Chapter 578 Siege (Thirty)

At night, on the other side of Margit Island, Winters and Mason were lying behind the river embankment, observing the river surface and whispering.

"Colonel Scull," Mason habitually used his old military title and quickly changed his words, "Oh, Brigadier General Scull."

Mason asked nervously: "Does Brigadier General Scull want to stop the siege?"

Winters had no worries when talking to his classmates, unlike when communicating with Gesa, who had to be cautious.

He chuckled and answered bluntly: "Anyway, according to Brigadier General Skull Mecklen himself, he did not want to stop the siege, but hoped to 'preserve some strength' to deal with possible threats. . At the same time, some more cavalry will be deployed to monitor the river mouths in the rear to prevent the federal fleet from invading the inland rivers..."

Mason didn't spend much effort digesting Winters' words, but his tone became more hesitant, "Then, don't we still have to call off the siege?"

"Put it another way, so as not to hurt the other general's pride," Winters smiled again, but this time, his smile was full of sarcasm, "According to that person's temperament, if Brigadier General Skull said it directly If we want to withdraw our troops, then this siege will have to be fought to the end.”

There is no need to say who “that one” is.

Mason bit his lip and wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't answer Winters' words. He has a generous nature and has always had a psychological barrier to criticizing others.

A little further down, Bad Shilling was guarding Winters and Mason, and he was even more afraid to speak.

Behind the river embankment, there were three people, two of them silent, and the world suddenly became quiet.

After a moment, Mason broke the silence and asked in a low voice: "Is that why Brigadier Scull invited you back?"

"No," Winters shook his head and said with a wry smile, "Although I also believe that if I come forward, the possibility of convincing that person is higher.

“But the reason why Skull Meklen insists on my return is not to make him give up the siege - he really believes that the invasion of the United Provinces Fleet is imminent and may cut off your retreat at any time.

"The reason he needs me is to fight another battle, another battle where the enemy only exists in his head for the time being."

Mason was silent for a moment, frowned slightly, and asked, "Do you support Brigadier General Scull's judgment?"

Winters spread his hands slightly in a self-deprecating manner, "Look where I am now?"

Mason was a little unwilling, and at the same time inevitably fell into self-doubt. He swallowed, moistened his dry throat, and asked hoarsely, "But... Brigadier Scull's conjecture is too... unreasonable. It's just that... Are you going to give up the siege of the King's Castle after being harassed by a few warships? Is all that blood and sweat wasted..."

"We haven't reached that point yet," Winters realized that the senior's mood was a bit off. He immediately reassured him and explained, "I reserve my reservations about Brigadier General Skull's judgment."

"Then why did you..."

"The point is not whether the enemy will do this, the point is whether the enemy has the ability," Winters explained his point of view. "It is true that the United Provinces Fleet controlled the Jinliu River. The United Provinces Fleet sailed in Jinghu and Xilin It is also true that there is more activity along the coast of the province.

"Although Skull Meklen is always overly cautious, we should really consider the possibility that the warships of the Federation Provinces will invade the Anya River, or any navigable river in our rear, and cut off our retreat."

"But how can the Southern Front have so many troops?" Mason's breathing became rapid, "They only have..." in the kings' castles.

"Less than three thousand people," Winters said the last words almost at the same time as the senior.

Mason heard Winters' doubts about this number, so he stopped and waited for Winters to say more.

"There are less than three thousand people. You know, I know, General Geza knows, General Skull in the rear also knows, and even the idiot who ran out to surrender knows." Winters frowned, "Then this Is the information still trustworthy?”

Mason thought for a while and asked, "Since everyone knows it, doesn't it mean that this information is accurate?"

Winters coughed dryly.

It was Winters' turn to fall silent. After a while, he admitted happily, "You are right. If the information from all parties can corroborate each other, then there are less than 3,000 people from the United Provinces in the city." It should be true.”

But Winters still couldn't dispel the clouds in his heart. He unconsciously rubbed his stubble and scraped bleeding marks on his jaw without realizing it. "But I always feel something is wrong. The deployment of troops is so important to the life and death of an army." How could the information come into our hands so easily, as if someone handed it to us with both hands? "

"There are no secrets in town," Mason whispered a proverb.

"Where is the source of the secret?" Winters asked.

This question stumped Mason, but it only stumped him for a short while. After taking over the siege, he remembered all the documents he had read.

