At this time, Sean was still stationed at the foot of Ultra Mountain, and a man went to the empty manor.

The manor once belonged to a wealthy baron, and what happened to the baron, Sean didn't know, and he took advantage of the bloodstained house and the nearby village where the same people went to the empty house, and he placed the Civil Defense here.

His subordinates had about 20 companies, which was not much, but the daily consumption was not a small amount, and he could not obtain supplies on the spot, so he relied entirely on the support of the rear to cross Mount Ott, which was obviously an additional expense.

The once prosperous countryside between him and Minsk was now a large no-man's land, with many bandits and unidentified forces, and he wanted to rush to Minsk with his army, so that he could get supplies from the crown prince in the open, without having to rely on long transportation from the rear, although he had stockpiled a large amount of supplies at Partonham in advance.

Shortly after Lieutenant Frank sent a messenger, the messenger brought back a handwritten letter from the crown prince, who praised the victory of the Genoese Civil Defense and praised Sean himself, but instead of letting him go to Minsk, he had him stationed in the spot, clearing the surrounding forces and relieving the population as much as possible.

This is what it means to have the Genoese contribute and to pay for it.

It's late autumn, and I've only crossed a mountain range, and the climate here is two worlds compared to Genoa. Many Genoese have never seen snow in their lifetime, but winter in Saint-Nouvé is snowy, and autumn is cool.

Sean guessed that the crown prince was gathering strength and preparing to use the winter to launch an offensive, which would be a difficult season for the rebels with weak roots.

But this was not a good idea for the Genoese, and Sean used this time to actively prepare supplies for the winter, especially blankets, military uniforms, and warm military boots to protect against the cold.

Fortunately, the CDF had money, and it is said that in order to snatch orders from the 15 companies of this district, the merchants of Poitu broke their heads, and they suddenly discovered that fighting a war could also make a small fortune, and their northern counterparts had long understood this.

At this point, Sean's opinion becomes even more important, as he has the final purchasing power, even if his textile company is also in the bidding.

But the appearance can not be too ugly, Kang's Textile won an order to provide warm sweaters and sweaters for the Civil Defense Army, which is a use of cashmere and wool blended clothing produced in North Genoa, which is not bloated to wear, easy to move, although light and thin, but relatively warm. If you pair it with a nickname coat, it's enough to cope with the winter here.

This kind of clothing is more common in the cold regions of the north, and no one in Genoa wears it at all in winter, so Kang's Textile has no rival. Of course, there are also people who see this as the reservation of Sean, a nobleman and commander, and no one tries to obstruct it.

In addition, Sean is not waiting in the military, fighting in unfamiliar areas, first of all, he is familiar with the geography of mountains and rivers, and at the same time arranging for his subordinates to take turns to clear the unknown forces in the surrounding area, he sent people to reconnoiter the terrain and draw a detailed military map.

But the rebels did not give their opponents much time, and it is estimated that the rebels also realized that the coming winter would be difficult, and they launched an offensive against the neighboring province of Guineapoli, with the goal of obtaining winter supplies.

The situation worsened even more than in the summer, and the Guineapoli Civil Defence was defeated and retreated, losing three cities in a row, and the Guineapolis had to come to the rescue in all directions, especially the Crown Prince of Minsk, Jean-Soren.

According to reliable sources, the size of the main force of the rebels has swelled to 20,000 men, and these 20,000 people are relatively combative.

The worst news is that the rebels have acquired an arsenal of the CDF in Guineapoli.

As a result, the crown prince had to launch an offensive in advance, and Sean was ordered to outflank the Thorn along the northern edge of the Ott Mountains, on October 20, 1831.

Obviously, the Genoese Civil Defence was not regarded by the crown prince as a force to be trusted and relied upon, but if the Civil Defence was later replenished to 2,200 men, the Civil Defence with a cavalry battery and a cavalry company was luxurious.

The crown prince's order, of course, did not arouse Sean's disgust, and he wished to stay away from the main battlefield, and the skirmishes could be used as training without major casualties. Exterminating the werewolves did not make Sean feel invincible in the world.

It was already early winter in the north, and although it was not cold, it clearly had some effect on the actions of the Genoese, and the winter military order he placed had just begun to be produced, which caught him by surprise.

Sean's request to his subordinates is that no matter how difficult it is, each soldier can drink a hot broth every morning and evening, with enough calories and enough nutrition to keep morale up.

It's just that this order is quite nerve-wracking for the logistics officers. Even the more discerning Lieutenant Frank thought it was too extravagant, but he forgot about it when he drank the broth.

