Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 293 Interlude
Surprise attacks, a playwright's magic weapon, a topic historians only gloss over.

Archives and historical materials often focus on the results of raids, while downplaying the preparation process.

It's as if as long as the generals and commanders give the order to "surprise attack" in a majestic manner, everything else will fall into place naturally.

However, the key to the surprise attack was not actually after the battle began, but before the attack.

High-risk combat operations require meticulous planning and reconnaissance: What are the fortifications like? What is the terrain like? How many sentries are there? From which direction can we launch a surprise attack?

Raiding the camps of the Hart tribes was even more difficult.

Because the Hurds knew that their camps were poorly defended, they often deployed a large number of cavalry sentries and mobile sentries, and the communication between the sentries was very close.

If you attack with infantry, unless you are blessed by the goddess of fortune, you will be exposed before you can even get close.

The only way is to use a large number of cavalry to fight speed with speed and cavalry with cavalry, and defeat the Heds before they can effectively organize themselves.

Unfortunately, Ronald didn't have that option.

He had only a few dozen captured horses, most of which were unusable. Moreover, to avoid the Teldun cavalry sentries, he set up his attack position two kilometers away from the ferry crossing.

Two kilometers is too far; charging forward would just be a waste of energy.

So Ronald chose another "surprise attack" method—walking over.

Of course, it's not just as simple as "walking"; to be precise, it's "walking across the riverbank."

Witnessing thousands of Paratu people file out of the forest and slowly approach along the riverbank, Qing Lingyu [Duo Dai] instinctively wanted to run away.

It wasn't that Duodai was cowardly or timid, but for the Hede people who lived a nomadic life, running away was almost an instinct.

An instinct developed from surviving in an environment constantly surrounded by wild beasts.

Just like a horse. Horses seem timid; they'd be scared and run away if even a rabbit jumped out of its burrow.

But if it takes the time to figure out what's coming, the next time it won't be a rabbit that darts out, but a bear that cuts its belly open.

No matter what, running away is the right thing to do.

If the enemy is strong and we are weak, it is right to run away; if the enemy is weak and we are strong, we should run away first to assess the situation, and then we can turn around and fight back.

Duo Dai couldn't figure out the two-legged man's intentions and was even more worried that there might be an ambush in the forest.

The Teldun tribe at the ferry crossing was roughly the size of three hundred-horse squadrons, but "three hundred tribes" does not equal "three hundred-horse squadrons".

These followers belonged to more than a dozen different families and leaders, and were not of one mind or united in strength.

If it comes down to a head-on confrontation, the outcome is still uncertain.

Conversely, if one temporarily escapes, things become much simpler.

The Paratites only had two legs, so they could neither catch up with them nor take any women or valuables with them.

Once they create space, the Teldenans, who travel by horse, can easily take the initiative.

At that time, wouldn't it be a piece of cake for three hundred Tertun light cavalry to deal with a group of Paratus who were burdened by women and children?
The "Niege'er (operation plan)" is beautiful, but it's troublesome to execute.

It's perfect, but it's very troublesome to make.

Firstly, Dordair couldn't get the other families' children to move—the Zhukotas were already scrambling for the sheepskin rafts, each wanting to send their own loot across the river first.

Secondly, Duo Dai couldn't bear to part with what he had looted.

Dodai had already experienced the methods of the Paratu people here—they always burned everything they couldn't take with them, ruthless and heartless, even less appreciative of their wealth than the Teldun people.

If Dordie forces Zhukota to abandon his belongings, and then his two legs set everything on fire, things will get complicated.

The play "The Handcart, the Miserly Merchant, and the Wolf" was performed again at the ferry crossing on the banks of the Big Horn River.

Should she choose the meat on her backside or the cargo in the truck? A difficult choice confronted Qing Lingyu Duo Dai.

A great military strategist once wrote down this military principle: "If you want to win an attack, attack the enemy's weakest point."

Sometimes, this proverb can also be used in reverse.

For example, at the ferry crossing that Ronald led the militia to attack, the Teldenans' defenses were not very strong, but their will to defend was by no means weak.

The guards quickly brought back news to Duodai—the nearby forest had been searched thoroughly, but no ambushes were found.

In other words... this group of Paratians in front of him was an isolated force? Dodai suddenly felt that the odds of winning were very high.

On the other side, Ronald was equally convinced of victory.

When both commanders are confident of victory, a battle is inevitable.

Just as a shepherd easily separates a flock of sheep mixed together, the leader of Teldun organized his followers in this way.

