Warhammer

It was a real fight! The enemy's army set up positions outside the city and started firing cannons!

For the "upper city people" of Miragliano, who had originally thought that the war would end without them noticing, and that reparations, colonies, open markets...the war dividends would quickly feed back to the country and benefit everyone, this was no less exciting than when he was happily planning to spend a sweet night with his wife or lover tonight. However, when he opened the door, he found a burly beastman with a fist bigger than his waist pressing on his wife or lover, and the woman was intoxicated and hugged him passionately.

After feeling slapped in the face, the Miragliano people, realizing that the war had come upon them quietly and "without warning," angrily took to the streets, blocking the city hall and the military headquarters and denouncing the bureaucrats and generals for their incompetence.

Then he packed up his things while cursing, preparing for the next battle.

Perhaps some Tyrells fear conflict and hate fighting, but there is no one living in this land who does not understand the art of fighting.

After all, this has long been a highly loose country with a few large principalities on top and numerous small city-states and regions below, each of which is governed independently. Sometimes, one city and another, one village and another, one family and another are mortal enemies of each other. The bloodlines that do not know how to fight and dare not fight have long been eliminated, and those who survived more or less have the courage to fight.

Before the situation became extremely unfavorable and he was beaten to the point of being paralyzed, Al and the Brutal Joy Valentine's sharp comment of "cowardly in public battles, brave in private fights" was still hidden.

......

Only two days had passed since Hera's vanguard arrived outside Miragliano and began to use artillery fire to break the illusion of this prosperous city, replacing one kind of noise with another.

Ai'er's main force arrived at the city.

The double-headed eagle flag, which symbolizes the unity of beastmen and humans and diversified thinking, and also symbolizes remembering the past and looking forward to the future, stretches as far as the eye can see, and tents stretching for dozens of miles outside the city are set up.

On the back of the double-headed eagle is a five-seal hexagram with vines wrapped around the flagpole, representing the shepherd god and the "natural world" he symbolizes as the foundation of everything. The spear and shield flag of Myrmidia also appeared in this mighty expeditionary army, but the number was very small. Among the five human legions, only the "Iron Guard" had a unit that believed in the "improved" teachings of the goddess of war, but it was difficult to tell whether they believed in Myrmidia or El himself.

El originally did not even want to send an envoy to persuade them to surrender, and he was too lazy to even put on a show. But after some consideration, he decided to put on a show, so he sent a reorganized priest to attack the city alone and directly demanded that the Miraglianos open the city for a "peaceful handover." He could preserve a certain number of troops, but the door must be opened to allow the United Kingdom's legions to be stationed. El guaranteed the safety of life and property of the people of Micheng, and did not require them to send troops as a vassal puppet army.

No need to think about it, it's impossible.

So without further ado, the messenger came back and started fighting straight away.

Thanks to the high proportion of monsters and strange infantry in the legion, heavy equipment such as artillery can be transported through them. As a result, within two days, hundreds of cannons were set up outside the city, continuously bombarding Miragliano, and the two sides engaged in fierce artillery battles to test each other.

The garrison of Miragliano consisted of only 10,000 men, but after mobilizing the citizens, it soon had a large army of freemen to help defend the city.

Because the Centaurs were of little use in the siege, Alia, her Sons of Thunder and Fire, and the wolf cubs under Hera were dispersed and began to sweep the surrounding towns and strongholds. Without a fleet, Ai'er would not be able to blockade Miragliano. Only in this way could they try to reduce the support they could get from the land and Miragliano's war potential.

The black and red army turned into a wind of killing everywhere, causing wave of blood and gore, but under the control and restraint of faith and Ai'er, the "massacre" created by the beastmen was only aimed at the enemies on the battlefield. They would attack with the most ferocious momentum, severely damaging the opponents who were enemies of the Five Seals, and even be so ferocious that the enemies would be beheaded "before they had time to surrender".

As for those occupied places, Aiel only asked them to govern themselves. His legion would appoint two people and the villagers would nominate one person to form a "three elders" team to carry out local self-government. In addition, he required them to pay a certain amount of food and supplies as tribute.

Because of the high degree of discipline and restraint, looting and plundering were basically zero. Both the conquerors' military discipline and their policies towards the conquered areas could be described as "benevolent". However, there were still people who spontaneously stood up and used force to protect their homes.

