Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 172 Formation to meet the enemy

  At dawn, the scouts came back with information that a large group of Heard cavalry was approaching.

   The information that "a large group of Heard cavalry is approaching" was sent to the main camp at the same time as the North Shore camp's request for help.

The    outpost has begun, and the leadership of the Palatine army is split.

  Some people want to stop the siege and prepare to meet the enemy reinforcements; some people want to launch a general attack, be sure to break the city before the reinforcements arrive; some people repeat the old story, thinking that the time to attack Bianli has passed, and they should withdraw their troops and make plans accordingly.

At the ad hoc meeting, Colonel Laszlo, the chief captain of the Fifth Army, roared with red eyes: "The battle depends on one breath! The city is now in a state of collapse! Withdraw? Tell me how to withdraw? If you withdraw, you may not be able to get in again. If you are pressed out by the barbarians in the city again, it will be a repeat of the Battle of Dreigle Bay!"

Cavalry Colonel Hogwitz shouted, "If you don't destroy the reinforcements, what's the use of taking Bianli? If you don't take Bianli, and you are outflanked from behind, the whole army is in danger of being destroyed! Li will be ours sooner or later. If we can't defeat the reinforcements, we're all done! It's that simple!"

   "Fuck you!"

   "I fought with you!"

   "What's the noise!?" Major General Arpad overturned the table and smashed the exquisite porcelain bottle.

   The two who were about to perform the Quanwu Xing immediately fell silent.

After General Yanos suffered a stroke, there was no one in the Palatine army who could make a final decision.

The retreating faction before    has now become the siege faction, and the former siege faction has now become the defending faction.

  Like an iceberg with only a small part floating on the water, the battle between Laszlo and Haugewitz is a battle of tactics, a battle of routes, and a battle of infantry factions and cavalry factions.

When Admiral    Yanos is at the command of the army, the competition can appear in a benign situation. Because the Admiral is the faction of all factions, his prestige and wisdom are enough to convince everyone.

   But when the admiral becomes incapacitated, the contradictions that have been covered up in the past will immediately intensify.

   "The worst strategy is to have no strategy. It's better to just stretch your neck and cut the barbarians!" Brigadier General Sackler said coldly: "Major General Arpad and I have already made up our minds."

  …

   dawn, the sky is getting brighter.

   The battle for Bienli West Acropolis has been divided. The barbarians were defeated, and platoons of soldiers poured into the city walls.

   Desperate, the Hurds set fire to the city.

   In winter, the weather is dry and the things are dry, and the city is full of thatched cottages. Almost in an instant, the West Acropolis turned into a sea of ​​fire.

   The low clouds were burned red by the fire, and even the morning glow was eclipsed.

  The wind assisted the fire, and the fire spread rapidly towards the outer wall. The Palatine troops who had entered the Acropolis had to retreat outside the city.

  The fire separated the two sides temporarily, and the Palatine army took control of the outer city walls, but the main city remained firmly in the hands of the Hurds.

The messenger of the    Legion headquarters took a lot of effort to find Baraz, the chief centurion of the Sixth Legion, in the city.

   "Withdraw? Tell me again! Withdraw?" Captain Balaz's eyes seemed to be devoured in the next second.

   He grabbed the messenger's shoulder tightly, digging his fingers deep into the flesh on his shoulder.

   The poor messenger had some weak legs. He stumbled and repeated the password: "Order your troops to get out of the battle, gather your troops, retreat to the attack position, and regroup and stand by."

  Captain Balaz tore off his helmet and slammed it on the ground.

  Because the wind is northwest, there is still a small area in the northwest corner of the Acropolis that the fire has not spread to.

  Balaz is leading people to build an isolation belt, using beams to build a simple battering ram, and will attack the main city gate only when the fire subsides.

  The military order is like a mountain. The captain looked at the shadowy inner wall behind the fire and smoke, and weakly spit out a word: "Withdraw."

  …

Winters had just entered the Western Acropolis when the    Balazs Centuries received the order to withdraw.

   He leaped into the gap in the city wall, and the scorching heat wave immediately hit his face.

