Continental Warriors Yoo Ma

So Ma Youfu immediately appointed Gaspar as the deputy chief of artillery to assist his brother in managing the entire artillery unit.

It is believed that with the addition of Gaspar, the huge and complex logistics system of the Artillery Force can operate more efficiently and meet combat needs.

After a winter of strengthening and construction, Ma Youfu's artillery unit expanded to the size of fifty six-pound guns, and the total number of artillery and logistics support personnel in front-line operations exceeded 700.

In addition, Jean Bro was still working on other caliber guns.It's just that due to the high standards put forward by Ma Youfu, the progress is not fast, and it is estimated that it will not be able to keep up with the Battle of Paris.

Compared with the steadily developing artillery force, the other two arms—infantry and cavalry—expanded rapidly.

Originally, there were only four infantry companies with 800 soldiers, but now it has expanded to 3000 companies with [-] soldiers.

Before forming an army in a hurry, Ma Youfu added some experienced dwarf mercenaries to the company as pillars.However, due to the many differences in the living habits of the two races, this kind of staffing is not suitable for long-term existence, otherwise problems will easily arise.So in the end, after discussing with several of his commanders, Ma Youfu decided to form a purely human army and let the dwarves form an independent army.

Fortunately, this time there is plenty of time to prepare the army for war, so that Ma Youfu will not have to pull a cannon fodder that is about to collapse into the battlefield.

This winter, due to the weather, the newly recruited soldiers could only stay in the camp most of the time, doing nothing but wasting food.

Torres, a Castilian knight who is very sensitive to money, saw it in his eyes and felt pain in his heart, so he wrote a letter to Ghent, asking Ma Youfu how to use the limited time and indoor space in winter to treat soldiers to train.

Ma Youfu is not Ma Jiguang, how can he know how to train soldiers.

He can only tell Torres the methods of organizing the internal affairs of the army that later generations have seen, and let him ponder with other officers, hoping to come up with a method suitable for this era.

Who knew that they really tinkered with a whole set of things.

At least when Ma Youfu returned to Lance, although the combat skills of his recruits were still poor, they already knew how to absolutely obey orders, and the concept of teamwork and discipline had already been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Although it is not expected that this army composed of medieval peasants, small citizens, and rogue proletarians will have a high level of ideological awareness, at least it is much stronger than other noble armies.

"Master Marquis, now the soldiers have developed the good hygiene habits of Seres. Those dirty mud legs now also know how to wash their faces and mouths when they get up every day, wash their hands before eating, and dig pits to bury after shitting in the wild. , and stay away from water sources..." Torres eloquently showed off his training success to Ma Youfu.

"These seemingly cumbersome hygiene habits have not only changed the free and undisciplined thinking of the soldiers, but will also make our army indestructible in the face of the plague!"

The Castilians had seen too many examples of armies defeated by the plague in their wars with the Mulhollans.

Limited by his education level, he didn't know why the army camped for a long time was easily infected with the plague. He only thought it was the punishment of the Seven Saints for the cruel and bloodthirsty soldiers, or the evil gods.

Later, after Juvenir's popular science, he realized that maintaining a good sanitary environment is the most effective way to prevent the plague.

Ma Youfu nodded repeatedly.

Torres, the infantry general in charge of logistics, was commended, but Thorin Horn, in charge of operations, was not happy.

The Polish Zbysko, who was in charge of the infantry, was transferred to the cavalry, and Thorin Horn took over this position.

Like Volga, this young dwarf has the heroic blood of the Horn clan in his body and is proficient in the tactics of the Swiss phalanx, so he is the most suitable candidate.

And as a commander, you don't need to eat and live with soldiers, and there will be conflicts in living habits, so race is not a problem.

It can even be said that compared with ordinary humans, the famous Swiss dwarves can give soldiers more confidence in defeating the enemy.

It's just that compared to Torres, who is busy, full and accomplished, Sorin has nothing to do all day this winter, so that he feels a little anxious.

