In the dense forest and weeds on the hillside, Tuba watched all the Lombards in the farm below the mountain climb up the wall, and the sentries patrolling the surrounding area all retreated behind the stone wall of the farm. It looked like a war was coming. He couldn't help but whispered to Art beside him: "Sir, shouldn't this be done? The surrounding area is in chaos. Guomei paste, don't the people here know how to reinforce? Our strategy was discovered by the defenders in the manor? "
When the smoke rose from the northwest and the defenders in the farm were unmoved, Art already knew that his plan to lure the enemy out of the city and attack them separately had failed.
Obviously the Lombard garrison commander at the farm was not so easily fooled.
"Tuba, call Lord Balian's sentry over."
Tuba retreated slowly, then stood up and called the two sentries sent by Viscount Balian to assist Art's army.
"Lord Art?" A sentry climbed up behind Art.
"My plan failed. The enemy chose to defend and not come out." Art said.
"I need you two to help me bring a message to Lord Balian, saying that I will storm this farm, and hope that Lord Balian can help me resist the Lombard reinforcements from Solburg and other directions." Art ordered the two of them.
"Lord Art, how long do you need us to resist? We now have to deal with the Geniana mercenaries in the southeastern hills. We don't have enough troops and it is impossible to pull the army all the way to Solburg." A sentry said the difficulty.
"Tell Lord Balian that if I capture this place, I will set off the smoke immediately; if I fail to capture this place, Lord Balian's army can retreat on its own at noon the day after tomorrow.",
"Yes, we will return immediately." The sentry replied, and then hid towards the place where the horses were hidden.
?"Tuba, lead people to guard all road entrances and exits around the farm, cut off the enemy's contact with the outside world. Also tell everyone that there is no need to hide."
????"Send people to find the sentry team, and have them patrol within three miles of the farm, shielding all enemies in the surrounding area."
????Tuba took the order and got up to get busy.
????"Spencer, Spencer!" Art shouted at the baggage team down the mountain.
Spencer didn't react when he heard someone calling him. He stuck out a head from the bushes where he was hiding, "Didn't you say you can't speak loudly? You roared so loudly~"
????"Sir, my lord seems to be calling you~" a soldier beside Spencer reminded.
Spencer then realized that Art was calling him. He quickly tore off the dead branches and leaves of the vines on his body and spit out the grass roots in his mouth. He got out of the bush and ran towards the hillside.
"Sir, why don't you hide it anymore?" Spencer asked breathlessly.
"The enemy has noticed our strategy, there is no need for us to hide it. Spencer, take the baggage team to find a place to make a fire and cook a sumptuous meal for everyone to have a good meal. Then you will lead people to make a batch of siege equipment and start a frontal attack in the afternoon." Art glanced at the farm down the hillside and ordered the baggage officer Spencer.
Spencer took a look at the terrain around the farm and replied: "Sir, the farm where the Lombards are stationed is surrounded by streams on three sides. It may be difficult to build a wooden ladder to reach the city from the front. We may have to leave a lot of lives in front of that stream."
Matt turned his head and glanced at this baggage officer in surprise, who was always responsible for the army's baggage and miscellaneous tasks. Perhaps he had watched many battles, and he could analyze some ways of fighting.
Matt glanced at Spencer, nodded and replied: "I also know that the stream blocked our attack, but now that the enemy is hiding behind the stone wall of the manor, I'm afraid they won't easily come out to fight us. We have no other better way except to attack by force."
"Of course, your previous plan can no longer be implemented, we can only attack by force. However, can we change the direction of the attack?" Spencer said.
Matt turned to look at Spencer again, looked around, and asked thoughtfully: "You mean from behind?"
"Yes, from the back. I don't know if this group of Lombards are stupid or they despise the enemy. They did not set up a waiting platform on the hillside at our feet. The part of the hillside closest to the farm is higher than the tallest tower in the farm, and the closest part of the hillside is less than fifty feet from the farm's stone wall. This distance can be reached by wooden ladders or even directly cut wood to make a wooden bridge. Although the hillside is relatively steep, it is still easy to carry. It is easier to walk down with the siege equipment than on the flat ground, and besides, we may not be able to successfully cross the stream in front of us." After hearing this, Art carefully observed the points Spencer mentioned. He had not thought about attacking by force before, so he did not pay attention to the distance between the farm and the hillside. Now that Spencer reminded him, it was really a method worth trying.
"Spencer, what you said makes sense. A strong attack on the front will definitely result in the loss of many men. Let's try this method you mentioned."
The exposed figure on the hillside behind the farm showed that the Provence army was indeed preparing to attack the farm outpost. If he led the army out at noon to reinforce the several small outposts that were attacked, then they would definitely fall into the Provence people's scheme. It is basically no problem for more than thirty defenders to garrison a farm with stone walls. However, if half of the troops are allocated for reinforcements, there is no guarantee.
"What? I say this is a Provençal conspiracy, right? They want to lure us out of the farm wall and then attack the foreign soldiers or take advantage of the opportunity to invade the manor. Before setting off, the count repeatedly told us that we must hold on to this outpost of Sauerburg. We must not be careless at all." They may attack us head-on. Although we have traps and holes in front of us and are blocked by streams, you must not be careless. You must defend the section of the wall you are responsible for. Unless it is absolutely necessary, neither side is allowed to randomly assign troops to reinforce other places. The most important thing is to defend your own section of the city wall. I will bring my guards and retinue as a reserve..."
Just when the Lombard garrison commander assigned the task of guarding the city to a group of officer leaders, a Lombard soldier on guard sentry rushed in.
"The enemy started to attack so quickly. Should they attack from the south or attack the city from the flank?" the Lombard commander asked.
"No, my lord, the enemy troops did not gather on the front and flanks to prepare for battle. They stopped and watched for a while on the top of the mountain and then disappeared." The sentry replied.
"Did they retreat?" asked another leader who looked like an officer in the tent.
"They haven't retreated, their sentries are still watching."
"Then if you don't keep a good lookout, why did you come in?" The officer was a little impatient.
“Sir, we heard the sound of ping-pong-pong logging coming from behind the hillside near the top of the mountain.”
“What are they doing logging behind the mountain?” The Lombard garrison commander was confused...