Iron Powder and Spellcaster

At the Battle of the Unknown Valley, Szekely defeated the Herd coalition.

The leaders and their men fled for their lives, but were chased by Arpad all the way.

The number of ears cut off from the corpse alone was over three thousand. The bloody human ears were tied with straw ropes and loaded into two large carts.

Plato's fifth and sixth legions also suffered heavy casualties.

More than 7,000 legion infantrymen and more than 5,000 levied auxiliaries participated in the battle. A total of 772 people were killed and 943 were seriously injured.

Minor injuries cannot be calculated because almost all of the surviving soldiers were wounded.

The criterion for serious injury also becomes whether the patient can walk on his own.

After cleaning the battlefield, Plato's army marched non-stop to the northeast.

A victory for the Platans, there is no doubt about it.

If it were in the past, they would have been able to "talk, laugh and sing triumphantly".

However, the victory of the battle cannot make up for the lack of strategy.

Arpad failed to break up the Herd coalition forces - because the Herd coalition forces were originally in bulk.

Although the various tribes are not very diligent in fighting, they are strong in escaping. The Suzi cavalry holding the battle collapsed, and the battle turned into a "dog chasing a rabbit".

It's okay for a dog to chase a rabbit. According to past experience, hurting the Hud is enough.

But now the wolves believe that the horse is weak. Even if the horse can kick one or two wolves to death, the remaining hungry wolves will still lick their wounds and follow closely behind the horse.

Just as there is no independent will called "the Hittites", the motivations of the Hittites fighting the Platoans are also very complicated.

As for the lower-class Herd herdsmen, on the one hand they were coerced by violence to fight, and on the other hand they also longed for the class improvement brought about by spoils, rewards and military merit.

Above the lower class herders, there is the full-time warrior class of Hedian society.

Including the leaders of medium and small tribes, the leader’s relatives, friends, and guards.

To some extent, these people's motivations are similar to those of ordinary Herd herders. They drive the people, and the three major tribes drive them.

They are unwilling to compromise their strength, but they also desire spoils.

Armor, weapons, muskets, ammunition, and craftsmen are all resources that are difficult for the tribes to obtain.

The older leaders still remember the good old days, and they hope from the bottom of their hearts to destroy the standing army of Plato, and then go to Plato to rob - provided that their own troops do not suffer any losses.

In the eyes of the more ambitious and powerful leaders, this battle would not only eliminate Plato's standing army, but also be a good opportunity to establish prestige and control various tribes.

In addition, for all Hedians, there is a collective emotion that is invisible and intangible, in the heart but unspoken.

That is the hatred and resentment of the "Hit people" towards the "Platuan people". It is not linked to a certain individual, but is in the heart of every Hird person.

This emotion may not be as strong as "The tribe on the other side of the river robbed my two horses, I hate it so much", but it does exist.

All in all, the White Lion's "don't let go, but don't bite" strategy is shared by most Hurds.

Except for the Chihe Tribe and the Terdun Tribe, most of the leaders only have their trusted followers left, and they need time to gather their separated tribesmen.

No one dared to fight head-on with the Plato Legion anymore, but no one was willing to give up just yet.

Arpad and Szekely achieved their goals, and the retreat of the Plato army became extremely quiet, without any further fighting.

Only the occasional appearance of Hurd's cavalry reminded the Platoons that the enemy had not given up.

…

Realizing that the second pontoon bridge had also been destroyed, the mood of Plato's army became restless and depressed.

Anyone with a sane mind can see that this army has reached a desperate situation.

The Platoans did not lose, they just had no way out.

That night, two auxiliary soldiers stole horses and tried to escape.

They were caught by patrolling cavalry on the river beach and executed in public the next morning.

Decisions must be made quickly - this is the consensus of all officers.

At the enlarged meeting of senior military officers, someone suggested: "How about continuing to go upriver?"

Continue to go upstream, a simple and crude way.

