Soldiers on both sides may never forget today's battle.

Because they had the privilege of enjoying a wonderful ********, not many people could see such a magnificent and splendid scene in this era when gunpowder had not yet been invented, especially when the flames climbed the lookout tower along the city wall as if they had life, and everyone could hear the fierce fire dragon roaring excitedly, the wood fibers moaning in the scorching flames, the dried texture finally burst open under the gaze of thousands of people, and the deafening explosion startled the horses in all directions, Overturning the knight on his back also scared the last trace of courage of the Poles to resist.

The white fat man, escorted by more than a dozen knights, fled away from the chaotic army, I looked at it from a distance, he also looked back at me, the two of them knew each other, this battle was just a live drama for other people to see, as for the hundred and ten soldiers who died, it was just a sacrifice for the greater good.

"My lord, you believe that Prince Mieshko like that? What if he changes his mind and does something bad for us? Kohler rode up to me, and asked worriedly, staring at the back of the fat white man running farther and farther away.

"I always feel that this person is not as simple as it seems."

I snorted and watched the white fat man and his entourage disappear into the reckless jungle, and then replied unhurriedly: "Of course I know what kind of person he is, but in the face of the most core interests and power, he does not have the courage to play tricks with me, because cooperating with me is the most convenient way to reach the throne, otherwise he will not know how to die by fighting his brother with his ability alone." ”

Kohler nodded incredulously, and didn't continue to ask, because there was more important business to be done at the moment.

The Poles who had fled from the Commander had been completely crushed, like a school of trout scattered by sharks, and the castle of Schweik was about to be razed to the ground in the fire, and the work of taking prisoners and rescuing supplies must begin immediately.

The villages along the way had already fled when they heard the news, and even the houses were burned, and the peasants dragged all their families into the lord's castle, and it was unrealistic to attack city by city with the number of our soldiers, and it was even a fool's dream to wait for their own people to travel thousands of miles, so we could only rely on piecemeal supplements.

The burned-down Schweik Castle provided a wealth of charcoal for the camp of the army, and was one of the by-products of the great victory, and the scouts reported that there was no trace of the enemy within a hundred miles, and I was happy to give the soldiers who were tired of the long battle a half-day off, while I leisurely leaned against the tent door to bask in the sun and enjoy the comfortable time.

The soldiers went to the forest to hunt in groups of threes and threes, or went down to the deep water to catch fish with their bare hands, get some meat and beat their teeth, some people took advantage of the rare free time, washed their dirty clothes that could not be colored, the pervasive lice stung them all over the red envelopes, and the ashes of the fire could also provide free drying services, the opportunity was simply rare, the mercenaries stationed a little away from the main camp had never had any organizational discipline, and had always only served money, and all the free time was gathered together to wrestle and have fun, The wanton squandering of inferior liquor and the noisy noise frightened the birds and beasts, and the bad discipline was indeed a headache.

The news of Prince Bolesław's march was constantly gathered into my camp from the spies lurking everywhere, and the two hidden fronts of Leonardo and Kohler were running at full speed at full speed, although relying on carrier pigeons and fast horses to transmit information had no advantage in terms of timeliness, and when a new piece of information arrived in my hands, it was already an old newspaper a few days ago, but it still had a very important reference value, at least according to intelligence analysis, I could roughly deduce the route of Bolesław's march on the map I had at hand.

"The Poles are almost all cavalry, so they are very mobile, and most of them are vassals and knights, and their combat effectiveness should definitely not be underestimated."

Kohler, who was sorting through information about the enemy in a pile of parchment, was worried about the big battle he was about to face, he knew a lot more words than I did, and he was able to read short pieces of information on his own.

"The enemy is outnumbered by us and more than a notch higher in the quality of its troops, and in a frontal attack it will take less than a turn for the Poles to break through our weak defenses."

"That's not necessarily, don't be ambitious enough to destroy your own prestige!"

The bull wiped the tomahawk in his hand, and was very dissatisfied with Kohler's opinion: "Give me some warriors who are not afraid of death, as long as you rush into the ranks of the Poles, I promise to cut them off on their backs, even if they are knights!" ”

"You also said that you need to rush into their midst, will the enemy give you such a chance?" Khloe was most disgusted with the bull's stubborn eyes and immediately retorted.

"No matter how fast two legs are, you can't catch up with four legs, and besides, you still have to go through a long charge, and you will have no strength left when you fight face to face."

"I said I had a way!" The bull tossed the prisoners aside and puffed out his cheeks excitedly.

"I'm not a soft egg who can only sneak up on enemies from afar!"

