Prelude to the Battle of the Mist
What is the most lethal invention in the history of war?
The answer is not a gun, nor a gun afterwards - although the actual number of kills caused by these weapons can be extremely large. Even if we invented a weapon that could erase a city or even a country from the map, it would not be the most lethal - no one dared to use it when the lethality reached such a level.
There is only one answer, that is, "mobilization."
What is mobilization? Mobilization is the organizational technique that forces civilians and quasi-armed personnel into war and into war.
Histors generally believe that mobilization was gradually developed in the brutal war. In ancient times, combat skills gradually became mastered by wealthy individuals or professionals, and war was only a contest for violent holders. It is difficult for the winner to get everything, and the loser will not lose everything. In the legend of almost all civilizations, the poets have preached such ancient times.
But gradually, the winner gets more and more, and the loser loses more and more. The losers were plundered, slaughtered, and insulted. Their wives and children died in massacres or became tragic slaves. The patterns of massacres and slavery are constantly being refurbished and become more cruel, even those who did not participate in the war have to face these results. In order to avoid being defeated, some barbaric people have turned all their ethnic groups into warriors and acquired wealth by aggression against others: more civilized nations cannot do this, they can only fight against the non-stopping barbarians. .
In the end, the civilians of the civilized nation picked up their weapons. The lords prepare weapons that are easy to learn, tell them how to use them, and let them build a city with flesh and blood to block those barbarian bloodthirsty monsters. In the face of "mobilization", every civilian will become a soldier, returning his teeth and returning blood to blood.
They succeeded from time to time and sometimes failed; but in the end they defeated those bloodthirsty people and established an era of civilized national rule.
And then, the civilized people aligned their inventions to each other: this is the beginning of modern history.
-Excerpted from the first chapter of "Railway, Civil Rights and General Warfare", translated version of Xixinzhou Autonomous Province, 1861 edition
May +1, April 2, 1664, Beilu Xinhai; Shuangzhen
Three Iron Angle Icebreakers The fleet formed was full of sails and the side winds sailed north.
The tops of the icebreaker masts are hung with blue and green Saints' flag, proclaiming the elves' ownership of the channel. The sea mage in the blue pilot robes did not park the seagulls and sea otters, and observed the ice floes around the channel through the eyes of these animals. Ice floes still exist, but they are not connected. The sea has become so vast that it has been able to accommodate the fleet.
"Tell the town, the winter is over!"
The chief pilot is shouting From the right hand, a red light flew up the sky. A moment later, the northernmost port of the mainland, the elf in the last fortress of the Luxin Sea, the lighthouse lights up.
From Lu Xinhai to the endless ocean channel, you can finally sail again. The light flame of this lighthouse is the horn of the huge merchant fleet in Lu Xinhai.
Starting a week ago, the merchant ship with the elf flag will be concentrated from the towns of Lukang, Dizza, Cannenburg, etc. All supplies in Elven Port Town were acquired. The north of Luxinhai will be frozen for three to four months each year, and the ocean shipping of the empire will only resume work at this time. These more than 90 sailboats sailed in turn, and it took nearly two hours to fully exit the port. Although it is not as powerful as the Elves' Far Sea Fleet or the "Red Fleet", it is an unprecedented wonder for the Shuangzhen people who live in the northernmost part of the civilized world.
Some port handymen with a southern accent noticed that there were a number of artillery pieces on the merchant ships that exceeded the standard. Other half-elves who run small stores here noticed that the entire town's wines were consumed during the week, and all the "special girls" started at least twice a night.
"The Royal Navy has sailed."
Mysterious messenger and invisible news flew out of the town, soaring along the coast of the mainland and the endless ocean, passing to Every corner of the civilized world.
It’s not just the fleet. The unarmed volunteers, the aristocratic army of the gray military uniform, the emperor of the black military uniform, and the royal guards of the silver uniforms replaced each other. The headquarters command magically squeezed the strongest elite from all corners of the empire and mobilized the table. The execution is accurate to the hour. Countless legions crossed the border, and the crests of all the families shone on the flag of the army. The Freedom Forces on the border swear to death, and the superintendent government forces mostly joined the ranks of the emperors with weapons.
Everything is so rhythmic and precise, like a grand prelude to a well-organized symphony.
