Chapter 110: Siege of the Royal Capital
The wheat harvest in Antolia ushered in the first great harvest in history.
When the news from Antolia was quickly sent to the front line of the Northern Expedition, the young Viscount Antolia was equally happy even though he could not see it with his own eyes.
Although Leon has long expected the changes that the black earth can bring to Antolia, the predictions may go wrong after all.
So until this moment, Leon's heart, which had been hanging, was finally relieved.
A bumper harvest means abundant food, which means that Antolia's food will be enough to feed a larger population.
Only with a larger population base can Antolia have greater room for development. Even if it does not enjoy the demographic dividend, at least the development of Antolia cannot stagnate due to insufficient population.
As for where the population comes from...
The kingdom is in such chaos now, where can the population not be brought back?
The city of Parma alone is enough to make a considerable contribution to Antolia.
As the wheat is harvested, if the Antolians move faster, they may even have time to plant other crops, which can be vegetables, fruits, soybeans or other grains.
Theoretically speaking, soybean rhizobia can fix nitrogen and effectively improve soil fertility. However, this is a strange world where magic exists. It is hard to say whether there is such a thing.
But whether there is or not, the land in Antolia does not actually need to be cultivated at all to restore fertility.
Because the black soil of Antolia is a magical creation born under the influence of various factors such as the black soil generation technique, the soil tamper, and the powder of the moon mushroom, it really cannot be inferred using common sense.
As the domestic situation in the Andal Kingdom becomes increasingly corrupt, this year will inevitably become a year of extreme food shortage, and there is no need to start considering the issue of soil fertility so early.
It’s okay to be visionary, but it’s equally important to be practical.
For example, the good news from Antolia is exciting, but the most important thing right now is obviously the war on the front line.
Count Brabant had already set off south yesterday to count the grain and grass stored in the city of Parma.
Whether it is Leon or Count Brabant, everyone is a smart person.
Apart from the Duke of Galicia, he is the most influential among the living southern nobles.
Count Brabant knew very well that if he continued to follow Leon northward, no matter whether he wanted to or not, there would always be nobles pushing him ahead, trying to use his name to influence Leon's decision-making.
Now that he and Leon had reached an agreement in many aspects and became a small group with common interests, Count Brabant simply chose to sit in the rear.
In this way, he can not only take charge of the logistics transportation of food and fodder, but also allow Leon to free his hands and feet.
If everything goes well, becoming a marquis or even a duke might not be a problem.
And during these days, Leon was not in a hurry to go north, mainly for two things.
One is the supply of small red bottles.
Before that, the Eastern Front Army led by him only had about 4,000 people. Excluding 1,200 Antolian soldiers, the actual usage of the small red bottle was actually not too much.
But the problem is that as the Eastern Front Army joins forces with the Western Front Army originally led by the Duke, the total force under his command has expanded to nearly 20,000 people.
We really can’t afford the supply!
The production of potions also requires costs, and now that the Viscount of Gongyang City and the Viscount of Shili City act as pawns to promote the potions, plus the profit share promised by Leon, the nobles of the coalition naturally wrote the IOU happily.
Of course, this is not because the nobles are worried that Leon will hinder them on the battlefield, but entirely out of their firm belief in contributing to the success of the Northern Expedition!
The second is to take this opportunity to clarify the intricate interest relationships among the southern nobles and integrate the original eastern and western armies into a southern coalition that can go north together.
This is by no means something that can be sorted out with a sentence or two of orders.
After all, the dirty facts among the nobles are endless. If two nobles who are not dealing with each other are put together, let alone a war, it will be lucky not to hinder themselves.
And now, with the arrival of the news of a bumper grain harvest in Antolia and the first seven days of the Duke, a command system with Viscount Leon Jimena of Antolia as the core has finally been formed in the Southern Allied Forces, and it can continue to open up The journey north has been stalled for nearly a week.
"Todd, briefly explain the current situation to the nobles present."
In the military camp outside Nangu City, nobles from the south gathered together.
