Traveling through The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim

"Having said so much, what do you think of General Tullius?"

The old fox is patient and persuasive.

"This sounds like a very classic Cyrodiil, tough and tenacious, yet cunning..."

"Don't talk about this useless stuff!"

Dad interrupted me with a wave of his hand.

"We concluded that this man has two characteristics. First, he is very good at training soldiers. He has been working all over Cyrodiil, each time he went on a mission alone. In just one or two years, he was able to build a very capable team. I know what you're going to say, but he is very different from where we were last year."

Dad didn't give me another chance to interrupt.

"When we were in Helgen Town, we had the savings of two generations of the lord, the support of a group of people who had lost their homes, and the small fortune that Rigel had secretly saved over the past few years."

He glared at his daughter, but the little saber-toothed cat lowered her head and didn't see it.

"But General Tullius is different. The emperor only gave him an honorary title. What he has to do is not only to recruit and train soldiers, but also to raise military rations and salaries, and purchase weapons and equipment. And no matter where he goes, he will fight against the local tyrants. Do you think you have the ability to do this?"

I stole a glance at Rigel, because what my father said was very similar to what she had done before. However, the combat effectiveness of Rigel's team was too poor, and it was indeed not comparable to Tullius.

In troubled times, it is not difficult to gather a group of people, but it is difficult to make them fight. No matter how many refugees there are, they are just lambs to be slaughtered. Although the robbers look cruel, they will immediately expose their mob nature when they meet a tough guy. Tullius must have found a long-term goal for his team to fight for, or even a belief, so he can unite the people.

"Just think about it. He was able to make a breakthrough without any foundation. Moreover, now, there are four leaders in Tianji who support him..."

"According to the latest intelligence, there are three leaders."

Danger shook two pages.

"If what the steward of Whiterun said is true, then when we were confronting the Imperial Army, Lord Ulfric personally led the elite troops to recapture Morningstar City, and the usurper Brina fled west to the border of Ar."

The old fox then passed the letter in his hand to others for circulation. As the youngest and lowest-ranking person present, I was naturally the last person to read it.

The two pieces of waste paper were filled with long and empty parallel sentences. In addition to the result summarized by Danger, Steward Proventus seemed to be trying to prove that the reason why Ulfric was able to make progress on the front line was all thanks to the strong support of His Excellency Balgruuf the Great, the most powerful lord in Skyrim, the banner of the Taros Alliance, the core of Whiterun, the lord of Dragonsreach.

The recovery of the Cangyuan Territory can also be seen as the beginning of the collapse of the empire's power in its northern provinces. The situation in Tianji will surely usher in unprecedented changes.

"According to him, we were able to drive back the Imperial Army by relying on the unfathomable power of Lord Whiteman?"

I shook the two pages, imitating Danger's example.

"I heard that he sent three bodies. It was a great achievement."

Rigel laughed loudly, but when she raised her head, she met her father's gaze and had to hide her head again.

Dad knocked on the table with his left hand.

"Speaking of General Tullius, his second characteristic is his strong ability to create and seize opportunities. Rigel, tell me, why did he give gifts to the wife and daughter of the city lord when he was in Bruma?"

"Of course, it's to urge the city lord to hold a banquet. At that time, all the important people in the city will gather in the city lord's mansion, and the guards will pay special attention to the safety of these people. He can take advantage of the opportunity to raid the sanctuary of the Dark Brotherhood."

"But even if he doesn't send a gift, the city lord will still hold a banquet on New Year's Eve. Why would he bother?"

Seeing that his daughter was stuck, the father called my name again.

"I guess he is trying to create as many variables as possible. General Tullius must have discovered the dirty work between the Dark Brotherhood and the city lord, and he also knows that his power is not enough to fight against the combination of the two, so he can only attack them separately. The New Year's Eve party is a common practice, and the Brotherhood must be very cautious at such times. But there are too many things to do when holding a party at the last minute, and the city lord may have forgotten to inform his little pet. Even if General Tullius fails to launch an attack on that day, he can use this opportunity to ease the relationship with the city lord and then seek opportunities to alienate the enemy."

