Moreover, there was not one such superficial fortress, but dozens of them, scattered on various tributaries of the Seine River; they just blocked the various bridge crossings that could lead to the city of Seine. But what's even more incredible are the soldiers stationed inside.
Most of them are crooked melons and cracked dates that look unsightly, or they are old, weak, sick and disabled people. According to the surprise interrogation at the scene, they claimed to be from the Sena Citizen Volunteer Army. This establishment is a paramilitary organization that was just established half a year ago.
But at first it was just a non-governmental organization under the umbrella of the Universal Church in the capital, in the name of relief; then, suddenly it received the attention and support of the dynasty overnight, not only appointed officials and sergeants, but also allocated money and materials, and specially trained and organized an armed group.
Therefore, they include but are not limited to; beggars and vagrants on the streets of Seine City, poor people in the outer ring slums, petty criminals in the capital correctional facility, small traders arrested for violating regulations; refugees fleeing from other provinces, and even those who cannot survive in the countryside on the outskirts of the capital. the bankrupt farmers who went down;
There are even Roma and some other mobile groups, large and small. Many people initially went to receive free food and accommodation because they received publicity, but were later controlled and supervised by a large number of soldiers overnight, and became members of the so-called citizen volunteer army.
Then under the supervision of these soldiers, they quickly transformed into assault construction, a ready workforce for the defense of these fortresses. Driven by whips, sticks, knives and guns, they worked day and night, and many people died of exhaustion and illness before the dedication was completed in a hurry.
The contractors and general contractors responsible for providing materials and transportation services for this fortress defense line also come from aristocratic backgrounds in the capital, or are former tax collectors of the dynasty; they also try every means to cut corners and cheat in order to make profits. and exploitation.
For example, sand and silt excavated from nearby rivers, as well as low-quality clay that is not suitable for making pottery, and wooden beams removed from old houses are used as building materials for these forts; Large pieces of gravel serve as a foundation.
Therefore, most fortresses are already dangerous buildings in a certain sense from the day they are built. On the second day after the construction was completed, it happened to rain; many fortresses collapsed to varying degrees; but in the end, it successfully passed the acceptance inspection.
Immediately afterwards, with the edict read out by an official from the royal capital, these people who were forced to supervise labor suddenly turned into ready-made guards for these newly built fortresses overnight; each place was given a few flags and dozens of Just sticks, spears and other junk.
Then, more than ten to dozens of soldiers were dispatched to each fort as daily supervision and guarding to prevent large-scale escapes. But as time passed, these regular army soldiers were gradually transferred away, and young adults were also transferred away.
In the end, the remaining old, weak, sick and disabled could hardly run far and had little desire to run away. In their words, the wilderness is becoming more and more dangerous; even in the slums of Seine City and even in the downtown areas where middle- and lower-class citizens live, frequent missing persons cases are inevitable.
Among these crumbling and inferior fortresses, you can at least gain a sense of security behind closed doors, and even get some supplies that have been deducted at all levels. Although the quantity is extremely meager, it is barely enough for the remaining people who have serious shortages.
Most of the time, I just need to hide in the fortress and wait for the inspections and inspections of the nobles and officials from the capital; then I use mud to paste the cracks and defects in the wall, then select a few of the most decent ones, and stand with spears and flags. On the wall, I could easily get over it by shouting a few words.
As a result, after the cavalry regiment approached, most people did not hesitate to lower the flag and open the door to surrender, or abandoned the defense early and fled, leaving only a smelly garbage on the ground. Only a few fortresses put up a determined resistance, and were then bombarded by mounted artillery accompanying the cavalry.
Literally blasting the sky: four-pounder shells were used to blow open the blocked wooden doors, and then Hale rockets and hand-thrown powder bombs were fired. As a result, like a chain reaction, the entire fortress collapsed, burying all the defenders standing on top shooting arrows and shouting curses.
But there are individual exceptions. In front of a large fortress in the upper reaches of the Marne River; dozens of fierce attacks launched by a redemption company were all repulsed from the wall, and hundreds of people were lost; and then reciprocal bombardment with nearby supported cavalry artillery failed to break the Fortress.
It wasn't until the engineer company responsible for attacking the fort arrived, and under the cover of musketry and artillery bombardment, they risked their lives using small carts to deliver hundreds of pounds of explosives to the wall, blowing up a cave in this humble fortress. The gap comes. Then in the fierce battle, hundreds more were injured before the defenders were eliminated.
Jiang Tian later learned that this was the Brielle Line of Defense, which could be traced back to the military chief of the Charter government; an inner ring fortification system specially built to prevent counterattacks from local nobles. But the Charter government fell faster, so only a few were built.
