Chapter 757 The two armies faced each other
Until half a month ago, a secret letter from the southern lord of Lombardy was sent to the island where the legion was resting. After much thought, Gray Wolf finally decided to leave the island with his mercenary army and go to the Principality of Lombardy further west to fight for the lords there. Just because the other party offered a price that he couldn't bear to refuse.
However, in the secret letter, the Lombard lord only mentioned the thousands of Burgundians that the mercenary army needed to stop, but said nothing about the elite Provence soldiers who defeated the Western Route Army. Because according to the secret reports the lords received from the Western Front, the Provence army was more likely to march eastward, and Milan was their most important target.
While the Burgundian army marched south, the Provençal troops did not turn south, and there were strong signs of chasing the palace's defeated troops to the east.
Moreover, according to reports from spies in the past two days, the Provence army indeed has no intention of going south, and is still pursuing and fiercely pursuing the defeated generals. As a result, the possibility that the mercenaries heading north might be surrounded by the northern coalition forces that the lords had previously worried about was slim to none.
The remuneration is generous and the risks are within controllable range. In less than three days, Gray Wolf's three thousand mercenaries were picked up by the ships sent by the southern lords to the island and arrived at the southern port of Varada in Lombardy.
After resting for less than half a day, this mercenary group, which had placed the endless hopes of the lords, headed north under the watchful eyes of the people.
As a mercenary group favored by employers, Thor's army has a complete structure and strong combat power.
The strongest among them is undoubtedly the heavy armored cavalry composed of grassland herdsmen under the legion. These cavalrymen are tall and strong, and are good at using straight-handled scimitars and axes and hammers. It is often used as the vanguard force of the legion to rush into the enemy's formation, disrupting the opponent's deployment and creating opportunities for subsequent attacks by large forces. Although there were only one hundred and fifty men, they were enough to kill three times as many enemy infantry on the plains.
In addition to the heavy armored infantry, the legion also has two hundred light armored cavalry, three hundred crossbowmen, and four hundred heavy armored infantry. The rest are light armored infantry, legion servants, and servants.
And every time the army goes out to fight, young male servants who are prostitutes in the army are also indispensable. As a pastime for soldiers on the march, they not only relax these guys physically and mentally, but also create an extra income for the legion.
It is worth mentioning that, except for the more than 500 people who initially followed the Gray Wolf and fled from the tribe leader's camp, the rest were all professional mercenaries from various places who joined the legion over the years.
Different from other mercenaries, this army's salary is based on an annual salary system, which is paid out once a month, and additional rewards are given out at the end of the year based on performance. Large seizures in war had to be turned over, but a certain amount was set aside from the captured property as a reward for the soldiers. Once a private cache is discovered, behead it on the spot.
· Thanks to the much higher military and strict military discipline than other mercenaries, this mercenary has stronger cohesion and a combat power that far exceeds that of ordinary mercenaries.
Of course, all of this is inseparable from the mercenary leader sitting alone in the open space against the cold wind.
Although Gray Wolf himself is not a noble son, his many years of fighting on the battlefield have given him a more open-minded mind and sincere concern for his soldiers than most noble officers.
As a child from a lower-class civilian family, his experience of wandering around in his youth and the various inhuman tortures he suffered in the mercenary camp did not change the trace of kindness deep in his heart.
Even after many years of fighting on the battlefield, he was accustomed to the ugly nature of the lords fighting for power and the exploitation and oppression of the civilians in the territory, but he never joined in.
In the eyes of outsiders, this guy is definitely a freak, and is incompatible with the phenomenon of cannibalism in this era.
To a certain extent, he is the same type of person as Art.
It’s just that after experiencing the hatred of seizing the title and land, Art became more shrewd, insidious and cunning. After being cut off by the tribal leader and thrown into a mercenary camp, the gray wolf still harbors a yearning for beautiful love and a desire for freedom and dignity.
No one would have thought that two people who had nothing to do with each other a few days ago would shake hands and make peace after a big battle, which would make the entire European continent tremble in the near future. In the early morning, a cavalry of more than 40 people came to a narrow plain between low hills.
At this time, the rising sun fell on the mountains, like kings wearing golden crowns.
The cavalry company captain Lusignan, who was riding on a dark brown horse, blocked the dazzling light with his left hand and carefully observed the surrounding terrain~
Last night, I received an order from the Chinese Army, requiring the cavalry company to send a squadron south to select a suitable battlefield for an ambush. As the captain of the cavalry company, Lusignan believed that this matter was no small matter. After obtaining Odo's consent, he personally selected a squadron of cavalry to set off at starry night.
As a senior officer with rich battlefield experience, Lusignan quickly determined the battlefield for this ambush.
