Chapter 414: The Enemy is in Maribor
The rain hammered on the armor, sounding like a constant din. Because of the downpour, the streets were empty. The entire city was as silent as a grave.
The ominous feeling in the Count of Maribor's heart grew stronger, and he urged his personal guard to quicken their pace. While still some distance from the city gate, he suddenly heard, mixed in with the sound of the rain, the shouts of fighting and the blare of warning horns.
The Count's heart instantly chilled.
"Enemy attack!"
By this time, the city gate was already open. The Kovir soldiers poured in continuously.
Maribor had few standing troops. Although the Count had issued an order to conscript citizens, the order had only been delivered during the day, and by night, they had barely managed to summon a few hundred militiamen. Furthermore, these militiamen hadn't even been issued pikes yet; they had only been assembled.
When the witchers launched their surprise attack under the cover of the rainy night, even the Count of Maribor's ordered doubling of the night watch was useless. The late night combined with the heavy rain provided too great an advantage to the attackers.
This night assault was even smoother than the one at Rákverellin. The torrential rain not only muffled sounds but also severely hampered the visibility of the defenders. After the witchers opened the gate to let the Kovir army enter, it became impossible for Maribor's garrison to organize any effective resistance. Even when the Count of Maribor and his personal guard joined the fray, their small numbers could not reverse the defeat. It was merely a dying struggle.
When the darkness was dispelled by sunlight, and morning arrived, the battle had long since concluded.
The citizens hiding in their homes cautiously opened their windows, looking out with a mix of fear and confusion. They were astonished to find that the arrogant Count who had ruled them seemed to have been defeated. Yet, the victorious army, contrary to expectation, was not looting the city. Instead, they were maintaining order in the streets, arresting those who tried to steal and rob amidst the chaos.
The next day, the citizens were brought from their homes to the central square. Soldiers holding weapons surrounded the square, which caused no small amount of panic. Some citizens even mistakenly believed they had been summoned for a massacre.
However, their fears did not materialize. A young man, escorted by a contingent of soldiers, ascended the high platform in front of the square. He first introduced himself and informed everyone present that from now on, they would be under his protection. Most citizens breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
The young man then issued several new regulations. Most of them were similar to those set by the previous ruler, the Count of Maribor, who had died in the rainy night two days prior: for example, a nightly curfew, prohibiting civilians from staying outside after dark unless they were soldiers; and prohibiting private duels between citizens, requiring all disputes to be reported to the city hall for resolution.
However, there were three important new regulations that differed from the previous ruler:
First, no one was allowed to relieve themselves indiscriminately in the city. A first offense would result in a fine, three offenses or more would result in a flogging, and more than ten offenses would lead to the direct confiscation of the "tools of the crime."
Second, no one was allowed to drink river or well water directly; all water had to be boiled before consumption.
Finally, and most importantly, the new lord lowered their taxes. When the Count of Maribor was in charge, citizens had to pay roughly sixty to seventy percent of their income. The new lord, however, told them that from now on, they only had to pay forty percent, leaving them with the remaining sixty percent.
This immediately made the citizens feel that changing rulers didn't actually affect them much; in fact, if the new ruler kept his promise, the change would be for the better.
Maribor was once a city-state, and its territory naturally included not only the city but also large tracts of land outside the walls. The land outside the city originally belonged to the Count's vassals, but many of those vassals had died in the campaign to invade the Marquisate of Targo. In the fierce battle of the rainy night, the remaining vassals were either killed or had fled. In other words, the city and the vast lands outside suddenly became masterless territory overnight.
Lynn immediately promoted the witchers and the soldiers who had performed most bravely and outstandingly in the night battle to the rank of Knight. He bestowed upon each of them a Knight's Fief.
The witchers' reaction was moderate. They already believed that following Lynn would lead to a bright and expansive future. The soldiers, however, were different. When Lynn had made his promise before, they hadn't exactly dismissed it, but they certainly hadn't taken it seriously. Lynn had said he would reward loyal and brave soldiers, promoting them to Knights and granting them land. But they thought Lynn was merely making empty promises.
After all, in this world, examples of commoners being promoted to Knight were rare. Furthermore, they were already criminals under sentence. To receive higher pay than ordinary soldiers was already an extraordinary grace; they couldn't dare to ask for more. Therefore, none of them, including Commander Julia, had held any further hopes.
It was only now, when Lynn actually bestowed the title of Knight and land upon the soldiers who had performed most bravely that night, that the soldiers realized Lynn was serious.
Immediately, the soldiers were galvanized. If one could measure it, the loyalty of the soldiers to Lynn instantly skyrocketed.
Next, the army rested in Maribor for a week. Lynn did not remain idle during this rest period. He conscripted two hundred men from the citizens to form a City Watch. He planned to leave one hundred soldiers and these two hundred Watch members to defend Maribor.
The Hengfors League was already severely weakened, and the dissatisfaction of the nobles in the other city-states toward King Nedamir had reached its peak. Therefore, even if King Nedamir learned that Maribor was occupied and tried to summon nobles to form an army, the other nobles would not respond. Thus, three hundred men were certainly enough for the task of defending against roaming bandits and brigands.
Furthermore, Lynn had taken the time to individually check the two hundred Watch members using the Axii Sign, confirming they were all honest, respectable people willing to work diligently. He could safely entrust the city to them.
As for the city's original officials, Lynn made only minor adjustments. As long as the Axii Sign indicated they were reliable workers, Lynn allowed them to continue their duties. Only those who were utterly useless or harbored ill will toward him were removed.