Chapter 180 Cavalry, Daily

In order to be worthy of Ma Youfu's high salary, after Torres finished his report, Sorin took the initiative to say: "My lord, after resuming training in the spring, I promise with my beard that I will soon be able to train these guys to be comparable to the Swiss city-states." Strong army! I just don’t know, when will the war start?”

"Don't be in such a hurry, Sorin. Besides, I don't ask those infantry to be able to maintain their morale and formation and continue to charge after being strangled by a blood gourd like you Swiss dwarves." Ma Youfu said to the dwarf with a smile , "As for when the war will start, it depends on the cooperation of British friends."

Even dwarves who are not sensitive to politics know that the armistice agreement between Britain and France can only maintain a short-term peace.Not to mention others.

In addition to Ma Youfu, those well-known French marshals are also gearing up and preparing for battle.

After agreeing to send two bottles of Burgundy wine to appease the eager shield dwarves, Ma Youfu asked Zpisko and Nikolai to report on the progress of the cavalry unit.

In the past, Ma Youfu only had a small number of mech cavalry serving as scouts, but this winter, an organized cavalry unit was finally formed.

The Polish Zbysko was the supreme commander of this force.

Of the cavalry units in Europe in this era, the French are naturally the best.Its heavy cavalry is unmatched in Europe in terms of quantity and quality.

In addition, Iberia's javelin light cavalry is unique, and the Poles also have their own advantages.

Adjacent to the Germans, and has been at war with the Teutonic Knights for a long time, so the Poles' own heavy cavalry is not inferior to their Western European counterparts.And because it is in the border area of ​​nomadic farming and has dealt with the Cossacks for many years, the Polish light cavalry is also very good.

It is precisely because of the combination of various advantages that Poland was able to create the famous hussars.

Zpiszko, a Polish knight, had participated in the Battle of Grunwald and beheaded several Teutonic knights with his own hands. He has all the abilities, experience, and qualifications, and he is an ideal cavalry commander.

The cavalry unit he planned for Ma Youfu has a total of three companies with [-] cavalry, two of which are shock cavalry and one company is long-range cavalry.

It can be seen here that the thinking of the Poles is different from that of their Western counterparts.He did not divide cavalry into light cavalry and heavy cavalry according to the armor ratio of cavalry, but by function.

The weapons used by the two shock cavalry companies are still traditional lances, long swords, battle axes, maces, etc., but they are not like the knights whose lives are precious, and they are afraid that their armor is not thick enough. They are all wearing heavy armor, just like heavy tanks.Their mounts were unarmoured, while cavalry wore three-quarter plate armor for a balance of protection and mobility.

In Zpisko's vision, these cavalry do not need to charge from the front to pierce the enemy's formation like traditional heavy knights.It is enough for them to protect the infantry and artillery flanks, and at the critical moment to smash the enemy into confusion due to artillery strikes.

The long-range cavalry of another company is better equipped than the shock cavalry.

Their mounts are all Andalusian war horses, wearing half plate armor, and equipped with various hot and cold long-range weapons such as javelins, hand crossbows, and hand cannons.

These long-range cavalry are scattered, they are first-class scouts, the best eyes and ears of the army.Gathering together is a qualified light cavalry unit, which can excellently complete tasks such as delay, harassment, sneak attack, and pursuit on the battlefield.

The Albanian nobleman Nicholas, who is good at guerrilla warfare in the mountains, will command these long-range cavalry.

The soldiers of the cavalry unit are all descendants of nobles or experienced veterans, with superb combat skills, and do not need to start training from scratch like the infantry unit.After the beginning of spring, the military horses ordered from various horse farms will arrive, and they will be able to form combat effectiveness.

However, it is precisely because of the composition of the soldiers that these cavalry may not be able to obey orders like infantry - Ma Youfu is not Joan of Arc, how can these rebellious guys obey orders on the battlefield.

