It was the year 1341 of the Laman New Calendar, and the beginning of the year 1142 of the Creation Calendar of Suomir.
A storm blew up on the East Coast in the cold winter.
The great and invincible Padrosi Empire's war machines were all activated, and an army of hundreds of thousands was assembled with only one goal in mind.
Northern Expedition.
This majestic march scene has been compared by scholars within the empire with the conqueror Cesario V. Gallocondi, the founding emperor of the Guraman Empire, but this was not the case with Sigsumund I himself. Can't agree more.
"The founding emperor was indeed a great ancestor," His Majesty Emperor Padrossi, who had all white hair and beard, said: "But he was limited by his limited vision of the times and was never able to truly conquer the Suomir people."
"Even if Aurora was captured, even if they were defeated and the garrison was dispatched, nothing could be erased from the hearts of those unruly people in the North."
"That's hope."
Suomir was a thorn in the side of the empire. Even though they were seemingly suppressed and surrendered many times in history, they never truly accepted the Lamanites as their suzerains.
The invasion and integration of cultures is extremely difficult. The sun of Laman is weak and powerless in front of the coldness of the northern land, and it is difficult to penetrate the solid ice of the northern land.
Whether Suomir was conquered or not is an ongoing debate among historians and scholars. From a national and even royal and aristocratic level, this small country has gone through many major changes, and the entire political situation has been defeated many times. People who have absolute confidence in Lamani culture also talk endlessly about the conquest of Suomir by the founding emperor; on the other hand, scholars who like to study history and culture start from another angle and realize that Suomir culture has never changed.
The discussion between the two groups continues to this day. And the relationship between the two countries is definitely not black and white.
There is an idiom in today's Padrosi that reads: "Atimatina Suomir, Farito Asuomir" - meaning "Success is Suomir, failure is Suomir", although After expanding the meaning, it can be used to describe success or failure as being related to something, but from the original meaning, it is not difficult to see the close connection between the rise and fall of these two countries.
Thousands of years ago, after the Laman Empire conquered Suomir, especially the Aurora region, which the northerners were proud of, they used the local excellent mineral resources and forging technology to conquer northern Aurora, especially the sea. The area around the Inzwom Meteor Lake has become the most outstanding arsenal in the Laman Empire.
Without Aurora, there would not have been the famous Laman Legion in the future, and if the Laman Empire had not set up the arsenal here, the Suomir people would not have such outstanding forging skills.
It all goes hand in hand.
Aurora, which is rich in resources, is the cornerstone of the prosperity of the Laman Empire, but it is also the source of the empire's demise.
The Suomir people never gave up their resistance, and when the Laman Empire entered its twilight years, the White Church was born and took root in Aurora.
Anyone familiar with religious history knows that the division of the empire was not only due to the uneven distribution of power and resources, but also the disagreement between the two major sects of the early church. In this brutal civil war that destroyed and divided the Laman Empire, the Suomir people also took the opportunity to break away from the rule. The severely weakened Lamanites were divided into two branches. One branch moved westward and spread the fire of civilization along the way, eventually creating many countries on the other side of the inland sea and the west coast. The other branch claimed to have inherited the Lamanite orthodoxy and made its own new Li called himself the "Great Lamanite Successor" or "Padra Mancia", and eventually evolved into today's Padrosi Empire.
The relationship between Suomir and Padrosi is like a double helix of fate that is intertwined and cannot be summarized in simple words.
After the civil war that destroyed the Lamanite Empire, not only Suomir, but the entire east coast was actually divided into countless small countries. Although the Padrosi claim to be Lamanite orthodox successors, they were actually just one of the east coast countries during the period from 1 to 751 of the Lamanite New Calendar after the founding of the country.
Its real rise came after the year 751 of the New Calendar. After nearly 500 years of territorial expansion, loss, and recapture, it was in the hands of the current Emperor Padrossi, Sigsumund I, that the entire east coast was once again unified.
Almost - that's the point.
Suomir was the last missing piece of the puzzle in King Xigsumund I's ideal territory.
The great Emperor Padrosi never thought of peaceful intercourse. On the one hand, he is well aware of the stubborn character of these northerners. On the other hand, peaceful reunification has never been his personality tendency.
