Chapter 814 Rendezvous
Just when he arrived here this morning, he had already received letters from officials stationed in various occupied areas in the south, requesting the government to send more manpower to assist.
In order to relieve the pressure on officials in various parts of the south, he transferred some officials from several occupied areas in the north that had stabilized and sent them to the south. He then requested the Welsh Provincial Government in a letter to send people to the south for assistance.
For this young official, staying up all night to deal with government affairs has become the norm. Fortunately, Ian is still young, so this fatigue is nothing to him.
The long table in the Lord's Hall is filled with various account books and policies regarding local population, land, and taxes. Only half of the candles placed in the middle were left, and the melted wax at the bottom filled the candle holders, dripping onto the table and splashing into translucent chrysanthemum-like patterns.
On both sides of the long table, more than a dozen officials were attentively flipping through the documents and miscellaneous account books in their hands, and using a pen to rewrite the accounts in another brand-new book for later government management.
Dong~dong~~
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door outside.
Ian, who was sitting in the first seat to the right of the main seat of the long table, turned around and took a look.
"Sir Ian, this is the midnight snack that Master Kazak ordered me to prepare for you in the kitchen. You can eat it while it's hot." After that, the kitchen manager came in with a few handymen.
Ian breathed a long sigh of relief and said: "That's fine, there are too many things that need to be sorted out and recorded, and it won't be finished in an instant." Then he said to the officials present: "Everyone, take a rest and fill your stomach~"
Ian put down the quill in his hand, walked to the kitchen manager, and said politely: "Please take me to convey Mr. Kazak's kindness."
The kitchen manager nodded in agreement, and then left with a group of servants -
At this time, on the south wall of Santia City, the breeze was blowing and the weather was cool.
Kazak, the deputy commander of the legion responsible for the defense of Santia City, Lavati and South Wellsburg, would always take a few guards to patrol along the perimeter of the city wall after dinner as usual.
He just finished his inspection tour in Lavati three days ago, and then rushed to Santiya City without stopping.
Standing alone on the city wall and looking to the south, he couldn't help but think of the legionnaires who had just captured Tira City and several surrounding cities in recent days.
As the deputy commander of the legion, he is naturally willing to lead the soldiers to charge into battle and make achievements. Although he was unwilling, he completely obeyed Art's arrangements. Nowadays, the legion has occupied many places, and its manpower can be said to be stretched thin. Allowing him, the deputy commander of the legion, to garrison and occupy the city is also a result of Art's trust in him.
On weekdays, in addition to inspecting the city and surrounding defenses, Kazak also organizes daily drills for the legionnaires stationed in the area. In his spare time, he would patrol the city with his soldiers, always paying attention to the local security situation.
A few days ago, my good brother Bass sent a letter asking where Kazak was currently stationed. He planned to take the opportunity of his patrol south to meet him and have a little chat. But Kazak was on his way back to Lavati from South Wellsburg. By the time he arrived at Santia City, Bas had already left with his people. In addition to leaving behind a hundred newly recruited young peasant soldiers, he also brought him several barrels of Welsh beer recently produced in the valley.
Kazak took two steps forward and placed his hands on the city wall. He inadvertently remembered the past with these old guys...
Many years ago, several of them supported their families as laborers in Lucesien, living a hard life competing for work with laborers from other guilds every day.
Kazak’s family also has an old father who is bedridden to support, and often needs help from Otto and others.
Later, Art recruited several people to Moxia as a patrol officer and went south to Tyniec to capture bandits and maintain border security. A few years passed in the blink of an eye, and after dozens of battles, large and small, several people transformed from ordinary laborers into nobles with the titles of baron and knight under the name of the Earl of Wales. This is something Kazak would never have thought of many years ago.
Now Kazak is the deputy commander of the legion and has been awarded the title of Knight of the Square Banner. This is undoubtedly a great honor for him.
Thinking of this, he untied the naan from his waist, pulled out the cork, and took two sips of the Welsh beer that Bath had just delivered to his mouth——
Poof!
In the south of Lombardy, in an abandoned monastery fifty miles north of Amos Manor, Art just took a glass of beer handed over by Ron and poured it into his mouth. The taste was as hard to swallow as horse urine and he instantly spit out the wine that was about to flow down his throat~
Art looked at the giggling guard sitting next to him in shock, and asked: "Are you sure this is the Welsh beer we brought from the valley?"
Ron nodded firmly and explained: "Master, I don't know what happened, but all these beers have changed recently, and they smell more disgusting than horse urine~"
"Then give it to me to drink!" Art thrust the wine glass into Ron's hand, took out his handkerchief and wiped away the remaining juice from the corner of his mouth.
