Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 771 You can't deny the special bloodline of nobles only when you're about to exterminate nine generations of their families.

According to information Jeanne has gathered over the past few days, the situation remains very unstable throughout Bohemia. In Prague, some guild leaders have begun to secretly work again, preparing to contact the Poles once more to see if they can negotiate a better deal.

However, the Ming army was now right in front of them, blocking their path between the Poles. Moreover, the rapid expansion of the Ming army made them quite wary, and they dared not act rashly.

Tang Sai'er had previously recruited a large number of people into her ranks, which worried Zhu Wenkui. He felt that the group she had gathered was a mixed bag, and he didn't know who was reliable. He was worried that some of them might collude with the enemy and turn against him.

However, Tang Sai'er said that whether they were newly recruited or her old subordinates, they could all potentially collude with the enemy. Any group, once it becomes large, will inevitably experience periods of unity, and conflicts are normal. As long as she manages her side well and prevents major upheavals, the problem won't be too significant.

Of course, this is all predicated on the fact that her subordinates genuinely have no better options. Either the enemy is too brutal, and surrendering would bring no good outcome; or her side is stronger, or consistently victorious, and betraying them would immediately invite retaliation. And this is precisely what she, as the leader, needs to do.

Of course, there's also a crucial problem: Zhu Wenku's approach was flawed. Because peasant armies inevitably consist of a mixed bag of people. If this is avoided, then organizing an army becomes impossible.

In this situation, it would actually be a good thing if the scale could grow even larger—because with more people, you don't know who is reliable and who is an undercover agent; the other side also doesn't know who genuinely wants to betray you and who is deliberately luring you to your death so that they can advance their own interests.

At this point, the larger the army and the stronger its overall power, the smaller the percentage of power a particular unscrupulous leader can control. If he relies solely on himself, the power disparity he faces is enormous; if he tries to recruit others, he has to engage in numerous more schemes and face a greater risk of exposure. Therefore, although it may seem more chaotic, the mutual suspicion among the leaders actually increases stability.

To be honest, Zhu Wenkui didn't quite understand this line of thinking.

He never had his own soldiers. The staff who helped with the work in the palace were all people Zhu Yunwen recruited from all over the place, either through persuasion, hiring, or even being tricked into coming. Moreover, everyone felt that there was no need for armed security in the capital, so apart from the guards arranged by the Purple Tent Khanate, there were only a few servants.

Later, he worked with Guo Kang and others to build cannons, which marked the beginning of the preparation of a real armed force. Apart from that, all other armies were formed based on existing needs, with teams assembled, personnel recruited, and trained.

Guo Kang, who had always been his friend, had also done things like randomly recruiting people in the city and hastily assembling a group to go to the battlefield. But most of the time, he would start with basic construction, systematically expand his strength, and gradually bring more people into his fold.

Whether it was Russia or Egypt, Guo Kang's approach was to first establish stable footholds and then gradually expand. This is the first time I've seen someone like Tang Sai'er who tries to aggressively build up scale right from the start.

Both he and Lady Jeanne had expressed doubts about Don Sai'er, saying they didn't know where she learned this trick from. Logically, they should have built up their power properly, instead of rushing things, otherwise they'd just become a bandit group that snowballed its influence.

However, Tang Sai'er replied that although they also flew the banner of the Ming Dynasty, she had to remind everyone that in present-day Europe, they were the ones rebelling. In this situation, they shouldn't, like Zhu Wenkui before, subconsciously consider themselves as government troops.

As for her experience… she told Zhu Wenku directly, “If I had the means, I would certainly like to farm and cultivate the land like you and Guo Erlang. But your great-uncle wasn’t happy about it and even came to beat me, what can I do…”

Zhu Wenkui thought it made sense, so he ignored it.

However, it seems to be working. Many Europeans have probably never seen a peasant army of this size and are genuinely terrified. According to current intelligence, the proposal to attack them from the rear has been rejected by the citizens. Their most radical plan now is simply to wait for the Ming army and the Poles to finish their battle and then side with whoever wins. It's fair to say they've been scared away from even the slightest mischief.

Currently, Zhu Wenkui's camp already has more than 30,000 men. If we add Tang Sai'er's vanguard of more than 10,000 cavalry, the total number exceeds that of the Polish-Lithuanian army.

In addition to the 8,000 infantry and cavalry from Tyrol, he himself brought over 1,000 soldiers from his artillery battalion, as well as more than 5,000 soldiers from various garrisons in southwestern Bohemia and the Alemanni region. Furthermore, the Hussite army that Žižka had been in contact with also arrived, bringing more than 10,000 men.