  The city was filled with the smell of burnt stench, Qiangyun shook his head unhappily, and the horse didn't like it at all.

  The horrific screams are heard from time to time after the thick smoke, that is, people are being burned alive.

   "Have you seen Lieutenant Mason?" Winters asked everyone, "Where is Lieutenant Mason?"

   The five infantry battalions responsible for the early siege were retreating. The soldiers were like sardines, and everyone blindly followed the others out.

   Several centurions are leading people to tear down the city walls to prevent the Hurds from re-occupying the Acropolis.

   But after more soldiers walked out of the city wall, they just slumped on the ground gasping for breath, unable to lift their arms.

   Although the siege has been stopped, the results cannot be thrown away. A full brigade was marching towards the Acropolis, and they were ordered to repel any enemy who tried to retake the outer walls.

  Winters, who went against the popular trend, asked all the way, and kept shouting with loudspeaker.

"At this!"

"here!"

   Winters raised his head following the sound, and Lieutenant Mason on the city wall was waving vigorously.

   He ran up the city wall, and the lieutenant in front of him was carrying a few subordinates "hum hum hum" to lift a bronze cannon.

   "Stop moving! Come with me!"

   Several people threw down the artillery when they heard the words.

  Mason wiped a handful of soot from his face, and asked anxiously, "Why are they all withdrawing? I heard that reinforcements from the Hurds are coming? There are too many to count?"

   "Who said that?" Winters raised his eyebrows.

   "That's what they say!"

   "There are Hurds coming from the north, but not too many... Go back and talk about it!"

   "What about this thing?" Mason pointed to the cannon at his feet.

   "Throw this! Can you throw it away?"

  …

When    Winters and Mason headed back to the camp, the Jessica battalion was assembling.

   In the barracks designated for the militia auxiliary troops, the ten commanders shouted and cursed one after another.

One of the points of    quick formation is that everyone has to know where they stand, which the Paratus militia apparently didn't know very well.

   Seeing the two centurions returning to the team now, Lieutenant Colonel Jesska was a little unhappy: "What are you doing?"

   "If Montagne hadn't come looking for me, I wouldn't have known there was an emergency gathering." Lieutenant Mason asked the lieutenant colonel, "Sir, how many Hurds are there?"

   "I don't know yet." Jesska's expression was stern: "Let your people prepare first."

   In the siege last night, the Jesska Brigade did not directly participate in the battle. Half of Winters' subordinates were on duty in the trenches, and the other half were on standby in the battalion.

The militia in the    battalion was assembled quickly, and the assembly of the guard militia took some time.

   Fortunately, the ten captains of Winters are competent enough and do not need him to do everything by himself.

   The faces of most of the militiamen couldn't hide their panic, which made Winters fortunate that he still had some "veterans" who had seen blood as the backbone.

   Mason, who hurried back, found the lieutenant colonel for instructions, and hurriedly left with more staff and carriages - to carry artillery.

   Second Lieutenant Budd, who was in charge of the ordnance, began distributing weapons, armor, and ammunition to the militia.

   The Jieska Brigade seized more than 100 pieces of Hedza armor along the way, which were kept and repaired by the Brigade's arsenal on weekdays, and now they are all distributed to Winters' spearmen.

   There are also some temporary armors converted from Hed's horse armor. It was the idea of ​​the blacksmith Bellion to change the horse armor into human armor.

  [Note: Hed's horse armor and human armor use the same piece of armor]

   Because of the additions and reinforcements, the strength of the Jieska battalion has reached eight centenarians—two more than the full battalion.

  So the lieutenant colonel re-adjusted the formation, and changed the centennial teams from "flower teams" to "pure teams".

  [Note: The flower team is a centurion with mixed weapons, and the pure team is a centurion with a single weapon]

   Now the composition of the Geschka brigade is complex, with Winters' two teams of spearmen and halberders the most reliable, followed by Andre's two teams of musketeers and crossbowmen.

  The subordinates of Winters and Andre are mainly the old team of the brigade and the newly added militia.

   The men of Lieutenant Budd and Lieutenant Mason are a mixed bag in comparison: convicts, conscripted merchants, remnants of other militia teams... everyone has it.

