When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 751 All are main attacks
The strong wind blew Meliati's silk cloak, and she stretched out her brass telescope and looked into the distance.

After the previous battle, the army of Shishiyuan had learned their lesson.

They no longer dispersed, but instead contracted their defense line to the vicinity of Salt Flats to prevent themselves from being eroded again by Andre's "adding fuel to the fire tactics".

So this time, on the riverside plain just 68 kilometers away from Yantanji, they concentrated most of their troops, ready to fight a decisive battle.

It had just rained on the gravel plain, and the morning mist melted like ice and snow in the sun. Horse hooves did not stir up dust, and visibility was quite high.

With the help of the telescope, Meliati can easily see the scene one kilometer away.

The guards marched slowly forward in long lines and large square formations, most of them wearing chain mail and tunics.

Although the military appearance is not as good as that of Qianhe Valley, it is already quite neat.

The squire knights, united under the golden sheep-head banner, were conducting reconnaissance on the outskirts.

They have already started fighting with the rangers released by Meliati, and the two sides are having a lot of fun, chasing each other.

"The number of soldiers and knights is estimated to be between 18,000 and 24,000." Lannes on the side reported the news of the rangers.

"Quite a quick reaction." Meliati snorted coldly.

Previously, the Shattered Stone Army always liked to stage a stunt in which a team of knights, dozens of guards, and hundreds of peasant soldiers would attack in a combined battalion.

They thought they could win by relying on the peasant guards to hold the line, the sergeants to hold the line, and the knights to charge from the side.

As a result, they were beaten badly by Andre and Meliati's single combat soldiers, and they were outnumbered every time, so they had to choose to reform.

Under the pressure of Meliati's offensive, all the nobles put aside their prejudices.

They learned the system of the Thousand Valley Nobles Coalition and handed over their own guards, sergeants and knights to be under the unified command of the coalition commander.

As for the previous farmers and soldiers, they should learn from Qianhe Valley and be responsible for escorting food and logistics.

The red horse knight Mo Ruo frowned and said, "What do the rangers do? Why can they form a battle array out of sight?"

"Maybe it's because we're fighting at home. After all, we don't know the terrain as well as they do." Lannes naturally had to defend his men.

Mo Ruo kicked him in the butt: "You are the only one who protects his own shortcomings. Hand in the list of rangers later."

Lannes chuckled, took off his hat and left.

"Your Highness, how do we fight?" Mo Ruo stood beside Meliati who was still holding up the telescope, "Who will be responsible for the main attack?"

"What do you mean by main attack and support? There is no support, it's all main attack." Meliati put down the telescope, "Do we need any complicated tactics to fight them? Just outflank them."

"Boom boom boom——"

The sheepskin drums were beating rapidly, the upright halberds collided with axes and spears, and the scabbards of the daggers at the waists hit each other.

Eight large Dunjar squares of 2000 to 3000 guardsmen marched across the green fields.

In the gaps between the phalanxes, small groups of rangers conveyed the commander's orders.

In front and on both sides of the phalanx were 30 heavy cavalry columns consisting of 150 extraordinary knights.

Under the golden sheep's head flag erected high behind the square formation was the commander of the Stonebreak side - Count Lattes, the younger brother of Duke Wing Nest.

At this moment, Count Lattes looked gloomy: "Is that true?"

"Yes." The ranger swore, "I saw it with my own eyes. The three armies chose to march to the Dunjar Square at the same time..."

"You are so disrespectful! This witch! A witch! A sorceress! A skilled woman!" The Knight Commander Tarkan at the side could not help but curse, "I swear to kill you!"

Under normal circumstances, military operations are divided into main attack and support, with the former responsible for killing and the latter responsible for containment.

Just like a swordsman duel, he would hold a shield in his left hand and a sword in his right hand.

Meliati attacked from three sides, as if she was holding a sword in both hands, with another in her mouth, and she came up with a turtle fist.

"This is just nonsense." Count Lattes is a subordinate of the Duke of Wing Nest, and the one who knows the most about military affairs besides the Duke of Redwood. He has served in the Knights, and his fiefdom is on the border, so he often deals with Norn nobles and bandits.

The education that Count Lattes received since childhood told him that it is not impossible to attack from three sides, but it must be based on the premise of absolute advantage.

He admitted that the Qianhe Valley people's army was indeed stronger than theirs, but not to this extent.

Excluding the civilians, the three armies of Meliati only had a little over 10,000 soldiers in total, while the knights and soldiers on her side totaled more than 25,000.

"I guess he relies on the power of the clockwork gun." When talking about the clockwork gun, Knight Commander Tarkan couldn't help but reveal a hint of weakness in his tone.

He has personally experienced the power of this thing.

Count Lattes pulled the reins: "Does she think we will fall into the same trap twice? Ask the peasants to push the shield cart out. She can use the cart fort, but I can't?"

Following the order from the messenger cavalry, shield carts pushed by the guards blocked the front of the army.

The so-called shield cart is actually a series of carts connected in parallel, with cowhide iron sheets and hardwood boards reinforced with rivets.

After the engineers' design, they also knew to place the shield plate of the shield vehicle at an angle.

In the field of vision of the mountain infantry, they saw huge brown and yellow cowhide shields blocking their way like a long wall.

Although it is not enough to intercept all the lead bullets, it is more than enough to make the guards believe that they are protected.

The knights from the Thousand River Valley provided them with a lot of experience about the phalanx being destroyed by clockwork guns before it even got close.

"Tell the musketeers to go over and fire a few shots." After seeing the shield cart through the telescope, a serious look immediately appeared on Meliati's face.

Soon, a musketeer with ragged armor returned: "The light clockwork musket can break shields at 50 meters, and the heavy clockwork musket can break shields at 80 meters."

Meliati gave the order in an instant: "Fire one round of sand sculpture cannons, aim, there is no second chance, and then the breastplate musketeers and rangers go to disperse the people pushing the carts."

Since the winding mechanism is still being installed, the spare mainspring chambers will be used up as one less one is needed.

The wheels rubbed against the axles, and the Kushite horses snorted in dissatisfaction.

Four heavy 6-pound sand sculpture cannons were pushed to the front of the battle. The young gunner licked his dry lips and recited the artillery textbooks in his mouth.

Raising his head and taking a deep breath, the gunner said in a low voice: "Astrologer, distance."

"The straight-line distance between the enemy's center line and the gun muzzle ground is about 450 meters."

"wind direction."

"Southwest wind, angle 12, wind force 5."

The gunner's eyes quickly searched and calculated on the interpolation table in his hand. In the blink of an eye, he raised his head: "Right deviation 3, inclination 6, astrologer, accurate."

The astrologer held the crystal spirit in his hand and shook it on the star plate. It took him about 10 seconds to open his eyes. "Reliable."

The orderly pushed the cast iron shell into the barrel, and the gunner, seeing that the scale was in place, inserted the iron rod into the slot.

"Praise Holy Thunder!"

There were four loud bangs, and the gun body twitched and retreated half a step.

Then there was another shout of "Praise the Holy Thunder" and twelve three-pound cannons spit out thunder one after another.

The black iron bullets jumped on the rocks and green ground, some flew over the shield cart, and some fell into the shield cart.

The huge airflow blew away the wood chips, and the shield car that was as strong as diamond was broken in an instant.

Broken rivets and pieces of leather flew everywhere, and the shield vehicle that was originally advancing slowly stopped immediately.

The terrified cries and screams that were covered up by the shelling did not reach everyone's ears until this time.

"Now!" Lannes pulled down his bird-beak helmet, "Sergeants, charge!"

(End of this chapter)