landbeastnovel #530 - Operational planning and troop movements
#530 - Operational planning and troop movements
"Why are things always so bad in Kasha County?!"
Crumpling the war report in his hand, Horne threw it into the fireplace in frustration.
The flames crackled as the paper curled and blackened, then turned into ashes.
The once noisy conference room, now the temporary staff headquarters, immediately quieted down several notches.
Even the rustling of the war report being copied was much softer.
Standing by the window, Horne took a deep breath of cold air, trying to cool down his feverish brain.
The cold winter wind finally blew in after frost flowers condensed on the window lattices, and the laborers working in the workshops had to light charcoal braziers to keep warm, adding a few more layers of clothing.
This winter was much better than the days of the past.
Because Langsand County had more than enough local grain, previous lords had deprived farmers of their rations to sell for profit.
Grain prices fell, and farmers didn't earn much money, but they wouldn't go hungry or freeze.
With cheap fuel like honeycomb coal, few people used charcoal anymore.
Horne stood by the window, watching the honeycomb coal smoke rising from the city, and his previous restlessness finally dissipated.
Ever since the Holy Sun Army reported that the former border knight commander, Lacunio, had led a new army that appeared out of nowhere to raid Kleisburg, no good news had come from Kasha County.
First, St. Ravan Monastery was breached, and the Brago Monastery was wide open.
Then, seven monasteries in the northwest jointly rebelled and joined the Church Army.
Then, the Brago Monastery failed to elect a new abbot after five rounds of elections, leading to each region acting on its own and being defeated one by one.
Even Ludwig's body had not been buried yet, saying it was under investigation, but that made Bro always hesitate and unable to make a decision.
Church knights were already attacking St. Ravan Monastery, and he was still writing letters to the major monasteries of the empire, asking them to uphold justice.
Horne didn't know how the old monk felt at the moment, but whether he regretted it or not, it was useless.
That newly arrived old knight, Lacunio, really pulled off a surprise attack in the Kleis Valley.
It was rare to be able to suppress those knights and infantry and complete such a difficult tactic.
Or rather, it should be said that this suddenly emerging new army had the motivation and strength to do so, but it was unknown what exactly was promised.
At their current speed, they would probably arrive at Brago Monastery next week.
Today was already December 22, 1445, and a week later would probably be around the New Year's Day.
He thought he could have a good New Year's Day at the end of 1445, but he didn't expect to have to fight again. How long could Shelley City, the headquarters of Brago Monastery, last?
"Your Excellency, news from Xiaochi City, and news from Greyrock Fortress to its northwest, says there are traces of Church Army light cavalry."
Before Horne could rest for long, another hurried report came from behind him.
Turning around, Raphael, with blisters on the corner of his mouth, was panting while holding the door frame.
"Understood." Exhaling a white mist, Horne closed the window of the conference room and walked to the wall, inserting a pin with a small church flag on the map paperboard.
Taking a step back, Horne looked at Kasha County on the map.
Kasha County's terrain was high in the northwest and low in the southeast. The mountains in the northwest were not very high, not even half as high as the relative height of North County.
The steepness there was only because it was steep, with a high slope, and the roads were narrow.
This mountain range was crescent-shaped, surrounding the northwest of Kasha County, forming a small basin with a humid and warm climate in the middle.
Going east from this basin was Xiaochi City, which Horne was familiar with.
The presence of Church Army light cavalry northwest of Xiaochi City meant that a portion of the Church Army knights had traversed a road in the basin and even reached the vicinity of Xiaochi City.
He couldn't wait any longer; he had to strike hard.
Horne picked up a soft-bristled brush and drew it across the Nao'an River on the map.
"Defending Yibe means defending Nao'an..." Horne murmured as he looked at the ink on the map.
This conclusion was an important conclusion discussed by Horne, Pasrik, Pettier, and others at the pre-war meeting.
The reason why the four southeastern counties were fertile, besides the fact that they were plains, was mainly because they all had large rivers running through them.
