Lord Harland.

Chapter 248 Changes in the situation

The reserves stored in the treasury last year have not been spent, and now there are more than [-] gold coins in the treasury.

The cash of one hundred thousand gold coins is placed in the treasury, which has no effect on the development of the territory.

Richard found an agent of the Duke of Guise, and decided to spend [-] gold coins to buy [-] slaves, and the remaining [-] gold coins to buy [-] tons of grain from several nearby nobles to increase the grain stored in the grain depot. to [-] tons.

In recent years, the territory of Harland has been the largest grain merchant near Heihe Fort, selling tens of thousands of tons of grain every year.In order to avoid competition with the Harland family, the grain fields of the nearby nobles have been decreasing, but the cash crops have increased.

This year is the year of the orc invasion, and the territory of Harland actually bought grain, which caused the price of grain in the vicinity to rise a bit.

After Goddess' Day, Harland Territory Primary School started school again.

Now there are two primary schools in Harland territory.One is in Fort William and the other is in Fort Garrison. Flora has stepped down from the position of principal and is in charge of supervising all the schools.

Together, the two primary schools have enrolled more than 300 new students this year, and one-fifteenth of the children of the same age can go to school.

As long as free citizens with good conditions would grit their teeth and send their smartest and favorite children to school.

Because children who graduate from elementary school can almost achieve a class transition.

The Territory of Harland is extremely short of talents. The military staff office, logistics office, various government departments, hospitals, schools, factories and mines and other public institutions recruit personnel from graduates of River Bank Primary School every year.

Due to the overt and covert blockade of the nobles, the literacy rate of ordinary people in the Chenxi plane is very low, roughly at the level of one in a thousand.

Even in the territory of Harland, counting the students who graduated from He'an Elementary School, the total number of literate students is less than a thousand, and a large part of them are members of the nobles such as Harland, Stopa, and Duck.

Although several literacy classes have been held in the army, the officers and soldiers all know some characters, but the learning time in the literacy classes is relatively short, and many people can't even read all the characters.

According to the statistics of the territory, these people are semi-literate and not considered literate.

On the contrary, in elementary schools, the total number of students exceeds one thousand.How many years will it take to increase the literacy rate of Harland to 5.00%, reaching the level of ancient China?
He'an Primary School has been established for seven years, and has only trained more than 300 primary school graduates until now.

Compared with the demand for literacy talents in Harland Territory, primary school graduates in recent years are quite valuable.

However, according to Li Cha's estimate, the territory's thirst for talents will not be so high in a few years.

When talent is saturated, students graduating from primary school may face unemployment.

More than 300 new students, Sophia used the magic crystal ball to test and found five apprentices with magical qualifications.But the magic aptitude of these five people is average, and they are all low-level aptitudes.

However, aptitude is only one aspect of a magician's advancement, and the other is the thinking and specialization of magic.

If these children have the brains of Newton and Einstein, made groundbreaking discoveries in magic research, won the love of the world, and the feedback of meditation is particularly good, they may not become great magicians and enter the ranks of legends. .

But this kind of brain of a super genius may not be seen for hundreds of years.

What's more, there must be a suitable system for geniuses to show their talents. The reforms Li Cha made in Harland's territory are to let these geniuses show their talents.
When the spring blossomed and March entered, when the Duke of Guise sent the slaves to Harland's territory, the population of the territory reached 27.

In three months, the number of newborns in the territory increased by four thousand.

The Duke of Guise has just sent slaves, and traces of orcs have been found.

Now the scouts in the Harland Territory have magical beast cavalry as the backbone, and even equipped with a magic hot air balloon squad. Audrey also has two lion cavalry under his command, who can barely ride the lion into the air.

Of course, the lion cavalry is extremely valuable, and it is impossible for Li Cha to let the clumsy lion cavalry fight the harpies, but with the aerial reconnaissance unit, the efficiency of reconnaissance is extraordinary.

The orc army had just entered the middle of the Eagle Mountain Range, 160 kilometers away from the swamp basin, when they were spotted by the hot air balloon team in Harland's territory.

After discovering the magic hot air balloon, the harpy immediately flew up to catch up, but was shot and killed by the sharpshooter of the magic hot air balloon team.

The harpy's magic missiles can only fly 100 meters away at most, while the archers on the magic hot air balloon can shoot sharp arrows that can hit targets 400 meters away.

Going it alone, a harpy is no match for the magic balloon team.

