The small hill where the river turns ten miles south of the Valeland is bustling with activity.
A "fierce" offensive and defensive battle was going on on a cliff about six feet high on the west side of the hill. The defensive side was composed of six soldiers from Bass's first squad, and the attacking side was a dozen soldiers from the other three squads. Bass's "city defense army" held long forked wooden sticks and opened the simple climbing ladder that the "siege army" approached time and time again. The soldiers on the "city wall" kept throwing pieces of hard soil down. Although the people below kept blocking with their shields, all the "siege" soldiers had their faces covered with mud.
About twenty steps below the "city wall", the soldiers of the sentry team, led by Ron, also used arrows wrapped in rags to shoot at the "city wall". The shooting skills of several sentry riders were not good, let alone shooting from above, so nine out of ten shots were missed...
More than a hundred steps away from the "siege" battlefield, the newly arrived doctor Thomas and the "kitchen steward" Spencer were treating the wounds of several soldiers. Although this "offensive and defensive battle" was just a training exercise, arrows and clods of soil were flying everywhere, and sticks and wooden forks were flying wildly. There would always be a few unlucky guys who were beaten with bruises or bruises on their skin or feet.
Physician Thomas cleaned the wound of the soldier whose head was smashed by a clod of dirt and tied a rag to stop the bleeding. He took a look at the "battlefield" not far away and asked Spencer who was boiling water curiously: "Hey, kitchen manager, what are you doing? Good soldiers have to be tortured like this. So many people were injured before they even went to the battlefield. I have never heard of such a training method."
Spencer threw the firewood in his hand to the ground, tilted his head and said fiercely to the doctor: "Old guy, I told you not to call me kitchen steward, my name is Spencer!!!"
The white-bearded doctor shrugged.
Spencer glanced over there and continued: "Speaking of my lord, he is amazing. It is said that he is a descendant of a declining noble. He has been to the Holy Land, participated in holy wars and witnessed big scenes. His training Of course, the art of war cannot be equated with ordinary people. This is called ~ uh ~ it’s called ~ that the blood shed during training is the life saved in battle ~"
Spencer recalled it carefully: "Well! That's right, that's what it means."
The white-bearded doctor chewed what Spencer said, shook his head and continued to bandage the wounded soldiers: "What's the weird reason? Soldiers usually bleed all their blood and go to see God long ago, so they still have a chance to go to the battlefield~~"
Spencer couldn't answer for a while.
The white-bearded doctor continued: "Say man, how come you, a strong man, come to the kitchen to cook? The food you cook is not very good?"
Spencer's self-esteem was trampled on again. He stood up and retorted: "You are a quack, I You can starve yourself if the food you make is not delicious. Besides, I am not a cook. I am a warehouse manager, a medical soldier, and a soldier. Do you think that an ordinary person can do this? ”
The white-bearded doctor smacked his lips and stared at the sparkling Spencer.
Spencer's expression became even more sinister. Seeing his fists clenched, the white-bearded doctor quickly said, "Don't forget what Lord Odo said. You are now my apprentice. If you dare to hit me, I will tell Lord Odo immediately."
Spencer was so angry that he picked up the bucket and walked to the river, muttering, "The old man's mouth really stinks, no wonder he was kicked out here~"
…
On the "offensive and defensive battlefield", Art stood on the edge of the cliff and drew his bow, aiming at the "siege commander" Odo who was organizing soldiers to raise shields to cover and set up ladders to climb the city. Odo was busy directing the soldiers to cover the climb to the city, and he even forgot that his head and body were exposed to the shield. When a pain came from his chest, he suddenly realized that he had lost his shield, and beat his chest in anger, but according to the prior agreement, he was considered "dead in battle."于是一场激烈的「攻防战」因为进攻方指挥官的战死而宣告结束……
…………
小山丘下的空地中，巡境队的士兵们都歪七倒八地坐在地上就着一碗肉汤啃着手中的裸麦面包。
Matt's voice echoed amidst the sucking and chewing sounds of the soldiers: "Today is the fifth time we have trained the attack and defense of the castle. As everyone has experienced, no castle can be captured easily. During this time, the offensive and defensive soldiers have tried various methods, but not many can be stormed. Of course, battering rams and trebuchets can play a greater role in siege. But a strong castle cannot be knocked down by a few stones or a piece of heavy wood. Not to mention the reasons for these siege weapons themselves, think about it, can the defenders allow the enemy to use these siege instruments with peace of mind? Today we use earth clods and light arrows wrapped in cloth, but on the battlefield we just use rolling stones and fire pots to heat oil..."
