Chapter 154: The Weakness of the Fortress

After five days, His Royal Highness came to the camp of the northbound convoy again, and this time he brought to Lorist more than forty dilapidated small fishing boats and dozens of small fishing nets.

"I'm sorry, Brother Locke, but this is already a fishing boat and a fishing net on all the rivers and lakes within a hundred miles. Maybe in a few days, another batch will arrive, but there are not many of them. For further afield there are no more small rivers and lakes that diverge from Egret Lake. The second hall said apologetically.

"It's all right, Your Highness Oro. It is a great blessing for us that you have been able to do this, and we are very grateful for your care and help. We're already fishing this afternoon, so we'll go to the lake and send the boats and nets over by the way. Lorist smiled and thanked His Royal Highness.

It took less than half an hour to reach the lake, and I saw the lake from a distance full of people and bustling.

More than 10 meters away from the lake shore in the open space is spread a thick layer of reed mats, which is full of large and small lake fish, more than 10 women in their forties are selecting fish, picking up almost big fish and throwing them into the basket next to them, accumulating a basket is dragged to the other side to disembowel, scrape off the fish scales, clean and dry on a row of neatly placed wooden shelves, this is making dried fish.

The smell of fish was very strong, and His Royal Highness sniffed and sneezed.

Fat Shi ran over excitedly, his face flushed: "Locke...... Oh, my lord, you must not have imagined that we caught thousands of catties in the first net, and only three times in the afternoon until now, and we have caught more than 20,000 catties. And so it goes. Today, there can be at least 100,000 catties of fish. ”

Now fishing on Egret Lake is only a squadron of ironclad lancers that has been reorganized. The soldiers who were chosen were all swimmers. All of them stood shirtless on more than 30 small boats that had been completed, and were unloading their nets.

These small boats are named Locke fishing boats, very simply, this is designed by Lorlist, seriously it is a three-meter-long wooden box with a pointed top, reinforced with rungs in the middle, the cabin is scraped with a thick layer of green cement to prevent water leakage, and after the green cement is dry, a layer of hatch is laid on the cabin rung, and a small fishing boat is built. To prevent overturning. Lorist also ordered a one-meter-long wooden plank to be erected at the bottom of the ship to make it difficult for the ship to capsize.

Several experienced shipbuilders in the craftsman's camp shook their heads and sighed, although such a small boat can be built quickly, it is easy to deform and fall apart after a month or two. It takes at least a month or two to build a good little fishing boat, and you have to choose good timber, which is randomly nailed up with planks like this.

However, Lorist insisted that nearly 2,000 skilled carpenters in the carpentry battalion drive out more than 200 of these boats in ten days, and this kind of boat became known as the Locke fishing boat, and I wonder whether these carpenters were mocking or praising them.

Shi Fatzi saw the fishing boat and fishing net brought by His Royal Highness, pouted and said, "The fishing net is too small. I'm already trying to get people to make a bigger, well-cast net and pull it apart. I've found that the bigger the circumference, the more fish are caught. ”

"You can tie all these nets together, so you can shorten the time it takes to weave the nets. Just pay attention to make sure you have enough strength. Lorist said.

Shi Fatzi clapped his hands: "Yes, this is a good idea." ”

Turning around, he angrily asked for these small fishing boats and nets to be pulled away.

At this time, the net was being raised on the lake again, and looking at the heavy appearance of those soldiers pulling the net, the harvest this time must be very good.

His Royal Highness sighed and said, "I can't imagine that there are so many catches in Egret Lake. I remember that there was a kind of long-tailed white fish in this lake, with a pointed head and fine scales, few spines and many flesh, and the taste was extremely delicious, which was a delicacy famous in the imperial capital, but the catch was very small and the price was very expensive. Since the outbreak of the Imperial Civil War, there have been fewer and fewer fishermen fishing on Egret Lake, who have either been conscripted for military service and sent to the front or have become homeless people who cannot stand the oppression of their lords.

When the Duchy of Madras was established, my father led his troops to conquer, and this Egret Lake became the border between the two countries, and fishermen were forbidden to fish, so these small fishing boats went to those small rivers and lakes. It is surprising that this Egret Lake has now become our granary for the relief of 100,000 displaced people. Haha......"

"That nerd will get some fish back and we'll try them in the evening." Lorist laughed.

"Okay, but I don't need too much, I prefer to eat sea fish, there are too many spines on the fish in the lake and river, and it is easy to get into the tongue. You ask the fish to be bigger, and the ones end up with more meat and less spines. Second Highness said.

"Yes, okay. I asked someone to look for the long-tailed white fish that His Highness said. Lorist agreed.

Turning his head and seeing the rows of boats waiting for the green cement to dry in the distance, His Royal Highness said curiously: "How many boats have you built?"

Lorist replied, "More than two hundred." ”

"Why do you make so much?"

