It seems that the villain is targeting me.

Charles hadn't spoken to a living person for several weeks and was eager to know what was happening outside, so he quickly asked what the situation was outside.

The servant smacked his lips and replied, "What's the situation? This is the situation. What exactly it is depends on the circumstances."

Charles listened to him for a long time, but he didn't get any nutritious content from him. He was so angry that he almost fumed.

However, he had now learned that the situation was stronger than he was, and he did not dare to lose his temper. He just searched his body for a long time with sweat on his forehead, and finally took out a silver coin, which he handed to the servant in a flattering manner.

The butler was much more skilled this time. He quickly took the silver coins and put them away. Then he coughed twice, took out a rag from somewhere, and wiped the cabinet while talking to himself.

"Several lords in the south have rebelled, and it's said that High Court was the instigator," the servant said, lowering his voice. "His Majesty has sent four legions to suppress them. The army has been on the march for nearly two weeks."

Charles' first reaction was surprise: "Tudor - how is it possible? The Duke of Banul and his eldest son are both dead. Could it be that Lucas is leading the army..."

The butler's eyes were fixed on the cabinet, not even glancing at Charles behind him. "No, doesn't the Duke's family have a daughter? I heard she married Prime Minister Butcher... the former Prime Minister, and she's the one leading the troops now."

After hearing the news, Charles behaved very strangely, as if he had been struck by lightning.

He fell into the chair in a daze and remained in that position motionless, not even noticing when the servant left.

This was the strongest time, and Charles felt deeply that he was abandoned by fate.

But in fact, all this doesn't matter to him.

No matter whether Gwyneth or Charles's cheap uncle wins in the end, he will die anyway.

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Prince Wilson is now the commander of the capital's garrison. The title sounds quite intimidating, but in reality, the soldiers assigned to him are only a few big cats and small cats, and they are not taken seriously.

Now almost all the troops that can be used for combat have been sent out to fight or deploy defenses, and most of the garrison troops stationed in the city are newly recruited soldiers with very limited combat capabilities and uneven quality of soldiers.

If it weren't for the strong walls of the capital city to support them, the remaining garrison would have been unable to play any role in the war.

Since the capital had not been attacked yet, the commander Prince Wilson had nothing to do except arranging patrols, and basically spent the whole day doing nothing.

However, a rare situation occurred today. His Majesty the Emperor, who is currently in power, actually called out all the important military generals in the city, saying that he wanted to hold a court meeting.

The last time His Majesty the Emperor convened a royal meeting was to discuss whether to send troops to suppress the Tudor family who had raised the banner of rebellion in the south.

On this issue, several senior military generals argued non-stop like a peasant woman bargaining in the vegetable market, and finally reached a consensus with great difficulty.

The imperial conference held this time was basically a continuation of the previous meeting.

The first battle report from the front came back: the situation was not optimistic. Their vanguard was defeated in the head-on confrontation with Gwyneth and lost an entire infantry corps in the first battle.

The cavalry general read the battle report that was handed to him, and while reading it, he gestured with the map and muttered to himself: "What a reckless strategy!"

…No, that’s not right. She kept a reserve force to deal with any unexpected situation on the battlefield, and then made the most of the cavalry’s mobility… to directly outflank them from both sides…”

But few people present paid attention to the cavalry general's mumbling, and the atmosphere around him was very heavy.

"An entire infantry legion!" The emperor looked extremely displeased. "We have half as many troops as those rebels! And yet we lost an entire legion! And you still say that little Tudor girl is nothing to be feared—is that what you mean by nothing to be feared?!"

"Your Majesty, victory and defeat are common in the military. It's just a mistake, and it doesn't mean we have lost." An infantry general retorted.

"But the Tudors' forces are growing stronger now. She recently formed an alliance with the Shrike," another person said worriedly. "Two whole legions have joined her forces—those were originally soldiers from the capital!"

