In April, the Lanz River is rippling with blue waves, and the east wind blowing from the Alandon Mountains wafts on this small and wide river, leading the green river to the Emerald River.

The Lanz River is the dividing line between Dweid and Pritown, and in the time of Edney Wayne I, Deherbas's army crossed the river into Pritown and put Alain Philip on the throne of the Duke of Pritown, so the river was also called "Philip's Creek" by the people of Pritown.

The town of Lands, on the north bank of the river, was the first obstacle to the attack on Dewit by the Pritown army.

Hecarim Noe Wiitin, the acting commander of the Southern Army and former commander of the 63rd Cavalry Division, was standing on the south bank of the river, looking across the river at the town of Lands. Connaught's army had established a strong fortification in the town in a matter of days, and the makeshift fortress of layers of trenches and sandbags forced the elite cavalry of the acting captain of the Vittin to stop and abandon the plan of attacking immediately

The Vitting family is also a military family, Hecarim's father and brother, the two Vittin Sir Dwelling sacrificed their lives for the country on the battlefield in Silesia ten years ago, and Hecarim's 63rd Cavalry Division failed to participate in that war, and could only watch his father and brother achieve great honor for the family, but he did not make an inch. After the death of his eldest brother, the title of Sir Vittin was inherited by his younger nephew, and although the death of two generations of the Vittin family made the family particularly favored by the emperor, who deliberately promoted the knighthood to baron, but none of this had anything to do with Hecarim, and he still slowly exhausted his military career in the ranks of seniority in the Southern Legion.

Hecarim was an ambitious man, he was not willing to become a side branch and slowly decline, so he joined the faction of Prince Michel VII of Pritown, and after the sudden death of the previous commander, he took control of the Southern Army as soon as possible, and gave the largest number of regiments in the empire to the prince, thus earning the position of acting captain.

However, although he was nominally the commander of the legion, he was only able to command the 63rd Cavalry Division of his headquarters, and even the members of the other princely factions in the legion did not obey his orders because they coveted his position. Therefore, while the prince waited for his allies and ordered the Southern Army to march towards De Wei as the vanguard, he could only arrive at the battlefield with his own cavalry.

The 63rd Cavalry Division had only 5,000 men, and the cavalry was not very good at attacking fortifications, and after seeing that the town of Lantz had been firmly fortified, the commander of the Vitting Corps decisively abandoned the attack, occupied the south bank of the river first, and waited for the follow-up troops. The reinforcements he was waiting for were the follow-up troops of the Southern Legion, and as for the army of the prince and several other dukes, it would still be some time before they reached the front.

The fully formed Southern Army had a total of 90,000 men, fourteen main divisions and some auxiliary units. However, the current Southern Army is obviously unable to exert the combat effectiveness of the largest army in the empire, only 30,000 people can be sent to the battlefield, and the rest of the troops are idle in the rear by the prince, and send a part of his own cronies to watch over those untrustworthy officers.

The Captain of the Viting Legion held a telescope, and from the barrel he saw the flag of the province of Connaught, as well as the banner of the Imperial Capital Garrison. Without asking the staff officers around him, he also knew that the strength of these two armies would not exceed fifteen thousand people combined. In particular, the Imperial Capital Garrison, which was only a military police unit subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior, or militia armies, was completely unworthy of being an opponent in front of the 30,000 regular troops under his command.

However, the commander of the Weiting Army also knew that his 30,000 men also had a considerable amount of water, and for several other division commanders with their own evil intentions, how much strength they contributed on the battlefield depended entirely on how far they could deter them.

Putting away the binoculars, the corps commander motioned to the staff officer to bring the map. After all, he used to be an army fighting under the same national flag, and he still had the military map of Lanz Town provided by the prince in his hand. This map is very detailed, and it can be seen that the prince's plan has not been less worked.

The town of Landes is built on the river, born by the river, just as it is named after the Landes River, which is its lifeline. Most of the town is on the north bank, but a small part is scattered on the south bank, and a bridge connecting two carriages connects some farms and inns on the south bank. Before the arrival of the southern army, the inhabitants of the south bank had withdrawn to the protection of the imperial army on the north bank, and the empty buildings were naturally used by the legion's long march.

"The Silieurs have set up at least three machine-gun forts on the bridge, and the bridge is too narrow for our cavalry to be effective on such terrain. The Chief of Staff said half-prostrate on the map, he was an Orcs born in Amanac, although the empire had incorporated the Orknis region into its territory for hundreds of years, and the Orcs were also Siliulan to a certain extent, but in the current situation, the Pridunians, including Michel VII, preferred to distinguish the native Cyrians from themselves.

The Captain of the Viting Corps looked at the flowing Lanz River and asked, "Can you let the troops wade directly across the river?"

