Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 464 Hugh Mu (2)

The "wolf cavalry" marched along the river, turned a corner in front of the pool where the infantrymen washed their clothes, and galloped towards the barracks.

The    infantry looked enviously at the new short coats, breeches, and boots on the hussars, while they themselves were washing the coarse old clothes they had enlisted in the army. Even old clothes, many people only have one set, and they cannot wear them after washing.

   "Hey! See? Yishui'er's new clothes and breeches! Which squadron is so lavish?"

   replied in a lukewarm voice: "Which one could it be? Of course it's the 'Wolf Cavalry'. Hmph, they ate the six battalions of Green Valley in one go and made a fortune."

   "But... Didn't the puppet army in Green Valley be defeated by us?" Someone asked suspiciously: "And Lord Blood Wolf personally ordered that it is not allowed to take off the captives' clothes."

The respondent slapped his clothes and curled his lips contemptuously: "What's the use of talking about this now? It's a bargain for them! Pierre Mitchell is either a Dussac or a mixed-race bastard. As soon as the war is over, they will change into new clothes, which is not as obedient as we are..."

   "Enough!" Roussillon stood up, his eyes stayed on Captain Bunier for a short time, and he scolded with a straight face: "What nonsense? No one will think you are dumb!"

   The others remembered: the first company commander was still sitting on the side. Everyone shut their mouths consciously, and only the muffled sound of beating clothes could be heard near the water pool.

   Only Peter Bunnier didn't notice it, still topless, burying his head in the washing of the only old shirt he had.

  …

   Following the previous example, the Iron Peak Army camped outside the city of Artemis.

  Because it has to accommodate three battalions of infantry, three squadrons of cavalry and baggage troops, the scale of the camp is larger than many towns, like a small town.

  Pierre, Vashka, and the hussars dismounted at the third outpost and led their mounts to the camp.

   On the way, he met Li Wei, the seventh company commander.

  Livy does not belong to the "Old Men of the Centurion" because he did not participate in the Battle of the Great Wasteland.

   But before the first army was founded, Li Wei followed the "Montagne Resident Officer" to ambush the grain requisition team, so his relationship with Pierre was also very deep.

   A long way away, Li Wei greeted enthusiastically: "Adjutant Mitchell! Vasya!"

  Pierre also smiled and waved.

   Li Wei and the clerk beside him gave a few words, then he tucked the hardcover book under his arm and walked towards Pierre.

   He glanced at Pierre's subordinates, leaned back slightly, and exaggeratedly exclaimed: "Huh! I haven't seen each other for a few days, so they all put on new clothes!"

   Without waiting for Pierre to speak, Wasika replied with a proud look: "That's it! When did we Dussac mistreat ourselves?"

  Li Wei grinned, shook his head helplessly, changed the subject and asked, "Is the 'horse set' going well?"

   "Of course it went well." Vashka pulled out a leather bag from the saddlebag like a conjuration, and proudly held it in front of Li Wei and shook it: "Look at this!"

  Pierre frowned slightly and stopped in a deep voice: "Put it away."

  Washka shrugged and tucked the purse back into the saddlebag obediently.

   During the whole process, the metal bumping sound of "ding ding ding dong" kept coming from the package.

"What about you? Livy? What are you doing? Don't you go to rest?" Pierre glanced at the hard cover under Livy's arm, and asked in disbelief: "I saw everyone on the road. They've all collapsed, and there's not a shred of fighting spirit left—the tribunal allowed this to happen?"

After listening to Li Wei with a smile, Wen Yan reassured: "I understand what you mean, but I can't let everyone be tense all the time! The soldiers are exhausted, and since they left Revodan, they haven't rested for a day. There was also a big battle. It was difficult to get back to a safe area and let the soldiers take a bath, as it should be.”

   "Artemis can't be called safe - the other side of the river is Thunder Qun County." Pierre frowned: "What's more, the battle is not over yet."

"That's something you have to consider." Li Wei snorted and said with a smile: "Don't worry about Leiqun County, there are special people watching, and the wind and grass on the other side of the river can't escape your eyes. Besides, even if tomorrow To continue the war, it will not be in the way for everyone to rest well today."

  Pierre nodded slowly.

  Li Wei changed the subject without a trace, and he took the hard leather book under his arm in his hand: "As for me? I'm busy rewarding you."

  Li Wei explained with a smile: "Your Excellency has an order to let everyone eat more. But there is nothing in the carriage except flour, jerky and gunpowder.

   There is no way, we can only purchase on the spot. But you don't know how hard it is to go to the village to buy something. Often, before we entered the village, the villagers ran away.

