Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 734 Saturation Rescue by Military Officers

Around noon, Brother Matt led over six hundred men on a hurried march along the main road.

Even in Bohemia in the north of the continent, it was already quite hot at midday at this time of year, but the group still didn't rest. When they reached the riverbank, a rider caught up with them and pointed them in the right direction. They then turned towards the riverbank and stopped under a grove of trees.

A dozen or so horses were tethered there, and a large pile of full water jugs lay on the ground. A burly man with a white beard and wearing armor sat beside the jugs. Seeing them approach, he stood up and called for everyone to come and help.

The group of people who were busy working here quickly gathered around and started distributing water to everyone. Everyone was thirsty and drank very quickly; many cans were empty before they were even passed between two people. Soon, almost all of the hundreds of cans were gone. Everyone then packed their belongings and continued their journey.

“There’s nowhere to rest up ahead. The prince and his men had their last supply here yesterday.” The burly man with the white beard told Brother Matt, “It’s too hot now. Why don’t you drink more so you’ll be in better shape when you go into battle?”

“No need. Thank you for your concern, Brother Hans.” An officer leading a horse next to Brother Matt said, “We are in good condition now. It would be best to take advantage of this momentum and go to provide support. Don’t worry, we will have no problem with this distance.”

“Alright, then I won’t continue setting up supply depots up ahead,” Hans said. “Frank and the others are scouting ahead; shall we go and relieve them?”

“You’re all exhausted. I think you’re the ones who need a rest. At least wash the horses and wait until it’s a bit cooler before moving on,” the officer said. “Once you’ve recovered, you can go north to scout. Someone reported this morning that there seemed to be some activity over there. If you find anything, report back to us.”

"Huh? Doesn't that leave us behind..." Hans scratched his head reluctantly, looking to Brother Matt for help.

“Don’t look at me, I don’t know anything about command.” Brother Matt spread his hands: “Didn’t we agree before that Rudolf knows the most about things on the battlefield, so he’s the one who calls the shots?”

"Alright, alright," Hans had no choice but to accept.

The group quickly left the woods, regrouped, and continued their journey.

The Kingdom of Bohemia was considered a relatively wealthy region within the Holy Roman Empire and even in Eastern Europe, including Poland. However, the Huanglin County area, being relatively remote and close to the Sudetenland Mountains, was not as prosperous. Driven by necessity, the locals, like their western neighbors, frequently left their homes to become mercenaries.

Therefore, although the area was poor and the population was small, many people had experience in marching and fighting. If you searched carefully, you could find a few who had served as squad leaders.

However, no one had ever imagined that so many people could be conscripted. Even the traditional method of conscripting subjects for nobles usually only involved a few villages. Above that, there were the "lords of lords," who had no direct relation to the common people.

On the contrary, mercenaries, who have become increasingly popular in recent years, have a much wider "mobilization range." In theory, as long as enough money is paid, it is possible to bypass lords at all levels and even organize soldiers from outside one's own territory to fight for one's own cause. Therefore, powerful lords with the means are eager to use mercenaries, even if their own financial resources are far from sufficient, they will hire people first.

However, it's rare to see people like this, not directly motivated by money, but rather organized to fight the enemy after being conscripted. Upon reflection, Brother Matt found it strange, because on this expedition, they hadn't met their "employer," King Wu, nor received any extra pay; they didn't know how they had come together. To be honest, this experience was quite novel.

However, Rudolf, who had fought for several years, believed that this was because the court had already paid him, and at a higher rate than the mercenary groups.

Ordinary mercenaries don't actually receive much pay because employers' asking prices are almost never met, and managers often find excuses to deduct wages. Unless you're a core member of a mercenary group, you won't earn much after a single raid. This is why almost all mercenary groups are particularly keen on plundering, even fighting amongst themselves for it, starting fights with other companies in the same faction. For most ordinary mercenaries, the wages are barely enough to make ends meet; to truly earn money, they have to rely on their skills to plunder. But the imperial court has already provided a great deal. Aside from other things, the allocated land, the tools distributed, and the various public facilities available to everyone are all extremely valuable. Some of these, like the well-maintained roads and the widespread irrigation systems, are things even noble lords couldn't enjoy in the past. In short, the government has indeed paid a huge sum of money, enough to keep everyone working for them.

Therefore, this seemingly cheapest unit is actually the most expensive.

Perhaps for this reason, everyone was very motivated this time—of course, there was another reason, which was that the government troops had previously driven away the Mongols who had occupied the town.

Brother Matt hadn't dared to tell Zhu Wenkui and the others before. Theoretically, the militia of their several counties should be enough to drive away the raiding Cumans and Mongols. But like in many other places, the people had very little confidence in their ability to drive away the noble lord's "regular army."

To be honest, these Cumans and Mongols weren't exactly a legitimate group. To put it bluntly, they were just tribes that came for bounties and opportunities to plunder, and their military skills weren't necessarily better than the locals. But because they rarely won in the past, and even when they did, they couldn't withstand the reinforcements brought in by the local lords, they were at a disadvantage from the start.

Moreover, these nomads are highly mobile. It's uncertain whether the surrounding counties can eliminate them in a single battle. They are relatively easy to deal with while entrenched in Huanglin County; however, if they roam freely, things become more complicated. Therefore, everyone tends to stick together for self-preservation rather than launch a joint attack. Even though they have an overall advantage in strength, they are unwilling to take action.

The state government had tried to coordinate, but this area had only been a prefecture and county for a few years. For routine matters like organizing mutual aid and building public facilities, the state government could usually handle it well. However, when it came to matters of vital importance, the state government's prestige wasn't very effective. People might give them some face on the surface, but in reality, nothing would get done. It just goes to show that the authority of higher-level government officials is rather limited.

When the government troops arrived, they easily dealt with the Mongols, which immediately gave everyone a lot of confidence.

Although later reports indicated that the government troops were besieged by bandits and needed reinforcements, everyone generally agreed that the overall strength of these bandits was no match for that of the Ming Dynasty. They only dared to cause trouble because the government troops were off guard and because they outnumbered the enemy and were easier to deal with. Therefore, the court needed everyone's help. But this was also a chance to demonstrate strength and prove one's worth.

Therefore, everyone was very enthusiastic about this operation, and their actions were much more efficient. People from the surrounding counties, in particular, were eager to demonstrate their seriousness, lest they be ridiculed as cowardly and selfish by the people of Huanglin County, or even have the matter reported to the imperial court. Because of this, their response speed exceeded expectations.

Brother Matt initially thought they wouldn't arrive so quickly and that he would have to lead the people of Huanglin County first. However, this group reacted swiftly, with some even rushing over overnight.

Thus, their team's numbers far exceeded expectations. A significant proportion were veterans. Although just one of many support units, they handled resupply, reconnaissance, and route selection with remarkable efficiency. Their marching speed also remained consistent.

Not long after, another scout arrived on horseback with news. However, this time, the man looked helpless.

"Oh dear, we're too late, the game's over already," he exclaimed as soon as he came up.

"Don't shout," Rudolf quickly stopped him. "How's the situation? Have any new messages or orders come through?"

"No, the government troops have already defeated the enemy. We probably won't have much excitement to join in." The scout shrugged. "Besides, someone has already arrived. If we go there now, we can probably still clean up the battlefield."

"Hey?"

(End of this chapter)