The information Woodley brought back surprised Sean.
Regardless of whether the informant philosopher is friend or foe, or whether the information he provides is true or false, it is best to be careful.
However, the actual situation the next day surprised Sean even more.
An armed force of about 200 people is being chased by another armed force of about 500 people. The former is dressed as civilians and has very poor equipment, while the latter has more uniform clothing, better equipment, and even a small amount of cavalry.
The former was beaten back by the latter and moved closer to the eastern position of the Genoa Civil Defense Force.
The two sides fought ten kilometers away from where the Genoa Civil Defense Force was stationed. It was not until Sean sent eight infantry companies plus a cavalry company to form an encirclement and attack posture that the two sides were separated.
"Please identify yourself, otherwise we will regard you as enemies!" Spencer, the commander of the cavalry company, carefully approached the 500-man armed force.
The Genoese cavalry behind him stopped 800 meters away, keeping alert. Farther away were several infantry companies.
Someone from the other side came out slowly on horseback. Except for the saber hanging on the saddle, he did not carry any other weapons to show that he had no ill intentions:
"I am Jared René. I was commissioned by General Schmidt to hunt down the rebels. Are you the Genoa Civil Defense Force?"
"We are the Genoa Civil Defense Force. If you are friendly forces, please put down your weapons immediately and accept our interrogation." Spencer said forcefully.
"You can't treat friendly troops like this. You must know that I am a member of the René family and your commander is just a viscount. How dare you be so rude to us?" Jared René said angrily.
"There are only enemies and ourselves here, no title." Spencer said, "I'll give you thirty minutes. If you don't put down your weapons, you will be considered an enemy and we will attack immediately."
Jared Rene took out a letter, held it up and said loudly: "This is General Schmidt's personal letter of appointment. Take it to your commander."
Spencer did not accept the so-called commission and said:
"I repeat, you only have thirty minutes."
Spencer dropped these words and immediately returned to his company.
This was of course Sean's order. In such a complicated struggle situation, it would be "understandable" if there was an internal conflict. On the battlefield, Sean did not want to make a bet easily.
Before that, Sean had encountered many armed forces, but most of them were bandits. Some of them had even been commissioned by the government army. These people always switched identities at will between good citizens, bandits and even rebels. Just look at
What kind of opponents did you encounter?
In this once fertile and peaceful land, countless satires about human nature are being staged.
On the other side, the two-hundred-man armed force put down their weapons happily. The leader came to see Sean alone without any weapons.
This man is actually very young, only in his early twenties, but his weathered look makes him look very old.
Sean noticed a hole in his boot, exposing his big toe.
His hands were large and rough, and he was wearing a shabby brown jacket usually worn by industrial workers or dock workers, with a towel tied randomly around his neck as a scarf.
"Your Majesty the Viscount, I am Roland Hill, leading a guerrilla force to fight against the rebels. We would like to submit to your command!" Roland Hill saluted politely.
"You know me?" Sean asked.
His guards were all on standby to prevent any eventuality. If looks could kill, this Roland Hill would have died countless times.
Under the gaze of everyone, Roland Hill still remained calm.
"Morillo is my hometown..."
Rowland Hill noticed that when he mentioned Morillo, everyone in front of him seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Oh, I've heard about that town. What's the name of their mayor? I remember his surname is Hill, right?" Sean said deliberately.
Roland Hill said strangely: "Your Majesty, Viscount, you must have remembered wrongly. The mayor is old Hess, who is my neighbor. This old guy has always been very tight on the position of mayor. In fact, he is
After decades of working in this position, there is nothing to gain, because he is too timid, and the townspeople only
If you have to be tougher, he will give up immediately. I left the town of Morillo a few years ago and made a living at Longjiang Wharf in Daguerre. I haven't been back for several years. Seven days ago, I sent someone back to Morillo to ask Hess.
Can the mayor provide me with some supplies? He told my messenger that you are a trustworthy nobleman..."
"So, you came to join me?" Sean asked. He winked at Wells, who nodded and left.
"Yes, those rebels burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of evil. My co-workers and I are poor people, and almost every one of them has a blood feud with the rebels. They trusted me, so they elected me as their leader to lead everyone against the rebels.
atrocities.
Now we are desperate. The weather is getting colder and colder, and we can no longer find a grain of food in the countryside. General Schmidt turned us away, thinking that we would be useless except for wasting food. Of course, this was his officer.
That’s right. And the nobles from all over the country think that our identity is suspicious, so I ask the Viscount to take us in. We can be your guides and help you transport supplies, as long as we can contribute to suppressing the rebellion."
At this point, Sean had already put down most of his guard. He also understood the nobles who rejected Roland Hill because this group of spontaneously formed guerrillas looked more like bandits.
As for General Schmidt, Sean's evaluation of him was even lower.
"Your subordinates have been disarmed. I promise that as long as you accept the custody of the Civil Defense Force honestly, and once your identity is verified, I will give you appropriate treatment. Do you accept it?" Sean said.
"I can completely understand and accept it. Kind lord, if you can provide us with a hot meal, we would be very grateful. We have not eaten for a day and a night." Rowland Hill pleaded.
Sean was moved by this and appointed Lieutenant Woodley to be responsible for the arrangements.