"Come on, that little girl has only commanded small cavalry units," the infantry general said impatiently. "She's just lucky this time. Coordinating an army is no easy task."

"But we are not united internally, are we?" the cavalry general pointed out sharply.

"Enough!" The emperor, sitting on the throne, finally lost his temper. "I allocate such a huge amount of supplies every month to support the army, not to come here and listen to you bickering."

"Who can tell me if we still have a chance of winning?"

Everyone present fell silent, and no one dared to answer.

To be honest, when Xiao Niao was still in the capital, these generals didn't really think that sending troops to fight was a difficult task.

The national treasury can always provide money to maintain military expenses, and food and grass can always be transported to the front line continuously, and troop replenishment is also very timely. In general, the logistics system is very sound, and commanders only need to concentrate on arranging tactics.

But now, the military commanders on the front lines found that as the battle went on, they began to run out of food and supplies. The logistics supply lines were intermittent, and it was always difficult to get a timely response when calling for friendly forces.

In fact, this situation is not surprising. When Xiao Niao was fighting against King Jialan before, he had to prepare three years' worth of food to make up for the consumption during the expedition, and there were also two special logistics corps responsible for maintaining supplies.

And now these people have chosen to start a civil war when the granaries are empty, and they are still maintaining a large number of professional legions. It would be a miracle if there is enough food.

"...Now our vanguard has retreated to the castle fortress. It's located on a major transportation route, so the rebels can't bypass it. They have no choice but to attack the city." Finally, the infantry commander was the first to give in. "We can use the city to contain them."

"We don't need to panic now. I'm sure that little girl is not good at siege warfare. The central region is still under our control. As long as we hold the fortress, we can wear down the rebels even if it takes a long time."

This is true. After all, both sides have the problem of food shortage, and no one can afford to fight a protracted war.

The infantry general then spoke these words with extraordinary confidence, and his words won the approval of most senior generals.

However, things did not develop as these bigwigs expected. In the following weeks, they gradually realized the seriousness of the matter.

Troops fleeing north appeared one after another on King's Avenue. These people had just suffered a defeat, and almost all the soldiers were dejected. They only reluctantly lined up under the supervision of their officers.

All the soldiers were exhausted. The shields engraved with griffin patterns in their hands were dirty and torn, and the swords, spears, knives and axes they carried were full of gaps from being chopped. Some even lost their weapons during the battle and could only be pushed forward by the team with empty hands, like zombies.

The convoy carrying the wounded followed behind, and was much longer than the queue in front.

Many of the injured soldiers had burns of varying degrees, some of which caused the skin to blacken and shrink, while others were wounds caused by splashing explosives.

These wounded were not well cared for because of limited resources and too many wounded. Officers had to choose between maintaining the combat capability of the troops and treating the wounded.

Their choice is obvious.

The officer who stopped to drink and rest brought the latest news from the front: Gwyneth Tudor's army defeated the vanguard of the royal coalition forces.

According to them, Gwyneth's army used some special weapons to directly collapse part of the city gate. A large number of soldiers swarmed in from the gap and quickly occupied the city.

At this point, the Tudor family had already controlled the main transportation routes between the north and the south, and thereby won the support and loyalty of most of the southern lords.

The last obstacle to the northward expedition has been removed, but Gwyneth shows no sign of fatigue. She points her sword at the capital and does not hide her purpose at all.

It was clear to everyone that the young Tudor master would not stop easily.

She will defeat the enemy's fortresses one by one until the gates of the capital are opened to her.

Chapter 104 She Sent a Letter

The outcome of this battle was actually no longer in doubt from the moment the city gate was blown down.

In such an era, as long as you control the gates used to enter and exit the city, you can control

After living in the entire city, the rest is just like catching a turtle in a jar and beating a dog behind closed doors.

Gwyneth would not miss such an obvious opportunity to fight. While the defenders in the city were still shocked by the earth-shaking noise, she quickly led her army into the gap.

