February was the time when the snow melted. The main road from Monolith Castle to the eastern part of the north was still muddy. This was why Loriste wanted to redesign the roads and facilities in the north. At the very least, the main road connecting the various towns would be convenient for people to travel. It would not be full of potholes and mud from horse hooves. This was the most common scene in almost all the countries in Galinthea. The most important tool that a merchant group brought was a shovel. They had to fill the potholes on the road to allow the carriages to pass smoothly.
The Kenneth family did not build their own city after taking control of the eastern part of the north. Now, there were only two bustling towns in the eastern part of the north. One was the border town of Xin Jexi, which was connected to the Demonic Dragon Mountains. This was where the merchants who traded with the mountain barbarians were located. There were many taverns in the town. The main customers were the mountain barbarians who came down from the mountains to trade. From time to time, there would be drunk mountain barbarians sleeping on the side of the road. This had become a common sight in Xin Jexi.
The other busier town was White Stone. It was originally a small village, named after a huge white rock at the entrance. However, because it was the closest to the iron chain bridge that connected the Muye Province, Earl Kenneth took a liking to it. He made this small village the base of the Snow Salt Merchant Guild. He invested in a large number of warehouses, carriage repair yards, and dormitories for the Snow Salt Merchant Guild's employees. The small village quickly became lively and developed into a small town in a few years.
After the territory swap, the Kenneth family had to move to the Syddegrad province. They moved more than 200,000 people from the eastern part of the north. Only a small portion of the people who were forced to move from the Syddegrad province to the north, less than 50,000 people. This was because most of the original immigrants from the Syddegrad province were arranged to the southern part of the north for the development of the three plains. Some were arranged to the western part of the north at Tai Chuan Plains. After the development there was still a large shortage of residents.
Although the Kenneth Family had migrated most of their subjects after the land swap, they didn't take away the trading company set up in Xin Jessie Town that specialized in trading with the mountain barbarians. At the same time, they still kept a warehouse in White Stone Town. This was applied to the Norton family in the name of the Snow Salt Chamber of Commerce. The Norton family also had shares in the Snow Salt Chamber of Commerce and received a sizable amount of dividends every year, so they quickly agreed to their ally's request.
The main camp of the hunting cavalry was set up here. Upon receiving the news of Laurist's arrival, Knight Vasimir, who had just arrived to take up the position of acting commander, hurried out of the camp to welcome him. Two years ago, due to his failure in breaking through to Gold rank, Vasima had to recuperate for half a year. Right now, he has already recovered to the pinnacle of 3-star Silver rank. In just a short period of time, he should be able to break through to Gold rank again.
Laurist had thought it through before sending Vasimir to clean up the mess left behind by the Hunter Cavalry. Vasimir was a loyal knight who had the courage to shoulder heavy responsibilities. Although he was not good with words, he was sincere and could lead by example. He also had the spirit of doing things. The Hunter Cavalry had suffered a great defeat and their morale was low. They needed a knight like Vasimir to regroup.
Vasimir did not disappoint Laurist. Although he had only been the commander of the Hunter Cavalry for less than a month, Laurist noticed that the camp was clean and orderly. The various military affairs were well organized. The soldiers of the Hunter Cavalry did not look dejected as they marched. On the contrary, their appearance and attire were quite good, giving people a feeling that they were working hard to improve.
However, Laurist noticed that all the soldiers of the Hunter Cavalry had a white feather stuck in their helmets. He curiously asked Vasimir, "What's going on?
