Mountains, big rivers, plains, hills, plains, mountains, egret lake swamp...
This is the terrain of the Principality of Forendo and the Principality of Faker before all the leaders of the Kingdom of Antinac. For more than a month, everyone has almost smashed this map and made a mess of it. Successive military meetings, discussions and days of sleepless thinking managed to exhaust all senior generals. It's just a pity that no matter whether it's probing or all kinds of reconnaissance, they are still helpless in the face of such a defensive front.
The four central duchies have always been famous in the former Cresson Empire for producing elite infantry. The people here are good at mountain combat and defensive defense. Although they lack powerful cavalry, as long as the battle situation drags on, they will fall into their offensive and defensive rhythm. The eldest prince Ridleys, who commanded an army of 200,000 to attack the four duchies in the middle, was dragged by them for three years in this way. In the end, he was defeated. , was forced to sign a peace agreement.
It's not that the Second Highness didn't have the idea of attacking those mountains and hills. The problem is that only the two light infantry regiments in the family's armed army led by Earl Shaheen, totaling 20,000 people, are the only ones who are really suitable for mountain warfare. It is impossible to open a channel with this force. As for the two heavy armored regiments of the White Lions and the Kenmes family, they are equipped with heavy armor, and it is possible to attack the city and defend the castle. Save yourself the trouble.
As for the big river in the Principality of Forondo, no one has a navy, and there is no way to make such an idea. A small boat can't transport many people, and a big boat can easily run aground and become a target for rockets. Even if you want to open a shipyard, you don't have that. Time and that money spent.
The strategy of the four principalities in the central region formulated by the Second Highness was originally to use the mobility of the cavalry to gallop across the plains of these principalities, grasp the initiative of the battle situation, and then wait for the arrival of the heavy armored army to capture those trapped towns and fortresses, and destroy the central region in one fell swoop. The Four Principalities, seize the four Dukes who betrayed the kingdom, this is also the main reason why the Second Highness insisted on persuading the Duke of Fesabrun to submit to him.
But who would have expected that both the Dukes of Volendo and Duke Fakel adopted this strategy of digging ditches on the plain, building earthen walls, and expanding the depth of the entire defense. Now the plain became a moat, almost abolishing the mobility of the cavalry. It also eliminates the threat of the Norton family's unparalleled long-range attack weapons. Judging from the current situation, it seems that there is no other way but to honestly fill the trenches and flatten the earth walls.
The Second Highness was very unwilling, and tried to feint several times, from the defense line of the Freeward Province of the Principality of Forendo to the border defense line of the Samora Province of the Principality of Faker, the result was the same, and the face was still infinite. Endless ditches and earthen walls. Even if Lorist handed over a thunderbolt catapult battalion equipped for the Flying Tigers to the Second Highness's command, there was still nothing he could do with these two lines of defense. Just like what Lorist said, you don't even have a target, what are you going to throw your catapult at
Especially when the Second Highness discovered that no matter when he attacked a certain point of the two defensive lines, the enemy would mobilize enough troops to covertly ambush in the front or resolutely resist through the trenches extending in all directions, he was finally discouraged and extinguished In order to continue the delusion of attacking, after withdrawing the troops and returning to the camp, they sat in the big tent and thought hard again, trying to find a way to break through the predicament in front of them.
At present, the only reliable method is proposed by the Duke of Kenmes. He was inspired by the legendary deeds of His Highness the Second Highness who climbed the Snowy Mountains of the Yunduan Mountains in the winter to attack the King Frederick of the Kingdom of Ridleys. To implement it, in the coldest time of winter, stand out and cross the frozen Egret Lake swamp, and as long as you cross the unnamed mountains and hills next to the swamp, you can quickly reach the capital of the Principality of Falker, Falaimuchy City. If they can occupy the city of Falaimoch, then everything will be no problem.
This proposal of the Duke of Kenmes made everyone look at him with admiration. It is really surprising that the Duke of Kenmes, who is recognized as a business expert, also has military talents. But immediately Lorist rejected the proposal.
It's very simple, the remaining three principalities already know His Highness very well, and they will definitely pay attention to what Duke Kenmes can think of. What's more, His Royal Highness is known for surprise attacks, and the enemy will definitely notice the weakness that Bailuhu Swamp brings to the defenders in winter, so it's okay to strengthen the defense. Setting traps to wipe out the surprise attacking troops will not only cause us a loss of troops, but also strengthen the defensive enemies' confidence and tenacity to resist us.
Duke Kenmes was still a little unconvinced at first, what if the enemy was negligent, but when he saw the expressions of approval on the faces of His Royal Highness and Grand Duke Feisabrunn, he knew that Lorist was right. He who is a fool to the enemy is the real fool himself, not to mention that Grand Duke Handra, Grand Duke Falker, and Grand Duke Sabaji are all shrewd and capable nobles. More than I thought.
