They are mainly infantry, but also have a small number of cavalry. They are well-armed, with a large number of long-range weapons such as muskets or heavy crossbows.
One team even had three cannons.
Although it was agreed yesterday that there would be 1,000 people, in reality there were only about 1,200.
Novgorod is not short of mercenaries now, but it lacks employers.
Although it was only a short-term hire, it was still easy to gather such a force.
Thomas, wearing a wolf head mask and riding a horse, walked in front of the mercenary team and reviewed the army.
Overall not bad.
In particular, there are only three teams, so there is no need for complex coordination between each other and no additional training is required to fight.
Three mercenary captains came over and saluted him.
"Sir, we have accepted the contract and will now fight for you." The three men understood that Thomas was their true employer. "For ten days, we will obey your orders."
"Special Envoy!" the fox beside Thomas whispered. "You must be careful. These mercenaries are unscrupulous. They are about to leave Novgorod."
The mercenaries will leave before the water freezes over. That means during this time, they have nothing to fear from any crimes they commit!
Once the fighting starts, don't expect them to obey your orders.
"Alright, gentlemen," Thomas waved to the captains. "We're going to a place a little further away this time. The round trip might take several days. I think everyone is ready. Let's set off now."
After saying this, Thomas took the lead and set off.
"Where is he going?" asked the one-eyed wolf.
"Who knows? It certainly wasn't close to the city," Fox Wolf replied. "But at this point, we can only watch the envoy do his work. Hopefully, he'll finish quickly and leave."
……
The fox wolf looked ahead with a dull expression.
After three days of marching, they arrived here.
In the distance is a complex of buildings that can be called a "fortress".
There is already a prototype of a castle in the center - if given a few more years, it will definitely be built into a castle.
High on the fortress, the flag of the Gwalan family was flying.
This flag indicates that this is not a garrison of the Grand Duke of Novgorod, but a trading station of the Gvaran family.
The place the special envoy wants to attack is actually here?
To be honest, if it were anywhere else, she wouldn't care at all.
You can even agree with it without saying anything.
In short, just send the envoy away and the loss of a small amount of money doesn't matter.
But here...but here...
She also has shares here!
She had invested the vast majority of her fortune in it, and had worked with the Gwalan family to finally achieve the current situation...
In fact, the investment of the Wolf's Den people was the biggest part of the investment, while the Gwalan family was the smaller part.
"Sir... could you please reconsider this? The forces involved in the Gwalan family are extremely complicated. If we touch them carelessly, I'm afraid..." Over there, the one-eyed wolf wanted to make a final effort.
Thomas ignored it and ordered the mercenaries to form a battle formation and then surround the trading post from all sides.
There were no business trips this season, as everyone was worried about being blocked off on their way by a heavy snowfall.
There are only troops from the Gwalan family stationed here, and they are clearly at a disadvantage in terms of military strength.
"The evidence is conclusive!" Thomas replied coldly. He looked at the four wolves and then ordered the mercenaries to launch an attack.
The mercenaries' artillery fired three holes in the outer wall of the trading post after one round of bombardment.
The trading post has not been completed yet, and its current defense capabilities are limited.
It was okay to resist the Chude tribe who lacked heavy equipment, but it was no use resisting these well-equipped mercenaries.
Someone pulled the fox-wolf from behind, and when he looked back, he found that it was the one-eyed wolf.
The one-eyed wolf shook his head, signaling the fox wolf not to resist.
The four of them retreated carefully to a corner a little further away.
"What should I do?" Fox Wolf was at a loss. She was the biggest investor in this trading station.
The original plan was to take advantage of this favorable opportunity to completely monopolize the trade between the two places, but unexpectedly encountered this situation!
"Don't be impatient, this may be a coincidence!" said the one-eyed wolf.
"accidental?"
"Don't forget, there are fifty elite warriors stationed here!" One-Eyed Wolf warned. "Don't underestimate the mercenaries' numbers and weapons, but if we really attack and start close combat, they won't be easy to deal with!"
These words were like enlightenment, and the fear in the fox wolf's heart quickly calmed down.
The station had only a little over a hundred guards, overwhelmingly outnumbered, but there were fifty elite warriors inside.
This is not ordinary combat power.
Although these thousand mercenaries are numerous, they won't gain any advantage in close combat.
The cannons opened fire again, and with one wave, two more outer walls collapsed and a building was blown down.
Maybe because there were flames and flammable materials inside, it actually caught fire.
The fox's heart was bleeding, knowing that the loss from this single shot was over a thousand florins! Maybe even more!
Damn it! The soldiers I hired myself are actually attacking my own property?
Of course Thomas couldn't hear her inner voice, but if he did, he would probably complain: What's the big deal?
In the history of the parallel dimension, there was a strange country called "Netherlands".
Weapons, equipment and loans can be provided to the enemy.
Finally, the enemies of the Netherlands used Dutch equipment, ate Dutch food, and used Dutch money to pay their soldiers, thereby attacking Dutch cities.
