Volume 1: The Rise of Elanhill Chapter 0032 Good Luck
When is a company most likely to attract talent? The answer is of course when it is making money... The Principality of Ailan Hill is now truly a "company" in its rising period, so it is also able to attract a large number of talents to come and join it.
Modler is one of these talents - he is a very capable person and also a very responsible person.
As soon as he arrived at Chris's tent, he planned to give Chris a welcome gift. Chris was unwilling to face the situation of attacking the enemy's castle, so he was very tempted by Modler's request.
However, he did not agree immediately. Instead, he hesitated for a moment and asked, "Will there be any danger if I let you go there rashly?"
It is a very good experience to have a leader who cares about your safety at all times. Chris asked this question before Modler decided to go to the Hanhai Castle. It was also a decision made after careful consideration.
Two birds in the bush are worth a bird in the hand - the talent Modler who has already fallen into his pocket must be more important than Wilkes who is still standing on the opposite wall. Chris thought very clearly, so he didn't intend to give away a talent in vain.
Hearing Chris say this, Modler was very relieved. He jumped on his horse and said, "I'll be back soon. I think Valks doesn't want to fight like this anymore. This is a complete waste of time and there is no sense of honor at all."
He was right. In fact, Wilkes didn't want to fight anymore. The third round of artillery fire hit the city wall, and the entire Hanhai Castle's walls were shaky. Cracks had already appeared in some places. These cracked walls were already very dangerous, and it would not be surprising if they collapsed at any time.
Once the city wall collapsed, 70% of Hanhai's fortifications would be destroyed. Fierce street fighting would result in a large number of casualties, which was not what Wilkes wanted to see.
Chris could easily occupy the city wall and gradually consume Wilkes' remaining troops - at that time, his surrender would not be active but passive.
A wise monarch knows when to fight to the death, and also knows when to surrender: surrendering after exhausting all the strength to fight back will only make the situation worse and lose all the bargaining chips.
Model rode forward and approached the wall of Hanhai Castle. At this time, Chris had already ordered the artillery to stop firing again. The smoke on the tower had not yet dissipated, and many people were cleaning up the dead bodies and broken stones.
"I am the messenger of Ailan Hill! Please ask your Lord Wilkes to come out and speak!" The middle-aged Modler rode on a warhorse with great momentum and shouted loudly under the city: "My name is Modler! Please ask your city lord Lord Wilkes to come out and speak!"
On the city wall, Wilkes waved his hands to disperse the smoke in front of him, and saw Modler below the city. He squinted his eyes and shouted to the people below: "I am Wilkes! I have long heard of Modler 's name... But now we are entangled in war, so if you have anything to say, just say it like this!"
"Lord Wilkes! In this situation, you have no reason to persist! Stop the fighting now and follow me to see His Majesty Chris. There is no need to let innocent people die in vain."
"It was Chris who came to beat me..." Wilkes, standing on the top of the city wall, wanted to say this, but looking at the black smoke and the soldiers falling down, he forced himself to suppress his voice.
To be fair, if he had such strong fighting power, he would also go south to wipe out the North County and the earthen forts... He would even conquer Seris and establish a powerful country.
However, it was still a bit uncomfortable to have this happen to him. He pressed the battlement and shouted to the people below: "Wait a minute!"
After he finished speaking, he turned around and prepared to walk down the wall. His adjutant, Bourjois, followed him with his sword, anxiously following Wilkes down the stairs, and asked, "Sir! What are you going to do?"
"Open the city gate! I want to meet the former Lord of Seris... Forget it, there is no need to worry about this title at this time... I want to meet the Grand Duke of Ailan Hill and find a way out for our Hanhai." Wilkes said.
"My lord! I'll go! You stay in the city..." Bourjois nervously stopped Wilkes and advised, "Let me go. My lord, you must ensure your own safety."
Wilkes waved his hand and laughed. He said to Bourjois, "If you have such an absolute advantage, would you still do anything? He doesn't need to do anything to me to win... Besides, he still has to care about his face."
