White snowflakes fell on the gray-white cracked battlements of the castle, and the faint morning light outside had not yet illuminated the earth, and a squad of shouting black-armored cavalry arrived at the wall rock fort on the front line of Kyoto in Gaul with the sound of whizzing horses' hooves

The fat man stopped his horse and looked at this strategic point mentioned many times in the newspaper, the wall rock fort composed of huge gray-white mountain stones, the huge stone fortress with a length and width of no more than 200 meters before and after, but the terrain was excellent, built on a cliff wall 100 meters high, and there was only one road to reach it, like a huge nest standing high on the top of the cliff, looking down on the world from above,

Guarding the main road to Kyoto for 300 years, this fortress was the first gate that any enemy who wanted to enter Kyoto from the west must cross, and at the height of the Gallic Empire, where 35,000 troops were stationed to terrify the entire northwest of the empire.

With the battle of Kyoto taking a sharp turn for the worse, the Gauls, who had moved their forces to the north, had abandoned it a month earlier and were now the base camp of the Kyoto attack line commanded by Hukochili,

The war between the Falcon Empire and Gaul has lasted for three years, from the northwest to the southwest, to the hinterland of Gaul, to the Kyoto of Gaul, hundreds of thousands of troops have fought fiercely, millions of people have died and died, the fat man has spent countless scheming, with incomparable patience, the war strength of the Gauls has been exhausted piece by piece, and the famous generals who have been the pillars of the Gauls have fallen one by one in the turbulent whirlpool of this protracted war, and now, he has come to the Wall Rock Fort, ready to end this qiē in this winter, and the heart of giving the Gauls a fatal blow is extremely strong,,

Soon, it will become the base camp of the entire empire against Gaul and Kyoto, and the imperial troops that have been ordered to gather around this base camp are converging from all directions, including the 5th and 6th main banner regiments of the Imperial Central Army. The second, third, and fourth main flag regiments of the Southern Army, the second cavalry flag regiment of the Empire, and the second echelon troops will also arrive here at the end of October, including the first to fourth main flag regiments of the Imperial Central Army that have completed their rest in the southwest region, the two newly formed Thor regiments, and the 15,000 cold land coalition troops that have just landed on the northwest coast, even if the northward march of the Salonian Army used to contain and disperse the forces of the Gauls is not included, the total strength of the empire in the winter is more than 200,000,

One-third of the Empire's forces. The last time so many regular troops were mobilized was in the war of annihilation against Goude, which shows how strong the fat man's heart is to see the battle flag of the Falcon Empire planted on the head of Gallic Kyoto City this winter, and the first thing he did when he arrived at Biyan Fort was to climb the top watchtower of this large fortress known as "Kyoto Gateway No. 1" in spite of the cold snow swirling in the sky.

His gaze narrowed slightly into a line, and his gaze looked into the distance. He wanted to know if he could see far enough and see clearly enough from the lookout at the very top of the fortress, as he had been rumored. You can clearly see Gallic Kyoto, which is 50 miles away.

It's a pity that the fat man's eyes are all gray and white, the cold wind is howling, and the winter fog is heavy.

"It's boring!"

The fat man wrapped his clothes tightly and pursed his lips slightly, he found that no matter how hard he tried. He couldn't see more than ten miles away, but at last he was caught by a large, calm, blue lake, long and deep lying in the gray morning mist, surrounded by endless dark green coniferous forests on either side. Even in winter, when the land is covered with snow, this coniferous forest retains its evergreen color, except for the yellow-brown and golden needles, like a huge gray-green sentinel tree towering overhead, and the woodland is also spruce, cold shirt, and soldier pine, and so on. The vegetation underneath is sparse, the ground is covered with a thick layer of snow, and the frozen lake looks like a snow-white mirror in the morning mist

"What's that lake called?" asked the fat man, frowning slightly, retracting his gaze, giving up his efforts, and taking a deep breath

