A wisp of black smoke rose into the sky in the distance. Michael rushed into Claude's study excitedly and shouted to Claude who was reading: "Sir, the enemy is coming. I saw the smoke rising."
Claude put down the book and asked in confusion: "Enemies will always come, but why are you so excited and you don't know why you think it's your relatives coming?"
"Uh" Michael murmured embarrassedly: "Sir, aren't I happy? We have waited so long for the enemy to come, and we are all a little impatient. Everyone is looking forward to their arrival, and it saves us the worry all day long. , now that I’m here, I finally have a result.”
I have to admit that these territorial nobles are really good at delaying. Claude has made all defensive preparations, but the enemy's attack has been delayed. Having given up the idea of retreating, Sergeant Major Markchi once again boldly sneaked into the territory of Count Loycade, pretending to be a mercenary and stayed there for two days. When he came back, his report left everyone speechless.
The real reason why the private armed forces of the territorial nobles gathered here in the Principality of Karnas delayed the attack was that the territorial nobles who gathered later expressed their disapproval of the agreement that Count Loikides had originally reached with the territorial nobles of the Eskiline Principality. The results distribution agreement was not very satisfactory. They believed that their side had a large number of people and strong military strength, so they requested to re-sign the agreement. For example, after entering the three southern counties, they expanded the territory available for robbery. They expressed dissatisfaction with accepting unified command and military discipline supervision, and demanded that they be able to do their own thing. Wait a minute
Although the territorial nobles of the Eskiline Principality hope that the territorial nobles of the Principality of Karnas will send troops to help, after all, the three southern counties are also the territory that the Eskiline Principality fell, and they will not decide to make a profit even if they want to. It would be too much. Therefore, they also knew very well that if they agreed to the request of the nobles of the Principality of Karnas, it would be like putting a group of evil wolves into the sheepfold. We can't let these territorial nobles of the Principality of Karrnas burn, kill, and loot without any scruples in the three southern counties. Otherwise, we will be blamed for attracting wolves into our homes.
His insistence on not handing over his private soldiers has already offended Grand Duke Eskiline and the Principality's military. If another tragic incident occurs in the three southern counties where they are looted by nobles from the Principality of Karnas, it is certain that After the war, the Grand Duke Eskiline will definitely use this topic to his advantage. If he hits the territorial nobles like himself, there may be disasters such as the destruction of families and the elimination of nobles.
Therefore, the territorial nobles of the Eskiline Principality who went to the Earl of Loikade to negotiate were extremely righteous. They insisted that the territorial nobles of the Principality of Karnas proceed in a restrained manner after entering the three southern counties. Robbery activities. In other words, it is okay to rob public treasury, but they are not allowed to kill people without reason, let alone burn houses, and are not allowed to enter private residences. They are also required to send out military discipline enforcement teams to supervise their military actions.
As for the Overas Kingdom army guarding the mountain road, none of the territorial nobles cared about it. They had long learned from those who had fled that the Overas Kingdom only had three squadrons of troops stationed on this mountain road, divided into three sections, with a total of less than 200 people. Even though many of the spies sent there recently have not returned, these garrison soldiers may have gotten some information. But so what, before the superior forces assembled by the nobles from the two territories, they had no room to resist. It was almost an egg against a stone.
Markchi already felt how ridiculous his original retreat suggestion was, and now even he was impatient. Such an enemy would be invincible no matter how numerous they were. Especially after Claude completed the defense facilities, Marki couldn't wait for the enemy to launch an attack immediately, and then watched them bruise their heads in front of his own defensive position.
Claude stood up, opened the study window, and saw smoke rising from a hill in the distance. Soon, three soldiers rode horses quickly on the mountain road. After they passed by, several soldiers on the roadside tied a wooden raft originally laid on the road to the back of the two pack horses and drove the pack horses back. The road under the raft looks like any other road, but all the soldiers here know that there is actually a big trap below. If you fall, you will die or be injured.
Claude went downstairs and saw Markchi coming in a hurry: "Sir, the enemy is coming."
Claude nodded: "I saw the smoke."
