Claude told him about the current situation in the region. "There are a total of 14 noble fiefs here. Count Leukid ba Krylaus' is the largest, followed by three viscounts and nine barons.
However, apart from four of the six unlucky fellows we caught, the rest of the lords have all fled to the North Bay. The families of the four lords have also fled with them … '
Currently, the second band is stationed at Viscount Viktor's castle about five kilometres to the left, while the third band is stationed at Baron Kraft's castle about ten kilometres to the right.
During this period of time, we have conducted a detailed search in this area. We have gathered close to a thousand people, but most of them are old and weak. There are less than a hundred young men and women. We have arranged for them to live in the village next to this castle.
Apart from fishing and gathering wild vegetables, they also need us to provide them with food to survive.
I wanted to arrange for them to start farming, but we lack farming tools and crops. The people who left the fiefs took everything they could use with them. "
Skri nodded. "I received your messenger pigeon. We've already gathered a batch of grain and vegetable seeds from Squirrel Village and some farming tools. We can start planting them now.
However, there are 14 lords in this region. Why are there so few of them left? "
Claude picked up a pile of old documents from the table. "These are the documents we found in the castles and residences. Most of them are related to the census of the nobles' territories five or six years ago. I've done some calculations. There were around 50,000 people in this region back then, with 20,000 of them being young men and women.
"But after the war broke out, Canas forcefully conscripted three times in the past three years. Around 8,000 men were conscripted into the army.
It was said that the remaining men had been led by these feudal lords to the three southern counties to rob. The old steward who stayed here said that these feudal lords had originally planned to go to the three southern counties to kidnap some strong young men to fill the labor gap in their territory. However, after they were defeated in Squirrel Village, the feudal lords fled with their belongings and fled to the North Bay with their families, abandoning this territory.
Without the lord, the rest of the people have no place to go. Those who can move have already left … "
Captain Skri felt relieved, "That's true. Without the men, the only people left in the territory are the old, weak, women, and children. These leaders know that they can't stop our soldiers, and if they don't leave, they will be waiting for death.
By the way, I've brought more than four hundred captives over. I can arrange for them to work. "
Claude shrugged. "You'll be in charge of that. I'm going to lead a group to Landes Castle about three kilometers away. It's a barony's territory and there's a river beside it. The terrain is rather dangerous.
That way, the four brigades of 1st Ranger Tribe will be spread out in a diamond formation. Even if we find the enemy, we'll be able to support each other.
The battalion headquarters was stationed here. This Krilaus Castle was the largest and most sturdy castle in this area.
If the enemy attacks, everyone can retreat to the castle to defend. "
Captain Skri's face changed: "You think the enemy will come again?"
"It's hard to say," Claude shook his head, "Even though the nobles abandoned their territory and fled to Northbay, I'm sure they won't be willing to let us occupy their territory for nothing.
They might not dare to organize their own army to reclaim this area, but the lords can easily blame the loss of their territory on Grand Duke Canas, saying that they recruited too many soldiers to defend their territory. They'll get Canas' army to help them reclaim it.
I'm not just saying this out of thin air. During the first two days we occupied this area, some soldiers heard the sound of hooves at night.
In the morning, we found hoofprints leading north. We sent some soldiers to track them, but they didn't find anything.
I think it's very likely that the nobles planted an ambush in this area. Their purpose is to confirm that we occupied this area before going back to report to the nobles.
For a noble, territory is the guarantee of their family's survival.
I had been thinking about why those nobles would so easily give up on this region and their family's territory.
Now, I believe that the nobles didn't really give up their territory by going to Northbay. They only did it to get rid of the old and weak citizens.
The logic is simple. The citizens are the vassals of the lord.
They are the creators of the lord's wealth. Be it their families or individuals, they belong to the lord.
In a way, the lord also has a responsibility to his citizens. Only by ensuring that their families don't have to worry about food and clothing would they work for him.
