About half an hour later, the two spies sent by Lawrence returned successfully.
This also gave Lawrence a little relief. If these two people were discovered by the defenders of Sheephorn Bay, he would have to bite the bullet and attack or retreat temporarily.
"Sir, the layout of Yangjiao Bay is like this..."
One of them squatted on the ground and used branches to draw a general picture of the situation in Sheephorn Bay. Lawrence turned and asked Lieutenant Seth to get an oil lamp, and then listened in the dim light.
"The only way into the dock is a path with steep rock walls on both sides. Only about ten people can walk side by side. The main building of the dock is a large warehouse and several double-story wooden houses, which are probably the residences of the defenders there.
.We have estimated that the defenders will not exceed two hundred people."
"No more than two hundred people?"
Major Cui Fali's eyes lit up. If this was the case, the Fourth Battalion, which had the advantage of surprise attack, would have a good chance of taking Yangjiao Bay.
"Yes, but..." The spy hesitated for a moment and said:
"But among those wooden houses, there is a long house made of bricks and tiles. The guards there are very tight. And the guards there don't look like Genoese soldiers."
Lawrence frowned and asked, "What are they dressed up like?"
"I can barely see that they are wearing breastplates, with pointed helmets on their heads, and holding halberds in their hands. By the way, there seems to be a red background and white cross logo on the front of the breastplate."
Lawrence and Cui Farley looked at each other. They were both familiar with the logo of red background and white cross, and they said in unison:
"Swiss mercenary halberdiers?"
Swiss mercenaries were definitely famous throughout Europe from the 15th to the 18th century. Since Switzerland is mostly rugged mountains and the farmland is sparse, quite a few Swiss chose to take up arms and go abroad.
Even the Pope of Rome and the King of France had formed Swiss regiments. In the Seven Years' War that ended five years ago, France's Swiss regiments played an indelible role.
Even in the Vatican in later generations, the Holy See was guarded by a Swiss Halberd Guard with a number of about 150.
As a commercial republic with a shortage of manpower, it is not surprising for Genoa to incorporate mercenaries into its army. However, what surprised Lawrence was why there were Swiss mercenaries guarding that house.
You must know that behind the outstanding combat power of Swiss mercenaries is their high price. Most people's wallets are not rich enough to let these elite guards guard themselves.
"Maybe this is an opportunity for the Fourth Battalion." Lawrence stared at the diagram on the ground and whispered.
Major Cui Farley was stunned for a moment and asked: "What do you mean? What opportunity?"
Lawrence didn't look up and replied:
"Not even our General Pauli is rich enough to hire a Swiss Guard to protect himself..."
"You mean... there's a big shot inside?" Major Cui Farley nodded understandingly and said excitedly.
Lawrence turned to look at Lieutenant Seth:
"Lieutenant, please prepare all soldiers to launch an attack on Yangjiao Bay with knife-wielding soldiers. Those soldiers on the list should be at the forefront. Soldiers with muskets will follow Major Cui Fali in formation and temporarily hide at the entrance of Yangjiao Bay.
"
About three minutes later, more than a hundred soldiers drew their sabers and headed towards Yangjiao Bay under the cover of night. In order to stabilize morale, Lawrence decided to take risks himself and followed these soldiers into Yangjiao Bay with his sword drawn.
Trifali and Lieutenant Seth led the musketeers to keep a certain distance from them and followed closely behind.
"Huh? This is it!?"
A small group of Genoese patrolmen carrying torches encountered the soldiers of the fourth battalion who broke in from the entrance path.
"All charge!" Lawrence shouted, taking the lead and charging towards the patrols with daggers.
"Alarm bell! Go and ring the alarm bell!"
A Genoese soldier who looked like a captain shouted at the soldiers at the end of the team, and then quickly drew out his saber and struggled to deal with the soldiers of the fourth battalion who rushed up. The other Genoese also hurriedly loaded their bayonets on their muskets.
The four battalions of soldiers retreated continuously under the charge.
Due to the huge disparity in numbers, only half a minute later, the pair of patrolmen fell into a pool of blood.
At the same time, a loud and clear sound of bell ringing came from the pier.
"Don't relax! Before the enemy can react, start fighting freely now!"
Lawrence ordered loudly, and casually wiped a handful of blood on his forehead, which was splashed on the head of a Genoese soldier after Lawrence stabbed him in the heart.
Through the lights on the pier, Lawrence could see the defenders pouring out of their residences one after another. Most of them had muskets and didn't even have time to add bayonets, so they had to wave their muskets like fire sticks to resist the 4th Battalion's attack.
Soldier.
In such a large melee, the broad-bladed knives used by the soldiers of the fourth battalion were more advantageous than the muskets equipped with bayonets. In addition, the defenders had no preparation at all and had to fight in a hurry, so they had to
Defeated steadily.
However, Lawrence's expression was still serious. After he ordered the freedom to fight, he did not join the battlefield in person. Instead, he climbed up a small slope and looked down at the longhouse guarded by Swiss mercenaries.
Although the garrison at Yangjiao Bay was in chaos, Lawrence was still keenly aware that the guards in the longhouse did not make any movement, as if they did not obey the command of the garrison at Yangjiao Bay.
"It's interesting. Who is that person inside..." Lawrence squinted his eyes and continued to observe the battle below, ready to give further instructions at any time.
Finally, just when the garrison at Yangjiao Bay was on the verge of collapse, the guards in the longhouse took action.
Dozens of well-trained guards holding halberds were seen pouring out of the door. As soon as they left the longhouse, these guards were very skillfully arranged into a three-row square formation.
Through the light of the torches in the Bay of Sheep, Lawrence could barely see clearly that the breastplates of these guards did indeed have the Swiss flag logo on them, and they numbered about fifty.
Lawrence kept a close eye on the situation on the battlefield. The moment the guards came out to gather, he ordered without hesitation:
"Fourth Battalion! All retreat!"
The soldiers who heard Lawrence's order also repeated the order to retreat loudly, ensuring that every soldier on the battlefield could hear it.
Regarding these elite mercenaries, Lawrence had no hope that the sword-wielding infantrymen of the Fourth Battalion could deal with them. Even under their tight halberd phalanx, the soldiers of the Fourth Battalion could not even get close to them.
The soldiers who heard the order to retreat took a deep breath, swung their swords with greater strength to break free of the opponents in front of them, and then withdrew towards the entrance.
At this moment, even Lawrence, who was watching the battle from a distance, could hear an angry roar coming from the longhouse. The words seemed to require the mercenaries to cooperate with the remaining defenders in pursuit.
The mercenaries who had already assembled did not hesitate. After receiving the order, they trotted towards the fourth battalion which was evacuating towards the entrance.
While Lawrence retreated toward the entrance with the soldiers of the 4th Battalion, he turned back to confirm that these mercenaries were really pursuing them.
Seeing the neatly arranged group of figures not far away still approaching him, Lawrence couldn't help but curve the corners of his mouth.
After all, there were quite a few surprises waiting for the pursuers on the narrow path at the entrance.