Connaught and Munster's troops had been hanging not far behind the 63rd and 75th Cavalry Divisions, and it was already evening, and the scouts sent by General Cecil carried the setting sun on their backs, and the shadows of men and horses dragged long on the grass. In a few moments, it will be completely dark,

The army behind also quickened its pace at this time, in order to avoid being ambushed by the enemy army suddenly turned around, General Cecil and Baron O'Brien did not dare to get too close, but once it was dark, they would be easily thrown away by the enemy if they kept this distance.

Baron O'Brien looked around, he had just passed by a day earlier, and although it was nighttime and he couldn't see it very clearly, he still had some impression of the nearby terrain.

"There will be a hillside in the past," he said, whip raised, pointing ahead, "where the enemy may well ambush us, and now that it is almost dark, it is the best time." ”

The old general nodded silently, he also knew that the enemy's transfer this time was to lure them in, so the two commanders were very careful along the way.

He turned to his lieutenant and said, "Send all the scouts out to see if there is any trace of the enemy around you, so that the enemy doesn't feel behind you without noticing." ”

The adjutant immediately turned his horse's head and went to convey the general's order.

Dozens of scouts on horseback quickly broke away from the ranks, dispersed in all directions, and soon disappeared at the end of the horizon.

The team traveled some distance and came to a raised slope. O'Brien reined in and stopped the team. "After that, it's the hillside I'm talking about, and we're still resting here, and the soldiers are tired after a long day's walk. He said to General Cecil.

The old general frowned, now that it was dark, the ranks marched by the lights and the memories of Munster's troops. The scouts who had just been behind the enemy also came back to report that the enemy had quickened their march and did not even stop for a moment.

"Let's keep going. He rode up to Baron O'Brien, "It's close to Kieson now, isn't it?"

"That's right, if you run, you can get there in about an hour. ”

"Then the enemy's vanguard should have reached Kissen, and if we stop now, perhaps Kissen will be in danger. ”

"Kitsen wasn't that easy to overcome. Baron O'Brien shook his head, "The enemy's eighty-eighth division is right in front of the sixty-third cavalry division and the seventy-fifth division, and with artillery, they can't go that fast." Moreover, when I left Kisen, Yanwan's troops had already taken over the defense of Kisen, and although it was not as good as Lanz Town, the enemy had no artillery support, and it would be impossible to storm it for a while. ”

General Cecil's large, gloved hand rubbed the whip on his horsewhip, and after thinking for a while, he asked again: "Is the extent of this hillside large?"

The baron looked at his surroundings, and because it was dark, he couldn't tell very clearly. "I'm not sure, I came straight through in a hurry and didn't pay too much attention. He looked at General Cecil, and understood what he meant, "You want to get around?"

"We don't have much time and we can't know what is going on with Kitsen when we stay here. ”

The baron sighed, after all, the old general's seniority was higher than him, and he couldn't disobey the general's will too much. "Then send a reconnaissance force to explore the way, in case you are equipped with enemy ambushes, it is easy to run away in this terrain. ”

With Baron O'Brien's consent, General Cecil waved his hand, and the adjutant immediately sent the scouts who had just returned out again. While waiting for the results of the reconnaissance, the two commanders also told the troops to stop marching and eat a little dry food, but did not allow the soldiers to lay down their guns and rest.

"What do you think of the War Department's approach?" General Cecil asked Baron O'Brien during a short break.

Although the general did not say it directly, the baron understood that he was talking about peace talks with the rebels. When ordering them to pursue, the War Department also informed several officers of the defenders of Lanz Town, telling them to only follow behind the enemy and try to avoid head-on conflicts, since there is to be peace talks, then there is no need to let the troops suffer losses, after all, there are still many enemies in the Empire.

"We are soldiers, and soldiers only need to obey, and ministers naturally have their own opinions on political matters. The baron bowed his head and said. In fact, he was also very dissatisfied with the army's approach in his heart, obviously they had just won the battle, but peace talks were about to be made in the blink of an eye, the empire never let go of traitors in history, how could it be as weak as it is now. However, he was not fit to say these words in his heart, not only because of his natural instinct to obey orders as a soldier, but also because his ancestor, the Duke of Dungal, was also a great traitor who rebelled several times.

