In fact, just like most city defenders in this era; perhaps relying on strong city walls can achieve impressive results, or show enough tenacity and bravery. But once the city defenses are breached, morale and fighting spirit also ebb/disintegrate faster.
Especially according to the information provided by the city representatives, the Free Army forces that had entered the city were constantly shouting in the streets. After emphasizing that they were only targeting the royalists and the old aristocracy, the resistance of the original city guards became weaker and weaker. Some even defected or tried to lead the way.
Therefore, with more and more surrendering city guards leading the way, the Free Army was able to successfully suppress most of the city, searching, killing and capturing at least 3,000 royalists. However, it was later said that a considerable number of royalists who tried to hide were killed by enthusiastic citizens.
In the end, when the Free Army pacified most of the main city and advanced to the small city in the southwest, they encountered a little trouble. Because the Garonne River tributaries pass through the city here and surround the platform where the small town is located, forming a natural water barrier with only two bridges connecting it.
The Holy Kingdom army was stationed in a small city on the opposite bank with slightly higher terrain. At the same time, they used ignited obstacles to block the passage on the bridge; they also temporarily used furniture and vehicles to build several ladder fortifications on the shore of the bridge head, hiding behind and shooting arrows, and repelled many probing attacks.
However, this was not a problem for the soldiers of the Free Army; soon a warrant officer had an idea and hoisted the relatively lighter four-pounder cannon in the artillery sequence to the walls on both sides of the small city. After demarcating the firing range from a high position, they began to bombard the fortifications within the range.
The temporary fort built with crude furniture and vehicles can certainly block the shots of ordinary crossbows and muskets, but it is not enough when faced with larger and more just punishments. Therefore, as the bridgeheads were smashed one after another, the temporary defense line also collapsed.
The soldiers of the Holy Kingdom, who seemed to be well-trained and skilled in combat, could only drag the corpses and wounded of their companions in a hurry and scramble to escape inward. Several people were knocked down by fire cannons fired from across the river. After breaking through the obstacle of this riverside defense line, the next battle in the small city will be simple.
Although there are still eight or nine hundred people in the Holy Kingdom Army, divided into three companies, they intend to continue to resist the war. However, the wealthy families and big businessmen's mansions in the small city obviously give up; they soon Send someone to secretly point out the possible hiding places of those Holy Kingdom soldiers.
At this time, it was the turn of the grenadier company, which had always been good at urban suppression/demolition work, to start showing off its skills. Carrying boxes of gunpowder cans and incendiary cans, they began to carry out targeted blasting and cremation operations in places and spaces where enemies might be hiding.
Therefore, before they blew up the bed or set fire to the eleventh house, they also used a specially made thrower to turn a tower that they were holding on to with all their might into a bright torch that could be seen throughout the city, as well as burning several flying trapezes that fell down. After that, the remaining Holy Kingdom troops also raised a white flag at their last stronghold.
As the flags of the Tomahawk Knights were seized one after another and discarded in bundles on the ground, Jiang Tian also said to the deputy captain Lisius, who was disheveled, covered in blood, and had his hands tied behind his back: "What a coincidence, we are so fast We meet again, I am a person who always does what I say, so we will meet on the battlefield."
The next moment, he suddenly raised his head, with angry eyes and blue veins all over his face. He shouted: "Shameless blasphemer, suffer death!" With a sudden crash, he broke free from the restraints of his hands and flew away. The soldiers on the left and right rushed towards Jiang Tian who was close to Chi Chi, reaching out to grab the opponent's neck.
However, when Lisius saw the Free Army soldiers standing on the left and right, they instinctively took several steps back and made way for a large enough space. Immediately afterwards, Lisius screamed loudly, but the palm of his hand that was trying to capture and hold the opponent was crushed, and he was thrown to the ground.
Hearing continuous clattering sounds, the deputy leader of the Tomahawk Knights was like a rag being scrubbed. His armor and stomach were deformed and cracked, and his mouth and nose were bleeding. He passed out. Then, Jiang Tian let go. He had already shaken off his twisted arms; he sneered: "Who gave you such confidence?"
However, the other captives of the Knights present watched all this in silence and shock; then a bald, middle-aged armed monk spoke with some difficulty: "It turns out that you are also the inheritor of the ancient bloodline, but Our regiment leader was told that you gain power through blasphemy.”
"That's unreasonable!" Duval, the captain of the cavalry regiment and commander of the special attack company, shouted angrily: "Shameless slander, you clown who deserves to go to hell! Your Excellency has the oldest and purest blood in the kingdom. Inheritance doesn’t even come with any cost; how could it be..."
