The Rise of the European Emperor

Marin's method quickly solved Woolf Esbrand's worries. After receiving the reply, Woolf Esbrand resolutely selected 8,000 elites and prepared to go south with Saqqara.

At the same time, he will leave 2,000 veterans behind in the Principality of Schleswig. However, in order to prevent the 2,000 people who escaped from the enemy from fighting back, Saqqara decided to recruit another 6,000 people from the private sector to assist the remaining 2,000 veterans to defend the city.

The specific arrangement is to leave 500 veterans and 3,000 people in the city of Schleswig, the capital of the Principality of Schleswig, to assist in the defense. In Ribe City, 500 veterans and 1,500 civilians were left to assist in the defense. Several other important towns also deployed some veterans to defend with strong people.

Woolf Esbrand also didn't ask that every city in the Principality of Schleswig could be defended. As long as several strategic points such as Schleswig and Ribe were not lost, and the Danes could be held back, it would be a success. As for himself and Saqqara, they went south with an army of 18,000 troops to assist Marin's main force and strive to defeat the Bursa coalition.

However, on the marching route, they had some difficulties. Because, Marin's requirements for them are not only to complete the task of marching into Lübeck, but also to try their best to keep the Bursa coalition from finding their traces.

Because, if these 18,000 people are facing the 50,000 Bosa coalition forces, they will definitely not have good fruit to eat. After all, the Bosa coalition is not only large in number, but also has no old, weak, sick or disabled. They are all elites. In particular, the 20,000 Swiss mercenaries were no match for Marin's men in hand-to-hand spear combat, and were even stronger.

Therefore, these 18,000 people not only had to go south for reinforcements, but also had to avoid the sight of the Bursa coalition. It is best to sneak around to the rear of the Bursa coalition and suddenly launch a surprise attack...

Looking at the map, both Woolf Esbrand and Saqqara scratched their heads. According to the normal way, from the Principality of Schleswig to the south, through the eastern half of the Principality of Holstein under the control of Lübeck, and then directly to the city of Lübeck...

This route is the shortest and most normal route. But Woolf Esbrand felt that this was the worst way to go. why? Because the commander of the Bursa coalition is not a fool, he will definitely arrange a lot of scouts on this road. As long as the trace of the army is found, why not report it?

After all, one of the leaders of the Bursa coalition is "Zhuge Trelie" III, known as the "Little German Zhuge"...

If the other party is not on guard against reinforcements from the north, then it is not Frederick III. Wanting to go this way and then complete the sneak attack is simply unimaginable.

Therefore, Woolf Esbrand, who is better at strategy, directly denied this route. However, Baqianminzhuang, who is currently staying in the border area between the Principality of Schleswig and the Principality of Holstein as a means of deception, can make good use of it.

for example,

Let them march towards Lübeck with great fanfare, attract the attention of the Saxon scout cavalry, and cover for the real army... This move is called "sounding the east and hitting the west"... At the beginning, Woolf Esbrand surrendered After Marin, he had studied the art of war with Marin for a period of time, and he knew this tactic. Therefore, the 8,000 people who were originally used to deceive the Danes might as well use their residual heat again to deceive the Bursa coalition before disbanding...

As for the Allied Forces of Bossa who discovered this civilian-strengthening force used for deception, that's fine. The big deal is to let these 8,000 people surrender without a fight. When the victory is over, these people will definitely return to their own hands. Moreover, after giving the other 8,000 prisoners, it also consumes the other party's rations and wastes part of the army to take care of it...

After the other party found out that it was a fake reinforcement, the real troops had already detoured to the rear of the Bursa coalition. Then, launch a night attack...

Speaking of night raids, Saqqara's experience should not be too rich. At the beginning, when Marin taught his officers tactics, there were many tactics of night raids. For example, Saqqara learned to surround the enemy in pieces, which is an important principle.

In short, no matter how well the enemy's defenses are, as long as the camp is breached, the opponent will definitely have a period of panic. Taking advantage of this time period, quickly interspersed and surrounded, and isolated the enemy's camp in pieces, so that the enemy could not concentrate their forces, then the night attack would be stable.

When encountering an unprepared army, a night attack can easily cause the opponent to bomb the camp without having to do anything. Even if they encounter a defensive unit, as long as they are divided and encircled in time, the opponent will not be able to turn the waves. In any case, the first mover will always have the advantage. Unless, the number of troops attacking at night is far less than the enemy's. Otherwise, the attacked party will always be at a disadvantage. Unless, the opponent can be sure that the enemy will attack at night, and set up traps, and at the same time keep the soldiers up all night, waiting for the enemy to fall into the trap.

