Chapter 430: Chapter 60 Contingency Plan
“And bring a floating bridge.”
After saying this, the Piaoqi cavalry officer on the raft waved his torch towards the opposite bank three times, and soon someone on the other side responded with a torch.
It turned out that there was another group of men and horses moving on the opposite side, facing everyone across the river.
With troops on both banks, they could pull the cables to secure the floating bridge.
Sekler rushed over upon hearing the news and looked very annoyed. The general’s face was ashen, and he suppressed his anger as he demanded, “That officer on the raft, state your name and allegiance.”
“Andrea Chelini,” the tall Piaoqi cavalry officer said indifferently. “Attached to Jeska’s unit.”
“John Jeska? Where is he?!”
“They took the land route, set off before me,” Andre said, suddenly startled. “What? They haven’t come over?”
In an unnamed ravine on the north bank of the Confluence River.
The furious Jeska was berating Lieutenant Mason at the top of his lungs.
“What the hell are you good for? Did you shit out everything you learned at the Land Academy?” the one-eyed colonel was so angry he was steaming, barely managing to keep his voice down: “You even get lost leading the way!”
Mason, with his face splattered with the colonel’s spit, managed to complain after a while, “Sir, I… don’t have a map… It’s dark and… besides… I’m actually from the artillery branch…”
Colonel Jeska completely lost his temper, not caring anymore about maintaining the dignity of his subordinates in front of the soldiers, and snatched up a horsewhip to lash at him: “You still dare to talk back!”
Mason didn’t dare to dodge or cry out in pain, and he took two solid lashes.
Just less than a meter behind Lieutenant Mason, a heavily armored soldier was squatting with a long halberd in his arms.
Behind the halberdier was another musketeer, and further back was an endless line of musketeers, armored pikemen, and halberdiers—a dark mass of people.
Hundreds of militiamen hid in this narrow, winding ravine, silently waiting for orders. Find the newest release on novelFirｅ.net
Up along the slope of the ravine to the top, Winters was lying in a patch of withered grass, squinting his eyes and straining to find recognizable landmarks.
Xial was right beside the young lieutenant, speaking in a suppressed voice, full of resentment: “This Lieutenant Mason… where the hell has he brought us?”
“That pig-headed fool is going to get us all killed,” the Hunter complained bitterly as well.
“Shut up,” Winters hissed softly in rebuke: “If I hear that kind of talk again, even you two will feel the lash.”
About five hundred meters ahead, on a leeward hillside, a few faint campfires could be seen.
But a closer look would reveal the reflection of weapons in the firelight and the blurry movement of figures.
The wind carried the whinnying of horses, and if Winters wasn’t mistaken, there were countless Hurd cavalry resting on the hillside—more accurately, too many to see clearly.
“Dare we make our move?” Winters hesitated, then answered his own question, “We dare not.”
As the closest detachment, Colonel Jeska was the first to receive a request for support.
Paratu military law was strict; knowing that friendly forces were in danger and yet hesitating to save them meant execution for the commanding officer, demotion for subordinate officers, and the soldiers were to be whipped to death.
Jeska’s unit was tasked with defending the North Bridge and was not considered “hesitating,” thus they were neither obliged nor expected to go for rescue.
But upon learning that General Sekler was ambushed, Jeska immediately wanted to send troops.
The one-eyed colonel was determined to go alone, and Centurions Winters, Mason, and the others failed to persuade him otherwise, no matter what they tried.
Out of options, Winters suggested a solution to the colonel—the floating bridge.
South of the Confluence River was under Paratu army control; if they could retreat back to the southern bank, the crisis befalling Sekler’s forces would naturally be resolved.
The material for the floating bridge would be timber rafts, which could be secured with cables strung between the north and south banks.
Even without pontoons, Sekler’s forces lacked heavy weapons, so the rafts should be serviceable in a pinch.
“Timber rafts?” Colonel Jeska frowned. “Where do we get the timber rafts? Is there time to lash them together now?”
“There is time, we have the materials ready,” Winters replied, his expression steady and his tone sincere, only those who knew him well could detect a hint of embarrassment in his eyes: “At worst, we’ll dismantle the wagons.”
Winters wasn’t lying; he was simply being selective with the truth: the army not only had the timber ready but also the rafts.
A few days prior at a small gathering of Venetians, Andre had suggested that everyone “prepare in advance.”
Prepare for what? To escape.
At the military academy, Winters had learned just four things, and “always have a contingency plan” was one of them.
The timber rafts were a secondary option in the contingency plan for evacuating via water, with boats being the primary option.
Because according to Bard, all the rivers in this wilderness would eventually flow into the inner sea.
Therefore, theoretically, if the Venetians were to get on a small boat and paddle away, they could happily return home.
That’s why the Venetians were going to great lengths to acquire boats and also practicing swimming diligently.
However, finding a ready-made boat in this vast wilderness was even harder than building one.
But crafting timber rafts was simple, and soon they had made several, carrying them along with the army [Note: Jeska’s unit had many large wagons].
They just hadn’t expected them to be put to use so quickly.
“Go prepare,” Jeska decided immediately, approving the floating bridge plan: “The faster, the better.”
Perhaps the colonel had already caught on to the Venetians’ plan? Winters himself wasn’t sure. But at least the colonel said nothing and did nothing to expose him.
Once the plan was settled, Andre was responsible for leading the deployment of the rafts, with a reliable small team heading to the southern bank to assist.
And… Bard was to stay behind in command of the bridgehead camp, with the colonel himself leading the charge.
Colonel Jeska was still determined to send troops in support, which he referred to as the “contingency plan.”
One hundred men were left to guard, one hundred men to set the rafts, and Jeska took all six hundred of the remaining centurions with him.