The bottom line is that Aiel and his legion are now "invading", even if the war was started by the Tyrells, but once his army sets foot on the land of the neighboring country, none of this will matter.

For such warriors, almost all the warriors of the United Kingdom who believe in the Blood Mother respect their courage and treat them with the greatest respect they would show to an enemy—cut off their heads and offer them as sacrifices to the throne!

And if they "rebelled" after being occupied, Al also gave a cruel instruction:

Anyone who surrenders first and then rebels, and harasses our army, will be taken prisoner and sent to a punishment camp, and one in five males will be killed!

Those who lived in manors and houses with more than ten acres of land were all made into military servants, and were exiled to open up wasteland after the war!

On the one hand, there was a very lenient occupation policy, and on the other hand, there was a huge price to be paid after the rebellion. In addition, the shock caused by Ai'er's rapid advance and the breakthrough to the city of Miragliano in less than a week greatly deterred the places occupied by the legion. So far, there has been no large-scale rebellion.

For a moment he was still in shock, and for the second he chose to wait and see - if the enemy suffered a bloody defeat under the city of Miragliano, then of course, an uprising would inevitably swarm in, and the threat Al had issued would not be able to be implemented.

But if the enemy really did break Miragliano's words as quickly as the Miraglianos never realized that a legion capable of destroying them would rush out of the Inara Mountains...

Then this war would be completely turned upside down!

Chapter 67: Siege of Miragliano (II)

While Ai'er's legion was busy carrying out the siege of Miragliano and conquering cities everywhere.

In the city besieged by his army, in the black court of Miragliano.

Rodrigo Visconti y Miragliano, prince of the family that had ruled the principality for three generations, was furious.

"Bang!"

A missed cannonball hit the city that the prince was overlooking the moment before, destroying a clock tower that he had seen countless times. The collapsed building affected more than a dozen houses nearby, causing panic.

So the prince turned around, grabbed the golden plate on the table and smashed it. The pastries on the plate, which were carefully made by a chef famous in the south, and which would cost at least a dozen silver shillings to enjoy outside, suddenly turned into a pile of "filth" that urgently needed to be cleaned up by servants.

"How dare he!" [I'm so pissed! ]

The servants and guards in the room either bowed their heads or raised their heads, not daring to breathe.

This is the sentence that Prince Rodrigo has repeated the most in the past few days.

The prince thought about it for three days and three nights but still couldn't figure it out (bushi). Not to mention how it came about and how it was done, he just thought about why Al dared to leap his army into the enemy's hinterland and attack a world-famous fortified city when he was surrounded by enemies.

Where does he get his confidence from? Where does he get his courage from?

Rodrigo thought that his own strategic intentions, including inciting war and writing letters of ridicule, were easy to see through, but they were all aboveboard and open conspiracies to use force to overwhelm others. However, he could not understand Al's thoughts at all.

In situations like this where you have no idea why the other party does something, it could be because the other party is too bad, as has happened in history, or it could be... the other way around.

But it must be said that the destruction of the Northern Legion and the enemy's expansion and conquest of cities in his own home were indeed a slap in the face of the prince.

The enemy's artillery opened fire right under his nose, which made the prince, who had instructed the people to spread propaganda before the war, claiming: "No enemy will reach Miragliano alive or standing!" "The only smoke you can smell and the sound of artillery fire you can hear are the salutes at the triumphal parade!", etc., feel so ashamed and angry.

Those cannonballs and stones that hit the walls of Miragliano were hitting the prestige of the Black Castle and the authority of the Prince!

Upon learning that the enemy had jumped ship, the Northern Legion was destroyed in half a day, and the army was heading straight for Miragliano, the furious prince sentenced dozens of civilian officers to "dereliction of duty" in one day, sent them into exile, and quickly ordered the principality's troops outside to return to defend the capital.

At the same time, he sent special envoys to the neighboring principalities of Trantio, Tobaro, Remas and others to ask for reinforcements to resist the enemy's main force together.

No matter how arrogant Rodrigo was, he would not be so complacent at this time and think that he could compete with the main force of a country's army with the strength of the city of Miragliano.

As long as they hold out for a few days, until reinforcements arrive to fill the city defenses and the enemy is trapped behind enemy lines and unable to attack for a long time, then even the most optimistic estimate of the Tyrells, a great victory that they could not imagine, is just around the corner...

But it still feels frustrating!

