At the end of the Tang Dynasty, it was a feudal town, but in Western Europe

"Lord Earl Hedwin, please speak quickly!"

Looking at the pair of eyes, Hedwin smiled proudly: "I sent my own soldiers to investigate and successfully captured three Saxon soldiers who were fetching water..."

"what?"

The nobles and captains who led the army below all showed surprise expressions, but the surprise was also mixed with some suspicion. This afternoon, the reconnaissance battle was still a fiasco, so why were three people arrested in one go at night?Wouldn't it be made up to stabilize the morale of the army?

"From these three people, I have basically figured out the situation of the support army. First of all, these three people are a Slav and two Vikings, and their identities are actually mercenaries. Such mercenaries There are actually [-] soldiers in the opponent's reinforcements. Guess how many of them there are in total?

One thousand seven hundred people!One out of three is a mercenary!As for those tough soldiers patrolling the outskirts, yes, they are indeed Saxony's demon tooth soldiers, but their number is only 700, in order to make us think that they have many people and that many reinforcements have come.

But this proves their weakness, otherwise why pretend to be strong? "

Amidst the sighs of relief one after another, Hedwin directly interrupted their upcoming celebration and stood up solemnly instead.

Hedwin's eyes were full of seriousness: "Although this is the case, I dare say that there are indeed stronger and more reinforcements behind them. They pretended to be like this to make us afraid. If we were afraid, we would be really deceived.

Therefore, we can't waste money. Instead of waiting for the opponent's army to arrive and take the initiative to attack, we should attack now while the opponent is still weak! "

In fact, Hedwin still had a small heart in this matter, that is, Hadrad gave him the order to attack Blankenburg. Now it seems that with the strength of the Saxon army, it is almost impossible. It didn't matter at all here, but whether Hadlard could catch Charlie.

If Charlie was caught, it would be easy to say, but if he was not caught, he would catch the queen again, and even cause the queen or the Duke of Saxony to be injured and die. It would be a bit embarrassing when Hadrad was defeated.

But going back like this would be suspected of avoiding war and cowardice, and it would be easy to die, but if after a victory, "because our army's strength is greatly damaged, we can't resist directly, so we can only turn to continue to attack", then it sounds much better.

Genius, what a genius tactician I am!

Chapter 321 Hedwin: Grab more work later

Early morning on July 786, 6.

"Ugh-"

On the narrow plain in the east of the Harz Mountains, a continuous sound of the horn rose with the sun, and after the sound of the horn, there were billowing smoke and the clanging footsteps of the soldiers.

Saxony is so humid even in summer, but at least the wind in the morning does not make people feel as hot and humid as at noon.

In the mountains and forests, light cavalry composed of tooth soldiers, part of Yi Cong and the Eight Banners continued to fight back and forth on both sides of the plain, but the spilled blood and stumps had already laid out a prescribed battlefield on the ground.

The Eight Banners, who had already sensed the enemy's attack, left the camp early and formed five neat formations in front of the formation, the thickest of which was the three formations in the middle, and the farthest left and rightmost were slightly thicker. It is thinner, and the total number of people is about 600.

And behind them, there is also a supervising team, or reserve team, composed of tooth soldiers and new government soldiers. They will only be dispatched in the most critical time.

In fact, for Zhenhui, besides defeating three thousand enemy troops, the most important thing of this battle is to train these new school officers. Therefore, apart from grasping the way in the general direction, the rest of the work can It will be done by the school officers and child soldiers below.

And the main commander of this battle was Xiao Agui, the captain who accompanied Zhenhui to defend the city in Bremen back then. At this moment, he was already the honorary captain of Xuanjie, and even the instructor of the winter training of the Eight Banners of South Saxony.

Riding on a big green horse, Xiao Agui stood on the stirrup and looked into the distance.

"Judging from the smoke and dust, it's almost here." Xiao Agui sat back on the saddle, pulled the rein, and smiled at Zhenhui, "As the "Sun Tzu" said, if you can, you can show it and you can't, and you can use it to show it. No need, I didn't expect them to actually take the bait."

Zhenhui was noncommittal, just smiled and said: "In the battlefield, it all depends on winning or losing. If you win, then you are showing that you can't do it. If you lose, then you are overestimating your strength and hitting a stone with an egg.

Between victory and defeat, as a general, you must observe it. "

"Extremely, extremely." Xiao Agui hurriedly bowed his hands and said yes, "Thank you, Deputy Envoy, for your enlightenment."

"Go ahead and fight hard."

"Here!"

Riding a horse, Hedwin wore a Viking-style armor. Compared with the Frankish pointed helmet that exposed most of the back of the head and neck, he always felt that this kind of helmet was safer.

In front of Hedwin, nearly 3000 people lined up in two crooked large square formations. Needless to say, Hadlard really put a lot of energy into military affairs, at least the large square formations really looked like that.

In the first row are the heavy axemen in chain mail. They are composed of the strongest armed slaves, loggers and sergeant majors. There is no doubt that their naked muscles even exude a kind of muscular texture.

