As night fell, more fires were lit. The soldiers gathered around the fire to warm themselves, throwing the stone-hard black bread into the pot set up on the fire, letting the boiling bean and vegetable soup soften it, and then ladling the boiling soup into bowls.
Simon's originally calm heart began to be occupied by anger and resentment bit by bit at the Duke's dinner table.
"Simon, you are really an outlier, an unsociable freak, a coward who evades responsibility," Lange ate the bacon on the plate with stale white bread. He looked dissatisfied and rolled his eyes. , turning his anger into unpleasant personal attacks and venting it on Simon, "Are you afraid of the pagans, so that's why you sluggishly followed the rear of the large army?"
The table where the nobles were chatting with each other just now suddenly fell silent.
Under the light of a fire raised not far from the dining table, everyone's eyes were focused on Simon. Everyone wanted to know how Simon would respond to this question and accusation that sounded so mean.
Simon remembered what Brother Linde had taught him during the day.
Repaying kindness with kindness? Ha, don't be stupid. If you give in now and give in, almost everyone at the table will agree with Lange and think that he is a coward as he said. His own dignity and prestige will fall to the bottom, and the other four allies will be extremely disappointed, let alone close cooperation in the future - no one bothers to associate with a spineless coward, or believe in his promises.
Nobles and monks are different and have different world views. If this were a table of monks, Simon would believe that they would think that repaying evil with kindness was a noble act. The nobles, on the other hand, do not have such a high consciousness. Most nobles do not think so much. All they see is the struggle for immediate interests, showing weakness and unyielding. They admired martial arts and despised the cowardly behavior of retreating. Retreating in order to advance would not work. Simon could not retreat, not even for a moment, not even a step.
"Lange from Dorstenburg, if you are not blind yet, you should go for a walk in the woods and see what state the soldiers are in. They are tired and hungry, and their clothes are still wet. Wet. Many people fell ill and were dying without even seeing the enemy. What do you think the chances of winning are in this state when facing the Magyar attack? I just did what I should do in advance. That's all. Now, the firewood that most of the soldiers in our principality are keeping warm is my men who tried their best to chop it before dark, and they also lit the new fires. If the soldiers don't have a fire, they will be wrapped in If we sleep in wet clothes until tomorrow, how many more people will we get sick? Lange, you said that I am a coward and evade responsibility. Now I want to ask you. Please tell everyone frankly what your men have done for us. ?Now, what are they doing?"
Simon finally admitted one thing - he could not retaliate with kindness, especially when faced with Lange's humiliation and the gaze of his colleagues and lords.
Simon's sharp reply left Lange speechless.
Simon's people at least did good things for everyone and added a lot of new campfires, while Lange left all the complicated affairs to his adjutant. He didn't want to care about the soldiers' messy things. Now that he had lost the confidence to speak out, he knew that any pushback would only lower his own reputation.
The nobles at the table began to praise Simon, including Duke Amadeus, who had been frowning at the main seat. Lange took a deep breath and chose to remain silent. The dining table was no longer his home court. Earl Wolfe, who was sitting next to him, patted his shoulder gently, signaling him to calm down and stop saying irrational words.
Baron Winter looked at Earl Lange with a playful look. Even he, an outsider, could see that Lange still failed to learn any lessons from the past - he could not express his speed in front of his younger brother. The result is often self-defeating.
After a while, the table resumed its previous atmosphere of talking to each other. Lange seemed a little embarrassed. He had to focus on the food in front of him. Needless to say, Count Wolfe beside him, unless there was a verbal conflict like the one just now, his attention would always be on the food. superior.
Baron Karl of Duisburg asked the Duke about the battle plan and deployment. He was asking the right question. The Duke's face that had just softened was grim again.
Coming down, it seems that he is not very satisfied with this hard job that is destined to cause huge casualties.
"How else can we deploy? Let your soldiers hold their spears and shields, stand in a row, and wait for the Magyar cavalry to attack the defense line. Then pray that the friendly cavalry can quickly attack from behind the enemy and rescue us from the quagmire. Come out." The Duke said angrily.
"In case the friendly cavalry does not arrive on time, or does not show up at all due to an emergency..." Baron Lemaitre of Siegburg said with some fear, his voice getting smaller and smaller.
