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Vol 05 Chapter 147: The First Southern Expedition III

「This is the second one. Things are going well.」

Bartolo sipped his drink as he watched the city gates slowly open. Four days into the initial battle, Bartolo had already captured two cities.

The first city had fallen in three days, and the second in just one.

There were reasons for this overwhelming speed.

First, the city walls themselves were not very sturdy, and the moats were shallow. After all, these were city-states with populations of less than ten thousand. Once surrounded, it was easy to make them fall.

Second, the siege weapons. The newly conquered Kirisia city-states were expected to rebel. Therefore, Almus and Bartolo had preemptively prepared a large stockpile of siege weapons.

These had proven their power.

And the third reason…

「If you surrender before the aries1 hits the walls, we will increase your taxes and impose reparations, but you will retain your autonomy as before. If you surrender after the aries hits the walls, your lives will be spared, but your property and autonomy will not be guaranteed. If you do not surrender until the city falls, all residents will be enslaved. This time, the aries hit the walls, but you surrendered before the city fell. Thus, your lives will be spared.」

Bartolo drank his wine while grinning. He looked down at the messenger who had brought the news of surrender and commanded in a chilling voice.

「The three thousand residents of the city are ordered to evacuate outside the walls. You have one hour. You may only take your clothing with you. Carrying anything of value is forbidden.」

「But… at least let us take our farming tools…」

「Do you want to die?」

Bartolo coldly cut off the plea. The messenger hung his head and accepted Bartolo’s words.

An hour later, all the city’s residents were driven out beyond the walls. Once he confirmed that the evacuation was complete, Bartolo addressed his soldiers.

「You are now permitted to loot. However, no fighting over the spoils. All looted items must be submitted for assessment. They will be distributed based on merit later. Finish within three hours.」

「Yessir!!!」

The soldiers cheered enthusiastically and charged into the city. The Kirisian city-states were far wealthier than a normal Adernian city or village.

It was a city worth looting.

The soldiers stormed into houses, taking paintings, ceramics, gold and silver ornaments, jewels, coins, glass windows, farming tools, weapons, and even the timber and stones from the buildings themselves.

In no time, the city was reduced to a crumbling ruin.

Once the looting was over, Bartolo ordered oil and black powder to be spread throughout the city. As the sun began to set, all preparations were complete.

「Set it on fire.」

At Bartolo’s command, the city was set ablaze. The fire quickly ignited the oil and black powder, engulfing the city in flames.

The blaze illuminated the surroundings as brightly as daylight.

「Beautiful, what a magnificent sight. Ha ha ha!!!」

Bartolo laughed heartily, drinking his wine in high spirits. The former inhabitants of the city watched with tears in their eyes as their city burned.

◇

「Is it really okay to be this extravagant?」

「His Majesty’s orders were to spare those who surrender and to thoroughly crush those who resist. There’s no problem.」

Bartolo responded to Roswald, who looked worried, as he sipped his drink.

The first city had resisted fiercely, leading to street battles after its fall. Bartolo had burned the city to the ground, killed all its leaders, and sent the remaining residents to the capital as slaves.

The second city, aware of the fate of the first, surrendered early in the conflict. As a result, their lives were spared.

It might seem brutal, but it was an extremely effective method. Ultimately, it reduced the number of casualties.

Roswald understood this well. What concerned him was how Almus felt about the situation.

Almus’s lenient occupation policies were well-known not only within the country but also in surrounding countries.

「Roswald, think back. Has the emperor ever forgiven those who betrayed or rebelled against him? Enemies will naturally resist. Strikes are tolerated as they do not lead to rebellion. However, armed uprisings are met with a harsh response.」

Almus showed kindness only to allies and enemies. He had a history of ruthlessly purging traitors and rebels.

The incident where plebeians surrounded a patrician’s mansion was a somewhat special case and is therefore excluded.

「His Majesty did not give specific orders, meaning he entrusted the judgment to me. His Majesty won’t be angry.」

「I hope you’re right… By the way, what’s the plan from here? According to the map, there’s a city with a population of about five thousand not too far from here.」

Should we occupy it after dawn? Roswald’s question made Bartolo ponder.

