After the Lombards retreated to the farm, they could not defend the inner fort, which was small but full of stone and unusually strong. 77Dus Otto organized several groups of soldiers to attack the gate of the inner fort with broken logs, but they were never able to open the gate of the inner fort.

"My lord, the gates of the Inner Forts are too strong to be breached, and the enemy is constantly pouring fire oil and boiling dung water into the gates from the arrowholes in the Inner Fort, and several of our soldiers have been burned." Otto Zou said as he returned to Art's side with a frown.

Art waved off the guards who were bandaging his abdominal wounds, and replied bitterly, "I've seen it, let the guys stop attacking and retreat to safety."

Odo looked at the cotton cloth wrapped around Art's abdomen and began to drench blood, and said worriedly: "My lord, why don't you go to a safe place outside the farm to rest and recuperate, and then I will take the soldiers to rush the inner fort with a giant log."

In the decisive battle of the back wall just now, Arte took the lead, and led Ron and several people to rush into the Lombard formation at the most critical moment, Rao is Yat has strong combat experience and ability, and the Lombards who were desperately resisting at the head of the wall stabbed him in the abdomen with a short spear, and the diamond short spear pierced his plate chain mail and pierced the belly, but fortunately, Ron on the side arrived in time to cut down the enemy soldier, and the tip of the spear failed to stab in.

"My injuries are nothing serious, just bandage them to stop the bleeding. Don't storm the gate of the inner fort for the time being, there is an iron fence inside the gate, it is useless to hit it hard, you send someone to keep an eye on the inner fort for me to prevent the enemy from conspiring. In addition, hurry up and treat the wounded soldiers, there are a few soldiers who have lost a lot of blood and must hurry up to stop the bleeding, otherwise they will not be able to pull it back. ”

"Ron, call all the squadron leaders to the fort gate to discuss the matter, and let everyone figure out a way together."

Ron was given the order to leave, and after a while, several squadron commanders who had not been wounded in the battle were gathered at the gate of the outer wall of the farmstead.

After some debate, everyone finally abandoned the plan to storm the inner fort, and discussed a strategy of attacking the heart and soul and "burning the stone furnace......

On the afternoon of the day of the attack on the outer wall of the farm, except for the two squadron soldiers who were heavily damaged in battle, the outpost left the outer wall to guard the outer wall to monitor the enemy troops in the inner fort, and all the other soldiers and miscellaneous soldiers of the baggage team carried axes and saws to the dense forest around the farm to cut down trees and pick up dead branches, and the soldiers went back and forth between the farm and the dense forest, transporting pine wood and stacks of dry firewood to the outside of the farm to pile up.

By the time it was getting dark, a large pile of sticks and firewood had been piled up at the base of the gate of the farm's outer wall, and the number was still increasing.

While the soldiers were collecting firewood like ants, the soldiers who were watching the Lombards outside the gates of the inner fort were not idle.

Art taught a few simple words of Lombard to a few of the soldiers with loud voices, and asked them to take turns shouting into the inner fort.

"Go out and surrender, disarm and don't kill!"

"Kill the commander, raise your head to receive the reward!"

"If you don't fall today, you will set tomorrow."

Just a few words, several soldiers kept repeating, and after a while, when the other soldiers had learned it, they became a group of three or five people who took turns to persuade the Lombard defenders of the inner castle to surrender.

The Lombard defenders were not afraid of the siege at all, after all, they had hoarded a lot of food, drinking water and weapons and baggage in the inner fort, as long as the fort gate was not broken, it would be no problem to hold on for ten days and a half, and at that time, Solburg would definitely find a way to come to the rescue of the Lombards in the farm. So the Lombards in the inner fort turned a deaf ear to the exhortations outside the fort.

However, this arrogance continued until the early morning of the second day.

Early in the morning, when the Lombards opened their eyes, which had just been squinted after a nervous night, they were surprised to find that the walls around the inner fort were all piled with dry wood and extremely flammable pine wood.

The Lombards now understand why the enemy soldiers who attacked the city yesterday went around collecting firewood, grass and dead trees, originally to make themselves stuffed in the stone inner fort into "stewed pot meat", now the Lombards really panicked, they hurriedly dumped the water hoarded in the inner fort from the arrow hole in the inner fort and the outer wall of the fort top watchtower, but just after pouring a few buckets of water, the Lombards stopped their useless action, because they were desperate to find that the enemy troops outside the inner fort had poured fire oil on the firewood, besides, so much firewood, The water hoarded in the inner fort is not enough to pour firewood and grass......

Art looked at the firewood and grass that the soldiers had piled up at night, and nodded to Otto, who left the wall with a wicked smile and began to ask the soldiers to prepare for the fire.

However, before the Lombards could become "stewed meat", Art still planned to persuade them to surrender one more time.

"Listen to the defenders in the inner fort, I am the commander of the army in front of you, I have given you a whole night of time to think about surrender, you still have one last chance to open the door and surrender, otherwise I will light the firewood and let you try the purgatory-like fire." Art shouted a pure Lombard Northland accent that hadn't been used in years.

"You're a Lombard!!" The commander of the Lombard garrison, who had not spoken since retreating to the Inner Fort, asked through the arrows in the Inner Fort.

Art didn't answer.

"If you are a Lombard, why do you work for Provençal dogs?"

Art remained silent.

Seeing that Art was silent, the commander of the Lombard garrison thought that he was moved, and continued to shout: "I am the outpost leader baron under the Count of Waldbury in the Duchy of Lombardy, if you are willing to surrender to me with your warriors, I can give you endless wealth and status after this battle." ”

"The Provençal people are on the verge of being destroyed by us, you need no need to be loyal to a dying monarch, believe me, the Provençals who surrender to us will still be able to obtain the wealth and glory that they cannot imagine in their eternal life, not to mention that you are a great Lombard warrior." The more the commander of the Lombard defenders spoke, the more agitated he became.

