Chapter 268 The Beginning of the War [Update 2]
Saliva sprayed on his face, but Anthony did not dare to wipe it. If there was any change at this time, he had no doubt that this sensitive and suspicious Majesty would be angry. to him.
In fact, he never met with Montreal in person, and he fabricated this conversation.
But Anthony was not worried at all that his lie would be exposed.
Because the facts are there.
The Fox family is indeed very close to the Church of Light, and they did let Gul'dan defeat Akori regardless of the royal family's face. His Majesty the King, who was so angry, would never invite Montreal to allow the two families to confront each other.
"Very good, I understand." Keynes XVI gradually regained his breath and sat back behind the table as if nothing happened:
"This time, I want to I'm sorry to bother you, but I'll leave as soon as possible and return to Nord Province to take charge of the overall situation."
"The Luokui Plan can be started in advance."
Anthony lowered his lips and smiled: "Yes, His Majesty the King! ”
He glanced at the map on the table again: "You have been looking at the map, are you worried about the war?"
As a close minister of Keynes XVI, Anthony knew that the empire would face a war sooner or later.
Speaking of which, this war is not unrelated to the Death Hand Order.
Five years ago, an unexploited high-grade magic crystal mine with extremely rich reserves was discovered on the border of Ina Province in the northeastern part of the empire. It was mainly composed of level 3 and level 4 magic crystals, with the highest quality. It can even reach level 6.
The total reserves are currently difficult to ascertain, but the palace mage estimates that even if tens of thousands of people are invested in digging, it will be enough for at least 200 years of mining.
A magic crystal mine of this size and reserve can be said to be the largest newly discovered in the entire continent in the past 300 years.
You must know that the reason why the royal capital Minnegal City was able to rise was because it was adjacent to a magic crystal mine, and the highest grade of it was only level 5.
At the beginning of the discovery, the empire sent 4 royal legions to guard it. Later, it moved 600,000 people back and forth and built a city on the spot.
This kind of news cannot be hidden, and it naturally attracts the attention of its northern neighbor, the Insa Empire.
The two countries have been in constant friction since ancient times. Although there has been no large-scale war in recent years, the border has been changing due to small frictions and has not been clarified yet.
The area where the magic crystal mine was discovered, now known as "Majik City", is the disputed territory between the two parties.
According to this, the Insa Empire proposed joint development through diplomatic means, but the Keynes Empire sternly refused.
Originally, this would have been a long-running affair, but 4 years ago, the Order of the Death Hand was causing trouble in many places at the same time, and only the Cairns Empire responded the most slowly and dealt with it most ugly.
This made the Insa Empire think about it and began to continuously deploy troops on the border. The Keynes Empire also made preparations for war.
Today's Makik City is like a barrel of fire oil, no one knows when it will be ignited.
"I am indeed thinking about the war." Keynes XVI put one foot on the chair and hugged his knees: "But there is nothing to worry about. There are now 27 legions of border troops. Although the Insa Empire's Winter Legion'Tiger They look at each other with eagerness, but my 'blood-rage army' is by no means a vegetarian."
"The food currently stationed at the border is enough to feed the 100,000 troops for two years."
Finger. Mark Cairns on the map The Sixteenth Emperor said: "As soon as spring passes this year, our army will launch an offensive immediately!"
Anthony walked to the map and hesitated for a moment: "Although I am not good at war, your Majesty the King, After all, Makik City is in our hands. If we delay it for one more day, we will gain more. Why rush to start a war with the Insa Empire? "
"This will not only give other countries an excuse... ”
"Okay, I know what you want to say." Keynes XVI waved his hand and interrupted him: "Pedinan also told me these words, but I have already sent him to the Northeast Front. Do you also want to Go?"
Anthony gave a flattering smile: "Your Majesty, I'm just talking nonsense, I have to help you stabilize the Nord province, right?"
"I know, you all. I feel very happy." Keynes. This time, the Sixteenth Emperor did not let him go lightly: "But one thing you have to understand is that it is better to defend than to attack."
"It is precisely because this attack is unreasonable that I have to organize an offensive. The only way to take the lead is to attack." , can we seize the initiative in our hands and catch the opponent off guard!"
Speaking of this, a trace of enthusiasm flashed in Keynes XVI's eyes: "This will wipe away the shame of the war 60 years ago! .”
"This time, I will fight until the Insa Empire cedes territory and asks for peace!"
"At that time, I want to see which country dares to say gossip!"
Keynes 16 The excitement of the world came and went quickly, and he immediately focused his attention on Anthony: "This time I went to the Nord province, except for the Luokui plan, just Ming Church, you must also help me guard against it. These damn moths are not enough to suck blood from the empire, but they are actually parasitic!"