Dodai personally led his elite armored troops, dismounting to observe the battle from a high vantage point. Teldun's armored soldiers sat on the ground, quietly awaiting their opportunity.

The unarmored subjects and slaves were led by their respective chieftains, in groups of a dozen or so.

They would either fly in from a distance and fire arrows, or suddenly charge straight ahead, taking turns probing and pulling at the Paratus.

This tactic might be able to disperse a mob, but it cannot shake the "desperate army" led by Ronald.

It was because of these men, full of anger and willing to fight, that Ronald dared to take the plunge.

The militia of Tiefeng County formed a defensive line along the river, using chevaux-de-frise and palisades to repel the barbarian attacks.

To their north is a concave riverbed, and to their east is a raised platform formed by the collapse of the riverbank.

The earthen platform is shaped somewhat like a terraced field, and is about one meter high. The drop is greater closer to the riverbank and smaller closer to the inland.

The militia of Tiefeng County failed to occupy the earthen platform, which put them at a disadvantage.

On the other hand, the Teldun people rode and shot arrows from the earthen platform, which gave them a slight advantage of being on a higher ground.

Seeing that the Parat people's formation showed no signs of weakening, Qing Lingyu [Duo Dai], who was observing the battle, put away the white horse-tail banner and raised the red horse-tail banner instead.

Like a swarm of bees that disperses and then regroups, the Teldun cavalry regrouped and formed a line in front of the barricades of the Iron Peak County farmers.

Although Major Ronald didn't have much combat experience, he couldn't possibly not recognize what it was. He roared to his men and militia, "The barbarians are going to use the Tekis tactics!"

Amidst the chilling sound of bugles, the rightmost leader of the Teldun front took the lead, followed by the other leaders.

The Teldun light cavalry, like a long snake, circled the barricade counterclockwise, tightly reining in the Paratul people.

Meanwhile, Teldun's heavily armored cavalry remained poised to attack.

Ronald's barricades were "wrapped" by Teldun's light cavalry, the thunderous sound of their hooves almost suffocating.

From the west and all directions came not only the sound of hooves, but also the piercing whistling of whistling arrows.

A middle-aged farmer, who was leaning against a door, fell silently to the ground. A featherless arrow was stuck in the back of his neck and was still trembling slightly.

The Teldun men charged around the barricades, firing without leaving any blind spots, rendering the Iron Peak County men's shields largely ineffective.

Encirclement and mounted archery—this is what Paratul called the "Tekis tactics."

What makes them terrifying is not only the lack of blind spots, but also the fact that the Paratul people are always within range of the Tertun archers.

The hit-and-run style of mounted archery leaves the rider with an extremely short window of opportunity to fire, with each flanking maneuver yielding at most three or four arrows.

Meanwhile, the Teldun light cavalry, galloping around the barricades, could fire without limit until their quivers were empty.

The best strategy against the Tekis tactics is to armor your warriors and retaliate with a large number of projectile weapons.

Armor and ranged weapons... Ronald is lacking both of these.

The militia fought back with difficulty using hunting bows and slingshots; for every Teldun man who fell, ten Lower Iron Peak men had to be taken in exchange.

Seeing the militiamen fall one after another, shot by arrows, Major Ronald almost gritted his teeth to pieces.

The Tekis tactics meant non-stop galloping, and the Terdonian warhorses were rapidly losing their stamina.

As the barricades of the Lower Iron Peak County were crumbling, the Teldun light cavalry also gradually showed signs of weakness.

Finally, Ronald saw more and more Teltown warhorses struggling even to leap onto the knee-high platform.

"Piper!" the major roared.

The militia had no drums or bugles; they only had two bagpipes to relay orders.

Upon hearing the command, the bagpipers took a deep breath and squeezed the air bag tightly. They didn't know how to play military tunes, so the major just wanted them to make a sound, the louder the better.

The thunderous sound of hooves, the whistling of arrows, the cries and screams of dying men... the clear, sharp sound of bagpipes pierced through the noise of the battlefield and reached everyone's ears.

The sound was so peculiar that no one could mistake it for something else.

The Teldenans were bewildered, while the farmers of Iron Peak County gripped their weapons tightly—the sound of bagpipes signaled the start of the final assault.

"Lovrenx Adam!" the major roared.

Adam responded with a roar.

The barricades facing the river were suddenly moved aside, and Adam led his men—all the militiamen who had seen blood—out of the barricades, treading on the sand and the river, fiercely plunging into the rushing torrent of Teldun's light cavalry.

At the same time, another group of militiamen carried sharp wooden stakes out of the chevaux-de-frise, erecting a barrier between the chevaux-de-frise and the river.

