The Expeditionary Army's Battle Plan
Afterwards, Victor and Keledu talked for a long time about the situation of the Faith Order.
As expected, Keledu was the one who understood the Faith Order best; many of his suggestions were very useful to Victor.
He compiled all the suggestions and information, along with Victor and Kekeledu's assessments of the Faith Order Headquarters' actions, into a telegram and sent it to the outpost, instructing them to forward it to Santos as a reference for Santos in formulating the next operational plan.
Early the next morning, at the Expeditionary Army's Temporary Camp.
A weary Konedia said to Santos, "Viscount Santos, this is a telegram from the Duke. Please receive it."
Santos glanced at the extremely tired man in front of him, then nodded and took the telegram.
Several days had passed since their last meeting, but every time he saw this guy dressed like Barbarians, he felt uncomfortable.
Konedia was the head of the outpost and an important officer of the Intelligence Department stationed on the grasslands.
He always dressed like this in order to move freely on the grassland.
His public identity was that of a small tribal chief, who also worked part-time as a merchant on the grasslands. In the area where the grasslands met the snowfields, he was considered Number One well-known figure.
Konedia not only did business on the grasslands, but also frequently ventured deep into the snowy plains to trade with the local Barbarians, often traveling between the snowy plains and the grasslands during the transition from spring to summer.
Living in such a harsh environment for a long time took a heavy toll on his physical and mental health. Although he was only just over thirty, Konedia looked like he was in his forties, prematurely aging like most Barbarians.
Santos held this Intelligence Department officer in high esteem; after all, it was truly remarkable that someone had spent three years traversing the grasslands and single-handedly established this outpost.
If the Expeditionary Army can successfully capture the Faith Order Headquarters, it will definitely be inseparable from the intelligence support provided by the Intelligence Department, and Konedia is also a great contributor, who may even have the opportunity to be knighted, so Santos is very polite to him.
Santos took the telegram and began to read it, but he did not expect it to be so long.
He looked up at Konedia and then said, "You must have been translating for a long time last night."
Important telegrams from the Intelligence Department and the Army Department were all encrypted, and it would take some effort to translate them into normal text. With so much content, the workload for translation must have been considerable.
Konedia nodded. "Yes, Your Excellency, we've been checking for quite some time. This telegram contains more information than all the telegrams we received last year combined. Our two codebreakers have been working from yesterday evening until early this morning."
"Thank you for your hard work. Well then, Director Konedia, I estimate it will take some time to observe."
Although this is a Temporary Camp, it has everything you need, including hot water and food. Since you came so early, you probably didn't get a good night's rest last night. Go and rest for a bit first.
After I finish reading the telegram, I'll need to trouble you to reply.
Konedia did not refuse: "Thank you for your kindness, Viscount," and then turned to leave.
Konedia was indeed feeling extremely tired and his body was giving out. Since Viscount Santos was being so understanding, he decided to take a rest.
After Konedia left, Santos began to review the telegrams sent from the territory, which included important intelligence as well as suggestions from the Duke and Sir Keledu.
After reading it, Santos thought for a long time, then looked at the map in his room again.
After hesitating for a moment, Santos made up his mind to adjust his previous battle plan.
Santus ultimately decided to distance Mizhene, believing that the man was ultimately an unstable element and that he could not place his hopes on him.
Fortunately, the Expeditionary Army itself also had a formidable independent combat capability. Even without the help of Mizhene and his troops, Santos was absolutely confident that he could take down the Faith Order Headquarters.
As for Mizhene, as long as he doesn't interfere with the Expeditionary Army's operations, that's fine.
Santus planned to have the Intelligence Department communicate with him, instructing Mizhene restrain his men from participating in the battle between the Expeditionary Army and the Faith Order Headquarters.
Santos also agreed with Victor and Keledu's assessment, and he planned to lead his troops to observe for a few days, in case something went wrong with the Faith Order.
A few days later, the Expeditionary Army had recovered its strength and combat capability during the rest period, Santos decided to lead the troops out first.
Meanwhile, the outpost also sent a letter to Mizhene as Santos had instructed. The letter was simple: Mizhene stay away from the battlefield.
When Mizhene saw the letter, he breathed a sigh of relief; at least he didn't have to make a difficult choice.
However, he was also somewhat resentful of Viscount Santos of the Expeditionary Army, feeling that he was being looked down upon, yet he was also very grateful for his understanding, as no one had made things difficult for him.
Afterwards, Mizhene quickly restrained the troops, directly controlled several unstable elements, adjusted the defense zone, and opened a passage for the Expeditionary Army to pass through.
Under Santos's command, the Expeditionary Army took advantage of this gap in the defenses and quickly advanced towards the mountain valley where the Faith Order Headquarters were located.
Two days later, Santos finally saw the valley in the mountains.
At this moment, Santos stood on a hillside, looking down at the valley below, and couldn't help but marvel at the wonders of the world.
Some white mist drifted between the valleys, but it was clear that the valley floor was not covered with snow, and large areas of green could even be seen, making it look like a fairyland against the backdrop of the surrounding snow-capped Snow Mountain.
According to the intelligence obtained by the Intelligence Department, there are many hot springs in the valley where the Faith Order Headquarters. These hot springs keep the temperature inside the valley at around 10 to 20 degrees Celsius all year round, even though it is surrounded by Snow Mountain, so it can remain evergreen all year round.
It is thanks to this secluded and blessed place that the Faith Order has been able to take root so peacefully among the Snow Mountain.
Santos and his troops donned white cloaks and, using the Snow Mountain as cover, hid atop the mountain, looking down at the valley below.
Having successfully breached the outer defenses of the Faith Order Headquarters, Santos now faces only the Small Fortress at the valley entrance as his only obstacle.
Santos observed the fortress through his telescope and quickly felt relieved.
Although the Faith Order built a fortress at the valley entrance, it was not entirely constructed of brick and stone. Perhaps due to considerations of local conditions, the outer layer of the fortress walls was made of ice, which was poured with water.
Santos knew that although the ice wall looked sturdy, it would be of little use against the Artillery brought by the Expeditionary Army, since ice was simply too brittle.
Such a fortress could not withstand the Expeditionary Army's attack at all. Santos then looked down over the valley and marked the buildings and facilities he saw in the valley. Soon, Santos found several points that needed to be captured as soon as possible after breaking through the fortress.
According to his assessment, as long as the Expeditionary Army captures these locations, it will be able to occupy all the high points in front of the valley. At that time, the Expeditionary Army can set up its Artillery there to suppress any counterattacks launched by the Faith Order.
The only pity was that Santos did not bring large-caliber field guns this time, only 60mm Mortar.
Even if you occupy all the high ground, you can't cover the entire valley area; some places still need to be captured by the army.
After all, a 100mm Mortar was too heavy and would make it very difficult to travel between Snow Mountain, so the Expeditionary Army did not consider such heavy Artillery at the beginning.
The entire Expeditionary Army currently only has one Artillery detachment with the 100mm Artillery removed, totaling 30 60mm Mortar. Fortunately, ammunition is plentiful, with each gun equipped with 50 shells.
However, Santos was very confident. This time, the Expeditionary Army had also been equipped with Type One Rifle. With these rifles and Artillery in conjunction, once the Expeditionary Army occupied the high ground in advance, they could defeat the Faith Order's resistance with very few casualties.