Marquis Anthony saluted respectfully: "Yes, Your Majesty!"
The war at the imperial level is still brewing, but in Xuefeng County, Nord Province, there is an imminent small war.
Kejia Ling, Kejia Town.
Weissasin was sitting in the castle, wearing armor, his face full of clouds, looking at the map on the table with a frown.
Since the end of the competitive competition, his life has been getting worse day by day, and the entire Kejia collar has also been deteriorating.
The escort business was the first to be hit. Four teams were intercepted and killed in succession, and the bodies were stacked together in retaliation. This was a clear threat and warning.
This obviously offended someone, but Wesasin couldn't figure out who did it no matter how hard he tried. After all, although he also had enemies, not many had this ability.
The most suspicious person is Raven.
But the problem is that Vesassin's escort business doesn't last a day or two, and there have been no conflicts between the two families recently. If Raven had wanted to do it, he would have done it long ago, so why wait until now?
In order to save himself, the confused Vesazin did not hesitate to personally carry out the escort work, and successfully completed two orders.
But this did not make his escort business pick up. In the past two months, he has not received even one order.
Can't do the escort business, but it's just missing a way to make a fortune. The specialties in his territory are still valuable.
However, just last month, the two trade routes leading to the outside world were blocked by troops. Outside merchants could not enter, and his freight team could not get out.
The one who sent troops to intercept was actually Viscount Broca!
This made absolutely no sense. Wessassin thought there was some misunderstanding, so he suppressed his anger and wrote to Broca in a humble tone, wanting to find out the reason.
But the wording in the letter that was sent back was extremely fierce, scolding Wessasin like crazy, and even forcefully asking Wessasin to go to the police station to ask for forgiveness and apologize!
After receiving the reply, Vesassin became furious.
Although you, Broca, are Viscounts, we have no affiliation. It’s okay for you to find trouble for no reason. Now you dare to insult me so confidently?
So Wessassin made a decision that he regrets to this day - leading a group of cavalry, forcibly breaking through the trade route to the southwest of the territory, and annihilating a small team under Broca's command.
This just stirred up a hornet's nest. Viscount Broca immediately issued a public statement, severely reprimanding Wessassin's bad behavior through the Skyhawk platform and other channels, claiming that this was a provocation and aggression. If Wessassin Sashin refused to apologize or compensate, so Broca wanted to take the most brutal revenge.
Looking at that statement, Vesassin almost laughed angrily.
It's your Broca's army blocking the entrance to my territory. I'm just passively counterattacking. Do you still want to show your face? He also issued a statement in a reciprocal manner, but was surprised to find that the nobles from other counties did not express their stance on this, but in Xuefeng County, the majority of voices were in support of Broca!
Mrs. Doreen, in particular, complained hoarsely on the Skyhawk Platform about Wessassin's previous bad behavior, and said that if Viscount Broca needed it, she could also send troops at the same time.
Immediately afterwards, the situation spiraled out of control.
Broca really personally led the army into the Koga territory of Vesassin, and that night, massacred and burned a village of 700 people.
Wasassin was really panicked at this time.
He has a large group of 500 off-duty soldiers under his command. Although the majority are cavalry, the ones that can be called elite are only a small group of less than 100 people.
But Broca went out in full force and assembled an army of 2,000 people. In particular, he also installed a large number of enchanted crossbows, a specialty of his family. The offensive was so strong that in the field battle, Wessassin had no No chance of winning!
He could only send letters everywhere for help, but nothing came to light. Even Baron Sereva, who was adjacent to his territory and had always advanced and retreated with him, chose to pretend to be dead, as if he had never received his letter. Same as the letter.
Only the Slater family responded, and the credible content made Wessassin feel even more chilled.
“Dear Baron Vesacin Horta Kwoga, I am aware of your request. However, I do not understand the cause of this friction, so it is inconvenient for me to intervene. But I hope, You can sit down and have a talk with Viscount Broca to avoid bloodshed.”
If we can sit down and talk, we’ve already talked about it, so I’ll use you to say it!
Every method has been tried. Seeing Broca's army approaching day by day, Wesa was so worried that he couldn't even eat.
"Lord Baron." The butler knocked on the open door: "Broca's army is coming!"
Hearing these words, Wessassin froze, and then Picking up the helmet and putting it on: "I'm going to take a look at the city wall."
When riding a horse and galloping out of the castle, what Wessaxin saw was the ruins and mess all over the place.
Alarm bells rang in the town, and the residents screamed and ran back to their houses. The roadside vendors had long since disappeared, and their goods were scattered all over the ground and trampled together with the soil.
