The Sri Lankan man has passed away, and the military generals of Wawasika have no time to stay in mourning for the dead soldiers.
On the morning after the funeral, everyone gathered again in the conference room of the city lord's palace in Wawasika for the first time in a season - Henry and Mira were also present this time, but there was a precedent from last time, and no one was there this time. Don't you dare to underestimate this black-haired man again.
The consequences of the attack were tragic, and Avenella had to respond.
The first response measure was quickly discussed. Everyone agreed that letters must be sent to nearby city-states, and many small groups of scouts were organized to search for traces of the strange army.
After all, they are outsiders and are not as familiar with the environment of the Ecasta Plain as the locals. If they search carefully, they will definitely be able to find it over time.
The problem is only time - there is a large amount of virgin forest in Avenella. If the attacker hides here and uses the cover of the trees to move to other places, it is likely that another city will be attacked before being tracked.
Dozens of ravens were tied up and sent out with urgent letters. In addition, there was a group of cavalry rushing towards Ashenil, who was most likely to be the next target.
The smooth roads allowed news to be conveyed much faster than in the past. The first issue was solved in this way, but the next issue related to the face of the kingdom and the issue of giving an explanation to the dead soldiers, but everyone had great differences.
The close comradeship among the Wawasika garrison had a negative effect in this situation. Many knights who had just buried their comrades with their own hands were very emotional. They shouted loudly that this was the Sivalier people. Attack, demanding with fierce words that Prince Edward give orders to attack Inznil.
They would not listen to any explanation in this case. Although Charles, the city lord, repeatedly emphasized that after interrogation, it was determined that the attacker was from Padrosi, the officers also had their own explanations for this situation.
"Mercenaries!" they shouted.
"Each of them is wearing Shivalier-style military uniforms and armor! They use Shivalier-style fighting methods. Even if they have Raman accents, they are just mercenaries!" The excited officers roared loudly Standing, saliva splashing everywhere.
This cannot be blamed on them. In fact, this idea is more reasonable and easier to accept than the fact that the attacking troops were sent by the Padrosi Empire. After all, Padrosi is far away on the other side of Morbigas, and has basically no contact with Avenella except for a few individual businessmen and mercenaries, not to mention conflicts of interest.
On the contrary, in Sivalier, more than 10,000 proud heavy cavalry were defeated in the plains of Ecasta in the autumn of this year. It was the garrison of Wavasika that killed them, so they It is natural to seek revenge.
Even taking into account the fact that Civalier was in the process of being renovated, they had never waged war in the winter in the past - but again this was the perfect explanation for the attackers being from Padrosi.
——The Sivalier people were severely humiliated and suffered a disastrous defeat, so they did not hesitate to hire foreign mercenaries to win back the victory.
This logic seemed to make sense and was repeatedly emphasized by the emotionally excited officers, but some details later transmitted by the scouts who went out to inquire about the news made Henry and Edward even more convinced of the reason behind it all. It's the top brass of the Padrosi Empire who are causing trouble.
"The passing merchants confirmed that the ships carrying them were warships, and they landed directly on the beach of Acasta." Edward said this. This sentence may not sound like much at first, but if you have enough knowledge It's actually very meaningful when used to judge.
The fact that Padrosi's national law stipulates that merchants cannot own armed ships first proves the fact that these attackers were not mercenaries but regular soldiers.
The second sentence, landing directly on the beach, further confirmed this judgment.
Anyone who knows a little bit about ships and navigation will understand that due to the draft of large ships, they often cannot get too close to the coast, otherwise the bottom of the ship will be broken by the rocks and rocks on the shore, causing water leakage or simply running aground.
Therefore, it is particularly important to build ports with wood and stone in places with natural water depth. Otherwise, if people want to go to land from large ships, they can only transfer to small boats.
Under this premise, the fact that the other party directly docked with armed ships has to remind people of the conquest history of the Laman Empire.
Facing the sea to the west and the river to the east, the Lamanite Empire was surrounded by other countries like Avenela at the beginning of its birth.
