On February 28, 604 in the Holy Light Calendar, Claude took the armored cruiser St. Hugh Linde and arrived at the Beibu Gulf harbor in the Karnas Prairie. General Skree and General Albert have been waiting here for a long time, and the three of them hugged and exchanged greetings for a while.
On February 29, a military meeting was held at the military district headquarters in Canpaste City, the capital of the Beibu Gulf. Claude announced the reorganization and reorganization of the Thunder Legion. The nearly 150,000-strong Thunder Legion will follow the new military system. The corps organization was reduced to four divisions of 90,000 troops. After veterans who have completed their military service retire, the remaining 50,000 troops will be combined with eight local garrison regiments stationed in the Eskiline and Rimodra regions to form the Storm Legion.
The Storm Legion is the third regular legion approved by the Overseas Dominion Council to be brought under the jurisdiction of the military region. It is mainly used to garrison the hereditary family territory along the coast of the North Gulf of Karnar Prairie. It is also a light cavalry legion, and its target is Karnar. From the various nomadic tribes on the Sri Lankan prairie, future recruits will also be recruited from the young nomads in the territory...
According to Claude's idea, the defense of the overseas autonomous territories would be handled by the Rock Legion, while the garrison of the territories on the Karnas Prairie would be handed over to the Storm Legion. As for the Thunder Legion, it is the mobile armed force of the overseas autonomous territories. It is ready to attack at any time and launch active attacks on the enemy as soon as possible. This is also the reason why the Overseas Dominion Council approved the addition of a regular field corps.
The commander of the reorganized and reorganized Thunder Legion will be Claude's younger brother, Lieutenant General Diavid, and his other younger brother, Lieutenant General Belklin, will serve as the chief of staff of the Legion. Admiral Albert is responsible for forming the new Storm Legion and is responsible for all local defense work in the Karrnath Steppe, the Eskilen region and the Rimodra region.
All reorganization, reorganization, and formation tasks must be completed within four months, because during these four months, the ocean-going transport fleet will transport the eight Hicks returning divisions from the overseas dominions to the Gulf of Tonkin. After they arrive, Claude will officially implement the Hicks Kingdom attack plan and completely defeat this most stubborn enemy kingdom.
The officers who accepted their respective tasks stood up, saluted and left the conference room, while Claude, General Skerry and General Albert went to have dinner together. In the end, General Albert drank a few more glasses and became drunk. said goodbye and left. Claude and General Skerry breathed a sigh of relief and went to General Skerry's residence to have a secret conversation in the study.
"Are you sure it's the king himself?" Claude asked.
"Yes." General Skerry nodded: "I checked his whereabouts. When he quietly arrived in Beibu Gulf to inspect us and met with me privately, in his kingdom, he went to Wangzhuang for hunting. Every year At this time, he would go to Wangzhuang to hunt, and he didn’t like to hold gatherings of nobles. They were all private activities. Because he said to the nobles and ministers, only in this season can I have a period of freedom. God, just let me be quiet. Some, please stop bothering me..."
Claude laughed: "This is a maverick king."
General Skerry shook his head: "Otherwise, he is very smart. I suspect that he uses the excuse of going to Wangzhuang to hunt every year to break away from contact with the ministers of the kingdom, making people think that he is going hunting. In fact, he is disguised in private to inspect the national conditions or something. . So his kingdom has been developing well. Although it is a vassal state of the Hicks Kingdom, it is the strongest. It has always been feared by the Hicks Kingdom. For the Hicks Kingdom, Breo The special kingdom, this is a vassal country that has never been truly conquered by them... "
Claude looked at the map of the Breault Kingdom spread out on the desk. This is a mountainous country with only one third of the plain terrain. The Brayote people have always been known for their tenacity and bravery. In the past two hundred years, they had a total of seven wars with the Kingdom of Hicks, winning only two and losing five. But the Hicks Kingdom has never been able to truly destroy this mountain kingdom.