In that sense, the young and strong citizens are what the lord values the most.
Most of the young citizens of the lords in this area were forcibly conscripted by the duchy. The rest followed them to pillage the three southern prefectures, but they were all wiped out at Squirrel Village. Less than a tenth of them managed to escape.
If the lords didn't leave their territories, they would be responsible for the families of those who died in battle. They would have to spend a large sum of money to feed the old and weak citizens who couldn't work.
So, rather than saying they abandoned their territories, it was more accurate to say they abandoned their elderly and weak citizens.
Without the lord, the citizens who stayed had no one to rely on. They had no seeds, no work, and they couldn't receive food from the lord.
So, those who could leave left, leaving only the old and weak who had nowhere to go.
The lords could use the excuse that they lost their young and weak citizens and couldn't defend against our attack. They could then ask Duke Canas to send troops to reclaim their territories.
After the war ended, they could use the excuse that their territories were in chaos to get compensation from the duchy. They could then recruit young citizens to become citizens in their territories.
Another piece of evidence is that even though the lords left their territories, they more or less left behind a few elderly servants to manage and maintain their castles and residences. The excuse was the same. They were preparing to sell their real estate in their territories.
But we all know that no merchants would buy their properties that couldn't be guaranteed during the war, especially when their territories were still facing our attack.
So, I think it's all an excuse. The nobles are still dreaming of making a comeback.
Apart from that, the documents we found on the table are mostly from the past. They're already outdated and useless. There's not a single piece of land title deed.
This means that the lords took all the useful documents with them. It doesn't look like they're abandoning their territories.
This also proves that their excuse of wanting to sell their real estate was a lie. Otherwise, they wouldn't have left behind those documents. "
Skri's expression was rather grim. "Your hypothesis makes sense. We do need to be prepared.
However, when I sent your report of the nobles abandoning their lands and fleeing to frontline command, they ordered us to station here and scout the heart of the plains to see if Canas has mobilized their forces.
Since you're going to station a brigade in front of us, I'll leave this task to you. "
Based on the map, Landes' territory was the one Claude had decided to go to. It was at the edge of the great plains, so it would be the most convenient place for him to scout. That mission was very suitable for Claude's unit. Even without Skri's instructions, Claude would have sent his own scouts into the great plains.
"There's one more thing," Claude said, "Since we're stationed here, we can be considered to be alone. I hope we can prepare more supplies.
The lords and citizens of this region have all fled. Even though it's big, there aren't many supplies we can gather, so we'll have to rely on the rear to transport them.
Also, second and third brigades will be stationed at Viscount Viktor's and Baron Kraft's castles. I'll have them search the castles to see if there are any secret passages or secret rooms. Those are things we need to pay attention to when defending.
You have to urge them. Don't be careless. I found two secret passages and a dark room in Count Krylaus' castle. "
"Got it. I'll urge second and third brigades to search the castles they're stationed at.
As for supplies, I'll have the rear send them over as soon as possible. You don't have to worry about that, "Skri nodded.
After spending the night at Count Krylaus' castle, Claude bade farewell to Skri and brought Lance Sergeant Lonster's infantry platoon and Sergeant Rocky's artillery platoon to Landes' castle, which was six kilometers away.
Even though it was only three kilometers in a straight line, Claude and the others still had to walk for more than half a day. That was because there was a large river bend near Landes Castle. Claude had to go around the bend and walk another three kilometers to reach a simple wooden bridge to cross the river.
Landes Castle was built on top of a hill near the river bend. It was much smaller than Count Krolaus' castle. Even the walls were made of wood and stone.
The lower half was made of rocks and the upper half was made of logs.
Count Krolaus' castle, on the other hand, was made entirely of stone. In terms of defensive capabilities, the walls of Count Krolaus' castle were two meters taller than the four meter walls of Landes Castle.
