Chapter 373 The Battle of Black Mountain (End-Part 2)
Under the setting sun, the broken pieces of armor and sword blades shone with golden-red light, smoke pillars reached straight into the sky, and the chirping of chickens, ducks, cattle and sheep filled the fields. sounded.
If it weren’t for the strong smell of blood in the air, this scene would be full of pastoral beauty.
On the battlefield, war monks wandered around, picking up and sorting usable weapon fragments from the ground.
Sometimes when they look around, they still feel a sense of unreality.
Just win? They thought they would have to pay a price similar to the previous battle with the Command Company, but in the end their casualties were far lower than expected.
There were about 400 casualties in total, more than half of which were minor injuries. Most of the dead and seriously wounded came from the two legions on the right.
Except for Barnaby, only one officer at the level of division captain died in the battle.
You must know that in the Battle of Pavia, more than 800 people died in the battle alone. Three of the eight army commanders were killed and four were seriously injured. Horn entered the Castle of Joan of Arc in a wheelchair.
After the battle, apart from looking a little pale, Horn did not appear to have any injuries.
"Have you found all the major generals?" Seeing Jeshka's arrival, Horn asked first.
“Count Zelaken of Stormcastle tried to escape in disguise, but was recognized because he was too white. Archbishop Polikli of Jinhe Township hid in a manure pit, was reported by the villagers, and was captured by us.” Jeshka held the small note in his hand, "The rest either died in battle or surrendered and were captured. There is nothing to say."
"Where is Niedersall?"
"Dead. , we tried to rescue him and try to trick him out of the situation, but the poison was too strong and it was too late.”
Horn thought of countless ways for Niedersal to die, but he never thought of it. , as a Messiah believer, he would actually commit suicide.
At that time, when he saw Niedersall gritting his teeth and drinking the potion solemnly, Horn was ready to fight the second stage.
In the end, he died as soon as he turned his head. Did he give up after finding out that he couldn't win?
What the hell is this? Just drink a suicide poison and make Horn's blood boil.
Once Niedersall died, the large phalanx of guards was defeated in turn, and the Kush knights took the lead in escaping. The noble coalition in Jinhe Township completely collapsed.
Horn captured 4,000 peasants and soldiers, 2,000 armored sergeants and guardsmen and other infantrymen in this battle. More than 200 Ibe knights were killed in the battle and more than 100 were captured.
The Negosacks were completely wiped out, half of them were killed in the battle, and the remaining half surrendered.
"It is indeed a great victory." Horn couldn't help but sigh after Jeshka reported the battle damage and enemy casualties.
"Yes, you can then think about how to manage the entire Langsander County in the future." Jeshka smiled and sat next to Horn.
"By the way, the commander of the hand cannon brigade is Le Fay, right?" Horn thought of the hand cannon brigade who fired the salvo just now, "How is he? Did he die in the battle?"
"No, it's just that I was overworked and exhausted my energy. I fainted after forcing myself to finish the battle." Jeshka replied, "Do you need me to wake them up?"
"No need." Horn waved his hand, "Just ask them to come see me when they wake up."
"After this battle, the entire Jinhe Township has basically completely lost its power to resist." Jeshka dug out a bottle of farmhouse fruit wine from somewhere and poured it into her mouth. "It's just a matter of time before we take over the entire Langsand County."
There are about 1,300 people in Jinhe Township. Multiple knight estates and more than 900 noble families.
On average, almost every noble family has one or two knights, but the total number will not exceed 1,500.
Previously, Horn lost more than a hundred people in the Kush Territory, and more than a hundred people were killed in Moncrusse. In the previous frictions, more than a hundred people were killed, and here they are getting more and more killed. More than two hundred prisoners were taken.
Back and forth, Horn killed and captured more than 800 knights.
Not to mention the extraordinary infantry armed forces controlled by the church, just look at the more than 2,000 guard prisoners in Horn Camp to know what they are like.
At least half of the entire Jinhe Township's extraordinary weapons, especially the high-end extraordinary weapons, were wiped out by Horn.
As the biggest trump cards, the titled knight Niedersall and the Nicossack knight were even taken advantage of by Horn.
“Time is indeed a problem.” Picking up Jeshka’s fruit wine, Horn raised his head and took a sip.
The refreshing cool breeze at night blew on Horn's neck, revealing the dark red scars.
The fruit wine brewed by farmers is full of special wine aroma, but the alcohol content is not high.
Allowing the evening breeze carrying the smoke and coolness from the kitchen to blow from the nearby villages and rivers, Horn narrowed his eyes in comfort.
But his mood was not as calm as it seemed.