More than fifty years ago, King Mengduo I of the Kingdom of Breault still led the Breault people to fight guerrillas in the mountains for three years when the royal city was occupied by the Hicks army, which inflicted heavy losses on the Hicks people. The casualties eventually forced the Hicks to evacuate the royal city and took the initiative to reach a truce and peace agreement with King Mancodo I. However, shortly after Meng Keduo I returned to the royal city, he died of drinking poisonous wine by mistake. Many people suspected that the assassination was carried out by the Hicks...
The current king of the Kingdom of Breault is Avitele I, the youngest grandson of Mancodo I. His father and three brothers were all killed in the battle with the Kingdom of Hicks. That was the Kingdom of Breault. In the last war with the Kingdom of Hicks, the defeated Kingdom of Breault was forced to cede the coastal strip to the Kingdom of Hicks, making the Kingdom of Breault a landlocked country and losing two excellent seaports and large tracts of land along the coast. plain territory.
Avitley I ascended the throne of the Kingdom of Breault in his infancy. He was only half a year old at that time, but as the only remaining bloodline of Mengduo I, he was still elected as the new king. It is said that in order to protect his growth, several nobles of the kingdom sacrificed their young sons to impersonate him and let him appear in the royal court. But the real Avitelli I was adopted by an old hunter family in the mountains and grew up quietly.
In the more than ten years before Avitley I came of age, all the young sons of the nobles of the kingdom who pretended to be him at the royal court died. But the nobles of the Kingdom of Breault finally waited until Avitele I came of age, returned to the royal court and became the Lord of the Kingdom. He has been in charge of the Kingdom of Breault for thirty-four years now.
In the past thirty-four years, the Breault Kingdom has not had any war with the Hicks Kingdom. Externally, as a vassal state, the Hicks Kingdom sometimes issued very harsh requirements, but Avitley I still tried every means to fulfill them, so that the Hicks Kingdom could not find an excuse to criticize the Breault Kingdom. Internally, Avitley I worked hard to govern and asked the nobles of the kingdom to reduce the burden on the civilians in the territory, which greatly increased the strength of the Breault Kingdom and made the Hicks Kingdom treat him differently.
Among the eleven neighboring vassal states surrounding the Hicks Kingdom, the overlord of the northern land of Farea Continent, the Breault Kingdom ranks first in strength. During the thirty-four years that Avitley I was in power, he was honored as the Wise King by the Breot people. However, this wise king has a quirk, that is, during the two months of July and August every year, he likes to go back to the old hunter's hunting house in the mountains when he was a child, and bring two or three attendants with him like a hunter. Hunting in the mountains...
This habit was dissuaded by many nobles of the kingdom, but Avitley I was arbitrary on this point. He said that he was the son of the mountain, and that the old hunter taught him all the hunting skills of the Breot people, and that he must practice them every year in order to become a truly convinced king by all the Breot people.
Therefore, every year in July and August, if you ask the Breot people where their king is, the Breot people will point to the mountains. Our king should be hunting in the deep mountains and old forests at this time. Avitley I also had a nickname because of this, he was called the Hunting King. This does not mean how many prey he has caught, but that he likes hunting so much and is a king...
At the end of July last year, when General Skerry went to inspect the construction projects in the territory, he was suddenly stopped on the road by this middle-aged man who claimed to be King Avitley I of the Kingdom of Breault. The middle-aged man directly threw the family crest and golden seal that proved his identity to General Skerry for inspection to prove his identity. The only requirement was that his appearance be kept secret.
General Skerry immediately invited him to his carriage and returned to his home to have a long talk with Avitley I. The purpose of Avitley I's visit was simple. He just wanted to find out whether the overseas autonomous territories had any idea of attacking the Kingdom of Hicks, because the Kingdom of Hicks, the Kingdom of Ovilas, and the overseas autonomous territories were still in a state of war.
