The Face Changing Warrior

[If you understand the ban, you will definitely lift the ban! Will not break his promise. I hope you will vote for your support. 】

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Chapter Seventy Four

Seeing Rayantal’s army hurriedly disperse in the distance, the defeated soldiers in the wilderness approached Rayantal’s main force like ants. Rayantal is indeed a cunning wolf on the grassland. When he saw his cavalry defeated, he immediately ordered a retreat, without giving Roddy and Ruben any chance to pursue and expand their results-in fact, Roddy and Ruben didn't even want to pursue it. Ruben had less than 40,000 troops in his hand, and Roddy’s 10,000 Spikes ran a long distance for three days. He was already exhausted after another battle and had no ability to pursue it.

Reuben hurriedly ran down from the city wall with the help of his own soldiers, and saw Roddy lead the Spike army through the city gate.

Seeing the flame-like tulip banner, Ruben only felt his body sway and his eyes were blurred.

How long have you not seen the battle flag? Five years? Or ten years? Ruben can't remember clearly, but seeing the Central Cavalry Corps slowly entering the city through the city gate, although every soldier's face is full of exhaustion, the excitement and perseverance in his eyes cannot be concealed!

The head of the horse headed by the horse has blood stained on his slightly worn-out leather armor, his golden hair is flying, his sword eyebrows are raised high, and the murderous aura in those dark blue eyes has not disappeared yet-that looks, just like The old duke who was young decades ago! Especially behind him, looking at the energetic old comrade-in-arms leader Zige holding a saber in his hand, Ruben couldn't help but tremble, almost thinking that time and space are back...

A few steps later, Ruben almost shook off the soldiers who supported him, rolled down the steps of the city wall, plopped and knelt down in front of Roddy's horse, crying loudly.

Roddy was taken aback. Seeing a middle-aged man wearing the armor of a senior general knelt in front of him, Roddy immediately jumped off his horse.

"Reuben has seen Lord Duke!" Reuben's voice trembled a little. How many years have he not said this sentence?

Roddy panicked, and quickly pulled Ruben up from the ground, and hurriedly said: "Is it the commander of Ruben's army? Your rank is higher than mine, how can you kneel to me!"

Tears already appeared in Ruben's eyes, and he looked at Roddy up and down carefully, and then he pulled his thoughts out of his memories-after all, the old duke had passed away for many years!

On the contrary, Zieg, who was next to him, saw Ruben’s gaffe, stepped forward and gently pulled him twice, then Ruben shook his head, and loudly ordered his officers to lead the Central Cavalry Corps to the barracks, while he dragged Roddy to the camp. Go to the defense mansion.

At this moment, there was already a lot of joy in the city, whether civilians or soldiers knew that they had won the battle, they were all extremely excited. Seeing this imperial reinforcement cavalry outside the city enter the city, both civilians and soldiers flocked to the streets to watch. From time to time, enthusiastic civilians dropped the fruits and vegetables into the hands of the cavalry, and many children followed After the cavalry queue, they ran for joy.

You know, the reputation of Rayantal's Murder King has spread throughout the northwest, wherever the iron hoof of the Great Moon Kingdom went, burned, killed and looted. During the siege of the city a few days ago, the civilians in the city were panicked, for fear that the tragic end of their homes would be broken after the city was broken. At this moment, I heard that the enemy outside the city was beaten away by reinforcements. How could I feel unhappy?

Roddy looked at the cheering and joyful civilians all the way, remembering what happened in that village the day before, and he was filled with emotion. Suddenly, Andy’s mocking voice came in his mind: “What’s so strange. The Empire and Royantal are creditors and robbers. Although creditors come every month to take away half of your things, When you encounter a robber, no matter what you take away, the two evils are compared, and of course the creditor is a little cute."

It's just that Roddy is a young man after all, and he is still immersed in the joy of winning the first battle at this moment, and he doesn't care much about Andy's words.

The headquarters of the Northwest Army was set up in the original garrison mansion of Watt Fort. As soon as I entered the headquarters, I saw two men in military uniforms rushing out from inside. With a flattering smile on his face, he was the head of a fat guy who looked like he didn't want to be a soldier but more like a rich native. The man next to him was three points thinner than him, but he was taller, smiling, but more like a cunning merchant. The two of them wore the commander uniform of the Northwest Army, which made people feel a little nondescript.

The guy who looked like the rich landlord immediately performed the etiquette of seeing the superiors from the lower level: "The subordinate is the Watt Fortress with a lot of defensive fees, and I have seen the Duke." The man like the merchant said: "The subordinate is the guard of Trierburg The army commander Ferrara has met the Lord Duke."

Reuben's originally very happy face sank three points immediately. The two men hid in the garrison house. The news was very well-informed. As soon as the Lord Duke arrived, they actually knew about it.