"That's no big deal, we will still be dining at the same table, my vassals, but in heaven."
The humor of Duke Amadeus amused everyone except Baron Hale of Ulz, the man who looked as melancholy as ever. In order not to appear out of place, he managed to smile a little, but it seemed very deliberate and unnatural.
Simon's mood was much more relaxed than before. He began to think about how he could resist the cavalry's attack.
If we simply let the soldiers line up with spears and shields, and face the large number of Magyar cavalry charging like waves, it is estimated that the first wave of charging will be able to smash the contradictory formation of the infantry into pieces. Eight Pieces - Simon learned his lesson in the battle to eliminate the Magyar reconnaissance team not long ago, and his memory is still fresh.
He had to find a better anti-cavalry solution. An idea gradually came to his mind. He thought that he could learn some experience from the Scottish Highland spearmen.
However, in the final analysis, he is just a baron with only a hundred or so men under his command. If you want to exert the maximum power of the Scots Schiltron Square, you need the close cooperation of all the infantry on the frontal battlefield. In addition to the power to command them, All this also requires time to train and run in, which is simply impossible to achieve.
Then, he can only think of ways to take care of his men. Since the Schiltron phalanx cannot be used, we can only use tricks like traps to kill the enemy to the maximum extent in defense and try to protect ourselves.
Perhaps, you can dig a long, deep pit like a baguette, leaving a trail in the middle, and let the soldiers stand side by side in front of the pit to block the trap pit before the enemy attacks.
When the unsuspecting enemy cavalry charges with all their strength and is unable to rein in their horses and turn back, let the soldiers quickly return to the back of the trap pit through the trail, line up and raise their spears.
In this way, it can not only prevent the enemies charging from the front from stopping, but can only fall into a trap full of sharp wooden thorns in despair, and can also slow down the charging speed of the enemies behind who want to reinforce. The final end is to be defeated by Simon. The spear-wielding infantrymen dismounted from their horses and could not escape the fate of being strangled one by one.
After dinner, Simon returned to the tent set up for him in the woods and told his vassals what he thought.
The fat man scratched his head. He didn't understand why Simon wanted to "go to unnecessary lengths" and let the soldiers stand in front of the trap before the enemy cavalry attacked.
Fatty's idea was very simple. He believed that if the soldiers were to stand behind the trap with their spears raised, then the enemy's cavalry would most likely choose to give up attacking their defense when they saw the trap pit and the "spear forest" waiting for them behind the trap. A line of defense. This way, they can keep more soldiers alive without risk.
"If a large number of enemy cavalry originally intended to attack us change their targets and break through the friendly forces on our left and right flanks, then we will be defenseless and attacked by three wings, which will be even more dangerous. Our purpose is not just to let more cavalry attack us. The young man can return to the territory alive, and at the same time, he must try his best to kill more enemies, whether it is for the kingdom or for our own safety." Simon explained.
"One more thing," Sir Bill added, "don't forget, the Magyars are not only natural cavalry, many of them are also excellent horse archers. If their vanguard cavalry sees the trap and stops in time, Instead, the horses took out their bows and arrows and shot at us, and the soldiers would also suffer heavy casualties. If our people had a close fight with the cavalry who fell into the trap, even if they were in decline, they would most likely not risk it. There is a risk of accidentally killing friendly troops. By using bows and arrows, we are safer than lining up directly behind the trap."
"this is a
"A good tactic to resist cavalry," Sir Miller nodded in agreement, "Sir, we have to find a way to get your other four allies and even the Earl and Duke to use this tactic. As you said, even if we are This section of the defense line successfully resisted all the incoming Magyar cavalry. If the friendly forces on the left and right flanks failed to resist and were breached, our situation would also be quite dangerous."
"You're right," Simon nodded, "However, I can only try my best to convince them. After all, their subordinates are not under my control, and I don't want them to think that I am dictating to them and their subordinates. meddlesome people.”
"I believe you will succeed, my lord. I think that good tactics are like a piece of gold. Anyone who can't get through it is a fool." Sir Miller smiled confidently and encouraged Simon.
"Maybe some people won't resist this tactic, but simply resist me and can't bear to do it." Simon sighed, thinking of Lange's stubborn bastard.