"Why should I save face?" Chris said to Captain Walter beside him with a smile on the hillside in the distance, "If it can reduce our losses and the consumption of artillery shells, what does it matter if I lose a little reputation ?"
He looked at the open gate of Hanhai Castle and said to Walter, "If he doesn't cooperate later, you arrest him! I won't let him go after I arrest him first."
Just when Chris had decided to save shells even at the cost of his reputation, Wilkes had already ridden his horse to Modler. The two greeted each other and then talked about the battle situation at hand.
"I've come all the way here...Northern County has indeed surrendered." Modler extinguished Wilkes' last bit of hope and said, "Behind Ailan Hill's army are not more troops, but caravans and carriages."
Wilkes was stunned for a moment, then looked at Modler: "You mean, Chris doesn't have any reinforcements either?"
"He has no reinforcements because he doesn't need them. Whether it's a field battle or a siege, his troops are invincible here." Modler knew what the other party was going to say, so he said, "Do you think you can win if you just eat up this army of more than 1,000 people by chance?"
"In less than a year, he will be able to gather more troops like this to attack you, and your military strength will not change in any fundamental way." Modler is a more comprehensive general than Wilkes, and his analysis of this situation is more comprehensive: "No matter from which angle you look at it, you will only fail."
"Surrendering now and being defeated after killing in vain are two completely different things." Model gave Wilkes a choice and began to persuade him word by word.
"I understand what you said..." Wilkes shook his head dejectedly and sighed, "But if I surrender to him, what good will it bring to Hanhai?"
"Benefits? From what I saw along the way, those baggage wagons were filled with cloth and other materials. All your people will be Chris's subjects from now on. He will be responsible for feeding these people and feeding them better... Isn't this a benefit?" Modler asked back.
"This..." Wilkes nodded, acknowledging Modler's statement. He looked at the army formation of Elan Hill in the distance and agreed, "As long as you do what you say and guarantee the safety , and ensure that my people can live and work in peace, I am willing to offer my loyalty."
Chris didn't know that he had already decided to be the target of his evil deeds and was now ready to pack up and surrender. He rode his horse to the top of the hill, waiting for the other party's next plan.
Then, he saw a huge white flag hanging on the top of the Hanhai Castle, which looked so eye-catching.
"Hanhai... surrendered." Walter, the commander of a regiment who was also pulling the reins, looked at the white flag in the distance and reported to Chris, "They surrendered."
Chris grinned. He could be said to be extremely lucky today: first, a senior commander who recommended himself came for free, and then another senior commander surrendered.
He still had some , and he had completely taken over the entire Hanhai Castle. Now his territory was larger, with more people to support his expansion and his industrialization.
"I saw it!" Pulling the reins of the warhorse, Chris remembered the famous poem "The spring breeze makes the horse's hooves gallop." On the plain in the distance, thousands of Elanhill grenadiers raised their weapons and shouted victoriously. The joyful voices could be clearly heard hundreds of meters away.
Seeing a battalion commander leading his soldiers into the Hanhai Castle and his royal flag flying on the top of the Hanhai Castle, Chris raised his chin and announced loudly: "Now, we have six large castles, hundreds of villages and towns. With a population of over one million, we can finally say that we are a qualified principality."
However, after he was happy, a difficult problem soon came to his mind: three more principalities were annexed by him, and the tax revenue of the Alante Empire in the northeast was once again reduced by 3,000 gold coins.
According to the practice of the Alante Empire, the Principality of Ailan Hill had to pay more taxes in exchange for the recognition of the Alante Empire after taking over so many places. However, under such circumstances, whether the Alante Empire would still sit back and watch the Principality of Ailan Hill rise in the northeast region was another matter.
It is very likely that the Alante Empire will not recognize Chris's rule over the three places of Tubao, Beijun and Hanhai, and will force the Principality of Ailanhill to hand over these territories.
Chris would definitely not spit out the fat meat that he had already swallowed. So, Chris restrained his smile and his expression became solemn - if things went wrong, a fierce battle would start soon, and once it started, this battle would not end easily.
