Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 752 The Jessica Eight Trigrams Formation and Bohemian Scar Literature

During the march, Zhu Wenkui and his men passed through Prague again.

They had barely left the town where they had last stayed when the people of Prague rushed to welcome them. The new mayor came in person, bringing a huge pile of gifts that filled more than a dozen large trucks.

"His initial arrogance followed by his later obsequiousness is laughable," Zhu Wenku commented to the crowd.

"The prince used the allusion correctly this time!" Several attendants who knew a bit about Eastern culture exclaimed with delight.

Zhu Wenkui was speechless for a moment, then spurred his horse forward to meet the guest.

The Prague delegation consisted of several dozen people, who seemed to be all wealthy businessmen in the city. Upon seeing him arrive, they all bowed and then, regardless of whether he understood them or not, began to shower him with flattery.

With so many people talking at once, Gutenberg couldn't translate it all, so he had to catch his breath, stop, and say, "In short, they're all praising your wisdom and prowess."

"Oh dear, it wasn't me who convinced them, it was Commander Yang and Miss Tang." Zhu Wenkui was quite modest and calm: "Tell them that we always welcome all sincere people, regardless of their background or status, which is why we have so many talented people. If they understand this, they'll know which side is in their best interest. If they still choose the wrong side, they can only blame themselves for being foolish."

“Okay.” Gutenberg agreed, then waved his hand to calm the merchants down, and began translating Zhu Wenkui’s words. He hesitated for a moment, then asked, “I’ve directly transliterated Commander Yang’s title. But what is Miss Tang’s position? It seems… she doesn’t have a formal official title yet?”

“What are you saying?” The other attendants laughed. “Anyone who has played chess knows that knights and bishops are titles. Can a princess be considered a title? What kingdom would give a princess an official position?”

“That’s not quite right. Knighthood is a title, bishophood is a position, and princess consort is a status.” Gutenberg, who had spent many years at the royal court, was quite familiar with the official systems of various countries. “Moreover, the wife of the French Dauphin has a special title. The Dauphin has the title of ‘Dolphin,’ and the Dauphin consort has a corresponding feminine title. It’s not a position, but it is a title.”

“I think this is a matter of official system. The Church is a remnant of the Roman era and still has a bureaucratic system, so it has its own official system. Although bishops are often not much different from feudal lords today, they are still nominally an official position, not a title. It’s just that European civilization has degenerated so much that many people can’t tell the difference. As for those knights who are granted fiefs, the title of knight is a title. So, we should also have a separate position here.”

“No. The title of Dolphin for the Crown Princess of France is an additional title, not the title of Crown Princess itself.” Others chimed in, “Besides, it’s not an official position, just an honorary title. You can’t make that comparison. The Crown Princess is the Crown Princess; she doesn’t need any other positions.”

“But Miss Jeanne does have a position. When I first came to work at the Prince’s Palace, she already held an official position.” Gutenberg clearly didn’t think the others’ statements made sense and immediately offered a counterexample: “Miss Tang has yet to receive a position, but Miss Jeanne does. What’s going on? Isn’t Miss Jeanne the Prince’s consort?”

The others wanted to argue with him, but before they could speak, they quickly withdrew their words and gave him meaningful glances. Gutenberg didn't realize what was happening until he finished speaking. He turned around and saw that Lady Jeanne had somehow appeared behind him.

"You brat..." She grabbed Gutenberg and lifted him up. "Your dad said you were smart and quick-witted, and asked me to give you a hand, which is why I recommended you. It's only been a few days, and you're already betraying us? You're getting along really well with that cultist, aren't you?"

"No, no..." Gutenberg quickly explained.

Others rushed over to mediate, saying that the guests were still nearby, and they managed to break up the fight. The Prague residents were completely bewildered, not knowing what was going on, and fearing they would be implicated, they quickly put down their gifts, bowed and scraped, and then ran away.

Zhu Wenkui was quite embarrassed and didn't know what to say for a moment. Everyone quickly tried to persuade him, saying that Miss Tang was a rare military talent, and with war raging and the entire Ming Dynasty under attack, they needed as many talented people as possible to lead everyone to defeat the enemy before they could discuss other issues.

"Do you really think that little girl is amazing?" Jeanne asked Zhu Wenku after thinking for a moment.

"She's really good at fighting. I can't beat her anyway," Zhu Wenkui said honestly.

“I’ve never commanded a war either,” Jeanne sighed. “How capable do you think she is? Is she as capable as Guo Kang? As capable as Jessica?”

