The city of Osgilia itself is a peninsula jutting into the sea, surrounded by the sea on three sides, but only the southern side is a flat beach, and the other two sides are steep cliffs up to tens of meters! Under the tidal action of the ocean, the perennial turbulent waves, the dangerous reefs and the cliffs of dozens of meters have become the natural barriers to the east and north of the city.
The whole of Osgilia was built on such a privileged environment.
In addition to the most majestic city wall on the continent to the west, the other passage to and from this majestic city is at sea, and the only landing point is the city's inevitable flat beach - the port of Osgilia.
Known as an "unconquerable hero city", Osgilia's western city wall is naturally famous in the world, and similarly, the defense of the southern port coastline is also known in this world.
Even Landis, a maritime power with the world's most powerful navy, could only shake his head and sigh when facing the city's coastal defenses.
Only the beach on the south side of Osgilia is relatively flat. This is a natural deep-water harbour with a half-moon-shaped arc of the harbour terrain, with steep half-slope cliffs on both sides, and just at the estuary of this harbour, extending out on both sides. Terrain, a city wall was built, and a two-mile-long seawall was built in front of the sea entrance!
This terrain makes the harbour of Osgilia seem like a solid funnel shape, and right on the coast, tall watchtowers are built, these towers are built of huge rocks, and the bases are even Cast in iron juice, it is strong enough to make your scalp tingle. Along the defense line of the harbor terminal, there are at least thirty such towers, looking down at the front of the harbor. First of all, there is absolutely no blind spot visually.
Secondly, a large number of ballistas are arranged on these towers. These are heavy ordnance specially designed to attack ships at sea. Each ballista can fire giant arrows with a range of at least 500 meters. The power of this arrow is huge. , it can directly penetrate the hull deck, and if it is mixed with kerosene shooting, it can directly cause huge injuries to ships at sea.
At the same time, the estuary also believed that a group of hidden reefs had been laid! It is said that at the beginning of the construction of the city, in order to strengthen the defense of the sea, a group of ships loaded with a large amount of stone were even scuttled on the sea! The seemingly calm sea is actually hidden under the water. Only after obtaining the permission of the harbour terminal, can it enter the harbor of Osgilia from the safe waterway under the command of the lighthouse.
And once in the war, the area suitable for the army to land in the harbor area is very narrow, with only less than one mile of sandy beach, and this beach is all shrouded under the high slope, and there are also a number of towers built on the high slope. If there is an enemy sending a small boat to transport troops at a long distance at sea to try to land, then there are also two battalions of archers stationed on this high ground. The range of the bow and arrow can directly cover the landing beach completely. If a small boat is used to transport troops here, there will undoubtedly be a bloody massacre.
More importantly, in order to prevent the threat of strong hostile ports at sea, a small royal fleet is also stationed in the harbour area of Osgilia all year round. This fleet is nominally affiliated to the Imperial Navy, but in fact, from the very beginning of its founding, it has been firmly in the hands of the royal family.
This fleet is not large, with only 2,000 sailors and more than a dozen small and medium-sized warships—although it is not large, it is sufficient for the defense of the harbor. Anyway, the only thing that needs to be defended is a narrow area such as the safe waterway of the estuary, and this small fleet is enough. Moreover, half of the battleships in this small fleet are new-style battleships produced by Landis, which the royal family spent a lot of money to buy.
The defense line on such a coastline is high and low, far and near and deep. Even many years ago, an admiral of the Landis Empire was sent to Byzantium in the name of a visit between the two countries. After Osgilia observed this sea defense line with his own eyes, he could not help but sigh: such a line of defense, even if Give me the best fleet in the kingdom. If I want to land successfully, I am afraid that I will suffer most of the casualties.
These days, Osgilia is under siege by rebels, and the western walled area is in full swing. But the rebels were hesitant to attack Osgilia from the sea because of the existence of such a strong line of defense. The rebels themselves do not have any naval power, and they have no idea of attacking the sea at all. They can only concentrate all the ships and block them on the sea, so as to achieve the purpose of besieging Osgilia, but if they want to attack from here , but absolutely impossible. And the Royal Fleet in the harbor is too small, the defense is good, and it is unable to go to sea to fight.