After cross-referencing, Mason bit his nails and slowly gave the answer: "The Southern Front itself."

"That's what I want to say." Winters finally saw the same dark cloud in his senior's eyes. He struck while the iron was hot and poured out all his doubts. "If it weren't for the fact that the Southern Front only had four brigades, we wouldn't have He hurried to the castles of the kings without filling up the missing personnel;

“We will not launch a siege on the kings’ castles when the rear is still unstable.

"We will not grit our teeth and persist until today despite the unfavorable circumstances in the early stage."

Winters' eyebrows were almost twisted into a knot, "However, the information that 'the enemy only has four brigades', which is the premise for all our actions, comes from the enemy himself. This is so wrong."

Mason was deep in thought, biting his nails, staring at the slope of the river embankment, and nodded instinctively.

Winters couldn't find any effective feedback from the senior, so he turned to look at the second battalion commander and asked, "What do you think? Bart?"

Bart Shilling, who was listening honestly on the sidelines, obviously didn't expect that he would also be named.

But he was not at a loss because of this. After taking a moment to organize his words, Bart Xialing spoke calmly.

"I think what you said makes sense," Bart Xialing first agreed, then suddenly changed the subject and asked his centurion a dangerous question, "But is it possible that your doubts and uneasiness , in the final analysis, it is actually because - you oppose the siege of the kings' castle? "

After hearing this, Mason stopped biting his nails and looked at Winters.

Winters laughed angrily, "You mean, because I opposed the siege of the kings' castles, I found all kinds of excuses for myself and became suspicious of everything?"

"That's not exactly what it means," Bart Schalling's attitude was humble but firm, "but that's almost what it means."

As soon as these words came out, Mason immediately felt that it was a bit too much.

There is a trend in other people's impressions of "Winters Montagne": the farther away they are, the more terrifying "Wolf Blood" is; the closer they are, the more easy-going "Montagne" he feels.

However, getting close to the distance where Richard Mason was, the perception is different.

The longer they get along and the closer they get, the more clearly Mason realizes that no matter how hard it is, what Winters Montagne has never changed is his fiery temperament; that terrible rage has never changed. It has not subsided, but the "blood wolf" has tried hard to bury it and only release it towards the enemy.

Therefore, Mason coughed slightly, his face became unusually dark, and he was the first to reprimand, "Captain Xia Ling, you must speak in a measured manner."

Bart Shilling immediately raised his hand in salute and lowered his head.

The place where the three of them were was fell into suffocating silence. Not only Bart Shilling, but also Mason felt like a thorn in his back.

After a while, Winters let out a long breath, and the tense nerves of the other two people relaxed.

Winters was a little frustrated, but he admitted openly: "Bart is right... I can't lie to myself. I am indeed opposed to the siege of the kings' castle from the bottom of my heart."

Mason said "Huh" and raised his eyebrows and asked, "Didn't you just say that you have reservations about Brigadier General Skull's judgment?"

"I have reservations about Brigadier General Skull's judgment," Winters replied softly, "but I am opposed to the siege of the King's Castle now, not because of Brigadier General Skull's reasons."

"What's that for?" Mason couldn't hide his curiosity.

Winters was silent for a moment, "I don't want my people to die in a place like this."

Mason, as well as Bart Shilling, were all trembling.

Winters looked at Margit Island in the darkness, swallowing every living life. "There are so many warriors who have come all the way here. They didn't have to sacrifice here. They should become the bones of the New Republic Army. Be the heart of the new republic instead of being consumed in the trenches.

"The King's Castle is just an isolated city, and there are obviously better ways to conquer it. So what if we leave it to the people of the United Provinces? As long as we capture Xilin Province, Donglin Province, and Beilu Province, as long as we can capture it from The Kingdom of Galloping Horses draws more strength, as long as we fight steadily - the King's Castle will be ours sooner or later."

Mason lowered his head. He knew Winters wasn't criticizing him, but the feeling of self-blame still overwhelmed him.

"People always die in war," Bart Shilling said calmly. "We know it, and your warriors know it, Centurion."

"But now, at this moment," Winters's words were like a knife stabbing himself, "under these unsuitable, insufficient, and unstable conditions, the reason for storming the kings' castles is not out of military considerations, but because Politics be damned.

“Because Matthias Corwin was singing triumphantly in the Northern Province;

“Because Gesar Adonis doesn’t want Matthias Corwin to go any further, he must take the castles of the kings before Matthias Corwin returns in triumph;

"Because I allowed them to do this and put their own self-interest ahead of other people's lives."