Vasimir replied, "Your Highness, this white feather represents the defeat of the Hunter Cavalry. Sticking it in their helmets means that all the soldiers of the Hunter Cavalry will remember this humiliation and look forward to staining this feather with the blood of their enemies. At the same time, it also means that all the soldiers of the Hunter Cavalry will remember the warriors who sacrificed their lives in Makinohara Province. Although we were defeated, the bravery of those warriors who sacrificed their lives is worth remembering. "
Laurist nodded, "You're right. However, I don't think that the attack on the Hunter Cavalry was a great defeat. After all, it was more than a hundred thousand barbarian cavalrymen who besieged three of our divisions. Moreover, Grand Duke Fisabulun personally led his army to ambush them. Although there were many sacrifices and heavy casualties, I believe that the Hunter Cavalry was defeated with honor. "
"Your Highness, no matter how you try to find excuses and make things up, a defeat is a defeat. This is the truth. The Hunter Cavalry's defeat was due to their carelessness. They thought that they were invincible in Makinohara Province and neglected to investigate. Even if they discovered some barbarian cavalrymen spying on them, they still thought that it was just a small group of roaming cavalrymen who could not withstand a single blow. That was why they fell into the trap. Moreover, Commander Yuri, who went to rescue them, did not realize why the 3rd Division was trapped. He only chose the closest route to rescue them. In the end, he was ambushed by Grand Duke Fisabulun's army …
I have already questioned all the surviving soldiers, and based on their accounts, I have already written a very detailed report. Your Highness, I am not trying to criticize anyone, but I hope that we can learn from this lesson and prevent the family's armed forces from suffering another defeat like this in the future. The lesson of the Hunter Cavalry is that the smoothness of the early battles and the successive victories made everyone lose their vigilance. They did not place the enemy in their eyes and became arrogant and conceited. This gave the enemy an opportunity to take advantage of them. If the Hunter Cavalry had maintained their vigilance and sent out light cavalry scouts to investigate carefully, they would not have fallen into the encirclement of the barbarian cavalrymen. "
Laurist was rendered speechless by Vasimir's rebuttal, but he knew that Vasimir was not trying to embarrass him. She was just stating the facts, and he admired Vasimir's straightforwardness. After a moment of silence, Laurist opened his mouth, "My apologies, I spoke incorrectly. You are right, a defeat is a defeat. It does not mean that sacrificing the bravery of the soldiers can whitewash this defeat. However, why did the third Hunter Cavalry Division not send out light cavalry scouts when they went on a mission? "
"It's like this. I asked the rescued soldiers of the third division, and they said that Commander Sir Peter was worried that the light cavalry scouts wouldn't be a match for the small groups of barbarian cavalrymen spying on them from the side and would only cause unnecessary losses. That was why he had the light cavalry scouts stay within the firing range of the war chariots and steel crossbows instead of scouting far away.
Sir Peter already died a glorious death on the battlefield, so it is not my place to comment on whether his command was appropriate or not. However, I believe that Sir Peter did not realize that there were more than a hundred thousand barbarian cavalrymen lying in ambush in front of them. He only cherished his soldiers and wanted to avoid unnecessary losses. The third Hunter Cavalry Division was newly formed, and sweeping through Muye Plain Province was also a type of pre-battle training. Letting these new light cavalry scouts immediately deal with those experienced barbarian cavalrymen was a problem that any commander would have to carefully consider.
After considering that the third Hunter Cavalry Division brought two war chariot and steel crossbow battalions, Sir Peter clearly believed that the small group of barbarian cavalrymen were just bluffing. Not a single barbarian tribe in Muye Plain Province could defend against his vanguard. That was why he only had the light cavalry scouts patrol within three hundred meters of the third division's marching troops, and had the war chariots and steel crossbows provide them with long range protection. It was also because of this that the third division was surrounded by more than a hundred thousand barbarian cavalrymen. "
Knight Vasimir's deduction was reasonable, but the commander of the third Hunter Cavalry Division, Sir Peter, had already died on the battlefield. Laurist could not settle the score after the battle, as that would only make him appear ungrateful. He could only silently accept this explanation and continue to patrol the Hunter Cavalry Division's encampment with Vasimir.
Dinner was eaten in the camp's mess hall. Laurist, like all of the Hunter Cavalry Division soldiers, received a portion of food and ate together with the soldiers. The soldiers at the same table as Laurist were so happy and excited that they even forgot to eat. Laurist chatted with the soldiers as he ate, asking about their family situation and encouraging them. He firmly expressed that the family attached great importance to the rebuilding of the Hunter Cavalry Division, and hoped that the Hunter Cavalry Division could pull themselves together and sweep across the battlefield to wash away their past humiliation …
At night, Laurist went to visit Josk and Yuri, who were recovering from their injuries. The pharmacist in charge told Laurist that although Josk's injuries were serious, his recovery was going well. This was mainly due to his good foundation, and the fact that he was immediately rescued after he was injured. He was not like Yuri, who fought with his life on the line despite being heavily injured. When he was rescued, he was like a lamp that had run out of oil and was unconscious. There were more than ten serious injuries all over his body, and his bones and flesh were all broken. The great circulation of his combat aura and bloodline nodes had all been destroyed, and he was now lying on the bed like a cripple, unable to move. He had to be attended to when he needed to eat, drink, and defecate. The pharmacist estimated that he would need another three to four months to recover, and it would take at least one to two years for his combat aura to return to the Gold rank.
Josk could already sit on the bed, and he told Laurist with a bitter smile that he had been plotted against by Grand Duke Fisabulon. He was a master archer, and could attack enemies from a distance on the battlefield. His shots were always accurate, and he was awe-inspiring. However, he did not expect that Grand Duke Fisabulon would disguise himself as an ordinary barbarian soldier, blend in with a group of barbarians, and suddenly attack. At that time, Josk was only focused on finding the leaders and warriors of the barbarian cavalry on the battlefield, and neglected the barbarian soldiers that he had left to his guards to deal with.
