Realm of Power

In the northwest of Oparo in November, it is rare to experience dry and cold conditions for several consecutive days. The dew on the plains turns to hoarfrost in the morning. The sun's light becomes even dimmer. The entire earth is shrinking. Under the clouds and mists in the distance,

The high peaks have been covered with white first snow, and the damp woods are silent, as if the world is frozen at this moment.

A spotted finch in the forest called gently and timidly, and the light sand-like fog already revealed signs of a severe winter. The war is approaching, and the footsteps of the goddess of war can even be heard clearly.

The sun had just penetrated through the clouds, and a milky-white light mist enveloped the earth. Blowing by the breeze, the light mist slowly dissipated, gradually rising from the ground, and finally disappeared. The world suddenly became much fresher and clearer.

On the flat meadows in northern Normandy, the line of sight is very clear. You can see almost anywhere ten miles away. On the edge where the sky and the earth connect, you can still vaguely see the rolling clouds.

Scott, the commander of the third infantry regiment of the Fifth Army of the Empire, sat on his horse, looking at the vast wilderness he was about to enter with gleaming eyes. Beside him, a group of tall men wearing the heraldic robes of the Fifth Army of the Empire The Lu Empire's light cavalry were riding quickly by.

Behind him, groups of infantrymen holding imperial-style tower shields appeared. The towering spears were like the cold light that suddenly appeared on the edge of the wilderness. At the front of the queue, was the gorgeous battle armor of the Fifth Legion embroidered with golden tassels. The flag, a lion and a spear, marched in an orderly manner, like a long black dragon spreading on the edge of the plain. Under the cold wind, the flags all over the sky were fluttering.

This was the vanguard force withdrawing from the northwest region. The 3rd Infantry Regiment arrived first, and the news it brought shocked Hu Keqili, who had just stationed at the border. It was about a hundred miles behind the vanguard force. It was an army of up to 150,000 people who had withdrawn from the northwest Slavic region. among these people. There were only 50,000 real combatants, and more of them were family members of the soldiers, merchants accompanying the army, blacksmiths, and even more than 20,000 slaves. The complexity of the personnel made the queue look very scattered, and 150,000 people retreated along the long route. The line stretched hundreds of miles from north to south.

According to reports from officers who went to deliver the order, the order was not conveyed satisfactorily. The order to abandon the Slavic areas and withdraw all troops from the country is tantamount to requiring the Fifth Army, whose sphere of influence is mainly outside the border, to completely abandon everything they have fought for. This is very controversial among the army commanders. Several meetings were held for several days before the final decision was made by voting to agree to the implementation.

But even so, it still caused a lot of turmoil.

The majority officers of the Julius family chose to carry out the order, while a small number of officers who were not members of the Julius family used mutiny as a threat, refused to execute the retreat order, and demanded to continue to stay in the garrison. Waiting for official orders from the empire,

For the sake of legion stability and time constraints, Xavier, the deputy commander of the legion, finally agreed to the requests of these officers. It was agreed that these officers would stay where they were and serve as the rearguard of the army, while the other troops would be brought back.

This resulted in the Slavic army that was originally expected to follow them not appearing. The Slavs obviously had not yet reacted to the sudden deployment of the Fifth Army of the Empire.

"Your Majesty, there was some minor accident in the plan!" Hu Keqili, who felt something was wrong, immediately rushed to Fatty's mansion and reported the situation to Fatty, because he needed to fully command the defense of the northern border. Fatty's command point was far away from the northern border. The newly built fortress is less than fifty miles away.

"Approximately how many people are left? The fat man was reviewing a document. He raised his head and asked indifferently. "There are still 35,000 people left in place, including 10,000 combat troops." Hu Keqili He said solemnly, "There are only ten thousand people, they won't last long!" "The fat man raised his eyebrows, closed the document in his hand, and said in a relaxed tone. "What my subordinates are worried about is that once these people who stay report the matter to the empire, the entire plan may be in danger of being exposed in advance! "

"The Slavs are silent because they haven't figured out the situation yet. In fact, I quite expect them to report the matter to the Gallic Empire and withdraw the Fifth Army. However, you may have felt the order of the Gallic Empire itself."