"It is the Funas Lake mentioned in the report! The New 7th and 9th Infantry Regiments of the Gauls were there, numbering about 30,000 men, and were the flanks of the Gallic Kyoto Line." Hu Keqi next to him replied with a shocked face, he knew that the eyes of the falcon were sharp and unusual for ordinary people, but he didn't expect to be so sharp, the snow was all he could see, all he could see was the light and shadow of the gray earth swaying in the distance, and what the falcon saw was actually several miles away, if this was the case, maybe in fine weather, this could be seen as far as Gallic Kyoto, fifty miles away." Didn't you say that these two infantry regiments were stationed fifteen miles away from here? When did the Gallic front of the Gallic Infantry Regiments advance so suddenly?" the fat man seemed to think of something, and his eyes lit up, "Yes, these are these two infantry regiments."

Hukochili explained with an embarrassed face, "It is the changes that have only appeared in the past few days, since the army of Salon approached the northern town of Antura, the Gauls began to fluctuate, and these two infantry regiments moved forward at the same time a day ago, until they reached the area of Lake Furnas" "Suddenly advanced in one day by fifteen miles?" The fat man said with a hint of solemnity on his face, "Suddenly putting on such an aggressive posture is really not like what the Gallic army, which is currently in a state of anxiety because of Salonia North." Yes, the subordinates are also confused, it should be to block the snooping of our scouts in the rear!" Hukochili took a deep breath, his voice paused, and explained, "Behind the original defense line is the connecting line between Gallic Kyoto and the north, and it is said that the Gauls have just formed a horse-drawn sled team, which is constantly transporting supplies between Kyoto and the north day and night, in this case, in order to block the possible surprise attack of our army, it is also possible to push the battle line forward"

"Explain, tell me your explanation" The fat man's hand was placed on the battlements covered with thick layers of snow, and his sword-like eyes looked at him with coldness, Hu Keqili felt a chill in his back, and hurriedly said. The subordinates thought that the sudden approach of the opponent's defense line was to limit the sight of our army, and the backbone of the two infantry regiments of the Gauls was the 3,000 Gallic Janissaries, which had strong combat effectiveness, and the Gauls spared no effort to protect this transportation line, even if the troops were very tight, the person in charge of the Gallic Kyoto defense line still stationed two infantry regiments five miles behind the two infantry regiments, so we faced four Gallic regiments in front of us with two lines of defense, adding up to more than 60,000 troops. It's really beyond the current assault power of our army"

"You mean to say that the purpose of this sudden advance of the line of defense is to make us blind!" the fat man's face showed a hint of anger, and he clenched his hand on the battlements, "There is no way to know what the Gauls behind the line are doing, and even if the Gauls are secretly reinforcing the north, we have no way of knowing, is that what does this mean? Have you ever thought about what would be the outcome of Salon, who was alone in the north, if he suddenly found that what was waiting for him in Antura was the onslaught of several times the enemy?" The fat man's series of questions made beads of sweat pop up on Hukochiri's forehead. He knelt down on one knee with a panicked face, "It's the incompetence of his subordinates!" I didn't expect this, but it is more than 800 miles from here to Antura, and the other party's reinforcements should not be so fast, and now the heavy snow in the north of Gaul is closing the road......"

"Is it difficult to cross eight hundred miles in five days with a horse-drawn sleigh?" the fat man pursed his lips disdainfully, and snorted heavily, "It's been delayed for one day, that is, there are only four days left for us!" What are we going to do?!"

"My subordinates will send reinforcements to Salon immediately!" a hint of determination flashed across Hukochili's face

"I'm afraid that the reinforcements won't be able to catch up, and one day is enough to make a decision. Immediately inform Saron as quickly as possible, don't attack Antura for the time being, otherwise this guy will hit Antura headlong, and even if he doesn't die, he will lose a layer of skin. Moreover, the strength of the three flag regiments below you is only 40,000 people, and it is not easy to contain the troops in front of Gallic Kyoto. Now we have to send troops to reinforce it, I dare say that you don't have to wait for the news from Antura's side to come, your side will collapse first!"