"I'm afraid not. "It's the spring flood, the water is flowing faster than it seems, and the depth in the middle of the Lanz River doesn't allow people and horses to pass through." ”

Clapping his palms with a horsewhip, Wei Ting was not very willing to wait for reinforcements, after all, after those people arrived, he would not be able to have complete control over the troops as he did now.

"Send out a reconnaissance unit and go upstream and downstream to see if there is a suitable place to cross the river. The Captain of the Viting Corps commanded the Chief of Staff, and then he complained to the Prince, "Really, why not exclude a Pritten guide? ”

"Probably the prince doesn't want us to do it too quickly. "Although he and the prince rose up to raise troops, the officers of the Southern Army also had their own little calculations in their hearts.

Wei Ting snorted coldly, he didn't have such thoughts in his heart.

"Go on. ”

The chief of staff nodded, pointed his finger on the map and said: "After all, the opposite side has a geographical advantage, even if the imperial capital garrison is only some military police with low combat effectiveness, but we still wait for reinforcements, if the loss of the sixty-third cavalry division is too great, our voice will be much smaller." "Here are all men of the Sixty-third Cavalry Division, and the chief of staff has no qualms about saying this," said the chief of staff, "If we can find a crossing elsewhere, then let our cavalry go around to the flank of the Silulians, and the bridge will be feinted by the infantry." There is an overwhelming superiority in forces, and the opponent will not be our opponent. ”

The chief of staff drew a curve on the map with his hand, indicating the direction of the cavalry's attack. The cavalry was the main attack, and the infantry feints, obviously not wanting the main credit to fall into the hands of competitors.

"If the enemy is to be reinforced, how should we deal with it? There should be 40,000 troops from the western provinces, and now there are only 5,000 men from Connaught on the other side of the river, and if 10,000 men come to support us, we will have no superiority in strength as an attacker. ”

A staff officer raised his own question, but it is naturally impossible for the chief of staff not to think about such a question. "If there are 10,000 men to support, we will hold our troops and let the infantry troops besiege the town. If the Siliuls put their main forces in the town of Lands, then the battle will turn into a decisive battle, and we will have to wait for the Pridunians to come. ”

Although the current commander of the Viting Army is not considered a subordinate of Prince Pritown, they must wait for the prince to come and take over the command of such a decisive battle, which is the unanimous acquiescence of the rebel leaders in the south.

"Where's the main direction of attack?" asked the Captain of the Viting Corps, looking at the map and clasping his hands to his chest.

"From the east side of the town. This place is close to the town's hospital, and taking this place can cut off the storage of prescription medicines and the opportunity to treat the wounded. ”

Wicking shook his head and vetoed the chief of staff's proposal. "The hospital must also have quite complete fortifications, and our cavalry cannot be used in such a storm. When the artillery of the 88th Division arrives, let the infantry division be the main force and force the crossing of the Lanz River. ”

"But......," the chief of staff hesitated, "we will not be able to find so many boats to cross the river for a while, how can we force the crossing?"

"Tear down these houses and make sampans, the Lanz River is just a small river, and there won't be much wind and waves. Moreover, the 75th Division has been on the beach in Port Bies for so many years, and it can't even make a few sampans, right?"

"I'm afraid they'll have to pay us according to the number of ships!"

The Chief of Staff's ridicule caused a burst of laughter among the officers, both the 75th Division and the other infantry divisions, who were rivals in their struggle for power and resources within the Southern Corps. And because the 75th Division was stationed in Port Biss all the year round, this unit was also infected with the habit of merchants, and liked the army to do business, which was often ridiculed by other troops.

"That...... Legion Commander, may I ask a question?" asked Viting's adjutant, a young man with freckles on his face, looking timidly at his commander.

"Oh, little Henry, is there anything you don't understand?" the Captain of the Viting Legion looked at the young man with a pleasant face, he was the nephew of Viting's wife, the second son of a merchant family. His father was one of the patrons of the uprising, and in return, the Captain of the Vittin Army specially promoted the young officer who had just graduated from the military academy to be his lieutenant.

Perhaps because of the chief of staff's joke just now, the adjutant from a merchant family was a little timid, and his voice was not as loud as that of those middle-aged officers, so light that the corps commander had to ask his subordinates to be quiet before they could hear it. "If we can find other places to cross the river, why don't we bypass this heavily guarded town and send troops to attack head-on?"

Vitin shook his head with a smile, and the other staff officers looked at Henry with a smile. Henry, after all, was from a merchant family, and was more accustomed to thinking about things from the most deserving point of view, rather than from the perspective of a soldier.

"Do you see this road?" Witting pointed as they walked along the wide concrete road that connected the bridge, "if the army wants to move, it must have a good road, otherwise it will be too difficult for our artillery to reach the front." We can't take the train and get off at the station in Deweide and then fight the enemy. Only by capturing the town of Lanz and mastering this important line of communication can we push our troops to Deweide, even if we have to confront the Siliuls, we cannot do without this transportation line for transporting supplies. ”

"yes, that's right, hug, sorry, I asked a stupid question. Henry bowed his head in shame.

