Iron Powder and Spellcasters Chapter 415

   Chapter 415 Raid

  [Great Wasteland]

  More than 1,000 riders and three times as many horses were divided into six squadrons, and each squadron carried a horse equivalent to a small Herd tribe.

  After a heavy rain, the uninhabited area on the west bank of the Dajiao River, which had been burnt to scorched earth, became lush again.

   Six squadrons marched together like six torrents across the black wasteland dotted with light green.

   Squadrons cannot see each other directly, only the smoke and dust rolled up by horseshoes in the distance can prove the existence of friendly troops.

  Winters, who was in the torrent, witnessed downsizing again and again: some horses fell down because they stepped on the rat's den, and some riders fell from the horse because of exhaustion.

   His heart was bleeding, but he was unable to lend a helping hand, and the stragglers had to wait alone in the wasteland for the containment team to arrive.

  Because the torrent cannot stop, the torrent can only go forward.

At the junction of No Man's Land and Tertown Territory, six squadrons of Iron Peak County Hussars reunited with the guides and horses sent by Tai Chi, and replaced those mounts that were already at their limit, and then continued to rush west without stopping. .

   This is not a "Plato-style" heavy hammer crush, but a "Hard-style" light-loaded surprise attack.

  Because its core purpose is not to kill the enemy - but to cut off the head of the snake.

  The way of production of nomadic tribes determines that they cannot gather a large number of people and livestock together for a long time.

   As a productive resource, pasture is almost evenly distributed throughout the grassland. For their herds to thrive, tribes must use as much forage resources as possible.

   At the same time, an overly large herd will easily exhaust the pasture in the residence, and the grazing distance of horses, cattle, and sheep is limited. Even if they change their camps every day, they cannot migrate too far.

   Therefore, even the largest tribe must be divided into families on weekdays. As a result, the cost of maintaining a standing army in the wasteland becomes extremely high.

   Therefore, in the non-war period, a tribe's royal tent can only maintain an extremely limited permanent force, which leads to the fact that the king's tent of various tribes is almost always in a state of lack of protection;

   For this reason, most of the wars that broke out between the Hed tribes took the form of "surprise attack on the king's tent of the hostile tribe" as the main form, and usually ended with "killing the leader of the hostile tribe".

   There are very few large-scale battles in which the battle is really set up and the swords and guns are clear.

   For the Herd tribes who were scattered by water and grass, the king tent was their weakest, deadliest, and most vulnerable point.

  Excellent swordsmen can always attack from unexpected positions of the enemy, and if you want to take the advantage of "surprise", the key is nothing more than two points: concealment and speed.

  According to the battle plan made by Winters, in this raid, Taichi's tribe will be responsible for luring the enemy.

   On the banks of the Jhin Liu River, Winters told Tai Chi's son bluntly: "I don't care what method your father uses, he must let 'Chi Lian' focus completely on him."

   "And I will personally lead the troops to covertly attack from the other direction." He drew a shallow indent along the foot of the Golden Summit Mountains on the map, and then stuck the dagger heavily at the end point: "Cut off the snake's head!"

   At the same time, in order to pursue the marching speed beyond the limit, all the equipment of the cavalry participating in the raid has been lightened to the greatest extent possible.

  Blankets, horse coats, silver scabbards, brass belt buckles… All the weight that can be saved will be reduced, and all decorative items will be discarded.

  Each cavalryman participating in the raid even carried only a bag of dried meat and a bag of fermented horse milk as supplies. If the supplies cannot be seized from the enemy, they will starve and die of thirst in the wasteland.

   When selecting personnel, each candidate was truthfully told that this was a long-distance rush with advance and no retreat, victory and defeat. Once left behind, they will have to wait for rescue in the vast wasteland.

   Yet none of the candidates backed down—because this too was a battle that had to be fought.

   At the moment, Winters' little "regime" seems to be thriving. In reality, however, the nascent Tiefeng County Government was standing on the edge of the cliff.

   Outside, the Maplestone Incident led to a war between Red Rose and the local power faction of the New Reclamation Army. Although both parties are now trying to win over Tiefeng County, it is only forced by the situation. Given the opportunity, Winters had little doubt that they would crush the "rebels" mercilessly.

   Inside, Tiefeng County is also unstable. Although the victory of the Battle of Blood and Mud has temporarily given Winters the unequivocal prestige, there is still a long way to go before the popular will. The people just follow his rule habitually. If one day Red Rose "recovers" Tiefeng County, they will also follow Red Rose's authority habitually.

   Not to mention that there is also a mayor of Portar in Shovel Harbor who obeys Gervodin's decree on the surface, but in fact secretly gathers the bandits and derails them and conspires against it.

   However, compared with the complicated situation of the newly cultivated land, the threat from the wasteland made Winters even more worried.

  The Khan Court of the Teltown Division was severely damaged in the Battle of Blood Sludge, and even the Burner himself was beheaded, but the Teltown Division was not completely wiped out.

   A lion died, but from the wreckage of the lion a flock of hungry wolves and vultures were born.