The fat man waved his hand, let Hu Keqili stand up, turned to look at the huge mirror-like lake in the distance, his eyes were deep, and it was difficult for a good woman to cook without rice, even if he was a famous general in the empire, in order to reduce the burden of rear transportation in winter, the force of attacking Gallic Kyoto was 100,000 people, and it was divided into two directions: northward and containment, Hukochili was able to suppress the nearly 200,000 troops of Gallic Kyoto with such a force, which was already commendable, the fat man tilted his head, his eyes were like electricity, and he asked unexpectedly" Where are Besukaya's reindeer cavalry now?"

"In accordance with His Majesty's wishes, in order not to expose their existence, the subordinates placed them in the Boyang Gorge ten miles away from here" Hu Keqili replied with a pale face, "The subordinates have prepared enough food inside, enough for the Northlanders for a month, the combat power of the reindeer cavalry is indeed palpitating in winter, last time they were very good, but unfortunately their numbers are too small, they can only be used as a sharp knife, if there are more......"

Hu Keqili's voice stopped, cautiously glanced at the fat man's back, and said, "On the opposite side, there are 60,000 Gallic regular troops, and 3,000 reindeer cavalry sneak up on the logistics team, even if you put tens of thousands of people into a frontal battlefield, it is like a drop of water falling into a lake, and it will not be very effective!"

"Does Your Majesty mean that you want them to participate in the war?" Hu Keqili raised his head blankly, three thousand people, what kind of hurtful thing is this going to do? If there are three thousand heavy cavalry, it is almost the same, but unfortunately, except for the northern border guards, there is a heavy cavalry unit in the empire, and there are no other troops, it is the patent cavalry of the female knight Berlante Bonnie, and the knight of Ruierdian is a sharp blade to deter the steppe people.

"Three thousand reindeer cavalry is a little less, but in some cases, this bloodletting knife can also pierce the throat with one arrow!" the fat man withdrew his gaze from a distance, turned around and patted Hukochili on the shoulder, "It's time for them to get out of the valley!"

With a sneer on the corner of his mouth, the fat man grabbed the broken snow on the battlements with his hand and threw it into the air, and the snowflakes were swept and rolled by the wind in the sky, heading into the distance. He said in a cold voice: "Since the Gauls want to blockade us, then we will break his two front teeth, and even if we will not kill the Gauls, we will let him transfer back the troops sent to the north with a mouth full of blood! Sixty thousand is a lot? Believe it or not, Lao Tzu will play all to death!"

The famous general of the empire, Hu Keqili, lowered his head with a sad face, and did not dare to raise it, sighing with shame, His Majesty is so domineering every time, it is too inferior.

On the morning of 19 October, 11,000 troops of the Fifth Banner Regiment of the Falcon Empire's Central Army marched into the area of Lake Furnas and began to build fortifications, cutting down trees to build catapults to attack the towers of the Gallic army on the opposite side. The new 5th Infantry Regiment and the new 7th Infantry Regiment of Gaul, feeling provoked, formed an attack line with three times the strength of the force, and began to counterattack from the front, preparing to kill this provocateur who did not know the height of the sky. At noon, the defense lines of the two armies were less than 500 meters apart.

The wind and snow stopped suddenly, like the forest spear flashing in the cold sun, and the weather began to dry and cold rapidly, "Pass the order, steady!"

Reposti, the commander of the Fifth Banner of the Central Army, stood on a mound raised by the edge of the frozen lake, staring at the Gallic army lined up behind the flying snowflakes in the distance, and in front of him were about 10,000 spears and heavy shields. This was followed by the main force of 20,000 infantry in the formation, three troops in front and behind, each fifty meters apart, and the clusters on the whole pressure were like a fierce long snake, interlocking, and it was almost difficult to find the weakness to break through

Entangled with the Falcon Army in Kyoto for more than a month. The Gallic commander on the opposite side already had experience, and his eyes were on the dense crossbowman phalanx of the Falcon army on the opposite side hiding behind the army formation, and the head of the first line of defense, the commander of the new Gallic Fifth Infantry Regiment, Hondubai, was not in a hurry to press the army all up,

The falconry's crossbow battle array is known as the killing machine on the battlefield. And the other party wisely chose the dense forest in this lake area as the support of the array, as long as there is a chance to adjust, this natural barrier will slow down the speed of his offensive troops, and then become the target of the opponent's random shooting, "Is there a reply from Lord Paula!"