Father was satisfied with my answer, and added that Tullius had shown the same fighting style when he suppressed the rebellion in Skyrim. He launched a coup d'état at lightning speed and took control of Falkreath, which immediately triggered Ulfric's military action. While he took down Danger, he must have also lured other high-ranking members of the Stormcloak faction, and it was obvious that he succeeded.

Eventually, Tullius learned of the rebels' plan and was able to ambush and capture Ulfric in Eastmar, the heart of the Stormcloaks. If not for the sudden appearance of Alduin, he would have completed the mission assigned by the Emperor.

From the beginning to the end, Tullius had always firmly grasped the initiative. When the sudden change occurred in Falkreath, he immediately sent out a detachment of troops, hoping to stabilize the southern front with the least effort. However, he used the main force for a surprise attack across the sea and captured Morningstar City in one fell swoop.

"Don't you think this scene is very familiar?"

By seizing the Stormcloaks' territory, Ulfric was forced to send troops and then intercepted halfway. Could it be that Tullius's real intention was to copy this tactic that had been used in the south? After taking Morningstar City for several months, the Bear of Markarth still did not move. So he besieged Sunny Gardens with great fanfare just to make everyone think that his target was Falkreath?

If this is true, his plan is undoubtedly successful. Ulfric really couldn't help but go to the north. Then following this line of thought, the enemy we are facing is not the main force of the Imperial Legion, and the leader cannot be Tullius.

In the game, the leaders of both sides of the civil war were very passive, hiding in their respective castles, waiting for the Dragonborn to push the situation. But the situation in the other world is obviously different. Dad analyzed various rumors and actual events and concluded that Tullius was a man of action and liked to personally carry out the most critical parts of the battle plan.

At present, it seems that Ulfric is always his primary target, so he is most likely in Cangyuan Territory at this moment.

"But how can General Tullius be sure that Lord Ulfric will personally lead the troops to attack? Moreover, the letter from Steward Proventus said that the Stormcloaks have recaptured Morningstar City. Does that prove that the general's plan has failed?"

Dad didn't answer my question, but just sighed.

"There is no such thing as a foolproof plan in this world, so I don't think General Tullius has no chance of failure, but we have no intelligence in the north, so we can only wait for news from Whiterun. The key to the problem is that we are too passive if we let him control the rhythm of the war."

This explains to some extent the situations that I didn't understand before. For example, the general who supervised the battle suddenly disappeared from the battlefield, because he was a fake, either afraid of death or afraid of being exposed. Another example is the Imperial Legion's withdrawal without warning, because they knew that Ulfric had already sent troops and their feint mission was completed.

However, from another perspective, these are not even the main army, but they have put such great pressure on us. Then when Tullius really wants to deal with us...

Can you bear it?

The room fell silent, all five of them frowning.

"Okay. This is the current situation, and you all understand it. We invited you two kids here today because we three old guys want to talk a little."

Tagel clapped his hands.

"Originally, we didn't want you two kids to get involved in this war. It's not that we don't want to admit our age, but we feel that you guys are responsible for the future of Falkreath. While we can still move, we'll scout out the way for the young people and test their prowess. We'll also give you a chance to observe and think as outsiders. Unfortunately, you two got involved in the end."

He turned first to Rigel.

"You are a mother, your child is still so young, and his father is not reasonable. How can you put yourself in danger? If something happens to you, the three of us old guys will not be able to rest assured until we die! Don't be willful in the future. You have to learn to be a lord's wife. Don't always think about doing things yourself. You have to learn to use people, understand?"

The old man doted on Rigel and would not say harsh words even when criticizing him, but he was not so polite to me.

"Locke, we originally thought highly of you, but you acted too rashly this time."

He picked up Proventus' letter.

"You've been to Dragonsreach. Even if you don't have this thing, you should know what kind of person our respected leader is and how sincere the so-called alliance is. Everyone has their own plans and their own trump cards. You sent people to discover the Brightsin Pass, which is a merit, but how could you blatantly lead people from there into Whiterun? Can your trick of killing people and blaming others be hidden from Lord Balgruuf?"

Tagel believes that the terrain of Falkreath can have a strong suppressive effect on Whiterun. In the northeast of the territory, along the White River Valley, you can reach the town of Riverwood. In the northwest, through the Cracked Rock Canyon, you can threaten the town of Loristed. In addition to the tunnel we later discovered, the Bletsyn Mountains on the border between the two sides also have two mountain roads leading to the Western Watchtower and Whiterun City respectively.

