Because he was in a hurry, Marin took this group of Swiss veterans all the way over the mountains and ridges, rushing to the north. There are no princes who dare to stop along the way. Because the Swiss mercenaries are well-known and powerful. With 3,000 experienced Swiss mercenaries, it is not a problem to lay down a principality with average strength.
Therefore, Marin took this group of Swiss mercenaries along the way unimpeded. And this group of Swiss veterans with an average age in their early 30s were born in the mountains, so they didn't feel tired at all when walking.
However, even though the Swiss mercenaries were physically strong, Marin still felt that the journey was too slow. Because, on average, these Swiss mercenaries marched about 40 kilometers a day at most. It is at least 800 kilometers from Switzerland to Friesland. To go on like this, you have to go for more than 20 days.
Marin finally thought about it, and after arriving at the Rhine, he forcibly hired a group of ships and let them carry 3,000 Swiss soldiers down the Rhine.
However, not everyone in this group of Swiss mountain people is used to taking a boat. Even though the mercenaries were physically strong, dozens of them vomited on the first day they boarded the ship. In desperation, Marin arranged for them to go ashore in a carriage and advance along the Rhine. As for himself, he took a large troop down the river in a boat.
In order to hurry, Malindo hired double the number of boatmen, let them sail the boat day and night, light the lights directly at night, and continue to travel at night. It is relatively safe to sail on the Rhine River, and there are no big waves. And some sandbars and shoals in the river are very familiar to these old boatmen. Therefore, as long as the lights are on, the ships can still pass unimpeded at night. And because it is going down the river, the speed of the boat is also faster.
In this way, Marin's speed has reached more than 80 kilometers per day...
Ten days later, Marin's fleet arrived in the lowlands...
…
At this time, the battle on Texel Island has been going on for more than ten days...
Three days ago, the rainy weather finally came to an end in the Texel region. Frundsberg was shocked and was about to start a counterattack. But the deputy quartermaster Daniel (Kohler followed Marin) told him that the gunpowder reserves on the island were not enough...
In fact, there are not many gunpowder reserves on Texel Island. In addition, it took a lot of gunpowder to train musketeers and gunners before, so most of the gunpowder was consumed.
After more than ten days of fighting, the musketeers were shooting at the enemy troops trying to climb the city wall every day, resulting in a lot of gunpowder consumption.
Therefore, on Texel Island, there are very few gunpowder reserves at present...
In fact, there was still some gunpowder stored in the fort at Te Horenche. However, between Thorenche and Ten Burg, the Frisian army separated. Even if Frundsberg wanted to obtain the gunpowder of the Te Horencher Fort, the Frisian army would not agree...
On the Frisian side, seeing that the weather had improved, they immediately began to expose the 10 barrels of damp gunpowder to the sun. As long as the gunpowder is dry, the Bronze Furren cannon can be used to bombard Den Burg...
By March 15th, the 10 barrels of gunpowder in Friesland were finally dried. Thus, the Frisian army began to shell the walls of Den Burg...
But at the same time, the 3,000 Swiss mercenaries brought by Marin also entered the northern part of the Netherlands. Originally, Marin planned to go directly to Den Helder and return to Thorenche on Texel by boat. However, Marin was also worried that the six Friesian warships would prevent him from leading the army across the sea. So, he was a little hesitant...
At this time, the Swiss mercenary leader Zig suddenly came over to chat with him:
"Baron Marin, I heard that Groningen is a rich Hanseatic city?"
"Well, yes..." Marin replied a little absent-mindedly.
"It would be great if I could go to Groningen to rob. The Hanseatic commercial city must be very rich..." Zieg showed a longing look on his face...
"To rob Groningen, you have to take it down..." Marin smiled, and didn't intend to pay attention to Zigg's daydream.
But, suddenly, an extremely bold idea emerged from Marin's mind...
"Groningen... Isn't Groningen the capital of the Frisian aristocratic republic? I always feel like I have some ideas to come out..."
Marin scratched his head and began to think hard. Finally, during a meal, Marin thought of a tactic to rescue Texel Island—surrounding Wei and saving Zhao...
It is impossible for the 3,000 army brought by Marin to safely cross the sea in batches under the nose of the Frisian warship. However, although this army cannot cross the sea safely, it can still help Texel Island to break through.
For example, Marin can learn from Sun Bin and lead the army to surround Groningen, the capital of the Frisian aristocratic republic, forcing the Frisian army to give up the siege of Texel and had to return for help.
Before, Marin also received relevant information, and learned that the most elite 3,000 people in Friesland were used to attack Texel Island. Now, in Friesland, there are only a thousand second-line troops left, and their combat effectiveness is average. Moreover, these armies are scattered throughout the Friesian noble republic, in the city of Groningen. At this time, there are at most a few hundred defenders, and they are not opponents of the Swiss mercenaries at all.
Moreover, even if the remaining 2,600 elite troops who besieged Texel were to encounter them in the wild, they would not be the opponents of this group of Swiss veterans...
As long as Marin leads troops to besiege Groningen, the Frisian army will have to return to help. Because Groningen is not only the political center of the Frisian aristocratic republic, but also the economic core of the Frisian aristocratic republic.
This Hanseatic commercial city provided the largest source of taxation to the Frisian noble republic. If Groningen is breached and robbed, the Friesian noble republic is not far from bankruptcy. At least, they won't have enough money to support thousands of troops...
As for Texel Island, Marin was not very worried. The tens of thousands of gold coins were not spent in vain, but now, the walls of Tenburg and Te Horenche are extremely strong. If it is a strong attack, with Friesland's small number of people, it is impossible to succeed in two or three months.
Therefore, Marin can boldly implement the strategy of "surrounding Wei and saving Zhao" and force the Frisian army to return to aid. At the same time, Marin sent Sauer out and asked him to scout the terrain and see if there was any place near Groningen that was suitable for "surrounding the spot"...
This trick was learned by Marin from Taizu watching war movies when he was a child. Taizu liked "the one who attacks the enemy must be rescued", and then there is another "surround the point to fight for aid". While talking and laughing, Jiang Jun was wiped out one crop after another of the army...
Moreover, this trick is unsolvable. The gist of it is this—I'm attacking where you have to rescue. Knowing the danger, you have to return to help. What's more, Europeans in the Middle Ages had never seen such sharp tactics, and they didn't know that they would be ambushed when returning to aid...