Markchi said: "The three soldiers responsible for surveillance and reconnaissance today saw the enemy's vanguard coming, so they lit the smoke and ran back. They estimate that at the enemy's marching speed, it will take about four to five hours to reach us. "
"Only the territorial nobles of the Principality of Karnas sent troops, but there was no movement from the Principality of Eskilin." Claude looked at the eastern sky, and there was no smoke rising over there.
"Maybe they haven't coordinated yet," Markchi guessed.
"Let's do this. You send someone to notify the soldiers scouting ahead and ask them to withdraw. Since the territorial nobles from the Principality of Karnas have already sent troops, there is no need for us to wait for the enemies from the Principality of Eskilin to arrive. Just send them Pull back all the wooden rafts on the road and set up traps. Otherwise, if the territorial nobles on the Eskiline Principality side delay sending troops for two days, then we may send people to pull back the wooden rafts on the road and they may be shot by the enemy. Causing unnecessary harm"
"Yes, sir, I will send someone to inform them right away." Markchi turned and left.
Soon, the three reconnaissance soldiers who were deployed on the mountain road on the Eskiline Principality also withdrew. The large wooden rafts laid on the road were also dragged back by the soldiers with pack horses, and then they erected these wooden rafts at the corners of the mountain road. On the way up the mountain to Squirrel Village, a row of wooden rafts with a height of five or six meters was blocked every twenty or thirty meters, for a total of five rows. All the soldiers have now withdrawn up the mountain.
"McJack, when the enemy appears at the opposite bend, light up the smoke and notify Murray Ed in Blackstone Village so that he can act according to the plan." Claude ordered.
The mountain road leading to the Karnas Prairie was built halfway up the mountain, just opposite the camp. The straight-line distance was about one hundred and fifty meters. But this mountain road has to make a big bend before connecting to the three-way intersection in front of Squirrel Village. The distance from the bend to the mountain road in front of the camp is estimated to be two to three hundred meters. There is a very steep valley in the middle, with a drop of More than sixty or seventy meters. In other words, if you fall down the mountain trail, if you are lucky enough to survive the fall, you will be seriously injured, and you will not be able to climb up at all.
In addition, on the two to three hundred meters of mountain road from the bend to the three-way intersection, Claude put gunpowder in jars to blast open five sections of road, and then asked the soldiers to dig five large traps, which were laid with wooden rafts. For normal walking. Now that the enemy is coming, remove the raft. The trap has been camouflaged. If the enemy doesn't pay attention, it will be very painful if they fall.
Using traps to trap a few enemies is just a trivial matter. The important thing is that if the enemy wants to attack, they must fill the traps first or lay wooden rafts on them like Claude did. But Claude had ordered the soldiers to take advantage of their free time in the past few days to cut down all the big trees near the mountain road, and all the rocks and other rocks that could be used by the enemy were rolled into the valley. If the enemy wants to fill these big holes on the mountain road, they will have to carry trees and stones from a distance. The most important thing is that this mountain road is all within the range of the muskets of the defensive positions. Then the soldiers will be like shooting targets. Defeat these enemies one by one who are preparing to build roads and fill holes.
"Sergeant Markchi, you will be in command here. If the enemy appears at the bend, you can order the artillery to fire on your own. My request is that the enemy be trapped on the other side of the bend today and not allowed to appear in this section. On the mountain road. I'm going to take a look at the position on Dide's side. No enemies from the Eskilin Principality have appeared, so I feel a little uneasy."
"Okay, sir, I promise not to let an enemy enter the mountain road today, so don't worry." Markchi replied.
Claude took the big men Germi and Michael and walked towards Diavid's position. Their position was on the hillside behind Squirrel Village. There was a gentle hillside connected to the mountain road. There is a high possibility that the territorial nobles of the Eskiline Principality will command their private armed forces to climb up the hillside and occupy Squirrel Village, and then launch an attack on the camp.
But Diavid's side was safe, and there was no one on the mountain road. Diaverde was leaning in the trench chewing grass roots out of boredom. Seeing Claude's arrival, he stood up in surprise and asked, "Sir, why are you here?"
"The enemies from the Principality of Karnas have arrived. There is no movement on your side. I have withdrawn the soldiers who were scouting in front. I have removed all the wooden rafts on the road. Come and see if there is any problem on your side." Claude said.
"What's the problem? If the enemy comes, I can see it." Diaverde pointed to the winding mountain road in the distance. The situation is indeed what he said. He can quickly discover the enemy coming from the mountain road.