  Tai Chi was supposed to take the responsibility of suppressing the hungry wolf and the vulture, but the fiasco of the Battle of Blood Mud also greatly weakened Tai Chi's strength.

   Not only was he unable to destroy the hungry wolves and vultures, but he was exhausted, and he was about to be devoured by the hungry wolves and vultures.

   Now, a Teltown noble named "Chi Lian" has publicly displayed the banner of revenge for the fire-boilers, trying to reunite the divided Teltown tribes.

  As a confidant and archer of the fire roaster, Chi Lian is also the most hated Terdun noble in Iron Peak County.

  After the war of blood and mud, Winters has been buying the prisoners and slaves of Pratu from the hands of Terdun through Tai Chi.

  Most of the Teltown nobles chose to accept Tai Chi's generous offer-except Chi Lian, who not only arrogantly refused the request to redeem the captives, but also gave Tai Chi two expeditionary army prisoners whose eyes were gouged out and their tongues cut off.

   That conveyed the meaning could not be clearer.

"insult".

   This made this beheading raid more personal grudges.

   The trade between Tiefeng County and the Chihe Department requires the stability of the Terden Department's territory, and Iron Peak County cannot tolerate the rise of the Teltown Department again.

  Since Tai Chi cannot subdue hungry wolves and vultures.

   "Then I'll deal with it myself," Winters said to the son of Taichi.

  [Red Training Department Territory]

  [an unnamed meadow]

  [dusk]

  The white man "Cold Mountain" heard the roar of the horse's hoofs.

   Hearing it at first, Hanshan thought that his horses were frightened, and he hurried out of the felt tent before he could put on his boots.

   However, his horses and sheep were in good condition. The sound of hooves was getting louder and closer, and the smoke and dust on the horizon were blood-red by the setting sun, revealing an inseparable killing intent.

   "[Hede] is at war!" Han Shan ran back to the tent, thinking like a madman: "[Hede] is at war!"

   From the day the Chi Liantou people said that they would deal with the Tai Chitou people, Hanshan knew that sooner or later there would be a battle. Either the Tai Chi-tou attacked the red-trained person, or the red-trained person attacked the Tai Chi-tou.

   But no matter who beats whom, it should not be now!

   "[Herde] Why is there a war in the spring? How is the war in the spring?!"

   After finally surviving the bitter and cold winter, the animal spirits are already skinny, and the fat that the horses have lost has not grown back.

  Hanshan couldn't figure it out anyway: "How could [Herde] be fighting? How could he be fighting now?!"

   A Heder woman with a child on her back ran into the felt tent, and when she saw her family members looked like they were going mad, she asked in fear, "What's wrong with [Heder]?"

   "[Hede] haven't you heard it?" Han Shan asked fiercely, he dug out a leather pocket and scooped a few spoonfuls of yogurt into it at random: "[Hede] is at war!"

   "[Herde] Then what are you going to do?"

  Hanshan fastened his leather pockets, slanted his back on his shoulders, and raised his legs to walk out: "[Herde] I have to warn the headless man."

   When the woman heard this, she immediately pulled the man's sleeve tightly, and the child behind her burst into tears.

   "[Hedde] don't go," the woman begged.

  Han Shan's movements stopped for a while, and there was a trace of struggle on his face, which was covered with ravines due to the wind and rain.

   He clenched his fists tightly, and said in pain: "[Herde] If I don't warn the head man, you and I will both be sewn into a sheepskin by the head man and trampled to death by the horses."

   For the white people who are placed on the periphery of the territory, if a hostile tribe invades, they are obliged to notify the tribe leader. If the tribal chief gets away without warning, he will never let go of a white man who neglects his duties—not to mention that the chief of Hanshan is a Chi Lian who is known for his cruelty.

   The woman lowered her head and let go of her hand silently.

  Hanshan touched the child on the woman's back, picked up the saddle, and told the woman: "[Hede] you also hide in the mountains. When I come back, I will look for you."

   After saying that, he walked out of the felt tent without looking back.

  Hanshan picked out the three best horses, saddled them neatly, and galloped towards the location of the camp of the headless man.

  Because he was afraid of being overtaken by the cavalry behind him, he kept his mind and did not dare to take the nearest route. Instead, based on his familiarity with the nearby grassland, he rode a distance south first, and then hurried to his destination based on his memory.

  From dusk to early morning, apart from changing the saddle, Hanshan never left his horse.

  The three good horses were exhausted one by one. Han Shan could only pray that the horses could find their way home by themselves, and reluctantly abandoned the exhausted riding horse.

   Until the last horse was almost in shock, Hanshan finally saw the familiar pile of guiding stones outside the Chiliantouren camp.

   He beat the riding horse under the crotch with force, but the horse's last strength had been squeezed out. Riding the horse wailed, foaming at the mouth and falling to the ground, pressing Han Shan under him.

  Hanshan struggled to pull out his legs from under the horse's belly, and he limped towards the hillside without taking another look at the twitching horse.

