Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 167 Good News and Bad News

  The scout followed the Hurd army all the way to the Styx, bringing back a bad news and a good news.

   The bad news is that the pontoon has burned down.

  The beach was littered with charred boat wrecks. The Hexi camp was also burned, and no survivors were found.

   The wounded soldiers, merchants, and Colin centurions who remained in the battalion were all killed. Even those who returned to Palato might not be spared.

  The good news is that there are various signs that the enemy has crossed the river and the baggage team is temporarily safe.

  But...is this really good news?

  Old Marshal once said that "the most difficult thing in war is to guess the enemy's intentions".

  The battle-hardened coach may easily understand the barbarian's intentions, but not just anyone has this ability.

  The enemy dropped the chess pieces, and Winters gradually outlined the whole picture: From beginning to end, the goal of the Hurds was the pontoon bridge, and they wanted to burn the war back to Plato.

  …

  After the war begins, the most important thing is how to end the war.

  Plato wants to end the war, the key is not to siege the city.

  The wealth of the farming peoples was concentrated in the cities, but the Hurds lived as nomads and had no cities for the Palatine army to attack.

   Killing and wounding soldiers, kidnapping people, plundering livestock, and beating Hart barbarians to pain, crying, and subduing them are the goals of the Paratus people.

   As long as the Hurds admit defeat and move westward, the war will end immediately.

   And instead of fighting all the Hurds, Plato fought only the most recent one at a time.

   Sometimes even taking advantage of the contradictions between the ministries, Hird people are hired to fight the Heder people.

  Although the Paratus were reluctant to admit that their ancestors were a branch of Heard, there is no doubt that the war pattern of both sides is full of shadows of nomads.

   In the past three decades, there has been a mess of sand inside the Hurds.

   Every time there is a war, the tribes often withdraw their tents and flee, and preserve their strength as the first priority.

   At most, a small number of light cavalry will be dispatched to harass the supply line, waiting for the Paratus to be unable to consume the natural retreat.

   After all, the Paratus came and went, and the other tribes in the wasteland were the real enemies.

   Therefore, including Winters, everyone thought that the first centurion they encountered was the first troop, and the Alaric team that chased after the next day was the main force.

   In reality, however, the Hurds dispatched a real army this time, at least half a Naiman [Wanfu Team].

   The Alaric Millennium Team, who fought with the Platoons in the dark, is the real outpost.

  …

   The worst estimate of the officers before was that they were cut off by the Hurds.

   Lieutenant Colonel Custer almost fainted when he learned that thousands of Hurd cavalry had crossed the Styx.

  What is east of the Styx? It is a no-man's-land that is 100 kilometers wide. However, after more than 100 kilometers, it is the mainland of Palatu.

  The Hurds... headed towards Plato, and no one could stop them.

   Thirty years later, the iron hoofs of Heard's raiders will once again set foot on the land of Plato.

   Lieutenant Colonel Custer immediately dispatched signal troops to the front and rear.

   However, the pontoon bridge was destroyed, and the signal soldiers had to go upstream and make a detour to cross the river. It was too late.

The news of    was too shocking, and the Platoons in the team were a little dazed, and even Winters felt dizzy when he first heard it.

  The Paratus had been victorious for so long that they had forgotten that the Hudds had teeth.

   The last time the Hurds attacked Palatu, Jesska was just a toddler, and most of the people in the camp had not even been born.

   For the past thirty years, Plato has maintained absolute repression of the Herd tribes.

  The Platoons throw their fists, the Hurds back, the Palaths throw their fists again, and the Hurds back again.

   Victory after victory, the Paratus built up the confidence of invincibility.

  Winters saw that in the chariots, behind the camp wall, no matter how vicious the battle was, the Paratus never had any doubts about the final victory of the war.

   Now, Winters is seeing that confidence begin to crumble.

   More than one ten-man ran to him, asking implicitly or bluntly whether to withdraw Plato.

   But Winters has no decision-making power.

  …

  The officers of the cavalry squadron and the baggage unit had an urgent meeting to discuss the next move.

