Chapter 8: The Skirt of the Goddess of Victory
I gave a state funeral for De La Rue, and then issued a decree to the whole nation about the atrocities of the Empire, stirred up the hatred of the people of the whole country, and quickly convened a military conference to agree on countermeasures, and the Secretary of State, Yu Hasu, was summoned to the tent as a military adviser. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info
"At present, the only strategy of our army is to lure the enemy deeper, to drag down the spirit and physical strength of the Imperial Army with the hottest weather and long battle lines in the desert in July and August, and then cut off the enemy's supply lines, leaving the Imperial Army a hungry and exhausted army in the desert. In this strategy, the key is to master the pace of the entire battle, disrupt the enemy's disposition, and force the enemy to move in the direction we preset. Of course, sacrifice is inevitable in order to implement the whole strategy, but I promise, no one will sacrifice in vain! ”
I made a concluding remark on the whole strategy, and when I spoke of sacrifice, I was so understated – death, for me, perhaps, I had become accustomed and numb, both to my own death and to the death of others.
"I have no objection to the marching strategy of His Majesty and the military department, but I would like to make two additional comments," Yu Hasu's voice was soft and low, the fox's fine eyes flickered, and there was calmness and calmness in his thin body that surpassed our experience and age, "First, I hope that all the generals will always adhere to the rhythm of the advance of the war, and will not lose their sense of proportion because of temporary victories and defeats, nor can they disrupt their pace due to unexpected circumstances in the war. The second point is to always understand that the purpose of this war is that we are not fighting to defeat the Empire, but to fight for peace and survival. ”
Among our group of young military generals, some are enthusiastic and sharp, but lack the quality of patience and calmness, including me, sometimes lose the ability to think calmly due to the impulse of the moment, so I specially appointed Yu Hasselblad as a military advisor, because his stability and experience can complement our defects and play a role in cooling fanaticism in the army.
"According to intelligence, the strength of the Imperial Combined Army is about 70,000, the commander is Prince James VI, and the deputy commander is the commander of the Eastern Frontier Army of the Empire, Tsikov, and the troops have been gathered in the Duchy of Murhan in the east of the 'Heart of Death', and it is estimated that in August, when the logistics supply of the Imperial Army is completed, it will invade our country in the east." Memphis conducted an intelligence analysis.
"What kind of person is Tsykov?" I asked.
"Tsikov is quite cautious in his use of troops, decent, and in line with the art of war, although he is not as good as General Li Binglan of the 'Knights of the Silver Silk Order' and ' The Tiger Legion's General Carlos is so radiant and eye-catching, but he is also an excellent general, but he often neglects the fighter because he is too cautious, and because of his straightforward personality, he does not know how to flatter and adapt, and his relationship with the imperial court is not good, which is the reason why he was transferred to the eastern frontier where the empire is not valued, but he has never made fatal mistakes in the use of troops, and he is a respectable opponent. Memphis replied.
Li Binglan, my dear, whenever I hear this name, I feel a sense of sadness...... Her hands that dominated the direction of victory like magic on the battlefield made me still vividly remember the time when I was there. A famous general who is enough to be compared with Li Binglan, although the evaluation cannot match the famous name of the "Ice Lady God of War", it is also an existence that cannot be ignored!
"To make up for James's lack with the experience of Tsykov is probably the reason why Nanzhan Buqi II used him as his lieutenant...... A general like him would certainly not be able to handle the relationship with James, and there would certainly be no harmony between the cautious Tsykov and the arrogant James. I pondered for a while and said, "If Tsykov is the commander, with his modest use of troops, he will definitely not advance lightly, but adopt a strategy of gradual advancement, in this case, it will be difficult for us to take advantage of it." But the coach is James and not Tsykov after all, and with James's personality, what he desires is a quick and brilliant victory, and he certainly can't tolerate this slow effect. What we have to do is how to widen the rift between the commanders and lieutenants of the Imperial Army, and it seems that a few defeats are inevitable......"
"Your Majesty means to quickly fuel James's arrogance and make him lose the deployment of his march?" Yuhasu asked softly.
I nodded, and quickly gave the battle order: "Thantrian, you are responsible for transporting all the people who have not yet left the eastern oasis of the 'Reaper's Heart to the west, and I will rely on your organization and coordination skills. ”
"The lower officials must live up to His Majesty's trust!" The commander of the city defenses, Huntrian, was the first to step forward to receive the order.
