"Odo, take a squad of Soldiers into the fort and search it thoroughly. Don't miss any corner. Make sure there's no danger."
"Roan, take your Sentry Cavalry ten miles east to scout. If you encounter the enemy, return immediately. If there's no enemy, continue scouting five miles further east."
"Everyone else, rest where you are. We'll move into Talburg in a bit."
On the main road west of Talburg, Art sent off the guide. After giving orders to the several officers around him, he walked towards a small hill beside the fort.
"Sergeant, do you think this place is suitable for defense?" Art asked Angus, who had followed him up the hill.
Angus looked around but didn't answer Art directly. "If I were the Southern Commander of the Swabia army, I would definitely occupy Glarus County, because the terrain of this county is much higher than other places. Once Glarus County is occupied, we can gather troops and charge down from south to north to capture various border areas of the enemy country in one fell swoop. However, precisely because the terrain here is high, attacking here from Swabia would require carrying a large amount of food and supplies over mountains and ridges. This kind of terrain is not suitable for large-scale military operations, so I don't think there will be large armies attacking here."
Angus paused, then pointed to the location where the carriage road extended eastward. "If there really is an army attacking Glarus County, I guess it's most likely to come from here, because this carriage road is the closest route to Glarus County city. Marching to war is not like trade and business; when it can directly reach a vital point, the enemy will not take a detour through the more distant and rugged southern mountains to enter the heartland of Glarus County. So, Lord Art, you really want to fight! You've chosen such a place. There are no villages, forts, or estates before or after this place to provide support. Once besieged, there won't even be any reinforcements to relieve the siege. Too few people can't defend it, too many can't be supported, and it's hard to rescue if besieged. That's why Viscount Herries would rather abandon this vital chokepoint than station a single Soldier here. You've truly solved a big problem for him."
Art nodded continuously, agreeing with Angus's point of view.
"Sergeant, you still haven't answered my question. Can this place be defended?" Art pressed again.
Angus thought for a moment and replied, "It can be defended, but you may not be able to afford to defend it."
Art became interested. "Can you elaborate?"
Angus organized his thoughts and said, "To defend this fort, you must meet three conditions. First, you must have sufficient ability to repair and reinforce the current Talburg, at least enough to withstand the heavy stones thrown by enemy heavy trebuchets and the heavy blows of battering rams. Second, you must be able to establish watchtowers and signal stations around Talburg. When Talburg is under heavy attack, you must have support and reinforcement. On the way here, I already saw two collapsed signal stations. I guess there are other watchtowers further ahead of Talburg. Third, the fort must store enough food, water, weapons, and supplies, especially food and the rolling stones, logs, fire oil, and arrows urgently needed for city defense. If these three conditions are met, in such a narrow place, you will definitely be able to defend it. However, Viscount Herries, even with the full strength of his Earl, cannot meet these three points. Can you? Furthermore, if you really achieve these three points, I think the enemy will not attack from Talburg then. Instead of filling the pit with Soldiers' lives here, the enemy would rather take the trouble to detour through the southern mountains. At that time, the strong walls and fortresses you painstakingly built will become an unattended stronghold, and your desire to achieve meritorious service will fall through. This is not your fief, nor can it be granted to an apprentice knight in the future. The Court might reward you for restoring a Deprecated fort, but you will ultimately only have built a comfortable home for others. Unless you have no intention of holding out here to the death."
At this point, Angus paused, turned to stare at Art, and asked, "You have no intention of holding out here to the death, do you??? You want to use this as a base to launch an offensive!!!"
Art looked into Angus's eyes and did not deny it.
"Are you crazy? With the few people you have, defending this fort might have a slight chance of victory, but if you want to take the initiative to attack..." Angus truly thought Art was insane.
Art stared at Angus's anxious expression and smiled, "I'm not so foolish as to lead these few people to openly attack the Swabia army and their strongholds."
Hearing Art's relatively calm words, Angus breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Are you planning to raid their scattered outposts and rear supply lines? Just like what those infidels did to us when we were in the Holy Land?"
Art turned to look at the carriage road leading to the Swabia border. "I've put in so much effort, bringing so many people so far, not just to help the Court defend an abandoned fort. This is the best opportunity. Charging down from Glarus to the east is Swabia's most fertile farmland and the army's crucial supply line. Not only are there prosperous villages and towns, but also a continuous flow of food, provisions, and materials needed for war. The Swabia army, busy preparing to occupy the rich northern lands of Burgundy County, won't immediately think that a rabbit would dare to bite an eagle. This isn't glorious, but it's currently the best strategy..."
Angus carefully savored Art's words, his rigid expression slowly relaxing. Understanding Art's tactics, he smiled and excitedly said, "Then we'll have something to do! Maybe after a war, everyone can become rich." Angus rubbed his hands together.
...
The two stood on the small hill again, observing the fort and its surroundings, and roughly discussed the defense of Talburg.
After a while, Odo reported that everything was normal in the fort. Art returned to the main group, called over several officers, and commanded:
"Bass, divide your squad into two groups. One group will occupy the surrounding hills to stand guard, and the other will patrol along the carriage road. You don't need to go too far, within two miles east and west is fine."
"Odo, take the rest of the people into the fort and clean it up. Try to get a roof over everyone's heads tonight to shelter from wind and rain, and then immediately start repairing Talburg~"
"Yes!"
"Yes, My Lord."
Odo and Bass took their orders and set about their tasks.
