Alice was riding on her horse, looking at the endless migrating crowds of people, but she couldn't hide the joy on her face.
She seemed to have been looking forward to this day for many days. Before, Beiling was simply a shackle and a cage for her.
In order to fulfill the last wish of her father, Count Fischereau, she had to stay in Northridge and has been presiding over the work here, and has been working hard for the rise of Northridge.
But not long ago, the situation in Beiling was extremely critical. There was news that her territory had been used as a bargaining chip and traded to the Kingdom of Susas.
It is not impossible to hold on to such a piece of land. As long as she mobilizes the Beiling troops and then asks for help from Datang Group, with Bunas and Yucheng Industrial Zone as her back, Beiling seems to be able to hold on for a long time.
But she had to consider more issues: Yucheng and Bunas seemed to have been targeted now, and the support from the Tang Kingdom could not quench the immediate thirst. If something really went wrong, the outcome of Beiling would no longer be controlled. .
If he takes the initiative to compromise, he can at least retain the essence of Beiling and strive for a better situation.
The Tang Kingdom only deployed one division in Yucheng. In fact, this division could not last long. The symbolic significance of its deployment was greater than the actual significance.
Once Jade City is lost, Bunas will be almost an undefended city - once Bunas's outlet to the sea is lost, Beiling will be completely surrounded and isolated.
At that time, it will not be so easy for Beiling to struggle anymore. Alice does not want to let herself become a hostage that makes Tang Mo surrender.
Only a stupid woman would ask a man to answer such idiotic questions as who would she save if she and XX fell into the water. A truly wise woman would choose never to fall into the water!
Alice is a smart woman. She knows that if one day the enemy ties her up on the city wall and forces Tang Mo to give up the opportunity to dominate the world, Tang Mo will definitely choose the right option without hesitation.
So of course she consulted the think tanks of the Tang Kingdom and finally chose the safest method.
Abandon the dead land of Beiling and lead the population who are willing to migrate away! Northridge's troops arriving in Bunas through the vicious forest can not only strengthen the defense of Bunas, but also buy enough time for the transportation of large numbers of people.
"Sir! The extra train from Bunas has arrived. Although it only transports people, it still has insufficient capacity. There are too many people who want to leave, more than we expected." A knight clamped his horse. He walked up to Alice and reported the details of the personnel transportation.
Alice did not look back, looking at the common people walking on the road with their families, she smiled and said, "Doesn't this just mean that I haven't worked in vain for so many years in Beiling?"
She has lightened the corvee and reduced taxes, and has always been conscientious in her work. She has kept Beiling in good order and is much richer than the surrounding areas.
Today, she finally saw the public opinion in Beiling and saw the simplest rewards for kind people.
She just gave an order, and countless people left the fields they were tilling just now, put down the hammers and wrenches in their hands, and left the new houses they had just built.
These people stuffed their money into their pockets, carried their bags and dry food, put their shotguns on their shoulders, took out their cattle and sheep from their shacks, and walked onto the road in front of the door as usual, heading towards unknown distances.
So Alice smiled, like a wife who went to her lover with a smile and tears.
While riding on the horse, she secretly swore in her heart that she would give the people who followed her the best future.
Even if she dies and loses everything, she will fight for a bright future for these people and the best and most prosperous life!
The complexity of the pre-war arrangements was beyond everyone's expectation. When hundreds of thousands of people began to cross the vicious forest, some serious problems also occurred on the Qi side.
The temporarily mobilized artillery and ammunition could not be transported to the front line at the first time due to transportation capacity and organizational chaos, so Qi State was not ready for war within the expected time.
As a result, several countries began to spit and curse at each other and greet each other's ancestors for eighteen generations, but no one had the idea of shooting the first shot.
There was also a little problem with the cooperation between the Lions Empire and the Kingdom of Susas, and it was Alice who raised this problem for them.
Alice sent a telegram to two countries at the same time that she wanted to evacuate Northridge. This telegram caught the two countries by surprise.
Originally, Susas was planning to invade Beiling again after the war broke out and the Tang army was weak.
At that time, all you need to do is beware of the Lions Empire, at least you won't have to attract the resentment of the Tang Kingdom.
Unfortunately, the plan did not change quickly. Alice took the initiative to withdraw from Beiling, exposing this piece of cake to two greedy countries in advance, disrupting a series of previous strategic arrangements of the two countries.