"I personally led 30,000 troops, with Memphis as the deputy commander, and when the Imperial army entered the 'Heart of Death', I fought several beautiful defeats with it, and completed the deployment of luring the enemy into depth. Galen, you are in charge of commanding 3,000 light cavalry, cooperating with Ekins's assault regiment to harass the enemy's rear, making sure that the enemy cannot march calmly, and cutting off the Imperial army's supply lines with Matthew's heavy cavalry regiment when the battle line is extended. As for the final preparations for the departure of the residents of Meinster, it is up to Newcastle, the deputy commander of the city defense force, and Osma, the chancellor of the exchequer...... Hopefully it doesn't come to this. ”
"The subordinates have orders! For the sake of the future of Meinster, for the sake of the people of the desert, and for the sake of not dishonoring the prestige of His Majesty, we will definitely go to the soup and die! The generals came forward to accept the command, and swore an oath.
At this time, the attendant served the wine, and I toasted with the generals, and said: "After today, I will go to the battlefield with you, you are all my good brothers who share life and death, even if there is a sword mountain and a sea of fire in front of me, and Shura Purgatory, I will fight side by side with you!" Those who can drive away tigers and wolves, only I am the desert eagle! Looking forward to your performance! ”
"Long live my king! Long live Meinster! ”
In the loud cheers, everyone threw the wine glasses to the ground, and with the crisp sound of glass breaking, the wine glasses shattered into countless shining pieces on the floor, like countless blooming glass flowers. Will it be the flower of victory, or the flower of death, which will represent destruction? At this time, everyone's hearts were unexpectedly looking forward to the former.
When everyone had left, I stood in the empty hall, and a strange sense of loneliness permeated me.
The King's Bloody Path is about to begin in earnest, and it is a path that cannot be stopped once it has begun, except at the end of the road, until the blood of the enemy or his own blood is drained......
──Did Li Binglan, who was far away in the imperial capital, know that her husband was going to lead an army into a desperate battle against the country to which she was loyal? Nam Cham Buqi II, the old man with whom I used to talk at night, should know that his son is about to face the enemy of me, right? What is this inscrutable old man thinking about......
- James, who was once an enemy on the battlefield, is now an enemy on the battlefield...... Is this fate?
- Kalisa, you have become a princess, you have enjoyed all the wealth and fame in the world, how are you doing now? How do you feel when you know that your husband is in battle with his old fiancé......
- I was a complete loser in the love battle with James, and I will still be a loser in the showdown on the battlefield today...... Will the Goddess of Victory take care of me and Mainster this time...... It was as if there was an invisible hand pulling us in the direction she predetermined, if I believed fate......
Outside the window, the clear sky was shrouded in sudden rain clouds, and as the black oppressive clouds thickened, the city of Mainster seemed to enter a dark night, and in the gorgeous lightning of the black clouds, a thunderstorm finally came.
Summer in the desert is a season of changeable climate! Thinking like this, the corners of my mouth couldn't help but smile coldly.
On August 12, 1893, the 70,000 allied troops of the Empire began to enter the "Heart of Death" desert, and slowly advanced eastward, the march appeared to be very orderly and unhurried, Galen and the troops commanded by Ekins tried several times to harass and raid from the rear in vain, and were almost surrounded by the Imperial light cavalry responsible for guarding the heavy weight and grain and grass, but they were able to return safely with the help of familiarity with the terrain, despite this, our army still had nearly a hundred casualties. -- This is a testament to Tsykov's commanding talents.
With this in mind, I recalled Galen and Eakins and opened an undefended desert in front of the Empire.
Five days later, the Imperial forces began to enter the Oasis of Salson, in the western part of the Grim Reaper's Heart desert, but to the surprise of the Imperial Army, not only did they encounter no resistance, but the entire oasis was deserted, not even the livestock could be seen.
Unmoved, however, the Imperial coalition continued to advance slowly, and when they had traversed several oases and could not find an enemy, they finally became unstable.
According to the spies, since the coalition army is composed of the armies of various vassal countries, and the armies of these countries are forced to participate in this war, these officers and soldiers began to feel dissatisfied, not knowing what they were doing for the lonely march in the desert aimlessly, when they could not see the traces of people or even the enemy along the way, it felt like a dead and silent world, and some officers and soldiers even said bitterly: We have fallen into the arms of death!
Moreover, James and Tsykov also broke out in one of the most heated arguments since the invasion of Mainster by the Imperial Army, and James is said to be very dissatisfied with the speed of Tsykov's march of less than 500 miles in ten days, and even more scorned Tsykov's overly cautious strategy.
