Chapter 947
Imperial Capital, the sky palace.
After the night of the assassination, the palace is now heavily guarded-at least two Legion soldiers stood guard under almost every pillar and in front of every door; and as a noble council In the great hall and the imperial cabinet, there is at least one entire Hundred Men Squad garrison at all times.
It's completely different from Eckhardt II's style of loosening outside and tight inside.
This caused great pain to the nobles of Imperial Capital; indeed, they chose one of the most "perfect" emperors themselves, but this emperor was too perfect and too hardworking. To the point.
Tax increases for the nobles, war donations, planning of logistics supply roads, the establishment of various supply station warehouses in the empire, the expropriation of local nobles’ granaries, negotiations with the Great Chamber of Commerce...Connold I The emperor was a born emperor just as the nobles at first expected.
He would exercise the emperor's authority as if he was born with him, and he knew how to bring the effects of these authority into full play within the legal principles.
The "Imperial Council", which symbolizes the authority of the empire, was changed from once a month to once a week. The Imperial Cabinet is even more open throughout the week, discussing and discussing all "new ideas" put forward by the emperor all the time.
And Connold I, as the "emperor of all hope", he followed the imperial code, allowing any imperial minister or nobleman to have different opinions from him, and accepting everyone's requests and suggestions.
Similarly, as an emperor, he also has the right to put forward "new" ideas for the parliament to continue "discussing" when his decree is not passed.
The locked door, the fully armed guards...Even if a nobleman is bold enough to stand up and resist, he still has to weigh whether he can escape the sky palace where Legion is stationed.
After three days of "non-violence and non-cooperation", watching Connold I who was still full of energy sitting on the throne, the nobles who were tortured to severe exhaustion and trance finally couldn't Don’t admit it, the emperor’s majesty is stronger.
As for the coup d'etat... Connold, who owns the fortress of Broken Boundary Mountain, Legion, all the dukes, and even the church, is not afraid of any rebellion.
For those nobles who were outward devotion but inner opposition, Emperor Connold gave them two choices-either go to jail and be beheaded, or he would dissolve the parliament and reorganize a "more loyal" .
One-fifth of the nobles went to jail, one-tenth of the nobles died suddenly in the parliament, and after one-tenth of the nobles were beheaded, the remaining aristocrats finally understood the emperor’s "more What does a “loyal” council look like:
The emperor is the council, the emperor is the empire, and the emperor’s will is the empire’s will... They must practice the emperor’s will—be the most industrious servants, but also There is the most faithful rubber stamp.
Under such "spiritual guidance", the imperial assembly has become more efficient than ever, and it has also become unprecedentedly violent. All the nobles and bureaucrats are performing recklessly by fair means or foul. The emperor's thoughts.
Only Holy Cross Church, from start to finish, did not take any action-except for handing over donations and gold and silver utensils from the church members, neither took to the streets to advocate for the emperor, nor stood up to resist openly. , From start to finish are very quiet.
This quiet makes Connold smell a little strange; but in the current situation, he has no spare time to interfere with the decisions and ideas of the church, only on the premise that the other party maintains cooperation. Let it go.
By gathering (searching) all the materials and funds in the Imperial Capital, hiring (forcibly enlisting) all the tools and livestock, and establishing a line from Imperial Capital to Eboden, it is enough to support the squandering of 200,000 troops After the supply line, Imperial Capital's prices also soared to the point that even the nobles could not bear it.
So Connold also launched his next plan-a large number of impoverished people in the Imperial Capital were hired to form the so-called "Golovan Heavy Army", which became the cornerstone of supply lines and military logistics.
He must do the same, otherwise, without waiting for the war to start, Imperial Capital will starve everywhere and riots will occur after so many materials have been searched.
Only Golovin, a large city with a population of one million, could provide the Emperor Connold with such a large amount of materials and manpower to squander.
"Connold, Eboden has news."
A tone without any emotion sounded at the table of the Imperial Cabinet.
The ministers present here silently turned their heads back, looking towards the silhouette of Qianli who had just walked in and sat down "grandly"-able to appear unconstrained on such an important occasion, yet dared to call the emperor's name directly There is only one person in the entire empire.
