Chapter 636 Life-saving straw
The sun was like fire, and the endless Po River plain was mercilessly baked by the scorching sun. The dull air enveloped everything, except for the occasional low chirp from the birds flying overhead.
Looking eastward from the hills, the winding Po River is like a jade belt glowing with golden light, which is fascinating.
On both sides of the river, six black figures shuttled back and forth, carefully checking the size and direction of the footprints on the ground. Not far away, a pair of sharp eyes like an eagle also focused on the messy footprints.
You can clearly see from a high place that the footprints extend to the east and south respectively. All the way to the east, there is a strong military fortress built on the mountain. As an important fulcrum to defend Milan, the capital of Lombardy, this military fort was stationed with three hundred Lombard elites and was directly connected to Milan through a commercial road. There are many market towns, fortresses and manors along the way, and they are well defended.
To the south, after passing through a set of undulating hills, there is a dense forest, which is less than five miles away from the city of Santia.
The southwest edge of the dense forest is connected to a large wheat field. After passing through the wheat field, you enter the boundary of Lavati. A commercial road connecting Rawati and Santiya city runs from north to south.
For hundreds of years, this artery that spanned the north and south and connected the sea and the land has allowed Lombardy to gain huge wealth. Shining gold coins have been continuously put into the pockets of the Lombards.
At this time, there were very few pedestrians on the wide road. Refugees fleeing from the north from time to time are in a hurry. They want to go to Lavati, which has not yet been surrounded by war, and then continue south to seek refuge or stay in Solonborg.
In the wheat fields on both sides of the commercial road, a few wisps of smoke came out of several haphazardly built shacks. Next to the weed pile at the door, a few grains of shelled wheat floated in a deep boiling pot. In the wheat fields, in order to fill their stomachs, these homeless beggars had to work hard to collect the wheat that fell in the fields, and use this pitiful amount of food to fill their families' stomachs. - I didn't expect that the Lombards were not good at fighting, but they were as cunning as foxes when they ran for their lives. "
A black-robed soldier who was checking the horse hoof prints back and forth on the ground used his open palm to trace back and forth in the sunken footprints under his feet, while telling his companions what he had discovered.
"What did you find?"
h "You see, some of these footprints are obviously going in the opposite direction, which is the direction we are chasing. But when we came, we found no trace of the enemy at all. Look over there." The black-robed soldier pointed to the south, "Most of the people went that way, and to the east, according to the Judging from the horse hoof prints, there should be only a dozen people. "
The companion looked sideways to the east and replied without thinking: "If I were the Duke of Lombardy, I would definitely go east. "Why do you think the Duke of Lombardy will definitely flee eastward?"
Not far away, Art was riding towards a few people.
The six black-robed soldiers who heard the voice immediately bowed and saluted.
“Tell me your reasons.” Art pointed at the member of the guard who was a hunter.
"Back to my lord, although the enemy cavalry only has about 200 cavalry left, the target on this plain is still too big and easily exposed.
There is a dense forest not far from Santia City in the south, enough for them to hide. They may even come out and bite us at any time when we are not prepared."
Art held his chin thoughtfully.
"Continue!"
"However, the Lombards are gone, and the Duke of Lombard himself knows this, and he will definitely not stay here.
So, if he does not want to be caught by us, escaping eastward to the military fortress is his only chance to survive."
"You are right, we have the same idea." Art's eyes stayed on this hunter-turned-guard for a few seconds, then he dismounted and crouched on the ground for a brief look. The memory of being a hunter many years ago suddenly came to his mind.
However, this time his prey is no longer the black bear in the mountains or the coyote in the wilderness, but the lion that rules the vast and fertile land of Lombardy.
, pay close attention to the enemy who cannot escape, and be careful of the opponent's sneak attack! "
"Yes, sir."
Looking at the guard running behind him, Ron moved to Art's side. He vowed to say: "Master,
Leave the task of chasing the Duke of Lombardy to me. I promise to catch that old guy for you! "
"You!"
Matt turned around and looked at Ron with an expectant expression, and poured cold water on his face on the spot. "You kid, just go ahead and dream! It's a beautiful thought."
Matt naturally understood what Ron was thinking, but he had another more important thing to deal with at the moment. As his confidant and in charge of the intelligence network that Art had built over the years, Ron still had many far-reaching matters that he needed to deal with.
"Ron, come here."
At glanced around and called softly.
Ron immediately stepped forward.
Having followed Art for many years, whenever Art wants to assign tasks, he always has a serious expression. Ron always understands this. The tacit understanding between master and servant is always increasing subtly.
"Listen, this matter is of great importance, you must take action personally——"
Looking at Art's serious expression, Ron frowned immediately and slowly approached Art's mouth~
"—Listen, contact the eagle eyes all over the Northland immediately after dark, and make sure to find out clearly——"
..—In addition, notify the Valley Guard Corps, and the entire regiment is on alert——"
"Have you asked everything clearly?"
