Boranov I don't want to stay here for too long, so I will get to the point immediately:
"After victory, Armenian Highlands established Province in the west and Borderland Region in the east.
The rules of Borderland Region are loose, and the emperor will canonize a group of hereditary Armenia lords. If you want to get the canonization quota, you must make enough contributions in this war.
Whether you donate food or personally lead troops to fight, it will be recorded in the headquarters book and become the basis for dividing the territory after the war."
Hereditary?
George thought in his heart, Vitus has defeated Mamluk, Golden Horde, Ottoman, Black Sheep, and is called Restorer of the World. The probability of winning this battle is very high.
Faced with this moment that determines the fate of the family, George decided to take a gamble.
He promised to use half of his accumulated grain to recruit people in the territory to join the war and strive to become a hereditary noble of Rome.
Immediately afterwards, the cheerful laughter of the officers echoed in the open space.
Boranov smiled and introduced, "You misunderstood, he is the hereditary lord of Borderland Region, not the hereditary noble of the empire. The two are not the same concept!
There are only seven hereditary nobles with foreign surnames in the entire empire, all of them are Border Defense General, Legion Deputy Commander, and admirals of the navy. If you lead the army alone to defeat Uzon Hassan, you should be able to meet the standards for the title."
"Is that so? Haha, I misunderstood." George's expression was extremely awkward, and he laughed along with the officers for a while.
The nearby tenant farmers didn't understand what was going on and thought the master was joking with the officers, so they laughed too.
Soon, George told the eldest son, "Why are you still standing there? Slaughter the livestock, take out the good wine from the cellar, and entertain these adults!"
Boranov refused the squire's hospitality. He left a team of Dragoons to lead the way, and the remaining troops continued eastward to perform the previous reconnaissance mission.
On March 30th, George led one hundred and forty Militia on their journey.
Most Militia are refugees who have fled from other places.
White Sheep Army looted the villages near the road. The survivors had no way of survival and could only become tenant farmers of the squires in exchange for a ration that was enough to survive.
In the entire team, only George and ten of his cronies were equipped with armor. The remaining Militia had no protective gear, and their only weapons were pitchforks or sharpened sticks. The crowd escorted twenty grain carriages and marched slowly along the dirt road.
After walking for half an hour, the team stopped at a slope. Militia turned around one after another and looked at the distant valley for the last time.
George focused his eyes on his castle and the winding stream below the hills. He felt suddenly panicked and didn't move for a long time.
At night, the team camped at an abandoned inn on the roadside. The roof of the inn had long ago collapsed, but the four walls were still there, able to block the cold wind blowing from the north.
Militia picked up a pile of dead branches and made a fire, cooked Barley porridge in the iron pot, cut a few pieces of dry cheese and threw it in. The porridge rolled, and the sour smell of cheese and the aroma of grains spread out.
George handed the squad leader Dragoons a bag of ale and asked him for news about the army. The squad leader did not speak Armenia and could only ask the guide to help translate. The communication efficiency between the two parties was very low.
The conversation lasted for more than an hour, and what George learned was that the emperor usually put the elite troops on the front, the auxiliary troops in secondary positions, and the troops with the weakest combat effectiveness stayed in the rear to defend the city.
Over the years, rumors about Vitus have been everywhere. George has never heard of the other party's experience of killing prisoners or breaking promises, so he feels a little calm.
If it were Uzong Hassan recruiting personnel, George would definitely not go there in person.
After three days, George and his party arrived at Erzincan. Militia and his vehicle stayed at South Gate, and he went into the city alone to meet the emperor.
At this moment, Vitus is observing a sketch.
This painting comes from another Melik lord. The brushwork is vivid and vivid, depicting the appearance of Uzon Hassan:
The figure in the portrait is tall, thin, with a long beard on the chin, wearing a Central Asia style plate chain armor, with his left hand holding a scimitar at his waist, and his right hand holding a riding crop, staring outside the portrait, giving him an indescribable sense of oppression.
