Third party force

"I am willing to cede a castle on the border as my ransom!" said Schmalen von Nosnberg.

He expressed it so naturally, as if he were drinking water, which was likely accustomed to being defeated and captured.

"A castle? My esteemed Count, are you dreaming? For someone as noble as you, wouldn't it cost at least two or three thousand gold coins? Even if you don't pay money, what is a single castle worth? On behalf of the Count of Gothingen, I formally inform you that unless you cede half of your territory and its 30 castles, this war cannot end," Damian demanded, revealing a frost-like smile and immediately asking for half of the territory.

Thirty castles and even half of the territory. Schmalen certainly couldn't accept that.

"No, I refuse. This is not fair!"

Damian couldn't help but shake his head repeatedly upon hearing this. "It was you who initiated this unjust war, and now you're talking to me about fairness?"

For Schmalen, initiating a war of aggression only cost him wealth, but Conosa... what did it matter to him what Conosa lost?

If he could capture his sister and marry her off to his ally, wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?

"Justice? Are you kidding me? What is sacred in the empire today?" Schmalen didn't agree with any notion of a just war at all. "Besides, I'm fighting for our family's territory. If Conosa marries someone else, that land becomes another family's property. Isn't that ridiculous? Even the Pope would have to acknowledge my justice."

"Nonsense."

Damian naturally scoffed at this.

If what he said were true, how did the Kingdom of France elect a king not from the Carolingian family?

It was nothing but vested interests.

He turned away, not giving Schmalen any chance to detain him.

In Schmalen's perception, losing a battle meant paying the ransom and surrendering some territory to continue being the great count.

But Damian did not think that way.

Relying on his control over the army by distributing food, he began to urge the army to advance, directly bypassing various rural castles, targeting the main city of Count Milhaus, Milhausburg!

Due to the disastrous defeat, the nearby castles were inevitably short of soldiers. Most of their main combat forces, the knights, had fallen into Damian's hands. And the brigand knights, these spineless fellows, either fled to other counties or hid in their hometowns, while some particularly shameless ones even started inquiring about Damian's hiring prices.

They wanted to follow Damian to attack their former employer!

Damian resolutely refused, but he publicized the news to demoralize Schmalen's captives.

Milhausburg was a town that combined castle defense and city trade functions. One end of it was a solid, towering castle, a large fortress with stone bases and wooden walls. The other end was a relatively low city, where citizens lived.

But if one thought that this castle was easy to conquer, they were too naive.

The entire castle's terrain was higher than the town's. The town was easy to conquer, but how to attack the castle? Charging uphill, you would face arrow rain, climb the fortress, and might even be burned alive by the enemy, perishing together.

So, Damian had to stop under the castle, build a siege camp, and prepare more of Damian's trebuchets.

Ransom? Compensation territory?

Of course, negotiations went on while fighting.

Damian, who was scouring for servants everywhere, ultimately couldn't hide this news.

...

When Count Milhaus was utterly defeated, with his entire army wiped out and even himself captured, and the enemy leader had already arrived at Milhausburg, the most powerful Count of Weimar, Arendse Weimar, could no longer sit still.

Arendse Weimar was the largest landowner in Weimar County. His family had lived on this land for generations, even changing their surname to the place name.

Although Count Milhaus was also a count, he bore certain feudal obligations to Arendse.

It wasn't a problem for the von Nosnberg family to fight among themselves, but if Schmalen was defeated and the territory was taken by Conosa, what would happen to the feudal obligations of this county? Conosa would certainly be unwilling to accept them.

This was cutting into Arendse's flesh.

Moreover, the Milhaus territory was closely adjacent to the Gothingen territory. If in a few decades, the von Nosnberg family claimed the two lands were originally one and completely ignored Arendse's authority, what would happen then?

Even if they assumed the feudal obligations of Milhaus, many conflicts would still arise.

After the Norman Conquest, William was the King of England, but he was still the Duke of Normandy. He was an independent king in England, but in Normandy, he had to pledge allegiance to the King of France. This is hard for modern people to understand, but for medieval people, it was a common phenomenon.

Of course, during the time of William the Conqueror, the King of France was not untouchable, and the Duchy of Normandy often considered itself independent, ignoring the French royal court. Unfortunately, the power of the French kings grew stronger, leading to severe conflicts between England and France.

Considering these factors, Arendse decided to intervene in the war in the northwest.

To this end, Arendse invited the regional bishop of Weimar, Maged.

"We are all civilized people. Now that Damian, the Chancellor of Conosa, has led his army to the gates of Milhaus, how should I prevent Gothingen County from infringing on our legitimate rights?" Arendse's words were very subtle.

Bishop Maged quickly understood his meaning.

Mentioning civilized society implied the hope of sending envoys to attempt a peaceful resolution. Mentioning Damian as Chancellor also implies another layer of meaning.

In the Merovingian dynasty before the Carolingian dynasty, due to the kings' incompetence and decline, and the fact that one king often ruled multiple kingdoms, the power gradually shifted to the local chancellors. The chancellors, who transformed from agents to stakeholders, established the Carolingian dynasty.

So, the reference to the Chancellor was clear: Arendse believed that a strong person like Damian would inevitably replace Conosa and become the new lord.

Bishop Maged stroked his beard. He didn't really want to get involved in this senseless war, but due to another conflict, he needed the Count's help.

This was the tug-of-war over the election of the court chaplain of Lorraine.

The reformist faction, which supported church reform and the purification of corrupt environments, and the conservative faction, which supported noble control of the church and the usurpation of its property, were currently at odds within the principality. Bishop Maged was clearly a supporter of the conservative faction.

If he could gain Arendse's support, his chances of victory would increase.

"Don't worry. I will immediately set out for Damian's army to persuade that young monk to abandon his arrogant ideas."

As he spoke, Bishop Maged suddenly had a good idea.

Why not bring Damian and Conosa into supporting the conservative faction?