Old Hill was seriously injured, with more than a dozen knife wounds. If it weren't for the orc's strong physique, he probably wouldn't have been able to return to Broken Snow City.
He took two warships to Blue Bay to purchase goods. On the way, he encountered the fleet of the Golden Eagle Kingdom. One ship was sunk, more than 30 sailors died at sea, and more than 7,000 gold coins were robbed.
Reggie didn't care about the gold coins, but he felt sorry for the sailors. Although most of them were born slaves, they were still great boys in Shattered Snow City.
Reggie held a grand funeral for the deceased and paid pensions to the deceased's family members. Only their clothes were buried in the grave, which made Reggie very sad.
In the previous wars, including the battle to capture Sean alive, the casualties were not so tragic. It seems that Reggie underestimated the threat of the Golden Eagle Kingdom.
What worried him most was whether this battle was a chance encounter or a premeditated ambush?
If it is the latter, it means that Reji's sea trade channel has been cut off.
The question was quickly answered. Five days later, Reggie received new news that Nipoli's fleet had been attacked and lost cargo worth five thousand gold coins. Nipoli was willing to bear the loss alone and proposed to the Golden Eagle Nation.
negotiated.
Reggie knew that this negotiation would be fruitless. The Golden Eagle Country came for him. Although it did not attack the territory of Shattering Snow City, it was already a clear declaration of war.
He sent three thousand gold coins to Nipoli, expressing his willingness to share the losses. At the same time, he asked Dexter to bring four warships to escort the next batch of goods.
Although Decto won a tragic victory in the naval battle, the result was still not optimistic. They lost two warships and a cargo ship. Twelve sailors were killed in the battle, and cargo worth two thousand gold coins sank into the sea.
.
Nipoli, who had been hit hard, lost confidence. He requested to postpone the supply of the next batch of goods, and Reggie had no choice but to agree.
The interruption of maritime trade caused a series of problems. Urine wax could not be sent out, Xuexicheng lost its most important source of income, goods could not be transported in, and the newly opened shopping mall would soon close.
Worse things are yet to come. Food and ore will be exhausted. Especially food. The current broken snow has more than tripled the population. The interruption of maritime trade has made it impossible for Reggie to maintain food supply. The disadvantages of over-reliance on imports
It was completely revealed.
There is no way, the economic system of the Stateless Territory is so weak. There are two ways in front of Reggie. The first way is to defeat the Golden Eagle Kingdom's fleet, and the second way is to compromise with the Golden Eagle Kingdom.
The second path can basically be given up. If we compromise with the Golden Eagle Kingdom, it means that Broken Snow City will be incorporated into the territory of the Golden Eagle Kingdom. Reggie, like other stateless lords, will be forcibly sent to the capital of the Golden Eagle Kingdom.
He was executed within a few months on trumped-up charges.
It is not easy to defeat the fleet of the Golden Eagle Kingdom. According to the descriptions of Old Hill and Decto, their experiences were very similar. First, they were followed by large ships, but the range was always kept outside the trebuchets, and then they were besieged by small boats.
, so that the trebuchets could not find a suitable direction to attack. In the end, there was a boarding battle. The small boat directly rammed into the side of the ship. The enemy boarded the battleship and started fighting hand-to-hand. The big ship followed closely and launched an attack with trebuchets in the chaos.
It was only this link that allowed Decto to take advantage. He had grenades, which gave him a chance to sink the enemy ship before the boarding battle.
But even such a victory came very accidentally. The sailors could not accurately throw grenades on the ship, and the bombs that fell into the water had no effect. If the other party had not underestimated Decto too much, I am afraid that even this tragic victory would have been lost.
Can't win.
When the ability and experience are obviously inferior to those of the opponent, the only way to win the naval battle is to improve the weapons.
There is no need to consider rockets. The shooting accuracy does not meet the requirements at all. It is okay to use them to attack city walls. Hitting a ship on the sea is as difficult as hitting a fly flying a hundred meters away with a rifle.
The most suitable weapons for fleet operations are torpedoes and cannons. There is no need to consider torpedoes. The technical difficulty is far beyond Reggie's knowledge.
