Chapter 1407 The leading party competition is also fierce
The city of Mulhouse is located on the west bank of the Barn River. Taking advantage of the convenience of water transportation, it has become a transportation hub connecting the four directions, so it is naturally quite prosperous.
This place originally belonged to the Kingdom of Anvalon and was an important town in the eastern part of the kingdom.
When the armies of Semites and human vassals came here, the lord of Mulhouse and the nobles in the city immediately chose to surrender without hesitation, and in exchange for the appreciation of the Semites, they continued to live in this kind of city.
To be domineering and blessed.
April is supposed to be the busiest time in Mulhouse, as traveling caravans would take their goods to rest temporarily in the city before continuing on their way.
At this time, there is an endless stream of large and small boats on the River Baan, selling various goods from the south to the north. At the same time, it also brings huge income to the Mulhouse people.
But today, under the shadow of war, the city of Mulhouse is in depression.
The transportation industry they usually relied on for a living was almost cut off, and no businessmen came to the city anymore.
In addition, most of the vehicles and ships were forcibly taken away by the Semitic army to transport military supplies for them. It is unknown how many people died under the whips and steel knives of the Semitic people.
As the Semites were defeated one after another, and the news came that Lord Lorraine's army was about to press the border, the atmosphere in the city became very strange.
It looks very peaceful on the surface, but there is a turbulent undercurrent underground.
Originally this was the rear area, only responsible for the transportation of supplies, so there were basically not many soldiers in the city. But now, this place has turned into a huge barracks, and most of the people coming and going are soldiers in simple military uniforms.
From time to time, huge war fortresses roared across the sky.
Due to Mulhouse's superior geographical location, the importance here is self-evident.
This place not only has the wide Barn River as a natural barrier, but also has extremely complete dock facilities and a huge throughput. It can use the developed water transportation system of the Barn River to mobilize a large number of troops in a short period of time to compete with the enemy.
Emperor De Rossi, who was a traitor, was ordered by the high priest to reorganize the western defense line.
It was precisely because he valued this that he made the city of Mulhouse the focus of his defense line, preparing to resist the attack of the human coalition led by Lorraine.
Emperor De Rossi also gave this defense line that ran thousands of miles a very nice name: Iron Wall.
The city of Mulhouse was one of the centers of the Iron Wall defense line. Emperor De Rossi stationed more than 200,000 troops here, vowing to build it into an iron wall that the coalition forces could not conquer.
'Dong, dong dong. Deer dong dong...' Accompanied by the sound of drums in the morning, groups of soldiers took to the streets.
They lined up in long lines and gathered on the streets of the city to hold routine morning exercises.
Private Hu Ge stood crookedly in the queue, looking at the supervisory officers in front of several rows of human walls, listening to his hoarse tirade, and couldn't help but yawn silently.
The supervisor's words were repeated over and over again, such as beheading those who escaped and decapitating those who disobeyed. The enemy must not be scary because they have strong support behind them.
After listening to it for two months, Hu Ge could memorize it himself.
He was wearing a new military uniform from the De Rossi Empire. To put it bluntly, it was just a blue coarse cloth shirt.
Hu Ge put his hand into the pocket of his military uniform. He wanted to check if the potatoes he had brought with him when he went out in the morning were still there, but his palm came out directly from the pocket.
There was a big hole at the bottom at some point. Hu Ge cursed secretly and waved his hand to take it out, but he heard a stabbing sound and the entire pocket was torn open.
Hu Ge couldn't help but grit his teeth and thought to himself: Damn profiteers~!
This set of military uniforms, made of old cloth that had been lying around for who knows how many years, and could be torn with just a little force, was not issued, but was bought with two months of their military pay.
And it’s okay not to buy it.
For the sake of convenience, the superiors directly deducted the generals' pay and then threw them this set of rags.
It is said that in the procurement of military uniforms, the wise and wise Emperor De Rossi adopted the most popular, cheapest and most efficient bidding plan.
The contractor with the lowest bid took over the contract to make military uniforms for soldiers, thus saving a lot of military expenses. For this, he also received praise from the high priest.
However, rumors say that the vendor who won the bid was actually the brother of Emperor De Rossi's mistress. He offered 45 copper coins to make two million sets of military uniforms.
However, Hu Ge couldn't figure out how a military uniform worth forty-five copper coins could turn into a gold coin in his hands. Seeing as how the rags he was wearing were not worth forty copper coins.
Until now, Hu Ge and the 200,000 soldiers in the city have not received a penny, but they have paid a lot of it themselves.