   The atmosphere of the meeting was solemn, and the officers remained silent.

   Seeing that no one spoke, Lieutenant Colonel Custer was furious: "All dumb? Start with the lowest rank, one by one!"

   There was another silence, and Winters stood up. There was probably no one lower in rank than him.

   "Okay, it starts with you!" Custer slapped the table: "Then the one on your right."

  Andre suddenly turned into a bitter face.

   "I think." Winters was as succinct as possible: "Should go west and find the big army."

  The air suddenly cooled down.

   "Why?" Lieutenant Colonel Jesska's eyelids twitched.

"The pontoon bridge is destroyed, and there are only two ways to cross the river. Either go upstream or build a boat to cross the river. The detour is too far, and the boat building takes time. We don't know how many Heards are still wandering around here. It is safer to find a large army. "

   "How do you know that the main force is not defeated?"

   "Because the enemy troops crossing the river are still wearing leather jackets." Winters replied: "The Hurds don't waste anything. If the army in front is defeated, they must be more than those tatters."

   "That's right!" Custer immediately agreed: "Where did the Hurds have the ability to eat up 20,000 troops? It must have been a slanted sword and a dangerous move, and the battle has not been defeated!"

   The others present looked at Jesska, and if he had the same opinion, there would be no need for further discussion.

   "You hit you, I hit me." The one-eyed lieutenant colonel suddenly smiled wryly and shook his head: "This is the old marshal's strategy, when did the Hurds learn it?"

   After the keynote was set, the officers discussed and decided to leave immediately, and at the same time sent rangers to gather the other three squadrons of the Custer regiment.

   Because most of the supply camps along the route were looted, Custer's cavalry would follow the baggage team to obtain supplies and provide protection at the same time.

  The merchants who accompanied the team were frightened and wanted to go home, but at this moment they couldn't help it.

  The two lieutenant colonels were worried that the detached merchants would reveal the track of the baggage team, so they forced the merchants' carts and beasts to be conscripted, and they were also incorporated into the militia.

  Unconsciously, the mentality of the Paratus people has quietly changed.

   Before encountering the Hurd army, the Paratus regarded the supply line as the rear, but only occasionally harassed.

  Everything is different now, it still seems to be that vast wasteland, but in the eyes of everyone who has started anew, there are hidden murderous intentions everywhere, and there seems to be an ambush of the Hurds behind every hillside.

   The cargo team changed their route, and Custer scattered the scout 20 kilometers away. Everyone was nervous, and they didn’t even dare to start a fire in the daytime—because the smoke from the cooking on the wasteland was too conspicuous.

   No distinction is made between soldiers and people, and they can only cook with earthen stoves after dark.

   On the contrary, the advantages of the iron furnace built by Berrian are revealed.

  The iron stove has no open flame, it is concealed and safe, and will not leave a stove pit. Because it consumes less fuel, the smoke is also very small.

  The more senior the officer is, the more wonderful this iron furnace is.

  For hungry, cold, and tired soldiers, nothing boosts morale more than a bowl of hot soup.

   Lieutenant Colonel Custer even checked the inside and outside of the iron furnace and was amazed.

   "Are you a blacksmith?" Lieutenant Colonel asked Berrian suddenly.

   "Apprenticeship for two years."

"not married?"

   "My lord, no."

   "Come to me and do it." Caster generously recruited Berian: "I will do it for you as a sergeant, and I will guarantee you to save a wife's book for three years."

Winters on the side of    did not expect Lieutenant Colonel Tangtang to dig his walls directly, and the conditions were so generous.

   Sergeant has slightly different meanings in the Republics. In Veneta, sergeant is the name given to the ten commander.

   But in Plato, the sergeant is an excellent position between the tenth and the centurion. Senior sergeants are paid even more than junior officers.

   Hearing Custer's words, Winters was a little nervous. He was really reluctant to be such a good cook.

  Berion was stunned for a moment, and replied dully: "Thanks to the love of the adults, I still have a younger brother at home, and I can't let him go."