After walking out of the tent, Sean took the rifle from Daniel and jumped on the horse. At this time, the main force of the Genoese Civil Defense Force moved south and even moved away the cannons originally pointed at Moorish City, leaving only a small number of people to monitor Moorish City.
The main force, however, was pressing south because Garcia-Rene's 500 men were acting suspiciously and they refused to lay down their weapons for screening.
Sean wanted to entertain guests, but two tables of guests came, one of which was an uninvited guest, and the other was an uninvited guest. Although the uninvited guests were unexpected, they would be entertained by Sean. As for the uninvited guests, Sean only greeted him with a rifle.
Since the leader who claimed to be from the René family refused to lay down his arms, Sean automatically included him in the ranks of the rebels. Sean even thought of an excuse.
The general is outside, and military orders are not obeyed.
As a nobleman, the viscount of Genoa can completely ignore the count of Nepoli. Even if this matter comes up in front of the crown prince in the future, Sean will get a mild rebuke at most, nothing more.
Because if the crown prince were to face this matter, he would probably make the same judgment.
"Herbert, I'll leave it to you. If the people in Moore City want to go out and attack, then let them come over. They always hide in the city, like turtles, and we really have nothing to do with them.
There's a way." Sean said to Wells.
"As you command, Your Excellency Commander." Wells performed a military salute.
The intelligence brought by the mysterious philosopher last night showed its value, which made Sean take precautions. But Sean not only had to kill the unknown armed forces who came to the door, but he also had to be careful of the rebels in Moorish City behind him.
Jared Rene's men began to retreat rapidly. The cavalry company circled behind them to block them, and a battle immediately broke out.
At the same time, the Moorish city was also ready to move. The rebels in the city suddenly appeared in small boats from the branch of the river flowing through the city. The rebels on the boat rowed desperately to the shore, and then attacked the civil defense forces from behind.
Everything seemed to have been arranged long ago.
Sean had already arranged for Wells to give up the river bank to attract the rebels in the city to cross the river for a field battle. If the number of rebels in the city was indeed only 1,000, Sean would not be afraid of fighting with the Civil Defense Force in the field.
Jared Rene's men stopped moving, and they used the vehicles they brought to form a circle to block the Civil Defense Cavalry's attack. This tactic was so effective that the cavalry had to give up.
Sean ordered the infantry to suspend the attack. Looking back, he saw that the rebels in the city had crossed the Moore River and climbed up the embankment. They rushed over menacingly.
Regardless of how Wells tried to lure the enemy and counter the siege, Sean ordered the artillery to aim their guns at Jared Rene.
Boom, boom, boom, the solid artillery shells penetrated the hastily arranged carriage position of the opponent. The remaining force was not reduced, and several soldiers were knocked away in succession.
"Correct!" Sean was overjoyed.
The artillery continued to attack, but the offensive of the rebels in Moore City suddenly increased. Wells, who was blocked by Sean's orders, simply stepped aside and allowed them to join Jared Rene.
Just when Sean thought he had surrounded the rebels, a burst of violent gunfire sounded from behind him.
Under Sean's gaze, there was a loud noise, and a solid black artillery shell hit the Civil Defense Force's formation from the side, followed by a series of loud noises.
At some point, a fleet of more than 20 ships appeared on the lower reaches of the Moore River, with cannons installed on the ships.
For a moment, Sean felt stunned.
This completely disrupted Sean's plan. His original plan was to pretend to eat the 500 people in front of him in order to attract the rebels in the city to come out to fight. He was very confident about this.
If the rebels in Moore City don't take action, that's all. If they dare to take action in a large scale, Sean will use their tactics to counterattack into the city.
But now there is another fleet that is already hostile, which means that Sean has to deal with three opponents at the same time. He invited people to dinner, and three tables of guests came.
Sean was a little confused now, wondering whether the philosopher last night was an enemy or a friend. Maybe the informer was also kept in the dark.
This fleet is like a back-up deliberately arranged by the rebels' senior leaders. They probably also expected that sending Jared Rene's armed forces to pretend to surrender would not confuse the Civil Defense Force. The rebels on the water suddenly attacked at the critical moment.
, leaving the Civil Defense Force unprepared.
The dense formation of the Civil Defense Forces and their attention were all attracted by the rebels in the encirclement, and they did not pay attention to the rebel reinforcements coming behind them.
Casualties inevitably occurred. However, our own artillery was on the other side and could not cross the battlefield to support our comrades on the side of the river.
The person who planned this action among the rebels must be a thoughtful and cunning guy. It’s terrifying to think about it.
But the situation did not allow Sean to think too much and required him to make an immediate judgment.
At this time, the situation on the battlefield looked very unfavorable to the Genoese. Several parties were intertwined, making it difficult for the Civil Defense Forces to exert their power in horizontal formations.
The Genoese retreated, looking very embarrassed. If the cavalry had not been brave enough, many of them would not have been able to follow the main force and retreat south.
But this retreat also allowed the Genoese to avoid being attacked by naval artillery reinforced by the rebels.
Sean rode his horse to stand on a high place, and he found that not only the rebel navy began to land, but also the rebels in Moore City were swarming in.
On the small battlefield, nearly two thousand rebels gathered together.