I put down the wine glass in my hand and hurriedly stopped the two arguing henchmen, like a worried mother who disciplines disobedient twin brothers: "You are brave and brave in this way, but it is an act of injuring a thousand enemies and injuring eight hundred, which is of no practical significance to the whole battle, Kohler's worries are indeed worthy of attention, we cannot confront the enemy head-on, and there is no power to stop the knights from charging down like a mountain and a sea." ”

"Outflanking the flanks will not work, as it will distract the frontal line of defense, but will give the enemy an opportunity to break us through, and we will only have a chance to win with a single blow with a clenched fist."

Kohler threw away the note in his hand and shook his head to add to my words: "The only precious opportunity. ”

"Could it be that we have made so many preparations, but we can only wait for death helplessly?" Hearing that this could not be done, the bull asked in annoyance.

"Infantry vs. cavalry, has been a problem since ancient times, even if the cavalry is not effective for a while, you can slowly escape and rearrange the charge formation, even if you are defeated, there is always a chance to escape, not to be wiped out, and once the infantry loses the battle line, it will inevitably collapse, and you can't escape the fate of being chased by the cavalry."

I pushed open the parchment scroll that was spread out on the table, revealing the map below, which was an old map of an old one that could not be examined, but on which the basic mountains, rivers, and important cities were still displayed at a glance.

"But don't be too pessimistic, we have a chance to win."

"What do you mean...... sir," Kohler asked cautiously, following the meaning of my words.

"It's up to us to decide where to fight, and as long as we rely on the favorable terrain, it won't be difficult to defeat them."

I traced my finger along Bolesław's march route on the map, and said to them in a deep voice: "That's why I let Prince Mieszko go, he is a prerequisite for victory." ”

"It's up to us to decide where to fight?" The bull scratched the back of his head, a little confused.

"Before the war, the two sides will inevitably agree on the place of the battle! ：

"Without further ado, I'll think about it again in the next few days and see if there is anything missing from the plan. Even so, you should make the necessary preparations according to the criteria of a decisive battle. ”

I stood up and began to issue orders in an orderly manner: "Rollo is responsible for supervising the construction of extra-long spear shafts, using hardwood materials, at least two adults should be as tall as they are, Kohler will lead people to prepare more tripping ropes, and make some wooden throwing spears with sharp fronts, and select soldiers with excellent arm strength for intensive training, I don't require them to be able to pierce the armor with wooden sticks, as long as they can accurately hit the front chest of the war horse within fifty paces, Jensen is transferred to the mercenary team to be responsible for commanding, and restrain the discipline of this group of outlaws, They will be the vanguard in the battle, bull your job is the hardest, since you like to fight in the flesh and blood, go to each battalion to select soldiers to organize death squads, as a reserve on standby, you remember, I only need to fight tough battles and not afraid of death elite! ”

"Yes!"

Several henchmen received their respective tasks, and all of them shouted in unison, only Kohler wanted to say something, but he pursed his lips and followed them, and I stared at his back with a bow and arrow, and smiled with satisfaction.

Kohler has the most problems in the march and battle, he is simply a curious baby, this spirit of 100,000 whys is very much appreciated by me, because with the growth of Nijmegen's power, I feel more and more that I lack a strong right-hand man, although I have Leonardo's assistance, but on the battlefield I still have to rely on my own ideas, but there is no all-round handsome man who can take charge alone, and Kohler is the one I have the most high hopes for among my henchmen.

After a few days of careful preparation, I finally left Schweik Castle with my rested army and headed for the best battle site I had carefully chosen.

Located at the source of the Oder River, the castle overlooks the highlands and gentle riparian plains, providing Bolesław with the confidence to launch a cavalry offensive and a hillside for infantry defense.

On the march, I sent a dozen messengers with my own handwritten letters to find Bolesław's army, and to agree on the place of battle between the two sides.

"How can you be so sure that Prince Bolesław will rush to the agreed place as requested in the letter?" Kohler asked, after the last messenger had saluted his farewell.

"Someone dug up the lair and didn't dare to fight the invaders face to face, even if he didn't want to be a vassal under his command, he wouldn't agree, and the old duke who sent him back all the way wouldn't agree, after all, Bohemia was the main battlefield, and the fire at home must be extinguished. Those who want to chase the throne must cherish their feathers, not to mention that he is still known as a brave man, and abiding by the rules of knightly warfare is the most basic bottom line. I raised my eyebrows mischievously, and I was content to grasp the weakness of those who were sanctimonious.

"What if he plays with yin behind his back?" The bull stared at the air and jumped out of the air, wanting to join us in the discussion.

"War is never above board." I held on to my lower back, which was a little sore after a long ride, and the old injury still affected my movements.

"In order to win, both sides in the war tried their best to fight each other by unscrupulous means to protect themselves, and whoever is not serious will lose......"

The bull and Kohler listened attentively, one with a puzzled face and the other nodding at the same time.

(End of chapter)