Chapter 248 The situation suddenly changes.
The reserves stored in the treasury last year have not been spent yet, and now there is more than 100,000 gold coins in cash in the treasury.
One hundred thousand gold coins in cash will have no effect on the development of the territory.
Richard found the Duke of Guise's agent and decided to spend 80,000 gold coins to purchase 16,000 slaves. The remaining 20,000 gold coins were used to purchase 10,000 tons of grain from several nearby nobles to increase the amount of grain stored in the grain depot. to one hundred thousand tons.
In recent years, Harland Territory has been the largest grain merchant near Black River Fort, selling tens of thousands of tons of grain every year. In order to avoid competition with the Harland family, the grain fields of nearby nobles have been reduced, and the cash crops have increased.
This year is another year of orc invasion, and Harland Territory actually purchased grain, causing the price of grain nearby to rise a bit.
After Goddess' Day, Harland Territory Primary School started school again.
There are now two elementary schools in Halland territory. One is in Fort William and the other is in Fort Depot. Flora has stepped down from the position of principal and is responsible for supervising all schools.
The two primary schools combined have more than 300 new students enrolled this year, and one-fifteenth of the children of the same age can go to school.
As long as the free people were in good condition, they would grit their teeth and send their smartest and favorite children to school.
Because children who graduate from primary school can almost achieve a class jump.
The Harland Territory is extremely short of talent. The military staff office, logistics office, government departments, hospitals, schools, factories, mines and other public institutions recruit personnel from Riverside Primary School graduates every year.
Because of the overt and covert blockade by the nobles, the literacy rate of ordinary people in the Dawn Plane is very low, roughly only one in a thousand.
Even in the Haaland territory, counting the students who graduated from Riverbank Elementary School, the total number of literate students is less than a thousand, and a large part of them are members of the nobility such as Haaland, Stoppa, and Duck.
Although several literacy classes have been held in the military, and all the officers and soldiers know some words, the literacy class study time is relatively short, and many people cannot even recognize the characters.
In the statistics of the territory, these people are semi-literate and not counted as literate people.
On the contrary, in primary schools, the total number of students exceeds 1,000. How many years will it take to increase the literacy rate in Haaland territory to 5%, reaching the level of ancient China?
He'an Primary School was established seven years ago and has only produced more than 300 primary school graduates until now.
Compared with the demand for literate talents in Haaland territory, primary school graduates have been quite valuable in recent years.
However, according to Richard's estimation, the territory's thirst for talents will not be that high in a few years.
When talent is saturated, students graduating from primary school may face unemployment.
There were more than three hundred new students. After Sophia used the magic crystal ball to test, she found five apprentices with magic qualifications. But these five people have average magic qualifications, and they all have low-level qualifications.
However, for the advancement of a magician, qualification is only one aspect; the other aspect is thinking and specializing in magic.
If these children have the brains of Newton and Einstein, make groundbreaking discoveries in magic research, win the love of the world, and receive particularly good feedback from meditation, they may not become great magicians and enter the legendary level. .
But such a super genius may not be seen for hundreds of years.
Moreover, when geniuses appear, there must be a suitable system for them to display their talents. The reforms that Richard made in the Harland territory are to allow these geniuses to display their talents. When spring blooms and March enters, the Duke of Guise will bring the slaves into full play
. When it was sent to the Harland Territory, the population of the territory reached 278,000.
In three months, the number of newborns in the territory increased by 4,000.
The Duke of Guise has just sent slaves, and traces of the orcs have been discovered.
Nowadays, the scouts in Harland's territory have Warcraft cavalry as the backbone, and are even equipped with a magic hot air balloon team. Audrey also has two lion cavalry under her command, who can barely ride a lion into the air to fight.
Of course, the griffon cavalry is extremely valuable, and it is impossible for Richard to let the clumsy griffon cavalry fight the harpies. However, with the aerial reconnaissance unit, the efficiency of reconnaissance has been greatly improved.
The orc army had just entered the middle of the Eagle Mountains, one hundred and sixty kilometers away from the swamp basin, when it was spotted by the hot air balloon team from Harland's territory.
After discovering the magic hot air balloon, the harpy immediately flew up to catch up, but was shot dead by the archer of the magic hot air balloon team.
The harpy's magic missiles can only fly a hundred meters away at most, while the arrows fired by the archers on the magic hot air balloon can hit targets three to four hundred meters away.
Alone, a harpy is no match for the Magic Balloon Team.