What Avitley I hoped was that if the overseas autonomous territories wanted to attack the Kingdom of Hicks, the Kingdom of Breault could help and dispatch at least four legions. But he hoped to obtain military assistance from overseas autonomous territories. In the last war between the Kingdom of Breault and the Kingdom of Hicks, the Kingdom of Breault was defeated. Not only was the coastal area ceded, but even the kingdom's military industry was plundered by the Hicks Kingdom, so that weapons and equipment lagged behind the Hicks Kingdom...
After Avitley I left in a hurry, General Skerry wrote a report on the meeting between the two, and did not dare to use a hawk to send the message for fear of leaking it. Instead, he sent his adjutant to take a special trip back to the overseas autonomous territories on an armored battleship and hand over this confidential document to Claude. Only then did Claude decide to attack the Kingdom of Hicks and eliminate this sworn enemy country.
"Now we can send people to contact him and let him make some preparations for war. Is the token he gave you still there?" Claude asked.
General Skerry opened the drawer and took out an arc-shaped golden hook: "That's it, the outer edge of a palm mirror. As long as it faces his palm mirror, he will know that he is the person we sent to contact him." There is also a code word, that is, after bargaining, it is correct to buy his mirror in the end. If the other party insists on buying this outer edge gold hook, it means that something unexpected has happened... "
The so-called palm mirror refers to a mirror as big as the palm of your hand. It is a small mirror that nobles use to modify their appearance and that women use to put on makeup and other things. There are mirrors made of crystal and glass. Nobles and rich people used gold and silver, noble ladies used jade and jewelry, and common maids and maids used copper, iron, bamboo and wood to decorate the outer edge and bottom of the mirror.
Claude picked up the outer edge of the gold hooked mirror and looked at it, and found that it had been broken off with great force. It seemed that Avitley I could not find any tokens for the time being, so he could only break off the outer edge of the palm mirror he carried with him. Come down, so that when you compare the broken marks later, you really can't find the fake ones.
"Send more spies to see if the public sentiment against the Kingdom of Hicks is serious in the Breault Kingdom. Although you sent people to understand the details of this Avitley I and feel that he is sincerely cooperating with us. But after all, things are When it comes to the life and death of our overseas Dominion soldiers, we have to be more cautious..." Claude frowned and thought about something.
"You can also send military scouts to test it out." General Skerry said.
Claude shook his head: "No, soldiers can still be easily spotted in civilian clothes, but your businessman spies are more inconspicuous. I have ordered Colonel Boquear from the Military Intelligence Department to come next month and be responsible for liaison in the future. Leave the affairs of Avitley I to him."
General Skerry nodded: "Okay, I will send someone to meet Avitlie I first to understand his needs. After Colonel Boker arrives, I will introduce him to Avitlie I. He will be responsible for the follow-up matters. .”
General Skerry knew Colonel Boquear when he was in charge of the affairs of the military headquarters in the overseas autonomous territories, so he naturally knew that he and Claude were close friends since they were young. Claude trusted Colonel Bockard very much. At the same time, with Colonel Bockard's stature, no one would think that he was a soldier. On the contrary, this was his best disguise. However, this Colonel Bockaar is a real genius in intelligence and has made many contributions to the Dominion.
Seeing that Claude had been staring at the maps of Breault Kingdom and Hicks Kingdom on the table, General Skerry asked curiously: "How do you plan to attack the Hicks Kingdom? It is difficult to land from the sea, and there may even be casualties. Very big. The spies I sent told me after they returned from the Kingdom of Hicks that the Kingdom of Hicks had been vigorously strengthening the defense facilities in the coastal areas and five seaport towns after the Sea King fleet was ambushed and destroyed by us. Even if we just use If the armored fleet launches an attack, it will be beaten to death in front of the iron wall set up by the Kingdom of Hicks... "
Claude laughed: "What an iron wall? Come on, maybe the Kingdom of Hicks is bragging. Their Sea King fleet is gone, and the defense facilities on land are useless to our armored fleet." A moving target?”
