My Chinese ancestors

Chapter 635 The Value of Death

Nongma City.

Outside the city, there were stretches of military camps, with lit bonfires illuminating the night. The Sakprut soldiers on the city walls were alert and patrolling everything around them.

Recently, there have been many bad news from all sides. Miranter was pushed halfway by the Second Legion of the Celis people, and the eastern part of Analia Province bordering the southeast has been occupied by the main force of the enemy.

From Martin City, more than 2,000 miles away, news came that important islands in the West Sea were invaded by the suddenly appearing Ceres fleet.

Various bad news kept coming from three directions, making Ophelia's Sakpruit soldiers tremble with fear. Another thing that confused them was that since the failure of the war in Halabytus, the rescued emperor seemed to have become a different person.

Everything from speech and behavior to clothing is changing, and some people even notice that their appearance is changing day by day.

Recently, it was heard that the emperor wanted to change his name. Several members of the royal family went to dissuade him, but they were all thrown into prison.

For a time, the whole of Ophir was not only surrounded by external enemies, but also filled with a bloody atmosphere.

At such a critical moment, no one dared to desert their post, as that would be tantamount to risking their life.

At this time, there were several armies standing in the city of Nongma. They were also the legions that had recently been reorganized. Legions that had not participated before or had returned early were all selected for the reconstruction list.

In the newly established military camp, the bonfire illuminated the figures moving nearby. The Sakpruit soldiers gathered around the fire, looking at the flames and talking in low voices with others.

There were also soldiers in the tents, sharpening their swords with whetstones. Occasionally, when they heard the sound of galloping war horses, they would subconsciously rush out of the tent with daggers in hand.

He was then pushed back by the centurion who was patrolling outside.

"I'm just a messenger. Don't be nervous. The Seris people can't attack us yet."

The centurion spoke in a stern tone. He pushed the soldier back into the tent, waved to his subordinates who were looking around, and continued his patrol with his personal soldiers.

During this period, there were constant reports of war. Not only were the soldiers nervous, but the civilians in the city also felt the murderous aura coming from the east. Many people even secretly prepared their bags and found various excuses to escape from the eastern gate of Ophelia during the day.

……

At this time, several cavalrymen who came in from the Judgment Legion camp stopped in front of the large square tent in front.

The leading cavalryman asked his subordinates to wait outside with their horses, and he went towards the largest square tent alone.

Many aspects of Sakpruit's legion imitated ancient Rome. The large square tent was empty and had no curtain walls, so everything could be seen when approached.

At this time, the country has entered a wartime state, and the soldiers patrolling around are more frequent and vigilant than usual.

When the cavalry passed by, there were many messengers coming in and out with orders. The legion guards who were guarding the big tent, even if they knew that the cavalrymen who came over were their comrades, would go forward and search them before letting them in.

"Your Highness, Knight Commander Lancelot is discussing military affairs. Please be quiet when you go in."

The captain of the legion guard standing at the door spoke to the young cavalryman who was coming over with a serious face.

The firelight shone on the cavalryman's face, revealing a handsome face with slightly curly brown hair, light blue eyes, and an upright figure. He nodded to the captain of the guards and then walked into the military tent that was filled with lights.

There were soldiers standing guard inside the tent, looking at them warily. They then respectfully called out to the incoming cavalry, "Greetings, Your Highness!"

This cavalryman was none other than Osdi, the son of Sakpruit's former body.

When Sakpruit came to this world, he was just an ordinary soldier, and this child was only four years old.

In the blink of an eye, he was already seventeen years old. With Sakpruit's enthronement as emperor, he naturally became a prince.

Over the years, Sakpruit has had several more children, and he no longer loves Osdi as much as he did before.

Recently, Osdi has felt more and more clearly that his father has become a different person and is obviously alienated from him and the royal family.

This time, he was sent out of the palace by his father to report to the Judgment Legion and asked to follow Lancelot to do something.

As a prince, Osdi naturally thought that his father was training him and letting him get familiar with the generals of various armies as soon as possible.