Today, this huge empire ends in the mountains to the south and goes deep into the Palohia Plateau to the east. The shocking huge territory was conquered by his own troops. This emperor has been better at conquering than holding on to the throne since he ascended the throne.
These are psychological factors, from the perspective of history and national sentiments, and even related to religion. The Pope, as the leader of the Jettina Sect, stayed in the north, which had always made the Empire very dissatisfied. Although the church in Heinzwom was the oldest, they wanted to keep both divine and human rights in the hands of the Empire.
"The emperor of the greatest country in the world should also be the leader of the church." As the country prospered and developed, the people's self-confidence rapidly expanded, and Sigsumund I did not deny or obstruct this statement. It proves that to some extent he thinks so too.
The Pope must have known this, so he sent Heimirning and others in two directions to rescue the crown prince who was close to Suomir and Yetina Sect.
But in addition to the above factors, Sigsumund I had more urgent and practical reasons for his conquest of Suomir.
--wealth.
Heinzworm has always been a land rich in minerals, and it has accumulated huge wealth due to the large number of exports of weapons and armor. In addition to the fact that the Lakeside Church is the seat of the Pope, the donations raised by believers and even the gold and silver sacred vessels that have been passed down for thousands of years, the hidden wealth in the entire Aurora area is extremely astonishing. To the Padrosi, the Talwar-Sutta blocking its southern entrance was like a miser's pocket - only one could get in but no one could get out.
Sigsumund I was an emperor who was good at war, and the people always boasted and were proud of the nearly one million legions he had cultivated, and were full of praise for their various victories - but this was only for the best. Said.
If this statement is slightly changed in perspective, it will become: Sigsumund I was an emperor who was "only" good at war.
He did not understand internal affairs, and all infrastructure construction within the empire was the result of Crown Prince Hermes' efforts to unite the churches over the past twenty years. The Emperor, the great ever-victorious general, only knows war and conquest. His army's salary is all obtained from war indemnities and the looting of the property of the defeated countries - in other words, he is using war to support war, which is why The reason why this huge empire has such a powerful war machine.
But there has been no war on the east coast for more than ten years. Except for the dwarves in the south who are huddled in the mountains and hide in the tunnels by the dozen and cannot scrape out oil and water, the only remaining ones are Suao, who has complicated relations and is the headquarters of the church. Mir.
Either disarmament or continued plundering and oppression of conquered peoples to maintain Padrosi's proud army.
The choice of King Xigsumund I was not unexpected.
"It's just Suomir," he said.
"It's a small country with just a tiny population," he said.
"A small country that has had peace for so long," he said.
"All it takes is a little intimidation with the million-strong army that our country is proud of. No, even just letting them see the flag of our country." He said: "These people should surrender."
Padro Silaman’s new calendar year was 1341, and Suomir created it in February 1142 calendar year.
The winter battle begins.
A vanguard of 55,000 men was composed of five elite Lamanite legions and cavalry troops led by Prince Negretsu.
At Talwar Sutta, they ran into an army whose equipment and numbers were not inferior to theirs.
The high-ranking Suomir army held a white flag embroidered with gold. The patterns were the white lily of the valley and the icebergs of the North.
The leader was wearing a brand new silver armor, and the bright red cloak behind him was rustling in the cold wind.
Under the winter sun, he raised the newly made sword in his hand. The sword was one and a half meters long. The guard was Suomir's style, with the sword tip pointing upward in a V-shape.
The gleaming sword edge reflected the brilliance of the sun, and the spirits of all the warriors were as determined and unshakable as this long winter.
"In the name of the Church, in the name of Suomir."
He spoke, and the people around him began to chant his name.
"Heinzwom!" they shouted.
The Lamanites did not react for a moment, thinking that they were calling the name of the Falling Star Lake.
"Mounts and rifles in position!" came the Lamantic with a southern accent.
The knights lowered their spear heads and prepared themselves under the command of Prince Nixon.
"Charge!" The horse raised its hoofs, but in an instant, there was some rumbling sound in the sky.
Then all the Lamanites saw it.
From above the thick winter clouds, He broke through the white clouds and swooped down with his white wings. The feathers above sparkled in the sun, and the huge body instantly covered the entire ground in shadow.
