Since the end of the Devil's Month, there have only been two rains in the Western Territory, and the rest of the time is sunny, seemingly making up for the share owed for the entire winter. The musty smell in the office was also swept away, and the air became fresh and natural. When the windows were opened, the light fragrance from the garden could still be smelled from time to time.
By now, the land route between the town and Changsong Fortress had basically returned to its original state, and Roland had become particularly concerned about the fortress's movements.
According to the situation of the previous year, after the land transportation is restored, there will soon be merchants going to Border Town to sell daily goods, but now he has not seen a single merchant from Changsong Fortress. Lightning conducts reconnaissance twice a day to ensure the town is well prepared before the enemy arrives.
In the past week, the First Army has entered a comprehensive exercise phase, including two parts: the defense line facing the enemy and the field pursuit. The former mainly relies on lightning to report the distance of the enemy in the air. It is easier for the artillery and musket teams to shoot according to the command, and both the command and the corresponding action are clear and clear. For example, solid shell shelling when entering 800 meters and 500 meters, shotgun shelling after approaching 300 meters, musket shooting after entering 50 meters, and so on. As long as they see the flag raised by the lightning, the team leaders will inform the team members which way to attack.
The key lies in the field pursuit phase. According to Roland's plan, after the opponent was defeated, it would take three days to retreat and return to the fortress, the same as when he came. Even if the militia and the mercenaries are left alone to return, the time will not be less than two days, so the other party must camp in the wild. This gave the First Army a chance to pursue. The whole process was monitored by Lightning, and the First Army followed on foot in a safe area undetected by scouts, while artillery and ammunition were transported by the township. When the opponent established a camp for the night, the troops completed the encirclement, and then launched a pincer attack in the early morning to annihilate the opponent.
The plan does not seem complicated, but in the absence of radio communication, it is almost impossible to split the troops and attack together. Roland can only invest in witches in this link to make up for the lack of communication. He has no idea what the final result will be.
Another point was that the gunpowder reserves were running low, so there was no live ammunition during the comprehensive exercise. The main training was the cooperation between the musket team and the artillery team, as well as the cooperation between the First Army and the witches. He has sent people to the farther Falling Dragon Ridge and Chishui City, hoping to find more sources of saltpeter there. If the gunpowder cannot be replenished in time, I am afraid that after the two battles, the muskets in the hands of the First Army can only be used as spears.
Roland wrote some new procurement plans on paper, including saltpeter, grain, seeds and other materials, intending to let Barov send another apprentice to try his luck in the King of Greycastle. The goods there are very abundant, especially the saltpeter as summer approaches, and the salt production field in the capital must have been fully operational. As a city with a large number of nobles and wealthy merchants, once the weather gets hot, the consumption of saltpeter will be staggering. He hoped to find a stable supplier to continuously provide gunpowder raw materials for Border Town.
Before that, he had sent two personal guards to carry out the plan to gather witches and find fruit. The former generally disguised themselves as travelers or businessmen, and spread rumors that border towns housed witches in the streets, pubs, black markets, and other places. Of course, the recipient was not the fourth prince, Roland, but a mutual aid society that finally found the holy mountain and hoped that the witches would settle there. The latter headed directly to Clearwater Harbor to buy exotic crop seeds from across the fjord. Of course, if there are any rare crops in the passing cities, the seeds will also be brought back.
After writing the purchase order, I handed it to the book, and asked her to go to the city hall and pass it to Barov. After Scroll left in response, Roland stretched and wanted to take a sip of water, but found that the cup was empty.
When he was about to get up to get the kettle, Nightingale had already brought the kettle to his table. Not only that, she filled the cup with a smile and lifted the kettle back.
Roland took a slow sip, puzzled in his heart. Lately, Nightingale's attitude is really not right. She always has a smile on his face and takes the initiative to help him with tea and water. Is this because he wants to raise his salary? In the past, she sat directly on the sofa chair, holding a pot of dried fish and nibbling on it for an afternoon.
Although Roland had also asked the reason, but the other party laughed and didn't answer, he simply had to let it go.
Could it be that the Gwent card can really make people happy? In the future, I will get poker and mahjong out and open a casino. It's like waiting for the money... Stop, Roland shook his head and put his distracting thoughts behind him. Now is not the time for fun, he must think about what happens after he takes the fortress.
Move the office center to Changge Fortress? Roland thought about this for a long time. It seemed tempting to move the capital to a more prosperous place, but it was actually not a good choice. The fortress is different from the frontier town. It has been more than a hundred years since its establishment. Territories are managed according to the feudal system, and even fortress lords have difficulty inserting their hands into other territories. If you want to completely transform it into your own territory, it is almost impossible to achieve without a revolution. Not to mention that in such a mixed place, one's own safety factor cannot be guaranteed. He didn't want to be taken away by some radical aristocrat while he was walking down the street.
On the other hand, Border Town is different. The territory is completely determined by itself. The surrounding land is wide and there is no urgent need to expand the site. Most of the people are made up of miners and hunters, with a single composition. After successfully resisting the demon month, their reputation here has also risen. More importantly, after the ideological propaganda of the First Army, which was completely composed of the people, most of the territorial people accepted the existence of witches. Compared with the longsong fortress or other urban residents where the church has far-reaching influence, the town can easily develop into a witch's dwelling place. Therefore, Roland still decided to make the town his core area.
As for the fortress, you can support others to manage it on your behalf, as long as the energy source continues to provide yourself with labor and taxes. What he lacks most now is people and money.
Roland's initial idea was to hire people from Changsong Fortress with the money of Changsong Fortress to contribute to Border Town. These golden dragons scavenged from the defeated nobles will be returned to the people, and then collected in the fortress through taxation, and he will spend it after the fortress is turned over to him. In addition, some preferential policies can also be used to keep some people with special skills for a long time.
But these are still only a rough framework. For example, who will support the escrow and the specific tax policy, we must wait until the battle is over before we consider it.
At this moment, a yellow figure flew into the window, and then it was lightning that stopped steadily in front of the prince's table.
"It's hard work, drink some water," Roland held up the cup and handed it to her, but she took it but didn't care to drink, and shouted loudly, "His Royal Highness, they're here!" (.)