Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 738 The Young Female Knight Yearns to Establish Merit
"Where is His Majesty? I'm starving!" A burly young man on horseback shouted from the road.

"What's that guy yelling about?" Under the shade of a tree not far away, a guard on duty complained, annoyed by the noise.

“He’s speaking French,” Father Tomás replied.

"What is he shouting?" the guard asked. "I only understood 'Your Majesty'."

“He said he wanted to know where we could find His Majesty and the supply camp,” Father Tomash told him, along with several others who had gathered around out of curiosity. “This fellow is hungry.”

“When marching, it’s good enough to have food.” Upon hearing this, several guards began to look down on them: “No wonder everyone says that the French cavalry are spoiled pampered young masters. They can’t even endure this little bit of hardship.”

“Oh, don’t say that,” Father Tomash said, trying to smooth things over. “It’s good enough that they came to help.”

"That's what I said..."

Just as they were about to continue speaking, the sound of horses' hooves came from behind. Princess Jeanne, accompanied by a few attendants, walked around the woods and arrived at their resting place.

"Your Majesty." The guards, who had been whispering among themselves, quickly stood up and greeted her.

Princess Jeanne nodded. "Is there something you need?" she asked, glancing at everyone.

“No, it’s just that someone here is a little hungry and is asking where to eat,” Father Tomash replied. “Actually, if we walk a little further ahead, our next rest stop will be there. I don’t know why he’s in such a hurry…”

“Oh, it’s Étienne causing trouble. I heard him shouting from far away.” Princess Jeanne laughed. “You don’t need to worry about them, just keep an eye on this side.”

“He has a short temper. Among mercenaries, he’s called ‘La Hire’.” She added, “But he’s a pretty good fighter, so if he wants to eat, let him eat more. It’s not a waste of food.”

Seeing her guarantee, Father Tomash and the others agreed.

Father Tomás and his men were all from eastern Alemanni, and they were people who had brought their own provisions to join the Wu King. Moreover, there were quite a few of them, forming an important force within the Wu army. Therefore, even Princess Jeanne had to give them some respect.

Earlier, when the war had just broken out, Father Tomáš was temporarily appointed by the King of Wu to inspect the mining region of western Bohemia and seize the important town of Kutná Hora. The court hoped that he could quickly take over the mines there, restore production, and provide military and financial support for the subsequent war.

This was a very important task, and Father Tomás and others attached great importance to it. They prepared an inside agent in advance, mobilized local militia to operate in other places, creating the illusion that they were preparing to attack Prague. Then, they secretly mobilized their troops and, taking advantage of the local nobles' lack of preparation, captured the city in one fell swoop.

However, after the operation succeeded, they discovered that they had lost contact with the imperial court. Later, news gradually emerged that the King of Wu had suffered several defeats during his personal campaign and was now being chased around by Sigismund. Everyone was shocked, and Father Tomash hurriedly relinquished his work to his deputy and led his men back to rescue the king.

Because they had their own people helping them along the way, their movements were swift. The entire Wu territory was essentially spread out along the main road, with government-established outposts and relay stations along its sides. Therefore, news could reach the local prefectures and counties three or four days before the army arrived, allowing them to prepare.

In relatively stable areas, the army could even forgo setting up camp and cooking, instead staying overnight in local homes and enjoying hot porridge. Essentially, they marched all day on repaired roads, from sunrise to sunset, allowing for rapid movement. Furthermore, meticulous planning was done before each march.

Instead of heading directly to the battlefield, they traveled west along the main road, quickly overtaking their designated position before turning north, bypassing Sigismund's army and the main fortresses of the local nobles, and catching up with the remnants of the Wu King's forces.

However, at this moment, they realized that the situation on King Wu's side had improved considerably. The French princess who claimed to be the queen had arrived at King Wu's army before them. She brought reinforcements and helped King Wu gradually gather his scattered troops, giving them the ability to defend themselves again.

