I will be crowned king

Slave Port, the position of the 2nd Infantry Regiment.

When the raging Battle of Straw Town entered the second half, Lieutenant Colonel Alexei Dukasky, who was "entrusted with the important task" of serving as the vanguard of the siege of the Borre Corps, was still squatting outside the slave port city. Shovel after shovel, shovel after shovel of soil to dig trenches.

According to the intelligence obtained by Norton Crosell, the family of the commander of the 2nd Infantry Regiment was in the Borre Corps. In order to avoid the tragedy of fratricide and the fact that a fast-moving vanguard was really needed to distract the enemy, so So he half-coaxed and half-deceived this task to Alexei - as long as he could arrive at the slave port unscathed and let the Borre Corps take the initiative to attack the big pit of Straw Town, the task would be considered accomplished.

But Alexey, who was deceived, didn't know this. He thought that the slave port was a bait deliberately set aside by the enemy. He took advantage of the New World Army's weakness of not having a fleet and closed the door to beat the dog. As a result, he didn't dare to enter the city at all. It was really Anson. He was given orders to build positions on the outside and asked the liberals in the city to assist him and provide manpower and material resources.

Naturally, ten thousand people in the slave port did not want to agree. They hoped that the Clovis army could escort them away to the safer rear of the Confederacy; but they also knew better that if they did not agree, the Clovis people in front of them would not He would be more merciful than the people of the Empire; after weighing the pros and cons, he gritted his teeth and agreed.

Although many things had been evacuated before, there was not much left in the slave port, but it was more than enough to temporarily provide logistics for a force of more than a thousand people; the remaining baggage of the Borre Corps, potatoes and salted fish from the homes of fishermen and fellow villagers , all captured by Alexey.

At the same time, the Second Infantry Regiment had to grit its teeth and send out a quarter of its troops after repairing the fortifications, gather the shooting corps that was defeated and dispersed by the Borre Corps to replenish the troops, and pick up the weapons and supplies left on the battlefield.

After all, there are only more than a thousand people in the entire infantry regiment. Although Alexei has always been very confident in himself, but with a gap of one to twenty, he needs to take aim first when he is a sandbag for the Borre Corps.

Thanks to this battle, the shooting troops brought by Anson have basically been trained for more than five months. The veterans of the shooting army who have become accustomed to the life in the military camp will subconsciously look for their companions to act together even if they are defeated, and will take the initiative to move closer when they see the military flag.

In just three or four days, Alexey successfully gathered more than a thousand shooting troops, and there were also scattered indigenous soldiers who had received news and intelligence and were rushing here...counting the freedom of the slave port. He sent the militiamen who took the initiative to gather together, and finally gathered more than 3,000 people, equivalent to half an infantry division... It was almost the same as Anson when he started in Hantu.

But he still had no idea whether this small amount of troops could stop the counterattack of the Borre Corps. He could only continue to urge the soldiers to build fortifications, and he also dug trenches with shovels... The whole regiment didn't know when the enemy would appear. How many trenches need to be dug for the position? Anyway, dig as little as you can while there is still time.

Thanks to Alexei's almost crazy efforts, a defensive position that can provide cover and protection for six to eight thousand people with complete facilities and structure has begun to take shape; considering that the front is too long, heavy artillery firepower may not be able to be transported. At the same time To be wary of enemy shelling, Alexey simply abandoned the artillery forts and instead built a large number of small forts that could be defended by one or two platoons, and connected them with trenches to form a defensive network with cross-fired firepower.

The disadvantage of this is that the construction period will be very long, but the advantage is that it can not only protect the slave port, but also resist attacks from the direction of the slave port.

One day, two days, three days... A group of people were on tenterhooks and raced against time to dig for nearly a week. As a result, not to mention the enemy, not even the shadow of the Jihad Army fleet was seen.

Alexey was stunned.

If the Slave Port was really a trap deliberately left by the Borre Corps, the enemy should have appeared long ago, and if not...where did they go?

Not only him, but the soldiers who had been working for several days and the fishermen in the slave port also began to complain, wondering if there was something wrong with the plan; if the enemy never came, what was the point of digging trenches like crazy here? What?

