"According to the locals we found, the walls of Tacheng have been around for a long time. I don't know the specific construction time, but it was at least fifty years ago - this was the first one of the Duke of Akihiro Island. The Union gradually abandoned after seizing power, and it was renovated two years ago, but the overall change was not made."

The atmosphere in the temporary camp military tent was very depressing, and most of the senior officers were smoking and listening to the report of the head of the intelligence department without saying a word.

The officer who was speaking turned the page of the notebook in his hand, licked his lips and continued: "The main body of the city wall is not lime mortar, but volcanic ash concrete, which is the material of the dome of the St. Mark's Cathedral. The artificial stone obtained by mixing volcanic ash with lime and seawater. The exterior wall is made of volcanic rock mined from a nearby quarry. Simply put, the main body of the city wall is a whole big stone, and there is another layer of stone wrapped around it."

A school official cursed softly, and the others' faces looked a little ugly. The officers who could hold meetings here had at least fourteen years of military experience. The stronger the city wall, the greater the price the attacking party had to pay.

Seeing that everyone was in a bad mood, the head of the Intelligence Department quickly continued to explain the disadvantages of the city wall: "But the biggest problem with the city defense system of Tacheng is that it is too old and belongs to the city defense system that has been eliminated. It still relies on high defense, and then there is a dirt slope under the high wall to deal with the ladder.

Because the stone wall is expensive, the main body of the Tacheng wall is thinner and has a width of only two meters, making it difficult to arrange artillery. The Tani also realized a problem during the renovation two years ago, but it did not make any major changes. It was just a protruding half-moon fort on each side of the east and west walls to set up side-firing artillery.”

The head of the intelligence department took a breath and turned the page of the notebook in his hand: "Because it was difficult to dig, there was no moat in Tacheng. After the union troops fled into Tacheng, they thought about trying to dig one out temporarily, but they gave up after digging less than 1.5 meters. But they built another chest wall under the city wall with the dug soil and stones, and covered the city gate with a temporary rammed earth triangle fort..."

"There is some sort of pattern. William Kidd is just a mere pirate, and I'm afraid he doesn't have the ability. Who is the real person guarding the city?" Antonio interrupted the head of the Third Legion's Intelligence Department.

The head of the Intelligence Department suddenly saw sweat on his forehead. He didn't dare to refute it, so he had to say, "...we don't know this for the time being."

"No need to mention the issue of city defense, everyone can understand it. Say something more important." Antonio continued to ask: "Is there any water source in the city? How many civilians? How much food is stored?"

The officers were a little shaken when they heard Antonio's question. Obviously, since Major General Serbiati began to ask these questions, it means that he was already considering a long-term siege rather than a strong attack.

The director of the Intelligence Department quickly flipped through the notebook again: "The civilians in Tacheng are mainly sulfur miners and their families, with less than 300 households. The Federation did not set up granaries in Tacheng, so there should be only the food stored in the homes of the sulfur miners and the food they collected from nearby villages these days. There are no wells in the city, mainly relying on streams flowing down from the mountains, with two to three reservoirs. According to locals, there is a crater lake on it from the mountain behind Tacheng. However, the water there is too close to the sulfur mine, which is bitter water."

Antonio held his forehead and ordered, "Send a few people into the mountains to find out how many streams there are, and can you find a way to cut them off."

The Director of the Intelligence Department quickly said yes.

The air in the military conference hall became dull again.

Layton couldn't help but slapped his thigh and cursed: "[Soldier's swear]! [Soldier's swear]! These Tani guys have learned all our things secretly! [Soldier's swear]!"

Although Leiden's words sounded a bit nonsensical, they spoke exactly what the officers were thinking.

The republics have been on a strategic defensive since they left the empire. Although the empire was defeated, they still retained strength far stronger than the Senas Alliance.

Although there was no war on the war on autonomy between the empire and the republics after the end of the war on autonomy, bilateral relations became increasingly close after Henry III ascended the throne.

However, strategic pressure is strategic pressure. On the other side of the shaded mountain range is the most powerful empire on the continent. Even no matter how friendly it is, it is still a huge threat.

