The southern town of Fabagon.
Bagong means mountains in the local area. There are many rivers and mountains here. Fabagong is located on a flat land in the middle of the mountains, with a radius of less than 100 miles.
Hearing that someone was coming to replace him, the original local official was a little ecstatic. He seemed to be afraid that Aiwa would change his mind after coming here, so he quickly packed his luggage and set off to leave this hellhole he had been in charge of for five years. You know, in these five years, he hardly had a peaceful day.
There were two times when he reported to the queen and asked her to send troops to attack the Tandaya tribe, but the queen sent an incompetent person like Federer, which made the Tandaya tribe retaliate even more fiercely. If it were not for the protection of the strong city walls, his family would have been killed by the Tandaya people long ago.
Aiwa brought a few soldiers to the top of the city wall and looked towards the south towards the Tanda tribe. Under the blood-red afterglow of the setting sun, dust rose into the sky, and in the dust, a group of people were slowly moving southward.
Several attendants were left behind by the former general. They were very familiar with the situation in this area. In order to repay Aiwa for replacing him, the former general specially selected several capable assistants to give to him. Aiwa did not refuse. Coming to this unfamiliar place, such manpower was very necessary.
"The Tandayans have robbed our border people of their property again!"
A servant sighed. Aiwa could see with his naked eyes that most of those riding on horses were women, and their agile figures could be clearly distinguished in the sunset.
"Don't we have cavalry as well?"
Aiwa turned around and asked the attendant beside him. "But they are a nomadic tribe, living on horseback every day, and they are very brave. We so-called cavalrymen just ride horses during training and treat it as a kind of fun. How can we compare with them?"
The attendants said. These attendants had great expectations for their former superiors, but after several attacks, the Tandayan people became more aggressive, and their cruel revenge made the people on the borders of the Has Empire even more miserable. Therefore, they no longer had any illusions about Aiwa, the so-called descendant of a general, and hoped that he would not cause any trouble and live a peaceful life.
"Do our cavalry train regularly?"
Aiwa's eyes were fixed on the backs of the victors in the distance. Although they did not have eyes behind them, Aiwa could see from their leisurely postures that they were mocking and despising the defenders of the Haas Empire.
A surge of anger rose in Aiwa's chest.
"From which direction do the Tandayans usually attack?"
Aiwa shifted his gaze from the backs of the Tandayas to the surrounding mountains. Seeing the valleys between these rolling hills, Aiwa concluded that the Tandayas must have flowed in from these valleys.
"Every valley could be their attack route. Our defenses are limited and we can't defend every mountain pass. Moreover, our combat effectiveness cannot compare with the enemy. Even though most of them are women, their combat effectiveness is no worse than that of men."
The attendant seemed to be reminding Aiwa that it was safest to stay in the city. If he trusted his cavalry too much, he might even lose his life.
"You mean to say that we can only allow the Tandayans to plunder us?"
Aiwa heard the hidden meaning in the servant's tone. He stared at the servant beside him with his sharp eyes.
"Commander, what I mean is that if we want to stop the Tandayans from harassing us, the existing army alone may not be enough."
The attendant quickly explained.
"Then do you have any good ideas?"
Aiwa then asked back. In fact, he did not expect this attendant to have any good ideas. Otherwise, the former general should have adopted his suggestions and become famous in the Has Empire.
"No."
The servant probably realized that he had said too much, so he quickly stopped talking and stepped back.
"Pass the order down. No one is allowed to act rashly within a month. Train your troops well. I will hold a big competition in a month. The winner will be rewarded handsomely!"
A grand plan was brewing in Aiwa's mind.
In this border town, there is a 2,000-man army stationed, of which one-third are infantry and one-third are cavalry. A considerable number of these soldiers were exiled here because they made mistakes. In the eyes of ordinary people, these soldiers are just criminals, so the officers here never treat them as human beings. Fighting and charging are their duty, but there is no reward. Therefore, when the attendant heard that Aiwa was going to reward the winner, he really couldn't believe what he heard.
But from Aiwa's tone, he could feel that this was a man who kept his word! His contempt for him just now gradually faded away.
Aiwa had people make a lot of scarecrows to serve as imaginary enemies for the soldiers to train. The cavalrymen trained twice a day, with experienced soldiers or officers as coaches, once during the day and once at night. Because Aiwa had promised in advance, the soldiers not only worked very hard in the collective training, but many soldiers also stepped up their own training while others were resting, just to stand out in the competition.
