Only a few days into the operation, the Duchy army had already penetrated deep into the enemy's hinterland.

With just one more day's journey, they will be able to capture the capital of the Noble Alliance, Gronal, and force the other party to the negotiating table.

"We are on the verge of victory," Lord Gofrey said excitedly, putting down his binoculars.

The chief of the General Staff, Count Baptiste, glanced at him and said with a smile: "You old stubbornness, your face has become very fast!" The day before, he was still making a face at the commander, why don't you complain now? ”

Lord Goldfrey blushed with shame and bowed his knees to the commander of the operation:

"It's me who is not good, I am so offended by you, I'm sorry, please don't take it to heart."

Field Marshal Leopold Schumacher stretched out his arms and lifted the weather-beaten veteran in front of him,

"There is no need for this, we are all courtiers of the Duchy of Valstad, and we should march forward with our heads held high and abandon our previous suspicions."

Lord Gofrey bowed his head in repentance, "It was you who alerted me, Marshal, that we veterans have always been proud of our achievements, and have been arrogant and contemptuous of your younger generation.

Your genius program has made me realize that I am not a good learner.

Now I understand that heroes don't ask where they come from, they don't ask about age.

You are truly Dean Simon's number one protégé. ”

"You have an overreputation, in fact, Dali Einfurt is the most proud disciple of Teacher Simon.

If it weren't for his reforms, our soldiers would simply not have enough equipment to fight. ”

"Dali Einfoot? The little general? Speaking with an unpleasant Tadjawi accent? ”

"Haha, he didn't do it."

"Hey, he's very good, but it's a pity, this kid ruined his future, got married early and had children, and indulged in all the of running the family estate and attending salon parties all day long!

Addicted to food and women, how could he voluntarily give up the opportunity to go to the battlefield to fight for glory?

In my opinion, he has no skills, but he has no ambitions, and he is far worse than you. ”

On the ensuing march, Lord Gofrey became Leopold's number one supporter, and began to boast of the young manager's wisdom when he met him, leaving no one to think of him.

The disgruntled old aristocracy had become Leopold's most loyal supporters.

Throughout the morning, the 80,000-strong army of the Duchy of Valstad continued its long march towards the capital of the noble Confederates, encountering only sporadic and symbolic resistance along the way.

At noon that day, he finally encountered the first decent interception on the way.

"Commander Leopold, our hussar scouts have arrived.

There was a narrow pass not far ahead, and the army of the noble alliance had built a defensive position on the ridge and blocked the mountain road with the advantage of the terrain. ”

"If we take the capital ahead, we will win! Herald, let our avant-garde forces attack! ”

Half an hour later, the herald came again:

"My lord! They repelled several waves of attacks from our avant-garde units! The commander of the 26th Infantry Division, General Deacon, was killed in the charge. ”

"What? So hard to fight? That's not going to work!

Let them get down quickly! Wait until I go with the main force in person! ”

An hour later, Field Marshal Leopold came to the front line of the encounter, the weather was very clear, the visibility was excellent, and the enemy garrison was clearly visible in the eyepieces of the telescope.

A scout in hussar uniform came to him:

"My lord, the reconnaissance team has drawn a topographical map, this is an easy and difficult pass, and it is the last natural barrier of Gronal City, the capital of the Noble League.

To pass through here, it is necessary to pass through three zigzag mountain roads, which are blocked by three artillery positions on the ridge.

Our attacking forces could only charge under artillery fire on narrow roads, suffering heavy casualties under the fire of solid shells and shotguns. ”

Leopold looked at the pass ahead, a little irritable:

"It's tricky terrain...... This is obviously not a temporary defensive facility, and it takes a lot of effort to pull so many heavy artillery up the mountain, so you can't bypass it? ”

"My lord, if we want to get around this pass, we can only cross the entire mountain range, and the pursuers behind us can ......."

"Humph! It doesn't matter if you catch up! Lord Gofrey said in a rough voice: "Our soldiers are strong, are we afraid that they will not succeed?" In my opinion, simply go back and have a decisive battle with their main force! ”

"That being said, we can indeed go back to the plains and fight a battle, and with our current forces, we can definitely win, but once a battle of this magnitude breaks out, the casualties will inevitably exceed 30,000.

We must not do this, His Majesty the Duke wants to unify the peninsula with as little bloodshed as possible, and sooner or later the noble allies will join us and become part of the empire.

Trying to avoid a large-scale bloody battle among the Valstas is exactly what this operation is all about, so ...... We still have to find a way to break through this annoying barrier. ”

Soon, the Duchy army organized another assault.

This time, mule and horse artillerymen pulled their cannons to the foot of the mountain and launched a concentrated artillery attack on the first defensive stronghold on the ridge.

However, the six-pounder light cannon had a limited range and insufficient destructive power, and the shells only meaninglessly stirred up a piece of dirt, which did not do anything, but was suppressed by enemy artillery fire.

"Let the mule and horse artillery withdraw," Leopold sighed, "well, for now, we have to rely on the old way, get the infantry column ready, and then start the charge!" ”

The 20th Infantry Division was ordered to advance, and the infantry lined up in a group on the narrow mountain road, and although they were brave enough, they were powerless in the face of the enemy's superiority in terrain and artillery fire, and were soon defeated again.

The commander of the 20th Infantry Division, General Robert, personally came to Leopold to complain:

"Lord Leopold...... It's not that we don't work hard, this terrain is disgusting!

Let me describe the situation to you!

The enemy used wicker-woven bamboo baskets filled with mud, which were used as obstacles and placed on the mountain roads to block our progress.

My soldiers had to carry their rifles behind their backs and roll up their sleeves to move the obstacles together.

The obstacles were removed, but the enemy shells were coming!

Due to the dense crowd, every hit shell caused heavy casualties, and even so, my men stepped on the corpses of their comrades without hesitation and continued to advance! ”

At this time, the commander of the 20th Infantry Division, General Robert, suddenly burst into tears and said:

"My youngest son...... Colonel Sam, who served as the commander of the grenadier battalion, adored His Majesty the Duke madly and wanted to receive the medal she had personally awarded......

He carried his flag and led the grenadiers towards the first artillery position, but by this time the gunners had replaced them with shotguns, and the grenadiers fell in pieces like harvested crops......

My youngest son, Sam, fell on the mountain road just ten meters away from the artillery position, and only half of the grenadier battalion of six hundred people survived......"

At this point, General Robert was so grieved that he almost fainted, and Leopold hurriedly had him stopped.

"I will mention in the report the heroic deeds of your son, and he will receive the Order of His Majesty."

But the old general didn't seem to hear anything, and his spirit was on the verge of collapse.

Leopold shook his head and commanded helplessly: "Quickly bring General Robert to the rear to rest, herald, tell the 20th Infantry Division to stop the attack and tell them to retreat."

Two soldiers carried the grief-stricken old general and walked away.

"My little Sam! He's just gotten married! How should I explain to my daughter-in-law when I go back? I'm just dead! ”

The painful wails of Old General Robert lingered in everyone's ears, casting a shadow over the future of the army.

"Hey! Damn it! Lord Gofrey stomped hard and said, "Damn, the 80,000-strong army was blocked by a few artillery positions!" If only we had howitzers! ”