Hardcore method

Nowadays, Damian's fame is not limited to the County of Gothingen.

After he led his troops to completely annihilate the forces of Schmalen, his deeds and name spread to several nearby counties outside of Weimar. After all, resources in Europe during this period were scarce, and wars were not common.

A court minister like Damian, who rose to prominence during the civil war and was fearless in external conflicts, gained considerable popularity and renown even in the small Principality of Lozarengia, receiving much praise from the public.

In the County of Weimar, due to Bishop Maged's strong promotion of conservative priests attacking reformist priests, this praise took on a more factional tone.

Factional struggles within Christianity were also very intense. More than one pope had died under extremely cruel torture. Therefore, to ensure their own success, bishops from both factions had to try their best to win more allies to support themselves, to avoid ending up in a miserable situation.

In short, Damian was surprised when nearby monasteries and churches began trying to make contact with him. They sent emissaries bearing monastery-made wine and some herbs. Although their main request was to prevent the army from harassing the monasteries and local civilians, the underlying intention of seeking cooperation was evident.

Damian naturally welcomed the goodwill with open arms, but he did not respond to the deeper intentions.

But at least, he would restrain his subordinates.

...

The next day, Damian set up the Damian Trebuchet below the castle and began the first experimental firing.

Damian was very fond of the architectural structure of Milhaus Castle. He even started planning to create a similar castle in the Free City, turning it into a composite structure to protect his market trade.

Thus, this artillery bombardment specifically targeted weak points to find flaws, so that improvements could be made when renovating the Free City.

But what Damian did not expect was that Milhaus Castle had already incorporated much architectural knowledge, such as rounded corners to prevent collapse under stress and gear-shaped parapets. This made Damian's bombardment barely effective. After over ten rounds of trebuchet shots, only a few guards were injured.

Despite being a wooden structure, it had earthen walls, and with its deep foundations, Damian could not think of a good countermeasure for a while.

This was the predicament of most knightly civil wars in the Middle Ages.

No matter how fierce the fighting was midway, as long as one side hid in the castle, the other side had no way to deal with it.

The spear of offense and the shield of defense in medieval Europe were constantly competing and evolving.

However, before the advent of gunpowder, the defensive shield was always highly effective.

So, what could be done?

Damian asked his entire army for strategies, trying to find a suitable solution.

When Brigand Knight Henrik heard about this predicament, he suddenly thought of a method.

He secretly approached Damian and claimed to have a way to break through Milhaus Castle.

"What method do you have?" Damian was skeptical. Since he started soliciting opinions, he had received all sorts of impractical and strange ideas, with some even suggesting flying in.

Henrik nervously looked around and whispered, "This method is very effective, but... we need to be determined."

Damian followed him in confusion to a small river.

Across the moat, there was a section of the castle wall covered in a dark, filthy substance, as if someone had been dumping excrement there every day.

"That's where the toilets on the castle wall are located. Since Milhaus Castle didn't originally plan for toilets on the walls, this makeshift facility lacks anti-thief measures. If someone is willing to climb up through the excrement channel..." Henrik scratched his head awkwardly.

This method is indeed a bit hardcore.

But it seems quite effective.

Damian knew that on the medieval city walls, due to their special location, there was no space for building toilets. Soldiers usually relieved themselves on the spot. What he didn't know was that, to solve the problem of going to the toilet, people began to set up special pits on the city walls.

These pits, by the time of the stone castle era, extended into narrow and long sewage passages, which were studied by specialists on how to breach the castle from here. But that was three or four hundred years later, in the 13th or 14th century. People at this time hadn't thought of this through the sewage passages yet.

In this era, only rural farmers would bring back feces and put them in the fields.

"Since you're determined, then you'll lead the way," Damian patted Henrik's shoulder and assigned him this sacred and honorable task.

"Wait, me??" Henrik was taken aback.

"As a knight, how can I do such an embarrassing thing?"

But Damian extended his finger: "I can help you gain a village fiefdom."

"But I…"

Damian sweetened the deal: "You'll have it all to yourself."

"…Well, as a knight, it seems acceptable to occasionally do such things."

Faced with great temptation, Henrik changed his mind quickly.

Originally being a brigand knight was embarrassing enough. Now, what was there to fear about crawling through excrement passages?

As long as they found a way to keep the news under wraps, few people should know that they had crawled through the excrement passages.

Henrik had agreed, he began to scout for and gather young people willing to strive for greatness, assembling a special force for the excrement passages. After several days of training, they had mastered the basic climbing techniques.

On the other side, seeing the fortress of Milhous stable as a rock, Schmalen's attitude gradually became arrogant.

Not only did he refuse the ransom of two thousand gold coins, but he also began to dream of a comeback after his family rescued him, reconquering the dream of the beautiful Gothingen.

Anxious in his heart, Damian urged Henrik to take action.

Four days later, at night, Henrik arrived at the entrance of the sewage passage with his men.

In order to prevent enemies from climbing up from here, the sewage passages were extremely narrow and difficult to pass. But at this moment, the sewage passage was still a simple straight passage.

Henrik, not being too fat, easily squeezed into the filthy and smelly sewage passage.

The disciples, one by one, covered their mouths and followed behind.

That night, the gates of Milhous were mysteriously opened, allowing Damian to easily break in.

He commanded the army, swiftly dealt with the lax guards inside the castle, and seized control of the nobles who were still asleep.

Thus, the Milhous Fortress was successfully occupied!