"What does your Majesty mean?" Hu Keqili was stunned for a moment.

"This year's winter will be a tough winter!" The fat man stopped, and glanced at the white sky outside the window with a pointed look. "The severe cold will make the Slavs move like wolves. Reports from the people left behind, On the contrary, it is equivalent to telling the other party to die in the severe cold. Go live, Slavs. There are no more troops on the borders of the rich Gallic Empire. If you are a hungry and panicked Slav, what will you do? "Of course, no matter what lies ahead, you must fight to the death!" "Hu Keqili looked stunned, the Gallic Empire really He was clever but was misled by his cleverness. "That's right, we are the sword mountain and the sea of ​​fire!" The fat man smiled slightly. "If the Slavs go south, we will bear the brunt. I think the Gallic Empire thinks the same way. They want to sit down." It’s a pity that they I will definitely regret it! In fact, the Slavs can easily enter the hinterland of the Gallic Empire without crossing us! On the contrary, we are unscathed. This is a generous gift we have prepared for the Gallic Empire. This winter, they will not Feeling lonely!"

"It was indeed a mountain of swords and a sea of ​​fire!" Hearing the fat man's metaphor and thinking of the strong defenses on the northern border, even a strong general like Hu Keqili sighed helplessly. He really couldn't figure it out, and he didn't know that he would never have this choice in his life. How did a guy who had been in the war figure it out? In one month, the northern border has been built like an iron barrel. After a month of construction, Duoze put up a long wall barrier with an average height of more than 5 meters on the northern border according to Fatty's order. This section is about 200 meters long. , like a gate blocking the road from the north to the northwest region

Behind this long wall, there are 40,000 people from the Falcon Kingdom's Southern Army, 30,000 from the Central Army, plus Salon's 30,000 people, a total of 100,000 elite troops, building a three-layer defense line inside and outside.

Inside the long wall is a flat area where the army is stationed. All kinds of defense materials are piled up like mountains. Outside the long wall, there are three dry moat ditches several meters deep built according to the undulating hilly terrain.

The width of these three trenches is more than 5 meters, and they are filled with spikes inserted upside down. The front one is a hundred meters away from the city wall. It is mainly used to restrict the movement of the opponent's large-scale infantry groups and large siege equipment. If the opponent wants to attack the city, they must fill the moat against the sharp catapults of the Falcon Army. Ping, the second defense is located at 50 meters wèizhi. That is the effective distance at which crossbow shooters can shoot through the opposing heavy armored units. The last one is less than two meters away from the city wall.

This is the real trump card,

Because of the support of crude oil, once the opponent desperately breaks through the first two defense lines and the army approaches the city wall, the defenders will dump the crude oil from the city wall and ignite it with fire. Even if the opponent is made of iron and steel, it will be burned. The shooters on the city wall can easily kill the enemies in the ring of fire one by one, and the opponents can only stare. This feeling of helplessness is enough to shock any enemy. If necessary, you can even use crude oil bombs to directly destroy the large siege equipment that the opponent has worked so hard to push into the city.

"It's just impossible to predict the number of Slavs this time. I'm afraid that when the time comes..." Hu Keqili has always been cautious, and hesitantly expressed whether Crolisat's Western Army should also be transferred here.

A cold light flashed in the fat man's eyes. He curled his lips slightly, this was Hu Keqili's second time asking for a battle for the Western Army! He deliberately pretended not to hear what he meant, and said, "Don't you Hukoqili also have times when you are timid?" No. It's just that his subordinates have never fought with the Slavs, and everything about the other party is left to his subordinates. They are all unknown. "Hu Keqili quickly lowered his head in embarrassment and said, "The war is coming. The more you know about the enemy, the better your chances of winning! And when it comes to wilderness operations, the mobility of the Western Army is a huge advantage."

