What's wrong with building a steel torrent in a dungeon?

Chapter 356 Negative Tactics

Haaland and Bape are in a dilemma

However, it was not just Haaland and Bape who faced such a dilemma.

In fact, everything he encountered happened to several other expeditionary corps.

Faced with the trenches armed to the teeth, the elven commanders had no choice but to launch attacks again and again in vain.

In addition to commanding the expeditionary force, Harland Bape also commanded the Third Corps of the Southern Legion. The mixture of these two sources of soldiers made him very cautious in his use of troops. But it was different for other officers. Anyway, these soldiers were not their direct descendants. They were temporarily recruited from various elven kings and would have to go back after the war was over.

Since they were not their soldiers, they had no scruples about using them. In addition, they did not know as much about firearms as Harland Bape did, and as a result, a large number of innocent soldiers fell on the way to the charge. These soldiers were unprepared and were sent to see the god Hero by their commander as if they were being tortured.

By the time the commanders realized what was happening, it was too late. A large number of elven soldiers had already been lying in front of the trenches forever. No one rushed to collect the bodies, let alone bury them. They could only quietly wait for the vultures to come and enjoy their meal.

Despite the huge cost, the trenches were almost completely undamaged. After a few days, the trolls' northern defense line remained unmoved, and the elves were unable to stop them no matter how hard they charged.

A total of 60,000 expeditionary troops were isolated outside the iron wall.

When the battle reports from various parties were presented and arrived on King Xinye's desk, he could not believe his eyes.

In just a few days, the Elf Expeditionary Force suffered more than 10,000 casualties! Nearly 5,000 casualties were reported in Harland Bape alone!

In wars throughout history, such high numbers of troop casualties generally only occurred when a city was breached or when a large-scale rout occurred!

But now it is clear that neither of them happened, and so many people died in just the initial attack.

This made the experienced New Leaf King completely at a loss as to what to do.

He directly ordered the troops to stop this suicidal charge and only bombard the enemy's positions with artillery fire every day. Then he immediately called all the corps commanders, including Haaland and Bape, to discuss response strategies.

The other corps commanders were almost all officers who were temporarily promoted. Their level and ability were not enough to be qualified for the position of corps commander, so they basically did not make much achievements. So this meeting was basically a one-man show between Harland Bape and several former members of the Southern Corps.

Haaland Bape recounted all the experiences in the main attack direction, and everyone was secretly shocked.

The combination of firearms and the trolls' trench tactics created such a powerful force that the elves had no idea how to respond.

Not only that, the speed with which Fran introduced new firearms also really surprised them.

The speed of change in the war was so drastic that it had already surpassed the total of the previous few hundred years, making it impossible for the elves, who had a long history of war, to adapt.

Afterwards, Haaland and Bape revealed all the new firearms and other things they had obtained, which made the atmosphere of the meeting fall to the bottom.

The firepower has been increased eightfold. How can we fight this battle?

After several days of military meetings, the elf commanders all frowned, but after discussing it over and over again, they could not come to any effective conclusion. Continuing to charge would be tantamount to committing suicide, but standing still was not an option either!

Although the offensive has been temporarily suspended in the past two days, the trolls will obviously not let them go.

Relying on the mobility of the flying thunder cannon, they constantly harassed the elves' positions. Traditional fortifications were simply unable to withstand the bombing of the flying thunder. The elves could only use patrol forces several times more than before to guard against the enemy's attacks.

After a while, the Elf Expeditionary Force could only retreat step by step, with heavy casualties. There were continuous reports of the battle, and the corps leaders who were in the meeting could not sit still any longer. If they continued to wait like this, they might not be able to discuss the tactics before their troops were finished.

At this point of no return, Haaland and Bape proposed a very negative tactic!

We also dug trenches.

Since the trolls can use it, why can't we use it? Although the way of digging trenches is very rustic and does not match the elegant temperament of the elves. But now that we are about to lose our lives, who cares whether it is rustic or not.

And with the trenches built, the elves' muskets can be of some use.

Before the war, the entire army was very much looking forward to the muskets, hoping that they would produce very good results.

