Chapter III: Military Intelligence

Klaus's team was stationed on a plain about 100 miles from the village of Kari, guarding a road from the 'Qingfeng Plains' to the capital of the province of Siri. In peacetime, highways were the main thoroughfares for transportation and commerce on the mainland, and parties were stationed there to facilitate tax collection and garrisoning. However, in wartime, the opposing army will not obediently march on the road, and such garrison troops are actually useless, and it is even convenient for the opposing army to judge the location of the garrison and encircle and suppress it.

This was originally an obvious problem, but Duke Green still ordered those private troops stationed in the place to remain fixed in his barracks, training those recruits who had just been drafted, in his mind, anyway, he had already sent more than 20,000 people of the 'Green Field Corps' to reinforce the front line, plus the Imperial Military Department's standing army of more than 10,000 people in his territory, it should be able to support two months, let him train those recruits a little.

Duke Green thought very well, now that the south of his province was densely populated with a brigade of 500,000 recruits and more than 20,000 not-so-elite private troops to train them, if the Smart Empire attacked directly from the border, they could be overwhelmed by the tactics of a sea of people.

As his treasurer shouted, "Your Excellency, each fallen soldier only needs a pension of five gold coins, and we can continue to gather people and horses, and we can tired the magicians of the Smart Empire." ”

Duke Green asked with deep puzzlement: "Well, let's not talk about this, the problem is that the great lords near me refuse to send troops to help me, this is their duty, and they don't need to consume the strength of their own private legions on me." But why hasn't the Empire's army arrived?

No one could answer his question, and so, in the midst of all these doubts and uneasiness, the training of recruits in the province of Xili began.

Klaus's barracks was originally only enough to station a team of 1,000 people, and then Duke Green, in order to expand his strength, reported that a team actually had a strength of 1,500 people, so it was already a little crowded, and this time he was sent to recruit soldiers, and all the recruits from all over the country were nearly 30,000 people, how could that small garrison accommodate it for a while? Fortunately, Duke Green did not hesitate to protect his territory and power, tents have been distributed, plus the wooden houses built by the soldiers who arrived first, and a dense new garrison appeared on the edge of Klaus's small castle, and 30,000 recruits barely stayed.

Klaus stood on the small castle tower and laughed: "Now, I am more majestic than the commander of the 'Green Field Corps', I have more than 30,000 people under my command, hehe, the actual strength is more than him, but I dare not guarantee this combat effectiveness." If these soldiers were all Black Iron Knights, even if they only had one wolf tooth, more than 30,000 people would be enough to sweep through any of the Smart Empire's legions, right?"

However, his sweet dream was immediately interrupted by Lei, who ran up to the city a little heavily, and after being checked by several of Klaus's personal soldiers, he cautiously approached Klaus and asked, "My lord, should we start training here?"

Klaus waved his hand: "Of course, it's not just about training, it's about training hard." Look, this is the size of a legion, you have to train hard, seriously, and I will let those real soldiers train you well. Hahahaha... Klaus's eyes were full of enthusiasm, if he could lead this army to achieve certain results, he should be promoted to the rank no matter what, right?

Lei nodded hurriedly, hesitated for a while, and asked in a low voice, "But my lord, what kind of training do we use?"

Klaus was stunned for a moment: "What?

Ray's face was full of smiles: "Well, we don't have weapons, and we don't have armor, how can we train?" Some of my friends are classified as pikemen, and they can train with wooden sticks, but I am classified into the ranks of light infantry, and this sword is not at all." There are also some recruits who want me to tell you that they can only shoot arrows, and they can't use knives and guns, you see... There's no way to train. ”

Klaus's face immediately became gloomy, and he muttered in a low voice: "Damn, don't you have any weapons? How can I forget this? God, how is it possible to replenish 30,000 people with weapons at a time? There is also armor, by the way, there is food, food is not a problem, the nearby cities can provide so much food, but combat weapons... Well, young man, are you called Ray?"

