Chapter 271:
The 100,000 prisoners captured in the city are the most important spoils of war for the coalition forces of the three provinces.
According to the unspoken rules of the Grant Kingdom, plus the contributions made by the soldiers in the Harland Territory, and the key role they played in the war, Richard can get about 60%.
Population: 60,000, worth 300,000 gold coins.
Such a huge amount of wealth is crucial to the development of the Haaland territory.
But feeding these 100,000 people is not an easy task now.
Due to the destruction of the war, the farmland near Nero's Castle has been deserted, and about three million acres of land have failed to harvest.
In order to save the population in Nero's castle, they must be moved away to survive in areas with abundant food.
There was only one month of food left in the city, which was not enough for the entire population to move back to the three northern provinces.
In the past two months, communication between the front line and the rear has not been interrupted. Whether it is Harland's territory or the second brigade led by Lost, they have sent some letters to Richard intermittently.
Duke Edward suddenly made things difficult, and Richard had already received the news.
Last time, the trouble was solved by relying on the power of the Church of Dawn. This time, we can't turn to the power of the church again. As a great nobleman, the most difficult thing to repay is a favor.
If there are too many favors owed, the Haaland territory will inevitably be involved in religious wars.
The religious war in the Dawn Plane is not only huge in scale, but also very cruel, and its intensity is no less intense than the racial war. As a noble lord, he cannot actually get too close to the Church of Dawn.
Therefore, when escorting people this time, Richard will definitely bring enough food and will not continue to ask for help.
However, there are only 1,900 tons of food in the city. Even if all the food is taken away, up to 65,000 people can be relocated.
"Everyone knows the situation. We don't have enough food now. The food shortage is serious near Nero's Castle. We can't stay here for too long. I ordered the Sixth Brigade of Harland Territory to escort 60,000 people back to the three northern provinces. Jennings, you guys Set out tomorrow and take away all 1,900 tons of grain."
Escorting people is a very important job, and Richard doesn't feel comfortable leaving it to others.
However, after Zhan Nings left, there were only less than 2,000 direct descendants left around Richard, which was insufficient to control the coalition forces of the three provinces. However, according to Richard's estimation, there are no major enemies in the west. It is estimated that there will be no fierce fighting in a short period of time. In another month, the 1st and 5th brigades will be able to rush to the battlefield and take over the gap left by the 2nd and 6th brigades when they return to their territory.
The most critical question now is whether we can get enough food to stabilize people's hearts after marching westward.
There are a large number of slaves from the Grand Duchy of Stanik in the Harland territory. Nowadays, many of these slaves from the Grand Duchy of Stanik have joined the army. These soldiers knew the language of the Grand Duchy of Stanik, and their participation in the transformation of prisoners helped Richard a lot and temporarily stabilized this group of prisoners.
But if the problem of food shortage is not solved, these prisoners of war with war experience will become time bombs after all.
In order to control this group of prisoners of war, Richard adopted two strategies. The first is to collect the crossbows and armor of the prisoners of war and replenish the equipment of the noble coalition. The second is to identify the families of the prisoners of war and organize them into the old camp. Let the soldiers from the Harland territory guard the old camp and use the relatives of the captured soldiers to control them. .
With their wives, children, and children in check, the prisoners of war were willing to obey orders as long as they were not pushed too hard and had sufficient logistical supplies.
After collecting the prisoners of war, Richard transferred a group of officers from the reconnaissance brigade and the Warcraft Cavalry, and ordered Morgan to be the prisoner commander, Baggett, the squad leader of the Warcraft Cavalry, and Fan Lundin as adjutants to assist Morgan in managing the team.
It took seven or eight days to collect prisoners of war and form the old camp. Seeing that there was not much food left, Richard immediately led the soldiers towards the northwest region of Stanik.
After continuing for six days, the troops walked about three hundred miles and entered Lynas County, only to find that a large amount of farmland was cultivated.
At this moment, it has entered mid-June and the summer harvest is about to begin.
Looking at the heavy wheat ears in the farmland, Richard finally let go of his worries.
Richard dispatches a squadron of magic hot air balloons to reconnoiter nearby enemies.
In less than an afternoon, the Magic Hot Air Balloon Squadron had returned the intelligence.
Through high-altitude reconnaissance, it was discovered that this place is not far from Linus Castle, about two hundred miles away.
During the investigation, the Magic Hot Air Balloon Squadron also discovered the cavalry under Duke Jonathan. The distance between the two armies was only one hundred and fifty miles.
Through the scouts' narration, Richard had roughly figured out the situation on the northern front.
Linus Castle is surrounded by the Nit River on three sides. If Duke Jonathan wants to attack the city, he needs to cross the fast-flowing Nit River.
