Chapter 248: Sudden Change in Situation
The reserve money in the vault last year has not been spent yet, and now there are more than 100,000 gold coins in cash in the vault.
100,000 gold coins in cash in the vault will not have any effect on the development of the territory.
Richard found the agent of Duke Guise and decided to spend 80,000 gold coins to buy 16,000 slaves, and the remaining 20,000 gold coins to buy 10,000 tons of grain from several nearby nobles, increasing the grain reserves in the granary to 100,000 tons.
In recent years, Harland Territory has been the largest grain merchant near Black River Fort, selling tens of thousands of tons of grain every year. In order to avoid competition with the Harland family, the grain fields of nearby nobles have been decreasing, and cash crops have increased instead.
This year is the year of the orc invasion again, and Harland Territory actually bought grain, causing the nearby grain prices to rise a little.
After the Goddess Festival, the Harland Territory Primary School opened again.
Now there are two primary schools in Harland Territory. One is in William Castle and the other is in the military station castle. Flora has retired from the position of principal and is responsible for supervising all schools.
The two primary schools combined have more than 300 new students this year, and one-fifteen of the children of the same age can go to school.
As long as the conditions are good, the free people will grit their teeth and send the smartest and most favorite children in the family to school.
Because children who graduate from primary school can almost achieve class transition.
The Haland Territory is extremely short of talents. The military staff, logistics department, government departments, hospitals, schools, factories and mines and other public institutions recruit personnel from graduates of Riverbank Primary School every year.
Because of the overt and covert blockade of the nobles, the literacy rate of ordinary people in the Dawn Plane is very low, generally only one in a thousand.
Even in the Haland Territory, including the students who graduated from Riverbank Primary School, the total number of literate people is less than 1,000, and a large part of them are members of the nobles such as Haland, Stopa, and Dak.
Although the army has opened several literacy classes, and officers and soldiers know some words, the time for learning in the literacy classes is relatively short, and many people can't even recognize all the words.
In the statistics of the territory, these people are semi-illiterate and are not considered literate.
On the contrary, there are more than a thousand students in the primary school. How many years will it take to raise the literacy rate of Harland Territory to 5%, reaching the level of ancient China?
Riverside Primary School was established seven years ago, and only more than 300 primary school graduates have been trained so far.
Compared with the demand for literacy talents in Harland Territory, primary school graduates in recent years are still quite valuable.
However, according to Richard's estimation, the territory's thirst for talents will not be so high in a few years.
When the talent is saturated, students who graduate from primary school may face unemployment.
After testing more than 300 freshmen with a magic crystal ball, Sophia found five apprentices with magic qualifications. However, the magic qualifications of these five people are average, and they are all low-level qualifications.
However, the advancement of magicians, qualifications are only one aspect, and the other aspect is thinking and researching magic.
If these children have the brains of Newton and Einstein, they have made groundbreaking discoveries in magic research, won the love of the world, and have particularly good feedback from meditation, they may not become great magicians and enter the legendary level.
But this kind of super genius brain may not be seen for hundreds of years.
Moreover, when geniuses emerge, there must be a suitable system for them to display their talents. The reforms that Richard made in Harland Territory are to let these geniuses display their talents.
When spring comes and flowers bloom, in March, when Duke of Guise sent slaves to Harland Territory, the population of the territory reached 278,000.
In three months, the number of newborns in the territory increased by 4,000.
Just as Duke of Guise sent slaves, the traces of orcs have been discovered.
Now the scouts of Harland Territory have Warcraft Cavalry as the backbone, and even equipped with a magic hot air balloon team. Audrey also has two Lion Cavalry under her command, who can barely ride Lion Cavalry to fly into the air to fight.
Of course, Lion Cavalry is extremely valuable, and Richard cannot let the clumsy Lion Cavalry of the territory fight against the eagle-like people, but with the aerial reconnaissance troops, the efficiency of reconnaissance is extraordinary.
The orc army had just entered the middle of the Eagle Mountains, 160 kilometers away from the swamp basin, and was discovered by the hot air balloon team of Harland Territory.
After discovering the magic balloon, the harpy immediately flew up to chase it, but was shot dead by the archer of the magic balloon team.
The magic missiles of the harpy can only fly a hundred meters at most, while the sharp arrows shot by the archers on the magic balloon can hit the target of three or four hundred meters.
Fighting alone, a harpy is not the opponent of the magic balloon team.
