Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 95 Siege

   When the sentry on the Tacheng city wall saw the golden lion flag on the horizon in the morning light, he couldn't believe his eyes.

The Tanirians obviously did not expect the enemy to come so quickly. The Red Sulphur port had just fallen, and the Veneta, who were still resting, forced their army to march 30 kilometers overnight, crossing the countryside that was still theoretically controlled by the Federation. The area swooped in.

   Now, most of the food requisition team sent by Captain Kidd has not returned, and the St. Mark's Legion has already arrived at the city of Tacheng.

  Layton did not rush to attack the city, but after isolating the inside and outside of the tower city, he divided his forces and began to clear the small unit of the Federation behind him.

   After a few small-scale encounters, the food requisition team sent by Kidd was completely defeated. The remnants of the army will be scattered as birds and beasts, but most of them are captured in the fields by farmers armed with agricultural implements as weapons.

The soldiers of the    Federation were horrified to discover that those farmers who were originally timid and cowardly and asked for anything, actually had the courage to resist at this moment.

  The peasants had deep grievances, and the daring ones directly slaughtered the soldiers of the Federation and buried them silently. The timid ones **** the captured Union soldiers and gave them to the Veneta.

  Antonio knew that everything was going well for the Legion of San Marco when he saw the prisoners who were escorted to the port of Red Sulphur by the island peasants. The farmers took the bounty and went home happily.

   On Leyton's side, the San Marco Legion quickly compressed the Tanilians' activity space within the tower city walls.

   However, the defenders did not surrender obediently, nor did they send anyone to contact the Legion of San Marco, and the battlefield presented a strange silence. Seeing this situation, Layton still used the old method - sending someone to persuade him to surrender.

   The local squire of Chisulfur Island, who was forced to send a letter of persuasion to the defenders to surrender, was shot to death by arrows without saying a word as soon as he walked to the gate of the city.

In this way the    defenders expressed their determination - they would never surrender. Therefore, he simply killed the messenger before the messenger opened his mouth, so as not to be shaken by the words of persuasion to surrender.

  Layton was furious, but he was only incompetent and furious. If Commander Veneta sent troops to attack in a rage, it would be really good for Captain Kidd.

   Expecting the surrender of the defenders was already wishful thinking, and Leighton ordered to build a fortress outside the tower city, and the battle fell into a stalemate.

  —cut—

   "Give me some fat... Oops, don't take this kind of bone, get more fat." A short soldier with an iron pan stood in front of the chopping board and said with a smile.

   Behind him, there was a long line of soldiers waiting for the meat.

  This is a corner of the military camp. The weathered volcanic rock soil has been muddy with blood flowing everywhere, and there is a clatter when you step on it.

"It's all fat, who can't eat fat?" The person in charge of dividing the meat snapped back angrily. His hands moved quickly, and he cut two big chunks of fat from the pig's skin and threw them into the short soldier's body. In the pot: "I'll give you a piece of meat with bones, and make up two pieces of fat for you. Go away, there are still people waiting behind you, so don't delay things."

   The short soldier with the iron pot walked away contentedly, and the next soldier with the iron pot stepped forward: "Give me two pieces of fat too..."

  The legions of the ancient empires were extremely good at building fortifications and roads. Most of the "roads" in All Roads leading to Muro were built by the army. Those hard-surfaced roads became the key to the prosperity of the ancient empire, and there are still relics left.

  The military system of the republics is said to be inherited from the ancients. Although the name of the "corps" is actually used by the ancient reorganization, it has also learned the advantages of the ancient imperial army's good at civil engineering.

  On the third day after the Legion of San Marco arrived in Tacheng, the Legion of Veneta and the Legion of San Marco joined forces to build the fortress.

  The soil is too thin to excavate? The Veneta people took the vines and branches from the dense forest and weaved them into baskets, and filled them with soil as the base of the wall. Tacheng is backed by mountains on both sides, and the attack surface is narrow. However, this also saves the Veneta a lot of trouble, and the narrow attack surface means that the attack surface is also narrow.

