vstars Chapter 217 Don't Hit the City Wall
Chapter 217 Don't Hit the City Wall
Summer 1449 A city in central Midland
From its wide moat to its tall, sculpture-covered walls, the city exudes an air of majesty and wealth to anyone who gazes upon it.
Every twenty meters on the city wall there is a spire or a platform for placing catapults, which scares away any enemy who attempts to occupy it.
At this moment, the city walls were covered with soldiers, standing in full battle readiness facing the enemy positions not far from the moat. The soldiers in the front were wearing armor and holding huge shields, guarding the city walls like a solid wall of steel.
However, if you look closely at the soldiers, you will find that such equipment does not make them feel safe. On the contrary, the soldiers behind the shields are sweating and staring ahead as if their nerves are tense.
Following their line of sight, the enemy troops below the city were adjusting their formation under the gaze of many soldiers on the city wall, and at the front, dozens of soldiers in black clothes and breastplates were pushing ten long-barreled cannons to the front of the formation.
"I never thought that I could find such a strong city far inland from the front line."
Looking at the fortress-like city in the distance, the captain of the artillery team put away his telescope and asked the captain of the mercenary group who was in charge of the team next to him:
"Are you sure the client is talking about a city, and not some large fortress?"
"Of course it's a city, but the local area is rich in stone, so the thickness and height of the city wall are different from before." Hearing the artillery captain's complaint, the centurion responded, while continuing to observe the surrounding city walls with a telescope, trying to find possible weak points.
But things did not go as planned. Apart from the sculptures on the city walls, the centurion could not see anything special. He put down the telescope and ordered the artillery captain next to him:
"Have the artillerymen aim their cannons at the wall on the left side of the city gate first, and then immediately switch to the right wall after opening a gap."
Upon receiving the order, the artillery captain immediately went on the scene to command the artillerymen to aim the artillery at the left side of the city wall. After the artillerymen loaded the ammunition, with the captain's order of "ignition", the fuse on the artillery was ignited. A few seconds later, ten artillery pieces fired at the same time, accompanied by billowing white smoke and huge roars, and the shells hit the center of the city wall straight.
After a puff of dust, several huge holes suddenly appeared on the originally flat wall opposite, and the sculptures outside the city wall were turned into fragments under the bombardment.
"It's still quite tough. Order the artillery to continue the bombardment." Looking at the results in the telescope, the centurion ordered, but at this moment, there was a cry of surprise from the rear of the army, and then a man in a crimson costume with gold edges and a face painted with white powder unique to the nobility came to the front surrounded by servants.
Looking at the city walls and sculptures in the distance that were destroyed beyond recognition by the shells, the man immediately shouted at the captain:
"Who told you to attack the city like this? Look at what you have done to my city wall. You are destroying the assets of the nobility and it is against the law, don't you understand?"
Looking at the unreasonable man in front of him, the centurion sighed helplessly. This man was the employer of this mission, and the rebel leader on the opposite wall was his cousin. It was enough to show that this was another matter of brotherhood.
"Sir, this is to reduce unnecessary losses of soldiers. Otherwise, if we attack the city directly, the catapults and arrow towers on the opposite side will cause great harm to the army." The centurion explained helplessly.
"Do you think I don't know how to attack a city?" The noble pointed at the city gate and asked in a stern voice:
"The weakest point of a city wall is the city gate. Why don't you attack the city gate first, but instead bombard the city wall first? Do you know how much manpower and material resources are needed to build a city wall? It's simply... unreasonable?" The noble was about to say that these mercenaries were good-for-nothings, but considering the mercenary group's backers and the fact that these people were hired by themselves, he swallowed his words.
Hearing this, Qianfuzhan was so angry that he laughed, and used his last bit of patience to explain to the nobles:
"Generally speaking, a city wall of this size would have two gates, one inside and one outside. Even if both gates were breached, there would still be holes on the top and sides of the inner wall for attack. If a group of soldiers rushed towards the wall and took advantage of the enemy's battle at the city gate, and the enemy used rolling logs and stones to counterattack from above and on both sides, would you be responsible for the casualties?"
The noble was speechless at the words of the centurion. The reason why he was so angry was because of the repair of his own city wall. He did not even consider how much these disposable mercenaries would lose. After all, in addition to Blackwatch, he also hired more than a dozen other mercenary groups. Some of them were close to 10,000 people, so he did not have to worry about the problem of manpower.
"I don't care what method you use, from now on you are not allowed to fire at the city walls, otherwise I will sue you in the noble court!" Even so, the noble still refused to put down his aristocratic airs and admit his mistake, and continued to give orders to the centurion.
Seeing that the noble was so stubborn, the captain stopped explaining and said to the noble word by word in a warning tone:
"Well, from now on, the Black Watch Mercenary Group will no longer take any action due to the disagreement with the terms that the employer added privately. As for the refund issue, please go and discuss it with the people at the headquarters."
After saying that, the centurion and the captain of the artillery retreated to one side, leaving only the nobles who were still standing there in a daze.
"Wait a minute!" No matter how much the noble hated this mercenary group, the only way for him to break through the city wall was to rely on the artillery of this mercenary group. Otherwise, he could only order the soldiers to carry ladders and rush to the city wall.
After a period of negotiation, Black Watch could only smash a hole in one wall, and then use artillery to break down the opposite city gate. The advantage was that the subsequent siege and street fighting would not require the participation of the mercenary group.
As the deal was reached, artillery once again fired shells at the city walls. No matter how strong the walls were, under the continuous bombardment, the stones constantly falling from the walls indicated that they were about to collapse.
Finally, after the last round of artillery fire, the city wall gradually collapsed accompanied by smoke and dust, and the soldiers on the wall were buried in the ruins in panic.
Several rounds of artillery fire followed, and the inner and outer gates of the city wall were broken one after another, revealing the defenders in the city through the gaps.
Seeing that the rebels' first line of defense had been breached, the noble rode a tall horse and came to the front under the escort of his personal guards, and shouted loudly to the mercenaries who had been impatient for a long time:
"Rush in later. Whoever can capture the rebel leader will get money, dead or alive. Now rush into the city and wipe out all those rebels!"
Accompanied by the sound of horns and military bands, the mercenaries, led by their respective captains and flag bearers, howled and rushed into the city, engaging in a battle with the rebels on the opposite side. In just one encounter, both sides paid the price of dozens of corpses, and for a while the sound of swords clashing, screams, and shouts filled the battlefield.
But these have nothing to do with Blackwatch. After receiving the final payment, the centurion led his men on the journey back to the territory.
The soldiers marched in an orderly manner on the broad road. In sharp contrast to the high-spirited mercenaries were the refugees on both sides of the road.
Most of them were skinny and dressed in rags. They looked at the mercenaries passing by with fear and envy. But when the mercenaries looked at them, they quickly lowered their heads and covered their faces with their hands, as if the mercenaries would rush up and beat them up the next moment.
Looking at these refugees, the centurion on horseback suddenly had an illusion: whether this situation would happen in Earl John's territory.
But he soon put this idea behind him. The people in the territory had seen what John had done over the years. As long as John continued to maintain this policy, the people's lives would only get better and better.
Thinking of this, he looked forward again. Above his head, the sunlight gradually penetrated the clouds and shone on the team. It seemed that just as the centurion had thought, everything was developing in a good direction.