In the end, Hongrinasti and Lenny have realized that this time they are not facing a crisis, not a deterrent or a blackmail. After the mobilization of the machine, the actions within one month are doomed. The emperor and his subjects believed that the chaos in the south could be used to recapture the lost soil in the last war.
No one can pretend that this is a joke, which is destined to be a full-scale war.
May+16, July 12, 1666, Northwest; Gustov
It took only over a week to take charge of the battlefield on the Western Front, and the pioneers of the Soma Army, who had triumphed all the way, had joined the last remnant of the governor army in Gistov, the northwestern town of Jules.
Of course, the two armies who met each other late night held a grand celebration of the division. In this celebration, the most important nature is the speech of the highest commander of the government government: that is also the declaration of the official merger of the government and the emperor. Now, this speech is coming to an end.
"Everyone, the darkest time has passed. The days of trampling, insulting, and damaging by the Free Army and its cold-blooded generals are over! From today The government forces are no longer the national army fighting for the interests of the people of the Ruhrocks, but also the just army fighting for freedom and equality. Together with the friendly forces from Coman, we will defeat the false oligarchs of Lenny and The parliament, with the help of His Majesty the Emperor, rebuilds a new government of freedom, equality, justice and cleanliness!"
The old man of the speech stopped here and looked around. He couldn't hear from his tone that he was actually recited. Soon, the tsunami-like applause came from the stage.
The applause from the six gray and black squares was neat and warm, and the applause in the three blue squares was a little weak. With the hardships of successive months, the government’s army died and fled, and the fourth, sixth, tenth, and fourth national divisions of the 60,000-strong army should have less than 30,000 troops. Today's meeting of the generals was also held to encourage the morale of the remaining officers and men.
"From today, all four divisions of our government forces will join the Volunteers from Coman to form the Maitrebi West Army and join the Western Army. We have one and only one goal, that is, Lenny! May the glory be with the Maitressi Army!"
Marshal Govar took a deep breath He waved his hand to the crowd, ending the speech and his last appearance as the commander of the government. With a smug look, he finally glanced at the army that once belonged to him and turned to walk down the stage.
Behind him, the former fourth division commander who got the position of the new commander of the Western Army, continued to speak with excitement, and he was not interested in listening. People are busy welcoming the new commander, and few people are willing to use their eyes to send out the lost marshals of Lien Chan. Everyone knows that after so many failures, the power of this army will undoubtedly fall into the hands of the Imperial Command, no matter who will command the same. If you don't fight alongside the Soma army of the empire, this army can't even hold Gistov. The Comans did not hide their contempt for this often defeated army: the Soma army only sent a colonel baron to serve as the deputy commander of the coalition.
The old man is desperately going to the exit of the training field. In a short distance, he recalled a lot of things, but in the end it was strangely attributed to a word.
"...is hateful."
At the exit, a black carriage is waiting Lord Marshal. In front of the carriage, the blue-grey cross flag of the "Mitby West" is also hung, and the empire and the republic, the imperial power and the symbol of freedom coexist in a banner. Next to the car, a smiling woman was waiting for her arrival.
Itis patted Govar's back and made some less appropriate jokes. The marshal was not angry, but shrugged his shoulders and bowed into the carriage.
"Yes, but if you want to pay the bill, it will be the end of the mission." Govar’s voice suddenly became crisp and sweet. "I still have some I can't believe it, is it really over?"
"Yes, that's it, it's the final decision. We no longer need Govar. "
Itis jumped into the position of the driver, and pulled down the flag of the army and the flag of the officer into his arms. As she shuddered, the car ran out of everyone's view. In the eyes of others, this is a low-key exit of the retired marshal, and few people know the true purpose of her behavior.
In the car, the Marshal is busy playing with his epaulettes, cufflinks and belts. "His" towering shoulders sank, and the gray shorts were wiped off by the hands. The imperial spies used military uniforms to change the color and shape smoothly. The tassels of the sheet metal disappeared, and the stars on the epaulets became a single cross.
When the car arrived at the central square of Gistov, no one could see the identity she used before: Marshal Govar completely turned into a monk Card; Wei Lun information is less envious.
