Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 430 The great alliance moves forward (2)

  [New Reclamation Province]

  [The border between Vigne and Maplestone]

   It was getting dark, and the army temporarily rested on a hill between the Provincial Avenue and the Big Horn River.

   Tens of thousands of people marched in a hurry, and the marching column was inevitably stretched for a long time. When the soldiers at the front of the marching sequence were already camping and feeding their horses, many troops at the back of the marching sequence had not yet arrived at the camp.

   Colonel Bode found a big boulder on the side of the road and sat down to rest, and asked the officers in front of him in a relaxed tone: "The troops in Vigne are still silent?"

   "Yes, senpai. The garrison in Vigne was not dispatched." Colonel Skool from Thundergroup stood in front of Colonel Bode and replied carefully:

"The reconnaissance cavalry reported an hour ago that the Vigne garrison is standing still, and the main force is still in Artemis. After the towns along the way found our marching column, they also chose to close the four doors, and no abnormality has been found. "

   Colonel Bode nodded as he beat his sore knee.

  …

This time, the troops of Leiqun, Bianjiang, and Baishan County first gathered in secret at Iris Castle in Baishan County, and then took the cover of night to cross the Anya River and enter the "guardian" of Tiefeng County and Winters Montagne. Army" reunion.

   After entering Vaughn County from Iron Peak County, the coalition forces of the four counties did not take the shortest route directly to Bazenauer, but took a detour to the northwest, and then marched northward along the Big Horn River.

   The reason is very simple, the shortest route is also the most densely populated and guarded route. For the Four Counties Allied Forces, time is their most powerful weapon and the least resource they can waste.

  …

"The reconnaissance cavalry in the rear also sent back a report." Colonel Skool continued to add from his memory: "Cackham Town and Ice Creek Valley sent messengers to Artemis and Maplestone City respectively today for help - they have been intercepted. Lieutenant Losson caught Some of the guys spying on our march, I've ordered to bring them in for questioning."

"The march of the army is like the migration of horses. No matter how concealed the action is, it is impossible to hide." Colonel Bode waved his hand indifferently: "Whether there are spies among those people, don't pay attention to them. Shut down first. Just don't let them run away."

  …

  When an army marches for more than sixteen hours a day, officers who think that the soldiers still have enough energy to build a camp that meets the standard of defense will sooner or later be sent to the gallows by the mutinous soldiers.

   Therefore, the camp of the four-county coalition forces tonight did not have ditches or walls. They only arranged a circle around the camp to reject horses, and then used wooden sticks and ropes to divide different areas inside the camp.

   Darkness, weary soldiers, camps without fortifications, densely packed tents and baggage…

  If you want to single out the moment when this army is most vulnerable, it will be completely dark in a few hours.

   By then, a raid on the scale of a hundred horses might completely destroy its order. And order is the key to the survival of an army.

   Fortunately, the commander of this army knows his army's weaknesses better than his enemies.

   At this moment, thousands of light cavalry were patrolling and reconnaissance outside the army, like a sparse net, closely monitoring the marching route and movements within 50 kilometers around the camp.

   This is also one of the reasons why the commander of this army chose the provincial highway on the east bank of the Big Horn when planning the route of the march - marching along the river can at least reduce the service burden for the light cavalry by one-third.

  …

   "Senior is right." The bald colonel standing beside Colonel Skool agreed: "You don't need to pay attention to them at all, we just take ours, even if we are discovered."

  The bald headmaster stood with his arms crossed, his right hand rubbed the spider web-like scar on his left face, and smiled contemptuously:

"No matter how many scouts, it's impossible to block all the scouts. No matter how slow that boy Sander is, he can't fail to realize that an army has just passed by him. After all, he just pretended not to see! Well, we don't expect him to send troops anyway. He wants to ride the wall? Let him continue to ride the wall!"

   Several lieutenants next to the bald Colonel also laughed.

   Colonel Bode felt that his calf had regained some strength, and stood up on his knees.

He put away his relaxed and easy-going attitude, and his tone became calm and dignified: "Strictly order the rear cavalry - avoid active contact with Sandel's troops. However, as long as the Vigne garrison dares to take a step out of Artemis, he will give him the most resolute blow. The big deal, let's take Vigne County first, and then deal with Maplestone City slowly."

   "Yes!" The surrounding officers stood at attention one after another and raised their hands in a neat salute: "Commander."

   Colonel Bode took the reins, mounted the horse in the stirrups, and waved: "Go to the camp of the boy Montagne."

