Iron Powder and Spellcaster

[Kings' Castle]

[West Bank of Ten Arrows River]

"good!"

Lieutenant Colonel Montecuccoli stood at the top of the city, drawing on a palm-sized booklet with a silver needle inserted on a wooden stick;

From time to time, he stretched out his arms, raised his fingers, and squinted his eyes to estimate the distance to various landmarks on the outskirts of the city.

The Old Arrow Tower where he was located was the commanding heights on the west bank of the Ten Arrows River. Looking down from the arrow tower, you can have an unobstructed view of both sides of the city wall.

From the city wall to the east, from near to far, are the New City, Shijianhe River, and the Old City.

The former headquarters of the Palatine Army - today the office of the Palatine Army Military Commission - is just north of the new city.

The beautiful two-story stone building is very conspicuous among the low-rise houses on the west bank.

Enter the city through the gate under Montecuccoli, follow the road across the new city, go up the Crow Bridge and cross the Ten Arrows River, and then go north to reach the pier of the Castle of Kings.

On the pier, ant-like men and fingernail-sized carriages came and went.

Some barges are still waiting to be unloaded, but the galley battleship "Marco Good Luck" is no longer visible next to the trestle.

Enter the Old Watergate from the pier and go up the stairs to the old castle located on the east bank platform.

The old castle is the "Kings' Castle" in a narrow sense, the seat of the old Duke of Plato. It can be said that the history of the King's Castle is mainly the history of the old castle and the small earth bag at its feet.

The famous Cathedral of Our Lady of Plato is located on the Holy Trinity Square below the old castle, facing each other with one higher and one lower.

On the top of the bell tower of the Cathedral of Our Lady, which is higher than the arrow tower where Montecuccoli is located, the golden holy symbol shines.

However, as a Reformed believer, Lieutenant Colonel Raymond Montecuccoli, it was obvious that he would not have any special affection for the Catholic sanctuary. If you insist on saying that there is, it will only be contempt and contempt.

Lieutenant Colonel Montecuccoli focused all his attention on the west and south sides of the city wall.

To the west of the new city is endless farmland and plains.

Apart from small patches of woods and scattered cottages, there was no longer any support that could be used during the siege.

To the south, on the Shijian River, due to the deposition of sediment in this gentle river channel for thousands of years, an island in the center of the river, about two kilometers long and about 400 meters wide, was naturally formed - Magit Island.

There are no residential buildings on the island, only a monastery and the summer palace of the old Duke of Plato.

An orderly held a yellowed old map and stood beside the lieutenant colonel.

But the lieutenant colonel only occasionally glanced at the ready-made map. Most of the time, he observed and sketched it in the manual.

The lieutenant colonel trusted what he saw with his own eyes more than the information provided by others.

As the silver needle pen in the hand of the artillery lieutenant colonel scratched across the manual, uniform and clear lines were left on the special paper that was brushed with a thin layer of powder - the fortifications of the King's Fort appeared vividly on the paper.

"Very good," Lieutenant Colonel Montecuccoli praised. "The city walls of the old era are well preserved, and maintenance and renovation have never stopped. So there is no need to make any big moves, just a little repair, and it can be restored." She is once again a fortified city that can break iron hoofs.”

"No, that's not right." Before anyone else could say anything, Lieutenant Colonel Montecuccoli shook his head and added rigorously, "To be precise, she is also a formidable fortified city now. "

Montecuccoli closed the album, pointed at the surrounding scenery, and exclaimed to his colleagues: "Look at this location - it's absolutely amazing!"

"Of all the famous cities with a long history, which one has a bad location?" Jason Cornelis, who led a group of subordinates to climb the tower to view the city, looked at the southwest skyline and said calmly:

“And don’t forget, this is the country of galloping horses, a place that has been torn by war, has long faced military threats from steppe barbarians, and has barely enjoyed a few days of peace.

"The Palatuan people will naturally choose to establish settlements in the safest places. And there is no ancient city that can stand on this land for a hundred years that is not easy to defend but difficult to attack."

Cornelis patted the battlements in front of him: "Even the city on this side of the west bank was only started to be built after Plato joined the alliance.

“In the past, whenever the Hurd raiders came, the Platuan people would burn everything on the west bank, then retreat to the old city on the east bank and hold on to the river.

"This is also the reason why the King's Castle has never fallen."

Montecuccoli said regretfully: "It's a pity that it can't be burned anymore."

When Cornelius heard this, he smiled and did not comment.

Major Fritz, who was accompanying him, suddenly felt a little cool in the wind blowing from the top of the city.

…

Among the federal officers present, Lieutenant Colonel William Lodewijk and his men were not to be seen.

Just after yesterday's public meeting, Brigadier General Cornelis and Lieutenant Colonel Lodewijk had another private conversation.

A fierce quarrel broke out between the two sides, more accurately, it was a one-sided attack, especially after Jason Cornelius gave Lieutenant Colonel Lodewijk an explicit order to reduce the defense.

