Chapter 56 - Strategy to Capture Ambratu (Part 1)
Having accepted Charlotte's appointment, Eric Scamario immediately began preparing his troops for the expedition. However, he remained concerned. Ambratu was a city of 100,000 people, and he commanded only 100 knights and 500 squires.
With such a small force, breaching Ambratu's defenses might be possible, but holding the city would be a significant challenge.
Eric shared his concerns with Charlotte, who simply smiled and said, "Cecilia will handle most of the potential resistance."
Everyone knew Cecilia was Charlotte's top civil administrator, and it was common knowledge that she had no involvement in military matters. Eric was puzzled as to how Cecilia could assist him, but Charlotte's confidence led him to drop the subject.
Meanwhile, Celine arrived in Ambratu with a diplomatic letter penned by Charlotte herself. Along with the letter, she brought a shipment of relief grain, fulfilling an earlier promise. Celine found it odd that Charlotte would send aid to Ambratu while planning to wage war against them.
When the Ambratu Council received Charlotte's diplomatic letter, they collectively sighed with relief. The letter's tone was measured – neither friendly nor overtly aggressive.
The lack of warmth was understandable, considering Charlotte's relatives had died in Ambratu. However, the absence of aggression was noteworthy.
"It appears the Baroness of Lanwan has no intention of going to war with us," Martin Kramer said, exhaling deeply with a hint of a smile.
"Indeed, the Baroness has even honored her previous commitments."
The relief grain sent by Charlotte was viewed as a strong gesture of goodwill, greatly easing the council's anxiety.
One councilor even suggested, "With grain prices skyrocketing in Sokia, perhaps we should ask the Baroness to send us more aid."
Olivier Capino waved his hand dismissively at the councilor's unrealistic proposal. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. While the Baroness doesn't seem to be acting out of anger, she still demands the execution of Knight Harvey Sherwin's murderer. How should we address that?"
At this, the councilors' faces darkened.
"What else can we do? Let the Citizen Assembly decide," Yurgen Woller said irritably.
The Ambratu Council had made several attempts to arrest Pand, the killer, but each attempt had been thwarted by the citizens. Another consequence of Antanas's death had emerged; without him, the council had lost a vital link to the Citizen Assembly. The democratic faction of the council was increasingly estranged from the assembly, and the only remaining oligarchic councilor, John Rice, lacked persuasive speaking skills. As a result, a peculiar sentiment had taken root in Ambratu: "Whatever the council wants, the Citizen Assembly opposes."
Charlotte's diplomatic letter was read publicly at the Ambratu Citizen Assembly. Her restraint, despite the death of her relative, and her act of sending relief grain, made some citizens feel ashamed. They began to reconsider their stance on the matter.
For a moment, both Celine and the Ambratu councilors felt that the situation might be turning in their favor.
However, Pand's neighbor, the one-eyed old citizen Logan, brought Pand's bedridden mother to the assembly. The woman wept as she pleaded with the citizens, recounting how Pand's father and uncle had died fighting for the city-state, the hardships of Pand's upbringing, and her own struggles to raise him.
The Citizen Assembly's sympathies once again shifted towards Pand, and the vote to severely punish him for his crime was rejected once more.
Celine returned in frustration, and as she departed, she angrily declared, "You will regret today's decision."
The people of Ambratu likely paid little attention to her words.
When Charlotte saw the coffin of Harvey Sherwin that Celine had brought back, she instructed Knight Jack Moore, "Send two men to deliver Knight Sherwin's remains and my written reply to Duchess Rosy."
"Understood," Jack Moore replied, immediately making the arrangements.
Then, Charlotte turned to Cecilia, who was standing nearby, and said, "We can begin preparing the banquet."
"Are you really going through with this?" Cecilia raised an eyebrow.
"Is there something inappropriate about it?" Charlotte countered.
"I'm just worried that no one will dare to attend your banquets in the future," Cecilia sighed, then added with a hint of helplessness, "Also, your silverware might not be sufficient."
"How could that be? I've prepared over two thousand silver plates alone!"
Charlotte laughed, seemingly unconcerned.
Cecilia followed Charlotte's instructions and began preparing the so-called "banquet."
Charlotte then turned to Celine, who had returned from her first mission as a newly appointed knight, and said, "I need you to deliver another letter to Ambratu."
"Yes," Celine replied. Although she would have preferred charging into battle over running errands and enduring humiliation, she accepted the task.
