Restart:Untalented Man

Chapter 17 Trebuchet

?A tense atmosphere engulfs the entire town for the past week. Currently, there are only a few people in the town square. All the establishments near the square were closed, unwilling to open their store temporarily.

In the middle of the square, a wooden structure towering four meters high can be seen. It is an execution stage that was built by the carpenter not long ago under the order of the lord.

Two corpses belonging to Maria and Robert can be seen on the stage by many people that pass the square. The rotting smell penetrates the entire square as they were left there for a week. In front of the stage, there is a notice board telling an adultery story titled 'Maria the Cheater'.

The Lord also provides copies of the story for the public to take. Thanks to the paper, the literacy rate in Bideford has increased a little bit despite not having public schools yet.

The commerce activities have been temporarily relocated near the foothill where the Ryntum mansion is located. The rotting smell of the corpse truly disturbs the commercial activities in the town. While trading in the temporary market, people are talking about the execution that took place last week.

Bideford seems to be the centre of attention in the kingdom for quite some time now. Starting with the invention of paper to the assassination of the count's youngest son. However, none of it can compare to the scandal this time. News about the event shook the entire kingdom. The detail of the story was released to the public by the Ryntum family.

Josephine even helps spread the news at the tea party. Whichever tea party or banquet she goes to, many noblewomen will congratulate her and inquire about the stories.

Many nobles speculate that the war will break out but they are not confident that Ryntum can win against Gyalcakes.

The one who is most affected is the Gyalcakes family. This incident has tarnished their reputation to the point where the woman from Gyalcakes was synonymous with adultery. All of Maria's sisters were divorced by their husbands and the child they had with Gyalcakes woman was not acknowledged. Some nobles advise their son to not marry the Gyalcakes.

Richard told his family during dinner about this, Riz laughs so hard that the tears are coming out of his eyes.

The most awkward one at dinner is Rachel.

She is basically alone now and everybody treats her as nonexistent now. Some of the servants were gossiping with each other saying that she is not a lord's child.

Rachel could only ignore it.

"Poor that old man, the connection that he tries so hard to build for years was destroyed by the act of his own daughter.", says Richard.

"He will probably take advantage of this incident to fight against us. Are we just going to wait and defend?". Riz asked since there are just over 20,000 people in Bideford.

"We will fight and conquer. Starting tomorrow, I will teach you warfare tactics.", said Richard. In his mind, he already decided to make Riz his successor.

That night, Riz starts designing the siege weapon, the trebuchet. This is a weapon that dominates the battlefield from the 12th century until the emergence of gunpowder. It can throw stones up to 450 meters.

In addition, he has the plan to make a crossbow but he abandoned that idea. It's better to directly make guns in the future.

If he considers conscripting all the adult and teenage boys in Bideford, the most he could get is probably 10,000 people. Of course, he didn't think that his father would use all of the men that he had.

Considering that his father wants to conquer the cities in Gyalcakes, people alone are not enough.

In his opinion, the most resource-consuming part of war is the siege. If he wants to reduce the resource, he needs to end the battle fast.

The trebuchet will play a vital role in this upcoming war. There are many types of trebuchets, the one that Riz is planning to make is a counterweight trebuchet.

A trebuchet operates under a simple principle. The trebuchet is cocked and the counterweight is increased. The counterweight falls when the trebuchet is fired, converting the system's potential energy into a mix of kinetic and potential energy.

....

The next day, he goes to meet Arnold and Goban to discuss the trebuchet. He needs them to produce the trebuchet as soon as possible.

He also needs to train a team to operate the machine.

"I have to say kid, your idea is crazy as always", comments Arnold.

"Now I feel confident that Bideford will win this war", Goban added.

"Can you help me contact a stonemason you know? I need a lot of stone as ammunition for this machine."

"Don't worry kid, I know some people"

Riz returned to the mansion to learn about warfare from his father. They estimate the war will happen in one or two months. They are short of time. The only good thing is they have the right to start the war.

Richard not only taught his son, but they also discussed the strategy for the upcoming war.

....

The situation between Gyalcakes and Bideford is getting worse as days pass by.

Andrew who was sent by the president of Cerdeauxia has arrived at Napuna. He requested the audience with the king.

After several days of waiting, the king finally agreed to meet him.

"Envoy Andrew, I heard that you are in a hurry to meet with me. What can I do for you?", the king asks, he somehow had a feeling that he knew what the envoy wanted.

The prime minister has already investigated Riz's identity. Basically, most of the upper-rank nobles already know about it. Almost all of them have the intention to match Riz with their daughter. It's a royal bloodline, no noble doesn't want it.

"Please forgive me for this sudden meeting, your majesty. I am here bringing the order from the president to ask your majesty to hand over Rizieri Ryntum to us". Andrew asks with a domineering tone.

"If I don't want to?", Nicholas I asked. He is slightly angry with the envoy's shameless requests.

"We will break the alliance with your kingdom and block your access to the sea in the east", Andrew threatened the king.

Nicholas I think for a while, 'that Matthew must be probably on edge right now.'

The envoy speaks the truth. If Cerdeauxia blocks their port, the only way to go to the east is through the Port City of Caushilbo in the northeast.

However, the merchant ship needs to pass Mackerton Island under Barlia's rule or make a detour to the south which makes the distance tens of times longer.

This is an obvious weakness that Bagyarosia has. Despite having a long coastline in the north, they were actually blocked by other nations.

"Okay, I agree with the condition that the merchant from import tax and port tax", Nicholas I lay a condition to the envoy.

'Let's take advantage of their desperation.'

"I need to discuss this matter with the president first", Andrew answers. The condition is too much for him to decide alone. He quickly left the audience hall.

"Your majesty, I am sure that Count Ryntum will never agree with that", Wendell speak after seeing Andrew leave.

"I know, but I need to think about the kingdom first. Sighhh....our weaknesses are too obvious." Nicholas I helplessly said.

"Wendell, go and spread the rumours at Cerdeauxia that their royal bloodline still exists."

Wendell understands Nicholas I's intention. He wants to cause unrest there.