Iron Powder and Spellcasters

  Chapter 97 If you want to siege the city, build the road first

The proverb    says: "If you want to be rich, build roads first".

   But the Veneta people want to build roads on Red Sulphur Island, and the purpose will never be to stimulate local economic growth.

   "Build a road?" Winters, who just woke up, was still a little confused: "What road to build?"

"It is necessary to build a standard Guzhi Road, from Red Sulphur Port to Tacheng." Andre said beamingly: "The order jointly issued by the two major generals is correct. Hey, no matter what road is built, we don't need to be scribes anyway. Just do it!"

   "Hmm." Winters rubbed his eyes, thinking hard about the real purpose of building the road. He suddenly sighed and said, "I probably figured out what's going on... It seems that the above has made up their minds to attack the city."

  Red sulfur island is a typical volcanic island, the island itself is a huge volcano. Therefore, Red Sulphur Island starts from the coast and increases in altitude as it goes inland.

  Tacheng, located in the center of the island, is backed by the volcano on the Volcano Island, so it occupies a dangerous terrain.

The environment where   Tacheng was originally located was not suitable for the formation of natural settlements, but there are abundant volcanic sulfur mines here.

  In order to hold the sulphur mine in his hands, the former Duke of Red Sulphur Island did not set up the government office in the Red Sulphur Port, but opened a new city here.

  Sulfur mining industry and political factors finally created Tacheng, and Tacheng was named after the high tower castle built here by the former Duke of Red Sulphur Island.

   There is no straight road, not even a decent road, from Tacheng to Chisulfur Port.

  The dilapidated dirt road starts from Red Iwo Island, and it takes a lot of twists and turns to pass through several villages and plantations before reaching Tacheng.

  Thinking of the above, it is obvious to Winters that Antonio and Layton do not attack the city but build roads first.

   Winters also observed the city defense structure of Tacheng from a distance. Although it is an old city wall behind the times, it is still daunting.

  In old times, towering walls were considered impregnable and impenetrable, symbols of wealth and military might.

   However, no one has built such walls anymore, and the reason is simple: this design is not effective against the bombardment of artillery.

   Funds are limited, and if the city wall is to be built high, it will inevitably be thin. In the past, this was nothing. When defending the city, wooden scaffolding was erected behind the city wall to temporarily increase the width of the city wall so that more defenders could stand on it.

   However, after the artillery technology matures, the advantages of high walls also become disadvantages:

   The higher the frontal projection area of ​​the city wall is, the easier it is to be hit by shells;

   And the thickness of the city wall was not enough to arrange artillery. During the siege of Constantinople, the defenders found that the recoil generated by the heavy artillery fire on the city wall caused more damage to the high wall than the damage caused by the siege artillery;

  The towers on the original city wall also became a problem, the towers of the old city wall were much higher than the height of the city wall itself. This design allows the defenders to continue to hold the tower even if the enemy climbs the wall;

   However, the presence of the towers on the wall made it impossible for the defenders to quickly move their artillery on the wall…

   Various shortcomings cannot be listed in detail. All in all, seeing such a high wall and bombarding it with a cannon is done.

   In the Veneta army, the artillery unit was formed independently of the regular legion, so the legion only consisted of infantry and cavalry.

   But now Antonio and Layton have ready-made cannons:

Thirty-two-pounders dragged from the ruins of the Red Sulphur Bay fort are basking in the sun on the pier; if these heavy guns are not enough, there are also four- and eight-pounders in the Red Sulphur Harbor Bastion; there are not enough artillery in the Bastion It can also be used to remove the cannons from the warships.

   As for the lack of gunners? Even better, because artillery and sappers are not separated.

   Graduates of the Artillery Department of the Army Officers School, those who do well become artillerymen, and those who do not do well become engineers.

  Although Antonio and Layton did not have artillery, they did have engineers, and there were a lot of officers from the artillery department who were working as civilians.

  Thinking that they wouldn't have forgotten all the knowledge in the book so quickly, so Layton patted his head: "What kind of engineer civilian job? Give me back to be an artilleryman."

   In addition, the gunners on the naval warships can also be temporarily transferred to siege the city.

  The enemy has given away a batch of cannons for free, and there are no shortage of gunners in the army, but the biggest problem is how to move the cannons from the Red Sulphur Port to Tacheng.

   The roads on Chisulfur Island are too rotten and winding, and the Veneta people lack large animals such as heavy draught horses and oxen, and because of terrain factors, they still climb all the way from Chisulfur Port to Tacheng, making it very difficult to carry.