  The two legions quickly built a two-meter-high earth wall on the outer circle of the tower city, which completely isolated the inside and outside of the tower city—but there was no trench, because it was too laborious to dig the basalt.

   For soldiers who undertake a lot of heavy physical work every day, bread alone can not feed them, they need meat and salt.

The place where   Winters is now is literally a slaughterhouse, where soldiers are being divided in front, and pigs are being unpacked in the back. These places that are prone to breeding diseases are located in the corners of the camp and are strictly separated from the residence.

  Winters watched with interest the butchers at work: slaughtering pigs, burning pig hair with wheat straw, dismantling the belly to take out the organs, and using a sharp knife to break the whole pig into large pieces of pork.

  The processed pork was carried to the chopping board and handed to another butcher to be cut into pieces, weighed and distributed to the soldiers.

  The establishment of the Veneta Legion, a ten-man team of eight soldiers, sharing an iron pot and a large tent. Pork is distributed in teams of ten, so the soldiers will take the meat with iron pots.

   The butcher who was in charge of dividing the meat worked extremely quickly. The whole pig's leg was shaved into bones in the blink of an eye in his hands. The six butchers who were behind to kill the pigs could not keep up with the speed of him dividing the meat.

   "I can watch here all day," said Winters and Andre beside him.

  Andre said, "Me too."

  The two warrant officers came here to hang out. Just like dividing the meat, it was most likely to have a fight, so Winters and Andre were responsible for supervising the process of dividing the meat. There were two officers, and the soldiers did not dare to make trouble.

   Winters is no longer the acting centurion. He, Bud, and Andre have all been transferred to the Corps Logistics Office to rotate as trainees.

Within less than a day of the rotation, Winters and Andre were about to get dizzy with the boring and heavy paperwork, so the two of them worked together and volunteered to take charge of the dirty work that no one wanted to do-to the point of bloody, dirty work. Dirty and muddy slaughterhouses oversee meat separation.

  Budd was a fish in water in the mountains of files and documents. The writing skills he had cultivated in copying scriptures in the monastery in his early years came in great use in the logistics department. The logistics director finally found an officer who was good at shorthand and quick calculation.

   As for why the three warrant officers were transferred to the logistics department, it started the day after the 3rd Corps arrived at the port of Chisulfur.

On the second day that the    Da Vineta Corps was stationed in the Red Sulphur Port, another supply fleet from Seablue City arrived at the Red Sulphur Port.

In addition to sending supplementary soldiers and ammunition and provisions for the Third Army, this supply fleet also came with a member of the 13-man Military Council and an officer who was officially appointed to command the 100th Corps. .

However, the centurion of the theoretical 100th team was surprised to find that the 100th team actually no longer existed - after two **** battles, the original 150 members of the 100th team There were only five soldiers left, plus three apprentice officers.

   Not only did the 100th team not exist, but even his superiors did not exist - the chief brigade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Conter, was not killed, but was sent back to the homeland of Veneta due to his injuries.

   The new centurion was saddened to discover that until the next wave of supplementary soldiers was sent, he was only a bare officer with no soldiers under his command.

   The 100th is gone, and there is no point in continuing to train with the 100th. And Winters didn't want to fight anymore. He felt that it was not worth it for the ambitions of people like Contell.

  At Winters' request, Antonio transferred him, Bud, and Andre to the logistics office for rotational traineeships, and by the way, the remaining soldiers of the 100th Army were also transferred to the logistics office as postmen. Help Winters fulfill his promise: after tonight, you won't have to fight your life anymore

   And under the arrangement of Antonio, the Hurds have also boarded the sailboat that left the Red Sulphur Island. They would first go to Seablue City, then be escorted to the Republic of Palatu, and finally return to their homeland.

