Not long after Epicurus got up and put on his clothes, he heard his adjutant's voice outside the door.
"General, a Tianjue delegation stopped at the boundary of the canyon and sent two people to say that they were ordered to see you. They have been searched and found no weapons. Now their hands are tied and they are waiting in the reception room." The adjutant said loudly.
"Canyon boundary? Why not let it rain heavily and wash them into the river and drown them?" Epicurus opened the door angrily, "Are they tied up tightly?"
"It's secure, don't worry, General. I am sure they are not assassins." The adjutant said quickly.
"This matter has nothing to do with the assassins. As long as they are people favored by God, we cannot be polite to them. Have you taken off their boots?" Epicurus asked again.
"This... not yet." The adjutant was stunned and thought to himself, you haven't told me this either.
"Then go quickly." Epicurus waved his hand and shouted.
The adjutant quickly left the door...
…
As his anger began to rise, Childe frowned and dismounted from his horse. When the guards behind him saw him do this, they also dismounted.
Why haven't they come back yet? Childe thought to himself that the two envoys had been in the Assyrian fortress for quite some time, but there was still no movement. How could he not be secretly anxious?
Child's gaze fell on the boundary stone fifty steps ahead. It was not erected by Tianjuan and Assyria, but by the Hurrians and Assyrians many generations ago. It is said that both sides who engraved the stone said to each other "never fight again" and so on. The funny thing is that less than two years after the words on the boundary stone were carved, the two territories started fighting again.
"Duke Childe, it's almost noon. Why don't we go back to our fortress and wait?" a servant came over and suggested.
"We just need to wait here." Childe waved his hand. "The Assyrians will definitely let us through."
The attendant nodded quickly. Tianjuan and Assyria had already signed an agreement. Although the two sides were indeed in a standoff in Menia, on the surface Tianjuan and Assyria had already reached a ceasefire. Assyria had no reason to refuse the Tianjuan delegation from entering Assyria, not to mention that the delegation came to quell the war.
Childe looked at the sky and then moved his gaze to the hazy mist at the end of his sight on the right. It was stirred up by the waterfall in the canyon. From a distance, it looked like a piece of gauze across the canyon, moving with the wind.
"Duke Childe, shall I bring you a chair?" the guard asked after thinking for a moment.
As soon as Child nodded, the guards behind him shouted, "Duke Child, the gate of Assyria's fortress is open."
Childe perked up, took out a telescope and took a look, his face immediately turned gloomy - the gate of the Assyrian fortress was indeed open, but except for the two deputy envoys he sent, no one else came out. What annoyed him most was that the two deputy envoys were still tied up with their hands behind their backs.
"Send a few people to bring them back." Childe said loudly, and five guards flashed behind him and ran quickly towards the two deputy envoys...
At the same time, behind the arrow slit above the fortress gate, Epicurus was also holding a telescope.
"General, wouldn't it be bad if we don't let them pass? After all, they are here as a diplomatic mission." asked the adjutant standing nearby.
"Humph, in this emergency, how can we easily let people in? Don't forget how the Red Valley Bay Fortress was breached." Epicurus put down the telescope and said, "The Tianjue people are full of tricks. When dealing with them, the best way is to just use one word - 'fight'."
"General, what you said makes sense. However, they said they came to negotiate peace. Once the lord finds out, will he blame us?" the adjutant asked again.
"I have sent someone to report to the lord quickly. Let these envoys wait a little longer." Epicurus smiled scornfully. "If we had not followed the lord's rules, at least one of these two people would have died or been castrated."
The adjutant smiled hastily and was about to say something when two lieutenant generals came running up the stairs, shouting, "General, there is another signal from the beacon fire."
"What's the content?" Epicurus was delighted.
"Defend to the death!" the two generals answered in unison.
"Great!" Epicurus laughed and slammed his right fist on the arrow stack. "Quick, send someone to Seneca to get me 3,000 men to defend!"
