Blazing Fire Sends Its Troops
Victor moved slowly forward with the column and came to Shang Ye and Jell. Before the two could dismount and salute, he stopped them and said, "I've already said that a military salute is sufficient in wartime."
The two men saluted Victor, and Victor nodded in response.
"You have done an excellent job as the vanguard and made a good start to this operation. You can rest at the supply depot for a few days and wait for further orders."
"Lord Victor, our Horseshoe Tribe is willing to participate in this operation in its entirety. Every member of the tribe thanks you for your help and support to the Horseshoe Tribe. Please accept our gratitude." Jell asked Victor to allow him to continue participating in the remaining battles.
Over the past year, the lives of the people of the Horseshoe Tribe have improved significantly through food aid and the purchase of limestone. In addition, nearly 500 people have joined the army of the Two Rivers Territory, and their status as military dependents has also greatly benefited their families. Now, all the men in the tribe are proud to become regular soldiers of the Two Rivers Territory.
"Sir, our detachment is also fine. The casualties in this battle were minimal and did not affect our combat effectiveness at all. Everyone is eager to continue to achieve victories for you and make contributions." Seeing Jell's enthusiasm, Shang Ye was not willing to fall behind and volunteered for the battle.
"I'm just letting you rest, not telling you not to participate in the later battles. Don't worry, there will be plenty of fighting, and you'll definitely make it in time."
Victor continued his journey with the army while talking with Jell and Shang Ye, inquiring about the specific details of the battle.
"The nearby tribes are all very wealthy this time. The Blazing Fire Tribe takes good care of their vassals. Ordinary herders may not realize it, but the chiefs of several numbered tribes are loyal to the Blazing Fire Tribe. In fact, the chiefs of tribes Tribe Number Two and number three are related to the chief of the Blazing Fire Tribe." Jell first explained the situation to Victor.
"That's why he was so stubborn and insisted on fighting to the very end." This also cleared up some of Victor's doubts about why the chief of the Tribe Number Two would resist to the end.
"What are your unit's casualties like?"
"My infantry detachment lost six men, all of whom died in the final attack on the main camp during the fighting with the enemy; more than 20 were wounded, most of whom sustained minor injuries during the exchange of fire and will be able to return to the battle after a few days of rest."
"My side suffered fewer casualties. After all, Captain Shang Ye led the troops to attack the wall first. Our tribe's Cavalry avoided the siege battle, and the total number of casualties was no more than ten."
"Then let them rest well so that the soldiers can participate in the next battle in better condition."
Shang Ye then thought of something and quickly added, "Thanks to the Bed Crossbow troops, such a terrifying weapon is very effective against these herdsmen who are not very determined to fight. Its deterrent effect is far greater than its actual combat effect."
Victor nodded. It seemed that the Bed Crossbow unit was performing better than expected. Despite the large amount of steel used in these new Bed Crossbow, their structure had been strengthened, resulting in increased power while reducing their weight and size. With the addition of specialized trailers, they could move with the troops more quickly.
This performance also proves that the design concept is not too problematic. Originally, Victor and Number One wanted to replicate gunpowder weapons as soon as possible. This world also has gunpowder, but it is a product of a special plant. Its power is much stronger than black powder, but its storage conditions are more demanding, making it unsuitable as a propellant.
Moreover, for some reason, Sulfur Mine is very scarce in this world. Even when Victor tried to prepare it by searching for pyrite, he found that he could hardly find any pyrite. Instead, the iron ore in this world is mainly hematite and magnetite.
Victor has shelved the idea of large-scale production of black powder for the time being. Victor plans to further improve the industrial level and simply complete the nitration industrial technology step by step, directly producing trinitrotoluene and skipping the black powder step.
Therefore, the territory's heavy weapons were mainly Bed Crossbow and Catapult. Fortunately, the specially designed and reinforced heavy weapons were more than enough to deal with the Barbarians.
At noon, the main force arrived near the outpost. Victor ordered the establishment of a camp and a night's rest. Meanwhile, the Logistics Department moved the supplies brought by the fleet to the outpost's warehouse.
The day before Victor arrived at Number Four Supply Station, Luda, along with a retinue, also arrived at the Blazing Fire Tribe as planned.
After arriving at the Blazing Fire Tribe, Luda contacted Huo Qing. Huo Qing was also surprised. Normally, even if Luda's caravan returned by the same route, it would be a little later. Why did it arrive so early and with only such a small number of people?
Upon meeting, Luda whispered to Huo Qing, "Legion Commander, I have something important to report to you. Please find a safe place." Huo Qing immediately realized that Luda must have discovered something important in the Iron Palm Tribe.
He hurriedly led Luda to his tent and ordered his warriors to guard the entrance. After making the arrangements, he said to Luda, "What did you find in the Iron Palm Tribe that made you so afraid?"
Luda quickly wiped the sweat from his brow. "Huo Qing, after we went to the Iron Palm Tribe, their Legion Commander, Xita, bought our caravan's weapons and then kicked us out of the camp. This struck me as very strange. Plus, you said that if I discovered anything unusual about the Iron Palm Tribe, I should report it to you, and you would reward me handsomely. So, I secretly returned to the Iron Palm Tribe's camp with a few men." After saying this, Luda even pretended to be greedy and rubbed his hands together.
"Stop talking nonsense and tell me what happened. If it's really important, neither I nor the chief will treat you unfairly. But if you dare to lie to me, I will turn you and your men into the lowest of slaves."
"Yes, sir, listen to me. That night, when I returned to the vicinity of the Iron Palm Tribe's camp, I found that they had mobilized all the men in the territory, totaling three or four thousand people, to search for people everywhere. Finally, they surrounded a Cavalry force of two or three hundred men on a flat area by the river."
Luda began to recount what happened that night, including Iron Bone Tribe's Cavalry later joined the battle and killed all the resisting black-clad guards, although the final development was somewhat modified.
"I saw them kill all the men in black, except for one boy who looked only fourteen or fifteen years old, and looked..." Luda described Dane's appearance, which made Huo Qing even more surprised, because the person Luda was talking about looked a lot like his cousin, the third son of the Blood Scorpion Chieftain, who was the most important link between their Blazing Fire Tribe and the Blood Scorpion Tribe. However, even so, he did not interrupt Luda, as he wanted to know more about the situation.