Imperial Crown.

Chapter 357 Encirclement and reinforcements
June 1199, 12 in the Guangming calendar.

night.

In one more day, it will be the year 1200 and a new century is about to begin.

The Eagle Army's camp was brightly lit.

In the Middles continent, New Year is not a traditional festival.

But it has been nearly a year since this expedition, and the last time we were stationed in the castle was three months ago.

So Raven specifically ordered the entire camp to relax and take a rest.

Except for the soldiers who need to stand guard and patrol, every 10 people can get a small barrel of beer - about one cup per person.

It wasn't much, but it was enough for the soldiers to sit around the fire, eat stew, chat and laugh loudly in this cold night.

When they are having a good chat, they will dance their hometown dance around the campfire, with the melody of the singing floating in the air. Under the flickering light of the fire, it is quite leisurely and enjoyable.

The same goes for officers.

Eric, Visdon, including Linksimon, Akori whose injuries had basically recovered, and Lancha of the Independent Legion all gathered in the central tent.

Officers and soldiers have the same quota for alcohol.

It’s not that there is a shortage of supplies, nor is it a deliberate attempt to show the unity of officers and soldiers.

In fact, as long as you can lead your soldiers to victory continuously, they don't really care whether their commander enjoys more.

In the previous life, the nephew of a certain emperor would rather let his meat rot than give it to his soldiers. However, because he was able to bring one victory after another, his soldiers never mutinied, and instead were quite popular.

This restriction is purely because drinking too much can easily lead to mistakes, and it is not subject to human will.

In contrast, the dishes at the banquet were much more sumptuous than what the soldiers ate.

Of course, due to seasonal restrictions, the main products are smoked and grilled meats, and the freshest ones are the fresh fish that are chiseled out of the ice in the river.

The rarest thing was a few plates of lettuce with green leaves - this was rare in winter and was also the fastest to be eaten up.

With his mouth full of crisp vegetable leaves, Haiden chewed them with big mouthfuls, making a crisp sound, and then washed them down with half a cup of honey water. The dignified Viscount burped without any grace, waved his hand and shouted:
"Is there any more? Bring some more!"

"That's enough." Raven was speechless. "There were four pounds of lettuce in total, and three and a half pounds went into your mouth. That's not enough? You're from the Slater family, not the Bovina family."

Bovina means "bull" in the imperial language.

"You can't blame me for this." Hyde smacked his lips with a look of unsatisfied expression:

"I've been following you for three months, and now I finally get to celebrate, but I can't drink properly, and you won't let me eat anything?"

At this point, he winked and lowered his head: "How about you let Eric go out and rob the other side's logistics troops?"

Eric shouted, "I do!"

"If I go out two more times, I can save up enough money to buy a set of enchanted armor for my son!"

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an immediate burst of laughter, and everyone pointed at Eric and laughed and teased him.

There was a hint of sourness in his words.

During this period, Eric's heavy cavalry was dispatched three times and intercepted three waves of supplies from the city of Boland.

The wine, meat, and large basins of lettuce that everyone in the entire camp drank were all snatched back from there.

And Raven was always generous with his spoils, so Eric reaped a great deal.

Not only did he pay off the loan he owed to Raven, but he also accumulated a considerable fortune.

Raven also laughed, pointing at Eric's eyes and said:
"If there is, you don't have to volunteer. If I hear the news now, I can send you out in the next second!"

There was another round of laughter.

Everyone clamored and toasted Raven together, then continued to eat and drink.

Discipline is the most important thing in the military camp, but if you really want to relax, it is also the place with the most "no rules".

In the lively atmosphere, Hyde also felt a little itchy: "Raven, how about intercepting the other party's logistics troops next time and letting my people take action?"

"You've already asked for me, you can't just leave me there without using me, right?"

At this moment, someone said:
"Yes, the lady of Viscount Hyde's family, she can't use it even if she wants to!"

The scene fell silent for a moment.

When everyone remembered the fact that Hyde had just been married, they burst into laughter that almost overturned the tent.

Some officers laughed so hard that their faces turned red and they almost crawled under the marching tables.

Hyde froze in place for a moment, "Raven, you don't care!"

Not long after he finished speaking, he laughed out loud and shook his head helplessly.

"Bunch of bastards!"

Raven was also a little amused and helpless because he was also included in the joke.

The party continues.

But after all, we are in the military camp, and even if we want to relax, we can't stay up all night.

By the second half of the night, the officers in the main tent left one after another, some rested and some stayed on duty.

Hyde bit into half a parsnip, a turnip root, and sucked on the buds.