Roddy frowned and looked at the two men, only nodded. According to reason, although he has the title of Duke, his military rank is just a commander, not higher than these two men. It's just that since this journey, Zieg, who is also the commander, has treated him with lower-level courtesy. Roddy has long been used to it, so he didn't think there was anything wrong with the two being so courteous at this moment. It's just that when he heard the names of these two people, Roddy couldn't help but froze for a moment, as if he wanted to start, but he didn't think of it for a while.

Reuben was already impatient, took Roddy into the hall, and then pushed Roddy directly into the coach's position and sat down with him. Roddy was surprised and jumped up from his chair and said loudly, "General Ruben! This is not good! I am just a commander, how can I sit in this position!"

Ruben sternly said: "My lord! You are the Duke of Tulip! Wherever the Tulip banner goes, how can the position of commander stand aside! Besides..." Ruben's expression dimmed, and he smiled bitterly: "I am afraid that the commander of the army will also I'm about to sit down, I'm pale in the northwest, I'm afraid your Majesty..." At this point, Reuben smiled, but the laughter was even bleak.

Roddy wanted to say something, but saw Zieg winking at himself, then nodded, and said loudly: "General Ruben, wait a minute for this matter! Only your Majesty wants me to come, one is to bring reinforcements , The second is to appoint me as the special envoy for the Northwest Military Observation. Now that the city siege has been resolved, I would like to ask you to introduce the current situation of the Northwest Army immediately!"

Ruben nodded, and since Roddy had lifted the emperor out, he stopped insisting on anything. Anyway, since Lord Duke has been appointed a special envoy to the Northwest, it is logical to control all the rights of the Northwest.

Immediately, Reuben sent an order to summon all officers above the deputy commander.

First, I briefly introduced the generals under him-the original five commanders of the Northwest Army's main force. Two of them had already been killed, and the deputy commander took over. As for the local defenders, the commander of the Blackstone Fort was intercepted by the Royantal cavalry on the way to the rescue. They died heroically and the defenders were also defeated. The defenders had already cancelled the knitting and could only reorganize them after the war. At this moment, Ruben introduced his subordinates to Roddy one by one. Most of them were mid-range and mid-range soldiers. Roddy looked around, but there was not a character that seemed to be particularly noticeable at a glance like Zieg.

Suddenly he had one or two eyes and saw a thirty-year-old slightly younger officer standing among the crowd, with a thin face, firm lines and sharp eyes. Roddy couldn't help but look at Ruben.

Reuben grinned: "This is the acting commander of the Northwest Army's Right Cavalry Regiment, Gislent, originally he was the captain of my subordinates, but... the two commanders of the Right Cavalry Regiment were killed in action, I will let him temporarily replace him. Now... just now... he was the one who led the troops out of the city to meet the adults. It was just that the two cavalry regiments of the Northwest Army had suffered heavy casualties at this moment. The original 30,000 people now only have 10,000 left, even though he is said to be a right cavalry. The commander of the regiment is actually the commander of all the cavalry of the Northwest Army."

Roddy nodded, then took another look at the man.

Guislant saw the Lord Duke's gaze sweeping towards him. Although there was no change on his face, his eyes showed excitement. His body doubled straight, his eyes fixed on the tulip family crest on Roddy's chest. . Excited, the body that stopped straight couldn't help shaking slightly.

Reuben smiled faintly: "Gislant has followed me for many years, he is the most loyal fighter under the Tulip War!"

Roddy nodded and smiled bitterly: He is another passionate young man who blindly admires the Tulip family just like himself.

When it was time to introduce the two rich natives and fat merchants, Ruben's tone was not so pleasant, he just briefly introduced their military ranks. The only thing that surprised Roddy a little was that the leader of Trierburg, that is, the fat merchant Jaferrara, was actually an aristocrat with the title of Viscount!

Roddy nodded slowly, and when he asked about the situation of the Northwest Army, Ruben showed an awkward look on his face. He looked at the crowd, gritted his teeth, and slowly said, "My Lord, the Northwest Army retreated into the city that day. There are 91,000 people among them, and the casualties have been heavy in the past few days. At the moment, there are more than 70,000 people in the Northwest Army in the city, but among them there are 4,000 wounded, and there are only less than 50,000 people who maintain the fighting force...

"What?" Roddy frowned and couldn't help asking: "You said there are about 70,000 soldiers, but after subtracting 4,000 wounded soldiers, why is there only 50,000 left? There are more than 10,000 people?"

Ruben's face was extremely embarrassed, he glanced hard at the leaders present, then sighed, just about to say something. The Viscount Ferrara of Trierburg suddenly spoke: "My lord, the calculations of these heads, it’s okay to ask the military secretary to submit the registration form for you to review. Now the enemy troops outside the city have just retreated. There are still many things to decide."