Since his debut (bushi), relying on the accumulation of three generations of his family, Rodrigo's generation has all the religious and royal powers in his hands. Miragliano has become the uncrowned overlord of Tyrell in every aspect. In addition, he himself has outstanding abilities, although he still lacks some maturity, and has some arrogance and willfulness of a genius.

In his past experiences, he could be said to be a character like Little Aotian and Little Karl Franz in the mortal world.

The family is powerful, and is the only legitimate line, with three generations of princes, and is deeply supported by the people of the principality;

He married an older woman, who was as beautiful as a peach or plum, dignified and pretty. Not only was she of noble blood, but she was also very capable. She was a rare heroic woman in the world who could take charge of state affairs and become a general or a prime minister.

For Rodrigo, who has always looked down upon the heroes of the South and is ambitious to achieve a career that surpasses the "Besiegers", this is undoubtedly the best help for him and the best proof that God and fate are on his side.

But all these are worth boasting about, and any mortal who can possess just one of them would enjoy the rest of his life. However, in the past two days, after seeing the large enemy army stationed outside the city and hearing the endless artillery fire, the prince seemed to be a little shaky.

This made Rodrigo very upset. Things were beyond his control and even beyond his understanding.

"What are you thinking about?"

Isabella, still wearing the gorgeous white dress with golden embellishments, walked into the room, followed by two maids.

After seeing the princess appear, the prince's anger subsided temporarily. The servants in the house hurried to deal with the traces of pastries that had turned into filth, and then took their leave.

The guards straightened their backs and saluted the princess.

Because of wartime safety considerations, the eighth prince was killed quietly in the palace by a rat assassin.

Therefore, the Black Castle has increased its patrol efforts in the past few days, and unless it is an absolutely secret occasion, the prince and his wife will definitely be accompanied by many guards.

Among these people, there are many families of servants who have served Visconti since their fathers, and they are absolutely loyal and reliable.

There were also mages trained and employed by Black Castle, who came out of their secluded places and began to guard the palace and city defenses and serve the prince.

Because of the prevailing mercenary culture in the southern world, especially in the Tyrells, the military forces of many city-states and families are mainly composed of mercenaries. This may seem unreliable to outsiders, but to the Tyrells, mercenaries are one of the main components of war, and they trust and are good at using these dogs of war.

But the Visconti were different. With three generations of accumulation, those famous mercenary groups serving the principality were no different from the regular army and private army of the court in the long run. Therefore, there was almost no soil within Miragliano to overthrow the hereditary rule of the Visconti by force. The largest and most powerful military force was in the hands of this Octopus Spider family, and the contract was fulfilled from generation to generation.

The prince made no reply.

He was full of confidence and was showing off his grand blueprint to his wife, but not long after that he was slapped in the face by someone blocking the door.

This made the prince, who had a strong desire to win, feel a little embarrassed and angry.

Isabella naturally knew why her husband was angry. Apart from the situation caused by the legion outside the city, what else could make the head of a country lose his composure like this?

At this time, she had to act calmer than her husband and be more confident in her country's military strength. She comforted him:

"Have faith in your soldiers and your people. Once the enemy arrives here, they are already close to defeat."

"Haven't you always longed for a victory like this, my Majesty?" The woman put extra emphasis on the word "Your Majesty". As a close couple, she naturally knew what her husband and the Visconti family were pursuing.

That is to become Tyrell, the true, unified, titular "King".

In the past Tirell system, the supreme ruler of a principality was at most called "City Prince", and the title was not hereditary in name. He might be ousted by political enemies, mutiny, civil unrest or for any other reason. Except for the two principalities of Remas and Verezzo, which were "republics" and now practiced elite democracy, all other principalities and large independent city-states had a nominal supreme ruler.

But even as powerful as Poggio the Besieger was, his great power immediately disappeared after his death, and in his heyday, he was only able to overpower the Tyrell states in Jumilagliano, but was far from unifying Tyrell and becoming a true king.

It took the Visconti three generations to further develop Miragliano based on the foundation laid by their predecessors and to ensure that the country would be passed down in the hands of the Visconti bloodline. By the generation of Rodrigo Visconti, the Greenskin War and the rise of Aiur were seen as a godsend by the ambitious prince - the neighboring country was crippled and the country changed hands, and the throne fell to a "person" with questionable bloodline and who was in cahoots with the Beastmen!

