Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 198 Imagination

   The battle between the main force and the allied forces took place 40 kilometers away and ended 40 kilometers away.

  The officers did not know what happened, and the information Winters got was even more fragmented.

  Some people say that General Arpad went in and out of the barbarian formation seven times, killing the barbarians and defeating them.

  Some people say that General Sackler shot and killed the leaders of the three major departments three times, and the barbarians were invincible and shit.

   All of them have noses and eyes, as if they were on the scene.

   Lieutenant Colonel Jesska took out the map, rummaged for a long time with his chin, and suddenly clapped his hands: "It should be here."

   Winters and Andre watch closely.

   Lieutenant Colonel tapped twice on the map.

   "Valley?"

   "It runs from east to west, and there are valleys sheltered by trees on the north and south sides." Lieutenant Colonel Jesska rubbed his chin: "The messenger said that the old man was setting up an ambush in the valley. In my opinion, he actually just chose a place where he would not be outflanked."

"Then?"

   "Then get ready and fight."

   "It's that simple?" Andre couldn't believe it.

   "How difficult do you think it is?" Lieutenant Colonel Jesska said indifferently: "Isn't a battle just one attack and one defense? The difficulty is not in the fight, but in how to get the opponent to fight on the battlefield you choose."

   Winters asked, "How did General Sackler do it?"

   "Want to know? Ask him." Lieutenant Colonel Jesska sighed: "We'll see him soon."

  …

  Forty kilometers southwest of the Pioneer Echelon, an unnamed valley.

   It's a bit reluctant to say that it is a valley, but it is actually just a lowland between two hills.

   It is this lowland, less than two kilometers wide, that is now full of dead, wounded and war horse carcasses.

   The Platonic soldiers with blood and wounds on their bodies were walking in the valley, and when they saw the Heards who were not dead, they stabbed them again.

   Sackler coughed up blood and sat in the carriage to listen to Colonel Laszlo's report on the battle.

   The battle was extremely dangerous, and the most fierce Heard cavalry was less than five meters away from Sackler himself.

   The phalanx that Sackler was in was attacked from all directions. Sackler himself was hit by three arrows, two on the breastplate and one on the helmet.

Colonel Laszlo repeated mechanically: "Fifty-six auxiliaries . A centurion awaiting military law enforcement. Four battalions of the Sixth Army on the left were also beaten out of formation..."

  [Note: Ye Luzi refers to non-class officers, including the so-called "Palatto interim officers". These officers are few in number, underused, and never promoted to colonel]

  …

   Twilight the day before yesterday.

   "Let's go." Sackler reviewed the entire army for the last time, and walked out of the camp without looking back.

  Plateau's army marched eastward in the dark, and the rear guard burned everything that could not be taken away.

  …

   Yesterday morning.

   "The barbarians are back!" The Platoon soldiers looked at the enemy's back and shouted encouragingly: "The barbarians are back."

   The Hurd striker caught up with the Palatine army, and after a skirmish, the Hurd striker was routed.

The   Plateau army continued eastward, and the damaged and heavy trucks were abandoned one after another.

  …

   Last night.

  Plateau's army finally arrived at the battlefield chosen by Sackler.

   Sackler took up positions in the valley, lining up his troops in three lines.

   A small number of light cavalry were placed in the first row, auxiliary soldiers were placed in the second row, and the standing army formed the third row.

   The chief brigades of the two legions were arranged on the hills on the north and south sides.

   Eater is eager to fight, and in order to prove his ability and establish his prestige, he needs a decisive victory.

   He sent troops to stop the battles of the various divisions for the spoils, and urged the cavalry of the various divisions to pursue them overnight.

   Both sides had the will to fight, and the battle started in this nameless valley.

  …

   This morning, the sentinel cavalry of both sides took the lead in fighting.

  Plateau's light cavalry was outnumbered and rout.

  The two centurions retreated without authorization and were executed on the spot according to military law.

  The sky was bright, the fog dissipated, Hurd's light cavalry returned to the main formation, and the allied troops arrived on the battlefield.

The narrow width of    made it impossible for the Hurds to expand, but the Eaters still sent troops to detour from farther.

   Around eight o'clock, the allied forces of Heard's tribes pressed forward.

