As soon as Ludwig said this, the nobles standing opposite him and the people with white markers next to him looked at him and stopped picking out their hands for the markers.

The regent's original smiling expression disappeared instantly, and he said coldly: "I don't know why Your Excellency would say such a thing? What evidence is there to prove that the other party's troops are less than 400,000?" Lixson on his side even reached out and snatched back the black marker marked "ten" in Ludwig's hand, and then put it back in its original place. This move was the most childish and impolite behavior Fei De had ever seen, and he didn't expect to abandon all the previous etiquette because of a sentence from the Winter Envoy.

But before Ludwig could speak, Satnam picked up a white marker and placed it next to the marker that the regent Shumo had put down, "This is the reinforcement of our Papal States, no matter how many people there are in the invading army of the East Oguna Empire, I and the archbishop of the Holy Light City will be on the side of the Regent!" The combined number of Church Knights and Church armed soldiers is only about 10,000, which is already a well-known fact, but Shumo still took the opportunity to praise Satnam with words.

Shumo's friend Gabrihaus didn't say a word, he directly picked up a small stone and placed it near the city of Doret, "This is all the proceeds of my business for many years, and all of them will be donated to the treasury of the Western Guna Empire. His determination made some nobles start to think again about how many soldiers should be sent to the capital to support, knowing that if the East Oguna Empire really sent nearly 400,000 people to attack, even if he captured a Saresa and wiped out the opponent's lone army, it would be useless, after all, the huge gap in strength was here.

"Our country was already at war with the East Oguna Empire the previous year, so we have already let people infiltrate all parts of the East Oguna Empire and have a lot of information about the interior of that country," Ludwig, the lord of the snow leopard, was not angry that the eleven-year-old boy had snatched the marker, he just responded in a calm tone. According to our previous intelligence, the East Oguna Empire's invasion of your territory from the south this time can only draw out a maximum of 120,000 to 140,000 people, and this is already counting the situation that Duke Popo and Duke Petvich may send troops together. ”

Marquis Makilov spoke for the first time, "Hmph, if those two old men hadn't sent troops to help, we should have taken down Grimmko when the snow melted!

Ludwig didn't mind being interjected by Marquis Makilov, and he continued: "Even if you add those lords of the Western Realms who have surrendered to the wind, or even if you send troops from the north, around the river, and Grinko to join them, the limit will not exceed 300,000, and it is precisely because my country and the East Oguna Empire are in a stalemate that I question the authenticity of the number of enemies." Ludwig took out the information obtained by his own country as a basis, and in an instant, the regent Xiumo was overwhelmed. After all, Ludwig's kingdom of Kose, which was at war with the East Oguna Empire, had been at war for a long time, and the East Oguna Empire had been under attack, even if the two dukes fought back together, it seemed impossible to raise so many troops in an instant.

Ignoring the regent's speechlessness, Lixson said, "Impossible, this scroll is" Shumo immediately interrupted the eleven-year-old boy, "Since Lord Ludwig has given evidence, then there are only two possibilities, either our intelligence is wrong, or the East Oguna Empire has really drawn troops back from the north, but the latter is undoubtedly very difficult to do." The regent said that the invading army might not have that many troops, and the nobles breathed a sigh of relief. They were hesitant to choose how many "family funds" to send to support here, if the invading army was less than 100,000 people, then there would still be a chance to fight, after all, even if all the bets of everyone were put together or lost, it was better to stay out of the matter.

Marquis Makilov was the first to put down the white marker, it was "four", "This is all the forces of the basin city, this time I have decided to live and die with His Majesty Manfret and Lord Regent!" The other nobles also took out their white markers and placed them near the city of Doret, 50,000 Marquis of Montres and 30,000 Earl Barton. Count of Yotke 20,000 men

By the time all the nobles had put down their troop markers, the defense force of the capital on paper had 230,000 troops, which was still about the same as the 300,000 of the invading army. Fuller, the leader of the Wave Mercenary Regiment, said that he was able to command and control more than 10,000 mercenary regiments, and Count DeBarlo, who had escaped from the Tail Peninsula, also said that he still had 500 personal guards, and he would immediately write a letter to ask for help from the maiden family of the Kingdom of Salins to see if he could gather some reinforcements from the Kingdom.

"If the Holy Oguna Empire can defeat the invading army this time, all of you here will be the benefactors of the empire in the future," the regent Xiumo said in a loud voice, "The glory and wealth in the future will definitely be shared with everyone!" The lords all echoed in a low voice, although they themselves did not have a bottom in their hearts, but now from the military strength on paper, it was not too far behind. If that map of the distribution of forces had been used properly, the odds would have been much greater.

"Chief Satnam, I already know that the food sent to the Archbishop by the Duke of Oldington has been delivered here, and I will remember the aid of the Duchy of Noao and the Papal States. The Regent Xiumo looked at Satnam and said.

Satnam had already forgotten about the "borrowing" of the grain, and he immediately replied quickly: "This should be done, and it is not allowed for the grain to be delivered, but fortunately my staff officer Fider is doing his best to protect it."

