Iron Powder and Spellcaster

[Green Valley]

[East side of Provincial Avenue]

The fiery snakes are dancing wildly, and the east wind is roaring.

Winter wheat that has not completely lost its green color is like moist grass, and when burned, it emits a stronger smoke than hay.

Fire, smoke, and heat waves were wrapped into a wall by the strong wind, mixed with cries and roars, and swept through the Green Valley from east to west.

Standing behind the wall of blazing flames, "Paco", a descendant of the First Battalion of the New Army in Tiefeng County, felt his legs were weak, dizzy and unable to take a step forward.

The hell-like scene in front of us also has a "contribution" to Paco. Was it he who poured pine oil on the ears of wheat, was he who carried dry materials to the farmland, or was he...who unleashed the fire of destruction with his own hands.

Monkey saw Paco standing there blankly, stepped forward and patted the recruit on the back, only to find that the recruit's eyes were full of tears.

"It's all burned, it's all burned..." Paco choked, "There's nothing left."

The monkey's shoulders trembled, he rubbed his nose pretending not to care, and said hoarsely: "Yeah, what a pity, what a pity."

"Shut up!" Lu Xirong came over with a short spear and shouted in a low voice: "You can also have your say in the decision of the blood wolf?"

The old sergeant's mouth and nostrils were covered with wet cloth, and only a pair of eyes were exposed under the helmet: "Hurry up and put on the triangle scarf!"

The monkey immediately fell silent, bent down and fished out the triangular towel from the bucket filled with plant ash water that had been prepared in advance. He twisted it a few times and covered his nostrils and mouth like the old sergeant.

Lu Xirong stood erect, leaning on his spear. Under his feet were the charred farmland that had just been burned, and behind him were the raging fire and thick smoke.

His eyes swept over the young faces. The old sergeant had no expression on his face and said concisely: "The fire is very smokey and the wind direction is changeable. You must follow me closely and don't get separated."

"Yes!" Monkey and the six new army soldiers replied in unison.

Lu Xirong turned around without saying a word and led his men into the attack position.

When all the soldiers of the first battalion were waiting behind the field ridge for the order to attack, the monkey quietly came to Lu Xirong.

He squatted half-crouched behind Lu Xirong, gritted his teeth, and asked Lu Xirong tremblingly in a voice so small that only the two of them could hear: "Sergeant, we will compensate them, right?"

Old Roussillon stared at the burned golden field and said desolately: "I don't know either, monkey, I don't know either."

The shrill sound of the bugle suddenly overwhelmed all the noise, and then all the war drums sounded together.

Not far away, a short figure jumped out of the field again: "Everyone is here! Impact - move forward!"

The monkey and Paco looked at each other, then climbed over the field ridge and rushed towards the provincial road between the farmlands.

…

At the same time, on Provincial Avenue.

"The wind direction is from east to west! Fire and smoke also come from the east!" Major Felt stood on the mound, surveying the battlefield from a high position, raised his whip and pointed to the east side of the avenue:

"The enemy must be in the east too! Just behind the line of fire! They want the fire to be their vanguard. When our structure is broken up, they will rely on cavalry assault to completely destroy us."

In addition to the captain who led the team into the city, Felt's remaining five officers with professional backgrounds were all beside him at the moment. The expressions of the five people were tense, but they managed not to show any fear or panic.

"Two legs can't run as fast as four legs. We can't escape. But there's no need to be afraid! The enemy is behind the line of fire, so we still have time before the fire spreads!"

Major Felt identified the enemy's situation in a few words and ordered calmly:

"Since the fire is coming from the east, let's move to the west! Bring your troops to the west side of the avenue! Clear away the combustibles on the roadside! The terrain of Green Valley is higher in the west and lower in the east, so we will use the Provincial Avenue as a fire separation zone , on the west side of the road, from a commanding position! Form a formation to meet the enemy!"

At this moment, an honorary officer wearing a brand-new uniform ran towards Major Felt. His cry could be heard from a distance: "Major! They are all crazy! Crazy! Crazy rebels! You can gain something before your eyes." The wheat is also burning! How dare they? How dare they? Let’s retreat quickly!”

