From Ascatla at the western end of the empire's continental territory to the West Gate at the eastern end, and then to the Pirate Islands in the center of the Sea of ​​Fallen Stars, this distance is equivalent to spanning half of the Faerûn continent.
Normally, even if we use the convenient water transportation of the Chongsa River and only take the almost ten days of land route from the eastbound city to Texir, it will take at least a month or even longer.
If you happen to encounter extreme weather, such as heavy rain, it is not uncommon to be stuck in a certain town for seven or eight days without being able to go out.
On the one hand, the road conditions are too bad. Excessive rain will make the ground muddy, so that the wheels often get stuck in pits and cannot climb out due to insufficient friction;
On the other hand, horses, cattle, mules and other livestock that have been exposed to rain for a long time will cause illness and death. Certain goods should also not be affected by moisture or water.
Therefore, unless it is an extremely urgent situation, no one with any sense would choose to go out in the rain.
This means that according to the original traffic and transportation levels of Faerûn, without establishing a stable portal, any large-scale mobilization of materials and personnel will have to have a buffer of at least one and a half months from the west coast to the dragon coast.
period.
Even if this is the case with the convenience of river and sea transportation, it would be even more disastrous to rely on pure land transportation.
This is why, except for a handful of forces like Cyre, Mulhorand, Zhentil Keep and the Zhentarim, Faerûn rarely launches large-scale foreign aggressive wars.
Even these forces above usually only attack their neighbors, rather than launching cross-sea expeditions with the help of fleets.
Even if you want to cause trouble in a distant place, you will still adopt strategies such as infiltration, bribery, inciting a coup, and supporting puppets.
This is not because their strategic thinking is not broad enough, nor is it because they do not understand the importance of utilizing sea control. It is more due to the huge logistical pressure caused by a poor and backward transportation system.
To put it bluntly, if we send too few troops, we will easily be beaten back by the locals and those nosy "just people"; if we send too many troops, the logistics and supplies will not be able to keep up.
Even if an important city stronghold is captured, there is no way to divide a large number of troops to control the grain-producing areas in the countryside.
We can only continue to consume finance and our own reserve materials, and continuously transport them from the rear.
In this case, the longer the war lasts, the more disadvantageous it will be to the invaders. The final result is often that they can only retreat to stop losses.
The reason why Fuzuo Er Chambery dared to bring the Zhentil Keep army across the sea and invade the West Heartland region from the Dragon Coast was mainly because Zuo Si had already helped him handle all the logistics.p>
After this guy landed and captured Ximen Port, he directly obtained weapons, equipment and food supplies that were enough to support the army for several months.
Coupled with the massive resources and wealth obtained by looting various towns and villages from the local ruling class, the feat of capturing Baldur's Gate was finally achieved.
Therefore, in the eyes of the red-robed mage Thel and the mortal rulers of the Mulhorand Empire who had just been liberated from theocratic power, even if they engage in some small conspiracy in the West Coast Empire, the other party is unlikely to start a war because of it.
Because one of the two parties is at the far west of Faerûn, and the other two are at the east of Faerûn, separated by the entire Sea of ​​Fallen Stars.
Just the complex terrain of the Pirate Islands and the large number of pirates inside are enough to give you a headache.
Don’t think that the pirates in the Fallen Star Sea are the same as the pirates in the Nelanthal Islands on the west coast and the pirates in Luskan in the north. They are cowards who can only hide from the regular navy.
Quite the opposite!
The pirate tradition here is much longer than that on the west coast, and it is also much more powerful and terrifying.
In DR1180, the once powerful Sambia naval fleet disappeared inexplicably on the Pirate Islands, and not even a single ship or survivor could escape.
The legendary pirate king-Imkh once even ushered in the era of great pirates, sweeping almost all the forces in the Falling Star Sea and establishing maritime hegemony.
At its peak, it had hundreds of large and small fleets, and many famous coastal port cities were attacked and plundered by him.
In order to avoid such a disaster, more than 70% of towns and cities even had to pay tribute to his vassals, offering treasures, wine, food, and beautiful women in exchange for the pirate king's mercy.
Later, the Kingdom of Cormyr took the lead, and several coastal countries and dozens of city-states formed a joint fleet to fight a decisive battle, which destroyed the golden age that pirates were proud of.
Although the Pirate Islands later declined, they are still a force that cannot be underestimated.