The messages that came back and forth from the deep into the enemy camp were described as follows
The scorching heat of the desert and the simple and boring life in the barracks made Prince James the Sixth even more irritable, and he did not listen to any explanations and opinions of General Tsykov, and for him he was eager to achieve an immediate victory, and then return to his homeland and enjoy the luxurious life of the court again, rather than stay in what he called "damned" desert forever. He believes that Meinster's undefended situation just means that the enemy simply does not have any strength sufficient to resist the Imperial Army, and it is a good time for the Imperial Army to annihilate Meinster in one fell swoop, and it should not delay the fighter plane because of the slow march, and even sarcastically said: "General Tsykov is becoming more and more timid as he lives, perhaps he is getting older, and his wisdom and ability have also degraded with his body, and he has become an old man who only knows how to take care of the front and back and protect himself wisely, and he has completely lost the courage of the Imperial soldiers, and this timid strategy has lost the face of the Imperial Army. It will only be made fun of by the world. ”
After the incident, General Tsykov's adjutant was very dissatisfied with Prince James's insulting of his commander, and General Tsykov just shook his head and smiled bitterly: "This is the nobles of the empire!" If the arrogance of the aristocratic boy is introduced into the army, it can only be a disaster! But as a soldier of the empire, you should not criticize your superiors. Perhaps our only winning strategy is not to start this war at all......"
However, General Tsykov silently quickened the pace of the march, for he was also worried that the instability of the generals and the frenzy of the nobles would eventually spread throughout the army.
However, General Tsykov's painstaking and careful steps were undermined, for on August 26, 1893, when the Imperial forces advanced into the center of the desert, the Meinster Army launched its first large-scale frontal assault on the Imperial forces.
It was nearly afternoon, and the temperature in the "Heart of Death" desert was unusually hot, and 30,000 Meinster soldiers and horses suddenly appeared on the right flank of the Imperial Alliance. On the sand dunes, I was immediately at the front of the team, the golden armor shining in the scorching sun, in addition to Memphis, Yuhasu and others, there was also Vivian in red armor, a military uniform made Vivian a little dull in the pretty, becoming a beautiful scenery in the group of men.
In addition, there is an incongruous presence in the formation - Vidigal in armor always gives people a rather strange feeling, not only is he not used to it, but even we find it funny and uncomfortable for him, which is probably the strange impression given by the literati Phi Rong.
Originally, I tried to dispel the idea of him joining the army for various reasons, but Vittegar also insisted on it: "I am a historian of the Imperial Palace, and my duty is to record His Majesty's words and deeds at any time, and even His Majesty has no right to interfere with this." ”
The greatest duty of a historian is to be responsible for history, and the pen of the historian is to judge the king in history, and being loyal to the original appearance of history is the only historical mission of a historian, so even the emperor has no right to delete and modify the historical records of historians. "But the battlefield soldiers are in danger, and their lives are in danger at any time, and we can't take care of your safety." I had to make a final effort to convince him. "Rest assured, Your Majesty, I have the ability to protect myself, and one of the two survival skills I possess is the ability to use powerful protective magic."
I had no reason to stop him from joining the army, but I was intrigued by the two survival skills he mentioned, so I asked him with interest what his other survival skills were. "Of course, it's the loudest and most beautiful singing! This is a skill that is essential for a troubadour! Vittegar replied proudly.
I was overwhelmed for a moment, but I had a strange thought: if when Vivien and I were in love, Vitgarh was going to record it by saying "faithful to history", how could I refuse?
This kind of hot weather made people unmotivated, listless, and even sluggish, especially for the Imperial Coalition soldiers who were not adapted to fighting in the desert, which would undoubtedly make their actions sluggish and demoralized, but at this time, the Meinster army looked energetic and high-spirited. That's why I deliberately chose to attack at this time.
I glanced at Yu Hasselblad with an inquiring gaze, only to see him look up at the sky, then nodded to me, and without hesitation, I quickly gave the order: "Arrow Corps, up!" ”
The Arrows, under the command of Bereham, launched the first wave of attacks against the Empire, and the arrows rained down on the Imperial army in a hurry, mixed with a fireball from Vivien.
The sudden appearance of the enemy army caused a panic in the Imperial Coalition Army's formation, and the rapid rain of arrows also caused them some damage, and hundreds of sorrowful screams rang out from the Imperial Army, but the Imperial Alliance's formation did not collapse.
At this time, I gave another order: "Hussar regiment, attack!" Then with a slight squeeze on Vivien's wrist, she nodded obediently, and rode back with Euhasu and Vitgar, meeting up with the Archers who had retreated from both sides.
Under the cover of the sharp arrows of the soldiers of the retreating archery corps, I personally led 20,000 cavalry to rush out of it, and quickly rushed towards the right flank of the enemy, which was in chaos.
