Chapter 60: Persuasion to Surrender
Baron Lanwan's Territory
The acquisition of a large quantity of orichalcum ore had briefly lifted Charlotte's spirits. However, her joy was short-lived, as she soon realized the situation was more complicated than it initially appeared.
Smelting orichalcum ore was notoriously difficult, demanding not only higher temperatures but also exceptionally stable furnace conditions. The Ambratu people's technology was far from advanced enough to smelt orichalcum at a rate that could keep pace with their mining efforts, leading to overflowing warehouses.
Metallurgical technology in the Ambratu city-state was underdeveloped, and Baron Lanwan's territory wasn't much better. The craftsmen of Lanwan and Ambratu, a group who considered themselves geniuses, toiled for four or five days only to produce a pile of dull, grayish material. Reportedly, this substance required a second round of smelting to become the golden orichalcum Charlotte had envisioned.
Unable to watch this unproductive effort any longer, Charlotte decided to personally intervene and improve the furnaces. Her modifications weren't particularly revolutionary; she simply implemented a multi-stage air-blowing system and redesigned the flues to utilize the furnace's waste heat for preheating the incoming air.
"There, that should do the trick!"
Charlotte clapped her hands, admiring her newly improved furnace with satisfaction.
The craftsmen were full of praise for Charlotte's ingenuity. Even though her improved furnace hadn't been tested in practice yet, they had never encountered or even heard of a noble so willing to share their knowledge so openly.
"You could have left the furnace improvements to the craftsmen. Why did you come here yourself?" Cecilia asked, looking slightly exasperated at Charlotte's self-satisfied expression.
Charlotte couldn't help but feel annoyed by this. "You have no idea how clueless these craftsmen are. I explained things to them repeatedly, but they just didn't grasp the concepts. I even drew diagrams, but they couldn't even understand the labels. I've had enough! This generation is hopeless. We really need to focus on educating the next one, but right now, we're short on teachers…"
Cecilia sighed. "You still need to prioritize. The ore doesn't need to be smelted today or tomorrow, but the issues at the market require immediate attention."
The market Charlotte had established, which included the largest casino in the Oran Empire, had recently opened. While it lacked glamorous dealers, Charlotte had visited the previous day and found the business to be quite promising. In an era with limited entertainment options, the flashy gambling games Charlotte had introduced were highly appealing. Not only merchants, travelers, and mercenaries were drawn to them, but even the local knights of Lanwan couldn't resist trying their luck.
"You can handle the market affairs yourself," Charlotte said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
The casino was not for the faint of heart, and Charlotte was well aware that running such an establishment would inevitably lead to problems. However, she couldn't afford to deal with every minor issue personally or she would be overwhelmed.
"But there are some matters I simply can't decide on my own," Cecilia said, looking troubled.
"What matters?" Charlotte asked, taking a glass of juice from Renee and sipping it casually.
Cecilia opened the notebook she was carrying. "First, there's the issue with the horse racing track. Some of the squire knights who were supposed to participate today suddenly backed out, so the races had to be canceled."
"Why did they suddenly withdraw?" Charlotte asked, puzzled.
"It's likely related to yesterday's races. Two squire knights made mistakes during the event – one accidentally fell off his horse, and the other was tripped by the first knight's mount. Both had to drop out. The disgruntled bettors cursed at them harshly, and the two squire knights nearly got into a fight with them," Cecilia explained.
Charlotte nodded, understanding that it was essentially a matter of pride.
Baron Lanwan's territory was relatively poor. Aside from knights and squire knights, almost no one else owned horses, let alone knew how to ride them. The knights, being nobles, were unlikely to participate in races for the entertainment of commoners or even slaves, leaving Charlotte with no choice but to have the squire knights compete.
In reality, squire knights were commoners. However, they didn't see themselves that way, believing they were already halfway to nobility, if not fully noble. Being criticized by commoners and slaves was a significant insult to them, and losing a race only to be cursed at by angry bettors was more than they could tolerate.
Even though Charlotte had offered generous prizes based on race rankings, the squire knights no longer wished to participate.
As Charlotte's chief civil officer, Cecilia had no authority to command knights or squire knights. When the squire knights skipped their duties, all she could do was report the matter to Charlotte.
