The benefits of fighting on enemy territory are always huge, especially this kind of blitzkrieg battle that makes people unable to defend against.
Most of the Jonah Border Guard Corps led by Ater looted the Bunfan County on the Swabian border for two full days. Except for the southern mountainous area and some counties near the hinterland in the east, almost the entire larger villages and castles in Bufan County (it was impossible to loot all places in just two days) were sorted out by Ater's army.
At the temporary chariot barracks outside Bufan City, officers of all banner levels and above sat around the iron basin of the bonfire in Yate's camp for a brief military discussion. Odo, the commander of the 2nd Infantry Regiment, who was sitting next to Shou Yate, held a few pieces of birch bark and said, "...two castles, four large villages and three manors in Bufan County were captured in two days. A total of forty-two local Swabian defenders were killed, and nearly a hundred Swabian civilians were killed and injured." . Thirty-seven of our troops were killed and 11 were seriously wounded. The prisoner recruits suffered greater losses..."
Matt interrupted Otto's report with a wave of his hand, "How many of the prisoner soldiers escaped?"
Otto recalled a little and replied with some shame: "Twenty-five people~ The Fifth Flag Team is still chasing five deserters. They fled towards the hinterland of Swabia with their private belongings."
The defection of the prisoner soldiers did not surprise Art. He did not expect a group of prisoners who were not good people to rob a huge amount of property and still be obedient and peaceful. Art thought for a while and ordered Ron, the guard officer beside him: "Ron, send people to spread the word quietly, saying that we will Thirty-five disguised elite Burgundians remain in Swabia. Their main purpose is to assassinate nobles from all over Swabia and plunder Swabia. If necessary, they will surrender the Swabians and join their army, which will serve as a key to the Burgundian army's full-scale attack on Swabia."
Matt's response was simple. He wanted to use Swabian swords to eliminate the defecting prisoner soldiers to prevent them from becoming bandits gathering in the Howling Mountain Forest.
"Continue to talk about the victory." Art turned to Odo and said.
“The seizures of the army in the enemy counties in the past two days have been tallied up by the officials who commanded the camp of the Chinese army. The value of gold and silver coins and gold and silver utensils is estimated to be at least 1.7 million pfennigs, a total of 127 sets of weapons and armor (including long and short weapons, light and heavy armor and shields), 53 carriages of various colors, 72 horses and cattle, mules and donkeys, 132 sheep, 18 carts of spices, cloth and other goods..."
Speaking of the spoils of loot, smiles appeared on the faces of the officers in the military tent. According to the huge profits gained from the robbery of Swabia, after the expedition is over and the army returns to the valley, each of the officers in the tent must have at least a thousand pfennigs in war rewards. In addition, The military rewards from the previous battles and the wartime salary accumulated for several months, the two thousand doupenigs are almost enough to return to the valley to build a few wooden houses and mansions. If the commander-in-chief can reward more money with a wave of his hand, he may be able to marry a wife and have a family...
Of course, this is the result expected by high-ranking officers. It is impossible for ordinary soldiers to receive such high military rewards. However, even the most ordinary soldier can afford at least 700 to 800 pfennigs after returning to the valley. (A soldier is not the same as a soldier. A soldier's monthly salary during war is only 80 pfennigs.) Soldiers who are a little willing to settle down can also apply for a piece of land in the military residence area designated by the civil administration and ask someone to build a single-story wooden house. If they are lucky, they can still have a hundred pfennigs left to choose a satisfactory farm girl as a bride from several villages in the valley...
In short, the entire army was in a state of joy at this time. Even the prisoner soldiers who were still prisoners felt the joy of the harvest. Needless to say, there was a celebration of eating meat and drinking wine. At the beginning, Art allowed the prisoner soldiers to collect private property of no more than twenty pfennigs and promised to give them a reward based on their recorded military merits when they resumed their status as free citizens after the war.
The officers in the military tent were whispering to each other, discussing in low voices what they had obtained by force in the past two days.
