NOVEL NEXT Chapter 56: new Year's gift
The rainstorm dissipated, and the sun rose in the east.
When the first ray of sunshine in the 100th year of the saint's calendar shone on the top of the tower of Thundercastle, the Clovis unicorn flag fluttering on the broken city wall in the cold wind was thrown into the muddy puddle full of bones. The Imperial Iris Citi, together announced the end of the siege of Thunder Fort.
But the fact is, when Ansen Bach rushed out of the main castle, holding the tearing sword and proclaiming "Kroger Bernard is dead!", the battle was over.
The shortcomings of the Imperial Army were exposed at this moment - the army's morale was stable just a moment ago, and they fought vigorously with the levies; once the commander was found dead, morale instantly fell like a cliff.
Except for a very few knights who were not afraid of death, they resisted and were shot to death; most officers and soldiers chose to drop their weapons and flags.
Ten minutes later, Ludwig Franz, rushing to the battlefield, accepted their surrender and promised them, as the commander of the levy, that he would ensure the life and safety of every officer before receiving the ransom. Property security.
This promise of "the archbishop's own son" made all the knights relieved, but also fortunate that they did not choose to die like their colleagues.
As for the remaining few hundred surviving Imperial soldiers... their fate was not so lighthearted.
"...The empire will definitely redeem people. Hundreds of soldiers and their weapons are also a lot of wealth; but the diplomats on both sides will definitely make a big fuss about the ransom price, and the process will not be easy."
Walking on the muddy land of Thundercastle, Ludwig's exhausted expression was particularly brisk: "Before that, these people will be supervised by our levy."
"So Lieutenant Colonel Anson Bach, I now need a proper post-war plan again!"
Even if you don't have to look at it, you can feel that Ludwig is trying his best to restrain the urge to dance.
"Uh... how about letting them take charge of the siege positions outside the city?" An Sen, who was so sleepy, asked absentmindedly.
The battle is over, and the entire levy is busy taking over Fort Thunder, or in other words, busy dividing up the hard-won fruits of victory.
Weapons, ammunition, baggage, and even cash - a fortress guarded by a heavy army, there must be a vault to store a large amount of military salaries - when the Thunder Fort fell and was recaptured, the material accumulated in the fortress was all It's become the loot of the levy!
Although most of the seized materials must be sealed, waiting for the person in charge of the army in the rear to come to check and accept; but the biggest advantage of the "conscripted army" as a miscellaneous brand compared with the regular army is the extremely high standard of loot income.
So Anson didn't understand that Ludwig, as the top commander and the largest "shareholder" of the levy, didn't hurry to receive the fruits of his victory, but had to bring himself out to talk about the prisoners.
What does he want to do?
"Besieged the position?"
"The battle is over, and the siege positions outside the city will definitely have to be filled up; it took thousands of people over ten days to complete a project, and it is not that easy to fill it up completely." An Sen who followed suit truthfully said:
"So... it's better to let the captives do it."
"Um..." Ludwig pondered in a low voice, feeling a little worried at the same time:
"But will this be too inefficient? The army won't let us stay here for too long. New orders will come in a month at most. What if we haven't filled in by then?"
"Uh...then use the method of performance." The sleepy Anson continued to perfunctory.
"Performance?"
"Yes, it's the method of the farm supervisor and the factory supervisor." After thinking for a while, after confirming that "Former Ansen" had this word in his memory, An Sen said without hesitation:
"Promise the captives to let them go after the war, but until then they will have to work hard to get supplies; set a few indicators, like how much work is done in a day to get more supplies, or allow him to take a day off Category."
"Of course, there must be surveillance and supervision; those who are particularly lazy or unable to do heavy work can be caught as a model, and let them be beaten while doing heavy work in the most conspicuous place; don't beat too hard, just let everyone hear and see. ."
"If it's too late at the end, then find a few more honest models to help them redeem themselves, and then tell the prisoners that after we evacuate, they will be handed over to other troops, which will probably stimulate some enthusiasm."
