"Black Wolf, the next target for the great army is to strike southeast and conquer the Adobe Fortress by the river!"
The bonfire blazed, and the night was deep. After reaching the camp at Snake Lake Village, Xiulote t with the generals, dined and gathered, soothing them one by one. In the blink of an eye, three days had passed. It was not until the end of tonight’s banquet that he returned to his command tent to et with Black Wolf alone and give instructions for the next war plan.
"Adobe Fortress is located at the estuary of the Adobe River, with hundreds of Totonaq people’s dugout war boats, continuously supplying food and provisions to the Golden Bay City area. If the allied forces can conquer this port military fortress, they can cut off the retreat of over 30,000 Totonaq allied forces in the Golden Bay City area!..."
"We must keep these 30,000 people here completely. So this attack must be fierce and swift, like a wolf pouncing on a rabbit, giving the Totonaq no chance to react!"
"As you command, Your Highness!"
Hearing this, Black Wolf Torc raised his head, a fervent battle spirit appeared on his face. He clasped his fist on his chest and replied in a deep voice.
"Your Highness, I will imdiately mobilize Legion Warriors, gather defectors from all parts, and personally lead the troops! ... With the Chief Divine as my witness! Within seven days, I will spare no effort to capture the Adobe Fortress!"
Hearing Black Wolf’s request, Xiulote raised his eyebrows. He looked at Black Wolf’s eager eyes and pondered for a mont before solemnly admonishing.
"Black Wolf, you are now the Commander-in-Chief of the legion, leading a campaign for . I will entrust this expedition to you, but you must not personally attack the fortress like during the northern expedition!..."
Hearing this, Black Wolf opened his mouth, wanting to say sothing, but then he heard a new directive from His Highness. This ti, Xiulote’s words carried a noticeable tone of amusent.
"... Besides, seven days seems a bit much! Starting from River Bend Fortress, I can only give you three days!"
"Uh! Your Highness, three... three days?"
"What? My Black Wolf, can’t you do it?"
Black Wolf’s forehead instantly broke out in a sweat. He looked uneasy, counting on his fingers, stamring a reply.
"Your Highness, just three days ago, thousands of Totonaq Warriors moved into the Adobe Fortress. From setting out at River Bend Fortress to reaching and camping under the Adobe City, it already takes a day. This military fortress is flanked by the river on two sides and near the sea on the other. To the south is the main stream of the Adobe River, to the west is its tributary, and to the east the tidal flats of the coast, making it impossible to deploy troops..."
"The legion can only attack Adobe Fortress from the relatively wide northern side. The Totonaq people have focused their efforts for a year, building sturdy wooden walls on the north side, with two circles of wooden fences, and two small fortresses outside..."
"Your Highness, the seven-day ti fra is carefully calculated... Mainly, the Kingdom has no naval forces in the Eastern Sea, only incorporating seventy to eighty dugout warboats from local city-states. The Totonaq control hundreds of warboats, dominating the coasts and rivers..."
Hearing this, Xiulote’s brow relaxed, and the smile on his face grew wider.
"Oh! The seven-day ti fra, you’ve calculated it carefully. Very good... excellent!"
"Black Wolf, this ti I brought 12,000 people from the East. Four thousand Imperial Guard Legion, eight thousand Yu Yan Legion. The Yu Yan Legion belongs to our alliance; they are regarded as our allies. I plan to station them between here and Nianshui City, maintaining the main army’s supply line and securing the rear. I will give you 2,000 of the four thousand Imperial Guards to join the siege of Adobe Fortress!"
"Ah! Giving 2,000 Imperial Guards to join the siege?"
Hearing this, Black Wolf showed a delighted expression. He thought for a mont and confidently said.
"Your Highness, if you give 2,000 of the Throwing Vanguard Camp, equipped with enough ’Divine Power Globes’... I am confident that within five days, we can capture the two small fortresses and the main Adobe Fortress!"
"Haha! Granted! Black Wolf, I will not only give you 2,000 Throwing Vanguards, and enough Clay Tribulus... but also assign you another artillery camp! With them, three days will be enough!"
Hearing this, Xiulote slightly tilted his head, revealing a strong sense of confidence. For this expedition, he had brought ten bronze mortars. Each mortar was equipped with 400 rounds of a new type of gunpowder. These mortars would also be left on the Totonaq coast and eventually follow the Head Warrior’s fleet to the East Caribbean Sea’s Cuba Snake Island to greet the arriving European fleet.
"Another... artillery camp?"
Hearing this, Black Wolf thought for a mont and asked in confusion.
"Is it the sa as Tupa’s artillery camp?"
"No! This ti, the cannons are thicker, shorter, and heavier! They can fire thirty-pound stone shells, not to ntion the wooden fortresses by the river, even the city walls of Golden Bay City can be directly shattered!"
Xiulote reached out, patting Black Wolf’s shoulder, a smile appearing on his face.
"Black Wolf, tomorrow morning, I’ll take you to see these heavy cannons transported 2,000 miles from the Qinchongcan Capital! The formidable White Snake Hill City surrendered under their bombardnt!"
"Ah! Thirty-pound stone shells? How big must they be!..."
Black Wolf, surprised, stretched out his fingers, calculated for a long ti, and still couldn’t figure out precisely how big it was. However, he could ascertain one thing: such heavy artillery, the wooden walls of the Adobe Fortress could definitely not withstand.
"Your Highness! If we have such heavy artillery, then indeed three days are enough for the siege! I will gather all the troops, bring the artillery camp the day after tomorrow, and lead the army out! Hmm, how many miles can these heavy guns move in a day?"
"This Thunder God mortar weighs one thousand jin and requires more than ten people to carry it. It can only move a little over twenty miles a day."