  If you rely on the original bad road on the island, it is better to simply wait for the defenders to surrender after running out of food, and it will save some effort.

  So - to build roads.

  The order to build the road, Winters' first reaction after hearing the order: It must be the way Major General Layton thought of with a slap on the forehead.

   However, after abandoning prejudice and thinking rationally, Winters found that maybe this is a good way.

   As the saying goes, "shaving soap does not delay shaving beard".

The    Da Vineta Corps, as a standing corps, is very good at civil engineering and has ready-made technologies. There are a large number of peasants and slaves on the red sulfur island, and there is a ready-made labor force. And there are quarries on the island, with ready-made materials.

  Building a Guzhi Road connecting Chisulfur Port and Tacheng not only makes it easier to transport artillery, but also greatly benefits the logistical support of the siege army.

   It also allows Veneta troops to move quickly between Red Sulphur Port and Tacheng. Once the battle situation changes, they can quickly support Red Sulphur Port or withdraw to the ship.

   You can continue to collect tolls even after the battle is over... Because the Veneta Army has the right to collect tolls on the solid roads built by it, part of the tolls is used for road maintenance, and the other part goes into the army treasury as extra income.

This law was originally intended to encourage the Army to engage in more infrastructure, but now the solid road between major cities in Veneta has become one of the Army's important sources of revenue... The most wonderful thing is that this part of the income is not within the scope of the military budget, and the Army can arbitrarily Domination... So the splendid Army Headquarters can actually be said to have been exchanged for the sweat of the road-building soldiers.

"Where did I go..." Winters shook his still drowsy head, tidy up his clothes hastily, took the newly issued saber from the shelf, and said to Andre, "Let's go. ."

  The two mounted their war horses and galloped towards the Red Sulphur Port.

   The war horses of the Third Legion stayed in Hailan City. The San Marco Legion did have some war horses, but they were only the officers' own mounts. As a reserve force, the San Marco Legion had no cavalry.

   However, it was inconvenient for the officers of the 3rd Corps to travel without horses, so the logistics department initially hired a group of mules. As a result, it was strongly resisted by officers from the cavalry department, and some people even claimed that "I would rather kill myself by drinking bullets than ride a mule ashamed."

  It was Winters who came up with an idea. He discovered long ago that the plantation owners on the island of Red Iwo often kept horses in their homes. The logistics office of the Third Army Corps immediately dispatched and bought all the horses from the plantation on the island. Naturally, the plantation owners dared not to speak out. After all, it would be good if they were not liquidated.

   Relying on strong buying and strong selling, the logistics office of the Third Army Corps can be regarded as allocating a warhorse to every officer in the army.

  The army is quick and resolute. Since the two army commanders have decided to build a solid road, the people under them only care how to carry out this order.

   The Red Illusion Island Road Construction Countermeasure Headquarters was announced five minutes after the order was issued. This division was formed by recruiting officers from the two corps and was solely responsible for the construction of the Guzhi Road. Antonio himself served as the head of the headquarter.

   The Countermeasures Headquarters dispatched engineer officers in charge of surveying and mapping immediately, and the work on the preliminary map began immediately.

   Of course, these tasks that require high professional ability have nothing to do with the two little warrant officers Winters and Andre, and the tasks given to them fully take into account the abilities of the two of them.

   "Huh? What? Let's take people to the fundraiser?" Winters looked at the warrant with a bitter look on his face.

   "Hi." Andre didn't take it seriously, he said with a smile: "After so many days of tossing, we still have to deal with the farmer?"

   "Alas, let's go."

The order of the    Road Construction Countermeasures Headquarters only stated how many migrant workers were required, and nothing else was said. In addition, 40 heavily armed soldiers were assigned to Winters and Andre.

The meaning of    is vague but clear: no matter the means, as long as the manpower.

   In the days that followed, while Winters and Andre were busy recruiting peasants to build roads in villages on the island for five silver coins a day, a skirmish broke out outside the tower city.

   The defenders found that the Veneta outsiders did not do much except build the wall, and they gradually became more courageous, and even sent people out of the city at night to continue to deepen the moat.

   This is of course impossible to hide from the Veneta people outside the city. The siege barrier built by the Veneta army is less than 400 meters away from the closest place to the city wall.

   The sound of "ding ding ding ding dang dang" in the moat was clearly audible for the defenders on the barrier 400 meters away.

  Antonio and Layton could not, of course, sit by and watch the defenders strengthen the city, because the lack of cavalry led to the temporary mobilization of two centurions of the Third Legion.

