"What the hell are those Breyot monkeys up to this time? Why aren't they leaving today?"
Baron Hendrick was very unhappy. He had planned to wait a few more days to send the Bleyot cannon fodder to Renworth Yorkshire and hand them over to the Solym standing army. Then, his mission would be complete.
When the invasion of the Aueran autonomous region was over, he would be rewarded according to his contributions. Even if he didn't do much, he would at least be rewarded for his hard work and might even be promoted.
Everything was going well, but when they were outside Saint Cyprian, the reward that Majid III was supposed to give to the Kingdom of Bleyot seemed to have changed. The cash reward was gone, and the sumptuous feast was also gone. Every soldier of the Bleyot Mountain Legion was only given two cups of ale and a piece of cured meat that weighed half a kilogram and was as hard as a rock.
Their morale plummeted and they slowed down after leaving the royal capital. It took them three days to reach Dartmouth and they were now finding excuses to stay put.
"I saw the cavalry from the recon battalion leave camp this morning. I asked the first lieutenant guarding the gate where they were going.
The first lieutenant said they were probably going out to buy some fresh meat to eat.
Haha, what a joke. His Imperial Majesty actually gave the mountain monkeys some preserved meat from more than twenty years ago as a reward. These monkeys don't have the teeth to chew through it, "another Shiksan officer joked, hoping to cheer the baron up. The ten or so of them were Hendrick's lackeys.
A smile appeared on Baron Hendry's face. He didn't think there was anything wrong with Majid III reducing the rewards for the monkeys of Mount Bleyot.
Rather, the dumbfounded expressions of the mountain monkeys when they got the hard dried meat was rather funny.
He saw one of the soldiers trying to take a bite of the dried meat and losing a tooth on the spot.
Hendry couldn't help but chuckle every time he recalled that scene.
"I heard the Breyot monkeys have been thinking of ways to deal with the dried meat for the past two days. Even bathing them in fire and water didn't work. The cooks even broke two cleavers.
So, it's understandable that they want to eat meat. After all, eating only black bread every day makes them hungry, "another officer said.
Even though Shiks was in charge of the Breyot troops' rations, they only sent black bread and dried fruit. There wasn't much meat. Even the Shiksan officers had to send their own attendants to buy food for them.
"We'll go look for General Beck at noon and tell him that the supplies will only go back to normal once they reach their destination. Make sure their meals are the same as our regular corps.
We're only two prefectures away from the frontlines. We have to send the mountain monkeys there as soon as possible. We can go back once our mission is complete. We won't have to suffer with them anymore. "
Baron Huntrick made up his mind. No matter what, he had to send these mountain monkeys on their way as soon as possible. He could not afford to drag this on any longer.
"Sir, General Beck's adjutant came to look for you. He said he's treating everyone to roast lamb for lunch," one of Hendry's attendants reported.
Very well, Baron Hendrick had to admit that Beck was a decent noble general. He was tactful and knowledgeable. Most importantly, he was a forthright and generous person. Over the past half a month, Beck had invited the Shiksan officials to several banquets.
When it came to romance, the two of them got along well. Unfortunately, he was a Bleyotte. Otherwise, Baron Hendrick would have befriended him …
At noon, the smell of roast lamb filled the camp.
When Hendry and his men went to the tent, they were shocked to find that the Breyot monkeys were eating roast lamb.
He took a closer look and saw that almost every platoon was given a roast lamb. That was a huge sum.
There were more than seventy thousand men in Breyot, and a platoon of fifty or so would need at least fourteen to fifteen hundred lambs. That was a huge sum of money.
There were two roasting racks in front of the tent with two lambs on them. The soldiers in charge of roasting the lambs were rubbing seasoning on them.
Hendry and the other Shiksan officers' appetites were whetted when they smelled the aroma. They didn't stand on ceremony and took a silver plate from the table at the side. The soldier in charge of roasting the lamb pointed at the spot he liked and cut it off.
"Not bad."
Baron Hendry chewed on the mutton in his mouth as he praised General Baker, who was sitting in the big tent. "I didn't expect you to get so many mutton. It's just a waste to let these soldiers eat roasted mutton.
You don't actually need it to boost morale. Just giving them some lamb soup would be good enough. "
To Hendry, the soldiers were nothing more than cannon fodder. It was the biggest waste to let those who were about to die on the battlefield enjoy roast lamb.
Being able to fill their stomachs was already the best they could do for them. There was no need to waste money on satisfying the soldiers' requests for meat.
If it were him, he would give each battalion a lamb, add some water, and boil it into lamb soup for the soldiers to soak in black bread.
Beck raised his glass and took a sip. "We're quite lucky. All the lambs from the farms in the nearby towns have been moved to the camp.
Don't worry, there are more than five thousand lambs. That's enough for us to eat three meals of roast lamb. "
Only then did Hendry recall that the prefecture of Dartmouth where Breyot was located was a famous pastoral prefecture in Shiks. The Maosi lambs produced there were large amounts of meat and were easy to breed. They were one of the favourite meats of the people of the royal capital.