However, after so many days of fighting, they despairingly discovered that the firearms they had spent a lot of money on were basically useless. The bombardment of artillery could certainly suppress the enemy and make them dare not raise their heads, but it could not kill the enemy on a large scale and had very little impact on the trenches.

When charging, the elf soldiers obviously couldn't fire many shots, and after pulling the trigger they could only use the guns as fire pokers.

And when they broke into the trenches and engaged in hand-to-hand combat, it was obviously impossible for the enemy to give the elven soldiers time to reload their ammunition, and there were no bayonets on the front of their muskets. As a result, a large number of elven soldiers abandoned their muskets and would rather draw their daggers to fight the enemy in hand-to-hand combat.

The only time the muskets could be used was when defending against a sneak attack at night. But the enemy was in the dark and we were in the light, so by the time the musket troops were ready to counterattack, the sneak attack troops had already run away.

As a result, the weapons that the elves had spent a lot of money to buy and the tactics that they had spent a lot of time training on had not only failed to achieve the expected results, but had actually had the opposite effect. Some officers even complained that it would be better to equip the soldiers with hoes and sickles and rush in to chop.

But if they had trenches too, the situation would be completely different.

Soldiers can stay in safe trenches like trolls, without worrying about the opponent's flying thunder cannons or endless harassment at night, and the pressure on fortifications will be greatly reduced.

Although this would be equivalent to the expeditionary force temporarily giving up the attack and entering a stalemate.

This was really inconsistent with the New Leaf King's previous strategy, and would even draw criticism from within the empire, and the entire expeditionary force would be under unprecedented pressure. When it came to ridicule and scolding, the elves in the empire were really amazing.

But no matter what, this would at least lead to the annihilation of the entire group. When they figured out how to crack the opponent's tactics, it would not be too late to rush out of the trenches.

Although everyone was very dissatisfied with this result, after returning, all the corps commanders followed the example of the trolls and began to build and dig trenches.

In this way, the troops of both sides set up a large number of muskets and cannons across a huge open space, confronted each other and were wary of each other.

No one in the Elf Empire had expected that a war that was originally raging fast would enter such a white-hot stage.

Chapter 357: New Breakthrough

The news that the elves had begun digging trenches and were confronting the trolls from afar spread back to the Elf Empire, causing an uproar immediately in a number of major cities including the capital Green Sea.

Not only has your attack been thwarted, but you have even learned from the trolls, using dirty, mean, and obscene tactics! This is such a disgrace to the Elf Empire! If such a thing gets out, how can I maintain my international reputation? How can I maintain my face in the vast colonies?

It takes so much energy to defeat a troll, won't the rebels in the colonies rise up in rebellion?

The remaining nine Elf Kings were originally at odds with the New Leaf King. Now that the Three Southern Kings have openly cooperated with the imperial power and abandoned the Elf King's interest group, they have caught them and of course they have to humiliate them.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, they frantically mocked King Xinye and the Southern Legion. Some ministers controlled by the Elf Kings even wrote letters hoping to remove King Xinye from his post and open up various rights to the southern territories, attempting to use various methods to eliminate the Elf Queen's number one ally.

On the other hand, the Elf Queen was also very dissatisfied with King Xinye's actions.

Before this, King Xinye had been procrastinating on attacking, claiming that the army was not ready. It was not until his granddaughter was trapped deep inside the Troll Empire that he decided to send troops to attack. Aren't you using public power for personal gain? And now, the war is a mess again, and he is unworthy of the title of God of War.

It can be said that the Queen is disappointed and helpless with King Xinye.

In this situation where the whole country is condemning, even McMahon dare not speak up for the New Leaf King.

For a time, the entire Elf Empire was filled with slogans to replace the New Leaf King. The military was even more eager to take over the expeditionary force.

However, this kind of anger only lasted for half a month before it disappeared without a trace in an instant. From the Queen to the Elf King to the military, no one could make any sound. There were even faint signs that all the Elf Kings were cooperating with the Queen.

The reason for the transformation of the Elf Kings is also very simple.

King Xinye sent all six rapid-fire guns captured from the battlefield to the capital, and demonstrated the power of these muskets in front of them.