Behind the rivers, forests and mountains, Rapids City is being besieged by the army of the Order Company. Farther north, the mountain knights of Mende are still fighting with Prince Condai.
If we continue to advance forward, it will take at least another month. It can be predicted that Jinhe Township will remain in the "pious" period of Kushland for two to three months.
In other words, there are bandits and plundering armies composed of knights and die-hards everywhere. They use the red copper fortress as a stronghold to slowly grind against Horn.
In order to obtain military supplies for the expedition, he had to slowly pull out the monastery and the castle of the knights. Does he really have time?
The most fearful thing is that while Rapid City needs support, Horn has to leave troops to manage the security of Jinhe Township and suppress the riots.
Horn felt his head hurt again.
This has to mention the difference between Jinhe Township and Kush Territory.
Jinhe Township covers an area of about 9,000 square kilometers. It is basically a forest area at the foothills of the border with Longxi Township in North County.
The 400,000-hectare Yibe Plain along the south flow of the Yibe River is the essence of the entire Jinhe Township.
Different from the patches of farmland east and west of Kush, this is a full 400,000 hectares of connected flat farmland.
According to the church's tax rolls, the Ibe Plain can produce 200,000 to 250,000 tons of grains, 50,000 tons of soybeans, 30,000 tons of various vegetables, and various other agricultural products every year.
Sissi estimates that the entire Jinhe Township can produce nearly 450,000 tons of agricultural products.
These knights export nearly 180,000 tons of various agricultural products every year, and the grain smuggling trade with Black Snake Bay makes the high-ranking nobles make a lot of money.
In other words, Jinhe Township is a purely agricultural township.
This is very different from the Kush Territory, as can be seen from the name of the settlement alone.
The Kush Territory is full of small towns, while Jinhe Township is either a certain castle or a certain manor.
Let alone towns, there is not even a larger market or commercial port.
Such a large Jinhe Township not only provides a large amount of agricultural products, but also hosts a large population.
According to calculations by Sissi and others, the entire Jinhe Township is estimated to have 360,000 to 400,000 people, which is almost twice the population of Kush.
Even if there were more than 200,000 people in the Kush Territory, it would be difficult for Horn to manage it, let alone twice the population.
The most troublesome thing is not this, but the fact that Jinhe Township is relatively isolated and does not have many literate talents.
When Horn was managing the Kush Territory, he attracted a large number of low-level monks and lower-level citizens and craftsmen.
The monasteries in Cushland are densely packed, so there are a large number of low-level monks. Castle Joan of Arc has developed business, so there are enough people who know how to count.
Without this group of people, the Salvation Army probably would not be able to complete the integration of the Kush Territory until now.
Even if literacy classes are launched, it will take six months to reach the passing mark. This is still based on the premise that they have to take night classes while working.
Horn himself is a bit inadequate internally, let alone managing Jinhe Township?
Or maybe we can attract low-level monks from Kasha County to help? Or invite wizards from Black Snake Bay to assist in management? Or do both?
Horn suddenly remembered those wizard slaves, and he asked Jeshka: "What happened to those wizard slaves?"
"Master Paslik is currently handling this matter. , Do you want to go and have a look?"
"Go and have a look, just in time." Jumping off the big rock, Horn patted the dust on his butt and thighs.
Seeing Jeshka preparing to lead the horse, Horn suddenly grabbed Jeshka's arm: "We have known each other for almost a year."
"Exactly one year, I was on July 7 last year Go to Moulin Village to work part-time."
"So soon?" Horn was in a daze, but he quickly pulled away from the memories, "After this battle, I am going to select the characters among the prisoners. Upright, recruit 1,000 people to gather 8 Black Hat Legions.”
Jeshka took off the reins from the horse pegs, his breathing became heavier, and his movements became much lighter.
"These eight legions will become independent and form a new Black Hat Chapter. The Guards will also expand among the new population to form a Guards Chapter." Horn said slowly. Look into Jeshka's eyes.
"You made plans for this battle, took charge of the entire army, and did a good job in all aspects... Are you willing to take on the important task of chapter leader?"
Although Jeshka was excited, she still maintained basic etiquette: "If it weren't for Your Majesty, I would have died in the flood long ago. I support any decision you make."
"Then there is nothing wrong with being a logistics manager..."
After prolonging the last sentence, and watching Jeshka's face twitch, Horn suppressed a smile and continued: "But the chapter leader can be more open to you and the entire Black Hat Legion. Well."
"Yes, yes." Jeshka breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing sweat on Jeshka's forehead, Horn hammered his chest: "Okay, it's settled, let's go, take me to see those wizard slaves."
(End of Chapter)< br>