The vast majority of cities in the South follow the example of Lenny, arranging a wide central square in the center of the city, and building a city around the palace, castle, and church in the north. The habits are completely different. It is generally not a government agency around the square, but the most prosperous commercial street. For the two Lenny people, this scene is very familiar, they are very easy to find a hotel in a signboard that is open even in the morning. Said to be open, in fact, there are only two or three customers. Hearing the sound of the boots, the boss hurriedly turned the sign on the bar to the "suspended business" side; after seeing the color of their uniforms, he let out a sigh of relief and greeted him.
"What do you want to ask the two officers?"
The two reported their own select. "Ice tea." "Pure Rublock."
Hearing the two seemingly quiet women in front of the two wine names, the owner 愣After a moment, talking to himself, "I am a soldier," turned away. Not only was he surprised, the two ladies were equally surprised by the choices of the other.
"You know what iced tea is, Dinica? This wine tastes mild, but the stamina is not small." Itis worried A young girl in front of her.
黛妮卡 shakes his finger: "Of course. The appearance looks like tea, but it is actually a mixture of seven spirits. But the purer than you. Concord’s intensity is still worse.”
“I don’t know when I will come back to Ruolock, of course, I have to hurry up to the most local wines. Maybe again. I can't drink it in a few months, maybe." Itis took the ice water and licked it. "Until today, we have time to sit down and have a drink."
"Yes. I can withdraw from Govar’s identity. I really didn’t think of it. I thought I would have to keep this identity all the time.” Yanika caught her hair. Feel free to bundle the long hair into a short ponytail. "For more than three months, I have been under a false appearance, and my hair is not empty."
"To tell the truth, including Shulan and Rasta, no one of us has the guts to make this decision. This is the decision of the Security Minister."
&nbs p; This official title made Janika ponder for a moment. "The guy who broke his hand, the ghost is gone? Is it called Sid; Nasser? I have seen him a few times..."
Itis suddenly reached out and grabbed her mouth. "Don't read the full name! It's dangerous!"
黛妮卡 怔, smiled and opened her hand: "Too sensitive? What? It’s impossible for a perverted magician to detect every person who reads his own name.”
“You...” Isis held her head in her hands, “ Such people are very careful, they are afraid that others will recite their names in order to curse themselves. Worse, today he is nearby..."
" In the neighborhood? Wait a minute, is he back in the city?"
Just as the two of them tasted the wine that was not easily delivered, the door opened. The dense military boots stepped through the wooden stairs outside the hotel, and a whole team of silver uniforms rushed into the store. Headed by a first-class officer, the front chest is embroidered with the coat of arms of the knight.
"Clearance! Everything that can be seen in the central square is closed! We are going to set up a detection magic array here! All the people present, register the occupation, name, Follow us to leave!"
He looked at the boss and a few stunned drinkers and shouted. Before he spoke, the boss had turned over the "stop business" sign on the bar.
Itis looked at this scene, some crying and laughing, said to himself: "This Shulan, can he want to let the whole world know about this thing?" "
In the group of people looking for the safety minister, Renee noticed this sentence. She frowned and whispered in the ear of Isis: "What is it? Isn't it easier to drink today?"
The female major laughs Laughter: "That... I would have liked to tell you later. Today is..."
"Don’t whisper! Are you Ruhrock? Which one? The troops?" The sergeant approached them and slammed the bar with a scorn in his voice.
Itis turned and pointed to his epaulettes and said to him, "Go to your highest commander and tell him that I am Major Magnum. What is this guy doing Shulan!"
The sergeant looks awesome and respects a military ceremony. "You mean Lord Di Mattel? Yes, it is his order, because the Air Force needs to land, the military band has to be prepared..."
Did the military band bring it?! Is it earlier than the scheduled time?" Itis frowned. "Is it a safe minister's idea..."
"Hey, what the hell is it?" Renee was still asking, but Itis had pulled her up to the square outside the door.
Twenty minutes from the time they left the carriage, the square was surrounded by silver royal guards, and no civilians could see it. I don't know when, countless flags are waving in the wind, and the prominent coats of the aristocrats in the western and southern parts of the empire cover the sky. Renee looked up at the nearby clock tower: it took only 25 minutes from the time they entered the bar.
"How is this possible? When we came, the square was almost empty. When did these people finish the arrangement? My troops could never have this. Efficiency..."
