ebookland #374 - Battle of Black Mountain (Complete)
#374 - Battle of Black Mountain (Complete)
Chapter 373: The Battle of Black Mountain (End - Middle)
Under the setting sun, the broken armor pieces and sword blades shimmered with golden-red light. Columns of smoke rose straight into the sky, and the sounds of chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep echoed in the fields.
If it weren't for the thick smell of blood in the air, the scene would have been filled with pastoral beauty.
On the battlefield, the warrior monks wandered, collecting and sorting usable weapon fragments from the ground.
Sometimes they looked around, still feeling a sense of unreality.
They actually won? They had expected to pay a price similar to their previous battle against the Edict Legion, but in the end, their casualties were far lower than expected.
The total casualties were about 400, with minor injuries accounting for more than half. Most of the dead and seriously wounded came from the two legions on the right wing.
Besides Barnaby, only one company commander-level officer was killed.
Remember, in the Battle of Pavia, more than 800 people died, three of the eight legion commanders were killed, and four were seriously injured. Horn entered Jeanne d'Arc Castle in a wheelchair.
After this battle, Horn, apart from being a little pale, had no visible injuries.
"Have all the main generals been found?" Horn asked as soon as Jeshka arrived.
"Count Zeraken of Windstorm Fortress tried to escape in disguise, but was recognized because he was too pale. Archbishop Polikri of Goldstream Township hid in a dung pit, was reported by the villagers, and was also captured by us," Jeshka said, holding a small notebook in his hand. "The rest either died in battle or surrendered and were captured. There's nothing much to say."
"What about Nidersal?"
"He's dead. We tried to save him and get information from him, but the poison was too potent, and we were too late."
Horn had imagined countless ways Nidersal could die, but he never expected that as a follower of Messiah, he would commit suicide.
When Horn saw Nidersal solemnly gritting his teeth and drinking the potion, Horn was ready to enter the second phase of the fight.
But he turned his head and died. Was he just giving up because he realized he couldn't win?
What was that all about? He just drank a suicide poison, getting Horn all fired up for nothing.
With Nidersal's death, the guards' phalanx was repeatedly broken, and with the Kush knights leading the escape, the Goldstream Township noble coalition completely collapsed.
In this battle, Horn captured 4,000 peasant soldiers, 2,000 armored soldiers and guards, and over two hundred Ibe knights were killed and over a hundred captured.
The Niggersacks were completely annihilated, half of them died in battle, and the other half surrendered.
"It really is a great victory," Horn couldn't help but exclaim after hearing Jeshka report the battle losses and enemy casualties.
"Yes, now you can think about how to manage the entire Langsand County in the future," Jeshka said with a smile, sitting next to Horn.
"By the way, what about that hand cannon brigade commander named Leffy?" Horn remembered the volley of hand cannons just now. "How is he? Did he die in battle?"
"No, he's just overworked and mentally exhausted. He barely managed to finish the battle before passing out," Jeshka replied. "Do you want me to wake them up?"
"No need," Horn waved his hand. "When they wake up, tell them to come and see me."
"After this battle, Goldstream Township has basically completely lost its ability to resist," Jeshka said, taking out a bottle of farm-made fruit wine from somewhere and taking a swig. "It's only a matter of time before we take the entire Langsand County."
The entire Goldstream Township has about 1,300 knight manors and 900 noble families.
On average, almost every noble family has one or two knights, but the total number will not exceed 1,500.
Horn eliminated more than a hundred in Kush Territory, more than a hundred in Montcrus, and more than a hundred in previous minor frictions. In this battle, he killed and captured more than two hundred.
In total, Horn has killed and captured nearly 800 knights.
Not to mention the extraordinary infantry forces controlled by the church. Just look at the more than two thousand guard prisoners in Horn's camp to know what they are like.
At least half of the extraordinary forces in Goldstream Township, especially the high-end extraordinary forces, have been wiped out by Horn.
As for the biggest trump cards, the titled knight Nidersal and the Niggersack knights, Horn wiped them out in one fell swoop.
"Time is indeed a problem," Horn said, picking up Jeshka's fruit wine and taking a swig.
The cool evening breeze blew on Horn's neck, revealing the dark red stigmata.
The farm-brewed fruit wine was filled with a special wine aroma, but the alcohol content was not high.
Letting the evening breeze, carrying cooking smoke and coolness, come from the nearby villages and rivers, Horn squinted his eyes comfortably.
But his mood was not as calm as it appeared.