General Cecil was very dissatisfied with this answer, this temperamental veteran did not have the troubles and scruples of a large family like the baron, and said in a loud voice: "Lord O'Brien, your ancestor is the Duke of Dungar, the first general of Siliul who has been in a hundred battles, and the object of worship of the Imperial soldiers to this day. As a soldier, you shouldn't just blindly obey, you have to say what you have to say, this is our true color, have you lost the backbone of Duke Dungar?"

Although he had always been polite to his predecessors, he was a soldier after all, and he was a warlike and martial man, so how could Baron O'Brien put up with General Cecil's words. "Of course not!" he said with a blushing face, raising his head, "when have we Munster ever been left behind. Whether it's fighting the rebels, or the Hadrians, or the deserters, I'm willing to be the first to take my gun and fall on the way first. But what's the point? The enemies of the empire are spread over two continents, and can we really kill them all by war? Even if the Silesian War ten years ago ended with the Treaty of Stromboli?"

When the baron heard about the Silesian War, General Cecil was furious. He threw his whip to the ground, his hair spread like a roaring lion. "You talk about the war in Silesia! What did the diplomats of Metternich do when I was fighting with the Hadrians? We could have fought Iskondin, just like your ancestors, but the ministers simply gave up the fruits of victory that were about to be obtained! Listen to them? It is because of listening to them that those Hadrian's cowards dare to provoke our empire again!"

"You're accusing His Majesty the Emperor's cabinet!" Baron O'Brien glared at General Cecil.

"The empire can have today, it depends on us people, it is we the soldiers of the empire who have exchanged their lives for the territory of the empire, in exchange for the strength of the empire!" the old general did not show weakness and roared loudly.

The soldiers around them were frightened by the sudden quarrel between the two commanders, and looked at them in silence. Although both of them were angry, at least they maintained restraint and did not point the finger at each other in their words.

The atmosphere fell silent for a moment, and both General Cecil and Baron O'Brien looked away, each looking to the side. The military has always been the foundation of a country, and it has been a tradition since ancient times that soldiers blame politicians, so despite his criticism of the cabinet, General Cecil still thinks it is no big deal.

The awkward atmosphere lasted for a while, and finally the baron gave in first. "I admire your contribution to the Empire, and I don't want to quarrel with you like this, it's pointless. Now we should not talk about that, but the most important thing right now is how to respond to the current situation. ”

Now that the baron had given in first, General Cecil also loosened his tense expression slightly, turned his face, and looked at the baron. "Would you like to listen to my proposal?"

"I'm willing to listen to you if it makes sense. ”

"We can eat the remnants of the defeated army. General Cecil pointed to the valley ahead and said, "The 63rd Cavalry Division and the 75th Division have no combat effectiveness, as long as we move fast enough, we can completely withdraw before the 88th Division turns around and rescues." Destroy these remnants, and the enemy's main force must also appear, and then it will be clear what they are planning to do. ”

"You know this might be an ambush, but you're still going to take the risk?" Baron O'Brien glared at General Cecil, he couldn't believe that such a thing could come out of the mouth of a seasoned veteran.

"If you don't want to," said the old general, puffing out his chest and speaking in a hearty voice, "then I'll take my troops and kill those traitors without a single piece of armor." Although you beat them to such a miserable scene, we Connaughts are no worse than you Munster!"

The baron clenched his fists, almost wanting to quarrel with General Cecil again. He was completely aware of the old general's stubbornness, even though he was a senior who had played a role in the Silesian War, but now the old man only made the baron feel hateful. "I'm not going to let my troops take such unnecessary risks. ”

"Then you can watch right here. General Cecil snorted coldly and turned his horse's head to rally his troops.

"General, do you want to stop General Cecil? Once the two armies are separated, it will be even more dangerous if they are ambushed. The adjutant approached the baron and suggested to him.