"At only twenty-seven years old, he has created a huge empire with his own hands. He is wise, mighty, and domineering. He is indeed the most ideal monarch in the hearts of the nomads."
At this time, an announcement came from outside the door. Vitus returned to his seat and asked the guards to let the guests in.
Under the watchful eyes of many guards, George saluted the emperor and recounted his family background.
In fact, George's family origins are vague.
The only thing that can be confirmed is that at the end of Battle of Manzikert, his ancestors fled the big city and moved to a remote and desolate river valley manor. They were lucky enough to survive more than three hundred years of troubled times.
Although there is a lack of historical records and ancient tokens, George still tried his best to trace the blood relationship back to the ancient Kamsarakan Family.
Vitus did not delve into the relevant details, and accepted George's random fabrication, and incorporated his Militia into Armenia Second Auxiliary Brigade.
"I look forward to you restoring the glory of the family. Later, go to Brigade Headquarters quartermaster to collect your weapons and protective gear. The civilian officials of the Logistics Department will register the food you sent as one of the basis for the post-war enfeoffment. If you have any questions in the future, please contact the financial officer of the battalion headquarters."
First Auxiliary Brigade is the original rebel.
Second Auxiliary Brigade is the newly added local force Armenia.
Vitus intends to let the two compete. The one who works harder and is more loyal will gain more benefits after the war.
After the audience, George left the command post, followed an attendant back to South Gate, and led the noisy Militia to Southern Suburban Camp.
"One hundred and forty people, enough to form a company." The quartermaster opened the roster, registered the information of George and Militia, and then asked them to receive helmets, chainmail, dark gray robes and standard spears.
On the other side, several soldiers were weighing George's grain. George walked over to inquire about the information, claiming that he could provide more grain, but the carriage was limited and could not transport so much at one time.
"Is there any food?"
The quartermaster thought for half a minute and decided to let George's company participate in ten days of training, then return to the territory and transport the food to Erzurum's siege camp.
Time is running out, Second Auxiliary Brigade and Militia are destined to be of no use.
The training program for these people is to become familiar with the queue, learn to use spears and Crossbow, and then serve as defenders at a certain stronghold.
The operation of Crossbow is simple and easy to learn. After half an hour of explanation, Militia officially started practicing.
They imitated the instructor's movements, pointed the Crossbow at the ground, stepped on the iron ring at the front of the crossbow arm with their left foot, and pulled the bow string to the rear with both hands to lock it.
Next, Militia took out the crossbow bolts and put them into the wooden slot, aiming at the target thirty steps away and shooting. Each person was assigned ten crossbow bolts and completed the shooting within five minutes.
After the shooting, the instructor eliminated half of the personnel and asked them to focus on using spears. The remaining Militia had two days to become familiar with crossbows and then receive spear training.
The method of using the spear is equally simple. There is only one forward thrusting movement. Training for a period of time is enough for farmers to initially master the technique of exerting force.
However, the difficulty in training spearmen is not to use weapons, but to cultivate collective discipline and formation coordination capabilities.
Considering that this unit does not perform field missions, the instructor skipped this link and only taught them some simple queue changes.
On April 19, Eastern Roman Empire still failed to detect the position of White Sheep Main Force. The enemy gave up rescuing Erzurum and only sent some nomadic cavalry to harass the outside.
Outside the city, the sun was warm, and many soldiers were busy digging soil, slowly but surely approaching the city wall.
During the siege, Leo was assigned to an artillery crew, manipulating Siege Cannon to bombard the city wall from a long distance and suppress the defenders' artillery.
Eastern Roman Empire Artillery does not use the rumored Urban gun. This gun is too heavy and does not have the ability to maneuver in the field. Artillery still uses the past model.
Bang!
The shell rushed out of the gun barrel, and the acrid gunpowder smoke spread. Leo walked towards the heavy gun and used a long soaked mop to clean the gun barrel repeatedly to remove Silk Powder Charge and the residue after the gunpowder was burned.