   Having no time for nonsense, Antonio ordered Captain Doria and Second Lieutenant Juan to lead a centurion from the east and west to charge lightly from the east and west, in order to approach the moat as soon as possible.

   If they can drive the defeated soldiers into the city, as long as the commandos hold the city gate, the two armies will attack across the board. If there is no chance to capture the city gate, the commandos quickly retreat after killing the enemy.

   Ten minutes later, the two groups of figures quietly left the fortress of the Veneta army and headed towards the tower city from both flanks.

   The light soldiers and sharp soldiers moved rapidly, and the distance of less than half a kilometer was instantaneous. The defenders on the city wall had just found out that the enemy was coming and sounded the alarm, and the two centurions at the head had already jumped into the trench with sabres and slashed wildly.

   Immediately behind the officer, Veneta's soldiers jumped into the moat like a tide. The Tanilians in the moat only had tools. They tried to dig out of the moat to escape, but were dragged back to the moat by Veneta soldiers and killed.

  This one-sided slaughter took place in this moat, which was less than two meters high and less than two meters wide. Two centurions began to lead people from the east and west to approach the city gate in the middle.

   went all the way to kill all the way, they drove the Tanilians in the trenches to flee in the direction of the city gate.

   "The first credit for capturing Tacheng is mine!" Captain Doria couldn't help shouting in his heart as he looked at the Tani people crowded at the gate of the city.

   However, no matter how the Tanilians who fled to the city gate slapped the city gate desperately and begged, the city gate remained motionless.

  The defenders in the triangular fort outside the city gate were the first to react. Gunfire erupted from the triangular fort, and the musketeers and crossbowmen began to shoot at the Veneta people in the moat.

  The defenders on the city wall were also awakened by the counterattack of the Triangle Fort, and they also began to use long-range weapons to suppress the enemy.

  For a while, arrows and lead hit the Veneta soldiers in the moat like a storm, and the assault team's offensive was stagnant.

   "Blow the trumpet, order to retreat!" Antonio, who was watching the battle on the rampart, ordered loudly, and the bugler immediately blew the trumpet to represent the retreat.

   Lieutenant Juan, who was in charge of the eastern attack, immediately led the soldiers to dig out of the trenches and ran towards his own fortress. The muskets and crossbows on the city walls knocked several soldiers down from behind, but most of the centurion retreated safely.

   However, Captain Doria, who was in charge of the western assault, didn't want to give up. The vanguard was less than 20 meters away from the city gate. The opportunity was really good, maybe he could capture Tacheng in one fell swoop.

   He shouted: "Go forward! The enemy just needs to open the door and rush in! Victory is at hand!"

   But the gates did not open, and the roar of the cannons destroyed his ambitions.

  The artillery on the triangular fort was loaded and started to fire at the enemy in the moat. The triangular fort that covered the city gate spanned the moat and was an extremely deadly sidefire for the siege side.

   The projectile weapons from the city walls were not a big threat to the Veneta soldiers in the trenches, but they had no cover in front of the projectiles fired by the triangular fort.

   A four-pound iron cannonball was fired from Captain Doria's left chest, penetrating his back. Then it penetrated the body of the soldier behind him, and then another soldier... A single shell ploughed a **** gorge in the city trench.

  Captain Doria was killed on the spot, and his centurion was at first bewildered because the soldiers behind the moat didn't know what was going on, and then completely collapsed.

   First one soldier took the lead, then two, three, and finally all the soldiers climbed out of the moat and started running back.

  Century Sergeant Major "Beard" and another sergeant "Bucktooth" lifted Captain Doria's body and tried to take it back. However, before they took a few steps, a stubby crossbow bolt shot from behind and pinned the bearded Sergeant Major to the ground.

   The buck-toothed sergeant, who was holding the captain's calf, hurriedly let go, and ran to the camp of the Veneta army without looking back.

   At this time, the city gate of Tacheng finally creaked open

In the noisy and chaotic battlefield, Antonio suddenly caught an unusual sound, and he shouted and ordered: "Musketeer! Go to the west flank! Go to the west flank! Take the gun and listen to my orders! "

   Accompanied by shouts and neighing of war horses, more than 30 cavalry broke through the crowd and filed out from the city gate, jumped over the city trench and attacked the Veneta soldiers who were fleeing towards the wall.

   The buck-toothed sergeant who was behind heard the sound of horse hooves getting closer and closer. He just gritted his teeth and turned around to try his best, but saw a cold glow in front of him. A saber was slashed from the shoulder of Sergeant Bucktooth by the speed of the horse, and Sergeant Bucktooth was split into two pieces with flesh and bone in an instant.

