In mid-September 1532 of the Lamanite New Calendar, after returning to the east coast for a while, the sage and his companions from the Crescent Island exiles went all the way north to the center of the Padrosi Empire.
What they saw here was a prosperous Padrosi Empire that was far more vibrant but also more chaotic than before.
Now that the various problems of crop yield reduction caused by severe cold weather are gradually stabilizing, the country that is the first to restore order is bound to seize the opportunity.
Since the black flag of Padrosi was re-planted in Lamania, the annexation of the small countries of the same origin on the southern east coast - or as the Padrosi people themselves put it - the "naturalization" has become a certainty matter.
And when the lowland area between the Dwarf Mountains and the Palasian Plateau finally planted the flag of the empire, the Padrosi people obtained a far safer route to the East than the Northern Rigal route. and the sea lanes of Abu Serra to the south.
As the narrowest land area on the entire east coast of Rigal from the Inland Sea to the Crescent Sea, its commercial and strategic value is unparalleled. It’s just that there has never been a country powerful enough to have the intention and strength to explore it.
And now this country is coming.
When Henry and his party arrived at Tartario, a small town in the eastern province, on September 17, a celebration to celebrate the completion of the canal was being held here.
In early September, an armed conflict broke out between the empire and the southern city-state alliance, with the purpose of competing for this unknown lowland.
The commander was Constantine.
The merchant lords of the water city, who are famous for their business talent and have traveled all over Rigal, spent a lot of money to hire a mercenary force of more than 10,000 people, and the core of it were thousands of well-equipped and well-trained Sivaliers. Wandering Knight. They even somehow managed to form an alliance with the mountain dwarf kingdom. The combination of the heavily armored and determined dwarf warriors and the experienced west coast knights despite having lost their homeland made the merchant kings in the south confident - especially when they saw that the imperial army only had one-third of their number. Confident that victory is within reach.
However, the new army led by Constantine was not as usual. The merchants were surprised to find that the real regent and generalissimo did not intend to fight with them in a traditional way - with the infantry pulling in a legionary size on the field and the cavalry A war that involves flanking and outflanking the rear.
The infantry of the new army did not stand on the field openly.
They used a large number of livestock and horses to pull heavy carriages - they were modified with movable wooden doors on them, which opened to reveal shooting holes.
The heavy carriages quickly formed circles in circles according to the training method. These heavy vehicles seemed to have erected a city wall out of thin air on the vast grassland on the lowland plains.
After several rounds of water heavy crossbow shots were blocked by thick wooden baffles, and the heavy hammer arrows that could penetrate light plate armor were wasted in vain, the wandering knights of Sivalier were not known for their military literacy. At the strong request of the surviving merchant lord, he launched a futile charge, and when the knights in the vanguard were squeezed tightly under the eyes of the heavy carriage by the companions who followed like a wave——
The trap door opened.
What sticks out from it is the dark muzzle of a new weapon that has only just appeared in the past two years and even the merchant lords have only heard of it.
"Bang! Bang bang! Bang bang!" Loud noises sounded one after another, followed by huge orange fire and smoke that panicked the horses and even the riders. The black powder propelled the thick lead pellets and hit the plate armor with extremely high force at close range. They tried their best to block it, but they were still dented and damaged under the high power at close range, and finally penetrated the plate armor and twisted it. The deformed projectile penetrated the mail, armor, and then the skin, flesh, and ribs. It penetrated the lungs that were inflated due to nervous breathing like a sheepskin bag filled with water.
The freezing sensation was followed by difficulty breathing and weakness, but the pain was short-lived as they were quickly plunged into darkness.
Rows of wandering knights of Sivalier fell like straw under a scythe.
Constantine did not wait for the complicated reloading. The halberdiers and flail infantry who were originally squatting behind the thick plank protection of the carriage stood up and launched a second round of offensive against the knights who were lucky enough to survive the hand cannon fire.
The morale of the wandering knights quickly collapsed.
Although less than one-tenth of the members were actually killed in the first wave of counterattacks, the Sivaliers, who relied on their well-equipped and arrogant conscience, were defeated by "despicable long-range weapons". This is the second time.
In addition, their charge failed to have any effect. The mercenary knights, whose morale was not high, trampled on their dying companions after falling off their horses, and turned around and ran away, abandoning their knightly dignity.