Everyone in the Lions Empire began to consider whether they should take a bite of this cake first and reap the immediate benefits.
Susas, on the other hand, has already lost a prime minister. At this time, there is no way out, and it seems that he is ready to take the lead and stir up trouble.
…
In a dark night, on an empty street, in a camp on the southern defense line of Dorne, a group of officers were holding the telegram paper in their hands and staring at the empty wine glasses on the table in front of them.
"This order is completely unacceptable! What do you mean?" A Dornish officer waved the message in his hand and said depressedly to his colleagues: "Our King must have been bewitched by a traitor!"
"That's right! It's those bastards at the rear who bewitched our King!" Another officer stood up and waved his fist: "I don't think we should execute this kind of random order!"
"But we are soldiers of Dorne! Soldiers should obey His Majesty the King's orders!" The young officer standing on the other side said sadly, as if he was saying something intolerable.
"What did you say? How does General Bolton treat you on weekdays? How could you do it at a time like this..." The major general who spoke first suddenly stood up, stared at the colonel opposite him and scolded.
"Of course I remember General Bolton's kindness to me! But...but my whole family is in the royal city, what can I do..." the young officer said angrily.
"My wife and children are also in the royal city. I...I...I don't know what to do." Next to the young officer, another major general was also in a dilemma.
"It must be the prime minister! And that damn chancellor of finance!" A major general with a beard clenched his fists and said at this time.
"When things have reached this point, what's the use of saying which bastard bewitched His Majesty the King... The order has been issued, and now it's up to us whether we will execute it or not." The leading general looked gloomy, as if he had lost his position. Same.
"Alas..." A group of officers sighed in the camp. Many of them lowered their heads, as if they were unwilling to choose at all.
"I'm not afraid! I'm just alone!" The bearded officer suddenly raised his head and looked at everyone around him: "I have always regarded General Bolton as my teacher! I don't care Whatever you choose, I tell you! Whoever dares to touch General Bolton will step over my body!"
He pressed the pistol on his waist and looked at everyone present coldly: "When the time comes, just leave everything to me alone!"
"General!" At this moment, a man opened the curtain and walked into the big tent. A middle-aged man in his late thirties calmly walked to the middle, found a seat and sat down, and faced the people standing there. The men who were in a daze pressed their palms.
Almost obeying their own muscle memory, the people who were standing slowly sat down and stared at the man in front of them in disbelief.
The man was wearing the military uniform of an admiral of the Kingdom of Dorne, and he didn't even wear an armed belt or his own pistol.
The person who came was none other than Bolton. He spread his hands and said to everyone: "I know you have all received the order, ordering you to kill me."
He smiled bitterly, and then seemed to be relieved: "I have feelings for you and Dorne. It's fine now and I don't need to struggle anymore. I have served Dorne for three years, and I have fulfilled my responsibility." Is not it?"
Having said this, he shrugged his shoulders pretending to be relaxed: "Look, I have kept the pistols given to me by His Majesty the King of Dorne in the tent, and I have also left the star next to the pistol. I have fought for Dorne for so many years. Zhan, it’s not too much to wear some clothes and go, right?”
"General!" The bearded officer's eyes were red, and he stood up to say something again. As a result, Bolton reached out to stop him again.
Everyone present noticed that Bolton said "His Majesty the King of Dorne" instead of "His Majesty the King" as he said before.
"After tonight, you and I will become enemies rather than friends... When we meet on the battlefield tomorrow, I will not show mercy. I also hope that you will not insult what you have learned from me." He looked around at everyone, Names of these people were named one by one.
Some of those whose names were called bowed their heads and remained silent, some wiped away tears directly, and some had firm eyes, seeming to be responding to Bolton's words.
"Everyone should also think clearly. If you let me go today, you may be letting the tiger go back to the mountains. In the future, I will be the one to kill everyone present." After finishing speaking, Bolton stood up and walked towards the door: "This may be the only time you defeat My chance.”
"Forget it! General! I think when we meet on the battlefield tomorrow, you will definitely be my defeated general!" A major general stood up and saluted Bolton at attention.
"Hahaha! That's right! You only have this little skill, but I have already learned it!" Another colonel stood up and saluted Bolton at attention as well.
"I'm not going to work tomorrow!" The bearded officer obviously didn't want to be an enemy of Bolton. After saying this bitterly, he also saluted to Bolton.