Twenty-six days ago, Duke Jonathan took advantage of the weakness in the mutual defense between Baldwin and Haldane's uncle and nephew, and took the opportunity to severely damage Baldwin on the north bank of the Nit River.
Without the containment of Baldwin's Department on the North Shore, Haldane's Department fell into full passivity.
Now that it was summer, the current was turbulent and it was difficult to cross the river. Haldane's troops barely maintained their front line and blocked Duke Jonathan on the north bank.
Haldane's tribe now has about 30,000 troops, including 2,000 elite Warcraft cavalry.
These two thousand Warcraft Cavalry are a great threat to both the main force on the northern front and the southern front where Richard is located.
Duke Jonathan did not dare to cross the river on a large scale because he was afraid that the Warcraft Cavalry would attack them halfway across the river.
Although the Southern Route Army led by Richard seemed to be outnumbered, there were 16,000 captured soldiers. However, the Second and Sixth Brigades escorted the population, and now the army lacked backbones capable of fighting a tough battle. If these two thousand Warcraft Cavalry were to charge, they would probably collapse immediately.
As long as the enemy comes over, the coalition forces of the three provinces are no match at all and cannot stop the charge of the Warcraft Cavalry.
Nowadays, Linus Castle has two fronts: the north and the south. The north line is still the focus of Haldane's defense.
Duke Jonathan now had sixty thousand soldiers under his command.
After entering the Grand Duchy of Stanik, Duke Jonathan fought several battles with the Linus family, and the casualties were high, with a total of about 8,000 people. The original army of 60,000 now only has 52,000 left.
But now the army under Duke Jonathan is close to 80,000 people, and its strength is stronger than when it entered the Grand Duchy of Stanik. The extra 20,000 troops are all servants in the northern region of Stanik supporting the Jonathan family.
These small northern nobles sensed that the Linus family was in danger, and they took the initiative to send troops and organized a coalition of nobles to help Duke Jonathan fight. They also provided a lot of food to Duke Jonathan, reducing the logistical supply pressure on the Northern Route Army.
The addition of Stanik's northern nobles was also a key factor in Duke Jonathan's victory. The three-province coalition led by Richard on the southern front had a total of 16,000 troops, of which 5,000 were captives.
These captive soldiers now only want to eat, and they are not willing to fight with their own people at all. There are now only 11,000 old troops from the three northern provinces.
The three-province coalition forces were already devastated, and their morale was not high. In this situation now, it is difficult to bear the arduous battle.
After analyzing the situation, Richard knew that the top priority was to find a stronghold immediately.
The current situation of the three-provincial coalition forces is that they are simply unable to fight in the field with Haldane's troops.
But if they gain a solid foothold, the coalition forces can hold on.
The closest castle to the coalition forces of the three provinces is now less than twenty miles away.
In the blink of an eye, Richard issued an order very decisively, asking for reconnaissance cavalry. The Warcraft cavalry immediately assembled to attack Liya Castle and seize the foothold.
Now that the war has begun, Linus Castle has become very empty.
There were originally 1,500 city defense troops in Leah Castle, but due to the tight situation on the northern front, they were all transferred to the front line to assist in the defense.
Originally, Ria Castle was an area under the direct jurisdiction of the royal family and was not the focus of the Linus family's defense. There were not many armed personnel in the castle. Now that the defenders have been transferred to the banks of the Nit River to guard the ferry, the castle's defense is almost empty to the extreme. Now facing a cavalry raid, there were only one or two hundred armed men in the city to maintain order.
In just a short time of burning incense, the city gate was captured by the cavalry of the coalition forces from the three provinces.
After receiving the news of the attack on Crea Castle, Richard immediately ordered his soldiers to hurry up. Before dark, he led the army to the Riya Castle.
After entering the castle, Richard immediately ordered: "The logistics staff will work overtime tonight to quickly count the food in the castle. The guard squadron has seized all food stores and restaurants in the castle. The city gates will be sealed immediately, and no grain of food will be allowed to leave the city from now on. .
The food stored by the residents in the castle must also be collected and counted, leaving them with food rations for seven days, and then driving the residents out of the castle, telling them that the city of Leia has become a battlefield, and asking them to seek refuge with relatives and friends and go as far as they want. Find a way to survive outside."
After entering the city, military affairs were arranged, and it was already late at night. Richard took a nap and summoned the logistics officer in high spirits the next morning.
"Have you calculated it clearly last night? How much food is there in the city?"
"We haven't calculated everything yet."
Before the logistics staff member could finish speaking, Richard's face showed a hint of joy. "Is there a lot of grain in the granary?"
