The Lufen River, the river of fragrance.

Gastens sat on the riverbank, the cold autumn wind blowing across his cheeks, blowing through the reed leaves by the river, and blowing small folds on the blood-red water.

Three hours had passed since the morning's battle, and the vanguard of the Sixth Army had stormed Strongwood, the city known as the Fragrant City.

The 4th Division did not participate in the subsequent battles because of its heavy losses in the battle with the enemy. Division Commander Danny? Carey arranged for the soldiers who had participated in the morning charge and had the energy to sack the city, and they were grouped together, and let them go to the front with the four regiments that were behind the battlefield in the morning to participate in the sacking of Stromwood.

It was a reward and a reward for these soldiers who fought so hard.

No one remembers the death squads that rushed to the front.

Gastens and Zinke rummaged through the corpses on the battlefield for a long time and found 11 surviving comrades, each wounded. Ivan? Allen was among them. He was stabbed in the chest, and his bones were visible, but he was still conscious.

"Captain, let's go, the division commander wants to see you."

Sink? Warren walked over from the station and stood in front of Gastens. His face was covered in dust, and two tearful streaks hung crookedly on his cheeks, making him look like a funny clown.

Gastens stood up, patted his ass, and followed.

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The commander of the 4th Division, Danny? Carey is busy.

The contact battle in the morning exceeded his expectations, the regular army of the Fourth Division suffered more than 40 percent of the battle losses, at least three regiments were to be removed, and the death squad of nearly 4,000 men died and ran away, and less than 100 remained. At the same time, he could also be held accountable by a royal court-martialed for using new tactics in the war without authorization.

Still, he still remembers his promise.

"No, this is proof for you."

Danny? Carey handed Gastens a piece of paper, a certificate of military merit stamped with the Red Seal of the Fourth Division of the Sixth Army and his handwritten signature.

Gastens took the piece of paper and read the sentence carefully.

"Is there a soldier Gastens? Warren joined the 19th Death Squad of the 1st Regiment of the 2nd Brigade of the 4th Division of the 6th Army of the Western Theater of the Imperial Army in 847 and October 129 of the Sanction Calendar. His valiant performances at the battles of Longwood, Lorraine, and Stralongwood are testaments to his willingness and ability to defend the glory of the Empire. According to the charter of the Ankenrein Imperial Legion, it is now given to Gastens? Warren was a freeman and was recruited as a full-fledged soldier of the 1st Regiment of the 2nd Brigade. He will not be held accountable for any past crimes, no matter how big or small. Divisional Commander, Danny? Carey, Witness, Chief of Staff Eugene? White. ”

The contents of the paper were not long, but Gastens read them for a long time. He stood in place, his hand trembling slightly. After so much time, after so much, is his slavery finally over?

"You've done a great job, this piece of paper doesn't fully repay you for your contribution to the 4th Division", Division Commander Danny? Carey handed another piece of paper to Zink? Warren continued: "After today's battle, all the remaining 92 soldiers of your death squad can get this military merit certificate, and get complete immunity and the status of regular army soldiers. However, unlike them, this military merit certificate of yours was written by me personally. ”

"Thank you, Commander!"

Gastens clenched his right hand into a fist on his chest and saluted. He had mixed feelings, but he didn't have much joy. Zink standing beside him? Warren, like him, bowed solemnly to the officers in front of him.

"You also participated in this morning's battle, and we have suffered heavy losses, and it is estimated that three or four regiments will be removed. You were also the captain of a 100-person death squad before, I will give you a company commander, with the rank of second lieutenant, and hand over all the surviving 92 people of the whole regiment to you, you may take it, take it well? ”

Captain? Lieutenant?

Gastens barely hesitated, he kept his salute posture and replied loudly.

"Report to the chief, you must complete the task!"

"Alright, now let's talk about something else", Danny? Carey stood up and let Zink? Warren departed first, introducing him to a richly dressed young man sitting beside him.

"This is Elliot, the frontline leader of the weapons group of the Royal Academy of Sciences? Gibson, the sixth prince of His Majesty the Emperor, was also the captain of the cannon cavalry who saved our lives this morning. He's interested in the platoon gun tactics you've invented. ”

Gastens bowed deeply, and when he got up again, he already remembered the prince. Elliot? Gibson was good at martial arts, and in the Great War, he became commander-in-chief of the Eastern Theater of Operations, and had a tough personality and a preference for offense.

"Joe? His Highness Gibson. ”

"Very well, get up."