Even the extinct Grand Duke Sabaji was defeated because he was caught off guard and did not expect that Lorist would suddenly launch an attack in advance. Just think that he can decisively abandon Meishan Castle and flee to the Principality of Fakel, and escape from the pursuit of the Flying Tiger Legion and Earl Shaheen's two light cavalry regiments, he is not an ordinary person. If he hesitated for a day or dawdled, the ending would be different, either the city would be destroyed and he would die, or he would fall into the enemy's hands and become a prisoner.
In fact, Lorist had already thought about the idea of the Duke of Kenmes to cross the Egret Lake Swamp in winter to surprise the capital of the Principality of Falkele, Falaimuchy City, and gave up for the same reason. Another reason is that it is only the end of October now, and it will take at least two more months of confrontation until the Bailu Lake swamp is completely frozen in winter. The food supply of nearly 300,000 troops in such a long time will be an astronomically huge amount. consume. The grain and grass seized from the Principality of Sabaji was almost exhausted, and the next grain and grass logistics materials had to be supplied and transported long distances from the rear. This was a very laborious and wasteful trouble for every family.
What war is fought is logistics, and what is fought is economy. The food and grass seized by the Sabaji Principality is enough for 300,000 troops to use for more than a month. But who would have thought that they would be blocked by the two defense lines of the Principality of Forendo and the Principality of Faker? It was originally planned to provide food to the enemy, and the plan to expropriate military use on the occupied land has come to nothing. In addition, the Principality of Sabaji has been tossed by everyone, and there is nowhere to rob, and there are still 20 Yu Wan's poor civilians need food and grass from the Second Highness for relief. After all, he is also a king and cannot be left alone. This will increase the consumption of food and grass supplies for the military.
At present, Baron Camorra sits in Meishan Castle and has turned it into a transfer base for general logistics materials, where the materials transferred by various families are stored. Although the grain and grass transported by His Royal Highness from the imperial capital did not need to take another big turn, he went directly to Bailu Lake Swamp, and then passed through Limad Province to reach Meishan Castle. Lorist is not bad, and the materials in Windbury King City are still sufficient to directly transfer, still going to the Southern Province, Limad Province, and then to Meishan Castle. The same is true for the Grand Duke Fesabrun and Earl Shaheen. Due to the long distance and the consumption during transportation, it is considered good to be able to transport six out of ten supplies, and everyone complained endlessly.
The worst thing is Earl Felim, whose family territory has just been developed, plus the 40,000 to 50,000 people who were forcibly relocated from the Principality of Sabaji, even the cost of resettlement and the consumption of materials are completely dependent on the sponsorship and loans provided by Lorist. Now he has no confidence to insist on continuing to attack.
The Grand Duke Fesabrun proposed not to retreat temporarily, and wait for the next opportunity to fight again. But this does not mean abandoning the province of Chikses. While retreating, leave a cavalry regiment here, one is to contain and the other is to counterattack. When he said this, Grand Duke Feisabrunn looked at Lorist specifically, obviously the Flying Tigers were the most suitable legion to stay. If the Principality of Fakel and the Principality of Forendo see our retreat, they may send troops to recover the Principality of Sabaji, then the Flying Tigers with powerful attack power can give them a head-on blow.
Of course, given that the Flying Tiger Legion is not a light cavalry legion, it may be lacking in mobility, so Grand Duke Feisabrunn is willing to keep his family's reserve legion and completely obey Lorist's command. If there is any violation of military orders The words can also be disposed of by Lorist.
Although he didn't understand why Grand Duke Feisabrun made such a proposal, Lorist had an intuition that there must be something hidden here. Before he could think about it carefully, the Second Highness got up and said that today's meeting is here for the time being. He will think about the proposal of Grand Duke Feisabrun and give a reply in two days.
After the big account, Lorist went directly to the Grand Duke Fessabrun to ask why he made such a suggestion and was willing to hand over the reserve army to his command? Grand Duke Feisabrun said calmly: "There is no one else, it's just a public heart. You can't go on like this. Withdraw the troops, come to lure the snake out of the hole, I believe that your military level will soon bring good news. It doesn't matter if they don't send troops, If it drags him down for three or four years, the remaining three duchies will definitely not be able to maintain such a high cost of defense, and they may collapse on their own... "
"Old fellow..." Lorist finally turned the corner as he watched Grand Duke Feisabrun go away. Bullshit publicity, the old guy wants to drag himself here and stay in Zikses Province for a few years, lest he go back to the north and have nothing to do With such a large amount of money, even the family's reserve army is willing to give Lorist command.
No, Lorist took a sip, the reserve legion was full of savage cavalry, even if Lorist tormented them all, it would not feel bad to Grand Duke Feisabrunn, a reserve legion is irrelevant, the key is that it will make Lorist Rist owes him a favor...
