Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 312 Breaking the Array

   Big Horn River, dam.

The    signal flag is raised.

   "Enemy attack!" The observation post rushed down the hillside like a madman, shouting with all his might: "Cavalry!"

After    extended to the west bank, the dam was attacked from both sides.

  So Tamas built a small fort on the beachhead on the west bank, and he himself sat in town.

   The flood discharge is imminent, and most of the defensive forces on the West Bank have withdrawn. With the alarm bell sounding like a reminder, the soldiers who stayed behind rushed up the wall with their weapons in a hurry.

   "Send a signal to the east bank." On the west bank fortress, Tamas spat: "If the situation is not right, destroy the dam in advance."

   On the horizon at the edge of the river valley, cavalry jumped out one after another, and those who came did not rearrange their formation and rushed straight towards the dam.

The cavalry headed by    was tall and burly, sitting on the back of the short Heard horse like a bear riding a rabbit.

  At the top of the dam head wall, a childish young man skillfully hung the match rope, steadied the gun body, and held his breath to aim.

  The enemy is getting closer and closer, and it seems that he has already entered a hundred paces.

  The boy was about to press down the launcher, but the match was torn off by the sergeant-major next to him, Peter Shorty Bunir.

   Battalion Commander Tamas exclaimed: "Don't shoot! It's your own!"

  However, a few musketeers were frightened by the sudden sound and directly pulled the firing rod.

  The dull sound of gunfire echoed on the river surface, and several strands of white gunpowder smoked from the top of the wall.

   "[Extremely angry foul language]!" Lieutenant Andrea Cellini's roar penetrated the smoke and spread throughout the fortress: "What **** shot at Lao Tzu!"

  …

  At the foot of Tiefeng Mountain, the battlefield where the two armies lined up.

After    repeated probing, the Teltown people have roughly figured out the truth of the other party.

  Although the flags and numbers on the left, center, and right wings of the opponent looked similar, the army on the center wing was more organized and did not waver in the face of the cavalry charge.

   Looking down from the top of the Teltown main line, you can see a wall of white smoke escaping from the arrow cluster in the center of the line.

   "[Hede] there." A Qing Feather looked solemn: "How can there be so many small thunders in [Hede]?"

   Another Qing Lingyu answered in a low voice: "[Herde] and he played well and neatly."

   As for Xiaolei, the leaders of all ministries are talking about discoloration. The warriors who could use their armor to brave the arrow feathers and dash repeatedly, are now only killed by the random flying lead.

  Compared to the past, today’s leaders of various ministries rarely charge themselves.

   The elites in the center of the opponent's large formation should not be underestimated, but the combat power of the two wings is obviously not enough.

   The battle lines on both flanks loosened just after a hundred cavalry swept through the formation, and no salvos of white smoke were seen.

  According to the original intention of the Turtleton nobles, they were not willing to confront the two-legged man head-on.

   However, wherever the army passed, all the villages were burned in advance, and all the population was relocated in advance. The other party would rather turn their home to scorched earth than let the Teltown people take anything away.

  The Khan Court is on the verge of running out of food, and the military's morale is unstable - the rumors of the old camp being attacked spread like wildfire, and the more the bombardment spreads, the more it spreads.

The members of the    group whispered in places where the leader could not see. Some people said that Haidong did it.

   People disagree on which tribe the other is. But one consensus is clear: something must have happened in the winter pasture, otherwise the Khan Court would not be secretive.

   In this case, Gervoudan failed to break through in one fell swoop, and he was unable to fight for a decisive battle, and the Great Winter Raid had actually failed.

   There was only one way left in front of the Telltown Department—retreat. With a life left, there is always a chance to come back.

   But I’m so unwilling! Really so unhappy!

  Telden Khan Court Self-Roasting Everyone knew it was time to run, but no one was willing to spit out the meat that was already in their mouths.

   On the other hand, Winters can continue to wait. As long as the dam is completed and filled with water, Teltowners, who are threatened in the back, will have to retreat.

  At a delicate time, Winters decided to take the initiative.

  When he pushed down all the chips, he was also forcing the fire roaster to make a choice: break his wrist and save himself? Or... the same goes for a complete comeback with all the chips down.

   No matter what the reasons are and what kind of game they have gone through, the two sides have come to this battlefield that is less than one kilometer wide.

  The decisive battle just started.

  …

  Terdun light cavalry with bows and arrows galloped in front of the trench in groups of three or five.

  Sometimes they pulled their bows and shot, sometimes they charged fiercely, suddenly far and near, suddenly gathered and scattered, like crows hovering over the corpse.

   In addition to the light cavalry of "Crows and Stars", there were also several teams of armored cavalry who took turns to attack the two flanks of the Tiefeng County Army.

The tactics of the   heavy armored cavalry were different from those of the unarmored light cavalry. They formed a dense formation and slapped the army of the people of Tiefeng County like a huge wave.

