Chapter 183: How About It? I Got It Quickly! (3)
Everyone’s good mood plummeted. It was hard to feel good when someone openly said they wanted to take soldiers away.
‘This guy really knows how to cross the line.’
‘Where on earth does someone ask for soldiers in exchange for food?!’
‘Just how much do they want? No matter what, our Lord won’t allow it anyway.’
If military strength is weak, it’s tough to control not only external threats but also disgruntled territory residents. In a way, military power can be seen as the foundation for maintaining a territory.
But even saying no was difficult. They just witnessed someone getting kicked out for misspeaking.
To those who couldn’t figure out what to do, Ghislaine spoke softly.
“Oh, it’s not that I’m asking for so many. The minimum is 50. Small Barony can send that many, while larger territories can send a bit more. Let’s do it without overburdening each other. In exchange, we will provide food for six months according to the scale of each territory.”
Compared to the initial demand for soldiers, it was a surprisingly reasonable proposal. At the mention of food for six months, some of the envoys nodded.
For the Small Barony, even 50 was not such a small number.
But it wasn’t too many that it couldn’t be given at all.
If they could spare 50 soldiers and receive six months’ worth of food, it would be a profitable deal.
The game of reading the room began again.
The envoy from the Small Barony quickly raised his hand.
“We will provide 50 soldiers!”
“I like the quick decision. Since you’re the first to speak, I’ll give you eight months’ worth of food.”
“Thank you!”
The atmosphere had completely shifted in favor of Ghislaine. The envoys who missed the first opportunity shouted eagerly.
“We will provide 100 soldiers!”
“Isn’t that from Count Loges? With such a big size, you’re only giving 100? Make it 200.”
“Uh, well…”
“If you don’t like it, withdraw. Get out.”
“No! We’ll do it!”
Once the dam broke, there was no stopping it.
Everyone rushed to offer soldiers according to the scale of their territories.
Amidst this enthusiastic atmosphere, someone sat there unable to speak.
Ghislaine noticed the person hesitating and pretended to be friendly.
“Hey, long time no see. How are the Count and Aunt doing?”
“Y-Your Highness. I mean, Baron, it’s been a while since we’ve met.”
The one greeting nervously was none other than the Chief Officer of Count Loges’ Territory.
He was from the same family as Cain, Ghislaine’s rival who had a duel with her long ago. The Chief Officer of Loges wiped the sweat off his brow and asked.
“How many should we send?”
Count Loges’ Territory was just as poor as Perdium. It wasn’t because they had to fend off northern barbarians or the Forest of Monsters like Perdium.
They were just simply poor because they had nothing.
With fewer than a thousand armed soldiers, even gathering conscripts wouldn’t total up to two thousand.
It will be.
But even in such a situation, Loges had perished alongside Perdium in his past life for siding with him. Ghislaine had never forgotten that loyalty and grace.
“Well, they’re family, so I can’t be too harsh. I’ll just give Loges a year’s worth of food.”
“Oh, ohh!”
Loges’ Chief Officer beamed with joy. No wonder everyone kept singing about connections, connections.
Others also displayed expressions of profound envy.
They couldn’t question why only Loges was getting things for free. After all, Count Perdium’s sister was Countess Loges, so the justification was more than enough.
“Ah, but if I just give it, it would look a bit off, so I’ll only take one soldier.”
Loges’ Chief Officer nodded with a bright smile. If they were giving food like that, what would be the problem with just accepting one soldier instead of a knight?
It was all just a facade.
Watching his demeanor, Ghislaine grinned wickedly.
“Cain, send Loges’ heir here. He hasn’t repaid my money.”
“He hasn’t repaid you?”
Loges’ Chief Officer looked bewildered by this unexpected news.
“Right, he borrowed a thousand gold from me and hasn’t paid it back. This is why you shouldn’t deal with family for money. It’s really disappointing.”
“Wha— a thousand gold?!”
A thousand gold! How could anyone borrow such a huge sum?
Loges’ Chief Officer shot a suspicious look.
He knew well enough that Ghislaine was a troublemaker. It was famous how he would harass the people of the territory and roam around with Cain.
So he couldn’t trust whether what he said was the truth.
“Is that really true?”
“Yep, seems Cain didn’t mention it.”
“The young master has been quietly focusing on his studies in the territory.”
