Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 359 Battle Plan
Three days later, Harvey arrived at Grizzlie Castle with Earl Fagan.

This was also his first time returning to the South since he moved to the Northern Wasteland three years ago. The Earl of Feigen and a group of vassal nobles were waiting outside Grizzly Castle to welcome their new lord.

This time, Harvey was accompanied by a battalion of Northern Army soldiers. On the one hand, they were responsible for the rotation of the Northern Army originally stationed in Grizzly Castle, and on the other hand, they also took on the external combat mission of Sancha Town in the south.

The rotation of the garrison was naturally the responsibility of the subordinate battalion officers. Harvey, led by Commander-in-Chief Pierce and his entourage, rejected Earl Fagan's invitation to go to the Earl's Mansion and went straight to the City Guard Command Post, which had been transformed into the Grizzlies Castle City Hall.

"According to reliable sources, the Baron of Sancha Town has detained our men and doesn't seem to intend to release them until he receives payment." Harvey sat at the head of the City Hall, looking down at the officials and nobles. "Whether their actions are due to past grudges with the Fagan family or sudden greed, they will undoubtedly pay the price."

He raised his hand and nodded to Earl Fagan, who was sitting below him, and said, "Based on your understanding of the baronial families of Sancha Town, will they make preparations in advance to guard against our sudden attack?"

Earl Fagan was obviously prepared. When Harvey asked about it, he immediately stood up and started talking.

"Your Excellency, from what I understand, the Baron of Sancha Town is not a man of wisdom or shrewdness, otherwise Grand Duke Ralph wouldn't have given up on recruiting him for the war. This idiot baron, who rose to power through nepotism, doesn't even have a full-fledged cavalry unit under his command."

"Oh? He doesn't even have a vassal knight?" Harvey asked in surprise. "Isn't he a legitimate hereditary baron?"

A minor noble whose family was involved in shipping trade stepped forward and replied with disdain and resentment, "My Lord, this fellow used to be just a river tax collector in Sancha Town. It wasn't until his sister became the fifth wife of Grand Duke Ralph that he suddenly earned the title of baron. But we've always jokingly called him the Watchdog Baron..."

This is not surprising. An honorary nobleman like this who has no farmland cannot maintain the dignity of a baron unless he makes some money by taking advantage of others. He can live a life of luxury by guarding an important river route like Sancha Town and casually ripping off passing shipping caravans.

After being criticized by a group of Grizzlies nobles, Harvey's move of sending ironclad ships south to Sancha Town suddenly seemed like an overkill.

……

After dismissing everyone, Harvey left Commander Pierce alone.

In fact, he did not reveal the real intelligence he had to the nobles of Grizzly Territory - the Baron of Sancha Town was indeed a short-sighted fool, but Grand Duke Ralph was not.

Ever since the former Earl Feigen and the coalition forces sent by the church were defeated at the border, the Grizzli Territory was brought under the actual control of the wizard lord Harvey. This series of changes had long aroused the vigilance of Grand Duke Ralph.

It is difficult to say whether the Baron of Sancha Town's sudden detention of people was hinted and acquiesced by Grand Duke Ralph, but it is undeniable that the fleet and some elite knights under the Grand Duke had secretly assembled a week ago, and had headed straight from Fengyuan City to Sancha Town two days ago.

"As for the land forces, leave it to those eager and enthusiastic Grizzli nobles who volunteered to fight... They can't contribute much anyway, so it's good enough that they can serve as a lure for the enemy." Harvey leaned over to look at the map spread out on the table and discussed with Pierce.

This was also Pierce's first time to fight in the southern border, and he had never experienced a dual-front battle on land and sea. Naturally, he looked as if he was facing a formidable enemy. Without waiting for Harvey to ask, he repeatedly discussed with his subordinate officers for several days to formulate a battle plan.

"The Ralph River is located at the fork in the river near Sancha Town. It's a suitable location for a battle!" Pierce pointed to a bend in the river upstream of Sancha Town and analyzed, "The armored ships need to be stationed here. To the south, they can bombard the Sancha Town docks, and to the west, they can directly block Grand Duke Ralph's fleet on the river."

"Grand Duke Ralph's troops are sailing ships. It will take approximately two days from Fengyuan City to reach Sancha Town," Harvey ordered bluntly. "The Northern Frontier Army will depart tonight and arrive at the designated battle site tomorrow evening."

Pierce asked doubtfully, "Don't we have to wait for the troops assembled by the Grizzlies nobles?"

Harvey shook his head and smiled, "It's better if they fall behind slowly, so that the spies sent by Grand Duke Ralph will mistakenly think they can ambush us in advance."

After the two finished their discussion, Harvey patted Pierce on the shoulder and said, "It's a shame I can't go south with you on the ironclad ship and personally command the Northern Army... This is our first time fighting on water, and directly against the Southern nobles."

Pierce thought Harvey's words hinted at a lack of confidence in his command ability, so he quickly bowed and said, "Sir, please rest assured. I will lead the response to this battle. I will definitely defeat Duke Ralph for you and seize control of Sancha Town!"

The inexplicable verbal military order made Harvey laugh and cry.

……

That night, at the dock outside Grizzly Castle.

Three ironclad icebreakers ready for launching were quietly moored in the deep-water dock area. Bright torches were lit on the embankment. Five hundred Northern Army soldiers lined up silently and boarded the ships one by one under the command of their superiors.

With three whistle blasts, the icebreaker's magic power instrument immediately activated full power operation. The sharp steel ram at the front of the icebreaker directly broke through the frozen ice on the river surface. Amidst a teeth-grinding sound of ice breaking, it sailed towards the lower reaches of the Ralph River at an increasingly faster speed.

Pierce stood at the bow of the first icebreaker, unaffected by the cold wind and ice at night, and repeatedly recalled the battle plan that the lord had personally told him before departure.

"After arriving at the designated combat position, first dispatch some soldiers to land on both sides of the river to establish a two-sided defense line."

"Once Duke Ralph's fleet enters the ambush section of the river, we'll first utilize the icebreakers' high maneuverability to deploy a two-flank formation to encircle the Duke's fleet. Once the three icebreakers complete the triangle encirclement formation, we'll launch a unified artillery attack on the enemy."

"If Duke Ralph's fleet disregards casualties and insists on breaking out of the encirclement and attempting a landing, the soldiers ambushed on both banks will immediately block them, making them sitting ducks for magic spears on the exposed riverbank."

As for the idiot baron stationed in Sancha Town... after we finish dealing with Baron Ralph's elite knight fleet halfway, and then fire a few artillery shots at Sancha Town from a distance, the town will probably raise the white flag of surrender immediately.

Pierce's only worry at the moment was the 500 serfs detained in Sancha Town. After nearly a week of freezing cold weather, lack of food and clothing, he didn't know how many healthy laborers could survive.

(End of this chapter)