Iron Powder and Spellcaster

The soldier [Peter Bunier] of the 200th Infantry Regiment of Tiefeng County did not know where to go, and his centurion [Tamas] did not allow him to ask any more questions.

Bunir means dwarf in the old language. Seeing that he was short, an officer who had a headache when he heard "Peter" angrily registered him with this appropriate nickname.

Before setting off, each person received a wooden stick, and the dwarf also received one.

The centurion strictly ordered everyone to bite the stick like a bit on a horse. They were not allowed to fall out. If they did, they would be whipped.

There was no pre-battle speech. The centurion with a gloomy face only said one sentence: "Whether you are worth three hundred acres depends on today!"

After saying this, he waved his hand.

Biting the stick, the dwarf shouldered his spear and set off.

The team is marching in the forest, there is no road to speak of, and they will get separated if they are not careful.

The soldiers of Chapo had followed the centurion through the old forest twice. Their purpose was unknown at the time, but now I think they were probably preparing for today.

The dense foliage of the trees not only made marching more difficult, but also gave many people the opportunity to desert.

The dwarf watched helplessly as his companions in front threw away their weapons and ran into the chestnut forest without a trace.

But the dwarf didn't run away, he didn't dare, and he was thinking about the three hundred acres of land.

So he quickened his pace to keep up with the people ahead.

The team finally stopped in a forest. They didn't know where they were or what they were going to do, and they couldn't see the enemy.

The centurion made everyone lie down, and he whispered to each one:

"As soon as the bugle sounds, I will rush forward. If you see anyone without a red scarf, I will kill you! Three hundred acres! Remember! Three hundred acres!"

When it was time to get serious, the short man lay on the ground, his mouth was dry and his hands and feet were numb.

He is just a timid farmer who has been dealing with the land all his life and has never even killed a pig, let alone killed someone.

Killing people will go to hell!

However, three hundred acres, that's three hundred acres... I can't even dream of it.

He longed to hear the trumpet, but was afraid to hear it.

He didn't know how long he had waited, but the threatening sound of the charge finally reached his ears.

Deafening shouts of killing rang out in the forest, and many people rushed out with spears in their hands.

The dwarf lay motionless on the ground, his hands and feet not obeying his orders.

He was really scared, scared to death.

When he was serving as a soldier for his last high official, he only got two pieces of black bread a day.

So when he laid down his arms and surrendered, he felt no burden at all.

On the contrary, he was relieved not to have to fight.

Serving as a soldier for the current high official, in addition to bread, he also received three silver shields.

The silver coin was currently hidden in his close-fitting secret pocket, making his ribs ache.

But how can a life be worth a mere three silver coins? People really die in war!

Chapo was not sure he would go to heaven. He was not very religious and had never donated money or food to the church. Even with the most optimistic expectations, a trip to purgatory is inevitable.

Even if the Lord is forgiving and allows him to go to heaven, it is better to go as late as possible.

What's more, no matter whether he goes to fight or not, the three silver shields are already in his arms...

He also received a piece of land grant paper, and he carefully put the thin paper and the silver shield together.

The dwarf wanted the land, he wanted it madly, but he had not yet truly received the land.

The three hundred acres only exist in descriptions. The short man has never erected boundary markers, drawn furrows, never sown, and never harvested.

No one pointed to a piece of land and told him literally, "This is your land. It doesn't belong to anyone else. It's yours."

"What if I'm lying to you?" There was a voice in his heart trying desperately to persuade the dwarf: "Who knows if I will really give you land? How can any master be kind? Hide, just hide here! Wait until the war is over. go out!"

Another voice kept chanting: "Three hundred acres, that's three hundred acres! Let's fight!"

Suddenly, the short man's back felt burning pain.

He turned around, and the furious face of Centurion Tamas appeared in his eyes.

Tamas, who was holding a grapevine whip, whipped the little soldier lying on the ground hard and roared like thunder: "Coward! Trash! Charge! Use your pig eyes to see! We are going to win! Charge and win!" If you rush forward, you will pick up three hundred acres for free! You don’t even want three hundred acres given to you!"

The dwarf was beaten until he screamed miserably. His body curled up into a small ball, begging for mercy.

Centurion Tamas whipped him so hard that the vine whip couldn't bear it and broke into two pieces with a "squeak".

Tamas's arm was also shaking. He smashed the remaining half of the vine whip at the short soldier and reached out to draw the knife: "I give you three hundred acres and you don't want it! Okay! Fuck you! I will kill you now." !”

The dwarf dug his fingers into the dirt and struggled to get up.

