Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 811 I laugh at the King of Wu's lack of strategy and Dao Yan's lack of wisdom
By evening, the Crusaders had completed their river crossing mission, and the scouts had returned in rotation.

Sigismund learned that the Cumans had also discovered a monastery in the nearby mountains. Intrigued, he wanted to investigate its origins. Perhaps he could even ask them if they had recently encountered the main force of the Ming army. After all, the locals should know these details best.

However, the other officers regretfully told him that it was too late to go now. The Cumans were undisciplined; seeing the stored food and old belongings in the monastery, they rushed in and looted. The people in the monastery fought desperately, but they were no match for these "regular" Cumans, which only enraged them, resulting in many deaths.

Now, most of the monks and servants, including the abbot, have died in the chaos of battle. The remaining ones fled into the forest in panic, and they certainly dare not return.

The good news is that the Cumans have found the right target this time, plundering a considerable amount of money. Therefore, they should be able to stay quiet for a while and won't be causing trouble every day. It's unclear why this monastery has so many gold and silver coins. But now, no one can ask.

Although it was a bit of a disappointment, this little incident didn't affect the Crusaders' plans. While the Crusaders massacring the monastery might sound unpleasant, these kinds of things happened so often that people didn't really care.

However, some nobles were quite worried. They felt that although the crusade had started smoothly, it had encountered many setbacks later on. Currently, the crusaders' forces were still insufficient. Although they still held a significant advantage in strength, some uncertainties remained. To be on the safe side, they should try to recruit as many people as possible to join.

The new Duke of Austria, Albrecht, was only in his early fifties and had little experience in large-scale battles. Their army was mainly managed by Rudolf, Count of Külburg, a member of the Habsburg branch. Therefore, this group of nobles elected Rudolf as their envoy.

They advised Sigismund to manage his soldiers, at least in ordinary times, and to behave more reasonably. These monasteries, churches, and minor lords were the most numerous entities in the area. The Crusaders hadn't even dealt with the heretics and pagans yet, and they'd already wiped out a whole bunch of monasteries; they needed to give an explanation. Otherwise, these local powers would likely be scared away in the future. Without their support, the Crusaders would probably face even greater trouble.

Sigismund thought there was some truth to it and considered expressing his opinion. However, the archbishops of Prague and Mainz who were accompanying him reassured Sigismund that there was no need for it.

The bishops pointed out that although this outcome was saddening, it was an unavoidable consequence of war, a price paid for the fight against heresy. These brothers of the Church had given their lives for the Father's cause. Their sacrifice was glorious, albeit unfortunate, but a necessary sacrifice for victory.

They also stated that along the way, many people pointed fingers and gossiped, saying the Crusaders were causing destruction everywhere and that it would have been better if they hadn't come at all. But the truth is, any operation inevitably involves some losses. Everyone knows that many soldiers lack chivalrous virtues, and the army's moral standards are generally low, thus causing some damage. However, these incidents are due to limited resources and not intentional acts of evil.

The Holy Roman Empire faced numerous problems, including poverty and division. Mercenaries were poor, forcing them to plunder; nobles were not united, making discipline difficult to maintain. These were objective realities of the time, limitations that people of that era could not overcome, and therefore cannot be used to conclude that the Crusades themselves were problematic. Should we allow heretics and infidels to run rampant simply because we feared making sacrifices ourselves?

Moreover, while secular matters are relatively easy to handle, issues of faith require more nuance, and mistakes cannot be readily admitted. Punishing a few Cumans may be insignificant, but to initiate accountability at this juncture would be tantamount to admitting the entire Crusade was wrong. At least for now, such statements are unacceptable.

Therefore, they suggested that this incident should instead be publicized as a positive example—if Sigismund expressed regret and apology, it would make the Crusaders seem guilty. Instead, since the incident had already occurred and would certainly spread, its positive significance should be emphasized.

The priests' loyalty to their faith, their devotion to the Father and the Brother, and the trust they placed in the Crusaders based on this faith were all very evident—they knew the Crusaders were coming, yet they didn't run away; wasn't this a manifestation of their faith?