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After the war, the once prosperous seaport area has long since become silent. The Royal Fleet of the military port has taken over the original civilian wharf area, and at the same time, the soldiers of the city guards who have been transferred to guard it firmly guard the coast. And because of the blockade of the rebel fleet at sea, no foreign merchant ships could enter Osgilia anyway, and the fleets of some chambers of commerce that were originally staying in Osgilia were also forced to moor in civilian harbors. . The original perennial bustling port city in the seaport area has completely stopped. Since the beginning of the war, Osgilia has entered a period of military control. The warehouses of some business groups in the seaport area have also been occupied by the military. All useful materials were also declared expropriated. Of course, the chamber of commerce that has been requisitioned for ships and materials can negotiate with the central government in the city and get a sum of compensation. This decision was insisted by Prime Minister Sarum Bonili, who firmly opposed the army's free requisition of the property of the chamber of commerce in the port area. The prime minister's reason is very clear: these chambers of commerce are dead, and there are powerful forces on the mainland. We cannot offend all these guys in order to win a war. Otherwise, even if we win the battlefield for a while, we will face enemies from all over the world!
Of course, the army also forcibly checked some chambers of commerce that secretly supported the forces of the governors of the Tema Military Region based on intelligence. This decision was also approved by the Prime Minister.
Because all commercial transactions have stopped, the port city to which the huge seaport goes, looks deserted at the moment, all the shops are closed, and only some guards occasionally pass by on the road.
Only on the square of the port, the Imperial Eagle flag was still flying on the flagpole.
Adrick led a group of people across the city, and the horse team rushed into the harbour area. Adrick, who was on a horse, heard the rapid warning horns from the towers on the seashore in the distance.
In the distant naval port area, the small Royal Navy fleet, several warships have already lifted anchor and sailed, and the sailors are busy busy under the ship.
Adrick rolled over and dismounted, and immediately rushed over, seeing the guard officers in the harbor area running over.
"what happened?"
Adrick's expression was complicated.
"My lord, it has been determined that it is not the warship of the rebels."
A flag regiment of the City Guard is responsible for guarding the harbour area, and at the same time came the commander of the Royal Navy fleet. , the only merit is that he has a calm and cautious nature, but this temperament, if it sounds good, it is stable; if it is ugly, it will only act according to the rules, be more than successful, and not enterprising enough. The emperor chose such a temperamental person to command the only naval fleet controlled by the royal family, but it was precisely this kind of temperament: this naval fleet only needs to defend a limited area, does not need to be aggressive, as long as it acts prudently Not going wrong is enough.
Of course, more importantly, this guy is from a noble group who is loyal to the royal family.
The admiral silently walked in front of Adrick, and after saluting, he handed a monocular to Adrick: "Sir, see for yourself."
Adric frowned, strode up to the high slope, and looked out at the sea.
In the distance, beyond the horseshoe-shaped Haiti on the front of the harbor, on the vast sea, two fleets spread out on the sea, posing a momentum of confrontation.
In the outer fleet, there are hundreds of ships of various sizes, but most of them are small and medium-sized ships, and most of them are civilian ships. belonged to those rebels.
The other fleet was obviously different. All black ships are the three-masted warships invented by the most advanced Lantis people at present. This new type of warship has a double deck and is equipped with long-range attack ballistas and artillery. Sturdy. The draft is also noticeably deep. The most important thing is that this fleet has a total of thirty ships, four of which are large warships, and the rest have eight medium-sized escort warships. These twelve warships, large and small, formed a very standard circular defensive array on the periphery of the fleet, while inside the fleet were all large transport merchant ships.
This fleet did not fly any flags.
The ships of this fleet are very strict, obviously they are all elites, and the warships are constantly bombarding the surrounding with ballistas, deterring the rebel fleet in the distance from daring to approach, so swaggering from the sea of the rebels Entering through the blockade, although the rebels were surrounded by a distance, they did not dare to approach.
The fleet stopped just outside the range of the harbour, and still maintained a defensive formation, except that one of the large ships flagged in the direction of the harbour.
