Aker-Senan Fortress is the name of the large fortress in front of you. It originated from nearby underground salt mines that have been mined since ancient Roman times. The Romans set up a fortress to supervise the franchise, and after several dynasties of the Kingdom of Sealand, it became the gateway to the great crown (of Burgundy).
Because the tunnel was built at the strategic point between the hills and was surrounded by a moat drawn by the nearby river, it naturally created multiple man-made dangers. However, when the soldiers of the Free Army began to line up and launch the artillery of the strike company, they were ready to conduct fire tests and reconnaissance.
Suddenly, the colorful flags on the cylindrical gatehouse of the city fell over without warning, and then a very conspicuous white flag was raised. Immediately afterwards, the gates and barriers connecting the bridges on the moat were also raised one after another. rise; revealing the deep open doorway.
Afterwards, a whole special attack company composed of all the heritage knights and their retinues acted as the vanguard; after galloping into the city on horseback, it didn't take long for them to be erected one after another on top of the city, representing the smiling face of the Free Army. Jinyang flag. From then on the fortress changed hands easily.
A while later, when Jiang Tian also rode into this large fortress and inspected the surrendered defenders, he found that all of them were sallow and thin, and their clothes were in rags; only a few officers had slightly decent armor; and most of them were gobbling up food. Rusk distributed by the Free Army.
As the leader of more than a thousand defenders, he is also the only remaining member of the city with the highest military rank, the scar-faced captain; while he was burping contentedly, he was sipping the light beer produced in Clermont; General Jiang Tian confessed the causes and consequences of all this:
"God bless, thank you for your generosity, my soldiers and I have not been so full for a long time." "To be honest with you, my company and I have not seen a supply convoy for several months. "We have sold a lot of things to feed ourselves."
"Military pay? We haven't seen this thing since the change of the celestial sphere." "Almost all the soldiers born in the local area have fled; the remaining people are all those who followed Marshal Motiller. Landers Corps, soldiers from the frontier heading south together."
"Later, Generalissimo Motiler died, and the Allied National Salvation Army was gone; we followed General Rambler to the Capital Region to receive reorganization;" "General Rambler became Thorne's senior official, and we followed him. After his arrival, he was assigned as a subordinate of Prince Conté."
"Originally, there were three garrison regiments, eleven companies, and 3,500 soldiers in the city fortress." "But since we took office, orders from the Grand Crown Leader have been constantly transferring soldiers away. Equipment and supplies; literally only one regiment of men left."
"Then the Earth Change occurred, and we basically lost contact with the provincial capital and the royal family." "Soon after, business travelers and pedestrians who could trade disappeared." "The nearby salt mines and several The village was abandoned for no apparent reason."
"Some people tried to escape with weapons, but the soldiers who pursued them soon found their mutilated remains on the road." "The remaining people did not dare to leave the fortress easily, so they could only rely on the supplies stored in it. It was hard to get through the previous winter.”
"After some people died due to hunger and illness, we finally waited until spring." "In this way, the remaining people persisted until now by relying on hunting and gathering food in the nearby mountains and forests." "Then, your army will come No, we don’t want to continue fighting.”
"Sir, I have a humble suggestion." At this point, the captain with scars on his face hesitated for a moment before saying: "If you can still provide sufficient food, in the cities and strongholds along the way to the capital, in fact, There are also many old units of the Legion of Flanders.”
"..." Jiang Tian smiled and said nothing when he heard this, and then waved his hand to the sky; in an instant, huge bread sticks and large pots of dry cheese appeared out of thin air, falling like raindrops; and surrendered around him. In the stunned expressions of the defenders, they piled up into a small mountain.
"A miracle!" "This is a miracle!" The next moment, all the defenders, including the captain, fell to the ground in awe and extreme piety; and the scar-faced captain even climbed up in front of him and tried to kiss Jiang Tian Toes: "Saint, I will not disappoint you."
With the change of hands in the blink of an eye, the fortress of Acre-Senan, whether as the crown prince of Burgundy or the neighboring counties of Saone, Loire, France, Nièvre and Côte d'Or, The doors have all been opened, leaving only a smooth road along the Braise Plains Valley.
Therefore, with the advancement of the Free Army and the persuasion from former members of the Army of Flanders to surrender, one after another the depressed cities and the sergeant strongholds along the way raised the white flag or declared them as undefended areas. ; But the Free Army did not stay too long.
Because the caravans from the southern provinces that followed later were loaded with all kinds of materials needed for people's livelihood; like sweet springs encountered in the desert, they quickly nourished these places that were plagued by turmoil and disasters, and the shortage of living resources became day by day. The long-term market has made it become active again.
As for those soldiers who surrendered and disarmed along the way, except for a small number, they were selected and recruited; the others, under the supervision of the follow-up supplementary companies, began to repair bridges and widen roads; they felled and cleared the roads within twenty miles. forests to reduce the threat to trade routes.
In the end, the first battle that broke out during the armed march of the Free Army to the north was outside Dijon, the capital of the Grand Crown Territory (of Burgundy). Because this can be said to be the area where the Burgundian family, which originated here, has the most profound influence and where the old nobles are the richest.
