"The Dean family has gone crazy! Feeding pagans is already a huge crime. The church will definitely not let them go. And they actually dare to use pagan organizations to assassinate palace nobles. This is simply..." Baron Galvin was speechless.
"My father-in-law, I guess that sending the Assassin killer to assassinate me is just a branch of their group. Their ultimate goal is definitely not me, because according to the killer, there is the shadow of Count Bernard behind them, and he also mentioned the southwest mountainous area."
"Please pay attention carefully. Think about it, what is the southwest mountainous area that can attract the attention of Bernard's wild wolf?"
After Galvin thought for a moment, his eyes widened, "You mean that Assassin's ultimate goal is the Count of Flanders?"
Art nodded heavily, "It's very possible."
"Father, since Bernard is ready to take action, we can't wait any longer. We should tell cousin Flanders immediately and ask him to start an army immediately!" Felix was shocked after hearing this. He knew that the fate of the Saphugue family was closely tied to the Count of Flanders. If Flanders was killed, his family would not be able to escape the fate.
"No! The time is not yet ripe to raise an army!" Galvin flatly rejected Felix's proposal.
"The Principality of Burgundy has not yet sent a reply to Flanders to express its secret support, and Count Baldwin is still preparing. Moreover, the man on the iron throne has not left yet. If we rush to raise troops in a hurry, we will fall into an absolutely passive situation."
"Father-in-law, I have the same idea. At present, we have only captured a piece of the enemy's tail. The truth has not yet surfaced. If we act rashly, we may not have a good chance of winning." Art agreed with Galvin's cautious point of view. Once the army is launched, it will inevitably be charged as a rebel. Once Bernard uses the name of the Marquis to pursue the rebels, his side will be very passive.
There was silence in the room for a while. Galvin glanced at the already panicked Baroness and said: "Madam, go and arrange the accommodation for the guests and prepare a simple banquet at noon."
"Art, Felix, follow me to the study."
Baron Galvin led Art and Felix into a closed room in the inner house.
As soon as he entered the room, Galvin closed the door, turned around and asked Art: "Art, do you already have an idea?"
Art glanced at Galvin and replied: "Father-in-law, I came here in disguise with elite soldiers this time for this purpose..."
Art revealed his plan to Galvin and Felix.
After listening to Art's plan for this secret operation, Galvin thought for a long time and said: "Art, your plan is generally feasible, and the chance of success is relatively high, but there are a few places that need to be improved."
"The first step is to sneak into Thorne City. Thorne City is Bernard's home base. Recently, he has strengthened Thorne City's urban defense. Your plan to disguise yourself as a large caravan and sneak into the city will not work. Because Bernard has ordered that all caravans with a size of three carriages or more must have documents issued by Thorne City before entering, and in order to prevent caravans from carrying private goods and evading business taxes, they conduct strict checks on caravans entering the city. , This is also one of the reasons why I sold the shops in Thorne City. "
"To sneak into the city, you must enter the city in several groups, and your identities must be changed. You can disguise yourself as vendors, laborers, refugees, or even beggars, but you are not allowed to wear armor and weapons, and weapons and armor cannot be entered through the city gate. The city gate guards are very strict and may be exposed if you are caught."
At heard this, his heart went cold. Disguising himself as a caravan and entering the city was an important part of his plan. If he couldn't disguise himself as a caravan, the people could still enter the city in batches, but weapons and armor would be difficult to deal with.
"Is there any other way to transport weapons and armor? Waterway?" Art asked.
"The waterway is inaccessible. Watergate is the main channel for cargo ships to enter and exit. They are very relaxed about going out of the city, but in order to prevent people from getting involved in private work to evade business taxes, the watergate into the city is very tight. But~"
Galvin smiled slightly, "For merchants, no matter how strong the castle is, there are gaps. In the slums in the northwest corner of Thorne City, there is a small doorway through which traders smuggle valuable goods into the city. Adults and bulk goods cannot enter, but things such as spices, raw silk, porcelain, jewelry, etc. can still be stuffed in through that small hole. That place is the secret entrance of several shops in the city. The city passage is very hidden."
"You can let some soldiers enter the city in batches empty-handed, and then ask people outside the city to bring weapons and armor through the hole and hand them to the soldiers in the city."
"This is a matter of infiltration. There is one more thing I must remind you."
At listened carefully.
"This matter is too involved and cannot be completed by us alone, so we must inform Bishop Olof in a secret message. If your action is successful, the Holy See will definitely send people to the County of Burgundy to investigate the matter, and the Church of the County will also send people to assist. If it is taken over by the Bishop of Besancon who is close to the enemy If you do this, something will happen. So you must let Bishop Olof take charge of investigating the Dean family's collusion with heretics to establish a heretic organization, and even if you cannot take responsibility, you must also inform Count Baldwin in advance so that the earl can be fully prepared."
"This is our best chance to weaken our opponent!"
Matt nodded and replied: "I was planning to send a secret letter to Bishop Orlov and Count Baldwin after the operation was successful. Now it seems that we have to inform them in advance. I will write two secret letters immediately and ask you to send reliable people to send the secret letters to Count Baldwin and Bishop Orlov."
"Okay."
