It was already more than half a month later when Captain Skerry arrived at Count Crelaus's castle with the personnel and supplies of the Fourth Brigade and the battalion's logistics department.
Claude told him the current situation in this area: "There are a total of fourteen noble territories here. The earl territory called Loicade Bar Crelaus is the largest here, and the rest are three viscounts. Territory and nine baronies. However, in these territories, except for four of the six unlucky guys caught by us, the rest of the lords are said to have all fled to Beibu Gulf. The families of those four lords He also fled with them...
The second brigade is currently stationed at Viscount Victor's Castle more than ten miles away on the left, and the third brigade is stationed at Baron Kraft's castle twenty miles away on the right. During this time, we conducted a detailed search in this area. We gathered nearly a thousand people, but most of them were old and weak. There were less than a hundred young men and women. We have now arranged for them to live next to this castle. in the village. In addition to picking wild vegetables and fishing, we also need us to provide them with miscellaneous grains to sustain their livelihood.
I originally wanted to arrange for them to cultivate and cultivate, but there was a lack of food and agricultural tools. People who left these territories took away all the usable things... "
Captain Skerry nodded: "I received your carrier pigeon communication. I have mobilized a batch of grain and rapeseed in Squirrel Village, as well as some farm tools. Then I can arrange for people to plant. However, there are ten people in this area. There are four lords, why are there only so few left?"
Claude picked up a stack of worn-out documents from the table: "These are the territorial documents we searched in those territorial castles and residences. Most of them are documents about the census of these noble territories five or six years ago. , I counted and found that there were a total of about 50,000 people in this area at that time, of which more than 20,000 were young men and women. However, after the war broke out, for more than three years, the Principality of Karnas had been imposing force on this territory. The draft was called up three times, and probably more than 8,000 men were drafted into the army.
It is said that the remaining men were led by these lords to rob the three southern counties. The old man in charge who stayed here said that these lords originally planned to go to the three southern counties to rob some young men to fill the labor vacancies in the territory, but they were in Squirrel Village. After the defeat, those lords packed up their belongings and fled to Beibu Gulf with their families when they returned, abandoning this territory. Without the lord, the remaining people will be left without a trace, and those who can move will leave with them... "
Captain Skerry was relieved: "That's right. Without the men, the only people left in the territory are the old, weak, women and children. These lords know very well that they can't withstand our troops. If they don't leave, they will die. By the way, I'll put them over there. More than four hundred prisoners have been brought here, and they can be put to work."
Claude shrugged: "You are responsible for these things. I am going to lead a large team to garrison at Randers Castle six miles away. It is a barony. There is a river bend next to the castle and the terrain is relatively dangerous. In this way we can swim The four brigades of the first battalion are stationed in this area in a diamond shape. Even if the enemy is found, they can respond to each other and support each other. The battalion headquarters is stationed here. This Castle of Crelaus is the largest and strongest castle in this area. If If the enemy attacks, we can completely retreat everyone to the castle to defend ourselves."
Captain Skerry's expression changed: "Do you think the enemy will come again?"
"It's hard to say," Claude shook his head: "Although those territorial nobles gave up their territories and fled to the Beibu Gulf, I guess they must not be willing to have their territories occupied by us in vain. If they were allowed to organize their own troops to regain this area, they would They may not dare, but those lords can completely blame the loss of land on the head of the Grand Duke of Karnnus. They think that the conscription is too much and the territory has no defense force. They will let the army of the Principality of Karnnus help them regain it. this area.
I am not just conjecturing this out of thin air, because in the two days after we occupied this area, some soldiers heard the sound of horse hooves at night. In the morning, we found hoof prints on the road heading north. We sent soldiers to follow them, but unfortunately nothing was gained. I think this is probably the manpower of the territorial nobles ambushing this area. Their role is to confirm that we have occupied this area, and then go back to report to the territorial nobles.
For a territorial noble, the territory is the guarantee for the continued prosperity of their family. I have been thinking about why the territorial nobles gave up this area and their family's territory so easily. Now I think that those territorial nobles who went to Beibu Gulf did not really give up their territory. The reason they did this was just to get rid of those useless old and weak territorial citizens.
