270 – Side War – Conquest of Brittanya (5)
At dawn on the day the liberation operation was carried out, the road leading from the royal palace of Londimium Castle to the plaza.
In this era where there is no tool to light up the darkness except for a candle, it is the same time as morning.
From Noble mtl dot com
So even until 8 years ago, before the civil war broke out, Jungang-daero at this time was a lively place where merchants selling food, goods, weapons, and clothes, housewives who came to buy bread, noble ladies, and nobles who went to work at the court mingle. Although.
After the civil war broke out, its vitality died off rapidly, and since then, this place has become a passing way to dump corpses through the North Gate, which is not easily seen by others at night when no one is watching.
Besides, at this time, you don’t know when the Creutel Imperial Army will attack, so off-duty soldiers and poor people had to lock themselves in their own quarters.
Garrison soldiers who were going to their posts on duty after passing this road had to be prepared to endure the brutal reality of having to just stare at a boiling pot of porridge from a distance that they could reach if they reached out on the wall.
But today was a little different.
Several men in tattered clothes held up white flags with determination, and groups of men in similar attire stood here and there in the alleys where the poor were housed.
At that time, a man in the center of the plaza who seemed to be the captain shouted in a loud voice.
“How long must we starve and watch our children die from the swords and arrows of the enemy? Their wives and children were raped and killed not only by their enemies, but also by their war-weary allies! But the king and nobles just tell them to wait. It is said that when the united kingdoms come together again, everything will be resolved. I’ve been fooled for the past 8 years. Let us not be fooled any longer!”
As he, belonging to the Creutel intelligence department, shouted that, the people gathered in the square and the intelligence officers in the alley shouted in unison.
“Right! My wife and children who have already died do not come back alive, so what use is the unification of the damn United Kingdom!”
“Before the kingdom is unified, we will all starve to death. I want to eat porridge until my stomach bursts before I die!”
“I starved for 8 years. I can’t live hungry. Give me some food!”
As the intelligence officers opened their doors and began to attract the attention of the surrounding poor, people began to hum along the road one by one, and soon enough a large crowd filled the square.
In the meantime, an elderly woman with a cane dragged her legs slowly toward the center of the plaza.
Among those who did not belong to the intelligence department, he was the first ally to appear, and it was an unexpected boon.
Because in an uprising of this kind, the most helpful first word is an old man who is determined that he has nothing left to lose in his life.
“You are all right! Until the civil war started and they left their home with their families, they believed they could return home once the kingdom was reunited. Damn it, this damn civil war dragged on for 8 years and there was no end in sight, and in the meantime, my granddaughter and children who would not hurt even if I put them in my eyes all died because of Donover, Chains, and English bastards. The only remaining grandson muttered that he wanted to eat a bowl of porridge from across the wall a few days ago, and he couldn’t open his eyes after that! But what a dog-like unification of the kingdom! I am a helpless old woman with only a few days left to live, but you are not. Those who live must live. If you can eat porridge, you have to eat it for a living. Don’t be fooled. If you stay like this, you will all die. All those who starved my grandchildren, come out. Save my grandson, you nobles!”
When the cries of the old woman’s tears resounded through the square, the footsteps of the defenders who climbed the rampart stopped following the orders of the nobles who drove them to death.
And tears welled up in their eyes, and some of them wept loudly, repeating the names of children, wives, and parents who would never return.
When the situation reached this point, the nobles who rushed after receiving the report from their subordinates gave orders to kill the old woman, those holding flags in the square, and even the crowd that had not dispersed.
The old woman didn’t care.
“If my grandson were alive right now, this old woman would have brought me a bowl of porridge boiling outside the castle without making me wait for the goddamn kingdom reunification or whatever! I’m sorry, my grandson. Forgive me this granny. I only found out after you died. Anyway, since this old man is always ready to die and go to his grandchildren and children, he wants to die after all he has to say!”
The screams of the old woman who had no fear of death were enough to shake the hearts of the crowd.
For there is hardly a poor or serf in this place who has not lost family or relatives in the civil war, and who has not felt the agony of starvation.
Then, the defenders, who were in the same situation as them, but only wore weapons and armor, began to shake their spear points as if they could not do it.