   Lieutenant Colonel Custer snorted softly. He had already given enough face to recruit himself, and it was impossible to say anything more.

   Before leaving, Custer turned his head and asked, "What is the name of this stove?"

   "Yes, it's called Suoya Furnace." Bellion's eyes were a little red: "It was designed by my father."

   That night, the blacksmith Bellion took the fire stick from the second lieutenant and was honorably promoted to a full-time cook in the cavalry regiment and baggage corps officer canteen, completely liberated from duty and combat.

   He immediately became the most heavily guarded man in the team, even safer than the two schoolmasters.

  …

   After three days of marching cautiously and cautiously, the reconnaissance cavalry that went out was confronted by friendly scouts.

   Behind the friendly scouts were forty squadrons of cavalry, more than 5,000 light and heavy cavalry.

   Afterwards, Major General Arpad brought his personal guards to the baggage team and asked the two lieutenants for information.

The movements of the    battalion of the Hurds could not be without a trace, and the Plato army, who sensed the enemy's movement, immediately dispatched all cavalry to pursue it.

   But it was still a step too late. Three days after Heard crossed the Styx, the pursuers finally arrived.

When    learned that the pontoon bridge had been burned down by the Hurds, Major General Arpad was furious.

   After further learning that the Hurd raiders crossed the Styx River and went straight to Palatu, Major General Arpad almost died of anger on the spot.

   Arpad, who had gray temples, scolded the two lieutenant colonels bloody. If the anger had temperature, Jessica and Custer would have been roasted to the point of burnt.

   But the bridge has been destroyed, it is too late to say anything.

   Arpad could only reunite with the infantry force before making plans.

   When Jesska and Custer were scolded by the Major General, their subordinates stood at attention behind them.

   Lieutenant Colonel Jesska was humiliated, which made Winters a little uncomfortable. He couldn't help but say to the others, "It's clear that we didn't stop the Hurds ahead, but they scolded us for swearing hard!"

   "That's not the case." Cavalry lieutenant Kossuth waved his hand.

   Stirred spoons in the same pot for many days, the lieutenants of the cavalry regiment had become familiar with several of Winters.

"That is how the matter?"

   "Major Arpad has already defeated three Hurd Thousands on the way, otherwise it wouldn't have come so late." Lieutenant Kossuth explained in a low voice, he added: "I heard what the first regiment said."

   Winters' pupils dilated suddenly: "There are also three defeated thousands of troops, plus the Hurds who crossed the river, that doesn't mean..."

   "That's right." Kossuth wiped the sweat from his forehead: "A savage, solid Wanfu team."

   "Thousands of cavalry! How could they hide in the wasteland?"

   "Does that need to be said? Divide and attack together." Kossuth sighed: "The Hurds have housekeeping skills."

  …

  The impatient Major General Arpad left the sluggish baggage team and led the cavalry to join the large army first.

   After another fourteen days of arduous trek, the Jesska Luggage Team finally arrived at its destination.

  The sun slants westward, and the red glow covers the sky.

  Winters rode his fortunes up the hill at a slow pace, and the Palatine Camp appeared in his field of vision.

   It was only now that I finally understood why this battle was dragged on for so long.

   Just in front of Palatu's camp, a dirt city stands quietly on the wasteland.

  Hard barbarian... built a city.

weekend! My motherboard is coming back soon too! Good things come in pairs.

   Thanks to the book friends who have voted for the recommendation before, especially the book friends who voted for the recommendation in the past two days! than heart!

   Thanks to the book friends, Mr. Hei Cha and Soda Bird for the reward, thank you, I am really flattered, a kind of gratitude mixed with embarrassment and shame;

Thank you book friend for seeing my ID, learning is really a goblin, family tree, evil teddy is super fierce, striving for Chang'an flower, book friend 20180830192648978, three o'clock blue, moon city snow rabbit I, soda bird, 92 The monthly ticket for the cute and charming villain, thank you all;

   Thanks again to the book friends who have voted for the recommendation in the past two days, thank you all.

   (end of this chapter)