Weissasin's heart became heavier and heavier, and soon he came to the top of the city and saw Broca's army.
Two thousand troops lined up in a square formation and stopped about a mile outside the castle.
The military appearance cannot be said to be very strict and neat, but every soldier is wearing iron-faced leather armor produced by Eagle Collar. Even in the sun, it looks gray, like a dark cloud sinking to the ground.
There are about 100 light armored cavalry on each wing, and in the center of the formation, there are about 200 heavy infantry wearing heavy armor, which must be Broca's elite "Silver Yak Corps" .
The knight on the side stepped forward: "Lord Baron! What should we do?"
Weissasin waved his hand to signal him to be quiet, took a deep breath and shouted loudly: "Broca! Since you dare to send troops to attack me , Do you dare to see me face to face?”
The army separated, and a knight in heavy armor slowly walked out and took off his mask about 50 meters below the city wall.
"Howell!?" Wessassin frowned: "Why are you? Let your father come to see me!"
"My father said, Baron Wessassin You are irritable and rude, and if he comes, it will not be worth it if he is attacked by your defensive crossbows." Howell responded loudly.
Wesasin's face turned purple with anger, but before he could refute, Howell continued: "My father has nothing to say to people like you. I just hope that you can surrender in Kaicheng and end this meaningless conflict. !”
“Shameless, extremely shameless!” Weissachin gritted his teeth: “You Leon family killed me. Soldiers, invaded my territory, and now they come to condemn me and ask me to surrender!"
Howell's expression remained unchanged: "It seems that you intend to fight to the end. In that case, then? Don’t blame us for being ruthless!”
After saying that, he put down his visor, turned his horse’s head, and drove towards the main formation.
The knight next to him stepped forward and said: "Lord Baron, the bed crossbow is ready. Do you want to teach him a lesson?"
"Idiot!" Wessacin suppressed his anger: "He is Broca's only son. If he dies here, it will really be an eternity."
The knight next to him was stunned, secretly thinking in his heart. Complaints - People are already at war, are you still thinking about this?
But it was too late to persuade him, because Howell had returned to the military formation and could no longer be seen.
Knowing that his move just now seemed a bit cowardly, Wesa Xin Zhizhu said confidently: "You don't have to worry, they come to fight from afar, and logistics supplies are a big problem."
"Kejia Town It has always been one of the most dangerous passes in Xuefeng County, and Broca cannot conquer it!”
"Hold on, in just one or two months, he will take the initiative to seek peace."
Vessasin is not pretending.
The terrain of Kejia Town is quite high, and the city wall is 5 meters high. Now that it is winter, it is only necessary to pour water on top of the city to form an ice layer, and even a ladder will be difficult to put up.
As long as spring blooms and the earth sinks into mud, Broca's logistics supplies will be in short supply. If he wants to make an honorable exit then, it depends on whether Vesassin agrees or not!
In the next period of time, things developed exactly as Wessassin had judged. Broca launched several symbolic attacks, but failed to succeed.
Although the entire town of Kejia has entered a wartime state, it has gradually emerged from the atmosphere of panic.
And Vesassin was finally able to have a good night's sleep.
Anyway, the territory has been ruined to the point that spring plowing cannot catch up. As long as the town is defended, how much worse can it be?
January 27, 1197 in the Guangming calendar, early morning on the 21st day of the siege.
Vessasin was sleeping in his warm bed.
He had a good dream. He dreamed that he took advantage of Broca's lack of logistics and retreated hastily, leading his elite cavalry to pursue him all the way to the north!
First he caught Howell, and then went straight to Broca's flag. Just when he was about to chop Broca off his horse, a fierce knock on the door suddenly sounded:
“Lord Baron, this is bad!”
“Stop shouting!” Weissachin sat up impatiently and threw his pointed nightcap on the bed: "Come in!"
Seeing the irritable look on the housekeeper's face, Weissachin said dissatisfiedly: "What happened? It's worth it for you." In such a hurry? Can Broca still break in?"
The butler's face was full of panic, and his voice was trembling: "Not yet, but it will be really fast if this goes on!"
Weissasin scolded: "What nonsense are you talking about? Why does Broca... …”
Whoosh—boom!
A huge boulder smashed the window, and the wood and rocks bounced on the ground with a splash, and the housekeeper was stuck to the wall with a bang.
Dang.
Buzz, buzz, buzz...
The oval-shaped boulder covered with flesh and blood shook on the ground.
Vessasin took off half of the bloody arm from his shoulder, and his pupils shrank to the size of a pinhead:
“——Trebuchet!?”
……
(End of this chapter)