Xiumo looked at Fidel, and the powerful regent nodded to Fidel in thanks, and when Fidel wanted to say something, the other party had already returned to the simulated map.

Then it entered the stage of troop deployment. Since the army of the East Oguna Empire was mostly heavy cavalry and infantry, the strength of the invading army could be perfectly used on the battlefield of this plain. The soldiers of the Theoguna Empire had many archers, crossbowmen, and excellent rangers and pikemen, and these troops capable of throwing and attacking were able to use their defensive positions perfectly and maximize their long-range attrition. In other words, defending a city and defending a high position is the most suitable battlefield terrain.

Looking at the distribution of the invading army's military strength, except for Saresa, who has penetrated deep into the central hinterland with one or two thousand light cavalry, most of the heavy troops are still between Golden Hoof City and Windmill City. Siege weapons should also be in this place, slowly moving towards the capital city of Doret. According to the combat experience of the participants, they all said that it would take about twenty days for these heavy troops and siege equipment to move to the current frontline city of the St. Oguna Empire in the middle of the city, Yiwang City.

The city of Yiwang is about a two-day walk from the city of Doret and is now the core city of the front line defense. The area south of Yiwang City was already very unstable, and in a vast area, it had become a semi-neutral zone—some of the nobles were still swinging, and the vanguard forces of the two countries were clashing and spying on each other in the area. There were military strongholds and fortresses on the east and west sides of Yiwang City, and now all the strongholds on this line of defense were controlled by the Western Oguna Empire. The troops withdrawn from the south and the local lords who were still loyal to the little emperor Manfret had already gathered their forces in that place, but there were many holes in that defensive line, and there were many places where they could break through, which was why the "Wasteland Python" Saresa had broken through to the rear of the Righteous King City, and the people present did not know it.

"Who is guarding the Righteous King now?" Monterey asked.

"Bonzina," replied Stanley, chief of the General Staff, "he is also the regent's old department, my good brother. He then introduced the others to General Bonzina, who was guarding the city of the Righteous King.

"Since it is a subordinate of the regent, it should be able to hold out for a while," Count Barton did not know how many garrisons were still in the defense line of the Righteous King City, "but those local nobles and lords are difficult to say, and no one knows whether they will cut off the head of General Bonzina the next day and give the Righteous King City to the hand." ”

Most of the attendees had ugly faces, although Earl Barton's words were unpleasant, but this was the main reason why the Western Empire was losing all the way and was in a deep predicament - the lords and nobles who had originally supported His Majesty Manfret opened their doors and surrendered, which made the invading army feel like no one. In fact, these lords cannot be blamed, you must know that when St. Golia and the regent Shumo established a new monarch in Doret City and completely separated the western realm from the Oguna Empire, they did not ask those noble lords who only owned one city and one town. If it weren't for the support of the great lords and nobles of several regions for Shumo and Goliath, it is unknown whether the new power of Doret City would have been born.

"Why don't I send someone we can trust, and then take over the military power of those who have dissenting intentions?" a nobleman suggested.

"Yes, if they dare not hand over their men to our command, they will have a heart of betrayal, and they must be arrested immediately," the Marquis of Montres echoed, "If they are handed over to us, they will be safe, and those fellows will be prone to deviations in their thinking if they don't give us some color!"

Isn't that the most important issue in the conversation between Virgen Golia and Captain Satnam? Fielder thought for a moment, if each marker was a legion, and then ruled by their lords, it would definitely throw their own battlefield into chaos. Unified command is what an excellent general should do, but how should this basin of loose sand be crumpled into a ball? Who can command more than 200,000 soldiers in one go?

The regent Xiumo vetoed his brother's proposal, "If you do this, it will definitely make those guys flee and rebel faster, and I believe that the people sent out will kill Bonzina before they arrive." ”

Earl Barton proposed: "Then we should devote our forces to the defenses of the Righteous King, so that we can catch Saresa first as we advance, second, we can unite all the wavering factions in that area, and third, we can fight the enemy in a way that the other side did not expect." ”

The Earl's proposal was agreed to by several people, including Fuller, the leader of the Wave Mercenary Regiment. They all believed that this would unite the tens of thousands of soldiers on the defense line of Yiwang City, and relying on the fortifications of Yiwang City, they would be able to take the initiative to attack and defeat the invading army by surprise when the time came.

"You must know that the defense of Yiwang City is no worse than that of Doret City, and that place is a high ground. Barton began to introduce the crowd to the city of the Righteous King. The city was built on the edge of a cliff, and the city built against the southern cliff was the only high-altitude area on the continent of the Western Oguna Empire, and it was almost impossible to attack the city from the forest area below the cliff, and it was necessary to take a detour on both sides and attack from a relatively low area.

This easy-to-defend area is perfect for blocking attacks by hoplites and infantry. After hearing Earl Patton's introduction, Feder also felt that if he pressed all his military forces here, he might be able to gain an advantage. But after thinking about it, Fielder felt that it was inappropriate

"No, this place must not be overwhelmed, only a small number of soldiers need to be sent to defend it. Ludwig realized the problem faster than Fed, and he picked up the black markers with his hands. Those black markers were placed in piles on the land between Golden Hoof City and Windmill City, about a dozen of them, all marked with "one" and "two". Ludwig, under the astonished gaze of everyone, placed these markers outside the east-west direction of the Righteous King City, not only far away, but also did not have any markers placed in the Righteous King City.