Most farms would have a herd of more than a hundred Maosi lambs, let alone those that specialised in rearing them. A thousand was nothing out of the ordinary.
It was no wonder that the scout platoon managed to get five thousand Maosi lambs in one trip.
"You must've spent quite a lot of money, right? You sure are generous to buy five thousand lambs for the soldiers to feast on.
If this goes on, even if you have a mountain of gold at home, it'll all be wasted by you. "
Hendry felt that Beck's generosity wasn't worth it. He swallowed the lamb and downed the glass of wine in front of the general.
"Haha." Beck smiled as he poured more wine into Hendry's glass. "I didn't spend any money. We were ordered to collect these five thousand lambs."
Hendry coughed violently as he choked on the fruit wine in his mouth. It took him quite some time to stop coughing. He pointed at the general in shock. "Wh-What did you say?
S-ordered to collect them?
Who … who gave you that order? "
"Our king, His Majesty Avitelli I, of course. He wrote to say that according to the agreement he made with your king, Majid III, the rations and horses we need for our first mountain corps will be provided by Shiks, including meat, eggs, vegetables and fruits.
"Unfortunately, you only provided us with black bread and some dried fruits for the entire half a month's journey. Oh right, there's also some dried meat that's harder than iron. That's the reward your king gave us.
So after I reported the situation, His Majesty the King gave us a decision to confiscate military supplies on the spot.
"Our soldiers are very happy with His Majesty's order and carried it out perfectly.
"Look, apart from the five thousand Maosi lambs, we also collected quite a lot of useful supplies.
"I have to admit that the Shiksans are very patriotic. When they found out we were there to help you in battle, they even offered up their own wealth to pay for our military expenses."
Becker opened a large wooden chest beside him. It was mostly filled with gold and silver coins as well as some other items such as silver candlesticks, golden cups and plates.
Hendry even saw a golden tooth with traces of blood on it. It was obvious that the owner of the tooth wasn't willing to offer it up. Otherwise, he would've at least washed the blood away.
Clang!
Baron Hendry's gold wine glass and silver plate fell to the ground. He pointed at General Beck, who was smiling as he tasted the roasted mutton. "You, you … How dare you confiscate military supplies from our kingdom …" he stammered.
General Baker's face was full of confusion. "Why not?
Since you won't give it to us, we'll have to do it ourselves. That's perfectly normal. "
Normal my ass!
Baron Hendrick's heart was filled with despair. This was no longer a matter of whether he could complete this escort mission, but the fact that the Bleyot Mountain Legion had actually committed such a treacherous act right under his nose!
That was no different from a slap to the face of Shiks, the hegemon of the north!
Since when did a vassal state corps that came to assist in battle have the right to commandeer resources within Shiks' borders? That was the greatest insult to Shiks!
Putting everything else aside, Dartmouth County was adjacent to the royal capital. Most of the pastures and farms in this large pastoral county were under the name of the kingdom's nobles. Only God knew how many nobles had been offended by the monkeys of Mount Bleyot when they went out for a stroll in the morning, expropriated so many military supplies, and forced those farm owners and farm managers to donate.
That wasn't just a heinous crime committed by the mountain monkeys. They had even implicated him, the officer in charge of escorting the goods.
"Y-You're finished!
Do you know how great of a crime you've committed?
This isn't just about your corps! You'll even drag Bleyot down with you!
The only thing you can do now is to compensate the owners of the requisitioned goods and send troops to the frontlines. That way, you might be able to keep your worthless life! "Hendry cursed in exasperation.
"Don't be angry. It's no big deal," Becker said with a wave of his hand. "To the frontlines?
No, we're not leaving.
Since the people of Dartmouth are so hospitable, we, 1st Mountain Corps, won't let them down.
We'll station ourselves here to protect them from the enemy and set up a defensive line.
If the region's army manages to break through your defences, we'll welcome the enemy here. "
Baron Huntrick felt a little dizzy. What did that mean?
Becker, the mountain monkey, actually decided not to leave. He was going to continue harming the people of Dartmouth and set up a defensive line there?
There were still two prefectures between here and the frontlines. Who were you going to set up a defensive line against?
If this wasn't blatant rebellion, then what was?
"Y-You … how dare you …" Hendry pointed at Becker, speechless.
"Why wouldn't I?"
Becker's eyes flashed with killing intent. "Esteemed Baron Hendry, it's best you enjoy this delicious roast lamb feast. It's the last meal of your life.
You've had your fill of pointing fingers along the way. Do you see the dozen or so gibbets over there?
They were prepared for you. "
The 16th of the 10th month, the Shiksan royal capital, Saint Cyprian.
The majestic and solemn Shiksan court was filled with the Shiksan king, Majid III's hoarse curses.
His Majesty had been cursing for more than half an hour. All the ministers and nobles in the palace lowered their heads and listened to His Majesty's shrewish scolding.
