When the last ray of sunset hit Mengsangtu Mountain, mixed with the smoke above the mountain pass, all the guns and cannons had calmed down for a while, and the sky was gradually dimming. Soon, a gust of cold wind blew in the valley, causing the air to be filled with cold and dead air, and then the temperature suddenly dropped from 30 degrees noon during the day to about 10 degrees.

There are several consortiums 3 kilometers away from the southern entrance of the Mengsantu Mountain Pass. Although the walls are broken and messy, the roofs are mostly intact. During the day, this is the temporary command post of the Cavalry Brigade. After the battle at the Pass began, this farmhouse was resigned as a temporary rescue station by military medical officers. By the time night fell, Desai had led his Guards Brigade and the Chief of Staff to arrive here.

The scenery in the dark was blurry, but not far away, bonfires were lit on all the roads leading to the ambulance, and rescue soldiers kept carrying stretchers and sending the wounded from the front to the operating room. A large group of uninjured soldiers, or those who had dealt with the fine wounded, surrounded in groups of three or five in front of the fire. Everyone's facial expressions seemed solemn and frustrated, and they were chewing the dry bread in their hands. No one could have the mood to talk to each other at this time. Because the painful howlings of the seriously injured were constantly heard from the ambulance, it seemed particularly clear and uncomfortable in the dark and quiet night.

Ten minutes ago, after learning from the new intelligence officer, Lieutenant Jacques that the cavalry brigade had failed and suffered heavy casualties, Desai's face immediately turned pale, his lips were closed, and his eyes flashed like a fever. Taking a long breath, Desai said coldly to Jacques: "Lieutenant, find me a front-line officer to report on the battlefield! In addition, before midnight, no matter what method you use, I will receive a specific report from the Intelligence Department on the deployment of the Monsantu Mountain Pass and the coalition forces."

After saying that, he jumped out of the saddle and walked straight towards a simple shack made of branches, wheat straw, and military white canvas. This small space of only 10 square meters will be the temporary command post of the leader of the Desay Division and a private lounge.

"...When we were only 80 to 100 away from the coalition positions, we encountered a trap set by the enemy. The despicable Portuguese had spilled the stream in advance, making it a mud pond for horses to be trapped. They were still covering the surface with soil and grass... When General Desnuet led us to continue to rush forward, all the horse's hooves were trapped in a large silt in an instant, and it was difficult to break free. Because of the inability to dodge, the rear row quickly hit the front row, and the entire attack formation became chaotic and disorderly... At this time, the guns and shells fired from the coalition positions were violently attacking us like hail. No one could dodge in time or continue to attack, and could only become living targets under the enemy's guns and guns..."

Second Lieutenant McKinley was the only officer who could stand and speak on his own among the four cavalry squadrons involved in the attack on the Monsantu Mountain Pass. After the division commander Desay and Chief of Staff Rusty arrived at the temporary command post, Mr McKinley was ordered to make a statement of the battle situation. During the whole process, the excited lieutenant kept pulling his injured arm, and blood flowed from his arm to his blue uniform, but he still gritted his teeth and stubbornly reported the entire battle process. His inner pain was far beyond the top.

Among the 4 cavalry squadrons and 532 officers and soldiers, only one-third of them were lucky enough to evacuate the battlefield, and almost everyone was in their bodies. Even if the lightly wounded were included, less than 100 soldiers were able to continue fighting. The more losses were the officers leading the team. Among the 21 cavalry officers involved in the battle, 15 were unfortunately killed on the battlefield, and perhaps they had become prisoners of war of the coalition forces, and five were lying in the operating room waiting for the rescue of the military medical officer. As for the commander who was at the top of the queue, General Desnuet was shot in the chest and was immediately unconscious. Fortunately, the guards around him escorted him to the battlefield to avoid him being captured by the British for the second time.

If the black slave who was rescued by him had not been reminded by the kindness of the black slave, McKinley might have died in battle. Although the second lieutenant waved his arms and shouted hard after obtaining the conspiracy of the coalition forces, it was too late and he could only witness his brave comrades, one after another, rushing into the quagmire trap set by the enemy without hesitation, unable to extricate himself.

"...Duke, I hope I can join the next attack!" McKinley concluded with this request.

Rusty raised his head. He first glanced at the commander of the Desay Division. Seeing that the Duke was still carrying his hands on his back, his face was gloomy, and he paced back and forth without saying a word. After pondering for a while, the Chief of Staff asked the Chief of Staff to rush to the battlefield ambulance center, find a nurse to bandage the wound, and stay there, waiting for the latest orders of the commander of the division.

After the second lieutenant left, the silence of the two in the room continued. Desai kept walking back and forth, wandering with his hands behind his back. As the chief of staff of the division, Rusty needed to consider how to seize or detour the defense line of Mount Monsantu.

As Hill expected, the Desai Division only exists in the Monsanto Mountain Pass in the road from Evora to Lisbon. The Military Intelligence Agency has learned that the British local fleet in the Setubal Sea in the southwest is on high alert along the coast. Infantry divisions without naval support and cover cannot approach 10 kilometers of the coastline. Otherwise, the rear route will be cut off by the British at any time, causing the entire division to fall into the danger of the destruction of the entire army.

