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Chapter 40
Chapter 40: Private Soldiers
It was another day of fine weather. A light drizzle had fallen in the morning, and sunlight pierced through the clouds, spilling across the boundless wheat fields on the earth.
In the eastern part of the Northern Territory, several calm rivers flowed through the flat, fertile land. Together with the protection of the highlands to the north, this place had become one of the Northern Territory’s few lands of fish and rice.
Jim, the commander of the Marquis Estate’s private soldiers, had been very troubled recently.
Because that special envoy from the Northern Ducal Estate, Mr. Jacob, had once again swaggered into the Marquis Estate.
Еǹ u_m ӑ .і̃d̈
Jim found it very difficult to combine a scholar’s courtesy and reason with a hoodlum’s shamelessness in the same person, but Jacob had presented him with the perfect example.
“Commander, you would not want the old Marquis to suffer because of your rudeness, would you?”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
That was the first sentence Jacob had said when Jim first met him.
Jim was helpless. The lives of the Marquis’ entire family were in the Duke’s hands. He could neither advance nor retreat. He could only force himself to hold on, hoping that his men would make the Duke wary enough that he would not directly kill the Marquis’ entire family.
Jacob said he had come to the Marquis Estate’s study under orders to look for several lost classics. Jim did not believe such a rotten excuse at all.
But just as Jacob had said, he had not even brought soldiers into the city. He had entered the heavily guarded Marquis Estate alone. Was Jim supposed to suspect him for that?
W̊e b̆n о_v ӗ l Е̃ ň u m̂ǎ
If Jim would not even agree to this small request, then Jacob could only go back and tattle to the Duke.
With no other choice, Jim could only agree to this scoundrel’s demand and allow him to freely enter and leave the Marquis’ study. However, he was not allowed to bring in or take away anything. Even if he found the classics, they had to be inspected before he could remove them.
“Sir, you have not come for several days. Are you going to the study again today?”
Jim greeted him politely as usual. Jacob walked into the hall, first looking east and west before casually answering, “No. Today, I am here to help find people.”
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“Find whom? Does Sir know anyone in the Marquis Estate?” Jim became a little more guarded, only to see Jacob slowly take out a long list from his pocket. It was densely filled with names, places of origin, and home addresses.
The list stretched out and dropped to the ground. Jacob lightly coughed and began calling names. “Armand, Elfins, Bob... Jack, Jess...”
Е̇ń ũ m̊а
With a sharp crack in Jim’s mind, he reached out and snatched the list away, shocked. “Where did you get the soldiers’ information?!”
He could not be blamed for being shocked, because the list in Jacob’s hands was entirely filled with the names of soldiers under his command.
“What is the Commander doing?” Although Jacob’s list had been taken away, he was not angry. Instead, he said with a serious expression, “Commander, please return the list to me quickly. These people’s parents are already waiting outside the city. I still need to let their families reunite.”
Jim threw the list away. His expression changed drastically as he quickly drew the sword at his waist and placed it against Jacob’s neck, saying viciously, “Jacob, you damned traitor. I knew you had no good intentions!”
“Commander, what are you saying?” Jacob cupped his hands. There was not the slightest trace of fear in his eyes, and he smiled openly.
“Letting their families reunite now is still better than having their parents carry their corpses home later, is it not?”
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“Or can the Commander guarantee that your brothers will all be able to return home safely in the future?”
With a clang, the sword in Jim’s hand fell to the ground. He understood. He understood everything.
When Jacob entered the study, how was he looking for classics? He had been searching for the list of soldiers under the Marquis, then using several days to memorize all this information.
Now he had brought all the soldiers’ relatives here. He was here to strike at their hearts!
At this moment, the soldiers in the hall whose names had been called all wore strange expressions. They seemed not to know how to respond to this absurd situation.
Only after hearing that their parents had come did a little anticipation appear in their eyes.
Éňù m ä ._іd̂
Those whose names had not been called became nervous. They had not returned home in more than half a year and knew nothing about the situation at home.