"Chief Divine bless! Gathering the troops requires one day. From the encampnt at Snake Lake Village to the river bay fortress is sixty to seventy miles, taking three days of marching. And from departing the river bay fortress to setting up camp at the Adobe Fortress takes another day. It takes two more days to attack the fortress, counting the ssenger’s return... Your Highness, within ten days, I will bring you victory news!"
"Very good! Black Wolf, I await your triumphant news!..."
Black Wolf, pinching his fingers, was calculating while making promises. Xiulote looked at the calculating Black Wolf with so surprise in his eyes. He responded loudly, mused a mont, and then asked another question.
"Black Wolf, it’s been more than a year since we last t... I once said that when I see you again, I would test you on the progress of your literacy."
"Uh! This, that... Your Highness, the main army is about to set out, I must return and prepare, thoroughly plot and calculate..."
"Oh! Then let’s wait for your victory return and test on the characters!"
Xiulote smiled slightly and nodded. On Black Wolf Torc’s tense face, a smile suddenly appeared. But just a few monts later, his smile froze.
"Black Wolf, as a commander-in-chief, although you have the Priests calculating for you, you must also understand marching and logistics. There is still so ti tonight, so I just happen to test you with so simple calculations..."
Xiulote, looking leisurely, smiled and glanced at Black Wolf, not giving him a chance to speak, then asked in a deep voice.
"The large army under Golden Bay City has twenty-eight thousand people. In the army, each Warrior requires at least two jin of food per day. According to the Kingdom’s custom, the food is transported every 20 days. And the army’s food consumption, forty percent is sent from Hidden Serpent City, a journey of 120 miles. The other sixty percent cos from the Tree Snake City camp, a journey of 540 miles..."
"Each civilian can carry 120 jin of food with a daily march of 30 miles. They will consu at least 1 jin of rations per day. Then, calculating from the farthest Tree Snake City camp, to supply the Golden Bay City front in the rear, a batch of civilians takes 40 days back and forth, with a batch every 20 days, requiring two batches of civilians to alternate... Including the rations consud by civilians on the way back and forth, how many civilians in total are needed to maintain the logistics supply line for the army?"
Hearing the first half of the description from His Highness, Black Wolf was utterly confused, bewildered, not knowing what to do. But as soon as he heard the latter issue, he instantly relaxed. The logistics transport of the army had previously been reported to him in detail by the accompanying War Priest. And he had also noted down the number of civilians conscripted in his heart.
"Your Highness, the food is transported every 20 days in a batch. The logistics from Hidden Serpent City recruits 4,000 civilians per batch. And the logistics from Tree Snake City gathers 8,000 Militia per batch. Combined, that’s 12,000 people per batch! Since the logistics supply line requires two batches of civilians, that’s a total of 24,000 civilians to maintain it!"
Black Wolf pondered slightly, then confidently answered, spending only a few breaths back and forth. Afterward, he confidently looked at His Highness, waiting for his praise.
"Hmm, not bad! Black Wolf, your calculations are quick, and all correct!"
Xiulote’s mouth turned up, extending his hand to pat Black Wolf’s shoulder. He maintained his smile and then asked in a deep voice again.
"The Hidden Serpent Holy City of the Totonac people is more than 500 miles east of Golden Bay City, let’s calculate it as 540 miles. Black Wolf, once we capture Golden Bay City, we will proceed eastward to attack the Hidden Serpent Holy City! If the logistics of the army and food transportation remain unchanged, delivering food every 20 days, but with the supply line extended by 540 miles..."
"Calculating from the farthest Tree Snake City camp, the supply line doubling ans a batch of civilians taking 80 days back and forth, with 20 days per food batch, four batches of civilians can just rotate. Then, when the Kingdom’s army reaches the gates of Hidden Serpent City, how many civilians are needed to maintain it?"
Upon hearing the new question, Black Wolf was instantly overwheld, his eyes wide open. This ti, there was no War Priest’s report he could "borrow" from. He struggled for a while with his fingers until His Highness asked again, hesitantly and stutteringly answering.
"Ah! Extending more than 500 miles, the supply line from Tree Snake City doubling... this, uh, the number of civilians... might also double?"
Xiulote smiled and shook his head at this. For the third ti, he patted Black Wolf’s shoulder, saying aningfully.
"Civilians bearing food over a thousand miles would consu most of the 120 jin of food they carry on the way back and forth!... Black Wolf, once you figure out this second problem, you will know why I must stay here as long as possible to hold back the Eastern Totonac Allied Forces! And you will also understand how many Warriors can actually advance further east!..."
Hearing this, Black Wolf Torc paused in silence, nodding. He pursed his lips and said softly.
"Your Highness, I understand your aning. In the future, I will consult the Priests accompanying the army more on calculations..."
"Chief Divine bless! Black Wolf, you are not necessarily limited to consulting Priests... you can also self-learn!..."
Xiulote bead, extended his hand, and received a book from the Guard Commander. Then, he solemnly placed the heavy book into Black Wolf’s hands, patting his shoulder one last ti.
"This mathematics handbook, I just compiled it, and had the trusted aides copy over a dozen copies for everyone to learn together! Black Wolf, keep it well, after the war, read it when you have nothing to do, solve so problems as leisure entertainnt... Any issues, you can co to ask !..."
Upon hearing this, Black Wolf Torc’s hand trembled slightly, forcefully gripping the thick book, even leaving fingerprints. He looked at the cover, reading the title word by word, his expression strained, his voice getting smaller and smaller.
"Village Priest... Mathematics?... ’Introductory’ Handbook? First Edition... Xiulote authored?!... uh! Truly... leisure entertainnt...
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