Chapter 72: The Civil War That Changed Fate

Most castle sieges and defenses in the Middle Ages were tedious affairs. The situation Drogon faced was no exception.

His squad, along with another archer squad and a cavalry squad, were stationed in Rochdale, together with the town's militia. In Ireland, they had always been the aggressors, but in England, they were the ones on the defensive.

"Isn't it too stifling just to sit here and guard?" Drogon squatted unceremoniously by the roadside, not looking at all like a high-ranking officer.

As a recently favored officer, Drogon's name was known to almost everyone in the legion, and both the cavalry captain and the archer captain were inclined to follow his lead.

"It is indeed stifling, but our orders are to guard the city, Drogon. There's nothing we can do about it," said the cavalry captain. "If we act recklessly, Boulerton will surely punish us."

Before he could finish, Drogon spat out the twig he was chewing on: "Speaking of which, wasn't our pay for last month supposed to be issued this month?"

Everyone nodded in agreement with Drogon's statement.

"And we don't even know if we'll get this month's pay. Really," Drogon said with a tone full of worry.

They were earning quite a bit now, but last month, Boulerton had uncharacteristically delayed their salaries once. This left all the soldiers somewhat dissatisfied.

However, thanks to the money earned from previous spoils of war, Boulerton managed to suppress the soldiers' discontent. After all, soldiers are not like gas canisters, they don't explode at the slightest spark.

But Drogon understood that once money is owed, it would happen again and again. He could only hope that Boulerton would owe them less in the future.

Compared to most of their peers, Boulerton wasn't too bad.

The archer captain said, "I'm sure he'll make up the pay for us, so there's no need to worry about that."

Looking at this captain from England, Drogon felt a mix of emotions but didn't voice them. These Englishmen were indeed straightforward, as most of them were local good families without many ill intentions.

Only those like Drogon, who made their living through war, would care about such things.

"Putting that aside, there have been some thefts in our supply warehouse recently. Drogon, how do you plan to handle it?" The cavalry captain brought up the recent issue.

Drogon stroked his chin. "I've already investigated it, and it has nothing to do with our soldiers, so..."

Everyone fell silent.

If the suspects weren't the soldiers, then all suspicion would fall directly on the townsfolk of Rochdale. The problem was, if they rashly dealt with this matter, the locals would certainly hold grievances.

If things go wrong, they might even open the gates, just like what happened in Dendram. At that point, it would be Drogon and his mercenaries who would be in trouble.

"This is really a tricky situation," the three said in unison, and then they all fell silent again.

After a while, Drogon said, "How about we don't deal with this issue for now? We can strengthen the guards around the supplies and wait until the siege here is over."

In such special circumstances, this was the most prudent approach they could take. Drogon added, "Also, I'll send a messenger back to inform the general of what happened and let the general decide."

...

"Supplies stolen? Have them hold off for now and deal with it after the siege is over."

John waved his hand, decisively concluding the matter. The officer's handling was indeed correct; even if some supplies were lost, it wasn't worth angering the residents of Rochdale.

As long as the stolen supplies didn't affect the garrison's provisions, there was no need to pursue the matter immediately.

Boulerton agreed with this as well. "I think that's the right approach, Your Highness."

"Alright then." John shifted the topic to the next issue. "Boulerton, do you think your cavalry has the capability for an offensive?"

Boulerton was puzzled by John's sudden question. He scrutinized John's face, trying to discern something, but John didn't give him that chance.

John asked again, "Boulerton, I'm asking you, do you think your cavalry can do it?"

Snapping out of his daze, Boulerton hurriedly responded, "Your Highness, if my cavalry were to engage the enemy directly, they definitely couldn't."

"You are quite foolish. I didn't ask you to have them engage directly. What I mean is, can your cavalry harass the enemy, wear them down? Can they do that?"

Indeed, John's goal was to use the cavalry to exhaust the enemy.

If Robert Jr.'s army continues to besiege Rochdale, the garrison inside the city might not be able to hold out. Although their current pressure isn't immense, John still had his concerns.

Sending out some cavalry to harass the enemy could significantly alleviate the pressure on the city's defenders and wear down Robert Jr.'s forces.

"Of course, Your Highness," Boulerton replied. "My cavalry has real combat experience from Ireland."

Boulerton was speaking the truth. He never relied on cavalry as his main force in battles, so most of his cavalry were light cavalry responsible for reconnaissance and harassment. These cavalrymen moved swiftly and unpredictably, making them a nightmare for the lords of Meath. Whether it was ambushes or harassment, they were a highly troublesome unit.

As for heavy cavalry, John wasn't lacking at all—England was full of knights.

John was very pleased with Boulerton's response. "That's great. I'll assign some royal guards to you so they can join your cavalry in supporting Rochdale. As for your other squads, you have them all arranged, right?"

"All squads are arranged, Your Highness," Boulerton replied crisply. "If the enemy changes direction and attacks us now, we won't be under any pressure."

This is the kind of leader I want, John thought with delight, though he showed no emotion on his face. He waved Boulerton out of the room and then leaned back in his chair, letting out a long, relieved sigh.

Although the recent battles hadn't been intense, they had still placed a lot of pressure on John. After all, anything could happen on the battlefield, and John feared a sudden turn of events.

Outside, Lancaster remained unchanged, except for the numerous golden Plantagenet banners flying everywhere. Everything else was the same as before.

In fact, most of England was just like it had always been, with everyone living their lives according to their usual routines. Only the areas affected by the civil war felt the sudden changes in their lives.

Who would have thought that England was currently undergoing a civil war that would determine the fate of this land?