A week later, Lynn led the remaining army to Kreïden, which bordered Maribor. The process was much the same, and the result was identical. Kreïden, with its minimal garrison, was once again taken by Lynn. Lynn again distributed land to the brave soldiers, promoting them to Knights.
Any modern person reading this might already understand what Lynn was doing. It was essentially a modified version of the Policy of Concessions (a historical Chinese policy designed to weaken nobles). In this era, adopting a complete Leninist system would face too much resistance. First, productivity was low, and second, Enlightenment thought had not yet emerged; openly fighting the established social order would only lead to disaster. Taking too big a step risks tearing something crucial. There were such examples in Lynn's home world.
In this era, the desire and attachment to land were deeply ingrained in people's bones. No amount of salary could compare to giving them a piece of land they could call their own. There was an example of this in The Witcher 3: Sangreal wine, exclusive to the Ducal family of Toussaint, was stored in the Corvo Bianco vineyard. Fabio Gross, the estate's steward, had food, drink, and a high salary paid by the Duchess. In others' eyes, he should have worked diligently to repay the Duchess's kindness.
Yet, Fabio secretly sold the Sangreal wine from the estate and pocketed the money. His reason was even more bizarre: he simply needed a large sum of money to buy back the family estate his spendthrift father had sold off. Although Fabio's crime was eventually exposed and he received the punishment he deserved, his story served as a cautionary tale.
This is why Lynn was giving land to his soldiers and promoting them to Knights. Doing so not only set an example and motivated the entire army, encouraging his subordinates to fight bravely, but also firmly bound these men to him. If his regime were to collapse, everything they possessed would be lost with it. Therefore, they were intrinsically motivated to defend Lynn's rule to protect their own gains.
Finally, there was one more important reason:
The Nilfgaardian Empire could field a professional army of over three hundred thousand standing troops largely because they rewarded soldiers with land based on military merit established on the battlefield. This is why Nilfgaard had been continuously expanding and growing stronger over the past few decades.
Cintra and Skellige were both known as martial cultures. Yet, in the First Northern War, Cintra fell rapidly, its royal city captured by the Nilfgaardians, and Queen Calanthe committed suicide by leaping from a tower on the day the city fell.
Why did this happen? What happened to the martial race?
The main reason was the structural problem of the Kingdom of Cintra's system. All Northern Kingdoms still adhered to the traditional medieval feudal system, and Cintra was no exception. Therefore, when the Nilfgaardian army entered the Marnadal Valley, Queen Calanthe had only just mobilized her own direct forces. As for the armies of the vassals scattered throughout Cintra, they had not even finished gathering, let alone arrived. By the time the other vassal armies assembled, the royal city would have long been flying the Sun emblem.
Therefore, to counter Nilfgaard's black army, strengthening central authority was essential.
The people of this era craved land, didn't they? Very well.
I will not ask about bloodline or birth. Anyone who loyally serves me, Lynn Augustus, and fights bravely, can be promoted to Knight and gain land.
I give you the land, and you don't have to worry about anything else. I will arrange for stewards, tax collectors, magistrates, legislators, and their supporting officials. Some might wonder where Lynn would find so many talented people. This was not difficult. With so many graduates from Novigrad's schools and Oxenfurt Academy each year, posting a long-term recruitment notice on the main notice board in Novigrad's Hierarch Square would naturally draw a stream of applicants.
In short, I will handle all affairs on your domain for you. You just have to lie back and count your money.
Moreover, your land can be inherited by your direct descendants. In the future, your descendants can follow your example, become Knights, and continue to fight for the House of Augustus.
Of course, the Knights mentioned here were literally Knights, whose status and power were higher than commoners, not sergeants who had lost their personal freedom, endured arduous duties, and suffered multiple exploitations.
The Knights Lynn enfeoffed would form the core foundation of his future rule over the Hengfors League. If anyone opposed him due to his non-noble and witcher background, they would essentially be positioning themselves against these Knights who had gained tangible benefits.
Furthermore, once the Hengfors League was completely occupied by Lynn, he would arrange for these Knights to receive standardized officer training and military education. In the future, they would be the key to the low and mid-level command structure of Lynn's army.
After Lynn consecutively occupied Maribor and Kreïden, King Nedamir, who was wrestling with domestic opposition, finally realized the severity of the situation. Acknowledging the aggressive momentum of the enemy, King Nedamir made concessions, accepting some demands from the opposition nobles and temporarily achieving a truce with the domestic opposition.
Having eliminated the risk of civil war, King Nedamir managed to scrape together an army. He prepared to establish a defense in the city of Króle. Based on previous experience, the Kovir army should soon advance from Kreïden into the heartland of the Hengfors League, Króle.
However, King Nedamir waited and waited, but the Kovir army failed to appear. This caused King Nedamir and the nobles under him to grow uneasy. Does the Kovir army not intend to occupy the entire Hengfors League?
Days later, the Kovir army still hadn't arrived, and the nobles in Króle were squabbling amongst themselves. The nobles from Holopole who had been summoned believed they should be allowed to take their troops back to Holopole.
Because the Kovir army hadn't appeared for so many days, it was highly likely they had bypassed Króle and gone to attack Holopole. The Holopole nobles had brought all their city's troops to Króle in response to King Nedamir's call. If the Kovir army truly went to Holopole, the city would likely surrender as soon as the Kovir banner appeared outside its walls.
The nobles of Kaedwen and Króle naturally refused to allow the Holopole nobles to withdraw their forces. Are you kidding?
Everyone should be working together to fight the enemy. If you pull out, and he pulls out, will we even fight this war? We might as well all just surrender to Kovir. After all, they split from Kovir in the first place, so surrendering now wouldn't be considered an act of treason.