Chapter 423 Preparing for War (Part 1)

[Jinghu County]

[Bazenauer]

"boom!"

The wet springboard was used to build the trestle.

"Go! Go out! Don't stop!"

The soldiers carrying weapons and bags on their shoulders unconsciously squinted their eyes and tried to adapt to the dazzling light outside the cabin as they left the deck and stepped onto the dock.

The name "Bazenauer", the county seat of Jinghu County, comes from the Hud language, which means "lake with abundant water and grass".

As early as the era of the rule of the Hud tribes, Bazenauer was already a densely populated and agriculturally developed land. During the heyday of the Hed tribes, tens of thousands of serfs fled from Plato and came to this small plain surrounded by mountains and rivers to farm and work for the Khan of the Grasslands.

After Plato conquered the "New Reclamation", Bazenauer's status and wealth skyrocketed. With the water transportation routes extending in all directions, Bazenauer became the trade and transportation center of the New Reclamation.

Since the outbreak of the civil war, as transportation has been cut off and trade has dwindled, there are no longer an endless stream of merchant ships in the port of Bazenauer, and there are no longer bustling motorcades in the suburbs of Bazenauer.

Except for the flocks of waterfowl and the lonely returning fishing boats, no one came to visit the port beside this "lake rich in water and grass".

However, at this moment, the pier in Bazenauer was bustling with people, and it was completely deserted in the past.

All berths that can accommodate large ships are already occupied. People, baggage, and livestock were dumped out of the cabins and poured onto the dock in disorder.

Even though Bazenauer's port is already the largest port in the new reclamation land, it is still packed to the brim.

At the same time, outside the port, there were more flat-bottomed barges coming from Jiangbei waiting for berths.

“咴咴咴……”

At the exit of the trestle, a beautiful and strong black horse with no hair on its body except for the lightning pattern on its forehead made a harsh cry and suddenly stood up.

The soldiers next to him were unable to dodge and were swept into the water one after another. The soldiers nearby hurriedly retreated, pushing those who had not yet stepped out of the trestle back again and again.

The crowded scene was like an invisible wave spreading outwards. There were only two sounds of "plop" and "plop", and soldiers were squeezed down at the end of the trestle.

The jet black horse had no idea how much chaos it had caused. Its eye patch fell off, revealing a pair of light yellow eyes full of fear and anger.

The horse lost its temper and stubbornly refused to step off the trestle. No matter how much the groom tried to comfort him, it was of no avail.

There are two trestles at Bazenauer's pier that extend into the deep water. Because of the loss of control of this pampered and beloved war horse, half of it was paralyzed at once.

A school officer of medium height and dignified appearance pushed past the soldiers, passed through the crowd, and strode towards the jet-black horse.

Not only did the colonel not have the sideburns that were common among Plato officers, he even shaved his stubble cleanly; his natural silver hair was neatly combed back and tied with a simple dark silk ribbon. into a sleek ponytail. Apart from the ribbon, he had no other ornaments on his body.

He walked up to the black horse, drew out his short gun, methodically pushed open the lid of the medicine pool, and pulled off the flint. Before anyone else could react, he had already killed the out-of-control horse without blinking an eye.

"Push the horse corpse into the lake, don't waste time." The school officer took out a handkerchief, wiped the short gun stained with black dust, and loudly woke up the soldiers who were still watching the fun: "Keep moving!"

The blocked channels were cleared and the river of people, horses and supplies resumed flowing.

"Colonel! Colonel Gaspar!" A lieutenant fought against the flow of people, struggled to squeeze in front of the colonel, and saluted profusely with sweat: "Major Calkin brought the mayor and representatives of Bazenauer Waiting for your reception!"

"Tell Calkin that I don't have time to chat with politicians now." Colonel Gaspar replied politely but ruthlessly: "Tell the mayor again and let him get ready-I want to requisition Bazenauer every day." An able-bodied man and woman. He will protest, and then you bring him to me alone."

The lieutenant knew his superior's character very well, so he saluted without saying a word, turned around and left.

Colonel Gaspar, who stayed at the dock, summoned the logistics officers responsible for the transport of baggage, took over the dock without any explanation, and began to arrange the work with ease:

"You! Find a small boat and notify all the barges behind it - all the baggage barges will retreat to the outside of the harbor and wait, and the barges transporting war horses and soldiers will dock first. What are you waiting for? Turn back and set off!"

"Soldiers and war horses should not get off the ship together. The soldiers should go to the east pier, and the horses should go to the west pier. They should go to their own sides, and don't interfere with each other. This matter - you are the only one responsible for it. Go now!"

"You! Go to Captain Pegra and ask his squadron of hussars to dispatch now. If the horses of Pegra Squadron have not been unloaded, you will pass my order to let the barge carrying the horses of Pegra Squadron be unloaded first. .”

