Of course, except for the four Dutch uncles who are temporarily free to take care of themselves, among the remaining Dutch princes, there are some who follow Bratban in declaring war, and naturally there are also those who stand on the side of the new dynasty and vow to send troops to coordinate the war. Or take the opportunity to attack an old enemy with a grudge.
Among them, as the only remaining Carolingian bloodline and descendant in the world, it originated from the cousin family of the Frankish hero Charlemagne; it was preserved and continued because of the Mirror Spring Palace Agreement where many forces competed. Vermandu Abel V, the head and patriarch of the Wab Kingdom;
He took the initiative to send troops to assist the suzerain country in its revolt, and without hesitation placed the command of the army under the unified command of the New Kingdom Army. Although this is just a small country with five cities and several fortresses, it can only dispatch 1,300 soldiers despite all its efforts.
However, this kind of role model of standing in line in time is still very worthy of praise and commendation. Because under the leadership of the Count of Vermandois, four of the remaining six Dutch princes declared that they would resolutely support and follow the new government of the Kingdom of Zealand, and each sent troops to attack the rebellious country.
Of course, these are mostly small countries with few people. Even if they send troops, they only have a few thousand to several thousand troops. At best, they only have a symbolic containment effect, but at least they force the neighboring vassal states in the Netherlands to sit back and watch. We have to make corresponding statements and positions.
For example, in the Principality of Brabant, the Counties of Luxembourg, and the Counties of Trier, the County of Limburg, which was surrounded on three sides, could not resist the orthodox alliance, nor did it want to offend the New Kingdom government, so it followed some ancient historical practices. , declared its territory as a free passage zone for all parties.
As for the nearby territories directly under the jurisdiction of the Universal Church, Generaliti and the Bishopric of Lower Gelderland and Utrecht calmly called on all parties to cease the war; to concentrate their efforts on dealing with the current difficult situation, and Be willing to act as a mediator for this. Unfortunately no one responded.
Instead, the Friesland Kingdom, located in the northernmost part of the Netherlands, took the opportunity to send troops to invade the feuding Bishopric of Utrecht; it also involved the three bishopric alliances under the leadership of the Universal Church into the war. . Therefore, to use a later Internet meme, the entire Netherlands was in chaos.
And amid this turmoil at home and abroad, the Kingdom's First Legion, who followed Jiang Tian's personal expedition, also poured into the Picardy Province/Region (the Grand Crown Territory) with a mighty crushing force. The biggest change in the reorganized First Army was the deployment of a large number of livestock and horse vehicles.
With the First (guerrilla) Corps, the Second (Field) Corps, the Fifth Suppression Corps, and the Seventeenth Supplementary Corps as the backbone, the riding and vehicle-mounted methods of mules and horses were fully realized. In addition to the three traditional cavalry regiments, they were reinforced with more than a dozen Ranger companies from overseas regiments.
Most of the cities and towns along the way were taken over and occupied by the advance corps. Therefore, there is basically no need to stop wherever the First Army passes. It only needs to receive the supplies prepared in advance; and then order the city where it is located to summon manpower to correct and widen the roads within the territory.
Therefore, it took only two and a half days to arrive at Longo Castle on the south bank of the Somme near Amiens, the capital of the Picardy province. Here, while meeting the training director/advance corps commander Wilfner (Brigadier General), they also encountered the first army from the Dutch princes.
Five companies of the county army were led by Rainier, the eldest son of Albert V, the head of the Vermandois county. It's just that the soldiers he brought were still based on traditional vassal territories and fief knights, so the flags, uniforms, colors and equipment were messy and uneven.
The next day, another army from the vassal states arrived; but it was a fleet of hundreds of inland river transport ships from the coastal counties headed by the Netherlands, which sailed along the northwest outlet of the Somme River. superior. Therefore, arrangements for the attack on Amiens were made in the afternoon of that day.
In a sense, Amiens can be regarded as one of the few large cities in the Kingdom, with an officially recorded permanent population of 200,000 to 300,000. It is also a commercially developed hub in the upper reaches of the Somme River; and Amiens The cathedral is the permanent seat of the Northwest Archdiocese.
Not only does it have the oldest Gothic church spire, but the walls of the church are decorated with the largest group of religious sculptures known as the "Gallery of the Sages"; they also represent various religious practices, biographies of saints, and God's creation of the earth. The murals; known as the "Holy Book in Stone".
Therefore, at the beginning of the establishment of the First (Rose) Dynasty, it was initially fortified; it served as a military stronghold to resist and defend against the early invasions of the Norman countries. Later, it became an advanced base for counterattacks to regain lost territory and conquer the Netherlands; it had solid city defenses.
However, no matter how strong the city defenses of Amiens are, can they still compare with those large cities in the Kingdom that have been captured by the Free Army, or the fortresses/fortresses that were famous in the early years? This was also the original intention and intention of Jiang Tian's decision to personally lead the army to attack.