"What's the use of stopping it!" Baron O'Brien angrily rebuked his lieutenant, "Can't you hear his thoughts? He doesn't want the empire to end the civil war in such a disgraceful way, he would rather die in an enemy ambush than accept the order of the officers sitting in the office of the imperial capital to lose face to the soldiers!"

The adjutant was silent, and his heart was not willing to accept peace talks with the rebels, and not any soldier of the empire would be willing. But there was nothing they could do to change anything, not even the courage to die like General Cecil.

Baron O'Brien let out a long sigh and looked at the general who had left the line with five thousand Connaught soldiers with a complicated gaze.

"What a nasty and enviable old fellow—"

——————————

"Your Excellency, Commander!" Henry rode his horse from the back of the line to the side of the Viting, and the young adjutant even gasped, "behind, the enemy army behind is catching up. ”

"How many are there?" Witting immediately reined in his horse and told the troops to stop advancing.

"It looks like there are about 5,000 of them, but it's too dark to be sure if there are any hidden enemies in other directions. ”

"You immediately go to the front and get the 88th Division to support, and then go to the 64th Division and let them outflank the enemy. After saying that, he paused and stopped Henry, who was about to ride away, "You go to the 72nd Division at the end, remember, go there as slowly as possible, don't run too fast." ”

Henry was stunned for a moment, and then understood what the legion commander meant. "Yes. He nodded with a slight hesitation, and then immediately threw up his horsewhip and hurried in the direction of the 88th Division.

The 72nd Division stood in formation, and the cavalry obeyed my command and separated to the two flanks to guard against a sneak attack from the enemy. ”

Fearing that Dawes would make a repeat of his previous mistakes, he asked his chief of staff to come to Dawes's side to help him restrain his troops. Under the commander's command, the soldiers of the 72nd Division quickly changed from a marching formation to a horizontal phalanx formation, holding their guns and pointing them directly ahead. They were in the middle of the valley, flanked by raised slopes, and the cavalry of the 63rd Cavalry Division quickly occupied the slopes on both sides, condescendingly observing the vicinity, both to guard against a sneak attack on the flanks and to outflank the enemy.

Connaught's army also gradually entered the valley, and under the command of General Cecil, these soldiers marched and fired, bullets on both sides came and went, and soldiers in the front row fell from time to time. The flanks of the Connaught army were lined up in a backward sloping formation, guarding against the outflanking of the enemy's cavalry.

This kind of mutual firing is basically a competition between the equipment level of the two sides and the willpower of the soldiers, and the Connaught Army is naturally not as good as the Imperial Capital Garrison Force in terms of weaponry and equipment, which is beyond the level of the Southern Army, but the newly defeated 72nd Division obviously does not have the same stable military spirit as the Connaught people, and after a few rounds of firing, the array on the Weiting side is a little loose.

"Don't panic, stay in formation!" Dawes shouted in the loudest voice among the soldiers, and even though his voice could easily be altered by the sound of shooting, he still had no intention of giving his voice a break. He understands very well that whether he can wash away his shame depends on this turnaround.

However, even if there was a division commander on the front line to boost the morale of the army, the 72nd Division was still gradually showing its decline, and there was already a row of corpses piled up under the feet of their first row of soldiers, and those were the people who stood at the forefront at the beginning.

Seeing that the 72nd Division was almost unable to support it, he could not wait for a better opportunity, so he immediately ordered the cavalry of the 63rd Cavalry Division to start charging. Dawes only had about 1,500 infantry under his command, and the cost of the competition was definitely not comparable to that of the other side. But what puzzled Wei Ting was that there were too few people on the other side, and it was too unreasonable for five thousand people to venture into the valley. Therefore, he has been on the lookout for possible attacks from the flanks, for fear of being ambushed by the enemy before reinforcements arrive.