It's just that what they didn't expect was that the proposal of Grand Duke Fesabrun made the Second Highness think too much, although the Second Highness also understands the current situation that retreating is the best choice, even though he is very upset that this time the army was in vain , unwillingly. But the proposal of Grand Duke Fesabrun made him very suspicious. What's going on, did Grand Duke Fessabrun shake hands with Lorist? Otherwise, why are you willing to hand over the reserve army to the command of Lorist? You must know that the reserve army is full of savage cavalry, they have always been rebellious, and they don't listen to orders from anyone except the Grand Duke Fesabrun, but now they are going to be handed over to Lorist. Could it be that the two of them have reached some agreement in private
Do they have any plans for the four principalities in the middle of the country? The Second Highness was simply bitten by a snake once, and was afraid of well ropes for ten years. Before Fuguo regained the throne, he was knocked out of Dremke Province, West Degrad Province, Winston Province and Southern Province by the consortium of the four northern alliances. It still hurts his heart when he thinks about it, and he A pledge was also made.
Now that I think about it, the Second Highness sometimes regrets and wants to chop off his signing hand. Although those four provinces were not yet under the jurisdiction of the Antinac Kingdom at the time, in the heart of the Second Highness, it is natural for him to unify all the provinces of the former empire and make himself a famous name in history. ZTE Emperor. It's just that the oath will become the biggest stain on his glorious and legendary life. Therefore, His Highness the Second Highness never felt that it was his glory that the Principality of Madras and the Kingdom of Iberia were annihilated by the four northern alliances. On the contrary, they were two big slaps that made him feel pain.
Even if he admits from his heart that Lorist is the most suitable candidate to be the commander-in-chief of the remaining three duchies in the central region, but the second highness really feels a little up and down in his heart, and he doesn't understand why the Grand Duke of Feisabrun I recommend Lorist. What's the trick here? If you don't know the Second Highness, you won't be relieved. Could it be that they are planning to attack the territory of the Central Four Principalities? Because of the paranoia of the Second Highness, three days later, there was no decision to announce the withdrawal of troops.
Lorist also didn't want to stay in Chikses Province for a few years, he decided that if the Second Highness really wanted the Flying Tiger Legion to stay, he would hand over the full authority to the tiger Ross. For this reason, he took Tiger Ross to a small mound in front of the defense line to check the enemy's situation. By the way, he gave Tiger Ross some strategies on how to deal with the enemy's attack after the retreat...
"Do you think there is a way to overcome such a line of defense?" Lorist asked.
Tiger Ross shook his head: "Your Highness, this is impossible to conquer. I suspect that this line of defense is aimed at the long-range attack capability of our Flying Tiger Legion and the impact of cavalry. The infantry of these principalities are all rats, and they drilled in the trenches. They come and go, and they are covered by earthen walls. We don't know anything about the mobilization of their troops, and they often form a local advantage over the attacker. We are cavalry, and the enemy is soil rats in the trenches, as long as they hide in the trenches There is nothing we can do about them."
Dolles, the commander of the Chariot Crossbow Corps who followed, said: "Your Highness, fighting in such a trench, our chariot crossbows are useless, and they are not even as effective as those old-fashioned crossbows held by the enemy. Although the range of the crossbow is not far, it is powerful and small in size and is very convenient to use in trenches. On such a battlefield full of trenches and earthen walls, our chariot steel crossbow is useless. For a long time, our family insisted on shooting The principle of being farther, stronger, and more accurate seems to have been subverted. My subordinates have been troubled by this for a long time, and I don’t know if we have gone wrong in the development of the steel crossbow for chariots... In case the enemies of our family in the future If we all use such defensive methods against us, we will be in big trouble."
Lorist smiled and patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry, this is just a special case. The Duchy of Forendo and the Duchy of Faker can set up such a position because we gave them time and let them mobilize the whole country to complete this The second is that the four principalities in the central region have produced elite infantry, so they can thrive in such a defensive position. If other countries or forces try to learn this defensive position without elite infantry, it will be nothing but a tiger. It is a waste of manpower and material resources to go against dogs."
"If Master Bodfinger is here, let the Rock Legion attack directly from the trench, maybe they will break through such a defense line." Tiger Ross said.
Lorist remained silent. The Rock Legion was deployed on the border of the southern province and was an important force to guard against the Feisabrun family. Lorist would not transfer them here. Besides, even if the Rock Legion came, breaking through this line of defense would require heavy casualties. Lorist didn't want to cause a heavy loss of the family's armed forces because of the Second Highness's destruction of the Central Four Duchies.
"Your Highness, maybe we can wait until winter, when the snow fills these ditches, and our armed forces can easily cross this line of defense with skis and sleds..." Dolles said.
"You stupid!" Tiger the Tiger scolded, "Is there more than two meters of snow? These trenches are two to three meters deep. What kind of snow can make the trenches level with the ground!"
"Then, if we don't wait until the rainy season, the soil mice will not be able to stay in the trench when the rainwater drains into the trench. Let's take the opportunity to launch an attack..." Dolles was not convinced.
"Then we are not about to be drenched in heavy rain..." Tiger Ross patted Dolles on the back of the head.
"Wait, what are you talking about..." Lorist suddenly came to his senses, laughed loudly, and jumped on his horse: "Go back to the camp immediately, I have found a way to break through this line of defense..."
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