Prince Oberyn of Dorne has always had a very famous name in the imperial military circles, and many soldiers regard him as an idol because of his merits and qualifications.
And this time Oberyn once again personally led the army, leading 30,000 legion soldiers. If you include auxiliary soldiers, attendants, civilians, etc., it can reach a terrifying scale of approximately 100,000 people.
In the name of Prince Regent Heros, he set out from King's Landing in a furious manner and headed straight to Highgarden.
The eldest brother finally made up his mind to take action, and the second prince Yin Meng on the other side naturally did not dare to neglect, and also personally led all the soldiers he could collect and recruit to rush to the battle.
Because of the reforms after the establishment of the empire, a large army system was established directly under the emperor. Therefore, ordinary nobles could not have too many private armies, which weakened their original strength.
Once a war broke out, an army would be hastily assembled through temporary conscription of peasants, etc. Such an army would certainly not be comparable to the imperial standing army and professional soldiers who had undergone extensive training.
Therefore, when the Empire's Second Legion led by Oberyn advanced southwest along the Rose Avenue, a large number of nobles from the Reach Kingdom turned to the wind and showed no desire to resist.
Tengshi Town is located southwest of King's Landing, about fifty or sixty leagues away, near the source of the Mander River.
This is the castle of the Fordley family in the Reach. The family emblem of the Fordley family is a silver pear on a black background, and the family motto is 'Proceed with caution'.
The land of Tengshi Town once witnessed the heaviest, bloody and important history of the Targaryen family's civil war "Dance with the Dragons".
There have been two major battles here in history, an extremely crazy and bloody massacre and robbery, the betrayal of the dragon master, the self-proclaimed king and death, the death of three dragons and other major events.
However, Tengshi Town surrendered without a fight in the face of Oberyn's army. Oberyn's army easily occupied the place, fought steadily, established a logistics supply station, and then continued to advance.
And the other side.
The army led by the second prince Yin Meng personally also went up the Mande River and reached the middle reaches of the Mande River, a fortress called Kuqiao.
Bitterbridge is the seat and castle of House Caswell in the Reach, and is a key point where the Rose Road crosses the Mander River.
A broad ancient stone arch bridge was erected on the Mander River. The Bitter Bridge was named after this bridge. It was the only channel within a few leagues that could allow large armies to cross the river, so it was very important.
In fact, Bitter Bridge was not called Bitter Bridge before. Before the armed religious group’s uprising, it was called Stone Bridge.
Then the famous Battle of Stone Bridge began, when six armies led by nobles ambushed and massacred more than nine thousand soldiers gathered by the poor.
It is said that the Mandeb River was dyed red by the blood of fallen soldiers and stretched for twenty leagues. Therefore, the stone bridge was renamed Bitter Bridge.
The vast plains of the Reach are almost impossible to defend, so Bitterbridge is one of the few places where it can be defended.
Yin Meng did not have much commanding experience, but fortunately he had studied under his mother Daenerys and his teacher Bessie, and had also graduated from the Imperial Military Academy.
Therefore, Yin Meng stationed his army at Kuqiao to defend it, which was definitely a mistake-free choice.
But facing a battle-hardened veteran like Oberyn, especially since he had grown up hearing about the opponent's illustrious reputation, Yin Meng felt a lot of pressure in his heart, and it was easy for him to lose confidence.
And facing an opponent like Oberyn, it's not enough just to make no mistakes.
The 'Red Viper' uses troops cunningly and has quick thinking. What he is best at is not following the routine and catching the enemy by surprise.
When Tywin faced Oberyn, he insisted on defending the Western Territory, which had complex terrain and was easy to defend and difficult to attack. In the end, Oberyn managed to find a breakthrough and penetrated into the heart of Casterly Rock.
As for Yinmon Targaryen, as a fledgling newcomer, how does he compare to the scheming Tywin back then?
What's more, Taiwen still has places with dangerous terrain like the Western Territory to guard, but Yinmeng only has a flat river bend, and there is no danger to guard at all. Even an ordinary stone bridge like Bitter Bridge is treated as a natural hazard.
guard.
"Where are Lord Bessie's armies marching now?"
In the Reach, the army was stationed in the camp at Bitterbridge.
Many generals of the Reach army sat around a table with a map spread out.
The second prince Yin Meng was wearing a gray-brown leather armor, with long silver-gold hair hanging down, and a sword hanging from his waist. His face was serious and he asked.
"We may have arrived at Green Valley City soon, Your Highness."
"Lord Bessie's army landed in the Stormland, and now they have joined the Stormland army and are heading towards us."
On the other side, a general from the Reach spoke.
"That's good."
Yin Meng was obviously slightly relieved after hearing what the other party said, as were many of the river bend generals present.
And Edric Dayne, Yin Meng's Kingsguard member of the Dawn Sword, stood behind Yin Meng with a calm expression.
As the leading swordsman in the empire, he is not afraid of any enemy, not even the eldest prince.
"Brother Yin Meng, why don't you let Lord Bessie and the Stormlands army attack King's Landing directly?"
At this moment, another young knight couldn't help but asked in confusion.
It was obvious from his tone that he was one of the members of the 'Knights of King's Landing' formed by Yin Meng.
"What do you know?"
"Your Highness and Lord Bessie must have their plans."
On the other side, an older knight scolded him.
But he couldn't give any reason, because he himself was a little confused.
He was appointed by his family to join the camp of the second prince Yin Meng. As a soldier, he had no idea how to fight this battle and how to win it.
Because he couldn't see any reason to win.
As for dragons, it is well known that the dragon of the second prince Yin Meng is the weakest among all the dragons of the Targaryen family. It is even nicknamed "Premature Baby".
In terms of soldiers, although the number of the Reach army seems to be no less than that of the enemy.
But in terms of quality, many soldiers in the Reach army were just farmers working in the fields a month ago, and there is no way they can compare with the invincible Imperial Legion.
As for the commander-in-chief, the gap is even more obvious. The enemy is a well-known general, while our own side is a young boy who is just starting out.
The only thing that made them feel a little excited was that another famous imperial general was about to join their side and replace His Highness the Second Prince in commanding the upcoming battle.
Because of these various reasons, there is now a pessimistic atmosphere permeating the River Bend Army.
Although not a single battle has been fought yet, it seems to be doomed to failure.
Yin Meng was also aware of these problems, but was helpless.
I don't know how to inspire the soldiers' fighting spirit.