Compared to Art, who has just participated in this upper-level fighting struggle, Baron Galvin has been a baronet for many years and has a better understanding of the upper-level situation, so Galvin discussed with Art some specific operating methods. For example, he needs to use the Dean family's strong financial resources as bait to make Earl Baldwin determined to completely eradicate the Dean family and pocket the wealth of the Dean family to support the upcoming turmoil; another example is how to go to Avignon to expose the Holy See, how to create religious public opinion, etc...
Felix, who had been sitting in the room listening to the conspiracy between Galvin and Art, was already excited. The turmoil that his brother-in-law was about to stir up made Felix extremely excited. "Father, I want to follow my brother-in-law to complete this shocking event!"
"No!" Galvin and Art said in unison.
"Felix, this trip is too dangerous, and your army has just been established. As the commander-in-chief, you should stay in Sap to train the army and increase its combat power. And the success or failure of this matter is still unknown. Once something goes wrong, the enemy is likely to attack us, and then Sap Fort may face an invasion by foreign enemies~"
Att did not intend to let Felix participate, so Felix had to give up...
………
The heavy snowfall only lasted one night and stopped in the morning. The snow did not block the road. The task force spent a day repairing at Sarp Castle. After selling the southern goods purchased from Kitzby City to Galvin, they set off early the next morning and left Sarp Castle.
Although Baron Galvin did not let Felix participate in this special battle, he still sent a handyman who had been working in a southern goods shop in Thorne City to follow Art north. This handyman lived in Thorne City for five or six years. Galvin returned to Sapp after selling his shop, so he was very familiar with Thorne City.
Att took the caravan disguised as a task force and continued westward. After passing the outpost at the mouth of the valley and the stone wall construction site, he set foot on the territory of Kodor Province, and then headed north towards his destination, Thorne City.
Five riders and seven carriages carried more than thirty people and galloped for five days in the two provinces of the west.
In order to avoid attracting attention along the way, the task force and the team tried their best to avoid castles and cities that were heavily guarded by soldiers. They also paid for transit at small checkpoints along the way to minimize stay disputes.
If they don’t go to the city for repairs, the task force will suffer. The weather is getting colder day by day. They can only eat and sleep in the wild every day, wrapped in felt blankets at night and let the cold wind blow.
Without taking off their armor or saddles, the group finally arrived at a small market town five miles south of Thorne on the last Wednesday in November. The task force rested in an inn in the town.
All the commanders of the task force and above were summoned to Art's room for discussion. The soldiers of the task force rested in a large thatched hut with floor coverings in the hotel. Salt and Robert also returned to the room to rest.
A hotel clerk opened the wooden door of the thatched cottage and walked in carrying a wooden bucket filled with aroma and steam. He said, "Thank you for your hard work, guys. This is the broth sent by the leader of your caravan. You need to drink some to warm it up first." Next, bread and wheat porridge are being prepared and will be delivered shortly. "
The soldiers who were sleeping soundly on the straw bed were woken up. They yawned and stood up to take a few sips of broth.
"Guys, which caravan are you from? What kind of business are you doing in Thorne City? I see that you are all very strong, and you must be doing the most profitable trade." The hotel clerk glanced at the people in the room and asked intentionally or unintentionally.
A soldier from the task force had just reached out to scoop up a bowl of broth. He stopped for a moment and handed the wooden bowl to the hotel clerk who had just asked. "Man, you have worked hard too. You rarely drink broth, right? I should treat you to this first bowl of broth."
hh The hotel waiter waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, the owner has rules. We can't steal the guests' food. If we are caught, we will be fined."
hh "This is what we invited you to drink, so just feel free to drink it." The special soldier insisted on letting the hotel waiter drink first.
The hotel clerk took the wooden bowl that was passed to him and drank the fragrant broth in one sip. "It smells so good!" the hotel clerk praised as he smashed it.
"Okay, leave the barrels here. You can leave. Remember, don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask. If we tell you about the goods we buy and sell, and you turn around and inform the shops in the city about the price increases, how can we make money!"
The hotel clerk smiled and exited the room.
Another soldier took out a wooden bowl from his backpack and went to the barrel to scoop out a bowl of broth. "I, Dawson, are you too careful? Do you really think this broth is poisonous?"
"My lord has repeatedly emphasized caution, and it is always right to be careful."
"Everyone, come over and drink the broth."
...
On the second floor of the hotel, two task force soldiers were pacing back and forth in the corridor to keep watch. In the innermost room, Art was assigning tasks to the task force commanders.
"Remember, we are getting closer and closer to Assassin, we must be cautious in everything!"
"Stanley, you will lead two soldiers into the city from the south gate tomorrow, and find out the guard situation of the gates in Thorne City, see if the inspection is strict, and make a note of the city. Are all the main roads open to traffic? "
"Sergeant Major, tomorrow you will take Salt as a businessman to find a suitable house to rent near the water gate in the north of the city. This house cannot be too close to the wealthy merchant's mansion, but it cannot be too far. It is best to have multiple entrances and exits around for concealed access."
"Ron, you come with me to the city tomorrow to find a safe house alone. If there is an emergency, everyone must hide in the safe house."
"The rest of the people are on standby here. You go back and explain the purpose of this operation to the task force soldiers, and inform them of the matters that need to be paid attention to..."
"Yes!" Everyone responded in a low voice.