In the end, Grand Duke Fisabulon suddenly attacked, and he was invincible. He quickly closed in on Josk. When Josk realized that the old barbarian attacking him was actually Grand Duke Fisabulon, he had a bad feeling. He hastily shot over ten arrows, but they were all blocked by Grand Duke Fisabulon. Josk turned his horse and fled, and Grand Duke Fisabulon could not catch up in time, so he threw the longsword in his hand. One of Josk's guards stood in front of him, but the longsword pierced through his body, and then Josk's chest. Both of them fell off their horses, and when they hit the ground, the longsword in Josk's body opened up a large wound, and he almost fainted from the pain …
On the other side, Grand Duke Fisabulon continued to close in. At this moment, a dozen family knights and nearly a hundred Hunter Corps soldiers rushed forward to stop Grand Duke Fisabulon and rescue Josk. Unfortunately, it was chaotic at that time, and they didn't think that they would bring back Grand Duke Fisabulon's longsword. After escaping from danger and bandaging his wounds, Josk found out that all the family knights and soldiers who had gone to stop Grand Duke Fisabulon had died on the battlefield.
Josk's condition was still alright. His lungs and sternum were injured, and he was currently recovering well. In another three to four months, he would be full of vigor again. He rubbed his fists and said that once his body recovered, he would lead the Hunter Corps to the Makinohara Province to take revenge for those brave warriors who had sacrificed themselves. Seeing that he still had the heart to do so, Laurist was relieved.
Yuri was lying on the bed like a dead man, but he was still conscious. When he saw Laurist come to visit him, tears flowed from the corner of his eyes. Laurist grabbed his hand and sat beside him for a long time, telling him not to worry, and that the most important thing now was to recover. Now that the family had suppressed the Fisabulon Family to their own territory, they had cut off their communications with the outside world. No matter how capable Grand Duke Fisabulon was, he was like a grasshopper after autumn, and could no longer jump around …
By the time Yuri recovered, the Hunter Corps would have been reorganized and trained. At that time, Laurist would accompany him to the Northeast Prairie to sweep through those Grassland Barbarian tribes and sweep away the depression in his chest. Then, he would find trouble with the Fisabulon Family and compete with the Ranger Corps at the border to see who was the number one light cavalry in the world.
Laurist stayed with the Hunter Corps for half a month before returning to Rock Castle. Before he left, he ordered Knight Vasimir to make preparations to defend against the Mountain Barbarian tribes. Although he predicted that the eastern part of the Northern Lands would not be pillaged by the Mountain Barbarian tribes, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Two days after he returned to Rock Castle, the rainy season in March arrived as scheduled.
After pondering for a few days, Laurist summoned Fatty Shi and Spear, the director.
"I'm preparing to reorganize the Imperial Guard Corps into three Imperial Guard Corps, slightly reducing the size of the corps. We don't need a corps of 75,000 people. Now, our family not only owns the entire Northern Lands, but also the Delemark and Winston Provinces have indirectly become our family's territory and sphere of influence. For example, Kebo City and Fandinas City in Delemark Province, and Windbury City and Pidro City in Winston Province. These are all big cities and strategic locations. A force of three thousand soldiers is indeed a little weak. Once they encounter an enemy attack or a change in situation, it is very likely that they will be caught off guard and cause great losses to the family. "
Laurist took out the reorganization plan that he had been thinking about for a long time.
From a strategic point of view, Fatty Shi agreed with the reorganization of the Imperial Guard Corps. "Your Highness, the Imperial Guard Corps is a little weak as a garrison. Although it is a large corps of 75,000 people, the expansion of the family's territory and sphere of influence means that there are too many places to defend. The Imperial Guard Corps is already unable to attend to one thing and lose sight of another. For example, we only have a Imperial Guard Corps stationed on Cirvas Island, and there is also Swordmaster Theseus there. Only then can we relax …
The Northern Lands is the largest of all the provinces of the former Empire, almost three times the size of the Delemke Province. However, we only have ten Imperial Guard Corps and 30,000 people stationed in the Northern Lands. Although there are guards in every village, we have no choice but to mobilize the Flying Tiger Corps and the Grizzly Bear Knights to deal with the Mountain Barbarian army. There is no way to deal with a hundred thousand Mountain Barbarians with just the Imperial Guard Corps alone.
If the few field armies that our family has armed go out to battle in the future, what will we do if the Mountain Barbarians attack again? So, I think that Your Highness should expand the Imperial Guard Corps. From a strategic point of view, we should at least let the Imperial Guard Corps have the ability to deal with the Mountain Barbarian army alone. At the very least, we should be able to defend ourselves. "
However, Spear, who was in charge of the family's finances, firmly opposed the expansion of the army. "Your Highness, two-thirds of our family's financial expenditure is for the military. This is almost a military expenditure!"
…
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