Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 311 Breaking the Formation
Dajiao River, dam.

The signal flag is raised.

"Enemy attack!" The observation post rushed down the hillside like a madman, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Cavalry!"

After extending to the west bank, the dam was caught in a pincer movement.

Therefore, Tamas built a small fortress on the west bank beach, which he personally oversaw.

With the flood discharge imminent, most of the defensive forces on the west bank had already withdrawn. Amidst the urgent alarm bells, the remaining soldiers hurriedly rushed to the top of the wall with their weapons.

“Send a signal to the east bank.” On the west bank fortress, Tamas spat: “If things don’t look good, destroy the dam ahead of time.”

One after another, cavalrymen leaped out from the horizon at the edge of the valley. They did not regroup and charged straight toward the dam.

The leading cavalryman was tall and burly, and sitting on the short-statured Hedde horse, he looked like a bear riding a rabbit.

On the top of the fortress wall, a boy, still looking quite young, skillfully hung up the matchlock, steadyed his gun, and held his breath to aim.

The enemy was getting closer and closer, and they were already within a hundred paces.

Just as the boy was about to press the firing lever, the fuse was ripped off by the sergeant next to him—Peter the Short Bunier.

I heard Battalion Commander Tamas shout in my ear: "Don't fire! They're our own people!"

However, several musketeers were startled by the sudden sound and immediately pulled the trigger.

The muffled gunshots echoed across the river, and plumes of white smoke billowed from the top of the wall.

"[Extremely angry and vulgar language]!" Lieutenant Andrea Cellini's roar pierced through the smoke and echoed throughout the fortress: "Which bastard fired at me!"

……

At the foot of Tiefeng Mountain, the battlefield is where the two armies are arrayed.

After repeated probing, the Teldens had roughly figured out the enemy's strengths and weaknesses.

Although the flags and numbers of the enemy's left, center, and right wings looked similar, the center wing had a more disciplined formation and did not waver in the face of the cavalry charge.

Looking down from the main camp of Teldun, one can see a wall of white smoke rising from the arrow emplacements in the center of the battle line.

"[Herdode] there." A blue-feathered figure asked gravely, "[Herdode] How could there be so many Lesser Thunders?"

Another Qinglingyu chimed in softly, "[Hede] And they fought very neatly."

The tribal leaders all turned pale at the mention of Xiao Lei. Warriors who could once charge into battle repeatedly, braving arrows with their sturdy armor, would now only be killed by stray bullets flying from the sky.

Compared to the past, today's tribal leaders rarely charge into battle personally anymore.

The elite troops in the center of the enemy's formation should not be underestimated, but the combat strength on the flanks is clearly insufficient.

With just a hundred cavalrymen flanking the enemy, the battle lines on both flanks began to weaken, and no white smoke from the volley of fire was seen.

According to the Terton nobles, they were unwilling to confront the two-legged people head-on.

However, wherever the army went, villages were burned and people were relocated in advance. The enemy preferred to turn their homes into ashes rather than let the Teldun people take anything.

Khan's court was on the verge of running out of food, and the morale of the army was also unstable—rumors of an attack on the old camp spread like wildfire, and the more they tried to suppress them, the more they spread.

The tribesmen whispered among themselves where their leader couldn't see them. Some said it was the Eastern Sea tribe that did it, some said it was the Suz tribe that launched a sneak attack, and others said it was the Chihe tribe that made the move.

There are differing opinions about which tribe the other side belongs to. However, one thing is clear: something serious must have happened in the winter pastures, otherwise the Khanate would not have been so secretive.

Under these circumstances, Ghevordan failed to break through in one fell swoop and could not achieve a decisive battle, so the winter raid had effectively ended in failure.

The Telden forces were left with only one option—retreat. As long as they survived, there was always a chance to try again.

I'm so unwilling to accept this! I'm really, really unwilling to accept this!
Everyone in Teldun Khan's court, from the fire-breastman down, knew they should run, but no one was willing to spit out the meat they already had in their mouths.

