Iron Powder and Spellcaster

[Green Valley]

[The second day after Felt’s troops entered Green Valley]

When the first deserter with bad news appeared outside the town of Green Valley in the morning, Major Alder Felt didn't pay much attention.

Even if the deserter cried out in tears and swore that he was not lying, Major Felt just ordered him to be held in solitary confinement for later disposal.

Because in Major Felt's view, deserters are not trustworthy - in order to avoid military punishment, they can make up any exaggerated and bizarre stories; their poisonous oaths have no meaning, they have become deserters, how can they be counted on? Do you have a sense of honor?

More importantly, Major Felt has a more pressing problem at the moment than the bad news from the deserter.

Due to the "goodwill" of the rebels in releasing all the prisoners, Felt's troops instantly returned to six brigades and nearly 3,000 men.

Among them, the released prisoners not only lost their weapons, clothes and shoes, but also had their will and dignity taken away. If you want them to regain their fighting power, you must not only fill their stomachs, but also their self-esteem.

However, the actual situation is - the major can't even fill their stomachs.

Regardless of whether a soldier can still fight or not, he still needs food, drink, and a place to live.

Green Valley Town suddenly had nearly 3,000 extra soldiers who needed food, drink, and shelter, causing the small town to be overwhelmed.

In addition, when the rebels withdrew from Green Valley, they plundered all the food stored by the townspeople and the reserves of the public treasury. Therefore, Felt's troops, which had lost all their baggage carriages, had just entered Green Valley and immediately fell into the dilemma of running out of food.

Hungry soldiers broke into residents' homes, rummaged through them and took food by force, while officers could only turn a blind eye. But even if the soldiers were allowed to turn the green valley upside down and find out all the food hidden by the residents, it would be impossible for a small town to meet the needs of three thousand people.

Taking advantage of the fact that the morale of the army had not been completely smoothed out, Felt organized more than ten small-scale patrol teams that day and sent them to nearby farms to collect supplies.

As a result, all the soldiers who stepped out of Green Valley Town never returned.

At the same time, residents of Green Valley Town fled with their families.

At first, just a few families packed up their belongings and took advantage of the chaos to leave the town to seek refuge with relatives and friends. However, as panic spread rapidly, many townspeople didn't even want anything, just to escape from Green Valley as soon as possible.

No one dared to stay for even a second longer in this "siege city" where thousands of hungry, desperate, and anxious soldiers were trapped.

On the one hand, Felt acquiesced to the escape of the townspeople, because the civilians also needed to eat and drink, and one less civilian would mean one less mouth.

On the other hand, the property that was left unattended immediately triggered fights and fights among the soldiers, and even the military police were unable to stop it.

Just when Felt was in trouble, a deserter shouting "Our army is defeated" appeared outside Green Valley Town, which had to make Felt suspicious.

There are various signs that there are still rebel activities around Green Valley. The disappearance of the patrol team is one piece of evidence, and the lack of news from the messenger sent to Maplestone City is another piece of evidence.

How could a deserter pass through the rebel blockade?

Major Felt vaguely felt that there was a fraud, but he did not tell his subordinates clearly - after all, "a conspiracy to annihilate our army" is much more terrifying than "a deserter who talks lies."

Without conclusive evidence, Felt did not want to spread more panic among the military.

…

In the afternoon, Major Felt was organizing a second food patrol when a second deserter appeared outside the town of Green Valley.

After hearing the second deserter's confession, Major Felt's attitude changed from dismissive to skeptical.

Because unlike the first deserter who spoke confusingly, the second deserter clearly stated his unit, rank and position, as well as the location and process of the battle. It was not like he was just making it up.

Let him and the first deserter question each other. Except for some small details, most of the information can be confirmed by each other.

But no matter how detailed the second deserter's confession was, Alder Felt could never believe that the main force commanded by Colonels Nagy and Sarnell would be defeated.

Because after searching all over the Plato Republic, there are not many people who know better than Felt what kind of capital Speaker Grove Magnus has spent this time.