Sean had to place another purchase order with the Genoese merchants, who were only to deliver the cured jerky to Fort Partenham, and the Civil Defence was willing to double the price if they intended to cross the Ott Mountains.

Under the heavy reward, there will be brave men. Merchants hired their own grooms and escorts to take risks to escort meat across the mountains to the army, along with other goods, such as the most popular cigarettes.

If the Civil Defence Force occasionally captures it, it will also be handed over to the merchants in exchange for supplies or money. It's just that there are very few such opportunities at the moment. The first businessmen to do this kind of business have made a lot of money.

The temporary headquarters was set up in a field tent, and Sean was listening to the reports of the staff officers, who had a huge sand table in front of him, with mountains, rivers, and villages in view.

"The town that stopped in front of us, called Morillo, was built on a hill, in front of the town was a three-forked estuary, the water was deep, the bridges had been destroyed, and the terrain was not in our favor. But there were not many rebels in the town, led by a nearby bandit leader named Graham, with about 200 men, most of them armed with smoothbore guns, and even some of them were old arquebuses. ”

"Can we flow the river?" asked Sean.

"It's okay a kilometre upstream, I've tried it myself. Perosa replied, "It is not difficult for the infantry to attack in advance, and we can completely bypass it from the upstream." But due to the firing range and terrain, our artillery was useless, because the bridge was damaged and the artillery could not be transported. Attacking across the river has little effect. ”

"Now the other side doesn't know we exist, and we have to take advantage of that. Wells added, "I suggest going around upstream at dawn and attacking suddenly at dawn." ”

"That's it, I'm not worried that we won't win, but this is our first fight into Guineapoli and we have to look at every fight as if it were a fight to the death. Sean stared at the sand table and said, "I need the cavalry to move in advance to cut off the back of this group of rebels, once the infantry army attacks, you keep an eye on every intersection for me, don't let a rebel escape, so that we can gain more time." I don't want to attract a lot of opponents to chase us down. Our army, although it has a certain strength and a certain mobility, but supply is our weakness, and once we get into a fierce battle, we will soon face a dilemma. ”

"Commander, can we get supplies from General Schmidt?" Wells asked.

Schmidt was one of the crown prince's most relied on generals, with a division of troops at his disposal, and he was the main general of the winter offensive. There were also various local militias, whose leaders were mostly local nobles, officials, landlords, or merchants, each with various titles of self-appointed or appointed by the crown prince.

Sean had a letter with General Schmidt, in which Sean humbly expressed his respect for General Schmidt's command, but the latter sent him away with only a very short letter, and did not take the Genoese Civil Defence seriously.

Perhaps it was the local armed forces that "wounded" General Schmidt's heart, because these militia groups were often too successful and more than they could do, and they could only take on the task of transporting grain and grass to maintain local law and order, and they had to guard against enriching their own pockets.

Besides, Sean was so far away from General Schmidt's troops that he couldn't be counted on at all.

This town of Morillo is a wonderful place, just a short distance from Guineapoli, outside the main range of rebel activities, and if you occupy it, you can use it as your own forward base. Then, relying on this base, advance to the depth of Guineapoli.

This is why Sean has Morillo as a target.

Once the commander has determined the objectives of the operation, the next step is the matter of details. There was a lively discussion among the officers, and from time to time there were speeches and additions.

For example, the problem of ammunition supply, how to march at night without falling behind, how to cross the river quickly and safely, how to launch an attack, which company to take the lead in the attack, and who will respond.

There was also whether the artillery followed the infantry, and how they could transport the heavy artillery wagons across the river if they chose to cross the river when the battle began.

Franco-Frank had become accustomed to the atmosphere of open discussion in the Genoese Civil Guard, and in the other armies, at least in other armies, non-commissioned officers were not qualified to appear at such military meetings.

Unlike the Civil Defense Force, Sean has always attached great importance to the role of non-commissioned officers, believing that they are the bridge between officers and soldiers, and the actual executor of orders, and the mainstay of the army's cohesion.

His past experience in the war in Northern Xinjiang taught Sean that when an officer dies or faints, it is the non-commissioned officer who takes on the heavy responsibility.

Because of the needs of horizontal team tactics, the company is the basic unit, which happens to be two horizontal teams of 50~60 people. The company commander is a captain, his deputy is a lieutenant, and there are 2 second lieutenants, each in charge of a horizontal team, and under each second lieutenant is 2 sergeants, 4 sergeants and 8 corporals.

