Realm of Power

After being in a daze for a while, Hebery came back to his senses and immediately realized the seriousness of this matter. It was not just a lack of food. He looked at Locruz who ran over to help him, and a flash of light flashed in his eyes. A hint of solemnity,

The intention of the northwest rebels to burn food is undoubtedly clear, which is to completely cut off the possibility of the army obtaining this year's food. It is such a ruthless method.

Launching a large-scale cavalry raid, he burned three-quarters of this year's new grain while he was completely unaware of the food problem. Thinking that his Eighth Army had just suffered a raid and harassed the morale of the army, and now it was again A more turbulent food crisis will erupt. Without even having time to make arrangements, he will suddenly fall into an impossible situation. No one would have thought that those worms in the local army would dare to sell military rations privately. These audacious guys deserve to die.

Hebery was a little at a loss for a moment. If being beaten to the ground before was just a false alarm, then this time he was really forced into a desperate situation. After hesitating for a moment, he decisively gave the order: "Here. The message must be blocked until I leave , Lobrus, you immediately send out people you trust enough to conduct a thorough investigation of all the granaries! No one can be missed! And those original local army officers are arrested immediately. I don’t care what you do, you must do it! Find all the lost food!"

"My subordinates understand, but they are afraid."

"What are you afraid of?"

"... My subordinates are afraid that the exchanged grains may not be recovered. They have all been sold! I heard that in the past few months, the caravans coming from the southwest were tax-free. Many caravans They all purchase food here,"

Lobrus stood at attention and responded hesitantly, "And if we arrest local officers on such a large scale, it will greatly worsen the relationship between us and the local army. After all, we still have many matters that require the assistance of the local army!"

"We can't control so much now. After questioning the arrested parties, we will immediately execute them on the spot, confiscate all their property, and replace the military supplies used to purchase military rations." Hebery's tone was cold, and his eyes swept over the mountains of food. He took a breath and said murderously, "Yes. I will vomit out what these moths eating the country have eaten. As for the assistance of the local guards, it is only dispensable for us. On the contrary, if the news really spreads, it will not take three days. Our Eighth Army will collapse without a fight!'

"No way, Lord Hebery is worrying too much!" Locruz looked stunned. He heard that the commander of the army, Hebery, was really angry this time. The rations of hundreds of thousands of troops turned into river sand. , this legion leader urgently needs a remedy.

"Are you worrying too much? I hope so too!" He Baili seemed to have aged a lot. He said with a wry smile, "But the northwest rebels on the opposite side have already started making relevant arrangements, and soon the news about food will be all over the city!"

"What do you mean, sir? The food in the warehouse is from the northwest!" The expressions of Locruz and Roy Gaien changed. The army had just suffered a terrible attack. If the problem of insufficient food supply is exposed again, no matter how strong the soldiers of the Eighth Legion are in their fighting will, they will lose their fighting spirit.

"Except for those businessmen in the northwest, the only ones who have the funds to eat up hundreds of thousands of troops amassing food. Are there any other possibilities?"

He Baili's eyes were full of depression, and he said solemnly, "Otherwise, how could the northwest rebels be so familiar with the defense of various places? As soon as we took over, we were beaten to the point of confusion by them, making this place even more backward than their own back garden." garden!"

Ten minutes later, Jeff, the deputy chief who was guarding the granary, watched his chief, Lo Bruce, accompany the regiment commander Hebery out of the warehouse with a very ugly expression. Next to the chief, Mr. Roy Gaien, who had always been at odds with the chief. , at this time, he also had his head drooped in a rare manner, and followed the two of them without saying a word.

"Weird thing!" For some reason, Deputy Chief Jeff couldn't help but tremble when he saw this scene.

Ever since last year on the Eastern battlefield, Chief Robulus, who was in charge of his 8th Infantry Regiment, and Lord Roy Gein, who was in charge of the 5th Infantry Regiment, had a falling out over the issue of who should rescue whom first during a joint attack. Scenes of silence are rare now, but the face of Commander Hebery, who was walking in front of the two men, was faintly flashing with angry cyan, and his two eyebrows were almost twisted together.

"Someone is going to be in trouble!" Jeff subconsciously thought,

"Lord Hebery is a little tired. Why don't you go and arrange the best room right away?" Loblos looked up and glanced at the adjutant general who was standing in front of him in a daze, and was very dissatisfied.

"No, I want to go back to the legion headquarters immediately! I won't stay here any longer." Hebery waved his hand to stop him. "You immediately send someone to find out the specific situation and hold a military meeting in the evening. I need a complete report!"

"The specific situation..." Loblos was completely dumbfounded. Even if the army was mobilized to check dozens of large granaries one by one, it would not be possible to find out in a short time.

"Seize the local officer in charge of the warehouse in front! Use your torture instrument to pry open his mouth, understand!'