   Many of the initial militiamen were so frightened that they almost wet their pants on the spot, thanks to the fact that Winters already had a group of veterans who had experienced barbarian warfare.

   "What are you afraid of? It's **** scaring people! The barbarians don't dare to rush in!"

   Relying on the restraint of grassroots commanders and sergeants, the two-wing front did not collapse directly.

   Seeing that the two-legged man could not be shaken, the front team's terdun armored cavalry immediately swept across, and the second team rushed again. If you can't enter, the back team will continue to repeat.

   Winters, who was watching the battle, said abruptly: "Give the battalions to eat and drink."

The clerks and guards around    looked at each other, not knowing how to execute this sentence. Seeing that no one moved, Winters turned his head and looked around, but still no one moved.

   Winters then remembered that Bud stayed in Sank to organize logistics and was not on the scene.

   During this period of time, Winters had always dictated the arrangement, and Budd converted the dictation into written orders or instructions.

  The two cooperated tacitly, which greatly improved the operational efficiency of the headquarters. But at present, Bud is absent, and Winters has to adapt again.

"Go to the head of the logistics convoy and ask him to distribute food and drinking water to the battalions." Winters found Ciel beside him and added thoughtfully: "The second line of the two wings is given priority, then the middle army, and the last two wings. first line."

   "Have a party at this time?" Someone asked suspiciously.

   "The Teltown people's main formation is still resting, and obviously they don't plan to launch a general attack now." Winters explained: "The rotation of the formation seems to be menacing, but in fact the purpose is to exhaust the enemy."

   "Then what are they waiting for?"

   "The Raiders." Winters squinted at the sun: "It could also be time."

  …

   The Bighorn River, the pontoon bridge of the Teltown people.

   As early as a few days ago, the leader of Teltown [Zhi Falcon] stationed at the pontoon had noticed that the water level was changing.

  Zhi Falcon sent a light cavalry to trace it all the way upstream, and soon found the source of the abnormality - a dam.

   If building a pontoon bridge in one day is still within Zhi Falcon’s understanding, then the dam that appeared out of thin air completely surpassed his wildest imagination.

   No matter what, the problem needs to be solved.

   Not only can the impact objects floating down the current cause damage to the pontoon bridge, but also large changes in the water level.

  The essence of a pontoon bridge is to connect a fixed pontoon with wooden boards. The water level changes and the structure connecting the pontoon will be damaged.

   Zhi Falcon, who stayed behind the pontoon bridge, did not understand the principle of the bridge, but he could see that the beams of the pontoon bridge were twisted and broken one after another.

  It is a pity that Zhi Falcon is unable to solve neither the structural problem of the bridge nor the person who caused the problem.

   Several attempts to attack the dam ended in failure. The fire-boilers first sent reinforcements, and then hurriedly transferred the reinforcements away.

   At the same time, almost all of the Teltown men who remained on the west bank were rushing to the Khan tent to join forces, according to their saying: "The fire roaster caught the cunning two-legged man".

   With fewer and fewer men and horses on hand, the water level is getting shallower and shallower. Zhi Falcon makes a difficult decision - demolish the bridge.

After thinking about it, he clearly considered the interests and interests: the pontoon bridge was destroyed sooner or later, and he was powerless to stop it; instead of waiting for two-legged people to destroy the bridge, he might as well dismantle it himself; as long as the bridge-building materials were still there, it would not be difficult to build another pontoon bridge in the future. of.

   The work of dismantling the pontoon bridge is in full swing, because many Palatine slaves have been lost in the previous rebellion, so the progress of dismantling the bridge is very slow.

  Suddenly, the servants in the door rushed over and announced the good news to Zhi Falcon: "[Herde] Nayan! The river is rising again! There is no need to demolish the bridge!"

  Zhi Falcon's heartbeat stopped for a beat, and he slapped his personal slave with his backhand: "[Hedde] idiot!"

   Zhi Falcon rushed to the pontoon bridge, and saw that the originally clear river water had become turbid - the undercurrent stirred up the silt at the bottom of the river, and fish kept jumping out of the water.

  The calm Dajiao River suddenly became manic and ferocious, the speed of the river was almost visible to the naked eye, and a series of large and small eddies appeared in the heart of the river.

   On the bank of the river, a Turdun sentry rode towards the pontoon.

  The sentry ripped off his robe, rolled it in his hands and waved a warning desperately, shouting hoarsely: "[Hedde] boat! Big boat..."

  The Sentinel doesn't need to shout anymore, because Chi Falcon has been able to see it with his own eyes.

  Gift from Captain Moreau—a giant triangular raft full of dirt and rocks rushed out of the river bay, spinning and drifting down the water, getting faster and faster.

