"Father-in-law, why are you dressed like this..." Art quickly got out of the way and welcomed Galvin into the mansion.
Galvin was hunched over, wearing a pair of old broken linen shoes, the legs of his trousers were torn into strips and dripping with sewage, and his whole body was wrapped in a gray-black linen rag stained with dirt. Only a pair of eyes were exposed on his head, and a copper bell hung around his waist to warn others to avoid him - he looked exactly like a leper.
After entering the mansion and closing the door, Galvin's stooped waist suddenly straightened up. He couldn't wait to go to the wooden table in the room, grabbed the remaining half of white bread and half a bunch of grapes on the plate, stuffed them into his mouth and chewed them. After chewing a few mouthfuls, he swallowed a mouthful of food and almost choked Galvin to death.
Matt's eyes almost fell out when he saw his father-in-law, who looked like a beggar and a hungry man. He quickly ran to the wine cabinet and poured a glass of wine for Galvin and handed it to him, "Father-in-law, what's wrong with you? What happened?"
Galvin rolled his eyes and used a whole glass of wine to wash down the food stuck in his throat, and then he stroked his chest to adjust his breathing for a long time.
"Art, it's a long story. This time I was ordered by the new king to secretly go to Provence to ask for help..."
Galvin is now Viscount of the Palace of Besancon, serving as deputy finance minister of the palace and general advisor of the Central Army of the Restoration Army. He is not only an important court minister of the Count of Burgundy, but also a close confidant of the new king, Flanders.
The shocking reversal more than a month ago caused a serious setback to the new forces and halted their momentum. After the initial panic, the new court, headed by Flanders and Baldwin, responded quickly.
On the one hand, the "special envoy" sent by Flanders to the Principality of Burgundy made false promises, claiming that the conditions that Bernard could offer could also be offered by the new palace, and Flanders stated that he was willing to pay a higher price as long as the Duke could continue to fulfill his promise. On the other hand, the new court of Besançon sent several secret missions to lobby the principalities and states outside the Principality of Burgundy and the Kingdom of France, using generous post-war rewards to win the support of other countries.
Galvin came from the south of the countenance, and had been inextricably linked to the Principality of Provence during his many years of business career. As the cousin of the new king Flanders and an important minister of the new court, the important task of secretly sending an envoy to Provence naturally fell on Galvin's shoulders. As for the conditions brought by the emissary, there is no need to speculate.
Nowadays, the struggle between the East and the West has become a fight on the tip of a sword. Due to the sudden change of face of the Principality of Burgundy, neither the East nor the East dares to take military action, so the struggle has become a secret political struggle.
As early as the beginning of this month, Bernard had sent a secret mission to Provence to lobby, but all the people sent by Flanders were killed on the way. Bernard was not a kind person either. He also sent killers to intercept the emissaries sent by Flanders to various countries, and many people were killed.
The caravan-like emissary led by Galvin was ambushed by a group of bandits just after passing through the central part of Lucesien Province. Five of the eight disguised escorts of the emissary were killed on the spot, and another three of the remaining three were killed while covering Galvin's escape.
Galvin, who had narrowly escaped death, originally planned to return to Besançon with his two remaining bodyguards. However, he was concerned about the future of the new palace and the Restoration Army, and he was ashamed of the new king Flanders who had entrusted him with such a heavy responsibility, so after some struggle he decided to continue south to Provence.
This time Galvin was more cautious. Neither the monks nor the caravans could escape the killers sent by Bernard. He was so worried that he simply asked the two remaining bodyguards to take off their clothes and pretend to be refugees heading south to escape the war. In order to achieve the purpose of pretending to be real, Galvin and others threw away their money and all valuables, and just wore rags and relied on a small bag of moldy rye to get to Tyniec.
What's even more amazing is that in order to prevent the checkpoints along the way from checking the secret credentials he carried with him, Galvin actually dressed up as a leper. This trick worked, and the checkpoints along the way and the surrounding refugees did not dare to approach him at all.
"...Those killers have never appeared again since that ambush. But I'm worried that they are waiting for me somewhere in Provence~" Galvin finished speaking in one breath and then picked up the plate and poured the crumbs into his mouth.
"Father-in-law, Lottie would be very distressed if she saw you like this. You rest for a while, and I'll ask the kitchen to make some decent food for you." Art couldn't stand it anymore, so he quickly turned around and ordered the servants to prepare food.
