In early July, Art, who bid farewell to Baron Antayas, led the Welsh army's light and heavy infantry and crossbow troops, as well as nearly 600 people including military law, guards, command tents and a group of laborers accompanying the army, from the mountains in the southern part of Yona Province to the north along the winding and rugged road.
This mountain road has become a source of gold for Andermatt Castle. The lords and lords of Andermatt Castle, who have experienced the huge profits brought by trade for the first time, have regarded this place as a treasure.
I still remember that in the battle to recapture Alsburg a few years ago, the lords and citizens of Andermatt Castle showed their incompetent combat effectiveness and unparalleled enthusiasm for fighting. However, today's lords and citizens of Andermatt Castle have a shocking reversal in their attitude towards protecting this mountain trade road.
Since the southern goods transported to Yona Province at the border outpost were robbed twice, the red-eyed citizens of Andermatt have displayed extremely strong combat effectiveness and enthusiasm for fighting. Under the leadership of Baron Antayas, they have successively wiped out three large and small groups of bandits in one month, turning the convoys on this trade road into something that no one dares to mess with.
Profit is the fundamental driving force of combat effectiveness.
· Thanks to the efforts of the people of Andermatt, the Wells Army was not disturbed in the slightest while traveling through the mountains. However, no bandit dared to take the initiative to provoke hundreds of elite troops.
In this way, we passed through the southern mountainous area of Yona Province smoothly and followed the mountain road to the border of Yona Province.
Att asked Ron to take Earl Baldwin's military orders to clear the way in front of the legion. Along the way, various counties, castles, fortresses and village manors took out the military rations in transit to feed the Welsh legion.
The province of Yona is mobilizing its entire territory to deal with the succession war in the north. The troops facing the province are mainly from the north of the province, but the counties in the south cannot be idle. In addition to providing miscellaneous labor, they are also responsible for the collection and transportation of military supplies and grain. Therefore, along the way, you can see teams escorting grain from various places, led by lords from various places, heading north and gathering in the city of Yona.
· The Welsh Army even participated in a small-scale battle on the way to the north to assemble.
Not long after entering the province of Yona, there was a castle called Regensburg at the southern end of the province. This castle was originally a direct territory of the Marquis of Ivrea, who died of illness. When the province of Yona announced its separation from the Besancon Palace and declared war on the faction with Robert as its banner, this small castle actually declared its support for the Besancon Palace and openly opposed Count Baldwin.
This is a bit ignorant of current affairs. For a small castle embedded in someone else's territory, it would be fine not to surrender. At least it would be better to follow the example of other marquis-domiciled territories and declare neutrality. However, the lord of Regensburg chose "orthodox foolish loyalty".
Determined to set an example for the sporadic marquis-domiciled territories in Yona Province, Baldwin ordered a total of more than 220 local county soldiers and two surrounding border troops to besiege Regensburg, which had less than 50 defenders.
When Art led the Welsh Army through Regensburg, it had been besieged for several days, and the battle was basically settled.
Matt thought that he would have to rely on supplies along the way to go north, and it would not be easy to eat and exert no effort, so he ordered the Welsh Army to join the battle to siege Regens.
Suddenly, there were five to six hundred more soldiers attacking the city, and these soldiers wearing black uniforms (burqas) were not at all timid and hesitant like the local county soldiers and border troops. They started to attack as soon as they reached the city wall. They began to climb up the wooden ladder that had been set up with shields and weapons. These people commanded flexibly and attacked the city with a degree of control. They didn't care about the slight battle damage. They climbed the city from all sides with stones and rolling logs. It took less than an hour to capture the outer wall and killed a large number of defenders.
The Lord of Regensburg, who had retreated into the inner fort, saw that the situation was over and had to throw away his sword and lead a dozen remaining soldiers out of the city to surrender...
Att refused the siege commander's celebration banquet. Such a downwind battle was just a casual incident for the Wells Army. It was no longer a battle and had nothing to celebrate.
There were no casualties in this battle. The four seriously injured soldiers were left for treatment locally. If they could recover from their injuries, they would go north to find the legion. If they could not recover from their injuries, the local army would send people back to the valley.
Rejecting repeated attempts by the local army to stay, Art wiped the blood on his hands and continued heading north...
On the second Sunday of July, the Welsh Army arrived at the county town of Glaru.
Viscount Herreth, the governor of Glalu County, personally went to the southern boundary of the county to greet Art, who was leading his troops north.
