At the engagement banquet, Art was toasted repeatedly by the enthusiastic Sap Fort citizens and gentry elders. Despite Angus and Ron Lusignan helping him block drinks, he still drank a lot and slept soundly for an entire night in a guest room in Galvin’s Lord’s Mansion.
It wasn't until noon the next day that Art finally got out of bed, his head heavy. A maid standing at the door quickly entered the guest room with a set of brand new casual inner garments to help Art dress.
“No need, I’ll do it myself.” Art declined the servant’s assistance and took the clothes to put them on himself.
“What time is it now? Where are my guards?” Art asked.
The servant lowered her head and replied, “Sir Art, it’s noon now. Your guards drank too much yesterday and are still sleeping in the front hall guest rooms. Miss Lottie personally helped you settle in last night, and Miss Lottie came to check on you early this morning. Now, the young lady has gone to the inner kitchen to prepare food for you.”
It was a bit awkward for Art to have a noble lady personally attend to him after he was drunk. He said to the maid in front of him, “Is that so? Then please thank Miss Lottie for me.”
The maid couldn’t help but chuckle softly, saying, “Sir Art, you should save your thanks to tell my young lady yourself. She’ll be here shortly.”
No sooner had the servant finished speaking than Miss Lottie, dressed in a silk tight-fitting casual outfit, walked into Art’s guest room from the corridor, carrying a small wooden tray.
“Lottie, thank you. I drank too much yesterday, causing you trouble.”
Lottie placed the tray on the wooden table beside the bed, picked up a bowl of fragrant, thick venison soup, and handed it to Art, saying, “Yesterday, your guard Ron drank too much trying to block drinks for you. I was worried the servants wouldn’t take good care of you, so I personally arranged for you to sleep. But your guards are really something; they got my brother and the knights and gentry elders in the fort completely drunk. Especially Ron, he drank with Felix until midnight last night. I just went to see Felix, and he’s still throwing up in his room.”
Art smiled and said, “Felix just turned fifteen and is about Ron’s age. They certainly can drink together.”
Lottie adjusted the belt at Art’s waist and said softly, “Hmm, yes, Felix already discussed it with Father yesterday. He said he wants Father to intercede with you, asking you to allow him to join your army for some experience. Felix has been pampered by Father since he was little, and now it’s rare for him to be willing to endure some hardships and gain experience. Don’t refuse his request when the time comes.”
“Why didn’t your father send him to your liege’s household to be trained as a squire?”
“The year before last, Father sent Felix to Viscount Jonathan’s house to be a page. Unexpectedly, not long after Felix arrived, he beat up Lord Jonathan’s only son, and as a result, he was sent back by Lady Jonathan. Felix is inherently honest, but he has a bad temper; he’ll resort to violence if things don’t go his way.” Lottie complained about her brother.
“If Felix truly wants to gain experience in my army, there’s no need for Lord Galvin to personally speak to me. I can agree right now. However, you must make it clear to your father that once he joins my army, there are military rules. Hardship and exhaustion are unavoidable, and occasional battle injuries cannot be prevented. Don’t say then that I didn’t take good care of him.” Art had met Felix before, and he quite liked this future brother-in-law. Although he had been pampered since childhood, his personality was still very generous, and unlike Baron Galvin, this fellow enjoyed warfare and had some martial skills.
“Alright, I’ll go tell Father and Felix right away.” With that, Lottie picked up Art’s changed inner garments, intending to leave.
“Lottie, let Ron wash these clothes. I really can’t let a noble lady do such chores for me.” Art quickly stopped Lottie.
“Alright, drink the venison soup. If you’re really embarrassed, then hurry up and build your Knight’s Mansion~” Lottie said with a blush as she left Art’s guest room…
… … … …
In the afternoon, in the Sap Territory Lord’s Hall office, Art and Angus were discussing matters of defending against enemies and suppressing bandits with Baron Lord Galvin and his Internal Affairs Knight, who was also the castle guard captain.
“Lord Galvin, our biggest difficulty now isn’t worrying about those bandits attacking Sap Fort, but how to completely wipe out those wild wolves roaming everywhere. Since I took office as Patrol Officer, I’ve eliminated several groups of bandits, but they almost always attacked me first. We rarely manage to track these fellows down; they usually don’t have fixed lairs. They often rob a settlement, stay for a few days, and once they’ve consumed everything, they move to the next place to continue plundering.” Art said, lightly tapping the table.
“Yes, a while ago, I also sent people to clear them out, but those Bastards led us around in the mountains and ravines. We chased them for two or three days, and then we worried that mountain bandits and vagrants would take the opportunity to harass Sap, so we had to return. As a result, those Bastards started appearing around Sap again.” Galvin frowned, his tone filled with anxiety.
Art thought for a moment, then suddenly looked up and asked, “Lord Galvin, how soon can your caravan return to Sap?”
“The caravan is transporting a batch of old grain to Provence, estimated to return to Sap in two days.”
“How many guards does the caravan have?”
“This grain transport caravan only has eighteen carriages, but I sent twenty-eight guards and drivers. These guards are the elite forces of Sap. I was worried those Bastards would harass my caravan, so I increased the caravan’s escort.”
Art listened, then quieted down to think for a while, whispered a few words to Angus, and then turned to Galvin, saying, “Lord Galvin, I have a plan here. Let’s discuss it.”
Lord Galvin’s worried frown relaxed, and he said, “Tell me quickly.”