“Seriously? That’s really funny, you know?”
“……”
Loges’ Chief Officer dropped his head in defeat.
In reality, his studying was just an excuse; Cain was simply holed up in his room and wouldn’t come out.
Even if someone asked why, he wouldn’t answer, leaving everyone clueless. They just assumed he was maturing a little.
Unlike before, he wasn’t bothering people and was living quietly.
In truth, Cain wasn’t maturing; he was just too scared to come out.
He couldn’t ask his parents for such a large sum, nor could he find a way to obtain it. So, he just remained hidden.
It was too embarrassing to admit the truth, and he was even more concerned about rumors spreading, which made him stay quiet.
The reason Cain was holding out without repaying the debt was that flimsy belief that hiding in the territory would be fine.
But Ghislaine had no reason to show him any kindness.
“Well, that’s something you can confirm directly. Anyway, that’s my condition. If you want a year’s worth of food, send Cain.”
“B-but how can I send young master Cain…?”
Sending the heir of the territory to Penris would be akin to taking him hostage.
It was not something the Chief Officer could casually accept.
Seeing him dripping with sweat, Ghislaine spoke softly.
“Go discuss it with the Count. He’ll know all about my recent contributions and will surely permit it. It’ll be a chance for the heirs to train and study together. We are… cousins, after all?”
“Very well! If that’s the case, the Count will undoubtedly grant permission.”
Only then did Loges’ Chief Officer give a nod.
Perdium and Loges were blood allies at heart.
Teaming up with Ghislaine would be a benefit, not a disadvantage for Cain.
Ghislaine was now a rising star among the Ruthanian nobility, backed by Marquis Branford.
“Understood. I will speak to the Count about it. It certainly won’t be a bad thing for young master Cain.”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s really a good thing for both of us.”
Of course, Ghislaine’s true feelings were completely different.
“If he shows up, he’s dead meat.”
How dare he mess with the Mercenary King’s money?
That kind of thing should not exist under the heavens.
Even a king from his past life would not dare to pull such a stunt.
It seemed that he had been a bit weak during the duel, lacking in training.
Those who overheard Ghislaine’s conversation with Chief Officer Rogess promised to provide as many soldiers as their authority allowed.
Because if they hesitated and word got out to send the territory’s heir, there would be chaos.
Once the negotiations concluded, Ghislaine emphasized again.
“You know I’m not just sending soldiers, right? I want their families sent too.”
The envoys were taken aback. They thought it would be fine to just send the soldiers, but sending their families too? That meant even more territory residents would be leaving than expected.
What they thought was a reasonable transaction turned out to be utterly unreasonable. If it were the norm, they wouldn’t suffer such a loss.
Their expressions soured at the unexpected loss of labor force from the territory.
Ghislaine clicked his tongue at the sight.
“Tsk tsk, just like always.”
To them, the territory residents were practically slaves. No, even better than slaves. They could collect taxes and didn’t have to feed them.
So separating families didn’t stir any emotion in them.
Everyone thought such things were natural in this era, so there was no point in cursing it.
But even if that was the case, Ghislaine had no intention of yielding.
Families living apart become a weakness for the soldiers. That way, the soldiers wouldn’t be able to exert their full strength.
Ghislaine was determined to eliminate that issue at its root.
The hesitant envoys reluctantly agreed to send the soldiers’ families as well. They had to hand them over to ensure the survival of the remaining people.
Of course, despite appearances, they were seething inside.
“Damn it, just wait. Once I get through this difficulty, I won’t let this slide.”
“That greenhorn thinks he can run wild because he trusts the Crown Prince faction nobles.”
“I should’ve struck here earlier to seize food and runestones.”
Upon hearing the rumors, they should have formed an alliance and attacked, taking everything.
They delayed due to mutual greed, checking for truth and caution.
Now they couldn’t even attack. With the high-ranking nobles of the Crown Prince faction backing them and the combined troops across territories, they were nearing a staggering 3,000.
With just food, they had acquired thousands of soldiers and territory residents.
Ghislaine drove the point home.
“It’ll take time to relocate the territory residents, so send the soldiers as quickly as possible. If they don’t arrive within fifteen days, we’ll consider it null and void.”
“Uh, understood.”
“And send them as a proper standing army. If you send half-baked soldiers, I’ll send them back on the spot.”
“Understood.”
