Chapter 70: Before the Great War
When the first rays of the morning slowly shone on the earth, the wilderness in front of the walls of Watt Fortress seemed so calm and peaceful. Looking at this scene, no one would have thought that it was here, just last night, there was a tragic killing, where tens of thousands of people shed their blood, and tens of thousands of people screamed and wailed here. And now, only the bare earth, which is still faintly red, is somewhat reminiscent of the massacre of last night.
The banner of the thorn flower on the city wall was still erected, but the soldiers standing on the city wall were already tired and dazed. In the middle of the night last night, the Great Moon Kingdom suddenly launched a fierce attack on the Watt Fortress, and the battle lasted until dawn. After paying the price of several thousand casualties on both sides, the Great Moon Kingdom finally withdrew.
At this moment, the soldiers on the city wall had not slept all night, and their eyes were blankly looking at the military camp of the Great Moon Kingdom in the wilderness in the distance. In the unaware barracks, the alien barbarians wearing furs and carrying long scimitars had already begun to form a team. "It seems that today is another fierce battle...... some veterans couldn't help but sigh in their hearts, glancing at the sun that had just risen in the sky, not knowing if they could survive today.
The original strong and tall city wall has long been full of misery, black gunpowder smoke and red blood stained the city wall into a terrifying gray death, the city gate was knocked out in the battle last night, although the soldiers in the city have been urgently reinforced with giant trees before dawn, but the soldiers on the city wall saw the heavy and sturdy crash slowly pushed out in the formation of the Great Moon Kingdom, and they still couldn't help but go up and down in their hearts.
General Reuben, the commander of the Northwest Army, stood on the city gate, he had personally fought for a night last night, and he only felt physically and mentally exhausted at the moment, the successive defeats in the past few days had already filled his heart with a sense of frustration, as the commander of the Northwest Army of the Empire, he lost a large part of the empire's territory, lost his troops, and was finally besieged in this Watt fortress. Reuben knew in his heart that even if he could hold on to this place and wait for the reinforcements to repel the army of the Great Moon Kingdom, he would already be the head of the legion. After the war, His Majesty the Emperor's first person to kill must be himself, the defeated general.
But Ruben is still struggling to hold on. Just because he must not allow the Northwest Army to be completely annihilated in the Watt Fortress! As a loyal soldier of the Empire, he must hold on to the last moment! He must not let the last barrier in the northwest of the Empire, the Watt Fortress, fall into the hands of the Great Moon Kingdom again! He knows that behind him is the Northwest Plain of the Flat River! If the Great Moon Kingdom breaks through the last defense line of the Watt Fortress, then the entire Northwest Plain will be ravaged under the iron hooves of the Great Moon Kingdom!
Morale had already fallen to the bottom, and after successive defeats, less than 100,000 of the 200,000 army remained—and Reuben knew that even among these 100,000, there were less than 70,000 people who still had the ability to fight, excluding the wounded and incapacitated soldiers. Reuben developed a deep fear of Rozenthal, the commander of the Great Moon Kingdom, a formidable opponent who was a strange soldier and especially adept at long-distance attacks. Just like a wolf on the prairie, he can always find the weakness of his opponent and bite it hard!
Frankly speaking, Ruben knew that he was not an outstanding strategist, he was a diligent and willing soldier, and he was better at being an executor than a decision-maker! Back then, when he was under the command of the great Duke Tulip, as long as the Duke gave any orders and tasks, he could go all out to complete them!
He slowly rose to today's status only after fighting bravely under the command of Duke Tulip and accumulating military merits after completing outstanding tasks - of course, this is also related to the lack of real military talents in the empire after the death of Duke Tulip. But if he wants Lu Ben to be the commander of the first army, let him strategize and win a thousand miles, it is not Lu Ben who is competent.
Especially in the face of the opponent of the steppe, who is known for his cunning and ferocity, Rochenthal, Ruben has been defeated and retreated since the battle with him!
