Heroes of Might and Magic: Knight Chapter 602: Decision
"Richard, the Charman family has never owed anything to our Hunter family."
Viscount Sauter was originally a person with no great ambitions, and he had never had any thoughts about the chair in the royal capital. When he was the lord of the Hunter Territory, Sauter's greatest wish was just to keep the fiefdom his father had fought for on the battlefield, make the territory more prosperous, and then train one or two knights among his descendants to take over.
And unlike time-travelers like Richard, Viscount Sauter has a knight father, who is more or less a rentier class. He also has feelings for the Golden Dragon Kingdom. In addition, since the rise of Richard, the kingdom has gone from being a lord to a prince. He was granted the title of king and even directly allocated the valley land to the Hunter family. He was not stingy at all. Viscount Sauter's feelings for the kingdom have not changed.
Although there was no intention to directly interfere with Richard's decision, the tendency was still obvious.
Everyone here stopped talking at this time, but focused their attention on Richard. After all, it was Richard who could ultimately make the decision on this matter.
"Where is General Gru now?"
After retreating from the Longxiguan battlefield, Gru did not lead his troops directly back to the North. Instead, under the instructions of Richard, he acted according to the situation while protecting himself, and abducted more than 100,000 Longxiguan soldiers. They retreated all the way to the central plains, and in the process of retreating, they also collected part of the defeated troops. Counting the original group of 100,000 elites who followed Richard on the Orc Plateau on the northern front, Gru this time At that time, he actually had nearly 200,000 troops in his hands.
Although there are over 100,000 defeated troops, these are still the most elite troops in the human kingdom. With a little reorganization and equipment replenishment, they will soon be able to regain their fighting strength.
"Lord Gru is currently stationed in Sirgrad City. Some time ago, he also replenished a batch of grain, grass and equipment from the river valley."
Sirgrad is located directly north of the Royal Capital, right at the transit point between the river valley and the Royal Capital. Whether one is going north from the Royal Capital or south from the Valley, this is an unavoidable strategy. Points.
Especially at this special time, if the orcs want to completely blockade the royal capital and block the support from the north from entering the royal capital, Sirgler City is a point that the orcs must win.
"Where are the original Kingdom troops and officials in Slgrad City?"
There is no problem with Gru's strategic vision and commanding ability, otherwise Richard would not have handed over nearly half of the system to his command, and even Moriel, Taize, Taris, Sir Mrak, Lao Suo and other heroes were under his command.
Such an army seems to only have 200,000 people. If Gru really wants to take action and fight regardless of casualties, the strength of Gru's men can withstand an army of 500,000 to 600,000 people.
The city of Sirgrad is indeed a choke point. The Jinlong River flows down from north to south. It is very convenient for the army of the North to go south. Therefore, even if the comprehensive military strength of the North was not strong in the past, the kingdom will The valley is in control.
To avoid any trouble in the North, the army went directly down the river and carried away the royal capital. In the past, even if it was only one in ten thousand, the nobles in the North had a fit and wanted to rebel, so they went south along the Jinlong River. , will also be stopped in the river valley first, and the significance of the city of Sirgrad is not that great.
But since the river valley has become Richard's territory, the importance of Sirgrad City has become highlighted. Although in Ren's judgment, Richard will not directly rebel and go south to attack the royal capital, but Instinctively, they strengthened their control over Sirgel. Even though there was a legion of garrison troops in the city of Sirgel, they also sent a part of the Imperial Guard to garrison.
Even when the troops on the Longxingguan front line were at their most tense, a full 50,000 troops were stationed in Sirgel City just to control this choke point.
There is no strategic problem at all in Gru's control of Slgrad City. The only problem is how he took over such an important city from the kingdom.
"General Gru directly ordered the city lord of Slgrad City to open the city gate and recruit the garrison in the city. Maybe after a while, Lord Gru will have an army of 300,000 in his hands."
"Can the lord of Slgrad City obey Gru's orders?"
"Lord Gru asked the army to surround the city of Sirgrad, and then he and Lord Moriel took the dragon to visit the city lord's mansion, and the other party was very cooperative."
That's right...
"What was the reaction from the Kingdom?"