But the magic hot air balloon also has many weaknesses. Although the magic hot air balloon needs to rely on wind, its flying speed is also relatively slow. If several harpies attack from different directions, using appropriate tactics, the magic hot air balloon will also be shot down by the harpies.
The number of magic hot air balloons in Harland's territory is small, with only sixteen made in total. It is impossible to fight a long-term war of attrition with the orcs.
After shooting the harpy, the magic hot air balloon team landed immediately, joined the soldiers of the reconnaissance brigade, and sent the intelligence to Fort William.
Upon receiving the news of the orc invasion, Richard immediately sent messengers to notify Black River Fort, and then launched a comprehensive mobilization in the Harland territory.
The main force assembled on the northern front line, and the auxiliary troops and second-line armed personnel such as intelligence and security personnel also stopped taking vacations and assembled at the main castles in the territory, receiving weapons and equipment and preparing to fight at any time.
The reconnaissance brigade strengthened its reconnaissance efforts, and the magic hot air balloon squadron continued to take off to observe the direction of the orc army's advance.
Because they suffered a loss in the direction of the military station last time, this time the orcs mobilized a large army in this direction. According to the early reconnaissance information, the orc army numbered as many as one legion, and the total number of auxiliary soldiers exceeded 30,000.
Harland's territory now has six and a half infantry brigades with approximately 5,200 infantrymen, one Warcraft Cavalry Brigade with 600 soldiers, and one Scout Cavalry Brigade with 700 soldiers.
In addition, there is a mage group, a magic hot air balloon squadron, headquarters staff, and logistics personnel. The main force exceeds 7,000.
In addition, the territory also has 3,000 auxiliary troops, 1,600 security forces, and nearly 1,000 intelligence personnel.
Including second-line troops, the territory's military strength is approximately thirteen thousand.
In the northern defense line of Harland territory, the military station fort is the focus of defense.
Richard placed the First Brigade, the Second Brigade, the Third Brigade, the Fourth Brigade, and the Reconnaissance Brigade in the military station fort. Counting the auxiliary troops who operated the trebuchets, the garrison strength reached 5,000. Among them, the main combat force has four thousand soldiers.
There are two mage towers in the swamp basin, which are also the focus of defense. A castle was built near the Lightning Tower, and two guard squadrons and two auxiliary squadrons were stationed. In addition to the auxiliary squadron, the small castle near the Tower of Flame also houses the most powerful Warcraft Cavalry Brigade in the territory.
In addition, the magicians in Harland's territory are also stationed in the two magic towers. The command in this direction is controlled by Thoros on the external front, and the internal defense is unified under the control of Sophia.
The Fifth Brigade was stationed at Graveson Castle to defend the eastern area of Harland's territory, preventing the orc army from breaking through from the direction of Eagle Castle, attacking from Lach Province into Gedda Province, and attacking the rear of Harland's territory.
Stationing a brigade in this direction can at least buy the main force some time. In order to enhance the strength of the defenders, Richard stocked 300 alchemical bombs in Graveson Castle.
Due to the limitation of blood steel production, the Harland Territory only reserves a total of 1,200 alchemical bombs, a quarter of which are placed in Graveson Castle.
If the orcs want to capture this castle, they will have to lose at least five to six thousand of their main troops.
Unless he is a commander with a strong character and will not give up until he achieves his goal, the ordinary orc army commander will not be able to be ruthless enough to sacrifice so much capital.
After all, the orcs went south to plunder, not to chew hard bones.
Although Richard has attacked the orcs several times, he is still not a famous general. He has never killed the legendary orcs, nor has he completely annihilated the main army of orcs. He is not a human commander that the orcs need to focus on.
Moreover, Graveson Castle is not far from Flower Castle. Jennings led the Sixth Battalion to be stationed at Flower Castle and can provide support to Graveson Castle at any time.
After the army completed its defense, Richard immediately ordered the coalition of nobles from Heihe County to assemble in the direction of Platos Castle.
The defense of Harland's territory is very tight, and the fighting power of the defenders is also very strong. Relying on its geographical advantages and equipment advantages, it is enough to block a main army of the Orcs.
But in the Platos defense line to the west of Harland's territory, Baron Sharp's strength was very average.
Although the army under Sharp's command could be said to be good at fighting, it only numbered 500 people. One or two groups of orcs could pass through the blockade of Platos Fortress.
Although there is Zachary's Redeemer Army in this direction, the Gascoigne Province is weak and has been affected by the civil strife in the royal family in the past few years. Although the Mad Lion Army has recovered to 80% to 90% of its combat effectiveness after recuperating in the past few years, it can only defend a line. It is still difficult to save.
