The prewar conference
"The current leader of the Iron Bone Tribe does cooperate with us, but we don't dare to completely trust him. The reason we are so sure of the authenticity of this intelligence is because of our Iron Birch Territory's intelligence network on the grasslands and the corroboration from the Kingdom Nightingale Ryan."
"That leader is quite resourceful; he actually wants to use the power of the Northern Frontier nobles to help him snatch chestnuts from the fire," Victor said with great interest.
"Even so, we have no choice but to fight this war. You know, he wants to weaken the other tribes to control the Alliance's power and strengthen the Ironbone. We also want to finish this in one battle and eliminate the Barbarian Tribes' incursions into our borders for the next few years as much as possible," Alex said with a wry smile.
"Is there a problem? Actually, there's no need to rush. Right now, there's a lot of conflict between the Ducal House and the nobles in the duchy. It won't be easy to replenish the duchy's direct legions in a short time. If we wait a few more years, the power of the nobles in the Three Counties of the Northern Frontier will also increase exponentially, and they will all be important support for Iron Birch Territory to promote changes in the duchy." Victor was a little curious. Count Colt's personality should be more cautious, so why has it suddenly changed?
"There's been an upheaval within the Raine Kingdom. The military had been supporting the current king's eastward expansion strategy and had even reduced its troop deployments to the north and west. However, not long ago, the Fas Kingdom launched a surprise attack on the Raine Kingdom's western Raine Kingdom. For some unknown reason, the border fortress fell, and the Fas Kingdom swept through the western Wos Province of Voss. Although Raine Kingdom eventually recaptured the fortress and drove out the Fas Kingdom army, the loss of the border fortress resulted in heavy losses for many local nobles. The local nobles believe this was due to the weakening of the army's western border defenses. Many nobles have jointly petitioned the army for an explanation. To appease the nobles, the current king has reassigned several high-ranking officers, including the person in charge of the eastward expansion plan, and has also halted the operation of transferring western troops to reinforce the east." Alex smiled wryly.
"In the short term, the Raine Kingdom expansion plan will be affected, and they will not be able to cooperate with our actions in a timely manner. Basically, we will have to rely on ourselves," Alex added.
"It's nothing. We didn't expect the Raine Kingdom to send many troops anyway. Even a detachment would be enough to support us. Besides, they're sending fewer people, so why would they take too much credit?" Victor didn't think it was a bad thing.
"That's true. My father shares that view. However, Nightingale doesn't have any plans to delay. They also advised us not to wait for the army's support, as they believe the Kingdom Army is too complex and difficult to respond to quickly. They suggested we handle it ourselves." Alex continued to explain to Victor.
"Count Colt definitely thinks this way. The fewer mothers-in-law on his head, the better. The Raine Kingdom is one of the earliest civilized nations in human history. It is well-developed, has a large population, and its noble power is ancient and vast. The power of a few Duke is arguably no weaker than that of the Silver Maple Ducal House. If Count Colt can deal with the Silver Maple Ducal House on his own, the chances of the kingdom and the great nobles within the kingdom will be much smaller, Iron Birch Family may gain even more." Victor understood Count Colt's thoughts very well.
"You are as confident as my father, but those are things to consider later. My father also said that the most important thing right now is to take advantage of this battle to wipe out the Tribal Alliance's five-year plan to invade the south."
"Yes, this is indeed the most important thing right now. As long as we can succeed, we won't have to worry about our hometown or our future when we head south."
"Alright, Victor, for this battle, Father plans to divide the Coalition of Nobles into three understrength legions, with an estimated total strength of about 60,000 men. Father will lead the First Legion of Iron Birch Ridge and the First Legion of the Allied Army, totaling 50,000 men, to confront the central army of the Tribal Alliance. The Second Legion of the Allied Army will head directly north to fight the right flank of the Tribal Alliance attacking North York. This Second Legion will have the highest proportion of Cavalry. Father wants you to deal with the right flank and then return to support the central army. The Third Legion will have the most conventional composition, simply to keep an eye on the left flank and the Iron Bone Tribe." Alex directly revealed the battle plan to Victor.
"Twenty thousand against thirty thousand, this battle isn't as easy as you say, and it'll be hard to get credit either," Victor said with a sigh.
"Perhaps, but my father has great confidence in the Second Legion. By the way, the Legion Commander the Second Legion is my uncle, Viscount Benjamin Viscount Benjamin Pear. He brought 3,000 cavalry. I will give you a letter later. Just give it to him when you see him, and he will take care of you."
"Why don't you just take me to see him directly? Why write a letter?" Victor asked, puzzled.
"No, I shouldn't be here right now. My father sent me to guard Iron Birch Territory. If it weren't for telling you about this battle plan, I wouldn't have come at all. I would have returned to Northwind City first thing tomorrow morning."
"Alex, thank you so much."
"We are allies, and I trust my judgment."
After a brief chat with Alex, Victor led his men back to the camp, where the intelligence and plan were burned in the charcoal fire under their watchful eyes.
After that, Victor waited patiently at the camp without revealing the details of the battle plan to his subordinates.
On the 28th, the pre-war meeting was held as scheduled, and the content of the meeting was exactly the same as the information provided by Alex.
Victor was appointed Regimental Commander of the Second Regiment Second Legion. James remained under his command, and no other nobles joined the Second Regiment. This was a good thing for Victor, as his unit was different from the others. Baron Brown was assigned to the Fourth Regiment of the Second Legion. This regiment was composed of troops from minor nobles and had a total strength of nearly 4,000 men. Baron Brown was the Second Squadron.
However, the pre-battle meeting did not announce any specific battle plan. Instead, the Legion Commander held their own meetings to make arrangements. Viscount Benjamin convened a corps meeting immediately, attended by all officers of the Squad Leader and above. Before the meeting, Victor had already delivered Alex's letter to Viscount Benjamin.
At the Legion meeting, Viscount Benjamin did not mince words but stated very clearly that the Legion's target was North York County, and they would go directly to a stronghold on the westernmost edge of North York County, Hot Water Fortress, which was garrisoned by the Iron Birch Family.
After announcing the battle location, Viscount Benjamin immediately declared that they would depart early the next morning, and no one should be delayed.
Viscount Benjamin deployed his First Regiment and Victor's Second Regiment as the vanguard, setting off immediately, as both regiments were pure Cavalry units, and Victor's mule-equipped infantry were also considered Cavalry; the Third Fourth Regiment formed the central army, departing half a day later, while the Fifth Regiment, responsible for overseeing the legion's logistics, departed last.