fire.

A fire that burns to the edge of the sky.

With the help of the monsoon, the fire burned into a line and swept towards the east, spreading out of sight in the blink of an eye.

The beasts trapped in the fire fled like crazy, and the marmots and rats were driven by instinct to dig deeper.

Thick smoke billowed into the sky. The haze was carried by the westerly wind and flew to Tiefeng County, dozens of kilometers away.

Lieutenant Andrea Cellini spat on the black ash in his mouth, expressionlessly driving his horse on the scorched earth burned by the fire.

The air was hot, the smoke was choking, the horses were snorting restlessly, and Andre's men were also coughing.

It didn't take too many people to set the fire. Andre divided his men into five teams and went to various parts of the no-man's land.

"The fire is low over there." Andre pointed to a hillside in the northeast: "Go and mend it."

The two cavalrymen saluted and galloped away.

Fires are not uncommon on the grasslands. A lightning strike or negligence may cause the god of fire to fall.

However, for the Hittites, deliberately setting fires to draw the wrath of the gods was unprecedented and unheard of.

Unlike forest fires that burn into the sky, prairie fires burn very low and look like a low wall from a distance.

The tall vegetation of the forest blocks the flow of wind, while the grassland is vast and vast, and strong winds can sweep across the land with raging fire.

Especially in windy weather, flames can spread horribly quickly.

The animals that fled in panic were either overtaken by the exploding fire, or fell down while running.

Andre's horse stepped on a stone, and the charred surface of the stone was rubbed away by the horse's hooves, revealing the dark red tender meat inside.

Andre stared at the "stone" and carefully identified it - it should be a small antelope. The poor little thing was born in spring and grew up in midsummer, and was killed in the sea of ​​​​fire before it experienced the first winter.

Gently pulling the reins around the body of the little antelope, Andre looked around. The once vibrant grassland had now been burned into a purgatory of death.

The earth was completely scorched, with only a few unburned dark red embers flickering on and off, like the breathing of a dying person.

The sound of horse hooves came from a distance, and a group of cavalry was galloping towards Andre.

"It's Sir A." The guard hurriedly reported to Andre.

Don Juan led the cavalry and galloped all the way to Andre.

"Let's go!" Lieutenant Juan said to his junior in a carefree manner: "The barbarians are already coming this way."

Andre held the reins, with no emotion on his face. After a long silence, he slowly said: "Not enough."

"Not enough?" Don Juan didn't know why: "What's not enough?"

"Not burned enough."

Don Juan was surprised at first, then laughed wildly, and finally looked up to the sky and laughed: "At least hundreds of thousands of hectares of grassland have been burned. Isn't it enough? The grassland is so big, how can it be possible to burn it all? That's enough."

After speaking, Don Juan called to the cavalry from Tiefeng County: "In front of us is the fire scene, and behind us are the enemies. Let's go north, bypass the fire scene, and return to Tiefeng County via Wargne County."

"Yes!" the cavalry replied in unison.

Tiefeng County is upstream, and Wargne County is downstream. The further downstream you go, the greater the water volume of the [Bighorn River-Glory River], and the more difficult it is to cross.

So Winters arranged for the cavalry to focus on burning the grasslands upstream—that is, on the border between Lower Tiefeng County and Middle Tiefeng County.

The cavalry squadron in Tiefeng County has limited manpower, and there is no time to take care of Tiefeng County and places further north.

"Let's go." Don Juan pulled Andre's sleeve: "You are still addicted to the fever."

"It's not burning enough." Andre's eyes were cold: "The fire is very good, but the wind direction is wrong."

"What do you mean?" Don Juan let go of his hand.

Andre pointed at the thick smoke on the fire ground with his horsewhip: "The summer wind blows to the west, and the winter wind blows to the east. We are in the east, and the Hud people are in the west. Burning like this will only burn the pasture and reach Tiefeng County.

Can't burn the Huds."

"Then what should we do?" Don Juan chuckled: "You can't ask the Lord to bless you and change the direction of the wind, right?"

"Senior."

"What's up?"

"If you want to burn the Huds, you have to go further west of the Huds." Andre's expression was very calm: "Give me all the horses of your cavalry."

"What do you want to do?" Don Juan said solemnly, "Are you fucking crazy?"

Andre didn't answer.

"To the west?" Don Juan pointed his hand and asked: "The barbarians are sweeping over like a net. There are Hurd's Qingqi everywhere. How do you get there?"

Andre didn't answer.