"Your Highness, Egret Lake is a hundred miles long, we can't just fish in one place. So many boats have been laid out for less than a few miles. We can only catch the most fish in the shortest amount of time if we fish in multiple places at the same time. Lorist said.

His Royal Highness thought for a while, nodded and said, "It's still thoughtful, I really don't know much about fishing." ”

......

In the evening, Lorist accompanied His Royal Highness to dine, and the main dish was fried long-tail white fish.

His Royal Highness flexibly took a large piece of fish meat with a fork, put it into his mouth with a silver spoon, and squinted his eyes with satisfaction: "That's the taste, I haven't tasted this fish for many years......

"I caught a lot of them this time, and I've already let you raise them in a bucket. When Your Highness returns, I will take it with me, so that my cousin Chrisia may taste it. It's a shame she didn't come over today. Lorist said.

"Locke, you have a heart, thank you. Krya had to train the newly recruited soldiers, so she couldn't get out. By the way, aren't you also recruiting troops among the homeless?" asked His Royal Highness.

Lloris nodded: "Recruit 20,000 people, after all, we have to go north, even if the Egret Lake is frozen and our convoy and displaced people enter the Principality of Madras, we must have enough armed guards to ensure the safety of the convoy." The more than 20,000 soldiers were recruited to maintain order in the convoy and the displaced people on their way north, and they were disbanded as civilians when they arrived in the north. The Northland is desolate. You can't feed that kind of soldiers. If you don't work, you won't eat......"

His Royal Highness sighed: "Hateful. The Grand Duke of Madras deployed the Iron Guard in the fortress of Liechndana, which forced our Kingdom of Antinac to confront him in the city of Nadegas. Now that the province of Verbasya is under royal control, you must protect yourself from being attacked by the Iron Guards, and if it weren't for the good news, I'd have had a headache to fill the gap in your forces when your convoy heads north. ”

"Oh, what's the good news?" asked Lorlist.

"It was the Tempest Legion, who assisted the Grand Duke of Melain in sweeping through the southern province of Enod in the Kingdom of Iberia, that is, the three southern counties divided by the Second Prince. The army approached the royal capital of Windbri, forcing the second prince to ask his father-in-law, the Archduke of Fisabrun, to send a border army to hold on to the royal capital, and the two sides fought several times on a small scale without a victory, seeing that winter was approaching, the Archduke Merein decided to retreat back to the principality, and the Tempest Legion could also return. Second Highness said.

Lorist raised the silver cup: "Congratulations to Your Highness, I think the second prince has been taught a lesson by the Grand Duke of Melein this time, and it should have been a few years to stop, and the war has subsided, and His Highness has just let the kingdom recuperate and accumulate strength." ”

His Royal Highness was still frowning. Shaking his head, he said, "I was going to wait for the Tempest Legion to return and deploy to Nadegas City to guard against the Iron Guards, but I got another piece of information. It is said that some time ago, the coalition forces of the four principalities that counterattacked into the kingdom of Redlis were ready to shake hands with the eldest prince under the mediation of well-intentioned people, and the two sides signed an armistice agreement. Although the eldest prince was defeated and lost his land, the loss of troops in his hands was not large, and his strength still existed. This is also the main reason why the four principalities are willing to make peace.

What I'm worried about is that the eldest prince and the four principalities will turn their attention to our kingdom after the truce, the kingdom was in turmoil before, and the eldest prince was not interested, and attacking the four principalities was just to make a big profit. Therefore, the border between our kingdom and the kingdom of Ridlis has been unguarded for hundreds of miles, which is also the reason why your convoy occupied the fortress of Benzburg but was refused to accept by my eldest brother.

Now that several fortresses on the border between the two countries are guarded by some garrisons, as soon as the Grand Prince and the Four Duchyes cease fighting, I will have to strengthen the defense of the border between the two countries. When the Tempest Legion returns, they can only be stationed there to guard against the Great Prince. In this way, the city of Nadegas is empty of troops, and it is necessary to recruit troops, and recruiting soldiers needs food and grass, which is really a headache. ”

Lorist smiled: "If Your Highness needs food and grass, then we will leave these fishing boats and fishing nets after our convoy travels north, and Your Highness can also let people catch fish for military rations." ”

His Royal Highness thanked Lorist for his toast.

"However, in the long run, if Your Highness can take the fortress castle of the following branches, it will be equivalent to grasping the initiative to deal with the Duchy of Madras, as long as it is rectified, this fortress can become a sharp knife that will make the Grand Duke of Madras restless, and maybe His Highness can also pocket the province of Yungshandra and add a province to the kingdom. Lorist looked at His Royal Highness and said.