At this time, the Beidijia River Valley is in the hands of Richard. He has hundreds of thousands of troops under his command, and there are so many strong men that it is unreasonable. Now Richard's generals suddenly took over the city of Sirgrad. In such a sensitive area, the kingdom should express its response.
"The news came from Yusidu two days ago. The royal capital sent people to officially appoint General Gru as the lord of Sirgel City, and also sent some supplies."
"Tsk, as expected of His Majesty Ren, he is always sober."
If it were an ordinary monarch, if he knew that the Northern Army actually seized such a sensitive point, he would be furious, let alone sending troops to attack.
Ren was free and easy. He simply handed over all the defense of Slgrad City to the Northland army, as if he was completely lying down. If Richard had any evil intentions now, there would be no need for the orcs to attack. The earth army can seize the Golden Dragon City immediately if it goes south.
"Uncle Egg, how is our current food reserve?"
"We have been purchasing grain from the Central Plains since the beginning of last year. With the bumper autumn harvest, all official warehouses are full of grain and many temporary grain cellars have been built."
There is no shortage of food in the Northland and the River Valley, especially the River Valley, which can even be regarded as a small granary of the kingdom. The common people who are squeezed by the nobles generally will not go hungry, and the nobles and big families in Li Before Cha took over, basically every household had enough food for several years.
After Richard completely ruled the north, and after a series of measures to divide the land, reclaim wasteland and build water conservancy, the grain output in the north almost doubled. Based on the current reserves, it was enough for Richard to spend several years.
"Where are the weapons and armor?"
"After the ordnance factory made extensive use of water hammer forging technology and introduced assembly line operations, its output increased significantly. Soldiers of all first-class legions can wear a cloth armor on the outside and a mail armor on the inside. The Legion is also in the process of changing its equipment. The only thing that limits our equipment output is the supply of iron ore."
The Northland army, especially the Dragon Army, Flying Bear Army, and Griffin Army, have been extravagant to the point of having one person and three armors.
Wearing cloth armor on the outside, mail armor in the middle, and a lining made of thick cloth and leather on the inside to reduce the damage from shield strikes. It is basically the ultimate in armament. This kind of thing is very popular in the kingdom. Equipment that only a handful of elite and noble private soldiers can afford has been equipped on a large scale in the North.
Facing the orc army, the basic combat power of human soldiers was indeed far behind, and Richard could only try his best to make up for it with equipment.
"What's going on with the iron ore supply?"
“The output of the ore veins discovered in the Iron Wood Forest is not large, and it can no longer support the use of the ordnance factory. I have been purchasing ore from the Central Great Plains and the Western Region. Now the price of iron ore is getting more and more expensive, and the orcs are blocking it. There are many business routes, so it’s hard to buy.”
"Now that the ordnance factory is consuming the part of the ore it previously stored, it may consider appropriately reducing production..."
"There is no need to reduce production. I will find a way to deal with iron ore so that the ordnance factory can continue to expand its production capacity and there will be consumption in the future."
Weapons and equipment cannot be made and used forever. When the war begins, not only bows and arrows, but also armor can be made into consumables. How could Richard let the ordnance factory reduce production.
The problem of iron ore may have given Richard a headache before, but after the establishment of the teleportation array in Harbor City, all problems have been solved.
Richard can directly send people to purchase the ore from the southern dwarves, load it on ships and sail all the way along the Longjiang River to Harbor City, and then send it directly to Miracle City through the portal of Harbor City. This can not only solve the problem of insufficient iron ore problem, transportation costs can be lower than before.
There was enough food, grass and weapons, and strategic points had been captured. At this time, Richard had nothing to hesitate and immediately stood up and ordered:
“Order the Dragon Army, Griffin Army, Tiger and Leopard Army, Flying Bear Army, and Silver Wing Army to all assemble towards Piaoxue City, and then ask the Demon Suppressing City to mobilize kobold warriors from five legions as auxiliary troops. Board the ship from Piaoxue City and prepare to go south! ”
"Sir Richard! If all the legions go south, the North will be completely empty."
As soon as Richard's order was given, a general couldn't help but remind him that according to the legions that Richard named, if they were all dispatched, there would be more than 500,000 troops. Except for the valley garrison, almost all The regular regiments were transferred away, and the Northland became completely undefended.
