Twelve days later, the second prince arrived at this unknown mound with a large group of people.
Earl Aslan's body, dressed in gorgeous armor, was in front of him. If you looked closely, you could see that Earl Aslan's head was separated from his body. After ten days, the body already had a smell.
The second prince waved his hand in front of his nose, as if this could drive away the faint smell of the corpse: "Okay, take it away."
His voice was very soft, but everyone present who was familiar with his character could hear that the second prince was angry, and his anger was about to explode.
Two guards gently carried Earl Aslan's body out of the tent.
"Marquis Reid, tell everyone the results of your investigation." The second prince ordered.
"Yes, Your Highness." Marquis Reid stood up and came to the center of the tent, holding a thick stack of animal skin papers in his hand.
Marquis Reid was the first to arrive. He was responsible for taking in the deserters, investigating the cause of the defeat, burying the dead, and dealing with the aftermath. He opened the papers and began to report: "This time, Earl Aslan privately mobilized his three brigades, a total of more than seven thousand five hundred people, to leave the barracks in the name of long-distance training, ready to attack Earl Norton's returning team to avenge his brother Viscount Aslan.
But the ending was not very good. Count Aslan himself died in battle. The cavalry under his command suffered more than one thousand six hundred casualties. Among them, more than eight hundred died in battle, more than six hundred went missing, and more than two hundred escaped and returned to the army. They also lost most of their mounts.
Two infantry brigades of five thousand people suffered more than one thousand four hundred casualties, two thousand missing, and more than one thousand five hundred escaped from the battlefield, but now they have basically returned. It is worth noting that their enemy was only armed with five hundred men from the Norton family. This battle led by Earl Aslan can be called a fiasco. "
"Bang!" The second prince slammed his fist on the table: "Seven thousand five hundred men. Regardless of whether it was Count Aslan's private transfer of troops, his enemy only had five hundred men. Even with a ten to one advantage in numbers, he was still defeated. Is it because my Royal Guards are getting weaker and weaker? If this is the case, how can we unify the empire? Is this my army? They are simply a flock of sheep! "
There was complete silence in the tent. Everyone lowered their heads and listened to the second prince's roar.
After throwing a tantrum for a long time, the second prince finally calmed down and said to Marquis Reid, "You continue. Let everyone hear how we lost and let them learn a lesson."
"Yes." Marquis Reid opened another document: "According to my investigation, when Earl Aslan heard the news of Earl Norton leaving the imperial capital, he led three brigades to take a shortcut to the front to ambush. But he did not expect that Earl Norton would suddenly change his return route and take a boat back to Sangba Town. After waiting for two days, Count Aslan realized that he had no choice but to order the cavalry to rush to Domesgo City.
According to the statements of the two platoon leaders and the four squad leaders, it was confirmed that the order given by Aslan was to entangle Norton's troops and wait for the arrival of the two infantry battalions before launching a joint attack.
From a tactical point of view, Count Aslan's deployment conformed to the norm. He did not underestimate the enemy nor was he careless. However, Count Aslan was afraid of arousing the vigilance of Earl Norton, so he did not send scouts to follow and investigate. This was the biggest mistake he made. Even after Count Norton changed his route, Count Aslan did not know that the three infantry brigades that he led had been lying in ambush for two days was in vain.
When he found out that Earl Norton went by water, he was already two days away from Aslan's infantry battalions. Count Aslan could only order his cavalry to first entangle the enemy and delay their journey. This was also a more formal way of fighting.
But Earl Norton was very vigilant. When he found out that the cavalry battalions were chasing after him, he retreated to the side of the road. We can still see a lot of defense facilities arranged by the Norton family's armed forces. But he did not expect that the cavalry battalions were not going to attack, but to delay him. So they began to set up camp under the mound.
According to the escaped cavalry, they set up five camps with a company of five hundred soldiers. Except for the cliff on the mound, they formed a semicircle defense line. They also organized patrols to guard the area. This was to ensure that the Norton family's armed forces could not break through during the night.
There was nothing wrong with what the cavalry battalions did. But they did not expect that the Norton family's armed forces would use the cliff to hide in front of their camp. Before dawn, they separated into two groups and attacked the two camps in front and behind them. Then they drove the escaping cavalry to attack the remaining three camps. The sleeping cavalry battalions were caught unprepared. After losing their horses, the cavalry battalions finally collapsed.
Earl Norton, who had defeated the cavalry battalions, was not willing to give up. He took advantage of the fact that the two infantry battalions led by Count Aslan still needed two days to arrive. He went to the port of Kirin and the nearby territory to buy nearly a thousand cows and horses. When Earl Aslan arrived to clean up the mess, he once again attacked the two infantry battalions by surprise. "
Marquis Reid picked up a few documents: "This is the testimony of an infantry platoon leader and several platoon leaders. They said that it was already afternoon when they arrived here. Because they met more than a dozen fleeing cavalry on the road, they already knew that the cavalry battalions had lost the battle. Earl Aslan was in a bad mood. He ordered the cavalry to be whipped fifty times. He believed that it was their escape that caused the cavalry battalions to lose the battle.
