Chapter 768: Preemptive Strike
Matt quickly stretched out his hand to help the gray wolf up and said with a smile: "Don't thank me in such a hurry!" Then his face suddenly darkened.
"At present, Lombardy is not completely in our hands, I'm afraid there will still be some time before we can proceed with the next plan~"
Att did not continue speaking, but looked at Nan quietly. Fang, thoughtfully——
The war between the two armies is now over, and the noble lords of Lombardy in the far south will soon learn that the mercenaries they spent huge sums of money to recruit have surrendered to the enemies in the north. By then, these guys will definitely transfer the valuables in the city and flee overseas before the Northern Allied Forces move south, or approach Milan.
If they really knew the news in advance, then the money flowing into At's pocket would be greatly reduced, and the hard work going south to fight would be in vain.
After thinking for a moment, a bold idea suddenly came to mind. Art slowly turned around and asked the gray wolf: "How was the defense there when you left the southern territory?"
"My lord, there are only more than two hundred lords' private soldiers in Tila City, which has the largest port in the south. Plus a few conscripted peasant soldiers, it is estimated that it will not exceed five hundred."
"No more than five hundred~" Art said softly. "In other words, I only need to send a few hundred cavalry to cut off their retreat without anyone noticing."
There is no doubt that Art's interruption was a risky move.
"Ron, immediately send someone to inform Earl Balian, Lord Comor, Angus and Odo, saying that I have something important to discuss."
"Yes, sir."
"Gray Wolf, you come with me to the central army and attend the military meeting."
"Me?" As an enemy general who had just surrendered, Gray Wolf thought he had heard wrong.
Before Gray Wolf could react, Art had already taken steps towards the Chinese army's command camp·
"—You mean we strike preemptively and use the mobility of the cavalry to cut off their escape route overseas, and send more than a thousand troops to the southeast to block their only way to Milan. "When Art proposed his idea, Earl Balian quickly understood his intention.
"That's right! If we were a step too late, I'm afraid the huge wealth in the southern territory would have nothing to do with us." During the conversation, Art didn't forget to glance at the people present.
Seeing everyone's eyes light up when they heard the words "huge fortune", Art knew that the matter was basically settled.
At this time, Angus, who had been silent, said: "My lord, I am afraid that only a few hundred cavalry are not enough. Once the southern lords fight with us, I am afraid it will cause a lot of losses. Those cavalry are the treasures of the legion -"
Angus said it is true, training a cavalry costs a lot of money. If the situation changes, the loss of hundreds of cavalry will be truly unbearable.
In order to ensure nothing goes wrong, Art continued: "In this way, five hundred light-armored infantry will be sent to follow the cavalry as backup, and set off ahead of the main army."
But in any case, the infantry will definitely not be able to keep up with the pace of the cavalry, and will arrive at the southern port at least one to two days behind." Odo added.
Faced with this difficult problem, Art kept tapping his fingers on the table.
While everyone was thinking hard, Ron, the guard officer standing behind Art, suddenly said, "Sir, don't we have a lot of carriages in our hands?"
Suddenly, Art's fingers suddenly stopped, and he looked back at Ron, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, "Good boy, you are right!"
In this way, the problem of the infantry not being able to keep up with the cavalry was solved.
After some discussion, Art decided to draw one hundred cavalry from the Welsh Army and the Palace Guards Army, and 150 people from the Mercenary Army and the Provence Army to form a cavalry regiment of 500 people. Angus served as the temporary commander of the cavalry regiment, and Lusignan served as deputy commander.
In addition, 500 elite soldiers and 130 carriages were mobilized from various ministries and set off together with the cavalry. Colin, the captain of the first company, serves as the temporary regiment commander, and Wall, the captain of the Tyniec County regiment, serves as the deputy commander.
To ensure nothing went wrong, soldiers from five grenadier companies carried twenty bombs with the army south.
After everything was arranged, it was already dark·
After dinner, Art called Angus and Colin, who were responsible for the mission, to his camp.
Outside the tent, guard Ron was guarding the door with a sword. He glanced around from time to time, watching everything around him with vigilance.
At the edge of the wooden table in the camp, with the help of weak candlelight, Art stood up and bent down to slowly spread out a map. Above the pattern, three words were clearly written - Tila City.
"Sir, this is~" Angus pressed a corner of the map with one hand and raised his head and asked.
"This is the city defense map that Stanley sent from the south last night." After speaking, Art fiddled with the map and leaned under the candlelight.
Angus and Colin smiled knowingly. With this city defense map, it means that it will be easier for them to capture the largest port city in the south.