Lei nodded again and again, and Klaus squeezed out a few smiles on his face: "Well, you go and tell your companions, there will be weapons, armor, and everything you need, you will have it, you don't have to worry, haha, the Duke will definitely mobilize weapons or something as soon as possible." Well, you go to train first, train yourself, so that you can be worthy of the weapons in your hands. ”

Ray was stunned by Klaus's words, yes, isn't a soldier just worthy of the weapon in his hand? An untrained soldier, even if he has a peerless sword in his hand, can't knock down the enemy, right? So, after standing upright, saluting a military salute that he had just learned, which was not yet very standard, he was about to go down the castle tower.

As soon as he turned around, a fat middle-aged man who had almost become a ball, white and chubby, with a smile on his face, climbed up the stairs on the city wall with difficulty. Ray saw that he had filled the entire passage, and it was obvious that he could not go down, so he had to stop where he was, and at the same time, in order to make enough space for him to stop, Ray had to take a few steps back.

Klaus's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly greeted him and greeted him affectionately: "Lord Deputy Chief Wenles, may I ask, are you here to send us supplies?"

Wenres stretched out his hand, grabbed Klaus's wrist, panted and struggled out of the stairs, sighed and said, "Aha, dear Klaus team leader, you have to treat me to a good meal tonight, this road is too difficult, but the Duke has asked us to personally deliver these things to the hands of the adults, so I can only work hard." ”

Klaus hurriedly smiled: "Of course, this road has not been repaired for a long time, you must be tired, right? Ha, the cider in the nearby village is a good thing, do you want to taste it? Although it is not as good as the wine in the Duke's Palace, it also has a different flavor... What did you send me?" Klaus's eyes were full of anticipation.

Wen Les wrenched his fingers: "Well, 3,000 swords, 2,000 spears, 5,000 sets of light leather armor, 3,000 sets of medium leather armor, 1,500 bows, and 30,000 arrows." Whew, that's all. ”

Klaus was stunned: "Lord Deputy Chief, are you right? I have recruited nearly 30,000 recruits. ”

Winres rolled his eyes and sighed, "I can't help it, I'm too nervous, I'm too nervous about the equipment." The entire territory has recruited more than 500,000 recruits, and it is good to be able to guarantee the equipment of 150,000 people, which is still bought by the Duke from several other territories at a high price, those damn Dukes, are sucking our blood, I know that they are jealous of the richness of our Xili Province, but they are too much, an ordinary steel knife costs seventy silver coins, which is more than twice the normal price... Team leader, dear team leader Klaus, you have to understand our difficulties. ”

Before Klaus could speak, Wenres had already begun to complain: "In recent years, in order to make friends with the ministers of the imperial capital, our duke has spent a lot of gold coins, recruiting 500,000 recruits, it cost one million gold coins, and then the marching tent, and another 1.7 million gold coins have been used, plus the 'Green Field Corps' to supplement the arrows, armor, and weapons used in the front line, and also to advance three months' military salaries, and at the same time, each soldier has taken an additional twenty gold coins to improve morale, these are all money. ”

Klaus looked at the sweaty Wenles blankly, unable to speak anymore. Wen Lisi also seemed to feel that the equipment he sent was too sorry for people, and when it was difficult to be in this territory, he should have a good chance of wooing these team leaders who stayed behind, and couldn't help but squeeze out a smile and said: "Well, in fact, Lord Duke has also tried his best, and there are not so many weapons in the nearby provinces, so you have to wait for the arrival of the imperial army to have a large number of equipment support... The recruits had to get used to the situation. ”

Wen Les lowered his voice and whispered: "Actually, if those recruits have sharpened sticks, they can also kill the enemy, and we still have to earn three recruits in exchange for the life of one enemy soldier, right? How many troops can the Smart Empire send to invade us? Think about it? If we can use these recruits to destroy the invading army, don't we all have a great credit?"

Klaus pondered for a while, glanced at the stunned Ray, and suddenly laughed: "Then, these and give priority to the recruits in Kari Village, there are not many of them, and the others are also given priority to the recruits from the mountains I recruited, their quality is much better than that of the citizens in the city, good weapons, naturally they should be given to them, what do you say?"

Ray nodded, and just as he was about to speak, Klaus had already pushed him by the shoulders and sent him off the wall, and whispered in his ear: "You didn't hear anything just now, understand? This is military intelligence, secret military information, you know, if the news of our incomplete equipment is known to the enemy, we are in danger, understand?"