Soldiers cleaning up the battlefield said that when they found the abbot's body, he was still holding a cross. This shows that even when facing certain death, the monks did not back down and remained steadfast in their faith under the most dangerous circumstances. They will focus on this later, so there's no need for further explanation.

Sigismund agreed, remaining silent and abandoning his plan to visit the mountains. The officers who went into the city to inventory the spoils reported that the supplies there were unexpectedly abundant, including many delicacies they had never seen before, possibly prepared by the Ming army. Intrigued, Sigismund led some nobles into the city, occupying the town hall and several luxurious residences, where they spent the night.

However, Count Rudolf made a brief appearance at the banquet and then left. Upon returning home, he summoned the family's vassals.

These lesser nobles, none of whom were qualified to directly attend Sigismund's banquet, had been waiting outside. Seeing him suddenly appear, they were curious and asked what had happened. Rudolf replied that he sensed something was amiss and therefore needed to make plans.

The city was well-stocked with supplies. The mayor explained that this was a pre-arranged transfer point for supplies by the "Ming" regime.

Currently, all administrative affairs of the "Great Ming" are handled by Bishop Daoyan, the prime minister of the King of Wu. Perhaps in preparation for war, Bishop Daoyan sent people to this area a month ago to procure supplies, which were then stored in the city's warehouses awaiting transport. The Ming army took some when they passed through, but much remained.

The city had always adhered to the principle of free trade, and the Ming army was very powerful, so the various merchant guilds dared not offend them and therefore did not interfere. Later, when the Crusaders arrived, Bishop Daoyan's men hoped that the city council would send people to help them transport the goods, but the council also insisted on the principle of neutrality and was unwilling to participate without compensation. Seeing that the Crusaders were coming quickly, Bishop Daoyan's men all fled, and the goods were left behind. The city council dared not touch them and sealed them up.

Sigismund and his men were overjoyed at this windfall. In particular, they were surprised to find hundreds of small cloth bags filled with spices in the food warehouse. The warehouse keeper explained that these were prepared according to the King of Wu's own recipe and kept for future use.

The most famous dish of the Ming army was a special kind of food called "Taizu Roasted Chicken." Previously, some Brandenburg nobles, after being captured, paid their own ransom and then spread the word that the ordinary soldiers there ate better than the nobles here, complaining that they couldn't stand the pig swill in the army. Therefore, everyone was very curious. Now that they had captured such a delicacy, of course they had to try it.

So they arranged for cooks, musicians, clowns, poison testers, and so on, and began preparing for a grand banquet. During the banquet, they didn't forget to mock the monk Daoyan, saying that he left such an important supply base unguarded, neither sending troops to guard it nor relocating it beforehand; did he expect the city council to defend it for him? He hadn't forced anyone to obey or taken hostages. Everyone said this man was very skilled in domestic and foreign affairs, but now it seemed he wasn't so good at it. However, Rudolf felt something was amiss. Before inheriting his title, he had served as a knight, fighting against these "Ming" people in Italy, and had also participated in several wars against the Purple Horde. Based on his experience, given the enemy's organizational capabilities, it was unlikely that such a large loophole would appear out of nowhere.

Currently, information is insufficient, and the most crucial intelligence source has been silenced by Sigismund's own people, leaving them with no idea what the other side is up to. But a veteran's intuition tells him something is very wrong. Compared to the bishops' boastful talk and the other nobles' inexplicable confidence, he's actually a little uneasy. This time, it seems best to prepare in advance.

Therefore, he made a special trip to gather all the important figures in the family to discuss solutions.

The Habsburg family had few notable generals these days, and everyone else was equally perplexed by the situation. Therefore, this was still nominally a crusade, and given the close relationship between the family and Sigismund, they couldn't refuse him, nor could they simply walk away.

Therefore, after some discussion, they decided that upon returning, they would declare that the young duke had suddenly fallen ill and was unable to continue the march. John Clytek, Earl of Laufenburg, would lead a group of trusted vassals to escort the young duke back for medical treatment. The army on this side would continue to be led by Earl Rudolf to deal with Sigismund.

