Chapter 521
2021-01-06
Chapter 521 DeterrenceAmidst the creaking axles, a horse entered the broken gate Pulling the team, the cars are big and small, but all of them press white ruts on the icy ground where they pass. Regardless of the big or small cars, the objects in the car are covered with thick snow cloth, and the accompanying people seem to be The guard guards him like a diving tool in the middle... Wherever he goes, even the land-grant army soldier who has just broken the castle and made a great contribution consciously avoids it and pays attention, a solemn aura pervades for no reason.
The team slowly passed the east gate that had just been cleared, passed the clearing in front of the guard room filled with people of all kinds, and finally stopped under the weapons depot.
Opening the thick cloth, the escorts surrounded the carriage, and began to move the long sticks, short sticks, large buckets and small buckets in the car—in short, all kinds of unrecognizable objects. The carriage was transported into the arsenal, and among them, what attracted the attention of residents and captured soldiers the most was the strange monster body that five or six people cooperated to lift up using various tools such as suspenders and horizontal bars: A slightly thick long cylindrical shape, dark blue shiny metallic luster, a black hole that can't be seen to the end, the weight of the transporters bent over...
No matter what details are in Reveals an indescribable sense of depression and power.
"Battery ram?" Standing there anyway, the prisoners began to whisper the origin of this thing.
"It shouldn't be. The door of the main castle is not thick. If you want to make a battering ram to knock it open, you can just chop down a tree to solve the problem, but that thing looks like bronze."
"Could it be some kind of witchcraft prop? Last night, the doors on the east and north sides were not destroyed with a 'bang', maybe it was the witch from Asshai who did it with this stuff !"
A group of people stood in the cold wind for a while, and they were discussing how the rebels entered the city last night. Now that this guess, which is already close to the correct answer, came out, many people immediately a shivered.
"Then scoundrel is going to use this to attack the main castle?!" Yagao, who had a bruised nose and a bruised face, was taken aback. He was on the city wall not far from the east gate when the demolition team launched the attack last night. The formidable power of the explosion is still fresh in my memory. The gate of the main fort is not even half as thick and sturdy as the east gate. If it were attacked to such a degree... no one would be able to survive within a few dozen feet!
Being loyal to House Stark, he became anxious.
"Hey! The door of the main castle is only a few feet thick, and it will break after a few hits. You are not afraid to shock the people inside with this!" The former Winterfell guard, now in order to protect the master On the contrary, he taught the enemy how to attack the main castle. It's strange to think about it, but at this moment, he can't take care of so much. "Tell your commander: the living Stark is more valuable, let him not do stupid things!"
"You don't think you've been hit with a stick, right, shut up!"
The guards nearby raised their weapons to intimidate, trying to calm the captives, but Yagao called them that, other The captured soldiers have also recollected: although they suffered a defeat, the reason why they were willing to obediently and honestly be driven to the open space as prisoners instead of desperately resisting, in addition to being stunned by the combination of explosives and bombs, they also A large part of the reason is actually the restraint and mildness shown by the occupying side: the land-grant army not only surrendered and did not kill as the slogan called, but also did not burn, kill and loot after taking control of the castle... Caicai was even on the school grounds. Boiled water provided them with a simple breakfast.
All kinds of friendly measures gradually subsided the panic and fear of the residents and the defeated soldiers. They recalled: Night's Watch and North have always been friends, and the two sides have fought side by side. After winning, it is only reasonable to stop ruthlessly.
But the little sense of security that I managed to develop, burst like a bubble with the appearance of the weird bronze item just now - the weapon that was suspected to have broken the door last night. The rebels inadvertently put on a posture that they wanted to kill the Wolf Family to the last one, so how could these people who were born to be the people of House Stark get settled?
The unease and turmoil spread like waves, and it was about to turn into a prisoner riot. Fortunately, the land-grant generals who were in charge of guarding them noticed the abnormality in time.
...
Lyon was one of the first members of the security team established by the Logistics Department at King's Landing, normally Igor's personal bodyguard, and a mid-level officer in wartime job. He approached the source of the noise, imitating the tone of his own Lord Commander, frowned, and asked loudly, "What's the noise here?"
"Sir... this guy doesn't know what's going on, making a noise. The most valuable is the living Stark, please don't do stupid things, Lord Commander."
"Hey, you are in charge, right?" Yagao pushed towards the front of the crowd regardless of his injuries, moved towards The visitor asked loudly: "Let me see your commander, there must be other ways to solve this problem!"
"en?" The black clothed officer looked at his subordinates and then looked at the provocative prisoners. After a little bit of brain movement, I guessed the bits and pieces of the general situation, and after thinking about it, I even came up with a solution.
He turned to the captives and waved his arms: "Everyone, please be quiet, I know everyone is worried about the safety of the relatives and friends who are still in the main castle and the Stark family, but I can guarantee: Lord Commander made it clear in the combat meeting that no matter what happens, there will not be a single casualty in Winterfell today. Due to helpless reasons such as position and ideals, we are temporarily enemies today. , but for the sake of the old and new Gods, Night's Watch Legion has never had a stain on the 'believe what it says'!"
