The moonlit night is about to pass, the stars have dispersed, and a dark gray sky appears on the eastern skyline. The cool breeze blows across the wheat field grass on the Po River plain, turning into drops of autumn dew that are about to fall.
Suddenly, there was a shock all around. A pair of cowhide boots trampled down the dew-covered weeds, and then the second, third, and countless pairs of combat boots stepped on...
The people on these boots were all warriors wearing armor and holding spears, axes, and swords. The soldiers, who belonged to Count Von Biron on the frontier of the Principality of Lombardy, were carefully selected and quietly sneaked out from the city of Santia at 10:00 last night. They worked non-stop all night without stopping, taking advantage of the moonlight covering the Po River plain to march at high speed. They wanted to flank the Burgundian garrison camp before dawn and launch a surprise attack.
This army of 2,000 men is almost entirely infantry. They were all carefully selected by von Bilen, and they can basically be regarded as the elite of the Patriot Army.
Fon Bilen accepted Art's invitation to fight, and also led his troops to go north for a decisive battle.
But he is not a playboy who has just experienced combat. Decades of combat experience have taught him caution and conspiracy.
He had fought against the black-robed army before and was well aware of the opponent's strength and treachery. Moreover, even Wadbury, known as the Earl of Hundred Battles, was defeated in front of the enemy's formation, so he was even more cautious.
Hence, the posture of going north to meet the enemy was just a cover. It was impossible for Von Bilen to lead his army into the fighting place agreed by the Burgundians. He could think with his toes that the fighting place must have been dug into a trap by the Burgundians, just waiting for him to drill.
So after arriving at Santia City at noon yesterday, he sent people to clear the internal blockade of information, and at the same time ordered to immediately select elites to reward them with gold and silver to promise military exploits.
As soon as it got dark, he personally led this elite infantry of 2,000 people to make a surprise attack in a detour.
According to von Bilen's idea, it would be best if he could successfully attack the enemy camp and annihilate the enemy in one fell swoop. Even if he failed to attack the camp successfully, he could arrive at a battlefield that the enemy had not expected one day in advance, fight the enemy decisively, and at least gain the initiative on the battlefield.
In addition to selecting the old and weak remnants of the troops who stayed in Santia City, there was also a light and heavy cavalry of about 500 cavalry. These cavalry would serve as the main force and lead the remaining 2,000 infantry to go north according to the agreed route, forming an angle with the flanking army that was attacking, leaving the Burgundians with enemies on both sides and unable to cope with it.
As the supreme commander, Von Bilen naturally would not run on foot all night long like ordinary soldiers. Like the small number of cavalry in the night attack army, the war horses under him also had hoofs in their hooves and would hardly make any sound.
Fon Bilen raised his eyes to the east, and then glanced around at the army that was densely packed through the wheat fields. Fortunately, this was a plain area. Marching in the dark, and unable to use torch lighting, it was impossible to imagine it in other places.
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"Send an order to take a short rest and let the sentry come over to report the position." Feng Bilen ordered to the guards beside him.
With the passing of low-pitched military orders, the tired army that had been attacking all night stopped immediately. The soldiers slumped on the ground and quickly took out their water bags and filled their stomachs with food. If it hadn't been for yesterday's heavy rewards and generous promises of military exploits, these soldiers might have mutinied long ago after such a night-long attack.
Fon Bilen took the corned beef handed over by the guard, tore off a piece, threw it into his mouth and chewed it for a while, then raised the wine in the wine bag and drank it down.
"Back to your lord, this is the edge of the Reach. Less than two miles ahead is Storm's End Castle, which is currently occupied by the enemy."
"Less than three hours to the west of Storm's End, there is the enemy's garrison camp. If we can go faster, we will definitely be able to attack the enemy camp before the enemy's breakfast."
The commander of the former military outpost reported the position to von Bilen, and then asked: "Storm's End Castle in front may become an obstacle for the army to cross the border. If we bypass Storm's End Castle, it will take an extra hour to run. I am afraid that the physical strength of the soldiers will be greater by then, which will be detrimental to the battle."
Von Bilen waved his hand, "There is no need to detour, just send a small army to hold off the defenders of Storm's End. I will We have an army of thousands, but we are still worried about the hundred or ten enemy troops!"
"Send the order, advance quickly, and arrive at the enemy camp before dawn. All the property gained in today's battle will belong to the officers and soldiers..."
Storm's End, a fortress guarding the gateway to the bend of the Po River plain.
However, there has been no war in the Lombardy Po River plain for a hundred years, so the castle is not as strong as it seems.
After the Battle of Rock Castle, the Welsh Army left the border and headed south to conquer Lombardy. The two commanders Odo and Angus each led their troops to attack the military forts and towns near the mountain pass.
Because it was too sudden, Otto led two hundred men to capture this military fortress with less than thirty soldiers in less than two days. The Lombard soldiers stationed there had long since abandoned the city and fled.
Today, this military fort is stationed by the Sap Company of the Southern Border Guard Corps of the Welsh Army. The commander of the garrison is none other than Art’s brother-in-law, Felix, now the Baron of Wales and the palace’s southern military adjutant.
In Storm's End, the original fort residents had fled with the defenders, and only two hundred infantry led by Felix and a dozen cavalry guards were left in the castle.