If, like the last time the orcs invaded, Zackli's troops were transferred to other directions and Platos Valley was lost, the western part of Harland's territory would lose protection, exposing its weakness to the orcs.
Richard is a major general in the reserve force of Gedda Province and the commander of the front line of defense in the northern part of Gedda Province. The nobles of Heihe County dare not disobey his orders. Barons such as Rice, Duck, Bazel, and Barton have mobilized their troops and rushed to Prussia. Latos Line of Defense.
These barons are not weak, with as many as 500 troops and as few as 300. These soldiers are not slave soldiers who can be defeated at a moment's notice. In small-scale battles, the combat effectiveness of the noble private soldiers can even be comparable to that of the main army.
The five barons combined had two thousand soldiers, enough to defend the line of Platos.
After receiving Richard's information, the Northern Army and Viscount Luomen also mobilized and prepared for battle.
Now there is the Haaland Territory, and the Heihe County noble coalition is in front. The Northern Army and the Viscount Romen coalition are already considered the second-line troops in Geda Province.
Once the front line is tight, the Northern Army can reinforce the front line operations at any time.
The orc army slowly approached the Fort, and the legion commander Pratt suddenly looked a little ugly.
Although he only took a quick look, Pratt discovered that the defenses of the Fort were very complete. There were dense antlers standing in front of the castle, and hundreds of arrow towers were fan-shaped to protect the two wings of the city wall.
These arrow towers are all within the strike range of the trebuchets. If you want to demolish the arrow towers, you don't know how much blood will be shed.
The most troublesome thing is that on the hillsides on both sides of the fort, masonry forts were also built, trebuchets were installed and soldiers were stationed.
If the orcs attack the city, they will inevitably be hit by trebuchets on the hillsides on both sides. If they want to rush through this road, they don't know how much blood will be shed.
To forcefully attack the military station fort, you need to first capture the castles on the hillsides on both sides.
The hillside castles on both sides have geographical advantages, and there is no way to move too many troops. The orcs' attack from the top must be a fueling tactic, and the casualties will be very heavy.
Pratt is one of the few lizardmen in the Orc Empire. Its ancestors are also lizardmen who survived the fall of the floating city. After more than 10,000 years of reproduction, they gradually adapted to the climate of northern Xinjiang.
More than a thousand years ago, the Orc Empire defeated the Lizardman Alliance, and some of the Lizardmen integrated into the Orc Empire.
Although the lizard people have adapted to the climate of northern Xinjiang, one change they have brought about is that they have difficulty reproducing and they need to hibernate in winter. Although they have thrived in the Orc Empire for thousands of years, the number of lizardmen in the Orc Empire is still small, only a few hundred thousand in total, and their importance is not as important as humans.
Because the population is small, lizardmen are not a great threat to the orc race. Although they are not of the same bloodline as the mainstream orcs, the lizardmen's upward path is larger than that of humans, and the invisible ceiling is also higher.
In the Orc Empire, humans have no chance to serve as soldiers and fight. The Orc Empire also prohibits human slaves from mastering extraordinary powers. The Orc Empire's defense against humans is almost visible to the naked eye. However, the Orc Empire is not very defensive against the Lizardmen, but it is still very rare for a Lizardman like Pratt to climb to the top of the Orc Empire.
Lizardmen's eyesight is very good, and 20% of them can awaken extraordinary visual talents.
Pratt's eyesight is better than that of the harpy.
Even five miles away, he could still see the looming figures of soldiers wearing iron armor on the military station.
Judging from the weapons and equipment, Pratt knew that the defenders must be the main army in the human kingdom.
Pratt has been in the army for many years and hates fighting against the main legionnaires. What he likes most is to plunder defenseless human villages, kill unarmed men, and watch the old and the weak wailing and crying, while women express joy under his crotch.
It is very rare for the main human legionnaires to surrender. Every time we fight against the main army, many people will die and countless blood will be shed.
Plat frowned and saw trenches, ridges, fences, and heavy trebuchets scattered on the top of the city. Occasionally, he could see a few heavy-duty crossbows equipped with cold iron. gun. The tip of the gun flashed with cold light and was rubbed very brightly, giving it a reflective feel.
At a glance, you can tell that the soldiers regularly maintain their weapons and are of extraordinary quality.
Such a strong city defense is guarded by elite soldiers and strong generals. Even if Plett brings a legion of soldiers, he still has no chance of winning.
(End of chapter)