I will be crowned king

May 15th, Black Reef Harbor Colony.

Under the gloomy sky, the rumbling sounds of cannons came one after another, and the muffled thunder-like sounds echoed in the wilderness outside the city again and again, and fireworks fell from the sky towards the undulating city walls on the hills.

Along with the raging fire, dark smoke pillars gradually rose over the once prosperous port. Looking at the lively markets outside the city and the endless flow of trade roads, all that was left were dilapidated buildings and pitted ravines.

A large blue flag decorated with golden tassels and painted with golden fleur-de-lis was in the center of thousands of military flags and swallow-tailed flags. Stars stood like a moon over this devastated land, set off by gunfire. The sound of hunting in the wind and waves.

Just as the rebel colonies actively held a meeting and announced the establishment of the "Free Confederacy", the colonial minister finally convinced the timid Sailing City Council and the unconvinced officer corps, assembled the entire main force of a total of 12,000 troops, and marched from Gray along the avenue. Pigeon Forge heads east.

First stop, Black Reef Port.

Facing the aggressive counter-rebellion army, the weak Black Reef Port launched a desperate resistance: they first sent an envoy to express their willingness to surrender to Kaicheng, provided that the empire was willing to accept several conditions: no forced recruitment and no looting. In cities, troops are not allowed to approach residential areas, and...

Seeing the pages full of "not allowed", the Minister in Charge stopped the humiliated Imperial knights around him, who were about to drag the envoy out and shoot him, and calmly agreed to all the other party's conditions.

According to his rich experience in the past, most of the people who put forward harsh conditions are just helpers, which proves that the internal struggle between hawks and doves in the other party is very fierce; as long as he reveals a little bit of goodwill, he can continue to intensify the conflict between them. Contradictions, let them continue to fight among themselves.

Naturally, Bernard would not abide by these so-called conditions at all - even before the envoys could return, the imperial cavalry had already attacked all the farms, villages and towns around Black Reef Port, as well as large and small mills and granaries. Soldiers plunder...to please the army and replenish military supplies at the same time.

After all, he was a southerner of the empire, and he had no influence at all in this army, which was mostly composed of northerners and filled with old relatives of the Roland and Bernard families. He could be called a loyal minister of the empire if he could not defer to him.

If you want this group of people to work for you without giving benefits, it is absolutely impossible. Between the military morale and the people's morale, Bernard decisively chooses the former and decides to suffer the people first.

Bernard guessed that Black Reef Port was a group of cowards, but he failed to guess that they were a group of action-oriented cowards: with the example of Gray Pigeon Castle being killed without any resistance, Black Reef Port, who was afraid of death, realized that What will happen if things are not done?

Not only did they wipe out the loyalists in the city in order to pay the "certificate of vote" to Beluga Port and the Free Confederacy, all real estate was equally divided among the liberal families, and the scattered property was also distributed to tens of thousands of people in the city, ensuring that everyone was His hands were stained with blood, and the guilt was equally shared.

Moreover, even the villages, towns, and farms outside the city... food and population have all been transferred to the city, and young and strong laborers have been issued weapons and incorporated into the militia, so as to strengthen the walls and clear the country as much as possible.

So when the imperial cavalry excitedly broke down the farm fence, happily burned down the farmhouse, and broke open the granary door with one shot, their mood was exactly the same as that of Anson who had received Ludwig's New Year's gift.

The reason why the envoys were sent to negotiate with the empire was purely to buy time before the army arrived and send away the last group of liberals who were preparing to leave the city - women, children and the elderly with large sums of cash and various real estate certificates. The boat goes to Beluga Harbor.

Bernard Morwes, who thought he was in the atmosphere but was actually in the basement, relied on his mature experience to "help" Blackreef Port achieve all pre-war preparations and mobilization. The clown turned out to be myself.

The angry colonial minister couldn't bear it anymore and issued an order to formally launch a storm on Black Reef Port. At the same time, he continued to send cavalry and free skirmishers to carry out retaliatory raids on the surrounding areas.

Under the iron cavalry of the righteous imperial army, the entire colony was reduced to hell on earth at a speed visible to the naked eye. In addition to providing a steady stream of supplies to the army, the soldiers who looted everywhere also gradually grew their pockets, which also made them obsessed with Bernard. The goodwill is increasing day by day.

