The city of Hamburg had already learned about the attack on the Stade Land from the merchants who had returned. Since the death of Sigurd, the lord of the pirate kingdom in Frisianland, they had not seen any pirates for two years.
Invaded.
The merchants who lost their goods naturally sighed, and the merchants who had not yet had time to set out were also very anxious. They sent people every day to see if the pirates had left Stade, but what they received was negative news one after another.
The merchants had to join forces to recruit mercenaries from all over the country, hoping to drive the pirates out of Stadeland.
But the pirates who always grabbed and ran away somehow made a mistake this time and actually took out catapults, ballistae and scorpion crossbows. Before they had time to fight, the improvised mercenaries
The huge rocks falling from the sky frightened half of their morale. When the official confrontation began, the ferocity of the pirates frightened the mercenaries out of their wits.
So far, the merchants have not seen a single mercenary return alive. Rumors have circulated in Hamburg that the mercenaries were put on the grill by the pirates and roasted and eaten.
After waiting anxiously for a few more days, the pirates not only did not leave, but even built a camp in the Stade area, looking like they would stay there for a long time. Now, even the mayor of Hamburg was panicked.
Stade is an important port. Since Stade is connected to Hamburg by a river, the caravans are willing to go through Hamburg to Stade. However, if Stade remains occupied, the caravans will not be able to
Instead of giving up the river route, they switched to Lübeck or Bremen and went to sea from other ports. This was undoubtedly a major blow to the economy of Hamburg.
The panicked mayor sent more than a dozen messengers to ask for help from the nearest Duke of Angria, Otto, hoping that this hero who had resisted Sigurd's invasion could help Hamburg expel the pirates. But for some reason, Otto
But Tuo has yet to take action.
In desperation, the mayor could only place his hope on the Count of Île-de-France, the consul of the Alemannic Federation. Before the trusted envoy returned, he received another message: a pirate team of 500 people was approaching.
Hamburg City.
"Are you sure you are a pirate?" the mayor asked the messenger. He felt that the pirates would not be so bold to attack Hamburg directly.
"They are pirates!" the messenger replied confidently, "Although they are all wearing togas from the Seven Hills Empire as disguises, their hair is all blond, and they are not from the Seven Hills Empire at first glance!"
The city gate was tightly closed. Now, the caravans stranded in the city could not even change their route. They were trapped in the city, digging their toes and calculating the losses caused by not being able to trade in the past few days, while shouting loudly
Cursing the pirates of the pirate kingdom.
When he saw these pirates actually wearing toga robes and appearing outside the city, the mayor of Hamburg almost lost his temper.
"Are these pirates wearing robes to attack the city looking down on us? A group of blond barbarians pretending to be members of the Qiqiu Empire are bullying me for not seeing the world? Shoot them! Shoot them to death with bows and arrows!"
Bows and arrows fell from the city wall in a mess, and one fell right in front of Ella's boots, startling Ella who was about to step forward to call the door.
"Gu? Why is this happening? You are already wearing a toga robe? What should you do? The city gate is closed. Do you need to pull a trebuchet to smash the hole before entering for trade..."
"Your Majesty! That's definitely not trade anymore!"
Even if Amy didn't say it, Ella knew this in her heart.
The Alemannic Federation can only be regarded as barbarians to the Seven Hills Empire, but after all, they occupy the land that the Seven Hills Empire once occupied, and their level of civilization is still higher than that of the Pirate Kingdom.
What protects the city of Hamburg is not a wooden wall, but a stone wall. Large weapons such as giant crossbows can also be seen on the wall. Although Hamburg itself does not have many troops, the five hundred people she brought with her are not able to do so casually.
Captured.
Moreover, this siege will most likely be regarded as a declaration of war against the Alemannic Federation. If the surrounding lords come to support, she will bring too few men.
In desperation, Ella had no choice but to retreat with her troops.
In a luxurious hotel in Hamburg, a wealthy businessman named Walram was lying on a velvet bed, eating grapes one by one. There were several silver plates on the table next to him.
, topped with expensive pepper, cloves, cinnamon and other spices.
A knock on the door came from outside. After receiving a positive answer, a man who looked like a mercenary opened the door and walked in, saying to Valram: "Those pirates have retreated."
"So fast? I thought I could relax here for a while." Valram stretched his body and stood up, "That's all. In order not to keep our Duke Otto waiting impatiently, we will wait for him tomorrow."
Let’s set off early in the morning.”
In fact, Valram is Duke Otto's quartermaster. Duke Otto is used to secretly preparing for war, and then launching lightning-fast raids when the enemy is unprepared. That's why there are people like Valram who pretend to be wealthy businessmen.
Quartermaster.
"Early tomorrow morning?"
"is there a problem?"
"I wonder if we can set off tonight. After all, Duke Otto often said that fighter planes are fleeting..."
"Just pretend that pirates have besieged the city for one more night? Don't be brainwashed by Duke Otto. Just one night, what can happen?"
Valram replied lazily. Being a wealthy businessman felt much better than being a quartermaster. He really didn't want to go back to the battlefield again.
It wasn't until noon the next day that Valram slowly escorted the first batch of supplies out of Hamburg. Although Ella's troops had retreated, most of the merchants still maintained their positions for safety reasons.
With a wait-and-see attitude, Valram was actually the first to leave the city.
"Look, what else can Duke Otto say?"
There are nearly 300 people in the Vallam caravan, including mercenaries, coachmen, servants... It looks no different from other caravans. But in fact, each of these 300 people is under Duke Otto.
Elite soldiers were disguised as soldiers. Therefore, they dared to act before all other caravans.
Varram sat on a pony, shaking his head and humming a song.
After driving like this for a long time, someone brought a whole roasted chicken to Varram. Although it was already cold, when the chicken breast was cut open, the spices and cheese stuffed inside immediately gave off an alluring aroma.
Varram swallowed, tore off a chicken leg, and was about to enjoy it when the horse he was sitting on suddenly leaned forward, and both the horse and the man fell into a pit.
Before Valram could crawl out, a group of bandits emerged from both sides of the road and surrounded them. Each of them was wearing a white toga.