But the magic hot air balloon also has many weaknesses. Although the magic hot air balloon needs the help of the wind, its flying speed is relatively slow.If several harpies attack from different directions, using proper tactics, the magic balloon will also be shot down by the harpies.

The number of magical hot air balloons in Harland's territory is relatively small, and only sixteen of them have been produced in total, so it is impossible to fight a long-term war of attrition with the orcs.

After shooting the harpy, the magic hot air balloon team landed immediately, joined the reconnaissance brigade soldiers, and sent the information to Fort William.

Upon receiving the news of the orc invasion, Richard immediately dispatched messengers to notify the Black River Fort, and then carried out a comprehensive mobilization in Harland's territory.

The main force gathered on the northern front line, and the second-line armed personnel such as auxiliary soldiers, intelligence, and public security also stopped their vacations, assembled in the main castle of the territory, received weapons and equipment, and were ready to fight at any time.

The reconnaissance brigade stepped up its reconnaissance efforts, and the magic hot air balloon squadron took off uninterruptedly to observe the direction of the orc army.

Because last time they suffered a loss in the direction of the military station, this time the orcs mobilized a large army in this direction. According to the intelligence of the previous reconnaissance, the number of the orc army was as high as one legion, and the total number of auxiliary soldiers exceeded [-].

The Harland Territory now has six and a half infantry brigades, about [-] infantry, a monster cavalry brigade with [-] soldiers, and a reconnaissance cavalry brigade with [-] soldiers.

In addition, there are mage groups, magic hot air balloon squadron, headquarters staff, logistics personnel, and the main force exceeds [-].

In addition, there are 600 auxiliary soldiers in the territory, [-] security forces, and nearly [-] intelligence personnel.

Counting the second-line troops, the military strength of the territory is about [-].

The northern defense line of Harland's territory, the fortress is the focus of defense.

Li Cha placed the first brigade, second brigade, third brigade, fourth brigade, and reconnaissance brigade in the fortress. Including the auxiliary soldiers manipulating the catapults, the garrison reached [-] troops.Among them, the main combat force has [-] soldiers.

There are two mage towers in the swamp basin, which are also the focus of defense.A castle was built near the Tower of Lightning, where two guard squadrons and two auxiliary squadrons were stationed.

In the small castle near the Flame Tower, in addition to the auxiliary squadron, there is also the most powerful monster cavalry brigade stationed in the territory.

In addition, the magicians in the territory of Harland are also stationed in the two mage towers. The command in this direction is in charge of the external operations by Soros, and the internal defense is under the unified control of Sophia.

The Fifth Battalion was stationed at Gravessen Castle, defending the eastern part of Harland's territory, preventing the orc army from breaking through from the direction of Flying Eagle Fort, from Lahe Province into Gedda Province, and attacking the rear of Harland's territory.

Garrisoning a brigade in this direction can at least buy the main force a period of time.In order to increase the strength of the defenders, Richard stored [-] alchemy bombs in Graveson Castle.

Limited by the production of blood steel, Harland's territory only stocked a total of [-] alchemy bombs, a quarter of which was placed in Graveson Castle.

If the orcs wanted to conquer this castle, they would have to lose at least five or six thousand main troops.

Unless it is a commander with a resolute personality who will not give up until he achieves his goal, the general leader of the orc army will not be ruthless at all, sacrificing such a large capital.

After all, the orcs went south to plunder, not to gnaw hard bones.

Although Li Cha has beaten the orcs several times, he is still not a famous general. He has never killed the legend of the orcs, nor has he wiped out the main force of the orcs. He is not a human commander that the orcs need to pay attention to.

Moreover, Gravesson Castle is not far from Flowers Castle, and Jennings is stationed in Flowers Castle with the Sixth Battalion, ready to support Gravesson Castle at any time.

After the army finished deploying its defenses, Richard immediately ordered the coalition forces of the nobles of Heihe County to gather in the direction of Platos Castle.

The defense of Harland's territory is very tight, and the defenders' combat effectiveness is also very strong. Relying on geographical advantages and equipment advantages, they are enough to block a main force of orcs.

However, Baron Sharp's strength in the Pratos defense line to the west of Harland's territory was mediocre.

Although the army under Sharp's command can also be called good at fighting, the number is only 500 people. One or two brigades of orcs can pass through the blockade of the Platos fortress.

Although there is Zachary's Redeemer Legion in this direction, the strength of the Gascoigne province is relatively weak, and it was affected by the royal turmoil in the past few years. Province is still more difficult.

