On February 7, 1768, the third day that General Nathan received Pauly's order, Lawrence, who was in the camp of the Fourth Battalion, received General Nathan's order early that morning.

In a tent in the center of the camp, Lawrence, Trefali, and Lieutenant Seth were solemnly looking at a piece of paper on the table, which General Nathan had sent in the early morning.

The letter briefly explained to Lawrence the state of Bastia's preparations for evacuation: most of the city's supplies had been transported back to the new garrison in the south, and even the military rations in Bastia had only been kept for ten days, so that the Genoese army could be evacuated at any time after observation.

At the end of the letter, General Nathan, in his capacity as the Supreme Commander of the Northern Corps, gave the order to the 4th Battalion to begin the operation, signaling Lawrence to set out early this morning.

The three of them read the letter up and down twice, and then Major Trifali spread out the map on the table and explained to Lawrence:

"Our planned march route is to pass through the jungle to the west of the Ximu fortress, avoid the detection of the defenders inside the fortress, and get here..."

Major Trefali said, pointing to a bay in the northeastern part of the fort, and added:

"Giethoorn Bay, this is a natural harbor where the Genoese supply fleet would dock to unload their cargo and then transport it overland to the Creek Fortress."

"In other words, there should be a lot of supplies stored here." Lawrence nodded.

"That's right, if Giethoorn Bay is lost, the Genoese army will definitely not sit idly by." Major Trefali continued.

"But—" interjected Lieutenant Seth with some timidity:

"Such a heavy defense will definitely not be relaxed, with the military strength of our battalion, I am afraid it is..."

Lawrence nodded approvingly, for such a supply center, even if it was in the rear of the fortress, the Genoese army would not be stupid enough to be completely undefended.

Fortunately, Major Trevary also took this into account, and replied confidently:

"According to the information I have received, the main force of the Genoese army is still stationed in the fortress, and there will not be a large number of troops stationed in Giethoorn even if it is fortified. Of course, with the current state of our battalion, it may not be possible to solve even that small part of the garrison army. ”

Tripfary's words did not hurt the morale of his own people, but he also knew the current situation of the fourth battalion, but the troops of more than 200 people only had more than 120 muskets, but fortunately, the remaining soldiers were not barehanded, at least each of them could be assigned a broad-bladed infantry knife.

With these factors in mind, neither Lawrence nor Trevary had hoped for a line-up battle with the defenders of Giethoorn, and there was only one tactic left.

"Surprise attack."

Major Trevary, with his finger across the route of the march he had planned, said:

"Most of the route is in dense jungle far from the populace, and the probability of being detected by the Genoese is extremely low, so we still have a good chance of making a covert march all the way to Giethoorn Bay, and then attack at night and engage the defenders in hand-to-hand combat."

Lawrence, who was only an apprentice to the war himself, looked at Lieutenant Seth and asked for his opinion with his eyes.

"It's... There is indeed a good chance, but how can we retreat after we take Giethoorn Bay and attract the main Genoese force to pursue? ”

Lieutenant Seth hesitated for a moment and asked.

As soon as the words were uttered, Lawrence and Trefali looked at each other, and both looked at the map in silence for a few moments.

This was the most difficult part of the whole plan, although Lawrence was sure that he would attract the Genoese army to Bastia, but even Lawrence was reluctant to accept the consequences of how many soldiers would be killed and wounded in the fourth battalion afterwards.

"Only God knows."

Lawrence said casually, and Major Trefali nodded in agreement.

The fourth battalion will face an enemy force that is several times its own number surrounded from the retreating direction, and how it will break through at that time, and what price it will pay for breaking through the siege, the three people present are not sure at present.

With a slight sigh, Major Trefali folded the map and put it away, got up and said:

"In any case, we must leave now, Sheephorn Bay is more than eighty miles away, and if we force a whole day's march, we should be able to reach it at night."

Lawrence nodded at Lieutenant Seth and commanded:

"Tell the soldiers to pack up, assemble in five minutes, hand out muskets and sabers, and set off immediately."

"Yes." Despite some apprehension, Lieutenant Seth chose to trust Lawrence, and after a brief answer, he hurried out of the tent.

Although the soldiers of the 4th Battalion had been willing to fall for a long time, they were seasoned soldiers who had been baptized by war, and after Lawrence's order, they did not need additional instructions, and the soldiers had already skillfully arranged and assembled their backpacks and sleeping bags.

Without much mobilization, Lawrence believed that the soldiers had been mentally prepared three days before, so he gave the order to set off after a brief count of the number of people.

According to Major Trefali's plan, the 4th Battalion needed to weave through the jungle non-stop to reach Giethoorn at midnight. During this time, be careful to watch out for possible Genoese outposts, as well as local villagers or hunters.

During the tense march, there was not even a time for lunch, and the soldiers had to tread through the dense bushes while stuffing their mouths with dry bread as hard as stones, without even a sip of light soup.

But when the soldiers saw that the two commanders, Lawrence and Trefary, were chewing on the dry black bread as they did, they had no complaints.

Luckily, the route planned by Major Trefali was indeed hidden, and he encountered at most a few squirrels and hares along the way, which were unnoticed by the others.

At midnight, Lawrence looked up at the weather, it was windless and overcast, visibility was low, and the moon was only a hazy halo under the layers of dark clouds.

The 4th Battalion was still hidden in the woods, but the lights could already be seen faintly not far away.

Major Trefarley took out a silver pocket watch, glanced at it, and whispered to Lawrence, pointing to the lamp in the distance:

"It's midnight, and it's about as expected, and it's the pier in Giethoorn Bay."

Lawrence squinted his eyes at Giethoorn Bay, but could only see a few points of light, which was still a little too far away to see the specific situation on the pier.

So Lawrence turned to Lieutenant Seth and instructed:

"Send two men with good eyesight, wrap themselves in black blankets, and inquire about the situation inside, and if they are discovered, let them fire their guns. Also, let the other soldiers rest in place for a while. ”

Major Trevally couldn't help but look at Lawrence in surprise, the young major had only been in the barracks for a few days, but the order had been given was very strict and correct.

While waiting for the Scout to return, Lawrence also chatted quietly with Trefary:

"So far, so far, but if I were to command the Genoese army, I would definitely set up a reconnaissance post in this wood."

Major Trefali smiled bitterly twice and said:

"I don't think it's necessary, there is a Ximu fortress in front of Giethoorn Bay, even if an enemy army occupies Giethoorn Bay, it will be difficult to escape the pursuit of the defenders in the fort."

"Just like we do now." Lawrence let out a long exhalation and said with a smile.