The envoys, who had initially planned to fill the slots with draftees, abandoned any schemes. Getting caught by Ghislaine and having the deal fall through would mean famine for the entire territory.
The envoys immediately prepared to return. Time was tight, and there was no room for delay.
Once all the transactions were wrapped up, Ghislaine turned to Claude with a satisfied expression.
“What do you think? Didn’t we secure them quickly? Easy, right? Plus, we gained quite a few territory residents.”
“………”
Claude, who had witnessed the whole process, was left speechless.
What a brilliant maneuver. It’s tough to acquire people even with money, yet he resolved this issue in the blink of an eye.
And unlike the immigrants received up to this point, while there might be a difference in combat ability, they were trained soldiers he managed to obtain.
Combined with the territory’s forces, they exceeded 3,000. He truly delivered on his promise to gather that strength.
No matter how he thought about it, if he hadn’t predicted this drought, it would have been absolutely impossible.
In the end, Claude had no choice but to acknowledge it. Whether it was luck or genuine skill, this guy was truly impressive.
There was nothing to be done. Whether luck or real skill, this guy was truly something else.
So this time, instead of nagging, I just gave a thumbs up.
“Go ahead and do whatever you want.”
With a smug smile, Ghislaine gave Gillian new orders.
“Make sure the new soldiers can follow the protocol as quickly as possible with drill training. Mix them up into units without regard for regions. After all, we’re only sending infantry anyway.”
“Understood.”
We filled in the lacking soldiers. Even if they were only half-baked, we created hundreds of knights.
Both the Crown Prince Faction and the Duke Faction were too busy looking out for themselves to pay attention here.
There couldn’t be a better opportunity. Everything had been prepared meticulously for this very moment.
With a cold smile, Ghislaine said, “Now, we shall start the war.”
*
The soldiers sent from each territory arrived quickly. The lords, with their feet to the fire, tried to hide their displeasure while hastily wrapping up transactions.
The soldiers who were hurriedly gathered had a bewildered look on their faces. It was understandable since their living situation had changed suddenly.
But after a brief moment of confusion, their faces soon lit up at the sight of the plentiful food being provided.
“Wow, they weren’t kidding about the food being abundant.”
“I get to live in a place like this? Is this a dream or reality?”
For those who had been lacking food and not receiving adequate supplies, Penris was a dream territory.
Having only memories of starving and struggling under a wicked lord, any nostalgia for their hometown vanished in an instant.
The more they ate to their fill, the greater their attachment to the new territory grew. Not to mention, their families were expected to join them here soon.
There was no way it could turn out badly.
The soldiers were satisfied, and there were no significant difficulties in maintaining order among them. The migrated soldiers adapted to military discipline in just a week.
Basic training was already done, so there were no major difficulties. It was just about getting them to adjust to Penris’s military rules.
Indeed, feeding them well and giving them good sleep was the best strategy.
However, the soldiers’ spirits plummeted within days. Ghislaine called for all soldiers, announcing an impending deployment.
“War right after we just got here? Where are we attacking?”
“This is insane. But don’t we have quite a few numbers?”
Unlike the anxious soldiers, Ghislaine wore a satisfied expression as he surveyed the assembled troops.
The deployment force was a staggering 3,000, including knights. While they were mostly infantry, aside from the great lords in the North, there were few places that could boast such a force.
The soldiers sensed that their numbers were larger than expected, which gave them a bit of relief.
Claude, observing the army with Ghislaine, cautiously asked, “Um… it’s all good, but are we really going to invade without a declaration of war?”
“Of course. Why give them prep time? This war is all about speed and timing. We need to finish before anyone else can get involved. We can declare war once we get there.”
“Ugh…”
He wasn’t wrong. However, launching an ambush without a proper declaration would indeed invite a lot of criticism.
Above all, it would give the enemy a justification to respond the same way. That’s why everyone adhered to such pointless courtesies.
Don’t we need to declare war to do politics, request help from others, and prepare for what’s to come?
But Ghislaine genuinely thought it didn’t matter. After all, a barbaric age would soon arrive where such courtesies would be tossed aside.
Claude looked at Ghislaine with an expression of disbelief, shook his head several times, and said, “But are you really taking him with you?”
In one corner of the unit stood Cain, the heir of the Rogues territory, with a look of a country lost in debt.
