In the winter of this year, almost all the interesting things that can be found in history are collected. War, conspiracy, conspiracy, the change of the throne, the decline of an empire, even subversion, the competition of various forces, the rise of new forces, the emergence of new strongmen who have stepped onto the world stage...
History tells us that if all the above-mentioned things happened in the same period of the same era, then the only result is: the birth of a huge change!
…
The cold wind's face was completely numb, and Xiaya couldn't even feel the pain caused by the biting cold wind. He was on horseback, and his body was almost tossed to pieces by the day-to-day running. He could only tie himself to the horse's back with ropes, gritted his teeth and insisted on walking.
Starting from Husk City all the way north, rushing to Denzel City, we have to pass through Esria County, Syltan County, and finally arrive at Moore County.
Syltan County is still in the hands of the Odins, and for this small-scale cavalry team led by Xi Ya, such a journey is still full of dangers. Although in order to protect Char's safety, the governor's wife of the Besta Military Region sent her elite guards. After entering the area of Siltain County, the team even accelerated and ran around day and night, trying to cross the enemy territory as soon as possible.
Xia Ya can't take it anymore. For the first time, he felt a deep hatred for his current physical condition. This helpless hatred even made him a little bit unable to bear this irritable hatred involved in Merlin's life. body.
If it were in the past, Mr. Xia Ya, who was so strong and almost abnormal, would not be so embarrassed as he is now.
Along the way, Xiaya clearly felt that the cavalry guards in the Besta Military Region, who were responsible for escorting him, looked at him with contempt, and seemed to be very disdainful of his unbearable appearance. Those cavalrymen sat on horseback and proudly shuttled back and forth beside Char. Although they were still tired, they had enough strength to show their pride. Xia Ya could only tie himself to a horse to barely keep himself from falling behind. Such a move was a shame for the native turtle, who has always been known for his bravery, to be shown off in front of his eyes by a few unprofessional cavalrymen.
Fortunately, this time Xia Ya's bad luck finally did not keep up with him. After entering Syltan County, I did not encounter the Odin army along the way, and was not discovered by the Odins, so the danger was reduced to a minimum - although according to Char's analysis, this situation is mostly the main force of the Odins. The troops are still reorganizing and clearing the territory of the Corsica Military District, eliminating the remaining resistance and small groups of rebels.
After calculating the schedule, it would take two days to pass through Syltan County and enter the boundary of More County.
Just last night, a blizzard hit - the first snow of the year, so early and so hard!
The blizzard fell for a full night, accompanied by the whistling cold wind, which made people unable to stand. The team had to stop and stay in a forest for one night. When it was dawn, the snow stopped a little. Looking around, the wilderness was already covered with silver, and the thick snow whitewashed the ground into the same color. Neither are they separated from each other.
The road has been buried by snow, and the Jingwei can not be seen clearly.
In such weather, Odin's patrols should rarely travel, but it also made it more difficult to travel.
In the woods, the guards were still sorting out horses and shapes. The guards of the Besta Military Region are wrapping the horse's hooves with cotton cloth - these things, Char, naturally, don't have to do it himself. He stood outside the woods and looked into the distance, his face extremely gloomy.
"Damn, really damn, it seems that God is unwilling to help Lao Tzu this time."
The turtle was annoyed and wanted to roar at the sky.
Behind him, the sound of footsteps stepping on the snow came, and when Xi Ya turned around, he saw Sogel, the former Corsican military commander who he had subdued standing behind him.
Sogel was still thin, and the days of running around made him look even more haggard. He was still wrapped in thick bandages and wore a leather hat on his head, which looked a bit ridiculous. However, his waist is still very straight - this is also one of the reasons why Xia Ya finds him so pleasing to the eye. This guy is indeed a man!
"You don't seem to be in a good mood." Sogel's voice was hoarse.
Xiaya nodded and glanced at Sogel: "I can't be happy, look at this damn snow... It's too early, too early... "
"It's only the end of November. Indeed, this year's snow has come too early." Sogel sighed with white breath, and tightly twisted a pair of thick eyebrows together.
"This year's weather is too abnormal. There is more rain in summer than in previous years, and the snow in winter comes so early..." Xia smiled wryly.
"With all due respect," Sogel said lightly, "The rainy season in summer and the continuous torrential rains bring you good luck. If it wasn't for the road and news blocked by the continuous rainy season for one month, I would have Ninger has long set his sights on Moor County. That continuous rhetoric gave you the best chance to breathe. "
"I admit." Xia Ya touched his chin: "But this snow is not good news for me."