All the war horses were frightened and began to panic and lose their formation. The last scene reflected in Prince Negerson's eyes was the moment when the knight in the bright red cloak swung his sword.
"rush!!"
————
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The first battle of the Cold Winter Battle ended three hours after it started.
Sigshumund I, who was sitting firmly in the rear in Southern Aurora, was ready to hear the news of victory when he received a trembling messenger.
More than 40% of the legion was killed, 30% were captured, and the remaining 30% fled into the Palohia Plateau.
Prince Negerson was captured and beheaded, his head thrown back through a trebuchet.
The emperor was silent for a long time after hearing the news. The messenger was lucky enough to save his life, but the people of Suomir who still stayed in Southern Aurora were not so lucky.
In retaliation, the emperor had them transported and executed en masse below the Talwar-Sutta line.
He intended to frustrate the resistance of the Suomir people, but this immediate effect in the face of the highlanders and southerners who had been oppressed and dared not resist only made the Suomir people more determined.
A month ago, King Sigsumund I, who was mocking the founding emperor of Laman for his "vision is limited by the times," had not been blinded by his inflated arrogance. Perhaps he should review history to understand why he was so great. Cesario adopted a gentle policy towards Suomir.
This is a taciturn nation. They were born and raised in the wind and snow of the North. They have excellent patience, and unlike the Skeng people who are closely related to each other by blood, they prefer peace.
If the matter can be settled peacefully, the Suomir people will endure some losses. But there is a bottom line to all this.
The Imperial people should never forget how decisive this nation can be when it is touched.
The emperor should not be forgotten.
But their eyes were blocked by the title of "the greatest country in the world", their self-confidence began to swell, and they began to take everything seriously.
"As long as we have the most powerful army of one million people in the world, there is nothing we can't defeat."
Do not respect heaven, do not respect earth, do not take gods and churches seriously. They are quick to blindly only know the consequences of advocating force.
It's about to be tasted.
On March 17, 1341, the Suomir abandoned the entire southern part of Aurora and retreated to the Talva-Suta defense line. The quartermaster of the Padrosi Corps, who was collecting food from the local area, went to every village and found it empty.
March 22, Southern Europe.
A raging fire broke out.
After all the grain and grass were transported, the remaining houses and fields were set alight by these people themselves.
Children over 11 years old and even pregnant women who were ten months pregnant all took up arms. They hung holy symbols and stood all over the Talwa-Sutta defense line in the name of the White Church.
This is the consequence of inflated arrogance.
Under the scorched earth policy and desperate resistance, the army of hundreds of thousands and nearly one million people was unable to obtain a single grain of food from southern Aurora.
And this game has only just begun. The Lamanites who reacted began to transport food from the empire. The navy of the Kingdom of Suomir, which had been prepared for a long time, set out from the port of Suomarina in the north, and first cut off Padrosi's supply line from the sea.
They did not just rob, but directly detained the people and the ship at Suomarina Port, and released the news that any merchant ship that helped the empire would face the plunder of Suomir pirates.
This approach would cut off the sea transportation that could transport a large amount of supplies at once. After many failed attempts, the empire mobilized a large number of logistics troops and stretched the supply lines by land to transport the supplies - and this time the attack came from the east.
The Highlanders raised the flag of rebellion against the Empire.
After losing the reserve army, the outpost on the Palohia Plateau was engulfed by the mad charging Highlanders. There are also many Suomir warriors wielding swords among them.
The conclusion can be easily drawn.
The Suomir people raised the battle flag against the empire. After a complete victory in the first battle, relying on the strong defensive capabilities of the Talwa-Suta defense line, they blocked other attacks from the empire and spread the news. spread far and wide.
Many people started responding immediately.
The overland supply transportation, which took a week to travel, was constantly attacked, resulting in heavy casualties and losses. In the end, the emperor had to call a halt to the damage.
Supply lines were cut.
Sigsumund I, who refused to disarmament and set out with hundreds of thousands of mighty men, intended to use his strength to intimidate this small country into surrender, was overconfident. He only brought three weeks of supplies for the emergency march, and now he is suffering from this. Caught in a dilemma.
