Chapter 276 Confrontation

Sparse stars twinkled in the blue-grey sky at dawn, and gray-white mist rolled and swirled over the Bighorn River.

Without the presence of humans, all this would be just an ordinary morning in early winter.

But the peaceful scene is full of murderous intent.

"Bo."

"Bo."

The sound of paddling echoed on the river like the sound of a fish's tail slapping the water.

Suddenly, the outline of a sheepskin raft emerged from the thick fog, then the second and third pictures...

These sheepskin rafts are small, each carrying only five or six people.

Among the five or six people, two were paddling with sweat profusely. The remaining people were sitting on their knees holding horned bows, looking around without daring to move their lower bodies.

Everyone's face and eyes were filled with fear, excitement and greed.

There were no beacon fires, no shouts of death, and no arrows or lead bullets. The eight sheepskin rafts encountered no resistance and successfully crossed the Dajiao River and officially entered Tiefeng County and Langtun Town.

"Oasis! Success!" A young Hedian [Shi Jian] couldn't hide his joy and said to another young Hedian in a low voice: "The two-legged people didn't notice you and me!"

The young Hed man known as [Oasis] had a scar on his face that penetrated the bridge of his nose. He yelled at the person who made the noise in a low voice: "Shut up!"

The former immediately stopped talking.

Ganquan walked up to another old Hud man: "Bald Tail! Count the number of people. Blow the trumpet and let the remaining people come over."

The old Hud man [bald tail] with his ridged face took out a deer bone flute, put it to his lips and blew it gently.

"Woo yo... ow yo..."

The sound played by the bald tail is like the roar of a deer, not loud, but very penetrating.

On the other side of the river, another young Hud [Qingma] was waiting anxiously.

Suddenly, Qing Ma heard the sound of deer croaking from behind the thick fog, and learned that Gan Quan and others had successfully crossed the river.

"Drive your horse into the water!" The green horse immediately ran and shouted to order the slaves and subjects: "Drive your horse into the water!"

The horses started to move. The more than two hundred horses were just walking slowly, and they couldn't hide the roaring sound.

"Hurry! Hurry!" Qingma beat the slow slaves and subjects hard with his scabbard, his triangular eyes showing fiercely: "Don't ask the horses to drink water! Drive them away! Horses are not made of salt and cannot be melted! Go away! You cunning and lazy fool!"

The river water in early winter was bone-chillingly cold, and the horses were crowded together and reluctantly walked into the cold river water.

The Huds shouted and waved their long whips to drive the horses away.

The leader of the horse group, a large, light red horse with a white nose, took the lead in swimming.

This is not Zimazi's first time swimming.

The water of the Bighorn River hit its strong body, and the horse was breathing desperately, its chest stretched wider than usual, and its body floated in the water, with its neck and back exposed above the water.

The other horses followed the leader, parted the water, and slowly walked forward until their hooves could no longer touch the river bed, and then they began to pedal and paddle.

More than a dozen Hurds followed the horses in three rafts. Everyone has a lasso and a lasso in hand, just in case.

But an accident still happened. An old horse with a white forehead was not strong enough and suddenly lost its balance while swimming.

The body of the old white-breasted horse was uncontrollably swaying. It broke away from the group of horses and was carried downstream by the river.

The Hud people on the raft hurriedly threw the lasso, but the accident happened too quickly, and the old white-breasted horse disappeared in the thick fog in the blink of an eye.

The green horse was furious, with anger blazing in his triangular eyes: "Blind fool! Don't paddle forward! Let the horses swim against the current! Don't let the water wash away the horses!"

Not far downstream, the eight sheepskin rafts that had just crossed the river were rowed back again. During the round trip, the eight rafts inevitably drifted hundreds of meters downstream.

The white-fronted old horse just drifted past them, but the horse was already dying.

The Huds rowing the oars watched silently as the old white-breasted horse floated in the dark river water.

The first trip transported people, the second trip transported horses, the third trip transported saddles, weapons, and armor, and the fourth and fifth trips still transported people.

It took five times to transport more than a hundred riders and more than two hundred horses from the west bank to the east bank of the Bighorn River.

The leader of this Terdun centurion is "Hele Hui", which means sweet spring.

The triangular-eyed Qingma and another young man [Shijian] are Ganquan's "partners", that is, full-time warriors of this miniature tribe.

Others are Ganquan's subjects and slaves, such as the old slave [Ba Tail], who was given to Ganquan by Ganquan's grandfather when he could not walk.

In terms of pedigree, Gan Quan has a prominent life experience. His grandfather is the father of the roaster.

But in terms of strength, Gan Quan only had about a hundred cavalrymen and more than two hundred horses at his disposal, and his subordinates were old and young, so their combat power was very shabby.

