I Became A Black Merchant In Another World-Chapter 284: Colmar Peasant Revolt (7)

While Fabio was scheming his wicked plans,

the rebellion that Raphael had started in the Lyon Kingdom began to be seriously discussed.

When the King of Lyon Kingdom, Bernard de Valois, confirmed that all the necessary attendees had gathered for the national council meeting, he bellowed loudly.

“Damn it, what have Count Colmar and the other nobles been doing all this time? Did they collect taxes from the commoners only to spend the money on drinking and whoring around?!”

From Bernard’s perspective, there was no greater disaster than this one—no disaster that could make his insides twist more.

The Baron of Rothschild from the Toscana Empire had recently tried to extend his influence into the Guillaume City area, and he had ordered Count Guillaume to eliminate anyone within his influence and steal the seaweed cultivation method.

However, the result was that the technicians who knew the seaweed cultivation method were tortured but refused to divulge the method.

The people of Guillaume City realized they were about to be discarded and immediately surrendered to Fabio, emptying out the city.

“If only they had fought back, I wouldn’t have been so frustrated.”

He had heard that several of his territories were swiftly occupied by the Toscana Empire without even firing a single shot. To think that he had surrendered without even trying to resist made it unbearable.

“How did the management of the territories go, that there’s a rebellion breaking out in all the border regions of the Holy Empire?! Can someone please tell me? Why is this happening?! I’m truly, truly curious about this.”

At that, the ministers, great nobles, and high-ranking generals present all kept silent and waited quietly.

No matter what they said, it would be useless in front of the current king.

The situation they were facing now was not the result of anyone’s fault within the Lyon Kingdom.

“Yeah, what fault would you all have?”

Bernard, regaining his composure, began to see the truth clearly.

Among the people here, no one had directly caused this situation.

Looking deeper into the situation, there was a high probability that someone from behind was manipulating the rebellion. However, when it came to who would benefit most from this rebellion, it ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) seemed most likely to be the Holy Empire.

Fabio was naturally removed from the list of suspects.

“I believe there is definitely someone behind this incident. Without that, I cannot explain how this rebellion is moving so precisely.”

If the leader of the rebellion had been a fallen noble from the Lyon Kingdom, Bernard wouldn’t have been so certain there was a hidden hand behind it.

A lowly artisan who had never even learned how to lead or engage in political manipulation—such a person suddenly organizing rebellions in multiple regions, simultaneously inciting and coordinating revolts in places other than his own base?

It was, logically, impossible.

Of course, Bernard knew that wars and rebellions rarely followed logic. But,

“Funny enough, 99.9% of wars follow common sense.”

There were always cases of illogical situations or unforeseen plots, but those were the rare exceptions.

“What does the Chancellor think?”

“I fully agree with Your Majesty’s thoughts. The Holy Empire must be behind this rebellion.”

Logically, and from a common-sense standpoint, this made sense.

If a rebellion occurred in the border regions of the Holy Empire, and the stationed forces were annihilated, with a local militia taking over, the ones who would benefit the most would naturally be the Emperor and the nobles of the Holy Empire.

So, it was only natural that their thoughts would follow this direction.

“The Holy Empire’s Emperor has already been defeated twice. Because of that, the Emperor’s authority is on the brink of collapse, and the only way to turn this around is to take control of the border regions by any means necessary.”

Whether in social life or war, you had to understand what others were thinking and act accordingly to achieve your goals.

So, Bernard, the Imperial Chancellor, and everyone present tried to view the situation from the perspective of the Holy Empire Emperor. They needed to understand the enemy’s intentions and tactics to formulate a countermeasure.

“The method they used to stir up the rebellion is despicable. But, it’s true that it has dealt a fatal blow to our Lyon Kingdom.”

Because of the rebellion Raphael led, the Lyon Kingdom had lost 20,000 soldiers and had lost control over the entire border region.

On the other hand, though the enemy forces were disorganized, they numbered around 50,000 to 60,000 strong.

Upon hearing this, the Lyon Kingdom’s nemesis, the Marquis of Orléans, sighed and spoke.

