Iron Powder and Spellcaster

In the few days after the destruction of the Tartai family, large groups of cavalry from the Terton tribe arrived on the west bank of the Bighorn River one after another.

For a time, people and horses neighed and dust rose everywhere on the west bank. The people in Niuho Valley said "thunder in winter" - in fact, it was the sound of thousands of hooves trampling on the earth.

And because of the winter monsoon, the Teltown people are upwind and the Oxhoof Valley is downwind.

The smoke from the barbarians burning animal dung for warmth mixed with the dust and was blown to the east coast by the west wind, making the people of Tiefeng County cough from morning till night.

Just the smoke from the barbarian's fire is so terrifying, how can we wait for the barbarian to cross the river?

People in Niuti Valley are in panic, many civilians even want to abandon their homes and flee, and even the will of the soldiers can't help but be shaken.

But seeing the blood-red flag flying on the church bell tower, everyone calmed down again - the blood wolf is still here, what are we afraid of?

Oxhoof Valley is now the frontline of the confrontation between the two armies, so Winters has never left.

The Terton army arrived, and the troops under Winters also arrived in Oxhoof Valley one after another.

The first to come to support were the 11th and 12th companies.

The second batch of reinforcements was the "Volunteer Brigade" led by Samukin - but soldiers from other companies generally called them the "Basket Weaving Brigade".

Because the volunteer brigade recruits from among the prisoners, all of them are carefully selected by Samujin and are the best at weaving baskets - they are also the most obedient prisoners.

The name of the prisoner brigade was not pleasant, so Winters personally gave it the title "Volunteer Brigade".

He has signed a new contract with the prisoners in Wargne County:

[If you capture one Telun head, you will be free after the war; if you capture two Telun heads, you are allowed to be transferred to the rank of a field soldier; if you have two or more heads, you will accumulate merit according to the standards of active soldiers. ]

Niuti Valley was originally garrisoned by the 1st and 2nd companies. With the 11th company, 12th company and the "basket weaving brigade" coming from behind, the total strength was close to a thousand people.

If the civilians of Niuti Valley are also counted as auxiliary soldiers, the size of the army can expand to 5,000 in an instant.

Follow the rules and make another false report. Then it is obviously very reasonable for [Winters Montagne to personally lead an army of 20,000 men to confront Terton's 100,000 cavalry across the river].

In order to monitor the enemy's situation, Winters mobilized manpower to build a series of watchtowers on the east bank of the Bighorn River.

At this moment, he was on one of them, leaning on the railing and looking at the Teltown barbarians on the other side.

"Tell me." Winters leaned on his cane and suddenly asked the people behind him with a smile: "Are the Hurd tribes so poor that all they have left is horses?"

Hearing this, everyone present laughed.

Wearing a tattered hat and a triangular kerchief on his face, Winters looked like a gangster, and did not look like "Your Excellency the Tribune" at all.

The others were similar, all wrapped up tightly, with only a pair of eyes exposed.

It is said that Winters brought it upon himself. The meadows on the west bank of the Bighorn River were completely burned by him. Even if there was no human activity, the wind would stir up dust all over the sky. Now with the help of the Teldu army, the sandstorm is even more powerful.

"In addition to horses, there are also cows and sheep!" Bart Shilling's eyes narrowed with laughter: "Of course the most valuable thing is the horse! Centurion, Barbarian gave us a generous gift, we have to thank them properly. !”

According to the initial visual inspection by Tamas and Bart Schalling, the number of horses in the Tartai tribe should be about 500 to 600.

However, after the battle, when they were counted, they found nearly a thousand horses. It was a windfall. Poor Tartai, who had worked so hard to save a fortune, all fell into Winters' pocket.

The lucrative robbery business indirectly led to the officers under Winters becoming somewhat nomadic.

After saving and saving, it was still very tight. Winters couldn't even get a hundred war horses together.

If you win a battle, you can grab nearly a thousand horses in one go - although there are pros and cons. Why are you still breeding? Can't you just grab it? How enjoyable?

