"What do you want me to do?"
After Duke Iltan pondered for a moment, he asked solemnly.
According to the current situation, it seems that apart from fighting a decisive naval battle, there seems to be no second option.
The problem is, although Baldur's Gate is a port city, it has never established a professional navy.
Because one glance at the map shows that the real location of this city is actually along the Chong Sa River, still a short distance from the ocean.
Therefore, no matter who wants to attack Baldur's Gate from the sea, they must enter through a relatively narrow river mouth.
The reason why "Sword Bay" is called this is that the coast of this sea area is basically covered with steep cliffs and bare peaks hundreds of meters or even thousands of meters high, which look like sharp swords from a distance.
Same.
This also means that as long as some catapults, ballistae, bed crossbows and the like are set up on high ground at the mouth of the river, the invading enemy fleet can be easily destroyed in the narrow river.
Now that we have an impregnable defense, there is no need to spend so much money to build a professional navy.
After all, the cost and daily maintenance of building a sturdy warship are beyond what mere merchant ships can match.
What's more, just building merchant ships and cutting down a large number of nearby trees has aroused strong dissatisfaction among the shadow druids in Cloak Forest.
This is an extreme sect that regards the forest as more important than human life. Many nobles and businessmen who hunted animals near the forest were hunted by them.
If more rare and precious ancient trees are cut down to build warships, the Shadow Druid may not explode on the spot, but directly summon a large number of animals to launch an indiscriminate attack.
Therefore, Baldur's Gate does not have the strong need and necessary conditions to form a powerful navy like Amn.
If we really want to fight a large-scale naval battle, it means requisitioning at least twenty large merchant ships.
As for the soldiers, naturally let the most elite Flame Fist mercenaries take charge.
Anyway, in Duke Iltan's opinion, there is no difference between naval battles and land battles. They all use crossbows, catapults and ballistae to carry out long-range attacks before approaching.
After joining the ship, it will naturally depend on the equipment, discipline, training level, willpower and professional level of the soldiers on both sides.
In this regard, the Flame Fist mercenaries are second to none on the west coast of the entire Faerûn continent, and even Waterdeep cannot compete with them.
Duke Silvershield took a deep breath to force himself to calm down, and then said in a very firm tone: "Let's start the war! At this point, the other side has made it clear that they want to deliberately restrict and block Baldur's Gate's most important maritime trade. If you don't let go,
If we give it a try, our wealth and trade will only become less and less, and we will eventually lose our ability to resist."
"Are you sure? You must know that the cost of commandeering merchant ships is not small. In your current situation, once the merchants collectively rebound, your resignation is almost inevitable. Even if I intervene, I may not be able to save you." Yi
Duke Ertan issued a warning in a serious tone.
"Do you think I have other choices?" Duke Silver Shield asked with a wry smile.
"That's right. At this point, you and I have no way out. Do you know? According to a certain masked mage lord in Waterdeep City, the actions of the pirates of Nelanthel Islands this time are extremely...
It may be because we previously outlawed the faith of Talona, ​​the goddess of poison and disease, and expelled her priests and electors."
Duke Iltan did not hide anything and simply told what he had just heard from the messenger.
Because he understands that, to a certain extent, he and the other party are both grasshoppers tied on a rope.
If something really happens, no one can expect to have an easy time.
After all, they both proposed together at the beginning to completely expel the forces of Talona Church from Baldur's Gate to prevent Amn from threatening her in the same way again.
If citizens, businessmen and major chambers of commerce learn that the source of all crises is caused by this fact...
Even if Duke Iltan is the nominal supreme commander of the Flame Fist mercenaries and controls almost 70% of Baldur's Gate's army, there is no guarantee that he can withstand the overwhelming anger of the people.p>
After all, no matter how obedient the Flame Fist mercenaries are, they are still real people.
They also have family and friends, and they need to go out to buy things every day, and have a drink at the pub they often visit to relax their body and mind from the stressful training and tasks on weekdays.
Once these soldiers find that their superiors are no longer respected, but instead become rats on the street and everyone yells at them to beat them, it is difficult to ensure that they can still be as loyal as they are now.
If the protection is not complete, there will be a few unthinkable officers who will lead their soldiers to declare "abandoning the dark and turning to the bright", and then launch a military coup that will overwhelm the superior.
"What? You mean... the actions of the pirates in the Nelanthel Islands are actually the revenge launched by the elector named Soth against us?" Duke Silvershield opened his mouth in shock.
He could not believe in his dreams that the other party actually launched a naval blockade and trade sanctions against the entire Baldur's Gate just because he was refused entry to the city.