At least no city-state or country along the Sea of ​​Fallen Stars dares to enter this dangerous water filled with undercurrents and rocks.
Most of the other forces involved in the conspiracy also took a fancy to this, so they chose to join forces with Sale and Mulhorand, wanting to test the ruling power of the new West Coast Empire and what they might do.
Reaction.
However, these people obviously ignored one thing, that is, Zuo Si has the big killer weapon of airship, which can directly ignore the obstacles of terrain and project military power to any place at any time.
Moreover, the number of airships owned by the West Coast Empire is not only the apparent number, but also includes the terrifying magical industrial manufacturing capabilities of the floating city of Plantia in another world.
In just a few days, a super aerial gunboat had already appeared in the sky above the Pirate Islands across half the continent.
Before the pirates could react to what was happening, countless cannonballs fell like raindrops with a deafening roar, plowing the open space outside the simple town.
Whether it was trees, stones, or the arrow towers built to defend against wild beasts and monsters, they were all reduced to ashes in a volley.
Although the smoky gunpowder provided by the Church of Gond, the God of Craftsmen, looks very much like primitive black powder or maroon gunpowder, it is still an energy explosion in essence, so its power is not much worse than high explosives.
The pirates were completely frightened when they saw the large pits in the open space outside the wall, the ground that had been flattened, the dust rising in the sky, and the fire and shock waves generated by the explosion.p>
Some people who panicked and tried to escape by boat were forced back to the port by dragon knights who swooped down and spewed flames, lightning, acid, and freezing air before they could get very far.
There is no doubt that this is a complete forced surrender.
About a few minutes later, Arthur Meier, the supreme commander of the operation, landed in the square on a red baby dragon that had grown to about ten meters in length.
He declared to the pirate leader without any nonsense: "Either surrender or destruction. Now you make the choice."
As these words blurted out, countless dragon knights soared into the sky from the landing platform of the giant airship, directly covering the sky above the small town in front of them.
The pirates had never seen such a battle before. They were instantly frightened out of their wits by the dragon's roar and power, and many of them had their pants wet.
More than 70% of the guys couldn't even stand firmly. They fell to their knees on the ground with a plop, and their whole bodies were shaking violently uncontrollably.
"I...we surrender."
The pirate leader's face looked as ugly as constipation, and he chose to follow his heart without even thinking about it.
He didn't understand at all what the other party was doing to be able to reach such a huge height.
As for what!
I am obviously just an ordinary pirate leader!
Although I have done some burning, killing and looting, and occasionally robbed beautiful ladies on merchant ships, I have never done anything like attacking and looting a city.
If you have such terrifying strength, why don’t you start a war and conquer more towns? Isn’t the land bad?
Why are you trying to get in trouble with me?
Do you know that this is killing a chicken with a knife?
Just as the pirate leader was complaining crazily in his heart, a satisfied expression appeared on Arthur Meier's face.
“Very good!
I like your straightforwardness.
From now on, take your people and go to sea to rob Thare and Mulhorand's ships.
Remember, only these two countries are allowed to be robbed, and ships from other countries and city-states are not allowed to move.
Take this and send a signal if you are in trouble or can't beat it.
As long as our dragon knights are patrolling nearby, they will quickly chase the signal for air support.
After successfully completing the robbery, you can take the loot to Ximen Port for sale without having to worry about being hunted down as a pirate."
After saying that, Arthur Meier thrust a mobile terminal device into the opponent's hand.
The pirate leader was stunned for a moment. He lowered his head and glanced at the gadget in his hand, then raised his head and glanced at the giant gunboat and dragon above his head. He subconsciously swallowed his saliva and carefully tested in a frightened tone: "What do you mean?
…We can now carry out legal robberies and call in dragons for air support? Do you represent the West Coast Empire?"
"That's right.
You are now considered an outside member of the Imperial Army.
If you perform well during this period, you may be promoted to an official naval captain.
Don’t forget, the empire’s navy was originally transformed from the pirates of the Nelanser Islands.
So work hard and I guarantee you will have a bright future.
But if you slack off in your work, or violate the regulations and attack ships of other countries and city-states, then all these promises will be void."
After saying that, Arthur Meyer reached out and patted the dark and strong man in front of him on the shoulder to show encouragement.
After he rode the dragon back to the landing platform, the other dragon knights who had threatened with force also returned one after another.
After a while, the huge airship climbed up again and headed towards the next island.
To be continued...