When
"What are you doing?" Fatty Shi leaned over curiously, staring for a long while but still unable to make heads or tails of what Lorist was up to.
It was Bodfenger who, after studying the map for a while, finally caught on. "These look like troop deployment maps and march routes."
At Bodfenger's words, Fatty Shi looked at the annotations again and suddenly understood. "You're targeting Count Corbilly?"
Lorist nodded, picked up a smaller map, and drew a circle on it. "Look — this is Count Corbilly's sphere of influence."
Then, following the circle he had drawn, he sketched an arc outside it. "This was our original northward route plan, which would have bypassed his territory entirely. At sixty to seventy li per day, it would take twelve to fourteen days. But the land we'd pass through is either wilderness or territories already ravaged by Count Corbilly's troops and left without lords. Our caravan wouldn't be able to find supplies, and unexpected problems could easily arise."
"But if we change our route and go this way instead..." Lorist drew a straight line directly through the circle representing Count Corbilly's sphere of influence. "It would only take seven days, and the roads are flat with easy access to supplies. However, this requires one precondition — we must defeat Count Corbilly."
"Have you come up with any ideas?" Fatty Shi asked.
"Not yet. I've only been questioning the surrendered garrison soldiers to get a basic picture of the situation." Lorist shook his head. "I have a vague idea in mind, but I don't know how Count Corbilly will respond, so I can't be certain of the best way to defeat him." He picked up a book and placed it on the desk.
"You should help me think this through too. I might not be considering everything on my own. Reidi, go bring the Kirov War Chess set," said Lorist.
Kirov War Chess was a war-simulation board game invented a century ago by Marshal Bryn Kirov of the Roman Empire. Lorist felt it bore some resemblance to chess from his previous life, except the board was a map like in a game of Monopoly rather than a checkered pattern of black and white squares.
"This is Geldos City, the new city Count Corbilly is building in imitation of the royal capital." Lorist pointed to the book he had placed on the desk, then set down two mounted soldier figurines and four sword-bearing infantry figurines on top of it. "Currently, Geldos City is garrisoned by two lancer squadrons and one garrison battalion. What's worth noting is that one of the lancer squadrons and two squadrons within the garrison battalion were only recently formed, so their combat effectiveness isn't particularly strong. According to the surrendered garrison soldiers, Count Corbilly still has a small squad of heavy-armored shield guards above
Lorist then placed a saucer on the desk and set one cavalry figurine and one infantry figurine inside it. "This is William Mills Castle, garrisoned by one lancer squadron and one garrison squadron, nearly a thousand men in total. Facing them is the so-called noble coalition army of over four thousand. The current situation is that the noble coalition army is retreating steadily and stuck on the defensive. A bunch of useless trash."
After his dismissive remark about the noble coalition army, Lorist placed a cup on the table and set an infantry figurine inside it. "Here is Bodork Castle, the manor castle of Count Corbilly's original family territory, garrisoned by one garrison squadron. You see, Geldos City, William Mills Castle, and Bodork Manor Castle form a triangle, each supporting the others. No matter which point you attack, you'll be caught in a pincer by the other two. Unless your forces are overwhelming — several times the strength of Count Corbilly's family army — it would be impossible to dislodge the outer William Mills Castle and Bodork Manor Castle and bring the army to the gates of Geldos City."
"Fortunately, the sweep force that was originally garrisoned at Bodork Manor Castle, composed of a lancer squadron and a garrison battalion, has been completely wiped out by us. William Mills Castle dispatched one garrison squadron to hold Bodork Manor Castle, and their other lancer squadron, which had joined the sweep force, was destroyed by us as well. They're already at half strength and no longer a concern. My idea is to seize the chance while Bodork Manor Castle holds only one garrison squadron — insufficient in numbers and lacking mobility — by sending troops disguised as resistance fighters into Count Corbilly's family territory to carry out sabotage. This would lure Count Corbilly into sending troops out of Geldos City, and then we can take the chance to launch a sneak attack on Geldos City. Once we secure both Geldos City and Bodork Manor Castle, Count Corbilly will be finished — there will be no turning back."
"My lord, this plan of yours has great feasibility. Why are you hesitating?" Bodfenger asked.
"We're short on troops, and I'm also concerned that even if our northern caravan's family forces engage Count Corbilly's army head-on and win, the casualties will be heavy. In that case, not only would we lose control of the situation, but other interested parties might develop unhealthy ideas about our caravan. So I've been trying to think of ways to reduce our family forces' losses. It would be best if we could eliminate one more of Count Corbilly's lancer squadrons." Lorist shook his head with a bitter smile.
"My lord, I think our family forces are clearly stronger than Count Corbilly's army. How can you say we're short on troops?" Ross was puzzled.
Of the spearman battalion, the heavy-armored lancer cavalry squadron, the knight order, and the scorpion bolt cart squad — at the very least, they would have to leave behind one heavy lancer squadron and two spearman squadrons at the military camp to feel secure. The law enforcement squad needed to maintain order in camp, and the headquarters guard squadron needed to watch the prisoners. Even pulling some men from all of these would give them at most around two thousand troops. As for Yuri's light cavalry, one squad would stay behind for perimeter patrols around the camp, while the remaining three squads — one would serve as scouts for the main force, and the other two would form the strike force for the sneak attack on Geldos City.
