Although the business alliance has always claimed fairness and freedom, even if the city of Morente before the Lordship system was not implemented, the status of the residents was not equal, such as the 12th district of the inner city and the 24th district of the outer city, as well as The difference between shantytowns and slums.
Residents in the twelfth district of the inner city are basically the family members of the backbone members of the various chambers of commerce in the business alliance, and at least they must be in charge. However, the relatives of the armed guards of various chambers of commerce also basically live in the inner city. From a good point of view, this is the care of the main armed forces of the chamber of commerce. From a bad point of view, they are also hostages. The loyalty of the Chamber of Commerce will not be easily betrayed.
The twenty-four districts of the outer city also have good and bad differences, such as college teaching, small shop owners, houses purchased by foreign nobles, etc., which also divide the housing prices and land prices of the twenty-four districts of the outer city into several levels. Basically, they are those who run errands and help others as servants. Most of them have long-term jobs and can support their families. The good thing is that the few communities near the business district or the inner city have luxurious housing and the order is the best. residential community.
Since the commercial alliance implemented the Lord System, the seven giants and the seven major chambers of commerce, which are in charge of the highest power in the commercial alliance, have been divided into the largest seven pieces of cake. Some cronies have reduced the community territory they occupy in the inner city by a large part. Not only the seven giants, but also those second-rate chambers of commerce. For a while, the inner city seemed a little deserted.
But soon, with the success of the commercial alliance's external expansion and the expansion of its territory, more rising star chambers of commerce and those nobles who made meritorious service in foreign wars flooded into the inner city of Morent City or robbed a large sum of money. The wealthy nouveau riche, as well as housing prices and land prices in the 12 communities in the inner city rose like a rocket. Seeing this, the seven giants of the business alliance sold the community sites in their hands, and earned a huge amount from these snap-up buyers. wealth.
The current inner city is no longer the residence of the chambers of commerce with the highest influence in the business alliance. Instead, it has become the residential community of the nobles of the business alliance, the offices of various chambers of commerce, and the location of treasury, arsenal and treasury. This is also the essence of Morente City. Where the guards are strong. After being attacked by the Panshi Legion, the guards of the inner city were organized and not only took back the north city gate, but also sounded the alarm bell of the enemy's attack first.
Lorist is not worried about the inner city. What he is worried about is that the inner city and the outer city will echo each other and cause riots. Morente City has 12 districts in the inner city and 24 districts in the outer city. There are 36 communities with nearly 20,000 residents in each community. Coupled with the fact that the refugees from the Mana Hill Plains came to visit their relatives and friends, if nearly a million residents started a riot, it would be hard for the Norton family.
In addition to the residents of the inner city and the outer city, there are also shantytowns and slums outside the city. These two communities cover a large area and gather nearly 200,000 people, most of whom are destitute. Living in the bottom class, they make a living by doing hard work picking up rubbish and cleaning up. The Business Alliance Council has repeatedly discussed the expansion of the outer city communities, preparing to build shantytowns and slums into a formal society, but the businessmen made profits, and the final result was that the proposal came to an end because they were not profitable.
The first step in the Norton family's plan to occupy Morente City is to first occupy the outer city and inner city walls, separating the three parts of Morente City. Now that the outer city walls have been occupied, the nine city gates in the southeast, north, and south directions are immediately under martial law. There is no city wall in the west, only the dock area and the fleet area, which are now under the control of a regiment of the Guards.
The remnant warships of the Armada's Fourth Squadron gathered in the middle of Zangjin Bay are tangled up, fleeing is impossible, and the exit to the sea has been blocked by a dozen or so large armed warships equipped with bronze cannons from the Norton family fleet. It is also impossible to dock, and the dock area has also been occupied by the Norton family's armed forces.
They had only two options left, either to surrender, or to kill themselves, desperately igniting the battleship and rushing to the transport ships and warships moored at the dock to die together. But the problem is that those transport ships and warships were originally from the Armada in terms of style, and they didn't seem to feel bad when they burned the Norton family. The white flag was hoisted to surrender to the Norton family.
Although the walls of the inner city were not captured, the two Panshi corps successfully surrounded the inner city and separated the inner city from the outer city, making it impossible for people in the inner city to break through to the outer city. Without the incitement and guidance of the nobles and members of the Chamber of Commerce in the inner city, the other two rock corps easily suppressed some small riots in the twenty-four communities in the outer city.
Lorist was very careful, the total strength of the two legions he brought to Morente City this time was less than 100,000. If a city-wide riot is triggered, the Norton family can't afford to go around, let alone occupy Morente City, maybe the family's armed forces will suffer heavy losses and be defeated in despair. You must know that the residents of Morente are known for their xenophobia and strong self-esteem. This is not a city under the jurisdiction of those kings and lords. The residents are easily incited to fight against the invaders.