   So Winters, Bud, and Andre are all relaxed now, waiting for their awards.

   They destroyed the two sea-barriers and artillery fortresses, which was an unquestionable feat. If the three were not apprentice officers, the credit for destroying the cannon would be enough for the three of them to be promoted to one level immediately.

   However, the three of them are not even full officers now, which is embarrassing. Can't the warrant officer mention the second lieutenant? What about when they are officially awarded the title? The rank is not an upgrade, is it possible to award the rank of second lieutenant again?

   In the end, the senior officers of the 3rd Corps thought of the solution: first suppress the reward, and wait for the three warrant officers to be officially awarded the title next year before rewarding, so that the procedure can be straightened out.

   This means that the three warrant officers will be able to get the rank of lieutenant immediately after they are transferred to full-service officers next year.

  In Bud's opinion, it is a good thing to be able to avoid the limelight at the logistics office. It is enough to be hated by people who have made great achievements. It is wise to stay away from the front line and give the opportunity to make achievements to others.

  Although Andre was a little reluctant to leave the front line of the battle, but thinking of the experience of the **** battle in the cannon on the night of the full moon also made him a little scared, and he just wanted to rest.

   As for Winters - he didn't think as much as Bud, nor did he miss the opportunity to fight on the front line like Andre, he just didn't want to die for the ambition of a few people or command soldiers to die. However, he can't change the direction of the world, so he can only avoid and pretend to be invisible.

   The butcher on the edge of the chopping board knocked on the knife in his hand dissatisfiedly, because the meat on hand was all divided, and he urged the butcher in the back to quickly bring the meat up.

"I think you don't want to solve a whole pig by yourself. Each person is only responsible for one link. For example, one person is only responsible for singeing the hair, and the other person is only responsible for removing the internal organs. The slaughtering efficiency will be higher." Winters couldn't help but say remind.

   Hearing someone pointing fingers at his work, a butcher immediately pushed back: "My lord [Mylord], our family has been butchers for generations, I know **** pigs."

   Seeing that Winters touched a nail, Andre smirked and stabbed Winters in the lower back. Winters also shook his head with a wry smile. These butchers were invited from outside, not soldiers, and naturally did not understand the strict class order within the army.

"Okay, do whatever you want." Winters said helplessly: "But I have to correct you, I am not a 'lord', and Veneta has no 'lord'. The nobles of the entire Cenas Gulf have been taken Down with the liquidation, there will be no more 'adults'."

   "Okay, my lord."

   Winters was stunned speechless, while Andre burst into a violent laugh, beating his thigh with all his might.

  …

  After the duty, Winters did not go straight back to his tent like Andre did, but turned a corner and went to the armory.

  A legion is a small society, not only soldiers, but also various craftsmen, such as blacksmiths.

   These craftsmen are all military, and some are full-time craftsmen, such as blacksmiths and gunsmiths in the Ordnance Department, who are responsible for repairing ordnance.

   Other things belonged to soldiers with specific skills. Because of their duties as carpenters, masons, etc., these soldiers did not need to participate in heavy manual labor, and their salaries were higher than ordinary soldiers.

   So people with a skill are more useful at all times, even in the military.

  The gunsmith of the armory saw Winters coming, and immediately took out a strange short gun from the cabinet, and handed it to Winters with both hands respectfully: "Sir, I have changed the gun you want."

  The exquisite reed gun that Antonio gave Winters was not ready for actual combat, and was dropped into the seabed of Red Sulphur Bay along with Winters' armor and saber.

   After Winters and his party returned, he hired a few people to salvage them. However, this time he didn't have the same luck as before. A few diving masters touched it underwater for a day and found nothing.

   That exquisite and luxurious reed gun was completely lost, and it pained Winters to think of it. When Antonio heard about it, he gave Winters the other of the pair of reed guns.

