Chapter 422: Stalemate

Mountains, large rivers, plains, hills, plains, mountains, egret lake swamps......

This was the topography of the Duchy of Forendo and the Duchy of Fakr before all the commanders of the Kingdom of Antinac, and for more than a month everyone had almost smashed the map, and the quarrels were in shambles, and the continuous military meetings, discussions, and sleepless thoughts managed to exhaust all the high-ranking generals. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoIt's just a pity that whether it's a temptation or a variety of reconnaissance, it's still powerless in the face of such a defensive front.

The Central Four Duchy have always been known for producing elite infantry from the former Krissian Empire, and the people here are good at mountain warfare, defensive defense. Although they lacked strong cavalry, as long as the battle dragged on, they would fall into their offensive and defensive rhythm. This is how the eldest prince Redlis, who commanded an army of 200,000 to attack the four central principalities, was dragged by them for three years, and finally returned defeated, and was even counterattacked by the four central principalities into the Majik Province of the kingdom of Ridlis, and was forced to sign a peace agreement.

It's not that His Royal Highness hasn't fought those mountains and hills, the problem is that the only ones who can really adapt the army for this attack to carry out mountain battles are the two light infantry regiments in the family armed regiment led by Count Shaheen, totaling 20,000 people. With this amount of troops, it is impossible to open a passage. As for the White Lion Legion and the two heavy armor corps of the Kenmax family, they are all equipped with heavy armor, and it is okay to siege the city and defend the castle, but let them climb mountains and wade through rivers to attack the enemy in the mountains and hills, it is better to save effort.

As for the big river in the territory of the Duchy of Forendo, no one has a navy, and there is no way to fight this idea, the ship is small and cannot transport many people and horses, and the ship is large and easy to run aground and become a target for rockets, even if you want to open a shipyard, you don't have the time and money to spend.

The strategy of the four central principalities formulated by the Second Highness was originally to use the mobility of cavalry to gallop across the plains of these principalities, grasp the initiative in the battle, and then wait for the arrival of the heavy armored army to capture those trapped towns and fortresses, destroy the four central principalities in one fell swoop, and capture the four principality archdukes who betrayed the kingdom, which is also the main reason why the Second Highness insisted on persuading the Grand Duke of Fisabrun to submit to him.

But who would have expected that both Archduke Volendor and Archduke Falkle adopted this countermeasure of digging trenches on the plains, building earthen walls, and expanding the entire depth of defense, which turned the plains into moats, almost abolishing the mobility of cavalry, and also eliminating the threat of the Norton family's long-range attack weapons unparalleled in the world. Judging from the current situation, it seems that there is no other way but to honestly fill in the trenches and bulldoze the earthen walls.

His Royal Highness was very unwilling, and tried to feint several times, from the defense line of the province of Forward of the Duchy of Volendor to the border defense line of the province of Samora, the Duchy of Fakel, all of which had the same result, and were still faced with endless trenches and earthen walls. Even if Lorist handed over a Thunderbolt Catapult battalion assigned to the Flying Tiger Legion to the command of His Highness II, he would still be powerless with these two lines of defense. As Lorist said, there is no target, what are you going to smash with the catapult?

Especially when His Second Highness found that no matter when he attacked a certain point in the two defensive lines, the enemy would mobilize enough troops to secretly ambush in front or resolutely resist through the trenches that extended in all directions, he finally deflated, extinguished the delusion of continuing to attack, and after collecting his troops and returning to the camp, he sat in the big tent again and meditated, trying to find a way to break through the current predicament.

At present, the only somewhat reliable method is proposed by Duke Kenmeth, who was inspired by the legendary deeds of His Second Highness who braved the snow to cross the Yunduan Mountains and the Great Snow Mountain to attack the royal city of Federiga of the Kingdom of Redlis in the winter, and thought that it could be carried out in the same way, and in the coldest time of winter, the surprise army crossed the frozen Egret Lake swamp, and as long as he crossed the nameless mountains and hills next to the swamp, he could quickly reach the capital of the Duchy of Fakel. If the city of Falemerch can be captured, then everything will be fine.

