I will be crowned king

Although the soldiers of the advance army were not very willing, as orders continued to be issued, they still began to gradually shrink the defense line, allowing the enemy to occupy many peripheral nodes that the two sides had repeatedly fought for.

The empire's army...especially the troops on the eastern front were actually out of control. Ever since they launched a counterattack against Bernard's orders, they no longer received any effective orders, and they were even less clear about the actual situation on the battlefield. He ran for his life instinctively, without even thinking about how to fight the advance army.

In fact, if only one infantry regiment is left to fight with the advance army on the front, and the remaining column of troops surrounds the artillery point on the north side, the power of the bombardment of the Black Reef Port defense line will be greatly weakened, and it will also directly threaten the flanks of the advance army.

As a result, they chose to have the three infantry regiments form a compact offensive column and attack the advance army frontally along the trenches on the position... Even without the artillery assistance from Black Reef Port, Anson had enough confidence that the opponent would encounter King Clovis. In front of the flag, a third of the corpses were dropped.

Of course, the advance army must have retreated long before that. He would not fight such a battle that cut off the retreat and was destined to cause heavy casualties unless it was a last resort.

The reckless offensive made it difficult for the main force of the empire on the western front to provide any meaningful cover or support, and could only continuously send cannon fodder to disperse and disrupt the advance army's defense line; but after being shelled by the Black Reef Port defense line, even this last The aid also lost its meaning, and I watched them gradually collapse bit by bit under the crossfire.

The strength of the imperial soldiers and even the military system is undoubtedly demonstrated at this moment: although the command system has lost its meaning and morale has dropped sharply, it still maintains a high degree of organization, and the columns and square formations of battalions and companies are still intact... even After the advance army retracted its defense line, some companies that were aware of this immediately launched a counterattack.

Compared with the vassal army that quickly collapsed after being bombarded, the gap between the two sides was simply worlds apart - although this gap not only did not reduce, but intensified the casualties of the imperial soldiers on the eastern front.

On the empty and smoke-filled battlefield, the huddled phalanx is almost an excellent "coordinate indicator" for artillery and skirmishers - aiming, firing, and taking away a few lives with your eyes closed.

The Imperial line soldiers who could not see the enemy could only fire in bursts in the direction of the gunfire, but could not injure the skirmishers hiding in shallow trenches and bunkers at all.

But in fact, they only need to spread out their troops and use skirmish lines to attack the shrinking advance army positions, which can greatly reduce the casualties caused by shelling and cold gunfire.

The officers of the Empire's Eastern Front Army are obviously aware of this problem, but they have nothing to do - unlike Clovis, the Empire does not have a tradition of "skirmishing". Once the front line soldiers are dispersed, the dispersion of firepower is the next best thing. , whether they can get together again is a huge problem.

Once an order like a full-frontal charge is issued, there is no turning back. Unless absolutely necessary or with orders from superiors, officers are reluctant to let their troops die directly.

While these officers were still debating whether to give it a go and bulldoze the Clovis defenses with their heads, the colonial minister made the final decision for them:

At 13:45, the Imperial artillery position launched a second round of artillery fire covering the northern gap and the Black Reef Harbor defense line.

……………………

"Incoming enemy fire - everyone take cover, take cover!"

Almost as soon as the imperial artillery position was lit up with fire, the defenders of Black Reef Port were aware of it and quickly reported it to others to gain time for preparation and response.

But it is a pity that they are still one step late, because this round of artillery fire is coming towards them - more accurately, it is the artillery position of the Black Reef Port defense line.

Accompanied by a heart-shaking scream, raindrop-like shells flew across the sky and landed over the defense line of Black Reef Harbor under the gaze of pairs of horrified eyes.

"Coming!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the top floor of the bunker collapsed under the impact of solid bullets. Thousands of rubble fragments swept through every corner of the fortress like a storm, and exploded with a harsh sound like the volley of thousands of muskets.

Although Black Reef Port is one of the most well-prepared among the various rebel colonies, due to limitations of strength and capital, it is obviously impossible to expect them to build an iron wall that can resist the bombardment of artillery positions.

Soon, the watchtower that was used as a fort was already crumbling, shattered from the inside out, and completely destroyed, leaving only rubble everywhere and broken walls exuding a scorched smell.