“…There are usually two effective ways to attack and defend a strong city: one is to besiege the city for the siege. The defender is besieged in the city, and cannot receive continuous supplies of food and materials. As time goes by, supplies are scarce and morale is low, and naturally the city cannot be defended. Just like the Aosta City and Kalk Castle in the Aosta War Zone. Similarly, the Lombard army did not forcefully attack the city, but surrounded Aosta and cut off the external supply of supplies, starving the defenders to death. The second step was to break into the castle, just like we did in the battle to regain Alsburg, and send an elite army to sneak into the fortified city to disrupt the enemy's deployment from within."
Yate picked up the wooden bowl and took a sip of the hot soup to moisten his throat, and continued: "Similarly, as a city defender, if you want to hold on to the city, you need to do two things. One is to ensure that the city has sufficient food supplies and that the soldiers have well-equipped weapons and armor. As a city defender, you have an obvious advantage when the enemy attacks. But if the enemy is besieging the city, you must ensure that there is one more meal in the city than the enemy. Food. The enemy is also a human being, and usually the conscripted troops are unwilling to stay and fight after their military service expires. If the defender can persist until the enemy's military service expires or the food is exhausted, it will be a victory. The second is to prevent submarine attacks. When a castle is too strong, the enemy will definitely find ways to sneak into the city to cause chaos, so patrols must be strengthened to deal with unexpected enemy situations..."
The soldiers nodded in understanding, but Tuba, the captain of the fourth team, closed his mouth, put down the tableware in his hand, and asked softly: "Sir, if I am the attacker, how can I make the defenders run out of food? On the other hand, if I are the defender, how can I ensure that the enemy's food is depleted?"
Att turned his head and glanced at the newly promoted team leader with approval, and said loudly to everyone: "Tuba is a good question. Both the offensive and defensive sides want to use up each other's food supplies, so how can they do it? Both the offensive and defensive sides must learn to build support outside the city, just like the Kalk Fort held by Baron Balian is a support for the city of Aosta; similarly, the Kalk Fort outside the city is a support. The roadside manor checkpoint is a support for the Lombard army. One of the functions of Fort Kalk is to disrupt the Lombard army's food supply, and the main function of the roadside manor is to cut off the food transportation of Fort Kalk. In addition, cavalry or infantry must be sent to harass the enemy's supply areas, just like the ruined villages we saw when we entered the Aosta war zone..."
……………………
When the valley is bustling with activity, the wooden castle in the valley is also busy.
The army is about to go on an expedition, and the wooden castle is also preparing for the expedition. From military rations, bread and bacon, to robes, cloaks, and military boots to wooden bowls, spoons, and buckets, all equipment and supplies must be prepared. Fortunately, the patrol team has been fighting non-stop for more than half a year and has continuously purchased large quantities of grain, cloth, tools and raw materials from outside and brought them back to the wooden castle. In addition, there are two craftsmen, Cooper and Old Bud, as well as a group of half-year-old children and peasant women drawn from the wooden castle. After a month of rush production, the army's supplies are basically ready for the expedition - thirty sets of black robes and cloaks, as well as belts, boots and water bags. Equipment, thirty sets of modified saddlebags, thirty-five oak bucklers, forty long (short) spears, fifteen broadswords and twenty short swords, ten long and short battle axes (leaf hammers, chain hammers), fifteen sets of armor (leather armor) and helmets of various colors, as well as one hundred and fifty rye bread weighing about one pound and one thousand pounds of shelled wheat carried with the army, six military tents, wood saws, shovels and other tools, and a four-wheeled carriage.
