readytorunbook Chapter 206 The Storm Is Brewing...
Chapter 206 The Storm Is Brewing...
"Your Highness... News has come from the Duke of Seville... his territory is preparing for war..."
"Your Highness, news has also arrived from the Duchy of Bonia..."
"Your Highness... Baron of Black Mountain..."
"Your Highness...Your Highness..."
A series of messages immediately swept through Sarajevo. As the capital of the Balkan Empire, the city was now in a state of panic. Never before in the history of the nation had it been so turbulent.
The three powerful noble territories in the southeast all raised armies. Seville, located on the eastern frontier of the empire, was once the front line facing Orovia and the Caliphate. It had a strong army and complex ethnic relations.
The Baron of Montenegro and the Duchy of Bonia face each other across the sea from the central diocese of the Church. It is self-evident who is behind them. The vast Adriatic Sea is full of ships flying the Holy Cross flag. The Church has sent weapons, ammunition, and mercenaries to their agents.
The nobles, armed and independent, no longer obeyed Sarajevo's orders. Sivits Valerie's orders were ignored. In this environment, Sivits Valerie summoned the generals who were still loyal to the royal family, but only a handful came—the situation of the empire was beyond saving, and no one had any hope for the royal family.
Sivits Valerie wiped away the tear stains on her cheeks with a towel, applied foundation to the damp, warm area, making her clean, smooth skin appear slightly rough, and tied up her long hair, letting it hang down at her right chest.
“Valerie, remember this: I built this empire not through weakness, but through violence. Your mother died young, and I am but a candle flickering in the wind. Remember, the Valerie family rules with our heads held high!”
"Although you are a girl, you are still a member of the Valerie family, and a Yugoslavian!"
She folded the yellowed letter in her hand, put it in her inner pocket, and picked up the rapier.
"Your Highness... Karla Erwin, commander of the First Division of the Imperial Guard, has arrived."
"Who else?"
"Commander of the Second Army Group, Ella West."
"Anymore?"
"There is also the 35th Mordoran Brigade of the Imperial Guard, half of which remains. As for the commander, he is a young man named Josep Broz."
How many units are left in these forces?
"There are still 70,000 left, including 50,000 mainly from the Second Army Group and over 10,000 soldiers from the First Division..."
"Seventy thousand."
"Your Highness, if the nobles of the south were to attack us, 70,000 men... that would be impossible."
"I know."
Sivitz Valerie placed the book "Alice and Amelia – Victory and Progress" on the table. The cover featured a lifelike oil painting of Alice fighting on the battlefield.
“I am in the same critical moment as her, aren’t I? That princess, that president, she was able to turn the tide. Maybe I can’t, but I will not surrender without a fight.”
Sivits Valerie straightened her clothes and strode forward with feigned ease, though only she knew that her bra was soaked with sweat and her fingers and legs were numb.
But she still strode forward, her Western-style imperial military uniform gleaming in the setting sun. She walked down the stairs, where in the past only three officers in the vast Imperial military headquarters could stand beside the map and salute.
The entire palace was deserted and desolate. Servants, maids, and officials were constantly fleeing Sarajevo. Nobles were spreading rumors that anyone who still supported the crown prince would die.
"Then, gentlemen, I hereby declare military... martial law... the militarization of the administrative affairs of Sarajevo!"
Sivits Valerie stammered with nervousness, but still tried to remain calm. The nobles had cut off all goods to the royal domain, the economy was collapsing, and the situation was chaotic. If it weren't for the fact that Sarajevo was near an agricultural region, famine would probably be imminent.
On the other side, Alice looked at Grand Duke Zastava in front of her. They had been in Amelansi for several days, and every day, Grand Duke Zastava would wait for her, pleading with her to take action.
For the first few days, Alice tried her best to get by, but after several meetings, Alice realized that there were some things that had to be done, and Amelia was already a major power.
"The government of the Federal Republic of Ameliansi has issued a statement demanding that foreign powers cease interfering in the internal affairs of the Balkan Empire!"
The statement was sent out, but there was no response. Naturally, Alice knew that the diplomatic practices in this world were very backward, and the concept of "don't say you weren't warned" was basically nonexistent.
The Balkan Empire was less a struggle between royalty and nobility and more a frontline struggle between the Amerinsi and the Church.
However, Amelansi cannot easily send troops, after all, there is still the Corsica Islands to the west.
Alice carefully nudged the church's tentacles to prevent the decaying behemoth from overreacting.
Seeing that Alice was taking action, Sivits Valerie finally saw a glimmer of hope, but just then, in the southern region of Wosoko, conflict was about to break out.
"Your Highness! Your Highness! War has begun!"
In the morning, Sivits Valerie was awakened to the fact that in the province of Vorsocco, a coalition of nobles had opened fire on the Imperial army's positions, launching a full-scale offensive!
"Damn it!"
The war raged from Vorsocco all the way to Bonia, from Seville all the way to North Marton. The nobles were not of one mind. The clergy attacking in the south and the caliphate in the east were attacking each other while attacking the royal family. The nobles—de facto warlords—were tearing the country apart.
Heavy artillery roared. Although they used outdated Emeransi technology, these new weapons had been deployed on a large scale. The Grand Prince of Zastava contributed 70 percent of the firearms production capacity in the Balkans. Bulk-loading guns had become popular in several countries, and the Church could easily copy Napoleon cannons and Dahlgren cannons.
The dwarves, utilizing their newly acquired steelmaking and cannon-casting methods, manufactured new steel cannons. Furthermore, with a market in the Seres region in the icy wilderness, the dwarves developed a new type of magazine-fed gun.
It can be said that, apart from a lack of heavy and automatic weapons and poor training, their armament level in the civil war within the Balkans was almost the same as that of the Amerinsi army.
Vosokor is now a scene of constant artillery fire, with both sides' poorly trained armies exchanging fire between the city and the hills. The noble army has more ammunition and more men, and within a week, they have encircled a regiment of the Imperial army and are advancing triumphantly.
The biggest obstacle the Imperial Army posed to the Noble Army was blowing up a bridge—a bridge standing between two hilltops—which prevented the Noble Army from directly entering the city of Wosokotaya.