Chapter 316: The Invasion of the East Coast United Kingdom

Because there was enough food and fodder on the road, and the battle on the front line was not fierce, Richard's marching speed was not urged. When he entered the Kingdom of Delong, he had been on the road for 27 days.

The reason why the coalition army of the northern provinces led by Richard moved slowly was to let the army run in for a while on the road.

Although Richard had commanded the coalition army of the three provinces once, many officers who participated in the war this time were replaced. The superiors and subordinates were still relatively unfamiliar, and it was a good thing to run in for a while on the road to command the army.

When Richard led the left army into the Kingdom of Delong, it was already April and the climate was very warm. The reason why it was delayed until April was entirely because the decision-making time was too slow. The Duke of Guise communicated with the noble meeting in late January, and it was not until mid-February that he decided to send troops. When the intervention army was organized, it was already March, and the road was a little slow. After the left army joined the battlefield, it was already April.

At this moment, the central army and the right army, which were closer in marching distance, had already entered the Kingdom of Delong to participate in the war.

Duke Duran's right-wing army was closest to the battlefield. It completed mobilization in late February and crossed the border on March 6.

Although the right-wing army had fewer troops, only one legion, it appeared on the battlefield very suddenly. At that time, Duke Isaac and Duke Hubble of the Kingdom of Delong joined forces to trap the Grizzlies Legion that entered the Kingdom of Delong to support. After Duke Duran led his troops into the Kingdom of Delong, he cooperated with William to defeat the Duke Hubble and Duke Isaac's coalition forces in one fell swoop and won the first battle.

After the two armies joined forces, they broke through the Duke Isaac's territory and then fought the second major war with the Kingdom of Delong. In this battle, Duke Duran and William won another great victory and annihilated one and a half legions of the central army of the Kingdom of Delong.

After this battle, the coalition forces continued to work hard and defeated the coalition forces of the three local legions of the Kingdom of Delong. They won three battles and three victories and penetrated more than 600 kilometers into the enemy territory and entered the capital area of ​​the Kingdom of Delong, which shocked the nobles of the Kingdom of Delong three times a day.

Because the Grizzlies and Duke Duran's coalition forces won a victory, the troops besieging Duke Guise lost their backup and were forced to retreat. The remnants could only rely on the dangerous terrain to barely block Duke Guise in the area north of the Hubble Mountains.

After entering the Kingdom of Delong, the Central Army under the royal family also made great progress, defeating the three central armies of the Kingdom of Delong, penetrating 400 kilometers into the enemy's territory, and entering the heartland of the Kingdom of Delong.

Based on the intelligence from all directions, Harland's staff drew a simple map.

Richard looked at this simple map and calculated that in just one month after the war, the territory captured by the Kingdom of Grant had exceeded 150,000 square kilometers, roughly equivalent to five or six provinces.

Now the territories of the two dukedoms of Isaac and Hubble in the Kingdom of Delong have lost more than half. The capital of Duke Isaac, Sack Castle, has been captured by the Central Army, and the members of the Duke's family fled to Salon Castle with the remnants of the defeated army. Although the Dukedom of Hubble still had some strength, relying on the natural barrier of the Hubble Mountains to block the Duke of Guise, it was just a last gasp, and the army lost 60% to 70%.

In addition to the heavy losses of the two border dukes, the Kingdom of Delong has lost four northern provinces.

Although the population of the Kingdom of Delong is larger than that of the Kingdom of Grant, the land is more fertile than that of the Kingdom of Grant, and even the number of nobles is more than that of the Kingdom of Grant, but when the real battle comes, the Kingdom of Delong, which has been peaceful for a long time, is far less good at fighting than the army of the Kingdom of Grant.

In this battle, the Kingdom of Grant only mobilized three central corps and four noble corps, less than a quarter of the strength, and the Kingdom of Delong was already embarrassed and suffered heavy losses.

In order to resist the six corps on the front line of the Kingdom of Grant, the Kingdom of Delong mobilized all its forces, withdrew the army defending the East Coast United Kingdom, ordered all the nobles in the country to mobilize, and organized more than 20 corps to stabilize the situation and maintain the balance of the front line.

After Richard led the left-wing army into the Kingdom of Delong, the front line had stabilized.

The commander-in-chief of the intervention army, Steven, issued an order, requiring Richard to lead his troops to sit in the rear and manage logistics.

Steven was only a court earl, and his status was far inferior to that of Richard and Duke Duran. According to common sense, Richard or Duke Duran and Duke Guise should be appointed as the commander-in-chief of the three armies. Because the three were hereditary dukes, they could represent the top leaders of the Kingdom of Grant, and even if they signed a treaty, they had a higher status than Steven.

But this time, the Royal Guards had the largest number of troops. In this battle, the Royal Guards sent two corps, which were the main force of the intervention army. In addition, the Grizzlies Corps was also the central corps, obeying the orders of the royal family. King Roger would of course arrange his own people in the appointment of commanders. So Steven was appointed as the commander-in-chief, and Richard, Duke Duran and Duke Guise had to obey his orders.