Pain, shame, greed, fear, hatred... His mind was about to be turned into a pot of rotten porridge.

"Ah!!!" A blood-curdling scream came from the dwarf's chest. The honest farmer rushed out of the forest with blood-red eyes and bare hands: "Devil! Die! Three hundred acres!"

The rest of the timid ones were either infected by the dwarf's fanaticism, fearful of military law, talking about three hundred acres, or both, and stood up with heavy breaths.

"There are devils in front of you! Devils who come to rob your land! Kill! Killing devils does not count as killing!" Tamas raised his saber and roared loudly: "Whoever doesn't fucking come, I will kill you right here!"

"Kill!" Everyone shouted with ferocious faces and rushed towards the place where the devil was.

…

Don Juan was never afraid of fighting. On the contrary, fighting made him excited to the point of addiction.

But in this battle, he felt anxious for the first time.

The enemy's layout was very organized. The camp was surrounded by a double-layered wooden fence, and sentries were sent out early.

In order to hide his tracks, Juan had to set up his attack position one mile away.

But he still bumped into the enemy's sentry. Fortunately, the enemy's sentry was also startled and was killed before he could give a warning.

A charge distance of more than one mile, not to mention how much strength the soldiers have left after reaching the place, can only run one mile in the forest without deviating from the direction.

So Don Juan was betting heavily on the disadvantages of a reckless attack on one side, and on the other side was the fragile will of the enemy soldiers to fight and Moritz van Nassou.

The original plan was to wait for the enemy forces to divide up and then conduct an ambush in the wilderness between Hammerburg and Gévaudan.

But the enemy commander was unusually cautious and fought the battle in a disciplined manner.

This made Don Juan uncertain whether the opponent would still divide his troops.

By observing several failed enemy attacks on Fort Hammer, Lieutenant Don Juan concluded that the enemy had low morale and lacked the will to fight.

So he decided to adopt a more dangerous battle plan - annihilate them in front of Hammer Castle regardless of whether the enemy divided their forces or not!

Successfully intercepting Colonel Geza's messenger gave him a God-given opportunity.

Don Juan did not propose "taking the opportunity to behead", perhaps because he did not expect it, perhaps because he was unwilling.

But Lieutenant Colonel Moritz himself came up with this sinister plan.

With the dignity of a lieutenant colonel, Moritz volunteered to risk his life to assassinate the enemy commander, which surprised everyone.

Don Juan was even more moved.

"It's just a way of repaying the other side." Moritz chuckled as always: "They can send spellcasters disguised as messengers to assassinate them, so we can try it too."

Juan ran wildly through the forest with his saber in hand, thinking silently: "Don't let anything happen, Lieutenant Colonel."

After rushing out of the forest, he suddenly realized that it was not what he expected. Only a few people followed him and ran to the enemy's camp.

The formation of the Tiefeng County Infantry Regiment was in pieces after a mile of cross-country charge.

Many soldiers ran out of the forest and stood on the road and found that the enemy camp was still three to four hundred meters away from them.

Some soldiers even ran to the back of Hammer Castle.

Juan roared: "Pull out the stakes!"

He was the first to rush towards the wooden fence, and the other soldiers followed him as if they had just woken up from a dream.

The wooden stakes carried by the army were inserted into the ground with the gap between the two fists, and the sharp ends pointed out, which was the wooden fence - a textbook-like temporary camp defense.

The enemy has two wooden fences inside and outside.

As soon as Don Juan made a gap two men wide in the outer fence, the enemy troops from the camp came running over.

Some enemies fired bows and arrows at Tang Juan and others.

The enemy's bow was very weak and the arrows flew crookedly, but it still frightened the Tiefeng County soldiers into panic.

Arrows whizzed past them, and they all turned and fled.

Don Juan was so angry that he yelled: "I didn't even run away! Why are you running? Supervise the team!"

The supervising team did not respond to him, because the supervising team also ran into pieces.

Don Juan was so angry that he raised his saber and dragged down a fleeing soldier, intending to supervise the battle himself.

A howl that did not sound like a human voice came from the forest. Everyone, regardless of enemy or friend, was shocked. Even Don Juan was stunned for a moment.

The howls were getting closer and louder.

A short soldier rushed out from the branches and leaves with his bare hands - no one could have imagined that the war cry that made the listeners tremble actually came from such a short man.

The little soldier broke in between the two wooden fences and pulled out the wooden stakes like crazy.

The enemy shot arrows at him, but he did not dodge.

"Devil!" He pulled out a wooden stake and shouted, "Death!"