Duke Iltan nodded expressionlessly: "Although I don't know exactly how he did it, this is the only reason and motive that can be explained at present. Otherwise, we will have nothing to do with those pirates.
There is no vengeance these days, so why do they only levy three times the protection fee on merchant ships sailing from Baldur's Gate and entering Baldur's Gate? This makes no sense in terms of logic and reason."
"Damn it! According to you, we actually made a huge mistake when we expelled Talona's church and pastor?" Duke Silver Shield's face suddenly became extremely ugly.
"Don't ask me, I don't know whether that decision was right or wrong. But one thing is for sure, that is, we have provoked a difficult and dangerous enemy."
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When he said these words, Duke Iltan's tone was full of strong uneasiness.
Because as the highest-level and most powerful warrior in Baldur's Gate, he knows better than others how terrifying high-level spellcasters are, especially those chosen with a large number of god-given abilities.
What's more, Zuo Si is also the chosen one of Talona, ​​the goddess of poison and disease.
Even though this god is just a weak divine power, the threat and destruction it can cause to cities and armies is far more terrifying than many powerful divine powers.
In addition, there is no decent spellcasting organization in Baldur's Gate, and the various temples and churches are indifferent to the dukes, so if anything happens, you can basically just ask for luck.
"Then can this naval battle still be fought?" Duke Silver Shield obviously felt guilty.
Just as many nobles are accustomed to enjoying the sense of superiority brought by power, when they suddenly meet an adventurer who does not take them seriously, they are often frightened out of their wits by the fierce eyes and bad attitude of the other party, and suddenly realize that they are so called
The power is nothing compared to real power.
At this moment, he also discovered that the tactics, tricks, and methods he had played before were of no use at all now.
In the end, when things develop, they will still have to be resolved by war and force.
"Of course we have to fight! Only if we win, will you and I be qualified to sit down and negotiate and bargain. Otherwise, the other party will not even give us this chance." Duke Iltan said decisively.
Compared to Duke Silvershield, as the highest military commander of Baldur's Gate, he understands the importance of the army and force better.
"Damn it! I hate this feeling of being cornered and having to fight to the death to survive. Okay! Just as you said, let's fight the pirates of the Nelanthel Islands first."
Duke Silver Shield gritted his teeth and slammed his fist on the table.
Seeing that his allies had finally made up their minds to fight, Duke Iltan showed a pleased smile and said bluntly: "Remember! Collect more ships with wider hulls and decks. Only such ships can maximize the use of the Flame Fist servants."
The combat effectiveness of our soldiers. Once we successfully connect with the ship, our elites can beat the shit out of those rabble."
Duke Silvershield nodded vigorously without thinking: "Don't worry! I will risk my life this time! Even if I offend all the merchants and chambers of commerce in Baldur's Gate who are engaged in maritime trade, I will still collect enough large ships for you.
”
After saying this, he left the Flame Fist Mercenary Headquarters Castle without looking back and went straight to his own territory in the port area.
In less than two hours, the resolute Duke of Silver Shield summoned all the owners of merchant ships with a certain carrying capacity in the city together and publicly announced that they would requisition all the ships present to launch a naval battle.
Without a doubt!
Such a move, which infringes upon the core interests of all businessmen, will inevitably lead to overwhelming opposition and protests.
You must know that ships are like the lifeblood for maritime merchants like them.
If it is sunk or captured in a fierce naval battle, even if it receives official compensation from Baldur's Gate afterwards, the time from placing the order to the shipyard to completion will be too long, resulting in a large amount of trade share being squeezed out by peers.<
/p>
If it were normal times, Duke Silver Shield might have chosen to compromise given his relatively weak character.
But this time, he had no way out, so he completely ignored the fierce opposition from merchants and chambers of commerce and directly chose to impose compulsory expropriation.
In less than an hour, the Flame Fist mercenaries took over the ships docked at the berths and along the river.
As for the shipowners who had temporarily lost their ownership of their ships, they all stood on the shore with their servants and guards, cursing and greeting almost all the eight generations of the Duke of Silver Shield and Duke of Iltan, as well as all the female relatives in the family.
A little bit of daily etiquette and demeanor.
But the latter seemed to know that he was in the wrong and chose to turn a blind eye to this curse.
But they didn't know that just as they were preparing to launch a surprise attack on the Nelanthel Islands fleet cruising in the waters near Baldur's Gate, a businessman on the back was angry and chose to send people to secretly attack the pirate ships under the cover of night.
The elders let the news go.
Because only in this way can merchants get back their requisitioned ships after the defeat of Baldur's Gate.
Of course, if you get sunk, consider yourself unlucky.
To be continued...