"Oh! I see!" said Lord Mönggo, and the others were alerted by the markers Ludwig had placed.

"If they split their forces into two groups and completely bypass the Righteous King City, then we will be beaten," he said, grabbing the black markers in his direction with both hands, and pulling them all together to the east and west sides of the Righteous King City.

"You're going to be surrounded, and you're going to lose everything. Stanley, Chief of the General Staff, whispered what Ludwig wanted to say.

Earl Barton fell silent for an instant, he was too naïve. He thought that where he was heavily guarded, the enemy would follow his train of thought to attack, but the invading army of the East Oguna Empire would never easily attack an area that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and they would also send scouts to find out the general distribution of troops before attacking. Even if the more than 200,000 defenders are evenly distributed everywhere, they will be easily broken by one click because the defense line is too long, and the end and end will not be connected at that time, which will also lead to failure.

In the period that followed, both Satnam and De Barlow came up with their own strategic plans. There were also people like Marquis Makilov who just listened but didn't speak, but all the proposals were discussed and rejected, as if the defense line of the Righteous King City could not be fully utilized and could not be abandoned casually, which was a dilemma.

The people who had parched their lips returned to their seats to rest, and the people who were supposed to be in the cold winter also felt stuffy because of the crampedness of the room. The eleven-year-old boy Lixson was sweating profusely, and he seemed to know nothing about military strategy, but he was still trying very hard to understand the thinking of the adults.

The captain of the guard, Leland, was also very caring, wearing the heaviest armor and carrying a huge spear on his back, but he brought in some refreshments in his hand to give the participants a short rest. Fett noticed that Ludwig repeatedly looked at the map of the invading army's forces, and he was sometimes excited, and at other times lost, as if there were infinite opportunities and possibilities there. Fidel also borrowed the scroll from Satnam to study it again, and he found that the scroll only described the distribution of the invading forces of the East Oguna Empire and the situation of the baggage and supplies in great detail, but did not indicate who led it. Only the "Python of the Wasteland" Saresa was clearly marked, appearing in the area not far northwest of the Righteous King City, so what was the intention of the mapper? Could it be that the mapper wanted Saresa to be caught?

After much deliberation, most of the participants still agreed that they should abandon the defense line of the Righteous King, and then gather all their forces around the city of Dorette, wait for the enemy to come and fight to the death - of course, they also decided that within a day or two, they would send elite troops to surround Salisha, who was already alone, and would definitely not let go of this big fish. There are not many opportunities for the command of a large army to penetrate into the enemy's interior so rashly, and this information is still in the hands of the enemy.

Stanley suggested that he lead the Regent's headquarters to the vicinity of Yiwang City to meet Bonzina, and then consider the timing of the withdrawal according to the actual situation on the ground. As for the other small number of garrisons on the east and west defense lines of Yiwang City, all of them were recalled by envoys sent by the regent Xiu Mo, and they retreated to the rear to pull this defense line back a little. Then, with the central core city, that is, the capital city of Doret as the core, the defense forces were arranged in the east and west directions. This general strategy also determined the center of gravity of the Western Goguna Empire - neither to rashly rely on this confidential scroll to strike first, nor to deploy heavy troops on the defense line of Yiwang City and set up a frontline defense line, but to choose to fight the other side in the capital.

"To the south of Doret is a great plain, so there is no danger to defend, but the fortifications of Doret are very strong, and it is said that attack trebuchets with a very long range have been developed," said Stanley, Chief of the General Staff, and the attendees, "These trebuchets are very accurate, and their ballistics are perfect, and they can hit the enemy's siege weapons over obstacles, so it will not be difficult to defend Doret City." ”

The other nobles nodded their heads, they knew that although the surrounding area of Doret City was dominated by plains, the towns and fortresses in this land were interlocked, and if they wanted to break through a point, they would inevitably receive mutual support from many points. When the enemy arrived, the nobles and generals could each have their own troops and take care of each other, which also solved the problem of command. In addition, the advantage of defending the city can also offset the disadvantage in numbers, so the participants agreed to such a grand strategy.

After that, other details were discussed, such as weapons, food, the evacuation of civilians, and the time and place of the army. The leader of the Inspur Mercenary Regiment, Fuller, recommended himself and asked for more than a dozen mercenary regiments under his command to be distributed in various strongholds as a communication force. Count de Barlo was also willing to set off immediately, and went west with Gabriel House to buy military supplies, and even recruit mercenaries who were willing to join the defense war.

Satnam was still assigned to guard the village of Emmy - this town was the closest town to Doret City, and it seems that the regent still had a lot of trust in Satnam.

"In addition to these questions, I would like to discuss with you the second plan of St. Golia. The regent Xiu Mo waited until everyone had finished discussing the details, and suddenly said.