Chapter 73 Seventy-three tiger-striped pancakes
Late November.
Olivia sat in the warm living room and had her usual lunch.
She picked up a cup of hot floral tea and drank it to suppress the spiciness. Next to her, her two younger sisters, Theresa, were also eating with their knives and forks.
They listened together as the butler reported the military report he had just received.
It has now been a full ten days since the Earl led his troops out of the country.
Outside the window, heavy snow was falling, slowly covering the entire north.
According to the information obtained by the housekeeper, after the army entered Dongfeng City, it advanced two cities in a week.
However, the main force of the rebels stationed in Hobbs County also had main forces to reinforce the rebels in Constant County.
The army had captured cities and lands, and now faced the task of defending them.
Including the barons, they fought positional warfare with the rebels in their respective garrisons.
Fortunately, there is no problem with the logistics supply line. At present, the reinforcements of the rebels are fighting with the Knights thirty miles north of Dongfeng City, and the Earl is personally commanding in Dongfeng City.
The Earl's two sons, the eldest son followed the Knights to war, and the second son was stationed on the border, in the camp of Lavosen.
The latest intelligence obtained by the Baron's Mansion stated that the leader of the rebel army personally went out three days ago and brought thousands of rebels to the northern part of Dongfeng City.
In the battle that is currently being fought, both sides have been fighting for three consecutive days, and neither side has a clear advantage.
The information the housekeeper got was still a little delayed.
Olivia can see the latest situation on the battlefield on the map lit up by Caesar.
The leader of the rebel army was a five-star military talent. After the two thousand people sent to Dongfeng City were quickly wiped out, he brought six thousand people here.
It seems that he wants to meet the main force here in person.
After the last battle to capture the city, Caesar was once again given a higher power by the Count. Currently, he and Ssonna are leading the main force of cavalry and several thousand troops to fight against the main force of the rebels.
Under such circumstances, Caesar fought with enemies of the same talent level as him for several days.
The two sides initially fought hand-to-hand on the battlefield, but found that neither side could gain any advantage and was hindered at every turn, so they retreated to think about countermeasures.
Olivia took a deep breath. This was what was called enduring.
She was considering whether now was the time to intervene with her skills.
In addition to the main force, other barons stationed in key positions were also attacked by small groups, such as Baron Bergru at the seaport.
However, the housekeeper didn't dare let Theresa know this news.
But after listening to the tense situation, Theresa began to lose her appetite.
After lunch, Olivia said she was going back to the house to rest and opened the map.
On the map, she could see Caesar's exact location, his footprints lighting up the entire East Wind City.
Caesar's position and the rebel leader's position are only a few dozen miles apart, and both camps are currently in a strange silence.
She could see that both sides were waiting for an opportunity and had sent a number of spies to observe the enemy's situation.
It seems that whoever loses control and takes action first will be the first to reveal his flaws.
And this flaw is enough to brew a decisive war.
Compared to the eerie silence here.
At this time, at the port east of Dongfeng City, Baron Bergru led hundreds of soldiers to fight a small group of rebels at the port.
There were originally 200 rebels stationed at the port. The baron led his troops to seize the territory and resources of the garrison, and began to switch from offense to defense.
His father had the talent for exploration, so he relied on the terrain to launch powerful attacks on the enemy and temporarily controlled the situation together with other knights.
But Baron Berggru himself was not so lucky. He accidentally fell off his horse and was injured.
The knights seemed to be discussing whether to send the Baron back, but without the Baron, who would take responsibility and take command?
They sent intelligence to the border outpost and to the count at the same time, asking the count for instructions and informing the baroness.
Olivia flipped back to the leader of the rebellion.
After thinking about it, I decided to use the event function and used five "condemnations" to bring man-made disasters to this leader.
In order to complete the task quickly, she had to kill.
Currently, Caesar and the leader are waiting for each other's patience to run out.
Whoever can't help but move first will be vulnerable, which is enough for him to seize the opportunity to change the situation.
…
The howling wind and snow almost covered all the mountains, ravines, forests and trees.
The sky was lead gray, and the ground was a vast expanse of snow-white, blending seamlessly with the white felt tent. At a distance, no distinction could be made.
At the Knights' garrison, thirty carts of military rations were transferred from Dongfeng City and safely transported to the temporary camp.
The soldiers moved the food to temporary tents one by one.
Two of the infantrymen carried two bags of bread, carrying dry rations, to the command post, walking step by step through the ankle-deep snow.
When they arrived outside the tent, two cavalrymen were standing guard, while there were bursts of discussion coming from inside the tent, and their attention was briefly attracted by the dry food that was delivered.
A group of attendants sat on the map and divided the freshly boiled water. Each of them took a whole piece of frozen hard bread and put it into a bowl of hot water to soak in advance.
