Next, spies sent by the Free Army returned one after another. Jiang Tian also received more information from the outside world. For example, now that the regime in the capital has changed and multiple foreign armies have invaded, various armed forces have emerged in various parts of the kingdom.
The more important one is about the Marquis of Antel, the Grand Governor of Lyon. It is said that he left the royal capital claiming to be leading an army; but when he arrived at Lyon City, an important town in the southeast of the kingdom, he was followed by dozens of carriages and hundreds of servants.
For another example, after he arrived in the city of Lyon, he held grand balls one after another, and continued to meet with various nobles, wealthy businessmen, officials and citizen representatives who came to pay their respects and pay homage, and generously granted them official titles and made wishes; expressing that he had already There is a large army coming on the road.
Then, after he took control of the garrison of Lyon City, he signed a lot of appointment letters and appointed hundreds of messengers; he also included all the self-proclaimed local/rural armed forces in the surrounding provinces. He was under the command of the Southern Defense Command in the city of Lyon;
Therefore, Lord Lortai who came to Midonie City was not a Xibei; however, he was not that important. Because of his status as a messenger, he actually sold most of his possessions and bought it with 1,500 corolla coins in the city of Lyon through the personal presence of the Grand Overseer.
That's right, in the city of Lyon at this moment, under the leadership of the great governor, the Marquis of Antheil, the many public positions that have been vacant in the southern province, as well as the military ranks below the colonel, are all clearly marked/for sale. ; to this end, he also creatively set up many new positions.
For example, the headquarters has appointed hundreds of summons officers and auxiliary officers, whose value ranges from 500 to 1,000 corollas. There are also various ceremonial fowlers, cleaning officers, hunting guards, and horse-drawn carriages. Long-term follower; as long as you have money, you can buy a sealed letter of appointment through connections.
Therefore, relying on such means to accumulate wealth and materials in a short period of time; and the nearby armed forces defected one after another. The Grand Governor of Lyon also took advantage of the situation and announced the formation of the so-called Grand Army of Lyon with the city garrison as the core, claiming to be composed of thirty regiments, with three left, right and center wings.
Now, the Lyon Grand Army, which has been initially gathered, is facing off against the North Italian/Ciro coalition forces that have been marching all the way forward at the Viva Bridge and the mouth of the Romand River in the upper reaches of the Rhone River. However, unexpectedly, the coalition forces headed by the Principality of Verona were not in a hurry to attack.
Instead, envoys were sent across the river to negotiate with the Marquis of Antheil in the city of Lyon; therefore, rumors were rife in the city of Lyon today. Some people even swore that they had witnessed the great warlord having a happy conversation with the envoy, and that it was possible to reach a peace agreement.
In order to find out this information, the spy sent by Jiang Tian even used the activity funds to buy a servant status. However, no matter whether the Lyon Grand Warlord's real intention is war or peace, the time left for the lone army of Jiang Tian and Midonie City is obviously running out.
But it's not that there's no good news at all; at least the spies he sent to the southern ports of Marseille and Toulon brought back relatively good news. As a coastal commercial town and trading port, Marseille even brought back news that several local chambers of commerce had united and were willing to secretly sponsor the Free Army.
The spies who went to the Kingdom's naval station and military port Toulon were accidentally arrested by the local garrison; then, after some torture and identity verification, Villeneuve, the local coastal defense fortress garrison, sent a navy officer Second Lieutenant Laurent, as the long-term liaison officer.
Although, the direct benefits brought by these two news can only be regarded as better than nothing. However, the gold and silver utensils and products, as well as various scrolls, antiques, and furniture that Jiang Tian obtained from the Boragero Castle, all have a sales channel that can be cashed in without having to melt them.
Therefore, after setting up a large-scale food processing plant, Jiang Tian set up two additional logistical subsidiaries: one is the battlefield/military savings bank, which is used to store and keep the personal belongings in the hands of soldiers. When they return to the station, they can use the corresponding vouchers Withdraw at will or purchase supplies.
Another one is the Soldiers Club. Specifically for soldiers in non-war conditions, it provides a variety of food and drinks, sports competitions, singing and dancing entertainment, and even physiologically targeted treatment. It is also a way to recycle the vouchers in the hands of soldiers and control the circulation of money in a small area in disguise.
