Originally, Marin had prepared several hundred small and medium-sized boats in Las Vegas, on the east bank of the Elbe estuary. These ships are usually used to transport those aristocratic lords from the West Coast to Las Vegas for gambling. After all, Las Vegas, a casino city, was built to host and corrupt the old aristocracy of the Bremen region. Therefore, those ships were naturally used to receive the old nobles who had been squeezed out of the political inner circle by Marin.

However, in time of war, the hundreds of ships would be under command and would stand side by side on the Elbe to build pontoon bridges for the passage of large armies.

However, this time, when the Third Army and the Cossack Cavalry Corps arrived on the Elbe again, the hundreds of ships that had been prepared here were deceived by the old nobles of Bremen Province, led by Baron Ginter, and then controlled by the old nobles on the other side......

Not only that, but the old nobles on the west bank of the Elbe not only seized the ships that had sent them back, but also left a large number of servants on the west bank to guard against anyone crossing the river.

When Steindorff arrived on the east bank of the Elbe with the 3rd Army and the Cossack Cavalry Corps, not only were there no boats to cross the river, but there were 10,000 enemy troops on the opposite bank to prevent anyone from crossing the river.

These 10,000 people are naturally the 10,000 conscripts sent by the alliance of the princes of the Eight Kingdoms to replace the private army of the 7,000 veteran nobles who were originally guarding here.

Although the combat effectiveness of these levies is very poor, it is enough for them to guard the Elbe and prevent people from crossing the river on the other side.

For example, if someone on the east bank crosses the river by boat and does not reach the west bank, they will be attacked by the 10,000 crossbowmen. And that's not even counting the fact that when the ship tries to dock, it is stabbed with several spears, forcing the ship to be unable to land......

Even if the people on the ship were fierce and dodged the blow, so what? If a lone ship had landed on the west bank, the men who had disembarked would have been besieged by enemy forces on the west bank. How many people can a boat carry? was besieged by the enemy brigade, and the martial arts masters also had to be hated......

So, in the absence of ships, the officers and men of the 3rd Army and the Cossack Cavalry Corps could only stare at the surging waters of the Elbe.

……

"Alas, how to cross the river! If you can't cross the river again, you'll have to delay the fighter! Steindorff looked at the surging waters of the Elbe and the enemy troops waiting on the other side, and jumped to his feet in a hurry.

In the evening, Steindorff drank sullenly in the lord's mansion in Las Vegas, accompanied by the Cossack cavalry commander Alsace.

Suddenly, his subordinates reported that Woolf, the consul of the Dietmarshin Autonomous County, was in charge. Esbrand visited......

"Woolf. Esbrand? Familiar name......" muttered Steindorff.

The adjutant who was waiting on the side hurriedly reminded:

"It's Woolf who once defeated the Danish army. Esbrand, and the Grand Duke of Marin was also captured by him......"

"Ah, remember!" Steindorff finally remembered Woolf. Who is Esbrand? This person is a famous European hero of this era.

In this era when people's minds were generally dull, Woolf. Esbrand is one of the few powerful people in Europe who knows how to use stratagem.

At the beginning, the Danish king sent more than 10,000 troops to attack Dietmarshin, which had only a thousand militiamen. As a result, in the Battle of Hemmingstedt, Woolf. Esbrand organized the people to block the river upstream of the village of Heimingstedt. When the Danish army arrived, they suddenly let people dig the river embankment and use the flood to break away tens of thousands of Danish troops, making it famous in the first battle.

And that's not even counting the fact that when Marin led people to besiege Hyde, the capital of Dietmarshin, Woolf. Esbrand also sent his number one fierce general, Cage, to take advantage of Marin's inattention, knock him unconscious and take him into the city, forcing Marin to agree to the autonomy of Dietmarshin County......

Later, Fierce General's brother Cage was recruited by Marin and became an instructor in the special forces of the North Sea State. It's Woolf. Esbrand, a wise man, after serving Marin for a while, returned to Dietmarshin County to benefit the township (the actual situation is that Marin later recruited former Danish Prime Minister Mikel, Biwoolf. Esbrand had more experience in governance, so he let him go back to his hometown). And the people of Dietmarshin County also support him and have always made him the consul of the Dietmarshin County Autonomous Government. Moreover, the city of Las Vegas, according to words, is also built in the southwesternmost part of Dietmarshen County. It's just that this place is not currently under the jurisdiction of Dietmarshin County, but is directly under the command of Marin.

This time, Woolf. Esbrand didn't come to Las Vegas to eat, drink and have fun, but to negotiate cooperation with Las Vegas City Lord Groz.

As for cooperating with what? Mostly Woolf. Esbrand wants Las Vegas City's vegetables, meat and fish to be sourced primarily from Dietmarshen County to increase the income of farmers in Dietmarshen County.

Originally, although Las Vegas was next to Dietmarshin County, consumer goods were not sourced exclusively from neighboring Dietmarshin County. After all, Las Vegas is located at the mouth of the Elbe River and is easily accessible by water, so it doesn't necessarily need to be sourced from Dietmarshin County.

Woolf. Esbrand came this time to negotiate with the lord of Groz, hoping to win most of the supply orders for the benefit of the farmers in Dietmarchen County.

However, the Groz-lord reacted somewhat coldly. Because, according to the lord of Groz, although the county of Dietmarshen nominally belonged to the North Sea State, it had the right of autonomy and did not pay taxes to the Grand Duke of Marin, so it did not contribute much to the North Sea State. At the same price, Groz prefers to order products from other regions rather than from the "country within a state" of Dietmarschen.

