After Major Leedfunk left, a few days passed, and the number of pedestrians on the mountain road gradually became sparse. Those who should have fled have almost left, and the few people who come occasionally are small businessmen who brave the cold to earn some hard money. They led a donkey and carried two large bamboo baskets filled with various small commodities. They stopped in villages along the mountain road to sell the goods they brought, trying to earn a few copper coins from the villagers.
However, in Squirrel Village, they are more willing to exchange their goods for a kind of ointment owned by the villagers, a dark green rice paste-like ointment. It is said that this ointment is extremely effective in treating headaches, fevers, and colds in children. Claude believes that this may be a folk remedy. The villagers here do not have pharmacists to provide treatment services when they are sick. During their long life, they have developed the experience of using herbs in the mountains to treat these common diseases and turned the herbs into this ointment.
It's mid-February, which is the snow melting period. The frozen snow and ice on the mountain trails has begun to melt. Everything is wet, and every step on the road will bring up a foot of mud. This is a very unpleasant weather. It obviously feels colder and colder, but the earth's heating is rising, melting the ice and snow, and the humidity is very heavy. It is easy to catch a cold and fever if you are not careful.
Claude had no choice but to reduce the number of soldiers on duty. Some time ago, Markchi led his squadron to set up card collection on the mountain road and earned a lot of money. Apart from the proportion turned over to the battalion headquarters, Claude could get about two gold crowns personally, and each soldier in the squadron could also get Get a multi-silver thaler. Claude naturally looked down upon this little money and ordered his share to be transferred to the public account to buy a few pigs, sheep and barrels of rye to feed the soldiers.
Recalling what Major Redfunk said about the sack, Claude asked McJack to call the village elder and tell him about it. I originally thought that this way of making extra money would make the village elder very happy. Unexpectedly, the village elder was embarrassed and told Claude that the village was so poor that he didn't even have any extra reserves of twine for weaving sacks. However, the village elder suggested that maybe they could go to the mountains to find some old vines to weave baskets instead of sacks, and Claude thought about it and agreed.
The ammunition and food reserves promised by Major Lederfunk were quickly delivered. By the way, he also brought a light live-fire artillery to Claude. This is an infantry field artillery produced by the Principality of Eskiline. It is used to fire solid projectiles as big as a fist. The maximum range is only about 300 meters. It cannot fire shotshells. It is a light artillery that has been eliminated. Its only advantage is that it is relatively light and can be disassembled into several parts and placed on the packhorse to follow the team. .
The Blue Feather Legion looked down upon this kind of light artillery that could only fire solid projectiles and had a short range, so Major Liederfunk sent one to Claude with the idea of being prepared. The person responsible for transporting these logistical military supplies was Murray Ed. After transporting this batch of supplies, the squadron he led was ordered to set up in Blackstone Village, another village on the mountain road more than 20 miles away from Squirrel Village, on the back road of Claude. Set up a camp to be responsible for reinforcements and response after a war breaks out on Claude's side.
As soon as he saw Claude, Muriel complained that the mountain road was too difficult to walk. Not to mention the mud and potholes, the main reason was that after walking for a while, the hooves and wheels of the packhorse had to be removed. Fortunately, most of the roads were still solid despite the melting snow, and two-wheeled carriages could barely pass.
Claude estimates that the baggage supplies delivered this time are enough for his sixty or so people for more than two months. Even if an enemy attacks him, he can persist for a long time with the help of the favorable location and sufficient ammunition, plus Murray behind him. With the support of Ed's squadron, it is not difficult to seal this mountain road and ensure that the enemy will not be allowed to enter the three southern counties through this mountain road.
Murray Ed said that after Major Leedfunk inspected all the road traffic checkpoints guarded by the 1st Ranger Battalion, he ordered the dismantling of more than a dozen less important outposts and reorganized various garrison points. Now the battalion has more The reserve strength of two squadrons was established. Even the checkpoint he originally guarded was withdrawn, and his squadron was ordered to be deployed to Blackstone Village as Claude's backup support, and was responsible for setting up a second line of defense in Blackstone Village.
