Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 272: The last surprise before the Spring Festival
After hearing Orlstein's words, everyone relaxed, sat back in their seats, and looked at the military commander of the territory with ease.

Just as Su Li summarized, after this meeting, everyone was full of expectations and hopes for next year's career.

As long as there is stable development, the fiscal revenue and expenditure will gradually be balanced next year.

In this case, an easy battle and a large amount of spoils are indeed an opportunity to help the territory improve its finances.

So Su Li sat back in his chair, leaning against the backrest and armrests, looked at Orstein, and asked, "Then Marshal, please continue to introduce the details."

Orlstein replied calmly, "In the southwest of our territory, due to the unstable situation, a rebel army has emerged. They have captured cities and territories, and their strength has gathered, attracting a large number of peasant thugs, forest bandits, cultists, and Chaos Knights to join them."

"Their force has now reached over 3000 people, and they have destroyed four or five strongholds and at least two border territories. They are still wreaking havoc in the southwestern border."

"Through our scouts' investigation, we infer that this harsh winter has left them struggling to maintain their rations, forcing them to start the riot. Of course, it's also possible that the riot was secretly instigated by Tzeentch's followers. We've seen many Tzeentchian vanguards and Chaos Warriors among them, and there are even rumors of a Tzeentchian Blue Scribe among them."

"If there really is some powerful spellcaster in the enemy army, then we may have to ask Her Highness Eleria to join our team and help us fight against Tzeentch's powerful magic."

Rebels appeared?
This situation was indeed beyond Su Li's expectation. Considering the current strength of the territory, this was not really a pressure. To be precise, this could even be considered a big gift package before the end of the year.

The enemy force was about 3000 strong, including a large number of cannon fodder units such as peasant thugs and forest bandits. The main force was probably only a few hundred elite armored soldiers.

The Hessian Lord's 2000 elite troops, together with nearly 500 church knights, defeated them with one charge.

As long as it is confirmed that there are Chaos believers and demons inside, the Knights of the Church will definitely actively participate in the war. They will not even need Su Li's call, they will be fully armed and gather here on their own initiative.

This was their most important way to gain glory for the goddess. The primary purpose of the church's knights was to aid the human territories in their fight against the evil god's armies and to promote the church's teachings.

In this situation, hundreds of the 3000-plus rebels were killed in battle, hundreds more were purged and purified, and the remaining bewitched civilians and looters could only hold a few thousand, which could provide a large amount of slave labor for the territory after the Spring Rebirth Ceremony.

As long as these ordinary people are not exposed to chaos too much, there is still a possibility of salvation.

Morathi, the most beautiful woman among the elves, is a charming prophetess rescued from the army of Slaanesh by the Phoenix King Aenarion of the elves.

Furthermore, behind the empire's high-ranking officials and the prosperity of its cities, lurked countless devout believers of the Church of Tzeentch and Salaciousness. These people seemingly led ordinary lives, but in reality, they secretly colluded and plotted evil.

Even though many ordinary people have come into contact with them, they have no way of realizing that they are believers of the devil.

This is somewhat similar to the form of this rebel army. Those huge numbers of lower-class people are no different from civilians living in the city. Although they are ruled by Tzeentch or the followers of Seljuk, to be honest, the followers of Tzeentch may be too lazy to corrupt them.

Their only purpose is to die in ignorance and pave the way for the great conspiracy master, the Lord of Change, to succeed in his plans.

Su Li just asked cautiously: "With the devil involved, there won't be any special changes, right?"

Orstein said calmly and confidently, "Don't worry, my lord. This kind of rebellion is common in the border princely territories. Every winter, a group of civilians here, unable to endure the hardships of winter or bewitched by demons, rebel."

"Their riots won't be large in scale, nor will they last long. Almost all such riots will end in the same way: they will collapse and dissipate on their own due to the cut-off of supplies."

"Even if we ignore this rebel army, after a brief period of expansion, they will either collapse or be destroyed by other powerful pioneering territories."

"So I suggest we spread the news of our territory's bountiful harvest. We can advertise the opening of granaries to release grain and attract refugees. This will not only enhance our territory's reputation, but also attract a certain number of refugees, and perhaps even lure the rebels over. Otherwise, the journey is too long, and even if we defeat them, it will be difficult to transport the prisoners, and we will also consume a lot of food and fodder on the way."

Upon hearing this, Su Li nodded in agreement. Sending troops out to actively pursue the enemy was not in the interests of the territory.

To supply such a legion across hundreds of miles, the number of farmers required to maintain logistics may be several times as many, especially after the victory, when the army and prisoners may number nearly 4000 people.

The territory doesn't have to do anything else to supply food and fodder to such a large team all the way.

Escorting the prisoners is too slow; it would be faster for them to march here themselves.

After the Green Dragon War, the territory slowed down its external expansion a little. In addition to the need for revenge against Duke Archibald of Surander Province, the inability to withstand the supply pressure of external expansion was also an important reason.

