Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 739: The farmers reacted seven times faster than Sigismund; they would run away as soon as they realized the village was about to be burned.

As evening approached, everyone arrived at their destination for this leg of the journey.

This used to be a village, but it's now deserted. People have occupied these empty houses and courtyards, planning to rest here tonight.

However, there were hardly any usable items left in the house. The few valuables they had were all taken away by the villagers when they fled. Not only that, but all the livestock, stored grain, farm tools, and even doors in the village were completely dismantled. Only the house itself, which couldn't be moved, and the haystacks in the yard remained.

"How come you clean so skillfully?" Princess Jeanne couldn't help but complain, "How many times have you fled from war?"

“This place is on the border of Saxony. In the past two years, the Wettin and Hohenzollern families have had several conflicts, and rebel troops often come over,” Sir von Lebeck, the acting minister of the Ministry of Rites, told her. “Moreover, these days, there are hardly any peaceful places. Farmers who are not fast enough to escape probably wouldn’t have survived until now.”

“Our work is actually not complicated. I heard from Father Tomash that all we need to do is give everyone a heads-up before the army arrives.” He explained, “The villagers here are very familiar with what kind of behavior an army like Sigismund’s would have when it arrives, so we don’t need to persuade them. As long as we provide timely warnings, they will organize their own evacuation.”

"Moreover, they are very experienced in escaping. They can plan their own routes, pack their belongings, and evacuate on their own. They know exactly where to hide in this Black Forest, so we don't need to worry about it. Therefore, the requirements for the government's administrative capacity are not very high. Even in places like this where the prefecture and county have only been established for a short time, it is entirely possible to do so."

“What we need to do is to tell them in advance to leave something behind, to prevent them from taking too little.” He pointed with his riding crop to the haystacks and the two large vats in the yard: “We paid for these grains in advance to leave them behind. Otherwise, given enough time, they would want to take away and hide even such large items.”

"But this is good too. We can divide up the food and eat it, and use up the fodder as well, leaving nothing for the future. It's like we've been carrying out a scorched-earth policy all the way."

“I see…” Princess Jeanne thought about it and agreed: “This place is pretty much the same as Brittany.”

"Do the Brittany people also flee every day?" Lebesgue asked.

“Yes, the English maintained some coastal outposts there and had the support of some lords, so they often landed from there to harass and plunder other areas. And the nobles and their armies that fought back were actually... not very friendly to the people.” Princess Jeanne shook her head: “So, over time, the locals dug caves in the valley as underground shelters.”

"The war between the kingdom and the local nobles and England had been ongoing intermittently since the time of William's conquest. Large-scale campaigns had also lasted for decades. As a result, those who could afford it began to carve out these mountain caves, which they would quickly hide in when armies appeared on both sides. Over time, these caves grew larger and larger, and they became interconnected, eventually forming underground towns."

"The army commander that my grandfather promoted back then, Marshal Guecland, was from Brittany. He said that larger underground cities could house thousands of people, and even had dedicated courts, prisons, and monasteries to perform public functions. The local mountains were difficult to traverse, and these shelters were easy to defend and difficult to attack, so even if we knew such places existed, we couldn't do anything about them. We don't even know how large they've expanded to now."

“So it was him. Marshal Geclan is highly respected and quite famous around here. I’ve read military books that introduce him.” Lebesgue was very talkative and seemed quite knowledgeable. “But for us, Brittany is still too far away, even a bit exotic… You seem to know that place very well?”

“I haven’t been there many times either.” Princess Jeanne shook her head. “However, when I was a child, my mother and the Duke of Orléans planned to marry me off there, so I had to learn some things.”

“You’re also a nobleman, and you’re used to high society, aren’t you? If so, you shouldn’t be too unfamiliar with these situations,” she said. “When I was five years old, my mother suddenly came to my room with a large group of people and told me, ‘Jeanne, you’re not young anymore, you should find a good husband. I think the new Duke of Brittany would be quite good. You should study hard now and prepare for your marriage.’”