Although Adrick is an army general, when he was studying at the Imperial Military Academy in his early years, he also learned the semaphore used by the Navy. After a brief look, he understood that this was the meaning of the other party's request to enter the port.
The admiral next to him said in a low voice, "The other party has called the semaphore several times, and we haven't received your order. We don't know how to reply, and we have been waiting."
Adrick said "um": "Please identify them."
After his order was passed, the imperial defenders on the tower immediately raised the semaphore, and after a while, Adric responded with the semaphore on the ship that saw the other party in the telescope.
"We are here for friendship."
At this moment, everyone is watching Adrick closely, waiting for the order of the current army commander of the empire. Adrick frowned, his eyes were a little weird, and suddenly a smile appeared: "Let them send a small boat into the port from the waterway. Well, our boat will also go up, stop the safe waterway, and only let a small boat in, If they act rashly, fight back immediately!"
Time passed slowly in a tense atmosphere. The fleet in the distance, after receiving the semaphore from the shore, soon separated a small transport ship, and in the harbor area, the small royal fleet also dispatched. Several warships were blocked by the waterway, leaving only a gap.
The other party's boat finally crossed the waterway and slowly entered the pier under the vigilant watch of the Royal Fleet. Archer's Standby.
A small boat board was laid down from the boat, and then, under the watchful eyes of the defenders on the shore, a few sailors jumped off the boat, tied the ropes to their hands, and stood aside with their hands spread to show no hostility.
Adrick stood on the pier and looked carefully. The sailors on the other side were obviously dressed in Landisian costumes, with headscarves wrapped around their heads.
Soon, a few people got off the boat. These people were all dressed in tight short robes. The leader was tall and burly, but the beards on their faces were neatly trimmed, and there were no stains on their headscarves. The leather boots under the feet are even more polished.
The man strode up to the pier with a few entourages, and walked slowly towards the shore. Under Adric's signal, the defenders moved out of the way and let the man walk directly to the pier.
As soon as he saw this man, Adrick's face suddenly became very exciting, he took a deep breath, and his eyes finally relaxed: "Huh? Is this guy? I'll go see him."
Immediately next to him, there were generals who persuaded him: "Sir! You are the commander of the entire army. The origins of these people are unknown, or..."
"No, I know this guy."
With that said, Adrick strode up.
On the pier, two people came face to face. This guy saw Adric from a distance and seemed to be stunned for a moment. Then a smile appeared on his rough face and walked in front of him, ignoring the vigilance of the guards beside Adrick. He looked at me and laughed loudly: "Haha, I didn't expect that a well-known domineering general would come to greet me. Your Excellency Adric, do you need to come out in person to greet such a small person as me?"
Adrick stood where he was, squinting at each other, and after a while, he sneered: "The famous 'Children of the Storm' is here, how can I not welcome him."
The other party looked a little surprised, and touched his face with a wry smile: "You actually recognize me? Could it be that my face is already so famous?"
Adrick still stood in the same place, and said lightly: "The famous 'Children of the Storm', the pride of the Landis Navy, one of the three naval heroes of the Landis Kingdom, and the thirteenth captain of the legendary 'Freelander' , one of the thirty captains who have been awarded the Royal Glory Medal in the history of the Landis Kingdom... Dear Mr. Gisslent..." At this point, a smile finally appeared in Adrick's eyes: "It's also a coincidence. , I remember your appearance because... Many years ago, when you were not famous in your early years, you used to travel to our country with your country's military mission, and as an exchange student, you studied war history at the Imperial Military Academy of our country. Haha. , you must remember an encounter when you were studying in Osgilia?"
Adrick deliberately slowed down his speech and smiled slowly: "That year, at the Imperial Military Academy, you had a conflict with a group of exchange cadet officers from the Landis Kingdom and our cadets, and everyone had an appointment at night. In the back alley of Oak Street, a friend of mine got into a fight with you, you broke two of his ribs, and he broke your jaw..."
The guy named Jislent was stunned for a moment: "Ah, I remember. It's that guy Green, this mad dog... Hehe. Your Excellency Minister of War, were you there at the time?"
