Iron Power And Sorcerer

Iron Power And Sorcerer Chapter 97

2021-02-23

Chapter 97 If you want to attack a city, build a road first

The proverb says: "If you want to be rich, build a road first. ".

But the Veneta people want to build roads on Red Sulphur Island, and the purpose will never be to stimulate local economic growth.

"Build a road?" Winters, who just woke up, was still a little confused: "What road to build?"

"Build a standard road of solid governance, starting from Chisulfur Port. Go to Tacheng." Andre said beamingly: "The order jointly issued by the two major generals is correct. Hey, no matter what road is built, we don't need to be scribes anyway!"

"Hmm. ' Winters rubbed his eyes, trying to think about the real purpose of the road. Suddenly sighed said, "I can probably figure out what's going on... It seems that the above has decided to attack the city."

Red sulfur island is a typical volcanic island, the island itself is a huge of volcanoes. Therefore, Red Sulphur Island starts from the coast and increases in altitude as it goes inland.

Tacheng, located in the center of the island, is backed by the volcano on the Volcano Island, so it occupies a dangerous terrain.

The environment where Tacheng is located was not suitable for the formation of natural settlements, but there are abundant volcanic sulfur mines here.

In order to hold the sulphur mine in hand, the former Duke of Red Sulphur Island did not set up the government office in the Red Sulphur Port, but opened a new city here.

Sulfur mining industry and political factors finally created Tacheng, which is named after the tower castle built here by the former Duke of Iwo Jima.

There is no straight road, not even a decent one, from Tacheng to Chisulfur Port.

The dilapidated dirt road starts from Red Sulphur Island, and it takes a lot of twists and turns to pass through several villages and plantations before reaching Tacheng.

Thinking of the above, it is obvious to Winters that Antonio and Layton did not attack the city but built roads first.

Winters also observed the city defense structure of Tacheng from a distance. Although it is an old city wall behind the times, it is still daunting.

In old times, towering walls were considered invulnerable, indestructible and impregnable, a symbol of wealth and military might.

However, no one has built such city walls anymore, and the reason is simple: this design is not effective against artillery strikes.

Funds are limited, and if the city wall is to be high, it will inevitably be thin. In the past this is nothing, when defending the city, a World Tree scaffolding will be built behind the city wall, and the width of the city wall will be temporarily increased to allow more defenders to stand on it.

However, after the artillery technology matures, the advantages of high walls also become disadvantages:
The higher the city wall, the larger the frontal projection area, the easier it is to be hit by artillery shells;

And the thickness of the city wall is not enough to arrange artillery. During the siege of Constantinople, the defenders found that the recoil generated by the heavy artillery fire on the city wall caused more damage to the high wall than the damage caused by the siege artillery. Still big;
The towers on the original city wall have also become a problem, the towers of the old city wall are much higher than the height of the city wall itself. This design allows the defenders to continue to defend the tower even if the enemy climbs the city wall;
However, the existence of the tower on the wall makes it impossible for the defenders to quickly transfer their artillery on the city wall...

Various shortcomings cannot be enumerated in detail. All in all, seeing such a high wall and bombarding it with a cannon is done.

In the Veneta army, the artillery unit is separate from the regular Legion, so there are only infantry and cavalry in the Legion.

But now Antonio and Layton have ready-made cannons:
Thirty-two pounders hauled from the ruins of the Red Sulphur Bay fort are basking in the sun on the dock; if these cannons Not enough, there are four-pounder and eight-pounder guns in the red sulphur port bastion; the artillery in the bastion is not enough, and the cannons on the warship can be unloaded.

As for the lack of gunners? Even better, because artillery and sappers are not separated.

A graduate of the Artillery Department of the Army Officers School, those who do well become artillerymen, and those who do not do well become engineers.

Although Antonio and Layton did not have artillery, they did have engineers, and there were a lot of officers from the artillery department who were working as civilians.

Thinking that they wouldn't forget all the knowledge in the book so quickly, so Layton slapped his head: "What kind of engineer and civilian job? All of them go back to me as an artilleryman."

In addition, gunners on naval warships can also be temporarily transferred to siege the city.

The enemy has given away a batch of cannons for nothing, and there are no shortage of gunners in the army, but the biggest problem is how to move the cannons from Chisulfur Port to Tacheng.

The roads on Red Sulphur Island are too rotten and winding, and the Veneta people lack large animals such as heavy draught horses and oxen, and they still climb all the way from Red Sulphur Port to Tacheng due to terrain factors The slope is very difficult to carry.