Most of the soldiers in the army had gathered in Alemanni and didn't know her at first. Her claims of being a "queen" and a "French princess," while not denied by anyone, couldn't immediately convince the Alemanni soldiers. Moreover, they hadn't heard much about women leading troops; could she truly be more reliable than King Wu or Sigismund? Probably no one could guarantee it.

Of course, people didn't necessarily disrespect her. Father Tomás and others privately believed that Princess Jeanne and her group were a kind of mercenary band. Like themselves, they were also "investors"—except that they joined King Wu because the nobles were too incompetent and needed someone with authority and prestige to lead them and establish a better system. Princess Jeanne and the Frenchmen, on the other hand, joined King Wu's side for glory, official positions, and wealth, finding it a worthwhile investment.

The kind of group Princess Jeanne brought is actually quite common nowadays, given that the armistice between Britain and France has been in place for some time.

According to the French, the Treaty of Brettini was signed in 1360 after France's defeat to the English at Poitiers. France was required to pay a huge indemnity to ransom King John II and a large number of captured nobles, and to recognize vast English territories in Aquitaine and Normandy.

King Edward III's thinking was that through this treaty, his controlled territories would legally become part of the Kingdom of England, rather than simply being owned by a French duke as before. Otherwise, even if he occupied these territories, he would still legally need to recognize the French king as his lord, making it easy for the French to find excuses to intervene and even strip him of his territories, putting him at a disadvantage from the start.

Therefore, the treaty stipulated that the King of England was "Lord of Aquitaine," not "Duke of Aquitaine," meaning he no longer needed to swear allegiance to the King of France as Duke of Aquitaine to possess these lands. In return, the King of England would no longer claim the French throne.

These rules sounded cumbersome—and in fact, they were. Not only were low-ranking clergy like Father Thomas and ordinary peasants bothered, but even the nobles who specialized in handling these matters found them tedious. All this effort was aimed at severing the complex feudal relationship between England and France, allowing England to truly become an independent nation. Therefore, on issues of territory and the throne, it was best to be content with what one had. After all, after so much fighting, everyone understood that with England's strength, even with a few classic victories, they couldn't expect to conquer all of France in one fell swoop. France accepted the treaty and shifted its focus to internal stability. John's son, Charles V, was a very capable king. Under his leadership, France spent five years rebuilding its strength, then, using Edward's alleged breach of the treaty, abolished the previous agreement.

This time, France proceeded cautiously, avoiding a major war like those fought in Crécy and Poitiers. Instead, under Charles's plan, a series of wars and proxy wars were waged to eliminate pro-English forces in Brittany and Navarre, clipping England's wings and gradually encroaching on their territories.

Although there were wins and losses in the battles, France's numerical advantage became apparent. France losing a few battles wasn't a major problem, but a defeat for England would result in the loss of troops and territory, creating significant trouble.

Moreover, history has shown that even with Edward and the Black Prince's military talents, it would have been difficult to achieve another epic victory and turn the tide of the war if they had organized their forces carefully and avoided making serious mistakes that could have led to their own downfall. In 1376, the Black Prince died; the following year, Edward III also died. By this time, England's territory had been eroded to the area around Bordeaux.

After this, the Kingdom of England became embroiled in a succession dispute and had no time to attend to the situation in France. In 1380, Charles V also died, and his son Charles VI suffered a mental breakdown shortly after ascending the throne, plunging France into internal strife as well.

The main conflict at present is the struggle for power among the French nobility. Although military action sometimes occurs, most conflicts are mainly due to each side inciting their supporters. Last year, in April 1413, Duke John of Burgundy successfully incited the butchers of Paris to rebel again.

These rebellious butchers were a faction within the guild known as the "Fleabags." Their leader was named Caboch, hence the uprising is also known as the "Caboccacci Rebellion." Wearing their distinctive white hats, the butchers stormed key locations throughout Paris, arresting members of the Armagnac faction. They also successfully stormed the Bastille again, beheading the mayor who was guarding it.

The entire operation was actually planned by John's advisors at the beginning of the year. After the rebellion succeeded, the Estates-General in the city took the opportunity to propose a new bill that would limit the king's power and give more financial authority to Parliament. By this time, the king had gone mad and would sign whatever he was told to sign. So the bill was passed.

