Chapter 40 The Butcher's Road(1/2)
The 520th year of the imperial calendar, spring.
The sky was drizzling, and the chilly spring was cold and the bone marrow.
A tall, thin, serious old man was riding a horse away from Wuwu Palace alone. Although the fatigue in his eyes was almost impossible to hide, the old man still straightened his waist.
He is about to set off to the mountain for the land, fully responsible for quelling the rebellion, eliminating the rebels, and restoring the authority of the empire.
There, he was going to fight against Ned of Tormes, his former servant, disciple and vassal.
Only when people are awakened by thick smoke will they think: What is the first little Mars?
An insult? A slap? A private revenge?
Those are no longer important, what is important is that the fire of rebellion has now become a prairie fire.
Not only was the entire Duke of Frslander burning, but even the autonomous cities of Duke of Venetta were ready to move.
The fire must be put out as soon as possible, otherwise the territory south of the Shade Mountains will be turned into ashes.
But a problem lies ahead of him: his corps were stationed in the northern border of the empire, while the mountainous land with smoke was located at the southernmost end of the empire's territory.
The sea transport was almost strangled. The rebel galleon set off from the Tanirian Islands and broke the empire's madness.
The emperor's fleet was wiped out in a sea decisive battle with Sultan Fleman two years ago, and has not yet recovered its vitality.
His soldiers could only see their enemies by crossing the entire empire with their legs and climbing over the shady mountains that were towering into the clouds.
...
On January 12, 559, the Jieshika Brigade set out from the Shuangqiao Military Camp, at that time there were only a hundred double-set large vehicles in the team.
Six days later, the baggage team arrived at Matoupo, a small border town, and the number of large trucks driving on the dirt road had exceeded 200.
Less than half of them belong to the military baggage team, and the rest are vendors, brokers and speculators who joined the baggage team along the way.
It is very simple to distinguish: the baggage team uses double-set four-wheeled carriages; while the folk carriages are diverse, two-wheeled, four-wheeled, mule carriages, donkey carriages... and even slow ox carriages.
...
Logistics was defined by the Duke of Allyn as "the practical art of dispatching troops and replenishing them."
The two words "deployment" and "supply" that sound light are as difficult as climbing to the sky.
In order to transfer his corps from the northern border to the Gulf of Senas, the Duke of Ally carefully planned a route for transporting troops, which was later famous "Bullshit Road".
The Butcher's Road starts from the Northern Fortress of the Empire. It passes through more than 20 imperial towns along the way to ensure supplies. Finally, it crosses the shaded mountains through the Vankush Pass and arrives at the Bay of Senas.
The Duke of Allyn sent craftsmen in advance to build camps along the way, widen roads, build bridges, and set up supply stations according to the daily march distance.
The sound of military boots trampling on mud and water, the sound of spears hitting each other, and the tired soldiers marched in silence... Many old people still remember these things when they talked about them.
Normally, soldiers can travel 22 kilometers on the Butcher's Road every day, and those who forcibly march can travel 37 kilometers every day.
During the two expeditions, the empire dispatched more than 100,000 soldiers to the south through the butcher's road, and there was no reduction in personnel due to supply.
Countless military supplies were also used to supply the rebels on this route.
However, the biggest impact of the butcher's path in the end is not military, but people's livelihood.
Because it connects more than twenty big cities and has camps and supply points along the way, many merchants began to transport goods through this route.
The road called "Butterfighter" finally brought prosperity to the line, which was probably something its original planners did not expect.
...
Although the soldiers of the Republic are unwilling to admit it today, in fact, the tactics, organization, and training of the Alliance army were learned from the "butcher" Allyn.
There is nothing to be ashamed of, it is a respectable skill to be able to learn knowledge from enemies.
For example, the current phalanx tactics are improved by the butcher's spear heavy halberd square array: the musketeers are added to make up for the shortcomings of the long-range firepower of the gun halberd square array, and the small number of elite sword and shield hands that counterattack clumsy super spears.
In the 520th year of the Empire, the Duke of Ally led his troops to quell the rebellion. At that time, the "Southern Rebellion Party" was just a group of merchants, craftsmen and farmers - a mob.
Eight years later, the "crazy man" Richard personally led the expedition, and the enemy the Crazy Emperor wanted to deal with was already a real army.
The logistics system of the Alliance Army is naturally also a master of the butcher, and I learned two main points:
First, supply on site as much as possible; second, set up camps along the supply line.
At the same time, I learned a lesson: Don’t let idle people accompany you.
For example, in the war between the Palathu Republic and the Hed tribes, the quartermasters would collect materials from the Hed people as much as possible, and the transport from the rear to the war zone was both responsible for the army and the private.
The military baggage team has limited capacity and only loads guns and gunpowder as much as possible, which are difficult to replenish materials in the front.
For example, flour, salt, and non-staple food supplies, the quarantine officer will be happy to buy them from vendors at high prices and pay at a discount on the spoils. In some cases, they will even "prepay" the land indicators.
