Tang Qi Tan

Chapter 535
Moreover, there is not one such ostentatious fortress, but dozens of them, spread over the various tributaries of the Seine River; they just block off the bridge crossings that can enter the city of Seine.But what is even more incredible is the soldiers stationed inside.

Most of them are crooked melons and jujubes that look unsightly, or old, weak, sick and disabled.According to the surprise interrogation at the scene, they claimed to be from the existence of the Senna Citizen Volunteer Army.And this organization is a paramilitary organization that was just established half a year ago.

But at first it was only a non-governmental organization in the name of relief under the banner of the Universal Church in the capital; then, it suddenly received the attention and support of the dynasty overnight, not only appointed officials and soldiers, but also allocated money and materials, specially trained an armed group.

Therefore, it includes but is not limited to: beggars and tramps on the streets of Seine, poor people in the outer ring slums, petty criminals in the capital's correctional facility, small traders arrested in violation of regulations; the bankrupt farmers who went down;
There are even Roma and some other mobile groups, large and small.At first, many people went to receive free board and lodging relief just because they received the propaganda; as a result, they were controlled and supervised by a large number of soldiers overnight, and became members of the so-called citizen volunteer army.

Then under the supervision of these soldiers, they quickly transformed into assault-built, ready-made workforces for these fort lines.Driven by whips, sticks, knives and guns, they worked non-stop day and night. After many people died of exhaustion and illness, the work was completed before the gift day.

The contractors and general contractors responsible for providing materials and transportation services for this fortress defense line are also from the aristocratic background of the capital, or the taxpayer group of the dynasty; they also try to cut corners and falsify to make profits and exploitation.

For example, sand and silt excavated from nearby rivers, as well as low-quality clay that is not suitable for pottery, and wooden frame beams removed from those old houses are used as building materials for these fortresses; Large chunks of gravel that act as foundations.

Therefore, most of the fortresses are already dangerous buildings in a certain sense from the day they are built.And on the second day after the completion of the construction, just after it rained; many fortresses collapsed to varying degrees; but finally passed the acceptance.

Immediately afterwards, following the edict read by an official from the royal capital, these people who were forced to supervise and labor suddenly became ready-made guards for these newly built forts overnight; each place was issued several flags and dozens of Spears and other scraps of iron will do the trick.

Then, more than a dozen to dozens of soldiers were dispatched to each fortress; as daily supervision and guards, to prevent large-scale escapes.But after a long time, these soldiers of the regular army were transferred away one after another, and young adults were also transferred away together.

In the end, the remaining old, weak, sick and disabled basically couldn't run far, and they didn't really want to run.In their words, the wild has become more and more dangerous; even in the slums in Seine City, and even the downtown areas where the middle and lower classes live, it is inevitable that there will be frequent disappearances.

And in these crumbling low-quality fortresses, at least the door can be closed to gain a sense of security, and even some supplies that have been deducted layer by layer.Although the number is extremely meager, it is barely enough for the remaining people with serious shortages.

Most of the time, you only need to hide in the fortress, waiting for the inspection and inspection of the nobles and officials from the capital; then paste the cracks and defects in the wall with mud, and then pick out a few most decent ones to stand with spears and flags. On the wall, shouting a few words is easy to deal with.

As a result, after the cavalry regiment approached, most people lowered the flag and opened the door to surrender without hesitation, or abandoned their defenses and fled early, leaving only a smelly garbage on the ground.Only a handful of fortresses put up a resolute resistance, and then were bombarded into the sky by the cavalry accompanying the cavalry.

In the true sense of the word, blast to the sky: first use four-pound shells to blast open the blocked wooden door, and then throw Hale rockets and hand-throwing gunpowder shells.As a result, the entire fortress was like a chain reaction, and a large area collapsed, burying all the defenders standing on it who were shooting arrows and shouting.

But there are individual exceptions.In front of a large fortress on the upper reaches of the Marne River; dozens of fierce attacks launched by a company of redemption were repelled from the wall, and hundreds of people were lost before and after; Fortress.

It wasn't until the engineer company in charge of attacking the fortress arrived, under the cover of muskets and shelling, and desperately sent hundreds of pounds of explosives under the wall with a small cart, that this humble fortress was blown out of a collapsed notch to come.Then in the fierce battle, hundreds of people were injured before the defenders were cleared.

Later, Jiang Tian learned that this was the Brielle Line of Defense, which could be traced back to the military chief of the Charter Government; in order to prevent the counterattack from the local nobles, the inner ring fortification system was specially built.It's just that the charter government collapsed faster, so only a few were built.