Therefore, when building these fortresses, volcanic ash cement produced in the south and standardized large strips of stone were used, which made them extremely strong and abnormal, and even repeated shelling was difficult to be effective. Now it serves as one of the important supporting points and core of the capital's outer fortress defense line.
But fortunately, such existence is just a phoenix horn. In the end, this outer defense line of the capital, composed of dozens of large and small forts, was able to play its greatest role; it successfully delayed the First Army for more than ten hours with a group of old, weak, sick and disabled people who needed to be gathered and organized.
By the next morning, Jiang Tian's legion headquarters could already see Fengting Palace and Yinlu Palace, one of the former royal hunting palaces. The two white palaces were vaguely hidden among the jungle and ancient trees. The King's Tower. This involves another allusion.
In the fourth generation of the White Iris Dynasty, King Anle, who loved feasting and hunting, witnessed the queen giving birth to a pair of twins under the witness of many ministers, nobles and bishops; King Anle also announced that the two twins All princes will become his recognized heirs.
Then he ordered to build two large gardens and palace areas, Maple Pavilion and Yinlu, in the northeast forest of the royal hunting ground specifically for the birth of the two little princes; and then built a pair of them decorated with white tiles imported from the East. The high tower serves as the dividing line between the two areas.
Later, King Anle died on the bed of a female courtier; this also opened a special era in which the two kings ruled together and the Queen Mother served as regent. However, when the two co-ruling monarchs came of age and got married, it led to a great schism and civil war among the nobles of the kingdom.
This civil war lasted for more than ten years, and almost all the noble lords in the northern part of the kingdom were involved in it. Hundreds of noble families lost their heirs or had their titles transferred; in the end, one of them, His Majesty, who was born a few minutes later, was assassinated by his rebel subordinates.
Then the brother who won a tragic victory was also burdened with indelible sins, and was called the Parricide/Broken Arm King by the world. The short reign of the Prince Killer/Broken Arm King was almost entirely spent on making up for and mediating the pain and rifts caused by the civil war in the kingdom.
But during this period, a paradoxical scandal broke out among the few children under his knees; and with unexpected efficiency, it quickly spread outside the palace. His favorite youngest daughter, and his eldest son as heir, proved to cross the line of blood kinship.
Although there is no shortage of incidents similar to blood incest within the royal families of the Western Continent; even some nomadic khanates in the East will inherit wives, concubines and sisters from fathers and brothers. But being exposed to the public in such a grand manner was a heavy blow and irritation to the Broken Arm King.
Especially after people began to spread that this was a curse targeted at royal parricide. The Broken Arm King was so angry that he stripped the royal brothers and sisters of everything and imprisoned them in two white towers; so that they could see each other every day, but they would always be close to each other.
Therefore, when King Broken Arm fell seriously ill and died, he designated his third son as his successor; the newly succeeded king also announced an amnesty and released his imprisoned brother and sister. But these two poor people had become completely crazy from the torture of long confinement.
The pair of white towers are also called the Towers of the Twin Kings, and are regarded as cursed places that originated from the Twin Civil War. It was not until the period of King Lie Sun that the abandoned and dilapidated Fengting Palace and Yinlu Palace were rebuilt and reconnected into a large royal family garden, which also faded away the curse of the twin towers.
After surrounding, forcing surrender, and dismantling a small number of hunting ground weapons such as the hound team, falcon team, and hunting guards stationed between Fengting Palace and Yinlu Palace, the First Army also obtained a weapon that could be used Come and directly attack the large camps and advance bases in the royal capital.
At this time, a cavalry force from the direction of the royal capital, or reinforcements responsible for armed reconnaissance, belatedly appeared in the field of vision of the peripheral police posts. Then, he hurriedly and unpreparedly ran into the ambush position set up in the forest of the Wang family's hunting ground.
In an instant, gunfire and explosions broke out. The fierce fighting sound and fire and smoke overwhelmed the neatly dressed cavalry regiment and tore the flesh and blood of them and their mounts. In the end, only a handful of cavalry left the battlefield; they fell to the pursuing sabers and bayonets one after another.
The headquarters of the legion where Jiang Tuan was located also obtained some obscure news and inside information about Seine City from the prisoners. For example, of the six newly formed regiments formed by the dynasty not long ago, only three actually have combat effectiveness; the other two are serious deserters.
In another regiment, due to treatment issues and arrears of military pay, a large-scale mutiny occurred among the lower-level soldiers; it was just suppressed by the Burgundian (sons) regiment of the dynasty, the Knights of the Guards, and the capital guard force. Nowadays, the city is still being searched for the remnants that are roaming around.
In addition, the remaining three completed corps and several reinforcements from other provinces all sent reinforcements to the southern front to meet the attack. As the royal capital, the city of Seine was relatively empty of defenses; therefore, facing the changes on the western front, they could only hastily put together such a cavalry regiment for exploration.
(End of chapter)