Because not only are the clothes deducted from the military pay, but the weapons are not issued, they buy them themselves.
The officers required everyone to have a weapon, otherwise they would be whipped, and if they dared to disobey, they would even be beheaded.
Moreover, you can only purchase the winning weapons produced by the designated manufacturer.
All of them are extremely expensive. A Damascus steel sword costs five gold coins, a finely forged long sword costs three gold coins, and a Longinus gun costs one gold coin. How can these little soldiers afford it?
Don't even think about armor or anything like that, it only costs at least twenty gold coins.
Fortunately, the company's quartermaster was a nice guy. He sold everyone knockoffs and put a label on the knockoff weapons saying he had won the bid. This transformed the company into a government-designated purchase of standard weapons.
A large sword only cost two silver coins, and the spear in Hu Ge's hand only cost fifteen copper coins, which was a conscientious price.
The price is clearly marked, and he is honest and honest. He is simply a model of a good businessman.
Although it is a bit crude, you can tell it was hastily made at first glance. The wooden shaft of the spear is still wet, and there is a crude flat spear head installed on the front end. Hu Ge doubts that he can bend it with more force, but it is also
This weapon is not~!
And looking at this craftsmanship, Hu Ge knew that it must have been made by an old man from Wuliqiao Village outside the city.
The supervisors chatted for a long time, and finally shouted: "Long live His Majesty the Emperor, long live His Majesty the Divine Throne~!"
Hu Ge and the other soldiers suddenly became energetic.
They also shouted loudly, and then they could be dismissed. Usually everyone would go home to have breakfast at this time. Because the military camp does not provide food, they can only solve the problem by themselves.
Emperor De Rossi used this kind of extensive management method to only recruit people. He didn't care about anything else. The soldiers prepared their own extensive management methods, and he managed to recruit millions of troops within a month.
Just by relying on his ability to pull strong men, he can be regarded as a master of the extreme violent soldier style.
His efficient and economical way won the admiration of the high priest and a group of high-level lichs, who unanimously praised Emperor De Rossi for being really wise.
But they just watched the number of soldiers increase significantly...well, increase tremendously. However, as these labor forces were withdrawn from all walks of life, the entire machine that maintained the operation of society became more and more difficult, and it was already on the verge of collapse.
All industries in the market are depressed and prices are soaring. People are displaced and the curse is loud...
All these negative situations were ignored by De Rossi and his senior executives... To be precise, they turned a blind eye and allowed the situation to continue to deteriorate.
Hu Ge hung his head and walked out feebly. He had to be on guard on the city wall before eight o'clock. If he was late, he would be fined by the officer.
Of course, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to, as long as you pay some money, someone will be willing to cover the shift.
There was such a person in front of Hu Ge. He was wearing the same military uniform. He was standing in the middle of the street, soliciting business. He said loudly: "Stand guard for the shift to do handymen. If you have something or something sick, please let me know. I will wait for a long time."
Ten copper coins, 15% off for the whole day."
His shouting was quite loud, but the supervisors were high on their horses and passed by as if they didn't hear him.
Hu Ge knew this guy and immediately joked: "Shaoer, how has the business been these two days?"
"Hey, don't mention it." Sauer curled his lips and said, "It hasn't been open for two days. If this keeps up, I'll have to go drink the northwest wind."
"I heard that you have made a lot of money. You have driven away several of your peers. You are also a monopoly operator now."
Shaoer rolled his eyes and said: "Don't talk nonsense. They were not beaten away by me, but...forget it. You know even if I don't tell you, the officials take 60% of the money I earn. Do you think it is in vain?"
Got it?”
Because he stopped to talk, the road seemed a little crowded, and people behind him immediately urged him. Hugo shrugged helplessly, said goodbye to Sauer, and walked slowly eastward along with the flow of people.
At this time, there was a sudden noise from behind, and someone shouted loudly: "The supervisors are enforcing the law, get out of the way, get out of the way~!"
When the soldiers on the street heard this, they all immediately retreated to the corner, huddled together and looked in the direction of the sound.
A group of hundreds of prison guards in black slowly walked through the street on several prison vans. The people in the prison vans had pale faces and were trembling with fear.
Among them was the conscientious quartermaster whom Hugo knew. He was tied tightly and huddled in a cage, trembling with fear.
The prison car passed through the crowd and went straight to the execution ground in the square. All the curious soldiers followed to watch the excitement.
The prison guards pulled the prisoners out, lined them up on the execution ground, and forced them to kneel down on the guillotine. The executioner next to him raised his sword and prepared for execution.
