December 1, 1723, 9 o'clock, in the central plains of the Valstad Empire.

The cold winter morning is bitterly cold, and large snowflakes like goose feathers are floating in the air.

On the endless plains, as far as the eye can see, there are dense barracks tents,

In an open field, soldiers run in thick winter uniforms for physical training, and in the distance the road is crowded with large wagons carrying goods, and food and ammunition supplies are being brought in from warehouses in the vicinity.

By early this morning, the entire Imperial Guard had been rapidly assembled, and twenty-seven thousand of the most elite Valstad warriors were waiting—waiting for the Empire's masters to come to the rescue of the current situation.

At 1 p.m., the Emperor of the Valstad Empire, Salantos Midnet, arrived in the cluster.

In the previous battles, the Emperor personally led the combined fleet of the Empire and the Free Trade Alliance to victory in a naval battle, which sank and damaged more than 70 large ships of the Solan Kingdom and completely crushed the second invading fleet of Lierao.

The sudden appearance of the enemy's third fleet shattered all illusions of victory, and after the enemy landed in the northern part of the peninsula, the emperor handed over the command of his fleet to his eldest son, Duke Mayer Onassis, and then returned to the empire mainland in a high-speed dhow, landing in an abandoned fishing village.

She worked in the carriage, constantly reviewing documents, and traveled under the stars and nights along the way, without any rest at all, until she finally arrived at the base camp of the Scales Guard.

Field Marshal Lanfield, commander of the Imperial Guard, greeted the Emperor outside the barracks.

"Your Majesty, you have worked hard, I noticed that you are limping when you walk, is it an injury?"

The Emperor looked down at his boots, rubbed the dirt on the soles of his shoes with stones, and said:

"Don't worry, my marshal, it's just a thrilling episode, it's not a big deal.

During the previous naval battle, a 36-pound heavy cannon shell pierced the protective plate and then penetrated into my command compartment, hitting one of the wooden legs of my desk, and the flying pieces of wood pierced the leg muscles.

Thanks to the gods of luck for your favor, if this cannonball deviates more than ten centimeters to the left, my leg will be gone, but even then, I will still appear in front of you on time with a cane, and no injury will affect my determination to save the country. ”

Looking at the one-eyed, one-armed, bloodshot and haggard look of the emperor, with bandages still wrapped around his legs, Field Marshal Lanfield showed a sympathetic and sad expression:

"Your Majesty, you are too tired, go and lie down in the camp for a while!" He pleaded with concern.

The emperor waved his hand and categorically refused: "No, when the country is in danger, how can I sleep peacefully?"

My staff team will arrive later, let's go to the headquarters tent to discuss, Lanfield, you go and gather all the officers above the battalion level of the Guards, let the engineers set up a makeshift podium on the training ground, and I will give a pre-war mobilization speech. ”

A quarter of an hour later, on the open training ground, the officers lined up in neat columns according to their ranks, waiting to be reviewed by His Majesty the Emperor.

Valstad Emperor Sarantos Midnet stood on a makeshift wooden stand facing the crowd, and although she was exhausted, she could speak clearly and speak so loudly that everyone could hear her.

"Brothers and sisters of the Guards! The situation facing our country is now extremely critical, so I will not say those high-sounding polite words, try to make a long story short, and please forgive me if there is any rudeness!

On the northern coast, the hateful invaders have broken through three of our fortresses in a row, and at this moment, the enemy is only a stone's throw away from our sacred capital, Fort Midknight!

Thanks to my Chief Military Adviser, Sir Simon Gallieni, who proposed in Parliament five years ago the construction of a new fortress as a last bulwark to defend the capital, which was officially commissioned last autumn, and which came in handy!

The 9,000 soldiers of the 21st Division led by General Redmond, the defender of the Michian Schwagen Fortress, are still holding on in bloody battles, buying us precious time to save the situation!

As far as the current situation is concerned, our other troops are still far away, and the supplies are insufficient, so there is no time to rush back to the capital to support.

At present, the closest and most effective force to the capital is our Guard, and everyone present, only you can save the Michian Schwagen Fortress in time to ensure the safety of our imperial capital!

As in every crisis that has preceded me, as the leader of this country, I will be a good role model, and I ask everyone to give 12 points of effort and not to slack off.

If the Michian Schwagen Fortress really falls, the imperial capital will fall quickly, and in that case, every Valstadian will lose face, and the morale of the entire nation will suffer a heavy blow!

What's more, if the enemy gains a foothold in our capital and then deploys defenses, it will be difficult for us to organize an effective counteroffensive to retake territory in the north.

Once the enemy has gained a foothold, they will send a steady stream of their native armies to the Valsta Peninsula, and they will use their huge population advantage to gradually crush us, and at that point, the end that awaits us is destruction! So, we need to do everything we can to prevent that from happening.

After careful consideration, I have made the following arrangements, and I ask you to keep in mind that the 27,000 troops of the Guards are divided into three parts: the vanguard, the main force of infantry and mule-horse artillery, and the baggage brigade.

The vanguard is composed of 6,000 light and heavy cavalry of the Guards Cavalry Division, they should take advantage of the speed of the cavalry, arrive at the fortress of Michies-Schwagen in the shortest possible time, and after a simple formation, they will launch a large-scale group charge against the enemy forces besieging the city, I do not ask them to crush the enemy army with a large number of people, that is not realistic, the cavalry just need to reduce the pressure on the defenders, if possible, it is best to be able to enter the fortress to assist in the defense.

According to my estimates, our main infantry and mule-horse artillery will be half the way slower than the cavalry vanguard, and if by that time our fortress succeeds in holding it, two Guards infantry divisions will rush forward and engage, remember, all for the sake of delaying time and waiting for our reinforcements to rush.

The task of the baggage team is also quite arduous, to supply our heavy artillery and all kinds of materials to the battlefield in time, and now it is snowing, and the roads are getting more and more muddy and slippery, but I implore everyone to overcome the difficulties and arrive in time!

Our intelligence estimates that the enemy landing force has at least 17,000 cavalry, about 180,000 infantry, and more than 600 light and heavy artillery pieces of various calibers. The good news is that my eldest son, Duke Meyer, is leading a combined fleet to block the enemy's retreat, and if he succeeds, the enemy will have no backup anytime soon.

Nevertheless, the enemy's local superiority in strength is still obvious, and we need to gather the corresponding forces to compete with it, organize and dispatch - this is my task as a leader, for this reason, I have been busy for several nights without closing my eyes, but fortunately everything is going well, and an army of about 170,000 people is gathering from all over the country in the direction of the capital.

The process of gathering forces will take at least two to three minutes, so our Guards must help the defenders of Michiwalgen Fortress to hold the last barrier of the Imperial Capital, only in this way can our country be saved from the danger of destruction!

Brothers and sisters of the Guards, everyone present is a brave warrior, the elite of the elite!

I am confident that you will be able to accomplish this difficult task, and that my adopted son, Baron Wicktingströnhalt, and my daughter, Princess Edgar Midnet, both serve in the Guard, and I will warn them one by one, let them lead by example, and the Valstad royals will be with you!

I can't do anything else, so I'll leave two hours for everyone as preparation time, and start the action on time at 16 o'clock in the afternoon, and now, all disbanded! ”

The officers of the Guards present all had tears in their eyes, and under the leadership of Field Marshal Lanfield, everyone shouted in unison:

"We're going to do it to the death! Long live His Majesty the Emperor! ”