After cleaning up, Leo returned to the original bunker. One gunner stepped forward and stuffed the powder bag and shells into the barrel. The other gunner picked up the ignition rod and lit the gun after hearing the instructions.
Bang!
Another cannonball hit the city wall, but it had no obvious damaging effect.
Leo was used to this boring process, so he numbly took a mop to clean it, and found a small crack in the gun body.
Hearing his cry, the artillery crew sergeant ran over to observe and compared the records in the book and said:
"This artillery has fired four hundred and five times, and it stands to reason that it still has dozens of firings left. Was it damaged during transportation, or was there an error in the casting of Arsenal?"
The reason why the sergeant omitted his own side: Artillery was used improperly, the barrel was not cleaned after firing, or sufficient cooling time was not reserved.
In any case, the work of this artillery group is temporarily over.
The noncommissioned officer jogged all the way to report to the battalion headquarters, while the gunners sat in the bunker and chatted. Leo observed another artillery group twenty steps away, watching them repeatedly loading and firing, and unknowingly stayed up until noon.
"It's time to eat!"
The gunners stretched themselves and strode towards the field canteen in the rear.
Today's meal was the same as usual, bread, salted fish and vegetable soup, without any changes. Leo finished the meal numbly, and then returned to his post to continue in a daze.
In the afternoon, the noncommissioned officer returned from the battalion headquarters with a gloomy face and told everyone the bad news:
"The battalion headquarters has no extra Siege Cannon. Let us return to Trebizond and wait for the next batch of Siege Cannon to arrive at the front line."
The noncommissioned officer is eager to accumulate merit, which is bad news for him.
Ordinary gunners have no expectation of promotion and can stay away from the war for a while, which is actually good news.
Leo did not participate in the cheers of the gunners. His father definitely did not agree to let him go back to Trebizond for vacation, and he should be arranged to another position.
"I've been manipulating artillery all this time. It's really boring. Why not find a new place."
Leo remembered his uncle Thomas, so he found the opponent's command post and asked to stay in his unit for a while.
"Are you sure you want to find me?"
Thomas laughed dumbly. His troops were Armenia First Auxiliary Brigade, and a Auxiliary Infantry Brigade from Cappadocia.
During this period, Attica Legion was on guard in the military camp, Artillery was busy attacking the city, and Thomas's troops were doing the remaining chores, including but not limited to transporting supplies, clearing peripheral strongholds, and digging trenches.
Leo complained to his uncle, "My ears have been greatly affected by the manipulation of artillery these days, and I can hardly hear the sound. I want to follow you to clean up the stronghold, just as I am going out to relax."
The next day, Thomas couldn't stand Leo's entanglement and could only agree to his request.
The spring day was bright and the breeze was gentle. Thomas rode a Akhal-Teke horse that was all black and had hair as smooth as satin, leading three thousand soldiers on the road in the wilderness.
Leo's riding skills were not good. Thomas slowed down his horse slightly and introduced the battle plan to his nephew.
"Dragoons and the light cavalry are the eyes and ears of the entire army. They move quickly, but their shortcoming is their poor attack ability. The power of Three-Pounder is limited to dealing with wooden houses and cannot destroy stone buildings.
Once they encounter a stronghold that is difficult to conquer, they will send relevant information back and let the infantry take charge of the next actions. This time, we need to capture four targets in the north of Erzurum, which can take as short as a week or as long as half a month."
On April 21st, the first target appeared ahead: a small fortress by the Sancha River.
Hundreds of White Sheep soldiers were trapped inside the fortress, and a Dragon Cavalry Company team was on guard outside to prevent them from escaping.
Seeing this, the accompanying Artillery dismantled the artillery carriage and bombarded the fortress with Six-Pounder Cannon and Nine-Pounder Cannon, forcing the remaining defenders to surrender.
The second target was a village ten miles away. The enemy had a premonition that something was wrong and quickly launched a breakout. When Thomas rushed to the battlefield, the battle was already over.
From the perspective of Leo, the village is located on a slope, with a simple wooden fence built outside.
