Chapter 141 Take the initiative
Although anxious, Pierre did not panic after all.
As a soldier who can be selected as a squad leader, he naturally has his own characteristics that are superior to ordinary people.
Being calculating and calm in times of trouble are all part of Pierre's character.
He first leaned down and observed the horse hoof prints. He found that these horse hoof prints were numerous and dense. And there was no sign of a camel, no sheep or human footprints.
This means that the Bedouins who passed through here before did indeed pass by with the intention of fighting and plundering.
Although the Bedouins like to ride camels, in actual combat, the speed and flexibility of horses are suitable for raids, while the endurance and adaptability of camels are not suitable for raiding operations.
What about quantity? Pierre recalled some of the little knowledge the prophet had taught him, and then came to his own judgment.
"About nearly a hundred horses."
When Pierre said this number, he felt a chill in his back for a moment, and the two people on the side were even more frightened.
Once this number of Bedouins launch an attack on Labret Manor, it will be an extremely cruel test!
If the plan is calculated or not, the Labrete Manor may be demolished.
"Don't worry, those Bedouins shouldn't be so eager to attack. Marching long distances will consume a lot of their horsepower." Pierre's tone became serious as he spoke.
"Rafael."
"Arrived!"
"I order you to rush to the company station immediately and report the situation."
"Yes!"
Pierre is the monitor, the other two are not.
However, they were both veterans of the original company and fellow villagers, and those two were not in Pierre's class, so they could laugh and joke with each other as they pleased.
Now that the war is urgent, it is natural to return to military and civil order. As the squad leader, Pierre naturally has the authority to give orders.
These are also the long-term training and education in the company.
"Victor."
"Arrived!"
"You are familiar with the terrain nearby. I order you to go through the forest and rush to the manor to report the news, and inform the manor that the Bedouins may be gathering by the lake."
"Yes!"
After the order was issued and the three of them were about to separate, Rafael and Victor asked another question in their minds.
"What about you?"
"Me? I'm going to investigate the specific number of those Bedouins and their current movements."
Pierre left the most dangerous task to himself.
[The Bedouins are more stubborn in their unbelief and hypocrisy, and are more likely to be unaware of the laws God has revealed to His Messenger. Allah is All-Knowing and Wise. 】
[Among the Bedouins, some regard their expenses as losses and expect misfortune to happen to you. For them, bad disaster will befall them. Allah Hears and Knows. 】
——"Confession" 97-98
As early as nearly six hundred years ago, the Prophet had written these words in the scriptures.
Six hundred years later, the Bedouins are still like this.
If we say that the farming areas in the Middle East are like oasis islands, they condense knowledge and culture and light up the beacons on the ocean in the night.
Then the Bedouin, these people living on the edge of civilization, they wander in the wilderness, they are the descendants of the desert and the plateau, they are actual nomads, traders and bandits.
Unlike the Celestial Empire, in most people's opinion, there seems to be a clear boundary between nomads and farmers.
That boundary is the frontier of the dynasty, the Great Wall, the Yellow River, or the 400 mm precipitation line.
But the Islamic world is different. Farmers live in isolated oasis islands, while nomads surround them.
Leave a town or village and walk for half a day or a few days, and you have arrived in the world of nomads.
This seemingly deserted wilderness is actually full of traces of Bedouins, Turks, and Kurds.
However, at present, the nomads active in Transjordan territory are mainly Bedouin.
As nomads, they usually migrate according to changes in seasons and water sources. During the rainy season, grass grows in the desert, and when the dry season arrives, although the land will become dry, food is piled up in the farmer's barns.
Pierre and the others have lived on this land for several generations, so they naturally understand the habits of the Bedouin people.
Most of the time, the Bedouins are actually able to deal with each other and have limited communication with each other.
After all, nomads also need to obtain handicrafts and food from farmers.
And farmers don't mind getting livestock or dairy products from nomads, as well as commodities from distant places.
But the Bedouin are united by clans and tribes, and tribes are composed of multiple families.
Different clans and tribes may have different styles, but they certainly don’t regard themselves as one. Therefore, perhaps the Bedouin I met yesterday was still an acquaintance, but the Bedouin I met today had already put a sword on his neck.
……
The highway runs through the territory of Transjordan from north to south, and there are many branch roads that can be used by large armies to move. However, those branch roads are not the nearest roads, and are often affected by the terrain and woods, making them unsuitable for large groups of people.
