Iron Powder and Spellcaster

[Great Wasteland]

More than a thousand riders and three times as many riders were divided into six squadrons, each carrying as many horses as a small Herd tribe.

After a heavy rain, the uninhabited land on the west bank of the Bighorn River, which was originally burned to scorched earth, became lush again.

The six squadrons were like six torrents, advancing together on the black wasteland dotted with light green.

The squadrons could not directly see each other, and only the smoke and dust rolled up by the horses' hooves in the distance could prove the presence of friendly forces.

Winters, who was in the torrent, witnessed attrition again and again: some horses fell down because they stepped on rat holes, and some riders fell off their horses because of exhaustion.

His heart was bleeding, but he was unable to lend a helping hand. The stragglers had to wait alone in the wilderness for the reception team to arrive.

Because the torrent cannot stop, it can only move forward.

At the junction of the no-man's land and the Teltown territory, six squadrons of Tiefeng County light cavalry met up with the guides and horses sent by Taichi, replaced the mounts that were on the verge of reaching their limit, and then continued to rush westward without stopping. .

This was not a "Plato-style" heavy hammer crushing, but a "Hurd-style" lightly armed surprise attack.

Because its core purpose is not to kill the enemy - but to cut off the snake's head.

…

The production method of nomadic tribes determines that they cannot gather large numbers of people and livestock together for a long time.

As a productive resource, pasture is distributed almost evenly throughout the grassland. For their herds to thrive, tribes must utilize grazing resources as much as possible.

At the same time, too large a herd will easily exhaust the pasture in the residential area, and the grazing distance of horses, cattle, and sheep has a limit. Even if they change campsites one day, they cannot move too far.

Therefore, no matter how large a tribe is, it must be divided into families and live dispersedly on weekdays. As a result, maintaining a standing army in the wilderness became extremely expensive.

Therefore, during non-war periods, a tribe's royal tent can only maintain an extremely limited number of permanent troops, which results in the royal tents of various tribes almost always being in a state of lack of protection;

Because of this, most of the wars that broke out between the Hed tribes took the form of "launching a surprise attack on the royal tent of the enemy tribe" as the main form, and usually ended with "killing the leader of the enemy tribe".

On the contrary, there are very few large-scale battles where the battles are fully open and the swords and guns are clear.

For the Hed tribes who live scattered in the water and grass, the king's tent is their weakest, most deadly, and most vulnerable to attack.

…

Excellent swordsmen can always launch attacks from unexpected positions of the enemy, and the key to taking advantage of the "unexpected" is nothing more than two points: concealment and speed.

According to the battle plan formulated by Winters, Taichi's tribe will be responsible for luring the enemy in this raid.

On the banks of the Jinliu River, Winters told Tai Chi's son bluntly: "I don't care what method your father uses, he must let Chi Lian's attention focus entirely on him."

"And I will personally lead the troops to covertly attack from another direction." He drew a shallow indentation on the map along the foot of the Jinding Mountains, and then stabbed the dagger heavily at the end: "Cut off the snake's head!"

At the same time, in order to pursue a marching speed that exceeds the limit, all the equipment of the cavalry participating in the attack was lightweighted to the greatest extent.

Blankets, horse clothes, silver-inlaid scabbards, brass belt buckles... all the weight that can be saved will be reduced, and all decorative items will be discarded.

Each cavalryman participating in the raid even carried only a bag of dried meat and a bag of fermented mare's milk as supplies. If they cannot seize supplies from the enemy, they will starve to death in the wasteland and die of thirst.

When selecting personnel, each candidate was truthfully told that this was a long-distance run with no retreat and no defeat. Once they fall behind, they will have to wait for rescue in the vast wilderness.

Yet none of the candidates backed down - because this was a fight that had to be fought.

…

At the moment, Winters' little "regime" seems to be thriving. However, in reality, the fledgling Tiefeng County Government stood on the edge of a cliff.

Outside, the Maple Stone City Incident led to the imminent war between Red Rose and the local powerful faction of the New Reclamation Army. Although both parties are now wooing Tiefeng County, it is only forced by the situation. If given the chance, Winters had no doubt they would crush the "rebels" mercilessly.

Inside, Tiefeng County is also unstable. Although the victory in the Blood Mud War gave Winters temporary prestige, he still had a long way to go to achieve what the people wanted. The people just habitually obeyed his rule. If one day Red Rose "recovers" Tiefeng County, they will also habitually obey Red Rose's authority.

Not to mention that there is also a mayor of Portal in Shovel Port who appears to obey Gévaudin's orders, but in fact secretly recruits bandits to defeat them and plots evil.

However, compared with the complicated situation in the newly cultivated land, the threat from the wilderness makes Winters even more worried.

Although the Khan Court of the Terdun tribe suffered heavy losses in the Blood Mud Battle, and even the fire-warmer himself was killed, the Terdun tribe was not completely wiped out.

A lion died, but from the remains of the lion a group of hungry wolves and vultures were born.