It's a very simple truth, the subjects are the vassals of the lord. They are the wealth creators of their lords, whether they are families or individuals, they are their own lords. From a certain perspective, the lord also had a responsibility to his subjects. Only by ensuring that their family had enough food and clothing could they work for him. From this point of view, the young and strong among the people are the most important to the lord.
Now most of the young and strong subjects of the lords in this area were forcibly recruited by the principality. The remaining young and strong people followed them to plunder the three southern counties. As a result, the entire army was wiped out in Squirrel Village, and less than one tenth of them managed to escape. . If these lords do not leave their territories, then they will be responsible for the families of the people who died in battle in their territories, and will need to spend a lot of money to feed these old and weak people who are not very able to work. So when they left, rather than saying that they gave up their territory, it was better to say that they gave up on their old and weak citizens.
Without the lord, the people who stayed here had nothing to rely on. They had no seeds, no work to do, and no food distributed by the lord to survive. So everyone who could leave left, leaving only the old and weak who were helpless and had nowhere to go. And those lords can use the excuse that they have lost their youth and cannot resist our attack, and ask the Grand Duke of Karrnath to send troops to regain their territory for them. After the war is over, they can use the excuse that their territory has suffered war to obtain compensation from the principality, and then recruit young people to their territory to become citizens...
Another proof I say this is that although those lords left their own territories, they still more or less left a few older servants to manage and maintain their castles and residences. The excuses are the same, preparation Sell their real estate in the territory. But we all know that during the war, no big businessmen will come to buy their unguaranteed properties, especially since their territories are still facing our attack. So I think these are all excuses, and those territorial nobles are still dreaming of a comeback.
In addition, just like the documents we searched on the table, most of them were outdated and useless information from the previous tax collection and census materials processing. There was no proof of land title or anything related to the territory. This shows that those lords took away all the useful documents of the territory. This does not look like giving up the territory. This also proves that their excuse of wanting to sell real estate is purely deceptive, otherwise they would not leave behind the real estate certification documents. "
Captain Skerry's face was a little grim: "Your idea makes sense. We really need to be prepared. However, after I forwarded your report of the territorial nobles in this area abandoning their territories and fleeing to the frontline command, the frontline command ordered We will be stationed in this area and conduct reconnaissance into the center of the grassland to see if the Principality of Karnas is mobilizing troops. Since you are leading a large group to garrison the territory in front, this task will be left to you."
Judging from the map, the territory of Baron Landes where Claude decided to station was on the edge of this area and the prairie. It would be most convenient to send troops for reconnaissance. This reconnaissance mission is very suitable for Claude's large group. Claude himself would send scouts into the prairie without Captain Scree telling him.
"One more thing," Claude said: "We are stationed here alone, and we hope to prepare more logistical supplies. All the lords and people in this area have fled. Although the place is large, there is no place for us. The materials collected need to be transported to us from the rear. In addition, the Second Brigade and the Third Brigade are stationed at the Castle of Viscount Victor and the Castle of Baron Kraft. I asked them to search the two castles to see if there are any secret passages or secret rooms. , these are all things that need to be paid attention to during defense. You have to urge them, don't be careless. I found two secret passages and a dark room connected to the outside in the castle of Count Crelaus... "
"I understand. I will urge the Second and Third Brigades to search their garrisoned castles. As for the supplies, I will ask the rear to transport what we need as soon as possible. You can rest assured on this." Captain Skerry nodded in agreement. road.
After spending the night at the Castle of Count Crelaus, Claude said goodbye to Captain Scree, and took the infantry squadron of Sergeant Langster and the artillery squadron of Sergeant Lockeed to the castle of Baron Landes six miles away. . Although the straight-line distance is only about six miles, Claude and others still walked for most of the day, because there is a large river bend on the side of Randers Castle. Claude and others had to go around this bend and walk more than three miles to get there. A simple plank bridge where you have to cross the river.
Randers Castle is located on the mound of this large river bend. It is much smaller than the Crelaus Castle in the Earldom. Even the city walls are made of stone and wood. The lower part is a stone structure, and the upper part is made of logs. But the Castle of Count Crelaus is entirely made of stones. In terms of defensive performance, the walls of Count Crelaus Castle are more than two meters higher than the four-meter wall of Landes Castle.