As for military affairs, he had been in and out of several of his father's armies. At that time, his hands and feet could not stop shaking. But now, Osdi walked in with great vigor.

Under the lights over there, the Judgement Knight Lancelot was discussing the army restructuring and strengthening of the border with Tristan, who was known as the "Sentimental" Knight.

"In Martin, the enemy fleet will definitely land. It is not a mature idea to completely defend the coastline. In the end, we still have to rely on strengthening the area around Martin City. Although the enemy fleet is huge, there should not be many troops fighting on land... Your Majesty's idea..."

The lights were bright and people's shadows were reflected on the map. Lancelot was talking when he heard footsteps and tilted his head slightly to take a look.

Osdi smiled and saluted to the knight commander whom his father trusted most, then politely and carefully walked to the side and sat down.

When the 'sentimental' knight Tristan saw the handsome prince, his face, which looked like a beautiful woman, also smiled brightly and bowed to him.

Seeing that the prince had already sat down, Lancelot did not say much, but continued with what he had just said.

"The Seris attacked from three sides. Although we still have troops, they are not enough to fight them face to face. Your Majesty's opinion is that instead of fighting to the death, it is better to let them fall into the quagmire of war for two years, four years..."

In the voice, Osdi's handsome face showed seriousness, his body stood straight, and he concentrated and listened quietly to every word of Lancelot.

When he heard that the Seris people were going to be dragged into the quagmire of war, he couldn't help but interject, "Drag them down? But how can we make the Seris people be dragged into the quagmire of war?"

"This is exactly what I am going to talk about later, Your Highness. This is also what your father asked me to do." Lancelot turned his head, and when Osdi heard that it was his father's order, he immediately shut up and continued to listen to what the other party had to say.

“Your Majesty, please assess the situation. We have their fleet in the western sea, but we are not good at naval warfare. In the northeastern province of Milan, since the destruction of the Carthaginian army, there is no legion commander who can take charge of the overall situation and turn the tide.

The situation is the same in Analia in the southeast. We lost many legion commanders in the battle of Harabitos, so... we cannot confront the Seris head-on, at least not now.

The emperor of Seris probably had the same idea, which is why he marched straight into the eastern border of Analia."

Osdi frowned, but couldn't help interrupting. He said in a serious tone, "Respected Knight Commander Lancelot, you have rich experience in war, but I still don't understand how we can make the other side fall into the quagmire."

"Your Highness!" Tristan, the handsome man, picked up the cup and shook the wine inside, and said with a smile: "The quagmire can be the army or the civilians!" "What?"

Osdi looked at him in confusion, then reacted, his eyes widened: "Father wants civilians to die?"

He quickly looked at Lancelot, wanting to get a positive answer from him.

Lancelot did not answer directly, but pressed his hand on the mark on the map: "If we have to fight again, a few legions will not be enough. But if the civilians of the two provinces form countless iron walls on the road where the Seres army is marching, no matter how strong the Seres army is, it will be exhausted. At this time, our legions, which maintain their vigorous energy, can launch an attack on them."

"Civilians are also afraid of death. They will not rush forward to fight the army as if they are sending themselves to die."

Prince Osdi had been in Nongma City from the rear for some time. Naturally, he had heard about the strength of the Seris army. He felt a little reluctant to let unarmed civilians fight against the army.

"Your Highness, this is the order of your father. I hope you will not disobey!" Lancelot lowered his voice and said, "As citizens of Sakpruit, they have the duty to defend the country when it is in trouble."

Tristan beside him tugged at Lancelot's sleeve, signaling him to be more polite to His Royal Highness.

Osdi clenched his fists and was about to stand up to argue with the other party, but when he thought that it was his father's decision, he sat back in frustration.

After all, no matter how he argued, the order would be delivered.

There was silence in the tent for a while, and Lancelot softened his tone and continued:
“Your Highness, even if we don’t mobilize civilians to participate, the Seris people will not let them go.

You have been here for some time recently, and you also know about the massacre of the Samians by the Seres, and what their two cavalry units did in Palatine and Analia last month.