Often, merchants can make a fortune by just one round and one trip. Even if they have land indicators, they can easily be sold.
Therefore, every time the military baggage team set off, there will be a large number of vendors, brokers, and speculators. They follow the baggage team because of their herd mentality, and hope to get some protection.
...
"Listen! You are responsible for your own safety! You must bear all risks along the way!" Tomorrow is about to cross the boundary river, Winters is preaching policies to the idle people who accompany the team: "No carriages in non-packing teams are allowed to mix in the queue! We are in front, you are following behind. If you can keep up, you can follow, and you can't keep up and fall behind..."
The second lieutenant stood on a stone, speaking with dry mouth. The people in front of him listened silently, and everyone understood these rules.
There were so many ugly words, and Winters put the good news to the end: "But Lieutenant Colonel Jeska allows you to enter the camps along the road to rest! It is strictly forbidden to enter the baggage camp when camping, and those who violate the orders are punished for spying on military information!"
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! The crowd's emotions have fluctuated a little. Few officers in charge of the baggage team like these civilians who are free to protect. In most cases, they are strictly prohibited from entering the camp for safety.
It is rare for officers like Lieutenant Colonel Jeska to allow idle people to enter the camp.
...
When he saw Winters come back, Lieutenant Colonel Jeska asked casually: "Have you finished talking to them?"
Winters nodded.
Because of his experience of escorting the Wolf Town convoy to Revodan, Winters is quite capable, so Lieutenant Colonel Jeska asked him to do whatever he wanted.
"It's useless to just say it. Those who dare to follow it are either courageous or greedy. Most of them have both. You have to deal with a few sluts who want to take advantage of the situation to shock them."
"Then why don't you just not let them enter the camp?" Winters asked back.
"Let them enter the camp so that they can better control them." Lieutenant Colonel Jeska replied: "Besides, they are not easy. They can take care of them as much as possible."
...
The winter day is very short, so you must seize the time to march.
The sky was just bright, and the ten-man who was on the star rang the bronze bell with force.
Berryon had woken up before ringing the bell, and he bought goat milk and eggs in town the night before.
When Winters put on his military uniform and opened the tent, Berryon brought in the hot goat milk, bread and cooked eggs.
Berion is now the orderly lieutenant. The Dusaks, who were originally in the same tent as him, have transformed into cavalry, so the lieutenant simply left the blacksmith to be a guard and a serviceman.
The originally quiet military camp came to life, and the militia climbed out of the tent tiredly, stretched their backs and started to make food.
The diligent people also cook some hot soup, while the guy who is too lazy to move simply eats cold bread.
I have to say that after Berryon became the orderly, Winters's meal conditions improved greatly. Bard and Andre also benefited, and they now ask Winters for dinner every day.
The large group of people was still busy, and Andrei and his five-tent cavalry were ready.
With the gold bars sponsored by friends, Lieutenant Cellini generously customized a set of Paratu Hussar officer uniforms—the best tailor in Maple Stone City.
Although I think of a "Sunshine Man", Lieutenant Cellini likes the fancy Hussar uniform very much.
Winters and Bard are still wearing the uniforms of the Land Academy student, and Andre can't wait to change into Paratu military uniforms.
"Caval, I may die that day." Lieutenant Cellini said: "Wouldn't you lose if you don't dress better?"
However, he chose a red belt with blue piping - the color of the Venetta military flag. It can be called "Wearing Paratu military uniform on my body, my heart is still the Venetta heart."
Ensign Cellini was wearing a fancy jacket and a high leather hat, and stood out among a group of militiamen, especially conspicuous.
After saying hello to the lieutenant colonel, he led his light cavalry to set out to explore the way first.
As a strategic offensive side, the Palatu army currently uses a fixed supply route, with a fortification camp every ten kilometers on the road.
Ten kilometers is the daily travel distance of the cart.
Soldiers can hike twenty to thirty kilometers a day, but it is the limit to trek ten kilometers a day.
The traditional four-wheeled farm carriage has an extremely bulky body itself. The front wheels are small and the rear wheels are large, and the turning radius is very large.
There is no differential, no suspension, and no bearings, so it is easy to break. The manned carriage can also be equipped with a belt suspension rack, but the carriage carriage is useless.
Andre's duty is to find out the situation within the ten kilometers and notify the camp ahead to prepare for reception.
When the other militia had eaten, put away the tent and prepared to go, it was already dawn.
Lieutenant Colonel Jeska didn't say anything nonsense and directly ordered the expulsion.
Leaving Matoupo Town, the Jieshika Brigade will cross the boundary river and enter the "no man's land", and everyone will inevitably feel a little nervous.
Lieutenant Montane took the lead, and two large cars drove out of the barracks one by one. Lieutenant Bad took a team of carpenters and several large vacant cars to finish off.
Mapotou Town is a very prosperous town with a permanent population of hundreds of families. The baggage team passed by the town center, which attracted many town residents to stand on the side of the road to watch the fun.
Many of them were smiling on their faces, and Winters and the militia carrying weapons waved some kind of paper.
To be continued...