Early February, there was heavy snow in the cold winter.
The downcast figure of David Patrick, the palace guard knight of the Count of Burgundy, disappeared on the snowy road north of Sauerburg.
Yate stood quietly on the city wall, letting the heavy snow fall all over him.
Watching David's figure disappear into the distance, the sense of urgency in Art's heart is even stronger. He knows that in this dark and cruel world, only strength is the most solid reliance. If one day his strength is suddenly destroyed, his ending will be certain. Even more tragic than Sir David. After all, he has made too many enemies...
Odo patted the snow on his shoulder and said, "Sir, the Commander of the Legion invites you to go to the lord's hall, saying that he has important matters to discuss." He wants to change the outpost to the central army guard, and always follow the regiment commander. Do you think I should agree to the regiment commander? "
Odo brushed off the thick snow on his shoulders, and brushed it off for Art, who nodded in thanks.
"Sir, this kind of important matter must be decided by you in the end. But I do have some thoughts on this matter."
"Tell me about it!" Art looked at Odo's face, which was red from the cold.
"My lord, it is a good thing to always be with the legion commander. Once you become the legion commander's confidant, any good deeds that are rewarded for meritorious service will definitely take priority."
"But!" Odo followed up with "but".
"Once we follow the legion commander, we lose a lot of freedom. From now on, we must absolutely obey the legion commander's orders in everything, not to mention that we can no longer hide the loot in private when we act alone. If that day The legion commander is excited and wants to personally command us to attack the city. Do we have to obey the legion commander’s orders? Sir, this army is your own, and others may not cherish the elite soldiers we kill with one sword."
"But we have accepted the favor from the Legion Commander. You have to know that if the Legion Commander has no intention of including us in the Central Guards, I'm afraid we won't get those gold and silver coins, weapons and armor." Art has accepted the "gift" from Viscount Jeffrey, and at the moment he really can't think of anything to say to refuse the invitation.
Odo rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "How about you agree to the legion commander first? Anyway, the legion will not be able to continue fighting south before spring comes. During this time, we can stay in the city for repair and training, and as the elite guards beside the legion commander "You can ask the legion commander for some excellent weapons and armor from the legion's arsenal. These things are not easy to obtain, especially the half-plate armor and crossbows left by the Lombards. These guys are really good, but it is a pity that the craftsmen in the north cannot make such sophisticated and powerful weapons and armor."
Att was really reminded by Odo that there would be no fighting in the last month or two anyway. Following the Chinese Army would not only avoid the tedious task of going out to guard the sentries, but also take the opportunity to obtain a batch of sophisticated weapons and armor from the legion. After all, as the Chinese Army Guards, they still have privileges in these matters.
「走，我们立刻去见军团长。」亚特拍着奥多的肩膀就顺着石梯下了城墙，踏着积雪朝索尔堡领主大厅走去……
…………
整个二月，东All the armies were huddled in Saule Castle to repair and accumulate strength, waiting for the cold winter to pass and gather together to launch the final attack on Verno. Once the city of Verno was captured, the strategic counterattack in the east of Provence would basically be completed. By then, the central and western borders would also take advantage of the situation to launch a general offensive. The day when the Lombards were defeated was not far away.
At least that’s what the powerful people at the top think.
In February, several not-so-small things happened in and around Solburg.
First, east of Sauerburg, the Provençal army led by Viscount Bellian repelled the Lombard mercenaries and once again captured a fortress named Nuremberg. This fortress was an important support for the Lombards in the southeastern hilly area. The recovery of Nuremberg meant that In the southeastern hilly area, the Lombards only had one stronghold left in the city of Verno. The battle in the east of Provence was going well. Viscount Balian was also awarded by the Provence court for recovering Nuremberg. Duke Vladis personally took time to visit Nuremberg and had a long talk with Viscount Balian.
Secondly, the other three castle fortresses stationed by the Eastern Legion were all replaced by newly recruited conscripts from Provence. The legion troops stationed in the three places were all assembled in Sauerburg, waiting for several other Provençal armies to come to join, and then prepare to go south to conquer the city of Verno.
Thirdly, the Eastern Legion was reorganized after a short period of recruitment and training, and the number of troops basically returned to the size when it went south. The original outpost of the legion was reorganized into the legion's central guard, which was at the flag team level. It had five infantry squadrons, a sentry team, a crossbow squad and a baggage team. People in the legion called the central guard a small legion, because the eastern legion had all the military types of the central guard.
After becoming the elite Central Guards, Art was indeed not idle. While he had his troops train hard during the war break, he kept asking Viscount Jeffrey for weapons and armor and for an increase in the salaries of the Central Guards.
The constant requests every day have made Viscount Jeffrey regret taking this team to his side. However, considering that the next attack on Wilno will require a lot of effort from this powerful team, he can only try his best to meet Art's various requests.
Yat also asked for exorbitant prices and paid them back on the spot. Regardless of whether he could get it or not, he would always harass Jeffrey. Once Jeffrey nodded, he would pull the tiger's skin and pull the banner, bribe the legion's baggage officer and transfer as many things in the legion's arsenal as possible into the hands of his own soldiers.