  Moreau designed the impact raft to be triangular, because it always had a corner that could hit the pontoon.

  Telltown exclaimed and ran, watching as the triangular raft spun toward them.

   The river rope was caught and torn off, and the blocking piles arranged in front of the pontoon were also knocked into pieces.

   "[Hede] wooden pole!" Zhi Falcon's eyes were red, and he woke the dumb slaves and Qianshou, shouting hoarsely: "[Hede] push it out!"

  Zhi Falcon personally went into battle, leading a dozen troops to hold up a log, trying to resist the terrifying triangular raft.

   He subconsciously closed his eyes, waiting for the moment when he turned into flesh.

  The triangular raft went down the current, broke through the layers of obstacles, and slammed into the "raft attack hammer" of the Teltown people.

   Zhi Falcon's mouth was cracked, blood was pouring, and his breathing was stagnant.

  The four Teltowns were thrown into the tumultuous waters, shouting in horror, and soon fell silent.

   Because of breaking through the barrage, a considerable part of the speed was lost, and the triangular raft, which received the same amount of reaction force, was also pulled away. The raft washed up on the beach and eventually ran aground.

   Chi Falcon fell to the ground, panting desperately.

   For the rest of his life, his followers were shouting and laughing, some wept with joy, others hugged their heads and cried.

   But almost in an instant, the pontoon was dead again.

  Zhi Falcon followed the line of sight of the tribe - the second triangular raft rushed out of the river bay, and then the third.

   Next to the two triangular rafts that came into view of the Teltowners was… a windmill.

   No matter how the Teltown people wipe their eyes and slap their ears, what floats on the water is a real windmill.

   In the face of the giant triangular raft, the Teltown people still have the fighting spirit to fight for the pontoon.

   But in the face of the water mill windmill that was more than three stories high and looked like a ferocious giant, the courage of the people of Teltown was completely crushed.

  Samukin held a torch, took a boat, and personally escorted the "windmill" to prevent it from getting stuck on a beach or a river bend.

   Fighting does take a little imagination, and Samukin has more than everyone else's combined.

   He dismantled the wind wheel of a water mill windmill upstream, then removed the stone base, coated it with asphalt, and pushed it directly into the river, carrying it in four small boats.

   The windmill like a giant ship was brought to the front of the pontoon in this way, and the barrage ropes and blocking stakes were like dwarf toys in front of it.

   "Go!" Samukin lit the torch and threw it at the windmill with a wild laugh: "Go say hello to the **** monkey face!

   In an instant, the asphalt-covered windmill turned into a ball of fire.

  The soldiers who drove the boat cut the rope, and the windmill broke free and crashed into the downstream pontoon.

The   Telden watched feebly as the burning castle drew nearer, bigger, teetering but not sinking.

  Nothing can stop this behemoth, nothing can stop the destruction of the pontoon.

   The Terdun people, who were too late to get off the bridge, jumped into the river in a panic, but were swept back by the huge waves caused by the collision between the pontoon bridge and the windmill, and their bodies were shattered.

   There were people from Teltown who were glued to the hot asphalt, screaming and turning into burning men.

   The taut cables were broken one after another, and the bridge deck connecting the pontoon was broken into pieces in the blink of an eye.

   There was a loud bang, the bridge trembled a little, and it was cut in half without causing any hindrance to the windmill.

  The windmill continued to float downstream, while the two bridges swayed and swayed with the river, and the fire spread to the cables and the bridge deck.

   Zhi Falcon was not dragged back to the east bank by the slave until the last moment, but there was a natural disaster-like scene in front of him.

  Slaves who escaped death and collapsed frantically kowtowed to the wreckage of the pontoon bridge.

   "[Hedde] put out the fire!" Zhi Falcon pointed to the two remaining parts of the pontoon, and spit out the words with difficulty: "[Hedde] put out the fire! It's not all over yet!"

   Suddenly, the thunderous sound of horse hooves resounded on the west bank of the river valley.

   Chi Falcon was horrified, he straightened his body in an instant, and looked in the direction of the sound of hoofs.

  I saw a group of fierce warriors in robes riding on Heard horses galloping fast. The warrior at the head was so burly that it looked like a bear riding a rabbit.

  Zhi Falcon breathed a sigh of relief, his body limp, as if he was drained of all his strength.

He sorted out his thoughts, grabbed the arm of his personal slave, and quickly commanded: "[Herde], cross the river quickly! Go and deliver a letter to the Khan! Tell the Khan! The bridge has been destroyed, and I will do my best to repair it! Hurry up... "

  However, Zhi Falcon didn't notice that the group of "Telden people" who rushed towards them, the samurai headed by them were wearing serious hussar hats.

  …

  The main battlefield.

  The sun slowly climbed up the treetops and then to the top of the sky, now sliding towards the west.

  The Teltown people have seen through that the Iron Peak Army has no artillery.