Prince Eliot did not look as tough as he had been rumored, and he stood in front of Gastens and looked at him carefully, then frowned slightly at the smell of his days of unbathing and days of fighting. He waved Gastens back half a step before he spoke.

"Your platoon tactics have cost the Fourth Division heavy losses, your division commander Danny? What do you think about the possibility that Carey will be court-martialed for this? ”

"Hey, didn't I tell you this...... Danny? Carey waved his hand next to him, looking helpless. Gastens looked at his division commander with some surprise. It was the first time he knew about a court-martial.

"May I ask His Royal Highness, can you tell me what kind of punishment the master will receive?"

"It's hard to say," Elliot said with a hint of anger on his face, "if he can't prove that your tactics work, he'll be responsible for the heavy casualties of the 4th Division, and he'll probably lose his position as division commander or even be thrown into prison." ”

Gastens saw Elliot's bluff, if this was really that serious, Danny? It was impossible for Carey to give himself that military merit, and invited himself to be the company commander of the first regiment. So, the truth shouldn't be as bad as it seems.

Judging the basic situation of the matter, Gastens has confidence. He raised his head and spoke eloquently to the two chiefs in front of him.

"Your Royal Highness, Master Master, the mistake in the battle in the morning was not a problem of gun tactics, but a generational difference in the weapons of the two sides. After the battle, I found an enemy's steam spear from the battlefield and tried to use it. Their steam backpacks are lighter, their steam lance cylinders are stiffer, and their workmanship and materials are more advanced, which allows their spears to withstand higher air pressures. As a result, their weapons have a longer range than our Type 27 rifles. To put it bluntly, the tactics of platoon guns are the tactics of comparing the discipline and execution of soldiers on both sides in the case of equal weapons, and whoever can overcome the fear in their hearts, obey orders, and wait for the enemy to enter the firing range before firing, will win the war. If the weapons of both sides are not equal, then the requirements for the soldiers of the weaker side are even higher. Our soldiers only had a few days to practice platoon gun tactics, and this was the first time they had been used on the battlefield, and it was normal for them to lose the lead when encountering the elite troops of the Negru Republic. ”

"How do you know those armored spearmen are from the Negru Republic?" , Prince Elliot grabbed a certain message and interrupted Gastens.

"The soldiers of our opponents, the Duchy of Tulucas, are still using long knives and bows and arrows, and they don't even have steam spears, let alone such advanced weapons. Considering that behind the Duchy of Tulucas is the Republic of Negro, I feel that there is only one source for these armored spearmen. ”

"Very good", Elliot to Danny? Carey nodded, and the two exchanged glances before continuing to ask, "Do you have research on steam rifles?" ”

"I worked in the technical department of The Paper," Gastens replied truthfully.

"Alright, don't scare him", Danny? Carey saw that the two were almost talking, and interjected, "It's okay on my side, the enemy is also using the platoon gun tactic, and it is not as good as us." His Majesty's own artillery cavalry is also using similar tactics, and it is not a problem for me to use platoon gun tactics, boy, you can rest assured. ”

"It's okay sir," Gastens made a happy expression, and then added, "But the combat effectiveness of those armored spearmen is too strong, whether it is platoon tactics or hand-to-hand combat, we will lose a lot if we win, and the hand artillery cavalry of His Royal Highness the Prince is very restrained against these armored spearmen, which is better than the platoon gun tactics." ”

"Haha, you're going to be a sycophant", Danny? Kaili laughed twice, "But don't expect His Royal Highness the Prince, his cannonball cavalry was originally here to experiment, and he will leave after this battle." The armored spearmen on the other side are also experimental arms of the Neglo Republic, and this is just one regiment, and if it is gone, it will be gone. In the future, our opponents will still be those poop soldiers of the Duchy of Tulucas. ”

"And the soldiers of the Negru Republic," Elliot added, asking Gastens a few more questions before letting him go.

"Well, this kid is good, isn't he?" Danny? Carey had a smug look on his face.

"It's kind of interesting, but his treason is a bit scary, I guess you dare to use it, I don't want it", Prince Eliot stood up, "Let's go, let's go see the captives." ”

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Negro Republic Banner Captain Evan? Henderson sat on the ground, pulling the weeds from the ground one by one. Atta, a researcher at the Arms Research Institute of the Republic of Negro? Wales sat beside him, muttering to himself.

