230 – Battle of the Hanseatic County Occupation (3)
War is always a complex game with many factors to consider.
There are so many things to consider when marching, such as the morale of the soldiers, food situation, weather, roads, etc., That it drives people crazy.
So, war is something that drives everyone from the commanders at the top to the lowest-ranking soldiers crazy.
We were able to move around very comfortably, as all we had to do was plant a flag on empty land.
No, I gave the order to move as comfortably as possible.
“Master, is it really okay to march like this comfortably? “I wonder if we’ll be ambushed in the middle…”
Under normal circumstances, I would have also been worried about surprise attacks.
We have more than once annihilated the enemy by striking him in the back when he was relaxed.
To put it the other way, it is like saying that we never know when something like this will happen to us.
“You can only carry out a surprise attack if you have troops to carry out the surprise attack.”
“I see. “In the County of Hansa, not only regular soldiers but even able-bodied men have been brought in, so it will be difficult to attack us by surprise.”
“Well, if they decide to make a surprise attack, they can gather serf men and women and harass us. There is no high-ranking commander who can lead the surprise attack right now. “Everyone is captured.”
Even if we try to lead a surprise attack, there must be a high-ranking person who is the ‘core’ so that they can come together and hit us in the back.
In other words, if the status of high-ranking people is similar, they will fight all day long over who will take the lead.
The ones who can serve as commanders remaining in the Hansa County are at best mid-level knights.
So even if you try to make a surprise attack, they won’t even think about attacking you because they’ll be fighting among themselves.
“Here’s a report.”
“Are you a scout? “Please report it.”
“No one appears to be an enemy soldier within 3km in any direction.”
It’s already been 15 days since we started marching toward the County of Hansa, and the biggest proof is that it’s empty.
And seeing as they can’t even think of a surprise attack, I guess this will end so easily.
“How far is it to the nearest castle? And what is the state of the defense?”
“It will arrive in about an hour. The soldiers on the walls don’t seem to have even the bare minimum of discipline.”
Anyway, there won’t be any real resistance even if we get to Castle Martini, so we’ll have to eat there when we get there.
“Just as I expected. “Tell the soldiers that they will have a meal and rest when they arrive at the castle.”
**
I arrived at the castle said to be the gateway to the Hanseatic County, but the defense was much worse than I expected.
The soldiers guarding the castle gate were on guard duty as if they had already given up everything.
No, there were two ladies chatting while holding two pitchforks.
“Oh, well.”
“There’s an enemy over there! Didn’t that commander-in-chief say that if the enemy comes, you will be put to death?”
It wasn’t until we got quite close that the bell signaling an attack began to ring.
“The enemy, the enemy! “A large enemy army has invaded!”
The soldiers were running, but they were unable to find a place in between, so they appeared to be struggling.
“Hey, where should we go?”
“I am the East Watchtower, how do you know about me?”
“Our leader of the Ten will know.”
When I was a mercenary leader, if the new recruits were doing this during training, I would have beaten them with a club right away.
Here, let alone proper training, civil defense-level measures were not properly taught, so they were unable to move to the correct location.
If I were the commander over there, I would have raised a white flag as soon as I saw this scum.
“That’s bullsh*t, Martin.”
Dalton, standing next to me, giggled and added a word.
“I guess the count’s 15,000-strong army was completely defeated and he was so weak. “What do you want to do?”
The large army led by Count Hansa has already been defeated, so this place is virtually empty land.
But if I do something stupid like kill or uselessly attack the soldiers here, the situation will get worse quickly.
“No looting, no rape, no molestation, no tampering with the castle or the houses and fields nearby.”
In times like this, we must first turn the hearts of the people, who can become the main axis of resistance, to our side.
If you make a little money like Count Hansa and allow your subordinates to loot to give them what they want, then if there is even a rumor…
The militia will resist like crazy, saying they will die either way.
“That’s natural.”
“Captain Dalton, please discipline the men under our command. “I will take the prisoners and go straight to open the castle gate.”