   Hundreds of light cavalry squatted in a sparse formation beyond the one arrow field, swept the formation from time to time and fired arrows, using various means to prevent the Tiefeng County militia from resting.

   Until this time, the old interpreter roughly understood why the other party did not occupy the hill and form a formation.

  If they occupied the hills and formed a formation, the Tiefeng County army would fall into uninterrupted fatigue from all directions, and it would be impossible to rest for a moment.

   The current situation is: the Tiefeng County Army controls the passage less than one kilometer wide between the mountains and the forest, and it is difficult for the Turdun light cavalry to detour to the side, and can only repeatedly swept the front.

   The exhausting tactic of "ring cavalry sparse sentry" has become "half-ring sparse sentry", and the effect is really limited.

   He even vaguely saw that the troops of Iron Peak County seemed to be taking turns retreating to the rear of the front line to rest.

   But these are all trails, the Teltown people have no intention of letting go, and the people of Iron Peak County will not be easily intimidated.

   This victory or defeat must be decided in the end.

  The sky is gradually shifting in the direction that is favorable to the people of Teltown—the morning light is not in the right direction, and the wind is not in the right direction.

   But now, time has changed hands.

   Winters in the middle army also vaguely sensed the subtle changes in the atmosphere: the wind direction was changing, the southwest was turning into a northwesterly;

   The most important thing is that the constant exhaustion tactics made the tense left and right young soldiers become numb and sleepy.

   There was a faint cloud of smoke rising from the front of the Teltonites—albeit inconspicuous.

   "We're going to charge!" Winters threw off his cane and stood up abruptly: "Let the second line on the two wings prepare! Bring back the light soldiers! Tell the Xishan ambush to mount!"

   The drowsy monkey and Doug were kicked up by the sergeant, and the front line of the aged soldier suddenly tightened.

   A team of armored cavalry rushed out diagonally from the scattered formations of the Turdun light cavalry that seemed to be chaotic and had no rules to follow.

   "Come back?" The young militiamen on the first front were already a little impatient.

After the    fear gradually subsided, many young soldiers in turn developed a sense of slackness.

However, the Terdun people did not swept across again this time. The armored soldiers headed roared and jumped on their horses. They flew directly over the horses and the ditch. Fly several people.

  The other Terdun armored horses did not have such equestrian skills or war horses. They honestly dragged down the Juma and Luzhai, passed through the gap between the trenches, and followed the leader to charge.

   At the same time, the main formation of the Teltown Division suddenly came to life.

   Tired of the enemy? Ride and shoot? Crows?

  Iron cavalry raids are the housekeeping skills of the Teltown Department! [If one point is broken, no matter how many or few, the entire army will march straight in, and even if there are hundreds of thousands, they will not be able to fight].

   A gap has been opened in the front of the left flank, and the Terdun people will do whatever it takes to widen the gap and devote a decisive assault force to sweep the entire front.

   At the same time, in the forest on the west side of the army formation, Anglo, who saw the semaphore signal, stepped on his horse.

  Behind Anglo, Dussacs, Platoons, Protestant immigrants... Winters' cavalry had gathered all the energy, waiting for the horn of a decisive countercharge.

   [Thanks to book lovers for their collection, reading, subscription, recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, rewards and comments, thank you all]

   [The use of "triangular rafts" and "windmills" to impact the pontoon bridge was a bridge-breaking tactic used by the Austrian army in the Battle of Aspern-Essling described in "The Battle". However, because the content of "Triangular Raft" and "Windmill" is not mentioned in other materials, I am not very sure whether this part is the original of "Patrick Rambeau"... But hitting the pontoon with a windmill is really romantic. , there is a sense of spectacle of great miracles]

   [Tactics such as Raven Soldiers scatter stars, ring cavalry sparse sentry and other tactics are from the descriptions of "The Story of Tartars". As for the use of heavy cavalry, it is obviously suicide to fight against the infantry front, so repeated testing and charging are very common arrangements. At this point, the East and the West are similar. After all, everyone carries a head on their shoulders, there is no "who is less afraid of death than who"]

   [As for the long-spreading tactics of Mengmayan rushing into the formation, it is basically fictional. First of all, the situation of blindfolded horses exists. In horse competitions and bullfights, there are blindfolded and half blindfolded situations. In horse racing, there are cases where the horses do not enter the pen and are stuffed blindfolded]

   [However, the author has not seen any records of charging the horse blindfolded. Before 2007, the Chinese network did not even have any discussion on this, and it was obviously the original creation of the name submission. Because the battlefield is not flat, there are many cases of complex terrain]

   [Compared to war horses, people are more reluctant to die. Compared with the cavalry rushing into the phalanx desperately, the rider died, and the record of frightened horses crashing into the phalanx is probably more]

   (end of this chapter)