As you go upstream, the water becomes shallower and the river becomes narrower. Isn't it just a matter of walking to a place where you can flow through it?

"Where to go?" Colonel Bode choked back mercilessly: "Even if we go another two hundred kilometers upstream, the Styx is still a hundred meters wide! We might as well walk into the Shade Mountains and circle back from the Monta people. Is your home good?"

"I'm just saying..."

There was another moment of silence.

Someone else suggested: "I have seen logging workers in the mountains. They cut down trees in winter and transport them to the river to nail them into rafts. When the water rises in summer and go down the river, they can go directly to the castles of the kings and to the inland sea. .”

"Shall we build rafts too?"

"Maybe it's feasible..."

"Everyone." Lieutenant Colonel Robert had a splitting headache: "The principle of buoyancy!"

The buoyancy of an object is related to the volume of liquid displaced. Whether you still remember it or not, the officers here have at least learned it.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert picked up a pen and paper and began to calculate: "The raft is not a ship. It has no empty cabins and relies entirely on the buoyancy of the wood. The density of wood is half that of water, which means that 1 kilogram of raft can carry 1 kilogram of things. In practice, it must be done It’s less than one to one, but I’ll give you as much as possible.

There are now more than 20,000 people in the army. Each person is 70 kilograms, and the total is 1.4 million kilograms, which is 1,400 tons! Where to go to get 1,400 tons of wood? Where to find it? ! "

The more he calculated, the more excited Lieutenant Colonel Robert became: "This is just the weight of people, not counting our weapons, armor, baggage, and ammunition! By the way, there are horses! And war horses! We still have tens of thousands of war horses! Among the war horses There are draft horses outside.”

The meeting was completely silent.

"Put a raft on? You can think of it!" Lieutenant Colonel Robert suppressed his anger: "We might as well just jump into the river each holding a piece of wood and throw all the weapons, armor, and horses to the Hurds!"

"What about building a boat without rafts?" someone asked unconvincedly.

"Ship! What kind of ship?" Lieutenant Colonel Robert finally couldn't control it: "Aren't there Veneta people in the army? Call them over and ask how many ships it takes to carry 20,000 people! There are also war horses! Even if we take the inland sea Even if the largest ship wants to carry 20,000 people, it would require an entire fleet!"

The two generals said nothing.

In the military tent, the atmosphere became extremely depressed.

Robert is not usually the type who gets easily excited. On the contrary, he is very rational.

But the more rational a person is, the easier it is to collapse in the face of absolute despair.

"We are here to stand firm and send people to the King's Castle to find a ship?" Colonel Haugwitz asked thoughtfully: "There are many ships in the King's Castle. Doesn't the wool come to the King's Castle first for shipment every year? , then go down the river and send it to the United Provinces and Veneta?"

[Note: The river among the people of Plato refers to the Jinliu River, which is the rushing river among the people of the United Provinces and Veneta]

A glimmer of hope ignited in everyone's eyes.

"That's right! There are ships in the kings' castles! All sizes!"

"The River Styx is connected to the big river, and all the rivers in the wasteland are connected! Let the boat come and pick us up."

"Gentlemen!" Lieutenant Colonel Robert couldn't help shouting: "We are upstream! The Castles of the Kings are downstream! Haven't you heard of [buying a boat and heading east]? A Veneta merchant bought a boat in Plato and carried it Take the wool to the inland sea, dismantle the boat and sell the wood, and finally ride back to the castles of the kings!"

Colonel Bode comforted Lieutenant Colonel Robert and explained to the others: "To get here from the King's Castle is to go upstream. The Veneta people would rather buy a boat to go east than to sail against the current because it is too difficult.

