Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 735 Suppressing Troops and Pacifying the People
Although they were the closest, the first to arrive at the battlefield to provide support were not the militia from Huanglin and Qingshi counties, but a cavalry unit from the eastern Pisek region.

The location wasn't close to the battlefield, and administratively it belonged to Pizhou Prefecture in the east, not Suzhou Prefecture on this side. However, they had received orders to come and join the prince's party, so they had already set off. After receiving the news, they rode at full speed and arrived at the battlefield the next morning, even faster than the neighboring Huanglin County.

This put everyone in an awkward position.

Fortunately, the scene was still quite chaotic, there was a lot to do, and no one had the mind to worry about these things.

However, they didn't see the cavalry from Pizhou at the scene. Their messengers told them that the cavalry had only been there a short time before setting off again. They were told to arrange for the soldiers to rest first, and that the officers should hurry to see the prince as there were important tasks to attend to.

Brother Matt left a few lieutenants to settle the soldiers, then called Rudolf and hurriedly ran with them to a large wagon.

There, he saw Zhu Wenkui again. At this moment, Zhu Wenkui was discussing gunpowder with someone.

"Be careful when storing them. Even if you order all the vehicles to move forward, you can't run around, and you can't let the vehicles carrying the gunpowder get ahead." He gave a serious warning to everyone: "We were lucky this time, they only detonated after they broke the formation. Otherwise, we would have been the ones who suffered."

“Even in an emergency, you can’t leave the whole bucket lying around when you’re taking it. I know it was dangerous—I was in that vehicle myself.” He pointed. “But if we use that as an excuse to disregard the regulations, we’re putting ourselves in an even more dangerous situation. The convenience we gain is far less than the potential harm we could cause. We could have won a battle, but we might lose it because of our own negligence. So, let’s not do this again next time.”

The group of people around him nodded repeatedly.

"Alright, I won't waste any more words. Everyone, go and get some rest. I'll try to squeeze in some time for you, but even if it's quieter tonight, there will definitely be another operation tomorrow, and we'll have to call everyone together. Compared to that, your side needs more meticulous operations, so don't overwork yourselves." He waved his hand and finally instructed, "Old Yang, you arrange the patrols and go get some rest too."

Jessica, who was standing nearby, nodded and began to urge everyone to go to the woods and lie down for a while. Seeing this, Brother Matt quickly went to meet them.

"I am the magistrate of this area. Do you remember me? We met just yesterday." He introduced himself as soon as he came up. "We are quite familiar with the situation here. How about I make the arrangements for you? I happen to have some spare staff who can help out."

Everyone turned to look at him, making Brother Matt a little nervous. However, Zhu Wenkui and Jessica remembered him, and upon hearing his words, they agreed, praising them for their swift action and loyalty to the country, and telling them to go ahead with the arrangements.

Now, Brother Matt and Captain Rudolf's biggest worry was resolved. Finding that the court not only didn't mind their lateness but also specifically praised them, the two immediately felt more confident.

The convoy suffered heavy losses of supplies during the battle, and Brother Matt arrived with little to no reinforcements. He then dispatched some men familiar with the area to search the surrounding area and see if any supplies could still be gathered.

Zhu Wenku's soldiers were all covered in soot, their faces and clothes blackened by smoke, some even with sections of their hair and beards burned off. It turned out that a high percentage of their troops were armed with firearms. The soldiers boasted that their weapons weren't ordinary muskets, but rather new contraptions specially commissioned from Rome. They claimed that their power, accuracy, stability, and ease of use far surpassed anything they had ever used before.

These trigger-operated muskets were indeed much more complex than those Brother Matt had seen. He couldn't figure out how they worked, nor could he find a suitable adjective to describe them; he could only keep saying "amazing."

However, the soldiers also admitted that even with its advanced technology, the musket remained a dangerous weapon. Loading gunpowder, attaching the matchlock, and cleaning the musket all required careful and precise operation. When they learned, they broke it down into more than ten steps, practicing each one until they could memorize the movements with their eyes closed. Even the slightest error could lead to an accident; with bad luck, they could easily blow themselves or even their teammates to pieces.

Brother Matt pondered for a moment and realized that the weapon was indeed as they had described: the greater the power, the greater the risk. Covered in dangerous gunpowder, with the source of the fire in their hands, most people would be tense. These people, however, had to maintain their composure and smoothly execute this complex series of actions as the enemy drew near. Just thinking about it made it seem incredibly difficult.