But this was just the beginning... After easily knocking out a handful of forts on the Black Reef Port defense line, the imperial artillery positions continued to deliver artillery fire to the north side of the Black Reef Port defense line.

Raindrop-like shells fell from the sky, covering almost every corner where the blue star ring flag was flying. The roar of the explosion was almost without any interruption, and the billowing black smoke swallowed up the entire defense line at a speed that was almost visible to the naked eye.

"Ahem! The Ring of Order...Bernard Morweis, has he been stimulated by something?"

After coughing a few times, Alexey cautiously emerged from the trench, looking at the golden-red tail flames that continued to arc across the dome, and murmured to himself in a daze.

The defense line of Black Reef Port is built on hills that serve as natural barriers. The advantage of doing so is that it is condescending. It only requires very simple fortifications to give the Black Reef Port militia a defensive power comparable to that of the imperial army... The disadvantage is that it faces surprise attacks and attacks. When artillery attacks, fortifications that are not strong enough are pure targets.

Anson was not prepared to reinforce the existing defense line - after all, Bernard was not a fool and would allow himself to build fortifications while abiding by the three-day agreement - he chose to build a second real line of defense directly behind the original line of defense. .

Anson, who was not very good at defensive warfare, walked along the hillside on the back of the hill and completely reproduced the outer position of Major General Ludwig's fortress during the Battle of Eagle Point City.

Of course, it's the "youth version".

The manpower for building the fortifications was 4,000 Black Reef Port militiamen who were transferred to engineers, and the materials and tools were recycled waste from the bombed port area. As for the time...

No more, no less, still three full days.

So when the seemingly devastating rain of bullets retaliated, the entire Black Reef Port defenders had already retreated to the second line of defense, patiently waiting until the bombardment ended or the enemy launched a general attack.

What was left to the imperial artillery to bombard the enemy was an empty defense line with only a few scouts left to guard it.

"And this...it doesn't look like he is about to run out of ammunition and food! After squandering all the cannonballs here, what is he going to do next to capture Black Reef Port - pile of human heads?"

A stray bullet happened to hit near the trench, and Alexei, who was covered in mud, had confusion written all over his face.

Not only him, but the officers of the surrounding Black Reef Port garrison were even more surprised than him. They all stared at the artillery fire flying in the sky as if they were petrified, and countless gorgeous flowers bloomed on the ground.

Through the binoculars and the scouts' reports, they were shocked to learn that in addition to the outer defense line of Black Reef Port, the northern gap guarded by the advance army was also being bombarded by imperial artillery, and the force was even greater.

The officers and congressmen of Black Reef Port, who originally thought that the port night was terrifying enough, were completely frightened by the empire's expense at all costs... Especially Councilor Pushwood, looking at the defense line that had been completely shrouded in gunpowder smoke, his face There was no trace of blood on it.

He was so confused that he turned his head and looked at Alexei beside him tremblingly: "Sir... um... he, are they okay?"

"Ah, you mean the advance army?"

Alexey was stunned for a moment, and then waved his hand in realization: "Don't worry, a bombardment of this magnitude is nothing at all. At best, it's just a shock, and it doesn't pose a threat at all."

"Sh-Shocked?!"

"Yes, despite the loud noise, they are basically solid bullets - as long as they are not hit from the front and there is a strong enough bunker to hide them, the damage caused by such a covering shelling of a strong position is very limited. "

Alexei didn't look back and answered Pushwood's question as if chatting casually: "And the artillery on the opposite side is not very good. They are all eight-pound and twelve-pound field artillery. When the two armies confront each other, It's very powerful, but it's not very impressive in a siege battle - if the Crown's 68-pound main gun is there, two volleys can send them all into the sky!"

The night of the big warehouse incident was a shadow that would never go away for him.

But in Pushwood's ears, it completely turned into the Clovis people's disdain for the empire's strength: the army in front of them was nothing to them, and defeating or even destroying it was just a matter of course.

This raises another question: Are the Clovis people with such terrifying power really willing to fight for the independence of the Confederacy without asking for anything in return in order to expel the imperial power?

His throat twitched slightly, and the frightened Pushwood huddled in the trench and shivered, almost suffocating.

