The low and rapid sound of horns resounded through the mining areas and canyons.
· On weekdays, when working and eating, the mining area kitchen would knock on the half-section of the steel plate to make a sharp and crisp sound, but today the sudden sound of the horn made everyone stunned for a moment.
Soon, several miners who had worked hard during the peasant-soldier training reacted. They shouted to gather and prepare for war, and then called on their companions to rush toward the shed area with hammers and drills.
By the time the miners from all directions gathered in the shed area, Spencer had already led a group of guard soldiers to move out all the dozen or so sets of weapons and armor from the warehouse.
These weapons are items eliminated by the garrison, so naturally they cannot be said to be sophisticated - two sets of hole-in-the-wall blouse mail armor, three pieces of single-layer leather armor full of cracks, five repaired and polished single-edged thick-back scimitars, eight slightly rusty iron-headed eucalyptus short spears, and three short swords in leather-wrapped wooden scabbards. In addition, there are seven oak bucklers, several short-handled handaxes, some iron half-helmets, belts and sword belts, etc. These are old things left over from the patrol days.
Hence Spencer is a knight, so the set of knightly weapons he equipped when he was in the legion is reserved.
However, during the year when he was assigned to the Government Affairs Office to be responsible for the construction work, he never had access to those treasures. The fine set of knight's swords and plate chain armor, as well as the gun and shield, were all stored in the mansion in the wooden castle.
So at this time Spencer could only pick out a set of half-mail mail, a short sword, a small buckler, a cracked sword belt and a half-helmet with almost no protection from the arsenal.
This body of weapons and armor is not as good as the six guards sent to guard the mine. The short spears in their hands are at least brand new, the short swords on their waists are at least sharp, and the leather armor on their bodies is at least double-layered.
However, Spencer knew that his fighting ability was mediocre, and perhaps he was not as good as those guards, so he simply did not change clothes with them.
Spencer stepped on the wooden stakes and climbed onto the simple wooden table where the miners in the shed usually ate. He watched as more and more miners gathered. There were almost seventy or eighty of them.
"Guys, an army of unknown origin has appeared in the canyon, with hundreds of people." Spencer said straight to the point.
"Now we are fighting with the Lombards, and I guess those guys are the Lombards who took a detour to attack us." Spencer said that the miners gathered under the wooden shed of the kitchen were all shocked. There was a battle at the mouth of the valley in the south. Why would the enemy appear in the deep mountains and valleys to the west? How long would it take to detour and how many mountains and deep valleys should be passed through.
Slowly, the surprise turned into fear. There were a small number of war slaves among these miners, but most of them were mining slaves or hard-working bankrupt civilians who instinctively fled when faced with danger.
"Sir, let's run away quickly, we won't be able to escape any later." A middle-aged man with dark skin and wrinkles in the crowd said and prepared to leave.
"Wait!" Spencer yelled.
"You must run! If you don't run, you are a fool. But we, a group of grown men, can't just stick our butts out and run away like women when we see danger."
If we were to follow ordinary people, it would definitely be something inspiring like defending our homeland and fighting the enemy to the death to buy time for the soldiers and civilians in the rear. But Spencer was not an ordinary person.
"I have sent two agile guys to ride back to the lake to warn. Baron Odo is leading a hundred battle elites to garrison in the lake. The soldiers of the Welsh Army will arrive in a few moments."
Spencer paused.
"Military merit is very important in the Province of Wales. If we can hold off the enemy here for a moment, it will be a military achievement. Then there will be a lot of military rewards. Maybe you can earn a meritorious family business!"
Money and position are both good things.
Spencer immediately began to promise, "I am a knight of the Province of Wales. I guarantee my knightly honor and all my family property. Anyone who stays with me to stop the enemy, regardless of whether they join the enemy or not, will be rewarded with a reward of one hundred pfennigs. If you dare to go into battle against the enemy, you will be rewarded with two hundred pfennigs. If you kill the enemy, you will be rewarded with five hundred pfennigs!"
"This is my gift!" As promised, if you guys can come back alive, I will definitely take credit for you all again from the earl!"
After speaking, Spencer took out the dagger from his waist, put it in his palm and stabbed it hard. The dagger was not sharp, but it still opened a gash, and for a moment, blood dripped down the blade.
Spencer clenched his fists and raised his arms, "My words are made with my blood!"
I don't know whether they were aroused by blood or greed, seven miners stood up.
After a brief hesitation, another twenty or thirty miners stood up one after another. They were basically registered peasant soldiers.
Logically speaking, Spencer had the right to order all the miners to stay and fight with him, especially those young men who had been registered as peasant soldiers.
But Spencer was not a professional combat commander, and he was not used to using absolute orders to force others to die.
In the end, Spencer mobilized a total of thirty-five strong men, including himself and six guards, to stay with him to resist the enemy.
He handed over the remaining miners and craftsmen to two government officials, and ordered them to rush immediately to the nearby stockade left by the Christopher tribe, strengthen the walls of the stockade, and wait for reinforcements from Lord Odo.
Once the arrangements were in place, Spencer began to organize the hastily assembled "army" under his command.
The most important thing is weapons and armor. The total amount of weapons and equipment allocated to the mining area by the garrison corps is only so little, and there is simply no way for the "soldiers" to have one.
But Spencer was a baggage officer, so this did not trouble him.
The six guards are relatively well equipped, so don’t worry.
The remaining twenty or so miscellaneous weapons and armors could not satisfy everyone anyway, so he simply abandoned egalitarianism.
Several sets of leather armor, shields and iron helmets, as well as short spears and battle axes, were handed over to six war slaves who had been enemies of the Welsh Army. They were able to survive the iron hoof of the Welsh Army, so they were naturally considered "elite".
These six "well-armed" war slaves together with the six guards became the core combat force in Spencer's hands.
The remaining twenty or so people are divided into three levels according to whether they have combat experience, the number of times they have participated in peasant and soldier training, and their physical strength. The more powerful ones are equipped with a short spear or a single-edged thick-backed knife, and the less powerful ones are equipped with a short spear or a single-edged thick-backed knife. Given a short sword or hatchet, the remaining miners, who mostly relied on their courage and desire for monetary rewards, were free to do whatever they wanted. Shovels for digging, hammers for breaking rocks, and long sticks for lifting, as long as they were used smoothly and could kill the enemy, they all took them.
Hence, Spencer began to direct the "soldiers" to hammer down the wooden pile fence outside the mining area, and use carts to transport piles of ore under the fence to build a chest-high "stone wall."
This is not a military fortress, and that's all they can do.
Everything was ready, and it was estimated that it would take half an hour for the army to discover this place. Spencer simply sent two guards out to scout, and then led the remaining "soldiers" to move out all the bacon, fruits, vegetables and wine in the kitchen, and ate and drank...
After waiting for another full hour, the guards who went to scout ran back.
"Sir Spencer, here we come, it's the Lombards! They have discovered our traces and are chasing us."
Spencer's face was already flushed after several large portions of low-quality ale. He picked up the dagger on the wooden table beside him, pulled up his cuffs and shouted: "Guys, for money and status, fight with the Lombard dogs." Then he rushed towards the mining fence.
The gangsters fighting in the streets have no sense of knighthood.