our family is gone

Chapter 776 The first battle is the decisive battle

There may be some fools among these nobles, but those who are still alive now are basically the ones who survived the last Hamlet catastrophe and grew up, so they still have something.

So after receiving the news of the Roma deal, they realized that there would be a battle between Hamlet and themselves.

At first, it was just the nobles passing the news to each other, and when they were sure that Hamlet really launched a war to regain his territory, they had already begun to prepare for the war, recruit soldiers, and summon knights, and this time was probably only one step slower than the barons.

When the situation on the Baron's side became more difficult, Hamlet began to show his strength.

The nobles put aside their years of grudges and chose to unite to face external enemies. The bureaucrats showed unprecedented efficiency. As for other forces, they continued to support them, either by joining the army or donating resources.

It can be said that under the stimulation of a certain "evil" lord, they demonstrated the limit of the capacity of this system.

At that time, they did not accept the Baron's call for help and join the battle because they were not prepared enough.

Those places that are farther away have not been mobilized yet, and the supplies are also on the way. They do not have so many animal power such as cattle and horses, so more people are needed for transportation. Anyway, serfs don't charge any money.

Of course, the most important thing is that no one wants to fight with Hamlet who is in full swing, so let the Baron, who has no choice, consume the enemy first. Even if he can't win, it can buy them time and opportunities.

From the beginning of the contact, the Baron did buy them a few days, allowing other nobles to mobilize their troops and station them at the border of the Barony, ready to resist Hamlet's attack.

They couldn't give up even their own territory like the Baron did, because then they wouldn't have the confidence to fight a war of attrition. They wanted to keep Hamlet's main force out.

You may even have to take the initiative and place the battlefield on the baron's territory. That way, you won't feel bad even if the battle is destroyed, since the baron won't mind anyway.

It is a pity that the Baron's army collapsed at the first blow, while Hamlet's main force was intact and there was no question of consumption.

Before the nobles could marvel at the powerful strength of Hamlet's army and mock the baron as a waste, the things that Hamlet did after occupying the town made their hair stand on end.

A fierce quarrel was breaking out in the camp built on the border of the barony.

"Hamlet's people are really good at bewitching people. All those untouchables surrendered in a short time, completely ignoring the kindness the baron has shown them."

"We can't let them attack us, otherwise the untouchables will be shaken, but we should wait for more people to come to support us."

"We should march now, before their artillery is exhausted on the farm and they have no time to replenish it."

"That's right. The longer we delay, the more they will recover. We must act immediately, otherwise the opportunity that the Baron has fought for us will be lost!"

"Fight beat!"

That’s right, because of the huge pressure brought by a certain evil lord, the fierce quarrel on the scene was not between the pro-war and pro-peace factions, but all of them were pro-war factions.

The radicals said that they must fight and keep the enemy out of their territory, but it would take time to equip and train the new recruits.

Moreover, the more people you recruit, the higher your chance of winning. Even using them to consume the opponent's ammunition is also a solution.

The conservatives believe that the radicals are too conservative and should take action immediately. If they delay any longer, Hamlet will only become stronger.

As for those serf soldiers, there was no time to train them. It didn't matter how many of them died. It was their honor to die fighting for the nobles.

The leaders were the other two barons in the area. They had invaded the most of Hamlet's former territory and were the most afraid of Hamlet.

So soon the conservatives won, and the 6,000-man army rushed desperately towards the newly victorious barony, hoping to wipe out the evil Hamlet's army.

Victory belongs to those who are just!
…………

"Sir, a new round of intelligence has been delivered, and everyone is waiting for you."

"Got it." Lance got away from those tedious events and went to the military camp.

Patton and several other commanders were already waiting, so Lance spoke without further ado.

"You should have read the intelligence. What is the situation now?"

"There are about a hundred fully armored knights, but there are no more than thirty noble knights with fiefs. Most of them are wandering knights and crusader knights of the church."

"But the number of cavalrymen without armor or wearing only half armor is more than 200, and they are mainly the personal guards of the nobles."