Because of the lack of firepower in the era of front-loading flintlock pistols, there was no formal establishment of "squads" and "platoons" in the regular army at this time, and it was very rare to use such a scale in tactics, and only some chasseurs would use this small formation to implement skirmisher tactics. According to the three-three system that Sean knew in his previous life, under such weapons and equipment, powerful firepower could not be formed at all.

In the Civil Defense Force, in fact, 1 second lieutenant commands 50~60 people (equivalent to 2 platoons), 2 sergeants are responsible for 25~30 people (equivalent to 1 platoon), 4 sergeants are responsible for 12~15 people (equivalent to 1 reinforced squad), and every 2 corporals assist 1 sergeant to manage these 12~15 people.

Obviously, the proportion of non-commissioned officers in the Civil Defence Force is much higher than in the regular army, and a full company of 120 men has 14 non-commissioned officers. With the addition of 4 lieutenants, this allows a company to carry out the tactical requirements and orders of the Supreme Commander well.

The Civil Defence Force has 13 infantry companies, 1 model company, 1 cavalry company, 1 cavalry company, 1 reconnaissance company, 2 baggage companies (including engineers, transports, buglers, and medics) and 1 cooking company, for a total of 20 companies.

These companies vary in size from 100 to 120 men, with 120 full strength for infantry and model companies and 130 for artillery companies. The baggage company and the cooking company have fewer soldiers, and they are only less than 80 people.

Of the 2,200 members of the Civil Defence of Genoa, there are about 330 officers and non-commissioned officers.

So Sean still has to thank the Estates-General, as well as Governor Byrne, there is not enough military spending, and Sean can't do this.

At such a military meeting, Sean had about 90 sergeants in attendance. The huge marching tent could not fit so many people, so it was open on all sides, except for the poles.

The officers discussed the details of the military operation for two hours, and finally the chief of staff, Perosa, summed it up, and then the officers returned to their teams with the sergeants to carry out the duties of each individual once again.

Of course, such enlarged meetings are not common, and this young army is still learning.

2,200 men is equivalent to two regiments, or a smaller brigade. At present, it seems that Sean thinks that he is just right to command, and if one day the size of the Civil Defense Force is even doubled, Sean will not be able to directly command each company without detail, and he must also learn to decentralize and delegate.

Sean sat in his camp chair and rubbed his temples. Frank pulled out a cigar and handed one to Sean.

"Duff brand?" Sean sniffed as he put the cigar in front of his nose, "You know, the first Duff cigar I smoked was given to me by Uncle Ling." ”

"Oh?" said Frank, surprised, "I didn't hear him talk about it. It seems that you all have the same hobbies, including me. ”

"I suspect you Franks have supply channels in the Omaha Islands, otherwise why would you all like this brand?" Sean said.

"Our family has a tobacco plantation there, and we have to pay a lot of taxes every year," Frank laughs. ”

"But there's a lot of money. Sean laughed.

"But I think your tea garden is more profitable, it's just a money grab. Frank said angrily, "Commander, be careful, the tax collector will come to your door one day." They are as greedy as vultures. ”

"Haha, I operate honestly and pay taxes according to the law, if everyone doesn't pay taxes, the empire will go bankrupt sooner or later. Sean said.

Frank wanted to see something from Sean's face, and stared at him for a long time before saying:

"You are so honest in paying taxes, you should be Chancellor of the Exchequer. I can guarantee that if you dare to say to the emperor that you can get 700 million louis a year, you will be in that position in no time. Believe me, 10 years ago, the total income of the empire was also more than that. ”

"I can't get 700 million. But I also don't deliberately evade taxes. Sean said, "We Genoese are not here because we are loyal and patriotic. You see, the rebels were not able to do so because of the heavy taxes, and the commentators in the newspapers deliberately avoided that. ”

Sean continued: "We Genoese have a security tax on the wealthy, which is effectively a 1/20 tax. From the bottom of my heart, I support this tax, everyone is equal before paying taxes, at least this is enough to support our Civil Defense Force for more than a year. The existing tax collection system puts the burden on the common people, and when they can't bear it, they have to resist. ”

"Commander, I admit that you are quite right. But I would say that this argument is dangerous at the same time. Frank said earnestly.

"But if we don't change this inequality, we'll never be on the path of counterinsurgency, right?" said Sean, "and like the weeds out there, you'll never be able to burn it out with a fire." ”

Frank Moran.

Wonderful Book House