Section XXXVII: Duke Mason's Wrath
The defeat of the army of the Count of Lauzitz was so rapid that the Count led the remnants of his army to retreat along the route of his invasion, and as soon as he entered the territory of the Duke of Mason, he entered the castle of Weimar, and closed the gates of the castle, and the castle was built on a small hill above the plain, although there was no steep terrain as a barrier, but in addition to the high walls there was a deep ravine moat, which burrowed into the fortified towers of the castle, surrounded by thick walls, It was only after the arrow towers that Count Lauz's heart calmed down a little, and he completely forgot about the three boar brothers who he left behind to serve as the palace army.
"What defeated?" The news of the defeat of Count Lautz's army by the Duke of Saxony was only reported to the Duke of Mason's camp a few days later, and the Duke of Mason could not believe how his strategy of dividing the army was seen through by the Duke of Saxony, and because the division of troops led to the dispersion of his own troops, the loss of Count Lauzitz's army would also reduce the morale of the Duke of Mason's army a lot, and what made the Duke of Mason even more worried about the safety of his own son who carried out this plan.
"The Duke of Saxony suddenly returned to Braunschweig and caught the Count of Lauszitz by surprise." The knight who was sent to report the news said cautiously, and at this time, Duke Mason's expression was gloomy and terrifying.
"How did that old lion see through our plan?" The nobles next to him muttered in a low voice, could it be that the Duke of Saxony had the Eye of God, or that there were spies among his own people, and this thought cast a shadow over the Duke of Mason's camp.
"Send a herald at once to tell my son Abel to return, and then call the whole army to attack the enemy camp." The Duke of Mason was also worthy of the battle with the Duke of Saxony, and while he ordered the heralds to recall his son, he realized that the enemy on the opposite side was already underwhelmed, otherwise why would the daily outpost battle be reduced a lot, and this was not the time to track down the traitor, and the shadow of the defeat of the Count of Lauzitz must be washed away with a victory.
"It's the Duke." The nobles hurriedly clenched their fists and struck their chests, and the chain mail and swords on their bodies grinded and made a golden sound.
"Woo~~~." In the camp of the Duke of Mason sounded the sound of the trumpet, which was made of bull's horn and made a long, low sound, and suddenly the camp resounded with all kinds of noise, the knights put on their horses, the horses made the cry of gray law, the squires with shields and swords guarded the knights, the servants carried buckets of water to extinguish the campfires, the infantry followed closely behind their lords, and the soldiers who were fighting in the prostitute camp also hurriedly put on their armor and returned to the camp, and those who did not arrive on time were severely whipped.
"Queue forward~~~." Duke Mason rode on a tall horse, he wore a round helmet with bright polishing, and he wore a fine and delicate chain mail covered with a smock emblazoned with his family coat of arms, and an equally well-dressed knight of the Inner House held a square banner with a blue ribbon wrapped around it, under which the vassal lords of the Duchy of Mason were gathered, and various squares and pennants were lined up.
Duke Mason's fierce gaze crossed the forest to look directly at the Duke of Saxony's camp full of flags, and when he raised his right arm and clenched his fist, three horseback heralds raised their flags, representing the cavalry, infantry and archers, and when they raised their banners, the cavalry, infantry and archers marched forward in three formations, and the roar of the three thousand men and horses made the crows in the forest quackle and fly and circle.
The unusual behavior of the Duke of Mason's army immediately attracted the attention of the Saxons, who immediately closed the gate of the camp and watched the forest vigilantly behind the fence with spears in hand, and the sound of soldiers coming from the forest became louder and louder, which showed that the Duke of Mason's army was gradually approaching, and the momentum of three thousand men and horses was heavily pressed on the hearts of Saxons.
"Kill~~." A group of Saxon soldiers lying in ambush in the forest, attacking the left flank of Duke Mason's marching army, they suddenly jumped up and attacked with spears and bows and arrows in their hands by virtue of the stealth of the dense bushes in the forest, this surprise attack did bring a commotion to Duke Mason's army, but in the face of absolute numerical superiority, it was just like throwing a pebble in the water of a lake, but it was a little ripple, and it quickly disappeared.
"Woo~~." One of the last Saxons in the forest was pinned to the ground with a spear, and he tried to look up at the sky, but a Mason soldier grabbed him by the hair and threw him back by the neck, then slit his throat with a sharp knife, and blood flowed on the forest grass, in short, he was luckier than the rest of his companions, the other Saxons were pierced by the dung forks and spears of Duke Mason's peasants.
