Soon, William's order was sent to the Polotsk fleet by the heralds. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info they are not far from the fortress.

And after hearing William's order, the Polotsk Inland River Fleet went up and down, and naturally got angry.

"Who does he think he is?, the king of Polotsk?!Why does he point fingers at us with such a commanding tone?!!!

On the flagship of the river fleet, the deputy commander of the fleet, the son of a big merchant in Polotsk, shouted angrily: "Order, order! We refuse to go to war unless he comes to us himself." Otherwise—"

"Order, strike. After this, he was interrupted by the commander of the fleet, Georg von Nolanburg.

Of course, although the deputy commander shouted louder than the commander. But the people of the flotilla will still listen to the commander.

"Why?!This will make Polotsk lose face, we are not their efforts! Polotsk is a free country, and we will never allow any nobleman to dictate our affairs!" the deputy commander was a little anxious - of course, his eagerness, George could understand. He wasn't just like the average aristocratic kid, he was excited because he was swept away. What he said did make a lot of sense.

Polotsk is a traditional commercial republic. It is a country where merchants have the final say. And such a country, in the human world ruled by the universal aristocracy, is naturally an outlier. The merchants were naturally fearful and wary of the outside world, especially the nobles who were close to them. If it had been placed before, the merchants would never have listened to William and put their fleet out for William's command.

Even if the army of the Tartariya Khanate is overwhelmed, it will not work.

"However, this is not the general situation you are talking about. Beside him, the commander sighed: "Now we are begging him. Looking at the Great Frontier, the only one who can save us is the Hereford family. Both economically, and militarily. ”

"But-" The deputy commander was still a little unwilling, but he couldn't say what to say after saying "but."

"There's nothing to be had. Commander George shook his head: "The other side - I mean the centaurs of Tartaria. If they do break through our defenses and reach the west bank of the Vistula, they won't be able to tell if you're a Mazovia or a Polotsk. Whether it is a businessman, or a nobleman. They all killed, they all robbed, they all enslaved. We're helping the Mazovians, we're helping the Herefords, we're helping ourselves...... Wouldn't it be better to think about it this way?"

"Hmm......" the deputy commander nodded reluctantly.

"Then don't sit around here. Hurry back to your post. Our leaders are calling the shots. If it's slow, the little guy will get angry. ”

Despite all that, Commander George finally stabbed William in the end—yes, he understood everything. But it's not happy, it's still not happy. It is enough not to let this "unpleasant" emotion interfere with his normal judgment.

And so, to the laughter of the sailors and sailors of Polotsk, a total of more than two dozen armed galleys went down the river, from north to south, towards the shallow waters of the Vistula.

Inland river warships, especially those used during the dry season, are naturally not too large, and the draft is not too much. In fact, all of the more than 50 Polotsk river warships have only a single deck, and there is not much ballast, and the bottom of the ship is a flat-bottom structure. There are only a few dozen crew members who have eliminated the oarsmen. Of course, the number of artillery guns on such ships was also not large. Only on the sides of the ship, on each side, six twelve-pounder light guns were armed. As well as an eighteen-pounder bow gun.

But both William and the Polotsk commanders believed that such a fleet would be sufficient, for, in comparison, its opponents were more shabby than the Tartarians. In fact, before that, without taking into account the variables of the Dark Elves, William even thought that Tartaria's centaurs would not be equipped with artillery. In this way, they will naturally be blown away in the face of the river gunboats in Polotsk.

It's a pity that William's previous judgment was wrong.

While the river flotilla received his order and then advanced in the direction of the fortress at the mouth of the river, on the eastern bank of the river, the army of Tartaria had a new arrangement.

Under the command of the technical sergeants of the dark elves, the Slavi laborers are quickly erecting makeshift gun emplacements out of sandbags and wood. The six-pounder and nine-pounder light infantry guns were then deployed in various gun emplacements.

