Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 730 Zhu Yunwen is a Roman spy who accepted 500,000 taels of gold from Baisa Khan and went to Europe to cause trouble.

The first enemy to arrive on the battlefield was also a group of cavalry.

Their flag was dark blue with several messy, unrecognizable symbols painted in white. Not only did Tang Sai'er not recognize it, but even Captain Martin, a veteran of this area, said he'd never seen it before. It was probably just some unknown mercenary group thrown out as a vanguard.

Tang Sai'er had always felt that forwards were all elites. But after thinking for a while, Captain Martin could only simply tell her, "Not necessarily."

There was no time for detailed explanations at this point. Upon discovering the obstacle, the enemies didn't report it but immediately dismounted.

Whether they were unaware that the roadblocks were too large, or even if they knew, they couldn't shirk their responsibility to clear the way, they didn't bother to carefully check the surroundings before casually walking over and starting to clear the fallen trees in the middle of the road.

Those around Tang Sai'er were momentarily confused and did not immediately launch an attack—the enemy's main force had obviously not arrived yet, and if they started attacking now, they would lose their element of surprise.

They didn't bring any heavy firearms or other weaponry for concentrated firepower this time. This meant the upcoming battle would depend entirely on the soldiers' own weapons. Consequently, once the enemy discerned the location of the defensive line and the approximate distribution of the defenders, the area would lose all secrecy and be dragged into a war of attrition. However, allowing the enemy to operate freely without engaging was also unacceptable.

These enemies were either overconfident in their own strength, or they were cannon fodder to the point that their loss wouldn't be a big deal. Therefore, everyone looked at her, waiting for her to make a decision.

"Uh……"

Tang Sai'er's previous experience was almost entirely in fighting government troops, and she had never encountered this situation before. She could only look at Captain Martin and ask, "How do you usually handle these situations?"

"We have no choice but to fight," Captain Martin said. "It's also a form of reconnaissance—eliminating the cannon fodder forwards is a way to relay information. But we have no other options."

"Alright," Tang Sai'er said, "Let Gu Liu and the others wait in the back, and don't move the warhorses yet, let them recover their strength. We'll go first."

As she spoke, she leaped out from behind a rock in the woods and fired an arrow at the leader. The young officer-like man fell dead instantly. The other mercenaries were taken aback and quickly dropped their tools and timber, shouting for courage as they drew their weapons, trying to find the source of the attack.

Tang Sai'er's soldiers also began to attack. Some shot arrows, while others charged out wielding weapons.

Seeing the sudden and seemingly large-scale attack, the mercenaries reacted swiftly. Without a word, they dropped their flags and armor, abandoned their fallen comrades, and ran back. Soon, the hundred or so men disappeared behind the forest at the narrow pass.

On Tang Sai'er's side, the warhorses that were still usable had all been gathered at the rear during the construction. Everyone was trying to catch up on foot, and soon found it difficult to keep up. After running a few steps, they could only stop and stare at Tang Sai'er with wide eyes.

Tang Sai'er hurriedly urged them to clean up the battlefield and move the obstacles that had been moved aside back to their original positions.

The weapons and armor discarded by the enemy were of very poor quality, with little value even for recycling. It's unclear where these people collected them from. If they were to actually use them, they would probably have to wait until after the war, when the state iron official would arrange for blacksmiths to melt them down.

Because the enemy fled as soon as they made contact, there were only a few prisoners who had been hit by arrows and couldn't escape. However, when Gutengbao went to interrogate them, he only learned that there were probably several thousand men behind them and that they were ordered to be sentries in this direction—things that Tang Sai'er herself already knew.

Clearly, these people were of very low rank. Even if they confessed everything immediately, showing no intention of risking keeping their master's secrets, they couldn't offer any valuable information. The only slightly interesting piece of news was that this man told them his mercenary group had paid a hefty price yesterday to secure their positions as vanguards today. That's why they had run so fast. In reality, the main force might still be some time away.

Tang Sai'er couldn't quite understand this logic, but the prisoners all said that this was normal.

Although the work of the vanguard is quite tiring, being at the front of the group grants them the greatest freedom of movement. They can raid nearby settlements along the way, while others often end up scavenging what they leave behind. Therefore, this job is actually quite desirable, and one even needs connections to get assigned to it.

Yesterday, they were unaware of the impending skirmish, assuming it was just another routine march and raid. Therefore, the vanguard's job was even auctioned off. Although their mercenary group was a newly formed, makeshift operation, their boss was the cousin of the Archbishop of Prague, belonging to one of the most prestigious high-ranking noble families in the area—their background was extraordinary.

It turned out that some people had already started eyeing the military funds before the expedition even began. Their rashness didn't entirely surprise Tang Sai'er and the others. On one hand, European armies were generally somewhat disorganized; on the other hand, the Wu King and his followers' previous performance didn't seem to have much of a deterrent effect…

Prior to this battle, Sigismund's faction had already suppressed several uprisings led by individuals claiming to be "Prince Zhu of the Ming Dynasty." The Grail faction and many in Prague did not actually support Sigismund. Even after he was elected "King of the Romans" a few years earlier, many here still disrespected him and therefore did not join his army or directly participate in these battles. However, in the end, these "Ming Dynasty nobles" were clearly just a group of peasants posing as emperors, posing no military threat whatsoever and far from being able to contend with Sigismund's faction.

