Meanwhile, at the Macedonian military factory, after the battle last night, Qin Ze ordered his army to camp and rest outside the factory. After a night, in the morning, Qin Ze dispatched four cavalry reconnaissance battalions from the road east of the factory.
These cavalrymen were lightly armed, and their mission was to scout ahead, providing the main force with the necessary intelligence for their subsequent march.
Although Qin Ze believed that the Goths' forces in this area were temporarily weakened after this battle, reconnaissance was definitely a necessary means. After all, this was Gothic territory, and they, who were more familiar with the terrain, might set up ambushes along the way.
The dispatched cavalry reconnaissance battalion, upon encountering enemy forces, would not engage them in battle but instead bring back intelligence to prepare a more meticulous battle plan.
As for the main force, Qin Ze decided to station all his troops here after careful consideration. Necessary defensive forces are indispensable for the areas that have been captured. As for the troops left behind, Qin Ze did not intend to spread them to the surrounding towns. They only needed to establish defensive lines along the various routes with the Macedonian military factory as the core to hold the areas that had been captured.
On his way to the Enzos Mountains, he chose to summon a completely new army.
Thus, one day after the cavalry battalion set off, on the morning of January 5th, Qin Ze left the camp with only the newly summoned 30,000 troops.
The sun was shining brightly, and yesterday's gloomy weather had completely disappeared. The wind was clear and the sun was shining. Although the wind was still a bit chilly, it wasn't cold enough to make you shiver under the bright sunshine.
Qin Ze, riding a warhorse, wore a felt hat and a wolf-coated coat. The small colt beneath him, which was only 130 centimeters tall, shook its big head and slowly rode away.
Considering the impact of the cold weather and the long journey ahead, Qin Ze equipped this newly redeemed army with miniature horses.
Unlike the warhorses used by most armies, these horses, though small in stature with large heads, short necks, and short legs, resembling foals from a distance, have broad chests, long manes, thick skin, and coarse hair. They are not only cold-resistant but also highly adaptable, capable of long journeys even in temperatures as low as minus twenty or thirty degrees Celsius.
Since setting foot on the continent of Salisnor, the weather in this region has not been too cold. The snow that fell a few days ago melted away in just one day, and the ground is now completely dry. However, no one knows whether the weather will change in the future, so it is always good to be prepared.
In winter, whether marching or fighting, the biggest obstacle is always the cold.
The Nzoz Mountains are significantly higher than the port area, so the temperature there will be exceptionally cold when it snows heavily.
Furthermore, according to the previously obtained geographical map, the continent of Salisno is vast and boundless, with a land area that is no less than that of Yan Kingdom. However, Qin Ze discovered that the cities marked on the map were mainly concentrated in the central, western, and southern regions. The further east one went, the fewer city names were marked, and the distance between the cities was also exceptionally far. This reminded Qin Ze of the Northern Liang of Yan Kingdom.
Based on the information Lucat had previously provided, he guessed that although the Delta Federation was known as the only empire on the Salisno Continent, it had only risen to power in the last ten years or so. Therefore, the main areas it controlled were concentrated in the central and western regions and the south. The northeastern region may have been the territory of another country before, and although it now belonged to the Delta Federation, it had not yet been fully absorbed and developed.
Of course, without the corroboration of valid information, these are all conjectures, but Qin Ze felt that if that were the case, then his side would need to speed up their march.
After all, the larger the territory, the more dispersed the military forces become. Just like one's own country, once unrest occurs somewhere, by the time the news reaches the capital and troops are urgently dispatched to quell the unrest, the time wasted often allows the unrest to escalate.
For the attacking side, this was an opportunity to seize territory with lightning speed. By the time Von Palen realized that the situation was hopeless, his army would not even have time to arrive in Salibia from all over the world.
According to the map, once you leave the Enzos Mountains, you will enter the central region of the Delta Federation. Therefore, Qin Ze decided to enter the Enzos Mountains within ten days. However, if he encounters an ambush by the Goths, the time may be longer. But the possibility of encountering an ambush in the first few days is not too high, after all, he has already eliminated more than 100,000 Goths.
Even so, the Golts' next counterattack will inevitably involve a large force. The Golts who escaped have taken the intelligence with them, so they will be even more cautious going forward.
"Your Majesty, the reconnaissance battalion has sent someone back!"
Qin Ze, who was deep in thought, was interrupted by the soldier's message. He looked up and saw several cavalrymen galloping towards him.
A short while later, the scouts arrived beside Qin Ze and respectfully said:
"Your Majesty, we have scouted to within 40 kilometers ahead and have not encountered any enemy checkpoints. Just as you predicted, the enemy has indeed deployed its forces to the Macedonian arms factory."
“This area is currently sparsely populated with troops, and they are even unable to set up roadblocks to intercept us.”
Upon hearing this, Qin Ze said, "It's not that the enemy is so weak. I think after the two battles at the Macedonian military factory, these Goths have realized the huge gap in combat power between us and them. They don't dare to launch small-scale battles until they are confident that they can stop us, and they don't want to increase their casualties."
The scout nodded and said, "As you said."
"By the way, Your Majesty, although we did not encounter any enemy soldiers on the road, we did see traces they left behind."
Upon hearing this, Qin Ze asked, "Is it that deserters who escaped from the military factory?"
The scout shook his head and said, "It should be. The footprints were very messy, but the most important thing is that we saw the artillery they left behind."
"These artillery pieces have been destroyed and left a few hundred meters from the main road. They are covered with weeds, but the cover is not very tight, which is why we were able to spot them."
"Haha." Hearing this, Qin Ze couldn't help but laugh.
"It seems these fleeing soldiers are in a panic, and have reached the point where they have to abandon heavy objects and march quickly."
"But what's the point of destroying the artillery? Even if we were to use them, we wouldn't bother. Our artillery isn't as clumsy and heavy as theirs."
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