"What Count Corbilly's response will be, we can only roughly speculate. If he hears that a resistance force of over two thousand has appeared in his family's territory, he'll very likely deploy his entire army — that is to say, the two lancer squadrons and the garrison battalion in Geldos City would all move out, giving his army over three thousand troops. Moreover, he could order several territory lords who've pledged allegiance to him to send troops as well, easily bringing his total force to around five thousand. That's why I say that if we face his army head-on, our casualties will be devastating. Even if we win, the losses would be enormous." Lorist patiently explained to Ross.
"Sigh..." Lorist let out a long sigh. "Actually, a few days ago when Sir
"Who would have thought those resistance forces are all cowards — not one of them willing to take the gamble. In the end, Sir Jossk lost heart and is preparing to bring his people over to join us."
Lorist introduced Sir Jossk's background and his hatred for Count Corbilly's family to everyone. "I greatly admire Sir Jossk, and I very much hope he'll join our
"Sir Jossk is indeed a devoted man! It's a good thing he's coming to join us — we should help him." Fatty Shi's heart went out to him after hearing Jossk's story. "But Lord Lorist, it seems you've overlooked a very important piece of intelligence."
"What intelligence?" Lorist asked.
"The night before last, when El was interrogating those surrendered garrison soldiers, I was nearby and heard one of them say that after receiving news of the camp being captured in the western mountains, the bastard son commanding that unit first sent a few lancers back to report to Count Corbilly, and only then ordered the troops to pack up camp and march back to attack the military camp. From the western mountains to Geldos City, it takes four days on horseback — which means today, Count Corbilly only just received the news that the camp was captured and learned that the sweep army was turning back to retake it. Lord Lorist, what you overlooked is what Count Corbilly's reaction would be on receiving this news — what response he would take." Fatty Shi said.
"Oh?" Lorist's eyes lit up. "If I were Count Corbilly, after receiving this news, and with the bad weather these past two days — constant snowfall — I'd definitely be worried about the sweep army's situation. I would immediately dispatch reinforcements, and the fastest to arrive would be the lancer squadrons under my command. From Geldos City to the camp, it takes three to four days on horseback — which means in three, four, or at most five days, Count Corbilly's reinforcements will arrive. We still have a good opportunity."
"Right. And also, Sir Jossk's family members are still in the western mountains, aren't they? We should make a big show of going to bring them back. While we're at it, we can spread the news of our victory over the sweep army among the resistance forces there. Even if those resistance forces don't believe it, they'll send people to investigate. And we can invite them to watch our battle against the reinforcements Count Corbilly sends. After we destroy that reinforcement force, we can say that Count Corbilly doesn't have many troops left and this is the perfect chance to raid his family territory. I'm sure those resistance forces won't want to be left behind — they'll rush in like madmen. Once they turn Count Corbilly's family territory into complete chaos, we can fish in troubled waters and first occupy Bodork Manor Castle. If Count Corbilly assembles a large army to come at us, we rally those resistance forces to form a standoff with him, and then secretly send our elites to sneak-attack Geldos City." Fatty Shi added fuel to the fire.
"Good, let's do it." Lorist clenched his fists excitedly. "There's no time to waste. Reidi, go invite Sir Jossk over."
After giving his orders to Reidi, Lorist looked at Fatty Shi, Yuri, Terman, Bodfenger, and Ross, and suddenly found it odd. "Say, how come you all came together? Is something the matter?"
Everyone finally remembered the reason they had come to see Lorist. Fatty Shi gave a bitter smile and said to Lorist, "My lord, the new military unit formations you've set up are excellent. The only problem is that we don't have enough warhorses. These fellows nearly came to blows fighting over the horse allocation."
They had managed to gather over two thousand horses, but even combined it wasn't quite three thousand. According to the formations Lorist had laid out, they needed at least four thousand warhorses — and that didn't even count the mounts required for the headquarters guard and the law enforcement squad. Terman, Yuri, Bodfenger, and Ross had been quarreling endlessly over the distribution of mounts, and in the end they had no choice but to come to Lorist for a decision.
Lorist laughed. "What's there to argue about? Everyone just put up with it for now. In four or five days, won't someone be delivering horses right to our doorstep? Honestly, once we defeat Count Corbilly, there will be plenty of horses and spoils to go around."
Lorist was referring to the fact that once they destroyed Count Corbilly's reinforcement force, they would have a fresh batch of warhorses in their coffers. After all, the lancers operated with two horses per rider and possessed extremely strong mobility.
Jossk followed Reidi inside, and on hearing about the horse shortage, said, "My lord, if you're willing to trade weapons and equipment with those resistance forces in the western mountains, you could get quite a few warhorses that way. I'd estimate five or six hundred at least."
Lorist nodded. "That works, but I'll have to trouble you with it."
He then laid out the strategy they had just decided on and introduced it to Jossk.
Jossk listened with a mixture of shock and delight. "My lord, you're planning to deal with Count Corbilly?"
"That's right," Lorist said. "Since we've already destroyed so many of his troops, we might as well uproot him entirely — save ourselves the trouble of him coming after us again in the future."
"My lord, I am willing to serve you..." Jossk bowed deeply, lowering himself in a full bow.