Chapter 804 The Lonely City
In the few days since leaving Milan, in order to bypass the checkpoints on the main road and the patrolling Lombard soldiers, he had to escape into the dense mountains and forests. Relying on his many years of hunting experience in the mountains, this guy climbed over mountains and rivers, and finally found the legion after a few days.
After eating and drinking, the soldier who had been lurking in Milan with Oliver, the deputy captain of the task force, took out a map with the defense of Milan from his arms and handed it to Art.
".—Sir, Captain Oliver asked me to hand it over to you at this time. In addition, he asked me to tell you that our people have contacted the businessman Jacques Cole from Engrech. Once our people attack the city, they will assist inside."
At took the city defense map, simply opened it and glanced at it, and then handed it over to Odo for safekeeping.
"Man, you've had a hard journey along the way~" Art patted the soldier's shoulder, turned to Stanley and said, "Take him over there to change into clean clothes and have a good rest."
Stanley nodded, and led the boy towards the task force members. Walk in the direction they were in.
After the two left, Art told Odo: "Be sure to keep this city defense map. We will discuss it again after we capture Amos Manor tonight."
"Don't worry, sir~" Odo assured, patting his chest.
About an hour later, thousands of people set off again, heading north in a mighty way.
At this time, Amos Manor, ten miles away from thousands of soldiers of the Welsh Army, was like an isolated city on the top of a mountain, surrounded by high walls and closed gates. If it weren't for the two soldiers on duty in the temporary arrow tower built on the outer wall of the manor, who stretched out their heads to look south from time to time, it would be difficult to imagine that this was the second line of defense on the way to Milan.
This place is more like a fortress for stationing troops than a line of defense. Two hundred light armored infantry, plus more than thirty light cavalry, were the entire strength of this manor.
The top of the mountain where the manor is located is not the highest in the surrounding areas, but fortunately, the view is wide and the terrain is higher.
Looking from the arrow tower on the outer wall of the manor, you can clearly see the vast wheat fields and mountains stretching for miles around. The winding business road at the foot of the mountain separates the wheat fields on the east and west sides and extends into the hills in the north.
It was the middle of March, and the sunshine in the southern continent was blazing. At this time in the past, the wheat seedlings in the land surrounding the manor had long been connected in patches. But due to the war, the land here has been abandoned for several months.
This spring, weeds are growing and expanding crazily, taking over every inch of fertile land step by step. Among the thick and lush weeds, you can sometimes find the young wheat seedlings that the farmers left in the ground after last year's autumn harvest. They are growing hard and trying to absorb more sunshine.
The manor of Amos originally belonged to the baron of Klein, a county town twenty miles to the northwest. Since the beginning of the war, the Baron had been drafted by the court to join the Western Army against the Provencals. Unfortunately, the owner of this manor died in a siege, and Klein was burned down in a riot by a mob that had suffered multiple oppressions from the palace. The baron's wife and several children were burned alive on the gallows in the church square by the mob, and the family's belongings were looted. Although the only lame brother escaped by chance, he was stoned to death by angry refugees while fleeing a few days later.
Although they did nothing wrong, the people of the territory who were blinded by hatred still blamed the source of all the evil on them, causing the Baron family to encounter various misfortunes and disappear from sight.
Since then, the palace has sent people to take back the land and manor castles of the Baron family. Among them, Amos Manor is the largest manor of the Baron family. Not only is the land fertile and the rivers intertwined here, but it is also located in the center of the commercial road from Tiara to Milan.
After learning that the allied forces of Burgundy and Provence had begun to march towards Milan, Francesco, the new military minister of the Milan Palace, dispatched more than a hundred soldiers to garrison here.
Yesterday evening, the hundreds of light-armored infantry stationed in the manor further south hurriedly began to retreat after learning that Arichsburg had been lost. They fled to Amos Manor with all their food, supplies and ordnance, and joined forces with more than a hundred people stationed here.
At this time, the number of people stationed at Amos Manor was about two hundred and fifty. In addition to a few cavalry, there were forty archers, and the rest were mostly light armored infantry and miscellaneous servants. There are only about seventy people who can really be considered elite.
As a military aristocrat who is well versed in battle formations, Francesco, the Palace Minister of Military Affairs, would certainly not expect these two hundred people to be able to withstand the tens of thousands of northern troops. The reason for this "unnecessary move" is just to buy more time for Milan. As long as the enemy can be delayed for one more day, Milan will have a better chance of winning.
