The armies of Alphonse and Victor did not rush towards the capital; instead, they remained camped in Lodi for a month. This was due to them needing more supplies to carry on their campaign. If they did not have an abundance of food, ammunition and medical supplies, they would struggle to maintain their armies in enemy territory.
This may have been a cautious and wise approach, but it also gave time for Lorenzo to muster any men he could gather. The capital was now defended by over 150,000 soldiers and 400 cannons. Provisions had been pooled from across the Red Visconte territory, and now the capital could last through a siege for three years.
Starving them out was not an option for Victor and Alphonse. Waiting for over 3 years to capture the city would be mentally draining for the army, and they did not have enough supplies to last that long, perhaps only half of that time. With the reinforcement of Roma, taking the capital had become a whole lot harder.
Victor and his commanders were all studying a map of the city, trying to figure out a way to breach it and not totally destroy it. If the capital was sacked and destroyed, Alphonse would lose the support of the common people, and with that loss, Lorenzo would have the continent rallying to his side.
Originally, the idea was to force a surrender or starve the city out, but now the likelihood of that happening was slim to none. The only real option was to take the city by force. If they were lucky, they could breach the city and take it with minimum collateral damage; however, the capital was now well garrisoned and well armed. It would be a tough fight if they focused on inflicting low-level amounts of damage.
"My liege, I propose we commence a mine beneath the northern wall. With powder placed deep, we may tumble the wall itself and open a practicable breach. We must abandon the notion that this city can be captured without bloodshed and damage. If we truly want to capture Roma, this may be the way to go. The defenders would be too distracted by our battery to notice our engineers mining," General Bertrand suggested.
The General's suggestion was a solid one; if they bombarded the east and west walls, they could hope to draw the attention away from the southern wall and collapse it with a mine packed with powder. It would be effective, but it would cause a lot of damage.
"It is a good idea, Henri; however, mining is a slow and dull affair. It would take just under two months for the plan to work. We may not need to worry about being attacked since we defeated the enemy army, but a drawn-out conflict can negatively impact the citizens of Roma. We are meant to be here as justifiable liberators," Victor said, emphasising the priority of civilian well-being.
"My Liege, we understand your prerogative of not bringing too much destruction to the capital, but with the bastards dug in and ready to hold the city to the last, it becomes hard to stay within your specifications. It does not help our cause that we are not allowed to use the rocket artillery," General Hill stated, rallying the other generals' support for a bit of leniency.
A few of the commanders from Alphonse Visconte's army also concurred with General Hill. They may not have liked the notion of endangering their own people, but Roma would not be conquered if they had to tiptoe around not causing collateral damage.
"King Luxenberg, I appreciate your willingness to support my wish for a more conservative approach to this siege; however, during the last month, we have not been able to come up with a solid battle plan. I say we aim for a drawn-out siege, let the engineers sap the walls and have our men breach the city. We can not hesitate when we are so close to ending this long civil war," Alphonse said with a bitter smile on his face.
Victor surveyed the room, studying his commanders' faces. They understood that what Victor wanted to achieve and tried their hardest to come up with a plan that accommodated Alphonse and Victor's specifications, but it could not be done.
"Very well, with everyone in agreement, our armies will depart at once for Roma. Prince Alphonse will leave a detachment of his army here to garrison Lodi. General Kamensky and General Picton will remain guarding the prisoners of war from the Battle of the Forest Clearing. Everyone remaining will join us on the two-week march to Roma," Victor confidently declared.
He could not waver and continue to act with compassion. His commanders were right in their assessment of the situation. They could not approach this siege with the intention of minimal losses and minimal collateral damage. Victor knew that it was a hopeless endeavour, but he still wanted to pursue an option that helped achieve his and Alphonse's specification for conquering Roma. The night would go quickly, and men were hastily preparing to leave.
Dawn bled through the tarpaulins as if the world itself were unsure which side to choose. Tents collapsed into hurried knots, once homes for a month, now slung across weary shoulders. Orders—sharp, ragged—ran the lines: forage, harness, mount and move out. Civilians watched in indifference as the conquering armies began to march away from the city.
Drummers and flautists played their instruments as the Luxenberg infantry marched in perfect unison. In comparison, Prince Alphonse's soldiers lacked that level of discipline; their ranks were loose, and they walked in a sporadic tempo.
Although some Luxenberg generals looked unimpressed by the lack of organisation and discipline, they did not care enough to voice their critiques and snarky remarks.
At the head of the column was 4th Corps under Marshal Lefebvre; he did not ride on a mount, but instead marched in formation with his infantrymen. It was a testament to his character. He had a growing reputation amongst the army for being a true infantryman, with many infantrymen from outside of his corps showing a high level of respect to the French Marshal.