"Even if we can break through that net, going west is still the territory of the barbarians." Don Juan grabbed Andre by the collar and asked aggressively: "There is no guide, the language is blocked, and there are enemies on all sides, how can you survive?

Andre still didn't answer.

"There is no rear, no support, not even a plan!" Don Juan shouted sternly: "What kind of bullshit war is this! One wrong move and the entire army will be wiped out! Reckless, stupid, and ignorant!"

Andre asked casually: "Then will you come with me?"

"go."

…

Thick smoke from burning pastures spread dozens of kilometers away, and Shouzi Harbor was shrouded in haze.

Mayor Portal of Shovel Harbor walked into the church coughing and complained loudly: "Damn it! What the hell is the weather like? Where did the fire start?"

Mr. Alpha was sitting on the seat in front of the altar, reading a notice with interest.

Upon hearing Portal's vulgar words, Mr. Alpha pointed to the Holy Emblem without raising his head: "Watch your words, Mr. Portal."

Mayor Portal hurriedly made a salute.

"What are you looking at?" Mayor Portal asked with a flattering smile.

"This?" Mr. Alpha raised the notice on his hand: "Guide to Preparing Lu, Gevaudin sent it this morning."

The heads of the Terdun people were sent to various villages and towns for publicity, along with the "Communication Announcement" and "Guide to Preparing Lu".

Because there are many heads in Shovel Port, there is no "head-passing", only announcements and guides.

In the temporary supplementary "Communication Announcement", the rebels enthusiastically promoted the victory of Shouzi Port to the villages and towns in Tiefeng County and even Linjun.

However, in the announcement, the author deliberately blurred the boundaries between "Shovel Harbor Government" and "Tiefeng County Government"... This is probably the benefit of having the right to speak.

"We fought desperately, but the rebels took credit for it." Potal cursed in a rough voice: "It's so fucking suffocating!"

"It can't be considered as asking for credit. Didn't you also praise the people of Shoveling Hong Kong?" Mr. Alpha tapped the paper lightly: "This guide to preparing prisoners is somewhat interesting."

"Interesting?" Mayor Potal was a little confused.

Mr. Alpha took out several previous announcements and said with a smile: "Although I'm not sure who wrote it, my ability to make up jingles is getting better and better."

Mayor Portal was even more confused.

"[Hide food and prepare guns; when barbarians come, don't panic]; [Hide with him, go around him, just don't fight with him]; [If there are few barbarians, surround him and kill him, but if there are many barbarians, hide from him]...

..." Mr. Alpha could hardly hide his smile: "It's actually the tactics of the 'Forest Beggars' during the Sovereignty War, compiled into a jingle."

"Oh." Portal replied half-understanding.

Portal knew about "forest beggar" and "tactics", but he didn't know these two words put together.

However, Portal understood the content of the guide as soon as he heard it. It was nothing more than warning farmers to hide their food and finances, and the Hurd barbarians fled into the forest when they came.

"Distribute it." Mr. Alpha handed the guide to Portal: "Post it in every village."

"Send it? No interception?" Botar was shocked.

The announcement previously sent by Gévaudin stated that unless the cavalry was ordered to be sent to the villages and towns on their own, the Shovel Port would not be intercepted.

"There is no need to cut this guide." Alpha smiled lightly: "I can't write this thing."

…

The raging fire caused panic among the people in Terdun.

When the raging fire just started, the people of Teltown, who were fifty kilometers away, discovered the clues - the terrain of the great wilderness was flat, and the thick smoke rising into the sky could not be hidden.

Those who warmed the fire hurriedly summoned the Kota to discuss matters in the big tent.

The Teldu tribe's marching method is like migration. Depending on the number of horses under their command, each Kota occupies a width of several kilometers or even dozens of kilometers.

At this moment, the entire Terdun tribe is like a long snake lying on the grassland more than 200 kilometers long.

Therefore, there were only a few leaders who could come to the big tent at one time, most of them were blood relatives and direct descendants of the fire-warmers.

"Vicious! What a vicious heart!" The fire-warmer's uncle yelled as soon as he entered the tent: "Aren't the two-legged people afraid of getting burned themselves?"

For the Hed people, arson is equivalent to cutting off the livelihood of all living things, and it is a major crime to cut the body into pieces. The soil layer of the grassland is already thin, and when the fire burns and the wind blows, the soil becomes even less.

The man warming himself sat on the ground with a sullen face, saying nothing.

"Tai Chi, what's the use of talking about this now?" The old interpreter reprimanded the fire-warmer's uncle: "Sit down first and let's talk it over."
To be continued...