Originally, Claude thought that he could have some rest after capturing Black Maple Castle, because the order from above, in addition to having the 1st Battalion of Rangers take over the town of Billy to capture Black Maple Castle, was to eliminate the resistance in the Picklet Mountains.
Strength. As the flank of the army, the Picklet Mountain Area is remote and there is no resistance worth mentioning. Whether it is the townspeople or the villagers of the seven mountain villages in the mountainous area, they have calmly accepted the fact that they are ruled by foreign occupying forces.
What the officers of the 1st Ranger Battalion didn't expect was that after the defenders who made an emergency landing at Black Maple Castle completed their occupation mission, they just sent the battle report and received another order from above within three days. This order was not
Instead of giving a reward for completing the mission, the 1st Ranger Battalion was required to immediately dispatch personnel to find out the situation of the smuggling trail leading to the Eskiline Principality in the Picklet Mountains, and at the same time seal the mountainous areas tightly to prevent the information from leaking...
As soon as you look at the map, you can understand what the plan is, but the military orders are like mountains. In this severe winter with cold weather and heavy snowfall, the officers and soldiers of the 1st Ranger Battalion still have to wear cold-proof leather jackets and go up the mountain to search for smuggling passages hidden in the mountains.
Half a month later, the Blue Feather Army marched to the small town of Billy, taking over the tasks of the 1st Ranger Battalion. At the same time, they walked lightly into the mountains through the ice and snow, and advanced eastwards along the well-examined smuggling trails.
The 1st Ranger Battalion became the pioneer and scout battalion of the Blue Feathers. Even the welcome night was spent in the mountains and forests. Major Liederfunk took out a bottle of good wine he carried with him and asked each tourist to
The officers of the first battalion took a sip and everyone celebrated the arrival of the new year.
On January 7, the 579th year of the Holy Light Calendar, the Blue Feather Legion's surprise troops descended from the sky. In the cold winter, they crossed over the Piklet Mountains, which were regarded as natural chasms, and appeared in the three southern counties of the Eskiline Principality. They easily captured the three counties.
In the large county town, the first battalion of the Rangers was ordered to garrison at various major transportation points to guard against the enemy's spies and small local garrison troops from escaping and resisting attacks.
"Second Lieutenant Claude, you should lead a squadron to guard this place. I don't worry about letting others go." Major Lieutenant Lieutenant frowned and stared at the map.
Claude nodded. He knew that the place Major Redfunk was talking about was a hilly area, also considered the edge of the Picklet Mountains. There was a mountain road leading to the Karnas Prairie, and another leading to the Loveland.
In the eastern part of the Principality of Skilling, this is a three-way intersection. Although the mountain road is narrow and cannot pass large four-wheel transport carriages, a small number of pack teams and horses can still pass through there. Think about it, the Blue Feather Army can cross the Peak on the smuggling trail.
In the Leyte Mountains, it is not surprising that Major Leedfunk attaches great importance to this fork in the road.
"I will equip you with two more light infantry artillery pieces and two artillery batteries, and also equip you with a group of carrier pigeons and a signal corpsman. You can take Markchi's squadron from the third group there. From now on, I will deliver supplies to you once a week.
..." Major Leedfunk also strengthened the firepower and troop strength of this squadron.
"Okay, then I'll set off in the afternoon." Claude accepted the order without hesitation.
Markchi is a veteran. He joined the Ranger Battalion because he was greedy for the huge reward offered by Lieutenant Colonel Rosler, the first commander of the Ranger Battalion. He was lucky at the beginning. He and his comrades ambushed four enemy reconnaissance cavalry and won the prize.
The first bonus. But then he never took advantage of it. Instead, he was chased by the enemy's reconnaissance team. The three soldiers who teamed up with him were all dead and their heads were chopped off. He also
He was stabbed, and when he thought he was about to die, he was saved by soldiers from the Ranger Battalion who came after him.