One after another, the officers stood up, most of them said nothing, but silently raised their palms to Bolton, pressed them on their chests, and performed a Dornish military salute.
Some people stood up but did not salute. They just stared at Bolton with dull expressions, as if they were unwilling to let Bolton leave and had no intention of stopping him.
Burton just walked out of the camp, then got into the car and leaned on the back seat.
These officers who have been with him through life and death and who have been trained by him will all become enemies standing opposite him after tonight.
As he said, we are enemies rather than friends in the future, and the greatest respect for soldiers like them is to defeat the opponent with dignity on the battlefield.
"General." The sergeant driving the car turned back and looked at Bolton: "Are we really not going to take some people with us? To ensure safety along the way..."
"Stop talking nonsense and drive!" Bolton rubbed his sore eyes and ordered impatiently: "If someone really does it, no matter how many people they bring, they will die... Why do you ask them to do it? Is it so good to betray the motherland?"
"I'm from Beiling." The driver whispered, then stepped on the accelerator of the car, and the military vehicle swayed slightly and drove slowly towards the entrance of the camp.
"From now on, we are all Tang people." Bolton wiped his cheeks and then felt better. He is a dandelion, a wandering seed.
Now, he is going back to his hometown, his motherland. Although he bids farewell to everything in front of him, he will be greeted by a more interesting future.
The car moved forward slowly in the military camp, its dim headlights shining on the land that was not flat. Occasionally, you can see the cold cannons standing behind the piled sandbags, and you can also see the tents dotted with dancing bonfires.
Patrolling soldiers shouldered their weapons and stood at attention, saluting the cars that passed in front of them. They couldn't see clearly who was in the car with the faint moonlight, but they could tell the model of the car. Anyone who could drive in the military camp in such a car must be a general-level big shot.
Soon, a checkpoint appeared in front, and soldiers were standing around the checkpoint. Normally, the person on duty here should be an officer with the rank of second lieutenant, but now the person standing here is a colonel.
Ever since they began to learn from Datang Group's security forces and set up modern military ranks, Dorne's officer classification has been like this. Officers like colonels also have considerable status in Dorne.
Where the car lights shined, a soldier stretched out his arm to signal the car to stop. Next to the sandbags on the side of the checkpoint, two shooters had turned their guns and pointed their Maxim machine guns at Bolton's car.
At the same time, the rest of the soldiers raised their weapons and surrounded the car. It seems that as long as the leading colonel gives an order, these people will pull the trigger and smash the car Burton is riding into a sieve.
Holding the flashlight imported from Datang Group, the colonel walked to the car with his adjutant with a serious face.
He flashed the square flashlight, and the dazzling light made the sergeant in the driver's seat unconsciously squint his eyes.
"I'm sorry, I was ordered to set up a jam here...to capture the treasonous enemy spy Burton." The colonel explained to the sergeant driving the car: "I have been guarding here for most of the night, and I still haven't seen anyone."
As he spoke, he moved the light in his hand, as if he hadn't seen Bolton sitting in the back row, walked to the back door, and said to himself: "It's a pity, I guess the officers inside were Taking the credit.”
As he said that, he waved his hand behind him: "Let it go! It's just an empty car, it's boring."
Following his orders, the soldiers put away their guns and moved away the barbed wire fences and barrier poles. Only then did the sergeant driving the car notice that the Maxim machine gun behind the sandbag did not have a canvas ammunition chain attached.
Burton's car slowly crawled forward. When it passed the colonel officer, the officer actually stood at attention and saluted Burton. He said nothing, and Bolton said nothing.
…
Strauss was blindfolded, his hands tied together, and escorted out of his headquarters. The surrounding soldiers were armed with live ammunition, and the leader was a veteran who was the deputy commander of the northern defense line.
The old man walked in front with his hands behind his back and a cold face, followed by the somewhat bewildered adjutant.
Standing at the door were a crowd of officers who had come to plead for mercy. Many of them had also received orders tonight, ordering them to deal with Strauss, the treasonous officer.
"Deputy Commander! There may be some misunderstanding!" An officer blocked the way of a group of people and pleaded: "I guarantee with my personality that Commander Strauss will not betray the kingdom's intelligence."
