June 2520 of the Empire's calendar was destined to be another month of great changes. While Laing was on a grand expedition to Obien, the Empire was also undergoing a major revolution.
Emperor Karl-franz, riding on the momentum of his epic victory at the Black Fire Pass, announced a major overhaul of the Empire's existing military structure.
The Empire's existing military forces could be summarized into three parts: the professional standing army, the semi-professional provincial army, and the local militia. Of course, these were all under the Emperor's control. Some independent military organizations, such as the secular knights, were loyal to the Emperor but were not part of the Empire's military system. There were also religious knights and local church troops, who were loyal to the Emperor through another method, namely the High Consultative Conference chaired by the Emperor.
It could be said that the entire military structure left by Ludwig the Savior to the Empire was very scientific.
However, even the best policies and structures would have problems with the passage of time. As a former military officer, Karl-franz was very clear about the problems within the Empire's military.
Regardless of the corruption of logistics and the decline of the military's combat ability, the Empire's military itself was showing a trend of 'aging'. In the Empire's military, the standing army's service period was about 15 to 21 years. Assuming that a person started his service at the age of 16, the luckiest person could only retire at the age of 31.
But in fact, the Empire's investigation found that even in the standing army and provincial army of the Empire, there were plenty of veterans in their forties and fifties. The average age of company commanders and Empire captains was 45, and excluding all the legendary and above champions, the average age of Empire generals was as high as 50 to 55!
It was true that a veteran's rich experience was a very valuable asset on the battlefield, but in fact, too long a service could easily lead to the deterioration of discipline, low morale, addiction to alcohol, and cynicism. If veterans could not be promoted after serving for seven, eight, or even ten years, they would easily gradually become a strange creature. They would not volunteer to participate in suicide missions, nor would they take unnecessary risks. Usually, they would laze around and drink like their life depended on it. Once they received the military pay, they would squander it away within a few days. When they were in a war, they would not put in any effort. Only when they were trapped or faced with a desperate situation would the veterans suddenly burst out with powerful combat strength, just to survive.
Even so, there were still a lot of veterans who were reemployed. Many of them did not know how to do anything other than serve. But more of them were the new class of citizens and farmers who did not like to serve. They preferred to spend a sum of money to hire others to serve on their behalf. Then, the veterans would be reemployed with a commission, and the middle class would be exempted from military service. Everyone would be happy.
However, the result was that the army was short of recruits and lacked vigor, and the reserve militia lacked training and decent equipment. They could not be of great use at the critical moment.
Therefore, Emperor Karl-franz decided to continue crossing the river with Laing. He studied Laing's military service system of six to eight years in detail, the requirement of compulsory retirement, the buyout of service, and the arrangement of letting the veterans work as instructors or captains in the local provinces or villages. The emperor found it wonderful no matter how he looked at it. Wonderful!
He had done it just like that!
Of course, to be fair, it was not that the emperor did not think of those things before, but that he did not have the conditions. Firstly, he did not have enough prestige, and the Kurfürsten and the nobles would naturally resist. Secondly, he did not have enough money. It was impossible for him to be stingy in order to get rid of the veterans, which would've raised a mutiny.
These two problems had now been solved. The first was that the emperor's personal prestige and honor had reached the peak after the third victory at the Black Fire Pass. Many people even said that he was possessed by the Human Emperor at that moment. The Kurfürsten in the south of the Empire now did not dare to face the emperor. Even Countess Emilia, who had just returned to Nur, had expressed her support for the emperor.
The second problem was that a large sum of money was needed. For this problem, Karl-franz had the full help of the Supreme Dwarf King Solgreen.
The dwarves were now in a good situation. With the recovery of the Eight Peaks Mountain, Belegar had spent a few years to repair the grand tunnel hub. Since then, the Dwarven Mountain Kingdom had been unimpeded. Whether it was merchants or armies, they could travel freely through the mountain tunnels. This allowed the dwarven kingdoms to resume the tradition of large amounts of trade and mutual assistance.
At the same time, the dwarven exploration team that conquered Ganbard Mountain built a Bright Stone Mine. From this mine, Solgreen and his Eternity Peak could reap an unimaginable amount of wealth every year. The Supreme Dwarf King's treasury was gradually getting richer. In addition, in appreciation of the emperor's outstanding performance in the third battle at the Black Fire Pass, the dwarven patriarchs' meeting passed a motion for war loans to the Empire. The new war loans would soon be sent to the treasury of Emperor Karl-franz.