That's why Lorist strictly prohibited the family's armed forces from entering the twenty-four communities in the outer city. It only blocked the streets between these communities, but it did not prohibit the traffic between the various communities. Except for whether the carriages carried weapons or equipment were searched, all normal traffic of pedestrians was allowed. Not only did they not make things difficult, but they were also very polite. Welcomed by those small traders.
Although the two rock corps really followed orders and were even more civilized than the people's soldiers in Lorist's previous life, the residents of Morente City still caused a lot of trouble. Some housewives stood on the street and yelled at these intruders, but the soldiers still managed to swear, even though the aunts and aunts almost poked their fingers in their faces, they still didn't see or hear...
The performance of the armed soldiers of the Norton family was even regarded as weak and deceitful by some fools. Several former mercenaries of Morente City drunkenly gathered a large group of people to drive these intruders out of Morente City, dreaming of becoming this The big savior of the city and the big hero. However, the armed forces of the Norton family quickly let them see what a thunderbolt attack is. When these heroic rebels flocked to the streets, they were greeted by the sound of steel crossbows mounted on wheelbarrows. Soon the corpses were lying on the street, they didn't even cut a sword, and the closest one was more than ten meters away from the soldiers of the Norton family.
The corpses of these rebels were quickly hanged by the soldiers armed by the Norton family on the street lamps and trees on both sides of the street for public display. A total of four similar incidents occurred in 24 communities in the outer city, nearly a thousand The corpses of the brave men became decorations hanging on both sides of the road.
I have to say that the spirit of resistance of the people of Morente City is really stronger than that of the people in other places. If it is too obvious, it will be dark. A juice vendor sold the poisoned juice to those thirsty soldiers. Unfortunately, three soldiers of the Norton family were poisoned and died, so all five members of the juice vendor's family were hung on the tree. Another former sailor stabbed someone in the back, and then his family and a neighbor's family of 12 who used force to prevent soldiers from entering the house and searched for it also became auspicious objects...
It wasn't until a well-respected great swordsman who spent his later years in a certain community was shot into a honeycomb by a steel crossbow because he called on the residents to resist, the residents of the twenty-fourth district of the outer city finally understood that the armed people of the Norton family would not attack me, I don't offend anyone, and if someone offends me, I will pay back twice as much. People are afraid of death, and people follow the crowd. If resistance broke out in 24 communities at the same time, it would be really difficult for the 24,000 troops of the two Panshi Corps to suppress it, and maybe they would suffer a big loss. But now that the Norton family's thunderbolts have captured the residents of Morente City, the 24th community in the outer city is considered to be temporarily calm.
After the nine gates of the outer city fell under the control of the First Guards Corps, Hughes Great Swordsman was stationed here, while Legion Commander El and Deputy Legion Commander Ovikis led the Second Guards Corps to raid Limo The two closest fortified cities of Lent City, Thomas City and Gypsy City. Because these two fortress cities are located in the rear, they have become the logistics headquarters of more than 400,000 business alliance armed forces on the front line of the Faliqiu Plain. They have stored a huge amount of military supplies and food, and the garrison force is only a thousand-man team. To raid these two fortress cities, what Lorist wanted was not the territory but the military supplies and food.
With too few troops in hand, Lorist is now walking on thin ice. What he wants to occupy is a city with a population of more than one million people. This is also the main reason why he gave up tracking the Storm Sword Master. Fortunately, despite some twists and turns, the plan went smoothly. What he has to deal with now is the inner city, which is the most important part of the plan, and it is also the main center of the family's property search plan for Morente City. .
The inner city was besieged by two Panshi Corps with 24,000 soldiers, of course only 22,000 troops remained. More than 1,000 people were killed or injured in the failure to seize the city wall, even Reddy and the legion commander Bodfinger were also wounded. But now both of them have been properly bandaged and taken the healing potion, and commanded the troops to besiege the inner city with their wounds.
When Lorist arrived in the inner city, the Thunderbolt Catapult Battalion of the Rock Legion also arrived. Five hundred catapults were lined up outside the four city gates in four teams. Jim, the deputy commander of the artillery battalion who came to greet him, grumbled dissatisfiedly: "Your Highness, there is no need to let the catapults come over. Forty artillery pieces from my place can blast the inner city to the ground..."
Lorist smiled and patted him on the shoulder and said, "For those bumpkins in the city, using bronze cannons to deal with them seems too extravagant. Besides, I don't want to destroy the inner city. So I used catapults to scare them." It is enough to scare them, and with me as a sword master, I believe that the people in that city will open the gate and surrender soon. The artillery battalion is the most important force guarantee of our family, and it seems a bit small to use it to deal with the inner city Bigger done."