Woolf. After Esbrand entered the City Lord's Mansion, the Groz City Lord reacted coldly. It was Steindorff, the commander of the Third Army, who admired Woolf. Esbrand's brilliant record, and he chatted hotly.

Steindorff chatted with Woolf. Esbrand's bitterness illustrates the awkward situation of crossing the river.

Woolf. After hearing this, Esbrand was silent for a while, and then suddenly asked:

"If I can find a way to get the Third Army and the Cossack Cavalry Regiment across the river, will Your Excellency the Commander be able to guarantee that the Lord of Groz will be able to give most of the food supply orders for Las Vegas to Dietmarshin County?"

Steindorff suddenly came to the spirit:

"Lord Woolf, can you find a way to get our whole army across the river?"

"Yes, yes, yes......" After speaking, Woolf. Esbrand glanced at the Groz City Lord.

Steindorff was overjoyed to hear this:

"I understand what you mean, if you can find a way to get my army to cross the river smoothly, it will be a great contribution to the Beihai State. For the supply of agricultural products in Las Vegas City, the Grand Duke will not be stingy. Even, the Grand Duke will be rewarded separately! ”

"Really? Can you guarantee it? "Woolf. Esbrand asked, staring at Steindorff.

"I promise! You don't know how important this war is to the Grand Duke, just a contract for agricultural products, but a matter of a word from the Grand Duke. I'm here to assure you that you will do your best to make this happen afterwards! I don't think the Grand Duke will be stingy! ”

Woolf. Esbrand nodded and said:

"Then I'm relieved......"

Steindorff hurried:

"Then let's talk about how the army crosses the river!"

Woolf. Esbrand nodded, went to a map hanging on the wall next to the room, and pointed to the map:

"Legionnaire, please look at ......"

Steindorff and Alsace both came over, and the Lord of Groz came to watch.

"This is Las Vegas, and a few dozen kilometers to the southeast is the Hanseatic city of Hamburg......"

"I see, you're asking me to go to Hamburg City to borrow a boat!" Steindorff exclaimed excitedly. However, he soon became a little frustrated-

"However, the west bank of the Elbe is defended by the enemy, and even if you borrow a boat from Hamburg, it will be difficult to build a pontoon bridge. After all, the other party will definitely not let us successfully build a pontoon bridge......"

Woolf. Esbrand smiled and said:

"Lord Steindorff, you see, further south of the city of Hamburg, in fact, it is beyond the territory of the province of Bremen......"

Steindorff looked at it and said:

"Yes, further south is the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, which is an enemy country, should we build a pontoon bridge there?"

Woolf. Esbrand nodded:

"Yes, although the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg is an enemy country, it is not like the province of Bremen where the banks of the river are defended. So, you can borrow a boat from Hamburg City and build a pontoon bridge to cross the river just south of Hamburg. ”

"Then what if the opposing defenders find out and send people to the south to block it? After all, building a pontoon bridge is not done overnight. What if the pontoon bridge is being built and the enemy comes to destroy it? The Cossack regiment commander Alsace asked.

Woolf. Esbrand thought for a moment and said:

"This is simple, tomorrow Lord Steindorff will take the Third Army to make a gesture of forcibly crossing the river on the side of Las Vegas to attract the attention of the defenders on the opposite side. You, Lord Alsace, quietly made a detour with five thousand cavalry to the city of Hamburg and borrowed a ship from Hamburg. Then, in the evening, he headed south with the fleet and entered the border of the Duchy of Braunschweig-Lüneburg to build a pontoon bridge. ”

"After the pontoon bridge was built, the Cossack cavalry crossed the river and guarded the pontoon. As the two of you said just now, the defenders on the other side are all conscripts with weak combat effectiveness. As long as the Cossack cavalry passed two or three thousand people, even if the other side found out the truth, it would be too late. Even if they want to go south and destroy the pontoon bridge, it depends on whether you Cossack cavalry agree or not. ”

Alsace nodded again and again:

"That's right, if my Cossack cavalry had two or three thousand people, I would have been able to cut down those levies! When the time comes, Master Steindorff's Third Legion will be able to cross the river smoothly under the cover of my cavalry! ”

Steindorff thought for a moment and asked:

"How do you cross the Weser River to the west? It was also a great river...... "The Earl of Oldenburg has been occupied by the coalition of the princes of the Eight Nations. The ferry ships that originally crossed the Weser River would definitely be controlled or even destroyed by the coalition of the Princes of the Eight Kingdoms, in order to prevent the Third Army from crossing the river and attacking the coalition forces of the Princes of the Eight Kingdoms from behind. From Las Vegas to East Friesland, the Elbe and Weser rivers are mainly difficult to cross. For other small rivers, you can build a pontoon bridge by just a few boats. Even, cut down trees on the spot to build pontoon bridges.

Woolf. Esbrand said without thinking:

"The old way, go to Bremen City and borrow a boat to build a pontoon bridge to cross the river! Bremen and Hamburg are both Hanseatic cities, and the Grand Duke of Marin has good relations with the Hanseatic League, so there is no problem borrowing a ship from Bremen. "Bremen is also a famous river port city, and there are a lot of boats.

Steindorff suddenly jumped up excitedly:

"Okay, that's it! As long as we can cross these two rivers smoothly, our army will be able to go straight behind the enemy! When the time comes, we and the main force of the Grand Duke will be able to attack back and forth, and we will be able to successfully annihilate the enemy! ”

……