Winters had to correct the second company commander: "The Teltown people did give a generous gift, but the most precious gift is not the horse."

Bart Xialing nodded respectfully: "This subordinate is stupid, please make it clear."

Winters raised his chin slightly: "It's that big fat man Tartai. He is worth as much as a thousand horses. Well done, Tamas."

Tamas smiled and scratched his head.

In the surprise attack on Tartai's headquarters, Tamas captured the enemy chief alive and did a better job than Winters - after all, if Winters had done it, Tartai's possibility of survival would have been reduced.

"The Teltown people don't know our reality, but we have figured out the details of the Teltown people." Winters pointed to the powerful Teltown company camp on the other side: "No matter how many people and horses there are, there will be no danger." You’re just here to give us a gift!”

The officers laughed.

In addition to the officers present, there was also the mayor of Oxhoof Valley.

The mayor smiled awkwardly. The barbarian on the other side could flatten the Cow Hoof Valley with his horse. He really couldn't help laughing.

"Mr. Mayor, don't look so sad." Winters said to the mayor of Oxhoof Valley with a smile.

The mayor of Niuti Valley trembled in his heart, and his smile became even more ugly.

Winters leaned against the fence, chuckled and asked, "You think I'm bragging, right?"

"I don't dare, Your Excellency, I don't dare." The mayor of Niuti Valley shook his head desperately.

"Don't dare, you just have this intention?" Winters's eyes curled up in a smile.

The other party asked with a smile, but the mayor of Niuti Valley was about to burst into tears. He didn't know where he provoked this god of murder.

"Come." Winters waved: "Stand on the edge of the railing."

The mayor of Niu Tu Valley walked to the fence tremblingly. He couldn't help but glance down, and suddenly felt that the world was spinning.

The watchtower is more than five meters high, with a soft river beach below it, but in the eyes of the mayor of Niuti Valley, it is as high as a hundred-meter cliff.

The mayor of Oxhoof Valley felt a push from behind, screamed, and then realized he was still alive.

"What's your name?" Winters put his arm around the shoulders of the mayor of Oxhoof Valley and asked with a smile, "It scared me."

The nearly forty-year-old mayor was hugged by the blood wolf, his face was pale, and his words became stammering: "surging... subordinates... subordinates' hearts are surging... to the point of screaming..."

"Oh? Surging? You just get used to it." Winters pointed enthusiastically at the horses on the other side: "I'm afraid you can't understand, so I'll explain it to you. Did you see that there? It's the Turton people drinking horses."

"Look, look, see."

"According to my observation, the Teltown people drink from their horses three times a day, probably because there is no fresh grass to eat." Winters smiled and asked, "Tell me, how many horses are there in the group of horses drinking water?"

The mayor of Niuti Valley burst into tears: "This, this, this... my subordinates really don't know!"

"Then let me tell you, there are almost a hundred horses, and every time the horses drink water, it is the same size. According to my guess, it should be that if there are too many horses, it is inconvenient to drink water, so the Teltown people form a group of about a hundred horses and take turns to catch them. Go into the river and drink.”

"Your Excellency is wise!"

"Stop flattering and listen carefully." Winters smiled: "These are military secrets."

The mayor of Niutigu looked sad, nodding like he was pounding garlic.

"Now comes the point." Winters put his left hand on the shoulder of the mayor of Niu Tu Valley, and took out a small notebook with his right hand: "According to the records from the watchtowers along the coast, the people of Teltown drank horses a total of 402 times yesterday - there may be omissions or duplications. , but it is roughly accurate. Tell me, how many barbarians are there on the other side now?"

The mayor of Niuti Valley felt as if he was struck by five thunders: "I, I, I... my subordinates, how do my subordinates know?"

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter." Winters reassured the mayor. He thought of something and added seriously: "I forgot to tell you that although there are rich and poor, statistically speaking, the main force of Teltown has almost three people per person. Horse. Do the math again?”

The mayor of Niuti Valley shook his head desperately.