Galvin pulled Art, "No need, the people in the county are too arrogant to stay long. I originally planned to go to the valley to find you. I heard from passers-by that you were training in the county and risked your way in. Just ask someone to send two loaves of bread to my two guards. They have been hungry for several days."
“First of all, my mission was almost destroyed. Now the three of us will definitely not be able to reach Provence, so I need your help.”
At once lowered his head and thought, "No problem. It just so happens that some of my task force are still resting in the Beiguan Army Fort. I asked one of my task force deputy captains to lead someone to escort you south. These people are all people I have carefully trained. They are good at ambush assassinations and information gathering. Of course, they are also good at covering up and counter-assassinations."
"I'm going back to the valley today. You follow me south first. I'll have a caravan carrying weapons and armor back in five days. Then you can follow the caravan southward."
When Galvin heard that he was going south disguised as a caravan, he murmured in his heart, "It's a caravan again. Isn't it too high-profile?"
Matt patted his chest, "Don't worry, there are not many bandits on the trade route to Provence who dare to openly provoke European trading companies. As for those killers sent by Bernard, of course I have my task force to take care of you. Dispose of it. "
Galvin knew that Art once led a small team called the Task Force to Bernard's lair, Thorn City, and wiped out the entire Assassin. That mysterious team was indeed extraordinary.
"Well, that's settled."
"The second thing." Galvin tried his best to lower his tone.
"Flanders asked me to bring you a secret order..."
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In the barracks of Yat, Beiguan Army Fort, two personal guards guarded the closed camp door, and anyone who approached the barracks was expelled.
In the barracks, Odo Angus, Baskazak, and Ron formed a circle in front of a sand table drawing of Codor Province.
"Assault on Kodor?"
"Sir, did we hear correctly? Didn't the Central Army of the Liberation Army just give the order to terminate all preparations for the campaign?" Odo thought he heard wrongly.
亚特挥手制止了奥多的疑问，「这条密令是新君亲口告诉我岳父的，除了你们几个只有新君和我岳父知道这件事。」
「新君的意思很Obviously, if the raid succeeds, we will have an extra bargaining chip on this power gambling table. If it fails, the New Palace and the Liberation Army have not given me any instructions to attack. This is purely my personal reckless behavior and has nothing to do with the New Palace and the Liberation Army."
"This~" Everyone in the barracks looked at each other, and the barracks fell into silence for a while.
At broke the silence, "Don't worry, the second war between East and West will break out sooner or later. We just go out hunting when everyone is resting."
hh "Ron, you are responsible for Lord Galvin's southward march to Provence. Arrange for Dawson not to return to Thorne for the time being, and to take six of his special forces to escort Lord Galvin south. Tell him that if anything happens to Lord Galvin, come to see me. "
"Yes, sir." Ron straightened his body and responded to the order.
"Okay, let's discuss the battle plan."
“The new king secretly ordered us to send out troops on July 10th, and march to at least Diguan Town, south of Kodor City, before July 30th. The 800 mountaineer regiments of the Earl of Longxia have been secretly assembled, and they will cooperate with us to attract the forces of Kodor.”
Existence..."
Flanders' ability to become the future ruler of the County of Burgundy is by no means just due to the noble bloodline of the Iris family. He secretly ordered Art to lead his army to raid Codor because of his plan at both the strategic and tactical levels.
From a strategic level, today’s east and west borders play the pros and cons in a subtle political struggle. Previously, the first stage of victory was achieved due to the capture of Besançon in the east, but now with the defection of the Principality of Burgundy, the outcome of the pros and cons is once again unpredictable.
If Art suddenly leads a strong army to capture Codor at this time, he will not only be able to show off his strong muscles in front of all onlookers, giving the emissary an extra chance of winning at the negotiation table, but also show his fangs to the Duke of Burgundy, who is still hesitant, and tell the Duke of Burgundy who is still hesitant that even if Flanders cannot get the County of Burgundy, at least he has the strength to destroy the entire County of Burgundy, and the Duke will only be able to take over a broken wasteland.
From a tactical perspective, there was bound to be a life-and-death battle between the east and west. Both the east and west sides originally positioned the battlefield between Besançon and Saône in the north.