Another piece of news is that the transportation road in the Picklet Mountains has been initially repaired, and all kinds of large artillery needed by the Blue Feather Legion have been continuously transported. The Blue Feather Legion is currently deploying all manpower and material resources to build a defensive front at the dangerous border between the three southern counties and the Principality of Rimodra. It has also recruited countless migrant workers in the three southern counties and forced them to help build defense facilities.
The anti-Austrian coalition forces of the Principality of Rimodra have learned about the loss of the three southern counties of the Principality of Eskiline, and their military morale is somewhat unstable. Several lines of defense on the front line have been breached by the troops of the Kingdom of Ovelas. They dispatched a light cavalry from the Principality of Karnas to come to the three southern counties to check the real situation. However, they were ambushed by the Blue Feather Legion in the Crumbo Valley on the border. The entire army was almost wiped out, and only a few hundred cavalry escaped. So much so that the top leaders of the coalition believed that they had been surrounded by heavy troops and huddled in the Principality of Limodra without daring to move, giving the Blue Feather Legion time to build a defensive front.
This time, the Blue Feather Legion crossed over the Picklet Mountains, and unexpected troops descended from the sky to capture the three southern counties of the Eskiline Principality. It can be said to be the biggest highlight in this war that swept all the countries in the eastern region of the continent. The Kingdom of Orvilas took advantage of the right time and location, and achieved an unexpected effect by crossing the Piclite Mountains, which was considered a natural chasm, in the cold winter.
Especially in winter, the general custom is not to go out for activities. Just like the Anti-Austrian Allied Forces of the Principality of Rimodra, in addition to maintaining the garrison strength of the frontline defensive positions, most of the armed forces of various countries were holed up in the camp, and there was no timely and effective response at all. When I first received the intelligence that the enemy had appeared in the three southern counties, I thought someone was drunk and joking.
By the time it was confirmed that the three southern counties of the Eskiline Principality had been captured by the enemy, more than a month had passed, giving the Blue Feather Army ample time to respond. At this time, the top leaders of the coalition had always believed that this was probably the Kingdom of Overas sending a small number of troops to invade the three southern counties for harassment. They were unwilling to use most of the troops to carry out a counterattack in winter for fear of dragging down the troops.
On the other hand, the army of the Kingdom of Ovelas has strengthened its offensive posture on the front line of the Principality of Rimodra, maintaining a lot of pressure on the coalition forces. Many top leaders of the coalition believe that this is probably a strategy implemented by the Overas Kingdom's army to seize the opportunity to attack the east and attack the west. The purpose is to prevent the coalition forces from resting and restoring morale in the winter as they travel back and forth. So after several days of discussion, we decided to send a light cavalryman from the Principality of Karnas to the three southern counties to see what was going on.
However, the Blue Feather Legion's response was very good. The frontline scouts found that the enemy had only dispatched one light cavalry, so the Blue Feather Legion left the nest empty and set up in the Crumbo Valley, the only place to go to the three southern counties. He laid an ambush and almost wiped out the light cavalry. After receiving this blow, the senior officials of the anti-Austrian alliance became suspicious. They believed that the appearance of the Blue Feather Army in the three southern counties showed that the Kingdom of Overas was heavily suppressed. For a while, they did not dare to send any more counterattack troops, so they let the Blue Feather Army There was time to build a defensive front.
Claude was very interested in the fact that the two second-line legions were able to build a road capable of transporting large artillery in the Picklet Mountains in such a short period of time. The 1st Ranger Battalion served as the pathfinder and pioneer of the Blue Feather Legion. I had a lot of trouble finding the road in the Picklet Mountains. Claude knew very well what the roads there were like. It was one thing to climb over it with light equipment, but transporting heavy equipment such as large artillery was very difficult in his opinion. In many places, people could climb over them, but four-wheeled freight wagons would not be able to climb over them.
However, Murray Ed was well-informed, and he had found out a lot of inside information. He told Claude that this time the Blue Feather Legion sent surprise troops to cross the Piclite Mountains and built a road in the Piclite Mountains. In addition, the Blue Feather Legion snake traps surrounded and annihilated the enemy's light cavalry, all of which were planned by a major general in the kingdom.