There is no better way than constantly emphasizing the importance of discipline and then formulating a strict system of rewards and punishments.

Today, Ma Youfu's army has more than tripled in size—there are also extremely expensive artillery and cavalry, and gold coins are spent like running water.

It's just that the Northern France Trading Company, which has attracted a large number of lowland merchants, also has enough funds to supply this army.In Ma Youfu's estimated time to recover North France, he will definitely not face the dilemma of shortage of funds.

Life after returning to Lance, everything went well.With Zhu Wennier handling daily affairs, all the generals are also doing their duties and carrying out the army building work in an orderly manner.

After Mayoufu studied the "Magic Hot Air Balloon Design Drawing" bought from the system store, he mobilized the merchants of the Northern France Trading Company to help him find all kinds of precious magic materials he needed.In addition, he also wrote a letter to Earl Armagnac, hoping that he could use his influence in the field of magicians to help.

The rest of the time, Ma Youfu also made full use of it, did not miss the study and exploration of magic, and from time to time contacted La Haile, Marshal Bussac, Dunoy, Gil and others to discuss many issues related to the Battle of Paris.

A fulfilling life makes people happy, but Ma Youfu still has some regrets.

For example, Joan of Arc is still not around.

After she assisted the church in investigating the Sharon incident, she left a great impression on a certain cardinal from the Rhine Diocese, so the other party warmly invited the saint to visit the Cologne Cathedral and attend a meeting as a distinguished guest. Important baptism ceremony.

The Germans suffered repeated setbacks in front of the car ramparts of the Hussite heretics, and urgently needed spiritual comfort and encouragement.The French saint, who has repeatedly created military miracles, is an ideal role.

Therefore, it will take some time for Joan of Arc and An Wen who accompanied her to return to Lance.

In addition, there are more and more nobles who come to see each other every day, which makes Ma Youfu more and more annoying.

After Ghent announced the grand plan for a while, Ma Youfu became the most concerned figure in the entire French aristocracy as soon as he returned to Reims.

In addition to the nobles who came to ask for an audience, there were also countless invitations to banquets, flying in like snowflakes.Everyone wants the Marquis of La Manche to remember their name and leave a good impression, so that they can participate in the feast of the exhibition in the future and make a lot of money.

Among these greedy people, there is a nobleman with a low title, which may be worthy of Ma Youfu's special attention.Because he was Marguerite's husband, Jean III de Harperdiner.

The baron with green hair on his head lost all his money because of pirates robbing his sea trade business. As a result, his wife had to turn to Ma Youfu for help, and finally let the latter get over his addiction to Prime Minister Cao.

However, while the baron ate his wife's soft food and spent a lot of money on the maltose business, he didn't learn his lesson and owed a whole lot of debt.

Chapter 180 Two Green Light

After his money became more abundant, Baron Harperdiner's mind quickly became agitated again.

After all, most of his family property is the dowry brought by his wife.Later, he was able to participate in the trading of maltose because of his wife's contacts.After fully realizing the cruel reality that he is a soft rice man, Baron Harperdinner felt more and more inferior in front of his wife.Although outside, the two still maintain a harmonious couple image, but at home, Baron Harperdinner has not touched his beautiful and mature wife for a long time.

Even if he sprinkled a lot of livre, he got lovers and whores to flatter him, and he did his best to flatter Baron Harperdiner.But after the carnival, when the endless emptiness hit him, the frustration in his heart became more and more serious.

This winter, when he went to Sardinia to escape the cold winter, he met a Portuguese.

The other party claimed to be a confidant of Prince Henry of Portugal, who was responsible for developing agriculture in the newly explored territory.He owned several sugar cane plantations in Madeira, the sugar business flourished, and he made a huge fortune. The way he spent money was the envy of Baron Harperdiner.

After the two got acquainted, the Portuguese heard that Baron Harperdinner was also in the sugar business—although sucrose and maltose are not the same thing, the consumers of these two sweet luxuries belong to the same group, so proposed cooperation.

