Chapter 68 Going south to Decheng

My father had some doubts about the order to go south, but as an officer, he could only carry it out. ()

The surrounding officers were also a little puzzled, because what happened became more and more mysterious, and there were all kinds of theories. The hasty dispatch of the army, no matter what time it is, is not a reassuring thing.

The outraged regiment was the Suno Regiment, whose soldiers were not allowed to plunder the town until the end, and who had been placed on missions in the deserted countryside these days, much to their displeasure.

"We fought bloody battles for the Empire, but the Empire squeezed us out for a few bags of gold coins" was the common thinking of the officers and men of the Suno Regiment. But they did not complain too much after receiving the order, after all, Prince Frederick had promised them to open the warehouse as a reward when they returned to the south.

Not long after the capture of Frost Castle, the Svadia soldiers began to pack their bags and prepare to head south. The news must have reached the Wikiians as well, as many scouts on the north bank of the river had discovered that the Wikibians in the opposite fortress were being dispatched frequently. Many of the officers wanted to stay in Frost Castle for a while, at least until the situation stabilized before heading south, otherwise if the Wikibians suddenly crossed the Blue Ice River, Frost Castle would probably fall into siege immediately.

But the prince told his officers that the two forces at Fort Frost were definitely enough to defend. There are not many inhabitants in the Frost Fort now, and the pressure on food is not great, and there will be a steady stream of supplies and recruits to replenish and send them later. In order to stabilize the morale of the army, the prince selected 800 soldiers from the recruited soldiers to supplement the city defense force, and left most of the craftsmen to repair the city walls and docks.

There was a small commotion in the city, and many residents didn't know what attention the emperor ** team was playing. People are worried about whether the Wikibians are coming back soon, and no one can stand another siege.

The various stations in the city were busy planning for the south. The planned recuperation has also been postponed, but when it comes to returning to Dehrem, there is still something to look forward to. The soldiers knew that Dehrim had a refreshing drink, a fragrant barbecue, a delicious bread, and a welcoming girl.

These things were not available everywhere in the Frost Castle, and some soldiers had to risk curfews to find the girl from house to house. Some parents would like their daughters to associate with the occupying forces, while others will shout and call for patrols. This made the soldiers' nightlife extremely monotonous, and it would be nice to be able to return to Decherim now.

The soldiers began to leave the city in droves, camping in improvised camps outside the city.

As the army began to prepare to move south, Prince Frederick had been anxiously waiting for his emissary. None of the emissaries sent to the camp of the Western Army returned. Federi had already changed his order, and he told the people he sent that they did not need to contact the people of the Western Army, but only needed to see the troops of the Western Army, and observe them from a distance, "observing the number of people, movements, and numbers"

These envoys were confused, this was completely spying on the hostile army.

However, Fredrik repeated his orders, and then sent his own reconnaissance unit in succession. He told the men to come back immediately if they found anything.

The prince told them to look for him in the Frost Castle, and if he had already gone south by then, follow the path between the Frost Castle and Dehrim.

A leading cavalry had already moved south, and they were to inform the villages and towns on the road to be ready for the army, and the Eastern soldiers in Decherim to prepare their camp.

Now the prince's heart was extremely conflicted, and he tried again and again to calm down, thinking about whether he had gone too far.

But he found all sorts of reasons to tell himself that Harlaus had made the mistake first.

As the leader of an army that fought with the main force, Haraus could not be said to have succeeded in pinning down the enemy on the flank. The Noord force at the beginning of the siege was an example, and although it did not cause serious damage, it was a sure thing that Haraus did not do well on the flanks, and on this basis the Prince could question Haraus in the subsequent confrontation;

There is also the fact that Haraus blocked Suno Avenue without his own permission, and the port ban on the port of Uxhall looks like Harlaus's handiwork;

And the most important point is that no one knows where Harlaus has gone. Although as a leader and regent of the Empire, Haraus enjoys a lot of freedom, but if he acts arbitrarily in wartime and perfunctory the heir of the Empire, then he is playing with fire, and it is useless to have great qualifications. At the level of the royal parliament, the prince could easily gain advantage and sympathy, and it was not impossible to directly demand the abolition of the regent.

For many years, the Prince has lived in the shadow of Jazz, and this teacher has tired the Prince.

It was as if an unmeasured butler had been accusing the young master of the family for not knowing how to run the house, Haraus had gone too far, and the prince would definitely not hesitate to purge Haraus after he ascended the throne, at least depriving him of most of his rights. This old man, taking advantage of his relationship with the emperor and the support of a large group of nobles, has always had no courtier's etiquette in front of the prince, and the prince has had enough.