While the soldiers were stepping up their training, Aiwa often took a group of people to various mountain passes to inspect the situation.
Within a week, he had become familiar with the terrain around Fapagong, especially the southern pass near Tandaya.
A week later, Aiwa led half of the infantry to various mountain passes and made all kinds of strange things with trees and rocks. The soldiers didn't understand and thought that the new commander was a child who hadn't grown up yet and was just playing around, but because Aiwa was a resolute person, no one dared to disobey his orders.
While the soldiers were conducting various trainings every day within the walls of Fabagun, the Tandayans plundered the people on the borders of the Has Empire several times . The people on the borders could only rely on civilian self-defense organizations to fight against the Tandayans, but the Tandayans would just rob and run away, and they could do nothing about it.
The reason why the Tandayan people only robbed things and never hurt people was that they had their own reasons. They had strict discipline. During the robbery process, no one was allowed to hurt the lives of the Fabagun people unless it was absolutely necessary. Therefore, there were basically no casualties in Fabagun during the previous looting. This was also the reason why the Has Empire had not sent troops to attack Tandayan.
After more than half a month of training, many officers and soldiers felt that their skills had improved greatly, and they started to itch. The previous commander was afraid of causing casualties and being blamed by the queen, so he did not dare to send troops easily. Over time, the soldiers' combat effectiveness declined. After Aiwa became the commander, the initial training really made them suffer, and the soldiers secretly cursed Aiwa in their hearts. But gradually, when they felt that their combat effectiveness had greatly improved, they began to admire this new commander in their hearts.
As their confidence in Aiwa increased, some officers wanted to win the first merit in front of Aiwa, so a centurion named Samo led a team of soldiers to plunder a stronghold of the Tandayans. However, on the way back to the city, they were ambushed by the Tandayans. After Aiwa led his troops to rescue, most of them were killed and wounded before they rescued Samo. Aiwa had previously ordered that no one was allowed to act rashly without his order, and those who violated it would be severely punished. This officer named Samo thought that he took the initiative to attack this time to gain merit, but he did not expect to be beaten with a hundred strokes of the cane by Aiwa, and his skin was torn. From then on, the discipline in the army became stricter, and no one dared to take Aiwa's orders as a joke.
A month of training was over, and the scheduled competition time had arrived. Aiwa watched the competition in person. The main competition items for the cavalry included archery and stabbing on horseback, while the infantry mainly competed in swordplay and spearmanship. Stabbing with a spear was very useful in combat, and became the main competition item for the infantry.
Especially in horseback archery, a large number of masters who can shoot arrows through the air from a hundred steps away have emerged. Aiwa asked the servants around him: "Compared to their previous skills, have they improved?"
The answer is: "Very different! They can't be compared!"
"If we fight the Tandaya with this army, what are our chances of winning?"
Aiwa asked proudly.
"If we use our current military strength to attack the Tandayans, we will be unstoppable!"
The attendant was not talking nonsense, but was shocked by the fighting scene he saw. Those soldiers were more capable than each other. With their current fighting power, it would be a piece of cake to kill those Tandaya people. Aiwa sneered. He had witnessed the fighting power of the Tandaya people with his own eyes. When rescuing Sama, it was said that the opponent was only a mid-level leader, but the ability to circumvent the rain of guns and arrows had already opened Aiwa's eyes. According to his judgment, the current fighting power of these soldiers was definitely not enough to compete with the Tandaya people. Because he knew that the Tandaya people would not kill people unless they had no choice, and would only kill when they wanted to survive. If the opponent did not have a higher skill, he would not be able to do this. In that battle, the soldiers of Fabagun fought hard but did not hurt a single Tandaya person. Aiwa knew this best. Therefore, he once again issued an order that no one was allowed to fight without his order.
However, the garrison of Fabagun was no longer a piece of soft mud. If the people of Tanda were to see this, they would certainly be shocked.
Aiwa did not want to go into battle immediately, but instead requested reinforcements from the Queen, and in the request he specifically mentioned Major Federer, who was familiar with the terrain. He was determined to make Federer look bad in front of him and knock down his arrogance.