However, the magic balloon also has many weaknesses. Although the magic balloon needs the help of wind, the flying speed is relatively slow. If several harpies attack from different directions and use appropriate tactics, the magic balloon will also be shot down by the harpy.
There are fewer magic balloons in the Harland territory, with only sixteen in total, and it is impossible to fight a long-term war of attrition with the orcs.
After shooting the harpy, the magic balloon team immediately landed, joined the soldiers of the reconnaissance brigade, and sent the intelligence to Fort William.
After receiving the news of the orc invasion, Richard immediately sent a messenger to notify the Black River Fort, and then carried out a comprehensive mobilization in the Harland territory.
The main force assembled on the northern front, and auxiliary troops and second-line armed personnel such as intelligence and security also stopped their vacations and assembled in the main castles of the territory, where they received weapons and equipment and were ready to fight at any time.
The reconnaissance brigade strengthened its reconnaissance efforts, and the magic balloon squadron took off continuously to observe the direction of the orc army's advance.
Because they suffered a loss in the direction of the military station fort last time, this time the orcs mobilized a large army in this direction. According to the intelligence of the previous reconnaissance, the number of orc troops is as large as one legion, and the total number of auxiliary troops exceeds 30,000.
The Harland Territory now has six and a half infantry battalions, about 5,200 infantry, a Warcraft cavalry battalion, 600 soldiers, and a reconnaissance cavalry battalion, 700 people.
In addition, there are mage regiments, magic balloon squadrons, headquarters staff, and logistics personnel. The size of the main force exceeds 7,000.
In addition, the territory has 3,000 auxiliary troops, 1,600 security forces, and nearly 1,000 intelligence personnel.
Including the second-line troops, the territory's military strength is about 13,000.
The northern defense line of the Harland Territory, the military station fort is the focus of defense.
Richard placed the first battalion, the second battalion, the third battalion, the fourth battalion, and the reconnaissance battalion in the military station fort. Including the auxiliary soldiers operating the catapults, the garrison reached 5,000 troops. Among them, the main combat force had 4,000 soldiers.
There are two magic towers in the swamp basin, which are also the focus of defense. A castle was built near the Lightning Tower, stationed with two guard squadrons and two auxiliary squadrons.
In addition to the auxiliary squadron, the small castle near the Flame Tower also stationed the most powerful Warcraft Cavalry Battalion in the territory.
In addition, the magicians of the Harland Territory are also stationed in the two magic towers. The command of this direction is in the charge of Soros for external operations, and Sophia is in charge of internal defense.
The fifth battalion is stationed in Graveson Castle to defend the eastern area of the Harland Territory, preventing the orc army from breaking through from the direction of the Eagle Castle, attacking the Geda Province from the Rah Province, and attacking the rear of the Harland Territory.
Stationing a battalion in this direction can at least buy the main force some time. In order to strengthen the strength of the defenders, Richard stored 300 alchemical bombs in Graveson Castle.
Due to the limitation of blood steel production, Harland Territory only stored 1,200 alchemical bombs in total, and a quarter of them were placed in Graveson Castle.
If the orcs want to conquer this castle, they will lose at least 5,000 to 6,000 main forces.
Unless they are commanders with a strong character and will not give up until they achieve their goals, ordinary orc legion leaders will not be able to make up their minds and sacrifice such a large amount of capital.
After all, the orcs went south to plunder, not to bite the hard bones.
Although Richard struck the orcs several times, he was not a famous general. He had not killed an orc legend, nor had he completely wiped out the main orc legion. He was not a human commander that the orcs needed to focus on.
Moreover, Graveson Castle was not far from the Flower Castle. Jennings was stationed in the Flower Castle with the Sixth Battalion and could provide support to Graveson Castle at any time.
After the army was deployed, Richard immediately ordered the Black River County noble coalition to gather in the direction of Pratos Castle.
The defense of Harland Territory is very tight, and the fighting power of the defenders is also very strong. Relying on the geographical advantage and equipment advantage, it is enough to block a main legion of the orcs.
However, the strength of Baron Sharp on the Pratos defense line west of Harland Territory is very average.
Although the army under Sharp can be called good at fighting, there are only 500 people. One or two battalions of orcs can pass through the blockade of Pratos Fortress.
Although there is Zakli's Redeemer Corps in this direction, the strength of Gascoigne Province is relatively weak, and it was affected by the royal civil strife in the past few years. Although the fighting power of the Mad Lion Corps has recovered 80% to 90% in the past few years, it is still difficult to guard a province.