"Archers." Duke Mason's army was on and off, and the medieval army was not sufficiently trained, so in order to maintain morale and formation, the knights and lords had to maintain order after a certain walk, regrouping most of the peasants who had not been on the battlefield, and preventing anyone from escaping. Finally, when most of Duke Mason's army walked out of the forest, Duke Mason was already a little impatient, and he turned his head to the herald beside him and ordered.
"Yes, archers, archers." The herald nodded hurriedly, and he urged his horse under his crotch to hold aloft the square banner embroidered with bows and arrows in his hand, and walked from line to line, so that the archers behind could see the order.
"Whoa." The archers, who saw the banner in the rear, hurriedly trotted forward, they went to the front of the queue, stuck a few arrows in their hands into the ground, and then bent their bows and arrows forty-five degrees up.
"Put ~~." The captain of the bow glanced at the direction of the flag, raised his sword and waved it violently, shouting loudly.
"Brush~~ whoa." Three hundred sharp arrows departed in an instant, and the arrows fired from the back were densely covered above the Saxon camp.
"Ah~~~." Intensive bow shooting was a weapon of mass destruction in the Cold Weapon Age, although most of the archers in Duke Mason's army used a rudimentary short bow, and in order to train archers, they were allowed to hunt in his private woods, and in return these archers were to serve the Duke in time of war. However, these rudimentary bows were already a threat to the Saxon soldiers, who generally lacked armor protection, and there was a wail in the Saxon camp, with soldiers who had been shot in the limbs rolling on their wounded arms and thighs, while those who had been shot to the ground motionless.
"Retreat, retreat to the castle." The order came from the Saxon camp, and the camp was in disarray, and the cavalry fled through the back door of the camp on horseback, and the infantry crowded each other to climb out of the fence, which was supposed to resist the enemy, and the fence that was supposed to resist the enemy became an obstacle to their escape.
"The cavalry pursued, and the infantry occupied positions." Duke Mason was expressionless, and did not have the joy of defeating the enemy in just one round, he knew that if the enemy resisted stubbornly, it meant that there were at least a thousand people in the camp, but under the blow of his bow and arrow in the first round, the enemy retreated in a hurry, which means that this is an empty camp at all, and this has restrained him for several days, which is completely under the guise of playing himself as a monkey, and this anger makes him not have the joy of victory.
"Drive it~~~." The knights, who had long been unable to hold back, heard the duke's order and shouted wildly, put down their masks, drew their swords, and the horses under their crotches also rushed forward with joy, and the Saxons who fled from the camp heard the roaring hooves behind them in fear, and saw the Mason knights using their pistols and swords to set off a bloody storm among the Saxons who had lost their will to fight like a flock of sheep, and from time to time the Saxons were raised high by the high-speed charging carbines.
The battle ended in a morning, and the Duke of Mason crushed the Saxon camp that had been rock-like in his mind a few days ago, and the Duke of Mason, who had pursued him in victory, continued his march towards the castle of the county.
"Lord Duke, what should I do if I catch a Saxon knight?" While Duke Mason was on his horse and thinking about how to besiege the castle, two knights of the Inner House came to his horse with an unkempt face and a knight in chain mail.
"Your Excellency, Your Excellency, please be merciful, I am willing to pay a ransom, I am the son of Sir Bella." The Saxon knight was in a state of disarray, his face covered in jet-black dirt, and the family coat of arms on his coat of arms was illegible, which was caused by the fall from his horse, and although he tried to maintain his chivalric demeanor, he was disgraced by defeat.
"Hmph, kill it." Duke Mason didn't move his eyelids, and he gave the Saxon knight a vicious look. The uncertainty of his son's fate was caused by these damned Saxons, and he raised his right hand and stretched out his index finger and tugged at it.
"It's the Duke." The knights of the Inner House saw the duke's movements, and although they sympathized with the poor Saxon knight, they pulled him aside and made him kneel beside the grove.
"Oh no, no, for God's sake." The Saxon knight was very young, and he cried and begged for mercy, but the knights of the Mason Interior unwaveringly made him kneel, and one of the knights of the Interior came to him and pressed his hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist.
"Don't blame us, it's the sovereign's order." The knight of the inner house shook his head, but like lightning he pulled out his sword and slashed at the back of the Saxon knight's neck accurately, the sharp sword cut off the head of the Saxon knight in an instant, the movement was so fast, the expression on the face of the Saxon knight still showed a sad look, the head rolled on the ground for a distance before stopping, blood gushed out from the artery, making a gurgling sound of running water, and the body that lost his head fell to the ground like a stake.