At dawn on September 3, when the first ray of sunshine in the morning shone on the earth, Alarda Army, which had been gathering near the border for two days, began to march towards Butuya, the capital of Bairdin.
According to the intelligence, the four rebels gathered all their forces at Butuya. They planned to spend 3 to 4 days preparing the ordnance and supplies for combat before attacking Arda. This logistical efficiency made Paul complain. You don't need to go all the way, I will go there myself.
Since this was the first collision between the new military system established by Paul and the more "regular" military forces in this world, he attached great importance to it and led a group of the Staff Department officers to take personal command, while Chief of Staff Schroeder led the remaining staff to sit in Lakeheart Town and direct the Militia forces to respond to emergencies.
There was Bairdin's sentinel on the border. The news that Alarda Army had crossed the border was quickly sent back to Butuya. While he was shocked by the speed of the other party, Aibute wanted to lead The troops immediately set off to intercept Paul, but the wily Anqiluo persuaded them to wait for work under Butuya City. In the end, everyone agreed to Anqiluo's plan.
At about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the small town Butuya appeared in Paul's sight. Through Telescope, he found that Anqiluo and others had already set up a formation in front of the city gate.
When they got close enough, the opponent's deployment gradually became clear in Telescope.
The main components of the rebel army are four infantry squares lined up. Each square has about 500 people, each commanded by a knight standing in front. More than half of the people in each square are holding uniform spears, and the other people have a mess of weapons. There are even some people holding pitchforks, hoes and other agricultural tools. Behind the four square formations, about 30 archers formed a horizontal team.
In the middle of the four square formations, there were four people riding on horses wearing very gorgeous armor. They were probably the four rebels Garnard Family.
Surrounding them is a team of about 30 people composed of their respective family knights and Knight Attendant.
The high mobility of these 30 people is what Paul is most worried about. The knights are all wearing armor. Although it is not as gorgeous as their master's armor, it is also well-made and tightly protects all vital parts of the body.
In comparison, the equipment of the followers was much simpler. Some were wearing Chainmail, while others had no protection at all.
As Alarda Army got closer and closer to Butuya, they finally appeared in the rebels' sight.
Anqiluo showed a look of disdain and said disdainfully, "Haha, how stupid! After all, you are still too young, but you just wiped out a few third-rate Pirate Crew and you are so arrogant."
Baron Yamosi beside him asked curiously, "Why did the manager say that?"
Anqiluo explained, "They set out at dawn and have traveled nearly a full day's journey now. Paul Greiman may feel okay riding a horse, but his subordinate Soldiers is probably exhausted. How much energy is left for fighting?"
Although he knew nothing about military affairs, Baron Yamosi still felt his face heat up. He didn't realize such a simple truth.
When the distance between the two sides was 300 meters, Alarda Army stopped advancing. Paul ordered Artillery Company to build a launching position on a nearby high ground, and sent a platoon of spearmen to assist Artillerymen and provide protection.
At this time, a knight holding a white flag ran over from the rebels. The battle had not started yet, so naturally he held the white flag to negotiate.
Sure enough, the knight came to the Alarda Army's formation and shouted loudly, "Earl Greiman, Master Anqiluo asked me to send a message to you. If you release Earl Garnard, and For ten thousand silver coins, Bairdin will no longer pursue the crimes you committed. If you continue to persist, we will defeat your army, occupy your territory, and take you to Northwest Duke for trial."
"Yoha!" What the knight shouted made Paul amused. He pointed his riding crop at the knight and said loudly, "Go back and tell those traitors to wash their necks and wait to be slaughtered! I will use their heads to make chamber pots."
The knight estimated the size of the Alarda Army, there were probably more than a thousand people. The queues are quite neat, and they wear clothes of the same color and style, which makes people feel eye-catching, but what's the use of it? They faced enemies twice their size.
And what's even more fatal is that except for a few mounted officers, there are no other cavalry forces in the Alarda Army. The outcome of this battle has been determined.
"Stupid!" After hearing Paul's reply, the knight sighed in his heart, then turned his horse and ran towards his people. Soon he came to Anqiluo and others, relayed Paul's reply to them, and described the general situation of the Alarda Army.
"Hahaha!" After hearing the knight's description, Anqiluo and others couldn't help laughing. There was no suspense about the outcome.
Anqiluo looked around at the crowd and said, "Everyone! We have the advantage in terms of numbers, physical strength, and location. If we stand here and wait for the poor army on the opposite side to attack us, we will be laughed at. I suggest that we launch the attack."
Just when Paul was hesitating whether to continue to move forward and initiate an attack, or to stimulate the opponent to attack him, he found that the rebel phalanx began to move towards him, so he immediately ordered preparations to engage the enemy.
As the order was issued, two battalions of spearmen and one company of musketeers quickly transformed from marching columns into linear combat formations, while the two battalions' direct mortar platoons were deployed in the gaps between the teams.
In order to test the actual combat effectiveness of large-scale equipment of muskets, Paul ordered Artillerymen not to fire when receiving clear instructions. He instructed the musket company Company Commander Dengpusi to direct the firing of the musketeers.
"Check the equipment... light the match..."
Following Company Commander Dengpusi's loud orders, the Soldierss of the musket company took off their match ropes one after another, took out their fire tubes and lit them.
"Reload!"
Thanks to the rigorous training and paper-cased fixed ammunition, it took the Soldierss less than a minute in total from taking off the musket to loading the ammunition.
While the musketeers were loading ammunition, the mortar platoons deployed in the gaps between each team also fixed the barrels, loaded shotguns, and were ready to fire at any time.
On the rebel side, as the four phalanxes moved, the originally neat formation began to become chaotic. After walking more than 100 meters, the phalanxes could no longer be seen, just like the scene when Paul reviewed the army for the first time in Lakeheart Town Square.
Seeing the enemy getting closer and closer, Company Commander Dengpusi once again emphasized to his Soldiers that he was not allowed to fire before receiving the order. In order to achieve a better hit rate, he must wait until he was close enough to the enemy before firing.
It wasn't until the rebels were only more than 100 meters away from the Alarda Army that Dengpusi Company Commander ordered, "Get ready to shoot!" The Soldierss fixed the match rope on the snake-shaped pole, with the butt of the gun on the shoulder and the flat end of the muzzle, aiming at the moving enemy.
"First row, fire!"
Finally, the moment that Paul has been waiting for has arrived.
Thanks to "MD Samsara" for the reward.