"Shut up!" Major Felt angrily drew his sword, stabbed the horse in the ribs and rushed down the mound. He changed his usual behavior of a good gentleman and cursed fiercely: "You bastard! Where are the centurions? Immediately. Go back to your soldiers! Otherwise, I will execute you with my own hands!"

The honorary officer was so frightened that his face turned pale. He wiped his tears and ran back dejectedly without daring to say a word.

"Everyone." Felt held his sword and turned to look at the officers of the 22nd batch who just graduated last year and just returned home this year. He said sincerely: "You are the only people I can rely on in this battle. I trust you wholeheartedly and hope that you will You can also stick to your phalanx and don’t let me down.”

The five officers solemnly raised their hands in salute, and each went to look for his subordinates. Their figures disappeared into the smoke and quickly disappeared.

The snare drum played a rapid melody, and there were constant scoldings and orders.

As orders were passed from level to level, Felt's troops were like snakes waking up from hibernation. Although they were still slow, they were indeed regaining their ability to move.

Right next to Major Felt, two centurions were driven down the road by the whips and wooden clubs of the officers and non-commissioned officers, and poured into the farmland on the west side of the road.

He vaguely heard someone yelling: "Reform the team! Reform the team! Quickly pull out the wheat straw around you!"

Regardless of his safety, Major Felt continued to stay on the mound, anxiously observing the movements of each group.

"Time!" His heart was pumping violently, and he could even feel the blood vessels in his neck and forehead expanding and contracting with the pumping of his heart: "Time!"

With just a little more time, his troops could regroup. By then, no matter how many Plato cavalry there were, they would not be able to destroy his phalanx.

However, the smoke came faster than the flames, and in a blink of an eye, both sides of the Provincial Avenue were completely shrouded in thick smoke.

The soldiers covered their mouths and noses, still coughing uncontrollably. The horses were almost out of control, and some cavalry had to lead their horses on foot.

Major Felt's line of sight was also blocked. Except for a few messengers beside him, he could no longer see anything further away.

Suddenly, there was a loud sound of gunfire behind the thick smoke, followed by a roar of death like a tsunami.

The terrifying shouts of killing were like huge waves, beating the hearts of the soldiers. There were also screams near Felt, followed by scolding and scolding.

The gunfire came from the front, and Felt immediately realized that the troops at the front had already engaged the enemy!

He resisted the urge to go and check the battle situation in person, pulled a messenger from behind, and ordered in a sharp voice: "Go to the Sixth Battalion immediately, ask Lieutenant Imre about the battle situation, and then come back and tell me immediately!"

"Yes!" The messenger raised his hands in salute with a mournful face, pulled the reins cautiously, and prepared to leave.

"Tell the troops along the road!" Major Felt directed at the messenger's back and issued another order: "Beware of attacks from the east side of the road! Beware of enemy cavalry raids! Once the fire spreads to the road, the enemy will coming soon!"

"Yes!" The messenger rode away.

A series of rapid hoofbeats struck, and Major Felt raised his sword alertly, but only one rider broke out of the smoke - Lieutenant Kadar, the captain of Felt's command.

"Major! My brigade has regrouped!" Lieutenant Kadar galloped all the way up the mound and begged eagerly: "Please take shelter in the square formation of the ninth brigade."

"No!" Major Felt flatly refused: "If I leave here, the other brigades will completely lose command."

"If you are attacked and killed, the other brigades will also lose command!" Lieutenant Kadar stepped forward and grabbed Major Felt's reins, almost begging: "Have you forgotten that group of rebel light cavalry before? You can do it here. Leave a few messengers on duty, but you must leave with me!"

Felt struggled in pain for a long time, punched his thigh hard, and followed Lieutenant Kadar away from the mound beside the road.

…

At the other end of the battlefield, Winters Montagne, who was also observing the battlefield, had his sight blocked by smoke.