Faced with everyone's questions and complaints, Alexei could only forcefully express that all this was in his plan. The enemy was marching hard under the wise command of Commander-in-Chief Anson Bach, buying time for them to build their positions; Enemies may appear at any time, and every increase in defense can improve everyone's chance of survival.

The soldiers and people who questioned the plan not only did not know how to be grateful for the dedication and sacrifice of the legion, but also did not believe in the commander-in-chief's plan. They were really unreasonable. Not only did they not take their own lives seriously, but they also did not take the lives of everyone else. Even the efforts of other comrades who fought hard and were not afraid of sacrifice should be taken seriously...

Alexei's sincere persuasion can be described as using reason to move emotion, and using his personal credibility to block the flaws in Anson Bach's plan - although he did not know that he had been betrayed from the beginning.

It's a pity that although the leader's words are concise and to the point, every word is sincere, and every sentence is correct, pertinent, objective, complete, three-dimensional, comprehensive, and dialectical...

Helplessly, the soldiers and civilians just couldn't get enough of it, and completely regarded these words full of wisdom as harmful gases emitted from the body cavity.

"...After all, you don't actually know whether the enemy will show up, right?!" A liberal congressman complained: "Then if the enemy never shows up, we will waste time and effort building fortifications outside the slave port. , what’s the point?”

"This week of digging trenches, all the tools, especially the iron tools, have been damaged a lot, and there is so much food and fuel. You also ask all the soldiers and beasts of dry goods... The soldiers of the shooting army, and the civilians to have at least one meal for every meal There is a kilogram of potatoes, and there is also meat...the food consumed every day is measured in tons!"

The more the congressman talked, the more distressed he became. He was one of the few manor owners who had not yet evacuated the slave port. During this period, he provided basically all the supplies consumed by the Second Infantry Regiment, so he was naturally entitled to complain in public.

"The question is not what if, but what if!" Alexey patted the table impatiently, leaving a long ash from the cigarette at the corner of his mouth - the school officer's supply had long been used up, and he was smoking now They are all specialty cigarettes native to the New World. Not only do they have stubborn ash, they also smell like fuse when smoked.

"As for food being consumed too quickly... Sufficient food is necessary for heavy physical labor. You don't want the soldiers who protect you to be so hungry that they don't even have the strength to pick up weapons when the enemy comes to kill you, right?"

“I’m not stingy with the food!”

The congressman stood up suddenly, his expression became much more ugly: "I just don't want them to be wasted... They can obviously be used as supplies on the retreat, but they are all thrown into these mud pits!"

"...a mud pit?"

Alexei paused for a moment, then glanced at his suddenly cold eyes without raising his head: "You... use these things that can protect our lives. We don't have to face the enemy's powerful firepower directly, and have a chance to hold back the defense of an enemy several times our own." The fortification is called...a mud pit?"

"Did I hear correctly, huh?"

The voice of the commander of the Second Infantry Regiment was very calm, but at this moment everyone in the fortress could feel that a fire was beginning to burn in the cold air.

"I..." The member of Parliament who was being stared at instinctively took half a step back, but still managed to stand still and refused to bow his head: "This, this is just a metaphor, a metaphor... I don't mean to slander you... There are also the results of several days of hard work by all the soldiers, I’m just worried that they may not have any meaning!”

The congressman stammered, and the cold sweat on his cheeks was about to wet his collar; but no one present at the meeting opened his mouth to laugh. Instead, they all continued to look at the commander of the Second Infantry Regiment in silence.

Obviously, although no one spoke, they all had the same idea.

Feeling the pressure, Alexey kept an indifferent expression and looked at his chief of staff and several company commanders: "What about you, do you also think that continuing to build fortifications here is a waste of time?"

After the words fell, several officers suddenly showed embarrassed expressions.

Given the current situation of the Second Infantry Regiment, it is the best decision to retreat as soon as possible. After all, on the one hand, they do not know when the enemy will appear, and on the other hand, they are short of troops. Even if the enemy does come, they will probably not be able to escape as they have lost contact with the main army. Yes, the probability of being wiped out is quite high.

But this kind of thing must not be said... Being a deserter is one thing, but more importantly, everyone does not want to retreat with these dragsters like Zuan Nu Gang. The risk is too great.

Having worked together for such a long time, Alexei could naturally guess what these people were thinking, and he was also quite embarrassed; when things got to this point, he wondered, "Did I make a mistake?" or even "Is it possible that the Commander-in-Chief was lying?" He had actually had thoughts like "me", but he just didn't dare to say them out.