At that time, everyone thought the same as Earl Aslan, that Earl Norton had already escaped with his family's armed forces. So they set up camp and did not take any precautions. But in the middle of the night, they were attacked by Earl Norton again.
This time, Count Norton doused the mounts of nearly a thousand cavalrymen, as well as the cows, mules and horses that he had purchased with kerosene. He also tied daggers to the horns of the horses and made straw puppets to blindfold the cows and horses. After igniting the fire, more than two thousand horses and cows rushed into the camp. When the two infantry battalions woke up from their sleep and saw the flaming oxen and horses, as well as the flaming men rushing over, they were all frightened and exploded on the spot, causing the whole battalion to collapse.
Earl Aslan wanted to gather the soldiers to form a defensive line. But Earl Norton, who followed the flaming horses and cows into the camp, didn't give him the chance. One of the fleeing soldiers said that he saw Earl Norton rushing over. Earl Aslan and Earl Aslan only exchanged two moves before Earl Aslan was beheaded. When the gathered soldiers saw Earl Aslan die, they either knelt down and begged for mercy, or turned around and ran away.
I couldn't help but admire Earl Norton for using the flaming bulls and horses to break through the camp of five thousand soldiers. It was really a stroke of genius. He only needed to pay the price of very few casualties to achieve a great victory. He took Count Aslan's head with him, but he didn't enter the Port of Qilin. Instead, he boarded a boat at a beach that was more than ten miles away from the Port of Qilin. He then stuck Viscount Aslan's head on a branch on the beach.
When the first reserve corps stationed at Chilin Harbor received the news, they sent a platoon to the beach but it was already too late. Earl Norton's fleet had already gone far away. That platoon found Earl Aslan's head on the beach and brought it back. According to the traces left on the beach, we believe that the missing soldiers of the cavalry and infantry battalions were captured by the Norton family and were escorted to Syrovas Island. "
After reporting the results of the investigation, Marquis Reid handed the documents in his hands to the table in front of the second prince. Then he retreated to his seat.
The second prince picked up the documents and carefully looked at them. Marquis Reid was very experienced. Not only did he have the detailed statements of the soldiers who survived the battle, but he also drew the terrain map of the small mound. He also drew the defensive arrangement of the Norton family's armed forces and the five camps of the cavalry battalions. He also drew the route of the night attack on the five camps. There was also the plan of the camp that Earl Aslan led the two infantry battalions to set up. It was clear at a glance.
After reading the documents, the second prince was silent, but his fingers began to tap on the table.
Everyone's hearts in the tent were beating along with the second prince's tapping fingers on the table. Everyone knew that once the second prince stopped tapping, it meant that he had made a decision and no one was allowed to change it.
The knocking became more and more hurried. Suddenly, the sound stopped and the tent became silent. Everyone straightened their chests at the same time and their expressions became even more serious.
"David Copperfield!"
"Yes, Your Highness. What are your orders?" The handsome David appeared in front of the second prince. As the deputy commander of the second prince's bodyguards, he had to be at the second prince's side at all times when he went out.
"You take a team of guards back to the imperial capital and pass on my military order. Have the First Royal Guard Regiment send a team under your command. Go and seize the Aslan Family's territory and uproot the Aslan Family. The men will be sent to the dare-to-die battalion to atone for their crimes, and the women will be sent to the military brothel to be prostitutes." The second prince coldly spat out a chilling decision.
The nobles in the tent were in an uproar. When the rabbit dies, the rabbit dies, the fox grieves. Earl Aslan was the second prince's favorite general. After his death, he even implicated his family. The second prince's punishment seemed to be too harsh and unreasonable.
"Your Highness …" Several nobles stood up and wanted to plead.
"Sit down!" The second prince suddenly became furious: "Viscount Aslan, as my tax inspector, bullied his superiors, took bribes, and broke the law. But he was beheaded in front of me. I thought he was pitiful and didn't want to pursue the matter. Who knew that his brother, Earl Aslan, as a general, privately mobilized troops to avenge a personal grudge, causing the soldiers under his command to suffer heavy losses. His crime is unforgivable. Does he think that my soldiers are his family's private soldiers?! "
"Therefore, I want to strip Count Aslan of his title, and take back his Count's territory, as a warning to those who come after him. Do you have any objections? " The second prince asked in a domineering tone: "If he won, maybe I won't pursue his responsibility. But you see, what kind of battle did he fight? Seven thousand five hundred people, and it's also my main army, but they were defeated by five hundred people from the Norton family! This is simply incompetence and stupidity to the extreme! Maybe I should thank Earl Norton, it was him who saved me from the defeat of the empire in the future because of Earl Aslan's incompetence ….
