Chapter 158: Snow Strikes the City on a Night

As small snowflakes flutter down from the gray sky, Lorist suddenly realizes that he has overlooked one important thing, and that is that winter has arrived.

November 11 was the festival of single dogs in previous lives, but in Gelinthia it was just a very ordinary day. For Lorlist, it was also the day when the last group of outcasts arrived in Vannades.

Lorlist's face sank, and the onset of winter had put an end to his convoy's plans to return north to his family's domain. The top priority is to find a safe and comfortable place for the convoy and the displaced people to survive this cold winter first.

"Twenty-five days to get here from the border, and it takes so long to get here in a short period of more than 140 miles, so how long will it take to return to the family territory? a year or two years? How much does it cost more than 100,000 horses a day? Lorist was in a fierce voice.

It was the mansion of the lord of Venades, but it was now the home base for the northbound convoys.

"It's all to blame on the homeless people, they have slowed down our journey, and if it were just our convoy, we could have traveled 60 miles a day. Yuri was muttering, as the commander of the scout light cavalry who could run two hundred miles a day, he naturally looked down on the slow-moving outcasts.

"You see, there is still a journey of more than 1,000 miles from the city of Venades to the Mitobro River, and it will take more than 200 days at this rate, which is absolutely impossible. Look outside, it's already snowing for the first time. Although the city of Fanades is the largest commercial city in the Principality of Madras, and we have replenished a number of food and grass supplies after our occupation, it is very difficult for more than 100,000 horses to spend the winter comfortably here. We must take action as soon as possible. Arrive here before the snow closes the road and the cold arrives. Kebo City!"

Lorist pointed to the city of Kebo on the map: "This is the direct city of the Grand Duke of Madras. It is also the largest granary in the province of Delemke, where the Archduke of Madras collects all the grain collected in this major grain-producing province. From the official documents seized from the city of Vannades, we can see that all the grain transactions carried out here were provided by the city of Kebo, and the 80 million catties of grain that the Grand Duke of Madras lent to the second prince last year were also transported from the city of Kebo. ”

"There is also an official document here, which should not have been sent yet, it is the Grand Duke of Madras who ordered the statistics of the grain reserves of Kebo City, and it is also a reply to the second prince's request for grain borrowing, 150 million catties. However, the Grand Duke of Madras asked the second prince to pay off the cost of the last grain loan. It seems that the second prince is also very angry. Lorist picked up a document bound in thick vellum paper and threw it on the table.

"100,000 displaced people, we have a big package on our backs, winter has come, and we have to prepare winter clothes, shelter, wood for heating and filling their stomachs for these 100,000 displaced people. Today is November 11th, and we must take the city of Kebo before the bitter cold of December arrives, and move all the personnel there for the winter to allow these 100,000 displaced people to survive the winter. ”

"My lord, Kebo City is not easy to fight, the third prince led more than 60,000 soldiers of the Royal Guards Legion to sink under Kebo City. Defeated and returned, the Iron Guard became famous in a battle. We occupied the city of Vannades and the Cith Castle. The news has spread throughout the province of Delemke, and the defenders of Kebo City have already prepared, and we can no longer use surprise tactics, but we are afraid that if we do not overcome the attack for a long time, we will damage the armament of our convoy if we delay it under the city for a long time. Bodfinger looked worried.

"If we want more than 100,000 horses to survive the winter, we can only capture Kebo City, and at this time and then, we are not the Royal Guards of the Third Prince, and we are not defending the Iron Guards. According to the officials who were captured here, there is only one brigade of garrisons in Kebo City, and I am quite confident that I will capture Kebo City. It's just that I'm worried that even if we capture Kebo City, these 100,000 displaced people are too slow to get there, and we must find a way to transfer them there as soon as possible, so as not to let them slow down our journey. Lorist said with his fingers tapped on the table in an irritable mood.

"I think we can militarize the displaced people, like the families of those who have become garrison soldiers, and we can also give them the treatment of armed relatives of the convoy, and collect wagons from here and assign them to travel, so that at least fifty or sixty thousand displaced people can follow the journey of our convoy. Farea stood up and made a suggestion. As the commander of the newly formed garrison regiment, he knew very well that what his soldiers envied most was the care and treatment that the armed relatives of the convoy could receive.

"Yes, that's a good idea. Lorist nodded.

"But my lord, we can't find a carriage, and we have only collected more than 2,000 carriages in Vannades City......" Shi Fatzi was very worried.

"Well, Schreid, you try to collect as many transports as you can from Vanades City, and as for the goods of those merchants, you don't have to worry about them, what we need now is speed of action, not what supplies to transport. During our assault on the city of Kebo, you were in charge of it, and ordered the artisan battalion to build more carriages, and if there were not enough pack horses, one horse per cart, and I did not expect the homeless to have a convoy of sixty miles a day, but at least to maintain a journey of thirty miles a day. ”

Lorist knew that Fat Man was sick, and that he had pink eye as soon as he arrived in Vanades, and his idea was to collect all their goods from the merchants of Vanades City at a third of the price in the name of collecting armaments and transport them to the family domain. Therefore, he had to be warned in advance, lest he go to collect supplies in spite of the crowd.