However, this is rare in Europe. Because, there is no such level of advisors...

After all, in ancient Europe, they were used to fighting head-to-head, and most of the knights had a brain. Knowing how to prepare for night attacks is considered a resourceful general. As for taking advantage of the opponent's night attack, it is not common in China, let alone the ancient Europeans with less brain circuits.

Why does Marin value Woolf Esbrand? For this person, even at the expense of personally lobbying. It is because, Woolf Esbrand, is a rare general in Europe who uses flooding tactics to defeat ten times the enemy. When Marin taught the "Thirty-Six Strategies" to Woolf Esbrand, Woolf Esbrand's eyes lit up the whole time...

Saqqara was only a young man. Although he had learned a lot of military knowledge from Marin, he was still not as sophisticated as Woolf Esbrand. After all, Woolf Esbrand is a middle-aged man who thinks more comprehensively than Saqqara...

...

After denying the direct southward route, Woolf Esbrand and Saqqara began to choose a new route. If you want to go around behind the Bursa coalition army, from the Principality of Holstein to the east, pass through the Principality of Mecklenburg, and go directly behind the Bursa coalition army, it seems to be possible. After all, the main camp of the Bursa coalition is mainly in the southeast of the city of Lübeck. Because, the river channel southeast of Lübeck is the narrowest. Moreover, the Bursa coalition forces are currently coercing the local people to fill the river, so as to facilitate the Bursa coalition forces to siege the city.

But this path, Woolf Esbrand also denied...

why? Because the Duchy of Mecklenburg was too deeply influenced by the Electorate of Brandenburg. Even the Duchy of Mecklenburg may not really be on the same page as the Electorate of Brandenburg. However, because of the strong pressure from the Electoral State of Brandenburg, there must be nobles who secretly defected to the Electoral State of Brandenburg in the Duchy of Mecklenburg. At that time, when the army passes through the Principality of Mecklenburg, if there are nobles who secretly defected to the Electoral State of Brandenburg to secretly report the news to the Allied Forces of Boza, it will be in vain...

So, this way doesn't work either...

Then, the rest is the detour from the west...

The problem is that detouring from the west, the army needs to pass through the wide Elbe River, which requires a lot of ferries. Moreover, the army cannot go through the Hamburg-controlled area. Because, in Hamburg, there must be spies of the Bursa coalition. Once found whereabouts, it will not work.

Therefore, if you take the western route, you need to transport the large military ships to the west bank of the Elbe first. Then, at a point to the south of Hamburg, where the spies of the Allied Forces of Bursa could not notice, they initiated the crossing of the river and marched in the direction of the camp of the Allied Forces of Bursa...

However, at present, Woolf Esbrand and Saqqara only have twenty or thirty ships, and they can only transport two or three thousand people at a time. An army of 18,000 people is estimated to have to be transported many times, which is a waste of time...

Woolf Esbrand looked at the map and pondered, while Saqqara said that there are not enough ships...

After a long time, Woolf Esbrand suddenly said:

"Who says there aren't enough ships?"

Saqqara was a little stunned, but still said:

"I only have 20 or 30 troop transport ships in my hand, of course it's not enough! Are you going to Emden to transfer ships to transport troops? In that case, you must first obtain a warrant from the Duke, and then send someone to Emden. It's a waste of time to board the port to transfer ships..."

"No, we don't need to transfer ships from the mainland!" Woolf Esbrand said firmly.

"Where did you get the boat?"

"Have you forgotten? Hamburg, our ally! They are Hanseatic cities with hundreds of merchant ships. Now it's a tense time of war. We'll go to Hamburg to borrow hundreds of ships to transport troops, so it shouldn't be a problem... …”

"But... going to Hamburg to borrow a boat, will I be inquired by the other party's spies?"

"No, we quietly contacted the Hamburg Council and asked them to keep the ships secret when they dispatched the ships. If the sailors and captains who drive the ships don't know the mission when they go to sea, what can the spies find out?"

"Also, I studied the map and found that in the Duchy of Saxony-Lauenburg, south of Hamburg, there is an 'Elbe-Lübeck' canal. If our troops directly take ships, follow this 'Elbe-Lübeck' canal. It would be more convenient if the Baker' Canal goes directly to the vicinity of Lübeck..."

"The Duchy of Saxony-Lauenburg? Lord Woolf, are you kidding me? That's Saxony... isn't it with the Elector of Saxony?"