David, I want you to seize the Aslan family's wealth because the national treasury is tight. It's difficult to come up with a large amount of money to compensate for the losses caused by Earl Aslan's private actions. You go and do it well. After you finish, go to the second army and replace Earl Aslan as the commander of the army. As for the troops, I will transfer them from the reserve army for you. "
"Yes, Your Highness! Please don't worry, I will not let you down … "The beautiful David bowed and set off in high spirits.
"You can all leave, but Krisya, stay." The second prince waved his hand and put his hand on his forehead, as if he was having a headache.
The people in the tent filed out, and the last one to stay was Laurist's cousin, the Golden Knight Krisya. When Laurist arrived at the imperial capital, as the commander of the newly formed Royal Knights, Krisya was outside training with her knights, so she missed the meeting with Laurist.
Krisya moved behind the second prince and used her fingers to massage his temples: "Ogre, you are too tired. You should pay more attention to your body …"
As the second prince's lover, Krisya knew very well what her lover was most upset about right now. However, she was not in a good position to say anything. One was her family, her cousin, and the other was her lover. She was stuck in the middle and was in a dilemma.
The second prince grabbed the hand that was massaging him and pulled the girl into his arms: "Krisya, go to Syrovas Island for me and meet your cousin Loke. Explain to him that this incident was not my intention, but Earl Aslan's own decision. Also, tell him how I dealt with the Aslan Family and hope that he will be appeased.
My father's body is about to collapse. After he passes away, we will complete the great cause of unifying the empire. I also hope that Loke can come and help me. He is good at surprise attacks and unexpected military deployments. I found that no one can compare to him in this aspect. If he is not willing, then he must at least promise me to keep an eye on Duke Fisablon's army and not let that old man run out of the plains to cause trouble for me.
Also, you heard from Marquis Reid just now that Loke has most likely taken those missing soldiers as captives and sent them to Syrovas Island. Go and see if you can get those soldiers back. The treasury is empty and we can't afford to pay the ransom. We can wait until the empire is unified before compensating … "
Krisya reached out and stroked her lover's thin face: "Okay, I will rush to Port Qilin in a while and find a ship to Syrovas Island. I will do my best to complete your request. You also have to take care of yourself … "
… …
Using flaming bulls and flaming horses to break through the camp was a sudden inspiration for Loriste. He remembered the story his grandfather told him when he was young in his previous life, about Tian Dan's flaming bull formation during the warring states period. However, the number of bulls and horses purchased at a high price was too little, less than a thousand. Clenching his teeth, he ordered the captured warhorses and the original pack horses to be handed over. He chose five hundred of the better warhorses and the remaining thousand became cannon fodder to break through the camp.
Fortunately, when Count Aslan arrived with the two infantry battalions, he thought that Loriste and the others had already escaped, so they were caught off guard. Moreover, they were careless in setting up the camp. As a result, more than two thousand burning bulls and horses rushed into the camp and trampled crazily, the two infantry battalions of more than five thousand people collapsed on the spot.
Loriste only brought about two hundred people and rushed into the camp behind the flaming bulls and horses. Apart from Loriste rushing over to kill Count Aslan, the others did not kill much. Most of the casualties of the two infantry battalions were caused by the crazy flaming bulls and horses. Even the Norton soldiers who rushed into the camp were knocked down by the flaming bulls and horses in order to help the enemy's wounded.
After winning, Loriste sent Ell and the others to Port Qilin to hire several large ships. They docked at the beach more than ten miles away and escorted more than two thousand captives onto the ships. When he left, Loriste realized that there was still Count Aslan's head hanging in front of his mount. It was useless to bring it back. After thinking for a while, he found a branch and stuck it on the beach, then stuck the head on it …
After returning to Syrovas Island, he first found a place to build a Martyr's Tomb for the soldiers of the Imperial Guard Battalion who had died in battle, then arranged for a grand funeral and a requiem ceremony. After that, he waited for the ships from the North to transport a large amount of resources.
During the month that Loriste went to the imperial capital, Fatty Shi had already sorted out a rough development plan for Syrovas Island with the help of Hugo's father, Hikard, and the others. All that was left was for Loriste to finalize the plan.
However, when Fatty Shi heard about Loriste's story of the flaming bulls and horses destroying the camp, he pulled Loriste to do some calculations. More than two thousand horses and bulls became cannon fodder, which was worth more than twenty thousand gold coins. Fatty Shi angrily nagged at Loriste. This was simply the behavior of a spendthrift. There were only five thousand enemies, and to spend more than twenty thousand gold coins to defeat them was really not worth it.
Fatty Shi thought that it would be better to spend these gold coins on the enemy. Each person would get four gold coins, so that they could tie up Count Aslan and bring him to Loriste. One day, as the two of them were reviewing the development plan and arguing, Jim came in to report, "Sir, your cousin Christie is here …"
…
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
