence well, but with Viscount Ragnarsson's impatient nature, he might ruin the plan.”
“Hah? An interesting worry. But there is no need to fret, Doge Balud.”
“?”
“Hehe. It seems you didn't know this yet. Viscount Ragnarsson can no longer pay attention to this area. The Viscount has gone to the capital of the Rostingia Marcher Lordship. From now on, Viscount Norten has been placed in full charge of this region.”
“……?!”
As soon as he heard that answer, the puzzle of Balud's curiosity was finally solved.
‘The Marcher Lord of Rostingia!’
Why would the successor head to the capital at a time when the front lines needed to be finalized?
There was only one reason.
Something had happened at the center. And there was only one thing that could happen with the Marcher Lord of Rostingia right now.
‘They said he was just waiting for the day to die, didn't they?’
The death of a great noble was entangled with complex inheritance issues. It was not a problem that could be easily solved in a short time. A problem so complex that one would have to return and focus on internal affairs for several years.
In the midst of that, the commander delegated with all authority suggested a fake war. That meant....
‘Viscount Norten has betrayed Viscount Ragnarsson. He.... wants to stand on his own.’
A smile momentarily surfaced on Balud's lips.
He saw a way to maximize this situation and ensure the survival of Dithmarschen, the Union of Peasant Assemblies he had established.
Viscount Norten probably thought he was using them to achieve his dream, but....
‘I shall use you bastards to achieve our dream.’
With that thought, Balud ended the meeting with Adrian.
The night was deep, and the season of conspiracies was long.
It would take a good while to write the letters to be sent to each power holder.
Time would tell.
Exactly what kind of foolish thing they had done.
* * *
“Ehehehe. I wish every day was like now!!!”
“...You've certainly been having the time of your life lately, haven't you?”
“Well, of course!! Goodness. Did I ever know I would get to manage the post war supply goods?”
Branch Manager Marhen wagged her tail while shrugging her shoulders.
In fact.
As Viscount Ragnarsson headed to the capital of the Rostingia Marcher Lordship first this time, he appointed Branch Manager Marhen to head the supply network for the villages and cities to be restored after the war.
In a way, it was a massive privilege, and the merchant groups that had their interests snatched away protested as a group, but Viscount Ragnarsson was utterly cold.
“The one who took a risk with everything during the hardest times. The honor and reward following that are only natural. This applies whether one is a merchant or a knight. Since when did Northerners envy those who embarked on a great adventure! If there is anyone with a complaint, come to the capital and find me personally. I shall willingly listen to that story with my sword.”
He had issued a bone chilling warning and acted as a shield against all problems.
Thanks to that, even the merchant groups that were envious at first had now changed their minds.
This was a good opportunity to make an impression on the new power holder of the North.
Consequently, Branch Manager Marhen was devoting herself to restoring the collapsed Northern commercial sphere while receiving full support from the surrounding Northern merchant groups.
She was procuring goods on a large scale to reconstruct merchant routes between cities, or re-establishing tax rights for ruined villages through delegated certificates to return them to nearby fiefs, and so on.
In a sense, she was performing the duties of a vassal beyond those of an ordinary merchant, which meant she had received a massive privilege.
“Ugh. Is that why you are dragging me around like this?”
“Hehe. Why? Didn't you say we were partners? We have to head to the capital of the Rostingia Marcher Lordship anyway, so it's good to move together in the process. There are no reliable mercenary units lately.”
“Well, I suppose....”
The Sauerland Mercenary Office had already granted permission regarding the invitation. Shatien had gained the authority to lead 400 mercenaries and move freely in the North temporarily.
And the only nearby power capable of hiring a mercenary unit of this size right now was Branch Manager Marhen.
“Anyway, we're going to another city this time, so please help. This time, you'll only need to mobilize half.”
“Half huh.... Just how many goods are you planning to take?”
“It's a city that has been isolated, so it will need quite a lot of goods. The list of items I've already received is enough for seven wagons.”
“Whoa.. that's incredible.”
“Which is why there will be plenty of bandits aiming for them. I'm counting on you, partner.”
“Naturally. I shall serve you well.”
Shatien spoke jokingly. A peace that had arrived after a long time.
It was a bit of a burden, but he also hoped this peace would last for a while.
Please.