Everyone had gathered at the crack of dawn, still drowsy from just being recently awakened. All of them figured that there must have been important news delivered throughout the night, so none of them dared to complain about the early start.
Victor started off speaking Bulgartic to address his trusted commanders. "I apologise for the rude awakening, gentlemen, but our scouts have made an important discovery. During the night, we had received a messenger pigeon that revealed the location of the Red Visconte Army."
Many of Victor's commanders were gladdened by this news; they were eager for a fight. Field Marshal Wellesley, in particular, was excited. This was his first time holding high command of the Luxenberg Army; he did not want to waste this opportunity. If he could distinguish himself, there was a high probability that he would continue as Victor's right-hand man during times of war.
With all the commanders focused, Victor explained what the contents of the message were.
The Red Visconte Army was located a day's march southwest of Lodi. They were camped behind some hills, hiding from prying eyes. It seems that they had been camped there for some time and were mustering their full strength to go on the offensive.
The rumours were true, and Prince Alphonse was thankful that they were able to discover this before going on the attack. If they had disregarded this rumour as baseless, they would have found themselves in a difficult situation.
"My liege, with the camp not extremely close to Lodi, could we perhaps use the hills to our advantage and ambush them?" General Rapp asked in an inquisitive tone. Victor shook his head and began to explain why that would not work.
"It is a decent idea, but with an army as large as ours, we would surely be discovered way before even arriving at their camp. Instead, we will look to travel past their camp and make them believe they will be ambushing us. There is a forest road near the area. If we have our skirmishers set up in the trees and the main army set up in the clearing beyond, we can eradicate them."
It was a decent plan, but not a foolproof one. This is what caused General Picton to make an arrogant suggestion. "My liege, may I suggest an alternative plan. What if we use the Green Visconte Army as bait to draw out the Red Visconte Army from hiding? They surely would not let Lodi be besieged."
When the translators on the Green Visconte side translated the message, many were in uproar about such a suggestion. Victor shot Picton a scowling glare that made it clear that such an idea was off the table. It was such a brazen idea that Victor had to lower himself and apologise to Prince Alphonse over his subordinate's stupid suggestion.
In the end, no one could offer a better idea. Some chose to keep their thoughts to themselves after General Picton made a fool of himself. Victor was disappointed that there were no better ideas, but nevertheless, he persisted in seeing this plan through.
Everyone was dismissed and began readying their troops. The Luxenberg Army would be leaving in the afternoon, whereas the Green Visconte Army would wait two days before departing; they did not want to risk drawing the attention of the enemy army. If they did, Victor's plan would fail.
The Luxenberg column stretched for miles along the dusty road, as they departed from Napo. They were a living ribbon of steel and cloth winding through the countryside. At the head, drums beat a steady cadence, the low thump carrying over the rhythmic crunch of boots on packed earth.
Rows of infantry moved in tight formation, their muskets shouldered, bayonets glinting when a shaft of sunlight broke through the drifting clouds. Leather cartridge boxes and canteens clinked against belts, and the faint smell of oiled steel mixed with the musk of sweat and horsehair.
Behind them rolled the gun carriages, iron wheels groaning over ruts, the barrels of the cannons shrouded in canvas to keep the dust from settling inside. Horses strained in their harnesses, their breath heavy in the warm afternoon air, nostrils flaring with every pull. Along the flanks, cavalry patrols trotted parallel to the main column, scanning distant hills and hedgerows for any sign of the foe.
At halts, soldiers drank quickly from tin cups or adjusted their gear before the command came to move again. The thought of the enemy—six days ahead—pressed on every mind, a constant, silent companion.
Each sunrise brought the army closer, the land gradually changing underfoot: familiar villages giving way to stranger terrain, woods growing denser, roads narrowing. By day six, they knew they would see smoke on the horizon, hear the distant echo of drums not their own, and feel the tightening in the chest that comes before battle.
The dust cloud from their procession ascended into the sky, high enough for anyone to spot it from miles away. This was an important discovery for the sentries of the Red Visconte Army. A massive host was a few hours away; they had not been identified, nor did they know where they were headed.
Hastily, scouts were dispatched to investigate this. What they saw was the might of the Luxenberg Army. Their marching was disciplined and precise, each step in perfect sync with everyone else. It was a column that stretched for miles. This was exactly what the scouts feared.
The Luxenberg Army intended to be seen, trying to trick the Red Visconte Army into believing that they were sneaking past Lodi to attack oth settlements in their territory. There plan had seemed to work, some of the men in the column noticed the sentries watching them, but they continued to pretend not to see them. Their task was to continue marching until they arrived at the ambush location.
As soon as the Luxenberg Army started marching away from the camp's direction, the sentries rushed to alert the commanders of the army. They scrambled to alert them of the Luxeberg Army and that they were marching in full force.
This deeply troubled the officers, so they quickly had to make a decision on how to proceed.