However, Landes Castle was situated on a small hill and beside it was a large river bend. The original owner, Baron Landes, had his men dig an eight-meter-wide moat around the hill to serve as a moat. It connected the moat to the river bend and separated the hill from the grassy plains like a silver river.
The grassland herdsmen weren't good swimmers, so the eight-meter-wide moat became an insurmountable barrier for them.
When Claude and the others arrived at Landes Castle, they found that the area between the hill and the moat was filled with sheep.
Dyavid, who had stayed behind to guard the place, brought a four-meter-long wooden drawbridge to the other side of the moat to welcome Claude's arrival.
"Where did these sheep come from?" Claude asked.
"They were caught by Mazik and Modh from the grasslands. They've already caught more than 20 herdsmen and there are more than a thousand sheep here," Dyavid replied.
Claude stopped and asked, "Are there any young adults in those herdsmen's families?"
"Well, not really. The older ones are old herdsmen above 45 and the younger ones are children below 12. The rest are all women," Dyavid replied after some thought.
"Tomorrow, bring some men with you to Count Krolaus' castle and hand them over to Captain Skri. He'll take care of them.
This is the frontlines. We can't let the herdsmen stay here, "Claude instructed.
"Yes, sir. Are we going to hand the sheep over to the battalion?" Dyavid asked reluctantly.
The herdsmen were from Canas at war and their sheep were considered enemy property for the soldiers to plunder. It was also a way for them to earn some extra income.
"Leave one or two hundred of them here for everyone to have a taste. Bring the rest of them over.
Do you still want to sell the sheep? Who would want to buy them at a time like this? You can't just bring them out to graze, can you?
Hand them over to the battalion and you'll get two or three tiers of merit for gathering resources. There's a lack of fresh meat over there. "
"Alright, Boss, I'll listen to you," Dyavid said.
Claude continued walking towards the castle. "Have you searched the castle? Did you find any secret passages or anything?"
"No, Boss. There's a secret room. I suspect it was originally a storeroom, but it's empty now.
As for the secret passage, I don't think there's one here.
After all, there's a river right next to it. If we were to dig a passage to the outside, it would definitely leak or even be flooded.
If we don't want it to leak, we'll have to spend a lot of money. Just look at how simple Landes' castle is. There's no way he'd have the money to build a watertight passage to the outside, "Dyavid said confidently. That made sense.
That made sense. Claude nodded. "Is there any difficulty in guarding this place?"
"Yes, Boss. We don't have enough fuel," Dyavid hurriedly said.
"I've already had the soldiers cut down all the trees and shrubs in a four to five kilometer radius. We only have enough firewood for half a house.
I reckon we won't even have enough to cook with in less than half a month.
The herdsmen here use cow dung and horse dung as fuel, but we don't have many warhorses or cows. "
That was indeed a huge problem.
Claude thought about it and said, "Tomorrow, after you escort the shepherds and sheep back, have Captain Skri send a group of captives to the mountains to cut firewood and make charcoal. We need to stock up on fuel here for at least half a year.
By the way, when will Mord and Makki return? "
Dyavid scratched his head. "I reckon they'll be back by tomorrow. They're spending more and more time searching the area.
They've been gone for two to three days now. Makki left the day before yesterday after lunch and Mord left yesterday morning. "
"Alright. There's no need to let them go out again after they return. We'll use warhorses for scouting in the future. Leave the infantry here to strengthen the defenses."
"Boss, there's no need to build any defenses, right?
I think this castle is pretty good, "Dyavid said.
"No. If the enemy comes, we'll be trapped like turtles in a jar if we hide in the castle.
If the enemy brings heavy siege cannons, this castle won't be able to withstand more than a few hits. We won't be able to escape even if we want to.
Baron Landes built this castle to defend against the nobles of other territories. A castle like this is a symbol of invincibility in an armed conflict between nobles, but against a regular army, it won't last long. "
"Alright, Boss. Whatever you say," Dyavid said.