For the Hud people, being a pioneer is a very high honor, and as usual, they can share more spoils. So according to common sense, it is not Ganquan's turn to take the lead anyway.

But who made Ganquan the blood relative of the roaster?

The fire-warmer took care of his nephew who did not receive much property, let Gan Quan be one of the vanguards, and arranged Gan Quan's march route in the upper reaches of the Big Horn River.

On the second day after the night battle at Shouzi Harbor, Gan Quan quietly arrived at the border of Lower Tiefeng County with his centurions.

The difficulty of crossing the upper reaches of the Bighorn River is much easier than that of the lower reaches of Shovel Lake.

Ganquan first found a place with a gentle flow of water, then prepared a skin bag and raft overnight, and in the early morning of the next day, under the cover of thick fog, he successfully crossed the boundary river.

Ganquan was the first "Turukota" of the Terdun tribe to lead his troops across the border river in an organized manner - he did not know this yet.

[Note: Tulukota is roughly equivalent to Centurion]

Compared with the failed raid downstream of Shovel Lake, the crossing of Ganquan was surprisingly smooth, and the Platuan people did not even raise any alarm.

After the ecstasy, deep doubts followed.

Ganquan, Qingma, Shijian and the old slave Tuwei had to decide their next move.

"Is there any need to think about it?" Qingma shouted impatiently: "The fire-warmer ordered you and me to plunder the village and disperse the strength of the two-legged people. Can't you just saddle up your horse, string your bow, and kill the two-legged people on sight? ?”

The old slave with a bald tail asked in a hoarse voice: "Where is the village of Two-Legged People? Where is the Army of Two-Legged People?"

Qingma was left speechless by the question.

The Platuan people suppressed the Hittite tribes for thirty years. Regarding the internal situation in Platt, the Hittites turned a blind eye.

In the past thirty years, the only way for the Hedians to know the inside story of Plato was through the smuggling caravans.

However, most of the smuggling caravans have noble backgrounds in Plato, and the information they give is half-truth and half-false.

Gan Quan only knew that the place he was in was the most remote "grassland" in the Two-Legged Man's territory. As for the number of people, villages, and towns on the grassland, he knew nothing.

"You don't have to worry so much! If you're afraid of wolves biting people, why don't you build a fence?" Gan Quan licked his teeth, a fierce light flashed in his eyes: "You and I are the pioneers, and the fire-warmer ordered you and me to make a big noise. Send people Go and deliver a message to the fire-warmer, telling him that you and I have crossed the river. You and I will cast out our nets and find the Two-Legged Man's camp first."

Seeing that Yan had already given the order, Bald Wei said nothing more.

While Gan Quan ordered people to deliver messages to those who were warming up the fire, he also ordered people to hide the sheepskin rafts and led more than a hundred riders to gallop towards the inhabited place.

Once the battlefield area expands to hundreds of kilometers in length and width, the ability of each unit to make independent decisions becomes crucial.

And this is exactly the strength of the Hurd tribes.

…

Ganquan crossed the Dajiao River from the upper reaches unscathed and entered Lower Tiefeng County at the same time.

Another Terdun Nayan "Tartai [Fat Man]" also crossed the river from the lower reaches of the Dajiao River and entered Zhongtiefeng County.

Tartai is a relative of the fire roaster who is marrying his wife. According to the route, he needs to cross the river at the lower reaches of the Big Horn River and the upper reaches of Shovel Harbor.

The so-called "route" in the common language is called "zasahei" by the Hittites. In the Khedic language, Zasahei also means "military order", "decree" and "command".

It can be seen from this that for the Hed people, [route] and [military order] are the same word, and route and punctuality are also the most important concepts in the military operations of the Hed people.

After the big leader sets the route, all the small leaders must strictly follow the route.

Deviation from the route without permission will be severely punished, and failure to show up within the time limit will also be severely punished.

The reason for this military custom is the hunting tradition of the Hud people. During the hunting process, any small unit deviating from the route will cause the prey to rush out of the encirclement.

Therefore, during the one-month or even three-month hunt, each unit must strictly follow the route.

This is how the Hed hunted, and this is how they fought.

The fire-warmer designated a river crossing area for his pioneer officers, and the Kota had to cross the river in the designated area, because other areas were the "route" for other Kota.

The Hed tribes did not have the engineering capabilities of Plato's standing army to cut down trees for bridges, and they did not even have many talents who knew how to build pontoon bridges.

Therefore, Fatty Tartai's method of crossing the river was similar to that of Ganquan: first, a small group of archers arrived on the east bank through the thick fog and occupied a "landing site."

Then the raft returned to the west coast to pick up more people.

The only difference is that Fat Tartai is more cautious, more experienced, and has more troops on hand.

This time, Fatty Tartai led three hundred-man troops, all of whom were carefully selected young men.