The adjutant was stunned: "Why is the general so happy?"
"There's a fight in Armenia," Epicurus replied with a smile...
…
"Wu Lai, do you really need to be so afraid of death? Bring the command post here?" Ye Renwu asked with a frown. She was woken up by Wu Lai at dawn today, and then dragged here by the two female guards. The road was full of winding slopes, which was not only difficult to walk on. She was also covered in dew, her hair was disheveled, and there were several bloody scratches on her left cheek caused by grass leaves.
"Afraid of death? You can say that." Wu Lai laughed and pointed forward. "Look, although Broken Blade Mountain is a little far from Menia, it is the only mountain within a radius of dozens of miles that can overlook half of Menia."
"I believe you can see from a distance, but with your telescope, I'm afraid you can't see that far." Ye Renwu said as he adjusted the cloth strips on his anklet.
"Of course the one I have is not good enough, but old Galileo left me a good one. It can be used to see not only Menia but also the craters on the moon." Wu Lai smiled and pointed to a wooden box on the right. "It can be called a magic weapon."
"There are pits on the moon?" Ye Renwu was stunned. In her understanding, both moons were as smooth as mirrors and as bright as snow. How could there be pits?
"Yes." Wu Lai nodded, "But you'd better not read it. If you read it, your faith will be destroyed."
Faith destroyed? Ye Jianwu frowned...
…
"Everyone, please watch carefully. When the big flag is waved at the lord's command post, our attack will begin." Pu Tong stood on a big rock and said to the regiment leaders gathered in front of him, "According to the lord's deployment, the whole army is making a feint attack today to test the enemy's deployment and the enemy commander's command and response capabilities. Although it is a feint, we must put all our energy into it. Why? Because we know it is the main attack, but the enemy doesn't know. If we are careless, they will get the chance and beat us to death. Also, although the lord's command post is built high and far away, he has a good thing on hand that can see everyone's movements clearly. So, you bastards, pay attention and don't embarrass me, Pu Tong!"
"Yes!" All the team leaders responded loudly.
"By the way, let me tell you, after Armenia was recovered, the lord said that if I, Pu Tong, have made meritorious contributions, I will be promoted to lieutenant general. Hehe, by that time, I, your division commander, will be on par with that Wei Huo. Why don't you all follow my lead and be promoted to major general?" Pu Tong said happily.
"Okay!" All the team leaders smiled immediately.
"Division Commander, I heard from the grain transport team leader that the parliament has announced that military salaries will be paid according to military rank at the end of this year. Is this true?" asked a regimental commander.
"Of course there is. Let me tell you. Although it was announced by the parliament, it was our lord who took the lead. The lord told me first that there are nine levels of officer ranks. It is not called military pay, but salary. There are eight levels for the division, deputy division, regiment, battalion, and company. Add a platoon level, nine levels. The monthly salary of the division is 1,100 gold coins, the deputy division is 1,000, the regiment is 900, and the deputy regiment is 800..." Pu Tong was stunned for a moment, and then he cursed, "Get out of here, you little bastards. Why are you asking about salaries when you are not preparing for war?"
All the team leaders immediately dispersed, each of them covering their mouths to hold back their laughter, their expressions were as wonderful as they could be.
…
On the top floor of the south gate of Menia City, Hatra was wrapped in light armor, holding a red feather helmet in his left hand and a telescope in his right hand.
His eyes were fixed on the protruding hilltop eight or nine miles ahead. He knew that the Assyrian army had built a beacon tower there.
"Your Highness, the enemy troops on the east, south and west are all on the move." A deputy general hurried over to report.
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"I know." Hatra did not move. "Let them move. They and we are all waiting for this battle."
"Yes, Your Highness." The deputy general nodded in agreement, then curiously looked in the direction Hatra was looking. After thinking for a while, he finally did not dare to ask.
But Hatra spoke first: "Are you curious about what I am looking at?"
