Chapter 370: Chapter 119: Driving Tactic

After nearly half a year of war, Robson’s soldiers were nothing less than an elite army.

The short distance from Affleck to Sri County could not possibly stop the young men’s desire to earn merit.

Seeing that Robson’s army had finally arrived at Bai Ma Ferry, the southern nobles, who had been holding their breath, could at last breathe a sigh of relief.

In such a time of war, only an army could offer a glimmer of hope for order.

Now that the army had reached Bai Ma Ferry, everyone began to discuss how to deal with the Beastmen.

Just as the discussion was heating up, a rumor began to spread from an unknown source—a theory about the origin of the Beastman Army.

The gist of it was that the great Lord Robson, before his departure, had patrolled everywhere and dealt a heavy blow to the routed Beastman forces.

So the question arose: if the routed Beastmen had already been weakened, why was the current Beastman Army so strong?

Once these words began to ferment, everyone instantly spotted the blind spot.

That’s right, the Viscount had already weakened the Beastmen, so why were they still so strong?

The first possibility to be dismissed was that Viscount Robson had deliberately held back. Governor Robson was devoted to the kingdom; how could he be such a petty and self-serving individual?

The second to be ruled out was that the nobles of Sri County were simply too weak. From top to bottom, Sri County boasted strong soldiers, sturdy horses, and unwavering unity; their strength was formidable.

At this very moment, a noble from the border of Auric Province and Ehrlich Province happened to step forward, pointing out that he had seen many Beastmen fleeing from Auric Province.

The nobles of Sri County had a sudden realization. Auric Province had always been home to the merit-based military faction—upjumped commoners in their eyes. Now that this had happened, the Sri County nobles immediately began to verbally attack those merit-based nobles of Auric Province.

This time, not even a single so-called "clever person" stepped forward to raise any doubts.

After all, the rumors were half-true.

Besides, if the nobles of Auric Province weren’t causing trouble, then why had things turned out this way? It couldn’t have been Viscount Robson causing trouble, could it?

Just as the crowd was seething with indignation, news suddenly arrived from Viscount Robson: he was convening a military council to discuss how to deal with the Beastmen.

....

Robson had his own reasons for ordering his men to spread these words.

Some things can be done by certain people, and not by others.

Robson’s future goal was not merely to serve as the Governor of Ehrlichland, but to set his sights on the entire region beyond the pass.

If he wanted to dominate the region beyond the pass, an upright and honorable image was essential.

As for something like driving Beastmen to attack his own kind—the ever-upright Lord Robson would say that he, loyal to the kingdom, was utterly incapable of committing such a disastrous act.

This was also why Robson had convened the military council and invited everyone to the discussion.

When deploying troops, Robson certainly didn’t need to consider their opinions; this group of people had no actual command authority over the army.

But while they lacked the authority to command, they had the authority to take the blame.

Robson couldn’t speak of driving the Beastmen into Auric Province, but the nobles of Sri County could. After all, Auric Province really had driven Beastmen over, and the noble lords of Sri County were, indeed, the victims.

Even if word of this got out, the nobles of Auric Province couldn’t say anything to the nobles of Sri County, much less shift the blame onto Lord Robson.

By evening, the noble lords of Sri County had all arrived, fuming, at the meeting place designated by Robson.

"Where is the Viscount? This is outrageous! Simply outrageous!"

"Those upjumped commoners! They’ve sullied the dignity of the nobility! They will surely never enter the Lord of Dawn’s Celestial Kingdom after they die!"

"Where is the Viscount? We need the Viscount to demand justice for us!"

Having arrived on the scene, the Sri County nobles immediately started discussing the day’s speculation about the origin of the Sri County Beastman Army.

For a moment, the indignation of the crowd was palpable.

Then, under the watchful eyes of all, Robson finally arrived.

"Everyone, my apologies! My apologies!

I went out to survey the terrain today and am a little late. My apologies, my apologies!"

Robson wasn’t lying. Lord Robson had always believed in making his act complete; he had truly ridden Everton out to scout the terrain.

As for his purpose, it was, of course, to create an alibi. When the rumors were flying at Bai Ma Ferry, Lord Robson was in the sky. How could he possibly be involved? ’It must be slander from my political rivals!’

"Eh? What’s wrong, everyone? Why does everyone look so upset?" Robson asked in feigned surprise, looking at the nobles around him.

"My lord! You are the Governor of Ehrlichland! You must help us avenge this blood feud!"

"Yes, my lord, those upjumped commoners are despicable! We were keeping to ourselves, yet they treat us like this!"

"Despicable! Utterly despicable!"

Robson looked around, feigning ignorance, as if he had no idea what was happening.

Just then, Baron Kane stepped forward to explain the course of events to Robson.

The rumor, having been passed around several times, was no longer in its original form, and even Robson was taken aback as he listened.

However, although the rumor was no longer the original version, its effect was still outstanding.

"This... Is this really true? Are you certain?" Robson’s eyes widened as he stared at Baron Kane in shock.

"It’s absolutely true! Otherwise, where did so many Beastmen come from?"

"Drive those Beastmen back!"

"Drive them back! Drive them back!"

"Drive them back..."

The voices in the hall were like a tide, each wave rising higher than the last.

Robson, seemingly cornered by the voices, just shook his head and muttered.

"No, no, that’s absolutely out of the question. We are all from the Frank Kingdom. How could we do such a thing? This matter..."

"My lord! Those people never considered us their countrymen! What they did is no different from treason!"

"All we want to do now is repeat what they did to us. We all know you are merciful at heart and cannot bear to do such a thing.

It doesn’t matter. We will be the ones to issue this order!"

"Drive those Beastmen back! Drive them back!"

The tide of voices surged once again.

"This... this..."

"My lord, since you cannot make up your mind, we shall resolve this matter with the most traditional method among nobles: a show of hands!

You yourself said that the Military Commission serves all the nobles of Ehrlichland. Do those words no longer count?" Knight Vid’s brow furrowed as he spoke with sincere urgency.

"Yes! A vote! We want a vote!"

The crowd grew agitated once more.

"You... you all... fine.

Since it has come to this, then let’s vote," Robson said, unable to hold back a sigh.

The outcome of the vote was, naturally, a foregone conclusion. The great and righteous Lord Robson chose to abstain, while everyone else voted in favor.

Even if Lord Robson opposed the plan, he could not go against the will of all of Sri County.

With no other choice, Robson was "forced" to accept the Sri County nobles’ suggestion.

The noble lords of Sri County immediately burst into cheers. It’s not clear who started it, but soon everyone was praising the great Governor.

"You all... Truly, there is no need for this, no need at all..."

At that moment, Robson looked as weak as a political novice, unable to control the situation and forced to yield to coercion.

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