"Let me ask clearly. This group of bastards all fled from the direction of Santia City. Except for the leader who escaped with a few people during our first round of charge, the remaining leaders are here."
Angus glanced at the captured mercenaries who were fleeing from the north surrounded by the wheat field, then took off the wine naan from his waist, bit open the cork, and took two gulps of strong liquor.
"Happy! Hahaha!"
Looking at Angus drinking the wine, Lusignan, the captain of the cavalry company standing aside, was very excited.
ifies!)
Angus threw the wine bread to Lusignan and won the battle, so the deputy commander of the legion naturally became generous. After throwing the wine naan to Lusignan, he took out the rye bread and dried meat that were randomly placed in his pocket on the ground, and chewed it again, eating it with gusto.
Lusignan said nothing, raised the wine and naan high and poured it into his stomach. The moment the alcohol enters your mouth, most of your fatigue disappears.
With enough wine and food, Angus supported the bloody battle ax embedded in the ground, slowly stood up from the wheat straw under him, and walked towards the group of mercenaries sitting in a pile, "Devils, they are all devils from hell. "
"Lord, please forgive my sins and my ignorance. Your servant is willing to give up everything in the world and serve my Lord to the fullest. I just ask you not to abandon me——."
A mercenary was kneeling on the ground and mumbling incoherently. His dim eyes were full of fear, and his trembling body made him look weak.
Happy half an hour ago, the mercenary who narrowly escaped death and his companions who were lucky enough to escape the mine were fleeing all the way north to avoid being pursued by the defenders of Santia City.
Most of them know that the defenders of Santia City possess ominous things brought from hell, like demons from hell, which can tear people into pieces in an instant. After several battles, our side suffered heavy casualties and was no longer able to resist.
A group of more than 250 people, some stragglers and some scattered. When we arrived at the wheat field, there were only about 170 people left. After finally stopping to take a breath, this group of frightened mercenaries was hit by the Wells Legion cavalry company that had been harassing the Lombards outside the city.
After a few charges, one-third of the mercenaries were killed or wounded, and they completely lost their will to resist. They threw away their helmets one after another and stopped fighting against trapped beasts.
"Reyek, Jafar." Angus walked up to the two of them. "The war is not over yet. You must not be careless. You must restrain your men and keep an eye on this group of surrendered soldiers. Your Majesty has an order. Lusignan and I are still there. I’ve got other tasks, so I’ll leave this to you two.”
“Also, don’t give these guys anything to eat, just give them some water if they’re too thirsty.” Angus rolled his eyes at these guys and wanted to behead them all. But the legion had orders not to mistreat prisoners, so Angus had no choice but to give up.
"Sir Angus, don't worry, we are here, you can go without any worries. If there are any mistakes, I will be punished."
Jafar said with confidence.
"In addition, order people to collect all these grain and grass supplies, and wait for the unified order of the legion."
"Yes!"
While fighting outside the city, the cavalry company gained a lot. Just by cutting off the enemy's heavy grain and fodder, they obtained tens of thousands of pounds of grain,
Hundreds of sets of weapons and armor, and gold and silver worth the equivalent of 80,000 pfennigs.
"In addition, troops are dispatched to various traffic arteries, and local soldiers are stationed in surrounding villages and estates. Anyone who encounters any suspicious persons will be arrested by me -
"Quickly, bring them all in!"
"At the north gate of Santia City, Phoenix, the captain of Sapp Company who is responsible for the garrison, is in charge of receiving prisoners of war.
As early as when the defending army defeated the Lombard mercenaries, he began to readjust the city defense. And began to receive prisoners of war, transport supplies and other matters.
Bring me these bastards and let them be responsible for cleaning the streets and repairing the houses. If anyone dares to run away or be lazy, break their legs!
Santia City, which was surrounded by water a few days ago, is now beginning to become noisy again, and the dullness of the past is gradually gradually increasing. Shrouded in the joy of victory.
Looking at more and more people on the street, small merchants and vendors also walked out of their homes, selling their goods to passers-by and soldiers.
Inside the formerly locked doors, more and more people looked out, eager to know what was happening outside.
Large taverns and shops opened one after another in the city. There were more and more girls at the entrance of the Moulin Rouge, vying to pull the guests inside. "Hurry, we're almost there! Just hold on."
Under the dim night sky, more than ten war horses, wrapped in their hooves, ran towards the military castle standing on the hilltop not far away.
From a distance, the fire on the top of the military fort's tower exudes a charming light, just like a life-saving straw lit in Xiao Xiaohan's night. The hot day slowly fades as darkness falls, and the evening breeze blows, bringing travelers a touch of coolness in autumn."