Picking up the water bag on the side and pouring two sips into his mouth, Art rinsed his mouth and felt better.
Angus, who was sitting opposite Art, happily took off the wine naan from his waist, bit open the stopper, spit it to the side, and took a sip. Then he tore off a piece of roasted grouse that was sizzling with oil, smashed it into his mouth and chewed it with relish.
"Sir, how about you drink some of this from me?" Angus raised the wine naan and handed it to Art, but he pushed it away.
At this time, Odo ordered someone to fetch two barrels of wine brought from the city of Tira, pry open the cork, fill the cup in his hand, and hand it to Art.
Art took the wine, brought it to his mouth and smelled it. After feeling that there was nothing unusual, he took a small sip with confidence.
"Strange, why did the wine we brought taste bad?" Art muttered in a low voice.
At this time, Ron quickly took a piece of roasted grouse from the fire and handed it to Art's hand. While Art was still thinking about the stale beer, the hot grouse meat burned his lips.
"Ron, you~"
Ron, who had made Art unhappy one after another, quickly handed over the kettle, trying to calm his master down.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, Art suddenly realized and said hurriedly: "I know, the change in beer taste is probably due to the recent continued warming in the southern continent."
"Sir, according to what you say, aren't all the dozens of barrels of Welsh beer we brought with us useless?" Odo asked with concern. Although he is not as fond of spirits as Angus, Odo still hopes to drink a glass of the valley's own beer with his daily meals.
Art nodded helplessly and told Spencer to pour out all the spoiled beer to avoid occupying the carriage. ”
“All poured? Master, what shall we drink in the future?” Ron is also a guy who loves wine, so it would be a pity for him to pour so much wine.
Art picked up the water bag on the ground and threw it into his hand, "Drink this!"
For a moment, everyone couldn't help laughing out loud.
After leaving Amos Manor in the early morning, Art led the legionnaires who captured it all the way north, and finally caught up with most of the legionnaires in a village near noon and met them.
After resting there for a few hours, avoiding the hottest period of the day, when there were still four hours before dark, the legion broke out of camp again and continued to rush north.
Along the way, these thousands of people passed through weedy wheat fields and bushes on the edge of hills, bypassing increasingly fast-flowing rivers and sparsely populated market towns. It was not until after dark that they stopped marching and found this monastery that had been abandoned for several years.
At this time, it was less than seventy miles away from the city of Milan. Along this section of the road, there are two military forts with more than 400 troops stationed respectively. The southern military fort is only fifteen miles away from the monastery.
Before dark, the outpost reported that traces of Lombard scouts had been discovered this afternoon behind a hill less than five miles north of the monastery. When a squadron leader of soldiers in charge of exploring the path led his men in pursuit for two miles, he was still left behind by the opponent.
After everyone gathered around the fire to eat and drink, Art called together several senior officers of the legion to prepare for the deployment of the next phase of the upcoming battle -
"——Ron, map!"
Beside a dusty wooden table located in the corner to the left of the monastery gate, the guard Ron laid the military map he carried on the table.
Angus, who was leaning against the wall, picked up a nearby candlestick and pressed it in the middle of the map. Odo stretched out his hands and pulled open the two corners of the map.
Art looked at the military fort marked with a circle in the middle of the map and fell into deep thought. First of all, the geographical location of the military fort is very special.
The fortress was situated on the north side of a broad, fast-flowing river, with its banks about three hundred feet apart. To get to the north bank, you can only cross the stone bridge connecting the gate of the military castle at the other end.
Not only is the water here deep and fast, but also because spring has just begun, the water temperature is extremely low. If you want to bypass this military fort, you need to go to a market town twenty miles upriver. This would require a detour of more than forty miles beyond the original route. This is obviously not in line with the Legion's established strategy.
There are many cliffs and rapids along the river on the side of the military castle. It is not easy to reach the other side smoothly.
Art held his chin in one hand and held the other around his waist, with a hint of embarrassment between his brows.
"Sir~" Odo, standing on Art's right side, shouted softly.
Art sighed softly and slowly sat on the bench under him. Seeing this, Angus and Odo also slowly sat down.
"Have you sent someone to check?" Art pointed at the military fortress on the other side of the river on the map.
"A dozen guys from the task force and two teams of soldiers have already gone, led by captain Stanley." Odo paused and continued: "There should be news at noon tomorrow."
Art's expression was a little serious. After so many years of fighting in the north and south, this was the first time he encountered a military fort occupying such a dangerous terrain——