If you rely on the original bad road on the island, it is better to simply wait for the defenders to surrender when they run out of food to move these dozens of artillery to the front line.

Therefore - to build roads.

The command to build a road was the first reaction of Winters when he heard it: it must be Major General Layton's idea again.

But after thinking rationally without prejudice, Winters found that maybe this was a good idea.

as the saying goes well "soap doesn't delay shaving".

Vinetta Legion as a standing Legion is very good at civil work and has ready-made technology. There are a large number of farmers and slaves on the red sulfur island, and there is a ready-made labor force. And there are quarries on the island, with ready-made materials.

Building a Guzhi Road connecting the Red Sulphur Port and Tacheng not only makes it easier to carry artillery, but also greatly benefits the logistical support of the siege army.

And it also allows Veneta troops to move quickly between Red Sulphur Port and Tacheng. Once the battle situation changes, they can quickly support Red Sulphur Port or withdraw to the ship.

You can continue to collect tolls even after the battle is over...because the Veneta Army has the right to collect tolls on the solid roads it builds, part of the tolls are used for road maintenance and the other part is used for road maintenance. Into the army coffers as extra income.

This law was originally intended to encourage the Army to do more infrastructure, but now the solid road between major cities in Veneta has become one of the Army's important sources of revenue... The most wonderful thing is that this part of the income is not there Within the budget of the military, the army can freely use it... So the army headquarters of gold and jade in glorious splendor can actually be said to be exchanged for the sweat of the soldiers who built the road.

"Where did I go..." Winters shook his still groggy head, tidying up his clothes hastily, taking the newly issued saber from the shelf, and talking to Ender. Lie said: "Let's go."

The two stepped on the war horses, moved towards the Red Sulphur Port and galloped away.

The war horses of the third Legion stayed in the sea blue city. San Marco Legion has some war horses, but they are only the officers' own mounts. As a reserve force, San Marco Legion has no cavalry establishment.

However, it was really inconvenient for the officers of the third Legion to travel without war horses, so the logistics department initially hired a group of mules. As a result, it was strongly resisted by officers from the cavalry department, and some people even claimed that "I would rather kill myself by drinking bullets than ride a mule ashamed."

It was Winters who came up with the idea long ago, when he discovered that horses were commonly kept in the homes of plantation owners on Iwo Jima. The third Legion logistics department immediately dispatched and bought all the horses from the plantation on the island. Naturally, the plantation owners dared not to speak out. After all, it would be good if they were not liquidated.

By strong buying and selling, the 3rd Legion Logistics Department was able to distribute a warhorse to every officer in the Legion.

The army works swiftly and decisively. Since the two Corps Heads have decided to build a solid road, the people below will only care how to execute the order.

The Red Illusion Island Road Construction Countermeasure Headquarters was announced five minutes after the order was issued. This division was formed by recruiting officers from the two Legions, and was solely responsible for the construction of the Guzhi Road. Antonio himself served as the head of this division.

The countermeasures headquarters dispatched engineer officers in charge of surveying and mapping immediately, and the work on the preliminary map began immediately.

These tasks that require superb professional abilities are of course nothing to do with Winters and Andre, the two little warrant officers. The tasks given to them fully take into account the abilities of both of them.

"Huh? What? Let's take people to the fundraiser?" Winters looked at the warrant with a bitter look on his face.

"Hi." Andre didn't take it seriously, he said with a smile: "After so many days of tossing, we still have to deal with the farmer?"

"Ai , let's go."

The order of the Road Construction Countermeasures Headquarters only said how many migrant workers were needed, but nothing other than from this, and forty fully armed soldiers were allocated to Winters and Andre. .

The meaning above is vague but clear: no matter the means, as long as the hands.

In the days that followed, while Winters and Andre were busy recruiting peasants to build roads in villages on the island for five silver coins a day, a riot broke out outside Tacheng. large-scale conflict.

The defenders found that the Venetas outside did not do much except build the wall, and they gradually became more courageous. They even sent people out of the city at night to continue to deepen the moat.

This is of course impossible to hide from the Veneta people outside the city. The siege barrier built by the Veneta army is less than 400 meters away from the nearest place to the city wall.

The sound of "ding ding dong dong" smashing stones in the moat could be heard clearly by the defenders on the barrier 400 meters away.

It was of course impossible for Antonio and Layton to sit back and watch the defenders strengthen the city's defenses. Because of the lack of cavalry, the two Hundred Men Squads of the third Legion were temporarily mobilized.