Thinking about it that way, it's no wonder they can be elite troops and earn high salaries. He even felt that these people who could handle firearms so skillfully must be extremely passionate about combat, perhaps even a bit fanatical. He himself, for one, certainly didn't have that kind of mental fortitude…

"You guys are really brave," he couldn't help but exclaim.

“We’re alright, but Master is really brave,” a boy replied. “When I was loading the cannon, he kept yelling at me, ‘Double! Double! What are you hesitating for? Can’t you understand human language? Double!’”

He imitated it so perfectly that the surrounding soldiers tried hard to hold back their laughter, but couldn't help but burst out laughing. Brother Matt quickly asked, "Who is your master?" "His Highness the Prince. He personally taught us how to use firearms," ​​a soldier told him. "Urban is considered his apprentice."

"oh oh……"

Brother Matt wanted Urban to stop talking nonsense, but he continued his description: "I told him to be careful, but he wouldn't listen. You see, he just said safety first, but he forgot as soon as the cannon went off."

“Well… it’s still necessary to be careful. But the battlefield is an extremely harsh environment, and there are many times when you can’t be too particular,” Brother Matt said. “He should be able to explain to you how to weigh the pros and cons.”

“I don’t think there’s much to choose between.” Urban stuck out his tongue. “I told him that if this continues, the gun will explode, and he replied, ‘If you’re afraid of the gun exploding, why are you a gunner?’”

"what……"

Amidst the snickers of the crowd, Brother Matt became even more certain that he was truly not suited to playing with gunpowder.

He told Rudolf to wait there, and then personally led the soldiers to a nearby pond, where they washed themselves and he told them that he would gather some hay soon. Then, he began to busy himself with the supplies.

Of course, Rudolf's side couldn't be idle either; there was also a lot of work to be done.

The men Zhu Wenkui had gathered were still not enough. They told Rudolf that all the cavalry in the camp had been sent out by Tang San-guniang to pursue the enemy.

Tang Sai'er's thinking is that the battlefield is only one part of the battle. The final outcome of the battle depends on whether the necessary tasks can be completed effectively after the decisive battle on the battlefield.

These may seem like mere finishing touches, but neglecting them would be a waste of the hard work and sacrifices on the battlefield, a grave act of irresponsibility towards both generals and soldiers. Letting the Italians go was already a serious dereliction of duty; allowing other enemies to escape would be utterly unacceptable.

Therefore, at daybreak, after assessing the situation, Tang Sai'er regrouped all the cavalry and set off to pursue the enemy. In addition to the cavalry in the Prince's army, the Pizhou cavalry that had just arrived were also sent by Zhu Wenkui to catch up with and support her.

According to current reports, they have caught up with several enemy groups attempting to regroup, defeating them once again and killing far more enemies than last night. During the pursuit, they unexpectedly encountered the mayor of Prague and several of his confidants hiding in a wheat field. In a brief exchange, the mayor was killed, and his head has been returned.

However, the enemy was too fast. Many had already escaped under cover of night, and their actions were timely; especially after discovering the relentless pursuit, they scattered even further. Currently, almost all of our cavalry has been deployed, but it's still far from sufficient.

Moreover, they have yet to find the Italian mercenaries who led the breakout. Zhu Wenkui said that about an hour's drive to the north, scouts discovered a large pile of abandoned shields, the very ones the Italians carried for their crossbowmen. However, apart from those large shields, few other items were found. Clearly, this wasn't a case of them abandoning their armor and weapons in a panic, but rather a deliberate act of discarding them to increase their speed.

Currently, no one knows where they've gone. While theoretically these mercenaries would leave quickly to avoid trouble, the possibility of them taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble cannot be ruled out. Therefore, Zhu Wenkui ordered the militia from several counties to gather all those with horses and dispatch them in various directions as scouts. If they spot small groups of enemies, they are to deal with them themselves. If the enemy is large, they should send a signal to call for the main force.

Zhu Wenkui specifically mentioned that these enemy troops have a history of sabotage; when they win, they plunder everywhere, and when they lose, they disperse as bandits and robbers, harming the surrounding people. Since they are all locals, they should be taken even closer seriously. Therefore, he hoped they could work a little harder to help the court eliminate these mercenaries and appease the surrounding villagers.

The infantry they brought were also to take over the duties of the main force on rotation and to protect the safety of the current temporary camp.

Rudolf immediately agreed and organized everyone to get to work.

(End of this chapter)