Chapter 5

Du Yu stood bare-chested, his body rising and falling with each breath. A familiar warmth rose from his chest, circulating through his body under his mental guidance for ten cycles. Fine, pale black sweat beads rolled down his forehead. Despite the cool autumn air, Du Yu's body was enveloped in a mist, as if he were standing in a steaming bathroom.

"Break!" With a deep breath and a firm stance, Du Yu shouted loudly, his hands on his waist. The internal energy within him had reached its peak, and he could no longer hold it back. The resounding shout, infused with internal energy, echoed through the mountain, lingering among the peaks.

"Ah!" The old butler, who had been dozing off nearby, was startled awake. Since the foolish young master had displayed his divine power by capturing the provocative Lady Du Kaili Moore, he had been practicing this strange breathing technique every morning on the nearest high mountain near the castle. The butler, though he didn't understand it, could see the significant difference from the initial hoarse coughs to the current metallic sounds.

"Internal energy within, external energy without, a pure heart, a lively body." Du Yu stretched his limbs in satisfaction, his wind-swept arms almost making the old butler dizzy and fall over. Du Yu was very pleased with Dusta's body. In just over a month, this body had already begun to respond to his will. Although it was still far from the level of "a single thought," it was much better than before.

Seeing that the young master's daily routine was complete, the old butler wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth and hurriedly reported, "Young master, the people from Lady Du Kaili Moore's family have come again. They want to ransom the lady. What should we do?" The butler raised his head, carefully observing the young master's expression. Even if he were foolish, the butler knew that this robust, energetic young man was not the same as the former, easily deceived young master. Everyone still thought the young master was a fool, but the butler, who had been with Du Yu for over a month, knew it was all an act. The young master seemed to have a peculiar fondness for his foolish identity, even making an outrageous demand that the Du Kaili Moore family exchange the most fertile town, Erika, for the captured lady!

That was the second-largest town in the entire Falcon Fief, the heart of the Du Kaili Moore family. Of course, it was publicly claimed that the butler had suggested this, which made the loyal butler quite depressed. Fortunately, he hadn't encountered any righteous wandering knights who might have seen him as a challenge, a wicked butler corrupting his master, and used him as a target to show his bravery to noble ladies at some banquet.

What a disgrace!

The butler shook his head in pain. The young master had changed so much, like a completely different person. The butler felt a headache just thinking about it.

"They still haven't given up!" The young master's slightly foolish voice interrupted the butler's thoughts. "Give me Erika Town, and I'll release Lady Du Kaili Moore." Du Yu wiggled a chubby finger in front of the butler, took the clothes from the butler's hands, and continued, "This is a fair deal. They can choose the money or the lady."

"This is quite... difficult," the butler said with a troubled look. Du Yu waved his hand to interrupt, "Tell them not to haggle with a fool. That's even more foolish."

"Actually, being a foolish lord is not a bad thing!" Du Yu felt secretly pleased. He realized that being known as a fool in this world had its advantages, such as avoiding the many tedious etiquettes that nobles should follow. A single word of "fool" could buy peace.

"Young master! Your clothes aren't buttoned up yet!" The butler had been nagging Du Yu since they came down the mountain, which annoyed Du Yu, but he had no choice. After all, the butler was the only person in this world who truly cared about him. Through a month of interaction, Du Yu had gained a new understanding of this world. In his previous world, going shirtless in public was not a big deal, especially during the hot summer when men of all ages could proudly display their physiques in swimming pools. However, in this world, where bloodline and dignity were highly valued, a nobleman walking around without clothes would certainly be beheaded by the king's order. It was an insult to the dignity of the nobility and a betrayal of the royal order. Such a person would be considered either insane or a rebel, and rebels would not be spared.

There were precedents for this. King Laurence IV of the first continental power, Riel, was a carefree prince in his youth, running horses and dogs, and living a dissolute life, a typical wastrel. No one expected that in the Riel civil war thirty years ago, he would kick his own uncle off the throne and become the first king of the continent.

This had no direct connection, but the nobility always looked at details. The stubborn and obstinate Vekia royal family naturally attributed everything to Laurence's rebellious and wild youth.

After completing his morning exercise, Du Yu prepared to go down the mountain. This mountain was behind the Falcon Castle, and from the path in the mountains, the scenery around the castle was visible. The villages to the west of the castle were shrouded in morning mist, with gray dirt roads winding into them. The yellow thatched roofs were crowded together, shimmering in the morning light. A pointed tower stood out, which was the town center hall.

