Chapter 284 Not a human being
As a country on the front line against Roman Hungary, Austria suffered too much. Their territory was massacred, the population was reduced sharply, property was lost, industry and commerce were sluggish, Vienna even had to be wary of the cavalry threat from Hungary, and those farmers were not so lucky.
They were taken and made into slaves and then presented in the market. Rome has ordered that no slave trade is allowed in the country, and all these are purchased by the state to enrich the population in the eastern part of the empire.
The Ljubljana garrison totaled 3,000 people. They were not sure they could hold on for a month. After all, siege capabilities like Rome's have not appeared on the land of Europe for more than a hundred years. Now it seems that they are still a little scared.
After Peter arrived here, he did not rush to attack the city. He shot a letter into the city, asking them to open the city and surrender. Then they could serve Rome or leave, and they would be given a traveling fee before leaving.
Such a letter was naturally torn into pieces by the defenders. They shouted and cursed the Roman army below the city, while the priest in the city led the believers to pray to God to bless Ljubljana.
All 350 artillery pieces finally arrived on the battlefield, transported by slaves and farmers. The simultaneous firing of the artillery pieces caused great damage to the walls of this small town. Some defenders were unable to dodge and were taken away by the artillery, and the only two artillery pieces in the city missed because of their low power.
After two rounds of artillery bombardment, Peter ordered an attack on Ljubljana. A large number of soldiers began to advance towards the city. The defenders quickly used bows, arrows and stones to stop the Roman army. However, stimulated by honor and land, the Roman soldiers became more brave one after another, and the city gates also received the power of Rome's new weapons and chariots. The door was blown open, and blood and body parts were scattered all over the floor.
The soldiers rushed in with all their strength. The Venetian mercenaries had strong combat effectiveness, but they could not withstand the enemy's large numbers and were eventually exhausted and annihilated. In Ljubljana, it took only eighteen hours from the official attack to the end.
With the fall of Ljubljana, there were no obstacles on the road to Italy. Peter issued what he thought was the cruelest order: not a person, a dollar, or a grain of grain should be left for the enemy.
Soldiers went from house to house to collect materials and people. Those who needed to replenish military supplies were replenished, and those who were not needed were left to the soldiers. As for the population, all the people were transferred to Rome to replenish the borders and labor force.
As a result, you will see the most destructive army raging in the west, leaving no grass growing anywhere, cleaner than locusts. The Roman army also received the title of the Locust Army.
After the occupation of this small town, northern Italy was shaken. The first one to bear the brunt was Venice. The ruling council made an urgent decision to move all the population of the neighboring Venetian territory to the city of Venice to defend the mainland. In the important Istria Peninsula, only Koper retained some troops to defend Venice.
Peter continued to expand his territory, and the entire principality of Carniola was almost occupied by Rome. The Austrian army can only defend in the north. As for Tyrol, wish yourself luck.
The monastery was also the focus of looting by the Roman army. Nuns, monks, and civilians were all taken away, and the crops they planted were packed up and set on fire before leaving. Making the local parish miserable.
"Where should we go next? Going directly to Venice is a bit too fast. How about going to the Alps?"
While Peter was thinking this, the attendant reported to him that the Austrian envoy had arrived. Peter wanted to see what this man could say in front of him.
"The Archduke of Austria has entrusted me to express condolences to your army. Austria comes with friendship and peace."
The messenger meant peace when he spoke. In his words, Austria was a child who was coerced and forced to go to war with Rome. Now the people are in ruins, which is not what they want to see. Therefore, the Archduke asked Rome to withdraw from here, and he could provide the Roman army with a condolence gift of 150,000 gold coins.
"The Empire has never done anything unfriendly to the West. Everything we do is for revenge."
"That group of businessmen openly insulted Constantinople. This is a shame for the country. It was only a country to them, but you actually joined in. Then don't blame the empire for fighting together."
"The empire will withdraw, but not now. Please ask your envoy to return to Vienna."
"This..." The envoy didn't know what to say. Peter was a little impatient and said, "Does your country want me to go to Vienna to explain to the Grand Duke in person?"
"No, no need." The Austrian envoy left directly, and Peter laughed loudly. With such an army of locusts crossing the border, the entire West should hate him to death.
While they were still engaging in interest diplomacy, Rome had already risen to the level of wolf warrior diplomacy. With such a strong head, aren't you afraid of being beaten?
This is also the reason why the art of combining vertical and horizontal lines flourished during the Warring States Period. If a country was too strong, other countries would form alliances to fight; that powerful country would find ways to break the alliance one by one, and Rome was that powerful country. .
The loot agency specially set up by Peter was short of manpower. Who allowed them to plunder too much? First the Cossacks plundered, and then the locust army attacked. They can't wait to scrape off the land three feet, and even the rich businessmen are no different from beggars.
After excluding military salary, material losses and spoils, Peter's pocket money increased by 200,000 ducats. More accomplished than The Black Prince did in France.
Then the plunder continued to expand, and even the small lords who supported Austria suffered. They did not expect that one day their property would be robbed, and the other party would not just rob it once and then leave. Instead, they would only give you blue sky, white clouds and poor soil, and the rest, including people, would be robbed. This will have a great impact on the whole of northern Italy and southern Germany.
Seeing that Rome had sent troops, various countries also forced George to lead the army on the expedition. However, the current preparations have not yet been completed. He carefully referred to the previous battles with Rome. The opponent's artillery and gun usage rate was particularly high, so he decided to introduce a large number of firearms troops. He has ordered 2,000 muskets and 30 artillery pieces. Currently, There are still some artillery that have not been transported, and the command systems of the various armies also need to be coordinated. After all, this is a mercenary consortium, not a national standing army.
Austria was already frightened into withdrawing, as was the diocese of Trento, for it was supposed to be his turn next. But because of Rome's atrocities, the small lords in the south united, formed the Southern League, and then joined the Venetian League.
And because Rome invaded the HRE, German King Jobst symbolically expressed that he would give Rome a look, and the Elector of the Palatinate expressed that he would join the fight against Rome. The same is true for the Principality of Bavaria from the same family. It seems that The war is coming to the heart of HRE.