Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios It was still snowing, but the heavy snow had turned into fine snowflakes.
The tent was as warm as spring, and a large brazier was placed in the middle of the tent. The red charcoal fire was giving off scorching heat. A large copper kettle was hung above the brazier, and the hot water in the kettle was bubbling and steaming.
Sadekamp picked up the kettle, filled the teacups in front of him, and served them to the people who needed it. When the kettle was empty, he refilled it and poured Max into the kettle. He hung it above the brazier again and cooked it. Soon, the tent was filled with the aroma of Max.
Lollister, Fatso Shi, Terman, Yuri, El, Bofinger, and his two comrades, Rod Wales and Mon S Malick, as well as the 37 old students of Dawn Academy, were all gathered together. In a corner of the tent sat Erik and his granddaughter, Jasmine. At this moment, everyone was listening to Fatso Shi narrate the results of last night's battle.
"From a logistical point of view, yesterday's battle can be said to be a loss outweighed the gain. Although our losses were light, only sacrificing seventeen crossbow archers to kill nearly three thousand enemies, our spoils of war were very little. In other words, we carried a very heavy burden on our backs. We have eliminated more than 1,600 enemies, captured more than 1,200, and rescued more than 2,300 young adults. This is a great victory, but we did not seize much rations and supplies. These 3,000 people need us to feed them and give them warm clothes. At present, we estimate that our rations and supplies can barely last us another month or so. "
"In yesterday's battle, we lost 17 crossbow archers, and 48 people were injured. 34 of them were crossbow archers. Four of Terman's knights were lightly injured, seven of Yuri's light cavalry were injured, and three of the spearmen were injured. The small loss of personnel is something to be happy about, but it is important to note that this battle consumed a lot of battle resources. Take the crossbow bolts for example. We prepared 20,000 crossbow bolts in advance, but now only 8,000 are left. This is the result of retrieving the usable crossbow bolts from the battlefield. The rest of the bolts are either broken or the arrowheads are damaged and need to be melted down again. "
"There's also the ballistae and bolts used up by the Dorais Warships' ballistae. We still have a spare string, but we'll have to remake the bolts. Otherwise, the ballistae won't be able to be used on the battlefield. In terms of loot, we didn't get any rations or supplies, but we got more than three thousand sets of weapons and leather armor. In addition, we also seized more than two thousand horses, all of which were the spare horses of the Lancers and the horses that survived the battle. Fortunately, there was a large amount of fodder stored in this military camp, otherwise we would have to consider slaughtering the horses. "
"In addition, we found nearly ten thousand gold coins worth of valuables in the enemy's camp. There were also nearly a thousand spears, three hundred longswords, more than six hundred longbows, nearly ten thousand arrows, and more than five hundred round shields. One hundred and thirty-two four-wheeled carriages, three hundred and forty-one two-wheeled carriages, and one thousand two hundred and fifty-two pack-horses, which, according to the prisoners, had been left behind because the camp had been occupied by us, to carry supplies. Apart from these, the rest are just miscellaneous items. "
"Now, we have three problems. First, what should we do with the thousand captives? Should we release them or bring them with us after we continue on our journey? Second, at least half of the four hundred or so young men we rescued from this military camp and the two thousand or so young men from the main camp want to join our army. They want to take revenge on Count Corbili because their loved ones were killed. Who asked us to wipe out Count Corbili's mopping-up troops? They see us as their hope. Should we accept them or not? Another problem is that the few hundred people who are leaving are led by the son of some viscount. They hope that we can give him some of the weapons and equipment we captured. Should we give them to them? "
As soon as Fatty Shi finished his report, the tent was in an uproar. Everyone was discussing the three problems that Fatty Shi had mentioned. Regarding the captives, some people wanted to release them to save on food. However, some people suggested that they should release the captives because they were afraid that they would join Count Corbili's side and sell out the family's convoy to the north. Since they couldn't kill them or release them, they might as well bring them with them. There would be plenty of hard work for them to do, like moving things and setting up camp.
As for the young men who wanted to join the family's army and take revenge on Count Corbili, most people were more inclined to let them join the family first. As for the viscount's son who wanted some free weapons and equipment, everyone's opinion was that they shouldn't give them to him. He wasn't related to the family, so they shouldn't give them to him no matter how many weapons and equipment the convoy had.