"No, there are still garrison troops and peasant soldiers. When mobilizing the army, all peasant soldiers should be mobilized to maintain order in the north. Don't let the young people make trouble, and let the peasant soldiers bear some of the transportation. The task of food and grass.”
Although the population under Richard's rule is not large, only about one-twentieth of the entire kingdom, his mobilization ability is definitely beyond the reach of the kingdom.
The mobilization of half a million troops is just a matter of course. Peasants and soldiers who have been trained on weekdays can be pulled out at any time to fill the previous gap. Peasants and soldiers in the North are different from the numb cannon fodder in other places.
In addition to being equipped with their own various weapons and armor, they are not bad at all. As long as Richard provides the equipment and a little training, they can be used as regular troops immediately.
"Sir, the full mobilization of farmers and soldiers will definitely affect next year's grain production."
"The official warehouses in various places can cope with it. Besides, without peasants and soldiers, we have to produce. Let each village organize the elderly, children and healthy women to produce as quickly as possible to minimize losses."
"Yes, sir!"
Seeing that Richard was very determined, no one tried to persuade him. The Northland could indeed afford luxury at this time. Even if the grain output dropped significantly in a year or two, he could still afford it.
Besides, each village has organized left-behind women, elderly children, etc. to maintain production, and food production will not be reduced too much. Half a million regular troops directly participate in the war, and more than two million peasant soldiers with good combat capabilities will assist them, if necessary. , and can expand the scope of mobilization, and then mobilize the same number of peasants and soldiers, the war potential of the Northland has just begun to show its ferocious meaning.
Now, although Richard has not yet said it clearly, his intention to mobilize all regular legions and peasant soldiers is already obvious.
Go south and fight the orcs!
No matter what everyone's thoughts were before, now that Richard has made his decision, all they can do is execute the order meticulously.
"It will take at least fifteen days for the army to assemble in Piaoxue City. What is more important is whether the food and supplies needed by the army can be delivered on time."
"I can guarantee this, the food and supplies needed by the army will never be delayed."
"I can rest assured that Uncle Egg will do his job."
"Are there enough ships in Piaoxue City?"
"The ships needed for an army of half a million people..."
“The Navy’s warships are definitely not enough, but some merchant ships can be requisitioned, as long as part of the compensation is given.”
There are also several rivers passing through the Northland. Of course, there are also naval forces. However, because the river network in the Northland is not dense and the navy is not large, transporting 500,000 troops must be difficult. Fortunately, now the Northland business With the development of the country, the Longjiang River was crowded with merchant ships. Some large merchant ships were even larger than the troop transport ships of the Northland Navy, enough to recruit a huge fleet.
"Let's all take action. Within fifteen days, I want all the legions to set off along the Longjiang River."
"Yes!"
Under the influence of Richard, the civil and military personnel in the North developed a very capable style. As soon as Richard said these words, there was no delay. He stood up and answered yes and left the meeting hall as quickly as possible. The army also returned There is the mobilization of various supplies. For Richard, it is a matter of just one sentence. Arrangements are complicated. They will be busy in the coming days and must seize all the time.
Under Richard's rule, the entire Northland had actually been turned into a war machine by Richard. This time, under Richard's order, it finally started operating at full speed. In addition to the powerful creatures of the system, the entire continent You will also meet a monster named "Pengzhan".
…
The orcs still made a fatal mistake. They gave Richard too much time.
If you look at it from the perspective of the kingdom, the orcs are advancing too fast. From the time the Dragon Breathing Pass was breached to the time when they threatened the royal capital, all the previous arrangements only delayed the orcs for three or four months. time. At this point in time, the kingdom had lost nearly one-third of its population before it even had time to carry out the second round of mobilization.
For Richard, three or four months is long enough. During this period, his strength has broken through the realm, and he will no longer be unable to fight back when facing that terrifying old orc. , it has grown to the point where he has subdued the Snow Giant and the Sea Tribe, gained a lot of war dividends, and grown to the point where the system's military strength has more than tripled...
Richard evacuated from Longxing Pass because he did not want to make unnecessary sacrifices, and now, Richard has the confidence to confront the orcs head-on...