In the lord's mansion of the wooden castle in the valley, a group of military officers and civil affairs officials gathered here, and the atmosphere was slightly tense.
"A private message came from Count Baldwin. This year, the Principality of Swabia began to shift the battlefield to support the Principality of Lombardy in attacking the Principality of Provence. In order to support Provence in repelling the Lombards, the Principality of Burgundy and the Count of Burgundy also recruited a total of more than 3,200 soldiers divided into three legions, namely the West, the Middle and the East, and went to various battlefields in Provence."
“This time, the southward support army sent by the Count of Burgundy was organized into the Eastern Legion, with a total of more than 1,300 people, entering Provence from the east of Provence along the edge of Mount Ramel. As a palace guard knight, I need to lead at least ten fully armed soldiers to recruit, but I intend to lead no less than forty people to go south. The palace has said that more than ten people Some of them are considered mercenaries. According to Count Baldwin's arrangement, we will be organized into the Eastern Army. The Eastern Army has the largest number of people. It is divided into four companies, sixteen flag corps (note), plus cavalry, crossbows and heavy troops, totaling more than 1,200 people. The Eastern Army is led by a viscount and three barons, and is responsible for supporting the four eastern Provence theaters. In the fortress city, Earl Baldwin, in the name of military deputy, left me a military position as the flag captain of the Eastern Legion, leading sixty soldiers. If our own soldiers are not enough, the Eastern Legion will allocate elite soldiers from the recruited soldiers to fill the gap. In order to give me the greatest freedom, the flag team I lead will serve as the outpost of the entire legion. If conditions permit, we can not use it. "Follow the legion and act alone." (Note: Sixty infantry is an infantry standard group, and the flag captain is usually a knight; four flag groups are a company, and the company commander is usually a baron; two to six companies are a legion, and the legion commander is a viscount or above. The above establishment is only for the regular army and does not represent mercenary groups and various private armed forces.)
"This freedom of movement was exchanged for my promise of thirty Lombard heads. Count Baldwin said that he has treated us as his direct descendants, and we cannot let him down." Hey. They are more powerful opponents than the Swabians, otherwise Provence would not have been able to repel them after being invaded by the Lombards for more than two years. In view of the dangers of this southward march, I hope everyone will express their objections or objections before going south. We can still discuss the objections now. Once we enter the war zone, I will implement wartime military law. "
"Let's talk about it, starting with civil affairs."
Most of the people in the valley were refugees who had fled from the north of Provence, and among the civil affairs officials, the majority were refugees from the Provence War. So when Art decided to lead his army south to participate in the battle against the Lombards, national hatred suddenly surged into their hearts.
"Sir, there's nothing to say, go ahead. The Lombards have killed so many innocent civilians in Provence over the years, and their hands are stained with the blood of our brothers and relatives. It's a pity that I couldn't join the legion as a soldier, otherwise I would have followed you south, but my son Ron will fulfill this wish for me." Scott was the most excited.
Provence is the place where Scott has lived for half his life. There are his ancestors, relatives and friends there, as well as his land, cattle and houses. Perhaps in the near future he will be able to rely on his hard-working hands to earn a family fortune for his children after paying a lot of taxes to the lord. The descendants will live a prosperous life and even become squires and elders in the village...
But all this was broken by the Lombards. They carried knives, axes, swords and spears to kill every innocent civilian they met, burned their houses, trampled their farmland, and insulted their wives and daughters. Scott had deeply planted the seeds of hatred for the Lombards.
They are both Provence people and they also hate the Lombards. However, Civil Affairs Officer Cooper put forward a different opinion, "Sir, everyone, I hate the Lombards as much as you do. I also want to chop off their heads one by one and trample them under my feet. But lead the army into the distant southern territory of Provence. Fighting is not a simple matter. Most of you here have personally participated in or participated in the battle against the Swabians a year ago. You should know that fighting the enemy's army is different from suppressing bandits in the county. Regardless of other things, just the supply of supplies can make people's scalp hurt. The war can be regarded as a border battle and with the support of local lords, we still need a large-scale caravan to ensure the supply of food supplies, weapons and armor. After two years of war in Provence, the people, property and food in the border have been exhausted. What supplies will we get after entering Provence? Raise an army? Count on the Provence court to provide enough food supplies? Then there is no need to bring grain merchants south from Burgundy. Moreover, Provence is a hundred times more chaotic than Burgundy, with rebels and bandits raging everywhere. Even if we have a caravan, it will be difficult for us to move around with the army..."