Your Excellency    taught me a way to set up a bazaar next to the military camp, openly buy fruits, vegetables, cattle and sheep, and wait for the nearby villagers to pull things over by themselves. "

   "You said the centurion taught you..." Wasika was puzzled: "Draw a circle on the ground and say it's a market, and the peasants will obediently deliver things?"

   "The bid is attractive enough." Li Wei patted the cover of the ledger.

   "Isn't that still a big loss?"

   "Of course only the highest bids were made on the first day, and each time after that, the bids were lower. However, ordinary people who want to sell things will still come to sell them, because they have already trusted us."

  Li Wei paused and said meaningfully: "Of course, it is the most cost-effective to grab it directly, but Your Excellency is soft-hearted and can't do that kind of thing."

  Washka grinned: "The centurion is soft-hearted?"

  Pierre raised his hand to interrupt Vashka. He pursed his lips and nodded deeply to Li Wei: "Thank you."

   "Thank you for what?" Li Wei smiled nonchalantly—the son of a foot merchant always looked happy: "I won't delay your debriefing, I'll come back to you later."

   After saying that, Livy nodded to Pierre and Vashka, raised his legs and left.

   "Who is in charge of dividing the camps now?" Pierre asked.

"Go to Rolfe and ask him to arrange accommodation for you." Li Wei turned around and saluted backwards in a funny way: "Let your people save their stomachs! I'll have beef stewed with radishes tonight. Beef is one catty per person. , enough carrots!"

  Pierre smiled and returned the salute. Seeing an old friend made him feel better.

   "Let's go." Pierre ordered loudly: "Find a place to live."

   Continuing towards the barracks, through the trench, the fence, the second trench and the wall, Pierre nodded lightly.

  Although it was only a short-term stop, the fortifications that the camp should have are readily available, and there is no slack at all—it means that the Tiefeng County Army is not as slack as it seems.

   Outside the main gate of the barracks, Pierre waited for Rolfe, the commander of the 12th Company.

   Hearing that "Adjutant Mitchell" had returned, Rolfe trotted all the way to the main gate.

  Rolfe, without saying a word, directly assigned four ready-made barracks to Pierre's subordinates, and enthusiastically arranged forage and stables for Pierre's subordinates, and prepared entry and exit cards.

   This saved Pierre a lot of energy. Because the light cavalry under his command had neither tents nor cooking utensils, all the equipment and one piece could not fit into two saddlebags.

   Pierre thanked Rolfe, but the twelfth company commander just blushed and waved his hands.

   "Adjutant Mitchell." Rolfe was a little nervous: "You haven't seen the centurion yet?"

   "Not yet." Pierre shook his head.

   "Then go, hurry up." Rolf kindly urged: "Don't worry, your subordinates will be taken care of by me. When you come back, the horses will be well fed."

   "What's the matter?" Pierre asked sharply: "Did something happen?"

  Rolfe did not answer, but urged: "You go to see the centurion, go quickly."

  Pierre put away his doubts and asked calmly, "His tribune is in the camp?"

   "No, in the city. After leaving the barracks, go directly to Artemis. The first battalion is responsible for guarding the city gate, and they will let you in directly."

"OK then."

   Pierre untied the rope that held the horse from the saddle, and handed the reins of the horse to Vasya.

   "I won't go with you." Wasika took out the leather bag from the saddlebag, handed it to her friend, and said quite self-consciously: "If I go, I will definitely be scolded."

   Pierre took the purse, nodded, then mounted the horse in the stirrups, as if on a saddle, and hurried to the city of Artemis.

   After the first battle in Green Valley, Pierre left the direct command of the Blood Wolf and led two squadrons of light cavalry to act alone.

   Independent command of operations is undoubtedly a privilege. Because apart from the orthodox officers at the tribune level, there is no precedent for anyone else to lead an army in the Tiefeng County Army.

   But on the other hand, this arrangement also puts Pierre in an extremely vulnerable position.

  Others may not agree with Pierre's views, but for the sensitive and careful Pierre, he can already feel the vague estrangement from his comrades in less than half a month.

   There is about a mile between the barracks and the city wall, and you can reach it on horseback in an instant.

   The company commander who was guarding the city gate recognized "Adjutant Mitchell", so he even omitted the process of checking the identity card, and directly ordered his subordinates to remove the roadblock.

   Pierre thanked him and rode his horse into the city, where he met Andrea Cellini who was about to leave the city.

  Andre was originally very unhappy, but seeing Pierre unexpectedly made him smile a little: "When did you come back?"

   "Just now." Pierre showed humility: "Your Excellency, what are you doing?"

  Andre snorted softly: "Go fishing."