Taichi was originally supposed to be responsible for suppressing the hungry wolves and vultures, but the disastrous defeat in the Blood Mud Battle also greatly weakened Taichi's strength.

Not only was he unable to destroy the hungry wolves and vultures, but he was showing signs of exhaustion and was about to be eaten by a group of hungry wolves and vultures.

Nowadays, a Teldun noble named "Chi Lian" has publicly revealed his banner of revenge for the fire roasters, trying to reunite the divided Teldun tribes.

As a confidant and archery officer of the Fire Maker, Chi Lian is also the Turdun noble who hates Tiefeng County the most.

After the Blood Mud War, Winters has been redeeming the Plato prisoners and slaves held by the Teldu tribe through Taichi.

Most of the Teldun nobles chose to accept Tai Chi's generous offer - except for Chi Lian, who not only arrogantly refused the request to ransom the prisoners, but also gave Tai Chi two expeditionary prisoners with their eyes gouged out and their tongues cut out.

The meaning conveyed could not be clearer.

"insult".

This makes this beheading raid even more personal.

The trade between Tiefeng County and the Chihe tribe requires the stability of the Terdun tribe's territory, and Tiefeng County cannot tolerate the rise of the Terdun tribe again.

Since Taichi cannot subdue hungry wolves and vultures.

"Then I will solve it myself." Winters said to Taichi's son.

…

[Akaribu Territory]

[an unnamed pasture]

[dusk]

The white man "Hanshan" heard the roar of horse hooves.

When he first heard about it, Hanshan thought that his own horses were frightened, and he hurriedly ran out of the felt tent without even having time to put on his boots.

However, his horses and sheep were all fine, and the sound of hoofbeats was getting louder and closer. The smoke and dust on the horizon were reflected blood red by the setting sun, revealing an indescribable killing intent.

"[Hede] There's a war!" Han Shan ran back to the felt tent, thinking frantically: "[Hede] There's a war!"

From the day the Chiliantou man said that he would deal with the Tai Chitou man, Han Shan knew that sooner or later there would be a battle. Either the Thai red-headed people will attack the red-headed people, or the red-headed people will attack the Thai red-headed people.

But no matter who hits whom, it shouldn’t be now!

"[Hede] How can we fight in the spring? How can we fight in the spring?!" Hanshan yelled through gritted teeth and hurriedly put on his robe.

After finally surviving the bitter cold winter, the animals were already very thin, and the horses had not yet regained the fat they had lost.

Han Shan couldn't figure it out no matter what: "How can [Hede] know how to fight? How can he fight now?!"

A Hurd woman with a child on her back heard the sound and ran into the felt tent. Seeing the frantic appearance of the family members, she asked in fear: "What's wrong with [Hurd language]?"

"[Herdese] Haven't you heard that?" Han Shan asked viciously. He took out a leather bag and randomly scooped a few spoonfuls of yogurt pimples into it: "[Herdese] There's a war!"

"[Herd] Then what are you going to do?"

Hanshan tightened his leather bag, slung it on his shoulder, and raised his legs to walk out: "[Hede] I have to warn Chi Liantou."

When the woman heard this, she immediately grabbed the man's sleeve tightly, and the child behind her burst into tears.

"[Herd] Don't go," the woman begged.

Han Shan paused for a moment, and there was a trace of struggle on his face that was covered with ravines due to the wind and rain.

He clenched his fists tightly and said painfully: "[Hud] If I don't warn the Red Liantou people, you and I will be sewn into sheepskin bags by the Red Liantou people and trampled to death by the horses."

For white-skinned people who are placed on the periphery of their territory, if a hostile tribe invades, they have the obligation to notify the tribal leader. If the tribe leader escaped without warning, he would never let go of the white-skinned man who neglected his duties—not to mention that the leader of Hanshan was Chi Lian, who was famous for his cruelty.

The woman lowered her head and Wuyan let go of her hand.

Hanshan touched the child on the woman's back, picked up the saddle, and told the woman: "[Hud language] You also hide in the mountains. When I come back, I will look for you again."

After that, he walked out of the felt tent without looking back.

Hanshan picked the three best horses, saddled them neatly, and then galloped towards the location of the Chiliantou camp.

Because he was afraid of being overtaken by the cavalry behind him, he was cautious and did not dare to take the shortest route. Instead, relying on his familiarity with the nearby pastures, he first rode a short distance south, and then relied on his memory to rush to the destination through starry night.

From dusk to early morning, apart from changing the saddle, Han Shan never left the horse's back.

The three good horses were exhausted one after another. Hanshan could only pray that the horses could find their way home on their own, and reluctantly abandoned the exhausted horses.

It wasn't until the last horse was almost in shock that Han Shan finally saw the familiar pile of guide stones outside the Chiliantou camp.

He whipped the horse under his crotch hard, but the horse's last strength had been squeezed out. The riding horse screamed mournfully, frothing at the mouth and fell to the ground, holding Han Shan under him.

Han Shan struggled to pull out his legs from under the horse's belly, and limped toward the hillside without even bothering to look at the twitching horse.

