Why did the lord rebel

Chapter 477

The Frost Maple Ridge people far away in Swan Castle naturally don’t know that Prime Minister Guillaume Gaunt and Marquis Liam are drinking with two strong supporters from the Inquisition——

— because they were busy counting money.

A few days ago, the imperial military finally paid off part of the military expenses that had been owed to Shuangfengling for a long time: the carriages with the imperial military flags pulled box after box of gold coins to Swan Castle, and these gold coins had to pass through several Shuangfengling After the higher-ups took stock of it, they turned around and transported it to the Phoenix Terrace in the Land of Broken Soul.

Although the imperial officer in charge of escorting the military expenses hesitated and mumbled, everyone in Shuangfengling knew where the money came from:

After regaining the occupied areas of the Eastern Border, the regular imperial army launched a raid on various local towns under the name of "suppressing traitors and federal property".Although these actions did hit some traitors who stayed in the local area, there is no doubt that a large number of innocent civilians were exploited by cruel officials and violent soldiers in the process: the Eastern Army restrained by Grand Duke Graham Rosario is okay, and the leaderless Central Army The officers and soldiers are probably eager to take this opportunity to beat the human civilians in the occupied areas.

As a result, the people in the occupied areas have just bid farewell to the devil William Hyde, and then ushered in the oppression of the imperial army. It can be said that misfortunes never come singly.

The people of Shuangfengling saw the shameless actions of the imperial army one by one, but they could only choose to stand by and watch: No matter how arrogant Xia Houyan was, it was impossible for him to interfere with the Central Army, a force that did not belong to him.

What's more, the current Imperial Army really needs to find a way to get money:

The essence of war is to burn money.However, the continuous bloody battles in the past few years have almost drained the empire's military treasury. In this case, let alone paying the military expenses owed to Shuangfengling, the imperial army is struggling to even pay the normal military salary.

If a reliable source of income cannot be found, the so-called great dream of "recovering Thorn City" will eventually come to naught.

Because of this, even the "Blood of Blood" Grim Rosario, known for his benevolence, had to let the atrocities committed by the Central Army go unchecked: everyone's only hope at this time is to be able to , to obtain the due spoils from this capital of wealth, so that the flesh and blood cut from the Glorious Federation can be used to compensate the loss of the empire and her civilians in this war.

It's a complete negative-sum game, and the point of contention is that everyone doesn't want to be the biggest loser.

Of course, Shuangfengling is definitely not the loser.

Due to the extensive use of ammunition and weapons produced in the Land of Soul Cracking in previous battles, the debt owed by the imperial military to the Duchy of Igor can only be described in astronomical terms.The war fortune that Shuangfengling earned in this battle of fate between the two countries is enough to make those trade profits in the past seem as insignificant as the legs of mosquitoes.

Regardless of the fact that the empire just paid Shuangfengling an arrears, this is still only a part of its total military bill: the remaining bulk, I am afraid, can only be fully paid to Shuangfeng after the empire takes down Thorn City ridge.

Therefore, Xia Houyan found out with some sadness that he seemed to have been tied to the chariot of destruction by the empire: if he did not help the empire conquer the holy city, then the military expenses owed to Shuangfengling would become a sum that could not be repaid Bad debts...

Could it be that the one who is really in debt these days is the uncle?

In view of the embarrassing situation in Shuangfengling, Xia Houyan repeatedly wanted to go to the command center of the bloody front to seek an explanation from Grand Duke Rosario and Prime Minister Gaunt.

Fortunately, probably in order to deal with the anger of the Duke of Shuangfengling, the empire finally made a little concession:
That is to turn a blind eye to the job-hopping behavior of the officers and soldiers of the Imperial Army.

Perhaps the corruption, weakness, and brutality of the regular army of the empire are too chilling. These days, more and more officers and soldiers of the imperial army secretly broke away from the regular army and came to the Shuangfengling army to recommend themselves.

These insightful people who have turned to the Ming Lord are either from noble families, or are passionate young men, or are angry natives of the Eastern Region—in short, they have a conscience and are extremely disappointed with the ineffective regular imperial army. to despair.

Looking back, the Frost Maple Ridge troops with strong fighting power, generous treatment, handsome and benevolent lord are right there...

What are you waiting for without carrying a bucket?
Xia Houyan, who has always attached great importance to talent reserves, of course chose to accept all these hard-working workers who escaped from the clutches of the evil capitalists: as long as they pass the political review, these former imperial army officers and soldiers can obtain the household registration of the land of the broken soul without any hindrance. From then on, he worked for the Frost Maple Ridge Army.

The lord even personally met a few rebels from the imperial army without suspicion of showing off. He stuffed gold coins and distributed special products, and held the hands of each other with tears in his eyes. Finally, he saw the class friendship of revolutionary comrades all over his face...

As a result, the lord's reputation as a virtuous and respected man was immediately established on the bloody front.These reputations spread more and more outrageous among the various units of the imperial army, and in the end it can be reflected that Meng Degong is like a living king who kills anyone, Xuande is like an old liar full of lies, and Tian Khan is like a virtuous iron man. tyrant.

At the beginning, it was ordinary soldiers and low-level officers who went to Shuangfengling. Later, some senior officers and their own staff also resolutely abandoned their secrets and turned to the light. In the end, even members of the elite troops of the Imperial Army would come over from time to time to ask the lord. Ask about salary.

