Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 286 Width

  The fire started, and the peasant house with wooden walls and grass roof was engulfed by flames.

  While [Middle Tiefeng County] and [Upper Tiefeng County] had the last shreds of peace, that was not the case elsewhere.

  Vugnie County, Mace, Oak Village.

   Unarmed men and women, **** in strings with twine and relentlessly whipped on their backs, stumbled away from their homes, crying all the way.

  There was not a single old man among the hundreds of people who were captured in Palatine, because the old man who was unable to work was either left in the house to be swallowed up by the sea of ​​fire, or directly killed.

  In addition to the captives, there were also carriages carrying grain and utensils, slave horses carrying clothing and goods, and...the people of Telton who laughed and laughed.

   Go further and pass the grove in front of them, and these Paratus people will completely set foot on the road of no return.

   Suddenly, a young Platonic man broke free. He hid a small knife on his body and quietly cut the rope when the barbarian was unprepared.

  The young man wanted to untie the woman behind him for the first time, but was pushed down the road by the woman in tears.

  The sound of hooves and whistles came from behind, and the young man also burst into tears as he staggered toward the woods.

   But where two legs can run faster than four legs, the sound of hoofs is getting closer.

   Fear took over the young man's mind, he instinctively turned his head to look, and a dark shadow came towards him.

   In the screams of his mother, the young man was knocked down by a bone.

   The man who brought down the young Palatine man was a Heard about his age.

   At the urging of the other Hurds, the young Hurd dismounted. He pulled the bowstring tremblingly, pointed at the hearts of the people on the ground, turned his back to the riders, closed his eyes and let go.

   The horn bow made a "zheng" sound, and the other Hurds cheered and cheered.

   The young Hurd opened his eyes and found that the arrow was a little skewed and stuck on the ground. He didn't make a sound, silently retrieved the arrow cluster, stepped on the saddle, and followed the other Hurds.

  This young Hed is the son of the little leader [Yuanguang] with forty families, and [Yuanguang] is the friend and vassal of Qingling Yu Nayan [Red Moon].

  Qinglingyu [Red Moon] has 600 families, and it can be regarded as a small and powerful foreign tribe in the Teltown Department.

  According to the tradition of the Heards marching and fighting, the Fireboilers divided the Terdun division into the left and right flanks.

  The left wing is mostly unreliable foreign nayan, with a total of more than ten thousand horses;

  The right wing is dominated by Nayan, the direct relative of the Jinren family, with nearly 8,000 people, commanded by the fire-boiler himself.

  According to the route agreed upon before the war, Turdun's flanks will spread out like birds and plunder the newly cultivated provinces separately.

  The left wing crossed the river from the lower reaches, roughly entering the new reclaimed land from [Vogne County] and [Maple Stone City].

  The right wing crossed the river from the upper reaches, roughly entering the new reclaimed land from [Tiefeng County].

   Another wing of men feigned to attack Jinghu County, involving the power of the Paratus.

   On the surface, the upper reaches are barren and the land is vast and sparsely populated, while the lower reaches are fertile and densely populated. It is a blessing to let Nayan from the outer department go to the lower reaches to loot.

   In fact, just the opposite, according to the fire roaster's vision: although the lower reaches are fatter, it is also more difficult to cross the river, and the main fighting force of the Paratus is deployed in the lower reaches.

   In the robbery in mid-September, not even the coalition forces of the Heard tribes on the south bank were able to get a good deal in Jinghu County.

   Let Nayan of the foreign faction go downstream to involve the Paratus people, and he himself will lead the direct line of troops to raid the upstream, and then wait for an opportunity to go north, east or retreat according to the battle situation - this is the original plan of the fire roaster.

  The people of Teltown docilely accepted this strategy of favoring one over the other, and even Yan Yan did not find it strange. There is a difference between closeness and distance. Is the fat not for relatives to eat, but for outsiders to eat?

   However, things don’t always go as planned.