Sogel was stunned, the general thought for a moment, and finally, he was worthy of being an excellent soldier in the Corsica Military Region, his eyes changed immediately, looking at Xi Ya, a little incredible: "Could it be... you plan, winter Just launch a military operation against Manninger?"
Xia Ya smiled, a little helpless, but did not deny it.
"This is crazy!" Sogel was attentive, his tone solemn: "Although no one hopes to attack the Odins as soon as possible and conquer the Corsican military district as soon as possible than I do in my heart... However, to attack the Odins in winter, this What a bad idea! Can't be more bad! Stupid and reckless!"
Sogel looked at Xia Ya, seeing that Xia Ya still did not speak, the general thought for a moment, and felt that he had to remind himself of the new boss, he coughed and said quickly: "Odin people are all from the Northland , For us Byzantines, the cold in winter is unbearable, but for the Odins, it is the climate they are most accustomed to! Under such a climate, the Odins are more adaptable than us, and their fighting power will not be due to How much damage has been received from the cold snow and ice. But our soldiers will suffer a great loss when fighting in the snow... "
After a pause, he continued to think while he continued: "When fighting in the snow, the cavalry's mobility will be reduced to the lowest level. The traces of our army cannot be concealed on the snow, and the Odin's icefield hunters can easily find them on the snow. The traces of our army's advance will weaken our advantage. Moreover, when the two armies confront each other, the thick snow will weaken the impact of our cavalry by at least 30%! The Odins are mainly infantry, but they are not very good at it. Affected by this, and…”
Xia finally opened his mouth, he sighed and interrupted Sogel: "... I know what you said."
Sogel glanced at Xi Ya and finally closed his mouth. He understood that the new boss and boss in front of him was not a military idiot. At least the other party's qualifications were not very deep, and they had experienced several wars, and the winning rate was quite good. You will never fail to understand this simple truth.
As a descended general and a newcomer, if I say too much, I am afraid that it will hurt the face and self-esteem of this adult.
"I have my reasons, and the reasons are sufficient." Xi Ya smiled bitterly, he understood Sogel's worries, but... He had no choice!
There really is no choice!
Since the day she left Haske City, when the governor's wife told the shocking news when they were saying goodbye in the woods, Xiaya's heart never calmed down along the way!
Osgilia... Osgilia...
Heck Osgilia! !
How could such a majestic city in the imperial capital be breached so easily? !
In such a majestic city, there are tens of thousands of elite troops, the defending general is a famous general like Adric, and there are supply lines of the Lantis people at sea, but how can it be broken so easily
What's more, when the situation has taken a huge turn for the better, the rebels have entered a situation of internal and external troubles, and gradually fall into the disadvantage!
Osgilia was conquered and brought about a series of chain reactions that Xia couldn't even think about!
Once the royal family is destroyed, it represents the end of the Byzantine Empire! Once the empire ends, Char, who is an "empire official", will lose his legitimacy in his identity! The army under him will be disillusioned! The army, officers, generals, and the entire group under his command have all become rootless trees!
Although Xia Ya has quickly accumulated some of his wealth and strength this year, he has a huge flaw: his time in the army is too short, and his time on this stage is too short!
Although he has gathered more than 20,000 troops under his command, and the quality is quite good, he has a certain territory... But it must be explained that most of these troops, the loyalty of soldiers and officers, are based on Loyalty to the Empire! Most of the people in this group are not loyal to him, but to this empire! If you give Xia Ya a few years, even if it takes another year or two to slowly gather people's hearts, build enough personal prestige, and let the loyalty of his subordinates gradually transfer to him. Let the loyalty of the group under him become loyalty to him personally... Then the situation will be much better!
But now, Xia Ya can be sure that once the Byzantine Empire really destroys the country, then the army under his command, which seems to be quite large, will be able to dissipate most of it within a day!
Along the way, the only thing that Xia Ya prayed in his heart was: I hope that guy from Emperor Garcia can get lucky and escape from the broken city! !
He doesn't care about the existence of the Byzantine Empire, even unlike Adric and others in Osgilia at the moment, Xiaya hopes that the emperor can run away, no matter in any form! Even if the emperor ran to the Landis people's boat and became the puppet of the Landis people, it would not have much impact on Xia Ya, but the emperor must not die! The banner of the Byzantine Empire must not be brought down!
Char needs this flag! Need this titular empire, this titular emperor!