Princess Zhang plus the current leader of the night watch, His Royal Highness Fitlonai Dessalion.
"Loren Torino suppressed Eboden's rebellion, and the army of Azorean elves has come to the city?" Although it was a questioning tone, Connold's expression was quite positive.
If he can't even do this, it's not Duke Byrne.
"How many enemies are there?"
"One hundred battleships, the whole army is no less than 100,000; it is said that there are also alchemy trebuchets with powerful formidable power and a range of more than 500 steps. "
After finishing speaking, the long Her Highness the Princess closed his eyes and calmed down without saying a word.
There was a slight movement and a desperately suppressed exclamation at the table of the Imperial Cabinet.
"One hundred thousand...Loren Torino's army is about 20 to 30 thousand people. The overwhelming majority are mercenaries without fighting spirits. There should be less than 10,000 elites." Staring at the table. Map, Connold shook his head: "He can't hold on for too long."
"Meternich, how are our army preparations?"
"According to your will , And continue to assemble to establish stable supply depots and garrison camps-the 20,000 troops in the fortress of Duanjieshan, and the Legion soldiers conscripted by East Sacrament are also heading south." The Minister of the Seal said respectfully:
"It will take time to completely complete the assembly."
"It will take time..." Connold suddenly sneered: "That means the entire army was wiped out in Loren Torino, and the city was destroyed. Before the death, you will not let the army be assembled?"
Meternich looked surprised: "Your Majesty! We never..."
"Okay, I There is no point to blame." Emperor Connold waved his hand and stopped the minister of the seal and the minister of military affairs who still wanted to defend: "Since the empire's army is too late, let the other dukes fulfill their promises."
"Open the border of East Sackland and let the hussars of Poi go to Eboden...Where is Lothar's army?"
"It has been pulled out and is coming from the valley "The Minister of Military Affairs said solemnly: "A total of 8,000 people, mainly light infantry, and one third is Lotaire's most elite longbow army."
"Send a church messenger to Lothair Urge the local church not to obstruct it.” Connold ordered: “Send another messenger to write a letter to the Scarlet Blood Castle, telling them the details of the battle in Eboden.”
" I want to see what the loyal Knights of Byrne will do after knowing that his Duke is in Eboden!"
…………………………………… ……
"Boom——————!!!"
The "beam of light" projected from the launcher glided across the sky, and the dazzling firelight was on Eboden’s The sky above the city wall burst, and the horns sounded like an eagle.
After testing each other overnight, the real confrontation finally began.
Still maintaining the depth of the two wings, the trapezoidal array of elven fleets began to approach the port, opening their sails through the battleship of the high tide of the morning sea and the morning wind, like giants in groups.
Almost every tower on Eboden’s city wall has at least one heavy ballista; in the space between the towers, large trebuchets are placed in the rear—the only two in the city The heavy catapult capable of hitting five hundred steps away was deployed in the ring fortress.
At the top of the tower, the expressionless black hair wizard still stands where it was last time, looking far away at the approaching wizard battleship; Lu Sien, standing behind him, is staring at Loren flatly. His right hand, the heartstrings are tightened to the limit.
Obviously it's just an extremely small movement, but it seems to be extremely important.
As long oars protruding from both sides of the wizard battleship, the right hand of the black hair wizard gently dropped.
Lu Sien’s pupils shrank suddenly, and he burst out with excitement:
"Stand up the flag!"
The surrounding Byrne Knights were shocked. , As if instinctively raised the battle flag in his hand-the twenty-faced black-bottomed Golden Lion flag, neatly and uniformly appeared on the top of the tower, very eye-catching.
In the next second, the curtain composed of steel chains suddenly tore open the sea, ending in the ring fortresses at both ends and the castle on the opposite bank of the river, blocking the coast of Eboden.
Although the sailors of the Elf fleet noticed the abnormality immediately after the battle flag appeared, they were still a step late...The first two battleships slammed straight into the chains.
"Boom——!"
In the terrifying loud noise, two battleship waterline planks, crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood, shattered in general!
The straight and slender chain in front of the battleship is like a long sword that is horizontally raised. After making "wheezing" noises, the bow post of the completely deformed keel is finally broken into two pieces. .