On the other hand, Winters can continue to wait. Once the dam is completed and water is filled, the Teltowns, whose retreat is threatened, will have no choice but to retreat.

At this delicate juncture, Winters decided to take the initiative.

When he puts all his chips on the table, he is also forcing the person by the fire to make a choice: cut their losses to survive? Or... also put all their chips on the table to try and make a complete comeback.

Regardless of the reasons or the nature of the struggle, both sides have arrived at this battlefield, which is less than a kilometer wide.

The decisive battle thus began.

……

Groups of three to five Teldun light cavalrymen, carrying bows and arrows, galloped in front of the trench.

Sometimes they would draw their bows and shoot swiftly, sometimes they would launch fierce attacks, sometimes they would be near and sometimes far, sometimes they would gather and sometimes they would scatter, like crows circling above the corpses.

In addition to the light cavalry known as "Crows Scattering Stars," several armored cavalry units took turns attacking the flanks of the Tiefeng County army.

The tactics of the heavily armored cavalry were quite different from those of the unarmored light cavalry. They formed dense formations and crashed into the army of the Iron Peak County soldiers like a tidal wave.

Many of the militiamen who were new to the battle were so frightened that they almost wet themselves on the spot. Fortunately, Winters already had a group of veterans who had seen barbarian tactics.

"What are you afraid of? It's all just bluffing! The barbarians wouldn't dare to charge in directly!" The soldier cursed in exasperation, unaware that they were the ones who had been scared to the point of weakness last time.

Thanks to the discipline of the rank-and-file commanders and sergeants, the two flanks did not collapse directly.

Seeing that they could not break the legs of the men, the front troop of Teldun cavalry immediately swept across the enemy lines, and the second troop charged again. If they could not break through, the rear troop would repeat the process.

Winters, who was watching the battle, suddenly spoke up: "Distribute food and drink to each battalion."

The clerks and guards around looked at each other, unsure how to carry out the order. Winters, seeing no one move, turned and looked around, but still no one moved.

Winters then remembered that Bud had stayed in St. John's Town to organize logistics and was not on site.

During this period, Winters dictated the arrangements, and Bard then translated the dictations into written orders or instructions.

The two worked together seamlessly, greatly improving the efficiency of the command center. However, with Bard currently absent, Winters has to readjust.

“Go find the head of the logistics convoy and have him distribute the food and water to each battalion.” Winters pulled Charles aside and added thoughtfully, “Prioritize the second line on both flanks, then the central army, and finally the first line on both flanks.”

"Start cooking at this time?" someone asked, puzzled.

“The Telden’s main force is still resting and clearly does not intend to launch a general attack now,” Winters explained. “The rotating charge may seem aggressive, but its real purpose is to wear down the enemy.”

"So what are they waiting for?"

“A surprise attack.” Winters squinted at the sun. “It could also be timing.”

……

The pontoon bridge of the Telden people on the banks of the Big Horn River.

Several days earlier, the leader of Teldun, [Wisdom Falcon], who was stationed at the pontoon bridge, had already noticed that the water level was changing.

The wise falcon dispatched light cavalry to trace the source of the anomaly upstream, and they quickly found the root of the problem—a dam across the river.

If building a pontoon bridge in a day was still within Zhi Jun's comprehension, then the dam that appeared out of nowhere completely surpassed his wildest imagination.

Regardless, the problem needs to be solved.

Not only can debris drifting downstream damage floating bridges, but large changes in water level can also cause damage.

A pontoon bridge is essentially a floating pontoon made of wooden planks connected and fixed together. If the water level changes, the structure connecting the pontoons will also be damaged.

Zhijun, who stayed behind on the pontoon bridge, didn't understand the principles of bridge construction, but he could see the pontoon bridge beams twisting and breaking one after another.