"What you are talking about is indeed a problem." The fat man nodded noncommittally and said, "The situation of the Slavs I learned from Julius Ford is roughly the same. The Slavic military equipment is generally still at the elementary level of light leather armor. stage, step The main weapons equipped by soldiers are single-handled battle axes, throwing spears, and small bucklers. During combat, infantry is the main force, with occasional light cavalry similar to safari. The queues are loose and they like to rush forward in a rush. If the battle is unfavorable, morale will be low. , a large number of people fled,

"Actually, I'm considering whether it would be more appropriate to take the initiative!" The fat man paused and touched his nose. "Julius Ford once told me with a smile that he had been raped by Slavs several times. The coalition forces were pressed to a desperate situation, that is Taking advantage of the fact that the Slavs did not dare to fight to the death, and the strict assault formation of the imperial army, among the large and scattered Slavic army, they first eliminated the Slavic central army, and then expanded to the two wings, eventually causing the Slavic army to be completely shaken. With less Win more! "So, the Slavs are afraid of the middle breakthrough tactic?" Hu Keqili showed an understanding expression, "That should be the case!" The fat man picked up the scroll on the table and turned it over, as if to confirm something. Rubbing his temples, he sighed. "As for the tactics, you can go and find out about the withdrawn Fifth Army. They have been fighting the Slavs for more than ten years. We should consider the current problem. There are 150,000 more mouths to eat in Normandy." Food needs to be tight again.

A month ago, I asked the Navy to suspend commercial transportation and instead use all transport ships to transport grain. Based on the current stockpile, we can probably support it until January next year.

But if troops are transferred from the Western Army, food will be a big problem! I know that some of you are complaining about the cold treatment that Croissa is currently receiving, but it’s not that the Western Army will not participate in the war, it’s that their time to fight has not yet come! "

"I see, my subordinates are too reckless!" Hu Keqili's forehead was covered with beads of sweat. As a good friend of Crolissart, the current situation of Crolissart's Western Legion is indeed worrying. The original Falcon The First Army was completely abandoned in the mountains of Dorok. It was such a pity that it did not participate in several battles. This has caused a lot of speculation in the imperial military circles. As veterans of the imperial military circles, the five big brothers have All honors, all humiliations!

There have been too many examples showing that the fat man’s crow’s mouth is very effective.

As the main force of the Fifth Army withdrew, the empty Fifth Army station quickly attracted the attention of the Slavs on the opposite side. The long wall project that was originally under construction stopped. The number of sentries was seriously insufficient. There were many sentry towers and control towers. Everything was abandoned, and the more than 30,000 people who stayed behind had no internal problems. As expected, they reported the withdrawal of the main force to the Imperial Military Affairs Department and requested immediate reinforcements. However, before their people were sent out, an envoy from His Majesty the Emperor arrived and brought orders for everyone to My heart fell directly into the ice cave,

Evacuation was actually His Majesty’s order!

The more than 30,000 people who stayed behind panicked. During this period, more and more Slavs gathered outside. Small groups of the enemy began to become more and more bold, and finally, in the severe November cold, the Slavs moved,

"Enemy attack!"

The warning of the forward scouts of the Gallic Empire turned into screams in the next second. An earthen spear accurately penetrated his warm chest. Guns continued to fly like raindrops, and screams rang out one after another in the patrol. "Attention, the Slavs are coming!" The soldiers of the fifth legion who were attacked quickly gathered together and formed a circular defensive circle. Shield bearers with swords in one hand and shields in the other automatically stood on the outermost edge, dozens of people facing them. The Imperial Tower Shield automatically forms a square formation. The half-crouching archer fired arrows from the top of his shield into the depths of the jungle. The spears poured down like a torrential rain, and even with the protection of the phalanx, the soldiers inside kept falling.

