Horns' unit was attached to the 17th Infantry Division of the 21st Corps.

This regiment was surprising in the Red Moon War a few years ago, and they persevered to the end with their stubborn will to fight, waiting for the final victory, in which only 20 men of the 21st Division survived.

Except for Sean's withdrawal from the army, all of these people served as the main officers in Horns' 1st Brigade, which was where Horns' confidence lies.

If the division commander, Lord Nicholas Herman, was the most determined presence of the 17th Army, strong and even somewhat domineering, then the 1st Brigade was the hardest fist of the 21st Division.

The 1st Brigade has 3 fully armored infantry regiments, 3 cavalry artillery companies and 5 cavalry companies, and has a large number of horses, with a total number of 4,000 people.

The 21st Division undoubtedly had a fortunate aura, and during the war at the end of 1834 it was not on the main route of the Assyrian attack, so it was able to preserve most of its strength.

When the Assyrians broke through the defensive line, Commander Herman immediately withdrew his troops to the Black Forest region, using the complex and dense mountains and forests there as a cover, collecting supplies while continuing to fight, and at the same time sending the 1st Brigade to find an opportunity to annihilate the small Assyrian forces in the southern steppe of the Black Forest.

In the spring of 1835, Commander Herman clearly sensed that the Assyrian power was weakening, and he also heard that the crown prince's insistence on the city of Gangdia attracted a large number of Assyrian sieges—which was also an important reason why the 21st Division had been able to hold out until now.

In fact, at this time, the commander of the Herman division had become the de facto supreme commander of the 17th Army Corps, but except for the 21st Division in his hand, the rest of the troops lacked clothes and guns, and could only undertake auxiliary tasks.

Therefore, after fighting on the periphery for some time, Commander Herman ordered Horns to lead the 1st Brigade to try to advance in the direction of Gangdia, and he wanted to contact the crown prince.

Horns's 1st Brigade was tenacious, marching and shifting constantly, and if it were other troops, it would have been exhausted and complaining, but the 1st Brigade still maintained a strong will to fight.

This force was cunning enough to always break out of the Assyrian encirclement in advance, and several times it was very thrilling. They searched for advantageous fighters, and in a few months they had annihilated nearly 10,000 Assyrians, with very few casualties.

On 10 February 1835, the 1st Brigade arrived in the Gangdia region. Unbeknownst to Colonel Horns, several smaller units were also approaching Gangdia.

By the time Herman arrived with the rest of the 17th Legion, there were about 100,000 Imperial troops gathered outside the city of Gangdia.

These troops are all units that persist in fighting behind enemy lines, and of course, there are some who have to persist in fighting behind enemy lines because they have been blocked from returning home, and their will to fight is average. Unfortunately, these armies are not uniformly organized and commanded.

With the status of Lord Herman and the family behind him in the Empire, it was impossible to convince these troops to obey their command.

The situation at this time is:

The crown prince and his 50,000 men and men held out in the city, preparing to break out, while 200,000 Assyrians were trapped outside the city, while the Assyrians themselves were exhausted, and their supply methods of war were practically unsustainable, and 100,000 imperial troops were facing them further out.

In the vast north of Europa, such a situation abounds, but the city of Gangdia has become the most important battleground. The Crown Prince's strategy had paid off, as he had consumed too many of his opponent's resources in the city of Gangdia, and the opponent could not afford to abandon them.

The 1st Brigade was ordered to launch a night raid on the besieging Assyrians, and Herman's purpose was to let the crown prince in the city know that the Empire's armies in the north were still fighting.

At daybreak, the 1st Brigade withdrew its troops, and they had to face the enemy's daytime retaliation.

Herman had no time to think about other troops, so he positioned the 20,000 troops of the 17th Army Corps in a mound group 5 kilometers away from the Assyrians, and built the position extremely tightly.

"Hans, what are the casualties of your brigade?" Herman asked Colonel Horns, who had returned to headquarters.

He had always been a particularly strict man, and even in the most difficult times, he still wore his military coat meticulously, so Colonel Horns, who was also very strict with his subordinates, was highly regarded by him, promoted him to brigade commander, and tilted the resources at hand towards him as much as possible.

"Division commander, we lost about two companies. Horns said with pain, "There are also people in the city who have broken through. ”

"Oh, how many?" Herman said in surprise, "how is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

"About two hundred, they were five hundred. According to them, the situation in the city was not bad, but ammunition began to run low, and according to the officers who broke out, the city could hold out for a while. The crown prince said he was ready to break out at 5 a.m. on Feb. 15 and hoped we would cooperate. ”

Herman sighed: "His Highness did it, he is really a powerful person. ”

"Yes, it's a great thing to be able to stay in isolation for four months. Horns said.