Arte's face became more and more gloomy, not because the commander of the Lombard garrison advised him to surrender, but because he heard the words "Wadbury".

"Otto, set fire!" Art shouted at Otto under the wall.

Odo had already lit the torches with his soldiers, and when he heard Art's order, Odo and seven or eight soldiers threw the burning torches at the base of the inner fort wall.

The torches fell smoothly under the pyre of the inner fort, and the flames jumped and connected to the dead branches and lit the pyre, and soon the smoke and dust began to rise, followed by the flames......

"Everyone, keep an eye on the gates of the inner fort, and if the enemy rushes out, kill them immediately." As soon as Art gave the order, he turned and looked in the direction of Thorburg to the south.

"Sergeant Major, there is an unidentified cavalry contingent bypassing Lord Berrion's army from a hunter's trail to the southeast, about ten men, and Commander Lusignan is maneuvering with a few sentry horses."

At the fork in the road three miles south of the farmstead, Redder grabbed the reins, and the war horse under him neighed and raised his front hooves and stopped in front of Angus, "Sergeant Major, there is an unidentified cavalry contingent bypassing Lord Berrion's army from a hunter's trail to the southeast, about ten men, and Chief Lusignan is maneuvering with them with a few sentry horses. ”

Angus hung the water bladder back on his waist, turned to Felix and ordered, "Felix, blow the trumpet and assemble."

Felix's squire removed the horn and puffed out his cheeks to blow a low rallying battle horn.

In a few moments, Jafar led a sentry from the western patrol post.

"Angus~My lord, what's wrong~? Fight? Jafar took the reins and spun around, asking in a less proficient Burgundian language.

"The Lombard cavalry have escaped the blockade of Lord Berrion and have come around from the southeast, presumably to come to the aid of the farm outpost, and Lusignnan has held them back, and we must go and drive them away. The lord said that he would take the inner fort today, and we must not let the enemy know that the inner fort is still stubbornly defended by the Lombard defenders, so that they can give up. ”

"Let's go ~ fight!" Jafar understood Angus's words and drew the hammer from his waist.

Angus jumped on his horse and led five or six sentry horses to the southeast......

Further south of the shield line formed by the sentinels, Viscount Berrion sent an army of more than 150 men to garrison the road through which the Lombard army had to pass through the same farm outpost, and at the same time, several Provençal armies from other directions also made it appear that they were going to attack Solburg, and it was precisely because of the Lombard army sent by Viscount Berrion to contain the Lombard army in Solburg with all his might, that in the past two days Art was able to attack the outposts of the farm and the surrounding areas without interference......

Eyes back to the battlefield of the inner fort of the farm, all the soldiers who were on guard near the inner fort withdrew to the outer wall, because the burning flames and thick smoke had shrouded the entire inner fort, and the Lombards inside were estimated to be unable to escape before the firewood burned out.

However, this circle of fire will not be extinguished for a while, because this is a hilly and mountainous area, and the last thing that is lacking is hay and sticks to make a fire.

In the inner fort, twenty or so Lombard defenders were feeling the suffocation and choking smoke brought by the sudden rise in temperature.

As time passed, the stones of the fort became hotter and hotter, and the air inside the fort was ignited by the heat conducted by the stones.

"Water, I want to drink water, give me water!" A Lombard soldier lifted his sweat-soaked armor and clamored for water to relieve his fever.

However, the water hoarded in the inner fort was limited, and it was impossible to let the soldiers use it all at once in order to hold on for a long time, so the Lombard commander categorically refused: "After drinking all the water, what do you use to hold on and wait for help?"

The soldier retorted, "My lord, >> again."

If you don't drink water if it's hot, everyone will have to turn into a roast pig. Anyway, it's better to die than to drink enough water and then jump into the fire, which is much better than dying of thirst. ”

"You dare to disturb the morale of the army? I'm not afraid I'll chop your head with a sword!! The commander began to use his old obscenity to suppress the restlessness in the soldiers' hearts.

After a few words of threat, the commander slowed down his tone and said with relief: "Guys, hold on a little longer, our reinforcements will definitely be coming, don't forget that we still have a large and invincible Lombard army behind us, as long as you hold on to this battle, I will definitely ask for a reward for everyone, think that your wives and sons are waiting for you to return with your achievements and rewards......"

The commander's reinforcements from the southern Lombardy offset the despair in the hearts of the soldiers, and then activated the courage of the soldiers with the rich military rewards after the war.

In the impassioned exuberance of the commander, the courage and tenacity of the Lombard soldiers were almost rekindled.

Until a burst of Lombard came from outside the inner fort, "Baron Schmitt, I am Pedro, the deputy captain of the cavalry of Solburg, come out~ We failed~ The army of Provence blocked the road to rescue, Viscount von Billon sent us to see if you ~"

Art didn't let the captured Lombard cavalry continue, and patted Angus on the shoulder, "Sergeant Major, take him down." You go down and bandage the wound, it's hot here, don't let the wound fester. ”

Then Art shouted at the inner fort, "Baron Schmitt, you can continue to wait and become a roast pig, or surrender to me with the honor of the soldiers, and I will give you the courtesy of a nobleman." ”

After a long time, there was still no response from the inner fort, only a few crackles of metal slashing between swords were heard......

Tips: Enter "Panda Literature" in the search engine, you can find this site, thank you.

Chapter 189: Burning the "Stone Furnace"