  When Iron Peak County showed great tenacity and stubbornly blocked the right flank of Teltown from the Bighorn River. On the contrary, the left flank of Teltown caused severe damage in [Vogne County], even threatening the Maplestone precinct.

  Because he knew that his combat power was poor and he had no big leader to take the lead, Zhu Nayan of the left wing simply gave up the idea of ​​"fighting a battle".

   Before entering the new reclaimed land, the left flank of Teltown scattered in a hurry. Nayan and Kota, big and small, acted separately, each crossing the river according to their abilities, and whoever grabs it counts.

  Some of that Yan even quietly drove the herd to turn around, smeared oil on the soles of his feet, and went home without a sound.

   On the other hand, the Vigne military commander did not do what the rebel leader Montagne suggested - evacuate the village, reduce the force, and focus on the defense.

   He deployed his troops on a river bank more than 200 kilometers wide. The overall structure was like an egg, with "hard outer shell and soft inner", with a hussar squadron inside responsible for sweeping and breaking up the enemy.

   It's hard to say that his decisions were bad, and Winters' decisions were good.

   Because Winters made his judgment on the premise of [Vogne County is empty].

A lack of    forces would make it impossible to defend against the river effectively, so Winters advised Vigne to give up the river bank, evacuate the countryside, guard the fortresses and towns, and minimize losses as much as possible.

   But the reality is that [seven infantry brigades are secretly gathering in Vigne for the next year's crusade against the rebels]—of course Winters didn't know that.

   If it is arranged properly, maybe Vigne County can also block the Terdun barbarians from the river like the Middle Iron Peak County.

   However, the Teltown people arrived much faster than the Wargne military commander expected. The Vaughnshire troops had not yet been in place, and the leading troops on the left flank of Teltown had already crossed the river.

As soon as the   Telden people broke into Vigne, they scattered like mercury pouring down the ground.

  The Vugnie County defenders, who lacked cavalry, fell into a passive situation of "beating but not being able to catch up".

  If they are in position and fight in an upright manner, even if they are inferior in strength, the Palatine Army will have the confidence to fight against the Teltuns.

   But the Hurds have always "walked away without shame". Wherever they resist stubbornly, they will avoid it. When reinforcements come from this place, they will go to other places.

   There were only a hundred or so hussars in Vigne, but there were fourteen Tuurus (centurions) in the first group of Terdun barbarians who invaded Vaughan, and more than a thousand cavalry.

   A squadron of hussars is simply powerless to deal with so many cavalry, and if they are a little careless, they will be eaten in reverse.

The commander of the   Vogne County was hard-hearted and did not call in any reinforcements from the defense line along the river, but instead urged the troops to rush to their deployment positions.

   As for the Terdun people who have entered Vigne, the Vigne commander’s response strategy is [to intercept and kill the enemy when they cross the Glorious River to the west and withdraw from Vaughan].

   This may be the most reasonable decision for a military commander who is in danger of a county. For as long as the riparian defenses collapse, there will be more, more, more barbarians pouring into Vaughnshire.

   But for the villages that lacked protection and failed to evacuate in time, this was tantamount to a catastrophe. They are like eggs without shells, and the people of Teltown eat what they want.

The tragedy of    Oak Village thus happened.

  When the Hammer Castle cavalry arrived at Oak Village, the village had been wiped off the map, leaving only the charred ruins and a little flickering fire.

   As the gateway to Ironpeak, Winters maintains a small army of men at Hammer.

   Seeing the thick smoke rising into the sky from the north, the commander of Hammer Castle immediately led the cavalry to help, but it was still a step too late.

   Smelling the stench of death, the warhorses snorted anxiously.

  Hammer Castle Commander is a gloomy man with a red birthmark occupying half of his face.

   "Search." He commanded in a succinct manner.

  The scouts dispersed, looking for survivors and clues.

   "Some corpses were found, but they were all burnt to shame. There are no living people." Some elderly sergeants reported that the old sergeant's morale was so blue that his forehead burst out: "None of them were spared, either they were killed or they were taken away."

   The man with the red birthmark turned gloomy.