"Go and get that Lieutenant Frank here. Herman turned to his lieutenant. He knew quite a few big people with the surname Frank, but the lieutenant didn't.

Seeing the adjutant leave, Horns asked, "Divisional commander, what are you going to do?"

"I think this is an opportunity for a counter-offensive, we have been here for several days, but on the whole, the Assyrians are clearly undermanned, and once again they have made the mistake of being too long, and these barbarians are attacking everywhere, and if they can't bring us to their knees quickly, they are now all over the place. Herman said, "From the northern border to the depth of a thousand kilometers here, the barbarians have consumed too much strength. ”

"Division commander, relying only on our 21st Division, I'm afraid there will be insufficient troops. Horns paused and said, "Please don't get me wrong, the 1st Brigade will not be afraid of battle." ”

"Haha, Hans, I have full trust in the 1st Brigade and have enough confidence in you, the Brigade Commander. Herman patted Horns on the shoulder and smiled, "But you're right, I'm not arrogant enough to rely on the 21st Division alone to win. That's why I asked the adjutant to bring in Lieutenant Frank. ”

"What do you mean?" Horns wondered.

"I need the authorization of the crown prince, who still has at least the title of commander-in-chief of the resistance to the enemy, nominally including the 21st Division, and all of us are subject to the control of the crown prince. The Imperial army outside of Gangdia must have a strong leader, and I am the best candidate. Herman said, his tone was very conceited, which was his usual style, "Of course, it is impossible to really get the authorization of the crown prince, I can't meet the crown prince, so I have to borrow the name of Lieutenant Frank, many people know him." ”

Herman's surname is not bad, he himself is the queen's elder brother, a relative of the eight classics, and he is also respected by the emperor.

If you add the surname Frank and Lieutenant Frank's status as walking beside the crown prince, this Herman division commander may really be able to bluff the senior officers of other armies.

"In extraordinary times, do extraordinary things!" Horns said.

"There is a lot of truth in that, which thinker said that?" Herman asked.

"Sean Connery, he's not a thinker. Horns replied.

"Hmm. I know this guy, who is also from our 21st Division. I have heard that he is now a very wealthy earl, and that he is very influential in the South. If he stays in the 21st Division, I can make him a brigade commander in charge of logistics and reception. ”

In fact, Herman only met Sean once, but Sean did not give him a very good impression, and he was classified as a whisker shooter.

Because he was impressed by some of the little things that happened in the monastery of Evans.

As for making Sean the brigade commander, Herman said it on purpose, which was an expression of his petty dissatisfaction, because it was something that could not have happened.

"I think he's better suited to be your deputy. Horns said.

"Looks like you think highly of him. Herman was noncommittal.

At this time, Lieutenant Frank was brought in, and Herman directly stated his intentions, and Lieutenant Frank thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Gathering as much strength as possible to defeat your opponent is the only consideration, and red tape is already out of place.

At 7 o'clock in the morning, the Assyrian counteroffensive began. The 21st Division crouched behind them, staring at them, making the Assyrians uncomfortable.

Herman had the 21st Division as the main force, and the position consisted of a series of mounds, with artillery concentrated on the heights of several mounds, and the rest of the 17th Army Corps was responsible for protecting these cannons, and the infantry support forces were ambushed behind the mounds, ready to countercharge from the other side.

The power of more than 100 cannons cost the Assyrians dearly.

A group of blood warriors, dressed in heavy armor, fought their way through the bloody road, and they fought their way to the front of the 21st Division, mixing with the soldiers of the 21st Division, which made the artillerymen unlucky.

These powerful warriors possessed great hand-to-hand combat power, and the huge battle axes cleaved a blood mist with their heads, and together they became an unstoppable black torrent.

The officers and men of the 21st Division had to retreat.

At the critical moment, the 1st Regiment of the 1st Brigade stood in front of the Blood Warriors, and the commander of the Big Nose Regiment Gary Norris commanded in front, and they formed three sub-battalions with large width and depth, and used a salvo to give full play to the firepower advantage.

The bravest Blood Samurai had already rushed to a distance of less than thirty meters, and the soldiers of the 1st Regiment could even see the mad eyes of the samurai through the gaps in the eyes of the armor.

Norris drew his sword and roared:

"All, get on the bayonet, charge!"

Seeing that the soldiers of the 1st Regiment followed Norris to launch a counter-charge, Horns had to scold to the left and right:

"This guy always ends the fight in the least cost-effective way. ”

Herman, who also came to the forefront, said:

"This is what makes the 21st Division different, we not only fight with wisdom, but also fight hard. ”