“I’m not very familiar with the rules of the French court, but if I may be so bold, even for a nobleman, isn’t this decision a bit too hasty?” Sir Lebesgue asked with some doubt.

“I don’t know either. I remember those words very well because it was one of the few times my mother said them specifically to me. After that, she left again with her maids and servants. And after that, I didn’t see her much, just like before.” Princess Jeanne shrugged.

"Later, others told me that this was because the two heirs to the throne in Brittany were vying for the title of Duke and both wanted more external support. Therefore, the court was eager to send me there to express the royal family's position."

“But since such a diplomatic statement has been made, there should be corresponding actions.” Sir Lebesgue, being in this line of work, immediately began to consider diplomatic issues: “Wouldn’t this opportunity be wasted without sufficiently strong supporting actions? The royal family should at least invest some resources in you.”

“It’s hard to say.” Princess Jeanne shook her head. “At that time, my father had gone mad, and my mother, perhaps due to subjective likes and dislikes, didn’t want to talk to me. The nobles were more concerned about my second sister, who was going to marry into England, because she was the key to future alliances and diplomacy.”

"As for me... to be honest, it's hard to say which side will win among the Brittany's claimants. Sure enough, before the two sides finalized their agreement and the engagement was officially finalized, news came that the 'Duke' who was supposed to marry me had lost the war and was captured by the pro-British nobles. The royal family was caught off guard and didn't know what to do next. Everyone was even more certain that I had no investment value."

“Uh…” Lebesgue hesitated, seemingly not very optimistic about the French royal family’s diplomatic approach.

“I didn’t know anything at the time, and I didn’t have any awareness of fighting for resources.” Princess Jeanne also said with some helplessness: “At first, the ladies-in-waiting in the palace routinely arranged for a few noble ladies to teach me some essential skills such as court etiquette, in preparation for my wedding. But when my husband’s family had a problem, the noble ladies gradually relaxed. Later, they found that no one was taking care of them, so they simply stopped coming.”

“I didn’t think there was anything wrong before, but when I realized something was wrong, I asked everyone what happened. They just brushed me off, saying it was just a common setback. Since I am a princess of France, I have to serve the unity of France.”

“His Majesty’s orders are the will of France. If the plan is to be changed, there will certainly be new orders from the court. Until then, my only task is to strive to overcome the difficulties and not to shirk my responsibilities.”

"And then I believed it." "But you know the situation at the time. Let alone something as big as the unification of France, even Brittany was in complete chaos. I figured even if I married there, no one would care about me. It seemed that marriage alone wouldn't work."

"At that time, Marshal Guecran and several of his old subordinates were also in Paris. Because my affairs were related to Brittany, I had contacted them beforehand. The intention was to prepare for future operations, to have them act as intermediaries to help me get to know the local nobles as soon as possible and integrate into their circles."

"However, things soon turned sour. Many of the nobles who had originally supported us began to hesitate or switched sides to pander to others. But at that time, the royal family did not want to fight a war, and in order to save money, they even disbanded many armies. These few had nothing to do all day, so we could just hang out with them whenever we wanted. I heard that they were experienced, so I often associated with them, hoping to learn from them."

"They also agree with my idea—to gain a foothold in Brittany, a 'beautiful and noble princess' alone is not enough. Now that the royal family doesn't want to get too involved, we have to find a way to build our own force and subdue everyone else."

"They do have experience in this area. And those guys are all very good at bragging. When they saw that I was interested in asking questions, they told me about their past experiences every day. Including how they started their mercenary group, how they managed to get my grandfather's attention and sponsorship, how they dealt with the rising star 'Black Prince'—and even how they ran away quickly when they encountered setbacks and suffered defeats, and then tried to make a comeback. They told me all of that."

"In this way, I actually learned a lot of related knowledge. Looking back now, I think that's probably the most valuable thing."