Sailing against the current relies on three things: oars, sails and trackers. It is winter now, and the wind is blowing from the west, not only against the current but also against the wind. There was no sail to use, and no one to pull the tow for us. If you want to gather enough oars, you have to come from Veneta or the inland sea fleet of the United Provinces. "

"Don't count on ships!" Colonel Bode concluded seriously. He paused and said, "The only feasible way is for us to hold on here and send people back to the castles of the kings for reinforcements. As long as the reinforcements can defeat the barbarians on the other side of the river, we will Can build a floating bridge.”

Because the pontoon bridge does not have fixed piers, in order to keep the axis position from shifting, cable anchors need to be arranged on both sides of the bank, upstream and downstream.

The Hurd raiders guarded the other side of the river, which was equivalent to blocking the throat of Plato's army.

Without defeating them, the pontoon bridge cannot be built.

"I think it's feasible!" A school official loudly agreed.

A school official asked worriedly: "Hold on? Do we still have enough food?"

Colonel Bode replied firmly: "If it's not enough, save it! If it's not enough, kill the horses! We must hold on until reinforcements arrive."

"What if the reinforcements fail to relieve the siege?"

"In the newly cultivated land alone, we can pull out tens of thousands of Dusak and militiamen. How can we not defeat the thousands of Huds on the other side?" Colonel Bode was confident: "When the barbarians invade, militiamen from all over the country must have been gathering. Legion. Headquarters just needs to send them here.”

Colonel Haugwitz crossed his arms and asked: "It is still too passive to expect reinforcements to relieve the siege. We should find a way to send some people across the river to kill the barbarians on the other side. There are about three thousand or four thousand barbarians on the other side. As long as we can Just send fifteen squadrons over."

[Note: The full strength of the fifteen squadrons is about 3,000 cavalry. In actual combat, due to the difficulty of replenishing the number, there are only about 1,700 cavalry]

Lieutenant Colonel Robert asked: "How to send it there?"

"Boat?"

"Where can I find a ship that can carry two thousand cavalry?"

"Go upstream and use the boat to transport it bit by bit."

"Colonel Haugwitz! Have you never thought about morale?" Lieutenant Colonel Robert retorted with his eyes wide open: "The Herds can guard the other side, but they can't monitor the upstream and downstream? Once they fail, the loss will not only be fifteen squadrons. cavalry, and fifteen squadrons of horses.

I'm not talking about whether you can cross the river or not. With the current state of the army, our side will collapse before you get to the other side! The soldiers will think you're going to run away! "

Haugwitz sneered: "You underestimate the Platoans!"

Lieutenant Colonel Robert was furious: "We do all the hard work, what qualifications do you have to say such a thing?"

The two sides are at war with each other and are on the verge of breaking out.

"Everyone, sit down!" Arpad slammed the table: "You want a duel? Get out. Don't spill blood on me!"

General Sackler sighed: "It is not a good idea to stand still and wait for reinforcements. It seems that we can only choose the best one from the bad options. Think about the backup plan. What will happen if the reinforcements do not come? If the reinforcements come, they will not be able to do it. What about the rescue?"

The military tent fell into silence again.

If the reinforcements don't come, or if they come they can't relieve the siege.

Then there is only one outcome waiting for the fifth and sixth armies - total annihilation.

"My centurion has an idea." The one-eyed colonel who had been silent until now broke the silence. His voice was not loud, but he caught everyone's attention: "That kid is a bit quick-witted, I think we can try it."

"Stop talking nonsense." General Sackler glanced at Lieutenant Colonel Jessica dissatisfiedly: "Speak!"

"Build a bridge!" Lieutenant Colonel Jessica took out the drawing: "Not a floating bridge, but a real bridge."

Lieutenant Colonel Robert raised his eyebrows: "A real bridge? How to build it?"

Lieutenant Colonel Jessica walked forward and hung the drawings on the shelf:

"Build like Caesar!"

…

Winters stood on a mound. In front of him was the camp where construction was in full swing.

Further ahead is the majestic River Styx.

To Winters' left, there was another mound of similar height.