  Hard's cavalry rushed into the auxiliary front, and in the narrow valley, the two sides crowded together.

  Splattered blood flew into the eyes of the soldiers on both sides, and the killed couldn't even fall down.

   In this tragic battle, the auxiliary troops were quickly defeated and retreated to the back of the third line.

  The large phalanx of the standing army began to meet the enemy.

  The indestructible large phalanx blocked the assault of the Hurd cavalry.

  According to the suggestion of the white lion, the cavalry of the various tribes jumped off the saddle and entered the foot battle.

   The chief battalion on the hills on both sides was supposed to provide fire support, but they were entangled by the left and right flanks of the Heard coalition.

   In the tragic battle, the overall formation of the Pratu army began to squeeze towards the right flank, and the left flank exposed more and more space.

  The Eater was waiting for this moment, and he personally led the elite of the Suz army to attack the left flank of the Palatine army.

  Suz's team dared to fight the dead and rushed straight into the spear forest.

The    riders and war horses were all killed on the spot, but the spear forest was also hit by a gap.

  The rest immediately rushed into the formation to hack and slash, and the already crumbling left-wing phalanx of Plato was instantly smashed.

   The Suzi cavalry began to detour to the rear of the Palatine army, and Seckler sent reorganized auxiliary soldiers to resist, but they were no match for the recharged Suzi cavalry.

   "[Herde] won!" The foodie laughed loudly.

The victory of the   Hard coalition was firmly in place, and the Suzi cavalry was sweeping the front from south to north.

   "Win." Sackler was exhausted.

The   Hard coalition forces have been pressed across the board, and Sackler also showed the ace of patience hidden in his sleeves.

   A piercing horn resounded through the valley.

   Four battalions of heavy cavalry attacked from the woods on the south side of the front line and charged towards the backs of the Suzi cavalry.

   The tried-and-true back attack, the Suzi cavalry was instantly defeated.

  The Platoon infantry was greatly encouraged, and shouted to push back the Hurd coalition.

The remaining units on the    front tried to turn around to attack, but were unable to organize effectively, and were eventually pulled back by the defeated troops.

   One of the Heards started to run away, and all the Heards started to run away.

   The left and right flanks of the Hurd coalition saw that the situation was not good, and they also began to retreat.

  The Hudds who had retreated outside the valley were informed that their old camp had been overrun by another group of Palatine hussars.

   In fact, there was no need to attack at all. The "old camp" of the pioneers did not even have a wall for vehicles, just a leeward flat ground for storing slave horses and a little baggage.

  [Note: slave horses, ie spare horses]

  The remaining courage of the cavalrymen was beaten to ashes, and they scattered in a hurry, and they all returned to their old camps to rescue them.

  …

   "This is another battle where the infantry shed blood and the cavalry was honored." Every officer in the valley couldn't help but think so.

  The crude gallows was erected, and the execution ground had been arranged on the hill.

  According to the Platonic military law, after the battle is over, the executions will begin...the execution of their own people.

   Twelve centurions were stripped of their armor, tied and kneeled in a row—the soldiers were not defeated, but the officers fled and hanged;

   Soldiers with cinnabar traces on their backs were taken out one by one - those with cinnabar traces on their backs, beheaded;

  More soldiers began to draw life and death draws—the officers did not retreat, the soldiers were defeated, and they were killed.

   Over the past two decades, Sackler has never been soft-hearted, because military law is everything in the Plato army.

   But today, the hard-hearted Sackler can no longer kill.

   "Forget it," Sackler said softly.

  Laszlo asked blankly, "What did you say?"

   "I said, forget it." Sackler slapped his chest hard, coughed and said, "Shave their hair and weave them into death row."

"Yes."

   "Tell them. If you can go back to Palatu, return your life to them. If you can't go back to Palatu, just pull a Hurd on your back."

"Yes."

   Sackler asked again: "Is Arpad back?"

   "Not yet, maybe still chasing and killing the remnant enemy."

   "You don't have to wait for him. You take someone to retrieve the cart we threw away along the road. I'll wait for you in front of you. One day, one day, as much as you can get back."

   "Yes." Colonel Laszlo turned away.

   Sackler got up with great effort, seven years younger than Arpad, but older than him.