There are more than two hundred troops stationed in the small castle, and one or two thousand people cannot be defeated in ten days and a half. However, although Felix is young, he has been honed in battles for many years, and he is very cautious in marching and fighting.
So he divided his more than two hundred soldiers into four fifty-man teams.
The first team was stationed on the outskirts of farms, mills, small villages, roads and bridges near Storm's End, and the second team was stationed on the city walls to guard, the third team was stationed in the castle for rotation, and the fourth team served as a reserve team under his personal control.
The four teams rotate every two days.
In addition, Felix also divided the work with two adjutants, taking turns to patrol every day to prevent the soldiers from slacking off and enemy sneak attacks.
Today's second half of the night is Felix's shift. He has just inspected the city wall and returned to his barracks. The bodyguard brought a plate of stew and a glass of beer and put it on the table. "My lord, Baron, Adjutant Marr has already received the patrol. You should eat something and rest quickly. After dawn, We have to go south for patrol."
Felix stood up and walked to the wooden frame with some bumps. With the help of his bodyguards, he took off his helmet, chainmail, iron hands, and combat boots. He returned to the table and devoured the large plate of stew like a storm.
But just as he wiped the oil from the corner of his mouth and lay down, the siren of Storm's End was sounded.
Immediately, the night watch adjutant Mal knocked on Felix's door hastily, "Baron, the enemy is attacking from the south!"
Felix had woken up, he stood up suddenly, opened the door, "The enemy situation?"
"The sentries in the mill in the south of the city have just reported that a team is coming from the south. The sentries keeping watch outside the city have discovered the enemy, and the enemy has also discovered them."
"Seven of the eight soldiers in the mill were killed by the enemy's outer sentry, and the soldier who escaped to report was also stabbed with a sword, and he is about to die."
"It was too dark, and the soldiers who reported the message did not know the strength and details of the enemy's troops."
Felix's mind was running rapidly. The military intelligence briefing sent by the staff at noon yesterday did not contain any predictions or warnings about the enemy's sneak attack on Storm's End Castle. He really could not imagine where the enemy troops were coming from.
By the time Felix climbed onto the watchtower of Storm's End with his armor and sword, the enemy force that had suddenly appeared had already appeared more than 200 steps outside the west wall of Storm's End.
Felix had a cold sweat on his forehead.
Outside Storm's End, hundreds of torches tore through the pre-dawn night. Under the light of the torches, there were thousands of soldiers.
After calming down for a while, Felix immediately ordered the entire army to prepare for war, preparing for the enemy to storm the castle.
However, Felix did not expect that just after he ordered to defend against the enemy, thousands of enemy troops outside the city actually turned around with torches and headed towards the legion garrison camp in the northwest, leaving less than a hundred people outside the city for surveillance.
"No! The enemy's target is not Storm's End, they are planning to raid the Legion's camp!" Felix saw the enemy's intention. They knew that they had been seen by the defenders of Storm's End, so they simply stopped moving covertly and collected materials in the castle to make a torch. With the torch, they bypassed Storm's End and raided the Wells Legion garrison camp.
Felix could not just watch the enemy troops pass by Storm's End and raid the rear camp. He immediately ordered his bodyguard cavalry and the second and fourth regiments of infantry to assemble and follow him out of the city to stop the enemy.
"Baron, there are thousands of enemy troops. If they dare to walk in front of us with torches, they will definitely not be afraid of us attacking and intercepting them. What's more, could this be their trick to lure us out of the city?" Felix's adjutant Marr stopped him from taking action.
"The Earl ordered me to garrison Storm's End. If I let the enemy pass through, once they attack the camp, we will be equally guilty." Felix was determined to lead his army out of the city to stop the enemy, but he was also worried about the enemy's tricks. "After I leave the city, you immediately close the city gate. Unless ordered by the Earl, no one is allowed to open the city gate, including me!"
Mal is Felix's subordinate. He knows Felix's mood at this moment, "Lord Baron, if you have to leave the city to stop the enemy, let me lead the army out of the city. Storm's End guards the flanks of the army to prevent it from falling into the hands of the enemy. You are the commander of the Storm's End garrison, and we cannot leave you here. And you are the brother-in-law of the Earl, so you must not make any mistakes."
Mar's hidden meaning is that it is unpredictable whether you will survive or die when you go out to stop the enemy. If you die in battle, it will be fine. If Felix is captured alive and the enemy uses him as a shield, Art will definitely use it as a shield.
Felix is no longer the ambitious playboy he once was. He slapped the former young hunter on the shoulder, "I leave the cavalry and two groups of infantry to you. Remember, you must fight but retreat. You cannot fight to the death with the enemy."
Felix immediately turned around and ordered to the captain of the soldiers, "Go and take out five bombs from the iron box in my barracks. If the battle is extremely urgent, use these things to save your life." There are only ten in total, and you still have to guard Storm's End~"
Felix raised his hand to stop, "Let's talk about it after today."
After a while, Mal, the deputy commander of Sap Company, led ten men A cavalryman and more than a hundred infantrymen rushed out of Storm's End, broke through the hundreds of enemy troops who stayed behind, and bit the tail of the torch army... On Storm's End, Felix clenched his fists and looked at the fighting in the distance, and shouted to the messenger, "Immediately send three people on fast horses out of the city, in three groups to arrive at the legion camp before the enemy, and warn the earl."
............