Therefore, when building these fortresses, the volcanic ash cement produced in the south and standardized large stones were used to make them extremely strong and abnormal, and even repeated shelling could not be effective.Now it is one of the important support points and cores of the fortress defense line outside the capital.

But fortunately, such an existence is just a feather and a horn.In the end, the outer defense line of the capital composed of dozens of fortresses of various sizes can play the greatest role; it is to successfully delay the First Army for more than ten hours with a group of old, weak, sick and disabled who need to be gathered and managed.

By the next morning, Jiang Tian’s legion headquarters could already be seen. As one of the former royal hunting palaces, Fengting Palace and Yinlu Palace, the white double-bodied palace was vaguely hidden among the green jungle and ancient trees. King's Tower.This involves another allusion.

In the fourth generation of the White Iris Dynasty, King Anle, who liked to feast and hunt, was witnessed by many ministers, nobles and bishops, and the queen gave birth to a pair of twins; King Anle also announced that the two twins All the princes will become his designated heirs.

Then he ordered that in the northeast forest of the royal hunting ground, the two little princes were born, and the Feng Pavilion and the Yinlu two gardens and palace areas were built; The tall tower serves as the boundary between the two areas.

Later, as King Anle died on the bed of a certain female courtier, it also opened a special era in which the two kings ruled together and the Queen Mother was in power.However, after the two co-ruling monarchs became adults and married each other, it led to a great division and civil war among the nobles of the kingdom.

This civil war lasted for more than ten years, almost involving most of the noble lords in the northern part of the kingdom.Hundreds of noble families became extinct or their titles were transferred; in the end, one of the majesty, who was born a few minutes late, was assassinated by the rebellious subordinates.

Then the elder brother, who won the tragic victory, also bears the indelible sin, and is called the kinslayer/broken arm king by the world.The short reign of Prince Slayer/Broken Arm King was almost always used to make up and mediate, because of the pain and rift caused by the civil war in the kingdom.

But during this period, another paradoxical scandal broke out among the few children under his knees; and it quickly spread outside the court with unexpected efficiency.His favorite youngest daughter, the eldest son with whom he was supposed to be the heir, proved to straddle the line of blood.

Although there is no lack of incidents similar to blood relatives incest in the royal houses of the Western Continent; even some Eastern nomadic khanates will inherit fathers, brothers, wives and concubines and accept sisters.However, being made public in such a majestic way still severely shocked and stimulated the Broken Arm King.

Especially when the folks started to say that it was a curse against the royal kinslayers.The Broken Arm King was so angry that he deprived the royal siblings of everything, and imprisoned them on the two white towers; they could see each other every day, but they were always close to each other forever.

Therefore, when the Broken Arm King was seriously ill and dying, after designating the third son as the successor; the new king also announced amnesty and released the imprisoned brother and sister.But these two poor souls had grown white-haired and utterly insane in the torments of their long confinement.

And this pair of white towers is also known as the Tower of the Two Kings, and is regarded as a cursed place that continued from the Civil War of the Twins.It wasn't until the era of King Lie Sun that the ruined Fengting Palace and Yinlu Palace were rebuilt, and they were reconnected into a large royal family garden, which also faded away the curse of the twin towers.

After encircling, forcing down and disarming a small part of the hunting grounds stationed between Fengting Palace and Yinlu Palace, the Hound Team, Falcon Team and Hunting Guards, etc.; Come directly to attack the large camps and forward bases in the capital.

At this time, a cavalry from the direction of the capital, or reinforcements in charge of armed reconnaissance, appeared belatedly, in the field of vision of the outer police posts.Then, hastily and unprepared, he crashed into the ambush position set up in the forest of Wang Family's hunting ground.

In an instant, guns blared, explosions broke out, and the sound of fierce fighting and flames and smoke drowned the well-dressed cavalry regiment, and tore the flesh and blood of them and their mounts.In the end, only a very small number of cavalry left the battlefield; they fell one after another under the chasing sabers and bayonets.

And the headquarters of the Legion where Jiang Tuan was located also obtained some obscure news and inside information about the city of Seine from the captives.For example, of the six newly formed corps of the dynasty not long ago, only three were actually capable of combat; the other two were serious deserters.

There is also a corps, because of treatment issues and arrears of military pay, a large-scale mutiny occurred among the bottom soldiers; it has just been jointly suppressed by the Burgundy (children) regiment of the dynasty, the Knights of the Guards, and the Capital Guard.Today, the city is still searching for the remnants of fleeing.

In addition, the remaining three completed corps and several reinforcements from other provinces all sent reinforcements to the southern front to meet them.The city of Seine, the capital of the kingdom, was relatively empty of defenses; therefore, in the face of changes on the western front, they could only hastily form such a cavalry regiment as an investigation.

(End of this chapter)