Chapter 1 Projection of Iron Cross Flags 5

    The wide Meteby River is quiet, only to hear the sloppy raindrops falling on the river, accompanied by the rustling of the gray winds in the evening breeze .


    A small fleet of four "Flat" fast dhows, arranged in an arrow-like formation, by the northeast wind, downwind Go upstream. Behind this small fleet, there is a fleet of more than a dozen sailboats - that is, Frassall; the Count of Rasta is an unforgettable coup of the Fortress of Fortress. The distance between the two sides has been maintained to the extent that the naked eye can barely see it, and the half sail is not slow. Rather than chasing, it is better to say that a fleet is guiding another. As they sailed, the rain became smaller and the clouds slowly began to disperse, revealing the smudges hidden behind the clouds.

    "We have left the Chi Yuyun area," the flagship captain looked at the downstream river through a monocular. "The enemy has been thrown out by us." A long distance, but it seems that there is no giving up."

    The half-elves who heard the news took the telescope from the captain and confirmed the report. Since re-entering the deck and truly having command, he has almost become another person. If he sees his current boss in the Sanssen Fleet, or his drinker in the Ronnie pub, he will be surprised that he can't even close his mouth. Although the face still carries the kind of lazy and slightly helpless smile, but there is no sharp and decisive light from Leonard's sea blue eyes.

     "Adjust the spinnaker to the front of the Sancha Estuary, turn the fleet into a crossbar, and open all the guns!"

      The slogan was sent from the flagship of the fleet as soon as it reached the junction of the Meteby and the Deer River. The four "Flats" also reduced the four-horned sails and adjusted the direction of the spinnakers. The ship was stalked on the main channel of the Metebexi River, forming a crescent-shaped column that traversed the course of more than 100 meters wide. Truncated. The rebel fleet behind them saw them stop, but they did not dare to catch up. They just took up the mainsail and stopped on the downstream river by the propulsion of the auxiliary sails. At first glance, the two columns of the column seems to be to attack Leonard's artillery array; but a closer look, only the spinnaker is not quite like the rush.

    "To sing the slogan to the south bank, the squadron will launch a low-angle red light 30 degrees west to the south. The closer it is to the river, the better, but be careful not to Too low."

    The half-elves casually issued an unintelligible command, completely ignoring the idea of ​​the two generals who did not understand the naval battle. Clade; Lopez just laid his cold face leisurely, sitting in a corner chair, closing his eyes and keeping his eyes; but Wiener, who is famous for his hot temper; Admiral Betsy was not so relaxed, whispering The staff familiar with the naval affairs asked about the situation.

    "The magic signal and semaphore are generally used by the contact fleet. But the river of the female deer is clearly in the north, and the south is only the land. To be honest, I have some I don't understand...what are we threatening, and what are they afraid of?"

    It seems to be a footnote to the conscientious explanation of the staff, the rebels The fleet immediately adjusted the sails, and the entire fleet leaned towards the north bank of the river, gradually approaching the female deer estuary. Seeing the maneuver of the enemy fleet selection, Leonard’s hand waved heavily.

    "Citiat! North, yellow signal!"

    In an instant, at the female deer In the river, there have been a lot of sails! Several shells were also shot from behind the hills on the north shore, hitting the river in the river next to the rebel fleet, splashing the sky column, and the main ship of the ship in the center of the fleet was broken. In an instant, three of the fleets panicked and shot the green signal that symbolized "retreating."

    The Flemish staff’s brows were slightly wrinkled and whispered to himself: “Retreat so quickly? This is too much to command...”

     "If your fleet is also crossed by two opponents who are obviously weak, you will lose your trust." The captain of the side inserted a sentence, " Especially in the face of such an opponent who is good at using land and water cooperation and team tactics. We have already packed up their entire fleet in the first three encounters, and now their main fleet has become a scared bird."

    Hearing these arguments, Wiener; Admiral Betsy nodded thoughtfully, ready to watch this Clade; Lopez also proud of the battle of the river fleet .

    After hesitating for a moment, the rebel fleet finally reluctantly turned the sails and retreated to Fort Vatover. Unexpectedly, Leonard did not launch his ambush circle, but only watched the enemy fleet. Go far. The two sides only squatted for a moment in this estuary, and then they all left the battlefield.

    In the voyage of the fleet to Lennie, Wiener; Admiral Betsy finally could not suppress the doubts in his heart, and asked: "I also have It seems that it should be a famous person who can force the Fort Folding fleet to shrink into the fortress; but if I am not mistaken, you are actually fleeing the battlefield under the advantage. You are planning to keep them enough. To the strength of the shelling at Port Lennie, Captain Kekawi?"

    He did not give Clade any excuse to challenge all the seafarers around The complexion has changed, only their commander of the fleet looks as usual.

    After staying in the Sunshine Navy for a long time, Leonard has become accustomed to the picky of most bosses. After giving the first officer an order, the half-elf answered Wiener; Admiral Betsy’s question: “If I really have an advantage, I will naturally attack; but when I don’t have to win, the escape is also very Normal choice. Neither we nor they can afford such a heavy bet."

    "Do you call this cautious, or oh?" I will shake my head.

    When he heard this question, the half-elves just smiled and spread their hands; Lieutenant General Lopez opened the door for him.

    "Two weeks ago, on this river, there were seven of our ships, but there were twenty of them. Now we have nine ships, but they There are only fifteen ships. If this is awkward, I will praise such awkwardness. After all, soldiers can recruit quickly, but the warship cannot be rebuilt soon..."

   Admiral interrupted his words: "No, because of this, we should seek a decisive battle and let the enemy give up the dream of replenishing the troops. As long as we defeat one of Kengal or Fort. There is only one option for surrender. I can't take the main force away from the front line of Fay's for too long, and I don't have time to wait for a political solution. The later the war broke out, the greater the loss of our country."
< Br />     "What do you mean?" Clad sneaked the taste of the negotiations from these words.

