217 – Prove Your Worth (3)
As soon as I heard the news, I immediately rode to Baron Maurer.
I had to decide whether to meet Dalton as quickly as possible and retreat with my soldiers to the rear, or face the large army of over 15,000 head on.
I rode a horse alone and covered the route that would take three days on foot in half a day. The inside of the armor was soaked with my sweat.
“Aren’t you Baron Cologne? Why are you in such a hurry…”
If it were normal, I would have at least thrown him a silver coin as an expression of happiness since he was the platoon leader when Dalton was the leader, so that he could buy a drink with his subordinates.
There was no time or space for that right now.
“Zach, the situation is urgent right now. Dalton, I need to meet that guy as soon as possible and talk to him. “I will run straight to Dalton, so Zach, please gather all the high-ranking knights in the castle right now.”
Jacques also nodded his head without saying anything, perhaps because his ability to understand the atmosphere has improved since he became a knight.
“Do you have an attendant?”
“Nothing. And I’m an expert intermediate, and some crazy bandit is attacking me?”
“Yes, I understand. It will take about 30 minutes to summon the senior knights, so let’s change clothes first. Halter, Halter you bastard! “Bring water and clothes for Baron Cologne to wash up right now!”
Isn’t it a bit weird to meet Dalton while your whole body is covered in sweat?
After washing his body with moderate temperature water brought by the guy who said he would do it, he seemed to be alive.
“Ha, I think I’ll buy it now.”
“Baron Cologne and Baron Maurer have summoned the senior knights and are waiting in the conference room.”
“Go straight up.”
I want to run up the stairs, but I don’t think there will be any difference if I run to the conference room, which is only a few minutes away by walking.
I walked not slowly, but not very fast either.
When I entered the conference room, I saw Dalton and other senior knights arguing over the map with very serious expressions.
“Captain, no, Baron. Even if we bring in all the troops that Martin, or even Baron Cologne, has, we still have less than 4,000. “Don’t you know?”
“f*ck, but can you watch your wife’s family burn to the ground? Even if we can make a living somehow because we are nobles, what do people who believe in fools like us, calling us barons and knights, eat for a living? “How can I throw it away?”
“Then we have to take all the residents of the territory and run away. “It’s not too late.”
He goes back and forth with his titles, and because he couldn’t get rid of the habits he got from his time in the mercenary army, he speaks very bluntly.
If other nobles saw it, they would frown, and they would cause all sorts of trouble under the guise of a teacher who would beat up students with a baseball bat whenever they saw them dating…
‘As long as you clearly distinguish between top and bottom, anything can happen.’
Our relationship is so special that things can happen without other people seeing.
“Oh my, Captain Dalton. Commander Heinz. Why are you screaming and blushing like that? “If someone who doesn’t know you sees it, they might think it was a fight rather than a strategy meeting.”
Hearing those words, the two people looked at me at the same time and showed a happy expression on their faces.
A big smile appeared on Dalton’s face.
“Martin, you bastard! “Thank you for coming quickly.”
“I feel like I want to have a drink, but it must be difficult under the circumstances.”
“I know. By the way, how is the situation now? “I don’t think a large army numbering over 15,000 has already entered the baronial territory and is causing trouble.”
If a large army of over 15,000 invaded the barony, Dalton would never be the one to stay in this castle.
He must have been fighting directly on the front lines, or he may have left the Maurer Barony with his soldiers and joined other nobles.
“Did the messenger make a mistake? They’re attacking now, they’re not attacking. “It will take another month to reach our territory.”
From Noble mtl dot com
I didn’t say that the territory was being trampled upon by the intruders, so it’s not like the messenger just reported to me on his own.
So, there is no need to hand over the poor messenger to be whipped to the point where he becomes a return mail.
“No matter what you do, you should always assume the worst. “If you combine Captain Dalton and I, we only have 4,000 troops that can move.”
“f*ck, you look like a homos*xual.”
He expected an attack, but he didn’t expect it to come so quickly.
If I had stayed just two months longer, I would have been able to get 2,500 people from the Barony of Cologne and bring the number up to 6,500.
“That’s right. So what are you going to do, Captain?”
Before Dalton could answer, he stood up from his seat and gave me the highest table.
This probably means that even if war-related discussions are allowed freely, there should be a clear distinction between top and bottom.
