"Is the Polante Thieves Group collaborating with the Black Gold Brotherhood?"

The content of the letter was nothing but news about the Black Gold Brotherhood. This force had gathered troops on the southeastern border of Wushan Territory and had even begun to harass the neighboring noble territories.

"Rydar, what do you think?"

Riedal took the letter and read it carefully twice. After a little thought, he expressed his opinion.

"Sir, there are two possibilities. The first is as you just said, the Polante Thieves Group and the Black Gold Brotherhood are connected, and they are cooperating with each other in their actions. One side took the opportunity to occupy Chishan Town, and the other side took the opportunity to put pressure on the southeast, forcing Wushan Fort to disperse its forces and fight two wars at the same time."

"But there is also a second possibility. These two forces have no connection. After the Black Gold Brotherhood heard the news that the Polante Bandits had occupied Chishan Town, they thought this was a good opportunity, so they stationed troops at the border and waited for the opportunity."

Although Roning felt that the first situation was more likely, the second situation was not impossible.

After all, the Black Gold Brotherhood's actions followed those of the Polante Thieves' Group. If the two really joined forces, they should have acted at about the same time.

If one side occupied Chishan Town, even if the other side did not suddenly launch a surprise attack to seize a piece of territory, it would at least take some action, unlike now, when it took nearly ten days to spread the news of stationing troops on the border.

"But no matter which possibility it is, it seems that Earl Wiggins' plan to use his military advantage to defeat the Polante Bandits and quickly retake Chishan Town will not work."

Roning nodded.

Because of this, Wiggins sent this letter again to the lords of various places, asking them to intensify preparations for war, and at the same time summoned nobles of all sizes to discuss the expedition at Wushan Fortress on June 12.

"Sir, as far as I know, the Black Gold Brotherhood was defeated in last year's battle and gave up several territories they had occupied. They actually have the energy to provoke Wushanling this year, which is very suspicious."

As the affairs of the territory get back on track, Ridal, McKen and others, in addition to training teams and practicing, will also actively learn about the relevant forces of Wushanling and even the Kingdom of Alduin.

Especially with the recent outbreak of war, Redar even held a private meeting and asked Rogna, Kurami and Grado, the three knights from the Horse Herder City, to carefully explain the information about the two forces.

"Rydar, don't doubt your judgment. There are other forces behind them. Especially the Black Gold Brotherhood. Even though the territory they occupy is only the size of two viscounts, they have quite a few knight squads under their command."

The strength of a force that has someone backing it up cannot be judged simply by the size of its territory and its level of prosperity.

"The Black Gold Brotherhood is not our enemy this time. Our opponent is the Polante Thieves Group."

He had already made a plan with Wiggins. Even if the Black Gold Brotherhood caused trouble, Roning would only go to Chishan Town.

But things are different now. Without so many teams, in order to ensure that he can take over Chishan Town, Roning needs to bring more men and horses, instead of just a few people like before.

"Rydar, how well equipped are our knight squads?"

"At present, everyone has an ironwood shield, ironwood helmet, and spear, and there are still some to spare. The cavalry's lamellar armor has been prepared, and the infantry and archers' chest guards have been prepared, but there is still a lot of lamellar armor missing."

Luo Ning frowned slightly as he listened to the report.

With the expansion of population, the scale of the Ironwood Workshop has expanded several times compared to before, and now the amount of equipment and armor produced every month is quite considerable.

It’s just that this war broke out too suddenly. If it had been two months later, perhaps even the infantry would have been able to wear lamellar armor.

"I will ask Wilson to urge the iron and wood workshops to increase their production capacity in the next month or so so that our soldiers can be equipped with as much equipment as possible before going to the battlefield."

"right!"

Luo Ning answered affirmatively: "Except for me, the extraordinary people will send out twelve people, and the cavalry, infantry, and archers will be arranged according to the normal scale."

Originally, he just wanted to join the Wushanbao team and only took a few trusted people with him.

But the situation is different now. If Wushanbao has to divide its troops, it is not a 100% certainty to recapture Chishan Town.

If they were defeated, not to mention the matter of the Chishan Iron Mine, Roning's reputation as a commander would probably not be very good either.

So after some thought, Roning changed his original plan and decided to go into battle with his own team of knights.

There will definitely be casualties in battle, and Roning has spent a lot of energy and money to train this team of knights.

However, these soldiers have been training in the territory without experiencing the fighting on the battlefield, so their combat level cannot be truly improved, and Wubei Territory will never be able to obtain a capable and battle-hardened team.

Of course, Roning did not let his team charge in recklessly. As a battlefield commander, he could still choose a weaker direction for his team to attack.

"There is still some time before we actually go to the battlefield, so you and Mikan should train according to your usual schedule."

Luo Ning ordered: "Also, we must inspire their confidence. As long as we win this battle, all the participants will receive generous rewards, including money, land, and everything else!"

If we can successfully capture the iron mine, then it wouldn't be a big deal to distribute some spoils to the soldiers.

Moreover, through this battle, the weapons and equipment produced by the Tiemu Workshop will also become known to the world.

It would be very expensive to equip all cavalry and infantry with a set of iron equipment, and not all nobles could afford it.

But if they use iron and wood equipment, maybe they can consider it.

Although armor made of wood is somewhat afraid of fire, ironwood armor is not a wood that ignites instantly. Even if the soldiers stand in the fire, it will take several seconds for it to burn.

Unless the opponent has a magician who can cast a large-scale fire attack such as a flame beam, otherwise the disadvantage is not that obvious.

"I see!"

Rydar nodded solemnly.

Since the official formation of the Wubei Territory's knight squad, the selected cavalry, infantry and archers have devoted most of their time and energy to training.

In addition to learning discipline and obedience, these soldiers also learned a lot of fighting skills from Redar, McKeon and others. After several team competitions, they still have some fighting ability.

Of course, their strength is certainly not as good as that of the veterans who have experienced many battles, but they are much stronger than those militiamen who are temporarily brought to the battlefield.

"I hope that Wubei Territory can develop quickly under your leadership, so that I can train more soldiers!"

Rydar thought silently in his heart. (End of this chapter)