However, the Imperial army, which was in a moment of panic, quickly subdued, and the infantry of the Imperial army, with their shields and arrows, immediately retreated to the sides, and a group of nearly 10,000 heavy cavalry stood out from it and met us.
The light cavalry under my command suddenly split in half—one under my leadership, the other under the leadership of Memphis, with good mobility around the flanks of the heavy cavalry to attack, while the Meinster Infantry Regiment armed with steel guns, under the command of Nineke, blocked the direction of the heavy cavalry, making it difficult for the enemy's heavy cavalry to turn around or attack in a roundabout way, and we killed them on their backs.
The "Unnamed" wielded in my hand was more like the Grim Reaper's amulet, which could cut through any sharp blade and hard armor, and the blazing flames brought by the "Unnamed" could even melt metal in an instant, and the eyes of the heavy cavalry facing me at this time were desperate and desperate.
In the dust stirred up by men and horses, the blood splashed by both sides fell on the earth like countless beautiful raindrops, and was quickly steamed dry by the hot yellow sand - the desert at this time was like a blood-sucking devil devouring the life of a soldier, as if no amount of blood could satisfy its endless appetite! This kind of scene is not so much tragic as poignant!
The air was filled with the smell of blood, the sound of weapons breaking their heads or necks, the terrible cries of the cavalrymen on the verge of death, the dull sound of falling to the ground, the sound of the soldier's flesh being trampled by the frenzied horses that had lost their masters, the sound of the cracked flesh and bones, and the mournful neighing of the horses all played a symphony of death.
The sky began to be obscured by the clouds, and the sun hid behind the clouds, as if he did not want to witness the tragic and terrible scene in the world, and the cold light reflected by the weapons and armor seemed even more cold and dazzling. The murderous and aggressive atmosphere filled the air, even the wind was still, and the heavy pressure and extremely hot climate made everyone feel like they couldn't breathe. This is the battlefield – the gorgeous stage described in the epic! And the people who are on the real battlefield can only gain death and fear!
The archers who retreated to the hillside condescended to Vivien, constantly firing arrows and fireballs at the rear of the enemy who were engaged in a melee with our heavy cavalry, and the rain of arrows and brilliant fireballs made the Imperial coalition army a little overwhelmed for a while, temporarily suppressing the enemy's light cavalry and infantry to rush to the aid of their own heavy cavalry.
On the one hand, the archers of the Imperial Coalition Army could not help the heavy cavalry in the melee because of the rat thrower, and on the other hand, the arrows fired at a distance could not do due damage to the condescending and longbowmen-dominated Ninek Archery Corps.
In this war, because we were unprepared to attack it and relied on the terrain, we had the advantage of the initial formation. Of course, in the chaotic crowd, I couldn't distinguish the faces of the enemy's coaches, James and Tsykov, and I couldn't attack the enemy's manager's camp to inflict a direct blow on the enemy, thus creating even more chaos.
But our advantage did not last long, because the enemy had already transferred the rear magician team to the middle in time, using the protective magic issued by the magician to offset the threat of our arrow regiment, and accurately captured the position of the Bereham Arrow Corps, and launched a long-distance magic attack, although Vivien used powerful magic to protect, but there were still a lot of casualties, and the arrow corps had to disperse and dodge, and was no longer able to contain the enemy's army. In addition, Ninek's pikemen have also reached the limit of support and have slowly retreated backwards.
The main forces of the enemy's light cavalry, under the cover of pikemen, began to counter-encircle our troops from both sides. The leading person is of medium stature, not particularly outstanding in the Imperial Army, but he is the only person who does not wear a helmet, about fifty years old, handsome, with thin crow's feet at the corners of his eyes, as if he has been frosted, but his calm bearing, condensed expression, and calm horse heroism make people dare not have the slightest contempt—this person should be the commander of the Eastern Frontier Army of the Empire, and the deputy commander of the Imperial Alliance, General Tsikov! He was accompanied by a knight holding the banner of the Empire's two-winged tiger. But James, who I am familiar with as the manager, has never appeared, and I am afraid that he has retreated to the rear. "It should be the limit, and it can only go so far." I thought to myself, and immediately gave the order: "The whole army retreats!" "The thunderous voice made our soldiers hear it clearly.
Before the enemy encirclement was formed, Memphis and I commanded the light cavalry regiment to retreat to both sides, and after joining up with Memphis, I led about 100 light cavalry to stop the enemy from pursuing and try to get our army out of the way.
In the face of the flames and flames within the five-zhang space that I brought up with "Weiming" and the heroic slashing of Memphis and others, the enemy's offensive could not help but be suffocated.