The defenders still in the city resisted for several hours under the command of the commander, but as the casualties gradually increased, even the orders of the emperor were no longer effective. The soldiers abandoned the corpses on the ground and the unfortunate lord and began to flee from the city.

The defenders who failed to escape were soon captured. From then on, this important transportation route was completely under Gwyneth's control.

They fought the battle in the morning and captured the city in the afternoon. The lord who controlled this checkpoint was still frantically writing a letter for help to the capital, but the next second he was stabbed in the butt with a knife.

When Gwyneth drove her horse into the city, the smell of sulfur in the air had not completely dissipated, and the shrill wails and the roars of soldiers were still echoing in her ears. Now there were basically no enemy soldiers still resisting in the city, but the killing was not over.

The city, which was once extremely prosperous due to the trade between the north and the south, was now shrouded in a murderous blood mist. Countless civilians who failed to evacuate the city in time hid in their homes with doors and windows closed, listening to the noises coming from outside in fear.

War will bring out the most greedy and cruel side of human nature. Soldiers who are bloodthirsty begin to turn their attention to other things. Some have even pointed their weapons at civilians and started trying to break down the door with violence.

A real battlefield is cruel. It means killing and looting. The winner has absolute control over the loser. It is common for the victorious army to carry out crazy massacres and looting in the city.

The ordinary soldiers at the bottom had meager salaries, and they had also suffered a lot of casualties in defeating this vanguard. The hatred and greed in their hearts mixed together, making their eyes emit a green light like those of wolves.

If no one intervenes, all living people in the city will be brutally slaughtered.

However, an order was issued that forced the soldiers to stop. Their immediate superior issued a military order of the highest standard: no one is allowed to harass civilians, otherwise, no matter how high or low their position, they will be punished by military law!

The order was given by Gwyneth.

She had just captured a city and was the leader of the entire coalition army. Due to her prestige and reputation, even though the generals around her did not understand the order, they still reluctantly suppressed their dissatisfaction and carried it out.

The dissatisfaction of these generals was not entirely due to their own interests, but was also due to their consideration for the morale of the army.

These senior officers would naturally be rewarded with fiefs and titles afterwards so that they wouldn't have to rely on plundering the city for wealth, but banning looting was equivalent to cutting off the financial resources of the lower-level soldiers.

These soldiers, all of them are willing to follow their superiors and fight to the death with their heads on the line. If you ask them to risk their lives to kill the enemy but don't allow them to get any benefits, who would be willing to follow you wholeheartedly? At most, you will just give them a warning and prohibit them from killing civilians.

But Gwyneth's attitude was very tough. She asked heralds to publicize her orders in the city and asked all local residents to stay at home and not go out at will.

The soldiers stopped reluctantly under the officer's scolding, but their faces were generally not very happy.

The civilians in the city could not believe what the messenger said at first. They waited nervously until midnight, but did not hear any more screams of murder. Only then did they feel like they had survived a disaster.

This order was carried out, but the army would not unconditionally accept everything the commander said - this was not a game, the loyalty of the troops under his command was 100%, and the courage of each person was the reincarnation of Kratos, so they would not hesitate even if it was clear that they were going to die.

This order is clearly intended to prevent soldiers from making money, and it will be difficult to convince the public without a reasonable explanation.

Gwyneth did not delay. After capturing all the enemy troops fleeing the city, she directly requisitioned the hall of the lord's house and held a meeting on the spot.

After the great battle, the generals were all very tired. They watched silently, waiting for the explanation from the Tudor family leader.

Gwyneth's armor was also stained with blood and dust, but she ignored it. Instead, she placed her hands on the table and glanced at the generals around her.

"My lords, we are marching to attack the capital under the pretext of overthrowing a tyrannical monarch," Gwyneth said. "Charles shamelessly murdered my father, along with his retainers and servants. But if we allow our soldiers to plunder civilians, what difference will that make us any different from Charles?"