"After standing for a long time, you must be a little tired. , then we will disperse everyone to the hall and the winter town outside the city according to their physical conditions, if all goes well, before dark today, we will no longer be the enemy!" The caller did not ask anyone any questions. Or to refute the opportunity to attack oneself, just after saying a word, he temporarily controlled the scene and waved to the surrounding soldiers in charge of custody to disperse and transfer the prisoners, and then turned to Yagao who squeezed out the crowd: "As for this friend, I just have something to go to. See Lord Commander, and if you have any good idea or something you need to say to him, come with me - bring him out."
The last sentence is to the subordinates around you According to the soldiers, two Land-gender Warriors walked into the captives and took Yago out of the crowd, who followed them out of the clearing with their heads held high.
The commotion of the captive group gradually subsided as Leon came forward to appease and the restless "catfish" was eliminated...and their "spokesperson" or "representative" did not. As he wished, he was led to meet the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, but was locked in a small dark room far away from the square.
Dangerous elements were isolated, and the grouped captives were split into three parts and driven away from the main fort, while the land-grant army outside the house was busy trying to nip the riot threat in its cradle. , Igor West in the house is also seriously supervising the assembly of the artillery, waiting to witness the first roar of this weapon in actual combat.
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As the last self-protection barrier of House Stark, the main fort is not only built of solid granite, but also has a hidden mystery in its structural layout: although it looks like a standing It is an ordinary building in the city, but its lower half has only shooting holes but no windows. There is only one entrance and exit. It is higher than the ground and not open to the square. Instead, it is connected to the weapons storehouse next to the guard room through a closed bridge.
The advantages brought by this design are too numerous to explain in a short period of time, but the core point is: any enemy who attacks and successfully enters Winterfell should not try to bypass the defenders directly. Attack the main fort to "decapitate" House Stark, but to completely overwhelm the defenses and occupy the arsenal before posing a threat to the ultimate goal.
Igor met the prerequisites for attacking the fort, but in order not to hurt the House Stark members, he gave up the storm and chose to persuade him to surrender... Unfortunately, his soldiers failed to persuade the gate of the main fort to open. , but it posed a big problem for him.
It stands to reason that he should show his eloquence in person at this time...but the actual situation is: no matter how good his eloquence is, it can only work if the other side is willing to listen. Under the label of "Chameleon", the former friendship has become a drag. When Robb was in a coma and difficult to appear, what oneself said would not only have no weight, but may even have the opposite effect. Time is short and the others, even if he is helpless, he can only resume the cannon deterrence plan that he had given up long ago, and take the road of physical persuasion.
Not long ago, Igor was visited by R'hllor in a dream. Goddess said so many things in the dream, but he didn't completely convince him, but after waking up, he was dismissed with a "sentence from God". All his doubts... Was it the dragon scales that penetrated the roof and shot into him that made him realize everything? Of course not, but the power displayed by this hand made Igor realize that oneself has to believe it if he doesn't believe it.
The fact is that it's so cold: Sometimes, showing strength is a better way to persuade than a barrage of explanations and exhortations.
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The first batch of guns ready to be put into service had ten guns at that time, three were scrapped, and two of the Seven Sects were left in Queenscrown for future use. As a result, the remaining five gates were brought by Igor, who had hurriedly launched the southern expedition, as a hole card. Five, this number looks shabby, but considering the tight preparation time and the scarcity of qualified artillerymen, it is enough to satisfy him.
The so-called "artillery deterrence" is naturally aimed at deterrence rather than killing. In this case, even five is too much. Igor ordered that only one of the gates be moved into the arsenal, assembled on site and placed on the end of the bridge facing the main fort gate.
"Land Grant Type I" is a front-mounted smoothbore gun with a simple structure and primordial operation. The gun is more than one meter long. It is equipped with spherical projectiles that are not even fist sized. To measure its caliber, it is probably between four and five pounds. It is not that Igor does not want larger and more advanced styles, but that the initial construction of the land grant Arsenal hastily built under the circumstances of limited resources and time. The first to complete the verification and confirm that it is reliable for the time being - it is a fact that the firepower is not strong enough, and this is the main reason why he was embarrassed to take this gun out as a deterrent when he was still outside the city.
Of course, lack of firepower against Winterfell's double city walls is one thing, but in front of the main castle's wooden gate, the Land Grant I appears to be overflowing with completely formidable power.
The walls and roofs of the arsenal became the best cover, and the artillerymen didn't even have to worry about arrow harassment from the enemy. The members of the artillery squad moved the gun carriages and calmly aimed the gun barrels. At this distance, even the crude primordial aiming device on the gun is a bit redundant, only after a little adjustment after visual inspection, the charging hand will granulate a bag of Qyburn Maester by himself. Gunpowder was stuffed into the barrel. Charging, feeding, pressing, piercing the cartridge and inserting the lead... After a series of simple and well-prepared preparations were completed, the squad leader told Igor: "You can fire at any time."
"Let's fire it. ."
Without much brewing emotions, the gunner ignited the lead wire, and after a short burning, the first shot of Night's Watch's southern expedition was fired.
"peng!"
The minimum charge brought a slightly crisp roar, and two sparks, one big and one small, spewed out from the muzzle and the ignition port at the same time , the bronze tube slammed back with the gun mount under the recoil, and at the same time spit out a black cannonball, and flew to the main castle gate not far away with an afterimage.
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(end of this chapter)