Chapter 792 The generous lord
After speaking, Art raised his hands and eyebrows and glanced at the endless wheat fields, and continued: "Fortunately, most of the fertile territory in the Po River plain has fallen into our hands. The officials sent by the government have organized the local Lombards to start spring plowing. In the autumn, the food produced on those lands will be enough to feed these people."
He followed Art behind without saying a word. Father Robert suddenly said, "If it weren't for your foresight, sir, I'm afraid these victims wouldn't survive this winter——"
Art turned his head and smiled, saying: "I said, Father Robert, don't put this high hat on me. I'm just doing my job. It's God's will that these people can survive——"
Everyone laughed after hearing this.
When thousands of troops marching north to attack Milan were approaching Aletchisburg, which was less than half a day's journey away, as the first line of defense for the palace against the northerners, the three hundred elite soldiers and more than two hundred servants stationed at Arichsburg were facing a powerful enemy.
Although the palace did not ask them to defend, many soldiers still retreated in the face of the menacing Burgundy army, never thinking of sacrificing their own flesh and blood for the personal safety of the dignitaries of the Milan court.
Fifty miles northeast of Tira City, Fort Aletchi. After several days of repairs and reinforcements, this southern military fortress that has not been involved in wars for hundreds of years now looks as solid as an iron barrel.
Outside of the city wall, which is about 600 feet in circumference, the open space about 30 steps away from the edge of the corner is covered with a layer of withered yellow turf. Beneath the turf, wooden stakes with spikes coated with excrement were inserted into trenches half as high as a man.
Further more than forty steps away, the horseback troops arranged in three layers were deployed one after another. Once the enemy army approached here, the countless arrow holes on the city wall would shoot out arrows as dense as raindrops, killing the opponent's leading team.
The most unexpected thing is the open space facing the city gate. In order to prevent the enemy from attacking the city from the main gate, Lord Kane Hawke ordered his soldiers to dig two large pits up to ten feet deep in the open space facing the north and south gates, and planted a large number of spikes. The surroundings of the pit are all polished very smooth, making it extremely difficult to escape quickly once you fall inside.
The top of the pit was supported by beams that could barely bear four or five strong men, covered with wooden boards, and sprinkled with soil to camouflage it.
Once a battering ram that exceeds the weight of the beam is pressed against it, it will collapse instantly.
The top of the city wall was piled with countless stones and rolling logs. The kerosene stored in the surrounding watchtowers is enough to turn everything around to ashes.
In order to maximize the damage to the invading Burangdians, Kane ordered craftsmen to add seven arrow towers to the crenellated walls, three of which were equipped with medium-sized crossbows, which could achieve the task of sniping from a long distance.
Although the military fort is not large, it is equipped with two small trebuchets to attack the enemy from a long distance.
Different from Dylan Hawke, the lord of Tiara City in the Far Plains who is good at business and trade, as a military aristocrat who has been fighting with the army for many years, Kane Hawke has long developed a character of being wary of danger in times of peace during his military career. Not only did he strengthen the defense of the military fort in a short period of time, he also dug a large number of potholes and traps on the commercial roads south of the military fort, which were used to effectively kill and injure enemy soldiers, dampen their morale, and slow down the opponent's attack speed.
In addition, there are also some soldiers who have received special training ambushing along the way, waiting for opportunities to make sneak attacks and disturb the opponent's military morale.
Shortly after noon, people were coming and going in the high-walled Aletchisburg.
In addition to the hundreds of Lombard soldiers stationed here, there were more than 400 people and 157 households staying in the fort.
Most of these people are local residents of Lombardy who have lived here for decades.
Unlike other lords, Kane Hawke is extremely generous to the people in his own territory and has a high reputation here. Compared with ordinary town military forts, the food tax and business tax here are nearly 30% lower than other places. Moreover, the land rented by farmers not only has low rent, but can even be purchased at a low price after a certain period of time and become private land, and then only need to pay food taxes.
When the news came that the northerners were marching towards Arechis, except for a few foreign traders and some timid territorial residents who fled here, most people stayed voluntarily. Due to the shortage of manpower to reinforce the city wall, these territorial residents took the initiative to undertake part of the labor force, just to repay Kane Hawke for his generosity over the years.
At this time, in the Lord's Hall of the Inner Castle located on the west side of the military fort, Kane Hawke stood quietly in the center of the hall, with his hands behind his back, his eyes fixed on the topographic map of southern Lombardy hanging on the stone wall behind the main seat of the hall.
At the bottom of the map, the four port cities near the coastline are all drawn with a red diagonal line. This was drawn by Kane himself after learning that the four southern places had fallen.
