After a whole day of trade negotiations, Baron Balian purchased 20,000 pounds of shelled wheat from Sapp at a price slightly higher than the previous purchase price. Galvin wanted to sell the grain at a high price, but the trade routes were blocked now. The grain had to be transported out of Sap by Baron Balian's troops, and Baron Balian promised to purchase large amounts of grain in Sap for military supplies in the future. In order to show his absolute sincerity, Galvin provided twelve iron-clad four-wheeled carriages that could carry 1,500 pounds free of charge and arranged for ten coachmen to drive the carriages. Of course, after the food was delivered to Fort Kalk, Baron Balian was obliged to let Art's patrol team safely return the carriages and coachmen to Sapp.
· While discussing the purchase of grain, the two barons Galvin and Balian also agreed with Ater to help the barons enter the mountains south of Sap to suppress bandits after the patrol team returned from escorting grain from Provence.
"Originally, the southern trade routes have been very stable over the years, but since the war in the south, there have been many bandits entrenched in the mountains..." Baron Galvin briefly told Art about the repeated attacks on his southward caravan in recent times. Of course, as a powerful and wealthy nobleman, Galvin could not allow bandits to run rampant in his territory. Some time ago, Baron Galvin also organized two knights and more than thirty territorial guard soldiers to go to the southern hills to try to clear out the bandits. As a result, they were led by the bandits to run around in the complicated hills and were attacked and lost several elite soldiers.
Baron Galvin rubbed a rare jade ring on his thumb, looked up at Art, and said, "Art, this is the situation. To be honest, although I am a baron, I know nothing about marching and fighting, and several knights in my territory are also better at dealing with gold cakes and silver coins. Besides, those bastards entrenched in the hills are just a group of rats, hiding everywhere, and their whereabouts cannot be traced at all."
"Lord Baron, I have a general understanding of the situation you are talking about. I will pay attention to the terrain and enemy situation when transporting food south. How about we discuss the suppression of bandits with you in detail after I return from the south? But I have to discuss the commission with you in advance..." Art stated his ideal commission and waited for Baron Galvin to counter-offer with him.
"Okay! That's the price. As long as the bandits can be eliminated smoothly, money is not an issue!"
Att did not expect that the merchant nobleman in front of him was so straightforward. He briefly talked with Baron Galvin for a few words and then stood up to leave.
Just as he was about to open the office door, the wooden door was pushed open violently, and a figure bumped into Art. The figure was petite and bounced to the ground by Art.
At quickly stepped forward to help the person on the ground, and when their eyes met, Art was a little lost - the person under him had black hair as dark as lacquer, skin as jade, beautiful eyes, and beautiful facial features...
After looking at each other for a short while, Art came back to his senses and realized that he had been rude.
"Noble lady, forgive me for being rude." Art slowly picked up the female family member on the ground, gently apologized, and then seemed to run away.
The eyes of the female family members chased Art's departing back...
"Ahem~ Lottie, why are you breaking into my office!" Baron Galvin interrupted the female family member's confusion and scolded softly.
The female family member was called back to her senses by a soft shout. She glanced at the door again, regained her facial expression, turned to Baron Galvin and asked loudly: "Father, I heard that you want me to marry the Dean family?"
Galvin had always doted on his only daughter, Lottie, and respected Lottie's wishes in matters of marriage. However, this proud and unique child could never find a suitable husband. If she continued to be willful like this, Lottie would have to become a "saint."
Baron Galvin stroked his forehead and said in a slightly scolding tone: "Lottie, you rejected the noble prince before, but now you don't want to marry a wealthy businessman. You are nineteen years old. If you don't get married, do you want to be a nun? Your mother is right. I have been too pampered to you over the years, and I will not let you be so willful anymore!!"
Lottie bravely retorted: "Neither do you.看看您都找了些什么样的人？不是纨绔勋贵就是油滑商人......」
高尔文听罢气不打一处来，「你到底想嫁给什么样的人？你告诉我，我去给你找！！！」
「我要嫁给真正的勇士......」
............
Matt, who was drifting away, faintly heard the quarrel in the official room. He shook his head to throw away the beautiful shadow in his mind, and left the lord's mansion and walked towards the patrol's temporary camp in Sapp Castle...
In the early morning of the third day, dozens of people escorted seventeen four-wheel carriages, carrying 23,000 pounds of grain, starting from the main gate of Sapp Castle and heading towards the southern hills along the carriageway.