Therefore, in addition to the local aristocratic coalition, there are also many militia groups from the neighboring provinces of Champagne and Ardennes gathered here, as well as reinforcements from another French-Prince of Conté/Grand Crown territory; forming the Champagne, Ardennes The four legions of , Comté and Burgundy were said to have a strength of 50,000.
Then, surrounding the ancient city of Dijon, the armies of these northern dynasty camps relied on the terrain and exhausted the local people to build many fortresses to echo and protect the city defense; and let the three major cities of Champagne, Ardennes, and Conté The foreign aid corps was stationed on three sides: east, west, and south.
To the north of the city is the Kodor Plateau, which has difficult terrain and is difficult to cross. In this way, as long as one of the parties is attacked, it can receive support and support from other directions at the same time; once entangled and stalemate in the battle, it will be attacked by the Burgundian Legion in the city.
And this is what the Free Army easily obtained from the mouths of several prisoners of local noble background after they had just arrived near the city of Dijon and defeated hundreds of militiamen in an outpost battle who were trying to ambush and make a surprise attack halfway through the mountains and forests. The current basic urban defense layout situation.
On the other hand, because this is the headquarters and nest of the Burgundy family, it is also the area where conservatives and the old aristocracy have the strongest influence. Therefore, after the May storm, during the changes in the successive kingdom governments, although there were some local disturbances, But they were quickly extinguished.
Therefore, whether they were liberals, republicans, constitutionalists, swornists, or simply small political factions with miscellaneous demands, they were all brutally suppressed by the Burgundian family who took the opportunity to annex and control the local crown. And kill and liquidate them all.
When the actions were at their most violent, the Burgundy family used the excuse of revenge for the royal family in the Blood Moon Massacre, and hundreds of political prisoners and suspects were sent to the gallows or beheading almost every day; even some historical figures Long-standing aristocratic families and famous people are not immune.
Therefore, in Dijon today, apart from a few words from some businessmen, the Free Army also seriously lacks qualified intelligence sources and information channels. I only know that the commander-in-chief of the four legions is Louis Joseph, Prince of Conté, the brother of Charles I, the head of the Burgundian dynasty.
Of course, although there is little news in Dijon, there are numerous anecdotes and rumors about the early years of Louis Joseph, Prince of Conté, who was born as an illegitimate son. For example, Louis Joseph was just one of the many illegitimate children of the previous Grand Duke of Burgundy.
However, compared to those illegitimate children who were arranged to enter a monastery, or became local church bishops, or were adopted to lower-level nobles, or even became family vassals or vassal lords, the experience of this illegitimate son Louis Joseph was even richer. And much more complicated.
He left the Wang Lirongxun Military Academy established for the children of nobles very early; then he entangled a group of companions and acted as mercenaries abroad; he moved to fight and was active on the battlefields of the Western Empire and the Eastern Nomadic Khanate for a long time; therefore, When he was recalled to his family, he brought a mercenary group with him.
It was also because of the mercenary group he brought that it greatly eased the pressure on the family. Therefore, under the witness of the previous Duke's death, he was posthumously recognized as a member of the family branch and was given the surname "Robert". Later, after the Blood Moon Incident that wiped out the royal family, the five great dukes entered the capital.
However, the short-lived joint power of the five princes eventually led to tragic political murders and invasions, and finally evolved into a continuous civil war in the capital region. And Charles, who had just succeeded as the Grand Duke of Burgundy, was also in the chaos of the capital and lost contact because of his defeat.
After the news returned to the city of Dijon, there was also turmoil and chaos within the Burgundy family; but it was Louis Joseph, who controlled part of the family's armed forces, who took the initiative to stand up and firmly support the family; and ruthlessly suppressed those who came from the family. Other side branches of ambition and restlessness.
Then, he led the private soldiers and vassal knights left by the family to continuously conquer the territory of the Great Crown, and successively defeated several noble forces and old enemies who took advantage of the chaos and wanted to challenge the status of the Burgundy family; Under the siege of the old and new royal parties, Dijon was saved.
Therefore, when Charles I, who had been dormant for a long time, reappeared, successfully fought back from the chaos of the five princes in the capital, and defeated the final victor, he was nicknamed "Bold", and then withdrew from the capital; in fact, he took control of the family. Louis Joseph took the initiative to give in.
Therefore, when the bold Charles used the two crowns as his foundation, he once again raised troops and entered the capital to establish a dynasty. He did not hesitate to appoint him as Prince Franche-Conté, and he was responsible for supervising the full responsibilities of another major crown in addition to Burgundy, the birthplace of the family.
And Prince Louis Joseph of Conté, who was responsible for staying in the family territory, seemed to have never failed his new appointment; and in the process of suppressing many political factions in the surrounding provinces and pacifying the rebellion of the local self-reliance forces, he obtained names such as "Defender" and "Defender". The nickname "The Scarlet Prince".
Therefore, this is a potential opponent with considerable military literacy and political struggle experience. However, while Jiang Tian was listening to the report of his subordinates, he suddenly received a warning from the outpost; the Kongtai Army in the fortress front of the front battlefield in the south of the city suddenly took the initiative to attack.
