Chapter 1053: Rapid March
On a whim, the Grand Duke of Kawe suddenly made a trip that he couldn't make in time for. This incident soon became a laughing stock in the inner circle of the empire. However, no one came up to Marquis Farshed and directly laughed at or insinuated his father's actions. Because doing so is like seeking death.
Don't forget that Marquis Farshid now wears gorgeous clothes in the palace and dances among the nobles; and as an assistant to the imperial prime minister, he is buried in a pile of documents. The two generations of Kawei and his son were serious martial artists, the kind who could single-handedly kill through a swarm of monsters and then turn back.
The third generation may not be as dazzling, but they are also highly trusted mid-level officers. The fourth generation was vaguely being educated to become a demon king, and other families who knew about it were very worried.
Simply put, this is a gangster family, the kind that no one wants to mess with.
However, this joke only circulated for less than a day, and soon turned into a shocking and unbelievable fact. It even shocked the emperor's royal table.
The old emperor didn't slam the table or yell at the top of his lungs. He just said calmly but indifferently: "Which old guy has arrived at Blackwater Pass? Is the news correct?"
In order to create a amiable image of himself, the old emperor's voice was warm, making people sound like a spring breeze, and he respected him. But when his voice cooled down, he was angry. Like a lion, it doesn't roar, but just stares at people with cold eyes, making people involuntarily feel fearful.
The leader of the imperial guards is now trapped in this coldness. But the duty lay, so he had to speak: "Your Majesty, according to the report from the guard of Heishui Pass, the Grand Duke did indeed stationed at the garrison at Heishui Pass in the evening, waiting for his departure the next day."
"They have three horses per person, no, four horses per person? How did they move specifically, and how did they manage to reach the Black Water Pass. In the past, it would have taken at least seven or eight days to come from the Duke of Kawei. They How is it done now!" the emperor asked coldly.
To judge the combat effectiveness of an army, most people only look at whether the soldiers can fight and whether the generals are brave enough. But when they reached the level of commander-in-chief like the old emperor, they cared more about marching speed and logistical supply capabilities.
This ensures that the troops under his command can quickly deploy to key locations and maintain a certain degree of combat effectiveness. Otherwise, if a luxuriously equipped heavy armored infantry is thirsty and hungry, and has no one to help them, and must march in full armor, even if it moves to a location ready for battle, it may not have much combat power left.
The Grand Duke of Kawei has been particularly fond of this configuration of one person and three horses since he was young. Such a configuration does not mean that there is only one horse carrying people and the other two are empty. Instead, one horse carries the knight, another horse carries the equipment and luggage, and the remaining horse is assigned to the knight's attendants who are not qualified to ride.
In the conventional military rules of Midland, a knight would be followed by about eight soldiers. Including knights, squires, and levied militia. When these people march, they also have to carry their knight master's equipment and public supplies on their backs, and move forward on two legs.
The gameplay of Grand Duke Kawei is to reduce the number of followers, that is, infantry, to a minimum, and all people and materials rely on horse power to move forward. When necessary, he will even run at full speed. Instead of being like most armies, they use the strength of their horses cautiously. They don't even dare to let their horses bear too much weight until the critical moment when the knights charge, for fear that their beloved horses will become exhausted prematurely.
To do this, it is destined that the size of his army cannot be too large, because the construction cost other than personnel is too high; and 'people' is the cheapest item here. The combat effectiveness is not very outstanding compared to those of the top elite armies. After all, the horsepower is not always maintained at its peak. But constantly running forward and attacking the enemy's weak points can make all commanders facing him feel uncomfortable.
The location of Heishui Pass is at the most important valley pass in the territory of the vassals directly responsible for guarding before entering the emperor's direct territory. It is the only way for nobles from the east and north sides of the empire to go to the capital.
But the most important point is that it used to take seven to eight days of marching from the Dukedom of Kawe to reach Blackwater Pass. This time, it only took the Grand Duke less than a day. At the same time, this means that it used to take the Grand Duke nearly a month to reach the capital, but this time it only took one day to advance one-third of the distance.
If this speed could be maintained, it would only take three days for the Grand Duke to reach the capital from his own territory.
If such data cannot be understood by others, then you can look at another number. Except for border areas and areas where monsters are prevalent, the nobles of Midland have very few standing armies. The maximum number of a duke's guard is five hundred, and each time you go down a level, the number of guards is reduced by another hundred. Although the lowest baron may not be able to maintain a standing army of a hundred people.
These guards are not concentrated in one place. In most cases, they will be assigned to various defenses according to the needs of the territory. Only some elites were left to guard the lord.
When there is a war, militiamen must be called up to join the army. In addition to the attendants brought by the knights, they are mainly recruited from civilians, and most of the time the nobles are required to provide the most basic weapons and equipment. It is not surprising that the preparation to formation of an army can take as short as one month or as long as one year.
Being a grand duke can take three days to set off from his own territory and arrive at the capital. This means that he can break into other people's territory before any lord can react and recruit a sufficient number of troops. Lords everywhere could only rely on standing guards to resist the Grand Duke's invasion.
Probably only the capital is better, because the capital is always guarded by the emperor's three guards of 30,000 people, as well as a large and small private army of nobles stationed in the capital. Even if the imperial guards among the three guards rarely act in an organized manner, there will at least be personal guards who guard the palace, and iron guards who will also have the task of guarding the capital when they are not sent out. There are at least 20,000 people.
But the Grand Duke's marching speed still frightened many people, including the old emperor. They used various channels to try to falsify the news and dig out more inside information. The first person to bear the brunt is, of course, the successor of the Grand Duke of Kavi, Marquis Noonan Farshed.
And in this vigorous commotion, the most confused person was none other than the poor son who was always tricked by his careless father - Marquis Farshed. Although this is not the first time, it is rare that someone has been tricked so thoroughly as this time. I was completely unprepared and was suddenly put on the fire to be roasted.
Everyone in Duke Kawei's residence is dealing with formal inquiries from all parties, or insinuations. It wasn't until late at night that it calmed down a little.
Marquis Farshid, who was finally able to breathe, sat in the study. Although the light of the magic lamp did not illuminate the room like daylight, it was much brighter than candlelight.
After a day of accumulated fatigue, the Marquis still had no intention of going to bed. He dug out all the letters sent by his father during this period and read them again. Especially the part about 'cars'.
In the past, I thought the compliment in the letter was just an old kid wanting to show off a new toy he just got. But if what is said in the letter is not untrue. Then he should re-examine what impact the so-called 'car' will have on the future. And what position should my family stand here.