"Lord Earl, it seems that those rebels will not attack the city in the short term. It's been so long, and I haven't seen any movement from them. ”

On the wall of the eastern gate of the city of Thorne, the bachelor advisor standing behind Bernard analyzed Bernard, who was staring at the rebel camp. Bernard didn't answer, just quietly looked into the distance. The Advisor stopped talking, and looked at the rebel camp, speculating on what was going on in his master's mind.

A few days earlier, the cavalry outside the city had finally sent a secret message, in which they had burned all the fifty wagons of grain and grass that had been transported to the rebels in the direction of Besançon on a day's journey east of the city of Saône, and had killed more than 100 of the guards and chauffeurs who had gone with them. Bernard was overjoyed to hear the news. Seeing that the sharp knife that he had secretly arranged outside the city before had begun to work, the string that had been tense in Bernard's heart for the past few days finally got a moment of respite. Immediately afterwards, Bernard sent a secret message ordering the cavalry to continue the attack until the rebels ran out of food and grass, forcing them to retreat.

Now it seems that the reason why the rebels have not moved on the city of Thorne for a long time is more or less related to the burning of grain and grass this time. Those fifty carts of grain and grass were enough for 10,000 men to consume for five days, which meant that the rebels had to postpone the attack on the city of Thorn for five days, and they could also get a respite. If that cavalry can destroy the enemy's food and grass without interruption, when the rebels retreat, they will have a chance to win back in the current unfavorable situation. As long as the Flemish bastard can be driven out of Besançon, it is not impossible to gain the support of the Duchy again. As long as you can make their eyes see the shining gold coins and the fertile land, it is God, and they will not hesitate to betray.

"Lord Earl~Lord Earl~" The soldiers stationed at the south gate hurriedly ran all the way to the east gate. Bernard heard and moved his gaze from the rebel camp to the soldiers who were already standing behind him.

"What's the matter?" There was a hint of calm in Bernard's tone, which made the soldier a little incredulous to his ears. Originally, he was ready to be scolded, but the old man was so polite today before meeting, and suddenly became a little unaccustomed. On weekdays, if the herald hurriedly came to report the military situation, the first thing he would do when he entered the door would definitely be scolded by this unusually short-tempered old fellow, and then report the military situation one by one.

"Dumb?" Seeing that the herald stared blankly at him and did not speak, Bernard's voice suddenly raised a lot, pulling the herald's thoughts back.

"Report ~ Report to Lord Earl, there is a cavalry team of more than a dozen people coming towards Thorne City two miles away from the south city gate, and there are more than a hundred cavalry behind them who have been chasing after them, and they are also coming this way." The soldiers hurried to report the situation to Bernard.

"More than a hundred cavalry chased a dozen cavalry towards Thorne City~" Bernard said silently. According to common sense, it should be his own people who come to Thorne. "Mo is not~"

"Not good! Come with me to the South City Gate! Bernard, who reacted, dragged his heavy steps and trotted all the way towards the south gate. The herald also chased after him, along with the Bachelor Advisor and several officers.

…………

"Quick, brothers, run, we'll be at the South City Gate soon~"

Two miles outside the southern gate of the city of Thorne, more than a hundred cavalry bit the dozen cavalry in front of them, and fired a few light arrows from time to time.

The guy who was at the front on horseback looked back in horror as he swung his whip at the horse, and the horse roared and sped up under the horse's command. The others who followed closely behind also ran wildly all the way, and they didn't care about shooting arrows back to stop them~

These desperate fleeing guys were the remnants of the cavalry that had just fled after the failed attack on the Wells army south of Thorne. Seeing that the leading cavalry had been killed, the fellows took advantage of the chaos to rush out to the north, all the way to the city of Thorne. Not far after they had just run, the cavalry behind them caught up.

"Lord Earl, it seems to be our cavalry." An officer standing at the south gate recognized his own man and looked in horror at the dozen or so cavalrymen who were being chased and killed by a large group of men and horses all the way.

"Quick, order the soldiers defending the city to prepare to cover our men into the city." After confirming that it was his own men, Bernard hurriedly gave orders to the officers defending the city.

"Yes, Lord Count!"

By this time, a dozen cavalry were less than a mile from the city gates, and the archers on the city walls were all in place.

"Hurry, hurry! It's time to get to the city gate, watch out for the traps ahead. The cavalry who was running at the front saw the drawbridge that had been slowly lowered, and said loudly to the people behind him.

When a dozen cavalry rushed within half a mile of the southern city gate, they finally breathed a sigh of relief. They thought that there were traps everywhere around the city gates, and the cavalry behind them would certainly not rush to follow. They all slowed down and headed towards the suspension bridge~

"They're coming!"

Seeing more than a hundred cavalry rushing around the trap outside the city towards the dozen cavalry who were already approaching the drawbridge, one of the cavalrymen screamed. When a dozen men looked behind them on horseback, they could not believe that the enemy's cavalry had accurately bypassed the traps and were charging towards them.

"Run!"

"Give me chase!" One of the officers leading the pursuit gave the order to continue the pursuit.