However, the town hall of Midonie City was reorganized, and the framework of the four departments of agriculture, construction, commerce, and education was temporarily set up; the total number of all members was only a dozen people; in fact, there were only a few people in the entire army who could write and read normally. Just over a hundred people. But there is finally a beginning.
After completing these preparations, a full week has passed since the last time the invading "Ligurian" regiment was defeated...The next step is to assemble the troops to attack the county town of Atana; it is also rumored to be defeated. The remnants of the late Lombard army recently gathered there.
However, when 5,000 soldiers and more than 1,000 hired armed civilians arrived in the county town of Atana, they found that the entire city was in chaos and basically undefended. Therefore, Jiang Dao briefly After taking over the city defense, collecting supplies and recruiting soldiers, we set off again.
Next, came the counties of Nyon, Grignan, and Montelima; none of them encountered any decent resistance or organized enemies. Even if there were a small number of Lombard garrison and some local garrison troops left behind, they fled or dispersed in droves; they had no fighting spirit at all.
Therefore, after recovering more than a dozen cities along the way, appointing corresponding temporary municipal officials, and recruiting and arming a number of temporary self-defense forces on the spot, the Free Army/Guerrilla Corps under Jiang Dan also quickly expanded to more than 10,000 soldiers; thirty-one new and old regiments.
Although, except for a small number of remnant soldiers and guards from the kingdom, most of them were severely lacking in training, but they were all solid men and young people, and they were relatively well-armed. Therefore, just by marching on the road, the flags are in the clouds and the sun is blocked by smoke.
After coming all the way, Jiang Tian also found that his plan seemed a bit too conservative; because, since the "Ligurian" regiment was defeated in the city of Midonie, the defeated Lombard soldiers who escaped were no longer available. There is an opportunity to restore the military structure.
The reason is very simple and unexpected. These Lombard troops will cause a lot of harm along the way. Therefore, when these defeated soldiers flee and become alone, they will inevitably encounter the spontaneous gathering of villagers in the countryside, one after another. Attacks and reprisals continued.
So much so that in the direction of the Free Army's advance, the roadsides were once lined with the bodies of many stripped Lombard soldiers. The local heroes who came to join the army after hearing the news in advance even prepared their own weapons and mounts and waited on the road ahead of the Free Army. Of course Jiang Tian did not refuse.
It only paid a certain amount of travel expenses, rewarded and persuaded those who were too old or physically unfit to join the army; and accepted the young people and strong men among them, and formed five additional auxiliary companies/reserve companies that were not enough; however, , the corresponding officers and non-commissioned officers began to be insufficient.
In order to maintain the control of the main force and the basic combat effectiveness, Jiang Tian could only ask them to recommend temporary sergeants and non-commissioned officers to lead the team based on their seniority, experience and local affinity among these defectors; as an expedient, Jiang Tian then Many reward notices were posted along the way.
It is used to place bounties on defeated Lombard soldiers who are scattered in places and may cause problems in public security and social order; among them, capturing a soldier alive can be exchanged for ten crowns, and killing one can also be exchanged for five crowns in exchange for armor and body badges; while sergeants and non-commissioned officers The value of officers and soldiers is gradually doubled.
Therefore, when the Free Army/guerrilla regiment led by Jiang Tian detoured through the five counties and finally arrived at the suburbs of Lifulong, the capital of Delong Province, they had already collected more than a thousand heads. He also held at least 1,500 Lombard prisoners.
However, what was flying over the provincial capital at this moment was the dark green sword-bearing eagle flag of the "Venecia" regiment, one of the two major corps that invaded the Lombard Army. This also means that at least three to five large regiments of Lombard troops have been gathered and garrisoned in the provincial city of Livron.
Although the information collected in advance was that the territory of the Northern Italy/Siro coalition was divided, the Dron Province was placed under the control of the Lombard Kingdom. Therefore, as a division of labor between the south and north corps, a considerable number of Lombard soldiers were sent out to raise food and loot places;
However, there are at least two to three thousand Lombard troops in this city; and they are professional soldiers who have been killed in the long-term chaos in northern Italy; it is not the army that Jiang Tian has gathered that can be used by force and force. The object of attack. Therefore, you have to design cleverly.