Seeing the soldiers fall one by one, the captain's eyes turned red. In front of the previous imperial army, these Slavic natives could run faster than rabbits. But in less than ten days, it had already developed from a bold peek into an attack. He roared in the square, "Quick. Charge up! Find out those bastards who are hurting people with hidden arrows!"

More than thirty soldiers holding imperial swords roared and suddenly charged behind the dense bushes. They were originally heavy infantry, but because the weather was too cold and logistics was almost cut off, these soldiers became light infantry, which did not change their tough style. Three soldiers were shot and fell to the ground during the attack, but the rest bravely rushed into the dense forest where the guns were fired.

The Slavs in the dense forest resisted equally resolutely. They fought bravely with simple javelins and sharp swords. In the cold muddy northern jungle, people on both sides continued to spatter, scream, and fall to the ground. No one on either side. He retreated, his arm was cut off with a knife, and he changed his hand to hold the sword. His shoulder was broken by a wooden stick, and he gritted his teeth and rushed forward. There was also a person whose leg was broken, and he rolled on the muddy ground and continued to slash the enemy's legs with his weapon. .

This squad-level encounter quickly attracted other troops from both sides, "Archers, enter! Deal with them!"

The imperial archers responded loudly, began to draw their bows and strings, and were about to step forward.

With a roar of "Wow", hundreds of Slavs poured out from the dense forest on all sides, holding javelins and wooden clubs high, and surrounded them ferociously. The thirty-odd Gallic Empire soldiers who left the queue desperately went back. He ran, but was surrounded by hundreds of Slavs holding wooden clubs and roaring.

"Ah" screams were heard frequently, and there were lights and shadows waving weapons everywhere. It was difficult to move forward. Everyone was beaten until their flesh and blood were scattered, their brains burst out, and screams rang out densely.

"Come forward!" The large group of Gallic soldiers also struggled to get over them, but they were blocked by hundreds of Slavs desperately. Every second of the fierce confrontation between the two sides, someone fell with blood spattered.

"Onward, for the Empire!"

They were less than 30 meters away from the surrounded soldiers. Both sides could see each other shouting, but they couldn't get closer. It seemed that before the brigade came over to respond, the soldiers would suffer all their casualties!

"Charge!" On the other side of the dense forest, reinforcements from thousands of Gallic Empire soldiers rushed out densely. This chaotic situation made the commanders on both sides think "Boom" in their heads: "We're in an ambush!"

More and more troops were involved in this sudden whirlpool, and the conflict at the level of a hundred-man squad eventually evolved into a battle involving thousands of people.

This unexpected war was ignited in this way. The commanders of the remaining troops were completely confused, and the Slavs opposite them were also confused. They were frightened by the news that Fort Julius Ford had fought, and no one knew that this was the case. It was not a trap, but the commander of the remaining troops naturally believed that this was a general attack by the Slavs.

"For the glory of the empire, we must fight to the death!" the officer shouted at the emergency meeting

"The empire's order is to retreat. Do you want everyone to die here?" someone said angrily.

"Even if you want to leave, you have to repel this attack first!"

The various voices made the entire meeting feel like a farce. Reinforcements were delayed in arriving. The troops at the front who were engaged in battle finally collapsed under the heavy pressure.

This time the Slavs understood clearly that the butcher Julius Fort was not here, and neither was the main force of the Fifth Army. Otherwise, this situation would never have happened.

"Kill! Kill all the Gauls!" The Slavs waved their weapons and rushed towards the defense area of ​​the Fifth Army. The crowds were rolling in.

In the dense forest where a fierce battle just broke out, the sound of fighting suddenly disappeared, and the late autumn forest became silent again. It was so quiet that you could hear the chirping of birds, the dripping of rain from the trees, and the soft voices of the injured lying on the ground. moan.

The pale sunlight in the late autumn afternoon weakly penetrated the leaves into the dense forest, shining in spots on the green moss, on the puddles of water, and on the young and pale faces of the war dead. (To be continued...)