The reinforcements provided by the King's Castle to Colonel Sarnell were not just one legion on the books - that was a number shown to the rebels on the other side, but twenty brigades and two entire legions.

These include the ten brigades of the Sixth Army, the four main brigades of the Fifth Army, and the reserve reinforcements of six brigades.

The fifth legion currently left guarding the Kings' Castle is essentially an empty shell. In order to hide this as much as possible, the four brigades of the Fifth Army all used the flags and numbers of the Sixth Army when boarding the ship.

With astonishing courage, Grove Magnus sent all his field troops to the new province. The only and clear purpose is to wipe out the rebels in the new land in one fell swoop and completely eliminate the hidden dangers within the new republic.

"How could we lose?" Major Felt was puzzled: "How could he lose?"

Felt quickly came up with a reasonable guess: what the two deserters who fled to Green Valley described was probably just an outpost battle before the main battle between the two armies.

In any case, Felt always believed that even if Colonel Nagy and Colonel Sarnell were really defeated, they would have enough strength to retreat and regroup, and look for opportunities to launch a second decisive battle.

The mission of Felt's Department is to firmly nail the rebels' retreat, making it impossible for them to escape.

…

At night, the third "deserter" appeared outside Green Valley Town - to be precise, he was not a deserter, but an officer.

"I am Lieutenant Bathory of the Fifth Regiment. Issue 19, Cavalry Section."

The officer who was brought to Major Felt only said a few words and then stopped talking. He just looked at the major steadily.

Felt waved his hand with a straight face, signaling the recorder and guards to leave.

When the gap between the door panel and the door frame disappeared, Felt rushed to the officer who claimed to be Lieutenant Bathory, grabbed the latter's shoulders, and asked in shock and urgency: "[Old saying] What? What's going on?"

Lieutenant Bathory's expression turned gray, and his shoulders and back slumped: "[Old saying] defeated."

"[Old Speech] I know we lost." Major Felt gritted his teeth and roared out from between his teeth: "[Old Slang] I'm asking you how much your losses were!"

The lieutenant's Adam's apple moved up and down with difficulty: "[Old saying] The entire army was wiped out."

"[Old phrase] The whole army was wiped out?" Felt felt as if a heavy cannon exploded on his head. Everything around him became trance-like and unreal, and a sense of powerlessness spread from his toes to the top of his head. He no longer knew what else to ask: "The whole army was wiped out? How could the whole army be wiped out?"

This time it was Bathory's turn to support the major who was almost unsteady. The lieutenant replied in a low voice: "[Old Slang] The rebels fought very tenaciously... but we still had the upper hand... But at the last moment, the Tiefeng County rebels The army appeared on our flank and simultaneously attacked our camp..."

Felt actually couldn't hear what the other party was saying. His mind was completely occupied by the loss of the main force of the parliamentary army and the catastrophic consequences it would cause. The lieutenant's voice seemed to be coming from another world.

But vaguely, Felt heard a word from the disembodied syllables:

"Tiefeng County Rebels".

"[Old phrase] Tiefeng County rebels? How could they be Tiefeng County rebels?!" Major Felt pushed the lieutenant away, took a few steps back, pulled out his sword, and shouted: "[Old phrase] The Tiefeng County rebels were still here yesterday! You lied! Who sent you here?!"

"[Old Slang] The Tiefeng County Army was still in Green Valley yesterday?" Lieutenant Bathory was even more surprised than the Major: "[Old Slang] But how could that happen... those who appeared on the flanks of our army and those who sneaked into the camp, indeed It was the Tiefeng County rebels who had no intention. The ghost of Styx also appeared on the battlefield, and he went into battle himself..."

Halfway through the words, Lieutenant Bathory shuddered involuntarily. He growled, punched his leg, raised his head and looked directly at the major: "[Old Speech] How did the Tiefeng County Army arrive on the battlefield? It doesn’t matter anymore, Major Felt!”

"[Old phrase] What's important?" Felt still held the sword tightly, his eyes full of regret, self-blame and grievance: "[Old phrase] The Tiefeng County rebels were still in Green Valley yesterday! I swear! I just fought with them!"