"Honestly, Raven, since you asked me to come here, you can't just not let me fight any battles, right?"

"The Battle of Thorn Ridge is a chapter that is destined to be passed down through the ages, but I am unknown. You should at least give me a chance to show my abilities this time, right?"

"Then my historian and poet who accompanied the army were brought in vain!"

When the word "historian" was mentioned, Raven's expression suddenly became a little strange.

After Hu Xia, who always called "my lord", left, the person who took over his job found the manuscript of his "masterpiece". After reading it, he did not dare to keep it to himself and gave it directly to Raven.

It gave Raven a big shock.

If he hadn't read the manuscript, Lei Wen would not have known that the reason he had won so many battles in a row was because he had a "phenomenal think tank" like Hu Xia by his side.

"Why, is there something wrong with what I said?" Hyde frowned.

"No, I just remembered something funny." Raven had burned the manuscript after reading it, and had no intention of letting it circulate in the world. Of course, he would not mention this dark history at this time:
"You can't do this job. Let Eric continue."

"This won't be the last war, you'll have plenty of opportunities to perform."

Hyde frowned. "What's the difference? I admit that I am far inferior to Eric in terms of personal strength, but it's just intercepting a logistics unit. How difficult is that?"

"You really don't know how to fight." Raven smiled.

Today, there are nearly 60 people in Bolan City, and the food consumed by people and horses every day is close to 200 million pounds.

In one month, that's 6000 million pounds.

Even if the defenders in the city carried a lot of food, they would eventually run out of food.

So Raven adopted the tactic of "surrounding the point and attacking the reinforcements".

Don't attack Bolan City, just target the logistics troops.

It mainly relies on the mobility and impact of heavy cavalry on the great plains.

For the same distance, it takes heavy cavalry one round trip while heavy infantry may only have covered half the distance.

Moreover, heavy cavalry can deal with opponents faster than heavy infantry and bring a stronger sense of oppression.

Now the food shortage of the defenders in the city is getting bigger and bigger, and the opinions of the nobles inside are not unified. If the time is delayed too long, there is a possibility that the nobles in the city will lead troops to support.

The troops going out to plunder would be attacked from both sides and suffer considerable losses.

Of course, Raven will win in the end.

But God cannot be hurt.

Raven was able to use more than 1 soldiers to force the 13 troops in Bolan City to not dare to go out, relying on the momentum of having won hundreds of battles before and with minimal losses.

Once there is some damage, the opponent may have the courage and determination to fight to the death.

Raven wasn't afraid of a decisive battle, but why would he cause himself trouble if he could avoid losses?

After saying all this, Hyde still didn't quite understand:

"...Oh no, why does my scalp feel itchy? Is it time to grow a brain?" With a leisurely smile, Raven turned and walked out.

Seeing that he didn't seem to be heading back to his camp, Hyde couldn't help but ask:

"What are you going to do?"

"secret!"

……

same moment.

Different from the joy in Raven's camp, Quentin, the Grand Marshal of the Principality of Eivor, looked quite haggard.

There were clearly three beautiful ladies lying beside him, all of them were aristocratic girls from knight families, with delicate skin and slim figures. Although they were a little restrained in bed, that kind of youthfulness had its own unique flavor.

Under normal circumstances, Quentin would be very happy, and it would be common for him to make a fuss all night long on a whim.

But now, Quentin just felt extremely empty.

Quentin stood up from the bed, wrapped himself in his bathrobe, and walked out of the room.

As soon as he opened the door, he couldn't help but frown.

This smell is so bad!
There are no so-called public toilets in the Principality of Eivor, and defecation and urination must be solved through toilets.

But now, with 60 people eating and horses feeding, and the four gates closed, the excrement in the city cannot be transported out at all.

There is no centralized storage location in the city.

So, it is not difficult to imagine where those things are dumped - under the city wall, in a corner where no one often goes, or under a haystack.

Then, their smell will flow through the vents and spread throughout the castle.

"Damn it--" Quentin covered his nose and cursed, then went to the study and lit incense, and only then did he feel better.

Fortunately, it is still winter. If it were summer...

But if the current situation continues, the war will most likely be delayed until that time.

When the ice and snow melt in summer, the flies and insects attracted by it, and the smell of the smoke, may even seep into the ground through the soil...

Quentin shuddered violently!
"We must find a chance to go back quickly!" Quentin said, and took out a pen and paper to write a letter.

The tip of the pen was hanging on the parchment and would not fall down no matter what.