"Even if it is a target, it must be hit by the armored fleet!" General Skerry said, taking out a map from a slot nearby and opening it on the desk: "This is the coastal area of the Kingdom of Hicks and the five The defense layout of this seaport town was drawn by my spies from memory. Perhaps the Hicks have added new defense facilities now...
The northern waters of Farea Continent have always been known for high winds and rough waves. The coastal areas are mostly filled with tidal flats, mudflats and cliffs. Even the five seaports of the Hicks Kingdom are basically surrounded by cliffs. Only when these cliffs near the sea block the wind and waves on the sea will the harbor inside be calm and become a harbor where ships can berth and rely on.
The current Kingdom of Hicks has used a lot of labor to build many forts on these cliffs facing the sea, blocking the waterways entering the harbor. Our spies alone have seen and recorded more than fifty of them. They are condescending and occupy geographical advantages. I asked General Murray that within the range of our naval guns, it is impossible to attack these high-altitude forts because our naval guns do not have this shooting height...
This is still the first line of defense. The second line of defense is that the Hicks manipulated the waterway into the harbor. They used huge rocks, wooden piles, and sunken ships to reduce the width of the waterway into the harbor, leaving only one A curved waterway that allows two ships to run parallel to each other. If there is no guide boat to guide you when entering the port for the first time, it is easy to cause grounding and collision accidents. Even if you remember the waterway, you must slow down when traveling. This simply creates a target for the turrets on both sides to aim at.
The third line of defense is on the dock land of the harbor. Thick forts and tall walls and trenches were built to isolate the entire dock landing area. In this way, even if our armored fleet breaks through the restrictions of coastal cliff forts and waterways and sends landing troops to the shore, these landing troops will still have to forcibly attack these dock forts and walls. Only by breaking through these blockades can they temporarily obtain safe protection and a place to rest. .
But now, five of the eight standing legions of the Kingdom of Hicks are deployed near the seaport city. Basically, there is a standing legion behind each seaport city. Once they get the news that the seaport has been attacked and attacked, they will immediately reinforce the seaport city and launch a counterattack to eliminate our landing force or drive it into the sea... "
Claude smiled bitterly, okay, this is indeed an iron-clad defense. Even if the armored warships and new rifles of the Dominion Military District are ahead of the Hicks Kingdom's army, and their combat power is much higher than that of the Hicks army, launching a landing attack from the sea is indeed not worth the gain. These defense facilities set up by the enemy can completely Offsets the advantages of Thunder Legion.
"Actually, I don't think the Kingdom of Breault is of such great importance to us." General Skerry continued: "Even if Avitley I led four legions to attack the Kingdom of Hicks, he would not be able to defeat the Kingdom of Hicks' defense. The power was transferred from the coastal areas to the eastern border. The three standing legions in their country were enough to withstand the attack of the four Breault legions. At the same time, they could also form several reserve legions to join the battlefield.
If we cannot land at a certain seaport along the Hicks coastal zone and break through the enemy's blockade to form a two-sided attack with the Breault Kingdom's army, then we are likely to end this war in failure. The Hicks Kingdom's local operations have obvious advantages in recruiting troops, replenishing casualties and logistics supplies, and mobilizing troops. And even if we occupy a seaport, in terms of troop transportation, we will arrive one by one...
If they cannot join up with the four legions of the Kingdom of Breault as soon as possible, then I doubt they will be able to hold on for long. The Kingdom of Hicks will definitely defeat them first, drive them back, and then concentrate their forces against us, and we will then be trapped in a lonely battle.
By the way, I almost forgot that there is another biggest trouble. King Avitley I asked us to provide military assistance, otherwise he would not have the weapons and armaments to equip four legions. Now the Kingdom of Breault only has two poorly armed armies. Standing Corps. But the Kingdom of Breault has no coastal zone. Its northern border is the Kingdom of Hicks and its eastern border is the Kingdom of Menbamark. We have no way to transport weapons and military supplies to the Kingdom of Breault... "
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