His Royal Highness smiled bitterly, shook his head and sighed: "You are right, but you have a weak heart." Not to mention the dangerous terrain of the fortress castle in Liechdana, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, the defending Iron Guard Corps alone is a headache, and without more than ten times the number of troops and a long siege, I think it will be difficult to capture this fortress and castle. ”

"In this case, if you lend me 20,000 soldiers, Your Highness, maybe I can take down the fortress and citadel of Liechnda and present it to Your Highness. Lorist pondered for a moment and made a suggestion.

"What do you say, do you have a way to capture the fortress castle of Liechdana?" The second highness's eyes widened in an instant, and the silver cup in his hand fell on the table without realizing it.

Loris nodded: "I found a weakness in the fortress, and if I have such an idea, it is likely to succeed." It's just that the troops in hand are not enough, and if His Highness can borrow 20,000 soldiers, he has a great chance of being able to capture this fortress. ”

"I'll lend you 30,000, as long as you can capture this fortress, it doesn't matter if these 30,000 horses are all filled in!" The Second Highness couldn't sit still anymore, and walked around excitedly.

Lorist laughed: "There won't be so many casualties, I estimate that five or six thousand casualties will be considered a heavy loss." ”

"Impossible, it's the Iron Guard Legion that is defending, known as the world's number one defense capability, how can you attack the lower branch Dana fortress with only five or six thousand casualties?"

"Your Highness, I don't attack the city, on the contrary, I am ready to let the Iron Guard Legion attack, and we defend. Lorist said.

"Wait, what do you mean? The Iron Guard Legion attacks, we defend? Where do we defend? The Iron Guard Legion will never give up the fortress to attack us unless they are crazy......" The Second Highness felt that Lorist was talking nonsense, and if he thought about it, he would understand that if he was the commander of the Iron Guard, he would never give up the fortress and take the initiative to attack.

"Hehe......" Lorist laughed, "Reddy, bring that map of the defensive arrangements of the fortress castle in Liechida." ”

Ray quickly laid out on the table the blueprint of the defensive buildings of the fortress of Liechitana, which Lorist had bought from the bookstore in the city of Vannades.

"Your Highness, come and see, this is the inside of the fortress. ”

His Royal Highness was surprised that Lorist was able to get the drawings of the internal defenses of the fortress, and after thinking about it, Lorist still felt that he didn't need to tell him that such drawings only sold one Imperial silver coin in the bookstore in Vanades City, so let him guess and guess.

After watching it for a long time, His Second Highness still felt that there was no way to conquer the fortress of Liechtan, and thought that the ten times the strength he just said was already a very underestimation of the defense capability of the Iron Guard Legion.

Lorist pointed to a small pond inside the castle on the map: "Your Highness, don't you have any idea when you see this cistern?"

His Royal Highness shook his head: "Although this cistern is a little smaller, it is enough to ensure the water supply of the defense troops in the fortress, and it can even be used to prevent fire attacks." As for the weakness of the fortress you mentioned, I don't think it will be this. ”

"Your Highness, look here, the fortress castle is built on the hillside, and the water in this cistern is connected by a hidden pipe buried in the waterhole that falls from the mountain peak on this side. So the water in this cistern was constantly flowing, and it was also poured into the moat in front of the fortress and then flowed below to form a small stream. You've all ignored where the water came from, and if you can go to the waterfall and drain the waterhole or find the hidden pipe and plug it, then I'm sure in less than ten days the fortress will be out of water, and will the Iron Guards still be able to hold on to the fortress?"

Lorist's words made His Royal Highness happy, but after looking at the map carefully, he shook his head: "We can't reach the waterfall here, so we have to climb over the mountain from the side of the fortress." But now that the fort and the bread hill are crossed on the left and right sides of the front, we will still have to pay a lot of casualties if we want to break through this line. ”

Lorist smiled: "There is no need for His Highness to worry, the armament of our convoy will destroy the enemy on the bread hill." As soon as the bread hill falls into our hands, we will be able to dig trenches and build earthen walls beyond the range of the crossbow arrows of the fortress in Liechndana, and besiege and surround the Iron Guards in the fortress. Once we've cut off the fortress's water supply, it's the Iron Guard's turn to attack us like dogs jumping over the wall. That's what I mean when I say we defend, they attack. I really don't know how many siege capabilities the Iron Guard Legion has in the world......"

"Okay, Locke, your plan is very wonderful and very safe, what do you need me to do?" the Second Highness applauded.

"It's simple, Your Highness only needs to send your forces to a head-on confrontation and let the Iron Guard focus on your troops. When we take the bread post, your troops only need to build a wall around the fortress and dig a trench, and then the Iron Guard Corps defending the fortress will be handed over to you, will that be okay?" Lorist asked.

"Yes, of course, I also want to test the Iron Guard's attack capabilities. The Second Highness slammed his fist on the map: "Ten days, Locke, I only need ten days, and I can bring the Royal Guards here." Since the Iron Guard's honor is earned from the Royal Guards, let it wither from the Royal Guards......"

...... (To be continued.) )