So in the dusk of the evening, hundreds of long and short cannons continued to roar. Jiang Tian stood in front of the prepared special attack knights, cavalry regiment, and ranger company; while looking at the city wall bursting with dust and smoke in the distance, he listened to the introduction of the enemy situation by Wilfner, the leader of the advance corps:
"My King, we met the rebels three days ago. The first battle took place in the city of Clemons. Our leading company that took over the city was suddenly attacked and ambushed by these rebels in the city; we suffered losses. It took half the soldiers and baggage to break out and ask for help."
"Your Majesty, we met the rebels three days ago. The first battle took place in the city of Clemons. Our leading company that took over the city was suddenly attacked and ambushed by these rebels in the city; we suffered heavy losses. He took half of the soldiers and baggage before he broke out and asked for help."
"Later, when we attacked the city of Clermont, we severely punished the rebels and their collaborators, hanging some of them according to the eleven-to-one killing rate, and moved the remaining prisoners away; but we did not expect that this was not an isolated case. In Lu Similar incidents occurred one after another in Watts, Compiègne, Soissons and other places.”
"So we concentrated our forces, searched for possible enemies, and finally captured the main force of the rebels at Longo Castle; but the Brabant Army suddenly appeared, causing us to lose five redemption companies, two mixed companies, and some heavy equipment. , temporarily losing the ability to conduct follow-up attacks."
"Therefore, according to the latest sneak investigation. In the city of Amiens today, in addition to the more than 10,000 rebel coalition forces gathered by more than a dozen local royal parties, there is also the Brussels Corps from the Principality of Brabant, approximately more than 7,000 people; Three thousand troops from Namur and two thousand troops from Luxembourg.”
"Those royalist armed forces are just that. Their equipment and training are not much better than the enemies we encountered before; and it is easy to fight independently without any response and be defeated separately. But those Brabant soldiers are quite good at it. Fighting on riverbanks, in the mud of swamps;”
"Frontal combat is also quite tough. Even if the battle line and formation are breached, they can quickly disperse into many small groups and retreat on their own; and when our soldiers try to pursue, the effectiveness of firearms will be limited by swamps and puddles, and then Suffered losses due to enemy counterattack."
"Therefore, Your Majesty, until you arrive with your backup, we can only remain on the defensive and can only pose a limited check on the enemies in Amiens. During this period, there are constant armed forces from the royal party from all over the surrounding areas, carrying a large number of people and materials with them. , gathered in the city of Amiens..."
"But we also sent several companies at night, ambushed and attacked several of them, and took the opportunity to sneak our spies and scouts into the city of Amiens..." Wilfner finally complimented: "But your Majesty, you are here. , then you don’t have to worry about all the problems..."
"There's nothing wrong with what you said." Hearing this, Jiang Gao smiled reassuringly and said, "However, how much do your people know about the situation in Amiens City? I still need more precise situations and content, such as The so-called Marianne I and her court members supported by the rebels."
"This matter is easy to handle." Wilfner secretly breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, and then told his subordinates: "Go and bring Antoine over, and tell him that my king wants to summon him for questioning."
"Your Majesty, Antoine is one of the traitorous court members who escaped from the city and was intercepted by us..." Then he turned to Jiang Tian and explained: "The so-called Royal Curtain Officer. At the same time, he also claims to be One of Marianne I’s temporary lovers.”
Then, a young nobleman who looked oily, light-footed, and dressed like a pheasant tail, with colorful ornaments and ribbons, was brought to Jiang Tian; "About Marianne, tell me everything you know! Wilfna said sharply:
At this time, the roar of cannons in the distance was suddenly suppressed by the loud cheers for a moment; but under the continuous bombardment of artillery fire, a corner of the already riddled city wall on the other side of the moat of Amiens collapsed with a billow of dust and smoke. A gap several meters wide was exposed.
At this time, Jiang Tian also smelled the faint stench of Chi Chi; but Antoine, the noble prisoner, was so frightened by this scene that he peed, and he sat on the ground dumbfounded and soaked. "It seems that you are no longer of use." Falfner couldn't help but scolded with a look of disgust:
"No, no, I am useful, I will definitely be useful!" The young nobleman Antoine came to his senses after hearing this, and shouted hurriedly: "I know all the court members and the main generals, and I even know Marianne privacy, including every detail of her body.”
At this time, the defenders in the city of Amiens also responded. From the gap in the collapse, an army wearing flat-top helmets, chain armor and Pegasus-patterned robes emerged; , wing-shaped spears, halberds and long-handled reverse-edged knives; interlaced to form a temporary line of defense.
"This is the Pegasus Regiment from the County of Namur, and it is also one of the most famous armies among the armies of the Netherlands." Falfner explained: "The best at attacking and defending based on city fortresses and fortresses. During the Norman offensives in autumn and winter, the enemy was defeated many times in numbers.”
However, the first ones to attack them were not the multiple redemption companies that flowed across the wilderness like a tide and quickly filled the moat with earth bags and prefabricated wooden platoons; or the musketry companies and throwing companies that followed closely behind to provide cover. Instead of the grenadiers, there were rows of flying cannonballs.