"Borg, has His Royal Guard been stationed at Sith Castle?" asked Lorlist.

Bodfinger replied, "They have arrived, ten thousand men." I'll be back first after the handover, and Ross will be back tomorrow afternoon with our ironclad spear brigade and archers. ”

"It's strange, the Grand Duke of Madras is so slow to react, why haven't they noticed that we have cut off communication and information from the outside of the province of West Degrad?" Lorist thought, touching his chin.

Bodfinger smiled: "My lord, the Grand Duke of Madras must have known about the occupation of Sith Castle, because when our scout light cavalry entered the province of West Degrad to investigate, they found that the manor castles they passed through were on heightened guard. I suspect that the Grand Duke of Madras is just that he has not yet figured out whether the enemy who occupied the Cith Citadel will continue to attack the province of West Degrad or simply defend. Therefore, he can't order the Haishan Legion to attack, lest the lair be attacked by the enemy......"

"Yes. Loris nodded: "Anyway, the Sith Castle has been handed over to the Second Highness." The city of Vanades will be handed over to him in a while. In this way, he was able to convert it into a fortress city that would serve as a barrier to annex the province of Yungeshandra. Now His Royal Highness has no excuse for us to hand over this place to him as soon as possible. He still wished that we would get out of here sooner, lest we waste this place and make it impossible for him to collect supplies and manpower.

The reason why I want to move to Cobo City. First, there is plenty of grain and grass reserves, and second, it is closer to the Northland, so we can return to the family territory soon in the spring of next year. The third point is that I don't want to stay here anymore, after the spring starts tomorrow, this will definitely be a battlefield after a big war, and if I don't leave now, I'm worried that I will be dragged into these broken wars next year, and I won't be able to leave if I want to. ”

"And when are we going to attack Kebo City?" asked Bodfinger.

"Tomorrow morning we will set out with Yuri's scout hussars first, followed by Telman and the Knights. Ordered Ross to lead three brigades of ironclad lancers to directly divert to Kebo City, the soldiers are very fast, the time is very tight, we will meet again there. Lorist said.

......

Six days later, Lorist arrived in front of a castle in the center of the city of Corbo in a carriage with a dozen guards bearing the flag of the Tebury family.

Lorist was greeted by an official in his fifties or sixties with gray hair.

"Lord Viscount, I'm the Bloom Governor here. I'm sorry, but although the city is a direct city of the Grand Duke of Madras, it is a military town and a storage center. We do not accept outside guests. If the Viscount wants to stay, please walk more than ten miles along the eastward avenue, where is the manor castle of the Count of Crook. The Earl of Crook had always been hospitable, and the Viscount would be well received there. As for the grain purchase that the Lord said, to be honest, we can't be the master here, and we can't ship a grain here without the approval of the Duke. The old official very politely rejected Lorist's request.

"Well, I think I'm wrong. I'm sorry, Governor Bloom, but it's the first time I've come to your principality, and I've only heard that Kebo City is the grain trading center of the principality, and I thought it was as lively as those commercial cities, trading on the spot. Lorist was not without melancholy, fully showing the regret of a nobleman running for nothing.

"It's really a pity to let the Viscount run away in vain. In fact, in the past, our grain trade was held in the city of Venades, and we would only pay for as much grain as we sold there, and we would only allocate as much grain as we could. But now I have heard that the city of Vannades is occupied by outcasts, so we can only hand over the grain to you with the approval of the Grand Duke. The old official bowed deeply to Lorlist.

"Well, it seems that I will have to find a way to meet the Grand Duke, or wait a little longer. Thank you for your advice, Mr. Bloom, and I'll take my leave. Lorist nodded at the old official and got back into the carriage and left the city.

Watching Lorist's carriage go away......, the old official was a little puzzled: "Why did the nobles of the Kingdom of Ridlis also go here to buy grain, even if they bought what he transported back?

Lorist's carriage traveled a few miles to the east, leaving the alert range of the city of Kebo, and then turned south, and ran for more than half an hour, and a large dense evergreen forest appeared in front of it, and after passing through the woods, there was a continuous military camp in front of him.

Lorist entered the tent with a gloomy face, and Bodfinger, who was looking at the map, was very surprised: "My lord, why are you back?"

"The plan didn't work, we were going to enter Kebo City in batches to meet with the outside, but we didn't expect that Kebo City would not accept outsiders to stay in the inner city at all, whether it was a nobleman or a mercenary. Lorist said gloomily.