   "There are fresh ruts and hoof prints on the road to the west of the village!" Another scout reported: "The barbarians should be heading west!"

   "How much?" the man asked.

   "I can't tell." The detective shook his head: "The tracks of people and animals are mixed together, at least a hundred people and a hundred horses."

   "Chase!" The birthmark man ordered.

   "Sir, no! Wait!" The old sergeant hurriedly stopped in front of the birthmarked man's horse: "We are too few, we only have 18 riders in total, it's useless to catch up!"

  The man with the birthmark did not speak, but stared at the old sergeant.

  The old sergeant was born in Dussack, and was the most senior among the 18 cavalrymen present. Even he was stared at by the birthmarked man.

  He dared to dissuade him: "If the barbarians of Hurd have a centurion size, we can't deal with them. If barbarians can appear here, they can enter Iron Peak County by land. The top priority should be to report to Gervodin.

   Besides, this is Vigne, and we shouldn't be here. If anyone sees it, he can't possibly put the dung pot on us! "

   "This man is not dead!" Another scout shouted from a distance.

  The birthmarked man and the old sergeant heard the sound and immediately urged the horse to move closer.

   I saw a young man with blood on his face lying in the farmland. If it weren't for his chest still rising and falling slightly, he could hardly see any difference from the corpse.

  The old sergeant dismounted with great effort, touched the neck of the young man for a while, and looked up at the man with the birthmark: "Alive."

   "Take it away." The man with the birthmark pulled the reins: "Withdraw."

  …

  …

   Iron Peak County, Niu Hoof Valley.

  According to the order of the tribune of Montagne, nearly a hundred "chopping piles" were erected in the town square, filling the square.

   The so-called chopping pile is a solid log, half of which is driven into the soil and the other half exposed on the ground.

  Whether it is a military noble or an ordinary soldier, the first lesson of learning swordsmanship is to chop stakes and practice strength.

The proverb    says, "Three days of wooden stakes, and a fool can go to the battlefield" is exactly what it means.

   The word “power” sounds easy, but it’s hard to do. It's just such a small thing as [keeping the blade and swinging track] that actually requires constant practice.

  The posture of the sword body is wrong, that is, using the face of the sword to shoot people, not only does it fail to exert its power, but it can easily cause the sword to break.

   Might as well just use a stick - the mallet is not angled anyway.

   So Winters improved the chopping stake, adding a crossbar to the otherwise bare stake.

   "Many of you have never touched a weapon." Winters stood on the high platform with a mallet in hand, his voice clearly reaching everyone's ears: "That's good."

   Among the adult men in the Niu Hoof Valley, all those who can ride horses, shoot arrows, and muskets have been picked away, and the rest are these "clubs that can't do anything" in the square.

   These people were also issued with the literal "club" weapon - the thorn mallet.

"People who have learned how to use weapons are often self-righteous and unwilling to accept new knowledge, so they are not as good as you people with a blank sheet of paper." Winters glanced at the square solemnly: "Listen, you don't need much to fight in battle, only One trick is enough."

   Winters first demonstrated how to hold the weapon: "The right hand is held at the tail, and the left hand is held in the middle."

   Then he walked to the chopping stake and demonstrated his steps.

  The final demonstration of how to use it: first one move—deflect the crossbar, and then take a step forward.

   "Only these two moves, let's practice." Winters let go of his hands, the thorn mallet was stabbed deep into the stake, and the end of the rod trembled.

  The commoners of the Oxhoof Valley in the square first did not know what to do, and then rigidly practiced under the sergeant's scolding.

   Winters stepped off the platform, and Samukin ran over and asked, "Is it too late? Centurion?"

"It's too late, so I only let them practice two moves." Winters swung his wrists and asked: "Believe it or not, if they really want to go into battle, they will forget even if they only have two moves. Hammer beat."

   "Letter." Samukin smiled slyly: "When I was in the first battle, I slapped people hard with a spear, but at the end I didn't realize that the spear was sharp. Since it's too late, is it useful for them to practice this?"