The butler had introduced Du Yu to the largest town in his fief, Tachi, with a population of 1,200. A winding white river flowed through the town, like a silver belt encircling the castle.

This is my fief! This is where I will live in the future!

Du Yu felt like a country squire counting his wealth, feeling depressed that such a small place could be called a marquisate.

"Move aside! I have urgent military business to see the head of the Falcon family!" Du Yu suddenly heard an argument at the mountain path entrance. At the foot of the mountain, a middle-aged knight was arguing with the guards.

"I am a messenger from the military department. If you delay, the military department will cut off your heads!" The knight's loud voice even reached the halfway point on the mountain.

"No orders, not even the king can enter!" The guards looked at him coldly, their rusty spears blocking his way.

"You... " The knight's face turned red with frustration, but he didn't dare to force his way through. After the last attack, the butler had specially selected the most loyal guards from the family to protect Du Yu.

"I am the head of the Falcon family. What do you need?" Du Yu waved to the guards to let the knight through.

Seeing the guards move aside, revealing a plain-dressed, chubby young man, the middle-aged knight looked at him with a haughty expression.

"A crude country noble!" The knight sneered, took a sealed scroll from his saddlebag, and handed it to Du Yu.

"This is the conscription order signed by His Majesty the King. The kingdom will launch a campaign against the mountain barbarians in the eastern region in two months. All lords must gather at least 200 soldiers by the end of October and head to the eastern region of Tiel to participate in the king's campaign."

The knight's formal tone carried a hint of disdain.

"This is the battle plan from the military department. Please review it, sir." The middle-aged knight took out a wax-sealed letter from his chest and handed it to Du Yu.

"If you have no objections, this will be the battle plan!" The knight impatiently left the plan, mounted his horse, and rode away without even a basic salute.

"War?" Du Yu stared at the order in his hand, still in a daze. He couldn't believe that even a small lord like him had to go to war.

"What a waste of human life!" The fat young master muttered angrily, suddenly shouting, "To hell with the king!"

"Young master, you can't say that!" The butler was almost frightened to death by the treasonous words, looking around cautiously. Seeing the guards standing far away, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"I thought we wouldn't receive the conscription order this year," the butler sighed. "I didn't expect to still get it. These lords in the capital are never at rest. We finally had a good harvest this year, and now we have to go to war. I don't understand what those poor barbarians have that the lords are so interested in. After so many years of fighting, we haven't gained a single piece of land. All we have are orphans and widows, not even a wild boar's hair!"

The butler complained with a face full of resentment.

"Are the barbarians poor?" Du Yu asked curiously, holding the order.

"Of course!" The butler said confidently. "Those barbarian men are bare-chested, without even a decent animal skin. But they say the barbarian women are quite good, especially the Hulin tribe in the southern sea." The butler drooled, imagining the eastern barbarians based on his limited knowledge and legends.

"Old lecher!" Du Yu secretly despised the butler. "This is a military order." The fat young master carefully opened the scroll, which had a crude red line embroidered on the rough wool edge, looking out of place. The parchment was soft and smooth, reminding Du Yu of a genuine leather bag he used to have.

The butler looked at the order with a helpless expression. "Every year, His Majesty the King conscripts the lords to participate in external wars after the autumn harvest. This is a tradition of the kingdom. I thought this year, due to the young master's illness, the Falcon family would be exempted, but we still received the conscription order. Now, the entire family has no knights. What should we do?"

"Knights? Soldiers?" Du Yu was confused by the butler's words. After a detailed and patient explanation, he finally understood. In this world, soldiers were conscripted by the nobles, who sent their knights to the villages to gather men based on the population. Generally, the ratio was one soldier for every twenty people.

For example, a village of two hundred people would have to provide ten young men for the lord's army. They received no pay, and their role was to be farmers with hoes and soldiers with spears, with no compensation for those who died in battle. In essence, they were "free labor" for the lords, with the conquered land belonging to the king and the lords, while the farmers died.

No wonder the king was so enthusiastic about war! With food and soldiers, why not fight? Robbing money, food, and women was a form of entertainment for the nobles.

"What is this?" Du Yu finally unfolded the battle plan, feeling a strong urge to vomit at the crude red lines.