Countries defended each other and built countless fortresses on the borders between countries, stationing tens of thousands of troops. The method chosen by Laman's conquerors was to use their unparalleled shipbuilding technology to directly take the sea route, attack the opponent's unsuspecting coastal city-states, and then outflank them and appear behind the border fortress.
After cutting off the supply line, no matter how strong the defenders are, it is only a matter of time before they surrender.
Considering that Padrosi is of the same line as the Laman Empire, it is obvious that they will have this kind of excellent warship that can directly land in the entire world of Rigar.
In fact, when it comes to ships that can land directly on the beach, the construction difficulty is actually not high. The reason why commercial ships for carrying people and cargo have wider hulls and deeper drafts is to avoid being overturned by wind and waves when traveling on the sea, and at the same time, they can carry more goods at one time and earn more profits.
If you want to be able to land directly on the beach, you either have to make a small boat, such as a small wooden boat commonly used by ordinary fishermen. Or you could make the entire boat slender so that the weight is evenly distributed in a straight line rather than concentrated in a small area.
So just landing is not too difficult, but sailing over from the other side of Morbigas with a full load of warriors and landing is another matter.
When a slender ship is hit by waves, the damage caused is far greater than that of a thick merchant ship. If the keel strength is insufficient, it is common for the entire ship to break and everyone to drown. Therefore, except for the Padrosi Empire, which has rich shipbuilding experience and has countless excellent navigators, no one else will build them.
Transporting thousands of soldiers at one time would require at least dozens of ships. Although the inland sea of Morbigas was relatively calm, considering the risks, it was obvious that only a huge empire would dare to do such a large-scale undertaking.
The facts were laid out, but the agitated officers still refused to believe it.
They were still shouting loudly about attacking Inznir. Charles seemed to have a headache. Edward, who was already distressed by everything, finally couldn't help shouting angrily:
"Enough!" The angry look of His Royal Highness, who has always been a modest gentleman, made many people restrain themselves, but they only flinched for a moment, and the hatred on their faces still remained.
"The battle is impossible." Edward was so angry that he couldn't speak. In this crisis situation, the officers insisted on going their own way, which made him feel that he really hated iron, so Henry took a step forward on his behalf and spoke.
Only a small number of people present were officers who had been rotated, and most of them knew the role this black-haired man played in the previous battle - or more importantly, they had heard privately that he was a wise man. The aristocratic officers were all quiet, wanting to see what he would say.
The sage then spoke in his usual unhurried tone: "If we attack Sivaliya, the troops must be mobilized by Vavasika, but Vavasika's army suffered a huge blow in the previous battle. ." He paused, and then continued: "What is more serious than this is the damage to the city gate and part of the city wall. When the city defense facilities are destroyed, the number of troops defending the city needs to be greatly doubled."
"The soldiers of Vavasika are now transferred from Ashenil. Although the military strength is very strong for the time being, in the long run, the entire economic center of Avenella will fall into a predicament of lack of defense. While the attackers are still there, It's really not a wise move to dispatch an army to attack Inznir when things are wandering outside." Henry shook his head and said.
"The best defense is to attack! Just attack the Sivaliya people proactively so that they have no time to attack." The sage's words made most people think deeply, but one person who had never met before should be from The officer transferred by Ashenil retorted loudly.
Henry turned his head and observed this man. He was young, about 20 years old, wearing a noble coat of arms. He was a knight, and perhaps he had recently obtained a fief.
Maybe there was someone he knew among the people who died in Wawasika, so he was so angry? ——A moment of observation made the sage deny this idea. He was very familiar with the eager expression on the young noble officer's face. This was just another naive young man who wanted to prove his martial prowess through fighting.
"..." Henry was silent for a while. Most of these young people who are eager to gain honors are just inexperienced in the world, but he does not intend to leave the other party with some kindness. The sage half-squinted his eyes, and then slowly said: "So, do you have any way to prove that the attacker must be a Sivalier?"