With prestige and money, the emperor could finally carry out a comprehensive military reform in the south of the Empire as he wished. As for the north of the Empire, the war was still ongoing, and it was beyond the emperor's reach. Therefore, the emperor decided to focus on the south first before the north.
At the same time as the military reform in Brunswick, the military reform in Nur also began. With the help of Gelt, Frey Derick began to reform the Nur military. He took the opportunity to purge and retire some of the veterans and replaced them with young generals loyal to him. This was especially true for the young nobles who had studied and grown up with him in the Gunnery Academy, Engineering College, and Nur University.
Laing's eldest son had already planned everything. When the time was right, he would launch a coup. He would wrap his mother up with a ribbon and put her in a gift box to be sent to his father to continue being his little maid. Nur would be his turn to call the shots!
Hehehe, I'm just kidding. Mother said that father planned for her to be 30 years old.
Then I'll launch the coup at that time.
… I'm a filial son's cutoff line …
At the same time as the military reform in the Empire, Laing's strategy for conquering Obien was also ongoing.
After the Battle of Hastings, the chivalry army did not actually deal a devastating blow to the Obien barbarians. Almost 20000 barbarians still fled to Konquata Tower. In the face of difficulties, Harold and Zainaik did not quarrel again. Instead, they chose to temporarily unite and work together against the enemy.
As a matter of fact, Laing's chivalry army encountered many difficulties along the way. The rain in Obien was endless, and the attacks from the local swamp demons and the werewolves caused the chivalry army to suffer from logistical problems. Their compass and way of identifying directions were not effective in the Wind of Chaos and thick fog. At one point, the chivalry army lost their way. In the end, they had to rely on Laing's psionic power to open the Imperial Tower and force their way out.
Then, as they gradually approached Konquata Tower, Laing received a very troublesome piece of news.
The Noska, the champion of tyranny, the bloody Hagloss, led 12000 barbarians and landed on the north shore of Obien. They were ready to support Harold and Zainaik.
Laing made a prompt decision and ordered Kalad to lead 18000 barbarians to the north to meet the enemy. At the same time, he led about 15000 barbarians to wait for Newland's reinforcements to arrive.
This was originally a godsend opportunity for Harold and Zainaik. At this time, Konquata Tower had gathered all the barbarian tribes on Obien. In total, there were about 22000 barbarian soldiers and 32000 barbarian militia. They also had the cover of the swamp, the rain, and the fog. Whether they immediately went north to attack Kalad's army or quickly surrounded Laing's army, they could achieve certain results.
However, Harold, who had lost his thigh pendant in the Battle of Hastings and could not even find his two eggs (they must have fallen into the swamp), had lost the courage to fight in the field with Ryan. He repeatedly refused Eyke's order to attack immediately and made up his mind to defend Konquata Tower and not come out.
A few days after Harold decided to defend Konquata Tower, Kalad successfully defeated the army of the champion of tyranny, the bloody Hagloss, at the foot of the eastern mountain of the Beast Mountain. Kalad had learned the tactics used by Rokossovsky in Operation Bagration. He divided his army into three groups and attacked from three fronts at the same time. Then, he supported each other and easily defeated Hagloss and his Noska army. He even left a wound of several centimeters deep on the chest of the champion of tyranny.
However, when Kalad was about to pursue and completely destroy the barbarian army, a terrible news came from his scouts.
An Army of Chaos of more than 20000 people was slowly landing on the north bank of Obien. Its commander seemed to be the legendary Primordial Demon Prince, Birak.
Kalad knew that things were not going well. He quickly led his army to retreat and tried to meet up with Laing.
At this time, Laing's army of knights had arrived at Konquata Tower.
In the afternoon of late June, Laing and his people were patrolling Konquata Tower. At this time, Kalad's army was still on the way to meet up with Laing's army.
"What a big fortress." Francois looked at the huge fortress in the middle of the southern part of Beast Mountain Range, which was built on the mountainside and had its back against the mountain peak. He was a bit dumbfounded. "Your Majesty, your brothers didn't tell us that we're going to take down this huge fortress."
"The barbarians don't know how to build a city. This is the work of the ancient saints. After the Truth Sayers withdrew from Obien, Konquata Tower became the territory of these barbarian tribes." Veronica was still wearing a fiery red leather coat. She frowned and estimated the height and width of the fortress. "This fortress is located on the mountainside, 400 meters above sea level. It is built with giant stones. The walls are eight meters high, and the internal structure is complicated. There are trenches and fortresses, and there is even a river running through the mountain. It is the rainy season now. Dear, how are we going to take down such a strong fortress?"