For the first time, Mason saw an expression of "pain" on Winters' face.

"It hurts", he had seen it many times. But "pain" was the first time he saw it.

Winters, he realized, blamed himself more than he did.

"I thought I chose the right path," Winters said sadly, "but I regret it now."

"If you choose another path," Bart Schalling retorted calmly, "someone will still die, maybe even more."

"Are you trying to excuse me?" Winters pursed his lips, "Bart Shirling."

"No, I am your subordinate, and I am not qualified to excuse you." Bart Shilling's expression was serious and solemn. "I just want to tell you that I have never blamed you. I originally wanted to say that no one blamed you. . But I don’t know what others think. All I know is that I understand and accept my fate, and I will fight for you no matter where you lead us, no matter when death comes - even in the next second. , I won’t regret it, and I won’t blame you for it, so you don’t need to blame yourself, you just need to guide the way.”

"There's no such thing as destiny," Winters said.

"Yes," Bart Schalling's attitude was as always, humble but firm.

Winters repeated, "No."

Bart Xialing stopped talking, but it was obvious that he had not changed his mind, he just didn't want to refute the blood wolf anymore.

"So," Mason asked, "what should we do next? Should we withdraw our troops? Go south or west?"

"Even bad moves must be made," Winters' eyes have become firm again, "Withdrawing troops blindly is just like what you said - so much blood, so much sweat, all in vain. So, I want to go to the island first, go to the front line, look at it carefully with my eyes, and then make a decision.”

"You can go to the island," Mason suddenly became nervous, "but we have agreed that you are not allowed to participate in the battle."

"Okay," Winters nodded.

"Absolutely not," Mason said emphatically.

Winters nodded again.

Mason was almost crying, "You can't tolerate any mistakes now, why don't you understand?"

"I understand," Winters looked at the senior, "I promise."

Mason hesitated to speak.

Winters turned to look at the second battalion commander again, "As for your question... Yes, I am opposed to the siege of the kings' castle now. However, I am convinced that my doubts and uneasiness are not because I am opposed to the siege of the kings' castle. Fort.”

"That means the information is indeed suspicious," Bart Xialing nodded simply. "The enemy must have deliberately given it to us."

Now it was Winterston's turn to be speechless.

"If it were Tamas, he would only answer 'yes'," Winters feigned anger and scolded: "You guy, no wonder you are the commander of the second battalion."

Bart Xialing raised his head: "But only under your command can I become the 'Second Battalion Commander'."

Winters was completely defeated.

After a while, he looked at Margit Island in the dark night and said to himself: "I don't know how to explain it to you.

“I don’t know Jason Cornelius’s calling style as little as I know him as he knows me.

"But this feeling is like an ink dot on a blank parchment that cannot be wiped off no matter how hard you wipe it. Putting it there makes every inch of my skin, every tendon, and every bone itchy..."

Hearing Winters' description, Mason also felt faintly uncomfortable.

Bart Xialing, on the other hand, looked serious and nodded repeatedly.

Just as he was talking, a sentry crouched down from the river embankment and trotted over from the south.

Seeing the figure of the sentinel, Winters, Mason and Bart Shilling all stood up.

The sentry walked lightly and made almost no movement until he came to Bart Xialing's side and reported a few words in a low voice.

Bart Xialing nodded and turned to look at the centurion.

"The ship is coming," he said.

[Only two updates this week, so sorry, Orz]

[I don’t deserve to be a human being]

[There are too many monologues in this chapter. Because I have never been able to sort out Winters’ inner world, so no matter how I write it, it is very awkward, so I got stuck. In addition, there are a lot of things at work recently, so I have postponed it until the weekend. Only then do I have time to organize my thoughts]

[The current version may not be the best, smoothest, or most reasonable, but he is indeed sad and regretful, and can't help but wonder if he could have had a better situation if his position had been firmer. the result of. If he had not blindly pursued uniting all parties, would he have been able to avoid these unnecessary sacrifices]

[Let’s stop chatting here, let the pages turn, let the story continue, let the sun rise again, and let the monsoon blow the land of Plato again]

[Thanks to book friends for their companionship and support]

[Thank you to every book friend for your collection, reading, subscription, recommendation votes, monthly votes, rewards and comments, thank you all]