In just four days, the surrounding colonial strongholds, large and small, were torn out by the imperial soldiers. Hundreds of immigrants were displaced and their bodies were exposed in the wilderness; bandits, bounty hunters and mercenary groups who were wandering around joined in one after another. Under the command of the army, the strength of the counter-rebellion army will be further strengthened.

In order to "take into account the face of the empire" when he was at Castle Gray Pigeon, Bernard was actually very careful not to let the soldiers kill innocent people indiscriminately. After breaking the city, he did not plunder the traitors' property but maintained a considerable degree of restraint.

As for sporadic unjust, false and wrongful convictions... he could only say that this kind of thing could not be avoided at all, not to mention that even if these members of the colonial assembly were killed one by one, there would definitely still be people who would slip through the net.

But what does this kindness pay for? The traitor rebelled, the enemy slandered him, and the whole army was full of resentment; he offended everyone, and he himself became the chief culprit of the rebellion against the independence of the colonies.

To be kind to a traitor is to be cruel to oneself - Bernard Morweis, who was tricked twice, was fully aware of this truth.

On the frontal battlefield on the other side, the previously invincible imperial army suffered a setback for the first time; Black Reef Port, which was fully prepared for the war, had prepared a large amount of supplies, and with the strong walls and clear country to supplement the troops, it was not afraid of being besieged at all; On the premise of going out to fight in the city, he knelt down with his head in his hands and allowed himself to be beaten by the empire.

At first, the imperial soldiers wanted to recreate the classic "Operation Gray Pigeon Castle"; artillery cover, cavalry attack the city gate, trying to scare the defenders of Black Reef Port to death; a siege battle ended in two hours.

The result may be that he was so frightened that a soldier on the city wall took the initiative to shoot at the cavalry master while being highly nervous, and eventually killed him with one shot.

The two sides, who were preparing to retreat and charge at the same time, were silent at the time; after a dead silence that lasted for nearly ten minutes, the battle that day ended with both sides shooting at each other randomly, and the Empire side dragged the corpses and retreated.

Having tasted the bitter experience, the imperial army finally stopped underestimating the enemy and launched a siege on Black Reef Port according to the normal siege procedures - building siege positions and various fortifications on the periphery, building artillery forts while organizing line infantry, and under the cover of artillery fire. Attack in turn.

As a port city, Black Reef Port has a slightly special terrain: it faces the sea to the south, but the other three sides have undulating hills and hills; the entire city is like a small basin.

Such terrain has greatly affected the city's transportation, and almost every tsunami is likely to cause floods. The land soaked by seawater made it almost impossible for the original colonists to grow any agricultural crops; at the same time, such terrain also compromised the city's defense facilities. It has become very "special" - relying on hills, undulating stone fortresses and walls.

The walls are not high, the highest is no more than five meters, and the shortest position is only as high as a person; but with the advantage of the terrain, enemies attacking from all directions can be clearly seen.

The battle lasted for five days. The imperial army finally built an artillery fort and focused fire to destroy a bunker. It achieved no results, and even sacrificed 201 brave imperial soldiers.

Faced with the setback on the frontal battlefield, Bernard Morweis, the commander-in-chief of the army, was very optimistic; after all, it is not particularly easy to siege a large stronghold that is well prepared and has strong city defenses. The siege continued. This is normal for a few dozen days or even two or three months, and it’s not worth making a fuss about.

What's more, Black Reef Port seems to be well prepared and united, but they have no experience facing regular army sieges; they don't need to take the initiative to attack, just smash a corner of its defense line, and then build temporary artillery forts on the hills, then The liberals who deserve death have no other choice but to surrender.

Moreover, through the Sailing City Council, he has successfully bribed the pirates operating near the coast of the Turbulent Sea; Black Reef Port can rely on defense lines on land, but the port is almost undefended; with luck, the city can be captured in a single raid.

Therefore, Bernard is not worried about Black Reef Port at all, or compared to another big trouble, this problem is not a problem at all...

"...five hundred and fifty-two barrels of beer, two thousand one hundred and eighty pounds of potatoes, two hundred pounds of bacon, one thousand six hundred pounds of bread..."

