Harland's territory lacks strength, and Richard doesn't want to be in the spotlight now.
Only when the territory develops to a higher level, reaching the level of a hereditary earl, will Richard need to make a name for himself.
The reputation has spread, which is very beneficial to the Haaland territory in recruiting talents.
Increased reputation can also reduce the hostility of surrounding nobles and reduce the pressure on Richard to carry out reforms.
But there is a major premise, that is, the strength of Haaland's territory must be outstanding.
At the very least, to be promoted to earl, a population of 300,000 and 10,000 elite soldiers are the basic requirements.
Time entered March, and the orcs once again led their troops south.
Cries of death and trumpet sounds continued to sound from every corner of the northern border.
The orc army once again appeared in the northern part of the Harland Valley.
This is already the fourth orc invasion that Richard has experienced. Compared with nine years ago, Richard has grown from a low-level officer to a leader of an army.
The army in Harland's territory now has twenty-one infantry squadrons, four cavalry squadrons, plus headquarters personnel, the total number exceeds four thousand.
In Geda Province, the noble private army commanded by Richard has become an important military force in the province.
In Fort William, looking at the rising smoke, Richard immediately issued an order to assemble and informed several nearby hereditary nobles of the orc invasion.
This time, the six barons of Black River County, Rice, Barton, Bazel, Duck, Sauron, and Sharp, were all willing to accept Richard's command.
After cooperating with Harland Territory in many battles, Baron Rice and others were not defeated. Richard's commanding ability was recognized by the nearby nobles.
Moreover, the Harland family was very powerful, so they were convinced to leave the army under Richard's command.
Six hereditary barons, with 1,500 soldiers, are stationed at Malte Castle. The supplies of the noble coalition do not need to be burdened by the Harland territory.
Richard only needs to provide food, and after the war the six hereditary noble families will settle the matter with gold coins.
Now there is no shortage of food in the Harland territory, which can feed the fifteen hundred noble coalition troops for a long time.
The coalition of nobles garrisoned the Marte Castle to guard the retreat for the Harland territory.
Richard concentrated his main troops in Fort William, the most advanced military station, with only the third brigade stationed there.
The Third Battalion has five squadrons of infantry, one squadron of auxiliary troops, plus brigade headquarters guards and command personnel, with a total strength of about 1,100 people.
"How about we find out the main direction of the orcs' attack?"
Every time the orcs invade, they cross the Eagle Mountains through different mountain tunnels.
In recent years, I usually walk through the Halland Valley.
Now the Harland Valley has been controlled by the Grant Kingdom and has completely become the territory of the Harland family.
If the orcs want to enter the Gedda Province, they must attack the Harland family military station and William's castle head-on and open up the Harland Valley. Otherwise, they will have to take a detour.
"Opposite the Fort, there are three brigades of orcs stationed. There are also two brigades of orcs who have chosen to take a detour to the east. They should go through the valley north of Graveson."
After listening to the intelligence staff's report, Richard still stared at the map: "What's the situation in Platos Valley?"
"The last two orc invasions did not go through the Platos Valley. Moreover, the defense of the Platos Valley was handed over to the Redeemer Legion. We did not invest too many scouts in this direction. The information is not clear yet.
"
Richard's inquiry immediately made the intelligence staff understand that there had been omissions in the early intelligence investigation. At the end of the conversation, he was so nervous that he could not speak.
Richard knocked on the table hard and said angrily: "Regardless of whether others are defending or not, Platos Valley is only a dozen kilometers away from the territory. If something goes wrong here, our situation will become very dangerous. Arrange manpower immediately.
Strengthen the intelligence and reconnaissance force in Platos Valley, and we must clarify the key attack directions of the orcs."
Facing the invasion of the orcs, Harland Territory has formulated various plans, but in order to implement these plans, the key directions of the orcs' attack must be clarified before the next step can be taken.
Every time the orcs invade, they start with a three-point attack, launching a full-scale attack to test the loopholes in the defense line. After finding the loopholes, they invest major military forces to tear apart the defense line at the southern foot of the Eagle Mountain Range, and then begin to annihilate the effective forces of the Grant Kingdom and plunder a large number of
population and property.
The last time the orcs invaded, the commander of Zachary's army completely annihilated the orc army in Graveson Castle.
The outcome of this battle was brilliant. It was a rare victory for the Kingdom of Grant in the past ten years, second only to the battle where Count Martins annihilated the Orc Legion and planned the legendary battle to kill the Orcs.
The Orc Legion was annihilated in two consecutive Orc Wars, and the Northern Legion is now the opponent that the Orcs focus on.
Because of its outstanding military exploits, the Northern Army has been replenished very quickly in recent years, forming a good cycle. Now it is fully staffed, with a total of 24,000 soldiers and more than 1,000 professionals.
Because they had won important battles in succession, the soldiers of the Northern Army were in a very good mental state.
The current combat effectiveness of the Northern Army has surpassed that of the Mad Lion and Grizzly Bear Army, and is the most important pillar of the Grant Kingdom in the northern province.
According to common sense, the Orc Empire has a very strong desire for revenge.
