"I understand, I understand everything, isn't it just a secret?" Zike, the mayor of Westwood Town, lowered his head and half-bowed, crossed his hands in his sleeves and walked towards the town office. The rainy season has just ended, and the ground is very wet and a bit slippery. If possible, Lao Zike is really unwilling to go out, just like he is not willing to be the mayor of the town.
But there was no other way. The Grand Duke sent someone to understand the situation. As the mayor of the town, he had no choice but to step forward. Treat these arrogant envoys to a good meal, explain clearly the movements of the strange light cavalry unit that passed through Westwood Town two days ago, and report on the situation of the light cavalry unit collecting food and horse materials in the town. , and then showed the list of collected supplies and receipts given to him by the army. This was a document that could offset the taxes paid in Ximu Town.
The envoys believed that this should be a light cavalry unit performing a secret mobilization mission, so they bypassed the Archduke's Fort Afina and did not enter the city to disturb the Archduke. This is also what makes the Grand Duke unhappy. As a member of the Eastern National Alliance, he is not notified of the deployment of troops in the alliance, and he is not even visited by his castle. This is very rude and makes the Grand Duke angry. , which made it clear that the commander of this unit did not take the Grand Duke seriously.
However, the envoys got good news from Lao Zike, that is, the commander of the light cavalry unit that passed two days ago said that they were the vanguard and that a large group of people would arrive in a few days. I believe that the commander of the follow-up force will visit the Grand Duke at that time to make the Grand Duke happy. Perhaps the commander would tell the Grand Duke the purpose of their military mobilization and what their numbers were. The reason why they are not revealing it now is because Lao Zike's identity is too low, in order to keep it secret.
So after the envoys had eaten and drank enough, they took matters into their own hands and caught a dozen chickens and geese in Ximu Town before returning. Now that the entire Principality of Xidings is extremely poor, don't expect Lao Zike to make sacrifices to the envoys, that is simply impossible. If it weren't for Lao Zike who had a farm in Westwood Town, where he could sell some agricultural products to Fort Afina and be able to pay the taxes levied by the Grand Duke and barely survive, then he wouldn't be the mayor of the town.
Every time these Archduke's envoys came over, they would sweep up the town. Old Zike believed that when he returned to the town hall, the townspeople whose chickens and geese had been taken away from their homes were already waiting for him to return and provide compensation. Those bastard emissaries didn't understand that the eggs laid by a chicken and goose they caught were often the source of a month's worth of salt and needlework for a townsman's family. But for them, it’s just a casual meal when they go to the countryside.
Fortunately, he had already warned the townspeople not to do anything when the envoys were catching chickens and geese. He looked on with cold eyes and said that he would compensate the envoys when they came back. Otherwise, if those townspeople go to protect their own chickens and geese, what awaits them may be the end of their families being destroyed. Old Zike has been to Afena Castle many times. He once saw the followers of these Grand Dukes galloping unscrupulously on the streets of the castle. Many people who were unable to dodge were injured and whipped. These messengers are all close confidants of the Grand Duke, and the consequences of offending them will be disastrous.
He remembered that the envoys had told him to shut up before leaving and not reveal anything about the light cavalry unit that passed by two days ago. Old Zeke thought it was ridiculous. Isn't it because military maneuvers need to be kept secret? He is not a child, so he naturally knows this, and he has no interest in where this light cavalry unit is going to go or what it is going to do. Although this light cavalry unit was a little weird and behaved a little abnormally, Lao Zike said nothing to the Archduke’s envoys.
Sometimes Lao Zike felt that life would be more comfortable without the Principality of Sidings. During the war in the eastern region that year, Archduke Siddings ran away, the principality was destroyed, and then it was classified as a newly occupied territory. All the people of the principality became civilians of the Kingdom of Ovelas. Old Zik didn't feel much about the change in his status. He believed that no matter who ruled Westwood Town, he would need residents who paid taxes and served.
In fact, he guessed correctly. An official appointed by some nobles came to Westwood Town and was responsible for taxing the residents of Westwood Town. The tax rate was not high at all for the residents of the town, 30%. Lao Zike's farm also relied on the good times of those years to save some wealth. And a year later, a team of nearly a thousand workers came to the town to rebuild the road leading to Fort Afina, but those workers seemed to have a miserable life.
