Chapter 201 Good Fortune and Misfortune Depend on Each Other

The silver-gray horse rushed into the camp, and the alarm bell sounded like a reminder.

"Emergency assembly!" A loud roar shook the night: "Emergency assembly!"

The Palatians woke up from their sleep and crawled out of their tents.

The torches were lit one by one, and the disheveled soldiers first gathered in units of a hundred, and then rushed to the school grounds.

The standing army could still maintain order, but the auxiliary troops were in chaos.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert didn't even wear boots. He came to the alarm bell with bare feet, a helmet and a nightgown.

"What's going on?" he asked Winters loudly.

"Fire!" Winters lowered the hammer: "The Hurds are setting fire!"

Lieutenant Colonel Robert suddenly became frightened: "Where?"

"I don't know! I smell smoke!"

Lieutenant Colonel Robert took off his nightgown and threw it to the ground: "Barbarian... such a cruel method!"

It only took a moment for him to lose control of his emotions. Robert quickly pulled himself together and urged Winters: "No matter what tricks he has, let's just catch him! Go back quickly and put on your clothes. Aren't you afraid of typhoid fever?"

The blanket Winters was wearing when he left the camp had fallen somewhere, and now he was standing shirtless next to the bell pillar.

He came back in a hurry to give a warning, but he didn't feel much at first. Hearing the lieutenant colonel's words, he suddenly felt cold.

Winters raised his hand in salute and strode toward his tent.

…

Lieutenant Colonel Robert's "vicious" comments could not be heard by White Lion. Even if he could hear it, he would take it as a compliment.

When the alarm bell sounded in the Qiaolin camp, the riverside camp and the camps in the southern and northern highlands were all attacked at the same time.

Requests for help, warnings, and all kinds of information came in one after another.

"Why is Yasin so crazy?" Arpad became furious and kicked Mazar to pieces: "What's the point of doing such a little trick?"

The older you get, the more valuable your sleep becomes. Being woken up in the middle of the night, Arpad was in a bad mood.

Selleck held his forehead and frowned: "They are all feints, just distracting our attention. The Hud people's real moves must be elsewhere."

An orderly soldier rushed into the headquarters recklessly and was caught in a gust of cold wind.

"You're so reckless! What's wrong with that?" Arpad was furious: "Get out and come back in!"

The messenger held on to his helmet and backed out, then walked in again.

"explain!"

"Report from Peking University Camp, there is fire in the northwest of Qiaolin!"

Sackler punched the table: "No!"

…

It starts with an imperceptible smoke that only livestock can smell.

The horses were restless and neighed one after another.

But in winter, the weather is dry and the west wind helps, so the fire starts very quickly.

When the troops from Qiaolin Camp set off, everyone could already see red light through the gaps in the tree trunks.

This fire was like drawing fuel from the bottom of the cauldron. The Platuan people wanted to build a bridge, but the white lion burned down all the trees.

Winters had never seen a forest fire before, and the scene was very different from the fire in Guitu City.

It is not the trees that catch fire first, but the shrubs and dead grass in the forest that start to burn first.

The flames shot into the sky and climbed all the way to the treetops. The crown of the tree is closed, but the trunk is still intact.

Flames spread through the canopy like red clouds floating on the surface.

The smoke became visibly thicker and became more and more choking.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert took several officers, including Winters, to scout the fire.

When the fire was still dim, black ash could already be seen floating in the air.

At least two miles away from the fire scene, several officers could no longer go forward.

A searing heat wave hit my face. The horse neighed and refused to move no matter how hard it was whipped.

Snakes, rabbits, deer... wild beasts that were usually difficult to find were now running in the direction of humans like crazy.

The sound of the fire was like a ghost screaming, and like thousands of people tearing cloth together.

There was also a "bang bang" explosion sound - it was the fire burning the wood and stone to bursting.

"It's not a little fire." Lieutenant Colonel Robert pulled the reins, tried his best to suppress the horse that was about to lose control, and shouted to the others: "I'm afraid the barbarian set fire in multiple places at the same time, otherwise it would never have burned so fast."

Qiang Yun was relatively calm, but was pacing slightly anxiously, which gave Winters a lot of worry.

He covered his mouth and nose and yelled at the lieutenant colonel because he couldn't hear clearly without shouting: "This fire can't be put out! We need to dig an isolation belt quickly!"