Unfortunately, Zhi Falcon was unable to solve either the structural problems of the bridge or the people who caused them.

Several attacks on the dam ended in failure. The fire-gatherer first sent reinforcements, but then hurriedly transferred them away.

Meanwhile, almost all the Teldun troops who remained on the west bank were rushing to the Khan's tent to join the army. According to them, "The fire-warmers have caught the cunning two-legged man."

With fewer and fewer men at his disposal and the water level getting shallower and shallower, Zhijun made a difficult decision—to dismantle the bridge.

After careful consideration, he weighed the pros and cons: the pontoon bridge was bound to be destroyed sooner or later, and he was powerless to stop it; rather than helplessly waiting for the two-legged man to destroy the bridge, he might as well dismantle it himself; as long as the bridge-building materials were still available, it would not be difficult to rebuild a pontoon bridge in the future.

The dismantling of the pontoon bridge is proceeding at full speed, but the progress is very slow because many Palatine slaves were lost in the previous rebellion.

Suddenly, a maidservant rushed in excitedly to tell Zhijun the good news: "[Hede] Nayan! The river has risen again! We don't need to dismantle the bridge anymore!"

Zhi Jun's heart skipped a beat, and he slapped his personal slave hard across the face: "[Herd] Idiot!"

When Zhijun arrived at the pontoon bridge, he saw that the once clear river water had become murky—the undercurrents were stirring up the silt at the bottom of the river, and fish were constantly leaping out of the water.

The once tranquil Great Horn River suddenly became turbulent and raging, its current visibly accelerating, and a series of whirlpools of varying sizes appeared in its center. On the riverbank, a Teldun scout was scrambling towards the pontoon bridge.

The scout ripped off his outer robe, rolled it up in his hand, and waved it frantically as a warning, shouting at the top of his lungs, "[Hett] Ship! Big ship..."

The sentries no longer needed to shout, because the wise falcon could already see it with its own eyes.

A gift from Captain Morrow—a giant triangular raft loaded with earth and rocks bursts out of the river bend, spinning and drifting downstream, its speed increasing rapidly.

Moro deliberately designed the impact raft in a triangular shape so that one of its corners would always hit the pontoon bridge.

The Teldenans screamed and ran, watching helplessly as the triangular raft spun and crashed into them.

The river-blocking ropes were caught and then snapped, and the barrier posts placed in front of the pontoon bridge were also knocked to pieces.

"[Herd] Wooden pole!" Zhi Falcon, his eyes red, slapped the stunned slaves and commoners awake, shouting until his voice was hoarse: "[Herd] Push it out!"

Zhi Jun personally led a dozen or so of his men to lift a log, attempting to block the terrifying triangular raft.

He instinctively closed his eyes, waiting for the moment he would turn into minced meat.

The triangular raft drifted downstream, breaking through layers of obstacles, and crashed straight into the Teldun people's "raft-attacking hammer".

The tiger's mouth split open, blood gushing out, and it was unable to breathe.

The four Teldun men were thrown into the churning river, screaming in terror, but soon fell silent.

Because it lost a significant amount of speed after breaking through the river barrier, the triangular raft, subjected to a similarly large reaction force, was also deflected. The raft surged onto the riverbank and eventually ran aground.

Zhijun collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

After surviving the ordeal, his followers shouted and laughed, some wept with joy, and others clung to their heads and cried bitterly.

But almost instantly, the pontoon bridge returned to its deathly silence.

Zhijun followed the gaze of his men—the second triangular raft rushed out of the river bend, followed by the third.

Following closely behind the two triangular rafts into view of the Telden people was... a windmill.

No matter how much the Teldenans try to ignore it or slap themselves in the face, what's floating on the water is a real windmill.

Despite facing the giant triangular raft, the Teldun people still had the fighting spirit to build a floating bridge to the death.

But when faced with the watermill, which was more than three stories high and resembled a ferocious giant, the Tertons' courage was utterly crushed.