This time, Charlotte's letter was addressed directly to the Ambratu Citizen Assembly. In it, she expressed her understanding of the assembly's desire to protect orphans and widows but emphasized that Harvey Sherwin was of noble birth and the beloved nephew of Rosy Mellerfield. His death could not go unpunished. She proposed inviting 100 Ambratu citizens and 100 nobles from the Lanwan Barony to a public debate at the Lanwan Isthmus border. The debate would last seven days, after which a vote would determine the outcome of the case.
The threat from the Duchess of Greenfield had a sobering effect on the Ambratu Citizen Assembly. Moreover, the idea of debating and voting to resolve the case aligned well with the citizens' usual methods of handling disputes. The proposal of 100 votes from each side seemed fair. Thus, the assembly agreed to Charlotte's proposal and selected 99 of their most eloquent citizens to attend, led by Councilor John Rice.
John Rice had not wanted to get involved, but as the only councilor still trusted by the citizens, he had no choice.
When the Ambratu citizens arrived at the Lanwan Isthmus, they found that the Lanwan Barony had already established a simple camp on the other side. In the center of the camp was a raised earthen platform.
Although the debate was being held on the Lanwan side of the isthmus rather than in the middle, which made the 100 Ambratu citizens slightly uncomfortable, Charlotte's previous gestures of goodwill had an effect. Deep down, the citizens felt somewhat guilty, so they didn't object to this "minor issue."
On the first day of the debate, John Rice took the stage to defend Pand. His defense lacked the ornate rhetoric that many "cultured" people would find impressive, but he made a crucial point: Harvey Sherwin had insulted the city-state of Ambratu, and Pand's actions should be seen as an act of vengeance for the city-state.
John Rice also recounted a legend: long ago, in Feidi, there was a young man named Alcys. His mother was a foreigner who repeatedly humiliated Feidi in various settings. Even after a failed war, when the entire city was in mourning, his mother mocked the people of Feidi for their incompetence. Enraged, Alcys killed his mother.
Charlotte knew that the legend of Alcys had some basis in truth. He was a war hero of Feidi and a devout follower of the church. His remains were still preserved in the Cathedral of Angels.
The people of Sokia greatly admired Alcys's spirit of "avenging the city-state." The glory of such an act could overshadow the immense moral flaw of matricide. This was also why the citizens of Ambratu were willing to withstand pressure to protect Pand.
Charlotte, however, pointed out that after Alcys killed his mother, his brother avenged her by killing Alcys, and his son then avenged his father by killing Alcys's uncle. This family disaster was entirely caused by Alcys's impulsive actions. Therefore, such behavior should not be praised but criticized. The church should seriously consider removing the remains of this matricide from the Cathedral of Angels, regardless of his past achievements.
With her opening remarks, the Baroness of Lanwan immediately diminished the legendary hero of Sokia, and the debate quickly escalated into a heated argument. Both sides argued fiercely, their faces flushed with passion.
Although Charlotte's outright dismissal of the Sokian hero angered the Ambratu citizens, the lunch served in the camp received unanimous praise from the citizen representatives.
Following Charlotte's instructions, Cecilia had prepared a buffet in the camp. Large platters of meat were arranged in rows on long outdoor tables, and guests could help themselves to whatever they desired. Exquisite gold and silver tableware was casually placed on nearby racks for guests to use, and after the meal, they could simply return the dishes to the washing area.
Even the Ambratu citizens who had come to watch the spectacle were allowed to eat and drink freely in the camp, provided they could prove their citizenship.
When news of this spread back to Ambratu, some people were incredulous. Could the Baroness of Lanwan truly be so generous to the people of Ambratu? But when a citizen who had just returned from the debate showed off a golden fork he had "pocketed," people had no choice but to believe it.
On the second day, over a thousand Ambratu citizens came to observe the proceedings.
On the third day, the number reached two thousand.
On the fourth day, it surged to over six thousand.
... By noon, the camp was as crowded and noisy as a marketplace. The delicious meats on the long tables were snatched up as soon as they were served. The chefs and servants responsible for cooking and serving were overwhelmed, their clothes soaked with sweat despite the winter chill.
John Rice ate his meal in silence, reflecting on the morning's debate. The more he considered it, the more uneasy he felt.
"Something's not right," John Rice murmured.
"What's wrong?" a citizen beside him replied, discreetly slipping a silver knife into his sleeve.