   "Is it useful? It may be useful a little, or it may not be useful. But practice is more useful than no practice."

  Samukin nodded and asked again: "A few people from Niuho Valley saw that they were given thorn hammers and came to me to say that they would fire guns and want to go to the Musket Team. What do you mean?"

   "No." Winters looked indifferent: "Why did you go earlier?"

"Yes."

   "Has the scout across the river come back?" Winters asked for the fifth time.

   "Not yet." Samukin asked tentatively: "If you don't come back, will you send it again?"

   "Pie," Winters said firmly. "Keep sending more. I'll do it myself!"

Tentative attacks by   Telltown are becoming more frequent.

   Three times on the first day, six times on the second day, twelve times on the third day, sixteen times on the fourth and fifth days. Every time, at least 30 or 40 people are dispatched, and as many as hundreds of people are dispatched.

   Time is not limited to dawn, sometimes morning, sometimes afternoon, sometimes late night.

  The distance between the attack sites is also getting wider and wider, from the south to the confluence of the Pantuo River, and to the north to Forge Township.

  The people of Teltown do more than measure water depths. When the time is right, they will also smuggle a small group of people ashore to spy on the reality of Central Tiefeng County.

   In the first three days, the four companies garrisoned at Niusho Valley and the two companies garrisoned at Forge Township were already exhausted.

  What the fire roaster was thinking, Winters knew very well.

The tactics of the   Telltown people are like bullfighting, waving red flags around the field to lure the bulls to chase, run, and then attack when the bulls are exhausted.

  The enemy has many soldiers, and they are all on horseback; Winters has few soldiers, mainly infantry.

  The battlefield is so vast—Central Tiefeng County alone has an 80-kilometer river bank—with the maneuverability of the Teltown Division, it would be a strange thing if it did not make use of the width of the battlefield to make a fuss.

   In response, Winters deployed more and more troops on the banks of the river. Including the use of the 9th and 10th companies stationed in the town of Sanke, and the expansion of the army on the spot.

  In accordance with the emergency powers granted to the garrison officer under the Told Agreement, all males over the age of fifteen in the Oxhoof Valley were drafted into the temporary militia.

   Brave, energetic, but immature youths and youths were given bows, arrows and slings, and they were organized as auxiliary troops and assigned to the main infantry companies.

Among the remaining adult males, those who have practiced weapons, can ride horses or can shoot guns are singled out and led by a few gentlemen who have been soldiers, known as "adult soldiers" - because these people are usually from wealthier families , is also slightly older.

  Other grown men, those who were practicing how to use the mallet, were assigned sergeants by Winters to lead them, and were called "Medium Soldiers".

   If it was just this low intensity fight, Winters could continue with the Teltowners.

  The Fireboilers wanted to kill the ironpeakers' energy, and Winters was to kill the Fireboilers' time.

The longer the    is dragged on, the longer it is dragged, the better it will be for Iron Peak County.

   The situation seems to be developing in a good direction, but there is a small black spot on the clean white paper: Where can the people of Teltown who can only shave grass roots without even eating hay have the confidence to continue to consume?

   Winters was very concerned about this.

  The frequent exploratory attacks also involved a lot of energy of the Teltun people, which led to loopholes in the defense of the Telton people on the riverbank.

  According to the records of the observation towers along the coast, the patrol frequency of the Turtletown light cavalry has dropped significantly in the past three days.

   So Winters began to send scouts to cross the river to scout, and to scout across the river at any cost.

   "It's back!" Ciel shouted and galloped: "The man is back!"

   "Where?" Winters asked.

   "At the infirmary, with Father Kaman."

   In the Oxhoof Valley Church, which was temporarily requisitioned as a medical center, Winters saw the heroic scouts who returned from injury.

   "Centurion!" The scout didn't speak until he saw Winters with his own eyes: "Empty! The Teltown camp is empty! The main force of the barbarians is no longer on the other side of the river! Where they are going!"

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   (end of this chapter)