Many of the Tiefeng County soldiers who were escaping stopped.

Taking this opportunity, Don Juan finished what he wanted to do. He slashed the deserter to death with a knife and shouted sternly: "Cowardice in the face of battle! Kill on the spot!"

More and more Tiefeng County soldiers ran out of the forest.

Most people did not charge with Don Juan at the beginning. It was easy to lie on the ground and difficult to stand up.

So they lie on the ground and wait until they win or lose.

It was only thanks to the scoldings, whips, and three hundred acres of centurions and sergeants that the frightened soldiers stood up and went into battle.

The new force carried the soldiers who wanted to escape and rushed towards the enemy camp. For the troops who lacked will, numbers meant courage.

Seeing that they are surrounded by their own people, even the most timid soldier can feel courage out of thin air.

The soldiers from Tiefeng County ran to the fence in a swarm, and followed the short soldiers to pull out the wooden stakes.

"Shout! Shout the hell out!" Don Juan roared.

The emotions were intense, but Don Juan's mind was unusually calm.

He knew in his heart that both the enemy and ourselves were a mob, fighting solely on the basis of momentum.

As long as you act like you're winning, you're going to win!

Don Juan held up his saber that was still bleeding and led the soldiers to shout: "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"Kill!" The Tiefeng County soldiers pulled out the wooden stakes from the outer ring.

"Kill!!" The Tiefeng County soldiers pulled out the wooden stakes in the inner circle.

"Kill!!!" Tiefeng County soldiers poured into the enemy camp like a flood.

"The garrison officer of Wargne County is dead!" Don Juan suddenly realized something was wrong: "Surrender without killing!"

"Death!" Tiefeng County soldiers roared with red eyes: "Kill!"

…

When Richard Mason, who was responsible for the defense of Fort Hammer, arrived with his artillery team, the Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment had already broken through the fence and entered the enemy camp.

The two sides fought among tents and fires.

Without uniforms, it was almost difficult to tell friend from foe.

Most of the soldiers fighting against each other had no armor. A single slash of their sharp swords would draw blood, and a single stab of their spears to the chest would kill them.

Amid the screams, cries of death and begging for mercy, some people shouted at the top of their lungs: "Those wearing red scarves are rebels! Red scarves! Rebels!"

Beside the gap in the fence, Mason found an anxious Don Juan.

The latter asked two soldiers to hold his legs and lift him up, watching the battle solemnly.

"Where is the Lieutenant Colonel?" Mason asked when they saw him.

"I don't know." Juan bit his lip.

"How's the battle going?!"

"It's very bad!" Don Juan's handsome features were a little distorted. He clutched the scabbard tightly: "There is no opening to escape. They are all blocked inside. This battle is going to go bad!"

Two armies were squeezed into a small camp. The soldiers from Tiefeng County fought bravely and bravely, while the soldiers from Warne County had no place to escape.

The soldiers in front screamed and stabbed randomly, while the soldiers in the back pushed the soldiers in front towards the enemy's sword.

Both parties are extremely frightened, and fear can cause people to be possessed by the "fight or flight" survival instinct.

At this moment, "fight" suppresses "escape", so the two armies are in a stalemate.

But the slightest disturbance can tip the scales irreversibly.

Juan jumped back to the ground and asked the senior, "Where is your cannon?"

"I've brought everything I can still fight." Mason pointed to the log-like objects carried by his men.

"Okay! Wait a moment and check my signal, then let's go together! Fight wherever there are more people, don't worry about accidental injuries, just bomb!" Juan waved his arms and ordered the soldiers he could still command: "The others follow me!"

Before he finished speaking, Juan ran around the wooden fence and ran north. The soldiers followed him without knowing why.

"Why are you going?" Mason shouted at his junior's back.

Don Juan went straight to the camp gate without looking back.

…

Winters deliberately spread the word that Captain Mason and Lieutenant Bader were responsible for relocating the refugees and had left Gevaudan.

In fact, only Bard went to relocate the people, while Mason secretly led the troops to build the "new" Hammer Castle.

During this period, Mason also improved the wooden cannon.

The original wooden cannon had to be made of long, straight and thick pieces of wood, and it also needed to be fastened with iron rings. It was too troublesome to build, and it could only be used a few times in actual tests.

So Artillery Captain Mason completely gave up the pursuit and directly built a disposable second-generation wooden cannon.

Is it difficult to obtain large timber? Then just use small pieces of wood one foot in diameter.

Is the hoop too troublesome? Then there is no hoop, anyway, use it once and chop it into firewood.