“No wonder you’re so good at recruiting mercenaries, that’s really rare.” Lebeg shook his head and smiled wryly. “I remember the nuns at the convent complaining to me that the higher the class of the nobles, the less they value family. As a result, many children, although they live in luxury, live like orphans, which leads to problems with their personality and temperament from a young age. Looking at it this way, the royal family seems to be even more exaggerated.”

“Actually, this may not be a common phenomenon. The Zhu family treats their direct descendants very well. I hear them bragging about it every day, and to be honest, I’m quite envious.” Princess Jeanne sighed, “My family’s situation is quite special even among the great nobles.”

"There's no need to elaborate on my father's situation, and my mother only likes to put on a show in front of others and enjoy the entourage of men who are willing to flatter her. There have always been rumors that she has some...not-so-good relationships with several nobles, including the former Duke of Orléans, my Uncle Louis. To be honest, I myself am somewhat convinced."

“Well, your mindset is quite good.” Hearing this, Lebesgue could only offer some words of comfort: “I was also trying to find a husband for my daughter a while ago, but she kept throwing tantrums, saying she had to marry the person she loved and even threatened to become a nun. Last month, I tried to reason with her, but we ended up arguing again. I was planning to lock her up at home to calm her down, but now that things have suddenly escalated, the estate isn’t safe either. I had no choice but to ask a familiar nun to talk to her and take her away to another place…”

"Your grammar is among the best I've ever seen of nobles from various countries. Shouldn't things be cleared up as soon as possible? How did the conversation turn out like this?" Princess Jeanne asked curiously.

"Looking back now, I think I might have been too explicit," Lebesgue said helplessly. "I was so angry at the time that I told her, 'Didn't we just buy a mirror from the Eastern Roman Empire? Don't waste it, take a good look at yourself and see what you really look like. Does she really think she's some stunning beauty that can make so many young men fall for her?'"

“Those men, were they after her? No, they were after me!” Lebesgue pointed to himself. “How could I not understand? Since they’re all after money and status, what’s the point of talking about feelings? Aren’t the men I found for her more suitable than the ones she randomly picked herself?”

"Perhaps what you said was too hurtful," Princess Jeanne said, both amused and exasperated.

“Oh dear, if she had half your sense of responsibility, everything would be much easier.” Lebesgue shook his head repeatedly: “She’s fourteen years old, yet she’s still like a child.”

“I didn’t want to bring up my family’s dirty laundry, but I figured that with all this fuss, everyone would find out sooner or later, so I don’t really care anymore.” He shrugged and complained, “I’m so old, and I’m still sighing and complaining all the time about being ‘trapped in love.’ What am I thinking…”

“I wasn’t really troubled by love back then…” Princess Jeanne commented, “After all, I was only six years old at the time and didn’t have any concept of love. My mind was full of ‘for France,’ so I didn’t experience that kind of trouble.”

“Uh…” Lebesgue thought for a moment, feeling that this matter was quite difficult to explain in detail, and didn’t continue the conversation for a while.

They exchanged a few more words before Princess Jeanne left to inspect the French knights' preparedness. Sir Lebesgue dismounted and summoned his entourage to prepare some urgent documents.

At this moment, Father Tomash also came over with a group of people, greeted him, and called out, "Go eat first, today's meal is ready."

“Okay, I’m coming.” Lebesgue nodded.

"Henry, you go over there first." Father Tomash told the officer in charge to go ahead, then quickly came over and asked in a low voice, "I saw the princess talking to you the whole time? Did she ask you about the situation on the Eastern Front, with the prince?"

“No.” Lebesgue shook his head: “She probably doesn’t know about the rumors over there, including the prince’s plan to lead his troops north to meet up with Father Prokop.”

“Oh, then we don’t need to bring it up ourselves,” Father Tomash advised. “His Excellency the Archbishop has instructed that this matter is a bit difficult to discuss openly, so we shouldn’t bring it up unless she asks. If she does ask, we should say that there seems to be such a rumor, but we’re not entirely sure, and then tell His Excellency. He will handle it for us.”

"Understood." Lebesgue nodded immediately.

(End of this chapter)