"Your troops?"
"Ah, I mean Ge Val's troops, Mattby, are in the West." Yanika smiled embarrassedly.
"So change it. You need to hurry to enter another identity." Itis lowered his voice. "The nobleman, you know. Look at this posture." I know that her brother is about to arrive soon."
"Her brother?" Renee responded with three blinks of time, "Emperor? How can I not say it early..."
"I originally thought there was time, but..."
The music of the military band is played. The music is "The Flying Coman", the military song of the Royal Coper and the Air Force. When they looked up, they saw a group of black spots coming out of the clouds.
At first, people thought they were flying birds, but soon these birds became giants.
The huge silver wingspan is pasted by the clock tower, followed by a small green and black wingspan. The silver dragon headed down and flew down in the sky, and landed vertically by the power of magic. The other silver dragon behind it was slightly smaller, and the rider on the top controlled it to land on the flank of the first silver dragon. The seven bipedal pterosaurs that followed the silver dragons did not have the ability to land vertically. They all glided down.
The dragon wings of these dragons almost filled the entire square, and people can see the cross-cut feathers and the identification badge of "rafk" with the naked eye. These translucent coats float above the dragon wing. The Master, who is twice the number of landing dragons, walks close to the dragon and uses magic to set up an invisible platform to facilitate the dragon knights to return to the solid earth.
Most platforms are intangible, and only the two highest platforms are tangible. The two mages who were responsible for the construction created a silver-gray ladder that complemented the silver dragon.
The knight on the dragon's back wearing a pale gold breastplate and a silver garrison uniform is not strong, and the waist is not a gun or a sword, but a handle. The long scepter; the crown at the top of the head is not cast from cheesy gold, but made of stainless steel. Together, they symbolize the power base of the second empire of Koman: steel and magic. As he set foot on the platform, the platform began to slide down the ladder slowly - most people know that this is to cover up the emperor's lameness.
All the imperial subjects were kneeling on their knees, pressing their chests and bowing their heads. Only the performance of the military orchestra and the loud voice of the chief guardian knight can be heard throughout the square. When the long title of the emperor was pronounced in a fixed order and rhythm, there was a peculiar serious atmosphere.
"On behalf of all the vassals of the Principality of Soma and the Principality of Noor, and all the servants of the west of the holy city of Taranto, I would like to welcome the Magic Arbitration Association and The protector of the Orthodox Grand Duke Church, the supreme arbitrator of the civilized world, the co-owner of Lu Xinhai and the Nine Principality, all the emperors of the Koman, Gustav; Hugh; His Majesty King Koman I and his commander-in-chief of the Royal Army, military Minister Loren; von; Duke of Fegota."
黛妮卡 has no intention to study the order and meaning of these titles, just looking at the distance that is slightly thin The young man, holding his breath nervously, forgot even the ceremony. The majestic and solemn scenes around her made her feel awe from the bottom of her heart. All of this belongs to a country that leads a large and efficient machine with a small number of young and noble aristocratic elites.
Holy Coman Empire. She is now "loyalty" - or the object of use.
She had always believed that her motherland’s system was the best in the world, but now she feels shaken. Even Govar or even Fox could not train such an army in her home country. Lenny’s parliamentary election has no sacred feelings, only a messy exchange of interests. It wasn't until the eye-catching Itisie kicked her gently that she reacted and turned her head into the bar to find a secluded place where she could change her identity.
The entire bar is full of detection enchantments. She dare not use the detection magic, only read the words on the magic array to determine its scope. In the short few minutes of her going out to see the Imperial Air Force, the Guards squad had used the magic scroll to transfer the detective magic array in every room of the hotel.
The first floor does not work, she rushes to the second floor, the second floor does not work, she ran to the underground cellar, but every place can see "detection" That familiar pattern. As long as the magic here is triggered, there must be a strange monitoring department that receives the report and dispatches a fully armed combat force within three minutes. Everything is impossible for the Free Army that she once "supervised".
“Awful. It’s not the emperor’s **, even the squadrons are all leaking.”
The time spent searching for one room was longer than she expected. Gradually, I have not heard the march from the outside. In the end, Reneka reacted: there should be somewhere where there is no detection of the array. All the officers and soldiers of the Imperial Guards have only one gender, that is to say...