"Archer prepare!" By this time, the archers on the walls had already begun to draw their bows.

"Put!"

At the sound of an order, more than fifty heavy armor-piercing arrows had already shot at the enemy cavalry less than a hundred paces away from the drawbridge, and in the blink of an eye, four or five fallen war horses had already thrown out the cavalry on horseback.

"Quick, cross the bridge now." When the drawbridge fell, several cavalrymen in front had already run inside. I saw that the cavalry following behind was huddled together, and several people had been cut down by the enemy cavalry who had caught up.

"Why were those bastards able to get around the traps outside the city?" Seeing that the enemy cavalry easily bypassed the traps and rushed towards the drawbridge, Bernard, who was standing on the wall, stamped his feet in anger and loudly questioned the officers defending the city.

"Earl~Lord Earl, this, I'm also~" Just as the officers guarding the city couldn't come up with a reason, Bernard had already slapped him and slapped him, making the surrounding officers and soldiers take a few steps back.

"Lord Earl, the enemy cavalry is approaching the drawbridge!" Just as Bernard was finishing cleaning up the careless officer defending the city, the officer, who had been watching the battle under the city, suddenly spoke.

I saw that the seven or eight cavalrymen blocking the drawbridge were being slashed to the ground by the enemy cavalry one by one, desperately struggling to rush in the direction of the drawbridge~

"Lord Earl, if you don't close the gates, I'm afraid that the bastards will rush inside." An officer said uneasily.

Seeing that the enemy's cavalry under the city wall was resisting the flying arrows under the cover of shields, they had no intention of retreating. If these cavalry are allowed to control the drawbridge, the consequences will be unimaginable~

"Raise the drawbridge and close the gates!" Bernard immediately ordered the gates to be closed. I watched as the few cavalrymen who failed to enter the city were hacked to death by the enemy's swords.

"Withdraw!"

Seeing that the drawbridge had been raised, the cavalry under the city covered the retreat.

Looking at the retreating cavalry and the dozen or so corpses left by the enemy under the city wall, Bernard's hands clenched into fists and smashed down the city wall fiercely, blood gushing~

"Go, call those guys who fled into the city to me!"

With that, Bernard left in a rage.

…………

“…… My lord, this is the case, seeing that we are about to succeed, the drawbridge is raised, and we can only withdraw after the bastards are settled. ”

The Welsh Regiment was stationed in the camp of the Chinese army, and the officer in charge of pursuing the enemy's deserters reported to Art what had happened.

"You're doing a good job, let's go back and clean it first." Looking at the bloodstained face of the officer, Art said with concern.

After the officer went out, Art turned to Ron and said, "Ron, are they back, Sergeant Major?"

"Sir, not yet. However, the sergeant major has already sent someone back. I saw that the master was resting, so I didn't disturb you. ”

"How's it going?" Art wiped the corners of his eyes and asked a little tiredly.

"They are escorting the baggage team back, and we have lost five truckloads of grain and grass, and there are also some casualties."

Art stopped talking, just walked around the tent. He already knew this result in his heart.

…………

When Bernard returned to his mansion, the cavalrymen who had recovered their lives were also brought up. The ensuing bad news also hit Bernard hard.

He never expected the enemy's reaction to be so swift. As soon as he gave Flender a blow, the bastard backhand sent someone to destroy his carefully arranged move outside the city. This is tantamount to cutting off one of his own arms, and it will undoubtedly add more difficulties if he wants to take the initiative in the struggle that follows.

At present, the defenders of Thorne are no more than 2,000 men, including the men of Tancienburg in the west, and there are no more than 2,300 men in combat strength. If some of the soldiers of Thorne were secretly sent outside the city to attack the enemy's food and grass, the defense of Thorne would be weakened somewhat. Moreover, Flender must have raised his vigilance by now, and if he wants to stab him in the back again, he is afraid that he will not succeed so easily.

At this point, the most important thing to do now is to continue to strengthen the defenses of the city of Saône, ready to face the siege of the enemy. As long as he can firmly hold the city of Thorne, he still has a chance to fight back.

Just in case, Bernard summoned all the officers defending the city to the hall of the lord and instructed them to be vigilant at all times in case the enemy came to sneak attack.

In addition, he summoned the officers in charge of security in the city to him and instructed them to keep their eyes wide open, to guard against the collusion between the rebels and the people in the city, and to execute them immediately if they were discovered. The existence of these eyeliners in the city of Thorne originated from the fact that Art led people to lurk in the city of Thorne and annihilated the Assasin who had raised him in the city in one fell swoop. This not only caused Bernard to lose the arm of the Dean family, but also was suppressed by the church, and his power was greatly weakened.

In view of this lesson, Bernard ordered a number of people to be assigned to clean up the forces in the city of Thorne that colluded with foreign enemies. Even the lords of the city have people around him for him to send, and at this cusp, he no longer easily trusts anyone. He can fight against Flender for the power of the country, and others can stab him in the back for profit. Having sat in the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer for many years, Bernard knows that in the face of interests, some people can betray everything~