After receiving the order from Commander-in-Chief Steven, Richard immediately transferred the army to Sack City.

At this time, the front-line army was divided into three routes, left, middle and right. The two corps of Duke Guise on the left were more than 100 kilometers away from the Northern Frontier Coalition, about three days away.

After two months of hard fighting, the Duke of Guise's army suffered heavy losses, with 6,000 casualties and more than 10,000 people suffering from diseases. However, this army was closest to home, with the most adequate logistical support, and there were many clergymen in the rear who could use magic to heal. The Duke of Guise also had a large number of locals under his command, so Richard basically did not need to worry about logistical supplies.

There are a large number of slaves from the Kingdom of Delong in the Harland territory, and there are also many people from the Kingdom of Delong in the army, such as Jennings, Sura and other key members, all from the Kingdom of Delong. Richard led his troops into the Kingdom of Delong, and he could move freely without even a local guide.

There are a large number of officers and soldiers familiar with the local area, which can make Richard more relaxed in terms of command.

The commander of the Central Army is Commander-in-Chief Steven. This unit is 300 kilometers away from Sackburg and is on the bank of the Blue Moon River. It is already in the core of the Kingdom of Delong. From a global perspective, the situation of this unit is somewhat crisis-ridden. It is surrounded on three sides by eleven enemy legions. Compared with other armies, the army under the Central Army is the most unfamiliar with the Kingdom of Delong.

The reason why Steven can fight 300 kilometers away is mainly due to looting. It cannot last too long, and the pressure of transporting grain in this unit is very heavy.

Although Duke Duran and the Grizzlies on the right fought farther and had already reached the capital of the Kingdom of Delong, the right army had captured several large warehouses with piles of supplies, so Richard didn't need to worry about it.

Among the three armies, only the central army needed to transport food in a short period of time.

Richard settled the headquarters and then dispersed the reconnaissance cavalry to investigate the details of the occupied area. As the cavalry continued to send back intelligence, the situation in the occupied area gradually became clear in Richard's mind.

After the outbreak of the war, the border area suddenly fell into chaos. The army's crossing caused great damage to the territory, and countless civilians became refugees because of the war.

Although the two Dukes Hubble and Isaac had been defeated and lost a lot of land, there were still many supporters in the local area who secretly resisted the rule of the Kingdom of Grant.

The occupation army of the Kingdom of Grant had very weak rule over the local area, and it was difficult to collect taxes and grain.

The most troublesome thing was that the war had affected the spring ploughing. Once the spring plowing is affected, in the autumn, Richard will not only need to supply hundreds of thousands of troops, but also feed more than three million people in the occupied areas.

So the top priority is to calm the people in the occupied areas and start spring plowing immediately.

After Richard settled the army, he immediately issued the first spring plowing order and organized the population in the occupied areas to start spring plowing.

Ninety-nine percent of the land in the Kingdom of Delong belongs to the nobles. The serious class solidification has led to only a few self-employed farmers in this country. The middle class has been severely eroded by the nobles, and the land almost entirely belongs to the noble class.

A war destroyed the ruling order of the Kingdom of Delong. The nobles of the Kingdom of Delong in the occupied areas were swept away, and a large part of them died in the war. The remaining part can only hide in the dark.

Even without the nobles, the serfs dare not cultivate the nobles' land at will. Thousands of years of rule have made the serfs' fear of the nobles penetrate into their souls. Because of the decree prohibiting the spread of extraordinary knowledge, the nobles of the Kingdom of Delong can easily suppress serfs and civilians.

Seeing that the spring ploughing season was about to pass, Richard gave an order to draw backbones from the Harland army to organize the serfs to do spring ploughing.

Many soldiers in the Harland territory were literate and had learned breathing techniques. Except for not having knight blood, their abilities were almost as good as the nobles of the Kingdom of Delong. With the hosting of these new nobles, the occupied areas quickly settled down, especially the areas near Sack Castle, which quickly resumed production due to the large manpower investment.

After a spring rain, the wheat seedlings gradually grew out of the soil. With the beginning of spring ploughing, the occupied areas gradually fell into stability.

After the occupied areas stabilized, Richard ordered the Northern Allied Forces to further divide their troops and station them in various castles. With garrisons in local castles, it is naturally relatively easy to collect grain and taxes.

Because of the destruction of the war, the occupied areas suffered heavy losses in manpower and material resources. In addition to relying on the occupied areas, the front-line grain supply also relied on the Duke of Guise, the Duke of Durand, the Province of Elijah, and the Province of Maryland.

Several provinces in the southwest are well-known wealthy provinces in the Kingdom of Grant. The manpower and material resources of these provinces are very important to the intervention army. This time, entering the Kingdom of Delong to fight is easier than the last time fighting in the Grand Duchy of Stannic in terms of logistical supplies.