Wei Ting waved his hand and said, "It's nothing, young people are more motivated than anything else, and when you have enough experience, you will understand that fighting is just like that." ”

After saying that, the legion commander also deliberately glanced around at his subordinates, and his majestic gaze signaled them not to laugh at and attack this young man.

Encouraged by his uncle, Henry plucked up his courage and asked, "Then, can't we use the method of surprise attack? Since we have the advantage in numbers, and the enemy does not dare to take the initiative to attack and seek a decisive battle with us, is it not possible to take this opportunity to attack Dewei directly?" After saying that, Henry's face turned even redder, but he still puffed up his chest and looked at his seniors and superiors.

Wei Ting frowned, although Henry was indeed a very attentive student and could put forward his own ideas, but in Wei Ting's eyes, he was a little off the rails. "It's nice to have your own opinions, but you're a little too eager to get things done. War is not a game that can be won by playing conspiracy tricks, and every result is won in exchange for human lives and money. Before we win, we have to make sure we don't lose, you know?"

"Yes......" Henry lowered his head, and he did not dare to speak again after being taught a lesson.

"But it's also a solution. "If the Siliurians put forty thousand troops of the western province against us at the town of Lands, then we could have sent a detachment of troops from Glamorgan to attack the east side of Dewd." ”

Vitting's hands were behind his back, his fingers fiddling. In fact, he also has this idea, from a purely military point of view, in the case of his own superior forces, it is a good way to open up the situation by dividing troops to attack the flanks, but this can only be viewed from a purely military level. If Michel VII really adopted such a plan, then the Southern Army, as the main force to contain the enemy in Landstown, would not have the glory and credit of capturing Dewei, which is not what Vittin wants to see.

"What time is it?" Wei Ting didn't have much time to think about these intrigues now, he looked at his chief of staff and asked for the time.

The chief of staff took out his pocket watch and replied, "Ten o'clock and twenty-five." ”

"Then wait until one o'clock in the afternoon, and the belly master of the infantry division will run slower, and it will be time for that time. Wei Ting put the horsewhip on the map, "The glorious moment is also coming soon." ”

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On the other side of the river, the garrison of the town of Landes had also long since discovered the arrival of the enemy. As soon as the sentries discovered the banner of Hecarim Novitin, General Cecil from Connaught Province sent a telegram to the War Office informing him of the approach of the enemy at the General Headquarters of the capital.

However, when the War Department received the telegram, it happened that De Weide had been attacked, or rather, this attack had been planned by the Prince to cover the actions of the army, and although the War Office received the news only an hour late, if it was used well, it could also determine the direction of the battle. However, although Michel VII had a good plan, in the end his old problems made him miss this opportunity, and he ordered the internal contradictions of the Southern Army as the advance force, and was unwilling to let his descendants accept casualties on the front line.

Unable to get an immediate reply from the General Command, General Cecil was not anxious. While ordering the telegraph operator to continue to send reports to the imperial capital, he also sought out Viscount Jericho to discuss countermeasures.

At first, the veteran general, who was over half a hundred years old and had participated in the Silesian War ten years earlier, did not think very highly of Viscount Jericho and his troops. In the eyes of General Cecil, this so-called imperial capital garrison, just like its name, may be so-so as a police officer and gendarme, but if you really want to go to the battlefield, it must be no different from those recruits, and you will be frightened when you see the scene of bullets and flesh and blood.

However, when he met Viscount Jericho, the stern and taciturn colonel gave him a different feeling. In the eyes of the old general, this colonel, who was born in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, has a natural military temperament, he is calm, sharp, and most importantly able to obey his orders. The colonel has a hard-line style of a soldier in everything he says and does, and he can't help but be a little optimistic about this junior, although Viscount Jericho is not his junior in the strict sense.

"The enemy is the 63rd Cavalry Division of the Southern Corps. As soon as they met, the viscount said directly, "They won't attack immediately, they should just be the advance force." ”

The old general nodded, his judgment was about the same as that of Viscount Jericho. "I'll tell you bad news, I've reported this information to the Imperial Capital War Department, but they haven't replied yet, I think something should have happened to the Imperial Capital. ”

Jericho frowned, and although he didn't see a worried look on General Cecil's face, he understood the meaning behind the words. "In other words, we will have no reinforcements for a while. ”

"That's right, the nearest force is the Munster Army stationed in Kitsen, with 10,000 men under the command of Baron Isel Noe O'Brien, which is the elite of the Western Province. But they could not abandon their positions to support us until they were assigned to the General Command. ”

"Then it's up to the other side to act. The viscount's face was cold, and he was not shaken by the bad news, "Look at how capable those southerners are." ”

He looked at the south bank of the river, and some long-ago memories resurfaced in his mind.

Seventeen years ago, he crossed that river and came to the imperial capital.