Count Henry’s territory.

A temporary camp, set up for rest during Fang Zhen’s march.

Inside the main command tent, Fang Zhen was meeting with Agatha, Matthew, and two of Henry’s former personal Knights who had shown a strong desire to get closer to him.

Fang Zhen had won over another three Knights on his march, bringing the total number of Henry’s former personal Knights under his command to seven.

The two men before him, one named Tahar and the other Finn, were both very pragmatic.

Fang Zhen was short on manpower, so he brought them into his considerations, treating them as semi-insiders and including them in planning and counsel for important matters.

Inside the tent, a map was spread out on a simple campaign table.

The Knight, Finn, was enthusiastically explaining the map to Fang Zhen.

Finn was thirty-seven or thirty-eight, a Knight’s golden age. His stamina was at its peak and his experience was maturing; he was in his prime.

Finn was a practical man. Previously, not only had Henry owed money to Duke Tarrenno, but he had also ordered his Knights to plunder for military funds. Finn had refused and was consequently assigned to a marginal post.

Now that Fang Zhen had replaced Henry, Finn saw his chance. He proactively latched onto this new patron, as if to say, ’I’m not trying to prove how great I am, I just want to take back what I’ve lost.’

Perhaps having learned a lesson from being too rigid with Henry, Finn was now much more tactful in his service to Fang Zhen.

Fang Zhen thought this was great.

Henry had paid the cost of the lesson, but Fang Zhen was the one enjoying the dividends.

Finn was very capable, and as long as he was paid well, Fang Zhen wasn’t afraid of his betrayal.

For Finn, finding a Lord who paid promptly was no easy feat these days.

"My lord, we are half a day’s journey from Nottingham City," Finn said, pointing at the map. "However, we might encounter Grand Duke Tarrenno’s army before we arrive."

"Grand Duke Tarrenno just clashed with Duke Balenzuo’s army on the border. It seems the battle didn’t go well, and now he’s retreating. Looks like he’s heading to Nottingham City to shake them down."

Fang Zhen glanced at the map spread across the table.

Topographically, the main route through Count Henry’s sphere of influence was a U-shaped region.

The tip of the U’s upper-left arm was Baron von Klei’s Territory. Following it down, one would pass through Redstone Town, the Dark Forest, then Ashton Territory, and finally Montagu Territory.

Montagu Territory was near the bottom of the U.

Farther up the other side of the U was Nottingham City. The area on that right-hand side also held two other Viscount’s Domains and one Baron’s Domain.

The two sides of the U were impassable due to a steep mountain range running through the area, separating the two territories. Aside from a few exceptionally skilled mountain folk, an army could not cross it.

Count Henry’s sphere of influence was confined to this region.

Grand Duke Tarrenno’s army was approaching from a direction outside the bottom of the U.

Maps were precious in this era, all hand-drawn from surveys. They didn’t have a larger-scale map at the moment, only this one.

But according to the Knights, Grand Duke Tarrenno’s army could return directly to his Duchy’s County City without passing through Nottingham City. The reason he chose to cross Count Henry’s territory was likely to shake down Nottingham City.

Fang Zhen knew a little more, however.

Duke Tarrenno was probably going to Nottingham City to collect a debt from Henry. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Henry’s death had been sudden, so Tarrenno might not have heard the news yet.

Henry owed a substantial amount of money, and anyone who has ever lent money knows that once it’s out of your hands, it might not be yours anymore.

Grand Duke Tarrenno was constantly at war and was financially strained. Simply sending a letter to demand payment wouldn’t work with someone of Count Henry’s character; he would certainly refuse to pay.

Bringing an army to the border was a form of aggressive debt collection.

"How large is Tarrenno’s army?" Fang Zhen asked.

"Around thirty-five hundred men, maybe four thousand. The difference won’t be too great," Finn explained. "Campaigns are expensive. Garrisoning an army costs money, and marching to war costs even more. Even if Duke Tarrenno could mobilize tens of thousands of troops, he can’t afford to maintain them."

Fang Zhen gave a dry laugh.

There’s an old saying that the roar of a cannon costs ten thousand taels of gold. This era had no cannons, but the logic still held true.

"How many defenders does Nottingham have?" he asked.

"The total garrison for Nottingham City and its surrounding towns was originally about twelve hundred men. Five hundred of them were taken to Ashton Territory, so there are only seven hundred soldiers left," Finn said.

Finn seemed to have a habit of poring over all sorts of numbers, a very niche hobby in this era. In Fang Zhen’s time, they would have called such a person a ’numbers guy’.

Clearly, while the hobby might be niche, it was extremely useful to Fang Zhen.

"Not a major problem," Fang Zhen said. "End the break. We’re force-marching to Nottingham City."

"We can reach Nottingham City after noon. We’ll take a few hours to integrate the local forces, leave behind a necessary garrison of two hundred, and we should be able to assemble an army of about seventeen hundred."

"Against an army of about four thousand, seventeen hundred soldiers should be enough."

Hearing this, Finn, Agatha, and Knight Tahar all revealed strange expressions.

"My lord... forgive my bluntness, but I don’t believe seventeen hundred soldiers are enough to stand against Duke Tarrenno’s army."

The one who spoke was Knight Tahar.