Soon, six "river wagons" sailed out of the water gate of Fort Philip, and at the mouth of the Evros River were even mounted on wheels, each propelled by sixty men, until they entered the river south of Fort Sophia. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Entering the water, it was the ship's paddle wheels that made a swift splash, even against the current, and quickly marched towards the emperor's camp, encountering the Serbian mountain people who had come to raid along the way. But the mountaineers saw the chariots and boats galloping on the water, the sides of the ships were almost the same as the tall pheasants, and they were divided into two layers, and the soldiers and sailors were hidden in them, and the guns and light guns in the shooting holes were constantly shooting projectiles, patrolling back and forth to protect the boats carrying food and ammunition.

About three days later, the Serbian mountain people, who had been badly beaten but had not been able to get close, gave up their intention to approach the river. But the enraged emperor was not about to spare them - Gawain sent all the subordinate cavalry of three brigades, divided into juban, well-armed with weapons and armor, to penetrate deep into the villages of rivers and valleys to capture, kill, and expel mountain people who dared to resist, and burned strongholds and villages abounded.

At the same time, the two brigades under Merlot's command, the Gimagis Brigade and the Hierapolis Brigade, were really stubbornly detouring along the Iska River in the direction of Sofia.

Merlot established a separate military post at the meandering of the Iska River, twenty miles west of Iltimantburg, which was also protected and garrisoned by the Emperor's army, and then Merlot's detachment began to take another road, which was separated from the Emperor's position by the vast and towering Mount Rozoska and the winding Iska River, which stretched to Boyana and Sofia, respectively.

The Emperor's order that Merlot had received beforehand was: "I have assigned to you the 'Saint-Cyril Regiment' of the Red Hand Cavalry, and I will unite them with the auxiliary cavalry of the two brigades and regiments, and make use of them flexibly." Then the cavalry will be rear, as a mobile reserve for contingencies, and you will lead all the brigades and infantry to fight every step to break through the enemy's obstacles or ambushes, and successfully reach Boyana is a great victory! ”

This time Merlot faithfully carried out the request of His Majesty the Emperor, and he gathered all the cavalry and gave it to General Gregor for special responsibility, and walked last; And he led the Gimegis Brigade in the center, and General Decius led the Hierapolis Brigade in the front.

The man, Artretius, was now a centurion in the brigade of Hierapolis, and was used to reward him for his exploits in the front lines of the city of Prussa. Artretis was in an endless march with no end in front and behind, looking at the mountains on the left and mountains on the right, both in front and behind, except for the white Iskar River, which carved into the endless slopes and peaks like a natural "channel", and the narrow areas on its sides were the only feasible route for the soldiers.

Although the Hierapolis Brigade had experienced war and glory, it was at least lacking in equipment compared to the aces of His Majesty's "Three-Wing Brigade", which Artretis supervised by a company of spearmen, and the spears of the soldiers were like ship's pennies, with sharp blades stuck in them, but the helmets were simple two-eared light leather helmets, without well-defended ring armor, and most of them were chain mail or piercing armor that had been eliminated by the Three-Wing Brigade. In the midst of the dense footsteps, the birds and beasts of the forest were constantly alarmed and made strange and terrifying calls.

Soon the scout cavalry in front of them staggered back in the saddle and told Atretis, who was standing at the front of the line, that "the river in the pass ahead suddenly widened and overflowed and flooded the passage of the foothills, and we could not go any further." ”

Atretis trotted up the bush-submerged knoll, and looked into the distance, and sure enough, the Iskar River, between the cliffs on both sides, was fed by many streams, and suddenly swelled and thickened, breaking through and flooding the land in front of him, forming a large pool like the bottom of a funnel, and roaring down the drop, and the mist was filled, "There is a waterfall ahead." ”

"The only way to go is on the other side." Another sergeant pointed to the opposite side.

Atretis looked across the bank, surrounded by mountains and woodlands, and there was a half-moon of land through which the brigade could be stationed, and at the end there was a passage leading from the top of the cliff to the Boyana beyond.

"There's Asase to go over." Several scouts were by the river, thrusting their spears into the water, and watched as they shouted at Atretis on the hill.

At this time, more and more soldiers of the brigade stopped, many of them took off their helmets and sat on the ground to rest, quietly waiting for the commanders' orders, several baggage carts were parked in the crowd, and the spears and shrimp whiskers on the fork racks were very eye-catching.

All the centurions gathered around General Decius, who in turn approached Atreetis and asked for directions, "The whole army is ready to cross the river." ”

Two heralds came from the rear and conveyed the order of the commander-in-chief, Merlot, "His Majesty the Emperor strictly ordered us to do a good job of scouting and counter-ambush, not to cross the river in a hurry, and to use artillery for reconnaissance. ”

After saying this, the task force came up, and after pushing the vehicle to the river, they carefully dug out the earthen ramparts, and deployed the four long perfume bottle cannons, the bronze muzzles aimed at the blue-gray dense forest that stretched on the opposite bank.

Atretis looked at the gunners, who were busy loading and charging, licked his somewhat cracked lips, and remained silent.

In fact, on the opposite side, there was really hidden Za'tar's elite troops, 3,000 ambush soldiers in three wings in the dense forest that did not see the light of day, forming the shape of a pocket to be sealed - as soon as the enemy crossed the river and stepped on this half-moon-shaped sandy field, they fought hard, first killed all the enemies who came ashore, then cut down the half-crossing, and then bravely killed the opposite side and captured all the people.

They were all Berdin's strongest and most loyal soldiers, and their commander was the most prestigious Zupan nobleman in the realm, and in the central bushes and grass lay eight hundred za'tar musketeers, who squinted and pinched the unlit arquebus, and waited like seasoned hunters—and in the higher cols were fierce warriors half-kneeling with sharp axes, and all the horses lay on the ground, their mouths sealed so that they could not make a sound, and only their hooves were restlessly digging the earth, making the sound of a soo.

On the far right was the supreme commander of this ambush, Prince Lalic.

The prince stared intently at the enemies across the Iskar River.

There were so many of them that there were many soldiers lined up on the shore alone, and the rest of the soldiers were passing through the bridge piers and mountain paths on the rapids farther away, bent like snakes endlessly, and all kinds of flags and emblems glittered in the sun—there was the big banner of the silver spike, and there was the banner of the golden crow, so Prince Lalic, who was holding the hilt of his sword, was a little vain, "I set up an ambush here on time and accurately according to my father's request, but my father only gave me 3,000 soldiers. ”