Tang Qi Tan

With the coming of autumn and winter, the season of spring is warm and flowers are blooming, and the ice and snow are melting again; the Kingdom of Zealand, which has internal and external troubles and wars everywhere, has experienced many major events.For example, the Burgundy dynasty in the capital once again conferred nine dukes and dozens of marquises and earls.

Other corresponding viscounts, baronets, lords and knights, and even honorary knights, by the hundreds.However, except for a small number of related people gathered in the capital and near the Grand Seine area, almost most of the subjects who were sealed in the province rejected the imperial edict without hesitation.

Especially as the only surviving Grand Marshal of the kingdom, and the former commander-in-chief of the Army of the North and the Army of Flanders; the Marquis of Laporte, Motiler, refused without hesitation, the title of duke from the city of Seine, And directly denounced the Burgundian dynasty as the false dynasty of John the usurper;

He also summoned the old ministry in his retired hometown to form the so-called National Salvation Alliance Legion, and with the support of the local royalists and old nobles, he announced his appointment as the chief minister of the National Salvation Alliance Committee; The kingdom's political crisis that took place in February.

From the edge of the Black Forest in the north to the fortresses and fortresses of the kingdom in the lowlands of Flanders; those who are still standing firm and staying out of the way for a long time, the Northern Army and the rest of the Flanders Army are forced to carry out a civil strife-style rearrangement. Line up and cleanse each other.

Among them, the constitutionalists, the royalists, the republicans, the reformers, and the radical liberals; the contradictions that were forced to be suppressed in the face of the Norman invasion also broke out.As a result, internal strife and mutiny continued to occur almost every day, and groups of soldiers fled or went south to defect.

At this time, the United Seven Kingdoms from the three islands on the other side formed two huge expeditionary fleets under the call of the Maharaja on the Iron Throne; they began a large-scale invasion on the grounds of being invited by the Earl of the Netherlands to maintain regional order and mediate wars. The princes of the Netherlands as vassal forces of the kingdom;
However, the Northern Fleet of the United Seven Nations successfully landed on the coast of Flanders; and captured the important town.However, the South Road was not unexpectedly intercepted and attacked by the navy of the Holy Kingdom; in the end, both sides suffered heavy losses in the so-called Normandy sea battle.

Therefore, the Burgundian dynasty, which was indirectly supported by the Holy Kingdom, was also led by the contemporary John I; since the city of Seine, the "Mobilization Order of All the Kingdom's Subjects" was promulgated, which resumed the implementation of the National Convention era, targeting adult males from all walks of life in the kingdom non-discriminatory conscription.

It is claimed that 30 troops will be recruited from among the subjects, and three large armies will be formed while restoring and supplementing the garrison teams of the provinces.Therefore, for a time, as diplomatic representatives and messengers rushed to and fro on the road, the local armed and garrison troops were frequently mobilized and assembled, and the northern battle clouds were dense.

In contrast, the large-scale sabotage and guerrilla warfare that occurred at the junction of many provinces in the southeast seems to have become a small episode that no one cares about.However, it is completely difficult for the Xiluo (Empire) Federation/Northern Italian princes coalition forces who are exhausted or unable to cope with the local area.

The foreign coalition forces headed by the Principality of Verona have been ambushed and taken away many times. The search teams and reinforcements sent by the large domestic logistics teams have also suffered repeated defeats in the round-the-clock harassment and sneak attacks. Instead, they can only hide in big cities where supplies are in short supply.

And their perverse behavior under the dilemma caused more citizens, rich people and noble families to flee.And the angry retaliation against the villages and farms on the outskirts of the city caused more farmers and property owners to flee to the territory of the Freedom Army in the South or began to inform them.

Therefore, outside the city of Tilan in the province of Isère.A reinforced patrol team composed of more than 30 Verona soldiers was also wearily walking through the edge of the abandoned village; they would rather step on the weeds on the muddy road after the ice and snow melted than enter it easily.

Because many former comrades, after entering these places, were never able to come out; or turned into forks to expose corpses on the road.Even if they were within the sight of the defenders at the top of the city at this moment, as long as they lit the fireworks, they could quickly support them.

However, it still didn't give them much sense of security.Therefore, in the intermittent spring rain, the sergeant major who looked old and had premature gray hair chose a seemingly lonely riverside mill for his subordinates as a temporary repair and rain shelter.

Soon, with the removed door panels and other wet wood, thick smoke from the fire burst into the air; the Verona soldiers with red eyes finally took off their armed uniforms and burqas, I felt the long-lost warmth and relaxation; I piled up the weapons and took out the food bag.

