The battle to the west of Longxing Pass ended as quickly as it started, because both Mi Xiu and Hussein had been prepared, and the battlefield was quickly cleared. The people in Longxing Pass had no idea what was going on. An important battle took place not far away.
At this time, Longxinguan’s main attention is still on the east. Normally, teams usually move from west to east, transporting supplies and replenishing ordnance and soldiers from the central plains to the defense line. But it’s different these days. In addition to the teams coming from the central plains in the pass, there are also many people coming one after another. Continuously come back from the east of Longxiguan.
At this time, the city gate of Longxiguan was halfway open, and soldiers passed through the city gate and entered one after another.
Although they are all human soldiers, the defenders at the city gate still have to do basic interrogations when facing these defeated soldiers who come back sporadically.
“Which army are you from?”
“We are members of the 7th Flag Regiment of the 19th Legion. We were scattered by the orcs when we retreated two days ago.”
“After entering the city, observe military discipline and do not make trouble, otherwise you will know the consequences.”
“Yeah”
The leading young officer nodded. Although the army of the Eastern Expedition was defeated, there were still many troops left behind at Longxi Pass. Thanks to the separation of Thor and the Guards, Duke Ross still led the Western Army. The main force and part of the Eastern Expedition army returned to Longxingguan. The order in the city was stable and could not tolerate the defeat of the defeated army.
“Open the door and let them in.”
“Yes!”
Soon, these scattered groups of defeated soldiers returned to the city through the closed door. At least more than 500,000 people have returned to the city in the past few days. Although the soldiers still maintain basic order, it can be seen from their expressions When they came out, their morale was very low. It was obvious that the army had returned from a defeat, which also made the remaining troops a little uneasy.
“Boss, there are fewer people coming back today. I’m afraid the orcs are chasing us.”
“I heard that Sir Thor has died in the battle. Can we really hold the Dragon’s Breath Pass?”
The soldier who spoke had a look of fear on his face. He had been guarding the city gate these days and learned a lot from the defeated soldiers on the front line. The army was defeated miserably, Lord Thor died in battle, and orcs appeared. Hundreds of giant dragons are assisting in the battle, and any one of these people would be frightened. Now that several things have come together, it is no wonder that this soldier has no confidence.
“Shut up, if you can defend it, you must defend it, if you can’t defend it, you must defend it. Not to mention that there are millions of troops at Longxi Pass. Even if I am alone, as long as I still have a breath of life, I will never It will allow the orcs to cross the Dragon Breath Pass.”
After the soldier finished speaking, he was immediately scolded by the officer on the side. As a knight-level officer, he has wider knowledge and can see the badness of the situation more clearly than this soldier. He also has a deeper understanding of the consequences of the orcs’ breach of Dragon’s Breathing Pass, which is not only for the civilians in the pass, but also for his family relatives on the central plains to defend this Dragon’s Breathing Pass to the death.
“However, it is indeed time to be more vigilant. Orcs may come at any time.”
“Cheer up and close the city gate immediately if you find anything wrong!”
“Yes, sir!”
…
In the inner fortress of Guancheng, the atmosphere was equally heavy. A group of senior generals were sitting on both sides with solemn expressions. The Duke of Ross was sitting in the seat in front of Saul, presiding over the new day’s military meeting.
“Thousands of people returned to the pass today. Although these people lost their armor, they still maintained their organization with weapons. They should not have been pursued by the orcs, but just separated from the group in the chaos.”
“Well, let’s settle them down, re-equip and train them, and restore their combat effectiveness as soon as possible.”
“Yes, Lord Ross!”
“Sir! I learned from a flag commander who returned to the city today that when he was retreating to the west, he saw the sky above Raging Flame Castle full of white dragons. The orcs attacked desperately with the cooperation of the white dragons. Our side All the dragons were lost at that time. I am afraid that the Raging Flame Castle had fallen two days ago. We need to prepare early.”
After the officer finished speaking, there was silence in the conference hall. They had not received a piece of good news since the Duke of Ross withdrew.
After the break, all the Imperial Guards were annihilated. Thor died in public. Richard lost contact after retreating to Raging Flame Castle. Now it was basically confirmed that Raging Flame Castle had fallen. Soon after the orcs were ready, Longxinguan was about to be attacked directly, and whether it could be defended, senior officers, including the Duke of Ross, were not very sure.
But everyone knows that they have no way out, and this Dragon Breathing Pass must be defended.
“Continue to send scouts to investigate the situation. If you find any traces of Sir Richard and Sir Saul, report immediately.”