"According to the news from the front, Herson's ability to lead troops is actually not much better than that of the Duke of Galicia. The noble private army composed of nobles from the east of the kingdom has a total of more than 30,000 people. It is expected that in two days After that, we crossed the Golan Mountains and reached the foot of the royal capital."
Leon nodded, his sharp eyes scanning the nobles present:
"You have all heard what Todd just said. The distance between Helsen's army is The royal capital of Essex is only two days away, and the royal capital is currently empty. If Heerson really captures the royal capital, then the merits of suppressing the rebellion in the south will slip away in your hands."
" So... within five days! No matter how difficult it is, the Southern Allied Forces must arrive in Essex!" "
Whoever holds back the Allied Forces will be the sinner among all the southern nobles!"
Leon said resolutely said.
Hearing this, even though the nobles present were somewhat panicked, they all agreed without hesitation.
Seeing this, Leon couldn't help but nodded with satisfaction.
The death of the Duke of Galicia a few days ago has already left an indelible mark on Leon in the hearts of many nobles, and Leon is also willing to follow the trend and take this opportunity to further build his personal IP and establish a reputation. He has an image of being tough, decisive, and daring to speak out and do things.
No, the effect is very significant.
Faced with the orders he gave, the nobles present, whether they were counts or viscounts, all had to take them seriously and did not dare to be careless at all.
"The Royal Capital..."
When the nobles left one after another, Leon's eyes were always fixed on the map hanging in the tent, showing a dignified look.
The reason why he asked the Confederate Army to arrive within five days was entirely because it would take five days at the earliest for this bloated army to arrive. But the problem was...Wilbert I could really persist until he arrived. time?
Regarding this point, Leon actually had some doubts in his heart.
"I hope the losers in the capital can hold on longer."
Leon thought.
Otherwise, he would have no choice but to kidnap Herson and surrender to Perel.
...
The royal capital, Essex.
When news of the suspected appearance of enemy troops in the east of the royal capital reached the palace, the order in the royal capital fell into great chaos.
Theft, robbery, shopping for zero dollars.
Taking advantage of the chaos in the royal capital, countless guys who usually hide in the shadows jumped out one after another, adding a lot of chaos and disputes to the royal capital that should have been solemn and solemn.
And the rumors that had been suppressed with great difficulty before became rampant again as the royal capital was besieged, filling the hearts of all the civilians living in the city with panic and fear.
After all...
In order to exaggerate the criminal acts of the rebels, the Northland mercenaries under Perel had almost become a basket, and all the scandals such as massacre, indiscriminate killing, robbery, and rape were stuffed into it.
Although the people currently besieging the city are not the Northland mercenaries, but the Eastern Legion under Helson, it is enough to make the civilians feel extremely frightened. How could they know about these twists and turns among the nobles? What are the differences between the different rebel groups?
Food prices skyrocketed and business collapsed.
Panic gradually spread among the crowd, so much so that this city, which was supposed to be abundant in food, actually experienced a food shortage, and there were even murders for a bag of food.
And not only the civilians in the royal capital, but also the palace was in chaos.
Not long ago, news of the Duke of Galicia's rebellion had just returned.
But now, the nobles from the eastern part of the kingdom who were loyal to Helsen stationed their troops directly outside the royal capital, making Wilbert I's already shaky throne even more unstable and catching him off guard.
At this moment, although the regime of Wilbert I cannot be said to be besieged on all sides, it can basically be said to be half in ruins.
The situation is quite critical!
Because as Leon had previously expected, in order to stabilize the situation in the north, Wilbert I even transferred most of the elite knights from the kingdom's knights who guarded the royal capital to rush to the north, so that the current royal capital was extremely empty.
Of course the king knew that this might expose his third brother's ambitions, but Wilbert I had no choice!
But...
the only thing that Wilbert I didn't expect was that Helson's movements would come so fast!
"How many soldiers are available for deployment in the royal capital?"