After a moment of thought, Charlotte said, "Notify Herman Green and tell him I've ordered the squire knights to return to the races. Then, revise the rewards. In addition to the prize money, the top three riders each season will each receive a belt inscribed with 'Strongest Rider' by Baron Lanwan himself. The top rider will also be given the opportunity to participate in the initiation ceremony of the Royal Griffin Knights."
This way, the races would take on more of a sense of honor rather than just being about monetary gain, making it easier for the squire knights to justify their participation.
Cecilia nodded, jotting down Charlotte's instructions, and then continued, "Second, there's a proposal to establish a combat arena in the market. This suggestion has received considerable support from both commoners and knights."
The combat arena was essentially this world's version of a gladiatorial arena. However, in this world, battles between humans and animals were rare. Most of the time, it was humans fighting each other. This "sport" was popular not only in the Oran Empire and the Sokya Peninsula but across the entire Eagle Continent and even other continents.
It seemed that compared to cockfights or dogfights, the people of this world preferred to watch "human fights." Charlotte inwardly scoffed at their barbarism but didn't hesitate to say, "Then establish a combat arena. In fact, don't just establish one. Create multiple arenas based on whether weapons and armor are used, the level of equipment (light or heavy), and whether the fighters are awakened, and if so, their wing level – one-winged, two-winged, or three-winged."
Cecilia noted this down as well and then added, "There's one more thing. Many guests from the Sokya Peninsula have mentioned that they only have their city-state's currency and lack Fuso, but our casino only accepts Fuso, so they can't participate in our games."
After a long moment of thought, Charlotte said, "Set up a currency exchange in the market to convert Dier into Fuso for our guests. Remember, we only accept Dier. We won't accept any of the other miscellaneous currencies from the city-states."
Then, with a sly smile, Charlotte added, "Also, the exchange will only convert Dier into Fuso, not the other way around."
Cecilia didn't understand why Charlotte emphasized this last point, but since Charlotte didn't explain, she simply noted it down and prepared to carry out the order.
Sokya Peninsula, Batan
Batan was a mid-sized city-state on the Sokya Peninsula, known for its beautiful scenery and a delicious local wine. However, Mariasis was in no mood to appreciate any of this.
Mariasis was the general of the 2,000-strong citizen militia sent by Ambratu to the front lines of the war against the Aye Alliance. About half a month ago, Mariasis received news that his homeland had gone to war with Little Sarsini and suffered a devastating defeat. He immediately requested leave from the alliance to return home with his troops.
As the leader of the Aye Alliance, the city-state of Feidi was reluctant to let Mariasis and his men go, as the front lines were under heavy pressure. Moreover, Ambratu had initiated the civil war within the alliance, which put them in the wrong. Mariasis pleaded with the Feidi commander, even going so far as to threaten, "If you don't let us go home, I can't guarantee that my soldiers won't surrender to the Delmo on the battlefield." Finally, he was allowed to lead his troops back.
However, halfway home, Mariasis received another piece of devastating news: Lanwan had captured Ambratu.
Now, his army was like a rootless weed, a pack of stray dogs.
Sitting in a tavern by the docks of Batan, Mariasis drank cup after cup of wine, his heart filled with confusion. He didn't know what to do or where to go.
Out of respect for their shared membership in the Aye Alliance, the city-state of Batan allowed the Ambratu militia to temporarily station there. However, they couldn't stay indefinitely. Moreover, the army's funds and rations were dwindling. If they continued to wander, they would starve.
"I didn't expect to find you here, outside the camp," a familiar voice suddenly said.
Mariasis looked up in surprise to see a man sitting across from him. "Logan?"
"You're not supposed to drink during a march," the one-eyed Logan said with a smile.
The reason Logan had been so confident in assuring Charlotte that he could persuade the militia to surrender was that their general, Mariasis, was an old friend of his. Logan knew Mariasis's personality well: he was steady but indecisive, often overthinking things. Logan believed he had a good chance of convincing Mariasis to surrender.
Mariasis wasn't in the mood for jokes. His slightly tipsy mind quickly cleared, and he stood up excitedly. "Logan, did the elders send you? What are their instructions?"