Moreover, these days were indeed extremely bitter... After four days of forced marching without any rest, we had to immediately start building fortifications and collect broken troops; the only food we had every day was potatoes, barley, extremely smelly pickled fish and tooth-crushing salt. The meat, instead of beer, is salty and bitter river water... even though the Clovis Army soldiers have always been hard-working, mules and horses walking on two legs, eating this kind of food and doing heavy physical labor for more than ten hours a day, It's impossible not to get up earlier than a chicken and go to bed later than a dog without complaining.

If the enemy will appear soon, everyone can grit their teeth and persevere in a life-or-death situation, but if they wait and wait for the enemy to appear, their patience and physical strength will soon be exhausted.

As someone who has personally experienced it, Alexei's tolerance for this kind of life is almost exhausted... The only people who can endure this kind of life are the indigenous soldiers of the Shooting Army.

All the fertile land fell into the hands of the colonists. The life of the indigenous people who were driven further north to the mountains and forests was almost degraded to the level of animals. They even had very few metal utensils. The rest were driven crazy by the colonists in farms and mines. Squeezing, almost naked dry food in the coldest month of winter... not to mention eating meat, even eating potatoes is a paradise for them.

"Very good, I already understand everyone's thoughts." Alexey, who was chewing a cigarette, said coldly: "How about this, three...no! Four days, we will continue to hold on for another four days, and take this time to start preparing the supplies. .”

"If the enemy appears in four days, we will continue to defend the slave port and wait for reinforcements; if not, it means that the enemy is probably besieging Strawtown. We will directly follow the enemy's march route and assist the Strawtown garrison from the rear to attack the Empire's Holy War. Legion.”

This is almost Alexei's final bottom line. After all, if the Borei Legion is really besieging Strawtown, it would be a waste of time for them to stay here. It is better to rush back as soon as possible to join the main force.

Four days is not a time to make a decision... It takes at least five days to get from Strawtown to Slave Port. If the enemy does not show up within four days, it means that the battle of Strawtown is not over yet. Usually a siege lasts for more than ten people. Days and months are normal; by then the enemy's supplies will be running low, and he can rush back just in time to participate in the final decisive battle.

But even this seemingly reasonable compromise is so unacceptable in the eyes of everyone.

"Four days, why not now?!" the congressman said loudly:

"The supplies in the slave port can last for less than a month at most. If we don't leave soon, there may not be enough for everyone to evacuate to a safe place!"

Although he yelled very loudly, in fact he was just emboldened, always afraid that the Clovis officer opposite would unreasonably kill him to establish his power - there was already a liberal congressman who refused to cooperate in providing supplies. , his head was blown off and he was labeled a loyalist.

Of course, a colonist of the Three North Sea Colonies cannot be loyal to the empire, but in the face of a Clovis officer who cares about his authority and his soldiers whose profession is to kill people, logic cannot make you invulnerable.

Alexei's face suddenly turned cold, and he wished he could kill him with a single shot; but then he realized that many people present had the same idea, and his impulsive words would probably arouse the anger of everyone, including his own soldiers.

Just when he was struggling, the ash from the corner of his mouth finally spilled from the cigarette, and accidentally fell on the back of his hand; the burning pain was like an electric current transmitted from the end of the limbs into his trance consciousness, and he instinctively let out a cry:

"boom----!!!!"

The deafening sound of artillery shelling exploded above everyone's heads. The fortress made of rammed earth was directly cut off by the cannon. The earth, stone and gravel poured down like a waterfall and sprinkled on the faces of everyone who looked frightened.

Alexey, who was about to stand up while holding his right hand, was directly hugged by his chief of staff, who pressed him to the ground as hard as throwing a sack; like a chaotic scene of ants on a hot pot, several urgent shouts rang out at the same time:

"Enemy fire is coming - take shelter in the trenches!"

The shouting Bursar seemed to have forgotten that he was holding a big living person in his arms. He used his inertia to hug Alexei and lay down to hide, and then accurately hit his head with the edge of the table.

Click——

With a crisp cracking sound, a gap as big as a head appeared on the long oak table; the first shot of the battle to defend the slave port was fired while Alexey was in a coma.