   To a certain extent, Bud and Mason took these "rabble people" precisely because these "rabble people" could only be brought by the two of them.

  The Dussack rider was led by Lieutenant Colonel Jesska himself.

   Winters walked in the queue, checking weapons and armor one by one.

   Half of his subordinates wore Platoon half-armor, and the other half wore Hedza armor. At first glance, it looked very strange, and it was impossible to tell which soldier was for a while.

   "Which way to wear this?" Winters stopped in front of a pierced spearman.

   He was anxious, and he would inevitably speak with a three-point anger: "Why are you tying the rope and leaving it outside?"

   The spearman shrank his neck upon hearing this.

   "Your name is Ish?" Winters remembered the spearman's name: "Is that you?"

   Ish from Ganshui Town nodded quickly. He reached out and tried to pull the rope, but his movements were so clumsy that he couldn't reach the end of the rope.

  Winters was impatient, he untied the spearman's armguards, and quickly put them on the spearman: "According to my binding method! Put all the knots inside for me!"

   When Ish came back to his senses, the second lieutenant had already walked up to the others.

  Ish tried to speak out several times, but he just licked his lips, and finally didn't say "thank you".

   "Listen to the ten commanders! Check your comrades' armor!" Winters, who was checking in the queue, ordered loudly: "Two people help each other wear it!"

  The ten commanders immediately began to move. Compared with the chaotic militiamen, these old men who followed Winters all the way were a little more calm.

  Ciel and Heinrich ran to Winters with the centurion's armor: "Hurry up and put on your armor too!"

   Randomly found an empty spot, Winters stood up, and Shire and Heinrich began to help him wear three-quarter armor.

  Andre and Bud came over to meet Winters.

   "Do you know how many Hurds have come?" Andre asked with a frown, "to make such a big battle?"

   Winters shook his head

  Bud gestured towards the center of the camp and said calmly: "Everything is moving."

  Suddenly, there was an invisible, violent vibration in the air—the rumbling of horse hooves trampling the ground, close by.

  Everyone was taken aback, and some of the militiamen's weapons were so frightened that they fell to the ground.

   "Come so fast?" Andre's eyes widened.

  Winters pursed his lips and listened, and quickly heaved a sigh of relief: "It's not the Hurds who came here, it's the cavalry in the battalion who are going out, maybe they are scout cavalry out."

   "No, it's not a scout." Bud counted with his pulse: "How can there be so many scouts?"

  The three second lieutenants climbed up to the nearby sentry tower, and on the sentry tower, there was a panoramic view of the military camp.

  The cavalry camp at the other end of the main camp, the horseshoes raised the smoke and dust that covered the sky.

   At least four squadrons of cavalry have left the camp, and many more are gearing up.

  Andre squinted his eyes to identify carefully, and suddenly exclaimed: "Almost all the light cavalry have been dispatched!"

   Outside the camp gate, a long trail of smoke and dust was extending to the north.

   A green helmeted messenger galloped towards the militia station with an official enemy report to the Jieska Brigade:

   A large group of Heard cavalry was approaching from the north, and the scouts were repelled by the enemy's surrounding light cavalry. The specific force could not be ascertained, and it was estimated that there were several thousand cavalry.

The    messenger also brought an order to the Jieska Brigade:

   Immediately go to the North Bridge, fortify and defend the Qiaotou camp.

  …

  The siege of the city was suddenly stopped, all kinds of rumors spread like wildfire, and the middle and lower-level officers and soldiers were panicked for a while.

   But the chain of command of the Palatine Army was still functioning normally, and the legion headquarters issued orders in an orderly manner, as if they had already anticipated this situation.

   In this case, the order is the ballast of the military heart, and it is reassuring to be able to execute the order mechanically.

  The sense of honor stirs in the hearts of the Platoon soldiers. They have won more with less. They are the shield of the alliance and the iron army that is invincible and invincible.

   Like a beast turning its head, the army began to adjust its center of gravity, preparing to meet the enemy.

