……
Roland walked into the ravaged castle, Bayro and Earl Herrman already kneeling on one knee in the hall to greet his arrival.
The corpses on the ground had all been removed, but the smell of blood still lingered. Broken furnishings and fractured weapons were everywhere. He could almost imagine the scene of repeated fighting between the two sides for control of the castle.
"Get up," Roland said, walking up to him and bending down to grasp his arm.
"Yes," Bayro's voice was choked with emotion, "Your Highness, you've finally arrived."
"You've done well," he said gravely, "The Four Great Families will pay the price they deserve, and the murderers will be brought to justice."
"I failed to defend Longsong Stronghold for you..."
"You've done your best, it's not your fault," Roland sighed. Bayro was not a capable wartime administrator, as evidenced by the previous light cavalry capture and this noble rebellion. He was skilled at managing the territory, proficient in trade, and good at seizing opportunities, but he was not a schemer, and was not adept at combat and intrigue. If the Second Army hadn't entered the castle according to emergency measures, he probably wouldn't have lasted even two days.
But that didn't mean Bayro Herrman wasn't a good administrator. If he wasn't good at fighting, he should give him a territory where there was no need to fight. Roland preferred operators with a businessman's mind to those who were capable of fighting.
"I believe this riot must have had a cause," he said, looking around at everyone present, "This is a complete conspiracy. The enemy is trying to subvert the order of the Western Territory in order to seize benefits that do not belong to them!"
The scene quieted down. Whether it was the First Army soldiers guarding with guns, or the knights behind Bayro, covered in wounds, they all looked at the Prince with burning eyes.
"To this end, they did not hesitate to commit heinous crimes, murdering nobles and slaughtering people. After today's battle, I don't know how many people will lose their families, how many houses will be looted. But in the end, their conspiracy failed. It is your unyielding resistance that has prevented the stronghold from falling into even greater tragedy. Your performance is heroic, and your will is commendable!"
The knights unconsciously puffed out their chests a little higher.
"But the battle is not over, these rebels are fleeing in a panic, and now is the time for us to take revenge! I swear that no matter where the enemy hides, they will not escape the judgment that is coming, whether it is in the territories of the Four Great Families... or in the Royal Capital!" Roland paused, and said decisively, "And the culprits who instigated the rebellion will surely be punished! Your blood... will not be shed in vain!"
"Long live Your Highness!" Bayro and Earl Herrman knelt down again.
"Long live Your Highness, long live!" followed by the surviving knights and Second Army soldiers.
Soon everyone was kneeling on one knee, their upper bodies erect, their right hands on their chests, shouting a slogan in unison.
"Long live Roland!"
……
After comforting the people present, Roland summoned Bayro, Vanna, Brian, and Iron Axe to the room on the third floor of the castle, which was also the only place that had not been invaded, and the furnishings were basically intact. He knew that he would probably have to spend the next few days here.
The first thing to do was to understand the battle situation in the city. He looked at Iron Axe, who immediately stepped forward and reported: "The North Gate and East Gate occupied by the Four Great Families have been taken back by the witches. Now the First Army is clearing the rebels in the city under the guidance of Sylvie xiaojie, and order should be restored in the city by tomorrow morning."
"What about casualties?"
"So far, six people have been injured, all from the buqiang battalion, but they have been treated by NanaWawa xiaojie."
"What about the Second Army? Have the statistics been compiled?"
"Not yet... but according to the information we have so far, the casualties are relatively heavy," Brian hesitated, "The two squads that went to support the city wall were defeated and have not been gathered up to now. Of the fifty people stationed in the castle, eleven were killed, and almost none of the soldiers patrolling the city wall survived."
Roland
nodded. The fact that these hundred or so people were able to hold out for two days was also due to the low intensity of warfare in this era, especially when the enemy lacked effective siege weapons, the defending side often had a greater advantage. If the other side had not also used firearms, relying on the flesh and blood of mercenaries and bodyguards, it would have been difficult to break through the lord's castle – at the beginning of the design, this building fully considered the prevention of enemy attacks.
Thinking of this, he instructed Iron Axe, "Go and get a few of the firearms used by the rebels and let me see them."
Roland was quite concerned about the newly emerging hot weapons of this era. Although he knew that this day would come sooner or later since the birth of gunpowder, he was really surprised by the speed of Tiffeau's research and development.
Iron Axe carried out the order quickly. Half an hour later, several long and short weapons of various shapes were carried into the room by soldiers.
After seeing the real thing, Roland quickly understood why the other party was able to create this batch of weapons in such a short period of time.
These long tubes could not be called firearms in a sense. They had no triggers or firing devices, only a section of metal tube with holes at both ends. One end was deeper, used for filling huoyao and bullets, and the end had a needle-shaped small hole for ignition; the other end was shallower, and became a handle after inserting a bamboo pole or wooden stick.
Structurally, it was very similar to the prototype of the firearm – the hand cannon.
This primitive firearm was loaded in the same way as a flintlock gun, but the firing was more troublesome. The gunman needed to clamp the wooden pole under his arm, and ignite the huoyao with an open flame in the other hand. Due to the limitations of the posture, he couldn't even aim when shooting, and could only roughly point it directly in front of him.
But it was still a genuine hot weapon. Aside from all the inconveniences, its firing principle was exactly the same as that of a flintlock gun. The barrel, bullets, and later ones were no different. Therefore, its power was far greater than that of gongnu. As long as it hit, even a knight's armor could not stop its strike.
Moreover, it was obvious from these various hand cannons that Tiffeau had put a lot of effort into the modification. Some were made of rolled iron sheets, and there were still clear hammering marks on the tube body, while some were probably cast from brass, and the appearance was relatively smooth. Considering that these were just experimental products provided to the Four Great Families, Tiffeau's own firearms should be better.
It's just... even the best hand cannon is still a hand cannon.
When the Spring Offensive is launched, the Royal Capital will have no chance of winning against the Western Territory army equipped with revolver buqiang, bolt-action buqiang, and heavy jiqiang.
Roland shifted his gaze back to the four people, "Starting tomorrow, the First Army will recover the suburban territories of Longsong Stronghold one by one. Any resisting nobles can be killed on the spot. I hope that after a week, the entire Western Territory will be unified!"
"Yes, Your Highness!" the four responded in unison. (。)