Then, for some reason, there was another war. A group of soldiers came to the town and shot the official in front of the town hall. Then they took away the property stored in the town hall. After they left, no one was in charge of Ximu Town, and the townspeople elected Lao Zike as the temporary mayor. After three years like this, Archduke Sidings came back and the Principality of Sittings was restored. So the tax rate in Westwood Town doubled from 30% to 60%. At the same time, it also There was a lot of labor assigned.
Since the year before last, Archduke Siddings has said that he wants revenge, so he added a war tax. In the first half of last year, all the young people in the town were drafted, and in the second half of the year, they were drafted again. The sixteen-year-old boys and the forty-year-old middle-aged people were also forcibly taken away. Nowadays, Ximu Town is full of old and weak women and children, and there are no young and strong men. So sometimes Old Zik thinks about how great it would be if Archduke Siddings had never come back. The tax rate would be very light and no one would force the young men in the town to serve as soldiers.
Life has to go on. Two days later, Lao Zike got up early and hitched up the two oxcarts on the farm. The carts were piled with dewy vegetables that had just been picked by his wife and hired peasant women in the early morning. Cabbage, ready to be sent to Afinasburg for sale. When he and his helper Mark, who was lame, drove an ox cart to Fort Afena, they found that the road was blocked by an army. This unit should be the follow-up group mentioned by the light cavalry unit that passed through Westwood Town a few days ago, because they all wore the same brown-gray military uniforms.
An officer led two soldiers and walked towards Old Zeke and Mark. Old Zeke and Mark were not afraid. They had come into contact with the vanguard of this army a few days ago. They were mysterious but well-disciplined. They camped outside the town to rest, and only sent a few officers and a group of soldiers into the town to collect grain, grass and horse materials from him. During this period, he also went out and bought a few pigs, sheep, chickens and geese. He paid in cash. He did not do any harm to the poultry and livestock raised by the townspeople, nor did he break into the townspeople's homes without permission.
This officer just came to check what was loaded on the two carriages of Old Zeke and Mark. When he found that it was cabbage, he tore off a leaf and put it into his mouth to taste it. He thought it was very fragrant and sweet. The cabbage was of good quality. Lao Zike was very happy and decided to give some cabbages to the officer. The officer refused. Lao Zike said that he had just dealt with them two days ago and you were welcome.
The officer was stunned. Old Zike said that your vanguard just passed through our town a few days ago, and I helped them collect the food and grass to be collected. So the officer asked Lao Zike what was going on. When Lao Zike finished speaking, the officer laughed and said, since we are old acquaintances, I will do you a favor. You don't have to send your things to the city to sell them. We packed two carts of cabbage.
Soon the soldier sent by the officer brought a chubby veteran over. The veteran looked at the cabbage and was very satisfied. He directly gave Lao Zike a very good price, and it was still a cash transaction. Old Zik asked the fat veteran if he still needed cabbage. There were still five or six oxcarts on their farm. The fat veteran was very happy and said he wanted them all. This little cabbage was enough for their kitchen for a day, so they could send as much as they had.
So Lao Zike's farm was busy all morning, and called many residents of the town to come over and help them move all the cabbages onto the oxcart. After sending them to the military camp to find the fat veteran, they quickly settled all the vegetables. payment. After letting the lame Mark and the town helpers take the oxcart back to the farm first, Old Zike decided to go to the city to buy some fine linen fabrics for his precious little girl and let her make new clothes. In the past two years, my precious little girl has been wearing the old clothes left by her sister before she got married. I sold all the cabbages on the farm today, so I have enough money to buy things.
The left side of the road to Fort Afena is covered with military tents, the color is like the military uniforms worn by the soldiers of this army, all brown and gray. There was no fence or ditch between the tent and the road, but the soldiers from the other side of the tent did not come to the road. Occasionally, the braying of war horses and the horses running past were behind the tent, and they were restrained by the soldiers not to run wild on the road. . However, there were not many pedestrians, cars and horses on the road. People coming out of the city looked frightened and wanted to escape.