The tragic beginning for the Southern Territory-Dwarf Alliance did not end here. Seeing that the Imperial Army was far smaller than itself and lacked experience in large-scale battles, it also bet too many merchant lords in this battle. Made a bad decision that all gamblers make.
Raise.
As long as you raise your bet, you can win back your money with profit.
The moment the order was issued, everyone with military literacy on the Southern Territory-Dwarf Alliance side understood that the battle was completely lost.
The mercenary troops hired by various floating merchants gathered together, and the infantry of ten thousand people pressed forward in a seemingly huge force, but in fact they had a variety of weapons and fighting styles.
Then like the knights, the front part was smashed into pieces.
With higher mobility, higher degree of organization and training, and stronger impact, the Sivalier knights have not yet been able to achieve results.
What can a group of infantry slowly push past the reloaded infantry?
They did hold on longer because of the larger number of people. The strange screams and obscenities mixed with the voices of the people more or less overwhelmed the fear caused by the sound, light and smoke of the hand cannon, and the roar of their superiors also made them Many low-level mercenaries forgot what to do to save their lives and could only hold onto their weapons and be squeezed forward.
And when these mercenaries with varying armor coverage swarmed in front of the heavy carriage.
The Padrosi crossbowmen located inside the carriage fired neatly under the command.
With their line of sight blocked by friendly carriages, they could not directly see the enemy. To these people, it was like they were shooting targets and they only needed to reload and launch at a good angle.
But even such a boring behavior would always result in a scream when the crossbow fell.
The imperial troops of more than 3,000 people, except for 300 cavalry and 700 pole infantry on carriages, are all long-range shooters.
2,000 crossbowmen, each assigned 26 rounds of crossbows.
They fired half of the crossbows, and already tens of thousands of rounds were lost.
Although this was not Shuidu's winch armor-piercing heavy crossbow, but a light crossbow that could be wound with a steel hook, the mercenaries with weak armor still suffered heavy casualties.
So the same plot happened again. The mercenaries shouted and cursed in their native languages and turned around and fled. However, this time the mercenaries who could only escape on foot were beaten to death by long-range weapons when they turned around and exposed their backs. people.
At this time, it was only an hour and a half before the war started. The Padrosi defeated the main force of mercenaries in Water City and almost completely destroyed them at the cost of almost only consuming ammunition.
The southern border-dwarf coalition has only more than 1,500 heavily armored dwarf warriors left at its disposal.
And after seeing their friendly forces desperately burying their main force in vain, even though they were a dwarf clan that valued honor, they still chose to withdraw without mercy.
Although the merchant lords have repeatedly emphasized that the opponents are all long-range archers, and the dwarf heavy infantry with heavy armor and large shields can safely advance under the carriage and attack the vulnerable archer troops, but in the eyes of the dwarves, they have ruined their own troops. These human commanders have no credibility at all.
They only agreed to this alliance because they did not want the tentacles of this big country to come to their doorstep, and it was only as an auxiliary and reinforcement. Now that the main force is completely wiped out, these humans actually ask them to defeat more with less. Who knows if the Imperial Army still has reserve troops. If the heavy infantry presses forward alone without cover, if they are surrounded by an opportunity, who can they count on to come to the rescue?
These unreliable human lords, or their mercenary troops that have fled?
The population of dwarves is already sparse, so there is no need to waste them here in vain.
And as they retreated into the mountains and forests, the war came to an end without any suspense.
The war ended in an hour, and finally ended with this lowland plain being named the "Conqueror's Lowlands", declaring the victory of the Empire.
After the victory, Constantine recruited young men from within the empire non-stop, and also put in defeated captives and slaves obtained as compensation from southern merchants.
It took an astonishing labor force of tens of millions of people nearly half a month to connect the original rivers and canals from the Gulaman Empire era, and build a new canal more than 100 kilometers long in the shortest area of the pass that leads directly to the outer sea.
Through the river system, the Padrosi Empire now controls the safest waterway from the inner sea of Mobigas to the outer sea.
Anyone with a discerning eye and a business sense can understand what a strategically valuable feat this is.
Originally, the Padrosi Empire could only choose between the dangerous northern route and the expensive and inefficient overland transshipment. Otherwise, it could only engage in trade around the inland sea.