"That's enough..." Jiang Tian waved his hand to interrupt him, then turned to the armed monk with a Mediterranean head and said: "If you know anything else, just tell me; for example, why did you suddenly appear? In Toulouse, is this the instruction of the Holy Kingdom, or is there someone secretly contacting him."
However, what was unexpected next was that this bald armed monk named Delan was full of respect and respect in a certain sense for the so-called ancient blood inheritance. Therefore, during the subsequent interrogation, he confessed almost everything without reservation, just to be able to stay.
In order to gain close observation and understanding of these inherited knights in the Free Army and the opportunity for their bloodline to awaken; at the same time, I also wanted to witness with my own eyes how the Free Army searched, attacked and eliminated those aliens hidden among the crowd. He answered almost every question and answered all the questions.
For example, the Tomahawk Knights stationed in Aquitaine, one of the three core territories of the Holy Kingdom, were actually invited by members of the family of the former Grand Crown Lord; they sent deputy captain Lisius to lead a branch to come Hit the front station and test the waters. Therefore, once you establish yourself locally, you will quickly follow suit.
Of course, this seems to involve the complex political structure and current situation in the Holy Kingdom that has been formed for a long time. As a country established by the Holy Knights of Thorns led by Holy Knight Roland during the Restoration Movement of the Western Continent, the Holy Kingdom has been a country where the territory of the Knights and the ancient provinces coexisted from the beginning.
As a descendant of the royal family of Saint Laurent, each generation of kings also has the dual attribute of the commander-in-chief of the Grand Knights; therefore, while ruling the administrative officials and royal legions under the classical provincial system, he also serves as the commander-in-chief. Controls various armed forces composed of territories belonging to the Knights in various places.
Therefore, these knights are equivalent to the common formations between regiments and regiments in the Western Continent; although they follow the orders of the king as the head of the regiment, and recruit into armed forces to follow the expedition or obey the dispatch, they also represent There are different positions, interests and demands in all kinds of places.
The Knights of the Tomahawk, whose headquarters is located in the city of San Angeli in Aquitaine, is one of them; as one of dozens of large and small knights in the kingdom. Due to certain political factions in the country, they were not able to join the intervention army organized by the kingdom to support the northern Burgundian dynasty.
However, as tens of thousands of intervention troops went to the north and gained a lot of rights and interests in the kingdom, these knights/border military regions located in the southern border areas were somewhat unable to sit still. The subsequent protection treaty signed by the Burgundian dynasty, coupled with the invitation of the royal party, finally took practical action.
Therefore, it is not so much that they represent the overall position of the Holy Kingdom, but rather the demands and ideas of the part left behind in the country, the Knights of Aquitaine/noble class. For another example, the Tomahawk Knights/Frontier Garrison District now has three sub-groups, and each sub-group has three or four regiments, totaling 4,000+.
Among them, there are only a few hundred formal, candidate, and trainee knights, and the rest are sergeants and retinues; in addition, there are several knightly territories in nearby areas; they can probably provide a similar number or even slightly more troops; In each knight order, it is said that there are also several blood inheritances.
Therefore, as a bald armed monk, Delan, after learning that the Free Army had several (dissatisfied) companies of (new and old) heritage knights, he was simply stunned and speechless for a long time. So, once you've identified your specific enemies and future threats, it's time to clean up the situation.
The first is to arrest the members of the Inquisition who are already notorious and full of public dissatisfaction; then, together with the captured royalist armed forces and the urban aristocrats, they will accept complaints from the citizens on the streets and hold public trials. Finally, in After parading around the city, Mingdian hung up the street lights.
Secondly, the survivors of the local committee in Toulouse, as special representatives following the Free Army, went to various cities and towns in the surrounding areas; they read out and exposed the royal party/old aristocracy, betraying the country, seducing foreign enemies, perverse behavior, and religious structures. Various criminal evidence and deeds have formed public opinion.
In addition, the news that Toulouse, the largest city in the area, was captured instantly by the Free Army as soon as they met; it also spread with the fleeing defeated soldiers. In the following days, the Free Army took over most cities and towns in the Garonne River Basin with almost no resistance.
Even when they saw the flag of the Free Army, whether it was the remaining royalists or the armed forces of other hostile factions, they almost fled from their strongholds/towns. Finally, they all converged to the southwest, in the important town of Tarbes/fortress at the junction of the Haute-Garonne province and the neighboring Pyrenees province.
And here, another branch of the Tomahawk Knights is also stationed.