The official codenames given by the Corps command to the two mounds are Southern Highlands and Northern Highlands.

But because the two mounds resembled a woman's twin peaks, the soldiers called them...that.

The camp and two mounds are distributed in a triangle, close to the river beach.

This location is not very conducive to defense, because the two mounds are condescending and overlook the entire camp.

The Plato army had to build forts on the southern and northern highlands and disperse its troops to garrison.

There are only two reasons for setting up the camp on terrain unsuitable for defense:

First, walking half a kilometer northwest from here, there is a dense coniferous forest;

Second, the width of the river here is less than 200 meters, which is suitable for building bridges.

Time waits for no one. The soldiers of the Fifth Army are still digging trenches and building camp walls. The soldiers of the Sixth Army have already returned with logs.

The military camp is now a huge open-air carpentry workshop and blacksmith shop.

Regardless of blacksmiths, carpenters, charcoal burners, masons... all the craftsmen in the army were gathered together in one place, and Balian was among them.

Even the half-bucket of water, which only knew how to use a plane, was taken away.

The bellows blew the fire, and the tinkling sound of forging was endless.

Surplus armor and weapons were smelted into axes, nails, and anchors, and then sent to those who needed them.

Everyone is working selflessly, and in the center of the camp, a giant raft is gradually taking shape.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

At the same time, another giant raft was floating on the water, driving wooden piles into the river bed.

There are also several small boats anchored in the middle of the river, measuring the water depth.

There is a simple instrument like a pile driver on the giant raft: a stone pier, a lifting device, and a slide rail.

The raft carrying this set of equipment is the core of the bridge construction project.

The soldiers on the raft shouted and pushed the turntable, the ropes creaked, and the heavy stones were lifted bit by bit.

The remaining soldiers on the raft worked together to put a log into the slide rail and explore as deep as possible against the buoyancy.

When the tip of the log touched the river bed, the officer on the raft opened the crane sear.

The stone pier fell heavily and hit the tail of the wooden pile, making the raft tremble.

The wooden pile was driven nearly half a meter deep into the river bed with great force.

The soldiers shouted the trumpet again and pushed the turntable - they had to repeat it twice more until the wooden stakes were firmly driven into the depths of the river bed.

Wooden piles fixed to the river bed will serve as bridge piers and extend all the way to the other side of the river.

The super-large raft carried a six-meter-high pile driver, like a mythical giant walking on the water. The Hurd people on the other side were stunned and ran and shouted.

"Have you never seen this thing?" Winters felt happy in his heart: "It seems that "Takato Senki" does not have a German version."

Brother Rhett was also with Winters.

The old man stroked his beard and sighed: "[Selika language] Fantastic skills and obscene skills, really amazing skills and obscene skills."

"What?" Winters didn't understand.

"I'm telling you how awesome you are!"

"I didn't invent it." Winters scratched his hair a few times in shame: "They are all things in ancient books, but there are no real objects. When we were in Luyuan, the teacher led us to try to restore them."

"But." Brother Rhett smacked his lips and said, "I'm afraid this bridge won't last."

"Anyway, I don't expect to use it until the end of the world. It's enough to use it once."

Brother Rhett laughed loudly: "Yes."

"White Lion!" Winters suddenly shouted at Styx: "What other tricks are there! Use them all!"

[There is a diagram, if you don’t see it, please refresh it later]

The technology used by Plato's army was actually the technology used by Caesar to build the "Bridge across the Rhine".

Use a floating pile driver to drive wooden piles into the river bed, and then use the wooden piles as piers to build the bridge.

There were Germans on the other side of Caesar, and the Hittites on the other side of the Platons. Caesar had 40,000 soldiers, and the Platons had only 20,000. But the location chosen by Caesar was 400 meters wide and 9 meters deep. The selected location is only 200 meters and the depth is less than 6 meters, which can be regarded as reducing the difficulty.

However, Caesar did not walk on that bridge in the end...