The cavalrymen whipped their horses at the crotch, then raised their sabers, bowed their bodies, and charged the enemy with the courage of seeing death as if they were at home. The galloping horses' hooves rolled up dust, and with an astonishing sound, swept away the Connaught army like a torrent of steel. Although Connaught's two wings aimed their guns at these cavalrymen in time, and several rounds of fire successfully knocked down the cavalry that rushed to the front, but the two thousand cavalry could not be killed so easily, once the cavalry rushed in front of him, the flesh and blood could not block the horse's collision and the slashing of the knife.

The first cavalry charge inflicted heavy casualties on both flanks of Connaught's army, and the vanguard cavalry that rushed into the enemy line was quickly trapped, killed one by one by bullets and bayonets. But the follow-up impact came again immediately, and the two wings of the disorganized formation failed to give the enemy enough damage this time, and a corner was shaved off by this razor.

After making an arc on the flanks of the Connaught army, and after inflicting a large number of casualties, they made a detour and killed again from the edge of the enemy array, regrouping behind the flanks of the Connaught army.

The battered flanks did not have a chance to breathe, and immediately adjusted the array, and the formation of the Connaught army changed from a trapezoidal shape convex forward to an inverted triangle, and the soldiers on both flanks were once again facing the enemy cavalry running to the flank and rear.

When leaving Landestown, General Cecil did not bring heavy firepower, and now there were only a small number of light machine guns in his troops, but the number of these weapons was not effective in stopping the enemy.

"General, Munster's army is also coming up behind!"

Hearing the adjutant's shout, General Cecil looked to the rear, where Munster's army of 10,000 men was closing in on them at full speed. But the old general's face did not show a look of joy, and he said lightly to the adjutant: "Since the Munster are here, then leave those cavalry alone and order the troops to prepare to charge the enemy array." ”

Hearing the general's order, the adjutant hesitated. "But ......"

"Execute the order immediately!" the general shouted at the adjutant's question.

The adjutant, who could not disobey the general, could only convey the order, and the 63rd Cavalry Division, which saw the appearance of enemy reinforcements, did not dare to stay in this position any longer and began to run towards the original position.

And in this formation, the Viting who saw the Munster people emerging from behind Connaught was even more puzzled. "Why reinforcements from behind, are those five thousand just trying to lure out our ambushes?"

Of course, Vittin did not understand General Cecil's thoughts, but this did not prevent him from making judgments. "Retreat with all your troops, and do not engage the enemy head-on. ”

The array of the 75th Division slowly moved back, and the 63rd Cavalry Division quickly returned to their flank, only with significantly fewer personnel when they returned. However, the losses were worth it, and the casualties inflicted on the local area were far greater than their own.

Although Baron O'Brien tried his best to join the Connaught army, General Cecil was determined to eat all the remnants of the enemy, and the Connaughts no longer cared about the formation, and bravely launched a charge, and the roar of the mountains and tsunamis resounded throughout the valley.

"For the Empire!

However, before they could rush into the enemy formation, a few shells hit the heads of the Connaughts from the slopes behind the positions of the Southern Corps.

The 88th Division arrived.

Baron O'Brien's lieutenant had no regard for horsepower, and when he received orders from his commander, he hurried to the side of General Cecil, in Connaught's army, as quickly as possible. "General Cecil, retreat quickly!" he shouted before he could even mount, "our scouts have spotted the enemy's main force moving this way, please let the troops retreat as soon as possible, and we will do our best to cover you!" he said as he hurriedly jumped off his horse, stumbling and falling as he landed.

"I refuse!"

As soon as General Cecil finished speaking, gunfire was heard from behind the hillside on the left, and the 64th Division also arrived.

"Hurry up and retreat!" said the baron's aide-de-camp, tugging at the sleeve of the old general's uniform, "you can't let these five thousand of Connaught die here with you!"

The last sentence moved General Cecil a little, and he began to hesitate.

But before he could make up his mind, the counterattack of the 75th Division arrived, and the 75th Division, which was supported by the 88th Division in front, immediately reversed the situation and launched a counter-charge against the Connaught army.

A cavalryman of the 63rd Cavalry Division stopped his horse and raised his rifle.

"General Cecil!"

The old general touched the blood flowing from his chest, and his body fell.