If this legion can be successfully pacified before the end of the year and thousands of people can be captured, it will mean that the Hessen Territory has completed a military expansion.

So Su Li raised his hand and said calmly, "Then I'll leave this matter to you, Marshal. Since you've already proposed this plan, I believe you already have a detailed plan, right?"

Orstein replied confidently, "For such a simple battle, many generals and knights in our territory have already proposed numerous feasible plans. I reviewed them and feel that Griffin Knight Edwin's plan is a good one, so I plan to hand it over to him for command."

"Yes, I trust your judgment, my Lord Marshal. Give me the battle plan later and I'll take a look."

With the last matter arranged, the meeting came to an end.

Then Edwin personally reported his battle plan to Su Li. The core of the battle plan was still in line with the characteristics of the Church of the Goddess of the Fiery Sun. First, lure the enemy into the preset battlefield chosen by their side, and then defeat the enemy with an overwhelming advantage when the situation is completely favorable to their side.

Specifically for this battle, Edwin planned to send a caravan carrying a large amount of food to attract the attention of the rebels.

After the rebels took the bait, they retreated decisively, attracting the rebels to pursue them into an ambush.

The battlefield of the decisive battle was chosen in a basin called the Land of Falling Stars. It was a plain formed by a meteorite impact not far southwest of the territory. The terrain gradually rose from south to north, with huge meteorite fragments scattered on the ground, and then a series of steep cliffs formed on the north.

The reason for choosing this place was that there were 4 cannons and 3 mortars set up on the north side, which could cause huge damage to the rebels from a high position.

However, the dwarves would not open fire the moment the rebels entered the range. Instead, they would wait until the rebels were halfway within the range and then fire fiercely with all their might, putting the rebels in a dilemma.

To continue charging forward, they would have to charge from the lowlands to the high ground, facing a barrage of bullets from a large number of dwarf musketeers and halfling archers in the north of the basin.

But if they retreated, they would be attacked and covered by artillery fire continuously, and they would not be able to maintain their formation.

Then at this time, the human cavalry launched a fierce attack on the rebels who were retreating in large numbers. The rebels were scattered and had no way to form an effective counterattack.

Neither Orstein nor Hilde will participate in this battle, as it will be used to train new generals.

In order to ensure Edwin's victory, the handsome Gilles will lead the knights to cooperate with him.

At the same time, in order to prevent any demons or chosen ones from appearing among the rebels, Ailiriya will help to take charge.

Of course, unless the opponent has a powerful spellcaster, Ailiriya will not take action.

This was also the first time that Ailiriya cooperated with the Hessen-led army, which already had the prototype of the empire's main army.

Some of the empire's electors would ride dragons into battle, but most preferred their own griffins. The emperor, for example, preferred to keep his dragons in the royal menagerie while riding his own griffins into battle. Su Li had no particular fondness for griffins; he was determined to become a dragon rider.

Especially since Alyria is a beautiful little dragon girl, Su Li does not hesitate to ride her into battle in various ways.

After reading the battle plan, Su Li rode on Ailiriya to practice knightly skills for a whole night, and then ordered the army to set out the next day to prepare for an ambush.

The first wave of caravans that set out were undoubtedly the ones sent to lure the enemy. In this world, caravans were often also responsible for espionage and intelligence work.

The caravan's route deliberately passed through areas of frequent rebel activity. Its flags clearly displayed the Hessian emblem, and its crew consisted of scouts and lightly armed troops disguised as merchants. Along the way, they deliberately abandoned damaged wagons loaded with sacks of grain, even allowing rebel captives to observe their movements. All of this signaled to the rebels: "There's plenty of food and fodder here, easily accessible."

Sure enough, the rebels quickly took the bait after discovering the caravan. Driven by hunger and greed, they abandoned caution and launched a frantic pursuit of the caravan.

But they didn't know that the caravan members were so bold because they were all veterans, with eagle-eye vision blessed by the Sun Goddess. They were able to toy with the bloated rebels at their fingertips.

So when the rebels pursued the caravan into the Starfall Land, they were ecstatic at the sight before them: on the vast plains, a huge human caravan was slowly moving northward.

The rebels howled with excitement as they rushed into the basin and gave chase.

And what happened next was a foregone conclusion.

Following Edwin's plan, he had already arranged artillery positions within the northern cliffs. Four cannons and three mortars were hidden in the gaps between the meteorite fragments and the cliffs, their muzzles pointed south, and all the firing parameters were calculated.

When the rebels were about halfway to the cliff, the dwarven artillery decisively opened fire. Instantly, the artillery roared! A massive explosion echoed across the plain, and projectiles rained down upon the rebel ranks. Meteorite fragments were blasted everywhere, instantly disrupting the rebel formation.

The dwarven artillery not only inflicted immense physical damage but also created a psychological deterrent. The rebels immediately realized they had been ambushed. This ragtag group's performance was even worse than the professional officers of the Hessian Territory had imagined. Some continued their reckless pursuit, while others, terrified, retreated hysterically.