Now it is possible for ships to sail directly from the port of Parnira to the Crescent Continent, or to Abu Sera in the south.
Those exotic spices and products will bring a steady stream of wealth to the empire, and the domestic shipbuilding industry and navigation driven by these business opportunities will provide jobs for countless young people in the empire.
The people were all in high spirits, cheering for the re-emergence of Lamanite civilization.
It’s only when you break away from your own identity as a Lamanite that you can notice what lies beneath this “prosperity.”
"I bought a new slave. Thanks to the Conqueror, the market price of slaves is really low now!" At the celebration site where Henry and his party passed by, some of the surrounding Lamanite civilians would happily say this to their friends from time to time.
The aggression that had never been far away showed its edge again. The defeated mercenaries and even the defeated knights of Sivalier were used as slave labor. Those who did not die in the heavy canal digging task were sent back to the country to continue to work as laborers. Contribute to the prosperity of the empire.
The severely weakened Southern City-State Alliance was unable to resist the empire's tough demands. The merchant lords and the merchant class in many Padrosi coastal city-states that were closely related to them also received arrogant and tough orders from the rulers.
Constantine's request for them was simple.
loyalty.
Or die.
The helpless merchant class had no choice but to submit to the empire's new market regulatory agencies and contribute a large portion of their profits to the plans of the great conqueror.
A large amount of these sufficient funds were invested by Constantine in the White Church to build new educational institutions and welfare facilities to adopt orphans.
This move won him a glorious image not only in the hearts of the people, but also in the hearts of the church.
"Saint Constantine."
Although this is still just a title spread among the people, most people in the empire believe that canonization is only a matter of time.
They are even more looking forward to the day when this great conqueror, the man who reappears in the glory of Laman, and the saint will step onto the throne of God.
He is even more disdainful of the emperor who now lives in seclusion, is incompetent, and is obsessed with ancient fairy tales.
"It is said that he is still imagining that some alien organization that is superior to humans will suddenly appear to lead the empire to solve those problems."
"But the one who can solve all this is obviously the Conqueror."
"Yes, it's all done by human hands."
“Instead of fantasizing, it’s better to be down-to-earth and work hard!”
The communication between the people sounded strange to the ears of this group of people. Leng Touqing hesitated a few times as if he wanted to argue with them, but now he has experienced many things and has become more or less calm. He also knew that arguing with them would not lead to good results.
The Lamanite dominance and renewed prosperity, just as it had thousands of years ago, was built on the bones and blood and tears of other peoples.
Although he claimed in that letter that "everything is for all mankind," if the object of dissent and conflict of interest in this process were human beings, would he have stopped?
One general succeeds and ten thousand bones wither.
In the eyes of an overlord, all these sacrifices are just small and necessary steps in the implementation of a greater plan.
His hegemony only needs to be based on his vision. If you obey him, you can enjoy all the glory and wealth, while those who abandon it will be destroyed by force.
This is the difference between him and the sage.
Different from the path chosen by the wise.
Padrosi already has everything it needs to thrive again. Among the known powers in the world of Rigal, the Great Moon has been shattered; Rumanato exists in name only; Otolo still faces the challenge after a tragic victory. The continuous uprisings in the country are currently overwhelming themselves.
Only Padrosi had a smooth ride.
Laman poison is about to spread again like wildfire, and this time it will probably be far more terrifying than in the past.
Because the "tall and mighty, unified actions, and powerful combat effectiveness" of Constantine's black-armored knights that the surrounding people praised so much reminded the sage of something.
"Don't run!" A man's angry shout suddenly came from the third floor of the hotel above on the left, followed by the sound of men in armor running and the sound of weapons chopping wood, and finally ended with an old man's scream. As an end.
"Pacha——" The wooden window fell down, and the Luoan girl cleverly avoided it.
"He who seeks to save all will destroy all."
"And the man with gray-blue eyes."
"It will bring about the destruction of the imperial family."
Immediately afterwards, a piece of torn paper floated down from the sky. Mira picked it up, and the fragments of the bloody paper were written like this.
"What is it?" After she finished reading, she tilted her head and looked at the sage with curiosity on her face.
"It's just an old prophecy, made more than two hundred years ago."
The tall man with gray-blue eyes replied.
The tone was the same as always.
Calm.