One of the supervisors shouted loudly to the soldiers: "These people embezzled military funds, resold military supplies, enriched their own pockets, and committed heinous crimes. We will execute them in the name of His Majesty the Emperor."
Your Majesty has repeatedly ordered that no matter who breaks the law, we will investigate and execute them all when we find them. We will never tolerate corruption and malfeasance, and we will kill them!"
Following the order, the executioners dropped their swords, and more than a dozen heads rolled on the ground. The blood spurted out instantly dyed the ground of the execution ground red.
Hu Ge was secretly frightened when he saw it, and secretly screamed in his heart that something bad had happened. This conscientious logistics officer had been slaughtered. Where would he buy cheap knock-off goods in the future?
The crowd in the square gradually dispersed. When Hu Ge saw that it was getting late, he hurriedly ran to the east of the city. If he was late, he would have to pay a fine.
I bumped into countless passers-by along the way, and finally rushed to my post when the eight o'clock bell rang, showing a victorious smile to the officer who was waiting for a fine.
The young officer next to him glanced at him angrily. Normally, he would have made excuses to cause trouble for Hu Ge.
But he had just chopped off a dozen heads today, and he had to weigh it carefully. In the end, he could only snort bitterly, turn around and leave.
Hu Ge gasped for air and looked at the back of the young officer with a disdainful expression. This guy was definitely going to flatter the person above him again. He cursed in his heart: "You are waiting, you are not going to report it. The time has not come yet."
As soon as the officers left, the soldiers on the city wall became lazy. They gathered in groups holding weapons and talking nonsense. No one cared about it anyway. If a supervisor came over, they could just pretend and finish work at noon.
.
Several soldiers in the same class lamented that the quartermaster died unjustly. He was doing a small business. How much money could he make with a dozen coppers and a spear?
After deducting the cost, I'm afraid it's only a few coppers. In this period of time, I only made two gold coins, so why did I kill him?
A veteran of the city defense army before the fall blinked, smiled slyly, and said profoundly: "You don't understand this..."
Then he kept silent and hummed a tune leisurely.
Until a curious soldier gave him a piece of bread. The veteran weighed it and said leisurely: "That guy is confused. Do you know whose money he stole?"
"Whose?"
"The city lord's money~!" The veteran slapped his thigh and said in a more serious tone: "Then why don't we kill him?"
Hu Ge was a little confused and asked: "How did he steal the city lord's money?"
The veteran rolled his eyes at Hu Ge as if looking at a rookie. He said: "The city lord gets a share of the standard weapons designated by the government. The quartermaster secretly sells his own knock-off goods, so that the standard weapons ordered by the city lord cannot be sold.
Isn’t that just stealing the city lord’s money?”
The soldiers suddenly realized that no wonder so many people were greedy and killed a small person.
"Then he really deserves to die." Everyone said in unison, instead of squeezing money from the common people, they instead used money from being an official. This is not committing suicide.
The veteran snorted coldly and said: "Actually, the one who deserves to be killed the most is our city lord."
Hu Ge quickly waved his hand and said nervously: "Don't talk nonsense. If someone finds out, we will be in trouble with you."
"What are you afraid of?" the veteran said proudly: "They will be alive in a few days. Lord Lorraine's coalition forces will come over soon. Let me tell you, our military uniforms should be free, but the city lord insists on collecting them."
How much did he get from just this amount of our two months' military pay?"
Hu Ge calculated in his mind that one gold coin per person, and 200,000 people in the city was equivalent to 200,000 gold coins. This number shocked him, 200,000 gold coins, no matter where you put it, it was a huge sum of money.
Hu Ge clicked his tongue and said: "There are so many, that old guy really deserves to be killed~!"
The veteran sneered and said: "Besides, that old guy is still living on empty wages. Let me see, there are no 200,000 people in the city. Our whole city has less than 100,000 people. The 200,000 troops have long been destroyed."
The city is packed.
The officials all know that their good days are numbered, and now they are all desperately trying to get money. When Lord Luo comes to fight in the future, they will have already run away.
So, we little soldiers should keep our eyes open and don’t risk our lives for those dog officers.”
The soldiers around him smacked their lips and had different expressions.
Hu Ge sighed helplessly. Nowadays, the city is full of weird ideas. Anyone who has some connections are trying to make money in different ways. But little people like them are so helpless, struggling to survive, just hoping to find a way to survive in troubled times.