Of course, we have no intention of blocking the enemy's pursuit, and this is not possible, but the purpose is only to attract the enemy's main forces, remove part of the pressure on our troops to retreat, and give our troops more time to withdraw from the battlefield. Due to the vastness of the desert and the Meinster Army's familiarity with the desert terrain, we adopted a dispersed approach - once we successfully left the enemy's attack range, it was impossible for the Imperial Coalition to pursue the scattered and fleeing Meinster Army.
But Tsykov, worthy of being a veteran of the empire, understood my intentions at the right time, pinned down our advance with a small number of troops and horses, pursued our retreating cavalry regiment with the main force, and stole the main force of our army and opened the encirclement, so as not to give our army any chance to escape from the range of attack.
The situation is quite unfavorable to our army, once the Imperial Army succeeds in encircling it, our army will inevitably escape the crisis of the annihilation of the main cavalry force, and if the light cavalry is annihilated, Meinster will no longer be able to stop the strength of the Farah Imperial Coalition - the rise and fall of the country, at this moment! However, the development of the situation seems to be getting worse and worse, and in the face of a severe crisis, we have been thinking hard about the best way out of our difficulties.
At this time, the golden armor on my body, the "Queen's Protector", was already stained with the blood of the enemy, and there seemed to be a strange light circulating, even the long black hair was dyed red by the blood, but a pair of deep black eyes were glowing with a golden streamer, the corners of my mouth were pouting with a beast-like smile, and the slash of the long sword always brought a beautiful arc composed of the blood of the enemy soldiers, and then ...... It's death.
In the face of my cavalry, I couldn't help but feel a sense of powerlessness and fear in the face of death. In the end, they only kept us in the middle, but they did not dare to attack me on their own initiative—how many of them could rush to the death in the face of a man who could easily slash even heavy cavalry?
Of course, in front of the Imperial cavalry, I am more like a god of death licking blood, and the blood-colored sword dripping with blood is like the sharp blade of the Shura evil ghost! However, they all know that I am just fighting the trapped beasts, and they are waiting! - Wait for the moment when the Grim Reaper is exhausted!
At this time, I heard a familiar but uncomfortable voice in my ears: "Alec, you are really a!" You're not dead! Your life is as cheap and hard as a worm in a stinking gutter! You, a pariah, also claim to be king in vain, and dare to send troops to contend with my supreme glory imperial army? You're a grasshopper shaking a tree—beyond your means! Today you must pay the price of blood for your rudeness and arrogance! Haha, if you are willing to kneel in front of me and lick the soles of my boots to confess your mistakes to me, and beg for my forgiveness, this seat may give you a whole corpse for Kalisa's sake, and if you are in a good mood, maybe I will spare you a dog's life! ”
I peered through the gap in the besieging Imperial cavalry and saw James, dressed in golden armor, sitting proudly on a tall brown horse surrounded by the Imperial Horse Guards.
I forcibly suppressed the urge in my heart to rush up and kill him immediately, adjusted my breath and replied coldly: "Sure enough, beasts can't speak human words!" James, what do you know other than hiding behind others, shouting in a safe place, and then coming out to usurp the merits of others after they have worked so desperately, and accumulating your own glory with the corpses of your own soldiers? Compared to the real backbone of the empire, the man in the desert, you who only know how to rely on the shade of your ancestors and revel in the glory that does not belong to you, is even worse than a pig and a dog! ”
There was a sense of majesty in my loud voice, which made James speechless for a moment, and the soldiers of the Imperial Army seemed to be listening to these words silently, and even Tsykov, who was commanding the encirclement, seemed to notice that there was a momentary stiffness in the smooth command movements, and to a certain extent, I had gained the respect of the enemy, and in their eyes, at least I was a respectable enemy—a king who took the lead.
But I have no fault in guessing the minds of the Imperial soldiers, for at this moment I have heard a succession of screams from the Meinster army, of the frequent deaths of soldiers......
On August 26, 1893, at 4 o'clock in the Saint-Lun calendar, the encirclement of the Empire was about to be completed - in this war between the Pharatis Empire and Meinster, the victory and defeat seemed to be clear, and it seemed to be as most people had predicted beforehand: it was a game in which a mighty tiger devoured a weak eagle, and there was no suspense about the outcome or defeat.
At this time, even the always cautious Tsykov couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief: although a little reluctantly, it was still victorious.
Hiding under the heavy protection of the Imperial Alliance, James even danced and cheered: the goddess of victory has lifted the hem of her skirt to us, revealing the fruits of victory for us, just waiting for our final picking!
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