Looking at the shocking statistics, Bernard, who felt his heart twitching slightly, took a deep breath, resisting the urge to get angry and looked at his herald: "Can I understand it this way - in ten days at most, the whole army will Do you have to run out of ammunition and food?”

"That's not entirely true." The herald replied cautiously:

"In terms of weapons and ammunition, because the intensity of the battle is very low, our army's reserves are still very sufficient. According to current standards, we will not be able to hold on for another half month..."

"By today's standards?!"

The hysterical Bernard rolled his eyes: "Why is this happening? Aren't I already trying my best to send people everywhere to collect supplies? Even if the supply lines in the rear are completely interrupted, these shouldn't be the only ones left!"

"That's because they brought back other things besides supplies!" The herald looked very innocent:

"Beast slaves, captives, livestock...as well as those who want to join your mercenary group, bounty hunters, loyalists whose families have been killed, the size of the army has gradually grown, and there are nearly 15,000 people; even if all the captured materials are Even taking it out is far from enough to fill such a huge vacancy!"

"Since supplies are in short supply, why not just get rid of all these people?"

"Uh... of course it's possible, but I'm afraid you have to find a way to hold a meeting with the officer corps to discuss it."

"Meeting? Discussion?"

Bernard was stunned for a moment: "I remember that these people were not incorporated into the combat order. They were just used as temporary labor force and free skirmishers... Do we still need to hold a meeting to discuss the dismissal of these people?"

"No, but these people have been registered under the names of various officers and have become their 'private property.'" The herald quickly glanced behind him and confirmed that no one was there before whispering to Bernard:

"Sailing City has just experienced a rebellion, and there is a serious shortage of labor. These people can be sold at a good price as long as they are brought back; of course, as usual, they have left the largest share to you, so if you plan to lay off these people If so, no one should have any objections.”

Bernard Molwes: "..."

Well, human trafficking during the war was not a special situation. It happened from time to time even in the mainland. Bernard had also done it several times and used the war to accumulate wealth for the family.

"Then what is the situation with the supply lines in the rear? Why haven't the supplies from Sail City and Gray Pigeon Castle been transported for so long?" Bernard asked:

"According to regulations, the first batch of logistics supplies should have arrived yesterday. Why can't you even see the shadow now?!"

"The Sailing City Council has indeed complied with your order, but this does not mean that sufficient supplies and transportation capacity can be mobilized from the rear!" the herald explained:

"In order to get enough horses for the cavalry, as well as enough beasts of burden for the artillery and baggage vehicles, some of the remaining livestock in Sail City have been exhausted and can only be recruited from Gray Pigeon Castle; but the livestock industry in Gray Pigeon Castle is not Developed, the quantity is also limited.”

"Of course, these are just what they told me. I don't know the specific situation very well. You may only know the answer by asking yourself."

At the end of the sentence, the herald suddenly changed the subject, his voice getting smaller and smaller, and there was even a slight tremor in his voice.

Bernard certainly knows what he is afraid of: hoarding goods, buying low and selling high, corruption and embezzlement... It is not surprising that "classic fans" will appear in the new world after what happened in local military logistics.

In addition, the counterinsurgency army in the New World has no established logistics system at all and relies entirely on outsourcing and forced collection. This naturally gives quartermasters who want to achieve financial freedom quickly more room for maneuver.

But even if he knew what was going on, Bernard had no choice at all; this was the new world, and he did not have a complete military system like his own. No matter how much he hated those profiteers and industrial owners, he could only contract the logistics work to They, otherwise the seemingly invincible imperial army, would be unable to move at all on the ice fields of the new world.

"Although there are indeed many logistical problems, the most important thing right now should be Black Reef Port, right?"

Sensing the danger, the herald quickly changed the topic and spoke cautiously: "According to the time calculation, the Storm Division has probably left Winter Torch City and begun to march westward; if we can't capture Black Reef Port before they arrive, if……"

"There is no need to worry about Black Reef Port. Everything is within my plan." Before the herald could finish speaking, Bernard confidently said:

"I can even bet you, believe it or not, as long as we don't capture Black Reef Harbor for a day, Anson Bach and his Stormtroopers will never appear!"