As more and more Ambratu citizens arrived, the gold and silver tableware on the buffet tables began to disappear. The camp's servants had to replace the "missing" items with ceramic or wooden utensils, which drew complaints from the later arrivals, who accused the Lanwan Barony of treating them poorly.
"Those nobles... they're far too skilled at debating," John frowned.
As a councilor, John Rice had interacted with some Oran knights before. In his experience, most Oran knights were skilled in combat but not in rhetoric, with the exception of oddities like Harvey Sherwin, who excelled at neither.
This made sense. Oran knights were military nobles; their primary duty was to fight. They didn't need to master public speaking and debate like the politicians in the city-states.
But the Oran knights debating with John Rice and the others these past few days had left a very different impression. They were eloquent, skilled in rhetoric, adept at understanding people, knowledgeable about the law, and even possessed a touch of the cunning often found in marketplaces. If the Baroness of Lanwan hadn't publicly declared them to be noble knights, John Rice would have assumed they were a group of shrewd merchants.
John Rice's confusion was understandable, as the people debating him weren't nobles at all. They were eloquent stewards selected from the households of various knights, as well as civil officials personally trained by Charlotte. If the actual knights, who only knew how to fight, had been sent to debate, Charlotte estimated they would have run out of arguments after a single day.
However, by the time John Rice began to suspect something, it was already too late.
"Ah..."
"What are you doing?"
"Let us out!"
"Ah..."
"The Baroness of Lanwan is killing people!"
"Ah..."
Screams suddenly erupted from the edge of the camp.
John Rice's heart sank. He quickly put down his food and hurried toward the commotion. Not far away, he saw a ring of soldiers holding shields, with spears raised behind them. Ambratu citizens attempting to leave the camp were being mercilessly stabbed by the spears.
John Rice's face turned pale. He stepped forward and confronted the soldiers, demanding, "What are you doing? Is the Baroness of Lanwan breaking her promise? Does she intend to kill the envoys she invited? Even if we aren't official envoys, we are still her guests."
A small gap opened in the shield wall, and a slender woman stepped through. John Rice recognized her; it was Cecilia, the camp's manager.
Cecilia's face was stern as she declared, "You, as envoys and guests, have shown utter disrespect for the duties of envoys and guests. You have stolen a significant amount of the Baroness of Lanwan's property. The Baroness no longer wishes to continue negotiations! Engaging in dialogue with such dishonorable individuals would only tarnish the dignity of the nobility!"
"When have we ever stolen the Baroness's property?" John Rice asked without hesitation, as he himself had taken nothing.
Cecilia pointed to the men beside John Rice and said, "Would they dare to allow my subordinates to search their persons and belongings?"
John Rice looked at his companions, who shamefully avoided his gaze.
These men were among the 100 representatives responsible for the debate. While other Ambratu citizens could steal the gold and silverware and send it back to Ambratu, these representatives had to remain in the camp, so they had to keep their stolen goods with them.
John Rice clenched his fists in frustration, but he still attempted to reason with Cecilia. "Even so, there's no need for such violence..."
Cecilia cut him off, her voice cold. "The Baroness of Lanwan has declared that the city-state of Ambratu is now under the temporary control of the Lanwan Barony! Pand, who murdered Knight Harvey Sherwin, must be executed! All Ambratu citizens who have sheltered the murderer of a knight will have their citizenship revoked and will serve three months of hard labor. This order is to be carried out immediately!"
As if to emphasize Cecilia's words, a group of cavalry thundered past behind her, circling the camp and charging through the Lanwan Isthmus toward Ambratu.
As soon as Cecilia finished announcing Charlotte's decree, the citizens in the camp erupted in chaos. They protested angrily and began to charge the shield wall again.
The soldiers Cecilia had brought were not actually proper soldiers. They were originally workers from Elm Village. A few days prior, Cecilia had given them simple wooden shields and spears and trained them in a few basic maneuvers: the front row would plant their shields on the ground, and the back row would stab anyone who approached.
This level of training was far from sufficient for a real battlefield, but it was enough to handle a disorganized, unarmed crowd.
Soon, the first two waves of Ambratu citizens who charged the shield wall were bloodied and forced back. The citizens behind them lost their nerve, only daring to shout and hurl tableware and food at the soldiers.
Amid the chaos, John Rice stood frozen, staring in the direction the cavalry had gone. In his heart, he already knew the city-state of Ambratu was doomed.
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