   But Winters has a new idea, one that's more convenient than a reed gun.

   took over the short gun. This short gun looks like an ordinary short gun, but there is nothing on the side of the ignition hole, there is no lever for hanging the arquebus, and there is no mechanism for the spring wheel.

   bare, only the ignition hole and gunpowder slot.

   This was the inspiration Winters got from fighting the man suspected of being a court mage.

The reason    is suspected is that there is nothing to prove the identity of the person. Winters was convinced that the masked man who recited the ancient imperial language must be a sorcerer, probably a legendary court wizard.

   But Antonio and Winters looked at each other for a few minutes in front of a charred corpse, only to find that the charred corpse said nothing.

   There are no tokens, signs, or features, except for an iron mask that was not burned.

In the    Sovereignty War, the Senas Alliance failed to kill, capture, or persuade any court mages to surrender. Even if Antonio believed that his nephew was not lying, he could not point to the corpse and say that it was a court magist.

  Antonio could only tell Winters to keep quiet and send the corpse to the Magic Warfare Bureau for autopsy. He would also use other channels to find out the identity of this anonymous magician.

After reviewing the event, Winters figured out how the man made the crucified cannon work normally - he must have used some kind of powerful fire-like spell, igniting the cannon through the barrel. in gunpowder.

   In this way, the shells can be fired without the need for an open flame.

   He tried it himself. It was very difficult to ignite the gunpowder through the closed metal. It seemed that it was difficult for the third hand to penetrate the metal, but it was not impossible, as long as the magic power was sufficient.

  Thinking of this, an idea popped into Winters' mind—perhaps applying this idea to a musket. You don't necessarily need to ignite the gunpowder through the barrel, just use magic instead of an open flame.

  So, there is this custom short gun, but the specific effect of use needs to be further tested by Winters.

   After confirming that the gunsmith had made the short gun according to his requirements, Winters put a bag of silver coins on the gunsmith's table.

   "No, no, I dare not ask for this. I already have a salary."

   "Your salary is earned by you working for the legion. This gun is custom-made by me in my personal name, not the same thing. This money is not only for your labor, but also for the materials of this gun. Keep it."

The gunsmith then took the purse, and said embarrassingly: "Actually, it doesn't take much effort to saw off the ordinary barrel and make a lighter butt. But the ignition device is useless, I really think I don't know how you're going to use this gun..."

   Winters smiled and said, "I'm useful."

   He wrapped the gun in sackcloth and returned to his camp.

   Outside the tent, a black and thin man was waiting for him. It was Gold, "Good Luck" Gold, a former pirate captain, a rower on death row, and the biggest contributor to Winters' escape on Red Iwo.

   When the battle is critical, the Veneta Navy can release prisoner rowers and distribute weapons to them. As long as the prisoner oarsmen participated in the battle and returned to their posts after the battle without escaping, when the war was over, the crime could be offset and the status of free men was restored.

  Gold had recovered his status as a free man after the Battle of Lighthouse Harbor, and he was the crew of the Golden Lion who handed Winters a bag of water.

   And now, he came to bid farewell.

"My lord, I'm leaving this hellish place and take the nearest communication ship to Seablue City." Gold grinned, revealing a mouthful of golden teeth—the teeth that were knocked out by Leighton have all been replaced with golden ones, He smiled and said: "You Veneta Navy saw the letter of merit you wrote to me, and let me recover my freedom in advance. I'm here to say goodbye to you."

   "Are you going now? Where are you going?" Winters was a little surprised, and hurriedly asked Gold to enter the camp to speak.

  Gold didn't go in, he stood respectfully outside the tent and said, "I don't know, I don't know where I'm going, anyway, I'm a free man again, let's take a step by step."

"It's better to leave here, you don't have to participate in this war." Winters said with some emotion, he grabbed a note and wrote down an address and handed it to Gold: "Remember what we found Is that the fat captain? That old acquaintance of you and me, the fat man who drove your Good Luck back to Hailan and met pirates again and was sold to Red Pine Manor as a slave? Remember him?"