Galaro County is no stranger to many officers of the Welsh Army. Many of them grew up in the national war with the Swabians at Talmuburg in Glaru County.
Viscount Herrith and a group of noble officials from Glalu County were waiting at the intersection of the county border. This scene was exactly the same as when Art led the troops to arrive in Glaru County three years ago. However, compared to the scene three years ago, Herrith's attitude has changed drastically now.
Not only because of the changes in Art's current status and strength, but also because of the experience of Herith and Art going through battles together. In other words, Art and Herith have a very close personal relationship. Viscount Herith sent generous gifts both at Art's wedding and when little George was born, and Art also returned gifts.
Art dismounted early and walked quickly to Herith, hugging each other warmly and saluting, "Lord Viscount Herith, thank you for your warm welcome."
"Baron Art, you have become more and more handsome after not seeing me for several years, and the army under your command has become more and more powerful." Viscount Herith praised Art and the army standing still behind him.
Matt smiled and nodded, "Thank you for your compliment. I brought you some small gifts."
As he spoke, he waved to Ron behind him. Ron ran to the back and asked four or five soldiers to lift several sets of half-plate armor from the carriage, and put them down in front of Viscount Herreth.
"Sir Herith, these four sets of half-body armor are the first batch of self-made armors from my territorial workshop. Although the workmanship is a bit rough, their defensive power is very reliable. These are given to your guards to wear. If you need them in the future, please send me a letter and I will send someone to deliver them to you." Art also did not forget to promote a handful of weapons and armors made by the Valley Workshop when giving gifts.
"I will accept your kindness. Please, I have prepared a banquet for you and your army in the county town of Galalu." Herith stepped aside and invited Art and a group of leading cavalry officers to move forward.
Att didn’t give in. He got on his horse and walked a few steps to Viscount Herith, who was riding on horseback. He walked side by side and asked, "Lord Herith, I haven’t been to the Eastern Territory for a long time. How is the situation between the Eastern Territory and the Swabians now? Especially the situation between the East Territory and the Swabians?" Especially the Talmuburg. Is the knight named Asil still stationed there? "The East Territory is at peace with the Swabians, and there is no police situation in Talburg for the time being."
"But I won't mention the bastard who took your place in Tarburg. Thinking of that guy makes me want to chop off his head with my sword." Herith shook his head repeatedly, gritting his teeth in hatred.
Matt didn't want to continue asking any more questions. He also expected that the high-spirited knight thought he had superior combat power and would probably cause a lot of trouble.
But Hereth was excited, "Art, you know, the second week after you left Talmuburg, that bastard couldn't sit still. He neither scouted the enemy's defenses nor waited for my follow-up reinforcements. He rushed to the foot of Biltenberg with a group of soldiers." After two days of storming the city, we couldn't even reach the gate of Bültenburg. After I heard about it, I quickly sent someone to persuade him to return to the castle and defend it. The bastard felt that his dignity had been damaged and he had to die under the castle. As a result, he was cut off by a group of county soldiers who rushed in from Te Brun. All his soldiers were wiped out, and the bastard was also captured. "
"Isn't that the Tower Castle?" Art asked in surprise.
"Almost lost! Fortunately, I sent two knights from the inner palace to lead troops to garrison Talburg in advance, and the Swabians were unable to capture Talburg. In order to defend Talburg, I lost one knight and more than 20 private soldiers. I feel bad!"
"Which bastard is the more damning one? The powerful father actually asked me for help. It must be that I failed to rescue him in time. In order not to offend the powerful man, I paid a full 50,000 pfennigs to redeem the bastard!" Herith spitted and wanted to tear the second son knight into pieces.
"The powerful man originally said that he would return the ransom to me, but now he has gone to Bernard's group. How can I get the money back?" Herith shook his head again and again.
Matt didn't listen to Herrith's regrets and complaints about the 50,000 pfennigs. He was deep in thought as he walked. Suddenly he raised his head and asked Herrith, "Lord Herrith, who is garrisoning Talburg now?" The palace was unwilling to take over the management at all, so it left this mess to the County of Glalu. Now I have sent a dozen peasants and soldiers to guard it on duty. "
"If it weren't for the fear of another Swabian invasion, such a dilapidated military fortress would have to be financed every month, so it would be better to burn it down~" Herrith has completely regarded Tal Fort as a burden.
But Art's eyes were filled with gold. He pulled the reins to let the war horse get closer to Herith, and said softly: "Lord Herith, I have a way for you to recover your losses, and maybe you can make a lot of money..."
