Chapter 267 Duke Edward's Difficulties
Seeing that Viscount Nero was determined not to leave the city, Richard had no choice but to lead 11,000 infantrymen to besiege Nero's castle. Two thousand cavalrymen dispersed and entered nearby villages to capture serfs and seize grain and grass.
Commanding the cavalry were Captain Morgan of the Scout Cavalry Battalion and Captain Danon of the Third Squadron of Warcraft Cavalry.
After years of development, Harland Territory has organized three squadrons of Warcraft Cavalry. There are also fifty Warcraft Cavalry among the reconnaissance cavalry, for a total of 350 Warcraft Cavalry.
The number of Warcraft Cavalry is already comparable to that of the Grizzly Bear Legion.
Nowadays, the financial revenue of Harland Territory is close to 300,000 yuan per year. With a little squeeze, you can buy hundreds of Warcraft horses. The main reason why Richard did not expand the Warcraft Cavalry on a large scale was because he did not have suitable soldiers.
A squadron of Warcraft cavalry must have at least thirty professional officers in order to exert the power of Warcraft horses and form a strong combat effectiveness. If the quality of the soldiers is not high, even if they purchase Warcraft horses and form Warcraft cavalry, they will be useless and cannot fight against other nobles' Warcraft cavalry.
In order to form the third squadron of Warcraft Cavalry, all the new professionals in the territory this year were wiped out, and more than 70 veterans who were proficient in horse warfare were transferred. As a result, the infantry unit did not have new officers for a year.
According to the current rate of training officers in the Harland Territory, the expansion of up to one hundred Warcraft Cavalry can be completed every year.
Morgan and Danon led the cavalry to plunder an area of more than 10,000 square kilometers. With the guidance of aerial reconnaissance troops, they plundered dozens of villages in just a few days.
Richard saw that the Warcraft horses were loaded with food, and the captured serfs were mixed among the cavalry, which looked particularly chaotic.
"Move quickly, send the prisoners to the barracks, and don't block the door." Officers at the grassroots level kept shouting to maintain order.
Richard waved his hand and asked the young staff officer beside him to help. After working for an hour or two, he escorted the captured serfs to the place of detention.
"How is it? Are the seizure statistics clear?" Seeing that the logistics staff had returned, Richard asked.
"Including today's seizures, we have seized 1,800 tons of grain and a population of 67,000."
After hearing the news reported by the logistics staff, Richard's expression changed.
To send these serfs back to Harland's territory, it would take forty to fifty days on the road. Even if each person consumes one and a half kilograms of grain per day on average, two thousand tons of grain will be consumed on the road.
Now they have grabbed 1,800 tons of grain, which is not enough for the serfs to eat on the road, let alone to supplement the gap in military rations.
"Where are the livestock? How many are there?"
“More than 60,000 sheep were caught, hundreds of cattle were farmed, and more than a thousand mules and horses were caught.
Richard calculated in his mind that the beasts captured were relatively small, and a large part should be concentrated in Nero Castle. The 60,000 sheep seized allowed the serfs to eat 20,000 on the road, saving hundreds of tons of grain.
The remaining 40,000 sheep remain in the army, allowing the army to maintain rations for a while longer.
It's April now. There was a spring rain a few days ago, and the grass and trees have sprouted. It's spring plowing season.
Richard will arrange special manpower for grazing, and the goat milk and mutton can be used as military rations. With the army's food reserves, he should be able to eat until June.
Moreover, although the supplies from the rear are intermittent, there will be some.
The western part of the Ferraman Mountains is already the hinterland of the Grand Duchy of Stanik. This area is located in the middle of the Grand Duchy of Stanik and has not experienced war for more than a hundred years.
Over a hundred years of peace, the population has continued to multiply, making this area a relatively densely populated area. There are more than 600,000 people living in more than 10,000 square kilometers of land.
In terms of population density, the population density of this area is four times that of Haaland territory.
About 100,000 of the population of 600,000 were gathered in Nero's Castle, and the remaining 500,000 were scattered in the countryside.
However, in the face of war, the nearby population fled one after another. Some of the population entered the mountains, and some moved to the west, away from the war. Only one-tenth of the total population was captured by the coalition forces of the three provinces.
Through aerial reconnaissance, Richard knew that the land with a radius of more than 10,000 square kilometers had become a no-man's land in just ten days. In the desolate villages, only a very small number of people had returned and were surviving.