He Baili rolled his eyes, whipped his horse whip, and galloped away with the cavalry. After discovering such a big loophole, he was not in the mood to continue to inspect the next attacked area. It should be similar. He Baili glanced at it for the last time. After passing the closed door of the granary, his face suddenly became extremely ugly. Nothing could be seen outside, but the inside was filled with trembling river sand! , otherwise, why did the northwest rebels burn these places! All the generals must be called in to discuss how to deal with this sudden and huge crisis.

It was already 2 p.m. when Hebery returned to the legion’s base camp.

It was mid-July now, and the weather was very hot. Hebury was anxious and angry, sweating profusely, and almost suffered from heatstroke. He almost fell off his horse several times on the road. He handed his sweaty military cap to the adjutant at the door. He couldn't wait and immediately ordered a meeting with all the generals.

"All generals?"

The adjutant is a middle-aged man of about forty years old, wearing a black adjutant uniform with the legion adjutant mark embroidered on the cuffs.

He expressed his doubts very cautiously. You must know that the Eighth Army of the Empire has 110,000 combat personnel, and there are nearly 30 people who can be called generals. They are currently scattered in various places. If they are all gathered together. It will take at least an afternoon

"Yes, all, and the Sheriff of the area where my legion is stationed!"

Hebery's face was serious and his tone was cold. He had thought about it on the way. If the inventory of the granary was indeed very unsatisfactory, the only way now was to get food from the local area. Although the Eighth Army was the main force of the empire, But most of the military expenditures are used for daily expenses, since there is no money. The only option is to rob, starting with food stores in various places. It is time for these defectors who colluded with the northwest rebels to pay compensation for this.

At nine o'clock in the evening, the adjutant brought a report into Hebery's office.

"Sir, the generals are all here."

Thirty minutes later, when he saw Hebury walking out of his office, the adjutant said cautiously... This adjutant had worked with Hebury for more than ten years, and he was considered a senior adjutant in the army. After having the opportunity to read the report, he immediately knew why Hebury's face was so ugly when he came back in the afternoon. 210,000 bags There were only 30,000 bags of wheat flour in stock. The other 180,000 bags were all filled with river sand, stones and other things. It was so terrible that the adjutant felt a chill on his back. This is just Lacey, and the situation in several other areas is not optimistic.

In the conference room of the Legion Headquarters, more than thirty people wearing Gallic imperial uniforms attended the meeting, and the generals of the Eighth Legion were already seated carefully.

In the second row from the left and right of the long round table. They are peace officers from various places, there are more than 20 of them, their clothes are very messy, some are fat men with big bellies, and some are middle-aged men with tough looks. To be able to become the peace officer of a place, they always have a bit of ruffianism about them. , they gathered together and whispered about something. They obviously didn't know why they were called to the meeting. This was a meeting of the Eighth Legion of the Empire. It was too far away from the small local magistrate.

"His Excellency the Legion Commander has arrived!

Upon hearing Hebery's arrival, the generals in the front row stood up neatly, straightened their waists, puffed out their chests, and saluted Hebery neatly.

The police officers at the back had strange expressions on their faces. Some were standing and some were still sitting. They obviously hadn't figured out the situation yet. According to general rules, they should have bent down to salute, but compared with the group of straight generals in front, they looked like this. The behavior is undoubtedly too funny.

"Okay, everyone, sit down!"

Hebali put the documents in his hands on the table, completely ignoring the poor performance of these police officers. In his eyes, the reason why these people were found was to use their familiarity with the area to get rid of them as quickly as possible. Seal all the grain stores, all he needs is a bunch of tools

He waved casually to the standing generals in return, and then asked them to sit down.

When the well-trained generals sat down, the chairs did not make the slightest sound, and they looked neatly at Hebury. It was indeed a bit hot in the summer, and the buttons of many people's clothes were soaked with sweat, but no one Without paying attention, they were already used to the environment of strict military appearance. The security guards behind were obviously frightened. The army was as strong as the evil spirit that could be seen, making the security guards look nervous. No one dared to talk to each other anymore. .

He Baili glanced at everyone and took a deep breath. He said in a condensed voice, "We are called here just for one thing this time, and that is the issue of military rations!"

"The problem with military rations? What's the problem with military rations?" Among the thirty generals, except for Locruz and Roy Gaien, who knew the situation, the others looked at each other with blank faces. The army's rations were not always sufficient. ? This is the reason why the Eighth Army has always felt confident.

"I won't say more about the specific military secrets. Please circulate this document!" Hebaili pushed the folder in front of him to Mo Keqi, the commander of the Second Infantry Regiment on his left.

"Oh my God, this...how is it possible!" Mo Keqi opened the document curiously and only glanced at it for a few times. He was immediately stunned. He stayed there with his mouth slightly open for more than a minute. After a while, Merck pushed the document in his hand to the next person,

Because Mo Keqi was in front of him, although the second person was equally shocked, he quickly reacted, took a deep breath, and said nothing, but his face was heavy as if water was dripping,

The file was passed to the third one, and just like that, the various expressions of the people reading in front of them invisibly attracted the curiosity of more people behind them. It took a while to go around among more than thirty generals. For more than an hour, the document did not pass through the Sheriff, but was directly returned to He Baili.