"Evacuate first!" Lieutenant Colonel Robert rode away.

Other officers followed suit.

Retreating to a safe place, the officers dismounted and held a meeting.

Winters took out the map—the map was drawn by Lieutenant Colonel Jessica.

Seeing him take out the map tube from his arms, the other officers' eyes widened.

The situation is urgent and there is no time for any more hierarchical behavior.

Winters activated the light spell and pointed to the picture to explain: "The logging teams have cut many open spaces and roads in the forest. We may be able to save part of the forest by connecting and widening the logging camps near the camp."

Lieutenant Colonel Robert didn't waste any words and slapped his thigh: "Just do it!"

The lieutenant colonel then added the order: "The centurions will judge at the opportunity and retreat if it is not possible! The tree can still be used if it is overheated. Don't bend people in!"

The on-site commander made the decision, and the Qiaolin Camp troops immediately took action.

There was no doubt about the efficiency of Plato's army, and centurions marched into the lumber camps armed with tools.

Following the orders passed down from level to level, everyone took out wet towels and scarves to cover their mouths and noses, and started digging the isolation belt.

Winters learned this method of setting up isolation zones from the Guitu City Fire.

He didn't know if it would work or not, but even if there was only a glimmer of hope, he couldn't just watch the white lion burn the forest.

The horses were led to safety, and Winters walked through the forest on foot.

His voice was amplified by magic, even over the noise in the forest: "Take away all the dead grass, branches, and pine cones on the ground! Don't leave anything that can catch fire!"

When scouting the fire, Winters saw clearly: it was not the trees that burned first, but the dead branches and leaves on the ground that burned first.

More than 3,000 soldiers and militiamen were scattered in the forest, and they were almost without unified command.

At this moment, the only thing that can be relied on is the will and ability of each centurion.

The Platuan people should be grateful for two things: first, they have an extremely capable team of grassroots officers; second, the vegetation in this forest is very sparse.

That's how fate plays tricks on people.

The trees in the wilderness don't grow very big. Only when you go south or north into the foothills can you see the dense virgin forest.

The bridge forest has sparse vegetation and few mature timbers, causing the Palatuan people a huge headache.

However, it is precisely this "disadvantage" that has now become an "advantage".

Not long after, reinforcements sent by the camp also arrived at the scene.

Upon discovering that the bridge forest was on fire, Sackler immediately dispatched all engineers and auxiliary troops, led by Colonel Bode for support.

Colonel Bode also brought General Sackler's order: "Save if you can."

"Fart!" Lieutenant Colonel Robert was also furious: "What does it mean to be saved? Doesn't it mean that you have to be saved no matter what?!"

With the reinforcements and the original troops of the bridge camp, everyone went crazy and worked hard.

All trees, regardless of their thickness, were cut down and dragged away, and even the turf on the ground was shoveled away.

Not only was the turf shoveled away, but the soil was also turned over.

The fire had burned into a line, growing closer every second.

The skin on Winters' face was scorched by the heat, and the scarf covering his mouth and nose would dry in a few minutes.

He sent people to the river to fetch water again and again, but the water was quickly used up and there was no supply at all.

Two militiamen came running to find the centurion.

Their faces were so blackened by smoke that Winters couldn't see who they were.

It wasn't until one of them spoke that he recognized it was Yish, the Yish from Ganshui Town.

"Sir, this is Old Lalo!" Ish pulled the militiaman next to him and said, "He is from Haoquan Valley, and he has a way!"

Winters' mouth was bitter and he didn't have the energy to be polite: "Say!"

"Old Lalo" in Ish's mouth sounded like a middle-aged man: "My lord, it's better to fight fire with fire!"

"How to attack?"

"Don't wait for the fire to come over! Let's light a fire and burn it over first! It's like fighting fire with fire! But we have to wait until the fire ditch is dug."

"The wind is blowing eastward!" Winters pointed to the sky: "If you light a fire, you have to burn us first! How to fight fire with fire?"

"That's not the case, sir." Old Lalo explained anxiously: "The wind in the fire scene is chaotic! It can even swirl! Fire absorbs the wind!"

Winters suddenly remembered the fire tornado in Guitu City. If the fire was strong enough, it would suck the air and disrupt the wind direction.

"Are you sure?" Winters stared at Lalo.

Old Lalo lowered his head and Nuonuo said: "No, I...I'm not sure."