Otto waited for everyone to calm down for a while and continued: "In addition to money and weapons, we have forced nine families of blacksmiths, two families of weapon makers, five families of carpenters, three families of builders, three families of tanners, and two families of tailors from various places. There are five other households of various types of craftsmen, totaling twenty-nine households, including their relatives and apprentices, one hundred and twenty-one. In addition to the craftsmen, we also found three Swabian healers and five literate officials, three of whom knew our story. They took the initiative to show their identities in Gundian and escaped death. "
"These people are currently being detained in a manor west of here and guarded by soldiers."
At raised his head, "These are the most rare talents. You ask the soldiers in custody to be strict and not let anyone go! These people are treated well, let them eat and drink well, and tell them that they will not be in any danger."
"In addition, you need to find a few more interpreters who are proficient in Swabian and Burgundian, and ask them to help you manage these Swabian talents. Go and win over those officials who can speak Burgundian, so that they can manage that group of people for us with peace of mind."
Odo nodded to take note.
"How many Burgundians have been rescued in the past two days?" Art asked again.
Odo rummaged through the birch bark and replied: "This year the Swabians have robbed many Burgundians. There are Burgundians who have been forced into slavery in all the manors and villages. In the past two days, we have rescued a total of There are 542 people, most of whom are willing to be rescued by us, and more than a hundred young men among them have voluntarily joined our army. At present..."
"Wait!" Art waved his hand to stop Odo's words.
"You mean there are still people who don't want to be rescued by us? Did they become Swabian nobles after being kidnapped? Or did they marry Swabians and take root?" This was the first time Art heard someone willing to be a slave.
Odo put down the birch bark, "Sir, I didn't believe it when I first heard it. Later, I called the flag captain who led the team, Rigg, and asked him face to face before I believed it."
Att made a gesture of interest.
"The place where those two guys worked as serfs was a small manor eight miles south of Bufan City. The owner of the manor was an old knight named Logan Whatman. After Reg led the soldiers to the manor, the old knight spent all his money to buy the lives of all the people in the territory from Reg. This manor is also the only place where our soldiers did not bleed and get injured."
Matt exclaimed, "Did that old knight really take out all his family property? How much money is there?"
h "It must be hundreds of thousands of pfennigs. Later, Rigg and the others searched out a lot of carriages and livestock, but that's really all the money seems to be."
He is very kind to his subjects, and they support him very much, calling him the good man Logan. "
"So our two Burgundian compatriots are willing to stay and be slaves to that knight?" Art asked.
"They would rather choose the latter between a miserable death as a free man and a happy life as a slave. These are the exact words of those two guys." Odo replied.
At listened and thought for a long time, he raised his head and said to everyone in the military tent: "Did you hear this? This is the human heart. In the future, you will all become lords with the territory of your subjects. I hope that one day the serfs under you can also say this. Same thing. "
"If the war situation hadn't been urgent, I should have gone to see that old knight. There are not many people who can stick to the integrity of the knight during the war. Rigg and the others didn't do anything to the old knight, right?" Art asked with concern.
"No, Rigg did not act recklessly in the manor."
"Very good! Tell Rigg that he did a good job." Art expressed relief that at least his group of people had not been wiped away by the grinding wheel of war. The last trace of humanity.
"Well, the materials and personnel captured in the battle must be properly taken care of. Before the Swabian army arrives, you immediately send people to escort the captured things back to Bramond City, and then order the caravan to bring everything except weapons, armor and military pay back to the south together with the Swabians."
"Odo is responsible for handling this matter."
"Ron, have you contacted the caravan? Where is it currently?" Art asked Ron, the bodyguard who was in charge of off-battle intelligence.
Ron thought for a moment and replied: "When we came out of Bramon, the caravan had already sneaked into the southwestern region of Swabia with the help of Lord Herreth to sell southern goods. The two Swabian craftsmen in the valley workshop had decided to stay, and the caravan was ordered by the civil administrator to go to Biltenburg and Tebrun City to seize the valley workshop. The relatives of the two Swabian craftsmen quietly took them back to the valley. If everything goes well, they should have returned to the country. "
Although the two countries are at war, war is not an insurmountable gap for merchants. Salt, the bold head of the European trading company, has this kind of courage.
“After you see Salt, send him a message for me, telling him that I care more about his safety than making money. If the enemy’s situation is too dangerous, we can suspend the southern goods trade. Our money is barely enough this year.” Art is not like the caravans who took the risk of going deep into the enemy’s Swabia and suffered huge losses. That is the way to make money in his hands.