Therefore, the strategic ideas of the military of the republic are mainly based on defensive counterattacks, which is also a successful experience in sovereign wars. The fortification towns consume the invaders' strength and morale, and then the field troops look for an opportunity to fight to the decisive battle.

In the strategic thinking of the alliance, there is no fortress that cannot fall. As long as you cause enough damage before the loss and gain enough time, the fortress will have achieved its strategic purpose.

The Tani in Tacheng obviously had this purpose. This was an isolated city destined to fall - two legions of 10,000 troops besieged a small city defended by less than 3,000 people, and the defenders had no support yet.

Under normal circumstances, in the face of such a doomed defeat, the defenders had already surrendered. At most, some exchange conditions were proposed during negotiations, such as allowing the defenders to leave with weapons. However, the defenders of the Federation refused to surrender, and did not even have the intention of a slight negotiation.

The Taniya behind the city walls grasped the weakness of the military system of the republics: the political system determined that Venetta could not mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops at any cost like a feudal king.

When there was no war, there were only 6,000 standing troops in Veneta. In order to save money, they had to be scattered in various cities because the city at the garrison could provide supplies.

So Antonio and Leighton could not waste Venetta's elite under the walls of Tower City, but they could not leave a Union army behind them waiting for an opportunity.

This is why Layton scolded Tani for learning his own things secretly. This is an era of "tactical attack overwhelming defense, strategic defense overwhelming". His magic weapon of victory was used by others to deal with him, and everyone was angry.

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content below! However, this is also impossible, because humans learn all kinds of things very slowly, but they learn the fastest in fighting.

The barbarians on the border of the empire may not be able to learn poetry, songs, but when they see iron tools, catapults, gunpowder, and cannons, they can be absorbed and digested immediately.

This is also the reason why "barbaric" can conquer "civilization" again and again, because in this era, the military technology of "barbaric tribes" is not backward than that of "civilized countries", and is even better in mobilization capabilities.

Some of them went off topic and returned to the offensive and defensive battle in Tacheng.

After thinking about it, there was no good idea.

In fact, everyone knows the best way, that is, not to attack and surround. The Tacheng defenders are less than 3,000, and they are scared and dare not take the initiative to go out of the city to fight.

Therefore, as long as one legion is left in the Great Vinetta Legion and the St. Mark's Legion is left to siege here, they can wait for the defenders to lose food and surrender on their own.

If the defenders don't come out, everyone will sit quietly. Anyway, the Venetta people have the entire Ayuttha Island as a supply land, which can accompany the Tani to confront the end of the world.

If the defenders dare to go out of the city to fight, it would be even better. A full army of more than 5,000 people will beat you three thousand miscellaneous troops, and you must beat Tani's brains.

Another legion could be liberated from the siege and continue to attack other main islands of the Tanilian Islands.

Everyone knows this plan well, but the problem is...who stays? Who leaves?

Who would be willing to stay and siege the city? Who knows how much food the Tani in the city has? Richard IV has been siege for two years but failed to attack Guitu City. If the luck is bad, I am afraid that when the war is over, the legion left here will still stare at the Tani in the city.

The soldiers may be happy, but none of the officers present are happy.

Without war, officers can only rely on qualifications to be promoted. The military system of the Senas Alliance has caused officers not only to have qualifications but also to wait for vacancies.

Unless the military officials who can sit in the military tent have a wealthy family or their father-in-law have a wealthy family, they are all "begging for a second lieutenant, poor lieutenant, and finally major" all the way.

After finally getting the opportunity to fight, which officer would be willing to waste time here? Who doesn’t want to go further?

Outside this small and hard tower city, the problems of the Venetta army command system are highlighted.

From a reasonable point of view, of course, it should be the reserve army besieged here, and the elite standing army left Ayutthaya to continue to conquer the city and plunder.

However, the problem is that Serbiati is a major general, and Leiden is also a major general. Moreover, even if the former can surpass the latter, he cannot command the latter.

