Do Not Pursue a Strong Enemy

Outside Lausen Village, in the Imperial Army's position, Matthias and Werner stood firm on the front line, preparing for the next Swiss assault.

Originally, they should have been the ones launching the attack, but the Swabians' morale was low, and their combat effectiveness was pathetic, so attacking the Swiss would have been suicidal.

Fortunately, their original purpose was only to delay the Swiss, and the current situation was actually favorable to them.

Matthias's gaze drifted southward from time to time, as the situation of the Swabian army responsible for guarding against the Swiss's sneak attack from another small path was getting worse, which made him worried.

Moreover, the situation today was very strange; it was already close to noon, and the Swiss had not yet appeared.

"Could it be that those Swiss have mastered other routes and are preparing to bypass us for a sneak attack?" Werner speculated on the reason for the Swiss's prolonged absence.

Matthias pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "The Swiss are more familiar with the Alps than we are, so this possibility cannot be ruled out.

However, it's also possible that the Emperor has achieved some results..."

"Governor!" The scout Matthias had sent out on a dangerous reconnaissance mission quickly came before Matthias, his face quite excited, "The Swiss are retreating, and most of their tents have been dismantled."

Hearing the scout's report, Werner and Matthias's expressions did not relax in the slightest; instead, they became even more solemn.

"Matthias, perhaps you were right. The main force led by the Emperor has likely defeated the enemy, and they might be besieging Zurich right now." Werner said, but Matthias noticed the hesitation in his expression.

"I think the current situation is a bit off," Matthias stroked his chin, frowning in thought, "The Swiss are leaving too quickly.

Even if the Emperor was truly blessed by God and defeated the Swiss on the eastern front, if you were commanding the Swiss army opposite us right now, what would you do?"

Werner answered almost without thinking, "Intensify new offensives, or find new methods. In short, we must quickly defeat this force in front of us and eliminate the threat from Aargau.

Then, if military strength can be preserved, we can seize the opportunity to rescue Zurich.

The city of Zurich is also Switzerland's most fortified city and will not be easily breached in a short time."

"Exactly," Matthias quickly firmed up his judgment, "Although the Swiss Confederation re-admitted Zurich after the Zurich War, the conflict between the Three Forest Cantons and Zurich is still very deep.

I don't believe this army opposite us is willing to abandon us and turn to rescue Zurich."

"But what if they are planning to use our psychological expectation, then quickly rush to catch the Emperor off guard?" Werner slammed his fist on the Hussite War Wagon's baffle somewhat helplessly, "If the Swiss escape right under our noses, who can bear this responsibility?"

Werner's dilemma and worries also had some merit, and Matthias was undecided for a moment.

So, he immediately ordered someone to invite Margrave of Baden Karl and Count of Württemberg Eberhard.

Soon, the two commanders of the Swabian army arrived on horseback.

The orderly had already informed the two commanders of the Swiss retreat.

The Margrave of Baden's spirits visibly lifted.

The last time Matthias saw him looking so triumphant was when he forced Philip, the Count Palatine, to sign a treaty ceding Palatinate territory in Vienna.

The Count of Württemberg, on the other hand, maintained a look of deep-seated bitterness.

It was clear he truly wanted to avenge his uncle, even though the Württemberg army's performance in yesterday's battle was also hard to describe.

If the Swiss ran away, he might lose his chance for revenge.

"Governor Hunyadi, and General Werner, I hear we've achieved victory?" The Margrave of Baden's loud voice immediately attracted the attention of many Austrian soldiers, who all pricked up their ears curiously.

Unfortunately, the aides had already isolated the area where the commanders were holding their military council, so they couldn't hear any more news.

Even so, the Margrave of Baden's recent words had already given them many conjectures.

Matthias glared at the Margrave of Baden, trying his best to control himself and not show contempt.

"This cannot be considered a victory, Your Excellency, Margrave; in fact, the Swiss made it very difficult for us to advance."

"But now they are retreating first, isn't that enough to explain the problem?" The Margrave of Baden directly ignored the strange expressions of the other three commanders.

Since he had been imprisoned in the dungeon of Heidelberg for a year, the Margrave had come to terms with many things.

He had already experienced the crushing defeat of the Battle of Seckenheim; no further failure could shake his resolve.