This shows how destructive the war is to the territory?
As long as this rich land encounters a war, there will be no roosters crowing for thousands of miles, and the bones will be exposed in the wild.
There are more than 600,000 people in this area. In order to escape the war, it is estimated that more than tens of thousands of people will starve to death on the road, which is much more than those who die directly from swords and arrows.
"Go and call Lost. I have something to discuss with him."
After receiving Richard's order, it didn't take long for Lost to arrive at the Chinese army's tent.
A few days ago, Lost fought against the silver knight Viscount York. Although he contained the enemy, he suffered internal injuries and needed to rest for more than ten days.
Seeing Lost, Richard asked: "How are the injuries on your body?"
"It's not a big problem, but I haven't been able to muster the strength in the past few days. I probably won't be able to fight in a short time."
Richard took out a box from under the bed in the tent. After opening the box, a golden light suddenly appeared.
"There are already more than 60,000 serfs in the camp, and the chaos is unsightly. You lead the second brigade and are responsible for escorting the serfs back to Harland. I can only give you 1,500 tons of grain and 20,000 sheep. This You can only eat the food and supplies for thirty days, and you need to make up for the remaining gaps on the way. This box of gold coins is provided for you, so you must keep it carefully."
Hearing Richard's order, Lost asked hesitantly: "The second battalion has left. What should we do when we need to attack?"
The second battalion of the army led by Richard is the core of the infantry and the backbone of the army of Harland. The last battle of Felamand Valley was won by relying on the soldiers of the second battalion to break through the shield formation of Viscount York in one fell swoop.
If this elite army is transferred back, it will have a great impact on the combat effectiveness of the three-province coalition, so Lost has this question.
"Through the temptation in recent days, I found that the commander of Nero Castle is a mature and prudent person. It seems that they hope to retreat by clearing the fields and waiting for us to run out of food.
Even if you go back, we have 12,000 soldiers, while the enemy has only 7,000. They will never dare to fight a decisive battle with our main force.
Second, escorting serfs back to Harland is very critical to our development. I am not at ease sending others, so this task can only be undertaken by you."
After explaining the task, Lost led the second battalion to escort 67,000 serfs back the next day.
Now there is no resistance in the eastern part of Felamand. There are still camps and military stations along the way. With the protection of more than 700 soldiers from the second battalion, the road is very safe. After walking for seven or eight days, Lost successfully returned to Burson Castle.
After resting for a day in Burson Castle, he walked for another two days to Padin Castle and entered the territory of the Duke of Fox.
Padin Castle is a typical border castle with poor resources. Lost only bought dozens of tons of food and emptied the grain store in Padin Castle.
Dozens of tons of food can only feed more than 60,000 serfs for one day.
After walking for another 20 days, Lost led the serf army into Palani Castle. Although some supplies were purchased along the way, there was not much food left in the team and it could only last for three days.
During these 20 days, Lost and the serf army had eaten all the livestock. Even the precious oxen were all filled in their stomachs.
Marching with more than 60,000 serfs was much slower than normal. The food on the market at the supply points along the way was also swept away by Lost. The grain reserves of several towns add up to 200 tons, which is only enough for this huge team to eat for six or seven days.
Palani Castle is located on the Black River. It is an important transportation hub in the Duke Edward's territory and the third largest city in the Duke Edward's territory. The population in the castle is as high as 50,000, and the scale of the city is no less than that of Fort William.
When Richard led the intervention army into the Grand Duchy of Stannic, he replenished 20 days of food and grass here.
When Lost sent people into the castle to buy food and grass, he was harassed by the castle grain merchants.
"What, how can the price of grain soar fifty times?"
Hearing the story of the merchants accompanying the army, Lost personally came to the grain store and decided to negotiate with the grain merchants.
"We are the army of Earl Harland, and the serfs we escorted are the spoils of the nobles of the three provinces. Are you sure you want to rob us?"
Lost personally came forward with the soldiers, and the faces of the grain merchants became very ugly. In the end, they couldn't stand the pressure and revealed some of the inside story.
"Respected Knight Lost, this matter was ordered by the higher-ups, and we are in a difficult situation. If you really need food, you can exchange it with slaves. One ton of food for one hundred slaves, this is the price set by the Duke's Mansion, please don't embarrass us lowly merchants. This matter was decided by the big guys, and forcing us will not solve the problem at all."
