Marin was originally in a good mood, but a piece of news brought back by Sauer, who went out to investigate, made him depressed instantly...
It turned out that Sauer quickly detected Harlingen, where the coalition base camp was located. It was only 70 kilometers from Harlingen to Groningen. Sauer arrived near Harlingen on the same day with 20 people, one person and two horses, and found out that this was the base camp of the Frisian coalition forces.
Marin, who heard the news early the next morning, immediately regretted and wanted to die, because the Frisian army was basically sent to the island of Texel before, and there were only a few hundred useless serfs left in Harlingen. In addition, Haring is basically a seaside town with no walls. If Marin knew that the 9 bastards were there earlier, and took the Swiss mercenaries on a quick march, he would be able to take away Harlingen and capture the 9 bastards.
But it's too late to say anything now, because when Sauer arrived in Harlingen, Friesland had already withdrawn half of the main force. And it will take at least a day and a half for me to walk there with a large army. Even if you march in a hurry, you will be exhausted and half dead, and then you will be left to work.
Therefore, that very good fighter is gone, which makes Marin so depressed that he wants to die. Still, things turned around. Because, those bastards will definitely come back with a large force. At that time, as long as these guys are captured, they can be forced to open the city gate and enter Groningen without resorting to force...
So, next, Marin began to study how to ambush the main force of Friesland...
At this time, the army of the Frisian Noble Republic, under the command of nine members of parliament, was still gathering in Harlingen for repairs. In the eyes of the MPs, the city wall of Groningen is tall and strong, and it will not fall for a month or two. So, they discussed the siege plan in Harlingen.
After discussion, the nine barons agreed that it is better to play steadily. Anyway, at that time, bring a large force and return to Groningen from the Roman Avenue all the way. In addition, they also decided to send liaison officers to contact the defenders in Groningen, and made an appointment for an internal and external attack...
But what they didn't know was that Sauer had already wandered around Harlingen with 30 light cavalry. The first two messengers sent out were quickly intercepted and killed. The same goes for the second and third batches...
After three days of repairs, the Frisian army was still impatient and began to march eastward. However, they first followed the Roman Avenue and entered Leeuwarden, which was controlled by Baron Zetter, and repaired for another day, and captured hundreds of serfs to serve as cannon fodder.
…
And Marin, and Saul who returned, began to survey the ambush terrain...
After several days of secret investigation, Sauer had learned that the Frisian army would retreat along the Roman road. So, but leaving a large force to continue to intercept the messenger, he returned to Marin alone.
"Sauer, is there any hillside terrain that can be ambushed along the way? Just like last time in Italy." Marin asked expectantly.
"No, master, Friesland is a lowland country, and there is no hillside terrain at all. Even if there are, they are very small hills, and it is impossible to hide and ambush."
"Then is there any road here that the enemy army must pass through?"
"Roman avenue! Master, it rained for a long time a while ago, which made the ground very muddy. And the Frisian area seems to have a lot of swamps. Therefore, except for the cobbled Roman avenue, other places are not suitable for big The scale of the march. Otherwise, the team can easily get bogged down."
"Swamp..." Marin was lost in thought...
When Marin marched with the Swiss mercenaries this time, he did not go to the Friesland area, but borrowed the Dougerds Company and the Archbishop of Utrecht. However, the Drenthe province south of Groningen has more hills, and there are many places suitable for ambushes.
Afterwards, Marin rode a horse in person, and under the protection of Schwartz and others, followed Sauer to observe the terrain...
On the road, Marin looked around and found that what Sauer said was true. On the side of the Roman Avenue here, there are either farmland or swamps, and there are very few trees. If you want to lay an ambush, you don't even have a cover.
I recalled the scene of the PLA ambush back then, it was all on the hillside...
Wait, the New Fourth Army, which was active in Jiangsu province back then, seemed to be laying ambushes in the reed marshes...
Marin thought about those ambush scenes. It seemed that he was ambushing in a roadside ditch with a wicker hat on his head...
After thinking about it, Marin jumped into the ditch on the side of the road regardless of the dirt, and made an ambush...
But soon, he became depressed...
why? Because, in an ambush in a roadside ditch, there is no place to put a spear. Because the European spears in this era are too long, and it is difficult for a spear several meters long to hide in a roadside ditch.
You must know that the rifles used by the New Fourth Army are only a little over 1 meter long, so of course they are very convenient to hide. But a spear several meters long is not only troublesome to hide, but also troublesome to take out.
Moreover, the rifle can shoot the enemy smoothly while squatting in the pit. But if the spearman wants to attack the enemy, he not only has to raise his weapon, but also rushes forward to stab the enemy. But jumping up from the ambush pit itself is not stable. Then engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, and it is easy for the enemy to seize the upper hand while taking advantage of the unstable foothold.
Therefore, the New Fourth Army in the era of hot weapons can lie in ambush in the roadside ditch, but the spearmen in the age of cold weapons are not suitable for ambush in the ditch... Even in the era of cold weapons, ambushes still pay attention to "condescending" and follow the terrain to attack the enemy …
Marin was frustrated and didn't know what to do. Surrounding the points to fight for aid is very particular about ambushes. If it is impossible to ambush the enemy, it is easy to be flanked by the enemy inside and outside.
When passing a small town with hundreds of people, Marin stopped to eat. The townspeople in the town don't know that the war has come to Friesland, and they still live a peaceful life.
On the second floor of the hotel, Marin asked for a seat by the window, enjoying the scenery while eating...
Downstairs, a group of bear children are playing peek-a-boo...
The terrain of this small town called Malham is very unique. Its south and north sides are swamps, and the Roman Avenue passes through the middle of the town. The town is basically laid out along both sides of the Roman Avenue, and the houses in the town are basically on both sides of the Roman Avenue. Therefore, the shape of the town is a long strip.
While Marin was gnawing on the roast goose, a few brats downstairs were also having a great time. When the unlucky one who was in charge of looking for others was urging the child to find a companion along the street, suddenly, a naughty brat rushed out from a side alley, screaming strangely.
The unlucky kid seemed petrified, then burst into tears...
Afterwards, several other brats also appeared from the alleys by the side of the road to comfort the hapless child who was frightened and crying...
"This..." Looking at the situation downstairs, Marin seemed to think of something, and the roast goose in his hand accidentally fell to the ground...