Art cleared his throat, looked at the few people in the room, and said, “We can use the caravan as bait to lure the bandits into robbing, and then we can wipe them out in one fell swoop.”
“Tell me in more detail.” Galvin put down his wine glass and leaned forward, asking.
“The reason those bandits risk attacking Sap is simply to plunder the money in the fort. A while ago, they hit a snag in Sap and realized that this fat piece of meat couldn’t be swallowed. Now they are wandering around Sap, surely with lingering greedy intentions. Since they want to eat meat, we will put the meat under the noses of those wild wolves and let them drool and swallow it.”
“Lord Galvin, the Sap Territory has a large and complex population. I suspect there are definitely bandit eyes in the villages. Since that’s the case, have someone ‘accidentally’ reveal that next week a caravan will transport a batch of coins and valuable goods to Provence, and then…”
Art softly revealed to the few people in the room a strategy of luring the wolves out of their den and ambushing them with a counterattack.
Over the next two days, Art, along with Angus and Ron Lusignan, trained the castle guards and conscripted peasant soldiers for Baron Galvin in Sap Fort.
What surprised Art was that although Baron Galvin had little interest in warfare, Sap Fort’s armory had a considerable stock of weapons and armor. According to Felix, his father was a miser. To protect the valuables in Sap Fort and ensure the caravan was not harassed by bandits and vagrants, he had purchased a lot of weapons and armor over the years to equip the castle guards and caravan escorts.
Since it was to strengthen the defensive forces in Sap Fort, Art, after obtaining Baron Galvin’s consent, distributed all the spears, short swords, battle axes, shields, and other equipment from Sap’s armory to the young and strong men in the fort. In addition to the twenty-odd peasant soldiers who had already become castle guards and were equipped with cotton armor, iron helmets, long spears, broadswords, shields, and other weapons and armor, another thirty-odd young and strong men in the fort were given simple weapons like a short spear, a battle axe, or a single-edged saber. If a large group of bandits were to attack, these armed and simply trained young men could play a crucial role in defending their homes at a critical moment.
On the sixth day of entering Sap, Baron Galvin’s caravan, which had transported grain to Provence, returned. The caravan leader reported the situation of their north-south trade to Baron Galvin, who then called Art to the office.
“Art, sit here next to me.” Galvin led Art to a comfortable chair beside him.
“Martin, please tell Sir Art about the situation on the trade route again.” Galvin said to the caravan leader standing in front of the office desk.
“Yes, Sir Art, our caravan encountered two groups of bandits on this journey. One group was fifteen miles south of Sap, and the other was in an abandoned small village forty-seven miles south. Because our caravan had many accompanying guards, neither group of bandits dared to approach.” The caravan leader meticulously reported the situation on the southern trade route.
On the other side, Angus and Ron were also busy. According to Art and Baron Galvin’s arrangements, they were quietly selecting the bravest young men from the Sap guard squad and caravan guards with the help of the Sap guard captain, taking them to Baron Galvin’s Lord’s Mansion courtyard to equip them with excellent weapons and armor for separate training. This carefully selected group of twelve warriors were all guards who had followed and protected the caravan for many years or were outstanding members of the castle guards. Angus equipped them with leather armor, cotton armor, broadswords, battle axes, shields, and other weapons and armor, and then specifically trained them on how to hide in carriages for a surprise counterattack against raiding bandits, and how to form a shield wall to kill enemies and protect themselves.
While the elites were training behind closed doors in the Sap Territory Lord’s Mansion, in the largest tavern in Sap Fort, Young Master Felix, the only son of Baron Galvin, the Lord of Sap Territory, was drinking with several sons of noble gentry from the territory, their faces flushed.
Felix chugged another large mug of ale and, in a slurred voice, said to the few people around him, “I say, gentlemen, does anyone want to follow me to Provence? I’m going to Provence recently, and you can come with me to have some fun for a few days. Being cooped up in the castle every day these days, I’m almost going crazy.”
A seventeen or eighteen-year-old son of a gentry, dressed lavishly, burped and said, “Young Master Felix, why go to Provence for no good reason? Bandits are rampant all around now; it’s too dangerous to go out.”
Felix turned his head and said, “This time we’ll go quietly, and with brave guards, there won’t be any danger. Think it over carefully. If you want to go out with me to see the world, speak up early. I’m leaving in two days, so don’t say I didn’t take you along then.”
“Young Master Felix, what exactly is so important that you, a young master, have to go personally? Didn’t your family’s caravan always go to Provence before?” another dissolute young man asked.
Felix refilled his mug with ale, looked around, and motioned for the others to lean in and listen, “This time, I’m taking 50,000 fenni and a batch of goods to Provence to purchase some valuable southern goods. My father said that from now on, I’ll gradually take over his trade business. This is my first time going out to do a big business. If you’re willing to come with me, once we reach Provence, I can secretly take 500 fenni from the funds for you to have fun? How about it, are you coming or not?”
“You’re only giving us 500 fenni for a 50,000 fenni trade? It’s so dangerous along the way, I’m not willing to go.” A gentry’s son said loudly.
Felix quickly stopped the loud-mouthed fellow, “Quiet!! This time, I’ll disguise myself as a small peddler’s caravan going to Provence. Those bandits won’t even bother with us, and with the caravan guards, they won’t dare to provoke us easily…”
The “secret” Felix revealed while drunk was quickly leaked by a few equally drunk sons of noble gentry.
That night, an idle loafer in Sap Fort quietly slipped out through a dog hole under the cover of darkness, disappearing into the vast night outside Sap Fort…