At the normal market price, one slave can be exchanged for two and a half tons of food. The transaction price set by the Duke Edward's Mansion is obviously an open robbery.
Lost carried two thousand gold coins, and four hundred of them had been consumed on the way. Now there are only one thousand six hundred gold coins left. According to the grain price of Palani Castle, he can only buy sixteen tons of grain.
Sixty-seven thousand serfs and eight hundred soldiers need thirty tons of food every day to eat seven-tenths full. All the gold coins Lost carried can only buy food for half a day.
After hearing this news, Lost's face changed drastically. He never expected that he would encounter difficulties from the Duke Edward.
Lost is not a rootless person. He has the powerful Earl Harland behind him.
Although the grain merchants in Palani Castle are greedy, they only increase the price by 20 to 30 percent at most. Under normal circumstances, they dare not offend the Harland family.
Even if a merchant has the support of a great noble, he dare not offend a powerful earl.
Now the grain merchants in the castle have all spoken in unison, and it must be the Duke Edward's Mansion who has come forward in person.
Now the Harland family has become a hereditary earl. Although its strength is weaker than that of the Edward family, it is not far behind.
The Duke Edward has a population of 1.2 million and about 60,000 soldiers. However, the soldiers under the Duke Edward are generally equipped and their quality is not as good as the three main armies in the North.
The elite soldiers of the Harland territory are enough to fight one against three.
If a conflict breaks out between the two families, the Duke Edward does not have a 100% chance of winning.
Both sides are great nobles in the Northern Frontier. Under normal circumstances, the Duke Edward will never provoke the Harland family. Moreover, the spoils escorted by Lost belong to the three-province coalition. Although the Harland family takes the lion's share, they have to share the benefits with the hereditary nobles of the three provinces in the Northern Frontier.
Duke Edward offended the nobles of the three provinces by doing this, which was even more troublesome to deal with.
After Lost hit a snag with the grain merchant, he decided to talk to the mayor of Palani in person. This person was a direct descendant of the Edward family and should have certain authority. However, he was turned away and did not meet the direct descendant of the Duke Edward family.
Palani City Hall, after Lost left, the city official Simone sighed: "This time we have seriously offended the nobles of the three northern provinces. Even if we eat half of the serfs according to our estimates, the sequelae will be very troublesome. From a long-term perspective, I'm afraid the benefits won't be enough to offset the losses.
If we offend the nobles of the three provinces, if we encounter a crisis in the future, the nobles of the three northern provinces will definitely not come to support us.
The most critical point is that the soldiers of the three northern armies are all from the three central provinces and are closely related to the hereditary nobles of the three northern provinces. Even if the royal capital issued an order for reinforcements, the nobles of the three provinces are bent on mischief. If we go slower on the road, our losses may be huge, and the main force may be surrounded and annihilated by the orcs.
Besides, I heard that Earl Harland has a bad temper and is not a man who can swallow his anger after suffering a loss. When he comes back with his army, what will happen if he plunders inside our territory? "
Simone is Duke Edward's cousin and an important member of Duke Edward's domain. There was worry on his face. From his original intention, he did not want to provoke the Harland family.
But Duke Edward of Maple Leaf Castle issued an order, and Simone could only execute it. The people above did not listen to his objections at all.
"The old man is very confused now. As long as someone makes some slanderous remarks in the palace, he will make a foolish decision."
The speaker is also an important member of Duke Edward's family. His name is Harris, a seventh-level silver knight and the fourth son of Duke Edward.
Harris is over fifty years old and has no hope of becoming a legend. He is not the first heir to the Edward family and speaks very boldly in private. When talking about his father, there are not many good words to say, it sounds very mean and there is no respect at all.
Simone has a close relationship with Harris, but because he is far away from Maple Leaf Castle, the core of Edward's dukedom, the news is somewhat blocked. After all, he couldn't hold it any longer and asked Harris quietly: "The old Duke is eighty-four this year. He has been very confused since last year. The orders he handed down are messy and there are many inconsistencies. Are there any core members of the family?" Have you discussed allowing the old Duke to retire and enjoy his old age? "
When Simone said these words, he implicitly meant serious dissatisfaction with Duke Edward. Strictly speaking, such words are very taboo.
Now that such openly rebellious words are spoken by core members of the Edward family, it can be seen that there is a serious problem at the core of the Edward family, which has become unbearable for many people.