For Winters, it seemed as if he was woken up by Ciel in less than a second after he closed his eyes.

"Brother!" Ciel shook Winters anxiously: "Wake up!"

Winters had a headache and his breathing was not smooth: "What? How long have I been sleeping?"

"The beacon is lit in Shovel Harbor!" Ciel helped Winters up: "You slept for less than two hours."

"Shovel Harbor?"

"right!"

"war?"

"Yes! It's definitely Fenghuo! I confirmed it!"

"Don't worry about it." Winters fell back on the bed: "Sleep."

Ciel was stunned for a moment, Winters had already fallen asleep.

"Brother!" The worried Ciel tried to wake Winters up for the second time. He was anxious and angry: "The mayor may not be a good person, but Shovel Port is our friendly force no matter what! If Shovel Port is lost,

Isn’t this the same as letting the Huds in? Wake up quickly..."

After being forcibly awakened twice in a row, Winters slowly sat up from the bed like a puppet.

Charles didn't dare to speak anymore.

Winters leaned on his knees and supported his forehead, and a painful groan came from his chest: "Water."

Charles hurriedly brought water over, and Winters drank it all in one gulp.

The cold water made Winters' stomach feel uncomfortable, but he became more conscious.

"Don't worry about the beacon fire in Shovel Harbor." Winters lit the oil lamp casually and said in a hoarse voice, "It will go out on its own."

Just as Charles was about to ask, he heard heavy footsteps coming downstairs.

The visitor rushed upstairs and went straight to Winters' residence. He knocked on the door first and then entered the room - it was Heinrich.

"Sir." Heinrich reported calmly: "The beacon in the direction of Shovel Harbor has just disappeared! I'm afraid the beacon tower there has been pulled out."

"How could it be pulled out?" Winters laughed helplessly: "The people in Shovel Harbor put it out on their own."

Not only Charles was puzzled, but Heinrich also looked puzzled.

"Are the beacon towers along the way still there?" Winters asked.

"Still."

"They will all be wiped out one after another." Winters was sitting on the bedside. Although he was very uncomfortable, he looked determined: "The messenger from Shovel Port will come over soon and inform Gévaudin that [the barbarians have been annihilated.

Shovel Harbor is safe and sound], don’t worry.”

Seeing Charles and Heinrich standing speechless, Winters sighed and pointed to the bed and chair: "Sit."

The two of them sat down obediently.

"Have you ever seen a pack of wolves hunting?"

Charles nodded and Heinrich shook his head.

"Prey is scarce in winter, so wolves must work together to hunt large animals to survive." Winters patiently explained to his most trusted 'servants': "But the wolves will not rush in recklessly. Instead, they will get as close as possible first.

Prey, then observe and select targets - usually weak, old and weak individuals, and finally take action."

Ciel reacted quickly: "You mean...monkey butt face is testing?"

"Whether it's a test or not, there won't be many troops." Winters yawned: "Otherwise, there would be no news from Andre and Mr. A."

Charles asked eagerly: "But what if something goes wrong with Lieutenant Cellini? Or in a more serious situation, they are wiped out..."

"It's possible, it's good to think about it." Winters leaned a pillow on his back and reminded happily: "But don't worry, don't think about how the Telton barbarians fight the war, first think about how they maintain the army. You know He

How did the Germans assemble?"

This time Charles and Heinrich shook their heads together.

"It's no different from the imperial nobles. The small Kota takes the guards, subjects and slaves to find the middle Kota, and the middle Kota takes the troops to find the big Kota - that is, the monkey's butt face. How much does this process cost?

time?"

Charles and Heinrich shook their heads again.

"I don't know either." Winters chuckled.

Charles' breathing stagnated, and Heinrich's face turned slightly red.

"But it won't be easy, because the Hud people have to prepare their own rations." Winters' expression suddenly changed: "Now the weather is getting colder, the pasture is withered and yellow, and the horses will lose weight from eating from morning to night every day, let alone marching.

.And the drier the grass, the larger the pasture area each horse needs every day. If you were like monkeys, would you gather many war horses in one place?"