A sense of honor swelled up in Lei's heart, and he couldn't help but puff up his chest and replied: "Don't worry, my lord, I won't say it... But can you give me a bow and arrows? I'm a good archer. ”

Klaus replied casually: "Of course it's no problem, Lev, Lev, where did you bastard go? Take Ray to get the weapons, let him choose the best weapons for the boys in Kari Village, by the way, when you assign the queue, those boys in Kari Village can be the squad leader, understand? You send someone to the detachment first, okay, I'm going to see the recruits all train this afternoon, let them train me when they are full, don't be lazy, lazy people... You can dispose of it at will, it is a time of war, and military law is engaged. ”

Lev, the leader of Klaus's own army, nodded when he heard this, and pulled Ray away. Looking at Lei's distant back, Klaus shrugged his shoulders helplessly: "Alas, what a deceitful boy, but I can't help it, I also want to have enough weapons... Just kidding, it's nice to be able to trade five people for one with a weapon made of sharpened sticks and steel. Alas!"

When Lei happily returned to the tent where his villagers were stationed with a pile of carefully selected weapons, he happened to see a group of recruits from other villages surrounding Bit, and there was a dispute. I could only hear a rough voice shouting dissatisfiedly: "Why can the people of their Kari village be the captain of the squad? Can't we? Aren't we weaker than them? Look, many of them are children who have not yet grown their hair." ”

There was laughter from the crowd, and the soldier sent by Lord Lev to give the order was holding his long sword, which weighed less than five pounds, and stood by with a smile and watched the excitement, not caring about the so-called maintenance of order. Ray hurriedly called a few soldiers who were helping him carry his weapons to stop, squeezed into the crowd himself, and asked loudly: "Bit, bit, what's wrong?"

While Ray was still squeezing through the crowd, a strong force suddenly came from behind him, as if it was the result of a heavy kick in his ass. And the crowd in front of him suddenly got out of the way, and as a result, Thunder flew out like a cloud, fell heavily and embarrassedly to the ground, and after a few rolls, he just lay down in front of Bit, who was clenched into fists.

Bit and a group of young people who got along well with Ray were furious and shouted, "What's the point of kicking someone in the back?"

Immediately, a tall man came out, waving his fist and shouting: "So, boy from Kari Village, how about we play head-on? Let's also learn from the style of those knights, hahaha, let's have a fair duel, oh, the little knight of Kari Village, haha... The surrounding recruits let out another laugh, and laughed mercilessly at the thunder who lay on the ground and rarely got up for a long time.

Before Bit could move, Ole, a stout and short young man, had already rushed out, and the fifth form of the 'heavy punch' was hit in a decent manner, and while his right hand was slashing at the big man's shoulder, his left elbow had already hit the big man's lower abdomen, and at the same time, his right foot had already kicked him the knee. As a result, the big man could only lie on the ground in embarrassment, and Ole unceremoniously stepped heavily on the back of his head.

In the blink of an eye, Ory won a big victory. There was a commotion among the recruits around them, looking at each other and not talking, and they could see that Ole was different from them and had been specially trained. Maybe their strength can be much greater than that of Olle, but if they really move, they must lose.

The soldier who gave the order laughed: "Okay, right? Alas, you recruits, I have seen too much, uncle, and I have to fight for it every time, in short, someone is unlucky." Regardless of my business, this is what the team leader ordered, let these young people in Kari Village be the team leader, if you are not happy, forget it, you can win them anyway, the team leader is yours... Don't be like that stupid bear, who was knocked unconscious in the blink of an eye. ”

Ignoring the annoyed eyes of the recruits, the soldier greeted Bit and said with a grin: "Squad Leader, I'm going back to my life, you can quickly select people and form your own team." A squad of ten people, that is, in addition to yourself, you must have nine soldiers under you, and the order of the captain of the team is that after lunch, you must start training, otherwise military law will be involved. ”

Lei finally got up from the ground in embarrassment, and asked puzzledly: "What is military law engagement? The team leader also said this word just now." ”

The soldier drew his sword, gestured for a beheading, laughed and walked out of the crowd. There was a commotion among the recruits around, and they discussed a few words with each other in a low voice, but they didn't dare to speak. After all, there is only one head, how can you eat if you cut it off?