"It's a good idea to use a horse to carry weight, but with such a lot of power, how can you control the pressure of the chamber? What about the suspension? The two-stage air intake mechanism is estimated to be unable to withstand that kind of pressure, could it be that Anken UBS has some new breakthrough-"

The Banner Forwards are an elite unit dedicated to the National Weapons Research Institute of the Republic of Negro, whose mission is to help the Academy experiment with new weapons and ensure that the skills of the soldiers do not become a bottleneck for weapons. There have been border frictions and skirmishes between Tulucas and Rylin before, and Evan ? Henderson and Atta? Wales brought the Banner Strikers and the latest Welsh II Steam Rifle to the experiment. This way of experimenting with weapons is also an old tradition, and Anken Rein on the opposite side also lost his cannon cavalry to come to experiment, and everyone usually sees each other on the battlefield, and they will not kill each other, and the meaning of each other is over. This time, I don't know what Anken Rui is crazy about because of the empire, so he directly sent troops, with a rhythm of wanting to destroy Tulucas. Evan? Henderson's Banner Strikers were in the city when Anken Rhine's army invaded Strongwood, and they couldn't stand the soft grinding of the Tulucas people, so they put the Banner Strikers on the flanks, thinking that they could fight casually and help if they could, but they didn't expect to end up fighting like this.

"Yo, you two seem to be in a good mood."

The voice coming from behind the two made Evan? Henderson and Atta? Wales stood up at the same time. The commander of the 4th Division, Danny? Carey and Elliot, the Sixth Prince? Gibson asked his entourage to move two stools for the two, put a small table between the four, and brewed a pot of water pattern star tea.

"What's so good about not losing to you yet", Evan? Henderson took a long breath of water streak star tea and drank it down.

"Hey, it's not a crime of war, your armored spearmen are very good, and if we hadn't been exhausted by our soldiers, it's hard to say who wins and who loses", Danny? Carey smiled and played the round.

"No, no, there is indeed a gap in this combat effectiveness, if you use horses as vehicles, you will have an innate advantage over infantry, and you can also equip more powerful weapons", Atta? Wales is an old man with an academic style and doesn't care much about etiquette. After he finished saying this, he hurriedly cut to the point, "Now that the battle has been fought, and we have lost, you are going to occupy Tulucas, so naturally there are six parliaments to coordinate, and it has little to do with us people." When can we go back? ”

Atta? Wales and Evan? It is not for nothing that Henderson, as a defeated and captured enemy, is so easy. The parliaments of the six countries have long been explicitly involved in direct conflicts between the six powers. The death and wounds of soldiers do not count, the lives of nobles and important people must be preserved, and the defeated party can pay a certain ransom. At the same time, the parliaments of the six countries did not allow the six powers to send troops directly to each other. Therefore, from the point of view of the two captive Negru Republics, this battle is over until Tulucas surrenders, and the rest is a matter mediated by the parliaments of the six countries, and their archmage will not watch their subjects being eaten.

"Go back?"

Eliot, the Sixth Prince? Gibson seemed to hear some joke, "I'm sorry, you can't go back for the time being, we have some plans for the next step, and letting you go back may leak the news." ”

Hear that, Evan? Henderson stood up suddenly, "Your Highness the Emperor, this is not in accordance with the regulations!" The parliaments of the six countries have long agreed that the six countries shall not detain the nobles and important people of the six countries without reason, and you have violated the agreement of the six countries by doing so, and it will bring unnecessary trouble to Ankenrein. Moreover, you have already occupied Tulucas, what else? What else needs to be leaked? ”

"This ...... It's not something you need to worry about. ”

Elliot? Gibson stood up, clapped his hands, and ordered Danny? Carey, "These two are important people, serve me well, and don't let people go without my orders!" ”

"Yes."

Danny? Carey bowed his head in response. The two men left the open space in the prisoner of war camp one after the other. Four soldiers stepped forward and dragged Evan ? Henderson and Atta? Wales received a room specially prepared for them, completely ignoring Evan? Henderson's protest.

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"Your Majesty has already thought about it?"

Walking on the banks of the Lufinin, Danny? Carey asked in a low voice as he looked at the blood-red color that had never dissipated in the river.

"Well, repair for a week, wait for the reinforcement of the troops in the back, and then, you start the next step."

Elliot? Gibson raised his head and looked into the western sky, where a country that had been peaceful for more than 800 years was about to enter war.

"Eight hundred years of magic equilibrium, this is the first time that the army of one of the six great powers has directly entered the territory of another country, His Majesty the Emperor has really thought about it?"

Danny? Carey asked again uncertainly.

"You talk a lot of nonsense."

Elliot replied, quickening his pace. Danny? Carey laughed twice and followed. The evening sunlight pulled the figures of the two men along the riverbank in two long strips, and together with the gurgling water, flowed to the east.