At the camp of the Liberation Army, Art's baggage team was seizing the time to move the fifty carts of grain and grass that had just been delivered from the Wells Army's station into the tent where the grain was stored. Five of the carts of grain and grass were taken from the Wells Army's grain and grass by Art's order.
"Brothers, please move quickly and unload the cart quickly and return to the station." Spencer, who was standing beside the carriage to direct, ordered. The cavalry in the Liberation Army escorted the Welsh Army's baggage team to the Liberation Army camp before returning to the camp.
In the Liberation Army command camp, Art, who came with the baggage train, was talking with Flanders in the tent about his plans after annihilating the enemy cavalry.
…Cousin Art, now that we have food and grass, the morale of the Liberation Army has been stabilized. I think it’s time to attack Thorne City.” Flanders revealed his thoughts to Art.
“Your Majesty, Marquis, do you mean there is news from the city?”
Flender raised his hand and motioned for Art to come closer and speak.
"Yes, they sent a secret message last night and have already placed their own people at the Northeast Gate where there are relatively few defenders. At that time, some of our troops will pretend to attack the East Gate and the South Gate, and the other group will ambush outside the Northeast Gate at night. , after the people inside opened the city gate and lowered the drawbridge, they rushed in! Once they stabilized their position, the other armies immediately went to the northeast gate to support them and annihilated the defenders in Thorne City in one fell swoop." Flanders was so excited that he slammed his clenched fists on the wooden table.
"Good advice, Lord Marquis. If everything goes well, Thorne City will be under your control."
“You will bring your core officers to my army command camp tomorrow morning to discuss strategies to defeat the enemy. We must capture Thorne City this time.”
"Yes, Your Majesty the Marquis!"
………
Three miles outside the south gate of Thorne City, Art, who had just returned to the station with the baggage train, had no time to rest and summoned high-ranking officers above the flag captain of the Wells Legion to the central army's command camp to prepare them for the upcoming siege.
"Everyone, I have received an order from the Marquis to go to the Liberation Army command camp early tomorrow morning to participate in important military discussions and discuss the upcoming siege."
When all the officers heard that they were about to attack Thorne City, they were very excited. But facing this iron-walled Thorn City, I felt a little less confident. Art knew the thoughts of his men.
"Everyone, please be quiet." Art gestured with his hand. "I know very well what you are thinking. The attack on Thorne City this time is not as simple as our capture of Fort Marsi. Thorne City not only has tall walls, but also has a moat around it. It is indeed difficult to get close." Art stood up slowly, circled around the officers present, and then returned to his seat.
"But if we have our internal agents in the city, things will be much easier to handle." Art changed the topic and gave some tips to the officers present.
"Sir, do you mean there are people from us in the city?" Odo immediately stood up and asked eagerly.
“No, not one of ours.” As soon as Art finished speaking, the officers looked left and right, their eyes full of doubts.
"Sir, please stop beating around the bush, brothers are just waiting for your words." Odo said anxiously.
"Everyone, come closer..." After Art informed the officers present about the situation, everyone was stunned for a moment, and then started talking in low voices.
Angus spoke first: "Sir, it's Bernard's people, can we easily trust them?"
"Yes, that's right." Everyone whispered in agreement.
"Sergeant Major, do you have a better way now?" Art asked.
"I~" Angus was speechless.
"Everyone, we should not doubt the Marquis's plan. The only thing we should do is obey his orders and obey them unconditionally." Art looked serious and stared at the officers present. If these people cannot fully follow the orders and worry too much, then this siege will definitely be greatly compromised.
"Did you hear everything clearly?" Art asked loudly.
"I am willing to serve you!" Everyone stood up and bent over and beat their chests.
"Today's military meeting ends here. Otto, sergeant major, you two will go with me to the Liberation Army camp tomorrow morning to attend the military meeting."
"Yes, sir!" The two of them accepted the order in unison.