When he arrived in front of the castle gate, Lao Zike discovered why the people coming out of the city were so panicked. Because there were hundreds of corpses hanging on the city walls, all dressed in gorgeous clothes, and many of them seemed familiar. Lao Zike walked closer and squinted his eyes to carefully look at the corpses hanging on the city wall, and was surprised to find an acquaintance. The team of Archduke's envoys who came to Ximu Town to question him a few days ago were all hanging on it, and none of them ran away.
Looking at the city gate, Lao Zike found that the gatekeepers were also soldiers wearing brown and gray military uniforms. He walked to the city gate and handed a road note in his hand to a soldier walking towards him. This road was given to him by the chubby veteran. When he heard that he was going to Fort Afina to buy some things, the fat veteran asked him to wait. After a while, he came back and gave Lao Zike this road.
The soldier looked at the road sign, showed a rare smile, handed the road sign back to Lao Zike, waved and shouted several times behind him, to the effect that this was our friend and we could let him go. Old Zik then asked him why all the Archduke's cronies were hanging on the city wall. The soldier smiled and replied, "There will no longer be any Archduke Sidings here. We have recaptured Fort Afena, and everything will be here in the future." It is the new territory occupied by the Kingdom of Ovilas
For the temporary royal court of the Overas Kingdom in White Deer City, these three months have been painful and happy. First, the defensive front of Ambriz County was set up. All the troops deployed by the kingdom on the second defensive front retreated to the surroundings of White Deer City and began the rare reorganization and rest after the outbreak of the war. They were still a little nervous at first, but the continuous good news coming from the Ambriz County defense line finally made everyone in the kingdom let go of their uneasy hearts.
No one expected that the Rock Legion would be so powerful. It was almost one against seven. After the troops of the Eastern Region National Alliance discovered that all the Overas Kingdom troops on the second line of defense had evacuated, they occupied the second line of defense and advanced into Ambriz County. When they discovered that another defensive line had been set up in Ambriz County and only one legion was on guard, the seven legions of the Eastern Region National Alliance were overjoyed. They no longer waited for the arrival of reinforcements and directly launched a fierce attack on the Rock Legion, using their own heads. hit hard stone
The first attack was a cannon fodder corps jointly formed by the Principality of Sidings and the Principality of Rimodra. As expected, within half an hour, the casualties exceeded 10% and morale collapsed and they retreated from the front line. . The senior officers of the National Alliance in the Eastern Region could only shake their heads and sigh. This friendly force was too weak. The wave-like attack launched by 50,000 to 60,000 people was of no use at all. Even the placement of heavy throwers on the enemy's positions was tested. Not coming out. I heard the sound of musket firing on the defensive position, and then the attacking soldiers in front fell down one by one, and those behind turned around and fled. It seemed better to let them do some chores.
The noble officers of the Principality of Sidings and the Principality of Rimodra who were watching the battle turned around and left in shame. They gathered their own soldiers and rushed to the starting position of the legion, and captured nearly a hundred so-called soldiers from the defeated soldiers. A typical deserter, he was brutally punished by beheading directly on the battlefield and gave a morale-boosting speech. It's just a pity that no matter how hard these noble officers try, they can't inspire the courage of these soldiers who came back from defeat. More soldiers looked at them numbly and were indifferent to their speeches and encouragement. This made the noble officers want to organize another The idea of attacking completely failed.
Immediately afterwards, a standing legion of the Kingdom of Nasseri and a light cavalry regiment of the Principality of Karnas attacked hand in hand. According to their accustomed cooperation, it was the standing legion of the Kingdom of Nasseri that launched the attack first, attracting all the enemies on the frontal defense front. attention. The Karrnath Light Cavalry Regiment was lying in ambush behind. During the fiercest offensive and defensive war, the unexpected troops stood out and rushed into the defensive position from the flanks, leaving the defenders distracted.