At stood up and patted the charcoal ash on his armor, and walked to a terrain map, "Okay everyone, once you get the money, it depends on whether you can hold it and take it away. Now we should focus on the enemy."
"Sergeant Major, tell everyone about the battle situation." Art turned his eyes to Angus, the commander of the 1st Infantry Regiment.
Angus stood up and came to the topographic map. He picked up a thin stick on the ground and pointed at a point on the topographic map and said: "Everyone, our current location is here, thirty-two miles from the border between the two countries. In the past two days, Swabia in the city of Bufan The defenders were unable to hold on and had no intention of leaving the city to fight except occasionally firing a few arrows. The troops from other parts of Bufan County were basically transferred to Randy to form the army to attack our border, so we were not threatened in the county. "
"Our threat mainly comes from the areas around Bufan County." Angus moved the thin stick to the top of the terrain map.
"According to the report from the Chinese cavalry, a Swabian army of 200 men was assembled thirty miles east of Bufan yesterday morning, but they have not entered Bufan County until this morning. I guess the enemy knew that we were outnumbered and deliberately delayed, hoping that we would rush to buy and leave. I have asked the cavalry to be alert to sentries."
Everyone in the camp chuckled.
"Our biggest threat comes from Aonan City in the south of here. On the day we entered Bufan County, your Excellency sent a task force to sneak into the vicinity of Aonan City. According to the task force's fast horse report, the Swabian army in Aonan City has been assembled, but it is said that Randy The earl was recalled by the Swabian court for censure, so the Swabian army without a leader has been slow to move. However, the Swabians in Onan City have heavy cavalry. Once they move, they can rush here in daylight, so they are the greatest threat to us. "
"Of course, we are not willing to take risks to attack the Swabian border. In addition to gaining military profits, we are also trying to draw the attention of Randy's army to the Swabian border. The more noisy we make in their lair, the fewer troops they can send to invade the border. But we can't move too much. Now, although Swabia has raised its troops to invade the border, after all, they have sent The number of troops sent is limited. If we hit the Swabians too hard and easily anger the enemy, then the whole Swabian country will invade again, and we will be in big trouble."
"This is also the reason why your Excellency did not continue to march westward and did not attack the city of Bufan. Of course, it is also true that we cannot attack the city of Bufan."
Angus paused for a moment, "According to your Lord's deployment, this afternoon I will lead the four flag soldiers of the First Infantry Regiment to return the loot to Bramont City, and then rely on the troops remaining on the Burgundy border to attack the Swabian-garrisoned Geneborg. And the Second Infantry Regiment and several direct teams of the Chinese Army will be led by Your Excellency and Lord Odo. They continued to circle around the Swabian border, thereby attracting the attention of the Swabian army in Onan City, so that they would not dare to rush to the aid of Geneborg with all their strength, and reduce the pressure on the recapture of Geneborg..."
Angus gave everyone a general introduction to the army's next move, and the specific combat details needed to be arranged separately.
Matt took a few steps, "We are now in enemy territory, and we must always be on guard against enemy pursuit and interception. You must also control your soldiers. At this time, we must not allow problems within the army."
"Last night I received a secret message from the task force from the Yona Palace. Last month, the Liberation Army had gained absolute control of the outer battlefields on the Western Front. Lord Flanders's Longxia Army attacked the black iron castle north of Besançon. Two thousand Western troops were defeated, and more than 600 enemy troops were killed. The eastern battlefield of Besançon was also pressed forward step by step under the personal command of Count Baldwin. By the time the military information was sent out, all the castles and fortresses around Besançon had been captured by the Liberation Army. "
"The Central Command Camp of the Liberation Army and the Jonah Palace ordered us to stabilize the war in the east. After the Liberation Army captures Besançon, we will immediately dispatch troops to return to the eastern front for rescue."
"In addition, because we blocked the Swabian offensive, the troops sent by the Principality of Burgundy stopped at the front line in the northern part of Jona Province and did not go south for the time being. The Jonah Palace is also worried that if we move too much, it will touch the nerves of the Swabians..."
"In short, the war situation is still favorable to us for the time being. We must take advantage of the favorable situation to seize the time to expand the results..."