The wood is thin and does not have an iron ring, so it is easy to explode? Then use less medicine.

The final "product" is these "wooden cannons" that look like pieces of logs.

It is said to be a cannon, but in fact it is a large wooden fire door gun.

Even the ones that were beaten were not lead or iron sand—there wasn’t that much lead and iron to waste—but broken stones.

It is more difficult to kill the enemy with Mason's second-generation wooden cannon. The main thing is to listen for the sound and then spray the enemy's face with flowers.

The extreme "cutting corners" results in pathetic power, but the cost is extremely low - in the final analysis, it is just drilling a hole in the wood.

So Captain Mason made hundreds of them at once, and he is still making more.

Today, what limits the size of the Mason artillery fleet is no longer the number of guns, but the lack of gunpowder supply...

…

There was no high ground around the Wargne County garrison camp where cannons could be mounted, and the range of disposable wooden cannons was very short.

Mason was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot.

Looking around, I really couldn't find a place to set up the artillery.

He gritted his teeth and ordered: "Hold on and beat!"

The "artillerymen" were stunned, no one made any move.

Even with reduced charges, these crude wooden cannons still occasionally exploded.

Holding it in your hand and firing off the cannon is tantamount to committing suicide by drawing lots.

Seeing no one made any move, Mason grabbed a wooden cannon from his subordinates: "I'll do it!"

He held the wooden cannon and stepped on something that he could stand on tiptoe, barely reaching a higher position.

But it was still too low to hold, so Mason simply shouldered the wooden cannon.

His men were too frightened to speak.

If you fire the cannon while holding it, your hand may be broken off if the barrel explodes;

If you carry a cannon and fire it, someone will die if it explodes.

Juan had already gone around to the north road, opened the camp gate, and was waving the flag desperately at Mason.

"Fire up!" Mason yelled.

The soldiers dared not move.

"Light a fire!" Mason shouted angrily.

An "artilleryman" with a large red birthmark on his face silently lit the fuse of the wooden cannon in his hand and stood on the stepping stone with the wooden cannon on his shoulder.

There was a loud "boom" and gunpowder smoke spewed out.

Anyone who uses gunpowder, even if it is not a cannon but a firecracker, is far more powerful than a bow and crossbow.

The people fighting in the camp were shocked by the loud noise.

Mason walked through the smoke and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the old man with the red birthmark on his face was still alive.

The face of "Red Birthmark" was bloodless, blood was dripping from one ear, and his hands were shaking uncontrollably.

He threw away the still smoking wooden cannon and coughed desperately.

Mason suddenly realized how stupid he was. What was the use of shooting people with cannons?

With the range of this wooden cannon, how many people can it hit?

Just make a noise!

"Put them on the ground and beat them!" Mason realized: "Put them all on the ground and beat them!"

The wooden cannon was now completely reduced to a firecracker.

A series of roars sounded outside the fence, and the melody of the bloody battle was stopped for a beat.

Gunpowder smoke filled the air, and soldiers from both armies couldn't figure out which side was firing the artillery fire.

"Wonie County has been defeated! The garrison officer is dead!" At the camp gate, Juan commanded the soldiers around him to shout in unison: "Surrender without killing! Run!"

"Victory—victory!" Mason also commanded his men, shouting in unison rhythmically: "Victory—victory!"

The Tiefeng County soldiers quickly understood what was going on, and they enthusiastically followed the beat and shouted: "Victory—victory!"

"Run! Go north! Go home!" A Wargne County soldier pointed at the camp gate and cried.

The ferocity and bravery of both sides seemed to have been drained away in the pause just now, and the Wargne County soldiers fled towards the camp gate and towards home.

The soldiers from Tiefeng County didn't stop them. Just now they were stabbing each other with their spears like crazy, but for some reason they couldn't stab them anymore this time.

"Not defeated yet!" Captain Salai, the chief centurion of Wargne County, shouted angrily: "Not defeated yet! Come back!"

Captain Lesa raised his saber, trying to stop the torrent of defeat.

Suddenly, a soldier in the crowd behind Lesa shot a dark silver coin, hitting Lesa in the back of the head.

Lessa fell to the ground, coughed out a few mouthfuls of blood, and lost consciousness.

…

On Winters' side, he doesn't know the situation at Hammer Castle yet.

It was impossible for him to control the troops remotely from hundreds of kilometers away.

At the same time, Winters has full confidence in Senior Juan's military ability.

The vast battlefield was roughly divided into the Eastern Front and the Western Front. Winters was in charge of the Eastern Front, while Don Juan had absolute command of the Western Front.