How to go back?
The news of the Battle of Thorn Ridge has spread throughout the Principality of Eivor.

Nobles and commoners alike praised the courage of Fowler and his 2000 soldiers, and bards sang their praises.

The praise for Fuller is a yoke placed on Quentin.

What Fowler could not understand the most was that it was okay for others to be fanatical, but Eivor VIII, the Grand Duke, was as easily fooled as the common people!

Could it be that his mind is still at the child stage like a certain man's characteristics! ?

Not only did he ignore his sister's advice, he also repeatedly ordered himself to send troops to fight Raven.

Is it because I don't want to go out?

Yes.

But it's not just me!
He was a great marshal, without any soldiers or followers, and only had some personal guards with him.

The ones who actually commanded the troops were the three earls and one marquis.

When it comes to the right to speak, Quentin has it, but if these four people really unite and want to go to the battle, Quentin can't stop them.

But except for Frank, Gatugen's close confidant and loyalist, who kept clamoring to go to the battle, the other three were just trying to smooth things over!
He was tied to the stake inside and out, and the only thing left was to set him on fire.

"Sir." Quentin's chief guard knocked on the door and walked in after asking for permission:
"Urgent news."

"..." Quentin sighed silently: "...Tell me, how much did you lose this time?"

It's nothing more than a matter of logistical supply loss.

Quentin had even gotten a little used to it.

Tired, destroy it!

After all, he had been intercepted three times in a row.

The heavy cavalry moved like the wind. Every time we received news, they had already disappeared with their horses and carriages carrying goods.

There was simply no time to stop them, and when they arrived, all they could see were corpses everywhere - and more often than not, there were leather armors and weapons scattered all over the floor.

After all, there are not many troops that can maintain their formation and not flee directly when facing 1000 heavy cavalry charging.

Quentin couldn't help but scratch his neck and felt a little itchy in his throat.

The vegetables in the city had long been exhausted. These days, I had nothing but meat and honey wine. No matter how much water I drank, my throat was dry every day and my bad breath was hard to get rid of.

It’s all Raven’s fault for looting his logistics troops!

Thinking of this, Quentin felt the ulcer in his mouth become more and more painful.

The next batch of goods he ordered included a lot of high-end, refreshing wines. If Raven robbed them again...

Quentin's features were distorted.

But Quentin was relieved by the words of the Royal Guard Knight: "Sir, the next batch of logistics troops are still on the way and have not been robbed."

"That's good..." Quentin nodded.

He was thinking about whether he should send a few flying monsters to airlift the things he wanted.

But the thought was immediately driven out of my mind.

Not to mention, there are not many flying monsters in the city, and we also have to keep a close eye on the movements of Raven's main force.

Even if they could be transported here, the supplies in the city wouldn't last long.

At the latest, by next year - oh no, it should be June or July of this year, the food in the city will be almost exhausted.

It's not a good idea to keep dragging it out.

Whether he likes it or not, he has to fight this war, regardless of public opinion.

All of Quentin's power comes from Eivor VIII. If he is hated by him, then he, a child of a knight family, will be reduced to his original state.

Quentin really didn't want to experience again the days of being ordered around by real nobles and having even a baron bully him.

"Frank..." Quentin muttered.

Maybe it's time to meet with him privately and talk it over.

At that time, I will support Frank, let him take control of the military power, and have a decisive battle with Raven.

If he wins, he will be credited as the great marshal for his good command; and if he loses, he can also have someone to blame.

"Sir, do you already know?" asked the captain of the guards.

"Know what?" Quentin was a little confused, then he relaxed his brows: "Oh yeah, you said there was an urgent report, what is it?"

The captain of the guards took two steps forward and lowered his voice: "It's Count Frank's side..."

As the Marshal of the Duchy and a close minister favored by Eivor VIII, Quentin not only controls the Duchy's Royal Guards, but also controls the only intelligence force in the Duchy - Wolf's Kiss.

Now, every move of all the nobles in the city is under Wolf Kiss's surveillance.

The captain of the guards began to tell Quentin the intelligence he had collected. It was not long, but it made Quentin sweat on his forehead.

"Sir, this is a rare opportunity. Should we..."

Quentin pursed his lips: "No, don't act rashly."

The chief guard was a little anxious: "But sir, this is an opportunity to make the final decision..."

"I say, don't act rashly!" Quentin stared at the captain of the guards: "Although the merit is good, you have to be alive to get it."

"Also, don't tell His Royal Highness the Grand Duke about this for the time being."

"If your highness punishes me, I will bear it!"

……

(End of this chapter)