After recovering from his injuries in the treatment center for three months, he was inexplicably promoted one level and became a sergeant. After asking around, he learned that the Ranger Battalion performed outstandingly in the battle to retake Wilf's Hill and was rewarded by the Grand Prince, who ordered the Ranger Battalion to be released.
All the officers and soldiers were promoted to one level, and even the wounded soldiers from the Ranger Battalion who were recuperating in the treatment center such as him took advantage.
After Markey recovered, he came out of the treatment center and reported back to the ranger camp, just in time for the new recruits to enter the camp. Because he had been promoted to sergeant major, he was also appointed to the position of acting squadron leader. He was also diligent in training the new recruits, so he finally took it off.
The hat of an agent. But after all, he is a veteran. It is inevitable to be lazy and cheat when accepting a mission. Every time his squadron goes out to perform a mission, something will always go wrong. This is why Major Leedfunk decided to let Claude lead the team.
Because of this, he really has no confidence in Mark Qi, a veteran.
However, in front of Claude, Markchi is still relatively honest. Although he is seven years older than Claude and has longer military experience than Claude, his military rank is lower than Claude. At the same time, Claude is occupying Black Maple.
He admired the castle's planning very much. For a veteran like Mark Qi, the most important thing was to have fewer deaths. As for whether the date was too long, he did not consider it. Because he was the most junior officer,
They are a little better than soldiers, but they still cannot avoid the fate of charging into battle on the battlefield.
Originally entering the three southern counties of the Eskiline Principality, the 1st Ranger Battalion and the Blue Feather Army would gain a lot of military merit if they attacked the city together. However, the Blue Feather Army did not want to share the general merit with the 1st Ranger Battalion.
.Everyone knows that the Eskiline Principality is defenseless, exposing its soft hinterland to the Blue Feather Legion's front. Next, the Blue Feather Legion can sweep the entire Eskiline Principality and outflank Rimod from the rear.
The anti-Austrian alliance coalition forces of the Principality of La, made a feat that will be remembered in history in defeating the anti-Austrian alliance.
In order to wash away the shame of being trapped in the Emilia Plains of the Principality of Sidings, and also want to monopolize the merits of siege and occupying the land, the Blue Feather Army gave the Ranger Battalion an order to guard the traffic arteries.
The 1st Ranger Battalion was used as one of those local security battalions and was used separately. Although Major Leedfunk protested very strongly, the officers and soldiers were crushed to death, not to mention that the 1st Ranger Battalion received a bomb when they crossed over the Picklet Mountains.
The order of the eldest prince is to cooperate with the actions of the Blue Feather Legion and obey their command...
Compared to the unwilling officers such as Major Leedfunk, the soldiers of the 1st Ranger Battalion were very satisfied with the job they had obtained. Because it meant that they had the opportunity to earn extra money without risking their lives.
Lives are in danger while fighting on the battlefield.
Claude got a lot of tips on how to make extra money from Markchi, a veteran. The simplest one is to charge for passing checkpoints. Of course, part of these incomes need to be turned over. These unspoken rules that are not recorded in military regulations are
Thirty percent of the total income was paid, with Claude as the leading officer receiving 20%, then the remaining officers receiving 20%, and the final 30% being shared by all soldiers.
This is an unspoken rule for sharing the spoils implemented by the Army of the Kingdom of Overas in the occupied areas. Whether it is setting up checkpoints or robbing wealth from the people, all harvests are carried out in accordance with this unspoken rule. This is not just a country's
The military has such unspoken rules. In this era, almost all national armies have such unwritten rules. The only difference is that the proportions are different...
It took a day and a half for Claude to arrive at the destination with the Markchi Squadron, two five-man artillery crews and two light infantry artillery pieces. Information obtained from the county showed that there is another three-way intersection here.
The mountain village with nearly a hundred households, called Squirrel Village, is the territory of the Baron Novilik. Wei Flinsland in the Principality of Eskilde. Of course, this Baron Flinsland is currently in the Principality of Eskilne.
Cat Dong of Swan Castle, the capital of the country, is no longer in the territory, and his territory of Squirrel Village has naturally become a trophy of the kingdom.