After that conversation, I went straight to the castle gate, dragging the hundreds of serf prisoners I had brought here on purpose.
“What the f*ck are you trying to make us do?”
“Shut up and just walk…”
“Ha, I don’t want to die like this.”
Of course, there are no nobles or knights among the guys here.
It’s not a big problem since we can’t receive the ransom, and since those guys are the ones taking the lead in plundering our territory, they’re going to have an unfortunate accident soon.
These are poor people who were forcibly dragged out, so I plan to use them appropriately and save them.
“The garrison commander of Castle Martini, listen!”
This is not a voice that should be heard by someone higher up.
If this castle falls and the Hanseatic County collapses, the people will become unemployed as a group and will have to sit on the ground.
Even if it were me, I would rather fight to the death than surrender.
“Your lord, Count Hanja, led a large army numbering over 15,000, but was ultimately defeated.”
I stopped talking on purpose.
Then a murmur began on the castle wall.
“The elite unit led by the Count was defeated.”
“Honestly, there’s no chance of winning, right?”
Because their morale is so low, their hearts will shake like reeds.
Of course, survival is important for serfs and ordinary people, and they have no idea whether Count Hansa rules here or who rules here.
It’s as if who the mayor was didn’t affect my life when I lived in Korea.
“However, His Highness, the Fourth Prince, does not want your lives and property to be taken carelessly! So put down your weapons and surrender!”
As we were still making a fuss on the castle wall, I approached the prisoners and spoke to them.
“If you want to return alive, appeal more sadly. Otherwise…”
When I pulled out the auror from the body and threatened them, a concept was suddenly injected into their heads.
Some people say they pull out a knife and threaten… But I don’t like such barbaric things, so I didn’t pull out a knife.
Oh, of course, it is a secret that I, as an advanced Auror Expert, can crush a person’s skull in one blow with my bare fists.
“Baron Cologne does not carelessly kill people who surrender!”
“Honestly, despite the war and all, I should go see the kids’ faces!”
“f*ck, these bastards aren’t people, they’re monsters! Monsters! “If you fight, you will all die!”
Hearing those words, everyone on the castle wall began to panic.
“Huh, huh?”
The guys who had served as soldiers were hiding their surprise, but they were looking at the faces of the higher-ranking people around them.
I looked at the side of my face, then looked away, looked down, looked at my subordinates, and then back and forth…
“What should I do?”
On the other hand, the lowest-ranking soldiers raised their spears and made all kinds of fuss, asking what they should really do.
“How can we defeat over 7,000 enemy soldiers?”
As soon as one person opened the door, the word spread rapidly to the surrounding area.
As if to prove that it is not for nothing that a word travels a thousand miles.
“I’m sure the defense captain will make a good decision.”
“Then, then, is it really true that the driver wants us to be put to death?”
From Noble mtl dot com
My stomach was full just from hearing this kind of tilt in people’s hearts.
Now, if you just drive a wedge here, the gate will open.
“If you don’t surrender now, we will repay you just as you Count Hanja tried to do to us. If you don’t want to be massacred, open the door first, garrison commander.”
There was silence for a moment, then the door opened with a creak.
I was already confident that it would open, but seeing the door open like this was a really new feeling.
“Take over the castle.”
At the same time as those words were spoken, the soldiers entered the castle and began to disarm the defenders.
The defenders voluntarily handed over their weapons as if they were glad that the gates were open.
“This is your weapon.”
“Isn’t it a farming tool? I do not need. “We need to farm properly this year.”
We didn’t take away your farming tools for no reason because we didn’t want to kill you.
“Once you have returned your weapon, please quietly move to the corner of the castle square. Rest assured, your life will not be harmed.”
Having said that, I tried to move towards Seongju’s room.
At that time, Otto asked.
“Baron, when you take over a castle like this, don’t you first gain the support of the people by releasing military provisions? But why bother…”
There is a reason for everything.
“Give out military rations to those guys because they did a good job? On the contrary, if you share it, they will buy it. “Give me only the minimum amount of food and say this.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you cooperate with me and contribute to something, I will distribute food normally.”