  …

   Among the four-county coalition forces, the "Guardian Army" in Tiefeng County is a bit different.

   is not only because the formation of the garrison army in Tiefeng County is different from that of the garrison army in Baishan, Leiqun and Frontier counties.

   It was also because, when the Tiefeng County garrison marched, it never mixed formations with the troops of the other three counties, and always formed its own way.

When    encamped, the Tiefeng County garrison did not join forces with the troops of the other three counties, but set up a separate camp at a certain distance from the main camp.

   Even the supplies collected by the vanguard, the Iron Peak County garrison received a separate copy.

  The officers in Baishan, Leiqun, and Frontier counties knew why, but if the soldiers had doubts, they were put off by the words "Tiefeng County is a reserve".

   But no matter what, the estrangement exists objectively.

  Fortunately, the "Commander of the New Reclamation Corps" elected by the Allied Forces of the Four Counties is Colonel Bode.

In terms of family background, Colonel Bode comes from one of the oldest and most influential families in Palato; in terms of military exploits, the appointment of the chief captain of the Sixth Army is enough to explain everything; even in terms of seniority, Bode Gates is a newcomer. The highest-ranking officer among all the academy officers in the field.

   In a sense, Colonel Bode is also the only officer in the new land who is qualified to carry the "crime of rebellion".

   With his prestige and personal friendship with Winters Montagne, Colonel Bode single-handedly united the "rebels" and "government forces" under one banner.

   With the mediation of Colonel Bode, the "harmonious" relationship was temporarily maintained between the Iron Peak County Officers Corps and the officers of the other three counties.

  …

  In the camp of the new army in Tiefeng County, the monkey who was hammering the tent nails heard the sound of horses' hoofs and looked up—a dozen high-spirited officers were galloping in front of him.

   He chased out and stared at the officers on horseback, until the latter figure was hidden by other tents, and said enviously: "It's so majestic! It's so beautiful! The horse is also beautiful! The clothes are also beautiful! If one day..."

   After chopping wood, Roussillon raised his leg and pointed at the monkey's buttocks: "What are you doing standing stupidly? Has the horse fed?"

"Hey! Hey!" The monkey grimaced in pain, covering his **** and screaming: "Sergeant, do I dare not to feed? That horse eats six meals a day, which is better than mine! Ever since I left Tiefeng County, I have Only two meals a day! It's still dry hard bread!"

"You carry what the horse is carrying, and I will let you eat six meals a day! I will let you eat twelve meals a day!!" Old Roussillon, who has been officially appointed as a sergeant, glared at him: "Feed the horse. Just go and fetch water! Dry the foot wraps! If you have nothing to do, go to bed, tomorrow will only go farther than today! Don't complain then!"

   Having taught the monkeys, Roussillon still had a stern face: "When this battle is over, you enter the training school, and you will be like those adults when you come out."

   After finishing speaking, Roussillon carried the firewood to make a fire, leaving the monkey standing by the roadside.

  Monkey stood for a while, scratched his head, and went back to the tent to shout, "Paco! Paco!"

   There was a response from the tent, and a thick-lipped soldier with a thick body and an honest face walked out of the tent: "Po Chang, what's the matter?"

   "Go! Come and fetch water with me!"

   The thick-lipped soldier named Paco nodded: "I'll go get the bucket."

  Paco carried two buckets and the monkey carried a bucket, and the two walked across the camp to the river.

When Paco let down the wooden barrel with the rope into the river, the monkey patted Paco on the shoulder: "Since you are assigned to my tent, then I will not let you be bullied. Who dares to bully you? , come and tell me! I'll clean him up!"

  It sounded hilarious for the skinny monkey to say these words to the stocky Paco.

   But Paco just nodded and replied, "Thank you Potmaster."

After the battle of   Shovel Harbor, the new army of Iron Peak County absorbed many prisoners of the Portal.

   Therefore, the monkey's "account" was also divided into two former shovel harbor militiamen. And the monkeys are especially pleasing to the eyes of Paco, who is honest and has a lot of strength... With Paco, he can work with a lot less energy.

"Don't be afraid, just do it when you come." The monkey said in a big way: "You are now the soldier of Lord Blood Wolf! After a few days of military merit, you will be able to divide the land! It's a pity that you didn't catch up. Good times, before... oops! One hundred acres of head!"

   Paco's shoulders trembled a little, he carried the bucket full of water ashore, and put down another bucket: "Thank you Potmaster."