"Did the other side have long expected the river fleet to attack?" William frowned, looked at the sappers on the other side, and thought to himself—and then quickly made a decision:

"Order, the river fleet temporarily retreated. Begin to prepare the arson raft. ”

"Yes, but—" Beside William, the star officer hesitated. However, this hesitation only lasted for a short time, and under William's forced gaze, he was quickly defeated, and then he was embarrassed to convey William's order as quickly as possible.

"Because the other side is protected by artillery groups, they do not use river fleets. Are you going to attack the other side's pontoon by setting fire to it?" said Charlumie, beside William, "but...... Speaking of which, that fleet is not ours either. What does it matter if the Polotsks go and fight with the Tartarian army twice?"

"Polotsk was very wary of the intervention of aristocratic forces. William replied, "In this case, you can't overstimulate them." ”

"But what is the point of the Polotsk flotilla's existence then? Is it only to use them to blockade the river?" said Shalumi, then, "but is it not possible to achieve the purpose of blockade by collecting ships?

"Not really. William shook his head: "If it really works for them, I will." Just let this fleet lose meaninglessly, I'm not that stupid. ”

"Losses are losses, it's not ours anyway - do you know or not, those Polotsks really hate it......," Charlumi complained beside William:

"Especially their deputy commander, who is obviously just a businessman's child. What's the big deal? I'm a count, a count. Why is he so arrogant to me?"

Hearing Xia Lumi say this, William couldn't help but smile: "Be lenient with them, Xia Lumi." Because they are losers. Losers are naturally emotionally vulnerable, naturally cranky, and rightfully arrogant. We should be considerate of them, especially when we have already received so much from Polotsk. ”

"Yes, they may not know until they die who has cheated them. Charlumi said with a smile.

"No, I don't think they don't know. William replied, "Although I have done it very secretively, there is still a little clue left for them." If they really put their heart into it, then they will always find some flaws. ”

"Flawed...... So?" asked Charimi, "so what will they do?"

"They're not going to do anything. They have no evidence. They are just guessing. And there are several suspects besides us. They can't protect themselves, so they won't do anything. Of course, no matter what they do, we don't have to be afraid. After this round of blows, it will be difficult for Polotsk to recover in a short time. ”

"Hmm. Charlumi nodded. Then the two men looked at the opposite side, the earthwork of the army of Tartaria on the east bank of the Vistula...... This kind of earthwork is not done overnight. Slowly, like ants. Considering their "enemy" status, this slow sapper operation carries with it a great sense of oppression. In this case, looking at this kind of thing, it will always feel distracting.

William looked at it for a moment, and then decided to leave—and it was at this time that the herald brought the latest news—

"It's the Polotsks, they refuse to carry out the order!"

"Do you feel that your pride has been challenged? Or do you think I'm playing with them by changing my orders?" William also felt a little upset when he heard the news. He waved his hand and said, "Whatever." If they want to die, let them die. We don't need to stop them. ”

After this, William watched as the river fleet approached the shallow waters where the pontoon bridge was located, and then engaged in a fierce exchange of fire with the infantry guns on the shore. The roar of artillery, the crisp breaking sound of shells shattering wooden plate armor, the sound of flesh and bones tearing human bodies, and the screams of the soldiers rang out in an instant.

William saw very clearly that the river fleet was at a loss. Their gunboats were too large compared to the scattered small gun emplacements, and the Vistula was so narrow that their fleet was too densely packed. In addition to this, their gunboats were too vulnerable......

"Armed merchant ships...... Not a professional battleship after all. In order to pursue cargo volume, the thickness of the deck was reduced, and at the same time, the waterline ironclad was not wrapped like the best battleship......"

As William muttered to himself, too close to the shore, several gunboats of the Tartarian artillery group were hit one after another—their masts, their broadsides, and their decks all shattered by the Tartarian guns. On the other hand, the bombardment of the gunboats on the shore did not show much effect.

Perhaps, they also inflicted some damage on the artillery positions in Tartaria, but it was too inconspicuous in comparison - the armed gunboats more than ten meters long were beaten to the ground, and the former was obviously more striking than one or two gun emplacements and several gunners killed......