However, the butchers and the Burgundian nobles continued their tyrannical rule, enriching themselves at the expense of the city's inhabitants, which aroused discontent among the other citizens. In August, the citizens joined forces with the Armagnac faction and launched another uprising. John and Caboch fled hastily, and the previous rebels were also expelled.

In France, these kinds of ridiculous things happen every day now.

Neither faction of nobles was truly clean, and their slogans of "For France, for the King" had little to do with reality. The Duke of Burgundy, controlling the Low Countries, needed English wool and therefore vehemently opposed war with England. Burgundian merchants, in particular, needed to do business with England and couldn't afford to risk damaging their own wealth.

Although the Amagnac faction claimed to be anti-British, this was merely because the Burgundians and English had established commercial partnerships, allowing them to secure a niche early on. In the struggle, to prevent England from completely siding with Burgundy, the Amagnac faction went so far as to cede the Guienne region to the English in exchange for their support.

As for the citizens of Paris, needless to say, this group has colluded with outsiders against the king more than once. The current situation is essentially a competition between the two major states of Orléans and Burgundy, and the core city of Paris, for their own status, to see who can betray their country the fastest, allowing England, which has also been damaged by internal strife, to recover.

Many lower-class nobles and gentry were dissatisfied with this situation. This was partly due to their simple sentiments, but more importantly, it was also due to practical reasons.

France had a developed agricultural sector and a large population, resulting in a persistent surplus of knights who were eager to expand into new territories. This is why they remained a core part of the Crusades, as even a trip to Jerusalem could attract a large following.

War is the fastest way for these people to get promoted, but now, there are hardly any real wars. The various unsettling intrigues and low-level political struggles between factions create turmoil and hinder production like war, but they do not bring opportunities and glory like real wars.

What's even more difficult is that even England can't seem to get going.

Princess Jeanne recounted that her second sister, Isabella, had originally married King Richard II of England. After Richard was assassinated in a coup, England hoped she would marry Henry. However, France refused. Henry harbored resentment over this and hoped to wage war to force France to accept the marriage and reaffirm his family's ancestral claim to the French throne.

However, the English Parliament itself did not accept this wish. Parliament believed the current situation was good enough. Besides, hadn't the King already relinquished the French claims according to the Treaty of Brettini?
Although England's continental territory has shrunk significantly and the Treaty of Brittany is now worthless, it is still not worth going to war with France for the land that has been taken from them.

The nobles in Parliament were also doing business with the French. In their view, peace had been maintained for so long that it had become a habit, the dominant theme of modern diplomacy. There was no need to make a fuss over trivial territorial issues; what difference would it make if they occupied such a small piece of land? So even though the treaty was practically worthless, Parliament still insisted on adhering to it…

Currently, the knights in France, including those in Aquitaine and Brittany, are idle. The local low-intensity conflicts don't require so many men, leading many to seek out mercenary work and earn money.

Princess Jeanne may not be doing very well, but she still has status and connections. She can easily gather a group of people with a single shout. And this La Hire seems to be the mercenary leader over there.

Of course, if this is the case, then Princess Jeanne herself is actually in a state of having no territory and limited room for advancement. It could even be said that, apart from being a woman, she is not much different from those famous mercenary leaders before her.

After all, the identity of a princess who was ostracized by her family... if you don't consider gender, is actually quite similar to that of Bohemond, a prominent figure in the Crusades, even being driven away by her uncle and forced to go on an adventure in Constantinople.

However, according to popular belief, the Eastern Roman Empire under Mongol rule at this time was not as easily bullied as the Greeks had been, resulting in the princess's unsuccessful adventure in the East, forcing her to slink back. This could probably be considered a case of a fallen noble family.

Therefore, the Alemanni soldiers were more accustomed to seeing her as a mercenary general than a queen, because her role was more like that of a female mercenary knight leader than a princess. After she gathered a group of soldiers from various backgrounds and successfully repelled several pursuits by local nobles and Sigismund vanguard, everyone became even more convinced of this.

(End of this chapter)