Herith looked at the people on the left and right, and asked with a smile: "You still want to go to Swabia to plunder?"
Art chuckled. He made a sound, leaned into Herith's ear and said: "In the past few years, I have been trading southern goods. I am worried that the war in the north has nowhere to sell the goods. If I can send the southern goods to Swabia..."
h "You mean smuggling across the border?"
After hearing this, Herith lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then raised his head and touched his beard, and smiled at Art, "We will discuss it secretly at my residence."
"Everyone speed up the march, let's return to the city early!"
The army walked on the same King's Road in Besancon for two days, and then prepared to turn north at a fork in the road and enter the city of Jonah.
"Ron, Viscount Herace has agreed to join the Continental Trading Company. Now that the war in the North is happening, our southern goods are greatly affected. I have to open up the sales channels for goods as soon as possible."
"Sir, didn't we just go to war with the Swabians? Now we have to trade with them again?"
"A war is a war, and making money is making money. There is no conflict. Besides, the two countries have ceased war now." Art said and took out a piece of parchment covered with fire paint. "This is my letter to the Civil Affairs and the Continental Commercial Bank. I have discussed with Viscount Herreth to establish a southern goods store in Glaru County. In addition to supplying goods from the central and southern regions of Yona Province, He is also responsible for secretly transporting goods to Swabia. You ask Eagle Eye to send the letter back to the valley, and ask the Civil Affairs Bureau to send people to Gralu City to negotiate with Viscount Herreth. "
"Sir, Yona Province is not an enemy territory. We only have an Eagle Eye in Yona City. It may take a long time to send it back to the valley through Eagle Eye. How about I send two guards to send it back to the valley in person?"
Yate's Eagle Eye network is mainly concentrated in the provinces of Thorne, Besançon and Lucese in the North. In Yona Province, there is only one Eagle Eye set up in a tavern in the city of Yona, which is under the jurisdiction of the Besançon contact point. If you expect the Yona Eagle Eye to deliver news very slowly.
Matt thought for a while, "Forget it, there is no need to send people back. When you get to the city of Jonah, you can hand it over to Baron Antayas's southern goods store in the city and let their caravan deliver the letter. In addition, I will write another letter to Baron Antayas. Letter, it is impossible to bypass him anyway, we have to use the trade route of Fort Andermatt, and let Baron Antayas also send someone to negotiate when the time comes. "
"Okay, I will take care of it as soon as we get to Jonah City." Ron agreed.
After explaining the matter, Art was about to turn his horse's head to inspect the rear formation, when a fast horse came from the north of the road towards Art's heraldic flag, riding on the flying dust in the sky.
Only when Art got closer did he see the appearance of the cavalry. They were wearing light leather robes, carrying daggers, and holding triangular flags. The horses under them were also riding horses suitable for long-distance running, a typical messenger style.
"Are you Baron Art?" The messenger recognized Art, who was wearing fine plate and chain armor and was surrounded by guards.
"I am Art Wood Wells."
The messenger reined in his horse, jumped off his horse, took out a letter with a seal from his waist and handed it to Art on the horse, "Lord Art, this is the order from Earl Baldwin, Commander-in-Chief of the Western Army."
Att took the letter and jumped off his horse, opened the seal, and there were only two lines on the letter - the Western Army attacked the border and rushed troops to the aid of Var City (the western border fortress of Yona Province), with the signature of Count Baldwin at the end.
Hate rolled up the order letter and replied to the messenger: "Return to the Commander-in-Chief quickly. The Welsh Army received the order and rushed to Vaal City immediately."
"Ron, you lead two guards and rush to Yona City to hand over the letter. Find out where the sergeant major is currently stationed in the army. Then find the sergeant major and ask him to leave the baggage team to guard the baggage and food, and then rush the cavalry team to Vaal City. You guys. If we arrive first, we will stay near the castle to detect the enemy's movements. I will lead the infantry westward along the King's Road. Ron repeated Art's military order, picked two guards and followed Baldwin's messenger to the city of Jonah in the north.
"Odo! Odo!"
The adjutant of the legion, Odo, heard the sound and ran up, "My lord?"
"Order the front team to turn west immediately and rush to the aid of Vaal City."
"Yes!" Odo took the order first.
"Sir, why is this?"
At adjusted the knight's sword at his waist, "The Western Army raided the border before we were fully assembled~" After saying that, he jumped on the horse and kicked the horse westward.