"Through three battles with the Republic of Liguria, we have concluded three points in total."
The name of the khan who grabbed Ella’s hand and called “brother” was Hezekiah. At the banquet, Hezekiah solemnly told Rurik and Ayla the experience that the Khazar Khanate had learned from the lives of its three leaders.
"First point, don't think that you can sit back and relax if you are far away from the battlefield. The first Khan was commanding the siege when he was hit by an arrow. He was three arrows away from the city wall of Azov. The archer named Dast shot The arrow penetrated the Khan's helmet at this distance."
"Three arrows' distance?" Ella and Rurik both opened their mouths in shock.
You must know that the distance of an arrow is three hundred steps. At this distance, ordinary arrows have no power. The range of Glahid's longbow troops is only between one and a half arrows and two arrows. Glahid's own bow is specially made, but he can only barely damage the enemy at a distance of two arrows through the gaps in the armor. That Daxter's arrow could actually penetrate the armor at a distance of three arrows, which is simply unimaginable.
If Hezekiah hadn't mentioned this today, Ella and Rurik would never have placed their bows and arrows at a distance of three arrows. The violent death of the first Khan of the Khazar Khanate seemed logical.
"Second point, don't think that you won't be discovered if you mix in the crowd. Our second Khan was leading his troops to attack the city when he was hit by an arrow. With the lesson of the first Khan, he deliberately stayed away from the flag and used a coarse cloth to Covering the armor, from a distance, he looked like an ordinary soldier. However, before he could get within two arrows, he was hit by the archer's arrow. At this distance, the arrow penetrated his The armor opened a hole in his heart, and it didn't even stay in his body."
Ella and Rurik were even more surprised: "How can you tell the difference?"
"We couldn't understand it at first. But after listening to the descriptions of several nearby soldiers, we roughly judged that it was because of the eagle."
"eagle?"
"Before the arrow hit the Great Khan, an eagle suddenly flew toward him from the sky. As soon as the Great Khan drove the eagle away, the arrow flew over. This eagle must have been tame by humans! It was over the battlefield. Circle, pounce as soon as you find a valuable target, and point the way for archers in the distance.”
Ella and Rurik felt a slight chill. Eagles can distinguish prey on the ground at very high altitudes, but if it weren't for Hezekiah's words, who would pay attention to an eagle on the battlefield?
"The third point is that even the thickest shield cannot block the archer's arrow within one arrow. The third Khan died from this."
Each of these three points was obtained with the life of a great Khan. After Hezekiah finished talking about these three points, he drank one mouthful of wine after another. It was obvious that he was in an extremely bad mood.
"So, how should we guard against that archer's arrows?" Ella asked.
"I don't know. The price is too high, and we don't dare to try it again. I think the safest way is to keep the general away from the battlefield!"
This is hardly advice at all. There must be a leader in a battle, and even if Ella doesn't play in person, there will be someone else taking the position of leader. If you are far away from the battlefield, you will not be able to command the troops as a general, but if you are close to the battlefield, you will be shot. This situation is simply a dilemma.
Ella tilted her head and thought for a while.
"The city of Azov is a fortified city, and now that there are such powerful archers, we can only besiege the city without attacking it until we come up with a better way. Use our troops to surround the city of Azov from the land. It’s still very easy, the key is to cut off their water access. As long as they run out of supplies, they will surrender without a fight.”
"This plan is too long!" Rurik suddenly cursed, then drank a bowl of wine. With the strength of wine, he said in a rough voice, "Hezekiah is adding fuel and jealousy here. I'm scared of what he said. How could it be so evil? It's just an arrow. I don't believe I can't dodge it!"
Hezekiah was anxious: "I didn't add any fuel to the fire!"
"The most you can do is shoot me to death, and it's none of your business. King of Sweden, as long as you promise to give me a few percent more of the spoils, I will fight as a vanguard!"
"It's normal for the vanguard to share a few percent more of the spoils." Ella nodded, "Let's try this first."
That was it.
When Ayla left Novgorod, her army was already joined by Rurik and Hezekiah. Hezekiah wanted to avenge the previous Khans and consolidate his position as Khan. The reason why Rurik sent troops seemed to be because he had a plan to cross Crimea and enter the Caspian Sea, and then go south to plunder the Tianfang Empire. The Ligurian Republic's sphere of influence in the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea blocked his passage.
"Yinsfahan, half of the world! I have long wanted to rob the capital of the Tianfang Empire! But the Republic of Liguria wants to do business with the Tianfang Empire, but it refuses to lend me a road. It's time to beat it!" Liuli! Ke said to Ella.
Rurik brought three thousand infantry, some of whom were from the pirate kingdom, but more from the local Novgorod tribes. They took their own boats and sailed down the Volga with Ella.
Hezekiah only brought 2,000 men, which was a bit small for a nomadic country that influenced the two empires of Qiqiu and Tianfang. In Hezekiah's own words, this was because there was a struggle for authority within the Khazar Khanate, and many tribes were unwilling to accept his orders. However, these two thousand people are all cavalry who are good at riding and shooting, and there are also some heavy cavalry among them. Instead of taking a boat, they followed Ella's fleet by land.
Since the cavalry had to conserve horse power for fighting and could not let the horses run at full speed while marching, Hezekiah's cavalry was slower than the fleets of Aila and Rurik. However, there is no river in the Volga River Basin that leads directly to the Black Sea. During the transition between the two rivers, Ella's fleet needs to be towed on land with the help of rollers. At this time, Hezekiah's cavalry could successfully catch up with Ella's army.
After marching like this for a few days, Aila's troops left the coniferous forest and entered the steppes, which was the territory of the Khazar Khanate.
"Come on!" Ella shouted from the front, "We'll be in the water soon!"
Hundreds of soldiers pushed the "Flying Sealander" into a tributary of the Volga River, and then fell to the ground as if paralyzed - the "Flying Sealander" was too huge, even though With the assistance of rollers, it is also very difficult to push it.
Subsequent soldiers brought a series of equipment such as catapults and reinstalled them on the deck of the "Flying Zealander".
"Thank you for your hard work! Next is a long stretch of river, you can take it easy now!"
Ella encouraged the soldiers one by one. Behind her were several carts delivering water to the soldiers.
But before the soldiers had time to pick up the water bottles, some not-so-good news came:
"King of Sweden! There are several ships stranded ahead!"
