Chapter 257: March

Paul Graman recently received an unexpected surprise. His ally Myron Garnard recommended a general to him, Baron Andrew Byron.

He had heard of this baron when he suppressed the rebellion in Bayerding last year. Angelo and others were afraid of this loyal and brave vassal, so they sent him away in the name of serving the king.

This baron has liked leading troops to fight since he was a child. When he was still a child, he went to the eastern highlands to guard the border for the kingdom. He experienced countless conflicts and wars with barbarians, and it was there that he obtained the qualification of knight.

After he joined the Arda army, his military attainments were second only to the old knight Schroeder who served as the chief of staff.

Baron Andrew Byron brought back more than 400 soldiers from the south. If some more soldiers were added, a battalion could be made up. This saved the staff a lot of effort. These more than 400 people had been in the army for a long time and had seen blood on the battlefield in the south. Their starting point was much better than that of the new recruits.

According to the plan given by the General Staff, some officers should be sent to supplement the newly built "Baydin Camp", and they should be reorganized according to the rules of Alda, and finally undergo three months of recruit training.

Andrew was not convinced at first. My soldiers had fought with the rebels in the south with real swords and guns. The battlefield experience is not comparable to you country bumpkins who have only fought pirates. Such "elites" should be immediately dragged to the battlefield to compete with the Kent family's army.

But after Schroeder asked him to watch the formation of the Second Infantry Battalion and the musket shooting drill, he could no longer be arrogant.

The temperament and quality of the Alda soldiers are really much higher than those of his soldiers, and the weapon called "musket" makes their combat effectiveness even more powerful.

So Andrew honestly accepted the reorganization and training plan, and personally taught a few troublemakers a lesson.

The "Fourth Infantry Battalion" was born.

Paul once proposed to disband Bayerdin's troops and mix them with other troops according to the "military knowledge" he brought from Earth, but was dissuaded by Schroeder and others. First, this move might cause resentment in Myron and Andrew's hearts, and second, the size of the battalion was still small, and it would be enough to insert officers trained in the "Gleman Military Academy".

...

After a week of rest at the border, the first and third infantry battalions received the order they had been waiting for for a long time - marching to Emden.

The whole two battalions, as well as the artillery company that cooperated with them, broke into the territory of the Kent family.

"You are so brave, don't you know that this is the territory of the Kent family? I warn you, the great Duke of Martz Kent will definitely punish you."

A Kent family steward stationed in a town along the way stopped them on the road and yelled at them angrily.

Bryce, who was sitting on a tall horse, said to him politely: "Sir, please move aside. Don't you know that the Kent family and the Graman family are at war?"

The steward still refused to leave, and shouted again with a stern face: "I warn you, the great Duke of Martz Kent..."

But before he finished speaking, he was pushed into the stinking ditch by the roadside by Bryce's guards.

The steward's embarrassed appearance caused the people around him to laugh, but after he struggled to climb out, the people around him shut up instantly.

Bryce pointed at him with a whip, which frightened him.

"Go back and tell your master that the Arda army is here to repay the humiliation of the Kent family last year."

The steward, who couldn't tell whether he was lucky or unlucky, shrank his neck and said timidly: "Yes, yes, I will tell you the truth." Then he turned around and ran away.

Looking at the panicked figure in front of him, Bryce raised his whip proudly: "Keep going!"

The Kent family has many vassals, and the marching route of the Arda army will pass through the territories of several families. However, as nobles, they are well-informed. They know the result of the Battle of Bido Castle. Most people think they can't fight against the Arda army. When they heard the news that the Arda army was heading south, they ran to Sente City with their own and their family's accumulated wealth.

However, there are also tough guys. These small lords summoned the knights and militias in their territories, trying to fight the Arda army to the end with their own castles.

However, the castles of these country lords are still a little bit inferior to the cannons of the artillery company.

The large-caliber mortars carried by the artillery company are specially used to attack strong fortresses and city walls. They were originally prepared for large castles like Bido Castle. Unexpectedly, the lord of Bido Castle surrendered before they were put into use. Now it is not bad to practice with the small castles of these country lords.

The artillery that Alda had made before should be classified as cannons, with high initial velocity and low trajectory, so it was somewhat powerless to deal with enemies hiding behind solid city walls. Solid bullets had to be used to peel off the bricks and stones on the city walls layer by layer until the city walls collapsed, which was shockingly inefficient.

The short and thick mortars were different. They had a large firing angle, low initial velocity, and high arc trajectory. The purpose of making them was to use the free fall of the shells to attack targets hiding behind obstacles, and they could also be used to bombard city walls from top to bottom.

When preparing for firing, the gun barrel is raised to a vertical angle, and one person pours the calculated amount of gunpowder into the chamber, and then the shells are loaded. The mortar shells equipped by the Arda army are as high as more than 40 kilograms, which need to be loaded by two to three people, and the support wood is used to determine the position of the shell in the middle of the barrel, and the shovel and hammer are used for correction. Once the shell is placed in place, the mortar is accurately adjusted to a 45-degree angle.

No mistakes in one sentence, one sentence, one content, one 6, one 9, one book, one bar!

Then the squad leader or deputy squad leader of the artillery squad is responsible for aiming. The adjustment of the angle and the loading of gunpowder directly affect the accuracy of the firepower. The lifting can be done by the lever facing the outer handle of the base.

The last step is to fire. After the mortars roared, iron lumps fell from the sky, smashing the buildings in the castle to pieces, and some unlucky people were directly smashed into meat patties.

Often, the people in the castle would collapse after one round. After the battle of Bido Castle, the power of "Fire Crossbow" and "Thunder Hammer" had greatly frightened the lords of the northwest. Now they could not stop the attack even if they hid in the sturdy castle, so they could only raise the white flag and surrender.

So there were no casualties in the Alda army. They marched along the S-shaped route, expelled all the local ruling forces of the Kent family along the way, and appointed those who were willing to serve Alda as managers.

Finally, they came to a place not far from Byran Castle, and at this time, half of Emden was under their control.

Byran Castle was the residence of the Kent family members, but at this time, the Kent father and son were not there. Martz Kent, who inherited the title of Duke, and his son stayed in Cent City.

And the news of the Alda army's southward march was also on his desk.