"There aren't many longbowmen, only about a hundred, but they have quite a lot of ordinary crossbowmen, about five hundred, and they even have a makeshift group of musketeers, but the number is relatively small, less than a hundred."

"Several churches over there have joined together to send out..."

From the reports of several commanders, we can tell that the situation is under control.

Those nobles were able to send people over to inquire about the news, so how could Lance not know about them?

Just like the Baron, Lance had already deployed people down there. Didn’t you see that Laura and Disma haven’t shown up yet?
It can be said that when Lance killed the Baron, he had already judged that those nobles would definitely take action, and he even had a bit of a laissez-faire attitude, which meant that he wanted them to come on their own and was too lazy to fight slowly.

But Lance was still a little surprised when he heard this.

At the beginning, Lance judged based on the intelligence that these lords in the south could only mobilize 5,000 people in total, including the baron who was defeated.

And now the remaining two barons, together with other scattered small nobles, can actually form a team of 6,000 people. It can be imagined that they have really pushed the limit.

Although there may be only a thousand of them with combat capability, the rest are just spearmen making up the numbers.

But compared to Hamlet's two thousand men, the difference in troop strength between the two sides is almost three times.

"How are you going to fight?"

"They took the initiative to attack this time, so the choice of the battlefield is in our hands. We can rely on the town to defend, but I suggest we stay here."

As he spoke, Patton raised his hand and pointed to a place on the map. Lance looked over and found that it was not a dangerous place suitable for an ambush, but just a small hill.

I mentioned earlier that most of the land south of Hamlet is plain, and what Barton pointed out was the open area extending below the hill.

"I have inspected the surrounding terrain with several commanders in the past two days. We are not afraid of defending the city, but those nobles are behind us, and the ones who die are ordinary people.

However, only by choosing a field battle can the power of our artillery be brought into full play. By seizing this position, we can deliver artillery shells to the entire area, and the enemy will not be able to withstand several rounds of artillery fire.

There are no trees in this open space, so even if they are defeated, they cannot outrun our cavalry. It will be easier to gather the surrendered soldiers and not give them the opportunity to escape and cause trouble in our territory."

Lance thought about it for a moment and understood what was going on.

They defended the city, placed artillery on the walls, and had musketeers shooting from the walls. Those guys didn't have heavy weapons and no matter how many of them came, they couldn't take the city. Six thousand was just a number, and their casualties would definitely be less than in a frontal field battle.

But there is a problem that the defenders are in a passive position and it is difficult to capture prisoners. The main force of the nobles will definitely not come out first, but will use ordinary people to consume them.

If he dragged it out, it would consume his resources, not to mention that he didn't have time to play with them now. But if he defeated their main force head-on, then according to the performance of the serfs before, they would probably surrender on their own, and the resources accumulated by those guys would also become his.

Patton still understood why the lord started the war. Recovering the territory was one thing, but capturing people for construction and looting supplies for the winter were the main points. Killing people was meaningless.

Lance understood better that Patton wanted to clear his name and that he could win on a frontal battlefield, a real battlefield.

"But what if they give up fighting you head-on, or if the ordinary army pulls you back, and sends elite troops, led by knights, to raid the town? Or what if they cut off the logistics?"

Patton pulled the team out for a field battle, which put Lance in a very dangerous situation. What if those guys launched a surprise attack on the town and launched a decapitation operation?
But when Lance said this, everyone couldn't help but look at him...

Behead the lord? Are you kidding me?
However, Patton must give an answer if the lord asks this.

"If those elite troops leave, we will be defeated even faster. I am confident that I can rescue them and surround them."

"I trust you, just handle these things."

Just as he did before the operation began, Lance was responsible for the logistics himself and would not interfere with their combat plans. He left professional matters to professionals.

"Yes!"

The resting army quickly broke camp and headed towards the predetermined target, seizing the position and preparing to deal a head-on blow to the enemy.

Similarly, the coalition forces of nobles were still advancing, really racing against time.