Roddy is no longer the boy who didn't understand anything at this moment. He moved in his heart. Although he still couldn't figure out the problem, he vaguely understood that there must be something obvious. He nodded, then glanced at Reuben, not asking the question again.

Subsequently, the subordinate officers and logistics personnel reported the loss of city defense and the loss of equipment one by one. The loss of horses and weapons, as well as the repair of the city wall, and the aftermath of the war were all piled up. .

Roddy had no experience and was at a loss for a while. It can be seen that Ruben is also embarrassed, and he is also very troubled with these things. For him, being in charge of the military and political power of a legion is far less pleasant than being a leader who only needs to kill the enemy and charge.

Fortunately, Zieg is an experienced talent-in the years of the Central Cavalry Corps, he has never lost air pay and ordnance. Almost all the logistical supply problems of the Wolffang Army were handled by him himself. On these issues, he is very experienced.

Those messy data made Roddy dizzy, and with the assistance of Zieg, he finally played the clerical chief of logistics and arranged all the tasks to the bottom in an orderly manner.

It's just that Ferrara and Fedo saw that Roddy was not very good at handling military financial supplies, and there was a smile of joy in their eyes.

After everything was processed, Ruben took Roddy and Zieg to the residence of the defense mansion. The residence was originally used by the defense commander Feiduo, but after Reuben was defeated, he gave it to Ruben. At this moment, Ruben insisted on relinquishing it.

After leaving everyone, Roddy left Ruben himself, and then Zieg winked. Zieg immediately turned around and walked outside, letting Roddy’s soldiers guard outside, then he turned around and went in The door closed again.

Roddy was still hesitating, not knowing how to ask, Zieg did look angry, and suddenly said loudly: "Reuben! What a good deed you have done! The vacancy of more than ten thousand people! You...you defile the tulip war. flag!!"

Ruben's face was very nervous, but suddenly he heard Zieg's questioning, his face flushed red, and he sprang up, yelling, "Ziege! Don't talk nonsense! I have never done anything to defile the tulip flag in Ruben's life. Things!! Those things..."

Qi Ge's face was gloomy, and he said cruelly: "Then tell me! What's the matter with the 10,000-plus vacancies! Back then, Han Ruben, how do you explain to the dead old duke!!!"

Reuben's face appeared dead gray, hesitated for a moment, and finally told the story. This said, not only Roddy, but even the veterans who are accustomed to the corruption of the army, such as the loss of the air force, are shocked.

"The Northwest Army is known as 200,000 people! The main corps is 100,000, and the surrounding garrison 100,000 sounds so majestic! But do you know? In fact, the Northwest Army does not have that many people! The true strength of the Northwest Army, plus The actual number of the main force and local defenders under my direct command has never exceeded 130,000!"

"My main army is not bad, but the actual situation of the garrison in those places is scary! A Loulan Fort, the number reported at the beginning was a total of 15,000 people, it is a full-fledged infantry regiment. But later waited. After Loulanbao's defeat, I realized that the situation was wrong!"

"The leader of Loulanbao is dead, but his family escaped... Humph, do you know? There are a hundred and fifty servants and guards in his house! Moreover, these heads are all hanging up? In the name of the defenders of Loulan Fort! That is to say, the commander of Loulan Fort is using the imperial army to support his servants and handymen! And then I tortured a few officers who escaped, and I realized that the whole Loulan Fort, the real army, but less than 8,000 people! Huh! The report is indeed a 15,000 reorganized infantry regiment! One of the leaders of Loulan Fort ate up 7,000 people! Other places Defenders, this is mostly the case!"

"You have never noticed these things!" Zieg's tone was harsh.

Ruben looked awkward. He was originally a military commander. He was required to lead a force of 10,000 to 20,000 to train and train a force every day, and then charge to fight. That is his good point, but he wanted him to be the commander of the army and then take charge of the entire army. All things, then it is really not what Ruben can do. It was often the materials submitted by subordinates. Reuben had a headache when he saw those pamphlets, and he often approved them with a stroke of a pen.

"What about your main army! Didn't you say that the main army has 100,000 people?" Zieg asked again.

"The main force is a little bit better. After all, these people are in front of me, not so bold! But not long ago I discovered that my three infantry regiments and the right cavalry regiment are all empty, but they are better than the local defenders. , The total is no more than 10,000 people. The actual military strength of my main force is only a little over 80,000."

Zieg sighed long and suddenly sat down on the chair.

Roddy looked gloomy and slowly said, "You said that the Northwest Army, which claims to be 200,000, has only 130,000 people. Those 70,000 people are all vacant? But how much is the salary of 70,000 people in a year? Those officers just fight. Do you dare to do this for the crime of beheading?!"