Behind the rivers, forests, and mountains, Rapidwater City was being besieged by the Edict Legion's army. Further north, the mountain knights of Maund were still in a stalemate with Prince Condé.
If they continue to advance directly, it will take at least another month.
Predictably, Goldstream Township will remain in the state Kush Territory was in when it first became "pious" for two or three months.
That is, everywhere will be filled with bandits and plunder armies composed of knights and stubborn elements, using Red Copper Fortress as a stronghold to slowly grind against Horn.
For the military funds for the expedition, he still has to slowly pull out the monasteries and knights' castles. Does he really have time?
The worst thing is that while Rapidwater City needs support, Horn also has to leave troops to manage the security of Goldstream Township and suppress the riots.
Horn felt his head ache again.
This brings us to the difference between Goldstream Township and Kush Territory.
Goldstream Township covers an area of about 9,000 square kilometers. The foothills bordering North County's Dragon's Breath Township are basically forest areas.
The 400,000 hectares of the Ibe Plain, flowing south along the Ibe River, are the essence of Goldstream Township.
Unlike the scattered farmland of Kush Territory, this is a whole 400,000 hectares of connected flat farmland.
According to the church's tax records, this Ibe Plain can produce 200,000 to 250,000 tons of grain, 50,000 tons of soybeans, 30,000 tons of various vegetables, and various other agricultural products every year.
Cici estimates that the entire Goldstream 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 Serpent Bay allows the high-level nobles to make a lot of money.
In other words, Goldstream Township is a purely agricultural township.
This is very different from Kush Territory, which can be seen from the names of the settlements.
Kush Territory is full of small towns named something-town, while Goldstream Township is either something-fortress or something-manor.
Not to mention towns, there isn't even a large market or commercial port.
While providing a large amount of agricultural products, such a large Goldstream Township also carries a large population.
According to Cici and others' calculations, the entire Goldstream Township is estimated to have 360,000 to 400,000 people, which is almost twice the population of Kush Territory.
Even managing the 200,000 people in Kush Territory is difficult for Horn, let alone twice the population.
What's even more headache-inducing is that Goldstream Township is relatively closed off, with not many literate talents.
When Horn managed Kush Territory, he won over a large number of low-level monks and grassroots citizens and craftsmen.
Kush Territory has a dense concentration of monasteries, so there are a large number of low-level monks. Jeanne d'Arc Castle has a developed commerce, so there are enough literate people.
Without this group of people, the Salvation Army would probably not be able to complete the integration of Kush Territory even now.
Even if literacy classes are started, it will take six months to reach the passing line, and that's on the premise that they work and take night classes at the same time.
Horn himself doesn't have enough people internally, let alone manage Goldstream Township?
Or can he attract low-level monks from Kasha County to help? Or invite wizards from Black Serpent Bay to assist in management? Or take a two-pronged approach?
Horn suddenly thought of those wizard slaves. He asked Jeshka, "How are those wizard slaves doing?"
"Lord Paslik is currently handling this matter. Would you like to go take a look?"
"Let's go take a look. I happen to have some free time." Jumping down from the large rock, Horn patted the dust off his butt and thighs.
Seeing Jeshka preparing to lead the horse, Horn suddenly grabbed Jeshka's arm: "We've known each other for almost a year, right?"
"Exactly one year. I came to Red Mill Village on July 7th last year for a short-term job."
"So fast?" Horn was a little dazed, but he quickly pulled himself out of his memories. "After this battle, I plan to select 1,000 people with good character from the prisoners to form 8 Black Hat Legions."
Jeshka, who was untying the reins from the hitching post, breathed a little heavier, and even his movements slowed down a lot.
"These 8 legions will be independent and form a new Black Hat Battle Group. The Guards will also expand in the newly recruited population to form a Guard Battle Group." Slowly speaking, Horn looked into Jeshka's eyes.
"You strategized and managed the entire army in this battle, and you did a good job in all aspects... Are you willing to take on the important task of Battle Group Commander?"
Although Jeshka was excited, he still maintained basic etiquette: "If it weren't for Your Majesty, I probably would have died in the flood long ago. I support all your decisions."
"Actually, being a logistics manager isn't bad..."
Dragging out the last sentence, watching Jeshka's face twitch, Horn couldn't help but smile and continue: "But the Battle Group Commander position can be more open to you and the entire Black Hat Legion."
"Yes, yes, yes." Jeshka breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing sweat on Jeshka's forehead, Horn punched him in the chest: "Okay, it's settled. Let's go, take me to see those wizard slaves."