Just when the two were happy, Art poured cold water on them.
"What's so funny? Do you really think I'll let you attack the city?"
After Guang Guang, the conversation changed, and Art immediately told the two of them, "Your mission this time is to intercept the huge wealth that the southern lords have left in the city of Tira. I'm not asking you to chop off the heads of those guys."
After Art's instructions, the two of them immediately understood what their lord meant and nodded repeatedly.
"Sergeant major, remember, you must avoid Lord Comor and Earl Balian~"
Angus smiled knowingly and said, "Sir, I'll take care of things, don't worry!"
At then pointed to the marked coastline on the map with a serious expression, "According to the report from the task force, those southern lords have concentrated a large number of ships in this bay."
Angus and Colin stared at the port at Art's fingertips.
"Sergeant Major, Stanley will send someone to pick you up when the time comes. Remember, secretly destroy their cargo ship first, and then secretly transport the goods out of the city and find a remote place to store them."
After saying that, Art looked at Colin aside and continued to give instructions: "Colin, when the time comes, have people load all the goods into the carriage, and I will arrange for Salt to transport these things back to the valley."
"Don't worry, sir." Colin promised emphatically.
"Okay, you all go back and we'll set off at dawn tomorrow morning."
"Yes, sir." The two then slowly withdrew.
"Ron!" After the two left, Art shouted towards the entrance.
"Master, are you looking for me?"
Matt took out a roll from his waist and handed it to Ron, "Quick, give this secret letter to Bob immediately and ask him to deliver it to me quickly!"
Ron did not dare to delay at all. , took the secret message, turned around and retreated, trotting all the way towards the camp of the secretary of the Chinese Army Legion...
After all the military affairs were arranged, Art walked out of the camp, raised his hands high, stretched, and breathed a long sigh of relief.
The outcome of the war in the south is now a foregone conclusion. Once the southern ports are captured, the north-south trade lines of the European commercial houses will be opened. Coupled with the cooperation with the Northern Hanseatic League, the commercial influence of Continental Commercial Banks throughout the European continent will explode. By then, Yate's layout over the years will become a reality. Continental Commercial Bank will also join the ranks of the leading chambers of commerce.
At that time, Art will become a force that the nobles of the major principalities cannot ignore, both in terms of economic strength and political influence.
Perhaps no one would have imagined that a mere frontier count from a princely country would one day step on everyone's shoulders, yet they would still greet him with a smile.
Looking at the flickering firelights everywhere in the camp, Art felt extremely calm. The flames flickered continuously in the deep eyes, finally dispelling the haze that had covered the heart of the former baron's son for many years. Early the next morning, before dawn, a touch of fish belly white slowly rose in the east. Accompanied by the sound of horse hooves and the noise of soldiers, a team of more than a thousand people left the camp and headed south. At dawn, the narrow plain that was originally full of camps quickly returned to calm after a brief commotion.
A team of more than 10,000 people spread forward and backward on the commercial road between the hills and the wilderness, like a miles-long wandering dragon, slowly moving towards the south.
Heraldic flags with various patterns whirred in the breeze, and several orders to speed up the march came from the crowd from time to time—
At night, in the city of Tira, a crescent moon slowly rises from the sea level.
Due to various military reports, both true and false, that have been coming from the north in recent days, the residents in the city rarely go out at night in order to avoid trouble. Coupled with the increasing number of riots in the city recently, this once prosperous and prosperous port city has become lifeless.
The bright lights and noisy streets more than a month ago have long been replaced by dots of candlelight and deserted alleys. The fishy smell in the air fills every corner. The dark night makes this place feel like an uninhabited empty city.
The sound of dogs barking not far away echoed in the cluttered and empty streets, and the crooked signboards dancing in the wind at the entrances of dilapidated shops seemed like ownerless ghosts·
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A street shop not far from the port pier made a harsh sound as the door opened.
In the crack of the door, an eye reflecting the faint light moved left and right, scanning the deserted street.
Suddenly, a palm gently tapped the shoulder of the man who was still looking around behind the crack of the door, and asked softly: "How are you, Oliver?"
"No one, let's go!"
Hunted, seven black figures came out of the shop one after another, and quietly moved towards the dock under the cover of the shadow. After a while, several people touched a ship without noticing. Except for one person who was keeping watch in the dark, the other six people climbed onto the bow and came to the cabin.
"This is it." At this time, the leader took out the tools he carried and ordered: "Quick, split up. The three of you go to the stern, and the two of you follow me to the bow. Remember, you must cut through the bottom of the ship!"
After a while, a "dong-dong" sound came from inside the boat -