Therefore, if you travel alone, you can often find a shorter road, or simply go over the mountains.
Victor is a local and is familiar with the terrain. It only took him more than an hour to pass through the valley and woods from the road to the boundary of the manor.
In order to rush for time, Victor didn't even have time to walk through the main entrance. Instead, he climbed over the fence and rushed towards the center of the manor.
Dang~dang~dang~
What Victor didn't expect was that before he successfully reported the news, the bells on the manor's church bell tower had already rang urgently.
Along the way Victor was running, he saw quite a few acquaintances, holding weapons or wearing armor, gathering towards the church. When they saw Victor, an acquaintance, they didn't bother to say hello.
When Victor ran to the church, he found that there was no need to report the news himself, as nearly sixty people had already gathered here.
However, he still said loudly: "Oh no! Big guy! There are Bedouins coming!"
The number of militias currently assembled in the manor is not enough to deal with the Bedouin raids.
Just when Victor was panicking, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
A familiar voice came from behind: "How many are there?"
All the panic, all the fear, all the pessimism, along with this gentle question, turned into cold water in an instant like cold snow meeting the scorching sun.
Because the person who asked the question was Gareth.
Long before Victor tipped off the news, the people on guard duty outside Labrete Manor had noticed the movement in the distance and lit the smoke.
The manor system is inherently stricter than that of ordinary village societies. After Garris expelled the tax collectors and took control of the northern territory, he also helped many villages establish their own guard towers.
The appearance of the large group of cavalry could not be concealed from the sentries.
It's just that the sentinels on the periphery can't transmit accurate information back.
Therefore, while the militiamen were gathering, Garris would still ask Victor about the incoming enemy.
Victor turned around and saw Garris standing there. Behind him were some Paladin attendants wearing chain mail. Their armor shone in the sun.
"The exact number of people is unclear, but it must be more than a hundred horses."
Hearing Victor's answer, Garris was relieved. After all, having more than a hundred horses does not mean there are more than a hundred cavalry. For nomads, it is a very common configuration for nomads to have one person and two horses in battle.
Moreover, the terrain of Labrete Manor is relatively not suitable for cavalry deployment. This is the southern valley of the Arnon River.
Although it is relatively more open, the height difference of the terrain is by no means suitable for large-scale cavalry deployment.
You must know that the average altitude of the Transjordan plateau starts at 600 meters, but the altitude where the valley merges into the Dead Sea is 400 meters below sea level.
Such a huge difference in height brings abundant natural water resources to the valley, but it also hinders the free movement of the cavalry.
Therefore, there are actually not many places where fighting may break out.
Garris took the people in the manor and roughly mapped the topography of the manor, and was able to determine that there were four places that were easy to break through.
"Prophet, should we deploy our defenses separately?" Russell on the side asked.
Now Russell has completely taken over Simon's responsibilities. He and the other four Paladin attendants have taken on the role of Garris' personal bodyguard.
Of course, these personal guards are not used to protect Garris's life. It's hard to say who will protect whom if something goes wrong.
Therefore, most of the time these guards help Garris run errands.
"Separate deployment?" Garris thought about this possibility for a moment, and then gave the answer: "No."
"Based on the situation of the manor, a maximum of 60 militiamen with military training can be assembled. Counting you sect warriors, the number of combatants will not exceed 80."
"The 80 men were deployed separately, and the support distance between them was long. Facing the cavalry attack, there was no time to support them. The final result was that the enemy discovered the weak spots and then defeated them one by one."
Although Garris felt that with his ability, when the Bedouins entered the manor, they would eventually win.
But if the loss is too big, it would be quite unsightly.
"What's more, you sect warriors are not suitable for this kind of battle. The militiamen currently have very little combat experience, and the losses will be great if they are deployed separately."
After hearing what Garris said, Russell also frowned, and then pointed to two locations on the simple topographic map on the ground.
"What should we do? Organize patrols and sentries in these two places, and then wait for the other party to attack, and then take the initiative to support them?"
Russell's idea is actually quite good. If the troops are evenly distributed, there is a high probability that they will be defeated one by one.
But if the troops are deployed centrally and support is provided at critical moments, it may be miraculous.
"No, my view is to take the initiative."
(End of chapter)