The Unicycle Steel Crossbow Corps of the Rock Legion was sent by Lorist to maintain order in the twenty-fourth community of the outer city. There were only two sword shield and spear corps besieging the inner city, lacking long-range attack weapons. In order to prevent the great sword masters from the Chamber of Commerce in the inner city from forming a team to break through, Lorist specially dispatched Jim and ordered him to bring forty land-combat bronze cannons to assist the Rock Legion in besieging the inner city and prevent those great sword masters from breaking out. .
If Reddy and Baldfinger can take down the inner city wall immediately, then Jim will arrange the forty bronze cannons on the inner city wall to aim at the inner city. It's a pity that the success fell short. The two Panshi Corps failed to capture the city wall and could only besiege the inner city. Jim had no choice but to divide the forty bronze cannons into four groups to prevent the enemy from breaking through in four directions.
Although the result of the Romani naval battle was that the Norton family won, nearly half of the 200 land-based bronze artillery pieces were lost, and one-third of the 3,000-man artillery battalion was lost. In order to supervise and manage the recruits and captives recruited by the 100,000 Business Alliance to work in filling the reef area, Lorist sent all the guards around him to Schwader, leaving only one guard centurion, plus Beihai The fleet's sea assault team and the remaining troops of the artillery battalion finally gave Schwader a reliable armed force of more than 6,000 people.
Just considering the high-end combat power of the Commercial Alliance in Morente City, Lorist thought about it and transferred Jim, the deputy commander of the artillery battalion, and forty land-based bronze artillery, to deal with those in the inner city. Those great sword masters. If those great sword masters wanted to break through, ten bronze cannons loaded with shotgun should be enough to deal with several great sword masters. It's a pity that after retaking the North City Gate, the heads of the chambers of commerce in the inner city stayed behind closed doors, and no one came out to die, which disappointed Jim greatly.
Lorist also couldn't figure out why those people in the inner city didn't break out. After thinking about it, the only possibility is that those who wanted to break out were dragged down by their relatives and family members in the 12th district of the inner city. The rescue of the armed forces of the Merchant Alliance on the front line of the Mana Hill Plain. It's a pity that they can't wait for that time.
"My lord, Viscount Penelope, I will leave it to you. I swear in the name of Lord Norton and the Grand Duke of the Northland. As long as they surrender, I will guarantee the safety of them and their families. Of course, they cannot stay in the inner city. You must go to the prisoner-of-war camp and wait until the war is over before you can be free. Our family will not ask them for ransom, but will release them unconditionally after the signing of the armistice peace agreement.
At the same time, we will provide them with food and water for free in the prisoner-of-war camp, and guarantee medical treatment if they are sick, as long as they are willing to surrender. Well, they can leave the inner city with thirty catties of belongings. In the name of the God of War, our Norton family guarantees the sacred and inviolable rights of their private property, and will not deprive and suspend their right to conduct property transactions and operate privately. Guarantee their right to have their private property at their own disposal.
I believe these guarantees should make them realize the sincerity of our Norton family. If such conditions cannot make them surrender, then I can't help it either. Viscount Penelope, have you seen those catapults? If after three hours they are still unwilling to surrender, I will order the throwing of tinder jars and flint balls into the inner city. Sometimes in order to avoid greater casualties and shed more blood, we have to bear a lot of price and sacrifice, do you think this is the truth? "
Lorist's voice was very soft, but it sounded like a thunderbolt to Viscount Penelope's ears.
"His Royal Highness Norton, I believe in your sincerity. Please believe me, I will definitely persuade the people in the inner city to surrender, please don't issue such cruel orders, and you didn't promise to return Morant City to the Commercial Alliance intact Is it?" Viscount Penelope's voice trembled.
"I don't want to do that either, but the situation is a bit tense, and I can't do anything even if I'm a Juggernaut." Lorist said with a wry smile, "The twenty-four community in the outer city is like a volcano that is about to erupt. The armed soldiers of the family were brought here to stop the war, but they did not want them to be buried in this city. If the inner city does not surrender, I will not be able to spare the troops to maintain order in the entire city. As a last resort, I will order Set the city on fire, then leave here and go back to the Northland, let the business alliance and our majesty continue to fight... "
"No, His Royal Highness Norton, please give me some time, I will go into the inner city immediately to persuade them..." Viscount Penelope bowed deeply, and then hurried to the inner city.
At 5:00 p.m., the inner city opened its gates and surrendered, and Morente City finally fell completely into the hands of Lorist.
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