“Sir, what about me? Did my father and mother come?”
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When these words entered his ears, Jim painfully closed his eyes and staggered several steps back.
On one side was loyalty to the Marquis. On the other was his brothers’ filial devotion to their parents. When these two emotions were placed on the scales of fate, he finally realized how cruel and ruthless the future was.
No one knew when the Duke would come to deal with this group of private soldiers. Perhaps it would be today, perhaps tomorrow. In any case, when that day arrived, countless families would be shattered.
“If the Commander is worried, why not rent out a restaurant and invite the soldiers to eat a meal with their relatives?”
E n̊u̇ḿ а̂ . іd̊
Jacob’s words were gentle, but they made Jim feel as though he had fallen into an icy cavern. He suddenly opened his eyes and said with something between a sigh and a laugh, “Killing without using a blade. Sir truly has... a fine scheme.”
Half an hour later, the city gate opened wide. A large group of old farmers stretched their necks and stood on tiptoe to look around, yet they still did not see the people they wanted to see.
Only Jacob hurried over with a smile and invited them into the city.
“Everyone, everyone, please follow me. The Commander has already prepared a banquet to celebrate your reunion with your children!”
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A large group of people entered the city in a grand procession. The city had not been this lively in a long time. Ever since Red had led troops into the Marquis Estate, emptied the estate’s reserves, and left behind the news that the Marquis’ family had been placed under house arrest, the city had quickly grown silent.
On one hand, the residents had fled one after another. On the other hand, Jim had issued a strict martial-law order forbidding outsiders from entering the city without permission.
Eň ü m̃а
So when the restaurant owner was sitting idly at the entrance and suddenly saw a large group of people heading straight toward the restaurant, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Then he leaped three feet into the air and rushed inside, shouting anxiously, “Quick! Hurry and buy ingredients! A lot of guests have come!”
The city seemed to regain its vitality.
On the top floor of the restaurant, Jim and Jacob sat opposite each other at the dining table.
Even Jim could not help revealing a smile as he looked down at the sea of celebration below.
“Commander, take care of yourself in the future. I will set off and leave tomorrow.” Jacob poured a cup of wine for each of them and was the first to raise his cup.
Who would have thought that Jim would not buy it at all? He continued tilting his head and sneered coldly.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“Sir has left me with a pile of messes, and now you already want to leave?”
Jacob did not mind either. He drained the cup of wine in one gulp and replied calmly.
“Commander is only speaking in anger. I did this entirely out of goodwill. To say something that perhaps should not be said, even if all of you live, you cannot save the Marquis. The more miserably you die, the heavier the anger in the Duke’s heart will become. At that point, I fear the Marquis will die without even a burial place.”
“Come, let us not speak of this. Drink.”
Seeing that Jacob was about to pour wine again, Jim grabbed his hand and stared straight at him. “Sir is talented. Since you have come this time, you must be here to guide us. Why not show us a clear road?”
“How the road is walked lies entirely in the Commander’s own thoughts.” Jacob sighed, but Jim tightened his grip, showing a faint hint of pressure.
Ẽ nùm̊a . ïd̂
“The old Marquis showed me kindness. I must repay it.”
“What does the kindness of one man count for?” Jacob quickly pulled his hand free and said coldly, “Last year, the Northern Territory was defeated in war and then struck by disaster. Starving common people collapsed in Ice City’s heavy snow. More than half of them came from the east, which is known as a land of fish and rice, and from the old Marquis’ vast territory. Does the Commander not know this?”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“If we are speaking of kindness, then the Duke’s kindness toward you people of the east is far greater. He distributed grain for relief free of charge, allocated land for cultivation free of charge, and paid wages without withholding anything! Of all these things, which one did the Marquis ever do?”
Jim fell silent, unable to answer.
He knew that the old Marquis had not been a good lord. Not only had he greedily seized land, but he had also secretly contacted the surrounding nobles to purchase the farmers’ agricultural products at suppressed prices.