Running around day and night along the way, nearly half of the horses died, but Xi Ya still ordered not to stop. Such a request made the accompanying guards of the Besta Military Region very dissatisfied: they were all laughing at this seemingly majestic Xi Ya. My lord, this guy ordered his own way to go crazy, but the first one who couldn't support him was himself, so he could only tie himself to the horse's back... This is simply a lunatic, and an incompetent lunatic.
After running all the way, Xiaya pondered over and over in his heart, and found that there was only one feasible path in front of him!
Start a war!
Wage war now, wage war against the Odins!
He doesn't have time to wait, continue to accumulate strength, and continue to wait for the best time!
The news that the city of Osgilia was broken has not yet spread, at least for the time being, it will not spread to Moore County, nor will it spread to its own army. He must start the war immediately, and attack the enemy at all costs while the military is still stable! In this way, improve the morale and internal cohesion of your own army!
Using external wars to strengthen internal cohesion seems very old and outdated, but I have to admit that this old method has always been very effective.
Char needs a victory, a victory over the Odins to improve his military morale, and at the same time he needs to improve his personal prestige! With the victory of a foreign war, establish the reverence and worship of yourself from top to bottom.
Despite the drawbacks of starting a war in winter, at this moment, Char has no choice!
Really do not have!
This is a gamble, and a very dangerous gamble! Manninger's Red Snow Army is considered an elite army in the Odin Empire, and it has just experienced a great victory over the Corsica Military Region. It has strong morale and is good at winter combat. To launch an attack in a hurry is to bet everything! If it fails, the small group he has painstakingly managed will become like ice and snow under the sun, and will quickly melt and decompose...
"At least, we are not without advantages." Xia murmured to himself, his tone sounded, and he didn't know whether he was persuading Sogel or comforting himself: "In terms of food reserves, the Odins must not be enough. We After nearly half a year of preparations from the summer to the present, the Odins fought a war against Corsica. The food reserves must have been depleted, and the Odins did not produce anything. The county of Syltan was occupied by them for half a year. But they didn't produce much food. The Corsican military region was just occupied by them, and the war spread, and there were barbarians everywhere. Although the Odins won the battle, they must not have been able to get much food. France is fighting on an empty stomach. They seem powerful now, but they are just empty airs. Besides, once I launch an offensive, the Besta people in the south will help us, even if they don't actually participate in the war, mobilize the army and attract the Odin people. If you can beat them in one fell swoop... maybe..."
Xiaya glanced at Sogel again, and Sogel's eyes were still puzzled. He sighed and did not continue to explain.
The news that Osgilia was broken, he didn't tell Sauger, and he couldn't tell anyone until he returned to Denzel.
And... I don't have any reliance on my hands. At least, I still have a few secret tricks. Once they come out, they can still play a lot of roles...
Time, alas, time... Damn God, I really didn't give Lao Tzu a chance to breathe.
※※※
"Top up! Top up!!"
Hughes roared hoarsely. He swung the long sword vigorously in his hand. His eyes were blood red, and the eyeballs were bloodshot. He yelled and jumped at the generals and officers beside him. .
The square in front of the palace was already full of corpses, arrows were inserted like a field of wheat, the outer walls of the palace castle were full of barbarians, and there were traces of fire in many places.
Countless rebels attacked like a tide under the sound of horns, carrying ladders and holding shields, and then retreated like a tide amid the cries of killing.
The Byzantine eagle-headed flag on the palace castle is still standing there.
The battle for the palace has been going on for the third day, and the determination of the remnant defenders in the palace to resist has greatly exceeded the expectations of the rebels.
According to common sense, after being trapped in the lonely city of Osgilia for so long, once the city is broken, the defenders should collapse quickly.
But for the attack on the imperial palace, the rebels broke a few teeth on the first day!
Thousands of defenders in the palace, and even General Span personally fought on the city wall, repelling waves of attacks by the rebels, and the number of corpses piled up and down the palace wall reached nearly 2,000 on the first day!
At the beginning, the biggest motivation for the rebels to attack the palace without fear of death was nothing more than the various benefits promised by the generals and officers, as well as the rumored wealth accumulated in the palace by the countless generations of emperors of the Byzantine royal family...
But in the case of filling in countless lives but not getting enough size, the speed at which the morale of the rebels fell makes Hughes helpless.
Almost all the rebels are reluctant to go up and chew on this hard bone.
Anyway, the city of Osgilia has been broken down. There are large tracts of land in the city. The mansions and properties of so many rich and noble families can be robbed. There are so many shops and warehouses in the blocks. Right in front of me, I have worked so hard and fought so hard until now, all I've been waiting for is this moment! Instead of going to the palace to kill the emperor desperately and win an empty honor, it is better to take advantage of the chaos in the city and work hard to get more benefits!