The unexpected rhetorical question stunned the young knight. He said "uh." Before he could answer, Henry continued: "If this guess is wrong, the entire army will move forward to attack Inznir. And the opponent seized this opportunity to attack. Do you have the qualifications to bear the responsibility for the destruction of two city-states and the heavy damage to the country?"
"..." The noble lowered his head, then took a few steps back angrily.
The conference room once again reached a deadlock. Although the restless emotions of the officers were calmed, they still have not been able to solve the most critical issue.
As Henry said before, Padrosi had a plan to attack Avenella and pretend to be a Sivalier. If they could figure out this motive, they wouldn't be making random guesses like they are now.
The dull air echoed in the conference room, and Ming Na, who came in with Mira, looked at his back from a distance. Obviously, in this situation of extreme lack of information, even Henry, who has the reputation of a sage, has difficulty in judging the reason.
"Dong dong dong!" The silence was broken by a knock on the door. Everyone in the room turned their heads. A young soldier stood at the door, looking a little overwhelmed.
"Didn't we agree not to let anyone disturb us? There are very urgent matters here." Charles frowned and shouted loudly, while the unlucky reporting soldier was startled and then said tremblingly.
"Your Excellency... that, mainly... the soldiers who sealed the border intercepted a group of traders coming out of the Grigli Gap. They seemed to be Otolo people. Because of the language barrier, we couldn't explain to them that there were people nearby. It's dangerous, so I don't know what to do now that I've sealed the matter..." The soldier said, Charles frowned, and Henry's eyes lit up behind him.
"Tap, tap, tap." He took a few steps to the front of the wooden table, smoothed the huge map on the parchment, and let out a long sigh.
"Sir?" Edward asked as Henry obviously discovered something.
"You all know what is the most puzzling thing about this whole thing." The sage asked first in his usual way, and Edward nodded: "Why did Padrosi attack Yawenei?" pull."
The prince said this, this is indeed a question that cannot be explained in terms of interests or conflicts.
"Yes, because no matter from any angle, Avenella is not an opponent worthy of Padrosi, so they have no reason to spend so much time..." Henry raised a finger and pressed it. Somewhere on the map, many people reacted immediately to his words.
"Paderosi's target was not Avenella from the beginning. The reason why he attacked Vavasica was just because..." Edward stared at the map marked on the west, which was no less huge than Padrosi. Great empire.
"It's just because on the other side of the Grigori Cleft is the Otolo Empire." The prince took over the sage's words, his eyes became sharp, and Henry continued: "Wawasika has control over The Grigori Gap is the shortcut from the Otolo Empire to the west coast. Although the land on the opposite side is not yet peaceful because it just conquered the Luoans 20 years ago, it will definitely be stable in a few years. It becomes a shortcut for the Otolo Empire to export or conquer."
"Once it stabilizes, Otolo, who starts to expand to this side, will inevitably have conflicts of interest with Padrosi."
"The Padrosi want to strike first, but they don't want to arouse Otolo's vigilance." Edward continued his words and nodded as he spoke. The officers beside him quietly listened to their analysis: "Yes Yes, it must have been the recent battle between Avenella and Silvalier that attracted their attention." The sage said: "The Padrosi people, who have been playing tricks for thousands of years, want to kill someone with a borrowed knife, so Avenella Fight with Sivalier again, and wait until both countries are exhausted and the overall situation is decided, then they will sit back and enjoy the gains.”
"At that time, it will be too late for the Otolo people to react. As long as Huavasica is captured by Padrosi, Otolo's shortcut to the west coast will be strangled."
"Hurry up and send an envoy to send a warning." Henry turned his head and looked at Charles. The city lord was stunned for a moment: "To whom?" He asked subconsciously, while the sage frowned and looked serious.
"Give it to the Sivaliers. Padrosi wants to stir up this muddy water. To be safe, they will definitely work on both sides. The disappearing army should have gone towards Inznir as expected."
The crisis was urgent, and the nobles of Avenella, who had sorted out everything in Wavasika, quickly launched into action.
