Chapter 691 Send troops to Solenberg
“.—Let’s go, take me to see him!”
Phoenix said and walked down the mountain. After a while, they arrived at the abandoned stone house where the team rested.
"Lord Phoenix~" Seeing Phoenix approaching from a short distance accompanied by his personal guards, the dusty Marciburg cavalry rushed up to greet him and bowed in salute.
"Man, listen to my guards, are you the cavalry who came from Fort Marsi to find us?" Phoenix looked at the guy in front of him up and down, and felt that he looked familiar.
"Yes, Lord Phoenix. I was originally the messenger of the second company of the first division of the Welsh Army. When we were attacking Fort Marsi, I conveyed military orders to you several times on your behalf." The soldier explained immediately, with a hint of excitement in his tone.
"Look at my memory! I remembered it, no wonder I think you look familiar, but I don't know where I've seen it before." After Phoenix said that, he continued to ask: "Do you have a letter printed with lacquer?"
At this time, Bishop Olof also walked out of the room and stood beside Phoenix.
The cavalryman immediately took out a secret letter from his arms and presented it to Phoenix with both hands.
"This is a secret letter from your Excellency received by the captain of the garrison company of Fort Marsi. Your Majesty has ordered our unit to hand over all the more than 650 young peasants and soldiers secretly recruited in Fort Marsi to your command. In order to avoid attracting attention, 400 of them have set off in batches and rested on the spot after arriving at Letsray, waiting for you to arrive and go north together."
While the cavalry was talking, Phoenix opened the secret letter and read it carefully. It was determined that this secret letter was sent to Fort Marsi by someone sent by Art.
.. More than two hundred and fifty people have set out this morning to secretly go to Besançon. The company commander ordered me to inquire about your information along the way, and told me to deliver this secret letter to you personally. "
"Man, you've worked hard, go down and have something to eat and rest first."
"Yes, thank you Lord Phoenix!"
Phoenix looked at the secret letter in his hand and turned to look at Bishop Olof with admiration.
"Your Majesty, as you said, my brother-in-law did know about the rumors earlier than we did."
Bishop Olof crossed his arms, looked at the snow-capped mountains in the distance, and breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
"This kid, Art, has always been cautious in doing things. It is impossible for him not to know about such a big thing. Now, as long as he has a countermeasure in mind, we only need to follow the steps step by step."
"Your Lord Bishop is right, the legion commander always does things step by step, starting and ending. In this regard, I still have a lot to learn." Phoenix said modestly.
"Child, you are still young. When you have experienced more things and read enough people, you will naturally have the noble qualities of Art, such as perseverance, decisiveness, calmness, and calmness. Time will make you grow up and mature." Bishop Olof preached to Phoenix as a person who has experienced it.
"Phoenix will obey the teachings of the Bishop!" Phoenix bowed and beat his chest to express his gratitude.
As this team starting from the city of Santia was getting closer and closer to its destination, another, larger team had already left the city of Santía and was advancing step by step towards the strong fortress in the south where thousands of Lombard soldiers were stationed.
On the first Wednesday of December, the sun was shining brightly at noon.
Compared to the ice and snow in the north, Lombardy, located in the south of the European continent, is much warmer at this time.
On the commercial road connecting Santia City to Lavati, a team about several miles long moved slowly like a long dragon, shuttling between low hills and wide plains.
The front of the team is led by infantry uniformly dressed in light armor, holding short spears, carrying round shields on their backs, and wearing half helmets on their heads. They formed a line of four and a line of ten, taking a squadron as a unit, and walked south along the commercial road with a steady pace.
Following the light armored infantry is the crossbow company. As a "long-range" strike force, in addition to an oak single bow, many people also carry a more powerful crossbow. A quiver full of arrows is slung behind their backs, and there are also many long swords and short knives around their waists.
As the combat force of the Welsh Army, the re-enforcement infantry company behind the crossbow company particularly attracts the attention of passersby on the roadside. Their equipment can be described as "luxury". A bucket helmet made of fine iron with a nose protector, a full set of plate chain armor, a breastplate, and shoulder armor make these tall and powerful guys a head taller and half a body longer than other soldiers. The weapons in their hands are also diverse. Axes, hammers, chains, and long-handled broadswords have almost become standard equipment for these guys. Striding on the dirt-filled road,
The dust raised in the sky made this group of armored warriors who terrorized their enemies on the battlefield look like devils from hell.
Looking behind the heavy armored infantry company, the Wells Legion Grenadier Company was led by company captain Rogge, with company deputy captain Smith holding down the rear. A group of hundreds of people driving chariots carefully protected dozens of boxes of bombs on the carriage in the middle.
The cavalry company, as well as more than a hundred people belonging to the Chinese army command camp and Yat's personal supervision team, Chinese army officials and earl guards followed closely behind.
