The peasantry's ranks, under the threat of infantry spears, slowly and reluctantly began to move, when they hesitated to look back, and found that the knights who were worshiped as the gods of war did not follow, they suddenly understood the fate of their cannon fodder, and there were many breaks in the already untidy battle line, and many people were so frightened that their legs were weak, and they refused to continue to move forward.

Without saying a word, the Nijmegen infantry, who had been separated into the peasant front, went up and stabbed a bloody hole with a spear, pulled it out and kicked the limp corpse to the side of the road, and continued to move forward without changing his face, reminding the other people who were cowering, telling them the price they would have to pay for escaping, and forcing the cannon fodder to move on with the blood of the deserters.

A year ago, the infantry of Nijmegen were even more honest peasants than these people, living the same days facing the loess with their backs to the sky every day, never thinking that one day they would be able to kill people without blinking an eye, as easily as slaughtering chickens and dogs before Christmas.

The first group of residents of Nijmegen basically had adult men serving in the army in their families, and each soldier could exchange for hereditary Xuntian, the property that originally belonged to the lord, under the unified management of the cooperative plan led by Wangcai, employing a large number of outsiders to cultivate, and then distributing food according to the proportion of the population of each family, which not only met the living problems of the new immigrants and ensured the production of food lifeline, but also encouraged the original residents to continue to produce and import more people in order to obtain more food rations. In the end, it also relieved the men's worries about fighting abroad, so they didn't have to worry about the lives of their families not being settled, and they could devote themselves to the battle wholeheartedly to stabilize the morale of the army.

In fact, most families relied only on women and children to cultivate the fields, which was enough to feed the whole family, and the surplus grain allocated was purchased by the castle at market price, or they were encouraged to go to the market to trade in exchange for various necessities, so as to increase Nijmegen's grain reserves and also activate trade, thus forming a good market cycle, and there was no need to fear the catastrophe that the peasants usually feared, and they could tide over the difficulties completely on their own.

I rode behind me, surrounded by loose rows of cavalry guards, most of whom were veterans of many battles and had survived many battles, and the captain of the flag had even been born and died with me in Italy.

Their sense of smell and acuity on the battlefield has gradually been cultivated, and they are often able to choose the most favorable time to complete the fatal blow, so I keep them by my side to suppress the formation, to prevent possible critical situations in advance, at least to ensure that they can run alive, and at the same time, it can be regarded as a little psychological comfort to those farmers who are afraid of the bottom, after all, in their cognition, the person on the horse is always an invincible existence.

On the grass in front of you, you can faintly see a weed growing abruptly, like a plant like a dogtail, and the fluffy tip is swaying in the wind, so it is very eye-catching so that people can find its existence from a long distance.

After experiencing the initial fear, the peasants gradually regained their composure, no longer like the aunt who twisted Yangge's soft and collapsed footsteps, although there was fear in the depths of their eyes, they subconsciously clenched all kinds of weapons in their hands, clinging to their comrades-in-arms, watching the battlefield curiously, before the enemy appeared, at least they could maintain the stability of the team, and finally got used to the role of their cannon fodder.

"My lord, that's the arrow that Mistress Kyle shot."

Rollo had a good look in his eyes, pointed to the plant that everyone thought was dogtail grass and said to me, most of the cavalry looked at it coldly, and continued to control the war horses to increase their vigilance and keep moving at a uniform speed, while the peasants, who had never seen the world, talked about the divine power of the Knight of Kel in horror, and stuck out their tongues in fright.

"This means that there is a big river not far ahead, order the troops to speed up, try to keep the formation as tight as possible, and send scouts back to inform the Knight of our progress and remind them to be ready to join the battle at any time."

As I commanded, I put on my chain mail gloves and directed the cavalry to quickly change into a V-line and advance, so that the infantry in front could be supported from both flanks at any time and prevent the enemy from attacking the weak flanks of our line.

Slowly crossing the small grassy slope in front of the river, the wide and turbulent Lake River appeared in front of us, it is the dry season, so the water in the river is not very deep, the water surface has shrunk by at least a quarter, and in many places the shallows overgrown with dry water and grass are exposed, and a few sand gulls flutter their wings and chirp fiercely, protesting against the humans who are wading across the river on foot, destroying their nests on the river beach.

The whole front along the river, full of enemies who are rushing to cross, knights and their war horses are in small boats, and the attendants are responsible for paddling, slowly crossing the river, many war horses are afraid of boating, no matter how hard the attendants drive away, they are nailed to the spot and do not move, and the nobles are reluctant to let their delicate horses be wronged, loudly scolding the squire for being stupid, pointing to their noses and jumping to their feet and scolding.