「Hmm, we’ve allocated a thousand troops to escort prisoners… Occupying a city with just two thousand soldiers might be tough. The enemy should have recovered from the battle four days ago by now… Alright, let’s halt our advance here. We’ll continue after reinforcements from His Majesty arrive.」

◇

「That Bartolo sure is making a spectacle…」

I watched the distant red glow. It wavered in the wind. It was probably the flames from the city Bartolo had set ablaze.

「Well, perhaps it’s necessary to be this harsh to maintain order.」

The expression ‘carrot and stick’ is widely known for a reason. Both punishment and reward are needed to govern a country.

We gave the carrot called autonomy to the Kirisian city-states but did not wield the stick. I did it like this because I thought it would expedite the end of the war. However, it backfired.

From now on, I must take a stricter approach.

「General Bartolo is impressive, isn’t he?」

Ron, standing beside me and watching the flames, murmured. Bartolo had crushed four thousand with three thousand troops and already occupied two cities.

The speed at which he did it is beyond what a typical commander could achieve.

「I initially thought he was just a drunkard. Turns out he’s a very capable drunkard.」

He is still a drunkard tough. I’ve never seen him reject a cup of alcohol.

He’ll probably die of liver disease, a shame.

「The enemy’s strength was estimated to be around fifteen thousand, right? General Bartolo has taken out four thousand, so that leaves about ten thousand, doesn’t it?」

「Well, that’s assuming they have unyielding determination. I think some cities are already considering defection.」

Even if they don’t defect, they will certainly be less enthusiastic about the war. That’s the nature of a confederation of city-states.

Most likely, the enemy’s numbers… are less than eight thousand.

By the way, my reinforcements consist of three thousand troops, plus the one thousand that temporarily left Bartolo’s army to escort prisoners.

These will join Bartolo’s two thousand tomorrow, making a total of six thousand. The numbers are slightly against us, but not by much.

「What concerns me is the stance of Lezado.」

「I sent Iarl just in case. According to the letter he sent, they promised active neutrality. However, individual merchants might still offer support on their own.」

Lezado is a country of merchants. The power of individual merchants often overtakes that of the state.

This means the decisions of the country can’t be entirely trusted.

Just like Ainz, there are likely many who support our country, but also many who oppose us.

「We need to crush the rebels before Lezado can cause any trouble.」

The real battle begins tomorrow.

◇

「Your Majesty, we have been awaiting your arrival.」

Bartolo hadn’t moved from the city he had captured yesterday, so we could join up quickly. The city had already been burned to ashes, reduced to a blackened heap of charcoal.

「Good job. By the way, how did you defeat the four thousand troops? I read the contents of your letter, but I want to hear it from you.」

I asked Bartolo to explain the new tactics and the reasons for his victory. Bartolo grinned broadly, clearly enjoying himself as he began to explain.

「I see… If these tactics prove effective in the next battle, we’ll officially adopt them for our army. Have you sent out scouts? Do we know the enemy’s position and numbers?」

Bartolo spread out a map.

「Your Majesty, this is our current position. About a day’s march from here lies a city with a population of ten thousand. This city is the core of the rebellion. Currently, around seven thousand troops are gathered there.」

「And the cities and villages along the way?」

「They seem to be abandoning them. It’s a reasonable decision since it’s too late for them to intervene. I believe all the cities along the way will surrender.」

Well, it’s not like the cities have strong bonds of loyalty to each other, so it’s natural for them to feel no obligation to fight for a city that has abandoned them.

「Do you think it will develop into a siege?」

「No, that’s unlikely unless the enemy is extremely foolish. From what I’ve heard, this city isn’t designed for a siege. Besides, the enemy is aware of the power of our siege weapons. They will likely try to settle this with a field battle, especially since they outnumber us.」

In a siege, the defenders have the advantage. But once they decide to enter a defensive position, they lose the ability to launch attacks.

Opening the city gates to attack the enemy carries too much risk.

Siege warfare generally assumes reinforcements will come to aid the defenders.

「The country is still in turmoil. A swift resolution is desirable. Can you finish this quickly?」

「Of course. Who do you think I am?」

Bartolo grinned confidently.

「Good, I’m counting on you. I know you’ll win.」

I patted Bartolo on the shoulder.

Once the war is over, I’ll make sure to have some fine wine ready for him.

TN1: The aries was a type of battering ram used by the Romans, its head was shaped like a ram’s head, hence the name (aries means ram in Latin). It was a large wooden beam reinforced with metal in the head, suspended by ropes or chains from a framework protected by a movable shed called testudo.