Logan shook his head. "The council is finished. The elders are all locked up in the dungeons of Ambratu. There are no more instructions."
Mariasis sat back down, disappointed. "Then why are you here?"
"I've come on behalf of Baron Lanwan," Logan said.
Mariasis's eyes narrowed. "Baron Lanwan? What does she want?"
"Baron Lanwan hopes to persuade you and your men to surrender," Logan said.
Mariasis studied his old friend, his right hand resting on the hilt of his dagger. His gaze, sharp as a blade, occasionally flicked to Logan's neck, as if contemplating slitting it.
The silence between them stretched for a long time before Mariasis finally spoke coldly. "I'm planning to lead my troops to retake Ambratu. Why would I surrender to Baron Lanwan? You must be dreaming!"
"Retake Ambratu?" Logan chuckled. "If you still had the strength to do that, I wouldn't be here trying to persuade you to surrender! I've already visited your camp. It's full of wounded soldiers, and of the original 2,000 troops, fewer than 1,500 remain. Of the 300 awakened, fewer than 200 are left. How do you plan to counterattack with that?"
The state of the army made Logan both relieved and regretful. Relieved because their dire situation made it easier to persuade them to surrender, and regretful because the loss of so many awakened soldiers meant that even if he succeeded, his own merit would be diminished.
Mariasis opened his mouth but couldn't find the words to respond. Finally, he said, "Even so, I can't surrender to someone who invaded my city-state!"
"Actually, Baron Lanwan didn't want to invade Ambratu. It was the council and the citizen assembly's fault…"
Logan recounted the story of Pand's assassination of Harvey Sherwin, the citizen assembly's refusal to punish Pand, and the council's inaction. He concluded, "Is this Baron Lanwan's fault? She sent troops to protect Ambratu when Little Sarsini invaded, and after her cousin was killed, she continued to provide aid to Ambratu. Does that sound like the actions of a villain?"
"Is that true?" Mariasis was shocked by the complexity of the situation.
"Of course, it's true. I swear it on the Lord," Logan said without hesitation. "Everyone in Ambratu knows this. You can ask anyone when you return. If it's false, you can cut out my tongue."
Mariasis fell silent again, unsure how to judge the rights and wrongs of the situation.
Seeing this, Logan breathed a sigh of relief. When Mariasis had been staring at his neck earlier, Logan's back had been drenched in sweat, fearing that his old friend might cut off his head in a fit of rage. Now that Mariasis was hesitating again, Logan knew his life was likely safe.
"Do you know who's currently governing Ambratu?" Logan pressed on.
"Isn't it Baron Lanwan?" Mariasis asked, confused.
Logan shook his head. "Baron Lanwan has promised that Ambratu will be governed by its own people. So, the current ruler of Ambratu is still an Ambratu native – a man named Jonathan Hackman. Have you heard of him?"
It took Mariasis a moment to recall the name. "The merchant who sued Elder Martin Kramer?"
"That's him," Logan nodded, his expression serious. "Although Baron Lanwan has no intention of harshly punishing the people of Ambratu, this Jonathan Hackman harbors deep resentment toward all Lanwan citizens. He's been arresting people left and right in Ambratu, conducting witch hunts. Even Elder Martin Kramer was hanged by him. He's trying to make all the citizens of Ambratu pay for the deaths of his family. I'm here to persuade you to surrender not for my own sake, but to save the more than 10,000 citizens of Ambratu who are still alive!"
"Me? How can I save them?" Mariasis's eyes were filled with confusion.
"The biggest problem facing the citizens of Ambratu right now is their lack of leadership. The elders are either imprisoned or dead. No one can lead the citizens, and no one can speak on their behalf to Baron Lanwan. That's why Jonathan Hackman has been able to act so recklessly. You've fought for Ambratu for over a year, earning great merit and prestige among the citizens. If you can bring nearly 200 awakened soldiers to surrender to Lanwan, Baron Lanwan will surely value you. That way, you'll be able to speak on behalf of the Ambratu people and save them from Jonathan Hackman's blade."
Logan laid out the situation for Mariasis, concluding with a heartfelt sigh.
"Mariasis, don't hesitate. There are over 10,000 citizens waiting for your help, including your own family. Come back with me."
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