“Also, once again issue a summons to the nobles of the Central Plains, asking them to bring people to Longxiguan to participate in the battle. This time, let the messengers go farther away.”
“Lord Ross, this is a bit out of order. We have no right to issue a call for war.”
“Send it first and then talk about it. The royal capital will agree. I will bear the consequences.”
“Yes, sir.”
“How is the layout of the giant crossbow done?”
“In the past few days, more than a hundred bed crossbows have been newly installed in the main city of Longxingguan, and the surrounding castles have also added bed crossbows.”
“It’s not enough. Dragon’s Breath Pass requires at least one thousand more giant crossbows.”
“Let the craftsmen hurry up and make the bed crossbow. Don’t consider the service life of the bed crossbow. Just try to ensure the power. We must make more bed crossbows in a short time.”
“Yes, sir!”
It’s no wonder that Ross is impatient. In the past, the orcs did not have the help of dragons, and their air power was almost zero except for some Bat Riders. Naturally, the humans did not make special arrangements for the dragons like the orcs did.
The orcs have been terrorized by the golden dragon for hundreds of years, and they have already developed some countermeasures. Technology such as the dragon-hunting crossbow was forced out under the pressure of the golden dragon. Humans do not have such pressure, but now they If you want to deal with Bailong suddenly, you can only make hasty preparations. Try to build as many bed crossbows as possible to at least have the possibility of hurting the white dragon.
Of course, it is impossible to rely on these bed crossbows to resist the white dragons. If the orcs are attacking the city, and a large number of white dragons appear again to help, it will most likely have to be carried by human soldiers with their flesh and blood.
“I’m here today. Remember, Longxing Pass is the last barrier for our human race. If we can’t hold it, the crisis of national subjugation and annihilation is waiting for us. We can’t slack off at all.”
“Yes!”
The officers present responded in unison. At this moment, their thoughts were still very unified, that is, they would do everything possible to defend Longxi Pass.
…
Golden Dragon City
Royal Palace
After receiving the news that the Eastern Expeditionary Army was defeated and that Thor’s life and death were unknown, Renn almost fainted without taking a breath.
Fortunately, Ren was still a determined monarch, so he held on and began to digest the information in the letter.
The main factor in the defeat was the lack of intelligence at the beginning, as they did not know that the White Dragon and the Orc Alliance had joined the battle. Second, the orc reinforcements arrived faster than expected, so Thor did not complete the strategic goal in time. Third, Thor was defeated by a strong orc in full view of the public, which led to a collapse in morale and eventually led to a great rout.
Now Longxingguan will face an attack by an army of as many as two million orcs. As time goes by, more orcs will be mobilized to join the war. Judging from the population of the orcs, the number of orcs who will finally participate in the war exceeds Ten million is not surprising.
The situation in the air has also reversed. The orcs have a large number of white dragons to help them fight, while the human dragon knights are almost gone now. What is even more frightening is that the human side is not as prepared as the orcs to deal with the giant dragons. Unprepared humans have to face the attack of the orcs’ superior ground army and dragons, even with the advantage of Dragon’s Breathing Pass defense…
Dragon Breath Pass cannot be defended.
After the analysis, Renn quickly came to the conclusion that although Duke Ross stated his determination in the letter, Renn is a very rational person and naturally knows that some things cannot be achieved with determination. The only thing now is What needs to be considered is how to keep Longxi Pass as long as possible and gain some time.
After taking a deep breath, Renn ordered the guard outside the door:
“Go and ask the left and right ministers to come see me.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The dignitaries in Golden Dragon City usually live not far from the palace. Soon after Ren summoned them, the two of them were guided by the guards to the side hall where Ren was.
“Your Majesty.”
“Sit down.”
“This is the battle report of Longxingguan, you should also take a look.”
The intelligence work of the Golden Dragon Kingdom is good. Although it is not as sophisticated as Richard’s Yusidu, the Black Prison has existed for such a long time and has its own set of rules and procedures.
The battle report of Longxingguan was sent out by wind bird relay. After arriving in Golden Dragon City, it was sent to Ren with almost no delay. He was definitely the fastest person in Golden Dragon City to learn about the defeat on the front line. Even the others They are two highly respected figures, but they are not aware of this matter yet.
“How could things develop like this? Even the Dragon Knight is trapped in the formation.”
After the letter was circulated, Liang Xiang’s face became extremely ugly. To be able to sit in a high position under a king like Ren, who can be called a wise king, naturally he cannot be a mediocre person. After reading the entire intelligence, the two prime ministers also understood the seriousness of the matter. If they were not careful, it would be a crisis of national subjugation and genocide.