When crossing the river for the first time, Fatty Tartai pulled up two leather ropes on both sides of the Big Horn River.

With the leather ropes firmly fixed on both sides, the sheepskin raft can pull the leather ropes across the river without being washed downstream.

The first crossing took a little longer, but the second crossing was quicker.

When the sun rose and the fog gradually dissipated, the sheepskin raft had made two trips back and forth.

The personal slave "Chahan [Bai]" respectfully reported to Tartai: "There are already a hundred men on the other side of that Yan."

Tartai was named because he was born fat. This is not a good name. Tartai usually hates others calling him "fatty", so his companions, subjects, and slaves all call him "Nayan [chief]" to his face. ".

"Have the sentries been released?"

"Let it out."

"Yes!" Tartai ordered, stroking his soft whip: "Send the horses over."

"Haha." Chahan saluted by pressing his chest and prepared to leave.

"No! Don't send them away yet!" Fatty Tartai squinted his eyes, which were almost like slits: "Send ten horses over first, and let Qingqi go out to see what's going on further afield."

"Hey ha."

So ten horses were sent over, which delayed some time.

The Teltun people on the east coast didn't have time to saddle their horses, so they just rode on their bare horses and let them go.

Before the sound of horse hooves was far away. A frightening war cry suddenly sounded from behind the gradually thinning mist: "[Common Language] Draw your sword!"

It was as if hundreds of men were roaring at the same time: "Uukhai!"

"There's an ambush! Idiot! The sentry deserves to die!" Fatty Tartai kept yelling: "Pull the son back."

It was too late, two dull cannon shots were heard on the other side of the river, and the sharp bugle sound penetrated the mist and resounded on both sides of the Bighorn River.

First company commander Tamas jumped out of the field and rushed to the front with a pig-hunting spear.

To Tamas's surprise, there was someone ahead of him: a short figure with a flat-ended pig hunting spear, howling into the mist.

Short Peter had not spoken a word since the shabby wooden house was burned down. He didn't cry or laugh. He ate when he was given something to eat and drank when he was given something to drink. He was like a zombie.

Even though Captain Tamas assured the dwarf repeatedly that he would rebuild his house after defeating the Hed Barbarian, it still failed to bring any light to the dwarf's eyes.

However, at this moment, Short Peter howled like crazy and rushed towards the river bank, surprising his comrades.

When the rotten board house with a big hole in the roof and air leakage on the four walls burned down, Peter Burnier felt a void in his heart.

But now, that missing piece is filled with hatred and anger.

Peter Bunir did not dare to hate the "Blood Wolf" who gave him his last name, and did not want to hate the company commander who treated him like a brother. He could only hate the Hurd Barbarian.

Damn that bastard Hurd!

Damn Hurd barbarian!

Why do you want to come here?

Kill you all!

The more than a hundred Terdun people who crossed the river gathered together with their backs against the river. The fog had not yet dissipated, and they could only hear shouts of death coming from all directions.

"Spread out! Don't crowd together!" A red feather leader yelled at the top of his lungs: "Spread out!"

Except for Hong Feiyu, no one on the east coast of Telduun wore armor. They wore armor and sat in the boat, and they sank when they fell into the water. The only weapons in their hands were horn bows and scimitars.

Everyone is looking forward to the shore, squeezing into the safer crowds, and there is no room to even draw their bows.

Hong Lingyu became furious and pulled his subordinates out of the crowd one by one: "Spread out and set up your bows!"

The shouts of killing were getting closer and closer. Some Terdun people could not withstand the psychological pressure, loosened their bow strings, and shot arrows into the pale white mist.

The arrow was swallowed up by the white mist, and it was unclear whether it hit anyone or not.

Other Tertun people also opened their bows and fired arrows one after another, shooting wherever there was a sound.

On the other side, the Teltun people were paddling and dragging their rafts across the river.

Hong Lingyu saw it and was anxious in her heart.

The Hed people generally believe that the first twelve arrows are the "best" arrows for an archer. After that, the archer's power gradually declines, and the accuracy, power and speed of the bow will be much worse.

However, because they could not withstand the psychological pressure, all the "good arrows" of the Telton people were wasted on shooting at the fog.

"Stop!" Hong Lingyu was furious and whipped his subordinates: "If you see a person with two legs, shoot again! If you see a person, shoot again!"

Suddenly a huge force came from behind, and accompanied by the exclamations of his subordinates, Hong Lingyu, who was standing in front of the crowd, was severely knocked down by a short Plato soldier who rushed out of the white mist.

The pig-hunting spear failed to pierce the armor, and Hong Lingyu's ribs were completely broken by the brute force, and she was pushed to the ground.

Hong Lingyu struggled to get up, but the short Plato man went crazy and punched Hong Lingyu's back, as if he was killing an sworn enemy.