Duke Kenmeth's proposal made everyone look at him with admiration, and it was surprising that Duke Kenmeth, who was recognized as a master of business, also had military talent. However, Lorist then vetoed the proposal.

Quite simply, the remaining three principalities already know the Second Highness very thoroughly, and they will definitely pay attention to whatever Duke Kenmeth can think of. What's more, His Royal Highness is known for surprise attacks, and the enemy will definitely notice this weakness brought by the Egret Lake swamp to the defenders in winter, and it is not enough to strengthen the defense, the troops of the surprise attack will return in vain at most, and the most feared thing is that they will set a trap to wipe out the surprise attack troops, which will not only cause us losses in troops, but also make the defending enemy strengthen the confidence and tenacity to resist us.

Duke Kenmeth was originally a little unconvinced, what if the enemy was negligent, but when he saw that His Royal Highness and Archduke Fisabrun had a look of approval on their faces, he knew that Lorist was right, those who treat the enemy as fools are themselves real fools, not to mention that Archduke Handla, Archduke Follendo, Archduke Falkel and Archduke Sabaji are all shrewd and capable nobles, and they have been in battle for a long time, and they will obviously think more than they think.

Even the Archduke Sabaji, who had already destroyed the country, was defeated because he was caught off guard and did not expect Lorist to suddenly launch an attack in advance. Just think about it, he can give up Meishan Castle and flee to the Duchy of Fakel, and he can escape under the pursuit of the Flying Tiger Legion and the two light cavalry regiments of Count Shaheen, he is not an ordinary person. If he hesitates for a day or grinds, the outcome will be different, either the city will be broken and he will die, or he will fall into the hands of the enemy and become a prisoner of the ranks.

In fact, Lorist had already thought about the Duke of Kenmeth's idea of attacking Fakel, the capital of the Duchy of Fakel, over the marshes of Egret Lake in winter, and abandoned it for the same reason. Another reason is that it is only the end of October, and it will be necessary to confront each other here for at least two months until the Bailu Lake swamp is frozen tightly in winter, and the food supply of nearly 300,000 troops for such a long time will be an astronomical huge consumption. The grain and grass captured from the Sabaji Principality are about to be exhausted, and the next grain and grass logistics materials have to be supplied and transported from the rear for a long distance, which is a very laborious and wasteful matter for each family.

War is fought in logistics, and in war it is in the economy. The grain and grass captured by the Principality of Sabaji were enough for an army of 300,000 for more than a month. But who would have thought that the way would be blocked by the two defensive lines of the Duchy of Forendo and the Duchy of Fakel? The original plan to collect military supplies on the occupied land has been frustrated, and the Duchy of Sabaji has been tossed by everyone and has nowhere to rob if they want to, and there are still more than 200,000 civilians who have become destitute and need to be relieved by His Royal Highness Second Highness, no matter how he is also a king, he cannot be left alone, which further increases the consumption of military food and grass materials.

At present, Baron Camorra sits in Meishan Castle and has turned it into a transit base for general logistics materials, where the materials transferred by various families are stored. Although the grain and grass transferred by His Royal Highness from the imperial capital did not need to make a big turn, he went directly to the Bailu Lake swamp, and then passed through Limad Province to reach Meishan Castle. Lorist is not bad, the supplies in the royal city of Windbrie are quite sufficient, and they are still transported directly from the Southern Province, Limad Province and then to Meishan Castle. The same was true of the Grand Duke of Fisabrun and the Count of Shaheen. The distance is long, and coupled with the consumption during transportation, it is already good that ten parts of materials can be transported to six, and everyone is complaining.

The worst thing is Count Philim, whose family territory has just been developed, coupled with the forty or fifty thousand people forcibly relocated from the Duchy of Sabaji, even the cost of resettlement and material consumption are completely dependent on the sponsorship and loan provided by Lorlist, and now he has no confidence to insist on continuing the attack.