According to the arrangement agreed upon yesterday, a cavalry attendant of Baron Balian led Ron and Jason to scout two miles in front of the convoy. If there was any danger, he immediately rode back to the convoy to warn; Odo led the soldiers of the third squad half a mile behind the convoy. They marched in tandem, and were responsible for reinforcing the convoy when it was attacked to prevent it from being encircled and annihilated; each side of the convoy sent a soldier in the dense forest on the hillside a hundred steps apart to detect the enemy's situation; Art and Baron Balian personally led the remaining soldiers and coachmen to walk in the middle...
In the southbound convoy, Obote, a miner recruit armed with a spear and a shield, followed a four-wheeled carriage. Another recruit behind him kept whispering to him all the way. It was obvious that this recruit was a little nervous.
There are so many of us, do any robbers really dare to rob?
< Obot;
「你说大人为什么把人分散得到处都是，一旦强盗来了可怎么办？」
奥博特还是没有理会。
The recruit didn't care about Obote's silence and continued: "Do you think we can finish this trip alive?"
Obote was a little annoyed. The recruit kept talking all the way, and his ears were almost blocked with nonsense.
Life-saving combat skills."
Obot's voice was a little loud. Colin, the leader of the combat team walking in front of them, turned around and shouted in a low voice: "The marching team is not allowed to make loud noises! Do you want to have a taste of military sticks?"
The two of them remained silent.
While the convoy was moving slowly, in a cave deep in the southern hills and mountains, several bandit leaders were arguing loudly.
They are the group of bandits that Baron Galvin calls entrenched in the southern hills. On weekdays, these people are caravans and pedestrians scattered in their respective "territories" to rob. However, their way of survival has become increasingly difficult recently. First, there are more and more bandits entrenched in the southern hilly areas. There are more people trying to steal their jobs, so life is naturally difficult. The second reason is that there are fewer and fewer caravans traveling on this bandit-ridden trade road, especially since Fort Sap's grain team has not been traveling on this channel for several months after being intercepted several times. The bandits once discussed ganging up to attack Sap Fort to make a fortune, but the high walls of Sap discouraged the bandits who were accustomed to bullying the weak.
Survival is getting harder and harder. The bandits have packed their bags and plan to leave here and continue to plunder in various parts of the east. However, an informant who ran out of Sap two days ago brought a surprise to the bandits who were facing worries about survival.
This informant is a lazy guy in Sarp Castle. He is usually idle and does sneaky things all day long. Naturally, he is often caught and beaten by Baron Galvin's guards. Therefore, this lazy man holds a grudge and actually takes the initiative to find the bandits and is willing to become an informant lurking in Sarp Castle.
Two days ago, when Baron Balian brought dozens of people to Sapp to buy grain, this lazy man set his sights on them. He used a few glasses of low-quality beer to trick out the departure time and amount of grain from Baron Galvin's house slave, and then immediately ran to the hills to inform the bandit leader.
So, the bandit leader who got the good news summoned five or six groups of bandits from the hills to the cave to discuss robbing the convoy.
The cave was filled with smoke and smoke. Fifty or sixty bandits were wearing various clothes and holding various weapons in their hands. They were sitting around piles of bonfires, chewing food plundered from all directions, drinking low-quality beer, and shouting and cursing loudly.
In a slightly flat area on the side of the cave, seven or eight bandit leaders were discussing how to rob the convoy.
A scarred-faced bearded leader said: "Let me tell you, no matter what the men in black are, we all rush forward together. After slaughtering more than a dozen sheep, those guys will naturally run away for their lives. When the time comes, the carriage will be driven back to share the food."
"No, no, the spy said that the men in black don't look like ordinary caravan guards. They are all strong men, and they are all wearing uniform weapons. I'm worried that they are elite soldiers from the army. If you attack rashly, you will easily fall into a trap." The bandit leader, who had the largest number, shook his head repeatedly.
The bandits in the cave fell into silence for a while.
A guy with a sharp face and monkey cheeks wearing women's clothes rolled his eyes and came up with a plan: "We can't attack the convoy. The opponent is definitely prepared, and if we can't attack, we will definitely suffer. So we can do this..."
...
The evening of the second day after leaving Sapu, the sky was still glowing with the afterglow of the setting sun. The convoy stopped moving forward and set up camp in an open space outside a dense forest. The two consecutive days without incident made everyone who was nervous along the way relax a little.
At the moment, with the help of Ron, Art was taking off the heavy iron-clad armor on his body. "Ron, have Odo and the others arranged the sentry posts for tonight?"