The rebels who have been transferred up one by one, almost all of them are not willing to fight to the death. They all fight back and lose for a while. When they hear the horn of attack, they shout to the sky, but it is thunder and rain, and the horn of retreat is heard. But it runs faster than anyone else.
Almost most of the rebels have already entered the city.
As the largest city in the mainland, Osgilia has so many sites in the city, and so many wealthy mansions, it has become a place where the rebel armies have made a lot of money. Block by block is blocked, and the rebels are like ants. They poured in, set fire and looted everywhere, and the wealthy mansions fell into flames and were looted. The city was full of rioters running back and forth, some carrying stolen coins and gold and silver utensils in their arms, while others were carrying The young woman who did not know where she was robbed was crying everywhere, and there was fire everywhere.
Even the rebels began to openly divide the looted territory, and some rebels even had some small-scale battles and frictions in order to compete for territory.
The rebels who entered the city belonged to dozens of military regions. In the face of a colorful world like Osgilia, almost everyone had their eyes red! Everyone has been fighting desperately for more than half a year, isn't that what they have been waiting for!
At this time, no one is willing to make a humble move.
Almost half of the rebels who entered the city dispersed and went out to loot. In such a situation, Hughes and Salvador almost vomited blood. Although they repeatedly ordered all military regions to dispatch troops to attack the palace, but under the resolute resistance of the palace, no one from all walks of life was willing to compromise their strength at this last moment. Hughes and El Salvador's repeated orders, each of them are against each other.
Although Hughes ordered his army to fight hard against the palace, even his own military heart was a little loose. When he entered the city, he had promised that after the city was broken, he would not seal the sword for three days, so that his army would have a good time. This kind of promise has greatly inspired the military, but after entering the city, seeing that other rebels are rushing to grab it, but the governor of his own family, Hughes, ordered everyone to attack the palace and continue to fill people's lives... How many people still have the will to fight in the army
Seeing that everyone else is making a fortune, everyone's hearts are already floating. I'm afraid that one night later, this flowery world has been robbed by others. I have been fighting for more than half a year. Fuck it!
People's hearts are floating, and even many people are dissatisfied with Hughes' strict order.
El Salvador's troops were even more unbearable. On the night of the city's destruction, El Salvador's troops attacked at the Arc de Triomphe. After entering the city, the subordinates are also in the general mind, only thinking that it is time to reap the benefits. At this time, if they are forced to continue their hard work, I am afraid that few people will be willing.
The attack of the palace was unfavorable, and thousands of defenders guarded the palace for three days.
El Salvador and Hughes have repeatedly sent people to dispatch other rebels, but the main generals of the various rebels are only concerned with holding their own territory and plundering the prosperous world of the imperial capital. Three to five hundred people went to meet the situation, and the people who were sent were all complaining, and they were unwilling to work hard.
The entire rebel army could still show a little sincere unity when they attacked Osgilia, but I didn't expect it to look like this as soon as they entered the city.
Hughes and Salvador were the only ones who really stayed awake. The two divided their labor. Salvador was responsible for clearing the remnant defenders of the Arc de Triomphe, and Hughes was responsible for attacking the palace.
But after three consecutive days, Hughes and El Salvador lost their troops, and El Salvador was even more unbearable. His elites were too badly damaged on the day they broke the city. When dealing with the rest of Adric at this moment, not only did they fail to break Adric's camp, but On the contrary, there were two beautiful counterattacks by Adric's army, and the army under him was defeated and retreated two streets. Salvador himself was unprepared and almost died in the army, relying on a group of personal guards The desperate protection only escaped alive. After gathering the army and then attacking, the soldiers and soldiers were unwilling to give their lives.
Hughes even regretted his bowels.
He only hates now, why didn't he continue to take risks and drive straight into the palace on the night of the city's destruction, if he had taken some risks at that time, he might have taken this damned palace in front of him in one go!
At this moment, in the entire city of Osgilia, only the Royal Palace and the Arc de Triomphe are still under the control of the empire. The city is full of rioters looting everywhere, and only the homes of some of the dignitaries who secretly joined the rebels before can be preserved. Hughes is still on the road in doing things, and he has not broken his trust. Hundreds of soldiers are assigned to guard the homes of the powerful and powerful. When the rebels from other families robbed here, seeing that Hughes's men were guarding and blocking them, they all dispersed. .
In addition, there is a special place in the city of Osgilia. In the case of chaos everywhere in the city, the miraculous maintainer is rare and clean.