They usually have selfish motives, but no one wants the kingdom to perish, especially if it is destroyed by the orcs. If the orcs really take over the Central Plains, they may still remain one person outnumbered by ten thousand people. status?
“Uncle Sol is still alive and dead, so don’t spread the news of his death.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“The important thing is to ensure the defense of Longxing Pass, and how we should respond if Longxing Pass is breached.”
“Your Majesty, the fleet on the Jinlong River began to gather half a year ago. After expansion, the fleet has more than 3,000 ships of various types and can transport more than 400,000 people at a time. We can withdraw to the west of the Jinlong River at any time.”
It was the Right Prime Minister who made such a cowardly suggestion. Ren glanced at the other party and saw that the other party had a serious face, without any shame. He sighed inwardly and continued:
“The fleet naturally needs to be prepared, but the matter is not yet at this stage. Now we should continue to mobilize the army to support Longxing Pass.”
“Your Majesty, we have already raised taxes and deployed garrison corps from various places. Now except for some big cities, we have almost no regular corps stationed. It is difficult to mobilize enough force.”
“No one?”
“The number of private soldiers maintained by each noble family in the castle is probably no less than one million. If they are willing, it shouldn’t be a problem to expand their troops to another two million.”
The nobles of the Golden Dragon Kingdom will basically keep some private soldiers. In addition to the territory directly under the kingdom, some nobles have to collect taxes. The sword handles in their hands are not strong and it is not easy to collect taxes, especially in some border areas.
“Your Majesty, this is against the laws of the kingdom. The nobles have already contributed before, and the kingdom does not allow them to have so many troops.”
The right prime minister still habitually stands up to fight for the interests of the nobles. Of course, in a sense, the right prime minister is also fighting for the kingdom as a whole. After all, respecting the interests of the nobles is still beneficial to the stability of the kingdom, but It was obviously out of place at this moment.
“The code of the kingdom? If there is no action, the kingdom will be lost. I will not let them send troops in vain. I will give the kingdom’s nobles above the earl the right to freely expand the army, allowing them to mobilize viscounts and barons around the territory, with more than five troops. Thousands. If there are more than ten knights, they can be allowed to withhold part of the tax as military expenses…”
“Your Majesty, this…”
Both prime ministers instinctively felt that something was wrong. The power that Ren had released was too great. This was equivalent to lifting the arms restrictions on the big nobles, decentralizing their financial power, and even allowing them to annex some small nobles to a certain extent. Ah, if this kind of order continues to be issued, I am afraid that several nobles at the level of military leaders will be raised.
In the past, the two military leaders, one in the west and one in the north, had already made the central ministers and nobles a little afraid. But now, if Ren’s wishes are followed, the kingdom will probably have military strongmen everywhere.
“There’s nothing wrong with it. You two have to ask your families to step up their recruitment of troops. I allow you to freely collect taxes in the territory, as long as you ensure the quality and quantity of the army.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The two sides talked about it, but in the end they just bowed their heads and said yes. With their wisdom, of course they could figure out Ren’s intentions. The effect of mobilizing through the kingdom’s taxation would not be too great. After all, it would harm the interests of the nobles. They will not cooperate particularly with the matter. Now Ren wants to continue to squeeze the kingdom’s war potential as much as possible by mobilizing the enthusiasm of the nobles.
Of course, this is a poison similar to a stimulant. Everyone can imagine what the consequences will be in the end, but in the face of this big crisis, no matter what the consequences are, we must first forget about it and survive first.
“Also, during the court meeting later, according to the suggestion of King Uncle Saul, Duke Richard Hunter’s title was promoted to a prince, with a status equivalent to that of the royal family. The territory of the country is Northland and River Valley. At the same time, The Duke of Ross was made King of the West, and Uncle King Sol was also promoted to the title of King.”
Although Ren accepted Saul’s suggestion, he did not have any ideas of his own. When he promoted Richard’s title to a king, he also promoted the other two dukes to a king at the same time. This seemed to make The value of Richard as a prince has been greatly reduced. Of course, Richard doesn’t care about this.
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Originally, the matter of being crowned king would definitely shock them greatly. It was impossible for both of them to object and persuade Renn to think twice. However, after the news of the defeat of the Eastern Expedition and the first order issued by Renn, After that, it became a trivial matter to seal three kings at the same time.
“Okay, let’s go and prepare first, and we will announce the news and orders in the main hall later.”
The two phases left quickly after bidding farewell. The reason why Renne communicated with them in advance was very simple. There must not be any blind people in the hall who stood up to object. They had to go and order their own people first.