Cooper has been responsible for the territorial affairs and supply security of At in recent years, so he has a deeper understanding of the difficulties beyond marching operations.
There was silence in the room for a while after Cooper finished speaking. It is a fact that it is difficult to secure food supplies, weapons and armor for foreign operations, especially in the chaotic places in the southern theater of Provence.
Seeing that everyone's excitement was somewhat extinguished, Art said: "Everyone, what Cooper said is the truth. We really need to think more about the supply and security issue during the army's battle. But you can rest assured that since it is a legion sent by the court of the Count of Burgundy, the country will definitely find ways to provide food and material supplies for the legion going south. This is why the palace issued an order for grain merchants to go south several months in advance. They will not let the army going south to fight lose their food and pay. The court of the Count of Gendy will not be able to provide us with sufficient food supplies for a period of time, and we still have our own southern caravan to supply it on our own. The soldiers of the second and third most powerful squadrons heading south this time will be mainly responsible for working with the escorts of the southern caravan to ensure that our caravan is not disturbed by bandits and rebels along the way. Compared with the first and fourth squadrons who are fighting the Lombards, your task is more dangerous and arduous. It is not easy to carry food baggage through the war-torn area. "
After hearing Art's words, everyone's worries eased a little.
"Is there any objection from the civil affairs side?" Art asked.
All civil affairs officials shook their heads.
"Master, since it is your thoughtful decision, we will definitely obey the order. Don't worry about the civil affairs side, we will not make you worry." Cooper expressed his determination on behalf of the civil affairs.
At nodded approvingly at a few people, and then turned to the commanders of the army.
"As for the army, please come up with any ideas."
“Sir, Angus and I are already thinking about how to march and fight.” Odo and Angus were originally leading the march south to join the war. What they needed to think about was how to bring the army to Provence, how to fight the Lombards and other details, so they did not object to going south to join the war.
Matt turned his attention to Bass, the commander of the garrison. Bass suffered a head injury and suffered severe pain every time the weather changed. Therefore, he was no longer suitable to return to the legion to fight. Therefore, Art made him officially the commander of the garrison. He was mainly responsible for protecting the stability of the Valley Knights. During Art's absence, he also took charge of the border outpost garrison and the Boulder Town patrol team.
"Bas, after the army moves south, you will have the highest military position. Whether it is the Valley Knights, the Boulder Town, or the border outpost, you will be required to take command. Your task is very heavy. Do you have any ideas?"
Since being hit hard on the head, this man who was not talkative has become even more taciturn, but when it came to his responsibilities, he still said a few more words, "Sir, the bandits in Tyniec County have basically subsided now, and there will not be too many bandits in the county. What we have to guard against is the conspiracy and eagerness of the Dean family. The biggest danger we face after you and the army leave is that the Dean family may change their ways to harass some of our people. Now that the Valley Knight Territory has been exposed, I am most worried that my opponent will do something wrong here. "
"Well, your worries are not unreasonable. Do you have any good ideas?"
Bass replied: "I suggest that the standing peasant soldiers of the garrison be expanded to thirty people during the army's outing, and the number of trainings for the registered peasant soldiers in the territory should be increased. Once there is a warning, the peasant soldiers of the garrison can fight at any time."
Matt thought for a while. Now that the valley knights have enough food and supplies, they can still support the recruitment of a few more standing peasant soldiers and the increase in the frequency of peasant soldier training. He nodded and said: "I agree, you will be responsible for this matter. The civil affairs people will help Bass defend his homeland."
Yat continued to look at several officers of the army and said: "I don't need to ask for any objections from the army. The army's bounden duty is to obey the command. After you go down, comfort and mobilize the soldiers and prepare everyone to go south, and then think about what needs to be paid attention to. "Odo, you are responsible for supervising the distribution of weapons, armor and equipment. In addition, we will ask the civil administration to allocate one month's military pay and military expenses. Although we are recruited by the palace and enjoy the palace's support, we still have to be on guard."
"Cooper, urge the craftsmen. The weapons and armor made in the craftsman's workshop must be delivered to the army as soon as possible. We need to carry some spare weapons and armor south..."
After arranging several more territories to recruit soldiers and people, reclaim wasteland, build houses, extend roads, etc., Art turned his head and glanced at Ku. Uncle, then glanced at Bas, and said: "Kub, Bas, I will leave my home to you two."
"Don't worry, Sir!"
"Okay! The legion will set off in five days and go to Tyniec County to gather and go south."
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