HCB Chapter 292 Prisoner Exchange
Chapter 292 Prisoner Exchange
Looking at the dusty and dejected leader of the Golden Fleece Knights in front of him, even the experienced General Schneider could not control his emotions and immediately pointed at him and shouted:
"Where are your knights and your battle flags?"
The leader who was called immediately explained:
"General, the Mitlans on the other side cheated us and lured us to a place far away from other armies. Then they used some long-barreled weapons similar to artillery. A large number of knights were knocked down by that weapon in just one encounter..."
"Alright! No need to explain!" Looking at the captain in front of him who was covered in mud and looked like a beggar, Schneider wanted to execute him on the spot. However, the captain was a noble after all, and was also a member of the King's Royal Guard. Killing him rashly might cause dissatisfaction among the nobles and the king.
"Someone, take the leader down and let him reflect on his mistakes."
After ordering his men to take away the leader of the Knights of the Golden Fleece, General Schneider sat in a chair and recalled the confession of the leader of the Knights of the Golden Fleece. He soon figured out the reason for the failure.
First of all, the biggest mistake the regiment commander made was definitely his greed for merit and recklessness. Before the pursuit, he clearly stated that the entire army would act together, but he left the army for greater military merit.
Secondly, he did not expect that the opposing General Midland would be so bold as to use 20,000 Midland soldiers as bait to lure his own army to pursue him.
Finally, there is the long-barreled weapon that the captain mentioned. It seems to be a new type of gunpowder weapon developed by the Midlan people. It seems to have a good killing effect on cavalry. He will have to get some next time, and maybe he can even imitate some.
"General."
At this time, a general named Lana came over and asked:
"Regarding the heavy losses suffered by the Knights of the Golden Fleece, do you want to report this to the king?"
General Schneider couldn't help but feel a headache when he thought about having to deal with this matter.
The Knights of the Golden Fleece had a full strength of 5,000 people, but only a thousand of them escaped from this battle, which means that more than 3,000 were dead, missing or captured.
As the king's personal guard and the only heavy cavalry unit in the Kingdom of Lana, all the knights, from the commander to the knights, are from local noble families. After joining the knights, they are granted titles by the king. It can be said that it is the strongest armed force controlled by the king.
Now that the Knights of the Golden Fleece have been severely damaged, it won't be long before the nobles in Leon know about it. When those nobles complain to the king, the king may no longer support his defense plan.
"There is no other way. If we want to rescue those knights now, we can only negotiate with the Mitlan people on the other side."
After a moment's silence, General Schneider stated his plan, and although the Generals Lana said nothing on the surface, they all agreed with the plan in their hearts.
As Lana borders other countries, conflicts often break out on the border. If a noble is unfortunately captured, the defeated party will immediately start negotiations to redeem the noble after the war. Although it is a bit embarrassing for the captured noble, this is also a life-saving privilege unique to the noble.
A few days later, while John was at the front inspecting the repairs to the fort, a soldier rode up on horseback and reported:
"Sir, the Lana people have sent an envoy here, and they are waving a white flag."
"Raising the white flag? King Lana surrenders?"
John quickly rejected this speculation, after all, the white flag also meant a ceasefire.
Ten minutes later, looking at the Lana messenger at the bottom of the stairs, John nodded first, then said:
"I will temporarily treat these knights with the courtesy of knights. The specific time for the negotiation will be set in three days. However, the location must be at the entrance of the valley on the south side of the mountain range. You Lana people can only bring a team of no more than 50 people."
After receiving John's reply, the Lana envoy thanked him and returned the same way. At this time, Hoss on the side suggested:
"Since General Rana is coming, why not just..."
John knew what bad idea Hoss had, so he rejected it.
"There are two disadvantages to doing this. First, it will damage Midland's reputation. Second, if I detain the enemy general, what kind of abuse will the tens of thousands of captured Midland soldiers suffer?"
At this time, John was not afraid that the Midland soldiers would be abused, but he felt that it was not worth it for these tens of thousands of people to be captured because of Hoss's reckless operation. It would be better to redeem them as soon as possible, which would be beneficial to John whether they could be used by John later or return to the Eastern Front to fight the Yoda people.
Seeing that John was exposing his scars again, Earl Hawes could only snort coldly and left the fortress without looking back.
Three days later, General Schneider brought his men to the valley to request peace talks, and John walked out of the valley to greet the other party under the escort of the White Wolf Knights.
After the two sides met for the first time, they immediately got down to business. General Schneider asked first:
"Excuse me, General John, what kind of exchange do you hope to get those captured knights back to our side?"
"One knight for one hundred soldiers, or, according to rank, one knight for a centurion, and ten knights for a thousand men."
John nonchalantly stated his exchange conditions, but the Lana people on the other side seemed to be very dissatisfied, so a Lana general vetoed it:
"This is too disparate. We simply cannot accept such an exchange."
John took a breath, then looked at me like a fool and said:
"Sir, you should know that nobles are far more important to a country than civilians. In this case, isn't it a good deal for you to exchange a hundred soldiers or a civilian officer for a noble?"
"What's more, you have tens of thousands of captured Midland soldiers as bargaining chips. As long as we exchange them with each other, we can have a pleasant transaction, right?"
General Schneider immediately understood John's intention. Once these tens of thousands of people joined John's army, even if they did not participate in the fighting, these people would serve as labor to help John build the Southwest Governor's Territory.
"Excuse me, Lord John, do you have any other options for trading besides soldiers?"
General Schneider continued to inquire about John's intentions while asking. If John only wanted prisoners of war, it meant that John wanted to use them for some big conspiracy.
"can."
But to his surprise, John agreed to his exchange and continued:
"You can exchange them with gold coins, weapons, armor, and artillery, but I only accept Midlan and Yoda gold coins. The weapons and armor must be brand new, and the artillery must be test-fired."
The Lana generals quickly rejected this proposal. Regardless of whether they could prepare it or not, when the king sent people to check, they would be arrested and executed for treason if they gave money and weapons to the Midland people.
In the end, both sides chose to exchange prisoners of war. General Schneider agreed to John's suggestion, and the two armies ceased fighting for half a month to exchange prisoners of war.
Before leaving, General Schneider asked John:
"Lord John, this war is essentially a conflict on the border. Why don't we continue to use the border mountains as the boundary between our two countries? This will not only save your country from the unnecessary pressure of fighting on two fronts, but also allow our civilians to live and work in peace. What do you think?"
John shook his head after listening to it and rejected it:
"First, this war was started by you Lana people. We, Midland, are just fighting back in self-defense. Second, don't think that Midland can't fight any longer. Whether it's 20,000 or 200,000, we, Midland, can afford it."
"Your country, Lana, is a remote small country in the southwest peninsula, but you have been provoking the powerful country of Mitlan without any bottom line. You will definitely bear the wrath of the great power. And I am the messenger sent by His Majesty the King of Mitlan to punish your king."
"I advise you to let your king surrender immediately and admit your mistakes to His Majesty. Soon after your rejection, I will lead the army straight to Leon, capture your king and bring him to Wendam to apologize to my king in person!"