The surroundings were quiet for a few seconds. Several generals were still unconvinced, but they were no longer as angry as they were at the beginning.

Gwyneth continued, "Besides, this isn't a foreign war. The people in this city are our future subjects. If we treat them like this now, how are we going to govern this city in the future?"

This statement makes sense, at least it is enough to convince the officers. After all, if rewards are given based on merit later, no one would want to be sent to a city that has been looted.

But the generals present still had concerns in their hearts.

Finally, someone couldn't hold it in any longer and stood up.

He said to Gwyneth, "Sir, we all understand what you mean by righteousness for the country and family, but it doesn't make sense to the soldiers below."

For those low-level soldiers, any moral justice is nonsense compared to the shining gold.

These people don't care how the future lord will govern the people here. As long as their homes are not robbed, they have no objection.

Gwyneth was well aware of this, and she nodded to the general, signaling him to remain calm.

Of course, she had her own reasons for giving such an order. Gwen decided to do this after being reminded by the bird.

Earlier, when both of them were still in Highgarden, Xiao Niao had made a request to Gwyneth: whether passing through a village along the way or after successfully attacking a city, they should not plunder the local residents, and they must not allow their troops to kill people at will.

Whether it is Gwyneth's side or the royal family's side, few people have noticed this fact: the empire's rule is now in a very fragile state, and if one is not careful, it will split again and return to the era of kings' division.

By then, the lingering war will not be able to be stopped in just one or two years.

When the kings start fighting again and vying for territory, the first to suffer will be the lower class people. Countless people will be displaced and become refugees, and even more people will die in war, hunger and even plague.

When the heroes draw their swords, another ten years of disaster will come to the people.

Xiao Niao didn't want to end up in such a situation again no matter what.

Gwyneth was not stupid. After the explanation and narration, she quickly understood why Xiaoniao did this.

Then she asked the same question as the general: "But what about the soldiers below? How can I make them fight for me willingly?"

At that time, Xiao Niao smiled at her mysteriously and said, "The answer is actually very simple, Gwen."

Gwyneth took a step back from the table and pointed down at her feet.

The generals' eyes followed Gwen's finger, and where her fingertip was pointing was the solid marble floor.

"How much wealth can an ordinary civilian have?" Gwyneth said. "The city's largest treasury and most abundant granary are located in the lord's palace right under our feet."

The general who raised the question was stunned and his eyes gradually widened.

This is indeed the case. Even if you scrape the soil in the homes of ordinary people, you won't find much money. The main wealth is concentrated in the hands of local lords - but spoils of war on this scale have always been exclusive to the army commander, and the soldiers are not qualified to touch them.

"You can get my promise. After every siege victory, all the wealth seized from the lord will be distributed to the victorious soldiers, and the Tudor family will give up claiming the spoils. I will not treat any loyal friend or any brave soldier unfairly."

Many people make the mistake of giving up future power for the gold in front of them.

But Gwen wouldn't make that mistake.

She has gradually understood the true rules of the game.

Gwyneth spoke loudly to the generals, "Those lords who are willing to voluntarily surrender and submit to me will continue to retain their original titles and territories. I will also disband and incorporate the troops that voluntarily surrender, and treat them the same as regular troops."

It can be imagined that after what Gwyneth said today is publicized, the residents of the city will not fight to the death when encountering such a siege again, and even the soldiers defending the city will be greatly shaken.

This sentence is really a cliché: Attacking the city is inferior, attacking the heart is superior.

Gwyneth saw the expressions of the generals around her and knew that these people had been persuaded by her and agreed with the method she proposed.

Even when these generals looked at her, Gwyneth had the illusion that her father was standing next to her: when she followed the Duke of Tudor, these people had such expressions on their faces.

They no longer had any objections, and there was some genuine respect in their eyes. Then they stood up, saluted, and left, starting to deal with military affairs after occupying the city.