Grabbing a blank piece of animal skin paper and an ink-wicked pen, Lorist began to paint: "Kebo City has two walls, the first wall is the same as the intelligence says, ten meters high, and the second wall is twenty meters apart and about twelve meters high. The double city wall is densely packed with towers. I didn't see any equipment guarding the city, so I guess it was all in the tower. At the heart of the city is a five-storey castle. Even if the outer two walls are lost, the garrison can still retreat to the castle and resist stubbornly. It really deserves to be called the iron-clad Kebo City. It's easy to defend and hard to attack!"

Bodfinger shook his head as he looked at Lorlist's map of the city's defenses. He couldn't think of a good idea. Turning his eyes to the outside of the tent, he was stunned: "My lord, you see it's snowing again, this is the second snow this year." If we can't capture the city, we'll have to arrange for our troops to withdraw to the city of Vanades......"

Snow began to fall again in the gray sky, and I watched as the snowflakes outside the tent fell to the ground and turned into small water stains.

Lorist's eyes moved, and he smashed his fist on the city defense map he drew with a "bang": "Gather all the silver ranks of the troops, I will lead them to attack Kebo City at night!"

Lorlist's plan is simple, snowy nights. There was no silver moon in the sky, and it was so dark that you couldn't see more than a meter away. The garrison defending the city of Kebo will definitely be slackened. Throughout the history of the millennia of warfare, there has been no case of a snowy night attack on the city.

Recruit the silver rank experts in the family armament, take advantage of the darkness to touch the city of Kebo, climb the wall by yourself, lower the rope, pull up the rope ladder to take your subordinates to the city, and control the four towers near the city gate to open the city gate and lower the drawbridge, allowing the large army to enter the city.

The second wall was also concocted in the same way, while controlling the city gate. On the other hand, he led people to attack the castle in the center of the city while the enemy was unprepared. As long as you control the castle and the two gates, when the day dawns and the large army enters the city, the guards on the rest of the walls and towers will naturally have the opportunity to slowly clean up. That's a bit of a breakthrough. The center blooms.

It is also difficult to attack at night, one is to reach out and not see the five fingers, and it is easy to see the figure of the companion in front of you if it exceeds one meter in the snowy night, and lose the whereabouts of the companion and lose direction. Second, there is a moat five or six meters wide in front of Kebo City, how can we cross it? You can't get a wooden plank about ten meters long to build a bridge, and besides, there will be no place to find such a long plank. It is possible to use a long wooden ladder to fall, but it would be in vain to alarm the guards on the city wall if you step into the water on such a dark night.

Lorist's solution is also very simple, the night raiders are connected by ropes, although the movement is a little slower, but the enemy can't see it anyway, enough for everyone to touch the city of Kebo, and there is no need to worry about the lost people.

As for crossing the moat, sheepskin rafts were used by the local civilians for fishing, and they were light and easy to carry, and there were several of them in the manor castle we occupied yesterday, all of which were turned over by the servants and built on top of their houses to make roofs. We don't need more, one is enough, as long as the first boat crosses the moat, they can tie ropes to the sheepskin raft and pull back and forth, and soon they can pull everyone across the river.

When the night attackers took control of the two gates and lowered the drawbridge, they blew two horns and one short, and the large army could light the torches and march towards the city of Kebo.

"That's it!" Lorist said categorically to his men in the big tent, "We have to take this risk, now everyone has to prepare!"

Before leaving, Lorist remembered El who was recuperating from his injuries in Nadegas City, this guy has night vision, and he is actually the most suitable person to do such a thing, but unfortunately he is injured and can't go on an adventure with him for a night attack.

For the old manager Bloom in the city of Kebo, it is difficult to have a good sleep when he is old, he only slept for three hours at night and woke up, and he couldn't sleep, so he got up and found a book and lit a candle to prepare to stay up until dawn, looking at the dark sky outside the window and the snowflakes falling on the green glass of the window, the old manager muttered: "Another year is almost over......

At this time, the old steward seemed to hear three horns: "This must be another patrol soldier who has drunk too much and is going crazy, and he will not be able to run away with a whip tomorrow morning." ”

A rumbling thunder rang out, and it was endless.

The old manager was a little surprised, it was thundering on a snowy day, and it seemed that it would rain heavily tomorrow morning, and he had to check whether there was any leakage in the granary, alas......

A noisy sound sounded downstairs, and the old manager was a little angry, what is going on tonight, why is it so noisy, don't sleep now, will these servants still get up to work tomorrow?

The old steward put on his cloak and was about to go down and scold the men, when he opened the door when he saw three or four men coming up from the castle staircase, and soon appeared before him.

By the light of the candle in his hand, the old steward was stunned to see the young man from the kingdom of Redlis who came to visit in the afternoon, what is the name of Viscount Tebberly, with a body of blood and muddy water, but he didn't seem to mind, but instead showed a standard aristocratic smile with two front teeth: "It's a pleasure to see you again, Chief Bloom......"

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