Early the next morning, Art, who was still asleep, was woken up by a voice outside the tent.

"Ron! Ron! Art got up and rubbed his eyes, and when he saw no one on Ron's bed in the corner, he cried out.

"Sir." Ron lifted the curtain and walked in.

"What's going on out there?" Art asked, puzzled.

"Master, early this morning, a few soldiers in the tent next door did not get up on time, and when the people in the tent went to call them, they found that they were all bruised and bleeding from their mouths, not only did they lose their breath, but even their bodies were hard." Ron's speech slowed, and his face suddenly became ugly.

"What!" Art quickly got up from the bed, and with Ron's help, got dressed and hurried out the door.

"Hey, master~" said Ron and ran out as well.

At this time, Flender was already standing at the scene of the incident, and the soldiers on the side told the story of what happened early this morning.

“…… Lord Marquis, this is how it happened, and when I found them, I was out of breath. The soldier glanced at the corpse on the ground and stepped aside.

Flender approached the corpse, which was neatly laid on the ground and covered with linen. I saw him slowly uncover the linen on the corpse, and saw that the soldier's face was already pale, and rotting liquid was flowing from his nostrils.

"Lord Marquis." Art shouted softly behind Flender. Flender turned his head to look at Art, his face gloomy.

"Lord Marquis, what happened?" Art asked with concern. Flender's expression was serious most of the time, and Art was not surprised to see Flender's expression.

"Art, you've come just in time. Come and take a look at the corpses of these soldiers. Art stepped forward to take a look, and the corpse was already a little stinking and miserable, and there were a few mosquitoes and flies buzzing on the linen.

According to the other people's accounts, these people went to the neighborhood to find water last night because they had no water to drink. When he went back to sleep in the tent at night, he never woke up. ”

"Not good!" Art was shocked. "Lord Marquis, please send someone to take out the water bladders of these soldiers." A thought suddenly crossed Art's mind: the water was poisonous.

After many years of marching, Art has always maintained a cautious attitude towards enemy territory. Every time he arrived in the enemy's territory, Yate ordered the soldiers not to drink the surrounding water freely, and only after the military doctor checked whether the water was poisonous before allowing the soldiers to drink it.

"Come on, go inside and take out these people's water bladders." When Flender gave the order, the two soldiers hurried in and took out all the water bladders beside the men's beds.

"Lord Marquis, I still need a chicken, alive."

Flender glanced at the personal guard beside him. In a few moments, the water bladder and the live chicken were already placed in front of Art.

"Ron."

Ron quickly stepped forward and grabbed the chicken's head and broke the chicken's mouth open. I saw Art slowly pour the water from one of the water bladders into the chicken's mouth.

"Cousin Art, you are suspicious of water~" Flender asked in a low voice.

Art put down the water bladder in his hand, carefully leaned into Flender's ear and whispered, "Lord Marquis, I suspect that the nearby well is poisonous. ”

"What!" Flender's face gradually became solemn after hearing this.

Yate continued: "It's just suspicion at the moment, I don't have definite evidence yet. As soon as Art finished speaking, he saw the freshly watered chicken break free from Ron's hands and flutter desperately on the ground, causing the surrounding soldiers to quickly take a few steps back.

"Master, that chicken~" As soon as Ron spoke, Art raised his hand to signal Ron not to speak, and just quietly watched the chicken's reaction. After a while, the chicken stopped struggling as desperately as it had a moment ago, and slowly fell to the ground, its body convulsing incessantly, and the corners of its mouth began to bleed......

"The water is poisonous!" Seeing that the chicken had fallen to the ground, Art muttered a silent sentence in his mouth. Art turned to look at Flender, only to see Flender with his hands crossed in front of him, his eyebrows furrowed, his eyes sharp, and a hint of murder floating on his face.

"Lord Marquis, please quickly send someone to control all the surrounding water sources, and strictly prohibit soldiers from drinking it. Bernard's bastard must have poisoned the water source long ago. Art continued.

I saw Flender clenching the hilt of his sword tightly and looking at the dead soldiers on the ground.

"Then how can we solve the water problem behind us?" Flender expressed embarrassment. Without water, the Liberation Army would not survive for seven days.

"Send someone to dig a well on the spot at once. There was a small grove to the south of the camp of the army, and not only was the ground a little lower, but there were trees that kept water, and there should be water. "Art is confident.

Flender glanced at the place where Art pointed out, and no longer hesitated, and immediately sent people to give orders to all parts of the barracks.