The morning light showed slightly, and the golden sword pierced the black curtain. Han Shan struggled to climb to the top of the mountain, stood there for a moment, and then fell to his knees weakly.

The sight in front of him made this hard-nosed Hart man despair:

The black cavalry all over the mountains and plains were like giant scythes, leaving only mutilated limbs wherever they passed; in the center of the valley, the impregnable camp of the Chiliantou people had been turned into a sea of ​​fire, and men and women were running away in all directions.

…

On the hillside on the other side of the valley, Winters was also watching the scene in the valley.

A good swordsman can always strike from an unexpected position, but the best swordsmen can strike so fast that the enemy cannot react.

If the speed of the assault can exceed the speed of the sentry's retreat, if the rushing vanguard can reach the battlefield before the enemy who has tipped off the enemy.

Speed, then, is concealment.

…

In the middle of the valley.

Major Seb with the saber once again killed the barbarian camp. He threw away the blunt saber, replaced it with a new one, and then rushed into the barbarian camp again.

"Where is the leader of the barbarians?" Seb yelled like crazy: "Where is the leader of the barbarians?"

Angelou chased after Seb: "Major! The barbarian leader has escaped!"

"Escaped!" Cyborg halted his horse and grabbed Angelou's lapel. His eyes were swollen red due to blood congestion, and he roared like thunder: "Escaped?!"

"It didn't take long." Angelou dexterously controlled Red Mane to distance himself, and replied calmly: "It didn't take long, and the quilt is still warm."

Seb was so angry that he shouted: "Chase!"

…

Meanwhile, at the Shovel Harbor Marina.

"Hey." Fisherman Marin stopped arranging the fishing net and asked his friend beside him doubtfully: "Did you hear that?"

Fisherman Nemo picked the struggling fish from the fishing net and asked lazily: "What did you hear?"

Marin pricked up his ears and listened carefully for a long time, then shook his head mockingly: "It's nothing."

"Now the mayor won't let us go to Gevaudin, and there are no people in Shovel Harbor buying fish." Nemo asked one thing after another while working: "How about making fish sauce? Wait until winter to sell it."

"Okay." Marin sniffed: "But what should we do now?"

Nemo still looked calm: "Eat fish."

Before he finished speaking, Nemo's hand movements stopped.

"What's wrong?" Marin asked.

"That, that, that..." Nemo pointed behind Marlin in horror: "...the boat!"

Marin turned his head and looked back in horror. A dozen large boats had just penetrated the mist on the lake. The long oars extended into the water from both sides of the ship's side, like a pair of wings, flapping up and down, driving the ship toward the Shovel Harbor Pier at a high speed.

"I told you I heard it right!" Marin shouted excitedly: "It's the sound of paddling! A boat is coming!"

You can't blame Marin for being so excited, because except for the ships that the mayor mysteriously bought, no merchant ships have docked in Shovel Port for a long time.

"No." Nemo's voice was filled with tears: "It came down from upstream!"

…

On the big ship, an officer with an iron mask clasped the drum-shaped silver box in his hand and coldly ordered: "The dock cannot accommodate all the ships. Let the transport ships on both wings adjust their direction and go directly to the beach."

"Yes." A man with a red birthmark on his face answered briefly: "Captain Moreau."

Outside Shovel Harbor, Lieutenant Andrea Cellini was holding a drum-shaped silver box, watching the hands in the box move slowly one by one, and he was already waiting impatiently.

[26025/100000]

[The wild geese fly high in the moonlight, and the Chanyu escapes in the night. If you want to drive away the light cavalry, the heavy snow will cover your bow and sword]

[Miscellaneous talk: Why does the dignified Shanyu escape at night? ]

[Before the "Battle of Thirteen Wings", most of the wars recorded in the Secret History of Mongolia seemed inexplicable - either A was chased like a rabbit, or B was chased like a rabbit]

[The war between the Qiyan tribe and the Merqid people with three surnames is a typical case. First, the Merqid people of three surnames attacked Temujin's brothers by surprise, killed Temujin's tribe and captured Temujin's wife. Then Temujin used the power of "King Khan" and Zamuhe to surprise the three Merqid people (clearly described as an attack, "surprised and entered from the skylight of their tent"). "I could have taken advantage of Tuohei Tua ·Bie Qi was still sleeping and came with a surprise attack." However, because a hunter tipped off the enemy, he still let the enemy run away]

[Two major tribes are at war, but the leader of one tribe runs away naked in the middle of the night, which not only makes people laugh]

[But considering the lifestyle of nomadic tribes, it is not surprising that this situation occurs: you may have 100,000 strings, but your sweat tent may only have 1,000 people at ordinary times]

[This leads to two phenomena: 1. The permanent guard is very important to the tribal leader, and the status of the guard far exceeds the guard itself; 2. The military achievements of the champion are not exaggerated by historians, or in other words, the tactics of the champion are the most effective tactics , but the execution level is very difficult - the raiding force must be elite enough, cannot get lost, and must be able to accurately find the location of the royal court]

[I also want to talk about the sweat tent guards, but I can’t write it down T_T]