   The three buckets were soon filled with water, and the monkey waved: "Go! Go back!"

   Paco picked up two buckets of water and went to get a third bucket.

   "Why?" The monkey raised his eyebrows and pushed Paco's hand away: "I can't carry it! Let you take it, isn't that bullying you? Go! Go back!"

   After saying that, he took a bucket full of water in both hands and struggled to his tent.

   And Paco, carrying two buckets of water, followed behind the monkey step by step.

  …

   On the other side, in the stables of the new army in Tiefeng County, Colonel Bode and others found Winters who was checking the horses' hoofs one by one.

   turned over and dismounted, Colonel Gisa touched his bare scalp, and couldn't help but whispered: "Where did this kid get so many horses? Oh, I should have slaughtered him hard if I knew earlier..."

   "Colonel." Winters wiped his muddy hands and walked over to greet him: "I heard you all."

   "What if you heard?" Gaisa Adonis squinted at Winters Montagne: "Have three colonels come to you and a lieutenant for a meeting. Your face is really big enough."

   Winters stood at attention, meticulously saluting the three commanders, and then looked at Colonel Bode suspiciously.

   "Okay." Colonel Bode waved his hand and joked: "He wants to come into your barracks to have a look. Are you willing to let him in?"

  Gisa snorted softly, looked at Winters, and muttered after a while, "Senior Borde is just too partial to you."

   Colonel Geisa Adonis seemed to be trying to find fault with Captain Montagne, but he was secretly showing a close attitude.

   In contrast, the highest military commander of Thunder Qun County, Colonel Skool, who had previously assisted Iron Peak County, seemed a little taciturn.

   In fact, from the moment he entered the Iron Peak Army camp, Colonel Skool was watching everything around him.

   From the soldier's clothes, weapons, to the mental outlook, to the layout, discipline and overall look and feel of the barracks, to the quantity, quality and condition of the horses.

What Colonel   School saw made him, who had always attached great importance to the Iron Peak County rebels, more and more alarmed and vigilant, so he unconsciously became taciturn.

   is also interesting to say, completely different from the composition of the local troops of the New Reclamation Corps, which are mainly infantry.

On the contrary, the troops under Winters Montagne showed a distinct "Plateau style": they attached great importance to mobility and tried to be as light as possible; not only were they equipped with super-large cavalry units, but even the infantry had a large number of remnants. Horses and workhorses assist in the transport of weapons and equipment—though mostly diminutive Heds are used.

  If you cover all the identification markers, let a third-party officer visit the troops of Baishan, Leiqun and Bianjiang counties and the barracks of the Tiefeng County troops. Then the third-party officers will definitely think that the new army of Tiefeng County is from Palatu, and the garrison army in the three counties is the reserve army of the United Provinces.

The troops commanded by the real Paratus looked like the Union Provincial Army, while the troops under the Veneta were more like the Paratus army than the Paratus army, and they could be called one of the four-county coalition forces. A spectacle.

  …

  Bard, Lieutenant Moreau and Lieutenant Colonel Jesska stayed behind in Gervodin, and Major Cerber and Andre were leading the cavalry on patrol, so only Winters and Mason were in the camp at the moment.

  The reason why Colonel Bode led the middle-ranking officers of the three counties to Winters' camp was only for one purpose - to have a meeting.

Winters sent someone to find Senior Mason, who was counting the baggage, eleven officers from the three counties, two officers from Iron Peak, and Colonel Bode, the commander of the coalition forces who was elected as the new commander of the New Reclamation Corps. , a total of fourteen officers started a military council in the stable.

  Different from the "military meetings" of the generals in dramas and poems, where the generals quarreled and scheming, the content of the pre-war meetings of academic officers has always been very simple, that is, "reckoning".

"After the expansion the previous year, there are already ten brigades under the direct control of General Adams. After the Maplestone Incident, these troops were incorporated by the traitor Chloe." Colonel Skool continued to play the role of "account book". The memory said: "General Adams also saved at least four squadrons of cavalry, which also fell into the hands of traitors."

   Winters placed ten "soldier" pieces on the map to represent ten brigades, and four knight pieces to represent four cavalry squadrons.

Colonel   School added: "The New Reclaiming Corps—that is, Sarnell's—also has at least four brigades and two cavalry squadrons."

   Winters placed more pieces.