Now in Miranter and eastern Analia, civilians are being driven out and massacred by them. Rather than dying without resistance, it is better to take up arms and fight the Seris.

Only in this way will their death be valuable. Otherwise, if the Seris continue to move westward or invade Ophiro, more civilians will die at their hands. "

Lancelot's eyes lingered on Osdi's face. "War has never shown any mercy, my prince, and His Majesty has launched a public opinion offensive in various places to mobilize the will of the common people to fight."

"In addition, His Majesty also sent people to the rear of the Seres to encourage the Samos and the Seres' logistics merchants."

Lancelot's explanation was very comprehensive, and Osdi naturally understood it, but for someone like him who was used to a peaceful life and grew up in the palace, he could still maintain a high spirit in the face of a conventional war, but this was a cruel and weird strategy.

But it was so frightening to hear.

He frowned on his right side and continued to ask, "There are more than three million nobles, civilians, and slaves in the central and western parts of Anaria. We can't just let them rush over, right? Ordinary propaganda may have some effect, but if they are scared by the army, they will probably still flee."

"It doesn't matter. As long as we can delay it, we will have achieved our goal!" Lancelot smiled and walked over to pat Osdi on the shoulder as he stood up. "Your Highness has grown up. You are no longer a child. You can see things clearly. Your father will be proud of you!"

Upon hearing this, the handsome prince smiled shyly, "I still have a lot to learn, so my father asked me to come here. Knight Commander, is there anything I can do for you? I still have a lot of energy!"

"The central region of Anaria needs His Royal Highness to go there to spread the word about the terror of the Seris people, organize the civilians to take up arms to resist, and train them!"

Osdi nodded, happily accepted the order, turned around and left the tent.

Tristan watched the handsome figure leave, the smile on his face gradually faded, and he looked at Lancelot beside him.

"I think what His Royal Highness said just now makes sense. Without long-term training, civilians cannot become qualified soldiers. They will easily collapse on the battlefield. Also..."

The sentimental knight hesitated for a moment, "… Commoners will not fight without sufficient willpower."

At this time, Lancelot looked at the empty tent in silence. After a while, he turned around and looked back at the map.

"So... Prince Osdi is the reason why the civilians took up arms!"

"what?!"

Inside the tent, Tristan almost screamed!
……

Outside the military camp, the streets of Nongma City were also lit up with lights. In the middle was a huge castle surrounded by towering walls. It was the emperor's residence.

With the spacious castle as the foundation, more than ten towers can be seen standing. The Empire's Royal Guards guard every place in the city, and further inside are the Knights of the Palace.

Several figures who had died in the battle appeared in this hall again.

"Drag the Seris people into an endless fight, and make them suffer a bitter battle without a moment's rest. All of these things, the necessary conditions... I have already prepared them."

Above the royal palace, in the sight of several figures, Sakprut was walking slowly with a white cloak. Occasionally, when he turned around, his face had some subtle changes, and his appearance became a little different from before.

"Your Highness?" Gawain asked softly.

The tall figure above stopped and the emperor, who was renamed Arthur, nodded with a smile.

"Only a dead prince is the best prince... Through his sacrifice, a wave of hatred against the Seres among the common people will be set off."

Arthur said softly in the hall.

……

At the same time, in the province of Anaria, the Western Liang Army and the Wolf Cavalry were advancing frantically. At the same time, An Lushan was sent out with 20,000 raw slave soldiers and walked more than 300 miles with Anuhu.

After separating from the Feiqiang cavalry heading north, they headed northwest to the border of Oufeiluo, and a heavy rain fell on the way.

The ground became muddy and they had no choice but to camp in a field seven hundred miles away from the border.

The tents were tilted in the wind and rain. An Lushan's chubby body was wrapped in a blanket. He squinted his eyes and sniffed his nose.

The lightning and thunder outside made him feel uneasy.

"What a jerk! I finally got the job done, but it rained heavily... But why do I feel like something big is going to happen? I hope nothing happens right outside my door."

He stroked the iron helmet on his head that was about to tilt and fall off, and sniffed his nose again.

(End of this chapter)