The logistics staff nodded and said, "Your Excellency, the count guessed it right. The amount we counted in the granary yesterday was about two thousand tons. In addition, there are six grain stores in Riya Castle. , dozens of restaurants, and the wealthy households in the castle, they can harvest at least a thousand tons of grain."
After receiving a positive answer, Richard finally let go of his worries.
Although the coalition forces of the three provinces cannot fight in the field now, they can defend the city. Although Haldane's Warcraft Cavalry is powerful, it is impossible for them to fly to the top of the city. Protected by city fortifications and relying on the strength of numbers, Richard was no longer afraid of the Haldane Warcraft Cavalry.
Now Richard has 16,000 soldiers under his command and 35,000 captive soldiers and their families. Soldiers consumed three kilograms of food every day. Most of the family members of the captured soldiers were old, weak, women and children, and they consumed about one kilogram of food every day. Including the consumption of war horses and beasts of burden, the daily food consumption is about fifty tons.
The food collected in the castle is enough to last for two months. Moreover, the coalition forces from the three provinces still have more than 20,000 sheep and more than 600 tons of food, which can last for about 20 days.
With a little saving, this batch of food can last for three months. In three months, according to the development of the situation, Duke Jonathan will definitely attack Linas Castle and end the war.
Everyone took Richard to the warehouse and saw the mountains of food. The logistics staff laughed and said: "This castle is really rich. Not only did we find a lot of food, we also found the money bank and got 50,000 gold coins. , even there are about a thousand precious magic crystals."
"This castle is already in the capital, and its location is equivalent to the Norland administrative district of our Grant Kingdom. Of course it is very wealthy." Richard said with a smile.
After leaving the warehouse, Richard led the officers to the top of the city to inspect the city's defense. He looked at the large farmland outside the city and said to the officer beside him: "There are still hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland outside the city, and a bumper harvest is about to happen. When the wheat is harvested, we will finally have no worries about food shortage." Near the Riya
Castle , was not affected by the war, and the bureaucrats did not issue orders to strengthen the walls and clear the country. Production has not been affected. With more than 100,000 acres of wheat harvested, at least 8,000 tons of grain can be harvested.
In addition, there are 70,000 to 80,000 acres of grain planted with autumn harvest crops such as black beans and potatoes. If this part of the grain is controlled, the Central Route Army's food supply will be completely worry-free.
Richard led the coalition forces from the three provinces to capture Leah Castle, and the news was sent to Haldane's desk the next day.
Upon receiving the bad news, Haldane's mood suddenly became particularly bad.
Linus Castle is the capital of the Grand Duchy of Stanek, and there is a very large non-productive population in the city. Including the families of the city defense troops, the city's population is about 300,000.
It is very difficult to hold on to such a big city.
Although Lynas Castle has a geographical advantage and is surrounded by the Nit River on three sides, if it wants to feed a population of 300,000, it depends entirely on the rich land on both sides of the Nit River.
The North Shore area was affected by the war and is now completely controlled by Duke Jonathan. Today, the reason why Lynas Castle can hold on is entirely supported by the south bank of the Nit River.
Now that the granary in the rear was attacked, the situation suddenly changed. If both the summer and autumn grains were taken away by the enemy, Linus Castle would also face a food shortage.
However, the main force was held back on the northern front by Duke Jonathan. If he moved his troops southward, he would definitely reveal a flaw. Duke Jonathan was good at fighting battles. Once a flaw was revealed, he would definitely launch a general offensive.
If the enemy troops on the northern front are allowed to successfully cross the Nit River, the Linus family will lose all their chips in this battle.
However, the enemy forces on the southern front were left alone and could not control the grain-producing areas. The 30,000-strong army would soon be worried about a shortage of food, and they would not be able to hold on for long.
For a moment, Haldane was in a dilemma.
Looking at the gorgeous palace, Haldane suddenly regretted: "What happened today is really terrible. If we could cooperate with Baldwin and not undermine each other, the situation would not have evolved to this point?" Although Haldane made it through
. The king's addiction has also brought the Linus family to a dead end. He is a powerful legendary knight and the Optimus Prime of the Linus family.
Now that he has become the king of a subjugated country, Haldane, who has a proud personality, cannot accept the reality at all.
"This is all the fault of damn Soraman, who rashly provoked an internal fight within the Linus family, causing family members to kill each other. Of course, the stupid James should be more responsible. He did not decide on a clear heir and died irresponsibly. At the court. Baldwin was also a stupid fool. He was still unwilling to cooperate at the critical moment. The enemy caught the flaw and lost his army. But the king of the Linus family who lost the country turned out to be my great legendary knight Haldane. This What a bad fate?"
(End of chapter)