Chapter 845: Chapter 69: Mandate of Heaven
"Let me out, let me out!"
The sharp shouting echoed through the cold, damp dungeon.
Porfirio felt as if the mountain chill was seeping into his very bones; right now he was wrapped in a tattered wool blanket whose pattern could no longer be made out, shivering as he curled up in a corner of the cell.
He might have come from the lower ranks, but after so many years of comfort and privilege, he could no longer take this kind of suffering.
The many officials and generals imprisoned along with him were nowhere near as spirited as he was; they didn’t enjoy the luxury of single cells, but at least that let them huddle together for warmth.
A slit was opened in the skylight of the dungeon.
"Your Excellency President, Clan Leader Juliano sends his regards. He says as long as you nod, Texas will escort Your Excellency and your country’s ’mission’ safely out of the country with full honors."
Porfirio clenched his teeth, refusing to yield. A great dictator like him ruled by reputation, the military, and an iron fist to crush domestic resistance. Now that his army had been ruined, all he had left was the shadow of his former prestige.
If he really agreed to sign a humiliating, traitorous treaty, his political career would be finished for good.
"Impossible. Mexico, under the blessing of Our Lady of Guadalupe, will never bow to the damnable Dark Wolf Race, even at the cost of my life!"
Seeing that the skylight above his head was about to close again, Porfirio hurriedly burst into loud laughter, trying to draw the attention of the people above.
"Hahaha! The British Army is already at your gates—doom is about to fall on you Texans. And at a time like this you still dream of forcing the great Mexico to bow before you? Don’t you understand that even if you do manage to sign that treaty, in the end the only ones who’ll profit will be the British?"
No matter how he shouted, however, the skylight still shut firmly.
On the walls of Wolf Castle, Losa asked in some puzzlement, "Our Mr. President still won’t relent?"
"Perhaps only when the British are all defeated will he finally recognize reality."
Juliano let out a cold chuckle. "When I first met this president, he even tried to win us over, wanted us to become his personal troops to shore up his power."
It wasn’t that Porfirio had taken leave of his senses; it was just that he believed Texas, under pressure from the United Kingdom, could only end up defeated and forced to relocate. He was willing to allocate a piece of Mexican territory to the Texans—strictly speaking, that was also a somewhat less shameful way of ceding land.
Losa shrugged. "That’s how politicians’ brains are wired. He thinks a few power plays will let him keep Texans on a leash and make you his dogs. But honestly, I don’t think joining Mexico as a highly autonomous province would be such a bad retreat. The president gets the glory, we get the substance."
Juliano was silent for a moment, then smiled. "Yeah. If you weren’t here, that path really wouldn’t be bad."
Losa shrugged. If you can have both face and substance, why settle for a win–win when you can win twice yourself.
With creaks and clanks, sturdy draft horses dragged heavy artillery pieces over the gravel-strewn road. Behind them, several burly, bare-chested wolves, like Renaissance Greek statues come alive, pushed this massive monster along.
"So this is the main gun we dismantled from the Mexican Land Cruiser?"
"Yeah. It’s one hell of a big guy. We broke it down into parts and plan to mount it on Battery No. 1."
Over these days, the Texans had hauled every usable Mexican and British Army gun they had captured up onto the gun platforms.
The whole of New Basilicata and the forts on the surrounding peaks had all been turned into a "Steel Hedgehog."
From Losa’s perspective, he couldn’t even imagine how many lives you’d have to throw into the grinder to take a stronghold like this.
Unfortunately, he was very aware that his tactical sense was not exactly reliable. The defenses of New Basilicata City and Wolf Castle were still a far cry from the solid fortresses built in Europe. Take the famous Liege Fortress in World War I—on paper it looked much stronger than this, and it still fell under German shelling.
Belgium might be a small country, but its industrial base and total population far outstripped Texas. The defensive ring around Wolf Castle, built with the full might of Texas, simply couldn’t be mentioned in the same breath as the Liege Fortress.
To say nothing else, the lack of reinforced concrete alone was a huge problem.
Back in the Middle Ages, the Theodosius Wall of Constantinople, that "Empress of Cities" famed as "never to fall"—if you took Magic out of the equation, a single White Crystal Bomb would probably have brought it crashing down.
The last time, Wolf Castle had stood firm under the bombardment of the Wolf Race Expedition Army, but that didn’t mean this New Basilicata, expanded dozens of times over, could do the same. Even ignoring the twenty-year tech gap, the difference in firepower between the two sides was still like heaven and earth.
At this point, the entire Apennine Peninsula under Wolf Race rule still had an industrial capacity less than one-tenth of the British homeland that had led the First Industrial Revolution.
"This war is probably going to be brutal."
Losa took a deep breath. The intensity of warfare in this era was nowhere near comparable to that of the Middle Ages. When he summoned his Knights and cavalry to take part, he wasn’t expecting them to learn much—he just wanted them to broaden their horizons.
Juliano glanced back at Losa and said with a smile, "But we have no choice but to fight. Just as you said, this is Texas’s war of founding. If we win, the future of the Wolf Race will rest with us."
What the Wolf Lord failed to do, we will accomplish. That’s what it means to have destiny on our side.
To say nothing else, the lack of reinforced concrete alone was a huge problem.
Back in the Middle Ages, the Theodosius Wall of Constantinople, that "Empress of Cities" famed as "never to fall"—if you took Magic out of the equation, a single White Crystal Bomb would probably have brought it crashing down.
The last time, Wolf Castle had stood firm under the bombardment of the Wolf Race Expedition Army, but that didn’t mean this New Basilicata, expanded dozens of times over, could do the same. Even ignoring the twenty-year tech gap, the difference in firepower between the two sides was still like heaven and earth.
At this point, the entire Apennine Peninsula under Wolf Race rule still had an industrial capacity less than one-tenth of the British homeland that had led the First Industrial Revolution.
"This war is probably going to be brutal."
Losa took a deep breath. The intensity of warfare in this era was nowhere near comparable to that of the Middle Ages. When he summoned his Knights and cavalry to take part, he wasn’t expecting them to learn much—he just wanted them to broaden their horizons.
Juliano glanced back at Losa and said with a smile, "But we have no choice but to fight. Just as you said, this is Texas’s war of founding. If we win, the future of the Wolf Race will rest with us."
What the Wolf Lord failed to do, we will accomplish. That’s what it means to have destiny on our side...