One week later, Federer, under the order of the queen, led two thousand men to the town of Valbagon. As the supreme commander of the two thousand men, Federer couldn't help but be arrogant in front of Aiwa. "Aiwa, aren't you very capable? Why did you ask for help from the queen as soon as you arrived at Valbagon? The other side is just a few women, but you are scared like this, haha, you really deserve to be the descendant of a general!"
Federer was arrogant here. He had been defeated by the Tandayans twice in a row, but he didn't feel ashamed in front of Aiwa and even humiliated Aiwa. After so long, he finally found Aiwa as a scapegoat, and finally saved a little face, so he would not let go of this opportunity.
"Major Federer, I'm counting on you. I'm harassed by the Tandayans every day. I was especially angry when I heard their soldiers clamoring to cook my good friend Federer. They are too arrogant, so I specifically asked the queen to send you to teach the Tandayans a lesson!"
Aiwa knew that people like Federer could not stand provocation, so he replaced his hatred for Federer with the words of the Tandanyans to stimulate Federer. As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Federer's face turn red.
"Aiva, don't worry, I don't need any help from your soldiers. I will make Tandaya and his group of sex slaves lick your feet obediently. Just wait and see!"
Federer said through gritted teeth.
"As the governor, how can I not help you since you are here to attack Bagong? If the queen knew that I stood aside and watched, wouldn't she punish me?"
Aiwa wanted Federer to reject his help on his own so that he could laugh at him and provoke him on purpose.
"Don't get involved in this matter. I can do it alone. Of course, if you want to share some of the credit, you can go out of the city to greet me after I capture the enemy leader. Haha, it's not that I don't trust your soldiers. It's okay for them to play with women and play cards, but when it comes to fighting, it's better to stay in the city."
Federer looked at Aiwa with great contempt.
According to Aiwa, the Tandaya people have an unwritten rule that they never kill people when they come out to plunder property, but if anyone dares to attack them, they will kill them. It is for this reason that Aiwa's subordinates disobeyed orders and attacked the Tandaya people half a month ago, and most of them were killed or injured. Federer also suffered cruel revenge from the Tandaya people because he came to Fabagon and took the initiative to attack the Tandaya people's station, and suffered heavy losses. After all, Federer is the son of the prime minister, and he can't afford to lose face, so he was furious and wanted to find an opportunity to retaliate against the Tandaya people, but he didn't know where his weakness was, he only knew revenge, and he came happily after receiving the queen's order. All this was expected by Aiwa.
Federer came to Vabagun to rest for two days. Scouts came back and reported that the Tandayan people were plundering their eastern area, and there were almost no guards at their base.
Federer was very excited about the news, but he did not tell Aiwa about it. He wanted to take all the credit and ask for a reward from the Queen. Aiwa had sent people to inquire about the news, but he knew better that the Tandaya people acted quickly and never stayed overnight in the plundering area. They would return to their base as quickly as possible to protect their homes.
When Federer got up early in the morning and set off with his troops, Aiwa and his men stood on the top of the city wall to see him off. Federer had an attitude of winning.
"Major Federer, I'll throw you a celebration party when you come back!"
Aiwa said loudly while standing on the top of the city wall. Federer turned around and smiled, then rode away, raising a cloud of dust behind him.
The army left the valley and headed towards the Tandaya settlement. Along the way, scouts kept coming back to report on the Tandaya's movements, saying that they had not seen a large number of Tandaya troops going out, and that no Tandaya who had gone out to plunder had returned.
Federer was secretly delighted, thinking: "This time, we must destroy the Tandayan people's nest, give them a heavy blow, and vent the anger in our hearts!" The team was getting closer and closer to the Tandayan people's residence, but there was still no movement. Federer's confidence increased greatly. Because he was afraid that the Tandayan people who stayed behind would discover his troops, Federer, who was eager to win, gave the order and launched a fierce charge when he was still two miles away from the Tandayan people's residence. The sound of killing shook the sky.
But when they were less than a few hundred meters away from the Tandaya settlement, several teams of Tandaya cavalry suddenly rushed out from all directions. The Tandaya people did not have a formal professional army, but every citizen was a soldier, even teenagers could join the war, and each of them was worth ten men.
Federer's army, which was already afraid of being killed by the Tandayans, was only brave on the surface. Once they saw the Tandayans coming from all directions, they immediately collapsed.