This drama of robbing people reached its climax, and several honored knights even abandoned their original loyal families and joined Shuangfengling with a new family!

God is sorry to see that the honored knights are the top physical combat power in the empire. They are often not subordinate to the imperial military, but the family arms of the nobles who serve as imperial army officers.If it weren't for the fact that the loyal master had died in battle, and the actions of the imperial army and other nobles were too shameful, they definitely would not have easily left the family they swore to serve.

As more and more people from the imperial army ran away, and the Swan Castle where Shuangfengling was stationed became more and more populous, the imperial army finally discovered the smuggling event under their noses, and quickly sent envoys to propose to the senior official Xiahou. Solemnly negotiated and asked Shuangfengling to return the rebellious boy who defected from the regular army of the empire.

Of course, Xia Houyan's response is also in line with his usual style:

Those who belong to the bastard will not let go when they bite.

Except for the defectors from the Eastern Army, who can return them conditionally for the sake of Grand Duke Rosario, don't even think about other people!Later, Xia Houyan was really annoyed by the imperial army's envoys, and he directly let the girls shut the door.

He took money and people, and even tested the new weapons produced by the territory...

The experience of the Shuangfengling troops coming to the northern front line can hardly be described as full.

It took so much advantage to take advantage of others' short hands and eat others' soft mouths. If he didn't help the imperial allies to fight well, Xia Houyan himself would feel a little embarrassed.

After entering Swan Castle, the civil servants in Frost Maple Ridge were busy counting money, the soldiers were busy training and preparing for battle, and the staff under Sean Mountbatten had been investigating the situation around Thorn City, preparing to formulate a careful attack plan.

For a big battle like attacking a giant city, it is very difficult to come up with a qualified military plan: especially considering the status and identity of Shuangfengling, all actions here must be coordinated with the main attacking imperial regular army Large troops, in particular, need to be cautious.

"What we are facing may be a long-lasting siege, and everyone must be prepared." In a regular military meeting in late July, Sean Mountbatten reported to Xia Houyan and other senior family members in this way.

"Do you want to fight a siege?" Xia Houyan blinked.

"I'm afraid it is." Sean picked up a few Nikon magic paintings engraved with the fortifications of Thorns City from the table, pasted them on the blackboard one by one and showed them to the senior officials of Frost Maple Ridge, "Look, the city walls of Thorns City even The lowest point is more than 200 meters high. It is not so much a city as a giant iron barrel castle. Moreover, the materials used to construct these city walls are not ordinary stones, but the legendary ancient magic material 'Moon Light Stone' has excellent anti-attack and anti-magic properties, and it has not been damaged in the slightest after thousands of years..."

"Elf materials in ancient times. It is an out-of-print material that can only be produced with the blessing of the mother god." The master of spiritual songs pointed out the true face of "Moonstone".

Everyone was in awe: the city wall materials that the gods personally helped to make sounded too awesome.

"All in all, it is as difficult as heaven to take down Thorn City by forcibly attacking the city walls. This is why the empire has been trying to take back Thorn City for hundreds of years, but has always been blocked by the bloody front." Xiao En pointed The magic picture on the blackboard, "Once our army approaches the outskirts of Thorn City, it will be covered by the condescending firepower of the orcs, and we will not be able to cause any damage to this unbreakable high wall."

"So we can only besiege and not attack?" Xia Houyan rubbed his chin.

"That's right, I think this may be the only way to capture Thorn City—that's exactly what the orcs did back then, and they were lucky enough to get Thorn City from the empire." Xiao En said with a wry smile, "I've already fought with the regular army. The staff officers on the side were relieved, and they also had the same idea: not to deal with Thorn City first, but to clean up the surrounding areas around the city, and finally formed a siege of Thorn City. Next, as long as they can defeat the attack of the federal reinforcements outside and the internal Thorn City The surprise attack of the defenders, after a long time, the city will be self-defeating."

"Siege Thorn City with people like the empire? Is it possible?" Xia Houyan was a little skeptical.

Although siege is the best way to take down a city without bloodshed, it needs to bear huge costs and risks: in order to siege a city, the troops of the attacking party must be several times larger than that of the defending party, and they must be able to defeat the enemy with scattered forces. The army's internal and external attack.

Considering the weakened strength of the imperial army, Xia Houyan felt that this tactic was very unrealistic: Although the army of the federal orcs was injured and forced to retreat, the centipedes were dead but not stiff, and the remaining orcs The army is still enough to break the wrist with the imperials.

"If it was a year ago, I would have said it was impossible." Sean replied cautiously, "Besieging a city like Thorn City, and the strength of the Empire is only equal to that of the defenders - I would say This is the behavior of a madman."

"A year ago you thought it was impossible?" Xia Houyan asked with great interest, "So you don't think so now?"

"Now... I think there may be some hope." Sean replied, "There are two main reasons: First, you have a steel ghost dragon in your hand——Sindagosa may be the only one on the entire bloody front. The horror that can indiscriminately cause damage to the defenders of Thorn City exists. The giant dragon that can fly at high altitudes, come and go like the wind, and can spray magic from a long distance is the nemesis of all cities and settlements. This is true for Thorn City. Said is no exception."

"Sindragosa is indeed very useful." Xia Houyan agreed with his staff's judgment, "What is the second reason for your confidence?"

"The second reason is..." Sean hesitated, but finally said slowly, "I went to the command center a few days ago and saw... the Inquisition troops over there."

(End of this chapter)