At this time, a powerful team suddenly emerged from Kodor in the south of Saône Province, which was enough to panic the Western Region. They also had to transfer the army that was facing the eastern border of Saône Province to Kodor to resist, because the Kodor army had almost no combat power.
At that time, the pressure on the Liberation Army on the northern front will be reduced, and the Welsh Army and the Longxia Mountain People's Army in the south will form a clampdown on the Western Territory.
Presumably Flanders should give Art three points of praise at this moment, because according to the previous plan, Flanders did not expect to attack from the south. After all, the Earl of Longxia and Tyniec County in the south are mountainous areas, making it inconvenient to march and difficult to provide food. But Art's initiative to open up the southern battlefield made Flanders adjust its strategic route.
June 25th, fifteen days before the dispatch date of Flanders' secret order, Art had already begun his own battle deployment.
After a detailed analysis of the characteristics of the Kodor Raid War as well as the topography and defense strength of Kodor Province, Art decided to conduct a blitzkrieg with elite troops.
According to Flanders's secret order, the assault on Kodor is not about how many territories and cities can be captured, nor about how many enemy troops are killed. The main purpose is to quickly break into the hinterland of Kodor at a speed that no one can imagine, completely panic the Western Territory, and create an astonishing movement to make the whole world uproar.
This kind of blitzkrieg does not require too much consideration of complicated matters such as logistical supplies and front line maintenance. All Art needs to do is to rush forward with his army, and then quickly retreat before the enemy can react or try to stay in the enemy's territory and wait for the entire northern front battle to start.
It is precisely based on such combat characteristics that Art only led the infantry and cavalry teams, crossbow teams, heavy armored infantry teams, and a small number of baggage teams and medical teams of the First Infantry Regiment of the Welsh Army on the expedition.
Of course, the province of Kodor is mostly plains except for the southeast. In order to quickly complete the lightning raid and limitedly resist the cavalry on the Kodor plain, Art ordered all chariots to participate in the battle. These chariots can carry soldiers to move quickly, and can also form vehicle formations to resist cavalry charges.
As for the problem of supplying food and baggage, Yat doesn't have to worry about it. Kodor is a plain area with abundant food. Even if they don't capture the castle and fortress, they can "force" enough food supplies in the countryside with little defense power.
After determining the direction, Art began to mobilize his troops.
On June 25, the first detachment of the Welsh Army and the teams directly under the Chinese Army completed emergency assembly at Beiguan Army Fort.
In the afternoon of that day, fifty two-wheeled four-wheeled iron chariots, pulling heavy weapons and armor and the army's ten-day emergency rations and supplies, under the banner of the Continental Trading Company, left the North Pass and rushed towards Provence under the personal leadership of Angus, the deputy commander of the legion. They would cross the border and turn westward at Kitzby, and then go north and cross the border again to reach Sarp Castle. These chariots, which cost Art countless money to build and support, are finally going to play a big role.
At noon on June 26, nearly 500 soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division of the Welsh Army, crossbows, heavy armored infantry, baggage teams and part of the medical team, led by the deputy commander of the legion, Odo, the deputy commander of the first division, and the deputy commander of the first division, Kazak, left the Beiguan Army Fort with three days of food and grass. They will turn in Boulder Town, go directly west through the mountain road and appear in the east of Sap Fort.
In the afternoon of the same day, the 1st Company (County Soldiers) and the 3rd Company (Andermatt) of the 2nd Division received military orders, allowing them to temporarily hold their positions, but the soldiers must be on standby in armor and be ready to fight at any time. At the same time, the 1st and 3rd Companies of the 2nd Division and the various units of the garrison also received secret orders to guard against rebellion in Tyniec County.
After making these arrangements, Art summoned Bas, the commander of the garrison, and ordered him to complete the reorganization and expansion of the garrison within one month, and in accordance with the order he issued at the allegiance ceremony of Lord Tynets, he organized a team of peasant soldiers to go to Tynets County to purchase grain as reserves.
After completing these tasks, the garrison will select 250 elite peasants and soldiers to take food, grass and baggage to the Sapu Territory to stand by. If the first division encounters an unexpected incident during the lightning raid in Kodor, the army of the Sapu Territory and the two hundred and fifty elite peasant soldiers under Bass will be his last straw...