"[Old phrase] I believe in you, Major." Lieutenant Bathory walked forward slowly and carefully took the sword from Felt's hand: "[Old phrase] I believe in you."

Felt slumped in his chair.

"[Old phrase] But the main battle is over, and the rebels are coming towards Green Valley." Lieutenant Bathory said solemnly: "[Old phrase] If your troops are also wiped out, Maplestone City and Maple Leaf Castle will be left without help. If the troops are available, the newly cultivated province will completely fall into the hands of the rebels."

Lieutenant Bathory stared into the Major's eyes and said word by word: "[Old Slang] Your troops are now the last loyal troops in the New Reclamation Province!"

…

…

[Green Valley]

[The third day of Felt’s troops stationed in Green Valley Town]

The sun had just peaked, and the north gate of Green Valley Town had opened a small crack.

From the crack in the door, which could only accommodate one person, a small group of people squeezed out one after another.

When the last person's ankle was pulled out from between the two door panels, the heavy door immediately closed again, as if for fear that something would take the opportunity to get in.

This small group briefly organized themselves outside the north gate, and more than forty brown-coated soldiers, led by an officer, sneaked toward the downstream villages.

The order given to the soldiers was simple - to collect food.

But there are also certain things to pay attention to when collecting food: you can't go there in broad daylight, otherwise you will be discovered by the villagers; you can't send too many people out at one time, otherwise the villagers will be alarmed.

Half a centurion is just right, no more, no less. It's not eye-catching, but it's enough to put off any farmer who wants to resist.

In addition, there was an officer leading the team this time, so the soldiers were all confident and vowed to have a full meal.

However, although the soldiers in brown believed that their actions were secretive enough, they had been under strict surveillance from the moment they walked out of Green Valley Town.

A two-person observation post outside Green Valley Town immediately discovered their movements. One of the sentinels stayed to continue monitoring, while the other sentry retreated quietly.

After retreating for a mile, the sentry took out his saddled mount from the bushes and galloped upstream.

The sentry passed through the forest and finally dismounted outside a valley northwest of Green Valley Town. He led his mount and ran into the valley.

In the valley, about a hundred horses were foraging freely, and another hundred or so saddled horses were eating in a temporary stable made of fallen logs.

There were no campfires or tents in sight in the valley. On a small piece of flat land at the bottom of the valley, there were Tiefeng County cavalry sleeping in their clothes everywhere, leaving people with nowhere to go.

However, the cavalry were very fast asleep. Even if they were accidentally stepped on by a sentry, they would just turn over and continue sleeping.

In the corner of the camp, the sentry found the commanders of this cavalry unit: Vashka Morozov and Pierre Michel.

The sentry immediately reported the urgent military situation, but the response of the two commanders was unexpectedly dull. After briefly listening to the report, the sentry was asked to go back and continue monitoring.

"Really." Vashika yawned and looked for lice in his clothes. He waited until the sentry walked away before speaking: "How can he still have time to scratch the people?"

"If Felt is determined to withdraw to Maplestone City." Pierre lowered his head and sketched on the map. His expression was poor, but his eyes were bright: "He will need supplies even more."

Vashika sniffed hard and muttered in a low voice: "If you ask me, I shouldn't let those deserters go to report the news. When the centurion comes back, why don't you just pinch him as much as you want? It's better now, he's in a hurry. Now, I want to run away, what should I do?"

Pierre rolled up the map and answered calmly: "Letting them know the news of the defeat of the main force can demoralize them."

"Okay, okay, you have the final say anyway." Vashika shook off the clothes a few times, then put them back on, and urged as if begging for mercy: "Just tell me what to do."

"Felt wants to run away, but he has to ask us if we agree." Pierre carefully put the rolled-up map into a sealed leather tube, and then carefully put the leather tube away.

After doing all this, Pierre stood up and patted the dirt and straw on his clothes: "No matter what, let's eat his small group of soldiers first. Since he dares to send troops, if we don't accept it, we will accept it." It’s rude.”