Art and Angus walked around Talburg again, inspecting the fort's ashlar stone foundation and several collapsed outer walls. The foundation of Talburg was still very complete and sturdy. The collapsed outer walls were not intentionally damaged, but rather natural collapses due to disrepair over the years. The most severely damaged part was Talburg's fort gate. For some unknown reason, this fort gate had been intentionally destroyed. The two giant oak doors were dismantled into pieces, all the rivets and iron frames on the giant doors were pried off, and even the wood of the giant doors was gradually chopped off by passersby and hunters with hand axes for firewood to cook. The two wooden doors could no longer be reinserted into the fort gate's slots.
Angus pulled out the battle-axe from his back, swung it, and chopped into the rotten giant door on the ground. A large piece of the giant door was immediately cut off. Angus picked up a piece and crushed it into powder, saying, "Lord Art, this fort gate is probably the hardest to repair. Where can we find such tall oak wood in a short time? Even if we find it, how much time and effort would it take to make two giant doors?"
Art was not a Master Craftsman and had no immediate solution. He shook his head and said, "Let the carpenter come and take a look later. See if he can find an alternative method. Let's go inside first..."
...
"Come on, let's go in and see. Maybe we can find treasures buried by previous generations here. I heard such legendary stories when I was a merchant apprentice." Spencer said, then grabbed a shovel and led the way into Talburg's inner fort. Behind him, several captive laborers, holding brooms made of branches, followed. Soon, the sound of shovels digging earth came from the inner fort.
"Quartermaster, Lord Odo told us to clear out the inner fort here. Isn't it bad for us to search for treasure here?" A timid laborer nervously looked outside and whispered to Spencer.
Spencer urged the captives to search every corner carefully, then turned to the timid laborer and said, "What do you know? I'm also clearing the inner fort. I need to make sure there are no snakes, insects, rats, or ants here."
He shook his aching arm, threw the shovel to the timid laborer, and commanded, "You, keep digging~"
After searching for a long time, there was nothing of value except some broken pottery and shattered tiles. Spencer threw away the broken tile in his hand and said sullenly to the laborers, "Alright, alright, stop standing around and watching. Hurry up and get to work. Clear out the inner fort. We'll start clearing from the watchtower." Spencer carried a dead branch and walked up the inner fort stairs...
On the other side outside the inner fort, a dozen peasant Soldiers, with the help of laborers, were building roofs and patching holes on several dilapidated Wood Forts at the base of the outer wall, using weeds and dead branches cut from inside the fort. They were making the houses as wind and rain proof as possible. For the foreseeable future, they would all live in these Wood Forts.
At the damaged parts of the outer fort, Art and Odo were carefully inspecting. The damaged parts of the outer wall were mostly a mix of wood and stone structures. Such damage could not be repaired by simply stacking a few ashlar stones.
Odo looked at a five-foot-wide gap in the rear wall and was troubled. "My Lord, it seems we still underestimated the difficulty of repairing the fort wall. We don't know how to build walls with this wood and stone mixed method."
"In the next few days, organize the Soldiers and laborers to repair as much of the outer wall as possible. For the parts that truly cannot be completed, wait until the Old Butler arrives at Talburg with the merchant caravan," Art said confidently. "He is a Master Craftsman by origin; these problems won't stump him."
Odo suddenly realized, "That's right, the Old Butler is a Master Craftsman by origin. Repairing fort walls and fortresses is just a simple matter for him."
"Hmm, but you can't just wait for the Old Butler to come and direct the repairs. We don't know when the caravan will arrive here. We must first ensure Talburg's basic defensive capabilities. Those damaged areas that cannot be fully repaired for now must also be temporarily sealed with sturdy timber."
"Yes, I'll arrange for people to start the repairs immediately."
At the main gate of the Wood Fort, Tuba, with his Soldiers and several laborers, drew a frame about thirty feet long and twenty feet wide in the open space in front of the fort gate using wooden sticks. They planned to dig out all the soil within the frame to form a ten-foot-deep pit. A wooden plank bridge would then be erected over the pit for pedestrians and carriages to pass. The excavated soil, along with miscellaneous wood and rubble from the fort, would be piled in the fort gate's opening, blocking it, leaving only a ten-foot-high and ten-foot-wide exit for vehicles and horses. The two giant doors would also be planed down by the carpenter, removing the rotten parts, and transformed into a small fort gate that could block the exit. In case of enemy presence, the wooden bridge would be removed, and the fort gate would be installed. This was also a temporary measure, as Art had no intention of holding out here to the death anyway.
While everyone was busy in the fort, Roan returned to Talburg with three cavalrymen from the Sentry Cavalry.
"Roan, why did it take you all morning to return? Is there any enemy activity ahead?"
Roan handed his warhorse to Jason, wiped the dust from his face, and replied, "My Lord, there's no enemy activity within fifteen miles ahead. We scouted five more miles forward to the junction of the mountains and plains. Leide and I quietly approached an abandoned watchtower and found traces of a small military garrison inside, but there was no sign of enemy troops in the surrounding area. There were scattered villages further beyond the watchtower, so we didn't continue scouting for fear of being exposed."
Art listened carefully and instructed, "In the future, don't act rashly on your own. If there were truly enemy troops stationed in the watchtower, you might have been exposed. Once the enemy realized we had moved into Talburg and immediately launched an attack, all my plans would have fallen through."
Roan simply wanted to gather valuable intelligence for Art and indeed hadn't considered too much. Now, being reprimanded by Art, he felt a little wronged.
Seeing Roan's dejected look, Art comforted him, "Alright, you did well too. Go down, get something to eat, and rest. Then, go with Odo to Glarus city to urge Lord Herries for the supplies he promised to allocate to us."
After Roan left, Art instructed Angus, "Sergeant, in a moment, take a few peasant Soldiers to set up a temporary checkpoint on the carriage road. Starting today, no one is allowed to travel between Burgundy and Swabia through this road, to prevent the enemy from knowing too early that Talburg is garrisoned by troops..."
