chsdbacks #566 - Final Battle and Liberation
#566 - Final Battle and Liberation
When Prince Condé advanced to the outskirts of Hotham County, it was already March 20, 1446, Imperial Calendar.
After successively capturing two rebellious earls and looting three rebellious monasteries, Prince Condé's army set up camp at Chuck Monastery, 110 miles away from Flying Falls.
After ten consecutive days of rushing and fierce fighting, even the incredibly enduring Transcendent Knights had to take a temporary rest.
On the one hand, they needed to wait for the arrival of the infantry from the rear, and on the other hand, they had to conscript food, arm farmers, and hire wandering knights on the spot.
Because this was a long-distance reinforcement of hundreds of miles, Prince Condé and his men did not carry much food, especially the rations for the rear infantry and the fodder for the warhorses were in considerable shortage.
As for arming farmers and knights, that was just a matter of convenience.
The church and monastic orders were the two largest landlords in Hotham County. Currently, the nobles in Hotham County stood against Prince Condé, while the monastic orders remained neutral.
Therefore, after the Thousand River Valley Church in Flying Falls became dysfunctional, the manor-armed farmers and knights under the church naturally joined Prince Condé's ranks.
Although the number was not large, it was enough for collecting and transporting grain.
The midday sun was shining brightly, but the scorching sunlight failed to heat the marble round table, because the cold winter wind still lingered in the courtyard.
The not-so-narrow stone bench was like a small stool under the prince's buttocks, and he, draped in a furry animal skin cloak, looked like a large hibernating bear.
The weather was not cold, but the prince, wrapped in his coat, was shivering uncontrollably, yet the white vapor exhaled from his mouth was incredibly hot.
Two high-ranking monks, one on each side, were sweating profusely as they cast blessings on Prince Condé, alleviating and suppressing the toxicity brought by the Dragon Potion.
He had obtained these three bottles of Dragon Potion from the old Pope.
At that time, he asked the Pope for Dragon Blood Horses, but the Pope refused.
Then he asked for three bottles of Dragon Potion and then the Dragon Blood Horses, and the Pope quickly approved it, and also told him that the consecrated monks were ready, and he could be promoted at any time if he wanted to.
But he kept delaying it, and delayed it until Pope Johnny VIII died, but he didn't expect it to really come in handy.
When the prince no longer exhaled scalding breath, the two exhausted monks left with assistance, and the long-waiting company commander Edmund stepped forward and bowed.
"The grain carts have been robbed again?" Prince Condé asked with his eyes closed, showing no sign of anger.
"Yes, they burned our grain carts with Fireball spells. Oristo went after them, but was ambushed by their infantry, suffering a dozen knight casualties, and retreated."
Prince Condé remained silent with his eyes closed, at a loss for words.
Since they arrived, the Salvation Army had discovered the problem with their supplies.
From their arrival on March 17th, for the past three days, Myra's light cavalry archers and Grush's orc hussars have been constantly attacking the supply convoys.
To this end, the cavalry archers and hussars did not hesitate to destroy bridges and roads in large numbers, and constantly harassed and raided, disrupting the rest of Prince Condé's army.
Those nobles and knights were no match for Prince Condé in field battles, so they fortified their walls and cleared the fields, hiding in manor castles and refusing to come out.
Originally, Edmund and the others wanted to retaliate in kind, but were rejected by Lacunio.
Hotham County was no longer the home field of the Edict Legion. They were fighting away from home and did not have an advantage in the first place.
After the fall of Flying Falls, the entire Hotham County basically entered a state of anarchy, because the Thousand River Valley people who hated the church because of the Blue Blood Incident also hated Prince Condé because of the Lancer Corps Incident.
A rash attack without infantry cover would likely lead to a repeat of the Black Lettuce Village ambush.
The clashes between the Edict Legion and the hussars these days could prove this point.
With the support of infantry and civilians, the casualty ratio between the two sides could reach 1 to 2.5, meaning two and a half hussars or infantrymen could take down one Edict Legion knight.