Vashika grinned, put his fingers to his lips, and whistled loudly.

The light cavalry who had been unable to step on them just now heard the whistle, jumped up one after another, ran towards their horses, and then led the horses towards the outside of the valley - in order to avoid disturbing the scattered herds of horses.

Pierre counted silently. In less than a hundred breaths, his light cavalry was ready to go.

He waved his hand, and the rumble of hoofbeats sounded outside the valley, penetrating through the coniferous forest, startling thousands of birds, and finally dissipated in the green mountains and sky.

…

There are not many troops left under Alder Felt that can be used.

Therefore, those who can be selected into the small unit called the patrol team, which is actually the food collection team, are currently the most combat-effective soldiers in Felt's department.

Pierre, Wasika, and every Tiefeng County light cavalry knew this clearly, and no one dared to be careless.

So when the light cavalry saw the white flag waving above the enemy's head from a distance, they felt as if they had been punched in cotton.

Before the Tiefeng County light cavalry were in position, the soldiers of the forty-man grain collection team were already in line;

Before the Tiefeng County light cavalry could surround them on all sides, the weapons of the grain collection team had already been handed over and they were neatly arranged in two circles.

The officer leading the patrol sat on a big rock and waved to Pierre and Vashika from a distance.

After repeatedly confirming that there was no ambush, Pierre and Vashika rode slowly to the officer.

"Excuse me." Pierre has never experienced anything like this, and he doesn't know if there is any special etiquette, so he adopts a business-like attitude: "Do you want to surrender?"

The officer leading the patrol was a handsome young man, about the same age as Pierre.

He sat comfortably on the big rock on the river bank as if he were sitting on a soft chair in his living room, and said easily: "Yes, surrender, no more fighting. Give me some water to drink."

Pierre and Vashika looked at each other, the former nodded, and the latter untied the water bag and threw it to the other party.

The young officer caught the water bag, took a big sip, and then looked up at Pierre: "Is there anything to eat?"

Pierre stared at the young officer for a long time, and the young officer blinked his big innocent eyes and looked at Pierre.

Finally, Pierre nodded, and Vashika took out another paper bag from the saddle bag and threw it to the other party.

The young officer couldn't wait to open the paper bag and found that it contained dried horse meat. He asked with a grimace, "Just give me this?"

Pierre frowned and replied: "This is what we eat too."

The young officer stopped complaining. He tore off a small piece of dried horse meat, chewed it hard, and asked vaguely: "What are you going to do with these prisoners? Won't they all be killed?"

From the corner of his eye, Pierre saw that his men had surrounded the brown-clothed soldiers, and he replied truthfully: "Go northwest along the road, pass the Qingyin Mountain Pass, and there is a supply station. I'll give you something to eat first, and then we'll go Go to Changhu Town, where there is a prisoner camp.”

The young officer nodded, as if accepting the arrangement, and asked, "Did Winters Montagne really win?"

"Of course." Pierre replied without hesitation.

The young officer raised his head and glanced at Pierre: "Really?"

Pierre was not afraid to meet the other person's eyes: "Really."

The young officer sighed, stood up, and handed the paper bag of dried horsemeat back to Vashika, but looked at Pierre: "Take me to see Captain Montagne."

Vashika burst out laughing, but the next moment his expression suddenly changed, and he was about to scold the brazen little officer in front of him.

But Pierre raised his hand to stop Vashika.

Pierre dismounted and looked at the young officer: "I will convey your request to His Excellency the Tribune. But it is up to His Excellency the Tribune to decide whether you can see the Tribune. I am Pierre Gui. Radnovich Mitchell, commissioned cavalry commander of Iron Peak County Garrison."

Such a polite reply caused the young officer's face to change drastically, and expressions of surprise, confusion, and seriousness appeared on his face one after another.

He did not provide his identity according to etiquette. Instead, he frowned, crossed his arms, and asked Pierre: "Since Captain Montagne's main force has not returned yet, why did you trick Major Felt into withdrawing to Maple Stone City in advance? ?”

The young officer paused: "Lieutenant Bathory?"

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