As if the sky were collapsing and the earth were splitting apart, the giant serpent coiled around the Paratul was instantly cleaved in two.

The Teldun cavalrymen outside the sharp wooden stakes looked back blankly, unaware of what had happened.

Trapped among the stakes, waterways, terraces, and Paratus, the Teldun cavalry suddenly went from "surrounding the two-legged men" to "being surrounded by the two-legged men," utterly terrified.

Another group of Teldun light cavalrymen, unable to react in time, failed to rein in their horses and plunged headlong into this deadly terrain.

The Parat people, who had fought the Hed for over a century, also understood the Tekis tactics.

To some extent, the Parat people, as victims, understood the strengths and weaknesses of the Tekis tactics better than the Hed people.

The core of the Tekis tactics lies in "circling", and it must be a counter-clockwise circle.

Because the vast majority of people are right-handed, even if some people can use both hands, their left hand is not as strong as their right hand.

Holding the bow in the left hand and drawing the string in the right, it would be more comfortable to fire the arrow towards the left side of the warhorse.

Similarly, when flanking and shooting, the riders should instead circle clockwise.

It wasn't that Ronald was forced to set up his forces here, but rather that Ronald chose this battlefield.

By forming a battle formation along the river, the Teldun light cavalry's operational space was restricted.

The earthen platform is also a trap. Although the Teldens seem to have a commanding advantage from their superior position, once they use the Tekis tactics, this platform with a one-meter drop will become a one-way valve.

The logic is simple: when running counterclockwise, the Telden people would jump down from the higher bank and then jump up from the lower inland bank.

A one-meter-high earthen platform looks unremarkable, and jumping down is easy. But jumping back up... is not so simple.

The surrounded Teldun light cavalry were in a similar situation; the platform, which was more than a meter high, was a place where they could normally ride their horses and leap up.

However, their warhorses are now severely exhausted and refuse to jump onto anything, not even a one-meter-high platform or a half-meter-high obstacle.

Before the barbarians could even think, Adam had already led the farmers to charge and engage in battle.

Half of them carried spiked clubs, and the other half carried long-handled lassos.

Once one person lassoes a barbarian on horseback, two or three others will come and work together to drag the barbarian off the horse. As soon as the barbarian falls off the horse, he will be beaten to death with sticks.

The so-called Teldun light cavalry were not full-time warriors who specialized in fighting; the vast majority of them were just slaves and ordinary herdsmen.

Many people can use their warhorses to shoot arrows from a distance.

Face-to-face, knife-to-knife, close-quarters combat, that's a different story.

The Hud people, having lost their warhorses, were no different from the Parat people. The Parat people, filled with hatred, were braver, more ruthless, and more merciless than the Hud people.

The Telden people in the west wanted to come to their aid, but were blocked by the farmers of Lower Iron Peak who were guarding the sharp wooden stakes.

The Telden people on the eastern plateau desperately drew their bows and shot arrows, but no matter how many arrows they fired, they could not save the Telden people who had fallen into the trap.

If the Teldens can be dragged into hand-to-hand combat, the larger and more motivated Lower Iron Peaks people are unlikely to lose.

In their panic, the Telden cavalry either charged into the river, abandoned their horses and fled, or even tried to climb onto the plateau by stepping over the corpses of men and horses.

"Move the body away!" Adam roared, swinging his spear and knocking the Teldon light cavalryman who was trampling on the corpse off his horse. "Move the body away!"

"Blow harder!" Ronald, watching with growing anxiety, glared at the bagpiper and roared, "Blow harder!"

The sound of the bagpipes suddenly increased by three degrees, desperately providing accompaniment to this bloody performance.

Ronald looked toward the location of the horse tail banner, awaiting Commander Teldun's assessment.

Is it a drastic measure of self-sacrifice, or a desperate gamble?
On the high ground by the river, Qinglingyu [Duodai] had the idea of ​​"escaping" again.

Duo Dai was truly surprised that his opponent had such methods. He admitted that he had lost an arrow, but he had not lost either—because there were not many traps among his men.

Ronald's field of vision was limited. But Dodah could see clearly that the enemy opened its blood-red maw and devoured at least a hundred of its followers.

The balance of power has changed significantly, and Duodai thinks it would be best to retreat first and then make further plans.

Before Duo Dai could give the order, six armored soldiers had already mounted their horses and charged towards the barricade with a roar.

Dordai could escape because his men suffered few casualties, but the other leaders could not.

The six armored soldiers who charged out without waiting for orders had their men, fathers, brothers, and slaves trapped in the barricade. If they fled, they would lose everything.