The standing army of the Nasseri Kingdom took the opportunity to launch a general offensive, attacking the defensive positions regardless of casualties. Under attack from two sides, it is easy to break through the enemy's defensive line. As long as you occupy a position on the enemy's defense line, hold on firmly to resist the defender's counterattack, and then use the advantage of your troops to reinforce and supplement, and use this defensive position to consume the enemy's troops, you can eventually cause the enemy's entire defense line to collapse. collapse
The first attack of the Cannon Fodder Legion was defeated without even getting close to the 150 meters away from the Rock Legion's defensive position. This time, the joint attack of the Kingdom of Nasseri and the Principality of Karnas was a little more successful. The standing army of the Nasseri Kingdom rushed to about a hundred meters in front of the defensive line, but had to retreat due to more than half of the casualties. The light cavalry regiment of the Principality of Karnas went a step further. They fell more than fifty meters in front of the defensive position. The corpses of men and horses were piled up densely. A light cavalry regiment of more than 4,000 people only ran back. Hundreds ride.
The impression and lesson this attack left on the senior officers of the National Alliance in the Eastern Region was that the enemy's defensive firepower was too fierce. It started with grenades, which should be heavy throwers that can throw grenades to more than 400 meters. The standing army of the Nasseri Kingdom almost launched an attack in spite of the continuous falling bombs from the sky. However, when they reached two hundred meters in front of the position, they encountered fierce musket fire. The soldiers at the front were charged one by one. He threw himself to the ground, and the area of 100 to 200 meters in front of the defensive position was covered with the corpses of Nasseri soldiers, and the blood flowed into small streams.
This scene made a senior officer of the Nasseri Kingdom who was watching the battle behind him couldn't help but cry: "This is a massacre, not a war."
The light cavalry regiment of the Principality of Karnas rushed to the minefield within a hundred meters of the defensive position. Coupled with countless light grenades thrown in, the light cavalry regiment's charging position became a mine formation. A place of death where shrapnel flies. That is to say, the last few hundred light cavalrymen restrained their horses and forced their horses to turn around and flee, thus saving their lives.
The failure of the two attacks finally made the senior officers of the Eastern Region National Alliance pay attention to the rock army in front. It soon became known that these were reinforcements dispatched from overseas dominions. So everyone looked at the senior officers sent by the Kingdom of Hicks. These were their old opponents and the victors of the colonial war.
It's just that these senior officers of the Hicks Kingdom are also very broken. They know the name of the Rock Legion. Like the Thunder Legion, they are the opponents of the Hicks Kingdom in the colonial war. But the problem is that they did not participate in the colonial wars. Those who did participated in the colonial wars served in the overseas autonomous territories. Therefore, they did not understand the characteristics of these two enemy legions, but they had seen with their own eyes the strength of the Rock Legion.
So the third attack was handed over to the army of the Kingdom of Hicks. This time they planned to send two legions into battle, and prepare a light cavalry division from the Principality of Karnas behind them. There is a reason why the army of the Kingdom of Hicks ranks first in the Eastern League of Nations in terms of combat effectiveness. This is because they can use giant single-arm lever throwers with a throwing distance of up to 560 meters to break through Ovi. The first line of defense of the Kingdom of Lars, these giant throwers of the Kingdom of Hicks have made a great contribution.
The standing army of the Nasseri Kingdom prepared nearly a hundred wooden carts and shield carts during the attack to cover the soldiers' attack on the enemy's positions. Unfortunately, under the explosion of the grenades, these wooden platoon vehicles and shield vehicles were rendered useless. Instead, they became the targets of concentrated bombing, resulting in heavy casualties to the soldiers hiding behind.
Now the two standing legions of the Kingdom of Hicks were about to attack, and it also took three days to prepare hundreds of wooden carts and shield carts. It's just that they don't use these wooden platoon vehicles and shield vehicles to cover the soldiers' attack, but use them to protect their giant throwers from artillery attacks on defensive positions. Anyway, their throwers can throw grenades the farthest distance. As long as they can withstand the enemy's artillery, they are basically in a situation where their grenades can be thrown to the enemy, but the enemy cannot throw them to themselves. If left like this for a few days, the enemy would either be unable to bear the bombing and attack from their positions, or their morale would collapse and they would retreat.
It can be said that the Kingdom of Hicks has focused all their technology trees on throwers and grenades.