The Terdun people were dumbfounded. Even the Hed people had never seen such a ferocious evil star.

"Shoot him! Ah!" Hong Lingyu was hit through the armor and vomited blood. He even heard the crisp sound of his spine breaking: "Shoot him!"

Only then did the Terdun archer come to his senses, and tremblingly opened his bow and unloaded an arrow.

"Death!" Another tall Palatuan man jumped out from behind the white mist and pounced on the Terdun people without any hesitation.

The pig-hunting spear of the tall Platuan man went straight to the throat of the Terdun man in front of him. It only delayed slightly in the throat and penetrated all the way to the spine.

The Teltun whined and grabbed hold of the spear shaft.

The tall Platuan tried to pull back the pig-hunting spear, but the Telduun refused to let go.

If you were a new soldier, you would probably be foolishly tug-of-war with the Telduans at this time.

But this tall Plato soldier was the company commander Tamas. When he saw that the spear shaft was held, he immediately gave up his spear and drew his sword. He ignored the barbarian with the spear stuck in his throat and slashed at the others with his sword.

It happened in an instant, and more and more Tiefeng County soldiers rushed out of the white mist.

Seeing hundreds of Tertun people on the river bank, most of the soldiers of the first company were stunned at first, and then they shouted and fought towards the enemy.

The two sides started a melee in the mist. The Huds were wearing leather robes and the Platoans were wearing cloth. Everyone had ferocious faces and clenched teeth.

The dwarf Bunir, who was already crazy, was still smashing the red feathers. The tip of the pig-hunting spear had been broken by the smash, and the dwarf continued to smash it with the broken spear.

Hong Lingyu screamed and kept digging at the soil, trying to get up, but his lower body no longer obeyed his orders.

A strong wind roared, and the mist dispersed in an instant.

The fog that blocked the view had disappeared, and Fatty Tartai on the other side of the river immediately ordered his men to fire arrows.

The arrows hit the east bank like hailstones, flying towards the fighting sides without distinguishing between friend and foe.

It was at this time that Bart Schalling rushed to the battlefield with the second company.

Looking at the fighting situation on the shore, Bart Xialing shouted that it was not good.

The Hurd barbarians had no way to retreat, the morale of the first company was high, and both sides on the shore were already fighting.

The barbarians on the other side obviously did not intend to rescue the people, but wanted to kill and injure the Platuan people as much as possible.

"Company commander, shall we go up?" Sergeant [Nine Fingers] asked, gearing up.

"What the hell!" Bart Schalling yelled, "Blow the retreat horn!"

"retreat?"

"Blow it if I ask you to!"

The melody of retreat sounded.

Although First Company Commander Tamas didn't know why, he still shouted and ordered the surrounding soldiers: "Retreat!"

"Retreat!" The sergeant of the first company also repeated the order, pulling the red-eyed soldiers around him away from the battlefield.

Tamas passed by Peter Bunier and found that the latter was still hitting a red feather on the back.

And that Hong Lingyu was dying, but he was not dead yet.

Tamas kicked the dwarf Peter over, opened the armor curtain on the back of Hong Lingyu's neck, and gave the dying Hong Lingyu a good blow.

"That's enough." Tamas scolded with a stern face, pulling the lost Peter Peter back to the attack position.

The Teltun people on the east coast were fighting with a single will. They suddenly lost their enemies and became at a loss.

"[Hidden] Raft!" A Teltun man threw down his weapon and shouted in surprise: "[Hidden] The raft is coming!"

This shout was like a starting gun, and the still-living Teltun people rushed to the sheepskin raft that had not yet reached the shore.

"[Hidden] Don't leave me here!" The seriously injured Terdun man cried and begged: "[Hidden] Don't leave me here!"

But no one paid attention to it. A glimmer of life suddenly appeared in the desperate situation, and all the people in Teltown who were still alive became indifferent.

"[Herd] It's over!" The furious fat man Tartai threw his riding crop towards the river.

"[Herd] Surrender and avoid death!" The soldiers of the second company spoke blunt Herd, formed a loose line and rushed to the shore: "[Herd] Surrender and avoid death!"

Bart Xialing did not rush to the front. He stayed on the high ground on the river bank, frowning and observing the battlefield situation.

Sergeant "Nine Fingers" followed Bart Shilling's order and immediately cut off the leather rope connecting the two sides of the bank.

The Teltun people's sheepskin raft was caught off guard and was swept downstream by the river.

The Terdun people who lost their will to resist laid down their weapons and knelt down to surrender.

Seeing that the situation was over, the Teltun people on the other side fired a few rounds of arrows symbolically and no longer wasted arrows.

Several corpses floated on the water, silently being carried away by the river.

The first head-to-head confrontation between the two armies in Zhongtiefeng County ended in a small victory for the defenders.

[Didn’t catch up...]

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