"And...instead of worrying about being blown up by the Empire's artillery, it's better to think about how to deal with it next."

Looking at the shelling that had gradually ceased, Alexei suddenly spoke.

Next...Pushwood suddenly shrank his neck and tried his best to stay calm: "What will happen next?"

"This is the reason why we built a second line of defense instead of strengthening the original position." Alexey sighed, his expression a little ugly:

"Congressman Pushwood, I have to ask you a favor."

"Please, please speak!"

"I will rush to the western defense line with the main force of the Black Reef Port defenders later. You are responsible for leading four thousand engineers to dig out the buried artillery from the ruins of the bunker, and then retreat with them as quickly as possible. .”

"Remember, the faster the better, don't wait for the gunfire; destroy the artillery before it's too late, and don't leave it where it is anyway." Alexei's expression was unprecedentedly solemn: "I repeat it again, Qian Don’t wait for the gunshot.”

"Once the gun goes off, you can't run away!"

Looking at his almost murderous gaze, Pushwood nodded crazily and pursed his lips tightly, daring not to speak.

……………………

At fourteen o'clock sharp, the bombardment finally ended.

Under the thick and choking smoke, the slightly red muzzles finally stopped roaring one after another; two consecutive rounds of bombardment not only almost exhausted the inventory of the minister, but also made these war machines exhausted.

At least for a short period of time, they can no longer show their due power.

Although it failed to cause considerable damage to the enemy, it had also destroyed the most deadly northern fort of the Black Reef Port defenders, and the biggest threat to the eastern front troops had disappeared.

In other words, the gap occupied by the advance army has once again turned into an isolated island with no support from all sides; if they launch a full-scale offensive again, their best outcome will be to be defeated and then withdraw to the Black Reef Harbor defense line.

But the imperial army, which was about to lose its patience, was no longer prepared to waste time on this small group of "noise".

Sir Sado, who was riding on horseback, had an expressionless face, quietly staring at the Clovis Unicorn King's flag on the gap that was already damaged but still fluttering tenaciously.

Just ten minutes ago, he issued an order to cover the retreat of the Eastern Front Army - three thousand ragged and unkempt vassal troops rushed towards the position of the advance army after gathering.

These people are almost the last batch of vassals still alive... There is no military flag, no organization, only four or five people can get a rifle, and two people have a bayonet; when the first person falls, the next person picks him up. weapons to continue the attack.

Obviously, this kind of "army" with extremely poor equipment, no organization and no morale is impossible to defeat the advance army; ten for one with the Clovis people is a bloody gain for the empire, let alone recapturing the occupied territory. position.

But Sir Sado didn't care. He only needed to use these 3,000 men in exchange for the 3,000 new troops on the eastern front to safely withdraw from the position. The rest, even if the Clovis people spent 3,000 more rounds of lead bullets on them, paying the cost of a company and a platoon. Casualties are all additional surprises.

If these three thousand "disobedient military orders" soldiers and their officers want to escape military law, their only option is to serve as the main attacker in the subsequent siege of Black Reef Port, using their fearless morale and Pao Ze's flesh and blood to fight for Bernard ·Lord Morweth opens the gate to Blackreef Harbor.

Yes, there is no more siege... If the imperial army, which has almost exhausted its ammunition, cannot seize Black Reef Port before nightfall, only a complete defeat awaits them.

Either capture the Black Reef Port and turn the crisis around, or roll back to Sailing City in despair and wait for the liberal traitors and Clovis to come knocking on their door.

It was a big gamble for Bernard and the entire counterinsurgency force.

Now, it depends on whether the Clovis people on the other side are willing to accept it.

"Alexey Dukasky...this name doesn't sound like a Clovis man, but rather has the style of a wealthy family in the south of the empire." Sir Sado murmured to himself, subconsciously touching the knife on his waist. handle:

"I wonder if you really have the confidence to defeat us, or are you just bluffing and putting the lives of tens of thousands of people on the gambling table without realizing it?"

"Come on, let me open my eyes!"

I've been thinking about nicknames, so the update is a bit late, I'm sorry - the idea that Anson may have plural nicknames is indeed a very interesting idea, which can be used to lead to the various forces in the future...