   The reserve troops that were not engaged in the battle turned around, and the five battalions that had already engaged in the battle retreated and regrouped.

  More scouts went to the wilderness, and this time they will never be easily driven away again.

   Hussars and Chasers rushed out to aid the camp on the north bank.

   Brigadier General Sackler found Arpad who was in armor: "I don't think it's possible to send light cavalry to Beizhai."

   "I know, I'll take the heavy cavalry." Arpad took a gulp of strong wine and tucked the flat silver jug ​​into his breastplate.

Major General   's face was slightly reddish due to the accelerated blood flow. If it weren't for the wrinkles and white temples, it would be hard to imagine that the Palatine man in front of him was over fifty years old.

  Two infantry battalions set up a village on the north bank of the Confluence River, and they were placed there to block the entry and exit of the north of Bianli City.

   Now facing enemy reinforcements, they bear the brunt.

"If it's just to deal with the Herd vanguard, the light cavalry is enough." Sekler paused: "But if it is to prevent reinforcements from entering the city, or to prevent the Chihe Department from breaking through, the Beizhai needs to be strengthened. There is now a The most important thing is that someone must be in charge.”

   "Huh?" Arpad raised his eyebrows.

"I'll take people there." Sackler looked grim: "I'll take the reserve team that hasn't been involved in the siege to Beizhai. Before, I only needed to prevent the Hurds from coming out, but now I have to prevent the enemy from entering, so Nanzhai also needs to be strengthened. Let the Jessica kid dig the ditch, his guys are good at it."

  Alpad laughed: "That's why I should take someone to Beizhai. You have always been in the central army, and you can't be in the camp without you."

"No, that was before General Yanosh's accident." Sackler's eyes were burning: "You are now the person with the highest rank and the leader of an army. You can no longer rush to kill with your temper outside. The Hurds are all cavalry. , tactically have the initiative. But they want to relieve Bian Li, and they are strategically passive. Our army's fighters are all here..."

  …

  …

  The west wind roared and the clouds covered the sun.

  Three thousand Platonic soldiers crossed the wooden bridge and headed towards the North Village.

  An earthquake-like sound of hoofs came from the north, and a scout swung his helmet and ran towards Commodore Sackler.

   His mouth was wide open, but his cry was completely drowned out by the sound of hooves.

   On the ridgeline of the hillside behind the scout cavalry, the figure of a Hurd cavalry suddenly appeared, then two, ten, one hundred...

   Countless Heard cavalry jumped out from the reverse **** and roared towards the Paratus formation.

   "Around the point to help?" Brigadier General Sackler sneered.

   The bugle was blown, and the war drum was beaten.

   In front of the barbarians of Hurd, who are all over the mountains and plains, the six infantry brigades completed a series of complex formation changes.

  The Platoon soldiers backed the confluence river and formed a battle to meet the enemy.

   "I'm in the formation!" Sackler raised his halberd and stood on the horse's back, and his voice was amplified by the caster to everyone: "If I take a step back - cut off my head!"

  The soldiers all stared at the general's tassel, and there was a dead silence at first.

   "Long live!" Someone suddenly shouted.

   "Long live!" More and more people joined the cry.

   "Long live!" Everyone's voices joined together: "Long live!"

   With the deafening mountain call, Sackler jumped off his horse and strode into the phalanx.

   I tried flashbacks last night, but at the end of the writing, I still felt that the main story was better, so I ended up recounting according to the time; I finished writing the last chapter, but I didn’t finish it (covering my face) and continue with the next chapter.

   There is a map in this chapter. In this chapter, if readers and friends do not see it, it means that I have not finished P, please come back later.

   Thanks to every book friend who voted for recommendation, monthly vote, reward, and subscription, thank you all, compare your heart;

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Thanks to book friends Lihua Kongxiang, book friends 161007171256600, Qiu Mingshan old driver I, Dongmen Wang Baoqiang, Lin Chong who is looking for a knife, book friends 20200502192130827, Guradrian, Lan Qingying, luochengxian, striving for Chang'an flowers, vindictive storm, Gao Yaoyin's monthly pass ,thanks;

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   (end of this chapter)