But unlike Major Felt, the light cavalry under Winters kept reporting to him the latest battle situation, allowing him to "see" the entire battlefield clearly even if he could not see the battlefield visually.

Even because there were too many communications cavalry, the information obtained by the headquarters was too messy, and Charles had to lead a group of clerks to summarize and sort out the contradictory reports - this work had previously been the responsibility of Captain Mason. of.

It was getting dark, and Andre sighed and paced back and forth.

"Your Excellency Tribune!" Charles walked quickly to Winters - he always used formal titles in public - and could not conceal his excitement: "The enemy has completely retreated to the west side of the road! They are trying to regroup. !”

Winters put down the Newlon Bell in his hand: "Let Bart Shilling attack."

"Yes!" Charles took the order and left.

Andre sat down next to Winters and said insinuatingly: "It will be completely dark soon. Is it time for my cavalry..."

"No, I don't want to waste the energy of your cavalry." Winters put away the map: "The enemy has not completely entered the ambush site, and we may not be able to completely wipe out the enemy today. Perhaps we need to consider a backup plan."

"Huh?" Andre stared.

…

On the north side of the battlefield, Second Lieutenant Olshin of the 8th Battalion of the "Sixth Army" was trying his best to keep the phalanx from collapsing.

Different from the information provided by Major Felt, the enemy's troops were not light cavalry trying to fish in troubled waters, but well-equipped and fierce infantry.

Although the opponent's number was small, they took advantage of the weakness of Second Lieutenant Olshin's recruits who were not good at hand-to-hand combat, and used smoke cover to turn a frontal battle of thousands of people into a hand-to-hand encounter of dozens of people.

Two of the six Centuries under Second Lieutenant Olshin were defeated in the melee. He gathered the remaining four Centuries together with the defeated troops to form a brigade-level phalanx, with their backs against the road. Hard support.

When the enemy troops attacking from the east side of the road saw the large phalanx, they all retreated and turned around to pursue the small groups of soldiers who fled.

However, not long after, gunfire rang out around Lieutenant Olshin.

The rebel musketeers fired cold shots at Second Lieutenant Olshin's phalanx through the smoke, but the musketeers under Olshin's command could only shoot like headless flies.

Desperate, Orshin prayed like crazy, praying that the fire would be extinguished as soon as possible, that the smoke would disperse quickly, that reinforcements would arrive quickly, and that night would fall so that he could take advantage of the chaos to evacuate.

…

On the high ground on the west side of Green Valley, Bart Shilling is waiting for the order to attack.

"Batalion Commander, I still don't understand." "Nine Fingers", a former sergeant who was recently promoted to company commander, asked in a low voice: "Why do we still have to wait and see when the whole battalion is already working?"

Bart Shilling carefully observed the firelight in the distance and asked casually: "Have you ever hunted with the tribune?"

"No." Jiuzhi shook his head and said regretfully: "I only joined the army after the Lord Tribune captured Gervaudan."

"You will understand if you have hunted with the tribunes. But it doesn't matter if you have never hunted. You will understand as soon as I tell you." Bart Shilling broke off a branch and sketched on the ground: "Hunting - I am When it comes to hunting, people usually have to be divided into two teams. One team is responsible for making noise, frightening the herd of animals, and scaring out deer and rabbits; the other team is responsible for setting up an encirclement and intercepting the herd of animals."

Jiuzhi nodded in understanding.

Bart Shilling pointed at the battlefield filled with smoke and flames with a branch, and said with a smile: "Even though the first battalion fired the first shot, they were just driving away the wild animals. If they really want to eat the prey, we have to rely on us." "

Jiuzhi understood now and asked excitedly: "What do you mean - we are the main attacker this time?"

"Yes. This tactic is called..." Bart Xialing rubbed his forehead and found the answer in his memory: "This is called the anvil and hammer tactic! But this time, the anvil is the infantry, and the hammer is also the infantry. And this time, it's One battalion serves as a chopping block..."

Bart Shilling smiled: "We make hammers!"

