23 Fort Rose (1/2)
-- Autumn of 1544 --
The Grand Duchy of Gardenia had fell into Imperial Occupation, after the Imperial Army swiftly captured the Fortress of Reńaiss and the grand ducal capital of Vyon.
The Grand Duke of Gardenia and his men immediately escaped the Palace when the Imperial Army stormed into it, they managed to escape by using the secret tunnels located in the Palace.
They went outside and regrouped with the Royal Army in the northern gates, and they proceeded to march through the northern mountain pass in the mountain ranges.
As they marched, they brought refugees and local town's supplies with them, and thereafter burned properties and crops along the way.
The Grand Duchy of Gardenia's food production immediately crashed and the Grand Duchy no longer produces any food at the moment, leaving the inhabitants of Vyon to starvation under imperial occupation.
The Royal Army marched with it's 20,000 troops through the northern mountain pass and arrived Lincliff three and a half weeks later.
The officials from Lincliff can't believe what they just saw, the Royal Army from Lincliff bringing people who wanted to seek refugee from the horrors of war. Almost fifteen thousand to twenty thousand civilians came with the Royal Army. Bringing with them livestock and salvaged food.
The winter of the year 1454 is going to be one of the worst winter the continent will ever see in it's history.
-- Lincliff, Mayor's Palace --
The Queen could be seen again drinking tea with the Lincliff mayor in his Palace, the two had slowly becoming close friends and are doing a usual tea party.
The Queen received a gift from the Mayor, which was a tea set porcelain that came from the easy.
”Oh Thank you, May i ask but where did you bought this?” the Queen asked,
”I bought that when i visited Italica two years ago, that product came from the East” the mayor replied,
The Queen was thankful of the gift and humbly accepted it, she plans to add it to her collection of tea sets back in Buckingham.
The two proceeded in drinking their tea whilst eating scones from Britain.
”So, what do you think of Lincliff right now after we had arrived?” the Queen asked,
”I guess the city had become more lively, to be honest life in Sienna is much worse than here. There are no walls to separate the rich and poor here. The very reason why i opened the gates of the Palace to everyone.” the Mayor replied,
Lincliff's urban landscape had heavily changed after the British arrival, a sewer system primarily financed by the British government is about to be finished in its scheduled completion date by next year. Multinational companies began expanding their ventures on the city slowly while a power plant is being built in the city, expected to be done next year.
”But you know what, i hope this world experiences peace as soon as possible. I don't want to see this continent suffer from the corrupt forces of despots” the Queen said,
A moment of silence swept the room, until a servant came over and relayed a message to the Mayor's ears,
”What? ok let them in. Make sure they are indeed safe” the Mayor replied to the servant.
The Mayor looked with a serious face on the Queen and said,
”Your Majesty, thousands of refugees fleeing war from the Grand Duchy of Gardenia and the Royal Army garrisoning the Grand Duchy had made their way into safely on the outskirts of the city. They we're tired of the journey and needs immediate relief response as soon as possible” the Mayor said to the Queen,
”Really? that was incredibly fast? like how did the Imperial Army managed to sweep off the Grand Duchy of Gardenia in less than a year?” the Queen said to the Mayor,
”Your Majesty, the Grand Duchy of Gardenia ruled by the Grand Duke which in turn is a vassal of His Highness, King Edward. Is located in a terrain that is highly favorable in military campaigns, as the Grand Duchy is surrounded by the towering Mountain Ranges of Gardenia in the north, but most of its land that reaches until the south is a region of vast plains” the Mayor replied,
”So no wonder why the region immediately fell to the Empire, but do you have any idea about the Empire's weapon arsenal?” the Queen asked,
”We can't confirm it yet, but there were rumors since the beginning of the war that the Empire had amassed a terrifying number of Siege weapons”
”Siege weapons? like what?”
”probably bombards, but much more numerous and stronger than ours”
Queen Anne suddenly became curious about the strength of the Imperial Army and decided to be more cautious next time.
-- Reńe Palace --
The commander of the British army base in Sienna had went to visit the King due to important matters, Commander George arrived in the King's living room. He bowed and sat to a couch in front of the King.
The King invited him to drink tea with him, in which he politely agreed on.
The two enjoyed modern pastries and English tea from the United Kingdom. The King in particular enjoyed macarons and cakes. He loved British tea parties that was influenced to him by Queen Anne as the two would often do tea parties way back in Lincliff.
”May i ask your highness, why's the sudden visit your highness?” Commander George asked the King.
After drinking a few of his tea, he wiped his mouth with an handkerchief and proceeded to talk,
””Withdraw all your forces from here, withdraw them to Lincliff”
The Commander was shocked and intrigued with the King sudden instructions,
”Sir? Why's that your highness? you will voluntarily leave Sienna to the onslaught of the Imperial Army?” Commander George asked the King,
”Commander, I am fully confident that the might of the British Army can deter the Empire's ambitions in the continent. But, for now we shall retreat to Lincliff. We wouldn't be able to last here in Sienna” The King said to the Commander,
Commander George was amazed by the King's analysis on the two countries, currently the British Government is handing out rations on fuel and to some extent food. Ration's are being distributed properly on the British Isles.
Many forests and uncultivated land in the United Kingdom are undergoing huge agricultural projects. Aiming to raise British self-sufficiency 90% by the next 5 years.
meanwhile, coal production is dwindling and the government had to find new sources of oil in the Continent. Good thing that the United Kingdom is slowly accepting green energy and almost 30-40% of their energy comes fro renewable sources.