The entire Amos Manor is in the shape of a cylindrical fortress, built on a solid foundation built with strips of stone. The gate entering and exiting the manor faces east and consists of steps extending to the foot of the mountain. The mountains here are steep and the terrain is rugged, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Since its construction, it has never been captured by bandits. Once the door leading inside is blocked by a stone, the possibility of successfully entering the manor through the wall is slim.
In addition to a few simple arrow towers erected on the high courtyard wall, there is also a corridor on the thick city wall that is large enough for three people to walk side by side. In addition, guard towers were built every thirty feet to store enemy defense supplies such as kerosene and arrows.
around the foundation of the outer wall of the manor, a trapezoidal slope is formed by strips of stone with extremely inclined angles, which are integrated with the steep mountain. Ordinary siege equipment cannot be stable at all. Here, the battering ram is completely ineffective, and even transporting it to the top of the mountain is a big problem.
The circumference of the manor exceeds six hundred feet, and there should be stables, granaries, weapons depots, and cisterns at the end. The stored grain and fodder are enough to last more than two hundred people for a year.
In addition, the fire oil and hammered stones stored under the corners are enough to frighten the enemy troops all over the hill.
It is precisely because of this confidence that the more than two hundred Lombard soldiers stationed here can feel confident. Except for the six soldiers on duty on the outer wall, most of the others have been either drinking and gambling in recent days, or having fun with the Moulin Rouge girls snatched from the surrounding villages and towns. They have no sense of urgency like facing a powerful enemy and no passion for charging into battle.
=
In the afternoon, Stephen Rooney, Viscount of the Lombardy Palace, who was in charge of commanding this group of more than 200 people, walked out of the soft bed in the luxurious lord's bedroom with his bare chest and back, and greedily breathed in the fresh air outside.
Smells with alcohol, he touched his round and swollen belly, turned around and smiled evilly at the two plump middle-aged women lying on the bed inside, raised his hands and stretched, and then breathed a long sigh of relief.
Since nightfall yesterday, he had stayed in the bedroom and never left. From time to time, the sounds of the three people's flirting could be heard in the house, which aroused the envy of the soldiers guarding the gate of the lord's mansion.
After a whole night of vigorous drinking, he felt weak all over and had soreness in his back. The dazzling sunlight outside made it difficult for him to open his eyes. Despite this, he was in a generally good mood today.
He turned around and walked back to the room and put on a pair of breathable and comfortable regular clothes. After washing, he left the mansion with two personal guards and went to inspect various parts of the manor.
Since the arrival of the Lombard soldiers stationed at the manor south of Amos last night, this huge manor has become very lively. At the same time, the increase in the number of defenders also made the soldiers originally stationed here much more relaxed.
An open space in the northeast corner of the manor next to the stables became extremely lively as more and more soldiers gathered.
Since noon, a wrestling confrontation between two soldiers garrisoned at different manors continued until now under the auspices of several knights.
The millstone on the side was piled with silver coins of various sizes, which were the bets placed by the soldiers present for the wrestlers they selected. Once they win, they will receive double the rewards.
"——Max, sweep that bastard's lower body, he can't hold it anymore!"
"No! You should hug his waist~"
Outside the wrestling ring, the Lombard soldiers watching the excitement talked to each other and kept giving advice to the two wrestlers fighting in the open space.
While arguing, the strong guy suddenly exerted his strength, picked up his opponent, spun his feet around on the ground, and threw the tall soldier who almost turned defeat into a winner.
“Yeah, that’s it!”
“We won, man, great~”
Seeing the wrestler he had bet on knocking the opponent to the ground, the Lombard soldiers who were watching the battle suddenly cheered——
At this time, Stephen Rooney, who saw the excitement here from a distance, walked over with interest, took out a gold coin from his arms and threw it on the millstone, and said excitedly: "Whoever wins the next match, this gold coin will be his!"
The atmosphere of the scene was instantly boosted. The soldiers watching the climax took out the small silver coins in their arms and placed their bets——
The wrestling confrontation continued until dusk, and the Lombard soldiers in the open space reluctantly left gradually~
On the southern wall of the manor, Stephen Rooney, the supreme commander stationed here, rested his hands on the wooden railings, looking at the large wheat fields covered with a golden layer of wine and the rising low gentle hills in front of him.
Behind him, Arthur Delman, the Lombard court baron, and several personal guards were on both sides.
Looking at the end of the deserted business road, Stephen suddenly felt an ominous premonition~
After a while, he turned around and asked: "Sir Arthur, according to what you said last night, the Burgundians should have arrived at Amos Manor by now. Why haven't I seen their shadows until now?"