Claude shook his head: "It's okay during the day, I'm worried about the night. If you stay here, if the enemy comes over in the dark, you will be very passive. What I mean is that you lead the team forward, just like before We go to ambush the enemy's reconnaissance cavalry. If you find the enemy coming, just open fire, then slowly retreat, and then defend here. At night, you go to the far mountain road and light a bonfire at intervals, so that the enemy can't The only way to sneak attack is to follow the mountain road."
"Okay, I just happened to be bored here, so I took the soldiers to watch from a distance and do as you say." Diavid laughed: "Don't worry, it's just the private armed forces of those territorial nobles, without you You think so hard. Didn’t Mark Qi say that they are all a mob and vulnerable?"
There is no other way, the war is about to begin, and Claude is responsible for commanding the entire battle. Whether it was in his previous life or now, this was his first experience, so he was always a little uneasy, fearing that his omission would cause unexpected losses. Another was the first time he faced an enemy with superior strength. Even if the enemies were just a group of sheep, the sheer number of them made Claude a little nervous. This was a real war, not a game, people would die.
Returning from the position on Diavid's side, Claude passed through the Squirrel Village and checked the layout of the village again. Now that the villagers have moved to Blackstone Village, there is no one in Squirrel Village. Claude has set a trap in the village and is waiting for the enemy to come and take the bait.
Returning to the camp, Claude discovered that the enemies of the Principality of Karnas had not yet reached the bend, but a long marching dragon appeared on the mountain road further away. When I picked up the monocular and took a look, I couldn't help but burst out laughing. Markchi's report was correct. These enemies did not seem to have much fighting ability. They had all kinds of weapons, including hunting bows, spears, axes, shields, machetes, and indeed some even had dung forks. They were also dressed in rags. As for the muskets, I only saw a few. It was more like a large group of refugees than an army.
What makes people even more speechless is that the marching queue is not well arranged. From time to time, people come out of the marching team and sit on the side of the road to rest. Friends gather together and laugh loudly. It wasn't until the leader in charge of supervision came and whipped them that they got up and continued marching. The entire team was as scattered as a flock of ducks, with no sense of nervousness at all.
No wonder Claude's mood suddenly relaxed after he hadn't come over until now. If facing such an enemy and having made so many defensive preparations and arrangements, but still cannot withstand such an enemy's attack, then he should be so ashamed that he jumps off his position. These enemies come to the market, not to the battlefield.
After waiting for about half an hour, a noisy singing sound came from a distance. Listening carefully, it seemed to be a somewhat obscene folk song, mixed with bursts of loud laughter. Finally, at the bend of the mountain road, a group of neatly dressed troops carrying muskets appeared. This was probably the private armed force of a certain territorial noble, not the farmers and herdsmen who had been recruited. Just like the owner of a fruit stall, he is accustomed to placing large and beautiful fruits in front to attract customers.
These territorial nobles of the Kingdom of Karnas probably thought the same way. They also knew what kind of troops they recruited, so they placed this team of soldiers who were neatly dressed and seemed to be performing well at the front of the team as a pioneer. To show military might. It's a pity that they forgot that there are garrison troops from the Kingdom of Overas on this mountain road. They are not marching safely in their own territory.
"Fire!" Marcy shouted angrily, and he was impatient to wait.
A light infantry artillery that had been aimed long ago let out a deafening thunder, and an iron pellet as big as a fist was spit out from the muzzle. In the blink of an eye, it crossed a distance of more than 150 meters and crashed into the walking queue. Among them, there were several broken limbs and a burst of blood mist.
"Bang bang bang bang" the gunfire smoke filled the position. After the gunfire, the enemy soldiers who were still standing at the bend were swept away. Except for a few miserable howls, all the enemies who turned around the bend had fallen. on the ground
This sudden blow almost stunned the enemy. After a while, a burst of frightened shouts, slaps and curses suddenly broke out from behind the bend of the mountain road. With several gunshots and screams, the noise finally fell silent. After a while, someone finally peeked over at the bend.
"Sir, the enemy is lying on the ground collecting corpses," Markchi reported.
"You can collect the bodies, but don't let them get up." Claude said.
"yes"
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