  Gold took the note, a little confused: "Well, it seems...probably remember..."

"I said I was going to send you a boat, didn't I?" Winters laughed. "That fat man owed me a lot of money, so he sold me his Skua for a cheap price. It happened that my mother Left me a small inheritance, too. You can find him at this address. The Skua is yours now, Captain Gold...but don't be a pirate this time."

  Gold was taken aback, and the note in his hand was almost unsteady. He stood there at a loss, his eyes were a little red.

"Don't say 'thank you,' and don't cry, you deserve it." Winters got goosebumps, and quickly joked: "But if you go to be a pirate again, and meet me again, Then we have to fight again."

   "Sir, how do you think my luck is?" Gold didn't answer, but asked an indifferent question.

"Uh..." This question really stopped Winters, and he thought for a while before answering: "In a way, your luck is really good... It's unfortunate to meet Layton and us. , but even so, the whole ship of pirates only survived you alone, which is considered a great luck..."

"Yeah, I think so too. I've always had good luck, so I'm Lucky Gold. But there's a guy who's had better luck than me, so when I bump into this guy, my luck doesn't matter. "Who do you say this person is?"

   "...You're not talking about me, are you?" Winters was a little puzzled.

"That's right, my lord, it's you. I thought about it for a long time on the deck of the Golden Lion. Luck is relative. One person's luck may be another person's misfortune. It's luckier than mine. You are the one who is luckier than me, so I will follow you on Red Iwo." Gold said firmly: "So in the future if If I bump into you again, I'll just surrender."

After   , Gold nodded in greeting, turned around and walked away gracefully.

  Winters was stunned for a while, then returned to his tent and began to write a letter that he had not finished writing for two days.

   The supply ship from Hailan City not only sent supplies, but also a letter from home—of course, it’s just a letter from an officer, soldiers don’t have this treatment.

  In Elizabeth's envelope, Winters accidentally found another letter in it, Anna's letter.

He couldn't wait to open Anna's letter, which didn't say anything special: she and her sister had a big fight again, she wanted to learn to sculpt but her mother wouldn't let it, an old servant in the family had left, navy blue was in vogue now A new fabric from the north...

   These contents are nothing special, just Anna's daily trivia, but I don't know why, when Winters reads these contents, it feels like a lifetime.

   Although his hands were already covered in blood, Winters had never been bothered by the people he had killed, not once. In his opinion, if he kills, he will kill, and everyone who dies in his hands has a way to die.

However, the soldiers of the 100th, the soldiers who were nailed to the stakes, the soldiers who followed him fleeing in the jungle, the soldiers who fought **** in the cramped corridors, Winters can always remember in his dreams. up their faces.

"San Marco's Basilica is being renovated, and many painters and sculptors have been invited. When you come back, let's go and see it together, shall we? Mister Montagne, where are you now? What are you doing? Why are you? Why don't you write to me? Write back to me, I know almost nothing about you, write back to me." At the end of the letter, Anna wrote.

Winters wanted to tell Anna everything about herself, tell her that when she was trapped on Iwo Jima, she was in deep fear all the time, but she still had to put on a confident face in front of everyone, tell her that she saw those things. Anger at the insulted corpse, telling her about her own anger at Contaire and those behind him, telling her about the souls who broke into his dreams...

   He thought a lot, but couldn't write a word.

   Finally, he took up the pen and wrote: "I'm fine, eat well, sleep well, maybe I'm really lucky."

   Chapter 87 I wrote the serial number wrong, but I can't change it anyway, it's very confusing.

   Thanks to the book friends who have voted for the recommendation before, thanks to the book friends who are righteous and pure is Koala, please call me Pleasant Goat, Yuan Hongjian, Tianshui Youjiaren, and Ami for their recommendation votes, thank you all.

   (end of this chapter)