So he decisively mobilized public opinion and, together with other principalities, put pressure on the United Kingdom. His aggressive attitude was to be able to take advantage of this opportunity, whether through war or other means, to seize benefits from his neighbors and thereby enhance his prestige at home.

Prepare for Miragliano (Visconti) to formally establish and consolidate his dominance in Tyrell.

Chapter 68: Entering the City

This has been the ambition of the Visconti family for three generations. In Rodrigo's view, it is time for his generation to carry it forward and move towards new glory.

Everything had gone smoothly before, and this time he was full of confidence in establishing his position as the overlord of the South. However, he encountered such a crisis right after his official debut, which really made Rodrigo angry.

As a wife, how could she not understand the thoughts of her "little husband"? The Poggio family had already withered, and there were only a few bloodlines left in the world, and even fewer of them were capable, not as good as Isabella, a woman.

After marrying into the Black Castle, she has regarded herself as a member of her husband's family and inseparable from Rodrigo. His ambitions and desires are naturally what she pursues.

If the ambitions of the Visconti family could be realized, then she would be able to ascend to the top of the kingdom with the blood of Poggio, and to some extent, complete the revival of this great bloodline.

Isabella comforted her husband for a while and finally calmed the young prince's indignation.

"You're right. There's no need to dwell on a momentary miscalculation."

Rodrigo opened the window and looked towards the city wall.

This city with the most artillery, the most elite soldiers, the strongest defenses in all of Tirell and a population of over 400,000 is still in his hands. His warehouses are full and well-equipped, and everyone from soldiers to civilians is full of fighting spirit.

The 8,000-man Eastern Corps set up in the east to resist the beast tide and the attackers from the south was rushing back to provide support, and several elite troops sent to support the Tobaro front were also speeding back to defend;

Several principalities including Trantio, Tobaro, and Remas have reported urgently that warships loaded with reinforcements will set sail soon.

He now has 12,600 regular troops, all of whom are standing soldiers with an average service age of more than three years. Nearly 20,000 Miragliano citizens have taken up arms and walked onto the city walls. If the war becomes tense, he can mobilize twice this number of militiamen to go to the front line!

There was an ample supply of food, fodder, and military equipment, which was the accumulation of generations of peace without major wars; the court and the church absolutely supported his cause, and the Grand Patriarch of the East (Tyrell) even wanted to climb the city wall in person to boost morale at the beginning of the war, but was persuaded by the prince and his wife, as the younger generations of the clan, to stop. It was not time yet.

In a city defense battle, although the Middle Ages were not like the Earth, with all kinds of monsters and ghosts with extraordinary powers, the defenders sometimes did not have such a big advantage over the attackers, but the strength on paper alone should be enough to at least protect themselves.

After the couple interacted for a while, the prince calmed down again and decided to show his utmost concentration and respect to compete with his opponent who should not be underestimated - Al.

A piece of bad news suddenly came like a bolt from the blue.

Just like the day when the prince was awakened from his nap and learned that the enemy's main force had crossed the Inala Mountains and launched a surprise attack, destroying the Northern Legion.

......

"What did you say?!"

Looking at the messenger who came running to report the news covered in blood, the officer slammed the table and then sat back stiffly in his chair.

"Report..." His whole face seemed to be trembling, his lips trembling, and he uttered a complete sentence with difficulty.

"Report to the prince immediately!"

......

"The enemy has captured the tuna dock?"

The general, surrounded by several adjutants, stopped and glared at the soldier who reported the news.

"Where did the beastman come from!?"

"boom!"

A stone hit them not far away and smashed into a field medical tent, causing a burst of wailing and screaming.

Everyone present was a veteran of battle. When the rocks fell, they immediately scattered and looked for hiding places. They only gathered together again after confirming that it was just an accident.

The artillery on the city wall was firing non-stop, and the roaring sound made it possible to feel the shock coming from the front line no matter where you were in the city.

The soldier who reported the news had to shout at the top of his lungs:

"Never mind all that, sir! The port needs reinforcements!"

"We can't withdraw troops from the front line! The enemy will take the opportunity to attack the city wall!" The commander turned his head and roared at the adjutant: "Let Wolfe and Isaac go! Isaac! Let them lead the 4th and 5th militia battalions!"

"Go to the wounded camp! Give them those who can still run and hold a sword! Bring them all over!"

After the adjutant and the messenger hurriedly left, the middle-aged man who was the front-line commander took off his hat and stared at their departing backs.