If, like the previous orc invasion, Zakli's troops were transferred to other directions, the Pratos Valley fell, and the western part of Harland's territory would lose its protection, exposing its weakness to the orcs.

Li Cha is the reserve major general of Gerda Province and the first-line commander of the northern defense line of Gerda Province. The nobles of Heihe County did not dare to disobey his orders. Latos line of defense.

The strength of these barons was not weak, ranging from five hundred to three hundred. These soldiers were not slave soldiers who would collapse at the touch of a finger. In small-scale battles, the fighting power of noble private soldiers could even be comparable to that of the main army.

The five barons together have [-] soldiers, enough to defend the Platos line.

After receiving Li Cha's information, the Northern Territory Legion and Viscount Roman also mobilized and made preparations for battle.

Now that Harland is the leader, the Heihe County Noble Alliance is at the front, and the Northern Army and Viscount Romano's Alliance are already regarded as the second-line troops in Gerda Province.

Once the front line is tight, the Northern Legion can reinforce the front line to fight at any time.

The orc army slowly approached the fortress, and Legion Commander Platt's face suddenly turned ugly.

Although he only glanced at it, Platt found that the fortifications of the military station were very complete. In front of the castle were densely packed antlers and horses, and hundreds of arrow towers were fan-shaped to protect the two wings of the city wall.

These arrow towers are all within the strike range of the trebuchet. If you want to demolish the arrow towers, you don't know how much blood will be shed.

The most troublesome thing is that on the hillsides on both sides of the military station fort, brick and stone fortresses were also built, trebuchets were installed and soldiers were stationed.

If the orcs attacked the city, they would inevitably be hit by the catapults on both sides of the hillside. If they wanted to rush across this road, they would have to bleed a lot.

To forcibly attack the fortress, you need to take down the castles on the hillsides on both sides first.

The hillside castles on both sides had geographical advantages, and they couldn't hold too many troops at all. The orcs' upward attack must be a refueling tactic, and the casualties would be very heavy.

Pratt is a relatively small number of lizardmen in the orc empire. Its ancestors are also lizardmen who survived the fall of the floating city. After more than 1 years of reproduction, they gradually adapted to the climate of northern Xinjiang.

More than a thousand years ago, the Orc Empire defeated the Lizardman Alliance, and some Lizardman merged into the Beastman Empire.

Although the lizard people have adapted to the climate of northern Xinjiang, one of the changes brought about is that they have difficulty in reproduction, and they still need to hibernate in winter.Although they have multiplied in the Beastman Empire for thousands of years, the number of lizardmen in the Beastman Empire is still small, only a few hundred thousand in total, and their importance is not as important as that of humans.

Because of the small population, the lizardmen are not a great threat to the orc race. Although they are not of the same bloodline as the mainstream orcs, the lizardmen have a bigger rising channel than humans, and their invisible ceiling is also higher.

In the orc empire, human beings have no chance to serve as soldiers and fight. The orc empire also prohibits human slaves from mastering extraordinary power.The defense of the orc empire against humans can be seen almost with the naked eye.But the orc empire is not very prepared for lizardmen, but lizardmen like Pratt who climbed to the upper level of the orc empire are still very rare.

Lizard people have very good eyesight, and 20.00% of them can awaken extraordinary vision talent.

Platt's eyesight was better than that of the Harpy.

Even five miles away, he could still see the soldiers wearing iron armor on the military depot, their silhouettes looming.

From the perspective of weapons and equipment, Platt knew that the defenders must be the main army in the human kingdom.

Pratt has been in the army for many years, and he dislikes fighting the main army regiment soldiers the most.What he likes most is plundering unresisting human villages, killing unarmed men, watching the old and the weak wailing and weeping, and the women tactfully making love under his crotch.

As for the soldiers of the main human legion, it is very rare for them to surrender.Fighting against the main army, many people will die every time, and countless blood will be shed.

Platt frowned, seeing ditches, ridges, rows of fences, and heavy trebuchets scattered on the top of the city. Occasionally, he could see a few heavy bed crossbows equipped with cold iron gun.The cold light on the tip of the gun flickered, and it was very brightly polished, giving it a reflective feel.

At a glance, you can tell that soldiers often maintain their weapons, and their quality is extraordinary.

Such a strong city defense, coupled with elite soldiers and strong generals.Even if Platt brings a legion of soldiers, there is no good chance of winning.

(End of this chapter)