Chapter 267 Cleaning Movement
The morning fog enveloped the earth like a veil. Horn stood on the tall tower, looking through the layers of fog and staring at Castle Joan of Arc in the distance.
The sun shines through the gaps in the clouds on this vibrant green land, and the streams exude sparkling light.
From the time he came out of the mountains on the 20th to the battle on the 22nd, Horn captured two important towns in Fort Joan of Arc in two days.
But for three days from the 23rd to the 26th, the Salvation Army stayed in Ashheard Town and almost did nothing.
It was clear that Castle Joan of Arc was not far away, so Rudillo, Victor and others thought that they should take advantage of it and launch an attack quickly.
Horn thought it was not possible.
It wasn't that Horn didn't want to attack, but when they defeated Enrico for the first time, some knights had already returned to Fort Joan of Arc, bringing news of the defeat.
Now that Fort Joan of Arc is on defense, the advantage of taking advantage of it when it is unprepared no longer exists.
On the contrary, their drivers are tired. If they rush to attack in a hurry, they will easily be pushed back by the order of waiting for work.
Horne's deduction for this battle was to fight slowly and fight quickly. The strategy should be slow, the preparation should be slow, the march should be fast, and the attack should be fast.
However, it was precisely because they were marching too fast that they had to wait for some important logistical supplies and weapons to arrive in Ashheard Town.
This opportunity can be used to allow the war monks to rest.
Two days of continuous fighting was too tiring even for the Salvation Army. They needed time to bandage their wounds and repair their weapons.
Especially the Holy Gunmen fired the Holy Wind at high intensity, which greatly impacted their spirits and required them to sleep for most of the day before they could fight again.
The only ones in better shape are probably Rudillo's fourth Black Caps corps and Monser's Guards 2nd corps, who haven't played much since their adventurous advance.
So Horn did not let them idle for the past three days, but asked them to take turns to go out and clear out the surrounding knight manors and monasteries.
The two legions who received the order, under the guidance of local villagers and cuirassiers, began to clear out knights' manors and monasteries everywhere.
“What are they doing?”
Standing on the grass with delicate flowers growing on it, Mengsai stood blankly on a big rock, looking towards the monastery in the distance.
The gates of the monastery were opened, and the priests waved their whips, instructing the villagers to plow the fields and drain the sticky land to release the "rotten smell from hell."
Such a peaceful scene is normal around Castle Joan of Arc, but this monastery is in enemy-occupied territory.
It is located between the towns of Mayo and Ashheard!
The Salvation Army's attack and advancement speed are too fast. For the Imperial people who have always been procrastinating, this kind of efficiency is really unaccustomed.
Hai Heng Town has already sent out news of the Salvation Army's attack, but they thought the Salvation Army was still in Mayo Town.
It will take six or seven days to come from Mayo, so it is still early.
March is coming soon, which is the season for farming. It is necessary to prepare grain seeds, plow cattle, recruit homeless people as part-time workers, prepare to turn over soil, and a series of other activities.
They don’t want to delay the important spring plowing time because of this trivial matter.
“Forget it.” Mengsai probably guessed the situation in the monastery, “Don’t think so much, let’s just rush over!”
The sound of neat steps, the jingling of breastplates, the sound of war The monks held spears and holy guns and marched towards the monastery at a fast pace of 50 meters per minute.
When the Salvation Army regiment arrived, the priests still had little reaction.
Looking at their uniform costumes, uniform breastplates, brimmed helmets and spears, the priests thought they were mercenaries hired by Fort Joan of Arc.
It was not until the dense spears were lowered and the shining spear points were pointed at them that these lazy soldiers and monks belatedly shouted the name of the Holy Father. Until Mengsai cleaned the entire monastery, he never thought it would be so easy.
Perhaps it was because the security of Castle Joan was so good before that there were few people guarding these manors and monasteries.
Every attack on the manor and monastery was almost the same scene.
The nearby woodcutters came to report the news and lead the way, and the cavalry surveyed the terrain. After arriving, they lined up and marched quickly.
The other side stood motionless, and it was not until the war monk raised his spear to stab them that they knew something was wrong.
The war monks holding spears quickly rushed into the manor and monastery. The spears pierced the corpses of the screaming night guards, and the armored sergeants fell under the sound of cannons.
On the outskirts of the monastery, cuirassiers patrolled back and forth to prevent the extraordinary knights from returning and shooting them back.
After the battle, the peasants' debts to the lords were burned off, and then the chaplains of the Holy Fathers began to form a skitarii among the peasants.
The Skitarii will appoint active farmers as guard captains, and recommend respected and steady figures from the original village manor to serve as clerks.
They don't need to provide Horn with any food or pay taxes, they just need to be able to provide information.
As for the 100-household reform, we are currently in wartime, and we don’t have the time and energy yet.
In line with the idea of treating the sick and saving the patient by avoiding past mistakes and avoiding future ones, the captured nobles and priests were only selected to kill the most evil ones, while the small ones were sent to the Holy Trinity Education Team for reform.
This large-scale cleaning operation brought Horn enough military rations and detailed topographic maps near Fort Joan of Arc.
On the 23rd, the Fourth Black Hat Corps captured two manor houses in the morning, and the Second Guards Corps captured two monasteries in the afternoon.
On the 24th, the Black Hat Army captured two manors in the morning, and the Guards captured a monastery and three manors in the afternoon.
On the 25th, the Black Hat Army captured two manors in the morning, and the Guards captured two manors in the afternoon.
Following the established route, the two legions of the Salvation Army fought their way through.
The Guards Regiment is still relatively good. They don't have many destructive actions, let alone burning down the monastery.
The Black Hats just let themselves go.
What a monastery, what country house, burn! Priest, kill! The knights and their families are all pictured.
In the distance between Mayo Town and the surrounding area of Ashheard Town, eleven manor houses and three monasteries were submerged in blood and smoke one by one.
On the land of the manor and monastery, the Skitarii gradually stood up and began to speak out for their rights.
Especially after the heads and armor of the knights were spread far and wide, the educational effect was better than 10,000 leaflets.
In the end, wherever the Salvation Army went, the people wholeheartedly welcomed it, and even Skitarii began to appear in the area controlled by Fort Joan of Arc.
This situation naturally aroused the vigilance of Castle Joan. Every day, various carrier pigeons can be seen flying over Castle Joan, giving Duke Dardenne's goshawk a good meal.
What is helpless is that three days ago, after learning about the fall of Mayo Town and the defeat of Gray Hearth Town, the French Knights and the Order Company did not gather together to discuss countermeasures.
On the contrary, they each occupied half of the city as if they were angry.
It wasn't until Argon, the new bishop of the local church and Horn's old acquaintance, took action that he managed to get a game going and invited both parties to sit down and have a chat.
(End of this chapter)