I will be crowned king

On the seventeenth day of the siege of Thunder Castle, everything was basically the same as Carl Bain's "Crow's Mouth".

The Imperial Army, which was originally indifferent to the outside of the city, began to set up light infantry cannons and mortars on the city walls at regular intervals and targeted the front lines and artillery forts of the siege positions.

Obviously, they were not unaware of the movements of the levied troops, but they did not want to waste artillery shells before figuring out the direction of the main attack.

Faced with highly targeted artillery fire, and after suffering dozens of casualties, the entire conscripted army's enthusiasm for the "trench offensive" quickly dropped to freezing point.

In the worst case, only officers beating and scolding with whips and wooden sticks can the soldiers build fortifications at the risk of being killed by artillery shells; and they will definitely retreat immediately after being attacked by artillery fire, even if they are used by the supervising team. With the gun pointed at his head, he was determined not to go back.

It is one thing to take risks, but it is another thing to take the initiative to die; what's more, soldiers are also the "important property" of mid-level officers. If the casualties are too heavy, there is a risk that the Army will deprive them of their establishment and military pay.

For two whole days, the progress of the forward position was basically negligible, and a lot of it was even destroyed by the imperial defenders.

But that's not the worst part - after the attack on the front line, there were also many terrible rumors from the rear: In Oak Town, the logistics base of the levy army, traces of a large number of imperial cavalry passing through were suspected to be found.

Although Brigadier General Ludwig immediately stopped the spread of rumors, it was basically to no avail. The morale of the entire conscripted army quickly dropped to freezing point in a short period of time.

Faced with this situation, Ludwig could only hope that the infantry regiment sent to Oak Town would perform its duties adequately, and that the steam train transporting the next batch of supplies would arrive as soon as possible.

Although he is quite pessimistic about either one - especially the former.

……………………

"Everyone, we have to solve the problem at hand immediately."

In the spacious camp, Ludwig, who looked extremely ugly, took a deep breath and looked as calmly as possible at all the officers directly under his command who were sitting on both sides of the sand table in Thunder Castle.

As the commander of the First Regiment, Anson Bach was naturally among them, and he was "lucky" to be the more eye-catching one.

After all, all the officers present knew how this would-be graduate, who was only a lieutenant not long ago, "successfully rose to the position" and became equal to them - even if the former regiment commander Willen Small was purely seeking death and had nothing to do with Anson. , but the eyes that looked at him were still filled with vigilance and indifference.

Of course, this definitely did not include a certain grenadier commander... Feeling the indifferent gaze coming towards him without even a hint of concealment, Anson pretended not to notice and smiled politely at Roman opposite.

"Two days! For two whole days, the advancement speed of the forward position was less than one-tenth of the previous time!" Even though he tried his best to control his mood, Ludwig couldn't help but emphasize his tone:

"At this rate, it will take us at least another thirty to forty days to complete the siege positions and begin the attack on Thunder Castle - I can assure you now that the Privy Council and the headquarters of the Southern Army are absolutely You won’t give us another forty days!”

"At that time, I, as the commander, will have to bear the blame. Don't think that you can pass smoothly; those who are lucky will be sent to the east, while those who are unlucky will have to wait to be stripped of their organizational and military ranks and become homeless outside the train station! "

Under the unabashed and very real threats, the officers, who were already in danger, all turned pale and trembled like children who had done something wrong.

"B-But it's useless even if we're not afraid of death!"

In the depressing atmosphere, a regiment commander mustered up the courage to stand up: "The Imperial Army's artillery coverage is quite fierce and targeted. The newly built fortifications have no effect at all. One round of artillery is over!"

"No offense, Brigadier General, but unless we have long-range firepower sufficient to suppress the fortress, we cannot persuade our soldiers to risk being killed by digging trenches!"

Almost at the same time as the regimental commander finished speaking, the other officers who were also "deeply touched" also stood up one after another and began to complain full of dissatisfaction:

"Exactly! Besides, digging the trenches itself is expensive, and the soldiers are already dissatisfied with the current food standards!"

"Asking for help from the Southern Army - we are helping them fight, why don't they help?!"

"Our current firepower is seriously insufficient. We should wait for the heavy artillery to arrive, otherwise we will not be able to attack a fortress with sufficient reserves and strong walls like Thunder Castle!"

"That's right! Why only give us forty days? Is there any fortress in the world that can be conquered in just forty days?!"

Noises, shouts, abuses... all kinds of noises filled every corner of the camp. All the officers were desperately raising their voices; their heroic words and powerful body language made people believe that they were on the battlefield. He must be equally brave.

"quiet!"

Ludwig tapped the table lightly and whispered.

In an instant, there was silence in the camp.

The officers sitting on both sides of the sand table looked at the brigadier motionless, completely different from the previous second.

A helpless look flashed across Ludwig's face, and his cold eyes glanced at a guy who had been quiet and smiling just now.

"Lieutenant Colonel Anson Bach, everyone has just been criticizing your plan...don't you have anything to defend?"

In the blink of an eye, all eyes looked at Anson at the same time.

Feeling the sights that were definitely not "kind", Anson took a long breath and stood up slowly, stretched out his hand to block the sand table of Thunder Castle, and the shadow of his palm blocked the light of the kerosene lamp.

Then he turned his head and looked at Ludwig, who was waiting for his answer:

"We could try... digging at night."

Ludwig thought for a few seconds:

"That would be very costly, and the risk of mobilizing the entire army would be high."

"So we don't want to mobilize the entire army to do this. One or two thousand people are enough." Anson looked at him seriously:

"Only let a small part of the position continue to extend. The strong and narrow position is enough to defend against the fortress' artillery fire. It can be used as a bridgehead and main attack position during the attack. It can accommodate about... one or two thousand people."

"Can one or two thousand men capture Thunder Castle?"

Roman opposite looked at Anson coldly,

"There are only one or two thousand Imperial troops in the city at most." Anson shrugged: "We have nearly 800 people in Lieutenant Colonel Roman's Grenadier Regiment alone. Are you so unsure of yourself?"

"This is caution." Roman snorted coldly: "Besides, they control the fortress and city defense. With the same strength, we have no advantage."

"That's right, but the empire's infantry is rigid and rigid, with low morale and often collapses without a fight; while our levy army... uh..."

Seems to be the same scumbag.

Anson hesitated for a moment, then showed a very firm expression towards the brigadier general:

"...much stronger than them!"

Ludwig snorted coldly.

He was almost certain that this was part of Anson's plan from the beginning; he had already guessed that the Imperial Army would counterattack, but only told himself at this moment.

But if you question him now, this guy will definitely say that he didn't ask, not that he didn't remind him - not to mention that he did remind him.

"One or two thousand infantry with artillery cover may not be enough to capture Thunder Fort; but at least it can open a gap for the rear-line troops and gain the opportunity for a full-scale attack." Seeing that no one stood up to oppose him, Anson continued:

"Of course, we have to consider the failure of the attack, but the principle is the same - it is easier for smaller but more capable troops to withdraw from the battle quickly, not to mention that the enemy does not have many troops and would not dare to pursue them even if they win. At most, they can use artillery to cover them. Shoot to scare us."

After saying that, Anson put his hands behind his back and looked at Ludwig, waiting for the other party's answer.

On both sides of the sand table, the eyes that were originally full of hostility towards Anson became much softer...except of course Roman.

Obviously, this plan looked great to the officers - not that it could win, but that it allowed them to take advantage.

If there is hope, then follow up to grab the victory; if the situation is not good, they only need to "try to cover the friendly forces."

In short, some people may make money, but they will definitely not lose money.