"No." Charles shook his head.

"What about you?" Winters asked Heinrich.

Heinrich struggled to speak: "No."

Winters guided the two of them: "Then if you are the ones warming the fire, what is your most appropriate strategy?"

"Spread the horses out to graze." Charles replied eagerly: "The more horses there are in one place, the less they will be able to eat. And we have to walk slowly to prevent the horses from getting too tired. It is best to eat all the way -

—It’s like herding!”

Heinrich nodded silently.

"Then do you think the barbarians encountered in Shovel Harbor will be the main force of the Telton tribe?"

Charles replied hesitantly: "Probably...no?"

Winters was noncommittal and continued to ask the two attendants: "If you were me, what would be your first move?"

"Crossing the river and attacking them before they gather?" Charles asked tentatively.

Winters let out a long sigh and hit Ciel hard on the head: "What do I want you to think about first? Whatever the people of Teltown lack most, you must make them lack even more!"

Charles held his head and cried in pain.

"Destroy the pasture," Heinrich whispered.

Winters sat up again and nodded approvingly: "Not bad, how to destroy it?"

"fire."

"Yes." Winters patted Heinrich on the shoulder: "This is the first step to deal with the Tertun people. The enemy has many soldiers, but we have few; the enemy is strong, but we are weak; the enemy attacks, and we defend.

.

We must first find ways to weaken the enemy before we can fight. Isn’t the monkey’s butt face called a fire-warmer? It’s time to warm him up - the two lieutenants are doing this in no-man’s land.”

Charles asked with a grimace: "What about Shovel Harbor? Just ignore it?"

"Don't worry about it." Winters waved his hand: "The mayor of Shovel Harbor is a veteran of Dussac, and he has thousands of strong refugees in his hands. Isn't he busy training the refugees recently? With two brigades of militiamen in hand, if the company

If we can’t block the mouth of the river, then we should die as soon as possible.”

"If he dies, what will happen to the people in Shovel Harbor?" Charles couldn't bear it: "Should we assemble the troops first?"

"Even if we want to send troops to support, we have to wait until daybreak. Marching at night is not feeding meat into the wolf's mouth?" Winters knocked Ciel on the head again: "Let's talk about tomorrow's matters tomorrow. Even if we have to fight tomorrow, today

You must have a good rest at night.”

Ciel held his head and said "Oh".

"Let me tell you, what the Shovel Harbor side is most afraid of right now is the 'reinforcements'." Winters sneered: "They are afraid that I will take the opportunity to send troops to occupy Shovel Harbor. With the barbarians in front and the rebels behind, it will be difficult to fight.

.So let’s simply stay still and let them concentrate on dealing with the Hurds. We will know how the battle goes in the morning.”

Charles and Heinrich raised their hands in salute.

Winters unbuttoned his clothes - he had not taken off his clothes because he was too tired when he went to bed - and said: "I guess... the messenger from Shovel Harbor is coming towards Gevaudan. It must be a great victory, so the garrison doesn't have to worry.

Never come to help, huh."

Seeing that Winters was going to bed, Charles and Heinrich prepared to leave.

Winters stopped the two of them: "When this war is over, I plan to open a military school. The students... are tentatively rated as centurion-level officers. Do you want to go?"

Both Charles and Heinrich were stunned.

"You two can't always be my guards." Winters said with a smile, "Do you want to lead troops?"

Ciel's eye circles suddenly turned red: "I will be your guard for the rest of my life."

"Don't answer in a hurry, think about it slowly. Anyway, we have to solve the problem of monkey's butt and face first." Winters pushed the two attendants out of the door: "Unless the barbarians break into Jevaudan, you are not allowed to disturb my sleep again!

"

Charles and Heinrich failed to recover from the shock. They stood at the door looking at each other for a long time before tiptoing downstairs.

…

Early morning, Shovel Harbor.

Mr. Alpha dismounted from his horse and walked into the town church with his sword in hand. His face was hidden under his helmet, and his plate breastplate was covered in blood.
To be continued...