However, the terrain of Randers Castle is dangerous. It is located on a small mound and there is a large river bend next to it. The original lord, Baron Randers, had a deep ditch seven or eight meters wide dug around the mound as a base. The moat, connected with the big river bend, is like a silvery river that separates the small mounds from the prairie. Grassland herdsmen are often not used to water, so the seven to eight meter wide river becomes a natural chasm that is difficult for them to cross.
When Claude and others arrived at Randers Castle, they found that the riverside from the small mound to the small ditch was full of white sheep. Diaverde, who stayed behind, led a small group of soldiers to stand on the other side of the river and lowered a four-meter-long log suspension bridge to welcome Claude's arrival.
"Where did these sheep come from?" Claude asked.
"They were all captured by Markchi and Moder with their people on the prairie. They have captured more than 20 families of herdsmen. There are more than a thousand sheep here." Diavid replied.
Claude stopped and asked, "Are any of those herdsmen families young and strong?"
"Well, not really. The older ones are old herdsmen over forty-five years old, the younger ones are children under twelve years old, and the others are all women." Diaverde thought for a while and answered.
"Tomorrow you take the herdsmen and sheep to the castle of Count Crelaus and hand them over to Captain Scree and let him handle them. This is the front line and the herdsmen cannot be left here." Claude ordered.
"This is sir, are these sheep going to be handed over to the battalion headquarters?" Diavid was a little reluctant to give them up. The two countries were at war. These herdsmen were from the Principality of Karnas. Their sheep were plunderable enemy property for the soldiers. This was also one of the ways to make extra money.
"Leave one or two hundred here for everyone to try, and take the rest over. Do you still want to sell these sheep? Who will come to buy these sheep at this time? You can't take them out to graze by yourself. Leave them to the camp. Ministry, you can also obtain a second-level or third-level meritorious service by collecting supplies. There is a shortage of fresh meat over there... "
"Okay, boss, I listen to you." Diaverde said.
Claude continued to walk towards the castle on the small hill: "Have you searched the castle? Have you found any secret passages or anything?"
"No, boss, there is a secret room. I suspect it used to be a warehouse, but it is now empty. As for the secret passage not found, I think there cannot be a secret passage here. After all, there is a big river bend next to it. If a secret passage is dug here to lead to the outside, then It will definitely leak or even be flooded. If you don't want water to leak, it will cost a lot of money. You see, Baron Landers's castle is so simple. It is definitely impossible for him to have the money to build a leak-proof secret passage to the outside. "Diavid said plausibly.
This makes sense. Claude nodded: "Is there any difficulty in stationing here?"
"Yes, boss, we lack enough fuel." Diavid said quickly: "I have asked the soldiers to cut down and collect all the shrubs and trees within a radius of four or five miles, and then piled firewood for half of the small house. I estimate that our brigade has been stationed here for less than half a month and we have run out of firewood for cooking and boiling water for drinking. The herdsmen here use horse dung and cow dung as fuel, but we don’t have many horses and no cattle... "
This is indeed a big problem. Claude thought for a while and said: "Tomorrow, after you escort the herdsmen and sheep back, ask Captain Skerry to send a group of prisoners to the mountains to cut firewood and burn charcoal. We must at least stockpile fuel here that can last for half a year. By the way. , when will Moder and Markchi come back."
Diaverde scratched his head: "I estimate that they will come back tomorrow. Now their search area is getting wider and wider, and they spend more and more time. In the past ten days, they have only been back for two or three days. Mark Qi led the team to set off after lunch the day before yesterday, and Merde left yesterday morning."
"Well, there is no need to let them go out after returning this time. From now on, all reconnaissance will be done with war horses, and the infantry will stay here to strengthen and build defense facilities."
"Boss, there's no need to build any defense facilities, right? I think this castle is pretty good." Diavid said.
"No, if the enemy comes and we all hide in this castle, we will become turtles in the urn. If the enemy brings heavy siege artillery, then I doubt that this castle will be able to withstand a few hits, and there will be no place to escape if we want to." Go. That Baron Landers built this castle to defend against other territorial nobles. Such a castle is a symbol of being unconquerable in armed conflicts between territorial nobles, but in the face of regular troops, it cannot withstand for long. time."
"Okay, boss, you have the final say." Diaverde said. See more! Prestige official account: hhxs665