After the war between the Kingdom of Grant and the Kingdom of Delong, in just two months, the Kingdom of Delong suffered heavy casualties, lost more than 100,000 square kilometers of land, and lost 120,000 troops.

Such a tragic situation not only frightened the Kingdom of Delong, but also shocked the East Coast United Kingdom, the leading country.

The national conditions of the East Coast United Kingdom are very special. It is composed of seven duke families. This country has no royal family, and national affairs are decided by the parliament controlled by the great nobles.

This special national condition has led to a relatively loose rule of the East Coast United Kingdom. Due to the serious internal circulation in the country, the upward channel is even smoother than that of the Kingdom of Grant.

Seeing that the Kingdom of Delong is so weak, in order to prevent the Kingdom of Delong from being annexed by the Kingdom of Grant, the East Coast United Kingdom decided to intervene in this war.

In order to have a legitimate reason to mobilize more forces, the East Coast United Kingdom first signed an alliance treaty with the Kingdom of Delong, exchanging 80,000 square kilometers of land in the southeastern border area of ​​the Kingdom of Delong for the East Coast United Kingdom's troops.

After the treaty was signed, the East Coast United Kingdom divided its troops into three groups, and also dispatched seven legions to participate in the war.

One group of main forces entered the Earldom of Marcel. This group was the main force of the East Coast United Kingdom, with a total of three legions, and a total of nearly 100,000 people including logistics and auxiliary troops.

The invasion of 100,000 troops immediately caused heavy losses to the Earldom of Marcel. In just seven or eight days, most of the territory was lost, and 7,000 to 8,000 troops were annihilated.

The south of the Kingdom of Grant has never been the focus of defense, and only a few earls have some elite soldiers under their command.

Seeing that Count Marcel suffered heavy losses, the three earls Paulus, Charlotte, and Wimble formed a noble coalition and formed three legions to block the enemy.

In addition to attacking the main force of the Earldom of Marcel, the East Coast United Kingdom also sent a large army from the border area of ​​the three countries to enter the Dukedom of Hubble. There was only one legion along the way, and it was aimed at the northern province coalition led by Richard.

In addition, the East Coast United Kingdom also mobilized a fleet and concentrated three legions of soldiers to attack the Earl of Silver Moon Island in the Kingdom of Grant.

Although the Earl of Silver Moon Island had an elite fleet under his command, his strength was far inferior to that of the East Coast United Kingdom. Soon the fleet was defeated and Silver Moon Island was lost. Except for a few noble members who settled in Nolan, most of the members of the Silver Moon family died in the war to defend their territory.

After capturing the forward stronghold of Silver Moon Island, the East Coast United Kingdom quickly launched a landing war. However, the four marquises in the coastal area were not weak, and the coalition formed by them defeated the vanguard of the East Coast United Kingdom.

There was no chance of winning on the front, so the army of the East Coast United Kingdom took advantage of the fleet advantage and began to attack the coastal towns of the Grant Kingdom on a large scale.

Because of the trade competition of the East Coast United Kingdom, the economy of the eastern coastal area of ​​the Grant Kingdom was not developed, and the coastal territories were scattered among the six nobles, including the four marquises in the east, Earl Charlotte, and Earl Paulus.

The northern coastal area was even more barren and wild, and it was rumored that there were dwarf tribes living in this area. The northern coastal forest has nearly 300,000 square kilometers of land, close to the Duke of Jonathan. After the Duke of Jonathan completed the development, manpower and material resources were invested in this area to develop this mountain forest.

Because there was no economic town in the coastal area, the loss of the Grant Kingdom was not serious. Although the East Coast United Kingdom had a fleet advantage, it could not hold the lifeline of a continental country like the Grant Kingdom.

After investing seven legions, the pressure on the Grant Kingdom was not very serious.

There are still five central corps directly commanded by the royal family that can be dispatched, and the seven noble corps defending the orcs on the northern border have not been mobilized. The Duke of York and the Duke of Loran can also draw five corps to participate in the war. At the critical moment, the Jonathan family of the Grand Duchy of Stannic can also mobilize 100,000 troops.

As long as the orcs do not invade on a large scale this year, it is still relatively easy for the Grant Kingdom to resist the small-scale attack of the East Coast United Kingdom.

When fighting with the mainland kingdom, sometimes the naval advantage does not play a decisive role.

In the key battle, you can only rely on infantry.

The combat effectiveness of the infantry of the East Coast United Kingdom is not weak, but it is still not as good as the elite soldiers forged by the Grant Kingdom in the long-term battle with the orcs.

If the infantry battle is not won, it will naturally not make the Grant Kingdom feel pain.

This time, the symptoms of Yang are particularly severe. I have a severe cough and runny nose today. I feel very tired after Yang. I am out of breath after walking a few steps. If everything goes well, I will resume updating from this year. If there are recurrences, I will probably have to take a leave.