Having no time to talk nonsense, Antonio ordered Captain Doria and Lieutenant Juan to lead a Hundred Men Squad from the east and west respectively to charge lightly from the east and west, in order to approach the moat as soon as possible.

If you can drive the rout soldiers into the city, as long as the commandos hold the city gate, the two Legions will attack across the board. If there is no chance to occupy the city gate, the commandos will quickly retreat after killing the enemy.

Ten minutes later, the silhouettes of the two teams quietly left the fortress of the Veneta army and moved towards the tower city from the two wings.

The light soldiers and sharp pawns move fast, and the distance of less than half a kilometer will come in a blink of an eye. The defenders on the city wall had just noticed the enemy's attack and sounded the bell, and the two leading Hundred-Men Commanders had already jumped into the trench with sabres and slashed wildly.

Immediately behind the officer, Veneta's soldiers jumped into the moat like a tide. The Tanilians in the moat only had tools. They tried to dig out of the moat to escape, but were dragged back to the moat by Veneta soldiers and killed.

The one-sided massacre took place in this moat, which was less than two meters high and less than two meters wide. Two Hundred-Men Commanders began to lead people to approach from the city gate between the Imperial courts on the east and west sides.

Going forward and killing all the way, they drove the Tanilians in the trenches to flee in the direction of the city gate.

"The first credit for capturing Tacheng is mine!" Captain Doria looked at the tani people crowded in the city gate, and couldn't help shouting in his heart.

However, no matter how the Tanilians who fled to the city gate beat the city gate desperately and begged, the city gate was completely motionless.

The defenders in the triangular fort outside the city gate were the first to react. The gunfire was loud on the triangular fort, and the musketeers and bowmen began to move towards the Veneta people in the moat to shoot.

The defenders on the city wall were also awakened by the counterattack of the Triangle Fort, and they also began to use long-range weapons to suppress the enemy.

For a while, arrows and lead hit the Veneta soldiers in the moat like a storm, and the assault team's offensive was stagnant.

"Blow the trumpet, order to retreat!" Antonio, who was watching the battle on the rampart, ordered loudly, and the bugler immediately blew the trumpet to represent the retreat.

Lieutenant Juan, who was in charge of the eastern attack, immediately led his soldiers out of the moat, moved towards his own fortress and ran wildly. The muskets and crossbows on the city wall knocked out several soldiers from behind, but most of the Hundred Men Squad pulled back safely.

However, Captain Doria, who was in charge of the western assault, did not want to give up. The vanguard was less than 20 meters away from the city gate. The opportunity was really good, and he might be able to capture Tacheng in one fell swoop.

He shouted: "Go forward! The enemy just needs to open the door and rush in! Victory is at hand!"

But the city gate was not opened, and the roar of cannons destroyed his ambitions .

The artillery mounted on the Triangle Fort was loaded and started moving towards the enemy in the moat. The triangular fort covering the city gate spans the moat and is a deadly sidefire for the siege side.

The projectile weapons from the city wall did not pose much of a threat to the Veneta soldiers in the trenches, but they were completely unshielded from the bullets fired by the Triangle Fort.

A four-pound iron cannonball was fired from Captain Doria's left chest and out of his back. Then it penetrated the body of the soldier behind him, and then another soldier... Only one cannonball plowed out a bloody gorge in the city trench.

Captain Doria was killed instantly, and his Hundred Men Squad first not knowing what to do because the soldiers behind the moat didn't know what was going on, and then completely collapsed.

First one soldier took the lead, then two, three, and finally all the soldiers climbed out of the moat and started running back.

Sergeant Head "Beard" of the Hundred Men Squad and another sergeant "Bucktooth" lift Captain Doria's body and try to bring it back. However, before they took a few steps, a stubby crossbow bolt shot from behind, pinning the bearded Sergeant Head to the ground.

The buck-toothed sergeant, who was holding the captain's calf, hurriedly let go and ran to the camp of the Veneta army without looking back.

At this time, the city gate of Tacheng finally opened with a crunch

In the noisy and chaotic battlefield, Antonio suddenly caught an unusual sound, and he shouted With the order: "Musketeers! Go to the west flank! Go to the west flank! Take the gun and listen to my orders!" The crowd filed out from the city gate, jumped over the moat and killed the Veneta soldiers who were fleeing towards the wall.