Federer shouted loudly, using his whip and sword to drive the soldiers forward, but as soon as the soldiers left Federer's side, they ran for their lives, and it was useless for him to shout at the top of his lungs. Seeing his 2,000-man army being torn apart by the brave and warlike Tandayans, Federer had no choice but to lead a few followers to fight the Tandayans himself.
A girl in Tandayan clothing rushed over, holding a long sword in her hand, and stabbed Federer, who was wearing a school-level officer uniform; Federer's fighting spirit was no match for the girl's sword energy, and the sword in his hand was actually shaken away. Federer hurriedly drew a short sword from his waist to fight back, but how could he defeat the long sword in the girl's hand. The girl was agile and pretty, and she rolled around on the horse's back, and she actually cut Federer's reins with one sword.
Federer lost his balance and fell off his horse. His guards were no match for the fighting of several beautiful girls and fled in all directions. Before Federer could get up, he was subdued and tied up by several Tandayan girls. The self-righteous Federer became a captive of the Tandayan people!
Federer's soldiers were quickly driven back to the city of Vabagun by the Tandayan people, but Aiwa did not come out to greet them. He just asked the soldiers guarding the city to open the city gates to let them in and gather them in one place to reorganize.
dusk.
Less than a few dozen meters to the right of the camp of Tandaya, there was a small enclosure for horses surrounded by fences. Federer was stripped down to his underwear and tied to a wooden stake. Although he was not beaten, the cold wind alone was enough to make him suffer.
"Catherine, I am the one who has done the most this time. He was the one who led the attack on our base last time. This time, we must let him have a taste of our power!"
A girl who looked about 17 or 18 years old, with curly golden hair tied back into a ponytail, said to a mature woman who looked like a leader. The joy of victory made the little girl's face flushed, making her look more youthful.
"Wuya, I'll leave this Federer to you. You can do whatever you want with him. If you want him to lick your feet at night, this pretty boy should be a good choice."
After taking a glance at the disheveled Federer, Catherine turned to the girl who seemed skinny in her opinion and only managed to look like a warrior in a suit of armor.
Wuya walked up to Federer with a whip in her hand. She turned the whip in her hand upside down and twisted it between Federer's ribs. Federer screamed immediately. His ribs were twisted into a concave twist by Wuya's whip. When Wuya pulled out the whip, the skin and flesh on Federer's ribs immediately rolled out! Sweat beads oozed out of his face.
"Shit! I thought you were a hero, but you can't even handle this little bit of pain!"
Wu Ya casually swung the whip in her hand, and the whip immediately left a bright red mark on Federer's face.
"You guys keep a close eye on him. Don't let this kid run away. Let him have a good taste of the coolness of Tandaya's night!"
After saying that, Wu Ya turned around and left with her followers.
After sunset, the night enveloped the entire sky of Tandaya. Even the tents were shrouded in darkness, and only their outlines could be vaguely discerned.
The four elite soldiers sent by Aiwa took advantage of the cover of night and quietly approached the enclosure where Federer was tied up. The soldiers of Tandaya stood in groups of three or four around the enclosure. After all, Federer was considered a military leader of the Haas Empire. Although he was only a school-level officer, he was the highest commander of the attack on Tandaya, so he was closely guarded.
But the people of Tanda were immersed in the joy of victory. Despite repeated warnings from their superiors, the soldiers guarding Federer still complained about not being able to get enough rest after the war. They never imagined that someone would come to rescue Federer on the night he was captured.
Two soldiers standing in the front were shot dead on the spot by poison arrows from the infiltrating elite soldiers of Valbagh and fell silently; the other two elite soldiers of Valbagh continued to approach Federer.
Right next to Federer, there were two Tandaya soldiers holding spears and stamping their feet to keep warm. It was late autumn in Tandaya and the nights were even colder.
Federer was already shivering with cold. At the beginning, he could still rely on his fighting spirit to resist the cold, but that was too limited after all. Soon his fighting spirit was exhausted and he could only grit his teeth and endure it.
The two Tandaya soldiers holding spears seemed to have heard some noise and suddenly turned around, but before they could see what was going on, they were already hit in the throat by poisoned arrows. The distance was too close, and just the arrow piercing the throat was enough to kill them, not to mention that the poison would take effect quickly within a few seconds, killing them instantly.