In the sound of continuous forward footsteps, the chain mail on their bodies made the sound of metal friction. Under the special design of the blacksmiths, the rings of the chain mail on their bodies were thicker than ordinary chain mail, and the links were tighter. Tighter, each piece is [-] to [-]% heavier than normal chain mail.

It's no wonder that only these strong men can wear them. They hold long-handled battle axes like Viking longaxes. Some of them wear helmets on their heads, and some are just a Virginia fur hat.

Behind them, there are carefully selected conscripted infantry, which are different from the peasants and soldiers drawn out by the nobles and lords. Many of them are even free militias.

Wearing woolen jackets and armored suits, with a bloody cross representing St. George on their chests, many people were still shouting the name of the Heavenly Father as they marched, in order to be blessed and enter heaven after death.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

"Bang bang!"

Gongs and drums blared, and swords blared.

On the other side, the Eight Banners, wearing leather armor and chain mail, walked forward slowly with the beat of the drum.

Most of these Eight Banners are wearing green mandarin jackets. In the horizontal row, most of them are in groups of three, one holds a large shield, one carries a bow and crossbow, and one carries a short spear.

The set of training methods specifically for Viking pirates back then is outdated. Compared with those complicated training, this kind of one person corresponds to one job, the training is simpler, and the weapons carried are more powerful.

However, in addition to this, most of the bannermen carry a spear and a waist knife. If necessary, they can throw down a large shield or crossbow at any time, stab with a spear in hand or take out a waist knife for hand-to-hand combat.

However, such a chance may not be great, because the righteous followers are standing on the front line, they only have big axes and spears in their hands, and they are ready to launch a death charge at any time.

After all, that's what they came here for, and they wouldn't be happy if the Eight Banners put them behind.

"kill!"

"For the glory of the Father!"

"Master bless! Kill!"

As the enemy army kept approaching, the volunteers were either excited or timid, and could not help but let out one after another battle roars and howls.

Even amidst the roars of the school officials and even Xiao Agui himself, many Yi Cong had already left the team and rushed out, completely ignoring the teammates around them, and some tried to escape, but there were always deserters in Feng Sen's army, and the rear team beat the front team.

As for the escape of the Eight Banners, it would be a big joke in the world. Feng Sen has his wife, children, family and the whole family. Where will he escape after returning?

Death in battle is painful for a second or two. If you really want to run away and betray you, it's not a big deal if the family dies, but it's a big deal if you lose your job.

"Dudu-"

"Oh?" Hedwin couldn't help laughing as he looked at the dozen or so soldiers who suddenly broke away from the enemy's formation and rushed towards him.

He patted the shoulder of the entourage beside him: "Tell the archers to take action, and give us a boost of morale first, but the archers should not charge too far."

In the slowly advancing army formation, several rows of soldiers stopped suddenly. They took out a bunch of strangely shaped longbows from behind, some were well-made, and some were made of random branches.

After all, the predecessors of these archers were basically hunters in the mountains and forests, so how could they have so much money and twists and turns.

"Launch!" The captain who led the archer team shouted loudly. In an instant, the sound of arrows piercing the air cheered up many Thuringian soldiers.

It's a pity that the landing points of these more than 50 arrows formed an irregular semicircle in front of the archers, and many arrows even fell on the soldiers in the first row.

In front of them, the dozen or so north righteous servants who rushed over had already been shot down halfway by bows and arrows, lying on the ground, howls that shook the sky, but the howls did not affect the other pig tuyis at all. From their actions, they still seemed to have an army behind them, and they rushed straight to the heavy axeman on the front line.

"Die!" Yi Cong, who was only half-clothed, rushed in front of a heavy axeman. Except for the first sentence, there was only a dreamlike raving in his mouth. He jumped high and slashed down with the rusty sword in his hand.

"Pricked—" the sparks flowed down the heavy axeman's shoulders to his chest, but except for a dozen damaged iron rings, the heavy axeman still stood upright.

The simple and honest heavy axeman gave him a distressed look, kicked the beggar version of Yi Cong soldier to the ground, and then a heavy ax slightly wider than an adult's palm fell from the sky.

The passionate blood pushed the head away by one meter, and the heavy axeman stepped forward in two steps, grabbed the head of Yi Cong as if showing off, and showed it to his companions while roaring. For a moment, Hedwin's army The formation was filled with echoing battle cries and satirical laughter of the enemy.

Heidewin couldn't help laughing and said: "It seems that the level of this group of mercenaries is not very good. Get ready later and grab more work to claim credit."

Chapter 322 Porphyrin

"No matter how many people dare to disobey orders, there are just such a few people!"

Standing in front of many followers, Xiao Agui rode to the front line by himself regardless of the risk of being shot by bows and arrows.

And under his horse's hooves were the heads chopped off by several soldiers around him. These were the obedients who did not listen to orders and charged or fled without permission, and the obedients were also silent, afraid to speak or move.

That wave of unauthorized charge just now almost caused all the volunteers to rush out together, and it was the suppression of the Eight Banners and the generals at all levels who were responsible for maintaining order in the rear that allowed them to stabilize their formation.

This location was carefully selected by Xiao Agui. It is a small highland with an almost imperceptible slope. On the left side of the highland is a slope, while on the right side is a bush and forest.

