Eagle Byzantium

Now Gawain's mind has been set. The situation from Khorasan to Persia, then to Herat, Ghaznavids, and then to the Shilspis River has turned into a huge and clear sand table, and it is unfolding in front of his eyes and in his mind. It spins inside.

"I have the wisdom at my fingertips. There is no need to bring the enemy in to fight, and there is no need to guard the ferry. The whole army must gather all the equipment and directly force the crossing of the Shilspis River to fight the decisive battle with Yisrael and Yelv Dashi!"

Then Gawain directly took out 15,000 of the 30,000 Rajput servants who besieged the city of Multan and came out of the camp to join him, accompanied by 7,000 princely coolies. The emperor ordered all the coolies and soldiers to quickly build a huge imperial camp field barrier at the river crossing.

This fortress covers an area of ​​5,000 square feet each and is built with locally abundant timber. It is equipped with forts, wooden towers, trenches, and horse barriers. It is also located at the fork of the river, along the river bank. The line is in the shape of a huge triangle, lying on the ground like a giant monster. The curtain wall of the fortress is made of soil and is twelve feet high. The thick logs were arranged in a winding row and were tamped with earthen baskets and sandbags. Dense shooting holes were exposed on them, and there were tunnels for light artillery fire below. Soldiers wearing pot helmets were constantly patrolling the towers and curtain walls with their spears raised. , torches are lit at intervals, and at night it looks like a real brightly lit city.

In order to prevent the enemy from crossing the river to sneak attack, the entire fortress curtain wall and trench were about 30 feet away from the river bank. Tribulus pits were dug, and dog-foot wood was sharpened and wrapped with inverted iron hooks and spikes. In addition, four warehouses were built on the high ground behind the fortress to store precious Khitan snow gunpowder, and were guarded by guards and hounds appointed by the emperor himself.

Within the field barrier, all kinds of facilities are available, and even a large and a small steam bath were built for the soldiers below the emperor to bathe: previously, due to the heat in India and other places, nearly 100 people were sick due to the heat. There were two thousand people, so Gawain hurriedly asked the soldiers to take a hot bath every three days to strengthen their health. The camp market was outside the trench on the south side, connected to the field ramparts by wooden bridges. Here the soldiers began to use the trophies captured from Ghaznavids and Indian raids to spend on women or buy various Indian delicacies.

One of the most popular pastas is baked with Indian specialty small broken rice and sprinkled with soft and delicious sugar cubes.

But the joy did not last long. Soon the emperor personally inspected the Red Hand Brigade under the sun and told them that a decisive battle was imminent. In order to boost morale and make the soldiers feel that they had no way to retreat, the emperor called the quartermasters All the soldiers' luggage was spread out on the countryside outside the barrier.

Four detachments of spearmen, 300 shooters and 150 brigade cavalry formed a phalanx with three sides facing inward, while the emperor, his flags, banners and parasols were alone on one side. Everyone can see the emperor's figure and hear the emperor's instructions.

In the open space surrounded by the phalanx, mountains of luggage were piled up, and many bags revealed various bright colors: gold sand, silver nuggets, and bronze utensils. Crystal, agate, pearl, etc.

The soldiers in armor maintained a solemn posture, and many eyes under their helmets were fixed on the emperor and their belongings and luggage.

Gawain stretched out his eagle-headed scepter and pointed the pointed end at the luggage, "My sons, we have received a large number of gifts from the Sultan of Isfahan since our march to Persia. Skanda, you have indeed made a fortune in Faith, as I said before I went to the army. Everything here is undoubtedly yours, and it is natural and right, and God approves it. After this war is over, I also promise that everyone who is over forty-five years old can spend their old age with me in the Imperial Capital of Kaiyue, anywhere in the empire, or they can take these luggage in the province of New Nicaea. Settle down and marry a local woman. As for the child you give birth to, as long as you say "I followed His Majesty Emperor Stephen to the Hillspice River", then he or she will be a citizen of Rome.

But now you can't be attached to them, let alone care about them on the battlefield, because the decisive battle has not yet come, the war has not ended yet, if you are greedy for money and women, and your hands and feet are weak and worried when facing the enemy, then you will be defeated by the enemy. Kill, what's the use of more money? In the end, they can only become the enemy's trophies, along with your head.

Therefore, I request that when the war is about to begin, all soldiers will pile their luggage in the countryside here, forget and abandon it during the battle, and then enjoy it to the fullest when you truly win. Even if you die in battle, all the luggage in your luggage will be taken away. I promise , send them all back to your wives and children in your distant hometown. "

After saying that, the emperor made a very decisive look and inserted the scepter into the ground, "I know that you will not be convinced by this alone. Therefore, I will keep the royal private treasury with the camp worth 750,000 tasso silver coins." All things will be distributed to you as a reward before the war, on the condition that you cannot retreat if you suffer a defeat in the battle. However, when you encounter victory, don't worry about plundering the enemy's camp, but continue to advance completely and resolutely, continue to advance, chase and kill all enemies, whether they are Ghaznavids or Karachitans from the north, kill them all. They turned into corpses and died tragically. This is a battle to destroy the country, and military discipline will not be tolerated before the battle! "

The voice of the emperor's speech was still echoing. Mato, a veteran who had eaten skinks, stood up from the queue, patted the medals on his breastplate, trembled his gray beard and shouted to everyone, "I think the emperor is a little daddy." That’s absolutely right, all my comrades must not let down the favor and honor of Basileus and Basalisa!”

"Never let it down!"

As the soldiers shouted in unison, Gawain kept his word and distributed all the money in the baggage carts of the imperial camp to his soldiers. Then the Rajput vassal army also got a share, and even the coolies and servants who followed the army received two silver coins each.

Along the vast and majestic Hillspes River, many scouts and patrols shuttled day and night, capturing the movements of Islaer or Yelu Dashi on the other side of the river at any time.

Many native craftsmen were also recruited. They built a large furnace in the fortress and cut down almost all the trees within a radius of 20 ancient miles to use as shipbuilding materials or firewood for the furnace. In the fireworks and thick smoke, new cannons and muskets were constantly manufactured to supplement the strength of the army - copper, tin and silver are all rich materials in India. Many craftsmen privately minted copper coins for the lords to pay taxes before Gawain came, so their skills were quite skilled.

On the other side of the river, Israel, who was trapped in the city of Multan, organized a "feint to the east and attack in the west" attack.