“Guo Kang’s command ability is probably not as good as hers. His strength is not in this area.” Zhu Wenkui said without hesitation, “As for Lao Yang, I’m not sure how to compare them. But I feel that they are similar talents – whether it is their areas of expertise or the direction they value in their work. However, Lao Yang has fought more battles, so he performs more steadily than her.”

“They’re similar?” Lady Jeanne asked, puzzled. “One is in Seres, and the other is in Bohemia. How can they be the same?”

"That's a long story, but Brother Kang and I did discuss this topic before." Zhu Wenku thought for a moment, then became serious and replied, "He believes that being good at war isn't just about being on the battlefield. Most of the time, what matters more is how you perform off the battlefield."

"You're already familiar with the previous battles, right?" he asked. "Why do you think we were able to win the first battle, the one with the biggest lopsided score?"

“It must be thanks to the chariots.” Princess Jeanne pointed to the large chariots in her entourage. “I never thought that these chariots could be used like this. I heard that the Seres people also liked to use chariots in ancient times. Did Guo Kang and his men teach them some Eastern experience and tricks when they went on the expedition? Otherwise, I can’t understand where they got this idea from.”

“No, no, no, a chariot is just a tool, and to be honest, it has many drawbacks as well.” Zhu Wenku shook his head: “As for the chariots of today, they are no longer directly related to the four-horse chariots of the classical era.”

"Old Yang and his men started using chariots during the internal strife in Dadu, even before the Qin state trained them. It wasn't some intentional tactic; they simply used them to temporarily plug holes in collapsed walls. Later, because their men were so determined in battle, they were often used by the legions to fill crucial defensive lines, resulting in frequent high-pressure positional warfare. Therefore, they often modified the chariots and used them directly as fortifications, and that's how they accumulated experience." "Their combat effectiveness also depended on themselves, not on these weapons," he emphasized.

Of course, Jeanne's reaction wasn't entirely unexpected. Although well-traveled and experienced, as she herself admitted, Jeanne had been in Egypt since childhood and hadn't received any military training like other French noblewomen. She had rarely had the opportunity to personally experience combat, let alone command. Therefore, her understanding of war was rather presumptuous.

Moreover, according to Guo Kang, this is not her own problem.

Aeneas Silvias, who later became Pope, had witnessed the Hussite army in his youth. At that time, he was a priest sympathetic to the Hussites and hoped for reform within the Church. Later, when he was elected Pope Pius II, he recorded his early experiences.

Pius II is the only pope to leave behind memoirs, and because he personally visited the grassroots and experienced many things, his records are of considerable historical value to later generations. However, the credibility of his accounts regarding military matters is probably not very high.

In Pius II's writings, the Hussite chariot formations possess a mysterious quality, imbued with an almost mystical power. He claimed: "Once the battle signal is given, the charioteers will drive towards the enemy, forming a letter shape according to their previous arrangement. The trained Taborites are familiar with the pathways formed between the chariots, while the enemy falls into a labyrinth of despair, unable to find their way out, as if trapped in a net. If the enemy is thus scattered, divided, and isolated, the infantry can easily defeat them completely with swords and flails, or the enemy will be felled by the archers standing on the chariots. The army of Žiška is like a monster with many arms, unexpectedly and swiftly seizing its prey, crushing it, and swallowing its fragments. Even if a few manage to escape the chariot labyrinth, they will fall into the hands of the cavalry arrayed outside and be killed there."

This "ever-changing, all-consuming behemoth" was the direct impression that upper-class European intellectuals had of the Hussite army. Even the runes and labyrinthine formations seemed quite familiar to Easterners. With a slight change in terminology, they could probably launch into a storytelling session for Mr. Luo…

In later generations, Europeans invented even more stereotypes. In the 18th century, experts and professors at the Prussian General Staff's Military Academy vividly described in their articles how Jessica connected her chariots with iron chains to form an unstoppable wall of steel that advanced and crushed all enemies.

Although Jessica used chariots in attacks throughout history, this was only a stopgap measure. The Hussite chariots were actually of poor quality, and the horses pulling them were mostly makeshift civilian draft horses. They lacked the resources, as Jeanne d'Arc and many European writers throughout history imagined, to charge directly into battle like the heavy Seres chariots of the classical era.