"In short, as long as the reward and punishment standards are set, make sure that every prisoner can see it with his own eyes, even the most reluctant prisoner can... eh?!"
Anson, who was so tired that he relaxed his vigilance, talked freely, until Ludwig stopped, only to realize that the brigadier general turned his head at some point and looked at himself with a strange expression:
"What, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing." Ludwig shook his head and looked him up and down as if he was reacquainted:
"I just suddenly felt that if you didn't join the army, you would probably be a very disabled...actual entrepreneur or foreman."
"..." Anson.
"But I specially called you here, not to chat with you about your ideals in life."
The brigadier general with his eyes narrowed quickly returned to his former sternness, and his steady gaze turned to his eyes: "We're here."
arrive?
The awakened An Sen raised his eyebrows slightly and followed the other's gaze: "This is..."
"The reserve warehouse of Thunder Fort is also the largest of the six warehouses outside the fortress - more importantly, it is also the only one of the six warehouses that has not been moved by the imperial defenders!"
Ludwig didn't turn his head and looked at Anson's expression with sharp eyes, intentionally or not, out of the corner of his eyes: "If the accounts are correct, all the weapons and ammunition enough to equip ten infantry regiments are stored here."
"Including but not limited to 20,000 rifles, 10,000 boxes of lead bullets and propellants, 40,000 military uniforms and marching bags, emergency reserves... Roughly estimated, the value is also around 150,000..."
"...Of course, it's gold coins." With a smile on the corner of his mouth, Ludwig took out a key from his pocket and handed it to Anson:
"Now, it's yours."
……Um?
Um--? !
An Sen's pupils shrank, and he looked at the Brigadier General in disbelief: "Wait a minute! You mean..."
"Of course, according to the laws of the kingdom, you can only take 50%, and the rest must be sealed!"
Putting the key into the stunned Anson's hand, the corner of Ludwig's mouth turned a little deeper: "Take it as a New Year's gift from me, Lieutenant Colonel Anson Bach."
"Although it is a little regretful that the Bernard brothers were not captured alive; but as the victor of the siege of Fort Thunder, you deserve this spoil!"
"I, Ludwig Franz, know better than anyone... Without your help, without your plan, the capture of Thundercastle in nineteen days... would only be an empty talk!"
"The most important thing is, if you didn't force me to make up my mind, at the moment when the rainstorm started... I think, I should not have the courage to oppose my father ~www.readwn.com~ Archbishop of the Kingdom's wishes. "
At this moment, Ludwig's icy face showed a little self-mockery, and he let out a sigh of relief:
"So don't have any worries, there is no human kindness here - even if there is, then I would like to ask you my most sincere thanks back then."
"As I said, accept it as a New Year's gift."
Looking at Ludwig with sincere eyes, Anson, who had recovered from the shock, nodded, accepting this unique gift.
With a faint smile, the brigadier general, whose expression returned to normal, turned around and raised his right hand towards the guards on both sides of the warehouse gate.
A low screeching sound rang out, and the closed warehouse door opened in front of the two of them, like the treasure house of the legendary elf.
At this moment, the two standing outside the door held their breaths in unison—the equipment of ten infantry regiments were piled up in a warehouse, what a spectacular sight it would be?
"Boom——!!!!"
The heavy door opened, and golden sunlight poured into the towering and magnificent warehouse.
Tall, grand, wide, and...
Uh...empty.
Nothing at all.
It's not that it looks empty, but it really has nothing, not even dust!
In the extremely empty warehouse, there were only the two of them insignificant figures.
The bright and clean floor reflects the morning sun, even a little dazzling.
Squinting his eyes slightly, Anson turned his head with a confused look on his face. Ludwig's eyes remained motionless beside him, and his completely frozen expression seemed to be unable to accept reality, as if in a dream.
An Sen, who was hesitant to say anything, opened his mouth and was silent for a full minute before saying in a particularly relaxed and pleasant tone:
"……Happy New Year!"