Samukin, holding a torch, personally escorted the "windmill" in a small boat to prevent it from getting stuck on a bank or in a bend in the river.

Warfare does require a bit of imagination, and Samukin's imagination surpasses that of the others combined.

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

The windmill, resembling a giant warship, was brought to the front of the pontoon bridge, making the river-blocking cables and bollards look like dwarf toys in comparison.

"Go!" Samukin lit a torch and threw it at the windmill with a maniacal laugh: "Go say hello to that damn monkey's ass!"

In an instant, the windmill covered in asphalt turned into a fireball.

The soldiers piloting the small boat cut the ropes, and the windmill, now completely free, crashed into the pontoon bridge downstream.

The Teldun people watched helplessly as the burning castle drew closer, grew larger, and swayed but never sank.

Nothing could stop this behemoth, nothing could stop the destruction of the pontoon bridge.

The Tertons, who had no time to get off the bridge, jumped into the river in a panic, only to be swept back by the huge waves caused by the collision of the pontoon bridge and the windmill, and were smashed to pieces.

Some Teltonians were stuck to the scalding asphalt, screaming as they turned into burning people.

The taut cables snapped one after another, and the bridge connecting the pontoons was reduced to fragments in the blink of an eye.

With a deafening roar, the bridge trembled and was cut in half with almost no obstruction to the windmills.

The windmill continued to drift downstream, while the two bridge sections swayed and rose with the river, and the fire spread to the cables and the bridge surface.

Zhi Falcon was only dragged back to the East Coast by his personal slave at the last moment, only to find a scene of natural disaster before him.

The slaves, who had narrowly escaped death and were mentally broken, frantically kowtowed and worshipped the ruins of the pontoon bridge.

"[Herd word] Put out the fire!" Zhi Jun pointed to the two remaining sections of the pontoon bridge and managed to utter, "[Herd word] Put out the fire! It's not completely finished yet!"

Suddenly, the thunderous sound of horses' hooves rang out from the west bank of the valley.

The falcon was startled and instantly straightened up, looking in the direction from which the sound of hooves came.

A group of fierce warriors riding Herd horses and wearing robes came galloping towards them. The leader of the warriors was so burly that he looked like a bear riding a rabbit.

Zhi Jun breathed a sigh of relief, his body going limp, as if all his strength had been drained away.

He gathered his thoughts, grabbed his personal slave's arm, and quickly ordered, "[Hade] You cross the river immediately! Go and deliver a message to the Khan! Tell the Khan! The bridge is destroyed, and I will do my best to repair it! Go now..."

However, Zhi Falcon failed to notice that the leader of the "Teldonians" charging towards them was wearing a proper hussar hat.

……

The main battlefield.

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

The Teldun men had already realized that the Iron Peak County army had no cannons.

Hundreds of light cavalrymen then remained in a sparse formation a short distance away, occasionally flanking and firing arrows, using various means to prevent the Tiefeng County militia from resting.

Only then did the old interpreter roughly understand why the other side did not occupy the hilltop to form a battle formation.

If they occupy the hilltop and form a battle formation, the Tiefeng County army will be subjected to continuous harassment from all directions, and they will truly not be able to rest for a moment.

The current situation is that the Iron Peak County Army controls a passage less than one kilometer wide between the mountains and the forest, making it difficult for the Teldun light cavalry to outflank the enemy. They can only repeatedly flank the enemy from the front.

The tactic of "circling the enemy and scouting out" has become "semi-circling and scouting out," and its effectiveness is really limited.

He could even vaguely see that the troops in Tiefeng County seemed to be taking turns retreating to the rear of the battle line to rest.

However, these are all rumors; the Telden people have no intention of backing down, and the Iron Peak County people will not be easily intimidated.

The outcome of this battle will ultimately be decided in a real fight.

The celestial phenomena were gradually shifting in a direction favorable to the Telden people—the morning light was in the wrong direction, and the wind was also wrong.