Why had the famine been most severe in the east? Was it not because the old Marquis had sold most of his stored grain to grain merchants for money? He had even ordered Jim to drive the refugees to Ice City in order to prevent them from causing trouble...
W é b̀n òv̊ ėl Е̌ṅ ǔ m а
So even to this day, aside from these private soldiers who had received some small favor, who in the east still cared whether the old Marquis lived or died?
The people who had been given land could not wait for the Duke to cut the Marquis down with one slash, lest the Marquis come to demand debts from them in the future.
Moreover, to put it bluntly, the Marquis treated the private soldiers well because he needed a violent group to maintain his rule so he could better squeeze the people at the bottom.
How could Jim not understand this? It was precisely because he understood that he was in pain.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
In the past, he had merely been a wandering orphan without father or mother. It was the Marquis who had given him a bowl of rice to eat and found him teachers to study literature and martial arts. After he grew up, the Marquis had even allowed him to leap into becoming a general who commanded several thousand people.
Without the Marquis, he would have starved to death long ago.
W eḃ n о v̀ е̊ ĺ Е n u m̆ à
But if he truly fought a bloody battle for the Marquis, then the brothers by his side would die as rebels, and not one of them would survive. Their parents and families would not only have to endure the pain of losing loved ones, but they might even never be able to lift their heads again in the Northern Territory for the rest of their lives.
“If, when I was young, there had been a lord like the Duke presiding over the Northern Territory, I would have been willing to fight for him my entire life. Unfortunately, I never met one...”
Jim finally picked up his wine cup and drained it in one gulp.
He had already made his decision. Even someone without parents like him still felt so lonely and helpless. Then what kind of despair would those parents fall into if they had to watch their children die with their own eyes?
He could not let these brothers-in-arms become rebels and die in their own homeland.
Jacob rose and poured wine for him, his face once again regaining its gentle smile.
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“I have some good news here. Does the Commander want to know it?”
Jim continued drinking in large mouthfuls, glared at him, then heavily set down the cup.
“Sir, I know the Duke hopes to resolve the issue of the eastern private soldiers without bloodshed. Since things have reached this point, what else do you need to hide from me?”
Jim now understood how terrifying these scholars could be. With such an ingenious way to break the deadlock, even if he gritted his teeth and held on until the end, this battle could no longer be fought.
Hearts longed to return home. Once the Duke’s army arrived, perhaps these brothers would join hands to bind him and deliver him to the Duke that very day as a surrender gift.
Jacob shook his head with a bitter smile. “A few days ago, news came from Ice City. Someone successfully rescued Miss Annie. Now, there are no longer any soldiers guarding the Marquis Estate in Ice City.”
Еn̄.ü m̊ а . id
“What do you mean?” Jim did not understand. The wine cup he had just picked up stopped in midair. Logically speaking, now that Annie had been rescued, the Duke should have become even more guarded. Why would he withdraw the guards?
“Does the Commander still not understand? What the Duke was truly guarding against was Miss Annie, who possessed the Wishing Star. As for that useless old sack of wine and rice, the old Marquis, the Duke never took him seriously at all.”
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Jim understood, especially that phrase “sack of wine and rice.” So he stood up and hurriedly asked, “You mean?”
Jacob said solemnly, “If the Commander is willing to believe me, then come with me to Ice City. I dare guarantee that after the Duke accepts your loyalty, he will definitely not make things difficult for the old Marquis.”
“I do not believe you. You are a liar and a hypocritical fellow,” Jim answered instantly, wine fumes spraying from his nostrils. After a brief moment of thought, his gaze turned firm again. “But I am willing to believe the Duke. Or rather, I have always wanted to meet the Duke in person.”
Jacob: ...
W̊ѐ b̊ no v̌е̂ĺ Ӗnu mа̌_
For some reason, he did not feel the slightest joy of having completed his mission.
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