Many nobles and wealthy merchants in the city believed that this so-called King of Wu was probably just another ordinary person. Some even claimed to have seen him, but this man lacked any noble bearing, spoke incoherently, and did not seem like a mortal king, which made many people even more suspicious.

This time, news came from the west that the Wu king's army had also been defeated by Sigismund. The last remaining doubts were largely resolved.

After all, no matter how much hype there is, everything on the battlefield is the most crucial factor. In everyone's mind, the Ming Dynasty was a powerful and prosperous Eastern empire, and thanks to the embellishments of various middlemen and spies, it even carries a touch of fantasy. The fighting prowess of the King of Wu seems completely at odds with this.

Some anti-emperor nobles even said that if he could win, they would simply accept that he was the real emperor. Replacing the equally troublesome Sigismund with him wouldn't be entirely unacceptable. But losing like this was a different story—if the Hussites could be considered peasants with some use, then the Wu King's peasants were probably even less useful. The nobles' attitude towards them quickly turned to contempt.

Some have suspected that this King of Wu was just an ordinary Eastern wanderer; others say that he might be a character fabricated by Hussite peasants to compensate for a lack of legitimacy; however, many nobles believe that the peasants on Mount Tabor have no vision or ability to do so.

Constructing a legitimacy system based on a completely new narrative, yet one that is self-consistent; ignoring existing national borders and territorial order to establish a universal authority that only exists in legends and stories; even attempting to bypass lords and the church to establish order directly at the grassroots level—while there are indeed some intellectuals within the Taborites, even for a master of debate like Prokopf, achieving any of these goals would be far too difficult. Moreover, it's impossible for it to be as novel as it is now, almost devoid of any trace of the church. The endless stream of heretical orders and peasant associations on the mountain are more like something created by the Hussites—more "native," more European.

However, they weren't entirely ignorant. For example, not far away, there was an organization that met all these criteria, and many of its high-ranking members were of Eastern descent—that was the Purple Horde.

Therefore, these characteristics are not surprising. A little research reveals that this "King of Wu" team is remarkably similar to the Romans. They share so many similarities that it's almost excessive.

Furthermore, the King of Wu maintained close ties with Rome, even openly accepting Roman protection and sponsorship, essentially putting on an act. Therefore, many firmly believe that this man claiming to be Zhu Yunwen was indeed an Easterner, and that he was a Roman spy.

The Purple Horde is currently undertaking massive construction projects throughout the Rus' region and is also waging war in Egypt, eyeing the eastern sea routes. Such extensive and distant operations will inevitably lead to insufficient troops.

Recently, trouble has also arisen in Naples. Rumors circulate that the Holy Roman Empire is eager to seize the opportunity to annex its long-coveted southern Italy, and even occupy Rome. However, that region is the heart of Europe, and whoever intervenes will face a united attack from other powers. Meanwhile, France is currently mired in conflict and its strength is significantly diminished. In comparison, Sigismund, who has just been elected King of Rome but hasn't yet had the chance to declare himself emperor, is the biggest threat. Therefore, they need spies like these to incite the local populace and create trouble for the Holy Roman Empire, preventing them from focusing their full efforts on this matter.

Tang Sai'er had heard this anecdote when she traveled north with Zhu Wenkui, so she wasn't too surprised by the nobles' disdain. She tried asking the prisoners and discovered that even they knew about it.

According to the prisoners, the prevailing rumor in Prague during this period was that the King of Wu had accepted a huge investment of 500,000 gold pennies from Baisa Khan, which gave him a temporary surge in power. The people on Mount Tabor were also bribed by them. They were not orthodox Hussites, but rather followers of heretical ideas, distorted by Mongol spies who added numerous elements inciting hatred and extremism. Respectable people loyal to the orthodox Roman Empire would never join this sect.

Furthermore, people believed that such individuals could only cause some trouble and help divert attention, posing no real threat. Especially after the main force of the King of Wu was wiped out, although various rumors continued to circulate in different places, it was clear that these people were no longer a threat.

Therefore, before the war, many people believed that this action was an armed demonstration—not even for Wu Wang and his ilk, but for Sigismund, to prove that the people of Prague were capable of protecting themselves and controlling the surrounding area. Under this mindset, the troops naturally had many problems.

Sure enough, after waiting for a while, no enemies came from behind.

Tang Sai'er initially wanted to send more men to set up obstacles, but most of the mercenaries were incredibly fast and had probably already gone back to report. The enemy, aware of the situation, would definitely take action; although they hadn't appeared yet, they should arrive soon. They also had a considerable number of cavalry. If they waited a few minutes, and the enemy arrived on the battlefield, they would be caught in the middle of their work, creating an awkward situation.

However, the enemy still hadn't arrived. As time went on, Tang Sai'er felt that she might have made a mistake in her decision-making, wasting this preparation time. But when they would arrive at the battlefield, no one knew.

Continuing to wait feels like a waste of time; but if I don't wait, it feels like we've already waited so long, the enemy should be arriving by now...

Tang Sai'er, being a young woman, lacked the composure of Captain Martin and his team. The enemy's intentions were unclear, but they were certainly beginning to torment her mentally…

(End of this chapter)