Hong Dubai was dressed in gray-blue general's armor. Raising the mask on his face, he turned to ask the herald cavalry behind him, who was waiting for reinforcements from the second line of defense. That's right, the reinforcements, although they have a threefold advantage in terms of strength, but judging from the years of fighting between the Empire and the Falcon Empire, the best way to crush the falcon army's almost perverted defensive line head-on is not to attack, but to choose to give it a fatal blow from the flank,

The Falcon Army is studying the tactics of the Gauls, and the Gallic Army is also studying the tactics of the Falcon Army,

"It is necessary to have a force that can contain the opponent's flank and cooperate with its own attack, so as to ensure that the superior forces can fight continuously. Constantly line up the new forces on the front line, and follow your own rhythm as you like, and extend the attack period of the entire campaign. In the end, with continuous attacks, completely shredding the exhausted Falcon Army's defensive line, as long as the Falcon Army, which is good at long-range attacks, is dragged into the quagmire of chaotic warfare, there is only one final result, which side with inferior troops will be wiped out because of the last bit of body!" "If the above conditions cannot be met, even if you have the advantage, you cannot adopt a frontal attack strategy!" In the operational guide issued to the commanders of the Gallic armies, the commander-in-chief, Yard, specifically noted this point, a very tragic tactic, but this is the conclusion and experience of countless Gallic soldiers with blood and glory

The atmosphere before the battle was tense for both armies, and Reposti's body stood like a statue on the mound. As the commander of the entire flag regiment, even if he was a little uneasy in his heart, he must not show a trace of timidity, his body was erect and straight, for the soldiers below, the general was their backbone, in front of him was three times his own strength, and behind was a wide lake as smooth as a mirror, once the defense line was shaken, there would be no terrain behind that could take advantage of the battle

Thick winter black clouds, entrenched like cotton balls above the heads of the two armies, piled higher and higher, between the sky and the earth, like a huge eye, watching the vast number of beings below, there was no snow in the sky, but it was dry and cold and unsettling, "According to the report from ten minutes ago, Lord Paula is still three miles away from here!" The herald cavalry half-knelt in front of Hong Dubai, "Sanli! Is that bastard climbing? He can't be faster!" Hong Dubai was very dissatisfied, his eyes narrowed into a line slightly, in his eyes, the Falcon Army on the opposite side had been suppressed by himself and could not move, but this piece of fat meat could not be swallowed in his mouth, three times the strength, if it weren't for the death order from Yalde, he might have been unable to help but do it,

"Forget it, don't care about this bastard!" Raising his head and looking at the sky, Hong Dubai finally raised his hand "Order the fourth, sixth heavy squadrons to attack, and the archers to cover"

"Forward!" The light cavalry that gave the order galloped past the infantry ranks, and the line of attack formed by five thousand hoplites began to move forward, behind these hoplites, three thousand Gallic light archers followed, their footsteps on the ground, forming a white vortex of flying in the dust and snow, as if even the white on the ground was crushed by the dense over, metal armor footsteps,

Snow-bright armor flowed and emerged in the deep mist, advancing in a tight and orderly manner, trampling the ground to the ground. It was as if a glowing river had been added to the earth. There were no slogans, no sounds, no sound except the sound of footsteps. It seems that only the rhythmic rustling footsteps are left between heaven and earth,

On October 19, the Battle of Kyoto in Gaul, known as the Empire's first winter offensive, officially kicked off at Lake Fernas (to be continued......