“…You think this is strange, the bastard was shouting for our lives before, so why did he take the initiative to return the wild boar?” On the way back to the camp, Berry muttered repeatedly. From time to time, he looked back at the wild boar whose limbs were tied to wooden sticks and carried by two soldiers.
Hans, who was walking in front, remained silent. He was not happy because he had "recaptured" the prey. He was thinking about how to explain to Art the unlucky soldier who was shot by the mountain people. What made him even more nervous was the puzzling reaction of the indigenous people.
Hans knew in advance that there was such an indigenous tribe in the south. Before leaving, Art made a special trip to tell them not to get close to that group of people's territory to avoid conflicts with them. If anything unusual happened, he would immediately report it to the valley.
“Hey, boy, I’m asking you a question, you act like a deaf person.” Bury ran quickly to catch up with Hans, patting him on the shoulder and asked.
Hans looked back at the soldier's body covered with linen lying on a simple stretcher, and then said to Hans: "I told you before, don't mess with those mountain people. Now what do you say, a soldier died before we saw the Lombards, and you will definitely blame us~"
Looking at Hans with an anxious look on his face, an idea suddenly came to Berry's mind. Said: "How about we say that this guy fell down the hillside while hunting and was accidentally pierced by a wooden stake in the neck~" Hans stopped, turned around and stared at Bury like a fool and yelled: "Do you think the adults in the Chinese army are fools? You can't even see such obvious arrow wounds~" Hans shook his hands and walked away.
Bury touched the back of his head and sighed, "At least I have thought of a way~Why are you yelling~"
The next day, Hans sent a few soldiers back to the valley and wrote the situation on birch bark for the soldiers to take back with them and hand them over to the Chinese army. In addition to the guy who had been injured by an arrow in his calf, there were also the soldiers who died unfortunately this time.
………
A few days later, a soldier who returned to the valley was notified of the castle lord's mansion. Ron, who had already been waiting at the door of the mansion, looked serious.
In the evening, Ron reported the news from the southern outpost to his master. After learning that one person was killed and one injured at the southern outpost, Art felt a little angry~
“When you go in later, explain the situation clearly in the shortest possible terms. Your Excellency, the Count, is in a bad mood, so don’t be verbose.” Ron gave the order to the nervous-looking soldier calmly.
"Yes, yes, Lord Ron～"
"Why are you panic? Come with me!"
Ron led the soldiers into the official room on the first floor of the mansion...
"...Lord Earl, the situation is like this In this way, we had a confrontation with those people, and they not only allowed us to leave the jungle safely, but also returned the prey to us. But during the confrontation, there seemed to be the sound of short conversations from time to time on the mountain ~" Art slowly put down the birch bark in his hand and turned his eyes on the soldiers.
“How many people are there on the other side, and what are their weapons and equipment?” After a moment, Art asked.
"Back to the Earl, those people are hidden in the dense forest and cannot be judged. But judging from their voices, there are roughly forty people."
"Forty people~" Art pondered slightly. Last time, I, Ron and others also encountered this group of mysterious guys, but fortunately these people did not make things difficult for them.
Yate originally did not want to rush to deal with this tribe, but now these people dare to openly kill people, so their power must not be weak. Once these Lombards are allowed to stay here for a long time, many troubles will inevitably occur.
Immediately, Art ordered the soldiers to change their horses immediately and return to the south of the valley to inform Hans, asking him to always be on guard against the men and horses hiding in the dark to prevent being attacked.
On the second day, Art called Angus and Kazak to the wooden castle in the valley, intending to discuss with them whether to send troops to expel the group of barbarians entrenched in the dense forest at the south end of the valley.
…Sir, according to you, that group of people should not be weak in combat power. They neither have a direct conflict with us nor let us get close to their territory. Perhaps these people also hid in the mountains to avoid being wanted by Lombardy." Angus, who was sitting at the table, analyzed.
"Sergeant, what you said makes sense. What are these people obviously deliberately avoiding?" Art rubbed his chin in thought. Those who could abandon the fertile basin and hide in the mountains must also be avoiding.
"Sir, I have an idea, I don't know if it is feasible~" After a while, Kazak, who had been listening to the conversation between the two, said.
“Tell me and listen.” Art tapped his fingers on the wooden table.
"Since these guys have a certain fighting capacity and a large number of people, why don't we try to recruit them into your command. These people must know more about the situation in the southern valley than we do. If they are willing to be loyal to you, it may be helpful to the construction of the southern valley in the future."
"What if they have no intention of being loyal to me?" The question was Angus.