The entire formation fell into chaos after only a few rounds of bombardment. The 3,000-man army had completely lost its organization, scattered across the plain like loose sand, stretching for more than ten miles. In this situation, they couldn't even coordinate with each other, let alone resist.

Just when the rebels were in chaos, Gilles' cavalry troops attacked decisively from the east and west sides. The cavalry swept the flanks of the rebels like the wind, and completely defeated the already chaotic rebels.

The rebels' collapse was far faster than expected. They sought cover to avoid the cavalry's charge, but the vast expanse of the Starfall Land offered no natural barriers. The knights' hooves trampled the bodies and wounded of the rebels, staining the meteorite-struck ground red with blood.

However, they were too scattered and stretched out to cause no harm to the cavalry. They were like lambs to be slaughtered. A defeated soldier would often face the siege of more than a dozen elite knights, while his other comrades might even be dozens of meters away.

In this situation, there was indeed a Tzeentch spellcaster in the monster wave, but there was no chance of reversing the situation.

Irelia had been hovering in the air, and when she found that there were not many guards around the opponent's spellcaster, she decisively swooped down from the air and relied on the green dragon's rugged and hideous bone spurs to cut the spellcaster into pieces in close combat.

This form of warfare is the green dragon's favorite.

Our side has more people and more power, and the outcome is already decided. When the enemy is about to be defeated and our side has launched an attack with great enthusiasm, the insidious and cunning Green Dragon, who has been observing for a long time, takes decisive action, thus determining the outcome of the battle.

After the war, Ailiriya transformed into a human form and stood on the cliff, looking at the countless captives kneeling below, her cold brows slightly frowned.

This was also how she had originally planned to fight the war against Hesse.

But for some reason, the final outcome was that she had to be blindfolded every night, kneeling on the white sheets, and being conquered and whipped by Su Li.

Of course, Su Li was not aware of Ailiriya's doubts.

On the last day of this year, the night before the Spring Creation Ceremony was about to begin, Hildur found Su Li in the hot spring and reported to him the good news of victory in the war.

"My Lord, Edwin Gilles has sent back a report of victory from the front. We have killed the rebel leader and wizard in battle."

"Edwin handled the aftermath of the battle with great care, ordering the execution of 845 Greenskin warbands, cultists, Chaos Knights, and particularly heinous raiders."

"1742 peasant thugs, forest robbers, and some badland vagrants were captured."

Su Li leaned against the rockery in the hot spring, enjoying the gentle massage given to him by Ingrid. After killing Duke Archibald, his reputation skyrocketed, and no villain dared to cause trouble again, so he had enjoyed and visited many places in the territory recently.

Even in some holy places, he left many traces of training with Ingrid and Ailiriya.

With his mind relaxed, his cultivation progress showed signs of a subtle breakthrough.

This made him secretly surprised. Could it be that he was really a genius in cultivation?
If he continues to develop at this rate, he might really break through to the high-level elite knight next year, and even the champion knight is not out of the question.

So he had been in a good mood recently. Lying on his back, he asked, "Are there any greenskin warbands among the rebels? Are they mercenaries? Do we have any special prisoners among them?"

Greenskin warbands are sometimes hired by rebels, and there are even some notorious greenskin mercenary groups.

Many races in this world are known for their ability to serve as mercenaries.

In this regard, the Ogre Mercenaries are of course the best.

Hirud nodded and replied, "We captured approximately 230 ogres inside. However, they have been targeted by the halfling caravans that followed our army to provide supplies and seek business opportunities."

"The halflings are willing to purchase these captive mercenaries from us for 10 gold pieces each. They will also purchase elite ogre bull warriors for 230 gold crowns."

Su Li's mouth curled up. Everything was just as Marshal Orstein said. This was an opportunity.

Before even having time to process the spoils, he had already earned nearly 3000 gold crowns.

It would be great if every battle was so easy. By fighting two or three battles a month, we could accumulate a considerable amount of wealth for the territory.

But that wasn't the end. Hildurd continued, "We've also selected elite warriors from among the captives to replenish the Blacksteel Knights of Atonement. This time, we've selected three elite knights, ten official knights, and 3 apprentice knights. These individuals were former fugitives from the Empire, thugs, wandering knights, or looters, and have committed many crimes. We plan to have them serve in the Blacksteel Knights of Atonement for a period of time to cleanse themselves of their sins before considering whether to incorporate them into our territory."

Su Li nodded in satisfaction. With the addition of 40 new knights, the size of the Black Steel Redemption Knights reached 300 people.

The value of these 40 knights alone is close to 1000 gold crowns based on the value of their slaves.

The remaining labor force is worth at least 5000 gold crowns.

This battle will earn you at least 10000 gold crowns.

Su Li smiled and said, "This is good news on the last day before the Spring Birth Ceremony. It's a good omen. Tell them to return to the territory as soon as possible and prepare to start production immediately after tomorrow's grand ceremony! We missed this ceremony last year, so we must hold it in a grand manner this year."

(End of this chapter)