In fact, at this moment, the main force of William Lodwyk's troops was not stationed in the Kings' Castle, but was scattered in peripheral strongholds such as White Birch Castle and Perrin Castle that guarded the provincial roads to and from Maplestone City.

After hearing with his own ears that his theoretical superior ordered him to withdraw from the Castles of the Kings, William Lodwyk's anger reached its peak.

"I need to remind you, General," Lieutenant Colonel Lodewijk no longer cared about seniority. He gritted his teeth. There was a hatred in his eyes that he didn't know how to explain to an idiot. Even his speech became a bit awkward. Some words are incoherent:

“You might think that it would be better to defend by bringing all the troops together.

“But in fact, this will only allow us to be wiped out faster and all at once.

"In our current situation, it would be the most stupid behavior to abandon the solid strongholds on the outside and withdraw all the troops back to the kings' castles.

"If the enemy really arrives at the gates of the King's Castle, not to mention four brigades, eight brigades won't be able to do anything.

"So the best you can hope for is that the rebels from the new land will come all the way and waste time on besieging the outer strongholds, allowing you to linger for a few more days and recruit more troops from the mainland!

"This is assuming that the enemy will not get mad, ignore the surrounding strongholds, and rush directly towards us.

"If I withdraw my troops, then let me tell you that in the towns west of the Castle of the Kings, there will no longer be a gun or a sword to prevent the Platoans from surrendering to the rebels.

"Maybe I will bring the troops back tonight, and when you get up tomorrow morning, the sky will have changed outside!

"And don't you want to frighten the rebels in the new land with empty airs?

"I'll pull the troops back, can you still hold on to your empty frame?

"The rebels will see your true nature immediately!"

Lieutenant Colonel William Lodewijk was almost in tears when he said the last words: "Do you really think that I want to throw my men into isolated strongholds and watch them be wiped out one by one?

"Isn't it just to buy time for you and the Southern Front?!

"I'm begging you to let me go on a suicide mission. Don't you understand? Your Excellency, Commander!!!"

But Jason Cornelius politely but firmly asked Lieutenant Colonel Lodewijk to withdraw his troops.

The two sides broke up unhappy.

…

"I'm still worried about Lieutenant Colonel Lodewijk," Fritz said with a look of worry on his brows, "Commander."

"William Lodwyk is a qualified soldier. He will be very angry, but he will obey orders," Cornelis said nonchalantly. "There is no need to explain to him."

"yes……"

"But I still have to say, Commander," Lieutenant Colonel Montecuccoli said with a serious expression, "Even if Lieutenant Colonel Lodewijk's troops are brought back, our strength is too small - for this city.

"Even in Kostantiniya, there are eight thousand warriors. And we only have four brigades, two of which are new recruits.

"Of course, we still have four large groups of Platoans. But I really don't know whether it is better to have them or not to have them.

"So, Minister, even if we don't consider the troops that may need to be assigned to monitor the movements in the city, the walls of the King's Castle are too long for us."

Cornelius turned his back to everyone, looking into the distance in a trance, and suddenly said: "Less than eight thousand."

"Uh...what did you say?" Montecuccoli didn't react immediately.

"I said," Cornelis turned around, looked around at his subordinates, including the artillery director, and corrected him with a smile but seriously, "the garrison of Kostantinye is less than eight thousand."

Cornelis said with great interest: "According to the memories of the secretary of the last Roman Emperor, the garrison of Costantiniya only had 4,773 Hiren and less than 3,000 foreigners, so , the garrison of Costantiniya was 'less than eight thousand'.

"And among them, only the three thousand foreigners have received military training - which is very similar to our situation."

As a senior faculty member of the Alliance Army Academy, Montecuccoli had long been accustomed to the ability of his immediate boss, Bo Wen, to memorize things. He was even a little disgusted with his boss's tendency to drop his book bag, draw examples of battles, and present data.

So, relying on his seniority, the director of the artillery teaching and research office said angrily in front of others: "Even if it is less than eight thousand, there are more people than we have now! And don't forget, Costantini Yeah, it finally fell!"

Cornelius was always very tolerant of those who admired him, and he patiently retorted:

"However, the enemies we have to deal with are not the Fremen who are 'as numerous as the stars'. The walls of the castles of the kings are also shorter than that of Costantiniya.

"Have confidence, Raymond. Fortresses are mostly breached from the inside, and fortresses are often lost from the loss of confidence."

Montecuccoli snorted softly: "Faith cannot help us defend the castles of the kings."

"That's why I brought your cannon," Cornelis replied calmly.

The artillery director was quite impressed by this and stopped making any weird remarks.

"For the walls of the Kings' Castle, our strength is indeed too small." Cornelis first confirmed the conclusion of the artillery director, and then changed the subject, "So we cannot defend the city walls, and it is difficult to count on these stones and mortar. How long can a masonry wall withstand heavy artillery bombardment?”