"Either friend or enemy! I must absolutely control that area before the Lombards intervene. If they refuse to surrender, they will destroy themselves." Ater does not intend to leave trouble in the border area.
Lombardy is by no means a weak country. Half of Provence was almost annexed by Lombardy a few years ago. Their fighting power is strong. Now that they have set their sights on the newly born Burgundy Kingdom, this fertile valley may have become fat in their eyes. Rather than being passively beaten, it is better to take the initiative.
In the early morning of the third day, one hundred soldiers of the Welsh Army, led by company captain Colin, assembled at the wooden castle in the valley. Fifty crossbowmen accompanied the soldiers to the wooden castle to assemble.
Ron gently pushed open the wooden door of the Earl's private weapons room on the second floor of the mansion, "Sir, Colin and Smith have already assembled. Can we leave? In addition, Spencer's baggage transport team will set off from Beiguan early tomorrow morning, carrying two hundred people and half a month's worth of food and fodder to follow."
With Lottie's help, Art fastened the belt around his waist and turned around to adjust his sword. "Ask Colin and Smith to set off immediately and arrive at the Wellsburg construction site at noon for repairs."
"Yes, sir." Ron first accepted the order, and then asked: "Sir, should we bring more troops? After all, we don't know the strength of the opponent."
Matt chuckled softly, "I didn't bring these people to deal with that indigenous tribe. If it were just for that tribe, it would be enough to bring a few of you."
"Pick six cavalry from the guard to follow me south, and the rest of the guards will be organized into a cavalry company and let them train with the cavalry." Art said a few words and stepped out of the weapons room.
"Madam, please help me persuade the master to at least bring more personal guards~" Ron looked at Lottie with a pleading look on his face.
Lottie shrugged, "Writing is your men's business, and it's useless to look at me. But if you get your master injured, I won't forgive you."
Ron looked helpless and immediately turned around and caught up with Art.
…..
It was the second time he set foot in the south of the valley, but this time he changed from an adventurous traveler to a conquering lord.
The mountains on both sides are still so towering, the river in the valley is still so winding, and the land in the valley is still so barren. However, due to the coming and going of armies and trains, this is no longer an isolated and barren valley.
The road has become easier to navigate. At least Art and his Earl Guard cavalry do not have to dismount and cut down tangled trees and vines to move forward. A short road that can barely be traversed by horses shortens the time to the south of the valley to two and a half days. When the trade road is opened in the future, it will take one and a half days to ride from Wellsburg (city) to the southernmost part of the valley.
The temporary checkpoint camp in the south is still small, so Colin's one hundred soldiers and Smith's fifty crossbowmen are stationed by the lake in the basin. The land here is flat, open, and has convenient water sources, making it suitable for camping. Secondly, it is also to show the axes to the indigenous tribes in the mountains on one side of the basin.
But the second goal has been achieved in advance. The indigenous tribe has already begged for peace with the garrison at the temporary checkpoint before the arrival of Ater's army.
“...My lord, they sent the head of the bastard who shot our soldiers and begged us to forgive their sins.” After Hans finished speaking, he lowered his head deeply and no longer dared to look at the Earl who was sitting at the head of the military tent.
Att didn’t speak after listening.
The indigenous tribe was horrified after killing the soldiers. Within a few days, they sent someone to deliver the murderer's head. Along with the head, there were a large number of precious furs and mountain goods, begging the garrison not to pursue further accountability.
The matter was so serious that Hans did not dare to make a decision. He just left the head and drove away the "messenger" who came to beg for peace.
Matt's silence made Hans extremely nervous. He thought that Art was angry about the loss of soldiers in the battle, so he knelt down and said, "My lord, my subordinates did not do their job well and let the soldiers die before the battle. Please punish me."
Matt was awakened by the sound of kneeling on the ground. He glanced at this guy and said coldly, "It was your commander Rigg who asked for this mission for you and gave you the opportunity to perform meritorious service. I also told you to be wary of the natives, but you exchanged one of my soldiers for a wild boar. For crime, beheading the capital is not enough."
Hans buried his head on the ground again.
"Because of your outstanding military exploits, I will spare your life. I will fine you one year's military pay to be used as a pension for soldiers who died in battle, and you will be demoted to the position of deputy commander of the squadron, and also be the commander of the garrison. You will be punished and meritorious." Art did not intend to delve into Hans's guilt.
Hans, if he received the divine grace, said, "Thank you very much, Lord Count, for staying alive. I will be loyal to you even to the death."