Rockets have been built, so it should be easy to build a cannon, right?
Of course not.
Rockets are a very primitive weapon. They have been put on the battlefield as early as the Tang Dynasty. A gunpowder barrel is installed on a thick feather arrow, and the arrow is launched to attack the enemy using the recoil effect. Except for the fact that it does not have an explosive warhead, the rocket is primitive.
There is no fundamental difference between the Rockets' rockets and Reggie's Rockets.
But cannons are another thing entirely. It is very easy to say that it uses the chemical energy expansion of gunpowder to send the shells out of the barrel to attack the enemy. However, in actual operation, there are countless technical difficulties. Making a qualified gun barrel is far beyond the
of current technical capabilities.
Reggie stayed up all night in the castle. He tried his best to simplify every design process and tried to create a cannon with a certain power and accuracy. By the early morning of the next day, more than a dozen design plans ended in failure.
The exhausted Reggie was very frustrated. He wanted to get under the quilt and have a good sleep, hoping that in his sleep, he could get guidance from the gods and help him solve all his problems.
But he was woken up just after he fell asleep. Chris somehow deceived the guards and climbed directly into his window from the back garden.
At first he stood silently beside Reggie's bed, and then called softly. When he opened his eyes and saw Chris's smile, Reggie sat on the bed and screamed for a full minute.
"You lunatic! What are you doing in my bedroom?"
Chris smiled and said: "Calm down, Viscount Victor, this is not my first time."
"What's the matter with you? Get out of here!"
"I do have something to ask you for," Chris rubbed his hands, "I need a job."
Reggie rubbed his eyes, tilted his head and looked at Chris: "Why do you want to work? Do you have no food? The food I deliver every day is not bad, right?"
"The food is indeed good," Chris nodded, "but my father... you know, he has been the king for so long, he has higher requirements for some things."
"This is neither a palace nor your summer resort!"
“What is a summer resort?”
"It's not important," Reggie stood up and said, "You are here to escape, please show an attitude that refugees should have!"
"I know, the attitude of living in an ignoble way," Chris sighed, "I can continue to live in an idling way, but I really can't stand the old guy's complaints. Don't worry, I won't make any excessive demands on you anymore. I
I just want to find a job and support myself.”
"Okay," Reggie nodded, "What kind of job do you want?"
"I heard from the residents that there are many factories in Snow City," Chris smiled. "If you don't mind, can you let me be a worker?"
Becoming a worker? This is definitely not possible. With Chris's IQ, he can obtain the ingredients and craftsmanship of all weapons in less than two months.
"Spring is coming, I will give you a piece of land, take our King and the Minister of the Interior, and go farm it!"
"Farming... is also a good idea, but letting me and a group of slaves farm outside the city is a bit..."
"Stop calling them slaves! They are residents of Snow City, and they are part of Snow City just like me!" Reggie said sternly, "If you really want to work, go to the agricultural officer to get your
Livestock and farm tools, if you don't want to, please go back to your residence and take care of your king. This is your obligation as a prince."
"You have misunderstood me again. What I want to express is that farming is not suitable for me. People should make the best use of their talents and materials. This is what a good lord should do."
"I see, it seems that I underestimated you," Reggie sneered, "Your Highness, please tell me, what use are you?"
Chris looked at the drawings on the table and said, "You are researching new weapons, right?"
Reggie quickly put the drawings away: "I'm warning you, you are not allowed to enter my castle without permission in the future, and you are not allowed to touch my things casually!"
Chris said: "I heard about the naval battle. You offended the Golden Eagle Kingdom, your route was cut off, and Broken Snow City fell into a serious crisis."
Reggie said angrily: "Who told you this? I immediately cut off his tongue."
"Lord, don't be so grumpy," Chris smiled, "If I can help you resolve this crisis, how much can you pay me?"
Reggie looked at Chris in surprise and said, "Have you ever fought in a war?"
"I have experienced no less wars than you, and my record is no worse than yours," Chris said with a straight face, "I have commanded naval battles, and I have never lost a battle."