………
At this time, it is early autumn. At night, the air around Thorne City gradually became slightly cooler. A gust of wind blew over, and I saw the soldiers patrolling the perimeter of the Wells Legion station shivering~
After dinner, Art sat alone on a stone between a few trees on the west side of the camp, watching the soldiers of the Legion shuttle between the tents. Art himself didn't have much confidence in this siege, it could even be said that he didn't have any confidence at all. Although Thorne City is not big, it is definitely the strongest fortress that Art has ever seen. Moreover, there were nearly two thousand troops guarding the city, not including those farmers, soldiers and handymen. Even though the Liberation Army and the Welsh Army combined exceeded 10,000 people, there were only 5,000 to 6,000 people with real combat capability. If we really attack by force, there will be heavy casualties.
Although there is an internal response in the city, the probability of success is still uncertain. It was understandable that he had doubts about his officers, but he couldn't let these thoughts reach Flanders's ears, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous. For such a powerful and ambitious ruler, any questioning may be regarded as contempt and betrayal. Art himself has seen how scary Flanders's eyes look when he questions him. That kind of power is enough to make him tremble. It is the innate arrogance in his blood!
………
After breakfast early on the second day, Art took Angus, Odo, Ron and others to the Liberation Army command camp.
On the way, Art specially warned Angus and Odo: Never question Flender’s thoughts and decisions in person. As the senior commanders of the legion, the two quickly understood Art's intentions. For a ruler who was afraid of three points, the two naturally did not dare to have any objections.
Soon, the group arrived at the Liberation Army camp. When several people entered the camp on horseback, they saw that the soldiers were all busy under the command of the officers. Obviously, Flanders has already begun to prepare for the upcoming siege...
After entering the gate of the military camp, turn right onto a path with tents neatly erected on both sides, pass a checkpoint guarded by two soldiers holding spears, and then cross an open space. The largest tent in front of you with two soldiers holding daggers guarding the door is the command camp of the Liberation Army.
Dismount.
There were still about fifty paces away from the command camp, so Art ordered everyone to dismount. After handing the horses over to Ron and the accompanying guards, Art straightened his clothes and then walked towards the command tent with Angus and Odo.
"Good morning, Lord Art!" When Art and others walked to the gate of the command tent, the guard at the door bowed and saluted, greeted him with a smile, and then lifted the door curtain to let Art and others in. Art looked at the guard, then nodded to Odo, and then led Angus into the tent. Odo took out a few penny coins from his pocket and threw them to the two guards, then strode towards the tent.
At the Liberation Army command camp, all senior officers under Flanders have arrived. Art felt a little unfamiliar with the people in front of him. The only one he recognized was Viscount Leander who was talking loudly with several officers.
After Leonde saw Art walking in, he said a few words to the people around him and then walked towards them with wine in his hand.
"Lord Art, you are here." Leander asked enthusiastically, and waved to the servants to pour wine for a few people.
"Come, Lord Ater, everyone, let us drink a drink for the upcoming battle." After the servants delivered the wine to several people, Leander picked up the wine glass and said.
「干！」
「干！」
几人一饮而尽，顿感舒畅。
"Great, the Marquis is finally going to take action against Thorne City." After wiping the remaining juice from the corner of his mouth with his hand, Leander said, with a bit of excitement on his expression. As a professional soldier who relies on swords for a living, he has an almost paranoid fascination with fighting. It seems that only in the process of fighting the enemy can he feel that he is still alive. It is precisely because of this that the soldiers of the Longxia Legion make the enemy so fearful.
At only nodded slightly to agree, but did not speak in agreement. Because he still had doubts about whether he could win the siege.
"The Marquis has arrived~" As the voice of the guard outside the door came, everyone in the camp immediately put down their wine glasses. Two guards opened the door curtain, and Flanders in military uniform strode in.
"Good morning, Lord Marquis!" Everyone bowed and beat their chests in salute.
Flender glanced at the people present, nodded, and walked straight towards the big leather chair next to the table.
"Please all sit down!"
"Thank you, Lord Marquis~"
After everyone was seated, Flanders signaled his bodyguard to spread out a sheepskin map of Thorne City on a long wooden table.
"Everyone, I ordered people to make this overnight based on the information provided by the informants in the city. It clearly marks the defense status of each gate in Thorne City."
Seeing Flanders's decisive and efficient actions, everyone here admired him.
"Now, let's discuss the distribution of troops and the formulation of a battle plan."