"If my calculation is correct." Winters put away his notebook and said firmly: "There are more than 13,000 horses on the other side, and the strength of the troops should be around 4,000. This is the same as the enemy chief 'Tartai' captured by our army. The information provided can be corroborated with each other. By counting the number of times a horse is drunk, one can find out the reality of the enemy. Isn't it interesting?"

"Interesting." The mayor of Niuti Valley nodded hurriedly: "Interesting."

Winters changed the topic suddenly: "Mr. Mayor, you know that there are four thousand enemies, but do you know how many people our army has in Oxhoof Valley?"

The mayor of Niuti Valley swallowed and shook his head.

"Four companies, plus one brigade, less than a thousand people. These are military secrets." Winters patted the mayor of Niutu Valley on the shoulder: "I told you without reservation, you have to keep it secret for me. "

The mayor of Niuti Valley couldn't hold it any longer. His knees became weak and he knelt on the ground. He hugged the blood wolf's leg and howled bitterly with snot and tears, shouting for his life.

Tamas and Bart Shilling stepped forward and pulled the mayor of Oxhoof Valley away, and they worked together to lift the latter up.

"Everyone was laughing just now, but you didn't laugh." Winters' eyes became cold: "Why don't you laugh?"

The mayor of Niuti Valley has cried so much that he can't speak.

The conversation could not continue.

Without Winters' order, Bart Shilling had already helped the mayor stop his tears, and the conversation could continue.

Winters sat on the fence with his sword on his knees: "You don't smile because you are afraid. Of course you should be afraid. If the enemy is four and we are one, we will definitely lose no matter what."

I might as well tell you that the enemy chief's palace guards haven't arrived yet, and when the fire-warmers' personal troops arrive, it will be seven against one. Oops, dead. So you don’t laugh, and you even think it’s funny when we laugh. "

"No...no..." The mayor of Niuti Valley shook his head like a rattle and cried: "My subordinates have never thought of it like this..."

"No?" Winters raised his sword eyebrows and drew out his sword: "Come, kiss the blade, swear that you didn't say 'defeat is inevitable, run away as soon as possible', swear that you didn't speak nonsense in the church, swear that you didn't secretly form a clique. Fight me. Swear and you can go."

The mayor of Niuti Valley was trembling all over and did not dare to make a sound.

"Well, it's quite honest." Winters sheathed his sword, his expression became relaxed, and his smile returned: "Of course you can think this way, you can also say this, and I can even forgive you if you say this at the dinner table. . But you can’t say it in public because you are the mayor. In front of the people, you represent my authority and position.”

Wen Tesla led the mayor of Niuti Valley to sit on the edge of the fence: "Mr. Mayor, you might as well think about it. We are outnumbered and the enemy is outnumbered. What would happen if I kept saying 'this battle will be lost' all day long? What if I What would it be like to cry with a sad face?"

"I know the dangers of this battle better than you." Wen Tesla held the arm of the mayor of Niuti Valley and said with a smile: "But we have to laugh, not cry. I laugh, and you cry. I cry. , you still have to be scared to death?"

The officers laughed loudly, and the mayor of Niutu Valley also managed a smile.

Winters looked at the mayor and spoke in a sincere and gentle tone: "I smile because I want to set an example for the soldiers. I hope you can also set an example for the civilians in Oxhoof Valley and stop forming cliques and small gangs to fight against me. ,OK?"

"Okay! Okay! I don't dare to do that anymore!" Mayor Niuti Valley's triangle scarf was wet with tears, and he nodded desperately.

"As long as you agree. Didn't you send your wife and children to Gevaudan the day before yesterday?" Winters said kindly: "I took them back to the Ox Hoof Valley for you. Didn't you also hide three horses and prepare them?" Run away? I also confiscated it for you."

The mayor of Oxhoof Valley had black eyes, and it was only Winters who supported him from falling under the watchtower.

Winters explained patiently: "It's not good for you to send your wife and children away during the war. You are the mayor of the town and you have the responsibility to protect the land. As soon as you run away, everyone else will follow you to Gevaudan, and the Cow Hoof Valley There is no way to keep it. As it is now, if we can keep it together, we can live together, and if we can't, we can die together, which is good."