"The Truth Sayers are helping the enemy!" François was also very unhappy. His father-in-law walked across the muddy road and took out his binoculars in the rain. He looked at the strong walls of Konquata Tower and the dense barbarian defenders on it. His father-in-law was very reluctant to fight such a strong battle. He put down his binoculars. "Your Majesty, the barbarians outnumber us. Even if most of them are militia, they can still play a big role in defending the fortress."
"Your Majesty, how about this? I will take some people and try to rush up tomorrow to see how strong the defense is," Marshal Davu said. "Let my Muxilon Army try first."
"No, Davu, you don't have to go." Laing also frowned. He felt that he had been tricked by Fulgen.
Fulgen did not say that Konquata Tower was such a strong fortress, located on the mountainside, and with a huge stone structure! Laing thought that Konquata Tower was just a typical large settlement in Norsk.
However, as one of the top military experts in the world, Laing did not complain. Because of the special nature of Obien Island, there was too little information available. Even the people of the Empire, who often ventured into the depths of the fog, only knew that Konquata Tower was "once the fortress of the Truth Sayers, but later occupied by Birak."
"Your Majesty, what do we do now?" Bertrand looked at the sturdy fortress and was at his wit's end. The Sixth Marshal carried the Tal's Bow on his back, and the Tal's Sacred Emblem on his forehead shone. "I see it. Every corner of the mountain is filled with barbarians. Their numbers are much greater than ours."
"Your Majesty, can we consider a long-term siege?" François had an idea. "The barbarians still need to eat, right?"
Laing lowered his head and thought for a moment. In the end, he nodded slowly.
For the Warriors of Chaos and above, eating was meaningless. It was the same for the champions of the barbarians or the Blessed Warriors of the barbarians.
However, the barbarian civilians, including the ordinary barbarian soldiers, still needed to eat. Over the long years, the northern barbarians had developed a special ability. They only needed half to two-thirds of the food of a normal human to survive. Even so, they still needed to eat.
"For now, it's not realistic to attack by force. Maybe we need to think of something." Laing thought for a few more seconds. "Let the army set up camp first. Wait for Kalad and the others to come back and transport all the artillery and supplies from Newland."
"Yes!"
The good news was that although Konquata Tower was a strong fortress, it did not occupy a large area. The city was crowded with people. Laing made some calculations and decided to surround the entire Konquata Tower first before making any other plans.
The knights began to set up camp under Laing's orders. They also used the relatively abundant trees in Obien to build a wall to surround Konquata Tower.
The defenders in the city tried to break out of the fortress and destroy the wall and camp of the Brittany. However, the volleys of the musketeers and the knights on both sides caused the barbarian cavalry to suffer heavy losses. About 1,000 cavalrymen fell at the gate of Konquata Tower and kept peeing blood. Harrod, who was in great pain, decided to give up on leaving the city.
It seemed that Obien's barbarians were going to sit and wait for their deaths. Just as Leon gave the order to surround the city with walls, Kalad, who had rushed over, brought Leon a very bad piece of news.
The bloody reinforcements of Hargesh had been defeated, but the scouts reported that the Demon Prince Birak's 20000 Chaos and Demon Army had landed on the north coast of Obien! Including the defeated soldiers of Hargesh, there were 31000 of them!
Before Laing could digest the information, he received an urgent military report from Lord Admiral Bodrick.
The World Walker army was approaching the east coast of Obien! Ufrek the Wanderer's 25000 reinforcements were approaching on thousands of Northka dragonships!
Just as the Poseidon fleet was about to stop Ufrek's fleet, another terrible piece of news came.
Count Noktras of the Undead Ocean Empire suddenly appeared beside the Poseidon fleet with his undead navy. The undead and Chaos had formed an alliance. After a large naval battle ended in a draw, the undead fleet and the Northka dragonships blocked the route to Obien at all costs. The Poseidon fleet led by Bodrick suffered heavy losses and was forced to retreat in the direction of Kurona.
Following that, the scouts on the west reported that Count Noktras's 28000 Vampire Pirates had landed on the west coast of Obien and were preparing to join in the siege of the knights.
This was Tzeentch's meticulously planned ambush from all sides.
"Konquata is destined to be the place where the Sun King falls!"
There wasn't much time left for Laing. Laing made a prompt decision and ordered another 18-kilometre long wall to be built around the encirclement for defense. At the same time, he ordered all of Newland's men, cannons, and resources to be transported to Konquata as soon as possible before the Chaos undead army closed in.
The strong-willed Sun King Leon planned to fight the enemies inside and outside Konkuata at the same time, right under the city walls.
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