"Empty the warehouse, set up sentries, and store our baggage separately! Any suspicious persons snooping into the warehouse will be arrested first and then interrogated!"

"Clean up the barracks and demarcate the zones in units of hundreds. Regardless of officers or soldiers, all members are strictly prohibited from staying in civilian homes without permission!"

"Speed ​​up the progress!" Colonel Gaspar concluded seriously. He turned around and looked at the vast Mirror Lake. Deep lines appeared between his eyebrows unconsciously because he didn't know whether Hongchuan's river fleet could withstand the puppet government's attack. Jinliujiang Navy: "Every time you unload one more ship, our chances of survival increase."

The logistics officers took orders and rushed to their assigned posts.

The lieutenant who was sent to deliver the message returned to Colonel Gaspar with a round man in fine clothes. As soon as the latter saw the colonel, he immediately started crying:

"Sir! Colonel Gaspar! I am the unlucky guy who was pushed out. I really can't fulfill your request! Bazenauer has never had the old practice of expropriating all citizens, and it is impossible for the citizen representatives to agree. If they dare not make a mistake in front of you, they will take their anger out on me. Please show mercy! Sir! The most I can give you is..."

"Mr. Mayor." Colonel Gaspar stopped the other party from crying. He nodded slightly and said politely: "There are three things you need to know."

"First of all, according to the conclusion I just drew from the on-site inspection, Bazenauer's city defense is vulnerable. In fact, you have no city defense at all."

"Secondly, the puppet government of the King's Castle will not sit back and watch Bazenauer fall. Sooner or later, there will be a battle in Bazenauer."

"Finally, due to limited transport capacity, I currently only have 2,000 infantry and 300 cavalry. As for whether the follow-up troops can still arrive as scheduled, I don't know."

The mayor of Bazenauer swallowed unconsciously. The colonel said too much information, and he could not fully digest it for a while.

"By the way, there is one more thing you need to know." Colonel Gaspar added lightly: "Although there are only four brigades, we will fight to the last man. So, if you don't want your family, house and Wealth has been destroyed by war, please call the citizens now.”

…

…

[Maplestone City Directly Administered District]

[Maple Leaf Castle]

"Our fleet has intercepted the fleet of the Hongchuan rebels." As soon as the participating officers arrived, Colonel Saner immediately announced the good news just sent to everyone: "Except for a small number of fish that slipped through the net, the other rebels Military ships were sunk, captured, or fled."

The spirits of other officers present could not help but be lifted.

Prior to this, Jinghu County had been in the hands of the "New Reclamation Dispatch Army".

The New Reclamation Land Dispatch Army, as the name suggests, is the designation of the troops dispatched to the New Reclamation Land Province by the Great Council of the Kings Castle.

Last winter, the "New Reclamation Dispatch Army" that came to assist the New Reclamation Corps in resisting the Terdun Division did not withdraw immediately after the Terdun Division was repelled. Instead, they simply stationed themselves in Jinghu County.

As a result, the New Reclamation Corps had several conflicts with the dispatched troops, with both sides suffering casualties.

In the end, General Adams chose to settle the matter and withdrew the troops of the New Reclamation Corps from Jinghu County.

Then came the Maplestone City Incident. General Adams died, the troops directly under the legion were disarmed, and Maplestone City and Maple Leaf Fort fell into the hands of the New Reclamation Force.

Although Colonel Sarnell described the New Reclamation Corps as vulnerable in the battle report, he knew very well that the most important reason why he was able to capture Maple Stone City at a small cost was to cooperate inside and outside and to surprise the enemy.

Looking at the entire New Reclamation Province, there are far more people who are hostile to the Great Council of Kings' Castles than those who are loyal to the Great Council of Kings' Castles.

And because of Adams' suicide, everyone who was dissatisfied with the Great Council of Kings Castle was ready to take action.

In fact, although the gunfire has not really sounded yet, the outpost war has already begun: unidentified rangers appear and disappear on the roads, intercepting each other's messengers and sentinels; local troops from each county successively block the borders, set up numerous checkpoints on the avenues, and conduct interrogations. Any suspicious pedestrians.

Seeing that the newly cultivated land was about to be stormed, in order to ensure that Maple Stone City was safe, Colonel Sarnell sent more than a dozen groups of messengers to the Kings' Fort to ask for help. On the other hand, he decisively transferred most of the advance army to Maple Leaf Castle. Only A small number of troops were left in Jinghu County to maintain law and order.

Although this deployment was safe, it left Jinghu County in a weak defensive state for a short time.

Colonel Sarnell believes that as long as the reinforcements from the Kings' Fort arrive, the defense problem of Jinghu County can be easily solved. So, the risk is worth taking.

Yet he underestimated his enemy. His enemy is not Kevin J. Adams, who has smoothed his edges in the stable life of the new land. His enemy is Arpad Duyomu, the famous general of Plato who is best at catching fighter planes.