Zieg glanced at Luo and slowly said, "My lord, you are young and don't know anything about the army...the numbers don't count that way." Zieg thought for a while and slowly explained to Roddy.

A soldier's salary for a year is only three gold coins. In all, the deficit of the 70,000 military pay is only 210,000 gold coins, but the actual figure is far more than that.

The long sword used by an infantryman is a set of five silver coins, and the armor of a heavy infantryman is a set of three gold coins. The bows and arrows of the archers also demand money! The cavalry is even more powerful for a horse to cost five gold coins, not counting the cost of feeding forage for a year. The armor of the cavalry is more expensive than that of the infantry, and the price of spears and sabers are also more expensive than the long swords of the infantry.

Eating a soldier’s empty salary is actually swallowing the annual cost of these equipment. In all, a soldier costs seven empire gold coins every year, and a cavalry costs nearly fifteen gold coins! There is also the cost of repairs and maintenance of equipment! All these are a huge number!

The vacancy of 70,000 people, one year, the empire will have to pay nearly a million gold coins! And these nearly one million gold coins have flowed into the hands of the corrupt officers!

Roddy's face turned pale, he couldn't help but jumped up suddenly, slapped the table with a "pop", and immediately slapped a wooden table apart.

"Is this the Northwest Army, which is known as the three main armies of the empire!! Is this the elite army guarding the frontiers for the empire!!" Roddy's eyes burst into anger, and suddenly he said loudly, "General Ruben, that special Where is Lilleburg! That Ferrara! What about him!"

Ruben looked ashamed, and slowly said: "He? His Trier Castle is almost an empty city! The 15,000 assembled infantry regiment reported is actually less than 5,000..."

"Asshole!!!" Roddy yelled, "No wonder I passed a village around Trierburg on my way. I heard that the imperial army was forcibly pulling up the strong. It must be war, Ferrara knows the truth. If you can't help it, I will force the farmer to fill up the count!!"

"Reuben! Since you already know this, why don't you punish these people!" Zieg held the hilt in his hand and said angrily: "Are you also involved in these things?"

Reuben got excited for a moment and said loudly: "Punish?? How can I punish! Royantal is staring outside the city! How can I punish this time? Now the leader of the city, plus Ferrara and defense Fedor There are seven people in total, and four of them are involved! What can I do? All were arrested and chopped off? Now the military spirit is already unstable. At this time, the senior officer under his hand was chopped in half! How can I defend City! How to fight!!"

"Then...what about Old Seven?" Sieg suddenly whispered: "I heard that Old Seven was in charge of Blackstone Fort, but when he led the army to support your main force, Luo Yantar was intercepted on the road?"

There was a solemn expression on Ruben's face: "Old Seven used to be an adult's personal soldier, so naturally he would not do this kind of thing! I have checked that there are 15,000 garrisons in Blackstone Fort, no one is bad! Old Seven After the battle died, the people who escaped from his men told me that when Lao Qi was in Blackstone Fort, there was no money left at home, only a house and two horses!"

Zieg sat down on the chair, with a sad expression on his face, but the anger in his eyes could no longer conceal.

Roddy felt very frustrated in his heart. Before he came, he hadn't expected that the Northwest Army was in such a serious situation—it doesn’t sound good, the entire Northwest Army has been rotten in half! What about the other legions of the empire? The Northwest Army is known as the three main armies of the empire, and even so, the other corps of the empire... Roddy suddenly thought of seeing the scene that day in the most famous Central Cavalry Corps of the empire, and his heart was ashamed.

The joy of winning the first battle today has long since disappeared.

I don’t know how long it took, Roddy slowly said: "Master Ruben, just after the war, you should go and take care of things in the army first... Let Commander Zieg accompany you. I... I want to be alone. Stay a while."

Zieg and Ruben glanced at each other, and then Zieg strode out of the room, not looking at Ruben at all. Ashamed, Ruben sighed and went out.

Roddy sat alone in the room, thinking about it, thinking that he was so angry that he wanted to rush out and draw his sword and immediately slaughtered Ferrara and Fido. At this moment, the soldier outside the door knocked on the door, and then the leader of the soldier walked in and after giving a military salute, he whispered: "My lord, the guard commander of the Watt Fortress, Fedo, invites you to the dinner."

"What a dinner party!!" Roddy shouted suddenly.

The captain of the soldier was taken aback. Since following the young Lord Duke, he has never shown any arrogance to his subordinates, but at this moment he does not know where he is so angry.

"It's a dinner to celebrate today's victory." The captain of the soldiers whispered.

Roddy hummed and sneered, and was about to say nothing, when suddenly a thought flashed through his mind. He took a deep breath and said coldly in a low voice, "Tell them, I'm going!"

At this moment Roddy's eyes flashed, revealing a strange sharpness.