King Wilbert I asked in a deep voice at the urgent imperial meeting.
"There are still more than three thousand people."
Sylva Byrne, the Lord Privy Seal, gave the answer.
"Enough!"
Perhaps the difficult situation aroused the bloody passion in Wilbert I's heart. At this time, instead of being as angry as before, he seemed extremely calm.
"The army under Helson's command is far inferior to the rebels in the north. This is at least much better than being attacked by northern mercenaries."
Wilbert I gave his own explanation.
In fact, everyone including King Wilbert I knew very well that in addition to the current eastern nobles, there was a rebel army led by the Duke of Galicia not far away in the south, moving towards the north.
However, now is obviously not the time to think about this.
At present, only by defending the royal capital can we have the possibility of making a comeback.
Will reinforcements arrive?
No one knows, but waiting for help is the only way out right now.
"First of all, we must stabilize the situation in the royal capital!"
King Wilbert I said in a deep voice: "Sylva Byrne, you lead the palace guards to patrol the streets in person. If there are people who create chaos and disobey orders, Kill them on the spot! In addition, close all food-selling shops in the royal capital, prohibit private transactions of food, and arrange for personnel to distribute food every day!" "Yes!" Upon hearing this, the Minister of
Privy
Seal quickly stood up and accepted the order.
"Regardless of whether they are civilians or serfs, recruit all the young men in the city!"
After a moment of silence, King Wilbert I became cruel and issued an order in a deep voice: "Give them money, each of them will receive ten Andal silver coins per day. ! In addition, twenty Andal silver coins will be awarded for every person killed, and they will be given out as long as they can hold on!"
Not counting other rewards, ten Andal silver coins per day, this amount of money is already twice that of mercenaries. Selling price for one day!
"If that's the case... I'm afraid the daily expenditure will be thousands of escudos." The Lord Privy Seal's cheek couldn't help but twitch, and he said with some hesitation.
Of course Wilbert I also felt distressed, but what he knew better was that this was obviously not the time to feel distressed about money.
With less than 3,000 soldiers, it is impossible to defend the royal capital, so...
"Fight!"
Wilbert I said without hesitation.
I have to say that Wilbert I’s decision was quite correct.
There are indeed not many soldiers in the royal capital, but there are many civilians.
Since the civilians were afraid of possible atrocities after the enemy troops broke through the city, they simply used the power of money to get civilians to go to the battlefield.
You must know that according to the military system of the Andal Kingdom, it is normal for free people to prepare their own weapons and serve on time.
Therefore, many people have cloth armor and weapons prepared as required in their homes, and Essex, as the most populous city in the Kingdom of Andal, can still find some manpower if it is scraped together.
And the same is true.
As thousands of civilians living in the royal capital climbed onto the city wall, the defense line that was on the verge of collapse under the enemy's attack finally became slightly more stable.
Although the losses were extremely huge and it was still crumbling, it was not going to collapse at the first touch.
And under the temptation of money, even untrained civilians seemed to burst out with amazing fighting spirit.
Not only the free people with weapons and cloth armor, but also the serfs holding plowshares, dung forks and even black bread as defenders of the city also made it difficult for Helsen's army to advance any further. The soldiers outside the city were firmly blocked from the towering walls of the royal capital, causing Helson's army to suffer great losses.
"Damn it! When will Mike Bravis arrive!"
The strength of the royal capital completely exceeded Helson's imagination, and the slowness of the Southern Allied Forces made Helson extremely angry.
In the past few days when he ordered his soldiers to attack the city with all their strength, the troops under his command suffered huge losses, which made Herson send out cordial greetings to the Duke of Galicia who had not yet arrived.
It wasn't until the early morning of the fourth day...
when the silhouette of the Southern Allied Forces finally appeared in the south of the royal capital, a knowing smile finally appeared on Helson's face.
He felt that it was stable now!
Let’s put together the next chapter, there is no more today. Mainly because the odd chapters look too awkward, but the even chapters are more comfortable
(end of this chapter)