Because of this, successive Whiterun lords were extremely wary of Falkreath. The first thing Tullius did when he arrived in Skyrim was to seize this place, because he saw its strategic position. By controlling Falkreath, he could threaten Whiterun from multiple directions, and thus gain a great advantage in the civil war.

His words reminded me of a period in Chinese history - the An-Shi Rebellion.

The rebels who started their uprising in Hebei first marched south to capture Luoyang, then west to Guanzhong, and finally captured Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty. This behavior of attacking the political center directly seemed to be nothing wrong, but later generations found in their review that the rebels had made a strategic mistake from the beginning.

The North China Plain and the Guanzhong Plain were two important grain-producing areas in ancient China, and Shanxi, sandwiched between the two, was both a barrier to protect them and a link between them. Shanxi, which was located at a higher altitude, was certainly not easy to capture, and the rebels naturally sought refuge there and raided Luoyang and Chang'an, which were located on the plains. As a result, although the battle seemed to be a great success, the battle line was too long, and the rear was constantly harassed by Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi and others in Shanxi. The rebels were unable to effectively control the territory they had conquered and were eventually pacified by the government troops.

Falkreath is to Whiterun and the Rift what Shanxi is to North China and Guanzhong. As far as the Storn family is concerned, it is not realistic to threaten Whiterun for the time being, but if Tullius or Ulfric occupies this place, then Balgruuf will have trouble sleeping. This is probably one of the reasons why he is willing to form the Talos Alliance.

I didn't use a known route, which in Balgruuf's eyes was equivalent to pointing out that the Storn family had other ways into Whiterun and had no intention of sharing them with their allies. The alliance between the two sides was already fragile, and this added to the suspicion. What's worse, even if we disclosed the location of the Blacksing Pass now, it would be useless.

"Since you can tell me this way, it means you know more ways."

Doubt is like a weed. Once it takes root, it is extremely difficult to eradicate it completely.

Tagel further accused us of being extremely foolish to provoke Lord Balgruuf when we had fallen out with the Empire and deliberately alienated the Stormcloaks. What was particularly suspicious was that I could not come up with a suitable reason.

If I admit that I was trying to rescue Helgi, it would mean that I put the interests of the Snake Cliff Tribe above the Falkreath Territory, which is undoubtedly a treasonous act. So I had to insist that I was just being smart because the war was dragging on and that's why I got into trouble. Fortunately, there was my equally willful daughter-in-law next to me, so Tager didn't want to say anything too harsh. After a scolding, he said that the specific punishment for me would be discussed at a later date.

In this way, I was beaten and scolded, and returned to the empty house in a daze. Sister Lai was kind enough to see that I was in a bad mood, so she bought two meals and put them on the table. After eating one, she went to rest quietly. Since Masinissa and the others left with Eric, there has been no news from them.

Three days later, Danger sent Tecora to summon me to Howling Bastion. The old fox met me alone and chatted with me calmly.

"I heard from your mother that you will be twenty-three next year, right?"

"My birthday is in the month of Riga, which makes me twenty-two and a half years old."

"You are not young anymore, why haven't you got married yet? Do you have a girl you like? I can be a matchmaker for you."

I had no idea what he was up to, and of course I didn't dare tell him. The person I liked was his niece's wife, so I could only shake my head silently.

"I have a suitable candidate here, the daughter of Baron Sengard. Although she is a few years older than you, her family background and appearance are suitable for you. She lives in Markarth, and I have sent someone to pick her up."

Danger smiled kindly, but he wasn't asking for my opinion at all.

Baron Sengard was the idiot who lost the Sunny Garden Fortress. I met him several times and felt that he was not less old than Danger. When I brought my father back to Falkreath, I met his family at the banquet. The Baroness was a fat old lady, and his son must be in his forties. The eldest grandson was about sixteen or seventeen years old, which was considered an adult according to the customs of the Nords.

Judging from the Baroness' age, her daughter must be at least thirty-four or thirty-five years old, right? And she lives in Markarth, so she is probably married and now a widow.

You can't really treat me as a thief just because I robbed food once!