"Yes! Sir! You have been with the Commander for so long, don't you know what the Commander is like?" Not far away, a colonel with his chest covered with medals and his hands wrapped in bandages spoke with a cry. shouted.
"Get out of the way!" The white-haired deputy commander scolded coldly: "Don't you think about your children, your wives, and your parents?"
As soon as he waved his hand, the guards behind him rushed forward and pushed aside the people blocking the way. The team continued to move forward, and the officers on both sides showed unbearable looks.
Another person blocked the team's path and cried out for Strauss, but they were all expelled by the deputy commander, and some even had their faces covered in blood by being hit with rifle butts.
"The Sword Comes"
"General Strauss is unjustly accused!" Some of the gathered soldiers shouted dissatisfiedly.
Along with this man's shouting, many soldiers started shouting: "Yes! It must be framed by traitors!"
"Those bastards who didn't go to the front line and let us die here will eventually frame a good general like Strauss and take credit for his achievements!" Soon, someone came up with a more reasonable "picture." .
"Those cowards hiding in the rear! They should be skinned!" More and more soldiers shouted dissatisfied.
However, after all, they were all Dornishmen and their wealth was in Dorne. The clamor and abuse continued until Strauss was taken into the armored vehicle that served as a makeshift prison car, but no one had the courage to come up and rob the prisoner.
The armored vehicle shook, and Strauss closed his eyes and finally said: "This doesn't seem to be heading south."
"Your sense of direction is still so good." The deputy commander sitting opposite Strauss had an old voice.
"Then, are you planning to execute me on the spot?" Strauss asked calmly as he scratched his forehead with his tied hands.
"The order given to me is this... to avoid long nights and many dreams, and to deal with this serious problem of yours right there." The old man replied.
"You are still the same." Strauss sighed: "Have you ever thought about the consequences of doing this?"
"There are many people in this world who never care about the consequences of doing things. Our King is like this, and so am I. I have to say that in this regard, I am very much like our King." I don't know how long it took, the old general felt When the armored car arrived, it gradually slowed down and said to Strauss.
Soon, the door of the armored vehicle was opened from the outside. The old general stood up and got out of the armored vehicle. Then someone helped Strauss and got out of the door as well.
"I was ordered to choose a place to shoot you." The deputy commander took out a folding knife from his pocket, showed the blade, and cut off the rope tied to Strauss's wrist.
Then, he pulled off the black cloth covering Strauss's eyes and stared at Strauss with a pair of cloudy eyes.
A row of Dornish soldiers stood behind the old general, standing at attention and saluting Strauss. The old general made a gesture of invitation: "Let's go! Get out of here! Let's go!"
"What will you do if I leave?" Strauss did not move his steps, but instead asked the old general.
"What can I do? I am a soldier and I must execute orders!" The old general sighed and waved his hand impatiently: "Get out! Get out of here!"
"Thank you!" Strauss stood at attention, saluted the old general with the Dornish military salute, then turned and walked towards the darkness to the north.
This is the border between Dorne and Jade City. As long as you continue walking a few hundred meters north, you can see the closed trading port.
"Let's go!" Looking at Strauss's back, the old general ordered to the soldiers behind him: "Strauss has escaped... We have pursued here, but there is really no way to cross the border."
"Yes!" All the soldiers turned around in unison, then got on the truck behind them, followed the armored vehicle, and drove slowly back to the south.
Just when the King of Dorne completely ignored the fact that his two daughters were married to the two heroes of the kingdom respectively, and was preparing to attack the two generals from the Tang Military Academy, Strauss and Bolton were surrounded by hundreds of thousands of troops. Evaporated from the world.
All the generals were clueless, and many even resigned from their military posts afterwards. In order not to irritate the military and avoid a chaotic military uprising, the King of Dorne had no choice but to hold his nose and accept the theory that the two men were missing.
What made him even more depressed was that his two daughters cried, made trouble, and hanged themselves. They even asked to live in Bunas and no longer wanted to stay in Dorne. As a father, he had no choice but to finally become cruel and reject his daughter's request.
He has no choice but to judge a gentleman with a villain's heart. He is afraid that someone will use his daughter to blackmail him as a king and force him to give up some interests at a critical moment - the lives of these two daughters are not important. What's important...is the face of the Kingdom of Dorne!
At this moment, what he regretted was not his two estranged daughters, but his failure to get rid of the former Dornish heroes...
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Today is a big chapter, first update.
