Chapter 332 The Great Xia's Reinforcements
After more than ten days of continuous rain, spring finally arrived in the Baltic Sea, and reinforcements from various countries arrived at the Riga fortress one after another as agreed.
The Lionheart Knights of Britain and the Silver Daisy Knights of Venice arrived just before the deadline, and the main force of the noble private army of Riga Fortress was finally complete this year. At this time, an unexpected team of Qin Mo arrived at Riga Fortress.
Qin Mo had just learned that a Great Xia reinforcement army had arrived at Riga Fortress when someone came to visit him, and upon meeting, he realized it was an acquaintance.
"Wei Tao, commander of the Wuyi Army, pays his respects to Your Highness Prince Heng!" The man immediately bowed to Qin Mo upon seeing him.
"Sit down! Let's not stand on ceremony here! I remember you were the deputy commander of the Xuanyi Army, weren't you? You've been promoted?"
When Qin Mo first led the northern expedition against the orcs, Wei Tao was still a deputy commander of the Xuanyi Army under Zhao Qirui. Now he has become the commander of the Wuyi Army. This is not just a promotion in rank. The difference between deputy commander and commander is only one word, but the power is worlds apart.
"Your Highness is joking. If I hadn't been exiled to Xizhou, I wouldn't have had the chance to be promoted. The round trip would have taken nearly two years, plus another two years to assist in the war. It would have taken four years to get promoted. I only chose this path because I really had no other options."
Wei Tao sat down opposite Qin Mo, his face contorted with worry. He and Qin Mo had fought side by side several times, and he was a straightforward man who never minced words and would sit down and speak his mind.
"Logically speaking, since the Great Xia has been continuously expanding its territory in the north and its defense zone has become much larger, the General should be expanding his army. How come you, as his old subordinate, don't have any connections?" Qin Mo took out tea leaves and tea set. Wei Tao quickly grabbed the teapot and started brewing tea while complaining.
"Your Highness, you don't know this. Originally, the Xuanyi Army was going to expand from one army to two, but the court's view on the northern war situation differed from that of the Grand General. In the end, the Xuanyi Army not only did not expand, but also transferred some of its personnel back to Daxia. If it weren't for the tens of thousands of Imperial Guards that came to the rescue, there wouldn't even be enough people to patrol the coast of the North Sea."
"Is it the civil officials who want a truce, or is it His Majesty's will?" Qin Mo was utterly disgusted with the nature of the civil officials, fearing that the military generals would use the war to elevate their own status and threaten the rights of the civil officials.
Wei Tao spread his hands and said, "The Ministry of Revenue said directly that it had no money and needed to cut expenses. The Ministry of War couldn't get military funding, so it had to lay off staff. Fortunately, the Empress's personal guard was funded by the imperial family, otherwise we would have had to return the territory we had worked so hard to conquer to the orcs."
Qin Mo felt very frustrated. Back in Ulan-Ude City by the North Sea, he had fought for more than half a year. Now, due to a lack of money, he almost squandered the great situation that the soldiers had gained with their lives and blood. How could the generals not have complaints?
"What's the matter with your Wuyi Army coming here? I remember that according to custom, the armies of our Great Xia that come to aid the Holy Temple are fighting on the Black Sea side, right?"
“Your Highness is right. We had originally reached Odessa on the northern shore of the Black Sea, but before we could even catch our breath, we continued north along the entire defensive line all the way here. I led two thousand elite cavalrymen, and nearly half of them ended up in the wounded soldiers' camp due to the long journey and acclimatization issues. What bad luck.”
Wei Tao transferred from the Xuanyi Army to the Wuyi Army in the Western Regions as its commander. He selected two thousand elite cavalrymen from the Great Xia and set off from the Western Regions, the closest to the Western Continent, all the way to the Western Continent. It took them half a year. The hardships along the way were indescribable, turning this straightforward man into a nagging little wife.
"Leve, tell the kitchen to send over more food, and say I have guests."
Leif hurried out to inform the kitchen. Qin Mo, who had also come unexpectedly, was invited to stay for dinner, even though he hadn't exchanged pleasantries with His Majesty Frederick. Leif felt guilty for not coming out to greet the guest sooner and dared not be negligent again.
Qin Mo took out several bottles of fine wine brought from Da Yuan, which made Wei Tao's eyes light up immediately. After Lei Fu came out of the suite, his eyes lit up even more, and he gave Qin Mo a smile that all men understood.
Starting the next day, Elder Rhine, a Saint-level expert from the Temple, began presiding over the pre-battle meeting, explaining the tactics for the upcoming war and assigning tasks to the various private armies.
Qin Mo was not qualified to attend the meeting, so Saintess Heather attended in place of several inner sanctum practitioners. However, Wei Tao, the commander of the Great Xia army, had secured a seat in the meeting hall. Thanks to Wei Tao's tip-off, Qin Mo was well aware of the meeting's progress and was also amazed by the behavior of the various noble private armies.
"Your Highness, you don't know, the war hasn't even started yet, and several noble families are already fighting over the spoils. Are they really that sure they can win this war?"
These past few days, Wei Tao has gotten into the habit of coming to Qin Mo's place to freeload meals and drinks, seemingly determined to ruin every last drop of good wine. Qin Mo doesn't mind at all, and even brought Xu Luo along to keep them company. In this place far from their homeland, the significant gap in status between the three of them quietly disappeared, leaving only the open and honest friendship between men.
"Whether we win or not is unknown, but once we cross the river, these noble private armies will definitely start looting. As for the battle plan, just ignore it and take care of yourselves first." Xu Luo had been to the eastern front and had also crossed the river to fight against the orcs, so he had a thorough understanding of the character of the noble private armies and naturally gave Wei Tao a heads-up.
"What if the orcs suddenly attack? A disorganized army is no match for the orcs. Who will defend us then?"
Wei Tao asked the same question that Qin Mo had in mind. Qin Mo had witnessed the ferocity of the orcs, and the Great Xia army was able to hold its own against them by relying on its skillful battle formations. He couldn't imagine what good would come to an army that didn't follow the plan when facing a large orc army.
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