It is said that this major general is called Michel Priest. He is a civilian and is now 48 years old. He is a professor of war history at the Sterling Military Academy in the royal capital. This time, he came to the front line with the army as an aide to the eldest prince. In the stalemate between the kingdom's army and the anti-Austrian alliance forces, he came up with a strategy of crossing the Picklet Mountains to surprise the three southern counties. He was appreciated by the eldest prince and promoted him to serve as the commander of the Blue Feather Army. The new chief of staff.
After crossing the Piclite Mountains, General Michelci Priest commanded the two second-line corps to cut down trees and pave the way. In more than two months, a trestle was built in the Piclite Mountains that could be used to transport large artillery and other heavy equipment. the road. After receiving information that the anti-Austrian alliance forces of the Principality of Modera sent a light cavalry division to the three southern counties, they rushed back to the Blue Feather Legion overnight and persuaded all the high-level command troops of the legion to leave their nests and set up shop in the Crumbo Valley. An ambush was set up and the light cavalry was surrounded and annihilated. This gave the enemy the illusion that the Blue Feather Legion was preparing to launch an attack. They quickly and passively defended, buying the Blue Feather Legion valuable time.
Murray's eyes were shining with starlight, and his tone was full of admiration: "The latest news is that General Michel Priest was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general by the prince because of these three great achievements. There is also news that The eldest prince has asked His Majesty the King for instructions and is preparing to make him a viscount and give him the title of gram. If this news is true, then General Michelci Priest will be the first person in the kingdom to receive a title since the beginning of this war. "soldier"
Obviously, this General Michelci Priest was a rising star in the Kingdom of Overas during the war. But Claude was a little confused. This general's original military rank was major general. Normally, all generals in the kingdom are nobles. How come he was born as a commoner even if he was a citizen. After being promoted to major general, he should be granted a noble title, but he was not. Is there any story in this
It's a pity that Murray Ed is not Belklin. That guy is very good at getting information. If he is interested in a person, he can even find out clearly what color pajamas he likes to wear at night. Muriel admired General Michel Priest just because of the respect that soldiers have for a victorious general. Every soldier did not want to serve under such a general who could win battles.
Murield stayed for one night and then went back with his troops. Claude's next day became very leisurely. He wanted to organize the troops for training, but after looking at the weather, there was really nothing for his soldiers to do. Bored Claude, apart from looking at the dense clouds in the sky, just went to Squirrel Village to see the quality of the rattan baskets woven by the village elders and others.
Occasionally, I heard the village elders and other villagers talk about a waterfall and a large pool in the mountains, and Claude got up his mind and prepared to go there. However, when the village elders and others saw Claude asking about the location of the waterfall and the big water pool, they became a little panicked and quickly told them that there were water monsters in the big water pool, wild wolves in the mountains, and ferocious black bears. Especially now that it is the end of February and the rainy season is coming, many of those hibernating black bears have already woken up and are looking for food in the mountains and forests. It will be very dangerous for people to go there.
In short, these villagers wanted to dissuade Claude from going to the mountains, which made Claude suspicious. They seemed to be hiding something. Of course, on the surface Claude still pretended to accept their suggestions humbly and decided not to wander in the mountains. He found that the village elder and the villagers were obviously relieved.
"McJack, please pay attention in the past few days to see if there is anything weird about the villagers. I suspect they are hiding something." After returning to the camp, Claude called Michael and ordered him to secretly keep an eye on the activities in the village.
One day later, Mike reported back with red eyes: "Sir, last night I found that the old woman from the village chief's house went out to the mountain at ten o'clock in the evening, but she didn't go far and put down her hand in the woods on the hillside. She carried a small basket and then went down the mountain. This morning I found that she went up the mountain again and got back the small basket in the grove. But the appearance of her small basket changed. I remember that what she took was a flat one. A rectangular basket, but what I got back was a round straight basket.”
Claude nodded. The villagers were indeed hiding something: "You haven't slept all night. You've worked hard. Go and rest first. Ask Germi to take turns with you at night. If you find any villagers going up the mountain again, call me immediately." "
Two days later, as soon as Claude lay down to rest, he was called by Michael: "Sir, the old woman from the village chief's family is carrying a basket up the mountain again."