When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 801: Concealing the truth
Just as Jeshka began to formally evacuate the defenders and civilians of Xialu City, the news of the defeat finally reached the Leia army camp in the western suburbs.

Upon hearing the news, the remaining veteran general Julianus immediately suspended the attack and called a meeting of generals.

Compared to the people of Xiongbao or Xianshidian, Dawn Island, as the core hinterland of the kingdom, not only has a large population, but also has an army and nobles of far superior quality than the former two.

In the church hall of the town of Comita, workers used wooden boards to seal the large hole previously made by a clockwork cannon.

On one side of the big hole, dozens of nobles, knights, and mercenary captains lined up in two rows according to their status.

Sitting at the top was a strong old man who was over eighty years old but still vigorous, the former titled knight Julianus.

Now he should be called the Count of Julianus Palace. He is a close minister under the king and the commander-in-chief of the vassal army of Dawn Island.

Unlike the noisy town of Suimi or the drunken nature of the Norns, the generals here are all dressed neatly and in good order.

Sitting on both sides of the long table were the main decision-makers of the Western Suburbs Army.

"The Norn barbarians' central camp was breached, their battle flags and holy emblems were seized, and the other camps looked on in disdain and fled without a fight..."

"Knight Berengar was captured, Duke Gottfried has no news, Count Heinzmann fell into the water and became ill, and has not yet woken up..."

"According to the defeated soldiers, the number of enemy troops ranges from 10,000 to 30,000, and they include many elite Norn mercenaries..."

After the knight in charge of reporting finished speaking, Julianus, the commander, spoke directly: "The reinforcements of the Mad Pope have arrived. Should we fight or defend?"

To fight or to defend, that is the question.

The Mad Pope's dispatch of troops was understandable, but defeating the two armies stationed in Suimi Town and Jinuo Town in one go was unexpected.

This can at least prove one thing, that those who came are not second- or third-rate militiamen, but real regular troops from Qianhe Valley.

A group of rebels can actually develop a standing army at the level of a regular army. This world is becoming more and more incomprehensible.

Therefore, the biggest key point of fighting or defending at the moment lies in the number of this group of reinforcements?

Although the Western Suburbs is the core force, it only has about 16,000 people, and the defeated soldiers cannot be organized for the time being.

Moreover, after days of siege, morale and combat effectiveness were declining.

"Is there no more detailed information about the exact number of reinforcements?" The noble generals had different answers, but their main question was this.

“The Xianshidian fleeing soldiers said there were two 90x90 square formations, but I think they should have included the Holy Gunners on both sides.

If they used the improved version of the large phalanx used in the Battle of Gravel Plain, it would be 70 people in depth plus 400 Holy Gunners, and two phalanxes would be about people.

If they adopted the Mad Pope's horizontal formation, then there should be at least 4000 to 6000 people."

Listening to the analysis of other generals, Julianus slowly expressed his own opinion: "I prefer a number of more than 10,000."

"What do you think, Lord Julianus?"

"To be precise, I suspect that the army that attacked Suimi Town is not the same army that attacked Jinuo Town."

Standing up, Julianus walked to the map hanging on the wall and pointed at the location on the map with his cane: "The time is wrong, the town of Suimi was captured the morning before yesterday, and the town of Jinuo was captured yesterday evening.

We all know that after a forced march of 35 kilometers, we need to rest for at least half a day before we can continue the attack.

However, it is obviously unreasonable that these armies could force march after fighting a battle and then fight another battle directly.

The Ham River was dry in winter, so large barges could not pass through. The Norns also demolished the port, making it even more impossible to take a boat.

The only explanation is that they divided the army into two groups.

While one group attacked Suimi Town, the other group set out at the same time to attack Jinuo Town and those castles.

This also coincides with the news that at least two legions were assembled in Lower River County some time ago.”

Many nobles nodded frequently as they listened to the commander's analysis. This was indeed something they had not expected.

One of the priests asked, "What's the point of this? If we lose the battle of Suimi, won't the other army be trapped?"

"Firstly, I think it's because the people of the Thousand Valleys were too proud after defeating Prince Condai. Secondly... hehe." Julianus sneered, "I'm afraid they are trying to lure us into attacking."

Use two armies to advance in parallel to create the appearance that the number of reinforcements is lower than expected, and lure the Dawn Island army away from their positions.

Because the city is still under siege, if they take the initiative to attack the supporting troops, they cannot attack with their entire army.

At least 3,000 to 5,000 people must be left outside the city to prevent the enemy from breaking through or taking the opportunity to slow down the siege. If they really attack according to the standard of 4,000 to 10,000 people, the people of Qianhe Valley may really win with their intentions.

The old general even believed that the enemy might have more than three legions, or more than 15,000 people.

If they didn't have the certainty of victory and the tolerance for handling crises, how could they dare to use the means of parallel marches?

From a strategic perspective, the support from the Osra family has not yet arrived, and Lavr is leading the main force to attack Castle Adam.

Juliannus didn't want to admit it, but they had become the weakest link in the battle line.

It is quite normal for reinforcements to rush to Xialu City at this time, defeat them, and cut off a finger of His Royal Highness the King first.

This is probably their purpose.

"Is it possible that they are bluffing?"

"That makes sense, so let's be prepared for both situations." After walking back and forth in front of the long table twice, the veteran Julianus sat down again with the help of his cane.

"First, send out reconnaissance cavalry to thoroughly investigate the exact number of enemy troops. Second, reduce the intensity of the siege and reduce the number of troops.

If they take the initiative to attack, we will use our positions to meet the enemy. If they continue to lure us, we will not move and wait for the reinforcements of the Osra family to arrive.

Whether we're attacking or not, whether they're bluffing or not, we're going to have the upper hand."

These noble generals, both big and small, thought for a moment and agreed with the old general's statement.

Some radical nobles felt it was a pity, but the rest of the nobles didn't care.

The battle on Dawn Island can be regarded as a war of atonement for loyalty.

Give them a choice between a big win with risk and a small win without risk, and they would rather choose the latter.

After all, if the battle of Qianhe Valley was really won, the rewards would only go to the aristocratic faction of Heshang Island.

After the meeting reached its conclusion, military camps throughout the western suburbs began to take action.

Gather and organize the defeated soldiers, expand the outer outposts, reduce the intensity of the siege, repair the camp, etc.

At the same time, the messenger cavalrymen each carried Julianus's letter and rushed to Adam Castle in the north and Osra's army in the rear.

…………

"Do you feel that the Leia people's attack seems to be weaker than before?"

Looking at the snow gradually melting and revealing the khaki ground, a captain of the Tenth Team poked old Laffer in the waist with his elbow.

Old Laffer's cheeks were slightly red, perhaps because he had just drunk some gin.

He glanced at the captain of the Tenth Army and took another sip of wine: "I guess the reinforcements have finally arrived. Haven't we seen a lot of defeated soldiers in the past few days?"

"Is the siege over then?"

"That's wishful thinking. We can't escape until they stop attacking."

"When will the siege end?"

Old Laffer touched the iron ring on his chest, but did not dare to answer rashly.

He suddenly thought of Kaler. This guy had become successful and seemed to have been appreciated by some important person, but he had never returned to the front line.

In the future, my kid might have to rely on his uncle for support.

After fighting so many battles, he had long regarded this little brother as his own brother, and he missed him a little after not seeing him for a few days.

Looking up at the red sun in the sky, old Laffer shook his head and squinted his eyes again.

Is today's wine so intoxicating? Why did the sun become three?

"Old Raph, Captain Raph, what's going on?"

"My forehead is so hot."

"Medic, medic!"

(End of this chapter)