There's no way. This bread is too solid. It's frozen hard and I can't bite it at all. I can even use it as filling for a stone thrower.
As for the soldiers outside, faced with such dry rations, they had to put some effort into melting them in their clothes before eating, although they could still fill themselves up.
In the tent, Caesar sat among a group of attendants, looking at the map in deep thought. He was the only one who was not in a hurry to cook.
Ssona was cutting bread with a knife. When he looked up, he saw Caesar staring at the map motionlessly, thinking about something with an expressionless face.
Now there is a valley between the two armies, and both sides have stationed their soldiers on the mountainside, whether they want to send a small group of knights to attack from behind or move the camp forward or backward.
The other party will immediately follow suit and give exactly the same instructions.
The first battle with the rebels was three days ago. They tortured each other in the valley for a whole day, and the casualties of the soldiers were almost exactly the same.
Caesar and Sthona knew that they had personally fought against the infamous leader of the rebels.
Whether it was close combat with swords or commanding soldiers to challenge tactics, neither side could find any flaws in the other.
Although they were all wearing helmets and full suits of armor, no one could see each other clearly, but they knew that the leader was riding a horse and charging in the front.
Both sides knew that now they only had one word, wait.
It was also the first time that Caesar felt that his intuition had reached a bottleneck, but he could feel that the other party must have felt the same way.
Each wanted to exploit the other's weaknesses and attack, but they were also aware of each other and resolved the attack.
Small groups of soldiers were sent to test the waters time and time again, but they always ended in confrontation and retreat.
Now the two groups have similar numbers of troops, their logistics are adequately supplied, and even their morale is not significantly different.
Caesar silently thought about various possibilities, trying to find the one with the best chance of success.
On the other hand, Ssona, who was sitting next to him, was older, more open-minded, and had a broad mind. He ate his meal peacefully, found a blanket to cover himself with, and prepared to take a nap.
He thought that now was the time for both sides to use up their patience and no one would act rashly, so it would be better to rest first.
Moreover, in the current stalemate situation, it all depends on who is favored by heaven and who will win.
As soon as Ssona lay down, he saw Caesar putting hard bread by the fire to thaw it.
He stood up, took his bow and walked out of the tent.
But after a while, Ssona saw Caesar coming back with a grouse that had been plucked, gutted and cleaned with snow.
I roasted it by the campfire, and I didn't know where I got some salt powder and red powder to season it.
The smell was so fragrant that all the attendants and knights in the tent stared eagerly.
Some knights who couldn't resist the fragrance also went out with their bows to find a snack for themselves.
He prepared some special food for himself, and seeing that Ssona was drooling over it, he didn't forget to share some with him.
Caesar's intuition told him that instead of being anxious, he should relax.
After the barbecue, Caesar took out some chocolate beans from the lining of his fur-lined robe and gave them to Ssona.
His simple luggage was completely packed by Olivia, and Caesar also opened a blind box.
Apart from some undershirts, knee pads, gloves, gauze, a bottle of strong grain liquor, and a few small packets of light seasoning powder and sugar, it seemed as if he was not out to fight, but to have a picnic.
However, it is of great use now. At least it can help pass the time before the bread is heated by the fire.
After being raised by Olivia for so long, Caesar felt that he was much more pampered than before.
As Ssona chewed the grouse leg, he felt an inexplicable sense of envy.
Caesar finished his meal slowly, rinsed his mouth, wrapped himself in furs and closed his eyes to take a nap.
The last time Caesar took a shower was the day before, and he felt like he smelled bad and had an unshaven beard.
An hour ago, they rearranged the security and spies of the entire temporary camp, reporting the movements of the enemy camp every half hour, so that no one could sleep soundly.
Half an hour later, a spy suddenly came back to report the news, stepping on the thick snow. He walked quickly and lifted the curtain.
The attendants in the tent all stood up and looked at him, including Caesar.
The spy said that he found a fire in the enemy camp and there was black smoke coming out from the opposite hill. It didn't look like the smoke from the campfire, but that their tents were on fire.
Ssona frowned suddenly.
"Is this a trick they're playing to trick us, or is there really trouble going on?"
Several attendants had different opinions, and some thought this was a good opportunity to attack them.
Others thought it was a ploy to force them to move first.
But another aide-de-camp said that if this was a bait, then the price would be too high.
Each of the aides led a section of the Knights, and after a hard battle the day before, no one wanted to be the first to take the lead, even though this might contribute to the first merit.
But Ssona was not in a hurry. He asked the spy a few more questions, determined the direction of the smoke, and turned to Caesar and asked:
"Caesar, what do you think?"
Seeing that everyone was hesitant, Caesar suggested that he could take a group of light cavalry to conduct a reconnaissance. They would know if it was a ruse or an ambush once they got closer.