She rushes into the women's room. Sure enough, the guards of the nobles ignored this inconspicuous place. She vividly projected the shape of "Riv; Namlock" and changed her figure, accent, face and hairstyle as usual. Since there was no female guard, Yanika turned the epaulettes of the magical military uniform and chose a set of black dresses as the princess's formal dress. After everything was ready to stop, the girl made two deep breaths, took out a small mirror with her, and looked at herself.
"There is nothing in the details... Listen to the fate. You can freely travel around the world for two years without returning to the palace, and it is estimated that the emperor will not be able to go anywhere. As long as you don't make things that don't match your identity, you should do it."
Thinking about the question "What should the princess do?" The lock on the toilet window, crawling out of the window agilely, flew over the wall with the help of jumping magic, and ran to the square all the way. When she arrived, she happened to see Gustav boarding the carriage. Behind the emperor, the Imperial Air Force requisitioned the square with incredible efficiency, and the engineering team's mage had begun to build shelter. Since she has seen too many ridiculous efficiencies of the emperor, she is only a little "hmm" to this scene.
Renee stopped and looked at the team with flags and coats of arms in the corner. The Guards knights embraced the emperor's open carriage, followed by the frame of the older Lord Lauren, and then the carriages of the aristocrats and army commanders. If it is in DeLand, such a lineup should have tens of thousands of people onlookers, but here is Ruhrock, so there is only one of them on the sidelines. She smiled a bit, waved at the front of the team, Xiu Lan, turned and prepared to go back to the bar, wondering how to explain the reasons for being late with the partners.
Just as she turned around, all the cars stopped. Although it is not stopped at the same time, the total time spent will not exceed ten seconds. The tidy and subsequent silence sounds even scary.
"Is it Olia? I haven't seen you for a long time, come on the bus."
The low baritone, the background is arrogant and majestic, but it incorporates some gentle feelings, not ugly - this is her first impression of the Gustav emperor.
Then, her reason reacted. At that moment, she showed only a back, and still a back in military uniform! At this distance, how can the emperor recognize the sister who separated for two years at a glance? Unless...the relationship between the brothers and sisters is not as alienated as others.
Thinking of it, Seneca’s face turned pale. The time she could think for her was only three seconds: she couldn't imagine herself being dismissed by the guards around the emperor. What should I do?
She whirls nervously and nervously, responding with a smile under the eyes of the crowd.
Everyone is stunned, just staring at the sudden appearance of the imperial princess, recalling what happened two years ago. In the first few months, Deland's social circle was eager to discuss the decision of the famous introverted and weak Missing to travel around the world and bet that she would flee back in a few months; but Like all social topics, this topic has only been maintained for nine months and no one has ever mentioned it. Seeing her sneaking in the corner here does not violate people's perception of her: even in DeLand, Princess Olia has always been very careful to avoid the court activities, only to be awkward when she really has to attend. Low profile reveals a face. Some people even began to maliciously speculate whether the princess would return to the court life if he encountered some "trouble" in the fallen, chaotic south.
The next step of the princess’s actions is beyond the expectations of these people. When Xiu Lan took a few guards and came up to respectfully greet her according to the etiquette, Yanika blocked his hand, ignoring the suggestion of the chief knight, and pulled out the decorative commanding staff from the military dress belt.
"It’s been a long time no see. Have two years?"
Girls are high After answering the voice, whispering the curse, the right hand's staff pointed at the carriage. The red carpet behind the coachman suddenly flew up and spread out along her hand, on an invisible slope, stretching from the carriage to her feet. Seeing that she used the spell, several guards seemed to think reflexively, and immediately thought of the identity of the woman in front of her.
Minika licked the long black hair that was in the way, and took a deep breath and started running along the carpet. Her toes only point three times on the red carpet, like a black swallow, jumped into the carriage and gently stopped at the emperor's side.
At the moment, she is disguised as another character, she prefers to interpret the character according to her own understanding. As long as everyone thinks that the princess has changed a lot, no one will be suspicious of her small flaws. The name "Olivia; Hugh; Coman" seems destined to re-emerge as the core of the tea party topic.