I, Baron, a vassal directly under the Fourth Prince, and Dalton, a vassal of Count Frost, have the same title, but if you look at it, I have a higher rank.
“Well, what should I do? It should jump out. One month is enough time to escape with only the bare minimum of food. “Based on common sense, how can you stop 15,000 with 4,000?”
I agree with that, but what if we take a step back?
We may be able to save our lives right now, but in the long run, not only us but also the faction I belong to will be ruined.
We are already weak, but if we are defeated or show weakness even once, our solidarity and trust will collapse from that moment.
In addition, in the process, the people in our territory will be defenselessly exposed to rape, murder, and plunder.
“Captain Dalton, come to your senses. We were fighting here and if we lost, we lost. “You can’t jump back.”
Dalton looked puzzled at those words.
“Think about it, what is the reason for assigning mercenaries like us to this land, even giving them titles? “It means you have to either fight and go to Deus’s side, or win and survive.”
He said it a little more sharply.
“If we step back, our faction will collapse with this defeat as the starting point. And then our people will be raped and murdered by the Second Prince faction. Captain Dalton, are you just going to watch with your eyes open as your family, the families of your subordinates, and Young Jimin die here?”
Dalton heard me and slammed the desk.
“f*ck, f*ck… Everything you said is right. So what are you going to do? Just give orders. “There is no one here who will not listen to your orders.”
Until now, I was in a position where I had to persuade the higher-ups first, but now I can order my subordinates to follow them if I just give them the right grounds.
It would be right to do as Dalton said.
“The enemy will definitely cross the Breg River and enter the Barony of Maurer.”
The rest of the border area has long mountain roads that make it difficult for people to travel, but for wagons carrying supplies.
So, if you march down that path, they will not be able to avoid starving to death, so even that Pappenheim guy would not choose that path.
“Therefore, we must pretend that we have gathered as many troops as possible on the banks of the Breg River.”
“Disguising it? “Why?”
“We gather all the young serfs who are not drafted, middle-aged male serfs, and women, give them spears and farm tools, and make it look like an army under Captain Dalton waiting by the riverside. “If you camouflage about 5,000 and leave them on the riverside, you will be able to keep the enemies at bay.”
The moment when a marching army is weakest is when it crosses a river.
It’s not easy to swing a spear or a sword because there’s nowhere to stand, and there’s really no answer to arrows and magic coming from the other side of the river.
The depth of the Breg River is relatively low, and the current speed (the speed at which the water flows) is slow, so you can cross it with your bare body.
Seeing as many as 5,000 camouflaged allies spread out on a river that is over 6 meters wide, they will try to reduce the casualties by making rafts, so they can definitely buy time.
“So we tricked their eyes, caught their ankles, and took the 4,000 soldiers we had gathered to attack Count Hansa’s 15,000 army at night.”
Dalton listened to me and asked carefully.
“Is this a good chance of winning?”
The odds of victory depend on how sincere Dalton and the civilians under his command are.
For this operation to be successful, the 5,000 men on the riverside must appear to be a real army.
“It depends on the morale of the soldiers. And there is no other way than this. Either call for reinforcements or run away from here. “It has no effect other than prolonging your miserable life for a few more months.”
Glory and wealth follow the winner, but only a miserable end remains for the loser.
Dalton gave a firm command as if he had made up his mind.
“Heinz! Immediately, gather up 5,000 civilians near Yeongju Castle and prepare to use up all the food you have stored up!”
“Yes! “Baron!”
“Schumacher! You give blacksmiths a lot of money to make a lot of cheap spears! “They say they will give you 1.3 Times the normal price of the window!”
And I said with a sigh.
“Captain Dalton, make civilians look like soldiers. No, we need to make it possible to actually fight on the battlefield. So, we need to summon civilians and strictly enforce this as it is a guerrilla attack and a formality.”
If you compare it to Korea, you have to be at the level of a private who has completed a training camp.
“If that’s the only answer, then that’s what you should do.”
“And for that, you have to force yourself to survive. I will go back now and bring back all the remaining people from Cologne. “As many weapons and armor as possible.”
And a week later, I went up to the podium to give a speech to a gathering of the people of the Barony of Maurer.
‘We must definitely raise everyone’s morale here.’