After entering Squirrel Village, Markchi immediately became active. He sent someone to arrest the frowning village chief and asked him to provide the young and strong labor force in the village to build the camp, and at the same time hand over the food and property accumulated in the village's public treasury, and
He handed over the war taxes and fees of each villager's household, and the last request was to provide him with a list of widows in the village for him to choose from...
But the answer of the village elder made Markchi disappointed and furious, because the village elder said that there was no young and strong labor force in the village, and they had all been forcibly recruited, saying that they went to fight in the principality of Limodra. As for the village public treasury
Food and property are simply impossible things. You must know that this is the territory of the Baron, and all food and property are the property of the Baron. The villagers now don't even have enough food for the winter, and they still hope that Claude and the others
Can we provide some support to help them get through this winter?
So forget about war taxes and fees. There is nothing of value in the villagers’ homes. You can understand how poor their living standards are by looking at the dilapidated wooden shack houses. As for the widows in the village, there are only two
One is in his fifties, the other is in his late forties, and there is no one who is younger.
Claude was very surprised. Why did Marki want to find a widow in the village? Seeing that he couldn't get any profit from the village elder, he pulled Marki outside the door and asked what was going on.
Markchi replied that this is also one of the unspoken rules of the occupying army. When troops are stationed in other countries, nearby villages must provide widows to the military camp. The first is to get a job in the military camp, helping wash clothes, cook and other chores. The second is to
Solve the lower body problems of soldiers and maintain military discipline to prevent them from ruining young girls and good women in the local area.
There are maids in taverns in towns and cities who can help the hot-blooded soldiers vent their desires, but in local villages, those villages without taverns must provide widows in the village. This is also an impossible solution. Of course, every time the soldiers look for those
Widows also need to pay a certain amount of remuneration. For widows in some places, they welcome the presence of troops. This may give them a way to earn extra money, and it may also allow them to have a child of their own, which they will have when they grow old.
Rely on...
But the village chief of this Squirrel Village said that one of the two widows provided by the village was over fifty and the other was close to forty. This made Mark Qi, a veteran, furious and cursed the village elder for being really cunning. But the village elder explained
How could the young people stay in this broken mountain village? They had already gone to the city to find a way to survive...
It was an eye-opener for Claude. This was the first time he had an in-depth understanding of some of the internal affairs of the Kingdom's army. No officer would teach him these, and no one would say it openly. Only when he comes into contact would he understand.
There are so many unknown activities.
Markchi wanted to station his squadron in Squirrel Village and send people to set up checkpoints on the mountain roads. But Claude looked at the terrain of Squirrel Village, shook his head and rejected the proposal, and rode a horse around Squirrel Village.
, finally Claude took his fancy to a place.
It was a gentle slope protruding from the cliff, with a five- to six-meter-high stone warehouse built on it, and a row of four double-storey log cabins next to it. There was also a log fence surrounding the side facing Squirrel Village.
On one side is a cliff, facing the three-way intersection with a drop of more than ten meters and nearly twenty meters. On the other side is a high mountain, with a steaming stream flowing down from it, which solves the water source problem. On the other side is a turning road up the mountain. Just now
When I went up the mountain to Squirrel Village, I really didn't notice the road that curves in and can pass a carriage. The last side is Squirrel Village, and there is a fence in the middle. The terrain is good, condescending, easy to defend and difficult to attack.
"What place is this and whose house is it?" Claude called the village elder over and asked.
"This is the Baron's holiday cabin. The stone warehouse is where he stores the mountain goods and grain he collects from us. Every autumn when the things are full, he will send people to transport them to the city. The row of double-storey wooden houses is where the Baron
Sometimes he brings guests and friends here to stay when hunting. There is always a certain period of time every year when he comes to hunt and then transports everything back." The village elder replied.
Claude laughed: "That's no problem, we have requisitioned this place. Markchi, take people over to tidy it up, and we will be stationed here in the future."