"Sorry, I don't really like others to serve me now." Yanika took up her staff, took off her military cap, and sat down next to the emperor. "I am coming back, sire."
"You have changed a lot." Gustav looked a little wrong, and couldn’t think of what to say for a while. “Is the journey going smoothly?”
“It’s still going well. Life in this country is also very interesting...” 黛妮卡 casually picked up her legs. The hand rested on the back of the carriage and replied with a sigh of relief. After thirty seconds, she woke up and changed back to the lady's proper sitting position.
Gustaf smiled and swayed and shook his head, indicating that she didn’t have to be like this: "Since the trip comes back, let those social circles People look at your changes. There is no need to act low-key now."
"If you think the time is ripe..." she cautiously coped.
Fortunately, Xiu Lan found that the situation was not good, and came to open the topic in due course. "Your Majesty, do you still have to go to the General Command as originally planned?"
"Of course not..." Gustavton paused and glanced at his sister. The military uniform on the body, "No, still go. Now Oria should not mind."
See the emperor has no doubt at all, Xiu Lanhe Nika also had the urge to wipe off the cold sweat on her head. As long as the most difficult first pass has passed, the next step should be easy...should.
The West Group Army General Command is located in the Citizens Chamber of the Gistov, which is the most suitable building for their size. Judging from the size of the council, the preference for building huge buildings is the same whether it is under the aristocracy or under the republican system. The name of the city was originally engraved on the top of the gate, but now it has been changed by a letter: this sudden incident triggered a small storm.
Gistov and Gustav are only one letter.
"Noisy." The emperor who walked down the carriage suddenly stopped at the door, and the "power" in his hand knocked on the ground heavily. "So charming, Who came up with it?"
The smiles on the faces of the generals gathered in front of the command department suddenly became very embarrassing, looking at each other, looking like a group Young students ready to shirk their responsibilities. Renee's heart counts the sum of the shining stars on their shoulders: probably a three-digit number, more than twice the total number of stars in the entire Free Army. There are generals wearing various military uniforms, and some generals have the emblems of the Arbitration Association or the Holy See. Most of them are young and aristocratic, a few old and stunned, and the middle-aged generals are few – this is in stark contrast to the Freedom’s “Uncle’s Command System”.
"Sorry, it’s me, Your Majesty." "I decided, is this a problem?"
; When the generals were in horror, the two voices took over the responsibility at the same time. One voice came from behind the emperor, and another voice came from the commanding department.
Not humble is the emperor’s commander-in-chief, Loren; von; Duke Fegota, a little rash, the highest commander of the Western Army, Ferdinand; Duke of Soma. This was supposed to be a knight-like act of the high-ranking aristocrats, but the two knights could only be a nightmare: it was tantamount to telling the emperor that his top vassals were busy with his subordinates! This is an error that should not happen at all.
Gustav once stopped, the scene cooled down. The Duke of Soma was an ordinary missionary in the New World six months ago. It is not surprising that he made some extraordinary things. As for the old Duke of Figota, he is a strict father. No matter who opened the two, he would let the face go; but the two people spoke at the same time, but it was difficult for him to deal with. Although not intentional, it does relate to the supreme authority of the imperial emperor.
For the "Princess" of Lenny who was born in Lenny, it takes time to understand the complex unspoken rules of the aristocracy. After half a minute, she vaguely understood why the three sentences would stop everyone. She glanced at Xiu Lan nervously, hoping to find a hint from him about what to do, but did not get anything.
Only on your own. Renee licked her lips and spoke boldly as a princess.
"Is this name changed to confuse the rebels? I heard that we changed their city to the name of the sire, and every general of Lenny would be furious." It is very likely that the other party will make plans to recapture Gustav City and the Northwest Territories. In order to formulate our corresponding plans, victory will be at your fingertips. It is worthy of the actions of Lord Fegota."
Everyone is surprised to see Olia, who was a low-key, introverted, ignorant impression of the princess. The old Duke of Loren was the most surprised one. He walked forward and looked at the black-haired girl in front of him.
"I have heard that you and Shulan are coming back, but they have only seen it until today. If you don’t see you for two years, you will become more intelligent and beautiful. His Royal Highness Olia."
This military minister rarely held her hand and helped her dismount. Renee was flattered and hurriedly returned to the court.