That's what I said.
In fact, if it is an enemy strategy, then it has a hidden purpose, which is to guide them to make some natural reactions.
The leaders of the rebels knew that it was not a dictator who decided everything on their side, but usually military advisers and officers worked together.
If the rebel leader wants to lead, he can just make a false move that will make the majority of his people react in unison.
This leader has this kind of brains.
But in the current situation, the commanders of various divisions in the camp all hold their own opinions, and are caught in a dilemma, with no natural choice.
So Caesar felt that this was not a strategy, but an accident.
It was as if there was an invisible hand in heaven manipulating their fate.
But Caesar would not make any promises and would rather take the gamble himself.
Ssonna also agreed with the decision.
…
Olivia yawned and soaked her feet in lavender in her bedroom.
The warm water slowly opens the pores, making you feel very comfortable.
She could hear the howling of snow outside the window, and the dark night was pitch black, but all this had nothing to do with her.
After soaking my feet, I happily washed my face with mutton fat soap in the bathroom. This soap is made of real materials and has no technological elements. It also contains southern rose essential oil.
After washing up, she crawled into the soft quilt and opened the map again.
Four hours have passed since the "man-made disaster" took effect.
This morning, within the rebel army, an unknown groom who had never had any sense of existence was bullied by his companions and was left to feed the horses alone and missed the food distribution.
The steward saw him again, looking listless and brushing the horse while he was hungry.
The steward had fought hard the previous day without any results and had not received any reward, so he was in a very agitated mood. Seeing that the groom was furious, he punished him by making him sweep the snow.
The groom was sweeping snow near the tent, shivering with cold. Unfortunately, he accidentally bumped into a small leader of the rebels.
In the end, he was inexplicably humiliated by this little leader and was punished to be used as a human target.
The small leaders were in a bad mood because they had never fought such a battle before. They were caught in a dilemma, walking on thin ice and dared not act rashly. They were exhausted like trapped beasts.
Even the leaders in the main camp fell silent, which made him feel panic.
The poor groom was tied to a tree with a water bag on his head, and was scared to death by the sharp bow and arrow of the little leader.
Finally, the small leader was called away by the main camp, and the groom was able to save his life.
After sneaking back to the stable, the groom slept in the stable, fantasizing about how to take revenge on all those who bullied him today.
At the beginning of the "man-made disaster", the groom suddenly became hallucinatory, and his inner fantasies gradually became distorted. The fantasies were infinitely magnified and overlapped with reality.
After a while, he frantically untied all fifty horses in the stable, stood up, picked up the tinder and flint, and walked towards the temporary hay bin.
As the fire spread, the military horses were frightened and fled in all directions. The groom continued to walk towards the tents and quickly set fire to ten tents before being caught by patrolmen.
The leader of the rebel army was drawn out by the noise outside. With a frown, he ordered the soldiers to put out the fire in the camp and harness the horses. He was about to severely punish the soldiers in charge of patrolling and have the patrolmen behead the culprit as a public display.
Suddenly, the groom who was about to be beheaded by the patrolmen was overwhelmed by brute force and in a trance. He pounced on the leader like a zombie and broke through the layers of guards.
The leader, who could have dodged and counterattacked immediately, was distracted by the distorted pupils of the groom. When he came to his senses, the groom had already bitten his ear tightly.
…
Olivia turned over in the bed, yawned, and looked at the fighting in the position.
In the afternoon, the rebel camp was in chaos. Caesar led the light cavalry to run around the periphery of the camp, checked the mess in the enemy camp, and sent a whistle signal to Ssonna.
In less than twenty minutes, the Knights stormed into the rebel camp, and now, four hours later, the remaining rebels were fleeing in all directions.
The Earl ordered the main force to move directly to Kailin City.
Now the army is still marching northward overnight.
…
A day later, the victory news reached Lavoisin. The Earl had won a great victory over the rebels. The leader of the rebels had been wounded and fled. The remaining time was only used to wipe out the remaining forces.
After hearing this, Theresa felt a sense of unrealistic trance.
"You mean to say that the leader of the rebellion, who dominated for so many years and almost took over the entire Lennia, was defeated just like that?"
Victory came without any preparation.
Lainie shook her head and fiddled with her needlework. "That's normal. There aren't so many generals who always win."
The butler nodded.
Although the leader was defeated, Hobbes still had several thousand rebels rushing to Constant County to meet with their leader.
The Earl had completely annexed the towns and fortresses of Constantia, and the rest of his time was just wasted with them.
Olivia asked the housekeeper to go down and asked the kitchen to fry a pot of egg sauce. Today she wanted to eat tiger-striped pancakes, with a plate of crispy sauerkraut, a few skewers of roasted lamb, roasted lamb fat, and roasted garlic.
Nothing is more important than your next meal.
…
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