"What the hell is this!" Du Yu saw a rough map on a simple parchment, with red lines crudely drawn, like the positioning lines for a performance.

The sparse text indicated the positions and directions of the soldiers from various lords. The entire plan was a pre-battle formation, but that wasn't the most depressing part.

"Look, young master!" The butler's face was grim as he pointed to a corner of the map, where a blue-dyed eagle was drawn.

Du Yu was speechless. The military department's art skills were truly terrible! The eagle looked more like a fat hen!

"Alas! In the past, we were always placed in the front row," the butler said with a desolate and helpless tone.

"This year, we have been placed in the last row, indicating that we have fallen to a third-rate family." The butler saw the puzzled look on Du Yu's face and quickly explained.

"Young master may not know, but in the kingdom's military formation, the closer to the king's main force, the more prestigious and important the position. In the past, the Falcon family's knight battalion was always placed to the right of the king's main force, like a war eagle standing on the king's right arm, ready to strike at any moment. At the king's command, they would follow the main force and tear the enemy apart with their swords and spears. This is the origin of the Falcon family's name."

"But now..." The butler shook his head sadly. Being placed in the last row, the right bottom corner, was clearly a sign of a fallen family, as it was the lowest position in the formation.

"Being last is good, it's the safest." Du Yu, after hearing the butler's explanation, not only didn't complain but felt relieved. If he were placed in the front row, the Falcon family, composed of farmers without knights, would be easily wiped out by the enemy.

This was a real battle, not a game. Even with high martial skills, he couldn't withstand a knife, and if he encountered a fierce opponent, his new life as a small lord would be over.

Even if he were lucky and didn't encounter heavily armed knights who enjoyed killing, the arrows flying everywhere would be enough to deal with.

Du Yu imagined himself falling with arrows all over his body.

"Terrible! Truly terrible!" Du Yu shook his head. He didn't want to lose his newly acquired title. Being a small lord was better than being a poor farmer. Others with great talents could rise to the top, but he was just a lazy sleeper, not a match for the madmen in this world.

Be content and low-key! Du Yu encouraged himself.

"Stay calm, stay calm!" At least he had his own land, and he could tease the cook and scare the village girls. What a good life!

Why fight to the death? Living happily was what he needed. One death was enough.

"Can we avoid this? For example, by pretending to be insane or foolish?" Du Yu looked at the butler hopefully, speaking nonsense. Since his reputation was already bad, he might as well pretend to be insane to avoid death.

"Young master, that won't work!" The butler shook his head helplessly.

"Assisting the king in war is the duty of the lords. If you don't go, other branches of the family will, and the king will see the Falcon family as disrespectful. Your title will be in danger!"

"Damn! Isn't it the same whether I go or not?" Du Yu cursed.

Since he couldn't avoid it, he had to face it. Du Yu, a man of strong will, took off his family seal and handed it to the butler.

"Issue the conscription order. I need a 200-man army!"

As a lord, carrying his seal was important. Many families had their seals engraved on rings for convenience. Du Yu found this setting quite good, like carrying an ATM, but unfortunately, the Falcon family's "bank" was empty.

"Sir, that will be difficult," the butler said awkwardly, hesitating. "Last year, in the Sako Valley battle, we lost over 300 soldiers. We planned to compensate some of the families, but the family's internal strife delayed it. Now, it's very difficult to gather 200 soldiers from the villages that are resistant. Even if we take all the family guards, it might still be hard to gather enough."

Du Yu saw from the butler's almost crumpled face that the main issue was money. They were too poor to gather enough soldiers.

"Damn! Am I in a financial crisis?" Du Yu frowned, a mischievous idea forming in his mind. He asked the butler, "As a lord, I should have the power to issue orders, right?"

"Of course! You are the lord! As long as it's within your fief, even executing someone is easy," the butler nodded.

"Good!" Du Yu waved his hand. "Issue a new order immediately. For each enemy killed in battle, the lord will reward one silver coin! For each knight killed, one gold coin! For each lord killed, I will grant a piece of land! Write this and post it immediately."

"This... " The butler was stunned, completely unsure what the foolish young master was up to.

"Just do it!" Du Yu turned and left, thinking to himself that "where there is a reward, there are brave men." In his previous world, the best way to motivate subordinates was with money. Du Yu didn't believe that no one would come forward for the shiny gold coins.