   He looked at the valley full of corpses: the dark red liquid trickled down the hillside and merged into a stream at the bottom of the valley.

   If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, no one would believe that "blood" would really "flow into a river".

   A green helmeted messenger cavalry rushed into the valley and ran rampant in the direction of the eagle flag.

  The guards intercepted with a halberd, ordered the cavalry to dismount from the saddle, and stumbled towards the eagle flag holding a letter.

Of course, the guards around the    Eagle Banner couldn't easily let him get close to the general.

  Two guards captured the messenger, and another guard took the letter and gave it to Sackler.

   Sackler took the letter, tore it open, and said nothing for a long time.

   His left hand holding the letter was too hard, and the knuckles were no longer bloody.

   Thirty years later, the iron hoofs of the Hurds once again set foot on the land of Plato.

  The [Barbarian Invasion] that hadn't happened in thirty years frightened the council of Plato.

The    large council bypassed the army headquarters and issued five orders in a row, strictly ordering the expeditionary army to withdraw its troops and return to support.

   But now, the Great Council no longer has to worry about the Hart Raiders.

   Because they came back.

   also destroyed the second pontoon of the Palatine Expedition.

  …

after one day.

   Familiar felt tents, familiar leaders of various ministries - a few less, but the atmosphere is very different from before.

   "Healthy eater, you rotten skin that crows eat! Carrion wrapped in grass that cows won't eat!" The chief of the Black Water Department was furious. If it weren't for the lack of weapons in his hand, he might have fought the health eater to the death.

   He pointed at the eater's nose and scolded: "You threw the Black Water Department to the two-legged people, but your Suzi team ran very fast! Are you also worthy of being a war leader?"

  Arpad led the hussars to chase for a full 50 kilometers, and specially selected and killed small tribes.

   Seeing that their allies were being chased and killed, Haidong and Suzi ignored them and only fled for their own lives.

   On the contrary, the Teltown-Chihe coalition took in many remnants.

   "Short bow! You tailless gelding! You dare to question me? I'll question you too!" The foodie was also furious: "Seeing that the Chinese army is in a bad situation, why didn't your left wing come to support?"

"Go back and eat your mother's milk!" The chief of the Black Water Department scolded: "You are defeated, and you still want us to top? I would like to ask you, why did you put Haidong in your central army? Grey eyes to rule the left?"

   "I don't have to explain it to you!"

"You can't answer it? Let me tell you! You are full of selfish desires, and you are worried that the gray eyes will lead one wing to make contributions, so you let the gray eyes and you in the middle army, but let us small tribes on the left! We small tribes, who are we? Don't listen to anyone, do you expect us to fight?"

   "That's your problem." The healthy eater sneered to himself.

   "You war leader! I don't accept it!" The chief of the Black Water Department is a broken tank. If he doesn't bring down the health eaters today, tomorrow will be the end of the Black Water Department: "You never thought about the tribes at all! You are not worthy of commanding the tribes!"

   "I don't deserve it, who deserves it?"

"I recommend the white lions! Haidong and Suzi! They all use our small tribes as animals! Only the white lions use us as human beings! You, I don't accept! :"speak!"

   No one responded to him.

   "Speak!" The Chief of the Black Water Department shouted: "Do you want to be slaves to the Suzi Department?"

   Another moment of silence.

   The chief of the Black Water Department angrily took off his hat, threw it on the ground, and raised his legs to walk out, but no one else stopped him.

  The fire roaster grabbed the arm of the chief of the Black Water Department and looked at the current war leader: "Healthy eater, the leaders of the tribes gave you a chance, but you have betrayed the trust of the leaders of the tribes. Why don't you let others try?"

   The leaders of the tribes agreed with their eyes, but did not dare to speak.

The   Health Eater stood up and looked around murderously: "The white lion is not a descendant of the Golden God, and is not qualified to be a great sweat!"

   The red-faced fire roaster immediately pushed back: "Who wants to elect the white lion as a great sweat? We just want to elect the white lion to lead us to war!"

   "With you! With me! With gray eyes! There are so many descendants of the Golden God! There is no reason for an outsider to be the leader of the war!" The foodie also shouted.