Adrick laughed a few times and walked over, stepped forward and hugged Ghisrent. When the two embraced friendly, Adrick whispered quickly in Ghisrent's ear: " That night, the one who covered your face beside Green and smashed your head with a wooden stick was me."
Jislent raised his brows, with a smile in his eyes, and quickly said: "I remember, you also got kicked by me at that time."
After the two of them finished speaking, they smiled at each other, and then parted, Adric looked into Ghislund's eyes: "Respected General Landis came to our country at such a delicate time... Ghislund Your Excellency, please explain your purpose!"
Jislent smiled: "Our flag bearer has already conveyed the message, and we are here for friendship... Of course, for reasons that you and I know well, we will not show our flag to announce our identity."
Adric took a deep breath and stared at Ghisrent: "Can you represent your country's position? So, Landis Kingdom, is on the side of my emperor's ally?"
"His Majesty the King of our country has something to say." Jislent also replied solemnly: "We can't sit back and watch a noble king be expelled from the throne, because this is not in line with tradition."
Having said this, Ghislent smiled: "I am the commander of this fleet. In order to show my sincerity, I brought a few guards ashore by myself... I believe that Your Excellency will no longer doubt this sincerity."
Adrick shook his head: "This reason is not enough. Although the life of the Storm Child is precious, it is not enough for me to risk breaking the city to let your fleet in."
Ghisrent looked at Adric's face, and after a while, he smiled again: "A divided Byzantine Empire is not in the interests of Landis - is this reason enough? We need to be on the mainland. There is a mighty nation on the ground to withstand the pressure of the savage Odins."
After a pause, Ghisrent smiled: "Of course, our support is limited... I only brought my fleet and some transport ships, which contain the materials that your army needs most at the moment, and my army is instructed, Do not take the initiative to fight against your rebel navy until it is absolutely necessary. And we will provide Osgilia with a precious and safe sea line of transportation - this is the friendship of Landis that I have brought. But …”
Having said that, Ghisrent deliberately paused, kept his mouth shut, and looked at Adrick.
Adrick snorted and said slowly: "But... if we are unfortunately defeated, then you will not admit to being our allies, and you will even fall to those rebels immediately to help them gain a firm foothold as soon as possible? So, Your fleet didn't use the banner of the Lantis Navy at all, just to keep the last layer of fig leaf for the relationship with those rebels? Humph..."
"Sorry, that's how the relationship between nations is - we just need a whole force to hold back the expansion of the Odins on the continent. As for whether that force is you or those rebels, there is essentially no such thing for us. There is a huge difference. You and I are not unfamiliar with this kind of thing." Gisslent blinked deliberately: "But fortunately, according to the analysis of our intelligence system, choosing to support you is better than choosing to support those Rebels are more valuable."
Adrick said "Hey", turned his head to look at the guards behind him, and waved his hand: "Send the fleet, get out of the way."
He glanced at Ghisrent again: "Your warships are not allowed to approach the dock, only transport ships are allowed to dock, and they must be under the supervision of my army."
"It's a reasonable request, and I accept it."
Saying that, Ghisrent whistled, and a sailor took out a rocket on the transport ship at the dock and shot it into the sky.
"Let's go." Gissrent laughed, looking very relaxed: "I've come from a long way, Your Excellency will always invite me to have two drinks... Uh, by the way, I'm unofficial, um, I don't have credentials, There are no envoys, no official covenants. Haha, Your Excellency, please treat us as a private business group, spontaneously supporting your country... So, I don't have to meet the emperor of your country. Look at me, but I don't wear military uniforms. what."
Adric smiled subtly: "Let's go, we Byzantines have always welcomed friends... If you drink, of course there is no problem. I remember the kick you kicked me back then."
Having said this, Adrick paused and his eyes became very strange: "I have a question that I am very curious about - your country's intelligence system, on what basis did you analyze the results, we are more valuable than those rebels? Is your country more optimistic about us in this war?"
"This is something those politicians consider." Gisslent waved his hand: "I'm just a soldier on my orders. But personally, I also hope that you can win this war, otherwise... in the future we will have to I'm going to talk to those rebels for peace talks, I'm afraid that in order to show off and mend the relationship between the two sides, those politicians will throw me out as a temporary scapegoat. Ha!"