While talking, the messenger in green clothes came galloping over, reined up his horse in front of Bart Xialing, and took out an iron arrow: "Battle Commander Xialing! The tribune orders you to attack!"

Bart Xialing took the iron arrow and stroked the familiar scratches and dents on the arrow.

"Drum!" Bart Xialing mounted his horse in stirrups, held up his iron arrows, and shouted toward the battlefield: "Attack!"

The thundering drums sounded from behind him, and the musicians used all their strength to play the marching melody.

Three infantry battalions of the Tiefeng County New Army rushed out of the forest and farmland and launched a full-scale attack on the enemies who had taken refuge on the west side of the road.

…

On the south side of the battlefield, Major Felt, who was trying his best to gather the scattered troops in the front, was horrified to find that the shouts of killing and the sound of war drums, which were even more deafening than the previous shouts of kill, came from behind him.

"What a fucking madman! Madman!" Major Felt couldn't help shouting: "Aren't the rebels afraid of involving their own troops in the fire? Madman!"

But there was no point in scolding him. Felt knew clearly in his heart: Although the soldiers formed in a square formation could respond to attacks from multiple directions at the same time, the appearance of enemy troops behind them would have a devastating blow to morale.

Major Felt tried his best to clear his mind and think calmly - the 6th, 7th and 8th troops at the front of the marching column had lost contact; his 9th Group still maintained its organizational structure, and behind him were the 10th Group and Maple Group. A brigade provided by Stone City.

Is it to support the former army? Or continue to stay here to contain the defeated troops?

Or... a strong man cuts off his wrist?

Major Alder Felt made his decision.

"Ninth Battalion, keep the formation to the south! Merge the formation with the Tenth Battalion and Maplestone City Battalion!" Major Felt, who was in the Ninth Battalion's square formation, drew his sword, pointed at the direction of the coming and ordered: "Second Lieutenant Kadar ! Let your people retreat at a 'slow pace'!"

Lieutenant Kadar was stunned: "Retreat?"

Major Felt said hard and firmly: "Retreat."

Lieutenant Kadar's voice was almost inaudible: "What about the troops in front?"

"Send someone to order them to retreat too. If they break up, wait until they catch up!" Major Felt replied coldly: "If they can catch up, reorganize them into the phalanx."

What if the front troops cannot catch up? Major Felt said nothing.

Lieutenant Kadar's throat twitched, and he answered with difficulty: "Yes."

The drummer picked up the war drum that fell on the ground and beat the slow drum beat tremblingly.

The phalanx of the Ninth Brigade started to move, crawling slowly towards the direction it came from.

Major Felt leaped out of the phalanx, galloped around his own phalanx and shouted: "Have courage! Recall your training! Just march according to the way you were trained! If you run away, you will die faster!"

However, at this moment, the thunderous sound of horse hooves sounded from outside the valley.

Hundreds of light cavalry rushed out of the thick fog.

The leading light cavalry roared: "That guy with the wound on his face! Don't let him run away!"

[ah! never mind! Write as much as you like and send it out! ]

[However, the author will take a few days off to write the last chapter of "The Great Alliance Forward" slowly and thoroughly. So... today is considered as asking for leave in advance. ]

[Additional note: It is currently the monsoon season, and the wind blows from the east. Therefore, although the terrain of Green Valley is higher in the west and lower in the east, Winters can only launch a fire attack from the west. However, due to the existence of the Provincial Highway (which served as a fire isolation zone to a certain extent), it was difficult to kill all 3,000 enemy troops with smoke and fire alone. Therefore, the real punch in this battle is the three infantry battalions on the west side of the valley. The purpose of the fire attack is only to disrupt the enemy's formation and break up the enemy's structure. Then the three infantry battalions will completely defeat the enemy. (fog)]]

[This tactic actually originated from hunting and is common among nomadic, fishing and hunting peoples. The essence is the same as the anvil and hammer tactic, but Winters' cavalry is too precious to replenish, and he does not want to waste it on such an enemy division]

[However, because the enemy failed to completely enter the ambush circle, Winters was pessimistic about the results]

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