For a time, Art became the target of public criticism of the legion, and many things that might have been assembled by other teams were magically transferred to the hands of the Central Guards.
The officers who were dissatisfied with Art often cursed behind his back.
Att certainly knows the truth of "the more you eat, the more you pull". The reason why Viscount Geoffrey can turn a deaf ear to Art's various actions is that what he needs is that the Chinese Guards can fight to the death under the city of Wilno, hoping that they can capture Wilno in one fell swoop with the tip of this spear.
However, Art himself wanted to capture Wilno and gain the first achievement. Wilno was different from Solburg. Even if he achieved the first achievement by attacking Solburg, the result would only be a military reward and generous trophies. If he was lucky, he could even get a commendation order, but that was all.
But Wilno is different. Wilno is the last stronghold in the eastern war zone, and it is a place that attracts everyone's attention. Once you make your first contribution here, it will definitely cause a huge sensation. Not to mention the military rewards, but you will definitely get a military merit that is enough to convince everyone. With this military merit and the operation behind it, it is definitely safe to be promoted to a baron. Maybe if you are lucky, you can also be granted a territory due to your merits...
………
In a temporary hut on the roadside in the north of Solburg City, several officers and soldiers of the Army Guard were gnawing on mutton with skin in front of a large broken wooden table. A large barrel of inferior wine was placed on the broken wooden table in front of them, and a chipped conical wooden barrel cup was passed back and forth in the hands of several people.
The wooden barrel cup was passed to Andrew's hands. He raised his head and drank the remaining low-quality fruit wine in one gulp.
Weitz, who was sitting aside, watched Andrew drink up the glass of wine in one gulp, and asked with a smile: "Brother Andrew, how is it? Is this wine good?"
Andrew spat out the residue of the fruit wine in his mouth, and replied: "It's really not that good ~ it's too sour and astringent, and it's far worse than the honey wine brewed in Ms. Emma's tavern. "
Weitz smiled and slapped Andrew on the head, "What the hell, you drank it all in one gulp! You didn't leave any for me."
Weitz grabbed the cup from Andrew's hand, tilted his head and dropped the last drop of wine in the cup into his mouth, and smashed his lips, "The wine here is too expensive, I can't bear to drink more."
Jason, the captain of the crossbow team, shook the empty wine barrel and said: "Yes, Brother Weitz, I miss the valley very much now. When I return to the valley this time, I will spend money to drink up all the fruit wine at Ms. Emma's house." A small house? What, you don’t plan to build a small shack for yourself? If you don’t have a small shack of your own, do you plan to plant seeds in the fields with your own woman? Or just bring that girl to the military camp and let the guys make room for you?” Pats, the second squadron leader of the second squadron, teased.
All the young officers at the wooden table started laughing loudly.
Jason, who had just learned about human affairs, was teased by a group of people, and his face suddenly turned red.
He did have a happy farmer girl in the valley, and two piles of young and dry firewood once burned fiercely in the field. He thought he was doing it secretly, but he didn't want the soldiers who were already on patrol to find out, so these boring old guys always liked to make fun of it, and some experienced old guys often gave Jason guidance.
Seeing that Jason's face was flushed with embarrassment, Tuba, the leader of the Third Squadron with the highest military rank, scolded the laughing people: "You guys, all of you, are making fun of others when you don't have the ability! If you have the ability, you You should also find a girl you like. If you can find a girl who is willing to collect firewood and make a fire with you, I will let you use my officer's tent."
The crowd laughed a few more times.
"Chief Tuba, we have been fighting all day long, and we might have lost our heads that day. Is there any girl willing to marry us? This time we went south to fight, so many brothers were killed around us, and so many brothers were seriously injured~" A soldier couldn't help but speak in a sad tone when he thought of the dead brothers around him.
"You can drink as much as you can. Why are you saying these things?" Weitz scolded the soldier.
The crowd's interest immediately disappeared, everyone fell silent, and the lively little wine shack suddenly fell into silence.
"Give way, give way! Urgent military order!"
"Give way, give way! Urgent military order!"
"Give way, give way! Urgent military order!"
Several sound of messenger cavalry opening the way broke the silence of everyone. Three fast horses galloped past the small hut beside the road, heading towards the Lord's Hall in Sauerburg City...
Jason watched the messenger galloping past with the flag, and said to Tuba: "Lord Tuba, you seem to be the messenger from the Count of Burgundy. Is there any urgent military situation?"
"I don't know, this is the first time I have seen a messenger from the county after coming to Solburg for so long."
.........
In the Lord's Hall of Solburg, Viscount Jeffrey looked at the expedited lacquer seal in his hand with a gloomy face, and shouted to the guard outside the door: "Here comes!"
The guard pushed the door open and came in.
"Quickly send Charis and Art to my office!"
The guards took the order and left.
Jeffrey put the fire seal letter on the table, knocked on the table and said to himself, "Why would a small castle in the Eastern Territory be captured and transfer the soldiers of the Eastern Legion? It happened to be his confidants Charis and Art."
Jeffrey put his hands on his face, looked up to the sky and sighed softly, "It seems that the weather is about to change~"