Duo Dai was so angry that he cursed loudly, and the remaining soldiers all turned to look at him.

"Na Yan!" a soldier demanded of Duo Dai, "This two-legged man is about to collapse! What are you still hesitating for?"

In the Hart tribes, armored soldiers were not simply "armored soldiers"; the armor itself was a symbol of the power class.

The majority of Teldun people who could wear armor were chieftains' sons, attendants, and bodyguards.

The armored soldiers beside Duo Dai were not his employees, but his shareholders.

Whether to back down or take a gamble, Duo Dai was torn between the two options.

Seeing Duo Dai's hesitant and timid demeanor, the other soldiers urged him on loudly. Some soldiers even mounted their horses in a huff, seemingly ready to act on their own.

"Then you and I will charge in and fight! We'll leave our lives to the gods!" Duo Dai gritted his teeth and stamped his foot. "But we can't just charge in recklessly! You and the others follow me closely, we'll fight our way through those wooden forks, and first cut off the leader of the two-legged men!"

The soldiers roared excitedly and mounted their horses, each grabbing a spear.

Dodai led more than twenty armored cavalrymen down the hillside in an arrow formation, until they reached Ronald's location.

This was a true heavy assault lancer unit; this type of unit was no longer part of the Paratul standing army.

Because with the increasing power of firearms, the cost and effectiveness of heavily armored lancers are no longer commensurate.

But on this battlefield, this heavy cavalry unit, fully armored and some even equipped with horse armor, is the toughest hammer.

Ronald watched as the armored Herd men roared down the hillside.

The final moment has arrived—this thought inexplicably popped into Ronald's mind.

How to neutralize the impact of heavy cavalry?
They used fortifications to block the way, and they used human lives to cover it up.

The barricades were already broken and dilapidated, so the only option was to fill them with human lives.

If the enemy's armored cavalry is overwhelmed, the enemy will win; if the enemy's armored cavalry is crushed, the enemy will lose.

"The final moment has come!" Ronald drew his saber and roared to everyone around him with the resolute tone of a martyr: "Take up your weapons! For your families! For your bloodline! Long live the Republic of Palatour!"

The farmers may or may not have heard what Ronald was saying; they may not have cared about the Republic of Palatour at all, but everyone roared "Long live!" and leaned against the barricades, waiting for the moment of life and death.

The Teldun heavy cavalry charged straight at Ronald with overwhelming force, at the last moment...

At the last moment, they suddenly turned a corner and ran away.

The farmers of Xia Tiefeng County were completely bewildered, having no idea what the barbarians were up to.

"Rat! Coward!" Ronald snapped out of his daze and immediately launched into a vicious tirade against the Telden man: "Go back to crawling between women's legs!"

Dodah couldn't hear these words, and Ronald wasn't cursing at the enemy.

His audience—the farmers of Lower Iron Peak County—laughed raucously, shouting all sorts of vulgarities at the retreating barbarian cavalry.

Charging head-on into the barricade would only result in mutual destruction. As Ronald slashed down, the barbarian was clearly probing and trying to distract the enemy.

The farmers, fueled by their youthful passion, might have had the courage to fight to the death during the first charge. But Ronald didn't know what would happen during the second and third.

Just as Major Ronald was racking his brains to recall the most vicious insults to humiliate the enemy and trying his best to keep the farmers' morale from collapsing.

The barbarian cavalry did not turn around and charge as he expected; instead, they fled in a flash, getting further and further away.

Not only did the horse-tailed banner flee, but the other Teldun people around the barricade also abandoned their corpses and fled.

The farmers were stunned at first, then fell silent, and then cheered at the top of their lungs. In their eyes, the battle was won.

Ronald's heart was bleeding; he could barely stand.

Only by destroying the Telden settlement at the ferry crossing can we have a chance to rescue the abducted women and children. This battle cannot be considered a victory until the Telden are completely defeated.

Similarly, Ronald faced a difficult choice:

Retreat is the safest option;
Advance, seize the crossing; we might win, but we certainly can't escape.

They could only hold their ground and defend their camp; otherwise, if they marched with a group of elderly, weak, women, and children, the militia would be dragged to their deaths.

Just as Ronald made up his mind, the sound of war drums came from the river.

Ronald finally understood why the barbarians had fled: a fleet was sailing upstream, and the Teldun's crossing had been captured.

The Teldenans only had rafts, not boats.

Boat means...

"Reinforcements!" The people of Xia Tiefeng County, who had fought to this point, were moved to tears, embracing each other and shouting, "Reinforcements!"