  Pierre looked over the shoulder of the Cellini tribunal and saw a young man following behind the tribunal with two fishing rods on his back. Pierre vaguely remembered that the other party was also from Dussac, as if his name was Nicholas? Or Alexander? He can't remember. So Pierre didn't call his name, but just nodded and said hello.

   The young man with the fishing rod immediately bowed his head in return.

  Pierre asked the tribune with a smile: "When did you develop a hobby of fishing?"

   "Love a fart!" Andre spit: "Hide for leisure!"

He explained impatiently: "The wealthy households in the city wanted to ask Winters to release the captives so that their precious sons and grandsons could go home. But what? These **** didn't dare to stand up for themselves, so they pushed the nearby villages and towns. The peasants came out and asked a group of old men to petition... It's annoying to watch!"

   "Is the tribune of Montagne receiving petitioners?" Pierre asked cautiously.

"Bud is dealing with them." Andre yawned, and then reacted: "You want to see Winters? Go directly to the garrison. Your centurion is better at hiding than me, how can you possibly receive anything? Shit petitioner?"

  Andre laughed out loud, and Pierre also laughed a few times.

Andre, who had laughed enough, stretched out his big hand like a bear's paw, and patted Pierre's shoulder proudly: "You fought beautifully in the battle of Green Valley. Don't be afraid of someone gossiping, who cares? You won the battle. That's the most important thing!"

   Having said that, the tribunal Andrea Cellini stabbed the horse's rib and sped away. Nicola, carrying the fishing rod, saluted Pierre and hurriedly followed.

  Pierre rubbed his aching shoulders and walked into Artemis.

  There are no signs of fighting in the city, the streets have been cleaned, and the shops along the streets have resumed business.

   It’s just that the pedestrians on the road are in a hurry, the men bow their heads and the women wrap their scarves, trying not to attract attention as much as possible. Especially seeing Pierre in full armor, everyone subconsciously avoided it.

  Pierre arrived unhindered at the Vigne garrison.

The layout of the   Vogne County Station is similar to that of the Tiefeng County Station. It is a two-story building, a playground and a circle of walls.

   Walking through the gate and into the stable, Pierre saw a familiar figure humming and brushing Changfeng. And not far away, the red mane was firmly tied to the stable beam.

  Redmane and Changfeng stared at each other, glaring at each other.

   Pierre had no doubt that if they let go of their reins, the two unneutered stallions would fight to the death at once.

  The person brushing the horse heard the footsteps, turned to look at Pierre, and exclaimed in surprise: "Pierre!"

  Pierre also laughed heartily: "Angelo."

  Angelo threw away the brush and ran towards Pierre, and the two hugged tightly, kissing and kissing on the cheek in accordance with the tradition of Dussac—but not on the mouth, because that is what an old man would do.

   "Why are you here?" Pierre asked.

   "I came with the tribune of Bard." Anglo replied with a smile: "The tribune has brought a lot of people, and this time he will take over Vigne County completely."

   "Where's Bell?"

   "He is still wandering outside the Jiehe River, receiving the returning Hurds."

  Pierre scrutinized Anglo carefully, and the former pony herder had washed away his childishness and became capable and calm.

   He didn't know what to say, so he hugged Anglo and kissed the latter's cheek hard.

   The two chatted a few times about the recent situation.

Anglo babbled: "...Vogne County is also a big deal. The land must be measured as soon as possible, and a new batch of land should be allocated. If you are lucky, you can catch up with the autumn ploughing, which can alleviate the problem. A huge burden. If you miss the season, you will have to wait until next year…”

  Pierre listened patiently for a while, and suddenly asked: "You don't think there will be any more wars?"

"Who knows?" Anglo smiled bitterly and deliberately avoided Pierre's question: "I only know that because the tribune has recruited too many horses, in Tiefeng County now, even the lame horses are put on plows. . Even if the war continues, the horses must get some fat back. Also, while the weather is warm, the horses need to be bred as soon as possible. Otherwise, in a few months, the weather turns cold and the foals can only be Born in autumn, it is difficult to live in winter..."

   As he spoke, Anglo woke up suddenly, patted his forehead, and asked Pierre, "Are you here to see the centurion?"

  Pierre nodded and shook his head again: "Don't worry, I want to hear more about Tiefeng County from you."

   "You can talk about these things at any time. You'd better go to see the centurion first."

  Anglu paused: "Blood wolf, waiting for you."

   [There have been a lot of things at work recently, and the plot has been slowing down. The content that should have been written in one chapter can only be divided into three chapters: upper, middle and lower, sorry, Orz]

   [But there should still be three shifts this week (>people<;)]

   (end of this chapter)