The small town of Fastov, located southeast of Zhytomyr, was crowded with people on the streets out of the city, and as long as some of the townspeople from all backgrounds fled in the direction of Zhytomyr, which was garrisoned by the regular army of the Polish-Lithuanian United Kingdom.

Ever since the news of the defeat of General Samuel Wašcz by the Poles' of the 'Tatar Army' reached the small town of Fastov, this flow of refugees has been happening every day.

Standing at the head of the city, the mayor of Fastov, a small nobleman with the title of baron, looked at the surging crowd with envy, and sighed helplessly and said to himself: "How nice it would be if I didn't have this mayor......"

In the Polish-Lithuanian United Kingdom, the minor nobles who were granted local officials had many rights, had more additional income than ordinary minor nobles, and did not have to be called up for military service, but at the same time they were burdened with the responsibility of defending their territory.

In the east, the mayor of Fastov is the equivalent of a vassal of General Stanisław Koniecpolsky, who is stationed in Zhytomyr, and if he dares to abandon the town he is guarding and run away, General Stanisław Koniecpolski can justifiably deprive the mayor of Fastov of all his honor and wealth, and even remove his title of nobility according to the Polish nobility law.

The small and medium-sized nobles and knightly classes of the European continent may seem beautiful in the eyes of the commoners, but in the eyes of the real nobles, they are nothing more than a group of high-ranking soldiers and subordinate officers.

Only a large aristocracy with a large fief like the monarch of a small independent kingdom had supreme power, especially in the aristocratic democratic political environment of the United Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania.

However, although the middle and middle nobles and knights of the European continent were subject to the control of the upper nobles and even the king, they were not an exploited class, because they could completely transfer their burdens to the lower freedmen and serfs, and the only thing that the middle and middle nobles and knights could not escape was military obligations.

"Mayor, if we let the townspeople leave, the number of young and strong militia in the town of Fastov will be greatly reduced, if that group of Tatar bandits who call themselves the Taiping Army really fight, how can we resist?"

The city security officer beside Mayor Fastov said with a melancholy face.

"Hey, we are all Poles, so why bother with each other, and besides, don't you and my family also flee to Zhytomyr with the flow of people?

If we forcibly prevent the townspeople from fleeing, even if the Tatar bandits of the Taiping Army do not come to Fastov, you and I will be brought to the court of the nobility, many of whom are inextricably linked to the local nobility.

Besides, we only let the propertied townspeople leave, and we did not let the refugees from the surrounding villages and the poor people in the towns, many of whom were young and strong, and they were also a considerable force when armed, and it would not be a problem to fill the city. ”

Mayor Fastov explained.

At this moment, more than a dozen townspeople who had already left outside the city hula la-la, shouting loudly as they ran, and all the fleeing townspeople along the way ran back with this flow of people, and it was not until everyone ran back to the city gate of Fastów that the mayor heard the reason.

"Everyone go back to the town and close the city gate, the Tatar bandits of the Taiping Army are coming!"

The mayor of Fastov and the city security officer looked at each other, and no longer cared about the 'light clouds' at the head of the city, they jogged towards the center of the town.

Soon, a bell rang out from the towers of the town of Fastov, and the heavy iron-clad wooden door fell as all the returning townspeople entered the city.

About half an hour later, the battle flags of the Taiping Army, which were unfurled and covered by the sun, swarmed and walked a mile outside the city before stopping.

The Polish militia at the head of the small town of Fastov couldn't help but gasp a few times after seeing the dense two-handed swordsmen wearing steel armor and steel helmets coming out of the Taiping army's military formation, and subconsciously glanced at the blade in their hands, feeling that facing such a scale of iron-clad soldiers was no different from suicide......

The mayor of Fastov, who was in the corner of the city, felt a chill in his heart at the Taiping Army's array full of steel armor, he was not an uninformed Polish civilian, and he knew very well what this kind of armor represented, even the mercenaries who joined the Polish regular army did not have as much luxury as the two-handed swordsmen under the command of the Taiping Army!

Once such an ironclad swordsman climbs the city wall, he can basically announce the fall of the town of Fastov, not to mention, it is rumored that the firearms of the Taiping army are very sharp, and they can fight far and accurately!

"Mayor, I know I shouldn't say this, but for the sake of the thousands of lives in the town, I have to tell you the fact that we have no chance of winning against this kind of enemy, this is not a war, but a slaughter and crushing!"

The security officer of Fastov City, who knew more about the army, said to the mayor beside him with trembling lips.

Mayor Fastov turned his head to look at the city security officer with a sad face: "Is there really no hope of victory?" ”

The city security officer pointed to the surrounding Polish militia: "The mayor can compare himself, I think, even people who lack military knowledge can see the difference between the enemy and us, the ironclad swordsman on the opposite side has a scale of 1,000 people, and the total number of our militia is not so much!"

Moreover, we had no artillery, there were not many muskets, and the militia was demoralized, with only rudimentary weapons and linen clothes!

The enemy was an army that had just defeated the Polish hussars and regulars under the command of General Samuel Wašc!

Excuse me, how much resistance do our people have against the army of General Samuel Washch? ”

The words of the city security officer made the last trace of insistence in the heart of the mayor of Fastov completely collapsed, resistance is one thing, but it is another thing to fight a battle that must be defeated and killed, anyway, if the town of Fastov is defeated and lost, it will also be responsible for losing the land, and even a small life will be lost, it is better to surrender and live for a while......

The fief of the mayor of Fastov is on the outskirts of this town, and if Fastov loses it, his fief is equivalent to giving it to others, and since resistance or non-resistance is the loss of everything, he is naturally inclined to surrender and save his life.

Since ancient times, there has been a thousand hardships and only death.

At the same time, Hong Tiancheng was pointing to the small town of Fastov, a mile away. Huberts said, "This will be the first battle for you to prove your worth, and I hope you don't let your warriors shed too much blood." ”

Cal. Huberts thumped his chest with his right hand and bowed, "Lord Mizu, please rest assured, my men only need one charge to take the town of Fastov." ”

Cal. As soon as Huberts finished speaking, a dazzling white flag suddenly rose in the distance in the small town of Fastov......