The Grand Duke of Fisabrun proposed that he should not withdraw his troops for the time being, so that he would have the opportunity to fight again next time. But this does not mean abandoning the province of Zixes. While retreating, leave a cavalry corps here, one is to contain and the other is to counterattack. When he said this, Grand Duke Fisabrun also looked at Lorist deliberately, and it was obvious that the so-called legion left behind was the most suitable for the Flying Tiger Legion. If the Duchy of Fakr and the Duchy of Forendor see that we are retreating, they may send troops to recover the Duchy of Sabaji, then the Flying Tigers with their powerful attack power can give them a head-on blow.

Of course, given that the Flying Tiger Legion is not a light cavalry legion, and may be lacking in mobility, then Grand Duke Fisabrun is willing to leave his family's reserve legion behind, completely under the command of Lorist, and if there is any violation of military orders, Lorist can also dispose of it at will.

Although he didn't understand why the Grand Duke of Fisabrun proposed this, Lorist had a gut feeling that there must be something implied here. Before he could think about it carefully, he saw His Royal Highness get up and say that today's meeting is here for the time being, and that he will consider the proposal of Grand Duke Fisabrun and give an answer in two days.

After leaving the big tent, Lorist went directly to the Grand Duke of Fisabrun to ask why he made such a suggestion and was willing to hand over the reserve corps to his command? You can't go on like this, retreat from the army, and lure the snake out of the hole, I believe that your military level will soon be able to come to the good news. Even if they don't send troops, it doesn't matter, if they drag him for three or four years, the remaining three principalities will definitely not be able to maintain such a high garrison price, and they may collapse on their own......"

"Old fellow......" looked at the back of the Grand Duke of Fisabrun, and Lorist finally turned a corner. Bullshit, the old guy wants to drag himself here and stay in Zixes Province for a few years, so as not to go back to the Northland and have nothing to do, so he is always thinking about digging a pit for the Fisabrun family or something, so he is so generous that even the family's reserve army is willing to be handed over to Lorlist's command.

No, Lorist snorted, the reserve legion is all grass cavalry, even if it is tossed by Lorliste, it is not distressing for the Grand Duke of Fisabrun, a reserve corps does not matter, the key thing is that this will make Lorist owe him a favor......

It's just that what they didn't expect was that Grand Duke Fisabrun's proposal made His Second Highness think too much, although the current situation Second Highness also understood that retiring was the best choice, even if he was very annoyed that this time the army was in vain and was unwilling. However, this proposal of the Grand Duke of Fisabrun made him very suspicious, what is the matter, could it be that the Grand Duke of Fisabrun and Lorist shook hands and made peace? Otherwise, why would they be willing to hand over the reserve corps to Lorlist's command? You must know that the reserve corps is all barbarian cavalry, and it has always been unruly, except for the Grand Duke of Fisabrun, no one listens to orders, but now it is handed over to Lorlist, is there any agreement between the two of them?

Is it that they have some plans for the four principalities in the central part of the country? The Second Highness was simply bitten by a snake and was afraid of the well rope for ten years. Before he returned to the throne, he was knocked out of his hands by the four Northland alliances to the provinces of Delemke, West Degrad, Winston and South, and he still feels like a knife when he thinks about it, and he also made an oath.

Now that I think about it, His Royal Highness sometimes regrets it, and I want to chop off my signature hand. Although those four provinces were not under the jurisdiction of the Antinac Kingdom at that time, in the hearts of His Royal Highness, all the provinces that unified the territory of the former empire should naturally be decided by him, and he should make himself the famous Zhongxing Emperor in history. It's just that oath, but it will become one of the biggest stains on his glorious and legendary life. Therefore, His Royal Highness never felt that it was his glory that the Duchy of Madras and the Kingdom of Iberia were destroyed by the Four Alliances of the Northlands, on the contrary, they were two big slaps that made him feel pain in his heart.