Count Martins killed the Orc Legend, and the Orcs immediately increased four legions to invade the Kingdom of Grant, killed Count Martins, and launched a brutal revenge on the earldom.
Now the Northern Legion has become a thorn in the side of the orcs. According to the character of the orcs, a large number of legions must be mobilized to attack the province of Geda.
Unexpectedly, the orcs actually did the opposite. The orc army that appeared in the northern part of Gedda Province now only has five brigades, just over 10,000.
Although the composition of the Orc Empire is not much different from that of the human army, the composition of the Orc Empire is still in the traditional tribal form, and the control and command capabilities of the army are obviously far behind.
It's not that the orcs don't want to change, so they mix orcs from different races into groups.
But this military reform failed quickly, and there were hundreds of tribes among the orcs.
Not only do the languages of tribes differ, but there are also serious conflicts between ethnic groups, with frequent internal strife and conflicts.
In order to allow all tribes to contribute, in the end we had to organize squadrons into different tribes.
There are many kinds of orcs in a brigade, which often looks very confusing.
Fortunately, the Orc Empire has implemented Orc Common Language on a large scale in the past hundred years, but the vocal organs of different Orcs are different.
When using lingua franca across ethnic groups, sometimes many meanings are unclear.
Different orc races have extremely different combat capabilities. It may not be correct to judge the main attack direction of the orc army simply by the number of people.
The real main attack direction of the orcs is not necessarily the one that invests the most troops, but it must be the one that invests the most elites.
Generally speaking, in that area the human scouts have suffered the most losses, and the orcs have the widest coverage of the battlefield. The less intelligence detected, the more likely it is the direction of the orcs' main attack.
To put it more bluntly, the direction in which the harpies mainly appear is generally the focus of the orcs' attacks.
With a large army stationed near the Platos Valley, it is difficult for the situation to deteriorate out of control in a short period of time.
Zachary led a legion of penancers stationed at Haddon Castle, and the Platos Valley was also considered his defense zone.
The Redeemer Legion is a small legion, with only four brigades and a total strength of about 9,000 people.
Because of last spring's rebellion, the Mad Lions suffered the most serious losses, so two Atonement Legions were stationed in the Gascoigne Province.
Zachary's troops were stationed at the Castle of Baron Harden, and another legion, led by legion commander Huo Xiu, was stationed in the Earl of Martins.
Two Atonement Legions, one in the east and one in the west, plus the Mad Lion Legion and the noble private army, there are more than 45,000 troops stationed on the front line of Gascoigne Province.
Because the province of Geda was not affected by last year's rebellion, no Atonor Legion was stationed.
However, the defense of the Platos Mountains on the western border of the province was handed over to the Atonement Legion led by Zakli.
The main defensive force in the northern part of the province, in addition to the Northern Army, is the aristocratic private army led by the Harland and Roman families, with about 35,000 troops stationed on the front line.
There are two regular legions stationed on the front line of Lach Province, one legion of the Redemptor, plus the private army of the provincial nobility, the largest number of troops are stationed on the front line, adding up to more than 60,000 people.
Although Geda Province has the smallest front-line troops, Geda Province has the greatest geographical advantage.
To the north of Gedda Province is the central part of the Eagle Mountains, with towering mountains and few valleys between them. The defense width is about 160 kilometers, and there are only three passages to the south.
By guarding these three passages, the orcs will not be able to cross the Eagle Mountains and invade the territory of Geda Province.
The Passage of Platos to the west was garrisoned by the Legion of the Redeemer.
Geda Province only needs to guard two mountain passes.
Two castles have been built in the central Harland Valley, one in the south and one in the north, to lock this passage. This passage is guarded by Richard.
The eastern valley is still a large wasteland that has not been developed, and there are no hereditary nobles. Only Graveson Castle was built in the northern part of the valley.
The geographical advantage of Graveson Castle is far less than that of Fort William.
Because the Black River flows eastward from this area, there is a large alluvial plain near Graveson Castle. The northern valley is low and relatively flat, making it more suitable for large armies to break into.
Stein, the new commander of the Northern Army, is a foreigner. He is an old subordinate of Duke Roger and a senior official of the Royal Guards.
Because of this connection, he was transferred to the Northern Army by Duke Roger, responsible for cleaning up the remaining poison of the former Army Commander Zachary.
Zachary won the battle, gained high prestige in the Northern Army, and promoted many officers.
After Stein took office, he severely suppressed these people. Many of them have already retired voluntarily. Because they lost some outstanding officers, the combat effectiveness of the Northern Army was also affected.
Stein was a veteran of the military and knew this very well.
The past ten years have been a glorious decade for the Northern Army. Not only did one of its commanders become a hereditary earl and promoted to a great noble, but six or seven senior officers within the army were promoted to hereditary nobles.
Stein did not want to be disgraced in the Northern Army and become a laughing stock. However, in order to ensure the reliability of the Northern Army, political executions had to be carried out.
Especially since the Northern Army's status is so special, Zachary's influence must not be allowed to continue.
Due to the political strife, the morale of the Northern Army was somewhat unstable during this period. Stein planned to let the Northern Army rest for a period of time. At Graveson Castle, Stein ordered Viscount Roman to lead a coalition of nobles to garrison.