According to the level of Sheriff, there is no right to read at all.

"Okay, how serious the situation is! Everyone knows it, right?"

He Baili pressed the folder with his hand and said sternly, "Starting from tomorrow, all armies will immediately seal down food stores in various places and collect all crops, fruit products, and everything that can be used to replace food! As for the specific guides for each place, It’s up to the police officers behind you to take charge. I hope everyone can be resolute and thorough.”

"What. What's going on!"

Upon hearing Hebaili's order, the more than 20 police officers behind him became anxious on the spot, shouting, "Sir, what do you mean by sealing down grain stores in various places? Is this still a living thing? The northwest army burned most of the wheat fields this autumn. , New food is obviously not expected. Food is now seriously insufficient. We still hope that the army can open up some military rations, but you have closed the food stores. Where do you ask us ordinary people to buy food? "

"Okay. That's it for the meeting. Dismissed!"

He Baili had an indifferent look on his face, pretending that he hadn't heard anything, but secretly cursed in his heart that these local magistrates really didn't have a sense of the overall situation. If the food is gone, it will grow again next year. Some civilians will starve to death, and they will be able to recover in a few years. But if all the troops starve to death, are you prepared to hand over this land to the northwest rebels who burned your food? "

"No, sir"

The local magistrate blocked the door in anger. Don't let Hebeli leave,

They were angry that they were not qualified to read the documents. When they heard that the army was going to seal down food stores in various places, they all panicked. Since the northwest cavalry burned wheat fields on a large scale a few days ago, the price of food in the city suddenly turned red like a thermometer. Everyone can see that the most scarce commodity this year is food. Now the army has announced that it will take it all away at once. What will others do? And listening to the army's wishes, they still took it all away for free. The powerful police officers financed the food stores in most areas. Everyone was looking forward to making a lot of money this year. This time the military forced Intervening would cost the lives of many sheriffs.

"The duty of the army is to fight, and if you have any opinions, you can report them to the Governor of Solas Region! But before that, the only thing you can do is obey!" Hebery waved his hand gloomily, and the guard at the door held his hand. He rushed in with a long gun and arrested all the security officers blocking the door.

"Asshole, you can't do this!" The Sheriff's screams kept coming.

Shortly after the order was announced, before the generals had completely dispersed, an officer from the Eighth Legion hurriedly rushed to Hebery's side. His expression was a little abnormal. Seeing the anxious look of the officer, Hebery looked very dissatisfied, frowned and said, "What happened?"

"The fall of Fortress Dutruux has been confirmed! Northwest rebels have appeared in large numbers in the east!"

The ordering officer hurriedly stood up and answered. Of course the other generals heard his voice and couldn't help but stop. Many people looked at each other and felt a little incredible. Although Fortress Dutroux was not a large fortress, there were still three defenders. With more than a thousand people, how did the opponent capture it so silently? If this is the case, it can explain why the northwest rebel cavalry suddenly appeared in large numbers on the side of the legion, in the Dutroux Heights, which was the entire Solas. The commanding heights of the region

"Asshole, are you still thinking about taking advantage of the second time!" He Baili suddenly became excited. If this time, the other party dared to move as boldly as last time, he was completely sure that he would not come back.

"He Baili said a little annoyed. In fact, he has been able to clarify the advantages of the Falcon Cavalry tactics last time, that is, it is so fast that it is impossible to parry. This tactic, which seems to maximize the mobility of the cavalry, is actually The disadvantages are as obvious as the advantages, that is, as long as you can find the right time to delay,

"Sir, let me take people back to Fort Dutroux!" Someone among the generals said. "Fort Dutroux is the commanding heights of the region. If it falls into the hands of the northwest rebels, it will threaten our army from the flanks at any time. Instead of So let your subordinates take the initiative.

"Report, the northwest rebels have entered the Gikoande area from the direction of Fort Dutroux. The Fourth Infantry Regiment has lost two squadrons of troops. The deputy commander of the regiment, Mr. Spiegel, was unfortunately killed and martyred! Requesting support from the base camp."

The ordering officer stood at attention again and answered loudly. He thought it was Hebeli who ordered him. He was not satisfied with his reporting standards, so he reported all the information loudly in the most standard manner in one breath. He did not realize at all that such a What consequences will the information have?

"What? Spiegel is dead?" Someone inside the general screamed. It was Mayesuk, the commander of the 4th Infantry Regiment. His eyes were bloodshot, and he quickly left the headquarters amidst the hustle and bustle of questioning. , waving to his guards from a distance

"Lead the horse! Lead the horse! Notify all the troops and gather at the regiment headquarters immediately! Don't ask why! Run forward! Run forward as fast as you can! Run as fast as you can, and those who run last will be punished by military law!"

Following closely behind him, all armies also ordered to summon troops and prepare for war urgently.

The war song of Thoras has been played. (To be continued...)