Cornelis pointed to the fields outside the walls of the new city: "So we have to hold on outside the walls - we have to build a castle here and another one outside the old city."

Montecuccoli folded his arms, measured the land with his eyes, and silently estimated the construction period.

Building a new fort outside the city wall was one of several plans that Montecuccoli and Cornelis had repeatedly discussed in advance.

Other plans include but are not limited to: directly adding polygonal bulging forts on the basis of the city wall, completely wrapping the city wall with triangular forts and trenches, simply fortifying the new city, etc.

However, the actual situation was worse than expected, and the decision-makers of the Southern Front ruled out other options.

The Grand Council of Plato now only has four brigades left at its disposal.

Two of the brigades are the left-behind troops of the Fifth and Sixth Legions, which are the weakest parts of the two legions - but they are already the essence of this bowl of gruel.

Because the remaining two brigades were the "strong" men that Grove Magnus temporarily pulled out from the poor and unemployed in the city after the news of the Battle of River Valley Village was returned to the Kings' Castle. Allegiances are highly questionable.

As for the local troops - village militias, county guards, and autonomous city guards, they neither listened to the instructions nor the propaganda, and were completely out of the control of the kings' forts.

The Southern Front now had to defend itself not only against external enemies, but also against internal traitors.

Therefore, among the various plans envisioned, there was only one way out of the fort outside the city.

Because leaving the fort independently can not only withstand external artillery fire, but also defend against knives from behind.

"Not enough!" Montecuccoli came to the conclusion, he said categorically, "Two castles are not enough!"

He pointed to Jiangxin Island in the upper reaches of the Ten Arrows River: "A cannon fort needs to be built there as well."

Everyone present was a little confused, because Jiangxin Island was still some distance away from the city, and the island was very desolate. Apart from a monastery and a summer palace that had long been abandoned, there was almost nothing of value.

"With two castles and the city wall, our troops are already stretched thin. Do we need to spread our troops further?" Fritz objected cautiously. He recalled the files he had read before setting off, "I don't seem to have any." In the war history of the King's Castle, we saw records of the battle for the island - the Platoans did not defend it either."

"The Platuan people did not defend because they are Platuan people," the artillery director rolled his eyes at the major, "but we are not Platuan people, and the newly established rebels are not Hed people.

"The Heds hit a hundred trebuchets on the island, but they couldn't throw in a single wool. But as long as the rebels in the new land set up a heavy cannon there, they could bombard the kings' castle without restriction.

"Most importantly, they will be able to block the river and restrict the movement of our warships."

"Times have changed, let's see," Montecuccoli curled his lips, "From now on, Margit Island will be the new meat grinding ground."

"Is there enough time?" Cornelius asked calmly.

Montecuccoli frowned and told an artillery department joke, "How many spoons of water can be scooped to drain the inland sea? Doesn't it depend on how big the spoon is? Is it too late? Doesn't it depend on when the rebels in the new land will come? Come?

"Ask Grove Magnus to gather all the peasant men he can find. I'll try my best."

Cornelis nodded, and then looked at another young school officer who was in great shape:

"Then whether it's too late or not depends on how well you talk."

…

[one day ago]

[In the middle of a private conversation between Jason Cornelis and William Lodewijk]

"Why are you so confident?" William Lodwyk was almost roaring, "The rebels will definitely talk to you?"

"Of course," Cornelius replied coldly, "I have something they can't live without."

[About the number of artillery]

[Just like there is a reference ratio of 1:12 for gold and silver exchange, there is also an empirical formula for evaluating the number of artillery in an army]

[To put it simply, from the 15th and 16th centuries, when armies of various countries gradually regarded artillery as a regular part of the army, until the Napoleonic Wars, the ratio of infantry to artillery in a fully manned army was generally Maintained in the order of three digits]

[Please note that the order of magnitude used here is when fully loaded, in general. Because the actual situation is always strange, the army will lose cannons for various reasons, and will also capture cannons, but they are generally maintained at this order of magnitude]

[For example, a regiment of the Swedish army after Gustav's reform had 1,000-2,000 men. It was equipped with one 3-pound cannon in the early stage and two 3-pound cannon in the later period. Together with independent artillery, the ratio still fluctuated around 1,000:1]

[During the Napoleonic Wars, the ratio of infantry to artillery was roughly 500:1, which was still in the order of three digits]

[So there is a very rough but very simple algorithm. Divide the number of infantry by the number of artillery. If it is greater than one thousand, it means there are a few artillery; if it is less than one thousand, it means there is plenty of artillery. The smaller the number, the more abundant the artillery firepower is. ]

[In this way, we can see more intuitively how outrageous it is that 500 people from Cornelis brought more than 40 cannons]

[And why he only brought 500 infantry in the first batch, but the citizens of the King's Castle counted less than 1,000 people - and the artillery was also included]