Colonel Skool continued: "Whether it's the Traitor's troops or the New Reclaimed Army, the equipment and training are quite good. The New Reclaimed Army in particular, they are Grove Magnu. The only direct descendant in St. Andrews' hands, Sanel is the one that Grove Magnus tries to cultivate in the army."

Colonel Geisa spat fiercely: "Last year, when the Hart barbarians came to loot us, we were grateful for the strong generals sent by the Great Council. In the blink of an eye, the viper turned around and bit us - Grove Mag That poisonous snake of Nus! It's not trustworthy at all!"

"In other words, the enemy has at least 7,000 well-trained infantry, 1,110 qualified cavalry, and possibly artillery units." Colonel Skool calmly concluded: "In the case of defending Maplestone City and Maple Leaf Fort Maybe you can recruit armed militias ranging from 1,500 to 2,000 people."

   No one present objected.

   "But their problem is dispersion and morale." After enumerating the enemy's strengths, Colonel Skool began to explain the enemy's weaknesses:

   "Maplestone City and Maple Leaf Fort need to be defended. It is impossible for Sanel and Chloe to come out. So their forces must be scattered."

"And the troops that originally belonged to the New Reclamation Corps just surrendered because of inertia and would not be willing to give allegiance to the traitors. According to the information, in order to fill the vacancy of the grassroots officers, the traitor Chloe appointed a large number of 'honorary officers' officers. '—that is, the guy who pays for officer status."

   There were several disdainful sneers among the officers present.

"Morale cannot be considered, and the enemy must be lenient." Colonel Bode turned his head and taught the juniors and juniors coldly: "If we expect the enemy to lay down their weapons and surrender as soon as the war begins, then we might as well disband now and kneel at the feet of the traitors. Go and beg his forgiveness and don't waste soldiers' lives in vain."

   The colonel and the lieutenants stopped talking.

   "Finish the enemy's account." Colonel Bode recovered and said in a deep voice, "Next, let's settle our account."

  Compared to the accounts of the "Reorganization of the New Reclamation Corps" and the New Reclamation Army, the accounts of the Allied Forces of the Four Counties did not need to be counted at all, and the officers present knew it well.

   has exhausted all the troops stationed in Baishan County, six brigades - two more brigades than last year.

  Leiqun County and Bianjiang County dispatched a total of seven battalions because they needed to guard against the Red Rose army in the northern province.

   However, the two counties also took out a total of seven squadrons of cavalry, most of which were temporarily recruited riders, and a small number were elite hussars.

   and the small but well-equipped Iron Peak County New Army—according to the Union Army’s calculation method—four infantry battalions, one thousand two hundred cavalry, and… four six-pounder guns.

  In fact, after a winter of expansion, the new army in Tiefeng County has expanded to five battalions and twenty companies, with a book strength of 2,400 people.

   However, the newly formed fifth battalion was left by Winters to guard Geroudin, so the force dispatched this time was four battalions.

  The combined army of the four counties has a total of 8160 soldiers, 2460 light and heavy cavalry, and 4 artillery pieces unique to the Tiefeng County Army.

  According to the figures on the book, even if the fully-staffed "Reorganization of the New Reclamation Army" and the New Reclamation Army are aligned, the four-county coalition forces have an advantage.

   "Then there is only one thing left." Colonel Bode's eyes flickered: "Save Jinghu County?"

   He stuck his sword in the center of the map: "Still fight Maple Leaf Castle."

[this! This is a plus…]

   [So if there will be an update tomorrow, not sure yet]

   [Supporting roles appearing in this chapter]

   [Bod Gates, Colonel. The original second-in-command of the Sixth Army Corps, a senior army officer with deep experience and background, was captured by the Chihe Department in the Battle of the Great Wasteland and lost his left arm due to injuries. Currently elected by the four-county coalition as the new "New Reclamation Corps Commander"]

   [School, Colonel. The officer stationed in Leiqun County once led more than 100 hussars to help Tiefeng County. It is a pity that Winters has embarked on the road of the rebels, so he is also very wary of Winters; Wisdom General]

   [Gesar Adonis, Colonel. Baishan County garrison officer, outstanding military exploits, cheerful personality, likes bathing, no hair]

   [Sandall, Lieutenant Colonel. The Vigne County garrison officer, who was in danger, obeyed the command of the Legion Headquarters in the Battle of Blood Mud, and did not send troops to support Tiefeng County. In the face of the aggressive four-county coalition forces, temporarily choose to sit on the wall and wait and see]

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

   (end of this chapter)