Ordinary infantry had to swim across the river on their own, but fortunately the channel was not very wide on our side, which was separated by a shoal, and the river was just knee-high, so it was easy to wade through, so many enemy infantry had already come ashore one after another, wringing out their water-soaked clothes, and throwing their weapons on the ground defenselessly.

"Kohler, why haven't they shown up yet, is there any news from the scouts sent out to contact them?"

I ordered the whole army to stop advancing, and hid under the grassy slope in a silent manner, making preparations for battle, anxiously waiting for the ambush led by Kohler and the bull to appear, and then grabbed Rollo beside him and asked, I am not sure of victory until they appear.

"The scouts have not yet returned, and may be delayed in crossing the river, knowing that the enemy who is busy crossing the river for miles up and down the river is now, and they may have to go far away in search of new shoals."

Luo Luo nervously wiped the fine sweat on his forehead and replied, "Why don't I send a few more?" ”

"Not necessarily!"

I waved my hand, poked my head out and observed the enemy's crossing of the river, and by this time the infantry crossing the river had begun to form a chaotic formation, but the main force was still swimming hard, and the river was as lively as dumplings in boiling water, and most of the knights were still on the opposite bank, competing with their horses, and finally pulled them into the rickety boats, and cautiously rushed into the river.

The peasants didn't know what was going on, but the sound of the enemy crossing the river clearly reminded them of the number of opponents, many of whom they might have never seen in their lives, so many strong men of five big and three thick gathered together, and there were many knights in gorgeous armor and horses, and the cowardly hearts had lost confidence in this battle, and the ranks that had just stabilized began to fluctuate again, and everyone looked at each other in panic, wanting to flee and fearing the fierce gods to spy on their Nijmegen infantry, Hesitant not to know what to do.

"Can't wait, if the enemy's knights cross the river, even if the whole army is pressed and defeated, it will not achieve the purpose of delaying time, my eldest brother still has no news, I hope his fleet is not destroyed by the storm, God forbid."

Pulling at the turf beneath me, I finally made up my mind: "Let the cavalry bypass on both sides, so that even if the peasant ranks collapse, it will not have a devastating effect, but will give us the opportunity to strike at their unsuspecting flanks and rear, and before the knights are completely ashore and in line with the stormtroopers, our cavalry will be enough for the enemy to drink." ”

After saying that, I raised my head and stared worriedly at the sky on the other side of the river, and silently muttered in my heart: Kohler, don't let me down!

When the peasants suddenly appeared in front of the enemy with rudimentary weapons, they were obviously frightened, and hurriedly put on their armor and picked up their weapons, and several soldiers who looked like leaders shouted and greeted back and forth, and the crowded enemy flashed a road, and the archers who had just come ashore, regardless of the clothes that were still dripping, ran forward with longbows, and fired directly without aiming.

The elasticity of the bowstring was affected by the blistering of the bowstring, and many of the arrows fell to the ground crookedly, but there were also sporadic hits and plunged into the body of the unlucky man, leaving a few peasants rolling and moaning on the ground on the way of the charge, who almost fainted when they saw that they were bleeding, and the screams were incessant.

"Let's go! You plague pigs! The blood sausage soaked rice has been fed so much that you can't even drag yourself on your legs? If you dare to slow down, I guarantee that a shot will be pierced directly from your ** to the throat, as easy as skewering meat with an iron brazing when grilling, if you don't believe it, try it! ”

The warriors of Nijmegen put their spears against the backs of the peasants, and charged them towards the enemy, or rather, they ran wildly, putting more pressure on the enemy's momentum, and the slow runner was stabbed by the spear tip, and the pain in his heart gave him strength, and he spread his legs and jumped forward two steps, grinning his teeth.

The enemy's face could already be seen clearly, even the frequency of blinking was vivid, and the peasants, who thought they were dead, left dozens of motionless corpses along the way, and finally rushed into the archer's shooting corner, and they were surprised to find that in fact, the other party's face also appeared the same fear and panic as their own, and they were more dizzy, and they could not be allowed to understand between the lightning and stone fire, and crashed headlong into the enemy formation.

The enemy who climbed on the other side of the bank in embarrassment thought that they were safe, but many of them had just landed on the shore, and they were pierced through the chest by arrows from unknown places, staring at them in disbelief, and staggered back into the water and dyed red waves, so that the companions around them did not care to look for the enemy, and continued to flee in the direction of the castle with their heads in their hands, and the sparse crowd dragged on for a long time.

But nightmares always follow us, as soon as the tiger is driven away at the front door, the wolf enters the back door, and the ambush led by Kohler and the bull suddenly appears from behind them, especially the bull who rushes to the front, with angry eyes and beards that stand upside down, like a minotaur who has run out of hell, picks up a huge battle axe, and easily splits the body of the nearest enemy, and the gushing blood dyes his whole person red, adding to the terrifying power.

(End of chapter)