The sound of the cracked deck, the sound of breaking the sails, the sailor who lost one's head out of fear, the warrior who fell into the water...The curtain of steel chains not only completely destroyed the two battleships, but also brought the back row. The battleship that was too late to retreat was also forcibly trapped and was in a dilemma.
Almost at the same time, the ring-shaped fortress roared at the same time as all the trebuchets at the front of the coast—the long swing arm pulled the leather bag full of ammunition and fire oil cans, and threw it in the direction of the chain. Got out.
There is no need to aim at all, because two days ago all the catapults and ballistas had their aiming ranges fixed, and they were all fixed within 20 steps before and after the chain!
"Boom——————!!!"
The thunder-like loud noise, as one after another black shadows rushed to the sea, one after another; many more The kerosene tank filled with hot oil and ignitant shattered in the air before it fell, and golden red's "rain water" poured down.
Decks, sails, masts... the collapsed and sunken battleship gradually turned the scattered flames into skyrocketing flames, and the entire sea surface was swallowed with golden red flames.
The elven warriors who did not have time to evacuate, because they were too dense and almost blocked in groups in the cabin, were swallowed by flames before they had time to escape, or along with the battleship, gradually Sinking under the water...
The elven sailors who finally escaped were either roasted alive on the surface of the sea, or turned into targets for catapults and ballistas-nearly five hundred steps away Distance, ammunition is of course difficult to aim; but the water waves exploded by the stone ball are enough to take the dying elves back to the seabed.
Looking at the cruel scene in front of you, like a hell on earth, the soldiers on the city wall have been silent collectively; but the city wall and the heavy soldiers behind the tower can’t see anything, they can only follow the Duke and The command issued by the commander—continue to project until the command comes or the ammunition is empty.
And Loren didn't mean to stop at all.
If you want to lure the enemy into attacking the castle, you must take advantage of the present to hurt the opponent fiercely. The pain is so painful that he no longer dares to attack Eboden with this frontal and hard-working method, and it hurts them so much. So far as you hurt your muscles and move your bones.
Two or three battleships are still far from the point where they hurt their nerves and bones.
"Let the projection troops at the rear gradually slow down the offensive and let the enemy's boats enter the port." Loren ordered: "All the city defense forces immediately enter the fortification positions and prepare for defense."
"We are going to be under the city wall and hurt them fiercely!"
"As you bid!"
…………………………
The crystal lens of the single-channel telescope accurately displays a fire sea in the distance, and the scene of the wizard warriors struggling and wailing in the water is presented in front of the wizard little Prince.
On the deck of absolute silence, the elves warrior doors frowned, with painful expressions or fierce expressions on their faces, or they turned their heads too hard to look directly.
No one noticed the corners of the little Prince's mouth that was inadvertently raised.
"His Royal Highness, would you like to order the withdrawal...to gather the remnants and reorganize the army?" Alexandra, the chief lieutenant of the Superintendent's Court, was keen on the side when she was about to say "retreat." Elf girl Lori lightly tapped her calf with the handle of the knife, and quickly changed her words:
"If your Royal Highness needs it, I would like to take the lead in the charge and take the enemy's harbor for you!"
" Don’t look so serious, Miss Alexandra, the enemy is just bluffing—the more they use this method to hinder us, the more proof their army is impossible to withstand a single blow in front of the wizard warrior."
Little Prince smiled softly: "Let the battleship in front gather the remaining parts as soon as possible to make room; then put down the boat and land and attack."
"Oh, yes! Tell the chief of the court, Eugen. My lord, just say... it’s time for him to perform."
"Yes!"
Alysandra nodded hard, turned and looked towards the deck: "May it be Rodria Your Royal Highness acts like a man of death, follow me!"
In the chaotic footsteps and the uniform response, the warrior on the deck of the flagship was reduced by nearly half.
Only Lori, the elven girl with blindfolded eyes, still stood in place with a group of Imperial Court warriors.
"Aiya, the noisy guys are gone. It's much quieter." With a light smile, the successful little Prince took up the monocular telescope again, and the transparent lens was realigned to the height. In the direction of the tower, the corners of the mouth raised:
"The opening...always full of surprises!"