Later, Ronald met with the fleet's commander, Samukin.

Also aboard the boat was Captain Eppel, whom Ronald had sent to seek help.

In the makeshift camp built by the Teldun people, all the Paratu people who had been kidnapped by the barbarians were rescued, and the reunited families were overjoyed, embracing each other and weeping.

Ronald seemed oblivious to the joyful atmosphere, and went straight to the point, asking Samukin, "How many men did you bring?"

Samukin felt uncomfortable facing Major Ronald, his former "enemy leader." He didn't know how to address him, so he simply stopped using that term.

“As you can see,” Samukin pointed to the ferry crossing, where more than thirty simple boats were moored. “These boats.”

Upon receiving this answer, Ronald's expression turned pained: "Where's Winters?"

Upon hearing the other party address the centurion by his first name, Samukin frowned slightly: "I don't know either."

"He'll send you."

“Send me.”

"Too few! Too few! What is Winters doing?! What's the point of sending so few men?!" Having plummeted from the peak of hope to the abyss of despair, Major Ronald lost control, pointing at the jubilant crowd around him and roaring:
“Look! Look at them! What will they do if the Hurds come back? What will they do if even more Hurds come to kill them? They have nowhere to run! Nowhere to hide! They can't hold out and they can't escape! Winters! What is he thinking!”

Samukin was taken aback at first, then waited quietly for Ronald to finish venting.

“I don’t know what you have to complain about.” Samukin’s polite smile vanished, and he said coldly to Ronald, “But you have no right to criticize His Excellency Winters Montagne, the Tribunal for the People.”

Ronald was confronted to his face by a rebel who wasn't even an officer and whose class was indescribable... He was so shocked and speechless that he felt a tightness in his chest.

"Don't worry," Captain Épert quickly interjected, "Captain Montagne has also come up with a solution for us."

"What method?" Ronald asked impatiently.

“Your Excellency the Protector sent me here after careful consideration,” Samukin said neither humbly nor arrogantly. “Your Excellency the Protector fought a bloody battle at the camp of Teldun Khan in Zhongtiefeng County. Even after learning that you had requested reinforcements, you still spared no effort to divide your troops. Please understand the significance of this.”

Ronald paused for a moment, suppressing his anger, and asked seriously, "What's Captain Montagne's idea?"

“It’s very simple, just…” Samukin pointed westward, “and transport you all to the other side of the river.”

……

The Battle of Blackwater Town Ferry came to an end. Although the battle was small in scale—three hundred cavalry against more than a thousand infantry—it was, in a strict sense, a head-on confrontation.

Samukin said Winters fought a “bloody battle” with Teldun Khan’s tent, and he exaggerated his emotions somewhat.

Because Zhongtiefeng County never sees this kind of direct combat.

[Tai Chi] is eager to choose a good location, set up his formation, and fight a major battle with gongs against gongs and drums against drums.

But Winters didn't give Teltown a chance.

While Taichi was desperately wanting a major battle, Winters was still busy building his wall—and weaving more baskets.

[I'm late, I'm sorry]
[Time had become utterly chaotic, but in the end, the battle of Xia Tiefeng County was brought to a close.]
[Initially, I felt that the detail of this battle was inappropriate, and I also wanted to see Winters' match against the Fireman, so I kept rewriting and editing.]
[This battle is also somewhat important; is the outcome of the entire campaign decided by this one crossing? Clearly not. But Ronald gritted his teeth and attacked the crossing, because if he allowed the Teldenans to take away the captured people, these Paratans would be completely plundered.]
[Objectively speaking, Ronald hadn't treated these abducted Paratians well in the past, after all, he was the actual implementer of the forced conscription policy. Yet he risked his life to save them.]
[Some readers have already pointed it out...it's actually about the emergence of feelings of "compatriotism"]
[That is, the budding of nationalism, and a broader patriotism (not limited to the 'patriotism' of a single city in city-state civilizations). Nationalism and patriotism, these two things will change the whole world.]
[As I've been saying before, the concept of "patriotism" didn't exist in Winters' time.]
Love for family, guild, and city may exist, but patriotism... the country is too vast, and ordinary people find it difficult to have a real sense of "nation," so they don't have the emotion of 'love' for it.
[Within the Cenas Alliance, the only group that universally possesses 'patriotism' is actually the officers trained by the Army Academy. As for why they share this common sentiment... well, that's quite complicated.]
[Thank you to all the readers for your collections, reading, subscriptions, recommendations, monthly tickets, donations, and comments. Thank you everyone!]
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(End of this chapter)