If Zakli's troops are transferred to other directions like the last orc invasion, the Pratos Valley will be lost, and the western part of Harland Territory will lose protection, exposing its weaknesses to the orcs.
Richard is the reserve major general of Geda Province and the commander of the first line of defense in the northern part of Geda Province. The nobles of Black River County dare not disobey his orders. Barons such as Les, Dak, Bazel, and Patton have mobilized their troops and rushed to the defense line of Pratos.
These barons are not weak, with as many as 500 soldiers and as few as 300. These soldiers are not slave soldiers who will collapse at the first touch. In small-scale combat, the combat effectiveness of the nobles' private soldiers can even be compared with the main army.
The five barons have a total of 2,000 soldiers, which is enough to guard the defense line of Pratos.
After receiving Richard's intelligence, the Northern Army and Viscount Romen also mobilized and prepared for battle.
Now with Harland and the Black River County noble coalition in the front, the Northern Army and Viscount Romen's coalition are already the second-line troops of Geda Province.
Once the front line is tight, the Northern Army can reinforce the front line at any time.
The orc army slowly approached the military station fort, and the face of the army commander Platt suddenly became a little ugly.
Although he only took a glance, Platt found that the fortifications of the military station fort were very complete. There were dense antlers in front of the castle, and hundreds of arrow towers were fan-shaped to protect the two wings of the city wall.
These arrow towers are within the attack range of the catapults. If you want to demolish the arrow towers, I don’t know how much blood will be shed.
The most troublesome thing is that on the hillsides on both sides of the military station fort, brick and stone fortresses have also been built, with catapults installed and soldiers stationed.
If the orcs attack the city, they will inevitably be hit by the catapults on the hillsides on both sides. If you want to rush through this road, I don’t know how much blood will be shed.
To forcefully attack the military station fort, you need to take down the castles on the hillsides on both sides first.
The castles on the hillsides on both sides have geographical advantages, and they can’t deploy too many troops at all. The orcs’ upward attack must be a fueling tactic, and the casualties will be very heavy.
Plett is a lizardman of relatively small number in the Orc Empire. His ancestors were also lizardmen who survived the fallen floating city. After more than 10,000 years of reproduction, he gradually adapted to the climate of the northern border.
More than a thousand years ago, the Orc Empire defeated the Lizard Alliance, and some lizardmen were integrated into the Orc Empire.
Although the lizardmen have adapted to the climate of the northern border, one change brought about is that it is difficult to reproduce, and they need to hibernate in winter. Although they have reproduced in the Orc Empire for thousands of years, the number of lizardmen in the Orc Empire is still small, with a total of only a few hundred thousand, and their importance is not as great as that of humans.
Because of their small population, lizardmen are not a big threat to the Orc race. Although they are not of the same bloodline as the mainstream Orcs, the channels for lizardmen to rise are larger than those of humans, and the invisible ceiling is also a little higher.
Humans have no chance to serve as soldiers and fight in the Orc Empire, and the Orc Empire also prohibits human slaves from mastering extraordinary powers. The Orc Empire's defense against humans can almost be seen with the naked eye. However, the Orc Empire was not very prepared for the Lizardmen, but Lizardmen like Plait who climbed to the upper echelons of the Orc Empire were still very rare.
Lizardmen have very good eyesight, and 20% can awaken extraordinary visual talents.
Plait's eyesight is better than that of eagles.
Even five miles away, he could still see the soldiers wearing armor on the military station fort, and their figures were looming.
From the weapons and equipment, Plait knew that the defenders must be the main army in the human kingdom.
Plait has been in the army for many years and he doesn't like fighting with the main army soldiers the most. What he likes most is to plunder human villages without resistance, kill unarmed men, watch the old and weak wail and cry, and women enjoy themselves under his crotch.
And it is very rare for the main army soldiers of humans to surrender. Every time you fight with the main army, many people will die and countless blood will be shed.
Platt frowned and saw trenches, earthen ridges, rows of fences, heavy catapults scattered on the top of the city, and occasionally a few heavy crossbows equipped with cold iron spears. The spear heads flashed with cold light and were polished very brightly, giving a sense of reflection.
It was obvious at a glance that the soldiers often maintained their weapons and had extraordinary quality.
With such a solid city defense, plus elite soldiers and strong generals guarding it. Even if Platt brought a legion of soldiers, he would not have a complete chance of winning.