It is also not advisable to detour the north. Complex terrain and poor road conditions will be unlimited to expand and extend the supply routes of tens of thousands of troops. The Spanish-Portugal coalition may only need to send two or three thousand people to delay or even curb the marching pace of the Desay Division, and eventually get lost in the deserted jungle, swamp, river, and wilderness.

At some point, Desai stopped. He sighed, then shook his head helplessly, and said in frustration: "All this comes from my personal mistake!" His tone paused for a moment, and he continued to review himself. "Indeed, I am too optimistic. I should not limit the combat radius of the cavalry brigade before General Desnuet led his troops to fight. Damn British, they finally moved back to a game, but I will not let it go. I must let Roland Hill and Bellsford meet in the prisoner-of-war camp in Evora, and it must!" As he said that, Desai waved his fists violently, constantly giving himself the confidence to win.

Rusty frowned, thinking to remind the commander in front of him, but as soon as the words came to his mouth, the chief of staff stopped.

General Desnuet's attack was defeated too badly, including nearly 300 officers and soldiers who were captured before. In just one day, the entire cavalry brigade was reduced by as many as 700 people due to death, captured and wounded, accounting for more than 20% of the total brigade. This alone has made Duke Hruna, who has always been arrogant and always obsessed with continuous victory, unbearable. If this is the only one, Rusti can convince the supreme commander to be cautious in the deployment of troops. However, once military operations and political interests are linked to each other, it is not a matter that the chief of military staff can do.

When the Evora defenders announced their surrender, Desai solemnly told Rusti: Within a week, Lisbon must be forced to give up resistance and voluntarily surrender, and then complete all the tasks assigned by Emperor Napoleon. Later, Desai will wait for the Spanish, Portuguese, British, emperor envoys from afar, and even representatives of the Polish parliament from thousands of miles away to hold secret or public negotiations with him.

Desai explained without any concealment: "I have not been in the Iberis Peninsula for much time, so in Lisbon, I must determine the political structure for my Catalonia and Aragon Kingdom within the next three years, and ensure that my legitimate interests are not violated... Also, I can tell you clearly now that the emperor has established a grand strategy to conquer Russia in 1812. This not only concerns the premise and destiny of the French Empire, but also determines the life and death of Poland!"

If the two-country coalition commanded by British General Hill successfully blocked the Desay Division on the southern foot of the Pass of Mount Monsanto, everything would become out of control. The resistance nobles would be encouraged by the news of the victory of the coalition. With the support of the vast number of Portuguese citizens and coalition officers and soldiers, they would be confident that they would suppress the surrender noble members who had been bribed or recruited by the Military Intelligence Agency in the Lisbon Parliament. As a result, the various strategic deployments that Duke Hruna had to prepare for implementation will become far away.

Thinking of this, Rusty stopped making any more suggestions. After saying goodbye to the division commander, she silently walked out of the command post and prepared to plan tomorrow's offensive plan overnight.

...

After reporting the battle to the division commander, McKinley carried his injured arm and walked to a farmhouse not far away serving as a minor injury rescue station. Several military medical officers were busy performing cut-off operations on many seriously injured people and had no time to care about ordinary minor injuries. A female military nurse came over and examined the wounds on her arm in detail for the second lieutenant officer who entered the door.

"Thank God, you were just scratched by shrapnel, there was no big problem!" The young and beautiful female nurse seemed to be happy for her accurate judgment. She quickly turned around, and took out a degreased cotton ball soaked in medical alcohol with tweezers. She carefully cleaned the wound for Lieutenant McKinley, wiped away the surrounding blood, and applied the diluted potassium permanganate solution to the wound. Finally, she took out the disinfected bandage and bandaged it skillfully.

"Thank you!" McKinley raised his head to express his gratitude. The female nurse smiled and rushed to greet the other wounded.

The lieutenant casually found an empty seat against the wall and sat down, looking around casually. With the help of the dim lights in the house, the officer seemed to recognize another identity of the female nurse, the servant of Duke Hruna, who was circulating in the division, and the black beauty Miss Rolina.

Thinking of this, McKinley fooled me and remembered that a quarter of an hour ago he had sent a black slave to the ambulance center for treatment. The black slave should be named Mario. After he helped the French lieutenant return to his position from the battlefield, the black man suddenly fainted and unconscious.

So McKinley stood up, stepped forward a few steps, ready to inquire about Mario's whereabouts from the busy female nurse.

A lightly wounded man quickly grabbed the lieutenant's arm without bandages. The soldier cracked his mouth and said to McKinley with a smile: "Hehe, my sir! She is the Duke's woman, don't be foolish!"

"Damn, I just asked about the whereabouts of a black man. I sent it myself 15 minutes ago!" McKinley turned around and explained impatiently.

"Oh, it's him. There's nothing sick or disaster-free. He's just hungry. After drinking a big bowl of meat and vegetable soup and eating 2 pounds of bread, he jumped around and looked for you, almost being arrested by the Duke's guards. Now, the black man should be burning the fire by the bonfire on the side of the road."

...
Chapter completed!