The Portuguese provided the goods, and Baron Harperdiner relied on his contacts in the French aristocratic circle to be responsible for the sales, and the profits were divided [-]-[-].

The two hit it off.Baron Harperdiner borrowed a sum of money from the Bank of Genoa as the start-up capital, and began to dream of making a fortune and letting his proud wife prostrate at his feet.

Then, the Portuguese came to him again and made a new suggestion: "There is still a lot of abandoned land on Madeira Island. Portugal is sparsely populated and cannot be developed at all. Baron, why don't you just buy the land, grow sugar cane and squeeze sugar yourself, and use the land to produce sugar?" If the profits of the sugar industry are all monopolized, wouldn’t it be more profitable?”

In fact, as long as you are a clear-headed person, you will increase your vigilance when you hear the other party's changing rhetoric.

It's a pity that Baron Harperdiner only wants to make a lot of money and has a hot head.In addition, he had already invested a sum of money, so he simply did not do anything, mortgaged all his ancestral property, and borrowed another huge sum of money from the Bank of Genoa.

Then, it is the ending that the people of later generations are very familiar with.

One morning, the extravagant Portuguese disappeared suddenly, along with Baron Harperdiner's money.

Baron Harperdinner frantically searched for it, but only realized that he had been deceived after he found nothing.

Carrying a heavy debt and returning home depressed, Baron Harperdiner accidentally found a letter sent by his wife to the Marquis of La Manche.

Although the letter was about business affairs, there was an intimacy and coquettish tone between the lines.

Baron Harperdiner seemed to have seen a scene like hell: his beautiful wife was lying in the arms of a Serisian, writhing and panting, while telling the bright future of the two working together in the maltose business, and by the way, mocking Fan Husband's short and soft...

Accompanied by the BGM of "Green Light" (well, it didn't), Baron Harperdiner rushed to confront his wife angrily.

Who knew that Margaret not only admitted that the letter was indeed written by herself, but also retorted with a sneer: "Darling, I hope you recognize a reality. Our family can participate in the maltose business, one is because of the queen's support." Relationship, and the second is to rely on the generosity of the Marquis of La Manche. If you don’t want your wife to flatter other men like a prostitute, then please cheer up and run the family business well, and don’t always owe a huge debt that is difficult to repay! "

Lord Harperdiner was speechless.

Powerless and furious, he had to drink to relieve his sorrow.At a certain reception, he accidentally told a friend about the messy family affairs.

Who knew that this friend with a lot of ghost ideas gave him an idea: "Friend, do you suspect that Marguerite is having an affair with the Marquis of La Manche?"

"Yes. It's just that there is no proof yet."

"This kind of thing needs a goblin's evidence! If you doubt it, it's true. Maybe you can take this opportunity to make a lot of money."

According to this friend's analysis, the Marquis of La Manche is now in the limelight and under the attention of various forces. He needs to be cautious in his actions and stay away from all disputes.And Baron Harperdiner, as the bitter master with verdant green above his head, can just use this to blackmail the other party and pay a certain price.

Of course, the speed must be well grasped, otherwise the Siris people will be anxious, and Baron Harperdiner's sudden "unknown cause of death", wouldn't it be a big loss?

At that time, people will be able to sleep the baron's widow in a fair manner.

"Have you heard about a exhibition?"

Baron Harperdiner shook his head: "Recently, I have been in a lot of trouble because of family affairs and debts. I have never heard of a tithing exhibition."

The friend explained carefully to the baron, and said: "You might as well take this opportunity to ask Ma Youfu to assign you an important position in the Yihui Yixie. For example, the cultural exhibition painting judges. At that time, I am afraid that those who want to Won’t the winning family send you a bag of Ducats?”

Under the lure of money, Baron Harperdiner immediately took the case and adopted his friend's suggestion.

He returned home, pretended to apologize sincerely to his wife, and then proposed to go north to Reims to visit the Marquis of Lamanche.