Thinking of his glory under Duke Tulip, Ruben sighed deeply and couldn't help but touch his half-white beard. He didn't like to be this commander at all, in contrast, he preferred to be a brave commander under the Duke, and at that time he didn't have to think about anything, just carry out the orders drawn up by the Duke!--Instead of following a group of staff officers around the headquarters all day long, racking his brains to figure out the opponent's next move.
Shaking his head, Ruben forced himself to concentrate - the Great Moon King [***] team in the distance had already begun to assemble the whole team! It seems that today will be another bloody battle!
"Hmph, let's see if your saber is powerful, or my long sword is powerful!" Reuben shouted an order, telling all the soldiers in the city to go to the city wall and prepare for battle.
Fortunately, like the barbarians of the steppes, this Rochenthal had his weaknesses - he was good at fighting in the plains, but he didn't seem to have a very good way of attacking cities.
After learning from the previous news that he used the method of sneak attack and lightning speed to pull out the Blackstone Fort and Fort Trier in one go, Ruben mustered up his spirit to guard against the other party's sneak attack. Sure enough, these days, the Great Moon Kingdom has once again repeated its old tricks, first three days ago on the night of the sudden hundred thousand troops drove to the city, and then attacked the city without stopping, almost catching itself off guard -- those damn scouts are all idiots! Two hours ago, he reported that his opponent's main force was still in the important town of Mudan, which was hundreds of miles away, but in the blink of an eye, he ran to his nose! If it weren't for the fact that Reuben had already taken precautions after suffering several losses in a row, I am afraid that the other party would have succeeded in a sneak attack.
In the past few days, the other party has always taken advantage of the night to attack the city, and during the day, it is just a symbol of the surname. Obviously, they want to use this method to consume the combat effectiveness of their own army, and they want to drag themselves down with fatigue and harassment tactics.
The soldiers have long been exhausted, but the main force of the Northwest Army is, after all, the elite of the empire! On the plains, Ruben really can't defeat Rochenthal, and the alien cavalry of the steppe comes and goes like the wind, which is really a headache, but you must know that in this kind of battle, no matter how powerful the cavalry is, it is useless! Attacking the city depends on the infantry!
Ruben ordered the archers to prepare. The only capital he has in his hands now is archers. When Rochenthal attacked the town of Mudan, when the army was defeated, it lost all its equipment, especially the catapults and fire crossbows, which were indispensable for the city's defense, and those things were not brought out at all in the chaos!
But fortunately, Ruben made probably the most courageous decision of his life at that time!
When he saw that the rout was irretrievable, Reuben resolutely ordered all the military supplies that could not be taken away to be burned! Although he was very distressed, the town of Mudan had stored sufficient war materials for many years, all kinds of sophisticated equipment, catapults, fire ballistas, etc., as well as enough grain and grass for 100,000 troops to eat for a year, all of which were burned clean by a fire! The fire burned for three days and three nights, and in the end, although Rochenthal gave the order to kill and cost hundreds of dead and wounded to extinguish the fire, only what little food was left.
Fortunately, Reuben made that decision! Otherwise, if Rochenthal had obtained that batch of sophisticated equipment, I am afraid that they would have already pushed the catapults made by the empire itself to attack the city!
"They're coming, sir!" cried one of his commanders.
Ruben cheered up, drew his long sword, and said in a loud voice: "Raise the battle flag!"
Under the city, the [***] array of the Great Moon King has been assembled, the cavalry is on both wings, and in the middle is a neat infantry phalanx!
"Damn!" Reuben scolded fiercely, "Infantry! God knows how Rochenthal could train those barbarians who can only ride horses and can't walk into infantry! Hmph, do you think that two phalanxes will be infantry?! Let me see how good your infantry is!"
The sun in the east has completely risen, the sun shines on the wilderness, and under the reflection of rows of scimitars, the knife light is dazzling and murderous!;