Before Federer, who was tied up, could figure out what was going on, one of the elite soldiers used a dagger to cut the ropes that bound him.
"Don't talk, follow us, we are sent by Aiwa to rescue the general!"
The elite soldier whispered. Hearing that Aiwa sent someone to rescue him, Federer was very excited on the one hand, but also felt ashamed and resentful on the other hand. If it was someone else, he would definitely appreciate it, but it had to be this damn Aiwa!
But in order to survive, he had to follow the two elite soldiers who rescued him and escaped from the enclosure. At this time, he had completely forgotten the coldness of the night and the thorns under his feet, and trotted all the way out of the fence.
A group of soldiers were waiting in the distance to meet them. A soldier put a coat on Federer and helped him onto his horse. The group headed towards Fabagon in the dark.
Exhausted, Federer almost fell asleep on horseback. If he hadn't been guarded by two elite soldiers beside him, he would have fallen off the horse long ago.
The elite soldiers of Valbagon brought the embarrassed Federer directly to Aiwa's command post. Aiwa sat upright in a chair, like a very majestic military general. The military management over the past month has not only trained his soldiers, but also trained himself. His seemingly childish face has become more sophisticated. In particular, his eyes have become more sharp and more confident.
Federer had never thought that he would be brought here. Wasn't it obvious that he was going to make a fool of himself in front of Aiwa, his enemy? When he saw Aiwa sitting upright in the chair, Federer, who was in a mess, immediately turned around and wanted to leave.
"Commander Federer, why are you in such a hurry to go back? Are you too tired to stay for even five minutes?"
Aiwa stood up from his chair, intending to let Federer sit on the chair to his right.
"Don't you just want to hear a word of thanks from me? You, Eva, are so wise and brave. You rescued me from the enemy camp. I, Federer, am grateful to you. However, if you want to use this as a threat to force me to agree to something, then you are wasting your time!"
Federer's nerves had been tense for a long time. He had thought about this problem on the way. Since it was Aiwa who sent someone to save his life, he must be grateful, but he must not let it be a condition for him to agree to marry his sister to Aiwa. "Haha, Major Federer, you are wrong. I am now the highest commander of Fabagon and a soldier of the Has Empire. You are trapped in the enemy camp. Of course, I have the obligation and responsibility to rescue you. I am serving the queen. How can I have the kind of selfishness you said? If Aiwa was trapped in the enemy, wouldn't Major Federer send someone to rescue him? So, you don't have to care about me sending someone to rescue you. This is for the public, not for personal reasons. In my memory, it seems that Major Federer has not done anything good that would allow me to take risks based on our personal relationship?"
Aiwa stared at Federer's already pale face and said. There was another meaning in his words, that is, if he was not also loyal to the queen, Aiwa might not send anyone to rescue him.
Federer's face turned pale and blue. He was already ashamed of his defeat, and now he appeared in front of Aiwa in such an embarrassing state. He really wanted to find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
"Someone, come and change Major Federer into a neat military uniform."
Aiwa shouted to the guards. An attendant left immediately and returned with a military uniform in less than a few minutes. "Major Federer, wear it as it is. I don't have any military uniforms specially equipped for majors like you in this barracks, but at least don't freeze yourself!"
Every word of Aiwa's concern was like a sharp knife stabbing Federer's body. But at this time, he could only endure Aiwa's humiliation, because even such a first-class soldier's uniform was provided by Aiwa, and he could not refuse.
Led by the soldier, Federer followed him into the locker room, completely abandoned his sense of humiliation, threw away his coat and changed into soldier's uniform.
When Federer came out of the locker room after changing into his soldier's uniform, Aiwa said jokingly, "You know what, this soldier's uniform looks even better on Major Federer!"
His implication was that Federer was not fit to be a commander at all, but only a small soldier. This was undoubtedly an insult to an officer who had always been arrogant and conceited. Federer was speechless for a moment, and his face turned purple.
Aiwa continued, "Although you were captured by the enemy this time, I think this may not be a bad thing. At least we rescued you from under their noses, which is very important for the other party's confidence. However, after this lesson, the Tandaya people will definitely be very angry. I suggest that you should not take any military actions recently. If you fall into the hands of the Tandaya people for the first time, you will not be so comfortable!"
Aiwa's words seemed to be a kind warning and also a mockery to Federer, making the arrogant commander's eyes bulge out.