As Ron placed the armor on the ground and flattened it, he replied: "Master, it has been arranged. Bass's first team is responsible for the sentry tonight. They are eating now. After the meal, they will go to guard the surrounding areas."
"There is no one on guard duty now. Please follow me to the surrounding area and take another look around. I always feel that it has been too quiet these two days. There are seven or eight groups of bandits entrenched in these dozens of miles of hills, but so far we have not seen a trace of the bandits. This is too abnormal."
Ron said with a smile: "Those guys must have run away a long time ago when they saw that we were too numerous and too powerful. You see, we have come here safely in the past two days. There is nothing to worry about."
Matt looked at the followers who had been following him for a long time, and couldn't help but feel nervous: "Is this just your own idea?"
"Everyone thinks so, saying that now the robbers have to go around us."
Matt quickly walked around Ron, picked up the iron armor from the ground and put it on his body, then walked out and shouted: "Let everyone gather at the grain truck to prepare for the battle, quickly."
After saying that, he fastened his sword belt, picked up his riding bow and quiver, and left the military tent and ran towards Baron Balian's tent.
Baron Balian had not taken off his chain mail, and was sitting in the tent wearing heavy mail.
"My lord, I feel something is wrong. It has been too quiet these two days, and we are too relaxed now."
The baron stood up and looked at the young patrol officer and said: "I have discovered this problem. The wild wolf has never I won't make a sound before I bite your throat. I have just sent two of my attendants to patrol the surrounding area." Art has to admire the vigilance of the military noble in front of him. This is the insight of someone who has been immersed in the flames of war.
As soon as the conversation between the two ended, there was a commotion outside the tent.
Matt was heartbroken and immediately turned around and left the military tent. Dozens of bandits armed with long and short weapons had already rushed out of the dense forest on one side of the camp...
…………
"Gather and prepare for battle!!!"
Suddenly, a combat team leader suddenly pulled out the long sword from his waist and shouted: "Get down!"
Benson turned his head and saw a woman wearing gray clothes running out of the forest at the edge of the jungle.
“No, that’s not right, that woman is holding a knife in her hand, and she looks very ugly, as if she has a beard. Which family is this woman from, and why would such an ugly woman appear in the dense forest?” Numerous random thoughts suddenly flashed through Benson’s mind.
Then, more people ran out of the forest. A man with a scarred face and a big beard suddenly raised his bow and nocked an arrow, and the bow was drawn...
At this time, Benson finally understood what Colin meant by suddenly shouting "Get down."
"Damn, the bandits are attacking." Benson only had time to curse in his heart, and then he felt a sudden strong force hit his left shoulder, and he fell to the ground sideways. Suddenly there was severe pain in his shoulder. When he turned his head, he saw a bright arrow stuck in his shoulder. The arrow did not penetrate deeply into the flesh, but the bright red blood had already flowed and soaked his black robe and cloak.
The sudden arrow hit and severe pain made Benson's brain suddenly explode. This time, he was extremely frightened and completely at a loss. He could only lie on the ground and scream in terror like a slaughtered pig.
“Help! Help me! Help me...”
————————
At had already fired three arrows towards the edge of the dense forest. The distance of a hundred or so steps was approaching in an instant. Seeing that the bandits were about to rush forward, Ater unloaded his arrows and shouted at the panicked crowd:
"Gather in formation!!"
"Shield defense!!!"
"The drivers all hid beside the grain carts and were not allowed to run around."
The soldiers of the patrol team were barely trained rigorously. After the initial panic, they responded quickly under the leadership of the team leader, team leader and veterans. Amid Art's roar, more than twenty soldiers formed a linear shield formation facing the edge of the dense forest.
Five light arrows have been fired, two of the bandits who rushed over have been shot down by Art, and the shield formation in the open space has basically taken shape.
"Hold on!"
The bandits are still twenty steps away...
"Hold on!"
The bandits are still ten steps away...
Hold up your shield Standing in the formation, Obote listened to the roar from the opposite side and the "duh" sound of arrows nailed on the wooden shield. He felt his heart pounding in his chest, his throat became dry and tight, and his right hand had turned white and blue from holding the short spear tightly.
「Stab!」
With an order, more than a dozen short spears, swords, axes and hammers penetrated the gaps in the shields and stabbed the bandits who were crowding in front of the shield formation. The sound of sharp blades tearing flesh and the screams of heavy hammers breaking bones began to be heard from the front and rear of the shield formation...