In the military tent in the garrison of the Eastern Legion, Art described to the commander of the legion, Viscount Geoffrey, a tool that could transport goods in thick snow.
"Sleigh? Why haven't I heard of this thing?" Viscount Jeffrey was puzzled as he listened to Art's description.
"Sir, this is a kind of cargo transport used by mountain people in the high mountains where there is always snow and the roads are not clear. It has no wheels and only relies on the rocker at the bottom to slide on the snow. The mountain people usually rely on human power to pull it, but they can also be pulled by horse and reindeer. Because lowland countries such as Burgundy and Provence rarely have such thick snow this year in winter, so almost no one will use this kind of thing." Art explained again.
"Can this thing really slide on the snow without getting stuck in the snow?" Jeffrey asked again.
"Yes, yes, I'm sure." Art replied firmly.
"That's great, Art, I'll leave this matter to you. You return to Aosta and ask the baggage team to send someone to make a batch of this kind of transport equipment you mentioned, and then transport all the food needed by the legion. With the food, we can continue to consume the Lombards." The dark clouds that haunted Jeffrey's heart finally cleared up a little.
But Art was obviously not as relieved as Jeffrey, "Legion Commander, I haven't finished what I said. The food transported by the sled I mentioned can only solve the legion's urgent needs. Because this kind of equipment cannot carry thousands of pounds of goods at a time like a carriage, and in the city of Aosta, There are not many carpenters. Although it is not difficult to make this kind of thing, it is impossible to make too much in a short time. Moreover, it is quite difficult for the horses, mules and donkeys to pull the cart in the snow, so the speed must not be fast. I thought about it. With our current strength, we can transport up to six to eight thousand pounds of grain at a time. "
Jeffrey banged the table and thought for a while, then raised his head and said: "Currently, the legion is in urgent need of food supply to stabilize the morale of the soldiers. Even six thousand pounds of food can sustain it for a period of time, not to mention that with this thing, we can continue to transport food and baggage."
"Just like that, you take a few people and set off back to Aosta immediately to start this matter. If the food in Aosta is shipped here one day earlier, we will have more strength to confront the Lombards."
… ...
At received the task of urgently transporting food from Aosta from the legion commander, returned to the outpost camp and handed over the outpost to Odo and Angus, and then returned north to Aosta with several carriage soldiers and escort cavalry.
In the following period, the sky above Sauerburg was rarely clear for a day. However, the snow had just melted, and then there was another heavy snow. The newly melted snow water turned into a frozen layer, which made it harder for the snow on the ground to melt.
Just when the food reserves of the Eastern Legion were about to run out, the legion's baggage officer and Ater appeared in the north of the Eastern Legion escorting a dozen rushed sleighs.
This batch of food is only 6,500 pounds. If consumed according to normal consumption, it would be enough for the legion for seven or eight days. However, hope appeared in the desperate situation, and the morale of the legion was naturally high.
The soldiers gathered around the dozen or so sleighs and watched bags of grain being loaded into the granary tent.
This time, Art no longer needed to remind him. The legionnaires spontaneously guarded the hard-won food.
"Legion Commander, I have a suggestion." Art ignored the exhaustion of walking in the snow all the way back and came to the Chinese army command camp to discuss a strategy with Jeffrey.
"Sir Art, you have solved a problem for the legion this time. If you have any good ideas, please tell me and I will definitely adopt them."
"Sir, when we returned with the food, there were soldiers at the castle of Saulburg observing us. They must want to know how much food we transported. If they knew that we only transported less than 10,000 pounds of military food, they would definitely conclude that we cannot besieged for a long time." Art analyzed.
"Well, you have a point. The reason why the Lombards can still hold on is because they were destroyed by our food and grass."
"So, we are like this..."
At noon on the second day, when the defenders in Sauerburg were congratulating themselves that the grain brought by the enemies outside the city was less than 10,000 pounds, another grain transport convoy of the same size appeared outside the Eastern Legion camp.
In the next three to five days, grain transport convoys like this will appear one after another every morning or evening, pulling grain covered with felt cloth to the camp of the Eastern Legion. Every time the grain arrives, the soldiers will cheer for joy.
Perhaps this is the enemy's use to disturb the morale of the defenders;
In fact, the Lombard people's guess was not wrong. Since Art returned with a dozen sleds a few days ago, not a single grain of grain had arrived at the camp. The "grain transport convoy" the Lombards saw on the north city was just the sleigh convoy pulling hay out of the camp at night and waiting to return to the camp again the next day.
However, things that are both true and false always make people reluctant to believe them all, but they cannot disbelieve them.
After creating the illusion that there were "tens of thousands of pounds" of rations in the legion's camp, the baggage officer returned to Aosta with the sleigh convoy again, and soon they would once again arrive at the legion with real life-saving food.
However, the torture of the Lombards in Salburg had just begun.
On the first day, the defenders in Solburg received a letter of persuasion to surrender sent from outside the city. The letter told the Lombard defenders that the Lombard army had fought a defeat in the south and was killed by hundreds of Provence troops. The defeated Lombards had abandoned the city of Verno and retreated to the southern border of Provence. The Lombard defenders in Solburg had become a lone army without support.
After reading this letter, the garrison commander of Saulebourg ordered a trebuchet to throw the head of a Provence prisoner as an answer.
On the second day, the Eastern Army sent a slightly full company to set up a battle formation and prepare to attack Sauerburg.
But when the Lombards dragged their trembling bodies from the stone houses sheltered from the cold wind and climbed onto the city wall with icy-cold weapons to defend themselves, the enemy troops outside the city actually gathered around the bonfire hundreds of steps away to keep warm. When the defenders on the city were about to freeze and prepare to withdraw, the people outside the city began to make noise again. The Lombards again had to take up arms and hold on to the wall.
When the Lombards' blood was rising and they were ready to fight to the death with the enemy troops attacking the city, people outside the city began to gather around the campfire in groups to keep warm.
It went on like this, and the Lombards were going crazy.
Even more terrible things are yet to come. In addition to the "siege" attacks from time to time, in addition to the four walls of Sauerburg, a dozen "idle" soldiers come here every day to light a big fire, set up a big pot, and cook a pot of steaming food. , these soldiers who were warming themselves over a campfire and eating hot food chanted and sang some country songs from the Principality of Lombardy every day. They were all about missing their hometown and longing for the reunion of their relatives ~ Needless to say, these were all the "plots" of the wise Art.