Blood tax

Chapter 481 The Battle of the Five Armies ([-])

Second Age August 1445, 4.

Lana led a small group of cavalry and ran up the low hill by the roadside, looking around.It is located on the north bank of the river, overlooking the Verona Avenue that runs from east to west. It is the only place to go to the old town. There is a flat area on the top of the slope where troops can be deployed and camps can be established.

It is half a day's journey from the nearest town, and the surrounding wilderness is dotted with birch forests.Due to the ravages of continuous wars, the surrounding fields are empty, the residents have long since fled, and the farmland in the village has been abandoned, and it is completely depressed.

At the end of the road to the west, there is a cloud of smoke and dust, and under the rising dust, the black column of rebels can be seen faintly.

The rebels dispatched earlier than the Griffith battle group, but the vanguard led by Lana arrived in front of them in only two days of marching.

News of unbridled looting and confusion spread like a tidal wave through Verona.The rebels were losing prestige at an alarming rate. The locals who had supported them hid as if they had seen robbers, no longer gave them food or cared for the wounded; others fought on the side of Bayeram.

The disorderly looting and staying also hindered the march, and the dragging team stopped from time to time to attack targets of no strategic value, and even turned a blind eye to the Bayerland scout cavalry wandering nearby.

This formidable force, which under the leadership of the wise commander defeated the main army of Bayeran, has been corrupted and weakened.

On the other side of the low hill and the river, the cavaliers formed by Earl Chalon were about to arrive.Lana inspected it carefully, and found that although the low hill was not tall and steep, it occupied a favorable position beside the road, backed by the river.The main force of the rebels would have to pass under the fire of Lana's entire battalion if they were to get through; if they attacked, the terrain would minimize the rebels' impact and numerical superiority.

Lana was looking for just such a position.His troops were less than 1000 people, and without artillery, it was impossible to face tens of thousands of rebels on the open plains.

I must stay here to attract the rebels. Before Griffith arrives, it will be a tough battle... Lana pondered for a moment, made up his mind, and then asked the adjutant:

"The terrain here is good. Our troops are inexperienced with no major battles; but the situation of the rebels is not much better. If we can catch up, we can certainly defeat them. Order the whole army to stop and turn to cross the river. Let's defeat the vanguard of the rebel army first, and then come here to establish a position!

"Contact the Chinese army, our department has entered the combat position. Who will tell me where this is?"

The adjutant immediately determined the location and came over to report:
"Borodino, sir!"

……

About an hour later, the heavy army formation of the rebels finally arrived.There are about 2000 people in the front, most of whom are infantry armed with spears.All of them looked sluggish, and they rarely had armour. Regardless of whether they were young, old or weak, they all held a three-meter-long spear and formed a sparse queue.

There are 500 people in this army.The rebels holding the formation are obviously the main force, equipped with muskets, crossbows, spears, and many armors.

This is the new tactic of the rebels - every time a town is captured, it will be razed to the ground and all supplies will be confiscated.The local people who went bankrupt lost their livelihoods, and they were coerced into action with the army, forming a sea of ​​people who went on and on.

Lana took a look and ordered to his adjutant: "The infantry will open the front and attack the front, and the cavalry will follow me."

When the order was issued, the soldiers immediately lined up to the sound of bugles and drums, and formed a horizontal line, one left and one right.They wear armor and hold armor-piercing spears and muskets. Amidst the sound of orderly footsteps, they are pressing towards the enemy like a sea of ​​steel.

The rebels also noticed the movement here, and in a series of curses and shouts, they opened their battle lines to the two wings in a cacophony.

Lana's battalion has three squadrons, each with half musketeers and half pikemen.They were soldiers trained by Earl Chalon. Even if they didn't have much actual combat experience, they could still step on the drums and advance indifferently under the constraints of discipline.

When they approached to a distance of a hundred yards in front of the rebel formation, many archers emerged from the rebel ranks, bending their bows and nodding their arrows, ready to shoot at each other.

This is not the elite soldiers of the rebels, it is just used to consume and delay.The adjutant commanding the infantry looked at the direction of Lana and the dragoons, and then gave an order:
"Stop!"

"Musketeers ready!"

The officers and sergeants shouted one after another, the pikemen formed three rows of horizontal formations and stood still, while the musketeers on both sides formed a small square formation of five rows.

"Raise the gun!"

"aim!"

The musketeers on the entire front were divided into five rows, and the pikemen lined up in three rows formed a continuous line.Arrows rained down one after another, and the rebel archers had already fired several rounds of arrows.However, due to this distance, most of the arrows fell on the open space between the two armies, and only a few hit the soldiers' iron helmets and breastplates sparsely.

This kind of shooting has no power at all, and it is even more impossible to shoot through fine armor.

Amidst the clattering noise, the musketeers in the front row turned down their muskets in a dense manner, aiming at the rebels in front of them.The rain of arrows stopped suddenly, and the world became quiet, except for the rustling sound of the cold wind blowing over the dust on the ground.The first row of soldiers holding muskets put the handles of their guns on their shoulders, with metal hooks on the barrels to hold the burning matchlocks, and the front sights pointed at the rebel archers and the infantry behind them.

"Fire!"

The dense muskets burst into flames and smoke.Before the rebels in the front row could react, they saw blood mist burst out from the people around them, flying backwards, and some people screamed and rolled on the ground.

The first row of musketeers retreated immediately after shooting, retreated to the back row of the front line, quickly pulled out their cleaning rods, cleaned the barrel, and reloaded.

"shooting!"

The first row of Musketeers retreated, and the second row of Musketeers stepped forward.Amidst the rapid drumbeat, the neat and dense roar was about to explode, and small lead bullets flew out of the flames and thick smoke.

The rebel archers were splashed with blood mist, and they were knocked to the ground one by one.They yelled wildly, turned and ran to the pikemen behind them.

In a blink of an eye, the third row of musketeers fired again.

With the deafening volley of gunfire, and with the spurt of gunpowder smoke, the rebels on the opposite side fell to the ground like cut wheat.Many people had their stomachs broken, holding those large intestines and howling, trying to stuff them back.

Rows of thin musketeers fired methodically, retreated, and then used iron bars to stab a medicine bag into their weapons and fired again.

Dazzling flames and choking smoke lingered on the battlefield, obscuring the tragic scene.In the end, no one could see the situation ahead, and the soldiers just kept shooting and reloading with orders and drumbeats.The scene of bloodshed could not be seen in front of my eyes, only the wailing of the dying people could be heard.

The entire front of the rebel army trembled, until there was another tidy shout from the opposite side, and another round of salvo was in sight.They suddenly shouted, threw away the weapons in their hands, and fled backwards with their heads in their hands.

The rest of the rebels were already terrified. When they saw the people around them running away, they also yelled, fearing that others would not hear them.

The entire rebel formation immediately exploded, collapsed amidst the yelling and screaming, and fled backward like a tidal wave.

Our side was suddenly defeated, and the hundreds of people holding the formation couldn't react.But they were very clever, and immediately prepared to retreat and escape. Suddenly, there was a thunderous sound of rolling iron hooves on the battlefield.

Lana led the soldiers of the "Black Wolf" Dragoon Squadron to raise their sabers high, outflank the flanks, chase after the retreating rebels and slash and kill them until they all disintegrated before taking back the cavalry and giving the order again:
"Return to that slope and establish a position."

He can see clearly.Occupying that commanding height can give you a wide view on three sides, which is convenient for the army to fight. It is close to the river, with steep banks and deep river water. It is not only convenient for drinking water, but also saves troops on one side.

(End of this chapter)