Moreover, this time, although his and the Baden army's performance was still poor, the Swiss had fled first.

He now wished he could immediately retreat to Baden, enjoy life in his castle, and incidentally boast about his illustrious military achievement of leading his army to rout the main Swiss force.

Matthias took a deep breath, suppressing his dissatisfaction, and explained to the two Swabian commanders, "We speculate that the Emperor has made some progress, which is why the Swiss are showing signs of withdrawing, but things might not be that simple..."

"You mean they might be feigning a retreat, actually waiting for us to pursue them and then turn around to catch us off guard?" Unlike the Margrave of Baden, who believed everything was fine, Eberhard quickly grasped the crucial point.

In the past few days, the bravery of the Swiss had left a deep impression on him.

If the allied forces encountered a sudden attack by the Swiss during their pursuit, or even fell into a Swiss ambush, their situation would immediately become quite critical.

"Precisely," Matthias said with a solemn expression, "The Swiss, having found themselves unable to quickly defeat us, might resort to stratagem, for example, feigning defeat to lure us into pursuit.

If we leave our defensive positions set up in the valley, the Swiss will have a way to deal with us."

"What are your thoughts?" Eberhard also understood Matthias's purpose in calling him and the Margrave of Baden.

This Governor of Outer Austria, jokingly called the "Royal Supervisor" by the soldiers, a close confidant of the Emperor, was now indecisive and needed to seek their opinions.

Matthias and Werner exchanged glances, immediately understanding each other's meaning.

"We cannot risk the entire army being annihilated by pursuing the Swiss," Matthias gave the final answer, "I am confident that the Swiss will not be so eager to rescue Zurich."

"Yes, yes, we absolutely must not be greedy for achievement and put the army in danger," the Margrave of Baden immediately echoed, "Perhaps we should retreat to Swabia to rest and regroup, gather more troops, and then march towards Aargau to fight a decisive battle with the Swiss.

The Emperor will surely understand our difficulties.

These days we have lost a full two thousand men, while the Swiss have only suffered a few hundred casualties."

The Margrave of Baden spoke such cowardly words with an air of righteousness, leaving the others dumbfounded.

"If we retreat now, wouldn't my uncle's sacrifice be in vain?" Eberhard was the first to object.

He then looked at Matthias and Werner: "We must bypass any potential ambushes the Swiss might have set, but we absolutely must not retreat."

"Of course not," Werner also stated his position, "If we retreat now, I would have no face to see the Emperor."

"Then the plan is settled: we will abandon the pursuit of the retreating Swiss and take a different route to continue our march towards Aargau."

Seeing that the three had reached an agreement, the Margrave of Baden did not object.

As long as he could avoid a battle with the Swiss, he could accept it.

After the military council, the allied forces immediately prepared and set off from Lausen Village that same day. After returning near Basel, they turned and marched upstream along the Rhine River.

Although the cities along the Rhine River were also influenced by the Swiss Confederation, due to their proximity to Outer Austria, there were also many forces sympathetic to the Habsburg Family.

Facing the formidable Austrian-Swabian allied army, most cities chose to pay for disaster relief, giving them some supplies or money, thus sparing the cities from siege.

Unlike the mountain roads the allied forces had previously taken, the roads along the Rhine River were clearly more suitable for large armies to march.

As for why the allied forces did not take this route initially, it was because the length of this march route was three times that of the original route.

Since they chose to take a detour, they naturally needed to find a way to shorten the time spent marching.

The commanders of the allied forces therefore ordered a forced march, and some unbearable Swabians chose to secretly desert along the way.

They only needed to find a place to cross the river, and the opposite bank was Swabia and Outer Austria.

Even though the Margrave of Baden and the Count of Württemberg severely punished several captured deserters, they still could not stop this phenomenon from occurring.

Fortunately, there were no such situations in the Austrian army.

For the soldiers of the Saxon Army, fighting for the Emperor was their job and mission.

And for the soldiers of Outer Austria, this war was to protect their homeland from the Swiss, so they naturally would not easily retreat.

The Austrian-Swabian allied army thus rapidly advanced along the Rhine River, while continuously suffering reductions in troop strength.

In Thurnen Village, a dozen miles from Lausen Village, the Swiss, who were ambushed in the dense forest waiting for the enemy to pursue, were now running out of patience.