Previously, in addition to sending people to intercept Zhu Wenkui, the Grail faction also organized a force, in alliance with the Archbishop of Prague and nobles who supported Sigismund, to attack Mount Tabor, which was controlled by the Jessica faction.

The people on Mount Tabor were caught off guard by Zhu Yunwen's sudden statement, which they felt would have such severe consequences, and were ill-prepared. After receiving Jessica's letter, Father Prokop managed to gather over three thousand men and head south to join them. However, several important Hussite strongholds near Mount Tabor were soon besieged. Prokop and his men were overwhelmed and had to cancel their plans. Furthermore, these three thousand men were intercepted by anti-Hussite nobles and stranded en route, preventing them from reuniting in time.

After the Grail Wars and the Prague Legion suffered an unexpected defeat, the surrounding enemies also collapsed. The noble army that had surrounded them scattered like birds and beasts upon hearing that the Ming army was coming, which allowed Zhu Wenkui and his men to join forces with the reinforcements.

The northern nobles were besieging the Hussites, but at this time, the Italians who had previously fought with Zhu Wenkui and his group went north first and came to the outskirts of Prague to start collecting debts.

The question of whether to first rescue Prague or first capture the Hussite stronghold sparked a fierce debate among the nobles. Since no one could make a definitive decision, they adhered to democratic principles and decided to divide their forces and attack both sides simultaneously.

They believed that the Hussite garrison numbered only four or five thousand, and were mostly armed peasants; the Italian mercenary group would not exceed five thousand, and were all cunning and unreliable. Their side, on the other hand, had nearly twenty thousand soldiers and professional noble officers, so even if they were separated, it would be sufficient.

As a result, by the time the nobles finished their looting, the troops sent to Prague discovered that the Italians had already plundered everything. The noble army had no choice but to rush outside the city to intercept the Italians who were transferring their spoils. The Italians immediately retaliated.

In their haste, neither side's infantry arrived in time. Initially, the Italians retreated steadily, abandoning some wagons laden with spoils. By the time the noble knights rushed forward to seize the spoils, they discovered that, during the retreat, some cavalry had already flanked the enemy.

The two sides immediately engaged in fierce fighting, but the Italians were better prepared. The Bohemian noble cavalry could only abandon some large spoils of war in an attempt to mount their horses and charge against the Italian heavy cavalry, putting them at a disadvantage from the start.

Driven by a strong will to seize the spoils, the Italians fought with unwavering resolve. Before long, the noble army could no longer hold out and began to rout. The infantry following behind, seeing this, also fled. The army quickly disintegrated.

After this defeat, the noble army besieging Tabor, fearing they would be targeted, quickly withdrew and fled. Father Prokop then had the opportunity to take stock of his forces and recall scattered soldiers from the surrounding areas. Tabor's followers, numbering approximately ten thousand, gradually gathered. Those who were guarding their homes all rushed over to join them.

Now, their numbers are even growing. Yesterday, Haji Glei approached Zhu Wenkui and said he was recruiting again. Many of his former followers have already returned. People from other tribes have also come to join him. There are now over a thousand people.

Zhu Wenku was somewhat surprised, thinking his tribe had disbanded, so how could they have returned? Haji Glei explained that it was because the tribesmen had made a fortune after attacking the Prague Legion's camp, and therefore had lost their motivation to fight. But they hadn't been idle during this time.

With money in hand, the Mongolian herders began to squander it. Many went to nearby towns and spent their days in taverns. Some even traveled all the way to Kutna Hora, where they either indulged in lavish meals and drinks or flirted with prostitutes, having a great time.

After such extravagant spending, their money quickly ran out. And after leaving the tribe, these herders, living in small groups, had no way to make money.

It was wartime, and all settlements were heavily guarded. Especially since the previous fighting had taken place in the area controlled by the Wu Prince's Palace. The local militia was already much larger and better trained. The Mongols couldn't defeat the local militia and had no choice but to obediently pay for their supplies. Some were even beaten and thrown out because they couldn't afford to pay.

With no other option, they had to go back to the Gelai tribe, hoping to earn some more money to support themselves.

Moreover, after gaining fame, the Kipchak-Kuman people active in this area also heard about the Ming army's exploits and felt that following them would be a promising career. Therefore, they also claimed to be Mongols and came to request to join the Ming tribes. In just the last few days, several hundred people arrived, directly leading to a food shortage.

So he wanted to ask Zhu Wenkui what to do now—if they weren't needed, it wouldn't really matter; he could just shoo them away and have a few of his men lead them to raid the Polish rear. If he needed the elite among them, he could select some to see if he could find a few good ones, but then he'd have to pay them more. If he followed Miss Tang's suggestion that the more the merrier and just stuffed them all in, then there definitely wouldn't be enough food.