The whole long street is silent, just at the intersection, there are hundreds of rebels from different military regions, but they are all guarding the intersection and fully armed. expelled.
The tranquility on the street was unbelievable, and even the rebels who were standing guard at the intersection deliberately relaxed their steps when walking back and forth. They have all received strict orders, no one is allowed to walk into this street for half a step, and not to harass the house that lives at the end of this street!
Even in the past three days after the city was broken, the rebel leaders, generals, generals, and even the governors of some military districts had all come here in person, with only a small number of guards, and they got off at the intersection far away. Ma, handed the weapon to the person around him, made a respectful appearance, walked across the street, came to the door of the mansion at the end, and respectfully knocked on the door to ask for permission.
It's just that these generals and the governors, even if the whole city of Osgilia is in their hands at this moment, they can take life and death, but in the face of this family, they seem to show enough respect, even if it is every time they meet. At that time, the other party just sent an old servant, and even the door was only half-opened, and then casually explained a few words, just to let these generals and governors shut the door, but no one dared to make trouble here.
Even if they were turned away, the leaders of these rebels all politely said goodbye and left, and then sent troops to come here to protect them.
Just because the owner of this house has to be respected in the eyes of the rebel leaders!
No matter how vicious the rebels are, when facing the master of this house, no matter whether they really want it or not, they have to show a respectful and polite appearance.
Just because the owner of this mansion, in the army of the entire Byzantine Empire, the prestige is too high! It is so high that almost no one can ignore it. Even among the dozens of rebels in the empire, many generals and even governors of the military region were once students or disciples under his sect, and even once served under his command.
The Duke of Minas, the most prestigious and senior elder in the imperial army, the home of an old man who enjoys high prestige among the imperial army and rebels alike, in this chaotic city of Osgilia, but Still have the last peace.
At this moment, in a small building in this house, standing on the terrace, the mighty old man with silver hair, but he looked old, wrapped in a thick leather robe, standing in the cold wind. , overlooking the city of Osgilia.
With the sound of the wind, there were screams and cries from all over the city. Looking around, there were flames and black flames from the east to the west.
The old duke's face seemed calm, but his eyes were full of pain. His hands gripped the fence tightly, his fingers still twitching slightly.
"Millennium Imperial Capital... Millennium Imperial Capital..."
Duke Minas muttered to himself, and he shook his head gently.
Turning around, behind him, there are three figures.
Young Roddy, the duke's heir, with anger on his face, gritted teeth, stared at the fire in the distance.
Beside Roddy, the other two figures were both women.
Viva, who has a purple face, has a demonic purple eye, and the cold iron face of the mask, the half of his face that is exposed outside, but it is also like a layer of frost that has not melted for a thousand years, and it seems that there is no expression at all.
Beside Via, was the young girl with freckles on her face, the youngest disciple of Kavisher. At this moment, she was wearing a white robe. The robe was very thin, but in this cold wind, the girl But it seemed that there was no coolness at all. Both Rhodey and Via were standing there, but this girl was sitting on a chair, her face was calm and calm, and she was holding a book in her hand, and the wind and the faint cries were fighting around here. In the midst of the movement, the girl squinted and stared at the book in her hand intently. Every movement was just flipping the pages of the book. It seemed like she was in the chaos of war, but she seemed to be sitting in her backyard during peacetime. Relaxed and comfortable.
Duke Minas stood in front of the fence for half an hour, and the young girl in white read the book for half an hour.
When she finally turned the last page, she seemed to let out a sigh of relief, raised her eyelids and smiled softly: "In this chaos, only your home, the Duke, can achieve this peace. These days , and only today can I read books with the most peace of mind."
Duke Minas glanced at the young girl and seemed to frown - the girl's quietness and composure really made the old man unhappy, not for anything else, just because of the girl's pretentiousness. It looks like the dead Caviehir!
"Your teacher, is there really no other way left?" Duke Minas took a deep breath and pointed to the city in the distance: "Did the old guy not expect such a mess? !"
The girl gently put down the book in her hand, glanced at the old duke, and then seemed to smile.
Her tone was as calm as an ancient well, without a trace of waves.
"Lord Duke, we have already done what we should do. The current situation is not something that can be changed by our personal ability. The teacher once said in the past that even God cannot guarantee that every decision is correct. I have done it. After all the things that the teacher explained, the next thing is to wait. Compared with this world, this empire, I am just a trivial ant. At this moment, I just wait quietly. "
I was ill for a while, and when it was winter, I fell ill, lingering on the hospital bed, and was very depressed. The back of my hand has been bitten into a hornet's nest...