     "The two of us will only be able to take down Fort Fortune within a week, even the most determined doves in the parliament will hesitate. Use militia forces to obstruct Kengler and the eighth division of Voltagrad, and then attacked Fort Fort, the coup army can only surrender." Wiener; Admiral Betsy said, "As long as you agree with my assault plan, we will Must be able to win in the parliament!"

    Craded looked up and re-examined the general. Wiener; Admiral Betsy’s reputation as “conservative orthodoxy” seems to be difficult to combine with himself in front of him; he does not seem to be indifferent to politics as rumored. It is clear that Admiral Betsy’s goal is to be the next chairman of the staff meeting...

    And, he has already regarded Klad as his biggest competitor. In the eyes of Wiener; Becky, this schoolmate who has encountered good luck is impossible – or, difficult to become an ally. The alliance between the two can only be an interest alliance, and it is temporary, similar to the "unsuccessful binding alliance" of "I am in this session, you will be the next one."

    But, if you leave this motivation behind, don’t talk about it? If you don't use Wiener; Betsy's decisive plan, but hope for a political solution to the embarrassment, how many opportunities? When Kengal received financial support and how many opportunities would there be after the formation of a new legion?

    Peace and war...

    Which is the risk of both? Would you rather sacrifice some troops to save time or sacrifice time to ensure the strength of the country?

     "I have to think about it." Lieutenant General Lopez hesitated and frowned. In public and private, he is difficult to make a choice.

    Wiener; Betsy touched his beard and said, "Don’t worry, but I hope that you can make a decision as soon as possible. This is for the country."

     "I will make a decision after I have deployed the intelligence personnel in Kengler and Fort Worth to bring a new situation." Lopez replied, "This will not It has been used for too long."

    The steak was quickly delivered and served with a special fragrant sauce. Soledon took over his seven-and-a-half-boiled special steak, carefully cut it, and carefully chewed it into the mouth. Soon, his tongue found what he was looking for, and a smile floated on his lips. It was a small wax pill that was completely different from the surrounding beef.

    In the heart of this disgusting intelligence transmission method, the fake lieutenant still pressed the wax pill under the tongue. The rest of the beef slipped into his esophagus, and there was a slight nausea that swelled deep in the digestive tract.

    Fortunately, there is not much conversation on the table. Everyone just eats their heads down, even if they have small wax pills in their mouths. .

    "Sorry, I am going to take it easy."

    After asking the location of the waiter's toilet Soledon came lightly to the toilet downstairs. The toilets of the 17th century were stinking, especially in this fortress city. Even if the puppets who are punished will sweep the toilet in the middle of the night, even if there are water and fat trucks shipped out daily, it will not detract from the stench of the toilet. Enduring this appetizing smell, the young lieutenant took out the wax in his mouth and read the notes hidden in it through the dim light. The slogan on the note seems to have been concealed in order to prevent others from recognizing the handwriting.

    "You must be in the toilet now, or sneak a sneak peek at the note on the way to the toilet. To prevent others from tracking or peeping at you, now quickly to the left The second pit was a big solution, and the paper was thrown into the toilet paper."

    Sorryton took a toilet when he saw the paper The stench in the air can't help but speculate on the special magic that the writer will have. Prophecy? Megagraph? Astrology? It seems that there is something possible, but which one is not the same. There is no one that shows that the magic of the future can predict 100% of the outcome of a certain thing. If the writer is a spell user, the list of suspects is not too long. It is not too difficult to identify an object among such a handful of suspects...

    A few suspects?

    Thinking about it, he suddenly woke up and couldn’t help but laugh: this prediction is not surprising. As long as he knows that he is not alone, there are only a handful of places where he can read this note. Of course, a novice would choose a toilet that he thought was a secret place. How can he know that this arrangement has long been in the calculation of others?

     After figuring out the key, Soleton squatted in the second pit. There were black boards separated between the two, and he pulled the old wooden door that creaked, and rusted the iron bolts, and dropped the paper in his hand into the bottom of the paper. Not surprisingly, in the cracks in the wood next to the paper basket, he found a second thin piece of stationery. The man was very careful in the details, deliberately chose a poor paper that is very similar to toilet paper. Only after opening the first one, the smugness on Soleton’s face disappeared.

    The handwriting on the toilet paper exudes a faint green glow, and the content is equally trembling: "You are now exposed, novice. You are in a very dangerous situation." Don't hesitate to use this highly risky emergency contact, and perform this little trick in front of two well-trained spell users. One of your companions -- or two, must have followed you. Now, calm down and listen to the footsteps around you."

    At the same time, Soleton took another stench, and the heavy footsteps were already He came from outside the toilet; he hurriedly pulled out the second toilet paper.

     "If the footsteps are heavy and powerful, this person is the special envoy of the empire. If the footsteps are slight, or there is no footsteps, then it is your peer. The latter possibility Lower, if this happens, you will immediately destroy all the contact files and throw them into the paper basket. I will deal with the latter questions. Don't try to contact me again using this method, I will find a way to contact you again. If it is the former, he will definitely pick a niche that is close to you and find a way to deal with him."

    The wooden door on the left opens and closes . With a few soft taps, the voice of Count Rasta deliberately lowered from the next door: "Sorry, is there a toilet paper, lieutenant?"

     "Hey, secretly, you actually came here to go to the toilet in person, it was really radiant..." Soledon perfunctored and hurriedly turned to the third. He has been somewhat helpless. The third piece of paper only says two lines of scribbled: If you confirm that it is the special envoy of the empire, give the fourth piece of paper to him.