Colonel Sarnell, who was hoping for a chance, faced off against Plato's most aggressive swordsman. As soon as he showed his flaw, the opponent stabbed him without hesitation.

Fortunately - Sanel couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief - fortunately, the surface forces of the Kings' Castle have been supported and trained by the United Provinces Navy, and their strength is no longer what it used to be.

No matter how powerful Arpad is, as long as he can't defeat the fleet of the Kings' Castle, he can only stand on the north bank and stare.

Colonel Sarnell cleared his throat. He originally planned to say some words to boost morale, but someone happened to disturb the scenery.

"How many fish slipped through the net?" Colonel Chloe Thorier asked seriously from the side: "Colonel Sarnell."

Major Saner narrowed his eyes and was silent for a moment. He said: "Thirty to forty barges, the specific size of the ship... No details."

The smiles of some of the participating officers gradually faded, and the atmosphere at the venue became somewhat solemn again.

"Based on the most common flat-bottomed cargo ship in newly cultivated lands, one can transport almost eighty soldiers and their equipment." Colonel Chloe Toriel refused to give up and continued to bite the "fish that slipped through the net". loose mouth:

"That is to say, we may have to face 5 to 7 brigades of enemies. Considering that supplies also need to be transported, the actual number should be smaller, but it is still a force that cannot be underestimated - and there is a premise, that It means that the numbers given in the battle report are correct and there is no concealment or false reporting."

"Yes." Colonel Sarnell nodded slowly.

At present, the troops in Maple Stone City can be roughly divided into two groups:

One group is the New Reclamation Land Expeditionary Force, a direct line force of the Grand Council of Kings Castle, with a total of four infantry brigades and six fully equipped cavalry squadrons. The commander is Colonel Sarnell;

The other faction is the troops directly under the original headquarters of the New Reclamation Corps. It was the result of Adams's active expansion of the army. After surrendering, it was reorganized and reorganized. There are ten infantry brigades in total, a real "legion" size. The commander is Chloe Tory. Colonel Er.

The latter is currently stationed in Maple Stone City. The former is stationed in the sturdy Maple Leaf Castle, overlooking Maple Stone City from a high position.

Among them, the "New Reclamation Corps" went through a round of purges, and the original officers were either imprisoned, killed, or escaped, resulting in a serious lack of organization for the troops directly under the corps, and even more lack of grassroots officers.

The "Legion Headquarters" had to temporarily appoint a large number of "honorary officers" - "free men" who were willing to spend money to buy the status of officers.

Therefore, the "Reorganized New Reclamation Corps" is currently in a state of reconstruction and is slowly restoring its combat effectiveness.

By the way, the troops directly under the legion headquarters were originally equipped with cavalry units. However, when accepting the reorganization, all the war horses that Adams accumulated were confiscated by the dispatched troops, so the current "reorganized New Reclamation Army" is a pure infantry unit.

But no matter what, the reorganization of the New Reclamation Army is still an important part of Maplestone City's armed forces. If the war breaks out tomorrow, Colonel Sarnell will have to rely on them to defend Maplestone City.

Therefore, although Colonel Chloe Toriel made Sanel unhappy, Sanel still had to show an attitude of equality and respect.

"Colonel Chloe." Sarnell asked pleasantly, "What do you think?"

Colonel Chloe held his forehead, stared down at the table, and said to himself: "The main force of the Arpad rebels are veterans of the Fifth and Sixth Legions. But [Galloping Horse] and [Kings] went on an expedition the year before last The Hud barbarians suffered heavy losses, and after returning home, they fought successively. They were never truly rebuilt, and they only continued to recruit new soldiers. In other words, except for some veterans as the backbone, the rebel troops were no more elite than ours. How many."

Sanel remained calm: "So?"

Chloe raised her head and looked directly at Sanel without saying a word.

[I probably won’t be able to write a complete plot today, so I’ll break it off here and apologize to Orz]

[Supporting characters appear in this article]

[Colonel Gaspar: Handsome guy with silver hair and ponytail. It should be noted that although he does not have a beard, he is a genuine Platoan, not a Venetian]

[Major Culkin: A skilled debater (lobbyist) who went to the new land alone, persuaded Bazenauer to surrender, and led to the change of flag in Jinghu County (and, in fact, he brought several guards with him, so he cannot be considered single in the strict sense) ]

[Captain Pegra: Captain of the hussars under Gaspar]

[Colonel Sarnell: Commander of the New Reclamation Force, loyal to the Great Council, and became a favorite in the eyes of Speaker Magnus because of his "smart capture of Maplestone City (New Reclamation)"]

[Colonel Chloe Thorier: The former officer of the New Reclamation Army has now changed his allegiance to the Great Council and reorganized the New Reclamation Army commander, thinking that he is protecting the people of the New Reclamation Army. Because I witnessed the tragic suicide of General Adams, I was mentally shocked and became a little abnormal]

[77,285/10,0000]

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