CHAPTER 369: CHAPTER 248 WAR PLANNING

Although Pro is also old, he was quite well-known in the past Supply Camp as Volenus’ capable subordinate, so naturally, there were women interested in him. Therefore, after the tribe was established, he got married.

"No, no, come to my place for dinner tonight!" Valerius urgently objected loudly.

"Eat at your place? What good food can you make?" Pro disdainfully objected.

"Don’t think only your house has women. I just found one myself, and the food she makes is quite good!" Valerius boasted.

"Alright, Valerius, quietly got yourself a woman, we’ll have to come to your place tonight to celebrate properly." Pro said with a smile.

"Leonidas, how about you now? Still single?" Valerius smugly asked the youngest of the three.

"Uh..." Leonidas lowered his head a bit embarrassed.

"It’s okay, it’s okay." Valerius comforted: "Come to my place tonight; I’ll have my woman introduce someone to you. There are plenty of women in the Alde Tribe she belongs to, all wanting to marry us Nix people. You can pick a good one."

Leonidas didn’t speak, but his eyes were full of anticipation as he looked at Valerius.

............

"Leader, our Military Department selected 500 tribesmen yesterday who can easily perform four reloadings, hold the crossbow steadily to shoot, and can jog long distances without much effort. They fully meet our requirements for crossbow soldiers and will start training today. Additionally, we selected over 600 more as reserves, so once the crossbow troop expands, we’ll have enough backup personnel," Flanitnus reported.

"Good, the training for crossbow soldiers is relatively easy. I believe the unit will take shape in less than a month." Maximus looked at Capito: "The key issue now is whether the Iron Workshop can produce enough crossbows in a short time?"

This wasn’t a regular meeting of the Political Affairs Hall but rather Maximus calling in three chief officers from the Military Department, the chief officer of the Finance Department, and the chief officer of the Public Works Department to discuss related military affairs.

"Leader, ten days ago, after the Iron Workshop received our order to speed up the production of crossbows, they have manufactured forty crossbows and more than five hundred arrows by yesterday..."

Capito faithfully reported: "Currently, the issue is the lack of materials, mainly linen, and also insufficient manpower... If these conditions can be met, Kadesos promised me that ’within two months, a five hundred-man crossbow unit can be fully equipped.’

"For the linen problem, Pigeris has already negotiated with the Alde Tribe, and the linen will arrive in a few days. As for insufficient manpower..."

Maximus stroked his chin and said, "We can have the Iron Workshop stop making other iron goods and focus all manpower on making crossbows! If that’s still not enough, your Public Works Department can also divert some manpower from other workshops to prioritize crossbow production."

"With your permission, leader, the Iron Workshop will definitely complete equipping the crossbow unit within two months." Capito said with relieved expressions.

"Leader, what’s the current situation with the Pannonians? When will they launch an attack on us? About how many enemies will there be?" Flantillus asked eagerly.

Maximus observed everyone with a serious expression, saying solemnly: "From the intelligence we have received, both Segestica and Brochi territories of the major Pannonian Tribes have started to collect large amounts of grain, call up tribal members for military training, and the blacksmiths in the tribes are also urgently crafting armor and weapons...

The most important thing is that the Segestica village neighboring us has not only increased border patrols but also occasionally has convoys carrying materials into the village... All these indicate that the Pannonians will have major military actions, and these actions are aimed at us!"

"From this, it seems certain that the Pannonians intend to attack us." Quintus pondered, "Last year, several Pannonian tribes united to attack our temporary camp. At that time, their troops numbered about 30,000 and were eventually repelled by us. This time, they will only gather more forces to attack us."

"Even if the Pannonian army comes with more troops than last time, our strength now is far superior to when we just arrived here last year. The First Legion easily defeated an Otarlat army far outnumbering them, proving our army’s superiority over these local tribal forces that lack rigorous training." Flanitnus said confidently: "Our concern now is not knowing when the Pannonians will launch their attack or how they will attack. If we could find out in advance, we could prepare and reduce our losses."