When the discussion was almost over, Laurist clapped his hands to quiet everyone down. He then said, "As for the three problems that Knight Shredder raised, I've listened to everyone's discussion for a while. I don't think we should release the captives now. Even if we do, we should wait until we are out of Count Corbili's territory before we release them. We don't want to bring us unnecessary trouble. As for the young men who want to join us, we must first ask them if they are willing to follow us to the north and explain to them the treatment of our family's soldiers. If they are willing, we will let them join. If not, we won't force them. Otherwise, deserters will easily appear. "
"As for the last question, I don't think we can reject the viscount's son's request. I want to meet this person first and see what reason he has to convince us to give him some weapons and equipment. Without a suitable excuse, we won't agree to it. Alright, I will now summarize yesterday's battle. I hope everyone will put in some effort. This is only the first battle we've encountered on our journey to the north. I don't know how many more difficulties we will encounter in the future. I hope everyone can learn from each battle and learn from it. This way, we can avoid repeating the same mistakes in the future. "
"In yesterday's battle, we paid a small price and killed more than 3,000 enemies. It was a great victory, a complete victory. It will even be recorded in the history books. However, we can't forget that yesterday's victory was actually due to a few coincidences. The right time, the right place, and the right people were all on our side. The so-called right time was when the weather suddenly turned cold and snow was about to fall. This forced the enemy to attack our camp due to a lack of supplies. As the commander of an army, it is extremely undesirable to throw all your forces into an attack without caring about anything else. When you don't know the enemy's situation, it is easy to fall into the enemy's trap. Yesterday, Count Corbili's army taught us a very good lesson. "
"Also, the terrain. The camp is located on high ground in this area. It is well-fortified, easy to defend and hard to attack. Coupled with our appropriate response, we successfully delayed the enemy until it was dark and snowing before they entered the camp. This caused the enemy to be enraged. Coupled with the poor visibility due to the snow, they followed our trap step by step. If the enemy had broken into the camp in the afternoon, what would they have done when they saw the wooden walls on both sides of the road? Would they have ordered the Lancers to form a group and march down the road? If that was the case, everyone would see another result. Even if we could annihilate them, we would have to go through a difficult battle and pay a heavy price. Thus, luck played a part in last night's victory. "
"Also, we set up a trap and lured the enemy into the camp. We used the ballistae to deal with the Lancers and achieved an unexpected result. The enemy's Lancers were almost completely wiped out. We used the ballistae to deal with the enemy's guards and seized the initiative on the battlefield, resulting in a great victory. However, yesterday's victory must be looked at together with the attack on the convoy and the occupation of the camp. Only then can it be considered a complete battle. At the beginning of this battle, our convoy was attacked by the Lancers and suffered a great loss. We even lost one of our comrades. "
"Looking at this battle, we will find that our family's armed forces are facing a very awkward problem. That is, the heavy armored soldiers that our family's armed forces rely on have almost no room to play in this battle. They have become mere decorations. We relied on light cavalry scouts, knights, ballistae, and ballistae to win this battle. This is not Knight Borg's fault. It is not that he did not train the heavy armoured soldiers well. On the contrary, the heavy armoured soldiers are the elite of our family's armed forces. It's just that we forgot one thing when we set up the heavy-armored troops, and that is that the convoy is mobile. The most important thing for the convoy's escort is mobility, and what the heavy-armored troops lack the most is mobility. "
"In this battle, the outstanding performance of the knights and the light cavalry scouts gave us the greatest surprise, but these two units also revealed their weaknesses. The key to the knights is that they do not have enough manpower and are unable to deal a decisive blow. Furthermore, the light cavalry scout team was also unable to attack the enemy due to their small numbers. Just like last night, when the situation had been decided, the light cavalry had taken over the enemy's main camp. Facing the enemy's small team of guards, seven of them were still injured. This was very wrong. So, taking advantage of the two days of snow, I am preparing to reorganize the family's armed forces and set up a new army composition. "
"First of all, the order of knights needs to be expanded. Right now, the caravan still has 88 sets of knight full body armor and matching horse armor. In addition to the original 46 sets of knight armor, we have decided to expand the order of knights to a full team of 120 knights. Each knight will be equipped with three horses, one for war, one for daily riding, and one for rotation. Each knight will be assigned a knight attendant, and this attendant will be found by the knight's family of 15 or 16 years old to serve as the attendant. In addition, each knight will be assigned a servant to take care of the horses and take care of trivial matters. Each attendant and servant will have a mount, and they do not need to go to war. Knight Terman, you will be in charge of the expansion of the knights. I hope that you will be able to bring out a Silver Knight for the Norton Family. "
Terman stood up and bowed respectfully. "Sir, I will definitely not let you down."