Heinrich Hunger, the Bernese general and overall commander of this main force of the Swiss Confederation, was listening to the intelligence sent by the Basel people with a grim expression.

"You mean those cowards chose to bypass us and march directly from the Rhine River?" Hunger did not distrust the Basel envoy's intelligence; in fact, he had used the intelligence provided by the Basel people to block the Austrian-Swabian allied army a few days ago.

Although the Basel people claimed to the Imperial Army that they had cut off ties with the Swiss, whether they had or not was only known to themselves and the Swiss.

Hunger just couldn't believe this intelligence; those cowards not only dared not launch an attack, but they didn't even dare to pursue the retreating Swiss army.

"Absolutely true, General Hunger, we have found traces of the Imperial Army near Augusta."

A Swiss officer standing beside Hunger realized that something was amiss.

"If they follow the Rhine River, then their ultimate target might not be Aarau, but..." Aarau is the capital of Aargau, and the enemy's target is Aargau. If they don't go to Aarau, where else would they go?

"Brugge!" Hunger, who had come to his senses, understood the Imperial Army's new objective, "Are they trying to directly retake Habsburg?

No, they want to rendezvous with the Emperor's army."

Zurich was now surrounded, and if the Imperial Army attacking Aargau reached Brugge first, Zurich would be completely doomed.

"What should we do? Should we rush back to save Zurich according to your plan?" The commander of the Uri regiment stared at Hunger, wanting to see what choice this Bernese would make.

News of the disastrous defeat of the Zurich, Zug, and Glarus armies at Niederwyl had reached the army not long ago.

Although Hunger desperately wanted to lead his army to rescue Bern's few close allies, he couldn't get the officers from the Forest Cantons to move with him.

In the stalemate, he had a sudden inspiration and thought of the strategy of feigning a retreat to lure the Imperial Army into pursuit.

However, those cowardly Austrians and Swabians did not take the bait at all; they simply changed their route and even their target.

If he insisted on rescuing Zurich now, this Imperial Army would likely easily capture Brugge, and by then, Aargau could essentially be declared lost.

Moreover, although his army's strength was relatively well-preserved, their hearts were not united, and they would probably find it difficult to defeat the elite Imperial Army under the Emperor's command.

"We must prevent the Swabians from advancing further into Aargau. Zurich... I hope they can withstand the pressure and wait for us to deal with this enemy force."

Hearing Hunger's final decision, the officers from the Forest Cantons were all satisfied, only the envoy sent by Zurich to request aid looked ashen.

"The Confederation now has no more troops to use. We must consider the overall situation and obey the council's decision. May God bless Zurich."

Hunger said this to the envoy from Zurich, then left the camp.

This Swiss army immediately set off from Thurnen Village, traversing the mountain paths at an extremely fast pace, heading towards the Aargau-Fricktal, which was still under the control of the Habsburg Family.

That was the Imperial Army's only route to Brugge, and Hunger planned to lead his army there to crush the cowardly Austrian and Swabian armies.

Neither of the two armies in the Aargau direction achieved decisive results, while on the other side, the siege operation against Zurich had officially begun.

Outside the city of Zurich, smoke billowed, as if a thick fog enveloped the entire city.

The Emperor's cannons roared deafeningly, and the entire earth seemed to tremble.

Cannonballs shot out like meteors, tearing through the air with sharp whistles, and with terrifying kinetic energy, they slammed into Zurich's still relatively sturdy city walls.

The city walls, under the fierce bombardment, had become riddled with holes and were on the verge of collapse. Perhaps in the next second, a large section would crumble, revealing a huge and fatal breach.

The defenders on the city walls were terrified by the violent shelling, scattering to dodge the flying debris.

Many of them had experienced the Battle of Niederwyl a few days ago, and the terrifying memories of the Austrian cannons continued.

Throughout the morning, the shelling continued for six rounds, and it was forced to stop near noon due to overheating cannon barrels.

Yet, Zurich's city walls miraculously held up, not collapsing as imagined.

However, they did not have much time to celebrate.

In the afternoon, the cannons roared again, and Zurich's ancient city walls finally buckled under the pressure. A large section of the wall collapsed with a crash, raising a cloud of dust.

The Independent Army soldiers outside the city, eager for action, let out a thunderous cheer and immediately began a fierce assault on Zurich's eastern district.