The old carpenter's wife picked up a saddlebag-like object made of dried rattan, covered with thick linen and a small amount of cowhide, and two cowhide shoulder straps. She asked Emma, who was sewing it carefully, "Emma, isn't this a saddlebag for mules and horses? Can it be carried on a soldier's back?"
This thing called a rucksack was designed by Art. When they marched long distances south some time ago, the personal cooking utensils, bedding, dry food, and scattered supplies that the soldiers carried with them were all casually wrapped in rags and hung on short spears or tied around their waists, just like bandits. After returning to the wooden castle in the valley, Art personally directed Emma and several skilled peasant women to sew more than thirty simple "marching rucksacks" based on the backpacks from their previous lives. This kind of rucksack is actually a saddlebag suspended from a horse with two shoulder straps, but with a rattan frame, which has a much larger capacity. Several additional sheath ropes are sewn on the rucksack so that soldiers can tie individual weapons and shields that cannot be loaded into the rucksack to carry them. However, as a soldier wearing armor and carrying heavy loads, this kind of backpack can only be used to carry a small amount of personal items such as tableware, dry food, millstones, and quilts. Of course, shields and helmets can also be strapped to the backpack and carried, but other baggage must still be handled by specialized soldiers to avoid affecting the soldiers' operations.
“My man said, don’t underestimate this thing. This thing looks like an animal’s saddlebag, but it can really hold a lot of things, and it is solid and easy to carry on the back, and it will not affect the soldiers’ marching and fighting. Why do you think we have never thought of putting things used by animals on people’s bodies? Mr. Art is really a strange person..." Emma will Wrapping the thick thread in his hand into a solid knot, he picked up a knife and cut off the excess thread...
In the carpenter's workshop, Bard was using homemade dye to paint Art's black-background blood-eyed howling wolf emblem on the cloak and wooden shield with the help of several peasant women. The old carpenter's painting skills were not exquisite, but it was still enough as a mark to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy and confirm their identity.
In the wooden castle warehouse, the old housekeeper Cooper is also busy. The newly joined down-and-out businessman Salter has already entered the role. Cooper is taking Salter to select goods in the warehouse that do not take up space and can be sold at high prices in various parts of the north. Raw silk satin, spices, tea, salt and other goods are of course the first choice, followed by wine, linen, olive oil, dried fruits and other goods. According to the pre-discussed plan, the caravan accompanying the army this time only carried five carts of goods, so the goods taken away had to be repeatedly selected.
As the only three people in the Valley Citadel who could read and write Common Chinese, Salt enjoyed very high treatment. Not long after he joined, he was appointed as the steward of the Citadel by Art, and enjoyed the same salary and treatment as Lawrence and Scott. This salary is far less than what Salt had gained when he was in business, but now that he is penniless, he feels lucky to be able to get this high-paying and decent job.
"Old housekeeper, I saw our carriages. They are basically wooden carts without iron. If a single horse is used to pull goods over a long distance, it can pull up to 800 pounds of goods at a time. If it is possible to use two horses or two mules to pull goods, it can pull 1,500 pounds at a time. If the carriage is heavier, then It’s too much to bear. There are not many horses and animals in the wooden castle, and we can only use one horse and one mule to pull the goods, so we won’t bring the heavy goods for the time being." Salter said to the steward who was counting the goods while writing on the birch bark with a sharpened charcoal tip.
The old housekeeper looked at the goods piled up in the warehouse and nodded to Salter: "Sarter, you are a business traveler. You have the final say on these things. I am just helping you count the goods."
Salter raised his head and glanced at the old man who was respected by everyone as the steward of the wooden castle. His self-esteem and sense of honor were greatly satisfied. He was not looked down upon in the valley wooden castle because of his status as a businessman. On the contrary, it was because he was literate and knowledgeable about goods, and he could always be recognized by others. If he could make enough money in the future to turn him over, he planned to stay here for a long time.