"I'm training you just to die? Get out, personally lead the people to find out the situation of that tribe, and block all the roads from that tribe to the outside world. Return before tomorrow evening."
Hans was relieved and hurriedly ordered to exit the military tent.
After Hans left, Ron took a step forward and said, "Master, since those natives have already begged for peace, should we send someone to talk to them?"
Art rubbed the armrest of the chair, "No, you pick a few soldiers to go south out of the valley tomorrow and assassinate them. Check out the movement of the Lombards outside the valley entrance, but so far the Lombards have not made any noise. The Lombards are our strong enemies. "
"As for the natives, they will send people again."
Before the sound left, a team of seven or eight people appeared at the edge of the basin. They seemed to be carrying one person on a wooden board.
In less than ten days, more than a hundred elite soldiers entered the basin. The natives who had been hiding in the mountains for nearly ten years finally lost their composure.
A group of patrol soldiers rushed out of the temporary camp and surrounded the team in the mountain...
After a while, the leader of the team was carried to Art's military tent. Yes, he was carried in, because the guy was already bedridden.
"Dear Earl of Burgundy~ Our leader is seriously ill and cannot walk, but for the sake of his people's lives, he personally begged you, hoping that your kind lord would let us go." The person who knelt down and spoke was a middle-aged man, and his Burgundian was very stiff.
Matt didn't speak, his eyes kept staring at the old man on the wooden bed.
Looks familiar, really looks familiar, my mind is desperately searching for memories...
"...Your Majesty Earl~ We are willing to spend all our efforts to atone for our sins...Your Majesty Earl? Your Majesty Earl." The kneeling man saw that Art was completely lost in thought.
Matt stood up suddenly and raised his hand to stop the middle-aged man from speaking.
hurriedly walked off the armchair, came to the old man lying on the wooden board, and looked at him carefully for a long time.
"Christopher?" Art spoke in Northern Lombardy.
“It’s me.” The old man was weak.
"After so many years of escaping, what is supposed to come is finally coming." After saying this, the old man closed his eyes and waited for his fate...
More than ten years ago, Fort Wayne in northern Lombardy was still the territory of Baron Wells.
At that time, Christopher was still a vassal knight of the Wells family.
However, when old Wells returned from the Holy Land and was assassinated by someone else's conspiracy, the old knight who had sworn allegiance to the Wells family chose to stand aside and watch the destruction of the Wells family...
This was an indifference that was more chilling than betrayal.
"Young Master, I am ashamed of the Wells family. Today I am dedicating half of my life to you to atone for my sins. Please kill me and let my people go." The old man opened his eyes and looked at Art with pleading eyes.
To be honest, after more than ten years of integration, Art now has little memory of the Wells family in Lombardy, and he doesn’t have much hatred for the old man on the sickbed in his heart.
Silence, the military tent fell into complete silence.
Matt didn't know how to deal with it for a moment, and things went beyond his expectation. He originally thought of taking the indigenous tribes under his command with a combination of kindness and power, but now the plot has reversed, which caught him off guard.
Yat's silence made the old man on the wooden bed palpitate. He just thought it was because Ate was unwilling to let go of his tribe.
"Master, please forgive my people because I lost my son to the Wells family. They are all poor people who couldn't stand the devil's rule in Burley and followed me into the mountains." After saying this, the old man took out a small dagger from his sleeve, pointed it at his heart and stabbed it.
The tribesmen next to the old man were so frightened that they immediately stepped forward to snatch it.
Ron on the side glanced sharply at the guard responsible for the body search, "What are you still doing? Hand over the weapon to me!"
Art raised his hand to stop him.
"Christopher, you are now a half-dead man, can I atone for your sins by killing you? Can it make up for your sins against the Wells family? Can it save the lives of your people?"
"Master, yours What do you mean? "
"I remember that when your son died in the battle, he left an only son; if that little boy was still alive, he would have been fourteen or fifteen years old this year, right? "
"Young Master~" the old man cried loudly.
Seeing that the fire was almost over, Art suddenly shouted angrily, "Christopher, when the Wells family was in trouble, you turned a cold eye and watched the Wells family being slaughtered. Today, I will punish you on behalf of the Wells family!"
After saying this, Art pulled out the sword on his waist.
Several guards in the military tent held two of the tribesmen around the old man captive.
The old man closed his eyes and waited quietly for the sharp sword that had been hanging for more than ten years.
Bang!
The sharp sword in Art's hand instantly cut off the wooden board above the old man's head...
After a while, the old man opened his eyes.