"No, you are wrong! Although the Duchy of Saxony-Lauenburg has the word 'Saxony' in its name, it has nothing to do with the Electoral State of Saxony. The Electoral State of Saxony and the Duchy of Saxony are ruled by the Wetting family. And it was the Ascanids who ruled the Duchy of Saxony-Lauenburg, not a family."

"Once upon a time, those who ruled the Duchy of Saxony-Wittenberg, which is now the Electorate of Saxony and the Duchy of Saxony, also belonged to the Askanids, and they were the same as the Askanids of the Duchy of Saxony-Lauenburg. One family was later divided into two countries. However, in 1422, the Saxe-Wittenberg part was inherited by the Wetting family. Since then, the Duchy of Saxony-Lauenburg and Saxony-Wittenberg are not one family. In fact, even if it is a family, the two countries have been separated for more than 200 years, and the relationship has long since faded. What's more, the two countries now belong to two families?"

"Moreover, as far as I know, the Duchy of Saxony-Launburg is not very closely related to the Saxon nobles, but rather has close relations with Lübeck and Hamburg. Because, the 'Elbe-Lübeck', which belongs to the Duchy of Saxony-Launburg Canal', the biggest customer is the businessmen of Lübeck and Hamburg. And the toll tax collected through this canal is one of the most important fiscal revenues of the Duchy of Saxony-Launburg. Therefore, the Duchy of Saxony-Launburg is on the contrary with Lübeck. Baker and Hamburg are closer, but not so close to the two Saxon countries that share the name of Saxony."

After all, Woolf Esbrand is old and knowledgeable, and he has spread a wave of historical knowledge to Saqqara.

Saqqara frowned, thought about it and said:

"That is to say, the Duchy of Saxony-Lauenburg is a friend of Lübeck and Hamburg, and it should be no problem for our troops to pass through their territory?"

"It should be, and we don't have to get the consent of the Duchy of Saxony-Lauenburg. We sent a fleet of 18,000 troops directly to the Duchy of Saxony-Lauenburg. It doesn't matter if the other party doesn't agree, just force it. Crush is it. Anyway, they are powerless to stop it. When the time comes, I will send the scout cavalry team under my command ashore to intercept the horsemen heading east. "

"What kind of scout team? Can you ensure a successful interception?"

"It was assigned to me by Lord Sauer. There are 50 people in total, all of them are light cavalry riding Arabian horses. Moreover, everyone wears three clockwork muskets, which are specially used to kill the messengers on horseback. Those people Using a clockwork pistol on a horse is very good at shooting, and the horse you ride is also very good. It is fast and has good endurance. It is very suitable for intercepting the enemy's messengers and scouts! Our Second Army, There are only 50 such elite scouts in total."

"His—" Saqqara sucked in a breath, then said jealously:

"Why doesn't my English Legion have such elites? With such elite troops, it is very convenient to intercept the enemy's messengers! It is also convenient for the army to attack!"

"Come on, how long has it been since your English Legion was formed? It doesn't have an official designation yet, so where can you equip such elite scouts? It is said that there are only 200 such interceptor-type elite scouts in the Duke's headquarters. Shooting and killing enemy messengers on the back of a horse also requires very powerful techniques, which most people cannot learn. Therefore, the number of this scout cavalry specially used to kill enemy messengers has always been small. Mainly because the horse The shooting skills are too difficult. The average person cannot shoot accurately on the back of a speeding horse, and may not be able to intercept the enemy's messenger... It is because the number of people is too small, I am worried that the 50 people who take the normal route in the middle will not be able to intercept the opponent's spies. , I chose the west route. After all, the other party must have placed a lot of spies near the middle road... But if we take the west route, the other party will have fewer spies and it will be easier to intercept..."

"Well, you are lucky. So, how can we ensure that we will not be discovered by the enemy's spies when we pass through the river near Hamburg? You know, there must be other spies in the city of Hamburg."

"This is simple. When our fleet passes through the Elbe River basin on the edge of Hamburg, we choose to pass in the middle of the night. At the same time, let the Hamburg parliament announce the implementation of a curfew, and let people not go out at night." Woolf Esbrand After thinking about it, he said.

"This is a good idea. Once the curfew is imposed, the other party's spies will not be able to come out in the middle of the night to inquire about the news. If they dare to come out, they will be arrested immediately!"

"Of course!"

"However, the plan to borrow a boat from Hamburg and then take the Elbe River and the Elbe-Lübeck Canal requires the approval of the Duke. As for borrowing a boat from Hamburg and suggesting a curfew in Hamburg, it is best for the Duke to coordinate. , the two of you and I don't have such a big face..."

"That's right, I'll write a report!"

"Okay, I'll sign when I'm done..."

...