The military system of the Republic of Veneta determines that the corps are independent of each other, because each legion is directly under the military committee, and the commander of the legion is only responsible to the thirteen-man parliament. Even if a lieutenant is placed in the position of commander of the St. Mark's Legion, he can not turn Antonio's orders.

This structure avoids the army's grouping and striving to build up, ensures that the government commands the army, rather than kidnapping the government, and allows the Venetta government to avoid the wrong path of the Union Republic.

Moreover, if it is a local war, there is no problem with the legion being independently commanded by the Thirteen-man Parliament. However, the problem now is: there is a sea between the two legions and the Sea Lan City. If you want to communicate with the Thirteen-man Parliament, you have to send a ship to cross the ocean to return to the Sea Lan, and then cross the ocean to return to the Chiyi Island.

Even if it is smooth sailing, it will take at least three weeks to say it back and forth. If you are not lucky enough to encounter a headwind, it is not impossible to get news about Hailan City in a month. If you are not lucky enough to be worse and the communication ships sent out are sinking, then you may be afraid that the two legions will be waiting for a reply here, and Hailan still knows nothing about the situation in Akiojima.

Besides, everything goes well and it will take three weeks to get news from the Thirteen-man council. It would be better to attack simply. If the siege is successful, maybe you can take down Tacheng in one week.

The senior officers in the military tent knew the current situation clearly, but they were just attacking. Those who left and who stayed were not something they could interfere with.

The decision can only be made by two legion commanders, and no one else is qualified to participate - of course, there is another person who is qualified in theory, that is another thirteen-member parliamentary member sent by Hailan City.

The general who came to Akihiro Island in the supply fleet was originally a member of the interim military committee of the Revenge Fleet at the request of Major General Antonio and Admiral Narezo.

However, by chance, another naval general came... No matter how high the rank of the navy is, he has no say in the military affairs of the army.

Antonio previously proposed to establish a joint command to avoid such internal friction between the army and the navy. But who would have thought that cooperation between the Third Legion and the navy was smooth, but there was a problem within the army first.

So in the end, the two legion commanders had to reach a consensus, and the school officials were waiting for the final decision of the two major generals.

Major General Leiden obviously would not be willing to stay and guard. After sitting on the bench for many years, he finally re-elected the troops. He must have a big fight. How could he waste his time on the small Chi Yi Island?

Even if Antonio agreed to stay and besiege Ta City, the officers of the Greater Vinetta Legion would not be convinced.

Winters contacted the Greater Vinetta Legion through Kalman's smuggling channel. In other words, the credit for conquering Chisulphur Port should have belonged to the Third Legion.

However, in order to ensure victory, Antonio decided to continue to attack the North Coast to attract the enemy's main force, and handed over the task of attacking the Red Sulphur Port to the newly arrived Saint Mark's Legion.

In other words, this credit was given to the San Marco Legion by Antonio. The officers of Vinetta were full of resentment, and they could only be suppressed by Antonio's prestige. The officers who dreamed of making meritorious service and promotion were really unconvincing.

Besides, they have endured it once, why can't the Saint Mark's Legion bear it once? The officers' regiment of Great Vinetta privately firmly believed that both truth and reason should be left behind by the "reserve". It would rather climb the city wall than besiege Tacheng.

"Or what if you draw lots? Or half of the family should keep..." Just as a school official was thinking about it, Antonio directly announced the end of the meeting.

At noon that day, Antonio, Layton, Nareshaw, and Lieutenant General Compton who had just arrived from the sea blue, four Army and Navy Supreme Commanders held a closed-door meeting.

The clerk was not allowed to enter the tent, so no one knew what the four of them had.

In the afternoon of the same day, Andre excitedly broke into Winters' tent and woke Winters up, who was taking a nap.

Winters, who had always been angry, took a lot of effort to resist the urge to swear: "What are you doing?"

"It's time!" Andrey shouted excitedly: "The director asked the two of us to follow the engineer officer to be responsible for the road construction! Finally, there is no need to do any more documents! Copy! Copy! Copy! I've almost written these days that I don't know the letters..."

"Ah!?Build roads?"
Chapter completed!