Moritz and Juan are Winters' most powerful secret weapons.

Don Juan had just achieved a great victory, but Winters was encountering some minor troubles: the enemies from White Mountain County were coming very quickly.

While in Lujiao Town, he received news that "the enemy troops turned around and returned to reinforce".

Before he left Lujiao Town, another scout came back to report that "the enemy is building a pontoon bridge at an alarming speed."

Based on the situation in Baishan County, Winters concluded that the other party was well prepared.

Three hundred-man teams quickly assembled in Lujiao Town Square.

Facing the soldiers, Winters ordered mercilessly: "Throw away everything captured!"

Soldiers did not have enough to eat, did not wear warm clothes, endured harsh military laws, and had to fight desperately. Robbery was one of the few ways they could vent their anger.

In other words, post-war robbery has become the "sacred and inviolable right" of soldiers.

Winters hated it, but he couldn't eradicate the tradition all at once.

He can restrain soldiers from robbing, setting fire to, or committing adultery. As for petty theft, he turned a blind eye.

Entering a wealthy place like Lujiao Town, the soldiers all made a little fortune.

Some soldiers have even put on new clothes and new shoes, matching them with their old clothes, which looks ridiculous and sad.

Everyone was very reluctant after hearing Winters' order.

"Throw it away!" Winters repeated the rare command.

His old troops - centurions and sergeants - no longer hesitated, and took out coins, cloth, silver knives and forks, fine small porcelain and other odds and ends from their backpacks, and threw them to the ground resolutely.

Centurions and sergeants took the lead, and other soldiers followed suit.

But they were really reluctant to part with it, and some even cried while throwing it away.

Beautiful silver forks—many warriors from poor backgrounds have never used them in their lives. They can’t even use steel ones, so they only use wood ones.

They knew robbing was wrong, but the feeling of "I want to take this home" was so strong.

On the other side, Andre was leading the cavalry to sweep through the bakeries, taverns and all places where food might be stored in Antler Town.

He kicked open the baker's shop door with his saber: "Take them all away!"

The fierce cavalry immediately ransacked the baker's house.

"Sir! This is not my bread!" The baker cried loudly: "I baked it for someone else! If you take it away, how can I explain it to you!"

Andre tossed the baker a bag of silver coins.

The baker weighed his money bag and nodded reluctantly.

On Winters' side, he saw the soldiers clearing away all cumbersome items, and he walked into the queue to check them one by one.

Six soldiers still had "trophies" in their backpacks, and he found them.

"Throw it away." He repeated the order for the third time.

The six people obediently threw away the things they grabbed.

Returning to the team, Winters directly told his men: "The enemy is coming, and marching speed is life. You are not allowed to bring anything except weapons, dry food and ammunition! There is no need to be greedy for these small profits. The money in the Lujiao Town public treasury is being used by the cavalry. Take it with you, everyone will have a share after the war!"

The soldiers turned from sadness to joy, and those who were particularly sad suddenly burst into laughter.

Andre's cavalry returned to the town square and distributed the bread, bacon and other food and drink they could carry to everyone.

After getting rid of the baggage and replenishing the baggage, Winters waved his hand and the troops left Antler Town and continued towards Iris Castle.

Winters didn't know what the fighting situation was like on Senior Juan's side, but the longer he held the enemy at bay, the greater the room for maneuver on the Western Front.

Therefore, even though he knew that the enemy was well prepared, he still chose to continue the feint attack on Yuanhua Castle as planned, trying to involve as many enemy forces as possible.

When he left Lujiao Town, the reconnaissance cavalry reported: "The enemy's pontoon bridge has been penetrated."

Winters said nothing.

He led the troops less than five kilometers out of Lujiao Town, and another reconnaissance cavalry came to report: "The enemy troops are moving lightly and quickly, and the leading troops are only fifteen kilometers away from Lujiao Town."

The speed of the Baishan County garrison was astonishingly fast, like hounds that smelled blood, chasing after Winters.

"Okay." Andre also figured out the taste, and he laughed loudly: "The lover is just waiting for us to jump to the outside and wants to eat us."

"There's no need to go any further. If I'm not mistaken, militiamen from various towns in Baishan County have begun to gather. No matter where we go, we will hit a wall." Winters looked at the map, frowning.

Andre yawned, not caring at all that he was surrounded.

"The garrison officer of Baishan County... wouldn't he think that I ran into his territory without any preparation, right?" Winters Montagne was simply baffled.

He laughed angrily: "This guy really looks down on people!"

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