   The morning light was slightly exposed, the golden sword pierced the shady curtain, Han Shan struggled to climb to the top of the mountain, stood still for a moment, and knelt down weakly.

   The sight in front of him made this iron-clad Heard man desperate:

  The black cavalry all over the mountains and plains are like huge sickles, leaving only mutilated limbs wherever they pass; in the middle of the valley, the impregnable camp of the Chiliantou has been turned into a sea of ​​fire, and men and women are fleeing.

   On the hillside on the other side of the valley, Winters was also watching the scene in the valley.

  A good swordsman can always attack from unexpected positions, but the best swordsman can be too fast for the enemy to react.

   If the speed of the assault can exceed the speed of the sentinel's retreat, if the vanguard of the assault can reach the battlefield before the enemy who is tipped off.

   Then, speed is stealth.

   In the middle of the valley.

Major    Saber Cyborg once again killed the barbarian camp. He threw off the dull saber, replaced it with a new one, and rushed into the barbarian camp again.

   "Where is the barbarian leader?" Sebo roared frantically: "Where is the barbarian leader?"

  Anglo chased after Seber: "Major! The barbarian leader has escaped!"

   "Flee!" The Cebrary cease-fire horse grabbed Anglo's shirt, his eyes were red from bloodshot, and roared like thunder: "Flee?!"

   "It didn't take long to escape." Anglo deftly controlled Red Mane to distance himself, and replied calmly: "It didn't take long to escape, the quilt was still warm."

  Cerber yelled in anger: "Chase!"

   Meanwhile, at the Shovel Harbor wharf.

   "Hello." Fisherman Marin stopped tidying up his fishing nets and asked his friend beside him in confusion, "Did you hear that?"

   Fisherman Nemo picked the struggling fish from the fishing net and asked lazily, "What did you hear?"

  Marin raised his ears and listened carefully for a long time, but shook his head self-deprecatingly: "It's nothing."

   "Now the mayor won't let us go to Revodan, and there are no people in Shovel Harbor to buy fish." Nemo asked one after another while working: "How about making fish sauce? We will sell it in winter."

   "Okay." Marin sniffed: "But what do we do now?"

  Nimo was still calm: "Eat the fish."

   Before he finished speaking, Nemo stopped moving.

   "What's wrong?" Marin asked.

   "Then that..." Nemo pointed at Marin's back in horror: "...boat!"

  Marin turned his head back in horror. A dozen large boats had just penetrated the mist on the lake. The long oars protruded into the water from both sides of the ship's side, like a pair of wings, flapping up and down, driving the big ship towards the pier of Shovel Harbor.

   "I just said I heard it right!" Marin shouted excitedly: "It's the sound of paddling water! There's a boat coming!"

   Can't blame Marin for being so excited, because apart from the ships that the mayor mysteriously brought in, there have been no merchant ships docked at Shovel Harbor for a long time.

   "No." Nemo's voice was crying: "It came down from the upstream!"

  Above the big ship, an officer with an iron mask buckled the drum-shaped silver box in his hand, and gave an order coldly: "The dock can't dock all the ships, let the transport ships on both wings adjust their direction and directly wash the beach."

   "Yes." A man with a red birthmark answered briefly: "Captain Morrow."

   Outside the Shovel Harbor, Lieutenant Andrea Cellini was holding a drum-shaped silver box, watching the pointer in the box slowly move one by one, and had been impatiently waiting.

   [26025/100000]

   [The moon and black geese fly high, and Shanyu escapes at night. To chase away the light cavalry, the snow is full of bows and knives]

   [A little miscellaneous talk: Why did Tangtang Shanyu escape at night? ]

   [Before the "Battle of the Thirteen Wings", most of the wars recorded in Mongolian secret history looked inexplicable - either A was chased like a rabbit, or B was chased like a rabbit]

   [The war between the Qiyan tribe and the three surnames Mierqiti is a typical case. First, the three surnames Mieerqiti attacked Temujin's brothers by surprise, slaughtered Temujin's followers, and captured Temujin's wife. Then Temujin used the power of "Wang Khan" and Zhamuhe to make a surprise attack on the three surnames Mie'erqiti (explicitly described as an attack, "suddenly entered from the skylight of their tent"), "I could have taken off the black to get off the Ah. · Don't beg is still sleeping and raided", but because a hunter tipped off the news, the enemy still let the enemy run]

   [When the two great tribes start a war, there is actually a story of the leader of a tribe running away in the middle of the night, which not only makes people laugh out loud]

   [But considering the way of life of nomadic tribes, it is not surprising that this situation occurs: you may have 100,000 control strings, but your sweat account may only have 1,000 people at ordinary times]

[This leads to two phenomena: 1. Resident guards are very important to tribal leaders, and the status of guards far exceeds the guards themselves; 2. Champion Hou's military exploits are not exaggerated by historians, or in other words, Champion Hou's tactics are the most effective tactics , but the execution level is difficult - the raiding force must be elite enough to not get lost, and to be able to accurately find the location of the royal court]

   [I want to talk about the sweat tent guards again, but I can't write T_T]

   (end of this chapter)

Chapter end