Taking advantage of the free time after lunch, Bit and the others learned the news of the shortage of ordnance from Ray's mouth, and they were immediately stunned. Sturt told them about the importance of a good piece of equipment on the battlefield, if there is no equipment, this battle has already been lost in half, now 30,000 recruits, less than 10,000 can be armed, and there are still thousands of them without armor, how will this battle be fought at that time?

Ray looked at his companion with a serious face and whispered, "But, doesn't it mean that we are a defensive force? We may not need to go to the front line, right? We just need to keep the law and order. ”

Bit smiled bitterly: "Ray, do you think that the Duke spent so much money to recruit us just to keep us safe?" I inquired about one of Lord Claus's personal soldiers on the way, and the most elite corps of Duke Green is the 'Green Field Corps', which has already gone to the front line. His three additional divisions are the ones who are now responsible for training us. Think about it, on weekdays, the 'Green Field Army' will never maintain law and order, the other three divisions are guarding the main traffic routes, responsible for collecting taxes or guarding the borders of the territory, and the four teams of the Imperial Army in the territory are responsible for law and order, but the scale of 4,000 people, now we have 500,000 recruits, do you need it?"

Lei was stunned, and Bit shook his head: "It seems that it won't be long before we will be sent to the front line, otherwise we won't be recruited, so, Lei, you must be mentally prepared." ”

Ray licked his lips and asked, "You guys, what do you think about going to war?"

Bit and the others looked at each other, nodded and said, "What does it matter, think about it, we can earn a maximum of one gold coin a year in the village, and if we can kill a few more enemies, we will make a lot of money." Also, Ray, don't you want to make a career on the battlefield?"

Ray didn't speak, gently drooped his head, and shook his head. What he thought in his heart was: "I don't want to make a career on the battlefield, I just want to live quietly." Mom's health is not good, and I have to shovel grass in my little field. ”

However, it is obvious that they don't think so, maybe it's the unique enthusiasm of young people, they have begun to talk about it, thinking about how to train the recruits below as soon as possible, and how to increase their strength faster.

After a while, seeing that Ray was still in a daze, Bit slapped him on the shoulder heavily, and said with a smile: "Ray, don't worry, I will put you into my team, in case you really go to the battlefield, you will be responsible for covering me, your bow and arrow are the best in the village, and it is the best means to shoot people... Maybe you'll be able to kill him as Generalissimo of Smart's Imperial Army, and you'll be well on your way. ”

The other companions also joked: "Yes, kill the other party's generalissimo, according to the imperial army's military merit reward, you are at least a baron, and there will be a fief, Lei, you have to work hard, shoot at their generalissimo." ”

A smile appeared on Lei's face, after all, he was a young man, and he also let go of his mind and discussed warmly with his companions. He made up his mind that he hadn't learned all the boxing and marksmanship he had learned, but he had to practice it well, so that he would have more chances to save his life on the battlefield.

After pondering for a while, Ray suddenly asked, "Should I bring a knife with me?" If the bow and arrow are finished, I can still use the knife to cut the enemy." ”

Bit looked at him strangely: "Of course, Uncle Sturt said that in the Imperial Army, archers have melee weapons, because the enemy is likely to get close to us." ”

Ray exclaimed, "Isn't there even more insufficient ordnance? Fifteen hundred bows and arrows, if the archers are to wear swords, won't they have to discount these swords?

Everyone was silent, and they couldn't help but feel a little more worried in their hearts.

At this time, the horn of the assembly sounded, and Lei and the others rushed out of the tent quickly, and after finding the men of their team, they hurriedly followed a few veterans towards the outside of the camp. Klaus's team's castle is on the plain, so there is no need for a special training place at all, as long as everyone goes out, it is a wide enough field for the recruits to toss, which can be regarded as a convenience.