A large area of farmland has been cultivated around the village, and the crops are not growing well. There is a dry well not far from the field ridge.
At this moment, more than thirty Dragoons were cleaning the battlefield in the village. The deputy company commander ran over in panic and reported the battle situation to Thomas.
"The enemy broke through, and the company commander is still pursuing them. I was ordered to stay and deal with the aftermath. There are some skeletons scattered in the depression outside the village. They are probably villagers killed by the White Sheep cavalry. There was very little food found in the village, which could not be loaded into ten carriages."
Leo sighed, "So little food? Our trip was in vain."
Thomas shook his head slowly and patted his nephew on the shoulder, "If you think so, you are too naive.
As a commander, you have to face information from all aspects: bosses, subordinates, prisoners of war, and local people. You must obey your boss's orders, and other information needs to be screened carefully, and don't be led away by others!
According to my observation, some winter wheat was planted in the fields outside, which proves that there were still people living here at the end of last autumn. It is estimated that some time ago, the village was looted by the White Sheep cavalry and has since been abandoned.
If my guess is correct, some buried grain can be found nearby."
Thomas called an officer and asked him to lead a team to search the farmhouse for possible hollow walls or cellars.
Later, Thomas took his nephew to the dry well in the field. Thomas leaned down, struck the wall of the well with a spear, and then dropped a stone to the bottom of the well.
"There should be food here. Fat Joe! Find the food and let Leo see what you Italy Mercenaries are capable of."
After hearing Thomas's instructions, a small guard came out. Leo looked at him for a long time and didn't understand why a dark and thin guy had the nickname "Fat Joe".
Fat Joe didn't pay attention to the prince's doubts and tied the rope skillfully around his body.
After everything was ready, the four comrades pulled the rope and let Fat Joe slowly descend and hover in the center of the dry well.
Boom! Boom!
Fat Joe skillfully tapped the surface of the brick with a tool, then let the rope continue to descend, and finally reached the bottom of the dry well.
Finally, Fat Joe discovered that there was an abnormal knocking sound in a certain area. He used tools to pry open the bricks on the well wall. Inside was a spacious space with wheat straw on the ground and numerous grain bags piled together.
Thomas's search was not over yet. He looked at the surrounding terrain and decisively led people towards the woods on the edge of the hills.
Thomas pointed to a certain area and told Leo: "Believe it or not, there must be food here!"
At Thomas's signal, Fat Joe wandered around the area and quickly selected a thick old oak tree.
"This is it."
Fat Joe poked the ground with a wooden stick a few times to dismantle the trap.
The next moment, he quickly climbed to the top of the tree and lifted off the bark and moss used for camouflage.
"Your Highness, the trunk of this oak tree has been hollowed out and filled with grain!"
Seeing this, Thomas asked someone to use an iron ax to break open the trunk, and it turned out that there was indeed a cavity inside. The inner wall of the trunk had been baked with firewood in advance, and the surface became charred black to prevent the stored food from deteriorating.
He looked at Leo triumphantly. "There is food in the village, there is food in the dry wells, and there is food in the woods. I believe there is food in the hills over there, either buried in some breathable and dry cave, or under a certain rock."
Leo asked, "How did you guess it?"
Thomas chuckled, "This is not a guess. In my early years, I served as a garrison general in Northern Thrace, and I was busy catching smugglers and poachers all day long.
Later, I went on a mission to the Rus countries in the north and participated in several battles in Italy. I heard that Vitus had a decisive battle with Ottoman, so I rushed back from Italy and helped him win Battle of Sakarya, Battle of Konya...
To this day, I have accumulated a wealth of combat experience.
The Dragoons deputy company commander is obviously a recent Military Academy graduate. He is inexperienced and cannot even do the most basic search for supplies. The soldiers below will certainly not obey him. He must survive the initial novice stage to win the trust of the soldiers.
You will also lead troops to fight in the future, and you must think more and observe more when encountering things. In this battle, remember to learn something from Uncle Qi."