eastern european eagle

Chapter 12 Forming an Army by Refugees from Varna

"My lord, too many civilians have come from Varna recently, is Osman going to call?" Constantine reported the latest situation to Peter.

"It's unlikely, even Osman can't fight every day, bring a question from Varna."

"Yes"

Constantine ordered his men to go to Mangalia to catch some people from Varna and ask them. Anyway, the distance between these two places is less than 50 kilometers, and they can return in a day.

Peter also wondered in his heart, no matter how hard this Varner is, after all, most of the cultivated land is there, and the farmers will not run away.unless……

As dusk approached, Constantine brought a person in.

"My lord, I brought it here. He ran out of Varna half a month ago. He should know what's going on."

The man knelt down and paid respects to Peter in Bulgarian.And he might also be afraid, so he kept trembling when speaking.

"God bless you, my lord. I am your humble servant."

Peter looked at the man kneeling on the ground without speaking, and spoke after a while. "Are you from Varna?"

"My lord, Xiaomin was farming in Varna before, and he brought his whole family to Mangalia half a month ago."

"Why come here, I remember that Varna is an important food export area?"

Hearing this, the man actually cried out.

"My lord, I beg you, save Varna!"

As he said that, he continued to crawl forward. If there were no guards blocking him, he would probably have crawled to Peter's feet.And that startled Peter too.

"What's the situation?" Peter thought to himself.And then the words of the commoner solved the mystery.

In fact, as early as five years ago, that is, in 1386.The new monarch of Dobroga, Ivan, succeeded to the throne. This is a ten-year-old child, and the power is controlled by those who are close to Genoa. They sell the pricing power of grain to Genoa.

Genoa, of course, and Peter could imagine how low these merchants from northern Italy would push their prices down.Coupled with the approach of the Ottomans and the oppression of the Orthodox Church by Catholicism and Islam, everyone has to run away.

"My lord, please save Varna, save the people there!"

Peter didn't speak, he asked his subordinates to invite him down, and gave him a few gold coins as a gift before leaving.

His narration made Peter's brain start to run at a high speed. Although there are exaggerated elements, it will never be false.

To be sure, Peter decided to go to Mangalia himself.He handed over Constanta's affairs to Alexander, and took Constantine himself to meet another supervisor.

Early the next morning Peter went to Mangalia.The town, on the border of Wallachia, grew out of the 2500-year-old Greek city-state of Keratis.It is also the first stop for immigrants.

Seeing Lord Dobroga's flag, the defenders immediately let it pass.And Baldovin, who was in charge of immigration work, also came to Peter.

"May God bless you, master of Dobroga and Constanta!" said Baldovin, gesticulating with the sign of the cross.

"There have been a lot of people coming from the Varna area recently, let me see if it's true."

"My lord, you really know everything. There are a lot of immigrants from Varna these days, at least hundreds of people come here every day."

As soon as he heard hundreds of people, Peter refreshed Varna's situation again.

"Where are these people arranged?"

"Some stayed in Mangalia, some went to Constanta and Tulcea, and most went to reclaim the land."

Peter looked at the immigrants entering the city. They dragged their families and came here with a small amount of luggage.

"It seems that there is a source of soldiers," Peter thought to himself.

In ancient times, whether in the West or the East, homeowner farmers were the main source of soldiers, and some local rulers would also incorporate them into the army in order to avoid vagrant riots.But they are only recruited, not trained; this not only increases the burden, but also can only be used as cannon fodder.But the victory lies in the numerical advantage, which can give the opponent a certain psychological blow.

The same is true in medieval Europe. Some of them were used by serfs to make up the numbers.However, the serf soldiers were not trained, and their combat effectiveness was really scum, and they were scattered when they were rushed by the regular elites.Now when fighting among nobles, it has become popular to use the combination of knights and mercenary infantry.Even heavy cavalry from trainee knights can be hired.If you use serfs and cannon fodder soldiers to make up the numbers, you will definitely be abused, and it will also consume a lot of food.

Peter intends to train a group of ranged troops, including crossbowmen and musketeers.Unlike cavalry units, these two types of soldiers are very easy to train and can be dispatched in about a month.

He said to Constantine and Baldovin. "From now on, all the people who come here will be incorporated into the army except for the artisans."

This order surprised Constantine a little. It seems that the lord intends to expand.

"Then, how many people do you want to recruit, my lord?"

"Four more phalanxes will be recruited, and then another 3000 people will be used to train bows and crossbows."

Four phalanxes, or 4000 people.Add [-] long-range soldiers and the original army, that is [-] troops.Well, it smells like the Overlord of Chu.

"Obey my lord!" Constantine agreed, and Baldovin also received an order to recruit seven thousand troops.

Of course, having an army is not enough.In addition to soldiers, middle and lower-level officers are also very important.Not only do they have to read written instructions and execute the orders above, but they also need to make minor adjustments to the phalanx or company they command according to the battlefield situation.

For example, when the flank of the army is broken, the phalanx leaders and company captains, seeing the wide open flank, need to command their subordinates to respond, and respond without violating the command of the commander-in-chief.This kind of response is difficult for those illiterate soldiers.Because they are not good at thinking.

Peter thought about whether to open a military academy to train talents, but there is also the risk of a coup d'etat by the officers who report to the regiment.But in this era of illiteracy everywhere, the benefits of military schools are still very great.

As for the military training expenses, Peter is not worried, the chamber of commerce will be back soon, his manor will be harvested soon, and taxes will come.All of these were completed during the autumn harvest season, and he estimated that the harvest would be quite large.

Although part of it had to be handed over to his father, most of it was still in his hands.Besides, these soldiers will also have land as income, so don't worry.

(End of this chapter)