“Your Majesty, there’s no need to overthink this. We need to eradicate the rebels as quickly as possible and prepare to defend against the Holy Empire’s forces that will surely come.”

It seemed like an overly simple solution, but it was the only viable one given the current circumstances.

Rebels spread like a plague, and there was no vaccine for this kind of infection. The only way to stop it was to thoroughly isolate and quarantine those infected to prevent the spread of the disease.

The best course of action now was to eradicate the rebellion before it could spread any further.

“If you lend me 80,000—no, 65,000 troops, I will completely wipe out the rebels. And I will stabilize the border of the Lyon Kingdom as quickly as possible, Your Majesty.”

The Marquis of Orléans was confident.

The rebels were nothing more than a militia—no, just peasants with weapons. If they mobilized the regular army, it would be like sweeping dust with a broom—completely overrun in an instant.

“You can count on me.”

The Marquis of Orléans bowed his head, thinking of how to crush the rebels. He couldn’t help but feel that a bad future awaited them.

Meanwhile, Raphael, now the leader of the rebel forces who had taken control of the border region, was busy making his moves.

“Open all the rich people’s food warehouses! No matter what happens, we cannot let the common people starve!”

Raphael, though a discarded pawn, acted exactly as the person Sebastian had chosen to execute Fabio’s scheme.

He had never declared that he enjoyed the “privileges of nobility,” earning the respect of many and continuously supplying enough food to ensure the people didn’t go hungry.

At the same time, he even boasted that if they succeeded in overthrowing the Lyon Kingdom, they would be able to eat bread and meat stew every day, much like something one would hear from a northern red country.

The hearts of the people in the border region quickly swayed in favor of Raphael and his rebellion.

“Yes, Captain!”

“Noir, make sure to seal up the lord’s and military supply warehouses in the newly captured city! Without supplies, we can’t wage war!”

Winning the hearts of the people was one thing, but if the soldiers didn’t have food to eat in the upcoming battles, it would all be for nothing.

So Raphael, in preparation for the future, didn’t neglect the stockpiling of military supplies.

“We have to eat to survive, and we must feed the army to survive.”

Raphael, now the leader of a small faction, had accumulated enough influence to rival a Marquis.

As they say, position makes the man, and Raphael was growing at an incredible pace to become a suitable leader of the rebellion.

The comrades who had been with him when he first started the rebellion were amazed at how quickly he had changed.

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“Well, everything else is settled, but... soon we should get the news that others will be joining us.”

Raphael had no prior experience commanding an army, but the reason he had gotten this far was simple.

The people in the Holy Empire’s border region had completely turned their backs on the Lyon Kingdom, and those seeking a new alternative had supported him.

Being well aware of this, he knew that for his revolution to succeed, he needed support from other regions as well.

“Captain, Wigo, who went to investigate the villages in the Montmartre Marquisate, is back!”

Upon hearing this, Raphael prayed to Deus.

Praying to Deus wouldn’t improve the situation, but it was a desperate measure.

“If we don’t win the people’s hearts, we are all dead.”

Whether his desperate prayer was answered or not, Wigo quickly came to find Raphael.

But Wigo’s face held no smile, nor any sign of hope.

“...Captain Raphael.”

“Take your time and speak.”

“It seems that no one in the Montmartre Marquisate is willing to support our cause.”

Raphael heard those words like a death sentence.

“I, along with others, tried to persuade the village chiefs while going around several villages. But those old men threw stones at us or grabbed farming tools, trying to kill me.”

“...”

“Just because Montmartre is like that, it doesn’t mean other places are like that...”

He didn’t need to hear more. He knew—no, it was clear—that other areas hadn’t faced food shortages, so there was no need for them to abandon their current way of life and join the rebellion.

Only one thought passed through Raphael’s mind.

‘This is a disaster.’

“...This can’t be happening. This doesn’t make sense...”

And at that moment, a bloodied man rushed toward Raphael, saying,

“Marquis of Orléans—Marquis of Orléans is leading an army of over 65,000 to come and kill us! What do we do, Captain?!”

Raphael, for the first time since starting the rebellion, regretted ever doing this mad thing.