For a moment, all the elven officers attending the meeting were shocked.

Although the elves' officers are very concerned about birth and bloodline, those who can become military leaders are definitely not mediocre, at least not all of them are mediocre. They understand very well how much this rapid-fire gun can bring to the war. What's more, the enemy's new weapons do not only support rapid-fire guns, but also flying thunder cannons.

The expeditionary force did not capture the Flying Thunder Cannon, but after days of fighting, they had a rough idea of ​​its range and power.

At first, the Elf Kings did not believe in the power of the Flying Thunder Cannon and even thought that the rapid-fire gun was fake, until the spies planted in the expeditionary force confirmed everything.

Not only that, the New Leaf King's envoy personally dug trenches outside the capital, simulated the iron nets and defense facilities in the troll trenches, and then let the elite of the Green Sea Legion try to attack. After several deductions, they came to a very desperate result.

Such trenches cannot be penetrated at all, and the only way is to use the ancient war tree to throw earth elements to slowly plow the fortifications flat.

But the problem is that they might be able to slowly chip away at the traditional civil structure, but the trolls have cement, so how can they chip away at it? And the trolls have more than one trench, but three. With such a terrifying defense, even if the remaining three legions were called upon, they might not be able to break through.

Faced with such a horrific defensive tactic, sending the expeditionary soldiers to charge would undoubtedly be a suicide mission.

Among many tactics, trenches are the wisest and most correct choice.

The Elf Kings knew very well that if all the trolls were equipped with rapid-fire guns and flying thunder cannons, their military strength would be very formidable. This was no longer a weak country that they had bullied hundreds of years ago, but a huge threat!

Although the Elf Kings may not be willing to cooperate with the Queen at this time, it is obviously impossible to replace King Xinye now! After all, no one is willing to take on this burden.

After several days of intense discussion, all the elven nobles came to a helpless conclusion.

The war has reached this point, the wisest choice should be peace talks!

No matter how large the elves are, their weapons, equipment, tactics and strategies are already completely outdated, and there is no possibility for them to continue.

This is also what King Xinye meant.

In the face of the overall situation, the New Leaf King was even considering giving up El'Arundil. Otherwise, even if he rescued his granddaughter, she would probably become a commander without troops, and the entire Southern Army would become an empty shell. For this reason, he was willing to bear the infamy and sign a peace treaty that would be nailed to the pillar of shame.

The military also thinks so

If the war continues, I'm afraid the entire Elf Empire will be dragged into the abyss.

However, some things, once started, cannot be stopped.

For example, the people's enthusiasm for war

In order to regain the imperial power and increase her cohesion to fight against the Elf King, the Elf Queen has stirred up the hatred of the trolls and the enthusiasm for war among the young people in the entire empire.

Afterwards, in order to ease the financial and front-line pressures, he launched fundraising campaigns, gave speeches, and promised countless blank checks.

This made the young people in all the big cities of the Elf Empire excited.

They contributed money and labor, and indeed delivered a large amount of supplies to the front line! Although the New Leaf King had seen the danger of inciting the people and advised McMahon, it was just that none of them had thought that the trolls equipped with firearms could be so powerful, so the New Leaf King was just a reminder.

The situation is now irreversible.

Nowadays, some young elves would rather cut back on their own food and clothing to support the frontline. You suddenly tell us that the war will not be fought, the general mobilization will not be carried out, we admit defeat and prepare to retreat?

Then all the words and promises made by the Queen before would be nothing but bullshit?

At that time, the Queen no longer needed to consider how low her reputation would drop, but should consider her own safety. It was very likely that the people of the entire capital would be excited, shouting to purge the emperor and attack the palace, and none of the Queen's royalist members would be immune.

As for the several great Elf Kings, they would definitely watch the fire from the other side of the river, add insult to injury, or even interfere and use the people to directly depose the Queen.

In other words, the Queen and her royalists had no choice but to negotiate! She had to keep the war going.

The war can fail, but she must never bow her head

So when the joint proposal of King Xinye and the military was presented, the Queen tore it up on the spot and severely reprimanded them to express her position.