"Secondly, Knight Yuri, your light cavalry scout team will be expanded into a scout platoon. There will be four scout platoons under it, and each platoon will have 120 men. Each man and two horses will be equipped with crossbows, javelins, pikes, longswords, arm shields, chain mail, and leather armor. Also, assign a small team of servants to take care of the horses and other trivial matters. You must give them strict training. Not only must they know how to attack from afar, but they must also strengthen their close combat skills. "
"Yes, sir." Yuri also stood up and bowed.
Lollister looked at Bodefinger, who nodded slightly. Lollister continued, "Next, I want to reorganize the heavy armored troops. The lancers we encountered in the battle gave us a lot of inspiration. After my discussion with Knight Bodefinger and the others, we plan to reorganize the heavy armored troops into heavy armored lancers. First, we will expand them into two platoons. Each platoon will have four teams, and each team will have 120 men. Each platoon will have two horses, and each platoon will be assigned a team of servants. The newly formed heavy armored lancers will be led by Knight Bodefinger and Knight Ross. "
Bodefinger and Rod Wales stood up. "We will follow your orders, sir."
Lollister smiled in satisfaction and gestured for the two to sit down. After spending some time together, Ross seemed to be very happy to join the Norton family. It would be natural for him to become a family knight. "Now, all the soldiers in the convoy who have awakened battle energy must first meet the requirements for the expansion of the three platoons. In addition, we will also establish a law enforcement team to maintain order in the convoy. They will be equipped with infantry ring armor and axes as the family's law enforcement force. I hope that Knight Mons. Knight Malek can take charge of this law enforcement team and become the family's law enforcement officer. "
Mons Malek stood up and placed his hand on his chest. "Sir, I am at your service."
"In addition, the main camp's guards will also be expanded into a platoon. Not only will they be responsible for the security of the main camp, but they will also be responsible for looking after the prisoners. El, I will leave this matter to you. "
"Yes, sir."
"Finally, it is regarding the lancers. I have decided to combine the crossbowmen and the lancers. Each lancer platoon will be divided into five platoons: one sword-and-shield platoon, one crossbowman platoon, one longbowman platoon, and two lancer platoons. Each platoon will have a total of 120 people. I am going to give this lancer platoon to … "
Lollister's gaze fell on Ingelek. "Ingelek, you will be in charge."
Ingelek did not expect Lollister to give him the largest number of lancers. His face turned red. "Sir, I, I can't do it …"
"Why can't you? You have been a town garrison officer before. No one here has more experience than you. Also, you have been bored in the convoy recently. You have been lying outside Knight Shredder's tent every night. I have seen it many times. As a Gold ranker, it is time for you to do something serious. As for your granddaughter, you can rest assured. Knight Shredder has already mentioned to me that he will marry your granddaughter when we reach the family's territory. In order for your granddaughter to have a good home, you must do your best for the family's convoy. "
Molly, who was standing beside the old man, blushed and hid behind her grandfather. Fatty Shi, on the other hand, did not shy away from Lollister's words. He stood up and walked over to protect Molly in his arms. Everyone in the tent burst into laughter. Some teased Ingelek, while others congratulated Fatty Shi for finding his true love.
Ingelek was ashamed by Lollister's words. He had only gone to guard his granddaughter because he was worried that Fatty Shi would bully his granddaughter. However, since his granddaughter and Fatty Shi were in love with each other, there was nothing he could do about it. However, when he heard Lollister say that Fatty Shi was willing to marry his granddaughter, he was filled with joy. "Alright, I will do as you say, sir."
Lollister waved his hand at everyone in the tent. "Alright, you may all disperse. Time is of the essence. We only have two days to adjust the family's armed forces. Everyone must seize the time and cooperate with each other."
"Padt, bring that viscount's son here. I want to hear what he has to say.
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