"Sir, when he talked to us, he spoke eloquently." Ishi yelled and grabbed Lalo: "The Centurion is here! What are you afraid of!"

Winters gritted his teeth, grabbed Lalo Lalo's shoulders, and said, "If anything goes wrong, I will be responsible. If you have any ideas, tell me! I'll go find Lieutenant Colonel Robert."

As he spoke, Winters began to fumble in his pockets, but he couldn't find anything valuable after searching all over his body.

He had no choice but to make a wish first: "I don't have any gold or silver with me. If your method works, I will let Angelou pick the best horse and bring it home for you."

…

A twenty-meter-wide isolation zone extending from south to north has already taken shape.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert agreed to experiment on a small scale with Winters' "Fight Fire with Fire."

This is completely a gamble, no one knows whether it will work, and everyone is sweating.

Outside the isolation zone in charge of the Montagne Centurion, Winters personally started another fire.

Lamp oil, resin, and whatever fuel the militiamen could find. The blazing flames soared into the sky and began to spread toward the east.

Everyone stood ready, and the flames reached the bare isolation zone.

People watched with fear as red embers flew towards them from the sky, fearing that the tree crowns would be ignited by these flying ash with sparks.

The eastward advance was blocked, and new fires began to spread to the west, faster and faster.

Seeing that fighting fire with fire was effective, everyone cheered, and tears could not stop flowing from their dry eyes.

Behind the thick smoke, out of sight, two lines of fire collided, incinerating everything they touched - including themselves.

…

…

The fire burned all night.

Early the next morning, the leaders of the Hud tribes came to watch the enemy.

The forest land is still shrouded in smoke, the trees are burned bare, and some dark red embers can still be seen on the surface of the fire.

The white lion pondered and said nothing.

"White Lion, it seems you burned them all to death." Chief Blackwater said with a flattering tone.

The Blackwater tribe suffered heavy losses, and the Blackwater chief is now a die-hard supporter of the White Lion.

"I accept your good advice, Short Bow. I also hope so." The White Lion still respects the chief of the Blackwater Tribe as before: "However, I'm afraid it won't be so easy."

The Palato Sentinel Cavalry discovered the group of enemies on the nearby hillside and ran back quickly to report the news.

"Let's go, we should go back." The white lion gently slapped the war horse: "Just take a look, don't bother the Platoans to see them off."

After a while, Plato's Sentinel Cavalry led a black-armored cavalry out of the smoke-shrouded forest.

The two personal guards accompanying the leaders raised their guns to fight, but were killed one after another by the black-armored cavalry.

The black-armored cavalry ran to the adjacent hills and shouted a few words to the leaders of the tribes.

Before the other guards could surround him, the black-armored cavalry had already left with a laugh.

"What did he say, little lion?" asked the fire-warmer.

"Want to burn us to death?" The little lion looked at the back of the heavy armored cavalry and translated expressionlessly: "Fuck you."

…

Bad news: Two-thirds of the bridge was burned.

Good news: Bridgewood still has a third left.

And another piece of good news: some overburned wood still has value, especially those with large diameters, and the White Lion inadvertently helped the Platoans with their wood screening.

"Misfortune lies where blessings depend. Fortune lies where misfortune lies." Brother Rhett twirled his beard and smiled: "The ancients are sincere and I will not deceive them."

[In fact, in this volume, although Winters is still a centurion, he actually often commands thousands or even more troops, which is very valuable experience. In Vinetta, a big tree shaded him. In Plato, he can only grow by himself]

Generally speaking, an army with low organization will collapse when encountering a fire, let alone put out a fire.

The troops in the Qiaolin camp firstly discovered the fire very early, and secondly, the standing army was highly organized, which was a level higher than the feudal troops.

A book friend mentioned before, is it too small for a centurion to have only one centurion? In fact, for the armies of the feudal era and the Renaissance, it was already a lot.

According to the organization of the Spanish phalanx, a Cap [originally referring to captain, later evolved into the rank of captain] has to lead 250 soldiers.

Because for a long time, officers were exclusively appointed by nobles. To promote ordinary soldiers to become officers, I have the impression that we have to wait until Cromwell's Model Army.

The Roman army could send individual centuries to perform tactical tasks during battles, such as flanking the enemy.

But by the Middle Ages, armies rarely saw such flexibility.

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