A few days ago, when several private soldiers of the lords who escaped from Tira City informed Cain Tira that the city had been captured by a cavalry of unknown origin, as a member of the Hawk family, he had gathered an army of two hundred people in one day, intending to go south to regain the family's territory.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the group reached the halfway point, they found that the road to the south had been blocked by a Burgundian army of several hundred people. Seeing the disparity in strength between the two sides, in order to protect himself, Kane had no choice but to order a quiet retreat and returned to Arechis.
Since then, he began to gather the people in the city and his private soldiers to strengthen the fortifications in the territory, preparing to confront the Burangdians who later went north to Milan, and wash away the family's shame.
Two days later, Francesco, the new military minister of the palace, sent an army of more than a thousand people south to assist in the defense of various places. Some of them were assigned to Arechis, led by Kane.
Even though there are only more than 500 people in hand, this southerner who refuses to admit defeat still plans to give it a try. As the second son of the Hawke family, he must defend the family's honor.
·Lord Kane!”
The voice coming from outside the hall suddenly interrupted the lord's thoughts.
Hoke slowly turned around, and the sunlight that slanted in through the courtyard wall just reflected from the ground and shone on his slightly weathered face. Between the stubble on his face, a few looming scars seemed to tell his past. "What happened?" Kane asked calmly, his voice low but somewhat majestic.
"Back to my lord, the cavalry sent out sent good news from outside the city!" After saying that, the messenger quickly stepped forward and handed the small piece of parchment in his hand to Kane.
"The first attack was successful, burning more than ten carts of food and grass from the opponent." Kane took it and glanced quickly.
Looking at this short line of text in his hand, Kane let out a long sigh of relief. Although this was considered good news, it was not enough to make him relax his vigilance.
“Any news from the south?” Kane asked.
"Return to my lord, not yet."
Kane gritted his teeth and frowned slightly. Then he waved his hand, and the messenger on the side withdrew.
It stands to reason that the Burgundians should have fought against the ambush they had arranged twenty miles away, but until now there was no military information from the front line, which made him a little worried. In the afternoon, the scorching sun was scorching the earth, making the already uninhabited ridge area look lifeless.
On the eastern hillside, a group of cavalry climbed up to the top of the mountain with difficulty under the scorching sun. Since setting off in the early morning, they have traveled several times through wheat fields, dense forests and plains within a ten-mile radius.
When a group of people crossed the ridge, the cavalryman in front suddenly shouted, "Captain, there is a small river at the bottom of the hillside!"
"Where is it?" Lusignan, whose lips were already chapped, kicked the horse's belly several times and quickly climbed to the top.
Looking at the silvery river at the foot of the mountain not far away, Lusignan licked his lips, and immediately said to the cavalry behind him: "Follow me, guys!"
The group of people then rushed towards the river excitedly. Last night, under Art's orders, Lusignan left the camp early this morning with more than fifty cavalrymen, and went west to search for traces of the cavalry that burned the legion's food and fodder.
But after half a day passed, there was still no harvest. At this time, the drinking water the soldiers carried with them was running low. Coupled with the failure to find water sources along the way and the hot weather, some soldiers had already developed mild symptoms of dehydration.
There is no doubt that this river that suddenly appeared in front of us became a life-saving straw for everyone.
After a while, the cavalry who rushed to the river dismounted and ran quickly towards the bank, holding up the cool river water and pouring it on their faces~
"Ah, so happy!"
Lusignan roared, picked up the cold river water and poured it on his head again. The coolness made him feel that the heat in his body suddenly dissipated.
Other soldiers also rushed to grab the river water and wash their faces. Then they took off the water bag and filled a big bag.
After giving the horses water, Lusignan ordered everyone to rest where they were. Then he called the company deputy commander Jafar who was following him to his side, intending to adjust the current search strategy.
Lusignan took out a map from his arms that he had taken from the Chinese army's command camp before setting off and spread it on the ground. He looked around at the surrounding terrain of alternating mountains and plains, pointed at the map and said: "Since we left the camp, I searched all the places that might be hiding the cavalry all the way to the west and north, but found no trace of them at all. It's really strange. Maybe they grew wings and flew~"
Lusignan sighed heavily. If these guys are not found before their next move, he, the captain of the cavalry company, will be held responsible if the legion is attacked again.
Jafar carefully looked at the two searched places on the map, and then turned his attention to the gentle hills in the north close to the path that the legion must pass.
"Company Captain, do you think they will ambush in the hills to the north, waiting for the legion to pass by-" Jafar suddenly stopped.
After hearing this, Lusignan looked down at the terrain map again, suddenly realized, and immediately shouted, "Quick, everyone, get on your horses! They must have gone north!"