The war is over. Tianlai Novel
The final ending of the Avenella Civil War, which lasted for nearly four months, seemed a little feeble compared to the miraculous victory that poets were good at singing. To the foreigners who followed the war, including Civalier, Otolo and Padrosi, its end seemed inexplicable.
The Avenella Southern Allied Forces under the leadership of Ashberon II had such a large force, but with few fatal attacks, they were defeated by an army whose total number did not exceed theirs until the end. The army was captured.
The records of this period of history by later generations of historians are always briefly summarized and directly stated as "due to the incompetence of Ashberon II", but those of us who have personally experienced this war can understand that he has done everything he can. things that can be done.
Affected by various factors such as his way of thinking and psychological factors, as well as real-life popularity and political struggles, Ashberon II had very few choices at the beginning.
He does not have the support of the people, and even the nobles are not always on his side. The people were forced to join his banner, while the nobles only tilted the balance of short-term interests to this side. In the final analysis, Edward and the others were quite well prepared for this. They had been cultivating elite Northern troops since the Battle of Ecasta, and they had attracted more people's hearts with their pre-war speeches. In contrast, Ashberon II failed to realize that the two people's ideas were so different, and still believed in his heart that Edward did not dare to rebel against him. He made no preparations from the beginning, even until he said Wolfberg was captured, and he barely managed to convince the three archdukes of the south.
In this battle, the only one among Avenella's southern coalition forces that could be said to be well prepared was the heavy infantry regiment dispatched by Emperor Otolo, who had foreseen this in advance.
This is why we always distinguish between the northern "army" and the southern "coalition army". Compared with the northern army, which is relatively complete and unified, the southerners are a large number of people with ulterior motives who stand together because of temporary common interests. Son - and this was exactly what the Northern Army focused on at the beginning.
The great and arrogant founder of the Laman Empire once said: "Only fools try to solve all problems with war." Although his words refer to a country's foreign policy, by analogy, they can also be applied to war itself. Passable.
We have mentioned this before when citing the history of the defeat of the Luoans. In short, even when they initially had superior military strength, the Northern Army's key strategy was only to use this power as negotiation capital to try to alienate and disintegrate the southern nobles. Rather than actively seeking a fight.
Both emotionally and practically, Edward - or Avenella - could not afford to fight a bloody war, but Edward could not make sure that the southern nobles understood otherwise. situation.
Human beings are sometimes so hypocritical and stubborn. If we do not start a war but lobby slowly, I am afraid that even ten or twenty years later, Edward will not be able to make the southern nobles change their minds - but Let’s get back to where we started.
The fragmented Southern Alliance Army has many entry points. Once time prolongs the situation, it will only become more unfavorable for them. This is also the purpose of His Majesty Emperor Otolo, who initially chose to support them, to send an entire army of ten thousand people. However, this approach is not so much assistance as it is that it has completely taken over the war. The fundamental reason for such a risky move by the Otolo Empire lies in the nature of the nobles of Avenella that they saw during the communication process.
Unlike others, His Majesty the Emperor of Otolo is one of the few people who knows how much the nobles in the south of Avenella are worth. Therefore, since the beginning of the war, they have actively intervened, with the purpose of defeating the Northern Army as quickly as possible and avoiding the extension of the front line and the confusion of the Southerners.
The Otolo people know war very well, and are a little immature compared to the Lamanites, maybe so. But as a great power that has risen rapidly within a century, they also have their own unique insights and keen sense of politics and war.
However, it is as if the preparations made by the Northern Army early in the morning were hit in the head. The reality is that before encountering the enemy, you can only perfect your plans as much as possible - they may work, but more often they will not. . In the end, no pre-prepared plan can work perfectly unless it is a completely unequal war. Most of the time, people can only try their best to improve during the process to ensure that everything continues to move towards their original purpose.
All in all, with the joint efforts of Henry and others, this war did not end with a bloody victory. Although the bards who tried to use this as a theme were disappointed, the northern army and many southern nobles who finally recognized the reality breathed a sigh of relief.
But this is the only moment of rest that Edward and the others can have. Countless tasks are still waiting for them to do. A new king ascends the throne, new policies need to be announced, mercenaries and farmers who have been exiled on the battlefield need to be reorganized and sent back to their hometowns, homeless people need to be resettled, trade routes need to be opened, and management systems need to be formulated - and most importantly Yes, the new standing army must begin training as soon as possible.
How to deal with the southern nobles who submitted to him is also a headache. Although most of them chose to surrender due to the pressure of reality, and Edward graciously forgave them, His Highness the Prince was not naive enough to take credit for this and entrust him with important tasks.
Accepting the Loan royal family has legitimized the existence of the Loan people within the kingdom. Coupled with His Royal Highness the Prince's political tendency to be close to the north, Avenella's political and power center will inevitably undergo a major change. The promotion of commercial freedom will offend the interests of various local nobles and will inevitably cause a series of overt and covert struggles. Although Edward is wholeheartedly thinking about the future of this country, and real threats are close at hand, it is a pity that Most people can still see only the interests in front of them.
It is a fantasy to change these old nobles of the old generation, but their young children who yearn for chivalry are the direction that Edward can start - this is something that our sage can already imagine without mentioning His Highness the Prince, and in In this war, the magic that formed a large-scale organization also showed its glorious future, and many directions for construction were pointed out. In addition, political exchanges with foreign countries are also a top priority - but when it comes to Before that, let us stay in the moment and focus on the misty field that day.
——Ahibern II fled.
No matter how strong his revenge was, when the nobles no longer obeyed his orders and rushed outward, the king also realized that he was defeated.