   And this terrifying chopping didn't even slow down the cavalry even a little bit. The saber crossed an arc and returned to the top of the head, and the cavalry continued to chase down new prey without reducing its speed.

  The soldiers behind were chopped down like a wheat field after a gust of wind. Antonio stared at the Union cavalry at the forefront and shouted sharply: "Don't shoot without my order!"

   Above the tower city, Captain Kidd didn't want the cavalry to chase too deep. Seeing that his cavalry had passed the center line, he quickly ordered the trumpet to withdraw.

At the same time the    horn sounded at the top of the city, Antonio shouted: "It's now! Fire!"

   On the wall, muskets sounded like popping beans, and a row of lead bullets hit the chasing Union cavalry.

  The rider who chopped off the buck-toothed sergeant rushed forward, so he was targeted by many musketeers. A buckshot exploded in the rider's right shoulder, nearly fainting from the pain. The warhorse under his crotch was shot four times, killing him on the spot.

  When the warhorse fell, it wrapped the rider under it and crushed his left leg. The rider let out a scream that didn't sound like a human voice, struggling to get out of the horse.

   However, his left foot was stuck in the stirrup, and there was a 600kg weight on his leg, and he couldn't move.

   Several other riders who rushed too close to the Veneta Barrier were also killed on the spot.

  The gates of the Veneta Army's fortifications opened, and shouting out a team of halberdists to answer their own soldiers.

   The commander of this cavalry team saw that he had killed many Venetas and no longer wanted to fight. With a sharp whistle, he led the remaining cavalry to retreat quickly.

  Vinetta's halberdist chased after a distance, and a halberdist gave him a good time when he saw that he was still alive when he passed the rider who was pinned under the horse's corpse.

The artillery on the   Triangle Fort and Half Moon Fort also began to fire at the Veneta halberdiers, covering the retreat of their cavalry.

   A few iron **** flew over, but they were not accurate, and there was no threat to the scattered soldiers.

   One shell was angled so high that it even flew over the barriers of the Veneta army.

   The distance between the wall built by the siege party and the city wall is between 400 meters and 600 meters, which is already within the range of the artillery. But this was the first time the defenders fired at the wall, and they knew that this distance was not a big threat.

  I have seen a lot of blood today, and the halberdier has also completed the task. Antonio ordered the troops to be withdrawn.

   When it was dawn, a rider with a white flag approached the ramparts of the Veneta army, claiming to have brought a message for General Serbiati.

   "I'm Antonio Seretti, what do you want to say?" Hearing that the messenger wanted to see him, Antonio, who had just fallen asleep for a while, hurried to the wall.

"Respected General Serbia, General Kidd extends my highest respect to you." The rider said loudly: "A lot of blood has been shed in the battle last night, General Kidd hopes that you and us can be undisturbed today. The ground collects the remains of the dead, organizes their remains, and buries them."

  Antonio pondered for a while, and replied: "Yes, the person in charge of collecting the remains tied his left arm with a white cloth. If you don't attack our people, we won't attack yours."

When the    messenger heard the answer, he took off his helmet and bowed: "Greetings again, General Serbia, then you and we have reached an agreement on this."

   Having said that, he rode away without looking back.

   "Oh, I can't believe that pirates and slave traders still have a little bit of virtue in their hearts." Second Lieutenant Sarah, who was in charge of star duty, muttered as he watched the riders leave.

  Antonio glanced at Lieutenant Sara with a blank expression: "Mr. Sara, do you think they proposed to restrain the corpse because of virtue?"

   Sara, who was suddenly named by the legion commander, was a little flustered: "Yes! Sir! I don't know either! Sir!"

Antonio patted Sarah on the shoulder and said softly: "Don't be nervous, as an officer you need to think more from the enemy's point of view. William Kidd's request to keep the body undisturbed is nothing more than wanting to delay another day. That's it."

   "Then...then why did you agree to him?" Lieutenant Sarah asked hesitantly.

   "Why? Because the time is not on their side." Antonio sighed softly: "And if the warriors can't be killed in the wilderness, let him delay for a day."

   I went home too late yesterday and threw myself on the bed. I didn’t take off my clothes, I didn’t take a shower, I’m sorry.

   Thanks to the book friends who have voted for the recommendation before, thanks to the book friends Clough Lawrence, Tianshui Youmei, Killing Star EX, Ami, Social Justice Pharaoh, and Justice Pure is the recommendation vote of Koala, thank you all.

   Thanks to the book friend Social Justice Pharaoh's monthly pass, thank you.

   (end of this chapter)