But now, the tide has turned.

Winters in the central army also vaguely sensed the subtle change in the atmosphere: the wind direction was changing, from southwest to northwest; the sun was setting, and the Telden men would no longer charge into the sunlight.

Most importantly, the continuous tactics of exhausting the enemy caused the mentally stressed young soldiers on the left and right flanks to become numb and drowsy.

There was a faint plume of smoke rising from the Teldun lines—though it was barely noticeable.

"We're charging!" Winters flung his cane aside and jumped to his feet. "Get the second line on both flanks ready! Withdraw the light infantry! Notify the ambush troops on the western hills to mount up!"

The drowsy monkey and Doug were kicked awake by the soldiers, and the battle line of the able-bodied soldiers suddenly tightened.

From the seemingly chaotic and unpredictable scattered formation of Teldun light cavalry, a squad of armored cavalry suddenly charged out from the side.

"Again?" The young militiamen on the first front were getting impatient. The enemy kept charging and flanking them, trying to intimidate them, but they never dared to cross the trench.

As their fears gradually subsided, many young soldiers began to feel a sense of complacency.

However, this time the Teldun did not cross the enemy lines. The lead armored soldier roared and spurred his horse, leaping directly over the barricades and trenches. Amidst shouts of alarm, he charged into the scattered militiamen, brandishing his spear and knocking several of them to the ground.

The other Teldun cavalry lacked such horsemanship and warhorses; they obediently pulled down the chevaux-de-frise and deer embankments, squeezed through the gaps between the trenches, and followed their leader into battle.

At the same time, Teldun's main force also suddenly came back to life.

Tired enemy? Mounted archery? A flock of crows?

The Iron Cavalry Charge is the Terdun Tribe's specialty! [Once one point is breached, regardless of the number of troops, the entire army can advance unimpeded, and even a hundred thousand men cannot withstand them].

A gap has been breached in the left flank, and the Teldens will spare no expense to widen the gap, unleashing a decisive assault to sweep across the entire front.

Meanwhile, in the woods to the west of the army formation, Anglu, having seen the flag signal, mounted his horse.

Behind Anglu, Dusak, Paratists, Protestant immigrants... Winters' cavalry had gathered their strength, awaiting the call to a decisive counter-charge.

[Thank you to all the readers for your collections, reading, subscriptions, recommendations, monthly tickets, donations, and comments. Thank you everyone!]
The use of "triangular rafts" and "windmills" to assault pontoon bridges is a bridge-destroying tactic employed by the Austrian army during the Battle of Aspern-Esling, as described in the book "The Battle." However, since other sources don't mention "triangular rafts" and "windmills," I'm not entirely sure if this part was Patrick Lamb's original creation... But using windmills to assault pontoon bridges is truly romantic, giving a sense of miraculous power.
[Tactics such as scattering cavalry like crows among the stars and using sparse cavalry patrols are recorded in the *Tartary History*. As for the use of heavy cavalry, directly confronting the infantry line would be suicidal, so repeated probing and charging were common practices. In this respect, East and West are similar. After all, everyone carries a head on their shoulders; there's no question of "who is more fearless than whom."]
[As for the long-circulated tactic of blindfolded horse charging into battle, it is basically fictional. First, blindfolded horses do exist; in horsefighting and bullfighting, there are instances of horses being blindfolded or partially blindfolded. In horse racing, there are also cases where horses are forced into the pen blindfolded instead of entering it.]
[However, I have never seen any record of charging with warhorses blindfolded. Before 2007, there was virtually no discussion of this on the Chinese internet, clearly an original creation of the "Oath of Allegiance" narrative. This is because battlefields are not flat ground; there are many complex terrain situations.]
[More than warhorses, people are the ones who least want to die. There are probably far more records of cavalrymen recklessly charging into formations, only to have their riders die and their frightened horses crash into the formation.]
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(End of this chapter)