Chapter 1153: Chapter 11 Preparations for War (Part 1)
[Mirror Lake County]
[Bazenaur]
“Bang!”
The damp gangplank t the pier.
“Go! Move out! Don’t stop!”
Soldiers with weapons slung over their shoulders and bags in their hands squinted instinctively, trying to adapt to the glaring light outside the cabin as they left the deck and stepped onto the dock.
The na of the county seat “Bazenaur” in Mirror Lake County cos from the Hurd language, aning “Lake of Abundant Water Grass.”
As early as the era of Hurd tribes’ rule, Bazenaur was already densely populated and agriculturally advanced. During the golden age of the Hurd tribes, tens of thousands of serfs escaped Paratu to this small plain by the mountains and waters, working for the prairie Khan.
After Paratu reconquered the “Newly Reclaid Land,” the status and wealth of Bazenaur soared, and it beca the trade and transport hub of the newly reclaid lands, thanks to its extensive waterway routes.
Since the outbreak of civil war, with traffic severed and trade in decline, the port of Bazenaur no longer saw continuous comrcial ships, nor did the outskirts of Bazenaur teem with bustling convoys.
Besides flocks of water birds and lonely returning fishing boats, no one else ca to visit the port by the “Lake of Abundant Water Grass.”
But at this mont, Bazenaur’s dock was bustling with noise, sweeping away the usual desolation.
Every berth capable of docking large ships was already occupied. People, supplies, and livestock were being dumped out of the ship cabins all at once, chaotically pouring onto the dock.
Even though Bazenaur’s port was the largest in the Newly Reclaid Land, it was still packed to the brim.
anwhile, outside the port, more flat-bottod barges from North River were waiting for berths.
“Neigh, neigh, neigh…”
At the gangplank exit, a handso, strong jet-black warhorse, with not a single speck of other colors except for a lightning pattern on its forehead, let out a piercing cry and suddenly reared up.
The soldiers beside it couldn’t dodge in ti and were swept into the water one after another. Nearby soldiers hurriedly retreated, pushing back soldiers who hadn’t yet stepped off the gangplank.
The crowd scene resembled an invisible wave spreading outward, and with a couple of splashes, soldiers were again pushed off the gangplank.
The jet-black warhorse seed oblivious to the chaos it had caused, and its eye cover fell off, revealing a pair of pale yellow eyes filled with fear and anger.
In its fit of temper, the horse stubbornly refused to step off the gangplank despite all the coachman’s attempts to calm it.
Bazenaur’s dock had two jetties extending into deep waters, but due to this pampered, much-loved warhorse’s loss of control, half of it was paralyzed.
A dignified officer of dium stature pushed through the soldiers and strode toward the jet-black warhorse.
The officer sported neither the sideburns common among Paratu officers nor a speck of stubble; his natural silver hair was neatly combed back into a tidy ponytail with a simple dark silk ribbon, with no other adornnts on his person.
He approached the black horse, unsheathing a short gun, thodically flipping open the powder pan cover and pulling back the flint. Before others realized what had happened, he unflinchingly shot the runaway warhorse.
“Push the horse carcass into the lake, don’t waste ti,” the officer said, taking out a handkerchief and wiping the short gun covered in black dust. He loudly called out to awaken the soldiers still spectating: “Move forward!”
The blocked passage cleared, and the river composed of people, horses, and goods resud its flow.
“Colonel! Colonel Gaspard!” A junior officer struggled through the crowd against the flow to salute the officer, dripping with sweat: “Major Kalgan is waiting with Bazenaur’s mayor and representatives to see you!”
“Tell Kalgan I don’t have ti to exchange pleasantries with politicians right now,” Colonel Gaspard replied politely but remorselessly: “And tell the mayor to prepare—I will be requisitioning every able-bodied man and woman in Bazenaur. He will protest, then bring him to see alone.”
Knowing his superior’s deanor well, the junior officer saluted without a word and turned to leave.
Colonel Gaspard, who remained at the dock, gathered the logistics officers responsible for transferring supplies, took over the dock without any explanation, and effortlessly began to organize the work:
“You! Find a small boat and notify all the barges behind—supply barges to retreat outside the port and await orders, with priority given to unloading warhorses and troop transport barges. What are you waiting for? About-face, march!”
“Soldiers and warhorses are not to disembark together. Soldiers to the east dock, horses to the west dock, each on their own side without interfering with each other. This matter—you along with you are responsible for it, go now!”
“You! Find Captain Pegra and have his Piaoqi Troop deploy imdiately. If Pegra’s troop’s warhorses haven’t been unloaded, relay my order for the barge carrying them to have unloading priority.”
“Clear the warehouses, set up posts, and store our supplies separately! Any suspicious persons spying on the warehouses should be arrested before questioned!”
“Clean the barracks, partitioned and marked based on hundred-n squads. All personnel, whether officers or soldiers, are strictly forbidden from lodging with civilians!”
“Speed it up!” Colonel Gaspard concluded forcefully, turning to gaze at the vast expanse of Mirror Lake, a deep furrow naturally appearing between his brows, as he pondered whether Rainbow Creek’s inland fleet could withstand the rogue governnt’s Ashen Stream River navy: “The more ships you unload, the greater our chances of survival.”
Reviews
All reviews (0)