For the lower-level knights, the only way to obtain fiefdoms and become true nobles is through war, so they are not afraid at all and are even very active.

But for ordinary soldiers, it was a hard life. They had no war horses and could only walk on foot.

This time, you have to give them enough of what they promised and they can eat their fill. Otherwise, who would risk their life with you?

The difference can be seen from here. The marching team was in chaos, not to mention formation. They kept moving only when the knights were urged or even driven.

Thousands of people were moving around noisily, talking and complaining, and some were going to shit and then fell behind and no one knew where to go.

The ability of a commander has a lot to do with the level of his team. From here we can see the chaos of the noble coalition.

But still keep moving forward until...

"Report! Traces of the enemy have been found."

Although the lower levels are in chaos, there are still commanders among the noble troops who have received professional military education and will not neglect reconnaissance.

When the nobles heard the news, they showed different attitudes.

"Damn it! Those guys are really planning to attack us."

"Send someone to find the exact location of their main force."

"..."

Patton also did not expect that the enemy would come so quickly, which was completely inconsistent with the expected speed, and he had not yet entered the position to build artillery.

It is basically difficult for the number of people on both sides to hide in the plains, and the opponent's position can be determined basically in one operation.

"Quick! Speed ​​up and move forward. We must seize control of the position before the enemy."

Patton did not care about saving the horses' strength. He whipped the draft horses, and the artillery accelerated up the low slope under their pull.

"Quick! Speed ​​up and don't let the enemy occupy us!"

The knights also whipped the soldiers, driving them to rush up the hill in a disorderly manner.

They were not sure what Patton was thinking, but they knew they had to stop the enemy from doing what they wanted, so the battle began under such circumstances, which was an unexpected start for no one.

The noble coalition forces were also constantly urging them on, encouraging the soldiers with every word.

"Want to become a knight? Want to gain wealth? It's right in front of you, go kill them and take the glory that belongs to you!"

"One silver coin per head! The bounty is mine, hahahaha!"

"May the Holy Light bless you. Eliminate the evil enemies of the Holy Light and send them to hell!"

Holy light flashed among the soldiers from time to time, and those soldiers who were blessed by divine power rushed towards the hill with a roar under the stimulation of the environment.

"Line up to block the enemy and buy time for the artillery!"

The soldiers on Hamlet's side were not scared off by the large number of spearmen rushing over. About a thousand infantrymen carried spears and advanced forward in two formations of four rows.

The neatly-lined human wall advanced, as if a giant stretched out his two hands to crush the ants crawling over.

There were still people shouting, but the content of those voices was not to encourage people with bounties, women or even noble titles, but only to count with cold steps.

"Three hundred yards... two hundred and fifty... one hundred and two!"

When this shout was uttered, the men in the first row raised their guns and pulled the triggers. Intensive gunfire rang out, and white smoke rose from the entire row.

After shooting, they stop on the spot to reload. The second row then moves forward a few steps to continue shooting, and so on. When the fourth row finishes shooting, the first row will also be completed for reloading. At this time, the smoke from the first shot has not completely dissipated.

When holding your position, you should shoot freely so that everyone can reach their limit.

However, in this kind of direct advance against the enemy, sufficient deterrence must be demonstrated, and the pressure brought by the array volley fire is the strongest, not to mention the endless shooting like a wave.

"Scatter! Scatter! Don't gather together!"

The knights kept shouting, but the fanatics who were at the front had no time to react. They ran head-on into the barrage of bullets, completely gambling on whether their lives were strong enough, and there was an immediate wailing.

Even at a distance of a hundred yards, it has a very significant killing power against unarmored targets. The bullets tear flesh and the smell of blood begins to spread.

"Don't be afraid! A musket only has one shot, and after that it's all gone."

"Rush forward quickly, don't give them time to reload!"

In fact, only a dozen people were shot in this round, which was insignificant compared to the huge team. Under the encouragement, they did not stop, but accelerated instead.

Then they ran head-on into the seemingly endless barrage of bullets...