The tears that the mayor of Niuti Valley had just stopped burst into tears again.

"Don't cry." Winters comforted the mayor: "Don't worry, against the Teltown Department, strictly speaking, I have a perfect record so far. Do you hear me clearly?"

"Listen clearly." The mayor of Niuti Valley's eyes were swollen from crying: "The record is a complete victory."

"Okay, it's good to know. Just tell everyone in Oxhoof Valley." Winters patted the other party's arm: "You can go."

The mayor of Oxhoof Valley had not yet recovered from the shock. It was not until Bart Xialing signaled him that he woke up from a dream.

The mayor of Niutigu looked back and left as if he had been granted amnesty. As he put one foot on the ladder, he heard the gentle voice of the tribune:

"Mr. Mayor."

The mayor of Niuti Valley felt as if he had been burned by hot charcoal. His body suddenly tensed up and his spine felt chilly: "Yes! Your Excellency!"

"This battle is over." Winters smiled and waved goodbye: "Please hand in a resignation letter."

…

"This bastard, you really don't need to talk nonsense with him." Looking at the back of the mayor of Niutigu Valley, Bart Xialing said angrily: "He is doing it in a secret way, driving up prices, and inciting the townspeople to fight against us. He should be The body was cut into pieces by five horses in public! It shocked other Xiao Xiaoxiao."

"He wanted to escape to Gevaudan. The better we defended him, the harder it was for him to leave." Winters leaned on the railing: "So he tried every means to sabotage our preparations for war. This was just to steal a handful of wheat. Burn down a barn'."

"How can such a person exist?"

Winters sighed softly: "There are quite a few people like this. It should be said... there are people like this everywhere. They are worried about internal and external troubles. They are worried about internal and external troubles."

Several company commanders were depressed for a moment.

"But - after all, there are still many good people." Winters found that the atmosphere was not right, and laughed to explain to a few people: "People are like the ocean. Although there is some dirty water, the ocean itself is still clean."

Tamas, Bart Xialing, and Samkin exchanged glances with each other, looking a little strange.

"What's wrong?" Winters laughed: "Don't believe me?"

"It's not that I don't believe you." Tamas stood up bravely: "None of us... have ever seen the sea."

Winters took a deep breath and revised his words: "People's kindness is like the prairie. Although sometimes it will be burnt to scorched earth by a fire, sooner or later it will regain its vitality."

"We understand this!" Bart Schalling beamed.

Winters summoned the company commanders not just to observe the enemy.

"How's the collection of carriages going?" Winters suppressed his smile.

"Everything that can be collected has been collected." Tamas replied immediately, and he added in a low voice: "It's just that the forced recruitment of carriages made the farmers a little resentful."

"Make a mark and register it. Tell them that if they borrow something, they must pay it back, and if they lose something, they must pay for it."

"Yes." Tamas raised his hand in salute.

Bart Xialing held the hilt of the sword and asked: "Are the villages near Oxhoof Valley going to be burned down?"

"No, there is no need to burn it here for the time being." Winters smiled and shook his head: "We can't burn everything, the people still have to live. If you burn one house now, you will have to pay for another one in the future. If you burn the house, it will hurt me. In my heart."

The company commanders laughed kindly.

Immediately, Winters reassigned tasks to each company.

In the afternoon of the same day, four companies of the Tiefeng County Infantry Regiment drove out of Niuti Valley and built small fortresses on the river banks.

There is also a logging team logging nearby trees around the Ox Hoof Valley to build rafts and boats.

The ramparts of Niu Tu Valley have basically taken shape. The new fortifications have completely wrapped the town of Niu Tu Valley. The next step is to continue to strengthen - this part of the work is left to civilians.

Samujin's volunteer brigade is stationed in Niuti Valley Town. Currently, their main job is...basket weaving.

At dusk that day, an unprecedented green horse-tailed bamboo appeared on the hills on the west bank of the Big Horn River.

The fire-warmers have arrived.

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