Chapter 1,318 The End of the Blood Flag Revenge Battle
In the spring of the year 736 of the Aramaic calendar, in the Gwana Empire.
The expected bloody flag civil war did not unfold. But the subsequent development was not as easy to deal with as the emperor imagined.
The collapse of the Risa Territory was something that caught everyone off guard.
After the news of the demise of Duke Risa's family was semi-officially confirmed, the army gathered in Risa's territory had other thoughts. It's just that no one thinks about how to get something out of the fire, but how to escape.
Duke Risa was finished, but Duke Kawei's strength was still intact. Perhaps the people at the top could see that the old Duke had no reason to start a war. But the people below didn't dare to bet on whether the old Duke would be able to hit him hard. Because if you make a wrong bet, you will lose your life.
The first people to escape were mercenaries. The reason is also very valid. If the employer is gone, the contract will no longer exist. It was natural for them to leave because no one was paying them.
There is nothing wrong with saying this. Even if outsiders didn't think so, the mercenaries still left without a single one left. It means that they have long realized that something is not right about the situation. If they had not been hired too early, they would have never been able to join this party that had a huge chance of losing. Now that they have a chance, if they don't run, it will be in vain that they have experienced life and death on the battlefield and are still alive until now.
The second group of people who escaped were the lowest-level soldiers who were forcibly recruited. Most of them did not even have qualified equipment, so they were taken from their homes to join the newly formed legions.
They didn't think much of it at first, and there wasn't much information about the war in the village. Anyway, it's just the lord's recruitment and they just respond to the military service. If there was anything special, it was that there were a lot of people recruited, and almost all the men were recruited into the temporarily formed legion.
But after entering the legion station, no matter what, you have to understand the enemy's information. Although in this era of Midi there is still so-called righteous propaganda, similar to the psychological counseling or political warfare work of the Earth's modern forces.
But propaganda is propaganda. How the soldiers at the bottom view the war they are about to face is another matter. Morale is a mysterious thing.
All generals know that the morale of the people is very important. But if the generals are almost dead, how can the lower-level officials lead the troops?
No, people's hearts are in chaos.
The internal management was at a loss, and there was fatal pressure from the outside. As soon as both sides tried their best, the grassroots people fled. Moreover, these people did not escape home, but fled deep into the mountains and forests.
Even if they still know their status as deserters, if they escape home and the Rizal family's military officers carry out heavy compensation, the deserters who escape home one or two may also harm their families. So I can only escape to a place where there are few people and no one recognizes me.
As soon as the two waves of people fled like this, the army that the Rizal family had gathered with all their strength was scattered. What's even worse is that because these people don't dare to go home and don't have the ability to escape, they all become problems in the territory.
The remaining people who can still stick to their original posts are only one or two out of ten. Most of these people were rich farmers, businessmen, and craftsmen. They expected to establish military exploits and join the aristocratic class.
As long as you have meritorious service, it is not difficult to be awarded a knighthood. What is more difficult is to enter the class of hereditary nobility, that is, baron and above. But having a title is different from ordinary people, so they are looking forward to this war that seems to have no chance of winning.
This is also because they can see clearly that the civil war in the empire is only fought by the upper class. After the fight, what should the common people do? So as long as the soldiers who are at the bottom of the war perform well, they will have the opportunity to fill the vacancies. As for those vacancies, of course they were those vacated by the war.
It sounds like these people are betting that they can survive to the end. So regardless of winning or losing, as long as the territory wants to maintain normal operations, it needs someone to manage it. If the original manager died in the war, who would be promoted to the top? In addition to those nobles who reach out because of gambling, they are not the only ones who have shown their talents in the war.
It’s just... if you want to express yourself, you must have a stage at the most basic level. As a result, the stage was set up, and those who insisted on staying on the stage turned around and saw, phew, most of the people had run away, so what should I do?
Split the soil and separate the kingdom, occupy the mountain and become the king?
The emperor had already reached this point. Not to mention that the three legions assembled by Duke Kawei have not yet dispersed, the empire has also sent a full Iron Guards regiment, and the remaining ten regular legions have also sent a group each to enter the west camp of Kawei territory.
Although the ten regular legions only mobilized one large group of soldiers and officers, it also meant that they had set their sights on the Risa Territory. As long as there is a disturbance and the order from the military headquarters arrives, ten legions will rise up and come from all directions, and all chaos will be put down.
Don't think that the layout of these senior officials will not be announced to the non-commissioned officers and soldiers at the grassroots level. I can't help but be fascinated by the existence of forums in this era. Various gossips are spreading wildly, and of course there are various judgments and deductions about the current situation.
It can be said that everyone knows how to talk, and the benefits are different. The listeners may not be able to judge the exact plan, but as long as they know one thing, that is, whoever wants to get ahead will be in trouble, then everyone will know what to do.