This time, Harlaus's series of actions and already strange whereabouts aroused the fear of the Prince, and to be honest, the Prince did not believe that Haraus would really do such a terrible thing. And this matter is far from serious enough to return to the base with the main force, but the prince just feels particularly uneasy.

Haraus hung over the prince like a shadow in the setting sun, and the prince always feared and hated the person who stood in his way. Every step of the knight seemed to be cunning, and the prince could not know what the knight was doing even when he was in front of him, let alone at such a time when he had no idea where the knight was.

The prince was now inquiring about the movements of Haraus from various sources, and had sent orders to each of the eastern towns to send their respective representatives to report to him. The prince needed to hold every town he could hold tightly.

After two days of camping outside the city, the Third Army was the first to pull out.

The soldiers began to march in formation under the opening of a column of cavalry.

In the morning, the soldiers used pots to scoop water to extinguish the campfire; The tents were put away and tied with ropes, and the tent racks were gathered together in heaps and thrown on top of the wagons; The soldiers' own marching hoes, food bags, and skins for sundries and water were hung on the mules.

The infantry marched in groups, and not fearing a clash of conflicts, many of the soldiers were not fully armoured, so they unfastened their armor and tied it to their animals, wearing only light leather armor and helmets, and walked easily all the way south.

With a rapid march, it was possible to reach the city of Dehrim in three and a half days.

Although it was a bit of a hassle to pack up from the garrison, once they were done and ready to head south, the soldiers began to think about the city of Dehrim again, and when they thought of the rich life there, the march was nothing.

And compared with when they went north, the soldiers' mentality was extremely relaxed.

After the capture of Frost Castle, the Vecchians had no stronghold south of the Blue Ice River, and their main force withdrew from the shallow waters of the upper reaches of the river. Now there is no organized Wiki on the south bank of the Blue Ice River, and if there are Wikibians, they are all ineffective guerrillas hiding in the woods. It's okay to let them let go of the cold arrows and bully the militia, but it's impossible for them to attack the morale-filled and well-armed main Svadia forces.

Moreover, the Swadian occupation army also offered a bounty to all the villages, one head for fifteen dinars, which made the Wikiians the most sought-after prey in the villages on the south bank of the Blue Ice River. Every farmer will happily smash a Wikiyan's head with a hoe in exchange for seed or lamb money for the following year. However, this also had a bad effect, some of the civilians of Vekia were slaughtered by their Swadian neighbors, and under the yin* of money, the deliberately vague national consciousness of the king of Vekia was awakened again.

In short, for the soldiers of Svadia, the most dangerous time has passed.

Although they did not understand why they had suddenly returned to Dehrim, the generals had made a decision, and they had nothing to say. And an exciting news spread among the soldiers, that is, this time the prince was going south because he was about to become the emperor of the empire. The soldiers also knew that if they followed the prince to achieve the emperor's success, the prince would definitely give more gifts generously.

It is said that when the current emperor ascended the throne, each of his soldiers was given three acres of land and a ploughing ox, which was a great fortune, and in the past it was only possible to obtain such a reward unless he had made military achievements.

For example, this time General Dimitri led his soldiers to the tower, and he was given a small estate of 19 acres and 3 acres south of the city of Deherim, and he was also given eleven donkeys, horses, and mules, and fifty-four sheep, plus two maids and nine tenant farmers--- which originally belonged to a Wikibian merchant, and after the war between the two countries, Prince Frederick took them into his own possession. The Prince now gives them as gifts to his officers and soldiers, which can greatly boost morale.

The soldiers marched south like a dense pack of ants, aiming for Dehrim. The prince stood on a high ground on a richly decorated horse, ensuring that every soldier passing by could see the prince's heroic appearance.

A group of light cavalry jogged up the hillside, and if the soldiers on the high ground looked up, they could see that the prince was asking the cavalry something.

Those cavalrymen were the messengers sent to Harauth's camp a few days earlier.

The prince soon followed the cavalry down the hill. No one knows what happened.

Only a few people close to the prince knew the gravity of the situation: Harlaus's western army was gone, several officers were hanged in an empty camp, and their bodies were gnawed by crows beyond recognition.

The heads of the corpses and the fragments of their clothes were brought back. The prince and a few staff officers endured the stench and opened the box containing the things, which made the stomachs of the officers churn: they were the prince's most trusted attendants, who had been ordered to investigate the movements of the western army, and had been missing for many days.

The officers were silent, and now even the most optimistic people felt that the state of affairs was slipping into a terrible abyss.