Chapter 17: Stabilize the Internal Affairs Before Expelling Foreign Invaders

When John woke up the next day, it was already noon.

He estimated that he had slept for more than ten hours straight. Seeing John awake, the servant beside him hurriedly handed over his clothes, as if afraid that John might be displeased.

As the old servant helped John dress, he reported, "Your Highness, Lord Martin came by this morning. He said he has selected a group of strong young men, a total of one hundred, and they are waiting for you."

"Anything else?" John took a sip of water and rinsed his mouth. "What about Guillaume?"

"Lord Guillaume has already taken a group of good lads out. He said he took Jacques along with him."

Jacques, the young man from Preston Abbey. It's fine to take him; he doesn't have any other options anyway. Staying in Lancaster would mean death. Here, at least, John has an extra pair of hands.

After a quick face wash, John donned his coat and left the room. As he descended the stairs, he could see a bunch of red-haired people gathered outside the castle, most of them sitting idly on the ground.

These must be the people Martin brought.

"Fetch young Roches for me, and call a few more knights," John ordered the old servant.

After the old servant left, Martin approached, practically wearing a fawning expression. "Your Highness, what do you think of the men I brought?"

John gave them a cursory glance and nodded in approval. For him, as long as they were young, they were suitable.

Once young Roches arrived with the knights, John began issuing orders.

"Everyone, come over here," John called the young men to gather around, signaling for young Roches and Martin to join them as well.

"Everyone, I am the Prince of England, Lord of Lancaster and Gloucester, John. The purpose of gathering you all here is simple: I need soldiers."

The Irishmen below looked puzzled by John's words, making John doubt whether they understood him.

It wasn't until Martin started translating that John realized these Irishmen didn't understand French.

What an embarrassment.

However, John didn't show any sign of awkwardness. Once Martin finished translating, he continued, "I will train you all. The training will be very tough until you become qualified soldiers. But I will also provide you with enough food. Each of you will get at least half a loaf of bread every day. Does anyone want to quit?"

The half loaf of bread John mentioned was not the small loaves of the modern era.

The bread he mentioned was the kind eaten by soldiers on the march in ancient times. Typically, one loaf could be shared among six men, and if they had smaller appetites, it could even satisfy eight.

Such generous conditions were almost irresistible for these Irishmen. They likely had wives and children back home, waiting for them to bring back food. Therefore, after a moment of silence, no one chose to quit.

"Good," John clapped his hands. "It seems you are all smart, but I won't be giving you the bread just yet. I need you to complete a task first, which is to follow me to the north of the Suir River and establish a camp."

Waterford was situated south of the Suir River, while to the north of the river, there were only scattered houses, mostly inhabited by fishermen and farmers.

John wanted these soldiers to go north of the Suir River partly to strengthen the defense on the north bank and partly to prevent them from roaming around Waterford.

He needed to ensure a separation between the military and the civilians, preventing any contact. Otherwise, these men might take the bread and run.

Under the knights' urging, these Irishmen were herded like sheep onto boats and ferried across the Suir River. The knights then began to shout at them, making them use simple tools to chop down trees and set up the camp.

Driven by hunger and the threat of whips, these Irishmen shed their usual laziness and worked with noticeably higher efficiency.

By the afternoon, when John saw that the camp was mostly set up, he ordered young Roches to bring the rest of the troops over as well. He feared that those soldiers might cause trouble in Waterford, leading to complaints from the local citizens.

In the medieval period, such incidents were not uncommon. Soldiers, lacking strict discipline, would inevitably extort and exploit the local populace.

Since John couldn't guarantee he could restrain the soldiers, he decided to isolate them completely from the citizens.

Creating a relatively closed environment would definitely be easier to manage.

"You can go back now, Martin," John said, walking over to the Irishman. "You've been a great help these past two days, and I will make sure to report your contributions to my father."

Martin's face lit up with gratitude, nodding vigorously like a pecking chicken. "Thank you, Your Highness, thank you."

As he spoke, he started walking back, his comical demeanor nearly causing the Norman royal guards around him to break into laughter. Once Martin was out of earshot, Guillaume finally led the laughter.

"This guy..."

"Are all Irishmen this amusing? Hahaha."

John couldn't help but laugh a little too; Martin indeed had a bit of a clownish quality to him.

However, after a few chuckles, John had more important matters to attend to. He looked over at Guillaume, who had been working hard all day. Judging by his chainmail, it was clear he had been in battle today.

Guillaume, being perceptive, joined John by the campfire. 

The winter in Ireland wasn't particularly cold, even though its latitude was similar to that of Heilongjiang. However, the damp air added a magical bite to the cold.

John ladled some hot soup from the pot. "Tell me, Guillaume, what did you encounter today?"

"Norwegians and Irishmen, and it wasn't just a matter of bandits," Guillaume said, rubbing his hands together. "When I came with His Majesty the King, I clearly remembered the emblems on their shields. They bore the crest of High King Rodri."

High King Rodri...

It was well known that Ireland was in a state of fragmentation, with local lords acting independently. However, they still elected a "High King" as their common leader.

Although this High King had no real power.

Rodri's domain was in the northwest of Ireland, a relatively distant threat to John. Even if his men infiltrated, it would only be small raids.

The greatest threat actually came from within. Whether the Normans in Dublin would submit to him was still uncertain.

Longbow Richard's son still enjoyed a high status in Ireland. The first wave of Norman conquerors who came to Ireland were not very loyal to Henry II.

Most importantly, these indecisive fellows also had considerable fighting prowess.

John felt that the immediate priority was to deal with these people.

"In a few days, we will go to Dublin," John said, finishing his hot soup in one gulp. "We'll take all our men and give these Irish bumpkins a taste of English shock and awe."

Young Roches was puzzled by John's orders. "Shouldn't we deal with the raiders first?"

"No, no, you don't understand, Roches."

John, feigning mystery, put down his bowl before revealing his grand principle:

"To stabilize external threats, one must first secure internal stability."