Just as Lei and the others started their first day of training, the 'Green Field Corps' was already close to the 'Iron Castle'. Four teams directly under the empire swam on their flanks as their scouts, and in front of them, a large group of men and horses were sent to listen for the news. In the rear, hundreds of heralds rushed back and forth, conveying the military information to Duke Green in the rear, so that he could grasp the news of the battlefield as soon as possible. But to put it bluntly, Duke Green is a civil official, and these news are just for him to sit in his mansion with peace of mind and not run away with his family.

The strange thing is that it has been three days, and the 'Green Field Corps' has not come into contact with any soldiers of the Smart Empire at all.

The captain of the outpost, a black iron knight with five teeth in the wolf's mouth, looked at the front a little strangely, he could even faintly see the shadow of the 'Iron and Blood Castle', could it be that the army of the Smart Empire has been waiting for their arrival in the 'Iron and Blood Battle Castle'? If it is a good idea to use the facilities of the war fortress to deal with the army of the Van Empire.

The captain laughed: "Just kidding, to attack the 'Second City of the Continent', are we crazy? It takes fifty 'Green Fields Legion' to complete such a task, right? Should we camp here? Well, on the plains, the army of the Smart Empire can't defeat us, right?"

The three soldiers galloped back on horseback, and after about three hours, the main team of the 'Green Field Legion' arrived in a majestic manner, and with the order of the commander, the emblem was a golden wyvern, and the golden knight Kolofei with three fangs in his mouth, the 'Green Field Army' began to prepare to camp on the spot. They brought enough fences and arrows, as well as powerful crossbow arrows, and if the enemy dared to invade, let them die in front of the camp.

With a group of high-ranking knights, Kolofe galloped to a place less than a mile away from the 'Iron and Blood Battle Castle', and unscrupulously observed the situation in the city. Behind them, a team of elite archers had their strongbows tightly clenched, ready to attack the opposing mage. This is also a move made by the knights of the Van Empire, who are confident in their own strength, and they don't care about the ground forces of the Smart Empire, for their magicians, they can just use bows and arrows to deal with them.

The Iron Castle crouched on the ground like a giant monster, and the black walls exuded a hint of coolness. Several high-ranking generals of the Smart Empire stood at the head of the city, looking indifferently at the enemy below. A silver knight whispered to Kolofe: "My lord, how many troops do you estimate they have?"

Kolofei frowned: "Who knows, however, our 'Green Field Legion' is Lord Duke, no, the most elite corps in the southern part of the entire empire, with the army of the Smart Empire, they don't dare to do anything with us... Who are we afraid of? Hmph, they also know their own weaknesses, so they can't come out of the castle that they have taken by conspiracy, right?"

Kolofei looked at the officers of the Smart Empire on the city wall with disdain, and after making a rude gesture, he used the fighting spirit in his body and laughed wildly: "You just stay in the city, haha, do you want us to attack the city and use it to consume our troops? Are we so stupid? Hmph, when our imperial army arrives, the good days of your Smart Empire will come to an end." ”

A black-robed magician appeared at the head of the city and said in a very gentle tone: "The person who came, is it the Kolofei third-order golden knight of the 'Green Field Legion'?

Kolofei was stunned for a moment, and shouted: "Hmph, I have to admire the intelligence of your Smart Empire... But what's the use of that? My camp is at the back, and if you have the guts, come and attack us... But let me warn you, we have prepared a strong crossbow with a range of 1,000 paces, can your magician's magic work at such a distance? ”

The black-robed mage chuckled: "Oh, I have brought ten thousand mages with me on this expedition, and your 'Green Field Legion' is equipped with only ten strong crossbows, so what threat can it pose to us? ”

After a long silence, the black-robed mage smiled and pointed at Kolofei: "I know your temper very well. Green, that coward, sent you to inquire about the news and stand by on the border of the province of Ciri, right? Well, while waiting for your Imperial Army, eating your 'Green Field Corps' is also a little pastime. ”

Kolofi was furious: "Pastime? you treat us as a pastime? Damn it, I'm going to duel with you, report your name and family name, I'm going to have a one-on-one duel with you." ”

The black-robed mage uncovered the cloak on his cover, revealing the badge on his chest on the left side, and a smug smile appeared on his face: "I am Karin, one of the elders of the Smart Imperial Mage Association, the commander of the Smart Mid Lane Army this time, the highest-ranking diamond dragon mage... Hehe, I'm not a knight, so I have the right not to accept your challenge... In particular, why should I care about a dead man's challenge?"