"Emmerich once told me, like other ethnic groups here, the Pannonians worship Divine beings and keep promises made before them. If the new Great Chief of Segestica breaks the truce agreement made under sacred ritual and launches a war against us, won’t he fear the Divine’s wrath and the discontent of his tribesmen?"

Maximus slowly stated his considered thoughts: "Additionally, gathering tens of thousands of troops to jointly attack us, given the Pannonian Tribe Alliance’s military mobilization and organization capabilities, cannot be done in a short time... If it drags into winter, cold weather will complicate their march, combat, and food transport. Therefore, I believe that once Segestica’s truce agreement with us ends, the Pannonians will be eager to attack us."

"Leader, I think what you said makes sense. The Pannonians should launch an attack once the truce ends," Flanitnus nodded in agreement.

"That being the case, we have almost two months, and the Iron Workshop can certainly complete the task you assigned, leader," Capito interjected.

"Last time, the Pannonian tribal army gathered in Segestica Territory and then marched along the south bank of the Kupa River, finally besieging our temporary camp..."

As the chief officer of the Staff Department, Quintus had evidently considered this aspect. He pointed to a rough map of the areas surrounding the Nix Tribe on the wooden table, saying, "This time, with Pannonian troops attacking us, the south bank of the Kupa River is likely to be their main attack route again—"

Flanitnus interjected: "In that case, we can concentrate our troops in Westeni. Once the enemy arrives, we can block them there, forcing them to engage us north of Westeni. The terrain there is not very wide, and the Pannonian army, with numbers certainly much larger than ours, would have difficulty deploying formations, reducing their damage to our territory if we repel them there."

Quintus knocked on the map on the table, saying in a deep voice, "But we must not ignore another route of advance—from the western side of the Brochi Tribe’s territory to the east bank of the Kolana River. This distance is not long and mainly consists of hilly terrain with rivers, also suitable for large troop movements.

Previously, a Pequot force once marched through in the opposite direction, causing significant losses for Brochi due to troop shortages. If Brochi’s Great Chief is worried about similar events occurring again, he might lead his army along this route—"

Quintus traced his fingers on the map, emphasizing: "If the Pannonian army reaches the east bank of the Kolana River and moves north along the river, bypassing the Validosi Swamp, they could invade our Snowdonia Territory!"

Flanitnus said nothing, bending over to concentrate on the map in thought.

"I remember there are many Alde Tribes along the Kolana River. Surely the Pannonian army wouldn’t find passing through the north bank of the Kolana River to reach us that easily?" Gaius, chief officer of the Finance Department, couldn’t help but ask.

Capito scornfully commented: "Last time, when the Pannonian army besieged our camp, the Aldeans didn’t even send troops to harass them from behind. After fighting the Otarlat people this time, the Aldeans reportedly suffered significant losses. They wouldn’t dare intercept the Pannonian army, which has repeatedly beaten them. I’m afraid the Pannonian army won’t even reach the Kolana River before the Aldeans residing there hastily retreat."

Gaius was momentarily stunned and did not retort, realizing this could indeed be the situation. So he suggested, "We could also concentrate our troops in Snowdonia. If the Pannonians attack from that direction, we would fight them there."

"What if the Pannonian army splits into two, attacking both Snowdonia and Westeni simultaneously?" Quintus asked.

Gaius’s complexion changed, and he stammered, "Then our troops... can also split into two groups, blocking them at both ends of the Kupa River... and then combat."

"If the Pannonian invading army is numerous, splitting into two forces would favor their march and encampment, and also their combat. But for us, if we equally split our forces to block them at both ends and engage in combat, with our already limited troops, we may not hold any advantage..."

Flantillus sighed, first glancing at Quintus and then at Maximus, and candidly said, "I hadn’t considered the southern route of advance earlier. Thanks to Quintus’s reminder. If the Pannonian army has enough numbers and a wise commander, they might indeed attack from two sides!

If that happens... it would be best to first station small forces at Westeni and Snowdonia, concentrating our main forces to first defeat the enemy on one side, and then engage the enemy on the other side for a decisive battle."

Quintus picked up the conversation, solemnly saying, "Leader, if the Pannonians attack from both sides, I agree with Flanitnus’s proposal. This is the best approach, though our territory might suffer considerable damage as a result."