As the second combat force under Yete, the Tyniec Company and the Andermatt Fort Company of the Southern Xinjiang Garrison Corps, led by Wall and Baron Antayes, followed behind the units of the First Division.
Followed by the weaker reserve regiment of the Welsh Army, led by Obot, the captain of the reserve regiment who rode at the front of the team, with deputy commander Benson in the middle. In addition to some of the men brought by Obote from the lake area, there were also hundreds of young Lombard soldiers who had sworn allegiance to Art.
These Lombard soldiers participated in many large and small campaigns after returning to Art, and gained a lot. Slowly, these guys became more and more active in fighting, having long forgotten their previous identities, and became a combat force that cannot be ignored in the reserve group.
Behind the reserve group were the company of the Palace Guards led by David and more than a thousand young Provence peasant soldiers under Baron Nadaud.
Following at the end are the non-combat troops. Including more than a hundred radiators from the radial section of the Wells Legion and hundreds of army laborers, miscellaneous soldiers and followers. They were escorting the indispensable food, grass, heavy equipment and military equipment for this army's march south. Since the Southern Expedition Army alone had more than three thousand combat troops, the supplies it carried this time were doubled compared to usual.
In order to ensure the safety of food and supplies, one of the squadrons of soldiers was behind the rear of the squadron and drove away the local ruffians who tried to get closer.
Those who fell at the rear of the army moving south were the traders, prostitutes and jugglers who moved with the army. There were even many homeless beggars among them, trying to make ends meet while the army moved south.
Looking from the distant hillside, the cavalry shuttled among the teams kept moving, conveying various orders from the Chinese army.
At a distance of about ten miles and five miles from the front, rear, left and right of the main army, a group of three cavalrymen responsible for sentinels served as the eyes of the legion and the two outer lines of defense. They kept patrolling along the hilly plains to prevent Lombard spies from figuring out the movements of the southern army.
The cavalry company sent a squadron of men and horses, led by the company's deputy commander Ja'far, forward thirty miles to lead the way for the army.
Master, our team can’t be seen from the beginning to the end. It looks really magnificent!
Hunter Ron, who was half a horse's head behind Art on horseback, glanced back at the marching team that was passing through the gentle slopes of the hills just now, and couldn't help but make a general statement.
"Standing?" Art glanced at Ron and asked: "You kid, you don't know how expensive oil and salt are when you are not a master~"
Although the special expedition to Lombardy captured grain, grass, equipment and valuables worth hundreds of pfennigs, it was more than enough to support the Welsh Army. But now the number of troops has more than doubled, and the soldiers' rations alone consume tens of thousands of pfennigs every day. Coupled with the salaries of officers and soldiers, appeasing the people in the occupied areas, repairing cities and damaged houses, maintaining public order, and developing production, the property seized in the war continued to decrease at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Fortunately, the province of Wells had accumulated some resources before the war, and coupled with the "funding" from the commercial guilds of the autonomous city-states of Lombardy, Art was not stretched too thin.
If the time had not been ripe, Art would not have waited so long before deciding to continue going south.
Hey, hey, hey.”
Ron laughed awkwardly twice, touched the back of his head, and couldn't help but look back.
"I said, Brother Ron, when did you become as polite and polite as Odo?" Angus, who was riding on the left side of Art, pointed at Odo, the deputy commander of the legion who was leading the team, then bit open the cork of the deerskin wine bag and spit it aside, and poured a sip of strong wine into his mouth.
"Lord Angus, you don't understand this. I call it red when you are near vermilion, and black when you are near ink!" Ron's face turned pale.
Angus opened the wine compartment, wiped the remaining juice from his beard, and asked: "What pig is near?"
Everyone burst into laughter.
At this time, Father Robert on the side intervened and said: "It seems that our young and promising earl guard has indeed learned a lot of good things from your Excellency."
"Your Excellency, thank you~" Ron bowed politely to thank him.
"It's incredible, now this guy actually has a bit of a knight's demeanor~" Angus said with a hint of joking.
Matt smiled slightly and said to Angus: "Sergeant Major, Ron is originally the knight in my name. Now he has the style of a knight, which is a good thing. On the contrary, some of the leading barons under my name are addicted to strong drinks all day long, and they don't look like a baron at all~"
Matt turned his head and focused his gaze on Angus's open buckskin wine bread, and continued: "It seems that after the war is over, I should rectify the alcoholic and unmotivated lords in the territory."
Angus opened his eyes wide and carefully thought about what Matt had just said.
"My lord, my lord, I was wrong~"
Angus kicked the horse's belly hard and chased Art and the others.
"Ron, order the whole army to speed up!"
"Yes, sir!"