Carlin's mage badge is a wyvern made of tiny diamonds with teeth and claws, and the dragon holds an olive branch with seven verdant olive leaves in its mouth.

Kolofe was stunned for a moment, wondering why the Smart Empire would actually send a magician as the commander of the army, and at this moment, a long sword with a red fighting spirit pierced his heart from behind. Kolofe howled miserably: "What... Then he shook and planted the horses.

The knights who followed him were stunned and shouted angrily: "Steca, Sturka, you, what are you doing?"

Sterka, a golden first-order knight smirked and waved the long sword in his hand, and the whistling fighting spirit rolled up red trails, and before his colleagues could react, he cut the necks of the three high-ranking knights, and then rushed towards the 'Iron Blood Battle Castle' with a frantic horse.

Enraged, the Van knights rode after them, but the large fireballs and countless bows and arrows that roared from the city walls blocked their way, forcing them to retreat in disarray. Just as they were scolding at Sturka, who was standing at the gate of the city and laughing wildly, the camp in the rear suddenly heard a shocking shout of killing. The four ambush troops rushed towards the unfinished camp of the 'Green Field Corps' from four directions, and with the strong magical support of a large number of magicians, the Smart Imperial Army, which had an absolute advantage in numbers, paid more than 10,000 casualties and spent half a day completely annihilating the 'Green Field Corps'.

Standing at the head of the city, Carlin sighed, "Our Smart army is really useless to the extreme. Attacking the other side with superior forces, and suffering so many casualties, if it weren't for the 'Iron Blood Battle Castle', I really wouldn't have the confidence to complete this plan, really... If it weren't for Sturka, dear Count Sturka, who had killed their Supreme Commander and three good men, I'm afraid the casualties would have increased by five thousand?"

Behind him, a tall general wearing dark green armor with a pair of gray eyes nodded, and said in a deep voice: "This is natural, the army of the Smart Empire is vulnerable compared to the elite corps of the Van Empire. Thankfully, the Smart Empire has a large number of mages, otherwise, hehe. ”

Carlin shrugged his shoulders: "Admiral Shalin, have you lived in the Van Empire for too long and forgotten that you are a subject of the Smart Empire? Hmm, you can't talk nonsense if you insult your own country's army like this, I can pretend that I didn't hear it this time, understand?。。。 Well, I really want to know if it will be the royal legions of the Van Empire that will follow, or those miscellaneous recruits. ”

Shalin froze, looking at the back of Carlin's head in annoyance, thinking about the consequences of a punch. Didn't this yin and yang weird guy insult the army of the Smart Empire first? His secret knighthood in the country is a marquis, although this kid is noble, he is only an earl now, hum.

Carlin suddenly turned his head and looked at Shalin with a smile: "Are you not convinced? It's better to be convinced? Look, if it weren't for our magicians who invented phantom magic that can hide the army on a large scale, the army of the Van Empire would not be so easily deceived, even if you mobilize those troops who have betrayed your homeland, you may not be able to deal with the elite troops of the other party?。。。 Well, I don't know what happened to the other two armies, they should have already entered the attack position, right?"

Sha Lin was numb by Karin's strange eyes, and quickly opened the topic: "I think, it should be the elite army of the Van Empire, right? They won't send those garbage without any combat effectiveness to send them to death." ”

Carlin pouted, frowned, took out a copper from his body for a long time, took out a copper and threw it on the ground, muttering in a low voice: "Then, I bet that a copper, the first to come must be the recruits recruited by Duke Green... ”

A sneer appeared at the corner of Shalin's mouth, and he snorted twice.

The four teams directly under the Van Empire who were swimming around the periphery of the 'Green Field Corps' noticed that something was wrong and fled quickly towards the province of Xili, but the army of the Smart Empire did not chase them, and seemed to disappear in place.

While the captains of the four teams were anxious to send heralds to report the results to Duke Green, Ray hit the bull's-eye with the first arrow at the training camp*, winning a round of applause. Thunder, on the other hand, sighed: "This arrow is too soft, too light, too short, and not powerful." ”