This narrow small plain was just right for deploying more than 600 infantry led by Xiao Agui, and the slope on the side could also be used to place a small amount of cavalry.

As for the [-] soldiers led by Hedwin, it is somewhat difficult to deploy in this terrain. It looks a bit bloated and sticky.

The horn sounded twice quickly, and Xiao Agui faced the hillside, where fifty or so cavalry began to wave their flags.

"One hundred and eighty steps!" The flag was waved on the hillside, and the shouts of rebuking the righteous followers sounded again in the formation, but because of the deterrence last time, no one dared to charge before the order was issued this time.

"One hundred and fifty steps." Xiao Agui raised his hand: "Yi Congjun advances five steps slowly! Those who leave the team will be cut off, and they will sit with Wu Lian!"

Under the leadership of Yicong's captains, Nuo Siyicong stood shoulder to shoulder and stopped every step he took, waiting for the people in the same team to be level with him before he dared to move forward.

In the Eight Banners army formation in the back row, the original tight Eight Banners formation began to disperse, and they formed a group of three and began to prepare.

The person holding the large shield first dug a small hole in the ground with a pickaxe, inserted the chisel at the lower end of the large shield into it, and supported it with its feet.

This kind of big shield is nearly chest high, heavy and thick. Unless it is a majestic one of the Eight Banners, it really can't carry this big shield. Outside the big shield, two bannermen are hurriedly checking the crossbow in their hands , and lubricate the suspension teeth and machine shaft one by one.

"One hundred and twenty steps!"

"Hundred steps!"

"One hundred steps!"

The ground is trembling, everyone can feel the ground under their feet trembling, or their feet are trembling, everyone is staring ahead, at this time, the captain's shouting and cursing become more frequent, occasionally there will be one or two A soldier who couldn't bear to run away.

This group of people was naturally beheaded by the supervisory team led by Xiao Agui, and the heads were passed on.

"Don't move! Don't move!"

"Before you hear the order, I will firmly nail you in place and don't move!"

"Seventy steps!"

The earth-yellow human wall that stirred up countless dust in the distance gradually appeared. They wore pointed iron helmets and panted like wild animals. They were also observing and advancing.

The two human walls, like two coyotes confronting each other, are drooling and carefully checking each other's movements and signs.

"Beep beep-"

At this moment, at the rear of the army formation, Xiao Agui finally ordered someone to blow the charge horn. The sound that signaled death surpassed the speed of sound, and directly exploded in everyone's cochlea.

"charge!"

"kill--"

"Follow me, kill!"

In an instant, the [-] North followers in the first two rows of the army were divided into five groups and rushed forward.

Behind them, the bannermen with bows and crossbows were still crouching and hiding behind the big shield, while the rest of the bannermen laid down their spears and followed behind the righteous followers. Under the leadership of the captain, Straight towards those Thuringian infantry charge away.

Dust splashed under the feet, and the two long streams composed of spear points and blades were getting closer and closer, so close that there was only the last mile of distance left.

"Thorn-"

Looking down from the sky for a moment, on a long line, countless sparks almost form a long rainbow line, but what this rainbow line passes through is not pearls, but blood-stained human heads.

"what--"

"Kill! Commander bless me!"

"Kill the head, kill the head, kill the head and take the head!"

"My intestines, my intestines are coming out!"

Looking down from mid-air, it seemed that six heavy hammers had slammed on a piece of sponge iron. The Thuringian infantry who were still advancing before almost violated the law of inertia and stopped.

This greatly exceeded Hedwin's expectations: "What's going on? What's going on? Keep on attacking! They have far fewer people than us!"

On the front lines, however, there has been a lot of incisiveness.

Although the Thuringian infantry had undergone Hadrad's training, and their formation and coordination were much better than those of the followers, they were all farmers or craftsmen before, and they were all motivated by silver. When they first entered the battlefield, their combat awareness was more than a little worse.

As for Nuo Siyi from the side, although they were fighting on their own, although they were in a mess, they had a crazy bravery that was not afraid of death. In addition, some of the usury fighters got valuable weapons and armor, and they actually beat the infantry in terms of morale.

Under such circumstances, coupled with the cooperation of the spear formations of the banner men in the back row, the two sides actually played a [-]-[-] split.

However, in the long run, the Banners were few in number after all, so they would naturally lose out gradually. However, Hedwin's energy was not on military affairs, but on diplomacy.

"Let the arrows! Let the arrows!" Hedwin shouted.

The hundred hunters around him immediately stopped and drew their bows and arrows. The ears of the flagmen moved slightly, and they shouted in an instant: "Be careful of the arrows!"

Hundreds of wooden arrows fell on the Banners and the righteous followers, a wave of arrows rained down, and bloody roses bloomed on the human body. A dozen people fell to the ground in an instant, but none of the Banners fell down.

It’s not that bows and arrows have long eyes, but that the soil hunting bows in Orion’s hands are basically single-piece hunting bows, many of which are five-double bows or even three-double bows. It’s okay to shoot rabbits, and it’s okay to shoot unarmored targets.

However, the panic effect caused by this wave worked, and the Thuringian infantry finally pushed forward.