Snowmelt from the Furnace Highlands passed through the Roaring Corridor and went south to the Shattered Stone Plain, becoming the Upper Nao'an River.
The Upper Nao'an River passed through Upper River County and divided into two branches near Rapidstream City in Lower River County.
One branch went west and became the Lower Nao'an River, which converged with other rivers to become the rich golden land downstream.
One branch went south and ran through Kasha County, which was the Southern Nao'an River.
Almost parallel to it was the Yibe River in Langsand County.
The Yibe River originated from the Dragon's Rest Mountains on the east side of the Thousand River Valley, passed through North Munder County, Munder County, and South Munder County, and flowed into the Black Bone Swamp in Langsand County.
The lakes gathered in these swamps flowed partly into the mountains west of the Black Bone Swamp, forming a group of lakes called the Poison Witch Swamp in Deerhorn Township.
The other part went south through the mountains to the plains and merged, becoming a stepped waterfall, forming the current Yibe River downstream.
The Jeanneburg Canal connected the Yibe River with the tributaries of the Southern Nao'an River, allowing Langsand County to transport supplies to the outside.
Jeanneburg thus became the core capital and transportation hub of Langsand County.
Horne believed that defending the Yibe River meant defending the Nao'an River, for a simple reason: the Yibe River bisected Langsand County, and the area between it and the Southern Nao'an River was flat.
If the Church Army broke through the Southern Nao'an River, then at least half of Langsand County's territory would be exposed to the Church Army, with no natural defenses.
By relying on the relatively turbulent waters of the Southern Nao'an River to prevent Church knights from entering the Yibe Plain, this battle would not turn into a quagmire.
"Urgent order: the Black Hat Battle Group will mobilize three legions to Xiaochi City, burning the Southern Nao'an River crossings along the way and collecting ships.
The Third and Fourth Legions of the Guard Battle Group will go to Rapidstream City as the first batch of reinforcements to defend the Stillwater Dock and Deerhorn Township defense lines.
The First, Second, Fifth, and Sixth Legions of the Guard Battle Group will be the second batch, departing by ship from Jeanneburg, passing through Rapidstream City southward, and assisting the Black Hat Battle Group in blocking the enemy.
Tell Jeshka, doesn't he think Black Hat sounds bad and wants to change it to Black Crown Battle Group? If he wins this battle, I'll let him change it even if he wants to be called Black King Crown."
In Horne's dictation, a dozen privy monks quickly wrote and revised, scrolls of paper falling to the ground, and the faint stench of ink permeated the air.
The door of the conference room was temporarily dismantled, and the sound of footsteps and writing merged into one. Privy monks and monks went in and out, sending reports and orders in and out.
Usually, Horne could hold votes and parliaments, but once the holy gun fired, the whole country had to listen to him, with no objections allowed.
In any case, even making a bad plan was better than not making a plan.
"In addition, the Seventh and Eighth Legions of the Holy Machinery Court's Guard will go to the north of Daze Township to establish a temporary fortress at the mountain pass to prevent the Munder County Church Army from taking the opportunity to raid."
"Send a message to Luless, requesting support. If there's no time to send specific troops, then send more wizards. As long as we can hold the Southern Nao'an River defense line, I want as many as possible."
"Order Knight Kush of Golden River Township to recruit 500 rangers for reconnaissance along the riverbank and to advance with the second batch of support troops."
"Send a message to Deerhorn Township, reminding the Grey Horse Knight attacking Deerhorn Township that Prince Condé is very likely to launch a surprise attack, so be prepared."
"Immediately mobilize the grain in warehouses everywhere and transport it to Jeanneburg. As soon as the army departs, start transporting the grain."
Several privy monks quickly wrote down the orders, and Horne scanned them before signing and issuing them.
"Have Jeanne take three hundred holy gun cavalry and three hundred North bow cavalry to advance west with the first batch of troop transport ships."
"After the second batch of troops has assembled, go with me to the Southern Nao'an River front line."