Although most of them were squire-level knights, it was still an absolute loss for the Edict Legion.
"I heard Melia mentioned Stillwater Dock?" Sitting quietly on the stone bench, Prince Condé gasped for breath before asking.
"They arrived yesterday, and the latest developments have not yet been scouted clearly."
"How are the soldiers settled in?"
"They have been resting for a day, and they basically all know breathing techniques, so their recovery speed is very fast. Lord Lacunio distributed the monastery's wealth as rewards last night, and the soldiers are in high spirits."
"Have they scouted out the enemy camps on the front line?"
"They have scouted out one, but the number of people cannot be determined. There may only be 2 companies."
"In that case, let's set off tomorrow and eat their 2 companies first." Prince Condé opened his eyes and instructed Edmund calmly, "Have Lord Lacunio come to me for lunch."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Walking out of the small courtyard, Edmund breathed a sigh of relief, not only because of the majesty of the Grand Knight Prince, but also because he had received the news that he could finally go to battle.
This decisive battle was a relief for the high-ranking knights of the Edict Legion like Edmund.
This Edict Legion under Prince Condé was half composed of remnants of the Goldfinch family from the previous dynasty, and half of new knights who joined later.
The former, led by Lacunio and Edmund, hoped to revive the Goldfinch family's reputation and gain a foothold.
The latter, led by Boareau and Ellard, were mostly bankrupt coastal knights who hoped to obtain new territories in the Thousand River Valley.
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Since its establishment, these nine Edict Legions have basically maintained this number and composition, and they have been fighting for more than ten years with the same group of people.
Although there have been defeats, there have never been large-scale reductions in personnel, let alone such great pressure.
But the Thousand River Valley War made these veterans of the Edict Legion feel like they did during the first battle of Windmill Land.
In the beginning, they were unstoppable, easily taking down the rebels in Small Pond City and chasing that short-haired fellow everywhere.
But since the Blue Blood Incident, the situation has quietly changed.
First, Duke Danet of Kush of Jeanneburg was killed, and then an Edict Legion led by Boareau and himself were completely wiped out in Langsand County.
The northward offensive against Melia Ti was even more unsuccessful. In the face of overwhelming arrow rain, four Edict Legions were reduced to half strength within half a year.
Then, the Battle of Rapid Stream City was difficult to capture for a long time, and after the Salvation Army reinforcements arrived, the Edict Legion's troops were once again systematically annihilated.
For the first time, the Edict Legion's replenishment speed could not keep up with the intensity of the battle, and today the proportion of Edict Legion veterans has dropped to less than two-thirds.
The Edict Legion had not fought such a tragic war for quite some time.
Compared to the Liane Civil War, neither the duke brothers nor the king had lost more than one company of Edict Knights so far.
The company commanders had discussed this topic more than once. In the past, they wouldn't even need Lacunio's plan to defeat the enemy.
However, even with this plan that showed no flaws, it was still torn apart by the Thousand River Valley people.
Now, even Prince Condé had to admit that the Thousand River Valley Salvation Army and the Herma Stone Duke's army were their evenly matched opponents.
This time, they were not a simple suppression or return for aid, but a decisive battle in a desperate situation.
Walking through the corridor in a daze, Edmund stopped in front of Lacunio's room and knocked on the door: "Lord Lacunio, His Highness invites you to lunch with him."
Early the next morning, the squire knights rushed out to disperse the nearby surveillance cavalry, and then Prince Condé led hundreds of Edict Knights and nearly ten thousand elite infantry out of the large camp set up in Chuck.
Between the King's Road and the verdant fields, the Salvation Army's hussars fought fiercely under the azure sky.
Reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance, attacks and counter-attacks, were staged in turn.
Prince Condé and his army, like the eye of a vortex storm, advanced quietly on the King's Road, and the Salvation Army camp was only 30 miles away.
Imperial Calendar, March 21, 1446, Prince Condé, who had rested for three days, officially marched on Flying Falls.
This day was a sunny and bright day.