Croitel Imperial Intelligence Officer, Colonel Millet, who is the most senior here, judged that the plan of the crown prince could end in failure if he did not dig into this gap, and issued an order.
“Twenty intelligence officers under Major Philett immediately rob the arsenal on A Street and raise a signal, while intelligence officers under Lieutenant Colonel Charlie inform the people that they are freed from oppression and are going to eat porridge. I will risk my life here to make His Highness’s operation a success. Let’s all live and advance one rank.”
At that, Lieutenant Colonel Charlie, the second-in-command, replied jokingly.
“Colonel, isn’t he at least a baronet if he is promoted? If you become a noble, we’ll take you all and shoot a drop of water, which Count Balt often visits.”
Then the agents dispersed as ordered, the colonel waving a white flag and shouting:
“Wake up! If you stay still, you and all of you next to him will lose your precious family and only regrets will remain, just like the old woman said! Even if I have to abandon the kingdom, shouldn’t I protect my children and my wife?”
Is it because the atmosphere has already reached its climax by the old woman, and the intelligence officers have gone around instilling a lot of antipathy towards the kingdom?
For eight years, they lived with the idea that they must be loyal to the kingdom, experiencing hunger, cold, and the fear of being killed by the enemy. .
“What do you mean by unified kingdom! Don’t be fooled anymore Let’s go eat porridge!”
“If you can’t get it right after 8 years, you can’t do it for 10 more years!”
“Everyone is dead and only one son is left! I can’t even starve him to death!”
At the same time, the intelligence officers gathered people by kissing and singing a song composed by Ciel von Kreuttel.
“Can you hear me?
Hungry crying in your ears
Starved to death by an incompetent king
The wailing sounds of your children.
Does the king still speak of hope?
My hometown has already been burned.
Where do you want to go back?
Beyond that wall
Went into rest yesterday
My child longed for
Food and freedom!”
It was a song with lyrics and tune that I had never heard of before, but the content contained in it fit perfectly with the situation in Londimium.
Citizens of Londimium began to join the protesters, humming along to an unfamiliar song.
The nobles of the palace who saw that quickly ordered the guards to kill all the citizens with spears, bows and matchlocks.
“Shoot them all! Londimium must never be so foolish! We must endure at all costs until His Highness arrives!”
In front of the ruthless suppression of the guards who received orders, dozens or hundreds of poor people died at once.
The resentment accumulated over the long period of 8 years began to erupt all at once, and the anger of the people did not stop even in the face of the fear of death.
On the contrary, he began to persuade the guards in crude military uniforms in front of him.
“Except for wearing a military uniform, you are just like us. Should you go back to your hometown too? Even with the rest of the family!”
“Do you think your wife and children won’t starve to death if you shoot hard? Calm down. I’d rather just eat a full bowl of porridge and die!”
The nobles had a seizure saying they shouldn’t listen to such rioters, but the soldiers were already exhausted from the agonizing civil war without any compensation.
Most of them seemed to have made up their mind at some point to turn the tips of their spears towards the nobles and the king, and now only a few were fighting on the side of the nobles.
The mayor of Londimium, who watched the process, said as he ran to the palace thinking that he should do at least his last duty.
“His Majesty Edward is still leading 30,000 of Britannia’s loyal soldiers. Citizens are rioting and pushing into the palace!”
In the midst of this, only some nobles and knights were barely blocking the palace, but slowly the mob they were talking about was pushing toward the palace.
But what the mayor thought was fortunate was that as soon as the request was made, the royals quickly evacuated.
Thinking he had completed his last mission, the mayor thought it was all over and was about to commit suicide, but Mali changed his mind at the entreaties of his men and instead ordered the few remaining soldiers to follow him.
“Open the gates. Now Londimium is over.”
In this way, William von Kreuttel’s first siege was completed.
A total of 10 soldiers and officers belonging to the Kreutel Imperial Army Casualty Information Division.
Londymium defenders 100 nobles killed, 100 missing, 800 soldiers, citizens unable to count.
It cannot be said that it was a bloodless individuality, but the imperial army captured the enemy’s capital with almost no loss of allies.