They also agreed that if it turned out they were overthinking things, that would be even better; if anything did happen, Rudolf would be in charge of adapting to the situation. If he was captured in battle, the other family members would pool their money to ransom him; if he died in battle, they would work together to ensure his son's succession and at the same time try to arrange good jobs for his two illegitimate sons.

After the agreement was made, Rudolf went back to attend to social obligations, while John seized the opportunity and took the young duke away from the army overnight to return to the rear for "medical treatment."

However, judging from what happened later, they didn't even need to be in such a hurry. Because Sigismund and the others drank too much that night, they didn't get up on time to leave the next day.

The Crusade was quite large, and the city couldn't accommodate all the soldiers, so most of them were still camped outside the city. Therefore, they didn't know the others had gotten up so late and had waited in vain. Sigismund, after regaining his senses, realized he had delayed the progress and quickly sent his servants to wake the other nobles.

The court jester secretly told him that while drinking last night, the Habsburgs had slipped away for a while, seemingly discussing something, before suddenly announcing that the young duke was ill. But Sigismund was still throbbing with a headache and had to deal with the departure arrangements, so he wasn't really in the mood. Besides, those Habsburgs were always cunning and scheming, full of strange ideas. Anyway, this time, they were the ones they needed. The young duke was completely incompetent in battle; let him run away.

After some more time of this, the army finally set off again and passed through the mountain pass.

It was late afternoon when the central army, including the nobles, finally passed through the mountain pass, more than half a day later than expected. It was then that Sigismund and the nobles discovered that although the mountains on both sides were not high, the terrain on this side of the pass was still very steep and treacherous.

Fortunately, the Ming army appeared to be rather small in number. Reports indicated that these men had chosen the right location and even constructed a concealed camp, suggesting they had been there for some time and were clearly in a planned state. However, their numbers were only a few dozen to a hundred men, limiting their effectiveness to mere harassment.

These men seemed to have a sense of self-awareness, not expecting to stop the Crusaders on their own, and therefore lacked resolve, fleeing after a short fight. Because they were discovered in time, their impact on the Crusader march was relatively limited—it could be said that the Cumans made the best use of them.

The group gathered at the foot of the mountain pass and remarked how fortunate it was that the Ming army's peasant soldiers, lacking military knowledge, hadn't deployed their main force there to ambush or blockade them; it was truly a blessing from Heaven. Otherwise, even if they had discovered the ambush, it would have taken far more effort to break through and achieve victory.

The Ming army squad that appeared earlier actually performed quite well tactically, but their strategic deployment was seriously flawed. Furthermore, there had been previous activity in Switzerland and Tyrol by mercenary groups claiming to be Ming soldiers, so these people likely possess some military expertise.

In addition to the French appearing repeatedly at crucial moments, and the widely circulated claim that the French were involved in the war, the nobles speculated that previous estimates were probably inaccurate.

It now seems that this King of Wu is probably a complete novice. His previous decent victories were likely all achieved by the Frenchman acting on his behalf.

The Brandenburg nobles insisted that they were defeated not by peasant armies, but by regular knights, including even French knights. Looking at it this way, it doesn't seem like they were just exaggerating to save face. It's baffling why the French always seem to support heretics; this Grand Council must give them a good talking-to.

However, intelligence indicates that there are likely few Frenchmen left in the Wu King's army. The envoys all witnessed that, to appease the territories bordering France and ensure the safety of his rear when his entire army was mobilized, the Wu King had dispatched his French wife, accompanied by a large entourage of court officials, on a grand westward tour. The French soldiers under the Wu King's command, acquired through this marriage alliance, are now accompanying the princess, protecting the diplomatic mission. If the battle proceeds quickly enough, they might not even encounter them.

In response, Sigismund and others quipped that the princess's influence on their military was indeed considerable. They suggested entrusting the army to her instead, reasoning that, given the current situation, a French woman was more beneficial to the army than the King of Wu.

After mocking the King of Wu, the group marched southwest along the trade route.

(End of this chapter)