"Their good days are numbered, and our good days are coming soon." A soldier unknown in the crowd murmured in a low voice.
Hu Ge nodded with deep understanding.
"What will you do if Lord Lorraine calls?"
"What else can we do? Of course we surrender.
According to the standards of His Majesty the Pope's red and black list, I have carefully calculated it, and I am 10%!" the soldier said proudly.
"Almost, I'm at nine points. Even if humans attack me, I'll be fine. I'll just throw the guy away and tear off the uniform."
Although Hu Ge remained silent on his face, he was secretly happy in his heart. He was also a very small soldier and had never done any bad things. Even if the coalition forces fought back, it would be fine.
Maybe he could serve as a guide, catch a few heinous criminals, and earn a bounty, so he had already targeted a few people in the city who were working as slaves for the Semitic people.
However, it is estimated that he is not the only one targeting those people, and the competition within the party to lead the way is expected to be fierce.
Even if these people were openly talking about surrender, no one would care about it, and the soldiers would not worry about anyone reporting it.
Most of the people here are above five and will not be held accountable by the Holy See. However, if they report other people to the Supervisory Army, there will be no bounty and a proper red name, and their heads will definitely be chopped off.
At this time, everyone in the city knew that they could not stop Lord Lorraine's coalition forces, and the most important thing was to have a way out for themselves as early as possible.
Those who serve as officials will make a profit every day, while those who serve as soldiers will surrender just waiting for the coalition forces to come.
But only Emperor De Rossi didn't know this. After hearing the reports from the people below, he was full of confidence in his millions of troops. Emperor De Rossi believed that even if they couldn't fight in the field, they could be used to defend the city.
At ten o'clock at noon, Hu Ge, whose stomach had been growling with hunger for a long time, was finally able to get off work, and dragged his spear weakly back home.
Just then, an excited and loud shout was heard: "The coalition forces are coming~!"
There was a sudden chaos in the city.
"The coalition forces are coming, we are about to be liberated~!"
"Brothers, catch the red name and collect the reward~!"
"Don't let the officials run away."
The soldiers in the streets were running around like rats in a pot of boiling water.
While Hu Ge was still in a daze, a large group of supervisors ran out from the direction of the city center. They waved their swords and drove away the panicked soldiers on the street. They shouted viciously: "Go to the city wall, everyone go to the city wall, disobey the military order."
Those who kill him will be killed."
Regardless of whether the coalition forces came to kill them or not, this group of people came to kill them first. The soldiers who encountered immediate danger were driven towards the city wall by the supervisors.
Hu Ge was caught in the crowd and ran back and forth involuntarily. As soon as he returned to the city gate, he saw a group of people suddenly tearing apart the inferior military uniforms at the city gate, revealing the white and golden cross logo inside, and pulling out gleaming swords.
The crowd raised a flag of the Holy See at the same time. The leader raised his weapon high and roared: "For the sake of light, the rebels are here, who dares to come and die?
Brothers, follow us and fight back to liberate Mulhouse~!"
Then he rushed towards the supervisory army, followed closely by hundreds of soldiers in white.
The soldiers around them seemed to have seen a savior, shouting: "Uprising, uprising~!"
"Kill the demon bastards and traitors."
Then the white-clothed warrior who followed him rolled back like a sea wave.
When the supervisory team of thousands of people saw that the people on the whole street were waving weapons and shouting at them, as if they wanted to tear them into pieces, they turned around and ran away in fright.
The city of Mulhouse was suddenly as lively as a frying pan filled with water.
Hu Ge shrewdly left the team, turned around and ran towards the city gate. He could see the coalition forces before others so he could lead the way.
Several soldiers were working together to open the gate, and Hugo also joined their team, pushing open the heavy city gate of Mulhouse, and then desperately waving a white cloth to the coalition forces outside the city.
Two miles outside the city, a coalition reconnaissance cavalry captain looked at the city gate, then looked back at the more than 20 cavalrymen behind him in confusion, and said blankly: "They...surrendered to us?"
The cavalry looked at each other. There were only more than twenty people, how could they accept the surrender?
Seeing that the coalition forces could not pass, Hu Ge and others took the initiative to run over while waving white flags.
Several people surrounded the reconnaissance team, stretched out their hands to grab the reconnaissance cavalry's horses, and said hurriedly: "Quick, I will take you to arrest the people. If it's too late, the officials will run away."
The cavalry captain was startled by their enthusiastic attitude. He innocently looked at these enthusiastic Mulhouse leaders and said in a low voice: "Well, actually, we are just here for reconnaissance."