The buck-toothed sergeant who fell behind heard the sound of horse hooves getting closer and closer. He just gritted his teeth and turned around to try his best, but saw a cold glow in front of him. A saber was slashed from the shoulder of Sergeant Bucktooth by the speed of the horse, and Sergeant Bucktooth was split into two pieces with flesh and bone in an instant.

And this terrifying chopping didn't even slow down the cavalry even a little bit. The saber crossed an arc and returned to the top of the head.

The soldiers behind were chopped down like wheat fields after a gust of wind, and Antonio stared at the Union cavalry at the forefront, shouting sharply: "Don't shoot without my order!"

Above the tower city, Captain Kidd didn't want the cavalry to chase too deep. Seeing that his cavalry had passed the center line, he quickly ordered the trumpet to withdraw.

At the same time as the horn sounded at the top of the city, Antonio shouted loudly: "It's now! Fire!"

The sound of muskets sounded like popping beans on the wall. The buckshot hit the chasing Union cavalry.

The rider who hacked the Buck-toothed sergeant rushed forward and was targeted by a number of musketeers. A buckshot exploded in the rider's right shoulder, nearly fainting from the pain. The warhorse under his crotch was shot four times, killing him on the spot.

When the warhorse fell, it wrapped the rider under him and crushed his left leg. The rider let out a scream that didn't sound like a human voice, struggling to get out of the horse.

However, his left foot was stuck in the stirrup, and there was a 600kg weight on his leg. He was unable to move even a little bit.

Several other riders who ran too close to the walls of the Veneta Barrier were also killed on the spot.

The fortress gate of the Veneta army opened, and a group of long halberd shouted out to receive their own soldiers.

The commander of this cavalry has killed many Venetas and is no longer willing to fight. With a sharp whistle, he led the remaining cavalry to retreat quickly.

Vinetta's long halberd hand chased after a distance, and a long halberd hand gave him a good time when he passed the rider who was pinned under the horse's carcass and saw that he was not dead.

The artillery on Triangle Fort and Half Moon Fort also began to move towards Veneta long halberd hand fire to cover the retreat of their cavalry.

A few iron balls flew over, but they were not accurate, and there was no threat to the scattered soldiers.

A shell was angled so high that it even flew over the walls of the Veneta army.

The distance between the wall built by the siege party and the city wall is between 400 meters and 600 meters, which is already within the range of the artillery. But this is the first time the defenders have moved towards the wall and fired, and they also know that this distance is not a big threat.

Today has seen a lot of blood, and the long halberd hand has also completed the task, and Antonio ordered the troops to withdraw.

At dawn, a rider with a white flag approached the ramparts of the Veneta army, claiming to have brought a message for General Serbiati.

"I'm Antonio Seretti, what do you want to say?" Hearing that the messenger wanted to see him, Antonio, who had just slept for a while, hurried to the wall.

"Respected General Serbia, General Kidd sends you the highest respect." The rider said loudly: "A lot of blood has been shed in the battle last night, and General Kidd wishes you a good deal today. Together with us, we can collect the remains of the fallen, organize their remains, and bury them without interference."

Antonio pondered for a while, and replied: "Yes, the person in charge of collecting the remains. Tie your left arm with a white cloth. If you don't attack our people, we won't attack your people."

The messenger took off his helmet and bowed when he heard the answer: "Greetings to you again, General Serbia, then you and we have reached an agreement on this."

With that, he rode away without looking back.

"Oh, I can't believe that there is still a little bit of virtue in the hearts of pirates and slave dealers." Second Lieutenant Sarah, who was in charge of star duty, murmured as he watched the riders leave.

Antonio glanced at Lieutenant Sara with a blank expression: "Mr. Sara, do you think they proposed to restrain the corpse because of virtue?"

Suddenly by Corps Sarah, who was named by Head, was slightly flustered: "Yes! Sir! I don't know either! Sir!"

Antonio patted Sarah's shoulder and said gently: "Don't be nervous, as an officer Think more from the enemy's point of view. William Kidd's request for an undisturbed collection of the body is nothing more than a day's delay."

"Then...then why did you agree to him?" Lieutenant Sarah asked hesitantly.

"Why? Because the time is not on their side." Antonio sighed softly: "And if the warriors can't be ravaged by the corpse, then let him delay for a day."

I went home too late yesterday and threw myself on the bed. I didn't take off my clothes, and I didn't take a shower. I'm sorry.

Thanks to the book friends who have voted for the recommendation before, thanks to the book friends Clough Lawrence, Tianshui Youmei, Killing Star EX, Ami, Social Justice Pharaoh, Justice Pure is the recommendation vote of Koala, thank you all.

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