Under the few loyal guards who still existed, they launched a surprise attack outside. This was necessary because some of the remaining nobles under Grand Duke Dehat seized this opportunity to try to assassinate the king. He dedicated it to Edward as a sign of loyalty.
The bitter retribution that Ashbern II planted himself finally came. No one among the nobles reached out to him. The vast majority chose to remain indifferent, while a small number of the remaining ones also rushed forward. I want to gain some credit to gain recognition from the new king.
Trees fall and hozens scatter, and walls fall and everyone pushes them away. This kind of thing will not be rare throughout the history of the world.
The chaos they caused caused Edward to miss the opportunity to capture his father and brother. By the time the top brass of the Northern Army noticed the noise and galloping horses, Ashbern II had already disappeared in the vast expanse among the crowds. In the Nela Forest, he disappeared.
The instability left by this incident was huge. The result of the king's forcible accession to the throne before he abdicated would only be to give those who opposed more excuses to provoke war. Therefore, due to both emotions and reasons, Edward had to commit suicide. Here comes the most outstanding tracker.
In this case, our Mr. Sage is naturally the best choice to lead the team.
Two flowers bloom, one on each side.
When Henry and the others went out to search for the troubled king, but it was difficult to identify traces in the surrounding environment due to the chaos of the battlefield. At the same time, the fleeing team on Ashbern II's side was also very uncomfortable.
Although hunting activities were occasionally organized, the days of pampering in the palace had already caused Ashbern II to lose all his wild survival skills. It's almost August, but the sultry heat in the south of Avenella has not diminished at all - it's better to stay in an open area like the sunny Avenella Forest Corridor. After entering the extremely high humidity and complex terrain After entering the difficult forest, because the heat could not be dissipated through sweat, the physical exertion of the knights in heavy armor increased to three times the previous rate.
Avenella is closely connected with the nobles of Sivalier, so naturally these knights of the royal family are also built according to Sivalier's standards. But a thin white linen cloak, which is a bit cumbersome in areas such as Prosper, which has four distinct seasons, is simply asking for trouble in a sultry area like the south of Avenella in July and August.
Henry's initial tracking lasted a week. They went into battle lightly with only a small number of people as the core, and along the way they saw countless equipment abandoned by the elite knights: cumbersome vests, plate armor, cotton armor, and cloaks were everywhere, and only the daggers and small swords they carried with them Still retained - after another three days, the knights of the Guards, who were injured and exhausted, including their men and horses, began to appear more and more in sight.
They had almost no intention of fighting. Since they did not wear any noble badges, many of these knights regarded Henry and others as passing mercenaries and were even willing to exchange gem-encrusted swords for food and water. After Henry and the others pointed out the direction of retreat for these people and the places where they could collect food along the way, these once-loyal knights quickly revealed the whereabouts of Ashbourne II.
"The king has gone completely crazy." They said this, and these few words painted an intuitive picture for Henry and the others.
The previous breakout and evacuation was a sudden move. Coupled with the sweltering weather, their group's food and water quickly ran out. During the escape, the water in the wild could not be thoroughly boiled and purified, and many of the more than 200 knights of the Guards suffered from dysentery. In such hot and tired conditions, many people lost their way, and the rest of them also disappeared in Asia. Seaborn II was under great pressure in his increasingly crazy mind.
After experiencing the double blow of being betrayed by one of his most valued sons, and then being betrayed by a group of southern nobles, Ashbern II didn't have a good look on the loyal knights who rescued him.
At this point, he believed that anyone could betray him casually, and the only thing that would not betray was the crown on his head.
His body was rapidly depleted while running around, coupled with the impact of dysentery and existing psychological problems, the king of Avenella was like a crazy old man holding his crown and sitting on horseback all day long. Smiling crazily.
"I-am-the king!"
"Listen to my orders!"
He lost more than twenty kilograms of weight in two weeks, and became irritable and irritable. The loyalty of the knights was tested every day, and they would be suspicious of him if they showed the slightest sign of something wrong. Many people were inexplicably killed by the king's orders at the hands of their colleagues for this reason, so the camp shrunk every morning, and the stragglers and departures further aggravated the king's suspicion.
Vicious cycle.
He started shouting:
"You are all going to betray me!"
"All of you will betray me!"
"So you all go to hell!"
"I am your king! Follow my orders!"
The roar was followed by laughter, hugging his crown and laughing ecstatically.
They continued to go deeper, and the decrease in human traces made Henry's tracking easier and easier.
After three weeks, Henry and the others finally met the scarred Ashbourne II and others in an old hunter's cabin in the forest. The moment they saw them, they still had some strength left. Prince Richard grabbed his father's collar and pulled the skinny old man in front of them, using vague common language to try to gain some credit.
But Henry didn't look at him, he just looked at the king.
Ashberon II, who originally looked quite majestic and heroic, became gaunt after losing most of his weight. His cheeks were obviously sunken, and the arms exposed by his short-sleeved clothes were like dead branches. And it was covered with various scratches and bruises caused during the escape.
He lost everything.
Prince Richard was still trying to gain some benefit with his father's life, but no one paid him any attention.
Henry dismounted and walked over with Mira and several others behind him.
"Are you here to take away my crown! No, don't take it away!" Ashbern II hugged it tightly and cried out after a while.
"No, this is the only thing I have left, the only thing I have left."
He kept repeating this sentence in Sivaliya language. The sage and the white Luoan girl stopped in front of the clearing in the forest and remained silent for a long time.
And Ashbern II continued to murmur to himself.
"Don't take it away, it's the only thing I have left."
"The only one I have left."