Even if he admits in his heart that letting Lorist serve as the commander of the remaining three central principalities is the most suitable candidate, but the Second Highness really has a feeling in his heart, and he can't understand why the Grand Guild of Fisabrun recommended Lorlist, what is the reputation of this, and if he doesn't know whether the Second Highness will not let go of his heart, could it be that they are fighting the territory of the Central Four Duchy? Because of the suspicion of the Second Highness, the resolution to announce the withdrawal of troops has not been held for three days.

Lorist didn't want to stay in Zixes Province for a few years, and he decided that if His Highness really wanted the Flying Tiger Legion to stay, he would leave it to Tiger Ross with full responsibility. For this reason, he took Tiger Ross to a small mound in front of the defensive line, checked the enemy's situation, and by the way, gave Tiger Rose a few strategies, how to deal with the enemy's attack after retreating......

"Do you think there is a way to break through such a defensive line?" asked Lorlist.

Tiger Rose shook his head: "Your Highness, this is simply impossible to overcome, I suspect that this defensive line is aimed at the long-range attack ability of our Flying Tiger Legion and the impact power of cavalry." The infantry of these principalities, all of whom were earth rats, scurrying in the trenches and sheltered by earthen walls, knew nothing about their movements, and often had a local advantage over the attackers. We are cavalry, and the enemy is a rat in the trenches, and as long as they hide in the trenches, we can do nothing against them. ”

Doreus, the commander of the chariot steel crossbow corps who followed, said: "Your Highness, fighting in such a trench, our chariot steel crossbows are useless, and they are not even as useful as those old stone crossbows held by the enemy. Although the catapult has a short range, it is powerful and small in size, making it very convenient to use in trenches. In such a battlefield full of trenches and earthen walls, our chariot steel crossbows are useless, and the long-held principle of our family to shoot farther, stronger, and more accurate seems to have been overturned. My subordinates have been distressed about this for a long time, and I don't know if we have taken the wrong path in the development of the steel crossbow for our chariots...... In the future, if all of our clan's enemies use such defensive methods against us, we will be in great trouble. ”

Lorist smiled and patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry, this is just a special case, the Duchy of Forendor and the Duchy of Fakel can arrange such a position, first, we gave them time and let them mobilize the strength of the whole country to complete this defensive line, and second, the four principalities in the central part originally produced elite infantry, so they can be like a fish in water in such a defensive position." If other countries or forces learn from this kind of defensive position, and there are no elite infantry, it will only draw a tiger instead of an anti-dog, and it will be a waste of manpower and material resources. ”

"If Master Bodfinger were here, let the Rock Legion attack directly from the trenches, and perhaps break through such a defensive line. Tiger Ross said.

Lorist was silent, the Rock Legion was deployed on the border of the Southern Province, and it was an important force to guard against the Fisabrun family, so Lorist would not transfer them here. Besides, even if the Rock Legion comes, breaking through this line of defense will have to pay a heavy price for casualties. Lorist did not want to cause heavy losses to the family's armed forces for the destruction of the Central Four Duchy by His Royal Highness.

"Your Highness, perhaps we can wait until winter, when it snows heavily, and when the snow fills these trenches, our family will be able to easily cross this line with the help of skis and sleds...... said Dorus.

"You stupid!" Tiger Rose scolded, "Is there more than two meters of snow thick? These trenches are two to three meters deep, what kind of snow can make the trenches level with the ground!"

"Well, then we don't wait until the rainy season, and when the rain reaches the trenches, those dirt rats will not be able to stay in the trenches, and we will take the opportunity to attack......" Dorus was not convinced.

"Then we're not going to be ...... in the rain," Tiger Rose slapped Dorus on the back of the head.

"Wait, what are you talking about......" Lorist suddenly came to his senses, laughed, and jumped on his horse: "Go back to the camp immediately, I have found a way to break through this defensive line......

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