At this time, everyone has reached the middle position between the two armies, and it is not appropriate to continue advancing. In addition, according to outpost reports, the southern mercenaries will arrive here in at most half a day. In order to leave enough time for the Southern Expedition Army to deploy its military strength, this is the best battlefield at the moment.
Lusignan breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately turned to the cavalry squadron leader who was following behind him and ordered, "Immediately arrange for men to survey along both sides of this low plain and map out all the surrounding terrain. In addition, send a few people back to tell the Lord that the ambush location has been selected, and ask the army to speed up the march and reach the battlefield as soon as possible. Finally, send a few people to Count Balian's camp with the Lord's seal of fire to inform him of the ambush location. , please come to help quickly! The military situation is urgent, no delay! "
"Yes! Quick, the first team, go to the east; the second team, go to the west. The rest -"
After a while, the cavalry who had gathered together rode in different directions to ambush the north of the battlefield. Thousands of troops who had already left the city of Avignon walked step by step towards the scheduled battlefield under the leadership of the outpost cavalry.
The light armored infantry of the Welsh Legion led the way, holding the fleur-de-lis and flying eagle heraldic flag symbolizing the supreme power of the Burgundy Kingdom.
In the middle of the team, the blood-eyed howling wolf heraldic flag that belongs to Earl Art of Wales is flying in the wind behind him at a height slightly lower than the heraldic flag at the head of the team. Odo and Angus, the deputy commanders of the legion, followed half a horse's head behind. Guard Ron and Father Robert followed the three of them side by side, while the earl guards on both sides tightly wrapped the group in the middle of the team.
Around this mile-and-a-half-long march, the cavalry responsible for peripheral security and patrols ran back and forth, paying close attention to all the movements around them.
At the end of the march, there were fewer and fewer traders, refugees, beggars and other idle people who originally followed the army all the way south. The cavalry of the Palace Guards Corps responsible for driving them kept waving their riding whips at those who couldn't get rid of them and driving them northward, trying to completely cut off the tail.
It was not until the large army was about to arrive on the battlefield that these guys who were stuck at the back of the team like snot disappeared completely.
.—.Master, our cavalry! 》
Looking up, he suddenly saw the cavalry rushing towards the marching team on the hillside not far away. Ron blurted out subconsciously.
When Att looked up towards the hillside, the cavalry had already arrived in front of the team.
"It seems that Lusignan has found a good place~"
After a while, the cavalry passed through the team in front and came directly to Ater. Then he turned over and dismounted and said: "Report to your lord, we have found a suitable place for an ambush not far ahead. The company captain asked me to tell you to ask the army to speed up the march and arrive at the ambush site early to avoid accidents."
Art nodded with satisfaction and immediately ordered, "Send my order, everyone, speed up the march and make sure to arrive at the battlefield before that mercenary!"
"Yes!"
Himmediately, the two messengers ran in the front and back directions respectively, shouting loudly: "Your Majesty has an order, speed up the march!"
h "My lord has an order, speed up the march!"
h At this time, the soldiers who received the order unknowingly quickened their pace and rushed towards the southern battlefield as fast as possible."
On the other side, the three thousand mercenaries in the south have not yet received the intelligence from the scouts ahead. Therefore, thousands of troops still rushed to the north at their original marching speed.
Since setting off at sunrise, the team has not taken any rest. It was the hottest time of the day, so in order to preserve the soldiers' physical strength, the mercenary captain decided to order the army to stop and rest for a while.
"Pass my order, everyone rest where they are and replenish water and food." Gray Wolf, the leader of the mercenary regiment who was riding in front of the team, tightened the reins, raised his right hand, turned to the deputy commander of the mercenary regiment behind him and said.
"Yes, Lord Commander of the Legion!" The deputy commander then winked at the messenger behind him. The messenger immediately turned his horse's head and ran towards the back of the team, shouting. After saying this, the deputy commander got off his horse and immediately said to the person next to him. The guard said: "Bring the water and food~"
After a while, the guard delivered a deerskin bag filled with water, two pieces of rye bread and some dried meat to the hands of the two legion commanders.
The mercenary captain picked up the water bag and took a sip of water. He took the rye bread handed over by the deputy captain and bit into two. Then he looked up at the wide commercial road leading to the north and fell into deep thought. Since going north, the mercenary group has been going very smoothly along the way without encountering any obstacles. The outposts sent out will return at regular intervals to report the military situation ahead to eliminate potential threats.
But as he got closer and closer to the northerners, an inexplicable uneasiness appeared and appeared. This was something he had never felt before.
In addition, he didn’t know much about the Burangdians he was about to face, especially the devil count from hell that people rumored to be. The only thing that impressed him deeply was the heartfelt warning from the southern lord before setting off - that guy is a sinister and cunning guy, so be careful - "Report!"
Suddenly, a military message came from the front of the team -