Volume Two: The Iron-Blooded Baron Chapter 120: Pirates Approaching from the Sea (Part Six)

Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. First, I would like to wish all my readers a very happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Second, I wish everyone a joyous and relaxing three-day holiday! Third, thank you all for your constant support; I am truly grateful!

In the city of Amondin, within the governor’s residence, Viscount Merry sat respectfully at the lower end of the table, listening to Count David.

"Merry, I have already conveyed the sovereign's decree to you. It would be a trouble for you to send someone tomorrow to summon this lucky young man, Belion, to this very place. I shall preside over his promotion ceremony on behalf of the sovereign," Count David said to the Viscount.

Viscount Merry nodded and replied with a smile, "No problem, my teacher. At the earliest, you will be able to see this lucky fellow the day after tomorrow. He is quite an interesting character."

"Hahaha!" Hearing this, Count David laughed aloud. "An interesting character? In what way is he interesting?"

Viscount Merry rose to pour his teacher a glass of wine and explained, "Among all the low-ranking knights I have known, he is the wisest. Even though he is still over a month away from turning twenty, he is shrewder and more capable than a middle-aged commander. During the battle to retake Maple Leaf Manor, if not for him turning the tide, I might have died under the battle-axes of the Toba pirates. He is not only tactically skilled and adept at drilling troops, but he also understands the rules well. Not only does he regularly show his respect to me, but he has also truly helped me solve many problems, even proactively sharing the credit for suppressing bandits with me. Moreover, his relationship with the Minister of Justice is extraordinary. The magistrate of our direct-rule county was appointed by the Minister himself, and that magistrate is Belion’s own uncle. I suspect the Minister's intention was to give this young man more freedom to act."

This was where the benefits of Belion’s conduct became apparent; in front of Count David, a visitor from the court, Viscount Merry spoke highly of him, both openly and implicitly.

Count David stroked his chin and nodded. "Hmm, that is indeed interesting. While we centrists have no need to involve ourselves in the struggle between the northern and southern factions, we must carry out the sovereign’s will. You can probably guess why the sovereign sent me to the direct-rule county to hold this promotion ceremony for Belion, right?"

"I understand this, teacher," Viscount Merry replied. "The sovereign wants the northern and southern factions, as well as us centrists, to know that he has decided to go to war with the Valundians. If he can promote a northern-faction lord like Belion for his military service, he can just as easily strip the title from a southern or centrist lord who lacks such merit. The sovereign's purpose is clear: whoever dares to oppose his war with the Valundians will bear his wrath and punishment."

Count David stood up and paced to the second-floor window. A light rain had begun to fall, and in the illumination of the anti-rain torches in the courtyard, the trails of the fine, thread-like raindrops were visible.

"Sigh!" Count David sighed. "It is easy to start a war, but difficult to end one. I am against going to war with the Valundians at this time. Our strength is not yet sufficient, and the northern and southern nobles are embroiled in bitter conflict. If we go to war now, the southern faction will likely respond with apathy. Can we achieve significant results relying solely on the northern lords? The Valundians are currently very strong; that much was evident in their battle against the Orians. Furthermore, their sovereign has just been crowned, and the entire nation is filled with fervor. They are eager to occupy half of our territory in a single strike, which would make their kingdom feel all the more legitimate."

Hearing this, Viscount Merry was somewhat surprised. He tentatively asked, "Teacher, do you truly believe that if war breaks out, we Brikers might lose?"

Count David nodded in agreement. "Not only will we lose, but we will likely lose very badly. On my way here, I received news that about four thousand Toba pirates have landed at Yanwiksho Bay. They have not only surrounded Yanwiksho City but are also raiding northward along the Karl River. Your direct-rule county will be attacked soon. And in the east, that Viscount Milko has crossed the Blue Mountains to ignite the flames of war. Caught between these two fronts, do you think the passion of the northern knights alone is enough to fight on two fronts and defeat both enemies?"

After Count David finished speaking and saw his student remain silent, he turned around and said with a smile, "Battles between nations are not judged by the moment, but by the long term. Since the war has begun, I fear it will not end for three to five years, but we will always have a chance to win. Besides, the Toba pirates come from southern islands that have no winter; how long can they stay here? I doubt they will last even a month. Just prepare well for the war."

Viscount Merry nodded and said happily, "Teacher, you are right. Oh, I forgot, dinner should be ready. Please come and taste some northern delicacies. I have also prepared a bottle of vintage Salion red wine. Let us have a good drink tonight!"

"Good! In these years, you haven't visited Valombre often, and it has been a long time since we drank together. Come, let us have a good drink tonight." Count David happily took Viscount Merry down to dine.

When Viscount Merry was a youth, he served as a squire under Count David. The Count was a close friend of his father’s and had taught him many things and provided much assistance. Having been away from his parents since he was seven or eight, Merry not only learned much from the Count but also experienced a fatherly affection. As the saying goes, a teacher is like a father, and thus Viscount Merry held his mentor in the highest regard. Moreover, as Count David was a core figure among their centrist nobles and held a high position at court, Merry’s respect for his old mentor was boundless.

The next day at noon, Belion met with Mark, Bess, Eomer, Barrett, Balin, and other civil and military officials. They spent the morning discussing and drafting a feasible plan to respond to the Toba pirate invasion.