The fact that the legionnaires were starving was not only secondly, the long and severe winter of Suomir also showed its power this year. It shows no sign of losing its power until April, and is only getting colder every day.
Since April 1st, heavy snow has completely blocked the roads. The troops who used wooden shovels to clear the snow had just cleared the road a few hours ago and it was covered with snow again. At the same time, they had to face Suomir who used sleds to move freely in the middle, hitting and running. Rangers attack.
More than a thousand Imperials died trying to clear the road, and Suomir's death toll was less than one-twentieth of them.
An army of hundreds of thousands of people was trapped in southern Aurora, without supplies, unable to attack or retreat, and could only face the small Suomir force that kept harassing them.
Just wasting it.
"It's the existence of dragons."
"The dragon that protects the country is Suomir, he is calling the wind and snow." They said.
"We have offended the gods. This is our punishment, our punishment for attacking the Holy Land." The fanatical believers among the soldiers kissed the Holy Emblem in tears and prayed for forgiveness, and then were dismissed by the officers as "frozen by the cold." He was taken away on the grounds of "losing his head" and never came back.
"Those who flee will die, those who surrender will die, and those who misappropriate military supplies will die." A high-pressure policy was promulgated, and the chaos that had begun to emerge was controlled through strict curfews and management in all aspects. But if the root causes are not resolved, this order will only be temporary.
"The emperor is too old, and his mind is starting to become unclear. The victorious general of his youth is no longer there!" At the end of April, even the aristocracy's supplies must be strictly distributed. People will start to make trouble when they are hungry, and the restlessness will transfer from the lower level to the upper level, and the nobleman who speaks freely will naturally die after that.
The long period of heavy snow lasted until May. When it began to get smaller, the Imperial people finally saw a turn for the better. King Xigsumund I mobilized 100,000 troops, led by one of his generals, stationed along the way to secure the supply line on land. Supplies began to be transferred from the center and the south. The supply of the army began to ease, but this caused another problem. .
A team composed of highlanders, Suomir people and church envoys set out from the sea to the south of the empire.
After the death of Prince Nixon, who was hostile to the church, local believers and church workers tried hard to incite the people but failed. However, the troops sent by King Xigsumund I to collect grain were ineffective and helped them fan the flames.
"Oppressed people! Stand up and take back what belongs to you!"
"In the name of the church, we are all God's people, why should you hand over the food you have worked so hard to cultivate!"
The simplest problem, like a butterfly flapping its wings, eventually creates a storm.
It became out of control.
The extremely prosperous Padrosi Empire fell into disintegration and chaos in just a few months.
But the originally proud Imperial people suddenly noticed that this huge empire, and their beautiful life that should last forever, was actually so fragile and vulnerable.
They suddenly began to think of the good of Crown Prince Hermes, even though when he was arrested and executed, the people were afraid of the emperor's presence and did not dare to speak out. But only if he is working hard to build and equalize the conquered tribes - because he knows that only in this way can the country be truly unified by truly integrating them into the empire's passionate love for the empire.
Today's empire's prosperity is based on the Padrosi oppressing other Lamanite peoples, and this oppression is natural because they have the most powerful army in the world, and others are unable to resist.
After this army was withdrawn, people who were ready to make moves in the entire country emerged.
At the end of May 1341, the snow in Aurora still continued.
When historians of the empire sorted out this series of turbulent events in fear, they all unanimously attributed the beginning to the defeat of the elite troops led by Prince Nixon in February.
For four whole months, the Imperials failed to make any progress despite the cold and lack of supplies, but the Suomir people launched a wave of resistance in all aspects. On June 1, a certain declaration made by the Suomir people when they gathered, which was much delayed, finally reached the ears of the imperial people.
And with its arrival, opposition voices began to appear even within the empire.
"My name is Hymelen Heinzwom. Son of Hermes Gesu Sekesiutu."
"Son of Bishop Ella Ellegonnan."
"My righteous compatriots who believe in the church all over the world."
"Please listen to what I have to say——"
The final blizzard has arrived.
The whole east coast is in a state of war as two men with a big age gap and blood relationship are in tit-for-tat confrontation.
The scholars in the imperial capital dipped their hands in ink with fear and wrote such words on the paper with trembling hands.
"Aurora's Nightmare."
"Start from here."