"Yes, Your Highness." The deputy general quickly admitted.
"I'm looking at Broken Blade Mountain." Hatra sighed softly, "I don't know why, but I feel like there's someone or something there that I'm afraid of..."
Just as the deputy general was surprised, there were cries of surprise outside the city gate...
Hartra frowned, subconsciously moved the telescope away, and looked carefully, only to see a giant white beast slowly approaching a few hundred steps ahead of the first moat fortification.
"Your Highness, that is..." The deputy general's face changed.
Hatra raised the telescope and scanned a few more times, then said word by word, "That is Wulagrindo's pet. It's here, which means that Wulagrindo will personally command this battle."
Luo Shen, why is he here? The deputy general frowned immediately...
…
…
"Night Blade Dance, you guys in the Tianjuan Army are really good at this." Wu Lai praised as he fiddled with a large telescope, "Just this set of defense, wow, it's very well done."
Wu Lai's admiration came from the heart. Although he had had a big fight with Helen in Kayikede before, he was the one defending against Helen's attack at that time. He did not participate in the Battle of Titania, the night battle and the enemy's counterattack, and the summary of the reports from various divisions did not make him have a very deep impression of Tianjuan's defense.
But today, looking down from a high vantage point, I was truly enlightened——
The outer defense of the Hatra army was deployed along three moats, and a protective barrier belt was built around each moat. These field fortifications consisting of mobile protective panels, mobile corridors and simple fortresses should not be underestimated, because they are very flexible and can be adjusted at any time according to the situation of the battle, such as expanding, shrinking and filling positions.
The circular fortification close to the city wall has built a number of towers overlooking the battlefield. They are made of solid wooden pillars and have perfect supports. There are also several large wheels on the base, which means that they can be moved. Such towers can be used as observation posts, command towers, and arrow towers. Considering that Tianjuan has and can use explosives skillfully, Wu Lai has no doubt that terrible weapons such as explosive packs may be dropped from them - when you surround him.
Spearmen, shieldmen, crossbowmen, beams, gabions, large crossbow machines - they were all arranged in an orderly manner on almost every section of the city wall and behind every fortification. Woolley believed that no matter which side the Assyrian army attacked from, the resistance and cruelty they would encounter would be the same.
"I won't believe you. Hatra's defense is not perfect. Besides, you have powerful weapons like cannons. As long as you want, you can blow open the gate of Menia at any time." Ye Renwu sat with his back against a tree stump, too lazy to even lift his eyelids.
"You flatter me. The power of artillery is not as great as you believe. We must not be superstitious. If we want to blast open Menia's door, our artillery is not enough. It would be almost enough if we could get the main gun on my ship Woolley." Woolley said with a laugh.
"Wu Lai, I think you are weird." Ye Renwu suddenly said.
"What's so strange?" Wu Lai asked casually. In his sight, the five divisions on the east, south and west sides were moving slowly. When they moved to the designated positions, as long as he gave a signal, these soldiers would rush forward roaring.
"You are more warlike than I thought. You have experienced so many wars and seen so many deaths and injuries. Aren't you a little bit tired of it?" asked Ye Renwu.
Wu Lai was stunned, and suddenly sighed: "I don't know how to answer you. If I say that I have always hated war, I guess you won't believe it."
"I will believe it. There is nothing a person like you can't do." Ye Renwu said with a cold smile.
"You're right." Wu Lai smiled slightly, "You'd better stand up. You must have never seen such a magnificent war scene before, so don't miss the opportunity."
Ye Renwu snorted: "Wu Lai, do you want me to see how your army slaughters us Tianjuan people? Do you want to show how vulnerable Tianjuan people are?"
"No, you are wrong. This situation will not happen in today's battle. That's why I said, don't miss the opportunity." Wu Lai laughed and turned to wave his hand to the dozen or so flag soldiers waiting a few steps away, "Pass the order, charge!"
"yes!"