They received news that morning that two of the Bleyotte Corps that came as reinforcements couldn't stand Shiks' harsh treatment of their supplies and rebelled. One of them plundered Dartmouth under the pretext of confiscating military supplies and refused to go to the frontlines. Instead, they set up a defensive line in Dartmouth and prepared to defend there.
The other was heading towards the royal capital and was said to be preparing to pillage the fertile areas of the royal capital.
Majid III angrily prepared to launch a new war against the Bleyot Kingdom after the war.
He swore that he would immediately declare war on the Bleyot Kingdom as long as he defeated the autonomous military zone's attack. He would gather a great army to flatten the Bleyot Kingdom and exterminate this ungrateful and unruly kingdom.
How benevolent and sincere he was towards the Bleyot Kingdom, helping them without asking for anything in return when they were in dire need of assistance.
Yet, the monkeys in Mount Bleyotte were all heartless bastards who actually rebelled during Shiks' most critical moment. He swore he would grind the bones of those traitors to the ground and not let a single one of them off.
"Your Majesty, we should first think about how to deal with these two rebellious Bleyot Mountain Legion …" The head of the Kingdom's Army, General Felimos, helplessly interrupted Majid III's nagging. He knew very well that if he allowed His Majesty to continue cursing, it might take another two hours before they could get down to business …
"Send out the troops and wipe out all the traitors!
Tell our brave soldiers not to take prisoners in this battle. Hang all of them alive! "Majid III roared at his ministers and generals as he made his decision.
The decision to send out the troops was simple. The only problem was where to send them and whether they had enough time.
General Felimos was very glad that the Bleyot 1st Mountain Regiment in Dartmouth County had set up camp there and did not turn back to the Royal Capital.
It was very likely that 1st Mountain Corps' commander had been too full of himself and didn't think that 2nd Mountain Corps would join up with them, giving Shiks the perfect opportunity to split up and take them down.
Majid III himself ordered the Solym Regiment garrisoned in Renwall Yorkshire to destroy the First Mountain Regiment of Bleyot in Dartmouth.
The high-ranking officers of the army were very confident. Solym was one of the strongest standing corps in Shiks and had contributed greatly to the kingdom's expansion.
Dealing with the army of monkeys of Mount Bleyot was a piece of cake.
That was especially true given that the two Bleyotte corps were mountain corps that excelled in mountain warfare.
However, the terrain of Dartmouth was mostly flat plains and pastures. Once the mountain monkeys left the mountains, they wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight. News of victory would arrive in less than three days.
The remaining Bleyottean 2nd Mountain Corps were said to be rushing towards the royal capital. They clearly knew how wealthy the royal capital was. Looting there was comparable to three Shiksan prefectures. The royal capital could be said to be the cream of Shiksan's crop.
Almost all the ministers and nobles of the kingdom requested the Ministry of the Army to take the initiative to send troops to meet the enemy. They must not let the monkey army of Mount Bleyot enter the Royal Capital.
The ministers and nobles all had their own properties in the royal capital. They definitely wouldn't allow their assets to fall into the hands of those darned monkeys and suffer huge losses.
After much consideration, General Felimos, the head of the Ministry of the Army, finally decided to let the Iron Guards stationed in Saint Cyprian City take the initiative to attack and destroy the Monkey Legion of Mount Bleyot due to the urging of his colleagues.
As the royal guard of Shiks, the Ironguard was akin to the royal guard of Aueras. They were known as the most powerful corps in Shiks, so dealing with the Bleyotte monkeys was a piece of cake for them.
However, what gave the high-ranking officers of the Ministry of the Army a headache was that because victory was in their grasp, the nobles and descendants of the royal family in the capital who claimed to be brave all volunteered to join the army, requesting to bring their private armed forces to join the ranks of the attack.
The private armed forces of the nobles were almost the size of a division. General Felimos originally wanted to reduce the division of the Guardian Legion and replace it with the private armed forces of the nobles. However, he was worried that the combat power of the private armed forces of the nobles might not be reliable, so he asked Majid III to let them join forces and attack together.
If worse came to worst, the Ironguard would defeat the Bleyotte monkeys before letting the nobles' private forces chase after them. That was something they should be good at.
On the 19th day of the tenth month, the Solym standing legion stationed in Renwo Yorkshire arrived at Dartmouth. After resting for three hours, they launched an attack on the Bleyot Kingdom's First Mountain Legion at four in the afternoon. They fought fiercely until two in the morning before retreating with heavy casualties.
At ten in the morning on the 20th of the 10th month, the Ironguard and the nobles' private forces were ambushed by Thundercrash and Stormwind as they marched through the royal capital and suffered heavy casualties.
Stormwind surrounded Saint Cyprian at five in the evening and successfully took over the royal capital at eight in the evening.
On the same day, Bleyotte's 1st Mountain Corps counterattacked at eleven in the morning and annihilated Shiks' Solym at three in the afternoon.