"You and I don't have to fight for seats like a group of dogs fighting for meat." The white lion said calmly: "Just follow the rules of the general discussion. Turn off the lights and cover the dome. If the leaders of the tribes agree, call 'Ai'; the leaders of the tribes Disagree, 'uh'."

  The secret account is discussed, no one can see each other, only hear the voice, the nature is equivalent to anonymous voting.

  This method is also rarely used in the large conferences of various ministries, because the large conferences themselves are occasions where there is something to say, and there is no need to cover up.

   "There are very few people who dare to openly oppose health eaters." The little lion thought to himself: "Otherwise, my brother would not ask for secret accounts to discuss matters."

  The oil lamps were blown out, the dome was covered, and the leaders of the tribes switched places in the dark.

  The white lion said: "Before the supporters of the various ministries join us, we can no longer fight with the Paratus people."

   There was a sound of "Ai" approval in the tent.

   The chief of the Blackwater Department shouted loudest and most clearly. Anyway, he had already offended the healthy eaters, so he simply broke the pot.

   "It's impossible for the people of Paratus to stay in the wasteland for a lifetime. You and I should use the best methods. Dozens of cavalry or dozens of cavalry harass the ground, intercept messengers, **** baggage, and just don't confront them head-on."

   Another "Ai" approving sound.

   "Raising?" The health eater couldn't help but ask: "Can we kill all two-legged people just by harassing them? Once we cross the Styx, we can't stop them any longer!"

   "Then they won't be able to cross the Styx."

   "Why can't they cross the Styx? They are heading northeast, obviously looking for a shallow place to cross the river!"

   "Going to the shallow water upstream, the Palauans didn't have enough to eat and drink, so they prepared a pontoon bridge."

  The health eater understood: "You want us to hit the pontoon?"

   "No." White Lion replied: "I have already sent someone to fight."

  …

  …

   Seven days later, early morning.

  Winters, the old **** stick and the little lion strolled on the west bank of the Styx.

  The little lion is listless, walking lazily on the river beach, stepping on paw prints all the way.

  Its mane has not yet grown up, and it does not look like a lion from a distance, but like a dog with a particularly large head.

  The old **** stick wrapped his leather robe tightly, and scolded: "Little beast, pee quickly! I'm cold to death!"

   "Are you still in the mood to walk the dog?" Winters said with a heavy heart.

  The river beach on both sides is full of charred wreckage of the pontoon.

   The first pontoon, with prefabricated elements brought from Plato.

   The second pontoon bridge is a pontoon made of wooden boards and asphalt.

  The planks are gone, the carts can be dismantled, and the trees can be chopped down; asphalt, the sappers still have some.

   The problem is that there are thousands of Hurds waiting on the other side of the river.

   That’s right, the Heard Marauders who burned the pontoon—and for the second time—not only didn’t cross the river. They also set up camp on the other side, across the river from the Palatine army.

   No matter how skilled the sappers of Plato are, they have no ability to erect a pontoon bridge when the other side falls.

   Brother Reid recited casually: "[Selika language] Mount Tai collapsed in front of him without changing its color, and the elk flourished to the left without blinking. Then, you can control the interests and treat the enemy."

   "What are you talking about?"

  The old man stroked his beard and glanced at Winters: "Just to tell you, no matter what happens, you should be in a good mood. Look at you now, with a straight face, it's like the sky is about to fall."

  Winters sighed: "Looking at your unhurried appearance, are you ready for Hed shaman's outfit early in the morning?"

   "Hmph, how can this old man eat two lus?"

   "Does the living saint have any tricks to teach me?"

"Cough. In the enemy's position, there are chasing soldiers behind, the river in front, and there are enemy troops waiting on the other side of the river." Brother Reid said in a relaxed tone: "Boy, in every history book I have read, you are all It's a mortal situation."

   "There is a way," Winters said softly. "It just takes a little imagination."

   [The battle of the valley refers to the "Battle of Kulikovo", the Golden Horde against the Principality of Moscow. Marmaikhan found a flaw in the left flank of the Principality of Moscow, so he put all his chips on. Seeing that he was about to swept the front of the Principality of Moscow, he was attacked by a very "conventional" heavy cavalry on the back]

   One chapter, one chapter owed.

   Thank you book friends for reading, subscribing, recommending tickets, monthly tickets, tips and comments, thank you all.

   (end of this chapter)