Compared with the Netherlands, what is the current situation?
The mercenaries did not rush to attack, but continued to fire their cannons and sent out cavalry to block the perimeter.
Obviously, they would not engage in close combat until they had opened up a sufficiently large offensive corridor. This was also the inevitable choice of an excellent general.
Thomas turned his attention to the wolves behind him.
"Not bad, not bad. They are indeed well-equipped and well-trained. It must be hard work for you to hire such excellent mercenaries." Thomas looked at the four wolves with admiration.
There was a hint of pity in his eyes.
The wolves all looked pale, as if their mothers had died. Fortunately, they were covered with masks, so they were not exposed.
"Your Excellency is a master of foresight and has made preparations long ago. I have only done my bit..." Fox Wolf said reluctantly. "It's nothing..."
“That’s true.” Thomas smiled.
"But, since everything is going so smoothly, why do you look so unhappy?"
Chapter 227: War 3
Damn it, I paid for the army to attack my own trading post... How can I be happy?!
The one-eyed wolf really wanted to complain.
But facing the other person's sharp gaze, he instinctively shuddered, and quickly looked up and forced out a harmonious smile.
"Your Excellency is mistaken. We just caught a cold last night... we're just feeling a little unwell."
Even if people who practice martial arts are physically strong, they are only slightly better than ordinary people. Minor illnesses and disasters are rare, but not impossible.
"Your heart is beating very fast," Thomas continued. "It seems you're really not feeling well."
"Yes... I also feel weak, maybe that's why my heartbeat quickened..." The one-eyed wolf forced a reply.
He had already made up his mind.
When this matter is over, there will be no chance for this envoy named Shadow Wolf to leave.
As long as he reports to the Wolf Lord, kill him directly!
It's funny that they thought this person was easy to fool at first...
"Whatever," Thomas said with a smile. "Since you're not feeling well, don't go into battle today. Just watch from here."
"Yes!" The fox wolf bowed his head in thanks, but his silver teeth had already been gnashed under the mask.
Just waiting for you to break into the trading post... and see how you end up!
Over there, after waves of artillery fire, the outer walls and some buildings of the trading post had collapsed.
The mercenaries began to form a square formation and gradually approached.
In the square formation, long-range archers were in the front, with spears and halberds in the back, and a small number of axes and shields or two-handed swords were mixed in as special attackers.
The guards inside the trading post also knew that their long-range firepower was insufficient, so when the shelling began, there was no decent counterattack.
Slowly approaching.
Seeing that the battle was about to break out in the distance, the fox wolf's heart instantly became extremely tense.
If the trading post is captured, she will lose most of everything she has!
As the mercenaries approached, a small number of guards used houses or walls as cover and opened fire.
The mercenaries naturally fired back.
In this era, the density of firepower is still more important than cover.
In the long-range shooting, the mercenaries had the advantage and suffered very little loss, while seven or eight of the trading post guards were knocked down in front of their eyes.
If the mercenaries maintain this steady long-range shooting method, even a group charge of dozens of elite warriors may not be able to break through the battle formation.
These idiots!
The fox wolf was filled with anger.
She has struggled for so many years and paid so much, just to be able to enjoy everything in peace.
If this place is destroyed, how can she maintain her current power and interests?
Thinking of this, she lowered her head to hide her uncontrollable murderous intent and anger.
It took a long time for her to calm down again. The mercenaries might not win!
When I looked up, I saw that the mercenaries had already rushed into the trading station.
No strong resistance was encountered, and the entire outer space was abandoned by the defenders.
The rest of the people retreated into the central building.
There was already the beginnings of a castle, a poor one at that.
But even so, its defensive capabilities are not comparable to those of the periphery, at least it will not be easily broken by artillery.
Seeing this, the mercenaries did not launch an immediate attack, but tightened the encirclement and prepared for the next stage of the battle.
These mercenary captains were clearly very cautious individuals. After all, only such individuals were suitable to be mercenary captains.
Thomas and his group slowly passed through the threshold of the main entrance and walked in.
This commercial station is quite large.
It can be seen that the ambition behind its establishment was huge, and that they wanted to swallow up the trade between the Chude tribes and Russia in one gulp.
The buildings on the outskirts are almost all warehouses...and the houses for people to live in have not yet been fully built.
"This is the Gwalan family's trading post," Thomas marveled. "Once everything is finished, it'll be a military fortress! Will the Grand Guild allow it?"
"Fox Wolf, tell me, how could the Grand Duke allow such a thing?"
"I don't know either," the fox wolf replied. "However, it's said that the Grand Duke of Novgorod doesn't have strong control over the surrounding areas. To stabilize the situation, he even invited the Grand Duke of Kiev to station an army near the city."
“That’s true.” Thomas nodded.
"Sir!" A mercenary captain came over, "This place is difficult to attack by force. We need some time to prepare for the siege."
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