Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Even after the battle was over, they could continue to collect tolls... because the Vineta Army had the right to impose tolls on the Guzhi Roads they constructed, partly using the fees for road maintenance and partly as additional income which went straight into the army's treasury.

This law was originally intended to encourage the Army to engage more in infrastructure construction. As a result, the Guzhi Roads between the major cities of Vineta had become one of the most important sources of revenue for the Army... The most wonderful part was that this income was not included in the military budget, allowing the Army to use it as they pleased... Therefore, the splendid Army headquarters could actually be said to have been built on the sweat of the soldiers working on the roads.

"Where is my mind wandering to..." Winters shook his still somewhat groggy head, hastily straightened his attire, took the newly issued sword from the rack, and said to Andre, "Let's go."

The two mounted their warhorses and galloped toward Red Sulfur Harbor.

The warhorses of the Third Legion were left at Sea Blue City, and the Saint Marco Legion did have some warhorses, but only as mounts for the officers. The Saint Marco Legion, being a reserve force, did not have a cavalry unit.

However, it was quite inconvenient for the officers of the Third Legion to move around without warhorses, so the logistics department initially got some mules. As a result, they faced strong resistance from officers with cavalry backgrounds; some even claimed they would rather "swallow a bullet before suffering the indignity of riding a mule."

It was Winters who came up with an idea. He had noticed that the plantation owners on Red Sulfur Island generally kept horses. The logistics department of the Third Legion immediately acted, forcibly buying up all the horses from the plantations on the island. Naturally, the plantation owners dared not express their anger, as they were already lucky not to have been liquidated.

Through this coerced buying and selling, the Third Legion's logistics department managed to issue a warhorse to every officer in the Legion.

The military acts swiftly and decisively, so once the two Regimental Commanders decided to build a Guzhi Road, their subordinates only needed to focus on how to carry out the order.

The Red Sulfur Island Road Construction Strategy Headquarters was established five minutes after the order was issued, drawing officers from both legions to manage the construction of the Guzhi Road, with Antonio assuming the role of Chief of the Department himself.

The Strategy Department immediately dispatched engineer officers responsible for surveying and mapping, starting the preliminary plan on paper right away.

These tasks that required advanced expertise, of course, had nothing to do with Winters and Andre, two junior second lieutenants; their assignment was well-considered based on their abilities.

"What? What's that? You're saying we should lead a group to conscript laborers?" Winters looked at the order with a grimace.

"Hey." Andre seemed unfazed, laughing, "After all this hassle, it turns out we still have to deal with farmers, don't we?" Continue reading at empire

"Alas, let's go."

The order from the Road Construction Strategy Department only specified how many laborers were needed and said nothing else. In addition, Winters and Andre were allotted forty fully armed soldiers.

The superiors' intentions were elusive but clear: By any means necessary, just get the manpower.

In the following days, while Winters and Andre were busy recruiting villagers on the island to work on the road at a daily wage of five silver coins, a small-scale skirmish broke out outside of Tachi.

The garrison, noting that the Venetians outside were not undertaking any significant actions besides wall construction, grew bolder and dared to send men out of the city at night to continue deepening the moat.

This, of course, could not be concealed from the Venetians outside as the Venetian Army's siege lines were less than four hundred meters from the city walls.

The sound of stone clinking in the moat could be clearly heard on the siege lines, four hundred meters away.

Antonio and Layton, of course, could not simply watch the defenders strengthen their fortifications. Since they lacked cavalry, two hundred-man teams from the Third Legion were mobilized on short notice.

There was no time for talk. Antonio ordered Captain Doria and Lieutenant Juan to lead a hundred-man team each and strike with light equipment from the east and west sides, aiming to approach the moat as quickly as possible.

If they could drive the fleeing soldiers into the city, the assault teams only needed to hold the city gates until the two large legions launched a full assault. If there was no chance to seize the gates, the assault teams were to inflict casualties and then quickly retreat.

Ten minutes later, two teams of figures silently left the Venetian barricades and approached Tachi from both flanks.

The light infantry moved swiftly, covering the less than half a kilometer distance in no time. Just as the defenders on the walls sounded the alarm bell when they spotted the enemy, the two leading Centurions had already leaped into the trench with their swords, slashing frantically.

Right behind their officers, Venetian soldiers poured into the moat like a tidal wave. The Tanilians in the trench, armed only with tools, tried to climb out and flee but were grabbed by the ankles by Venetian soldiers and dragged back into the trench to be killed.

The one-sided slaughter in the trench, which was less than two meters high and wide, unfolded quickly, as the two Centurions began to lead their men from the east and west towards the center city gate.

As they advanced, they pushed the Tanilians in the trench toward the city gate.

"The honor of taking Tachi first is mine!" Captain Doria shouted inwardly, eyeing the mass of Tanilians crowded at the city gate.

However, no matter how desperately the Tanilians at the city gate beat and pleaded, the gate remained unmoved.

The defenders in the outer bastion were the first to react, and gunfire erupted from above. Musket and crossbowmen began firing at the Venetian soldiers in the moat.

The defenders on the city walls were also stirred by the counterattack from the bastion, starting to use their ranged weapons to suppress the enemy.