But that's alright. He can take these people and discuss it with the surrounding nobles. He's sure they'll have provisions to send to them. That way, they won't need to eat the army's food, and the military advisors and staff won't have to worry about it.

Zhu Wenku hesitated. They had made arrangements with these nobles before heading north.

Following a series of sudden defeats, the Prague Church, the city council, and the Grailists all changed their attitudes and sent messengers to plead for their lives.

After the Italians captured the city, the people of Prague quickly became aware of their human rights, declaring that farmers were human beings too. Since everyone was Bohemian, all people, regardless of wealth or rural background, were one. They argued that they should unite to fight against the Germans and Italians.
The Grailists suddenly became more humane, saying that since we are all church members, we should help each other, not stab each other in the back.

Therefore, they hoped to negotiate peace with the Ming Dynasty and then, with the help of the Ming army, drive the Italians away. In return, they would try their best to provide some money and provisions, and even send troops to support them.

Zhu Wenkui heard that these people were so agreeable because the Poles had suddenly arrived uninvited and made many demands. They claimed to the Bohemian nobles that they would help them suppress the serf rebellion, but this military expedition couldn't be a free trip; at the very least, the local nobles needed to provide some money and provisions so they could settle their soldiers. Otherwise, if their men became disobedient, they wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

However, the Bohemian nobles didn't invite them at all. They were completely dumbfounded upon hearing this request.

Now, the Germans are rampant throughout Bohemia and cannot be driven away; the Italians have turned against them and cannot be stopped; even peasant revolts are beyond their control. It can be said that the situation is extremely bad.

The Poles are notorious for their robbery skills. If they come and take a look around, it will definitely be worse than a bandit raid, and this place will probably be truly doomed.

Therefore, the people of Prague, contrary to their usual practice, even began to actively invite Zhu Wenkui to lead his troops north. They are also currently supplying a significant portion of the army's provisions. Local nobles stated that they have done their utmost and only hope that the troops can stop the Poles; everything else is negotiable. Therefore, Zhu Wenkui is now somewhat embarrassed to continue demanding provisions.

However, Gray commented that Zhu Wenkui was still too naive. If he had had experience dealing with these nobles like Gray had, he wouldn't have been so easily fooled.

What does he take the nobles for? Saints? The nobles are the most cunning. They won't pay the commission they demand, and they'll claim they have no rations when asked. In reality, they have everything. Lift up the floorboards and look; the gold coins are either underground in the manor or in a secret room. In short, you're bound to find a lot of things. Grain, gold and silver, works of art, jewelry... Go explore the deep valleys and hidden castles.

Moreover, there's no moral pressure involved. Nobles appear honest on the surface, but they're masters of deception—they'll lie about anything. When war breaks out, they kill and plunder. So-called nobles are the most stingy, cunning, cowardly, wicked, and incompetent; they're all murderers.

Who made them like this? Was it the people? It's clear these people were never good to begin with, so there's no need to be polite to them.

Zhu Wenku felt this made a lot of sense, so he sent him to ask the local nobles for more grain. Haji Glei led his men to the farms of several powerful nobles, captured the people there, and subjected them to torture. Sure enough, they found a lot of things, including letters exchanged with Polish nobles. That's why Zhu Wenku was so clear about the current situation.

Moreover, some die-hard nobles began to openly resist their advance. As the Poles drew closer, some nobles who were closely associated with them even broke their alliance with Prague and sided with Poland.

Zhu Wenku urged the people of Prague to provide an explanation, and the parliament quickly sent people to reprimand them, telling them to stop being so fickle. However, the noble families tortured the envoy to death and openly raised an army in resistance.

Before the Poles arrived, the Ming army targeted these few men first. They had thought they could easily hold off Polish reinforcements with their fortifications, but Zhu Wenkui's army had no shortage of siege weapons. In less than two days, they had blown open three castles in succession.

Everyone believes that the Ming Dynasty has been too lenient, which has emboldened these people. Now, it's time to bring out our ancestral skills!

These nobles all had their own family genealogies. Zhu Wenku and Jeanne even sought the help of the Imperial Guards to verify these genealogies. After much effort, they even found several relatives that the nobles themselves did not recognize.

Zhu Wenku demanded that all members of noble families be publicly executed, their skin peeled off, stuffed with straw, and hung at the castle gate and along both sides of the main road so that everyone could see it.

Some nobles cried out that they were wronged and that it had nothing to do with them, but Zhu Wenkui said that they all liked to say that they had noble blood. They can't just say that they have nothing to do with it every time it comes to reckoning, can they?
After these people were executed, the others indeed became much more obedient and no one continued to jump out to oppose them.

(End of this chapter)