At, who was sitting slightly forward, looked at the sheepskin map. The East City Gate and the South City Gate had the strongest defenses. In addition, except for the city gate in the northeast corner, the other city gates are all water gates, and there are fewer people defending them.
"According to the information provided by the internal affairs department, Thorne City's troops are mainly concentrated at the East City Gate and the South City Gate, with a total of at least 1,200 people, and the East City Gate is the most heavily defended. The city gate in the northeast corner and several other water gates have fewer defensive troops." Flanders pointed at the map with a smooth wooden stick, and the eyes of the others slowly moved along with the sticks.
"Therefore, the East City Gate and the South City Gate are not suitable as the targets for this breakthrough to Thorne City. The remaining water gates are all set up on the river, surrounded by swampy areas, making it difficult to move." Flanders then waved the wooden stick, and the end landed on the northeast corner of the city gate.
“Northeast gate?” one of the officers said.
"Yes, it's the Northeast Gate!" After saying that, Flanders put the wooden stick on the table, picked up the wine on the table and took a sip. I saw the officers talking among themselves.
After a while, Flanders asked: "Couldn't someone tell me the reason for choosing the Northeast Gate?"
Seeing that no one among the officers present made a sound, Art first glanced at the guys in front of him, and after making sure that no one answered, he stood up and bowed to greet Flanders.
"Your distinguished Lord Marquis, please allow me to express my opinion."
"Att, tell me." Flanders nodded with satisfaction.
"Everyone, there are two reasons for choosing the North City Gate as the breakthrough point. First, the river is divided into three sections after entering from the North City Gate. The two sides circle around the city along the outer wall moat for half a circle and then merge at the southwest corner of the city. The other section flows along the North City Water Gate into Thorne City. The Northeast Gate is right between the river in the north and the moat in the east, forming a narrow corner. Therefore, most of the troops and siege equipment cannot go east. Spread out outside the north gate. Bernard also knows that our army will definitely not attack the city from there, so the defenders there are much smaller than the east gate and the south gate. "Second, once the northeast gate is defeated, the reinforcements outside the east gate can quickly move to the northeast gate to reinforce our soldiers who have stabilized their position, and finally attack Thorne City and annihilate the defenders in the city."
After Art finished speaking, the officers present started talking a lot. All they knew about the guy in front of them was that he was the son-in-law of Viscount Galvin, Deputy Minister of Finance of the Palace. But he didn't expect that he knew the internal situation of Thorn City so clearly.
Angus and Odo, who were standing behind Art, glanced at each other. Compared with the officers of the Liberation Army in front of them, Art's understanding of Thorne City was incomparable to theirs. During the assassination of Assassin, a group of people had already figured out the situation in Thorn City clearly, and successfully brought several of Assassin's leaders to Paris to face the church's trial. Due to the extremely covert nature of his actions, Bernard only found out who the mastermind was after the heretics had arrived in Paris.
"You all heard it." Seeing the officers talking incessantly, Flanders finally spoke. "Art's analysis is exactly the same as mine."
At this time, the corners of Art's lips were slightly raised, and he glanced at the officers present from the corner of his eyes. I thought, these arrogant guys in front of me will definitely remember me now~
"Next, I will announce the battle plan." As soon as Flanders spoke, everyone around the long table immediately stood up and stood up straight, with serious expressions.
"The Liberation Army is responsible for attacking the east city gate, and the Welsh Army is responsible for attacking the south city gate. In addition, select two hundred experienced soldiers from the army. After opening the northeast gate, they immediately rush to deal with the defenders in the city gate, occupy the northeast gate, and wait for the army to attack. The main task of the troops at the East City Gate and South City Gate is to attract the majority of the enemy's troops and cover the soldiers attacking the Northeast Gate. Once the city is broken, the Wells Army continues to attack the South City Gate. Half of the Liberation Army will stay at the East City Gate, and the other half will immediately go to the Northeast Gate to support the two hundred soldiers who attack the city."
“All troops will go back immediately and seize the time to prepare. At dawn the next day, we will launch a full-scale attack on Thorne City. This time we must take down Thorne City in one fell swoop!” Flanders pulled out the broadsword from his waist and waved it in the air, feeling extremely excited.