The next moment, suddenly a sparking object fell on the fire among them, and also knocked over the support they managed to hold up to bake the food; they all shouted in surprise, and looked up ; then a boom of sparks and a cloud of smoke exploded in the crowd.

And the sergeant major, who was standing guard outside the mill gate with a few soldiers, was suddenly thrown to the ground by the smoke from inside. When he stood up from the mud with his face covered in rain, I was horrified to find many gray and black clay figurines emerging from the grass by the river.

One of the clay figurines swung a scythe, and slashed at his ear almost close at hand, and cut off half of his face with a sudden drag; Sergeant Verona struggled and rolled in the mud in pain.And the other clay figurines quickly rushed to the overturned Verona soldiers.

Therefore, after only a short battle of more than 20 minutes, the sergeant major of Verona, whose face was covered in blood, ran for dozens of steps with a scythe in his back and fell down; The patrol team of the army was wiped out in the wilderness on the outskirts of the city.

However, the curly-haired and broad-faced captain, who was washed away by the renewed rain, rushed to the enemy soldier who surrendered to the abandoned weapon, and was still slashing behind another soldier; suddenly stopped The hooked sickle cut off by the opponent turned back and said: "Enough, Father Milong,"

"You have killed enough enemies, and there is still a chance for you to kill them." "But we have better uses for the remaining survivors." "If you insist on violating the rules set by the judge of the army Ten Commandments and Seven Covenants, then there will be no chance for you to take revenge."

"..." Hearing the last sentence, the old soldier named Papa Milong slowly let go of the bloody sickle in his hand; his face was no longer ferocious and ferocious, and he became a dull and numb old man again. It's just that he was still muttering in his mouth: "One is worth eight, it's not enough..."

Then, in the clear and crisp bird whistle, a group of yellow and emaciated villagers appeared like lonely ghosts. Whether it was the dead bodies or the surviving captives, they were all treated by the villagers who rushed forward. For some kind of reward, he was stripped off on the spot;

Then, as a member of the guerrilla squadron of the Freedom Army, he escorted these naked captives, let them carry the corpses and wounded, and disappeared into the distant mountains.And when the search team set off the next day, followed the only remaining footprints to find this place, there was nothing left.

Once you go out, you will not see people alive or dead, as if it is the result of evaporation out of thin air; coupled with the long-term loss of contact and the worry of insufficient replenishment, it finally penetrated the Verona company in the city, and accumulated over a long period of time. The bottom line of stress and tension.

So, after the uproar and chaos, they rushed out of the city in disordered formation and retreated towards Vienna, the provincial capital with a larger garrison in the north.After a few days, the free army who got the news arrived and temporarily took over the ownerless city.

However, compared to the hills and mountains in the north, there are at least dozens of guerrilla troops scattered, and the invaders and occupying forces distributed among several cities are like blood-sucking gadflies; In the south, it can be called the offensive of the storm.

In the main force of the 20 Free Army led by Jiang Tian himself, there are a total of twelve new regiments, a total of [-] full-stacked combat companies, and [-] super-staffed auxiliary companies; More than [-] local armed forces with various flags were defeated, surrendered and destroyed one after another.

It also smashed through the provinces of Gard and Vaucluse, and successively occupied and took over 27 large and small cities.Therefore, under the continuous invasion and occupation of cities, the seizure of stocks and the recruitment of soldiers, the selection and appointment of municipal officials and the establishment of garrison teams, under the general development and expansion of snowballs.

When the vanguard of the Free Army finally arrived at the city of Avignon, the capital of the province of Provence, located in the lower reaches of the Rhone River, through a large number of captured livestock, the cavalry regiment; the various troops under the name of the Free Army The establishment has also expanded to [-] people.

Of course, in this time and space, there is no historical allusion called the Prisoner of Avignon.But here can be traced back to the colonial city-state of the ancient Roman era, and it is also the summer palace of the Royal Family of Zealand, and it is also adjacent to one of the eight royal territories.

The "Lower Ronald" crown collar, which is directly managed by the court chief; Marseille, the largest port city in the south of the kingdom, where the Rhone estuary is located, is only 21 Roman miles (85 kilometers).But it is also the biggest obstacle and hard bone standing in front of the Free Army.

Because, although the local court chief had been dismissed from his position after the May storm after the abdication of the White Iris royal family, he did not know where to end; But took the opportunity to fill the gap.

They even led self-recruited private soldiers and self-defense regiments in the name of the royalist party, entered and took over the provincial capital Avignon; / The fortress garrison formed a tripartite confrontation.

Now, with the Freedom Army led by Jiang Tian, ​​it has come with a powerful victory; it has become a powerful external factor that breaks this unstable situation.