Based on the actual situation at Norlanden, they aimed to annihilate the pirates on the outskirts as much as possible. Of course, this assumed that the number of invading Toba pirates was not too large; as long as the invaders did not exceed three hundred, they were confident in destroying them in open field combat. However, if the number exceeded three hundred, or reached five hundred or more, they would have to adopt a strategy of holding the territory while luring the enemy deep, confusing them while slowly wearing them down, sacrificing time, and allowing these Toba pirates to damage the territory's outlying facilities before seeking an opportunity to destroy them.

Using this strategy as the blueprint for the defense of Norlanden, although it was primarily set by Belion, it had been discussed by everyone, so there were no issues with understanding or execution. Belion increasingly emphasized guiding his subordinates to think independently and discuss together, as one person's strength is limited; he would make the final call on the big picture, but let those actually doing the work speak on specific matters. If he were to micromanage every single thing, he would exhaust himself, and those executing the tasks might not be satisfied either.

After the discussion, Belion did not keep everyone for lunch. There was much to do, so after the meeting, he had them hurry off to their respective duties. With the Toba pirates' arrival only days away, every second of the preparation phase was precious.

After everyone had left, apart from the squire, Bran, who remained, Mark also stayed in the meeting room. It seemed he had something to say to Belion, and for some reason, Mark insisted on it being private.

Belion glanced at Mark, stretched, and then shifted into a more comfortable position in his chair. He smiled and said, "Alright, everyone is gone now. You can tell me what is on your mind. Oh, by the way, Bran, go keep watch at the door. Unless the Toba curs have already breached the gates, do not let anything interrupt my talk with Steward Mark."

Bran nodded, grasped his sword, walked out of the meeting room, closed the door, and stood firmly at the entrance like a stone statue.

"Speak! Now that it's just the two of us, say whatever you need to say openly. There is no need to hold back now," Belion said to Mark.

Mark nodded, his expression serious. "My Lord, do you know what our monthly military expenditure is at Norlanden, including the cavalry?"

Belion was stunned for a moment by the question and then replied, "I haven't calculated the exact figure, but I did hand over quite a lot of money when I returned, the earnings from my time in Yanwiksho."

"Yes, my Lord, the castle treasury indeed has a significant amount of money stored, and the income from soap and ceramics is also quite substantial. But do you know how staggering the military expenses are?" Mark continued to ask.

Belion shook his head. "Just tell me, Mark."

"My Lord, in terms of wages and subsidies alone, the Norlanden infantry, militia, scouts, and cavalry cost five hundred dinars per week during peacetime. In times of battle, excluding bonuses, the wages and subsidies alone reach fifteen hundred dinars per week. If you add food, drink, weapons, armor, and fodder for the warhorses, from today onward, as we enter a state of war, we will be spending around three thousand dinars per week. If the Toba pirates don't arrive for half a month, we will have spent six thousand dinars. If the invading force is too large and we have to hold out for a month until winter arrives, our total expenditure will exceed twenty thousand dinars. This expense might not seem large, but my Lord, you must also consider the impact of the war on production and trade routes. Two months of sustained war without production or incoming merchant caravans could see our losses exceed thirty thousand dinars. If the enemy also destroys our fields and water mills, the losses will be incalculable," Mark said to Belion, looking at the data in his notebook with a profound tone.

Hearing these figures, Belion furrowed his brows. "Mark, you are telling me this, but I assume you don't want me to avoid the war. Are you trying to say that we are currently putting too many resources into military construction?"

Mark nodded with a relieved smile. "My Lord, I knew I couldn't hide my thoughts from you. Indeed, we cannot avoid this war with the Toba pirates; no matter the cost, we must fight. This is beyond question. Besides, with our current strength, even spending one or two hundred thousand dinars on a battle is nothing to fear."

Seeing Belion’s appreciative gaze encouraging him to continue, Mark perked up. "But we must consider long-term development. The military is currently squeezing production far too severely. To outfit the six hundred soldiers of the Norlanden infantry and militia, Hama and the craftsmen have been working day and night. Not to mention the heavy projectile weapons and cavalry equipment you ordered before you left for Yanwiksho; we rushed to complete those as well. If not for their gratitude toward you and the generous bonuses, these blacksmiths and leatherworkers would certainly have refused to work. Our craftsmen are so exhausted by military matters that they have no time to produce hoes, shovels, nails, leather clothing, and other goods, forcing us to buy them at high prices from passing caravans, or from Amondin and Normaburg. Beyond that, the military occupies too much of our labor force. Our territory's population is less than three thousand, yet the military accounts for more than one-fifth of that, and the primary able-bodied labor force is busy with the war effort. My Lord, my purpose in saying this is not to oppose you—please do not think ill of me for this—I am only thinking of Norlanden. I am loyal to you, I..."

Belion waved his hand, signaling him to stop. Belion sat upright, looking at Mark with an eager gaze, and said solemnly, "Brother Mark, thank you. If you hadn't brought this to my attention, I would never have noticed. I didn't realize that in a knight's territory with twenty-five blacksmiths, we are still buying hoes and nails from outsiders for the commoners—it's an absolute joke! Other knightly territories with only two or three blacksmiths can meet the daily needs of their people, yet we at Norlanden cannot. It is truly laughable."