The Queen told the King of Xinye directly that if he wanted to fight, he could continue! No matter what method he used, he had to keep the war going until he found a way to break it. If he didn't want to fight, he could replace him with a general who was willing to fight. If no general came, she would go to the battlefield herself.

King Xinye, who was tied to the chariot, had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue thinking about tactics and letting the war go on.

But he was also very clear that as the trenches of both sides were dug deeper and deeper and the fortifications were laid out more and more widely, it would be almost impossible to break through the opponent's defense network on land, and a protracted tug-of-war would follow.

The trolls consume less energy and have the support of the world factory, Orila City.

But what about the elves? They can't even make a gun or a bullet, and they all rely on high-priced imports from the dwarves. In this situation, how long can they hold out? How long can the royalists hold out?

But it doesn't work on land, but there is another battlefield you can try - the sea

In fact, long before arriving at the Green Miracle, King New Leaf had received a letter from Elendil asking for help. They were trapped in a dense forest only a dozen miles away from the west coast of the Troll Empire. Further south of this place was the largest and most important port in the Troll Empire - Freeport.

However, the battle was so ugly that if he proposed to mobilize the navy, the queen would obviously not agree easily, and she would have to squeeze some benefits from the three kings of the south. The most important thing is that the navy is now at a critical juncture of firearms transformation. If the transformation is interrupted rashly, I am afraid that the navy will be the first to object.

That's why King Xinye went through so much trouble just to make the Queen destroy all other hopes, and he took the initiative to propose the use of the navy.

The New Leaf King and the military have good political skills and have successfully achieved their goals.

However, in the rounds of political battles, precious opportunities were lost. During this period, the Troll Empire continued to strengthen its front line and began to gather forces in Freeport. They obviously guessed that the elves, whose land attacks were blocked, would seek a breakthrough at sea.

I worked overtime until very late and almost forgot to post a new chapter. I got up and posted it right away!

Chapter 358: The Navy’s Dilemma

Today's Freeport is no longer the dilapidated little fishing port it once was during the Troll Empire.

After Fran's massive construction and the support of the Troll Empire, the scale of Freeport is now comparable to that of the Grey Harbor of the Orc Empire. If the Troll Empire did not do business with other forces, Freeport would have been among the top five ports in the main plane based on its scale.

Today, this place handles nearly 80 percent of external goods. Without the free port, the firearms of the entire Troll Empire will be silenced and the northern defense line will collapse in an instant.

But because the trolls' naval power is too weak, such an important port has no navy to match it.

If it weren't for the fact that the Freeport is located in a remote area of ​​the main plane, far away from the main shipping channel, with few ships coming and going, there would be no pirates harassing the port. Otherwise, it would simply be a piece of fat meat without an owner.

After the war started, the generals thought of the weakness of Freeport. But at that time, Fran's navy was still sailing on the Endless Ocean and could not arrive in a short time. So they urgently called in the navy of the Orc Empire to garrison.

However, the Orc Empire is not a maritime power (otherwise it would not be severely exploited by the dwarves), so this time only six warships were sent out, and these warships were all converted from merchant ships. They have poor foundations and not strong firepower, which is quite different from the warships of Orila City.

Jinzaka also knew the weakness of the Troll Empire, so he spared no effort to support the development of the naval power. However, the construction of the navy is not a matter of one day or one night. It is not as simple as training soldiers. The manufacture and maintenance of warships, a large logistics team, and even an entire shipbuilding system are all part of the country's naval power.

The elves were unable to find a breakthrough on land, so they naturally turned their attention to the sea.

In fact, long before the full-scale outbreak of the war, some elven generals had already proposed a plan for naval warfare. But unfortunately, the elven navy was carrying out a very important task: the transformation of naval artillery.

They want to combine artillery and tree boats, relying on artillery output for long-range attacks and vine combat for close combat, to create an all-round maritime force with no blind spots.

The ideal is beautiful, but the reality is very cruel

Since the elves lack experience in transformation and have no external cases to refer to (after all, the elves are the only ones in the world who use tree ships), everything is still under exploration. Even the adjustment of the tree ship structure and the retraining of the seamen need to be studied bit by bit.