It's important to understand that in Classical times, Seres' chariots were the quintessential noble cavalry—far more valuable than the Holy Roman Empire's noble cavalry they face today. If Bohemian peasants were all this rich, there would be no need for them to rebel…

As for linking the chariots together, it was probably for the reinforcing chains used in chariot defense, and also to create a psychological impact on the Holy Roman Empire from the sheer force of the Hussites advancing like a wall. Because if these "bent chariots" were actually made, the negative effects would certainly far outweigh the positive ones.

It can only be said that, whether in Seres or Europe, writers' imaginations of the battlefield seem to share many strange similarities...

As for the true source of combat power for Jessica's unit, it was actually the organization itself.

After the end of the Roman era, Jessica's "Orphan Army" was the first army in continental Europe to have stable rules and regulations. This was because their daily lives were highly organized.

Bohemia had a highly developed handicraft industry, and its army had a large number of artisans. Jessica organized them into "production groups" and "combat groups," rotating them in shifts. Those who returned from war would engage in handicraft production, while those who had been producing at home would take their place on the battlefield. Therefore, compared to other European armies at the time, their rotation was very orderly, with relatively little disruption to production, allowing them to utilize manpower more efficiently and appear to have an inexhaustible supply, sufficient to cope with a prolonged war.

Pius II and others also discovered that although Žiška's army was classified as a poorman's faction, they were not actually impoverished. The high level of organization among the Hussites was itself conducive to maintaining production; in addition, they had seized a great deal of wealth in battle, confiscating the property of a number of lords and merchants.

More importantly, their distribution of resources was far fairer than that of other European armies of the time. They even had a dedicated "public savings bank" to help those in poverty. Therefore, the Hussite soldiers were not actually poor. Furthermore, their emphasis on widespread education resulted in an average level of military quality far exceeding that of their enemies.

Nominally, these people were farmers and artisans, but in reality, they may have been the first standing army in Europe since the Classical era—some argue that the first standing army was formed by King Charles VII of France under the guidance of Joan of Arc. However, the core of Charles's standing army was 15 companies of mercenaries; while Jessica's army was composed of recruited local Hussite supporters. They did not rely entirely on military pay but received support in peacetime, making them far more resilient than mercenaries in the face of food and pay shortages; their shared beliefs and common collective interests also made them more steadfast than professional mercenaries when facing enemies.

The result was that the Orphan Army became the first truly disciplined military force in Europe since ancient Rome. Its members were not a mob rushing into enemy lines, but rather divided into various combat groups based on their weaponry and equipment. All these combat units had undergone rigorous testing in pre-war exercises and numerous military operations, enabling them to operate methodically and systematically under the command of their commanders.

Therefore, they could conduct well-organized infiltration and coordination during operations—a feat far beyond what was expected in Europe at the time. Furthermore, although they consistently favored the use of firearms in field battles, even carrying heavy artillery, the Orphan Army was renowned for its high mobility. Through rapid marches alone, they repeatedly thwarted slow-moving enemy forces and secured victories.

Therefore, although Zhu Wenkui didn't quite understand these things, in Guo Kang's eyes, their advantages were very obvious, and even somewhat familiar.

As for the later description of a "Puritanical organization," Guo Kang believed it was simply the Puritans embellishing their own image. After all, if the Puritans had such fighting power, they would have already launched a counter-offensive against continental Europe; they wouldn't have been constantly on the run. This image of a devout and warlike heretical sect, familiar to Europeans, likely originated not with the Puritans, but with the Hussites.

After all, Jessica and her group often did things like driving local intellectuals to the countryside and forcing them to participate in agriculture and handicrafts, hoping to "influence" or "save" them and bring them back to their true faith.

Of course, it's easy to imagine how these people would record and evaluate the Taborites—in fact, much of what people in Guo Kang's time knew about the Taborites and the Orphan Army came from these "Bohemian wound literature" works. It's perfectly normal for Europeans to find them familiar…

Sending these people to fight Sigismund wouldn't have made much difference, really. However, Europeans at the time, and even the Bohemian Hussites themselves, didn't realize this.

For Europe, this organizational method was somewhat ahead of its time, relying almost entirely on Žižka's political and military talents. After Žižka's death, the Orphan Army essentially became a tree without roots. After the defeat of the Taborites, Bohemian chariots actually became more popular and their numbers increased significantly, but they achieved no notable victories.

Decades later, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I intervened in the War of the Landshut Succession. His "Servants of the Land" regiment, using infantry musketeers and artillery, easily defeated the Bohemian army with three hundred chariots. Afterward, this chariot formation, once considered magical, disappeared from the historical stage.

(End of this chapter)