Chapter 582 Strategic Policy

Once the war order was issued, Neverwinter immediately began to operate efficiently. ?

The sacks of wheat looted from Zhuolongling quickly filled the vacant granaries, and some of them would be husked and ground to make dry food, which would be delivered to the soldiers who participated in the battle.

In addition, there are firearms and ammunition—the recruits recruited during the evil moon have also completed basic training, and those who perform well will be mixed into the formal formation of the first army and receive brand new weapons and uniforms. Ordinary ones will be temporarily used as a reserve force and assigned to cities occupied by Roland to replace the veterans stationed there.

In this way, the available troops of Neverwinter quickly expanded to 5,000 people, theoretically the same number as the Church's Judgment Army, but due to the limitation of transportation capacity, the farther away from the western border, the fewer people could be sent to the battlefield.

Considering the low intensity of the tooth extraction operation, Roland finally set the expedition force at 1,500 people, with Iron Ax as the command. Moreover, in this operation, the staff department was moved into the system of the First Army, and its main members were composed of nobles, knights and ordinary people from the Changsong District, such as Li Xiaochen’s father, Sir Silt, and the head of the bodyguard of the Honeysuckle family. Traff and others, they either experienced the baptism of artillery fire, or served in the Second Army.

Although none of these people came from a professional background, Roland still let them act with the army based on the idea of ​​forming and studying at the same time, and having a few more people to advise and advise. It's just that they don't have the actual command power, and whether the deduction and planning they have made is finally adopted or not has to be decided by Iron Axe.

In addition, during the tooth extraction operation, you may encounter the Purists of the Church, so Sylvie and Iffy will also go out with the team. The former can detect magic power and warn the enemy's position, and the latter can capture the Purists if allowed. In addition, Sylvie would also wear the Sigil of Listening so that she could contact Neverwinter at any time. In this way, an army with modern army structure, firepower and communication capabilities gradually took shape.

The tooth extraction operation was mainly aimed at the three towns closest to the western border, Chishui City, Silver City and Fort of Impairment. It took about four days from preparation to departure. Roland spent the rest of the time in addition to choosing reliable personal guards to go to the old holy city. Constantly discuss the details of fighting the church with the army commander and staff.

For example, it is difficult to decide the location of the attack.

On this issue, everyone has their own opinions, and it is difficult for anyone to convince the other party.

Brian, the commander of the Musketeer Battalion, is a firm supporter of the Western Territory, and he has good reasons. "If the battle starts in the Western Territory, the First Army can give full play to its superiority in firepower. With a large number of paddle ships as logistical support, the ammunition and personnel are all If we can be replenished within a day, no matter how long we fight, we are sure of winning. At the same time, this distance is extremely unfavorable to the church, as long as they don’t break through the defense line within a month, they probably won’t even be able to eat.”

Edith, on the other hand, is an advocate of the overseas combat faction, "Can't even eat? Do you know how many church believers there are in Graycastle? Even if the churches are all burned down, as long as the Pope gives an order, these people will hold all kinds of people." All kinds of food are delivered to your door. Moreover, mid-July is the season when the wheat is ripe. As long as the Judgment Army occupies one or two cities, they will be able to get supplies continuously. This is not the most terrible thing. Doesn’t the church have the ability to turn ordinary people into Is it a mad pill that turns into a monster? Once the battle situation is unfavorable, what should they do if they wantonly force the people of Graycastle to take this pill to consume the strength of the First Army?"

"You don't know anything about gunpowder weapons." Faner also stood by Brian's side. "Transporting artillery and ammunition is a laborious task. They are not like swords, which can be used all the time after wearing them. The materials consumed after a battle need to Several ships have come to supply supplies, what if you take the initiative to attack the enemy before they enter Graycastle as you said, and the ammunition runs out?"

"I really don't understand the gunpowder weapons you are talking about, and I don't know how you fight, but the most important thing in any war is the purpose - if the intended purpose is not achieved, even if you win, you will lose." Jean, "Your Majesty needs every citizen of Graycastle, but you allow the church to enter the kingdom and consume the population wantonly?"

"If you can't win, everything is meaningless."

"It's what we should do to solve those seemingly unsolvable problems."

Only Roland and Iron Ax could make a final decision at the scene, but as long as the prince was present, Iron Ax would never say a word—no matter what order he gave, the sandman would carry it out unconditionally. These two views do have their own advantages and disadvantages, and it was difficult for Roland to make a decision at the moment.

The most effective way to fight with gunpowder weapons is to set up a cross-fire network and wait for the enemy to crash into it. The western region is undoubtedly the best place to deploy defenses in advance. But if the church really drives away the people of Graycastle as the vanguard of the army, then his loss will be great—even if the bullets can easily defeat the berserkers, the lost population will be difficult to make up in a short time.

Until the eve of the army's upcoming attack, Sir Sirt's proposal broke the deadlock.

"Why don't we concentrate our troops and supplies in the border cities in advance?" He touched his chin and said, "This way the transportation distance can be greatly shortened."

Brian shook his head without thinking, "Unless we know in advance where the Church is attacking."

"Sir, there are not enough rivers in the northern border. If we concentrate our troops in the wrong place, we may not be able to catch up with the enemy's marching speed." Carter added, "The border between Graycastle and Dawn is so long. Not on every aisle."

"We really don't know where the enemy will attack from, but we can persuade the enemy to attack from a certain point."

Those words made everyone stunned, and Brian frowned after a while and said, "I'm afraid only the Pope can do this kind of thing."

Edith showed a thoughtful look.

Sir Sirt didn't care about the other party's slightly sarcastic response, but said frankly, "In fact, I got the inspiration from Miss Edith—if we can judge the time of the church invasion through the transportation of food, Then they should also be able to detect the approaching war from the changes in the surrounding cities."

"Cold Wind Ridge!" Edith said suddenly.

"That's right," Jazz smiled, "If we hoard a large amount of supplies to Coldwind Ridge, and then station the First Army in the nearest town of Glen Valley, wouldn't we have a great chance of helping the other party guide the route of attack? ?”

"Why?" Brian asked puzzled.

"Because Cold Wind Ridge is too close to the Holy City," Edith explained, "Instead of waiting for the church to attack, it is better to take the initiative to attack and force them to shrink their strength here."

"So that's how it is," Roland quickly figured out the problem. Glen Valley Town is the only town connected to the central water network. Although the distance is far away, the paddle steamer fleet can still send a large amount of water to the town in the next one or two months. After that, it can be shortened to three days by the 6-way transportation. Not to mention it is completely enough, at least it can barely maintain the needs of large-scale operations... Of course, a better way is to set up a defense line directly under Cold Wind Ridge and wait for the enemy to attack A position of bunkers, barbed wire and ditches.

"What if they insist on not taking this path?" Faner asked.

"The Holy City of Hermes will be razed to the ground," Roland replied. 8