The emperor's order to disband the legions and the administrator in charge of the Risa realm came relatively late. After all, they have to walk on their feet, which is not as convenient as sending messages on the forum.
But when the administrator came, he instead withheld the order to disband the legion sent to various places. The reason is that he needs manpower to persuade those who fled back to their places of origin.
Therefore, after obtaining the emperor's consent, he signed an amnesty order, and deserters returning home would not be held accountable. And asked those who still insisted on staying in the legion to spread the news in all directions. They are all locals, and of course they know best where the locals will go.
Don't think that the emperor just sent someone here casually. Whether he can take care of this mess in Risa's leadership is not a problem. In fact, this is really not a problem.
Everyone can see that the title of Grand Duke Rizal is likely to be discontinued. So what should we do with the vassals who originally belonged to the Risa family?
Although the emperor can recognize the small nobles who have considerable business operations in their respective territories, he can also simply refuse to recognize them. Then take back the territory and see whether it will be replaced by new people or whether it will be directly owned by the emperor.
You must know that the title of the vassal of this kind of vassal will not be too high, otherwise it will not divide the territory of the lord. Therefore, the hereditary nobles affiliated to the Grand Duke family are mostly composed of the lowest barons; there is usually only one Marquis, and that is the heir of the Grand Duke. As for the number of earls and viscounts, they are strictly controlled to ensure that the grand duke himself is a strong one.
Then, unfortunately, all the respectable people in Rizal's territory knew that the key to turning this war around was the airship. Therefore, after the plan to capture the Sid was formulated, many people were very curious about this airship that was praised highly on the forum, so they gathered at White Fox Castle, and then they were all taken advantage of...
Therefore, the remaining people under Rizal's leadership were all insignificant little nobles. Faced with the current disadvantage, if someone connects them to appeal peacefully in order to preserve the legacy of Grand Duke Risa, there may be a glimmer of hope.
Loyal ministers show their loyalty, and no matter how disgusted the superiors are, they will not get things done. As long as everyone doesn't fight to the death and just shows an attitude, that's enough.
But the reality is that no one has the prestige to come forward to integrate everyone. Everyone is considering the survival of their own family. Therefore, when the administrators sent by the emperor issued orders, they did everything possible to appear obedient, just to retain the family territory and title. Whether they can stay in the privileged class of the nobility is very important to these people.
Then there's the mess that Risa is in. Spring plowing is definitely out of the question, and food has to be dispatched from other places. Moreover, most of the documents related to the territory, with the White Fox Castle being wiped out, the administrator sent by the emperor will definitely have a good time if he wants to restore order in the territory.
Fortunately, the five legions of the Kawei leader were in charge. No matter how chaotic the Risa leader was, the people below did not dare to use weapons without permission. Otherwise, if the imperial edicts come over directly, let alone quell the chaos, the ground will be flat!
As for the three northern countries that were originally in contact with old Kaweigong, they got a big deal. The hired legion was disbanded on the spot before setting off, and the commission was equivalent to getting it in vain.
For those soldiers who are hired or recruited, there is nothing wrong with getting something but not having to fight. Not having to fight means not having to die.
However, for the nobles of the three northern countries, they wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to enter the empire and grab a chance. If the opportunity is right, it is not impossible to get more bargains.
Now that I'm here, I don't even have the chance to go on an expedition. They wanted to take advantage of the fact that the hired legion was assembled but not disbanded, and called on the king's orders to enter the chaotic Risa territory and grab a piece of it. But the troops assembled by the Kawei Territory can not only be used to deal with the legions and chaos of the Risa Territory, but can also be turned against them.
A head-on confrontation with five fully prepared legions led by Grand Duke Kawei?
Even if they could learn from the forum, the old duke's title was stripped and his heir would take over the title of grand duke. But being deprived of his title does not mean that he is prohibited from leading troops in war. Even if he can't lead troops, if he appears on the battlefield, without taking action, the morale of his own people will collapse to the point where everyone may run away. How can we fight this?
So for the sake of the old Duke, the three northern countries stopped. Anyway, they have already made benefits, so they should take care of domestic spring plowing next. It's okay for them to steal chickens, but if they want to fight the empire, even if they want to, the people below them don't want to. There is no way to fight.
The young prince of the Kawei family has already succeeded to the throne, and the old prince has retired, which makes him even happier. He has the posture of the former Demon Prince Azad, no one dares to stop him wherever he goes. Based on his friendship with the emperor, and with no real power and only influence left, the old man really had no taboos in his actions.
But everyone can see that the old Duke is causing trouble everywhere, which actually seems to divert the focus. Therefore, as long as the nobles with clear minds set their sights on the emperor. This old guy is the real source of trouble.