…………

At noon, the Liberation Army commanded the camp tent. Flender ordered the senior officers of the Liberation Army to come and discuss the strategy of breaking the city, and the meeting was attended by the commanders of the Liberation Army's legions, as well as the commander of the Wells Army and the garrison corps of the southern frontier of the country. Wood. Viscount Leonde, commander of the Legion of the Lords of Wales and Midsummer, and the Viscount of Provence who led his troops north from Provence to help in the war.

"Ladies and gentlemen," said Flender, who was at the head of the wooden table, "the Liberation Army and the legions have now besieged the Western Army in the city of Thorn. Next, we have to find a way to break through the city, annihilate the mongrels in one fell swoop, and end this war once and for all. Flender pressed his hands on the table and said in an unquestioning tone.

"Lord Marquis, the walls of Thorne City are extremely strong, and if the army attacks it, I am afraid there will be a lot of casualties." One of the officers spoke.

Flender did not reject the officer's suggestion. After many years of fighting abroad, he has indeed rarely encountered a wall as tall and strong as the city of Thorne, and even the defense of the court of Besançon cannot match the city of Thorne.

"You're right, a strong attack on Thorne by a large army is bound to cause heavy casualties, and such losses are not worth it." After Flender finished speaking, he motioned to Art to share his opinion.

"Lord Marquis," said Art, standing up, "before the Wells Legion (the Southern Garrison) arrived in Thorne, I had sent men to Thorne to prepare for people to lurk in the city. When they heard that Art had already sent someone to the city of Thorne, they all expressed their admiration for his resourcefulness.

"But," the expressions on the faces of the officers suddenly became serious. "Bernard had already sent for all the gates to be closed, and my men were not able to enter the city. Moreover, they found that the walls of the city of Thorne had been strengthened and were significantly higher than before, which made it more difficult for the army to attack the city of Thorne. ”

"If~" Arte paused, turning to look at Flender.

"Art, you don't have to worry about it, just say it." Flender motioned for Art to continue.

"Lord Marquis, if we have our internal response in the city, then the chances of capturing Thorne City are more than one." The reason why Art said this is because he relied on this method to take Marciburg. Moreover, Art had long known through secret channels that there were people in Thorne City who were secretly dealing with Flender, indicating that Flender had already had an internal connection in Thorne City.

Flender saw through Arter's mind at a glance, but he didn't doubt this guy, but appreciated it a little more. Because the two coincide with each other's ideas. When Art infiltrated the city of Thorne with a small number of men to assassinate Assasin, and brought several leaders to Paris to face the trial of the Church, this action dealt a severe blow to Bernard and greatly contributed to his own power. What's more, Art knew the situation in Thorne well, and could familiarize the officers of the Liberation Army with the situation in the city before the army invaded Thorne. After most of the men and horses rushed in, they annihilated the defenders in the city in one fell swoop.

"That's right, the best way to break through Thorne is to join forces!" Flender was full of praise for Yat's idea.

The other officer stood up and said, "Lord Marquis, where did we come from?" ”

"That's what I'm going to tell you next." Flender motioned for his personal guards to guard the door in person to prevent others from eavesdropping. Seeing that Flender was so cautious, the man at the table looked outside the curtain, then turned and fell his gaze on Flender, expecting to hear some important information from his mouth.

"The reason why I kept it a high level of secrecy before I arrived in the city of Thorne was because I was afraid that the news would be leaked out." Flender explained. "A few months ago, the lord of Thorne secretly sent someone to contact the court of Besançon, hoping to serve the court. Considering that the city of Thorne was extremely difficult to attack, I agreed to their request and secretly sent someone to contact them. This is also an important reason why the Liberation Army can so easily know the deployment of the Western Army's troops, and force them to the city of Thorn step by step. ”

Only then did it dawn on those present that Flender had already planned for a rainy day and had planted spies in the Thorne court.

"Lord Marquis is clever!" The officers present were all appreciative of Flender's methods.

"There's also the problem that the city of Thorne is surrounded by traps and stakes. If the army wants to attack the city of Thorne, it must eliminate this hidden danger in advance. "After yesterday's battle, Flender's 100 cavalry lost more than thirty men, more than half of whom died in the trap in front of the city of Thorne.

"Lord Marquis, leave this matter to me." Art stood up and took orders. Looking at Flender's skeptical eyes, Art continued: "There are many people in our army who are hunters, and they know more about these traps and potholes than ordinary people. It's only fitting to send them to clear the enemy's traps. ”

"Alright, Art, in that case, then this task is up to you. You just need to make a way for the army. ”

"I am willing to serve the Marquis." Art bowed. Flender nodded in satisfaction.

After agreeing on a plan to attack the city of Thorne, Art returned to the garrison of the Wells Army with Ron and the others to prepare for the next siege.