Continental Warriors Yoo Ma

Teutonic knights used to insert peacock feathers on their helmets as decorations.Twelve peacock feathers represent the heads of twelve Teutonic knights.

Every Teutonic knight is a professional with extraordinary strength. It is very difficult to kill one, let alone twelve.

But Zpisciko finally made it.

And Bernhard was the No.13 Teutonic knight he defeated.

When participating in the Battle of Grünwald, Zpisko had already fulfilled his vows to his first love, and had a fief, married a family and had children, so he spared Bernhard's life only because of economic factors.

Bernhard, who was lucky enough to survive, regarded the experience of being captured as a great shame.After that, he can be said to have obtained half of the protagonist template, fighting monsters and upgrading in the cold and dangerous Northeast Europe where monsters frequently appear, and later married a countess, earning a lot of money.

Today, 20 years have passed since the battle of Grunwald.

Bernhard, who was young and immature back then, is now at the peak of a knight, with no flaws in experience or combat effectiveness.Zpisko, on the other hand, has lived to the end of middle age, worrying about the future of his children all day long.In order to earn more money as a dowry for his daughter, he had to go to work in France (perfectly predicted the flow of personnel in the European Union 600 years later), and used his rich cavalry combat experience to serve the Seres.

Under the ebb and flow, Bernhard is more and more eager for revenge.The reason why he was willing to accept the invitation of the Earl of Warwick and bring the whole army to Paris was because he heard that Zbysko was serving the French.

Bernhard did not shy away from the fact that he had been captured, and the Duke of Bedford knew it too.

He looked around and went over the names of the main generals under his command in his mind.

Bernhard, was captured by a Pole.

The Earl of Warwick, who was captured by Ma Youfu.

Earl Talbot, once captured by Joan of Arc.

Lord Fastolph, who was captured by Joan of Arc.

……

Today, the three strongest commanders in England have all been prisoners of France.If the Duke of Bedford has watched a certain Chinese movie about the War of Liberation in later generations, he will definitely complain: "Is my place here the Paris Military Conference or the Gongdelin Canteen?"

Well, in this day and age, being a prisoner is not such a big stain.

If it weren't for Fastov's two consecutive defeats in Patty and Sharon, and because his humble background was the best way to take the blame, the Duke of Bedford would not have left him idle, and would have entrusted him with a heavy responsibility.

"If only Montagu hadn't been shot in the face at Orleans..." sighed the Duke of Bedford.

There are only three of the former England's four kings, but the French side is full of stars and rookies are coming out in large numbers. The Duke of Bedford feels that the current situation is more and more difficult.

But battles have to be fought.

He pondered for a moment, and decisively issued an order: "Cavalier Bernhard, you are the general who is best at using cavalry among the people. I order you to lead all [-] cavalry in Paris to stop the attack on Pontoise." French army. Remember to focus on harassment and attacks, and don’t easily attack the enemy’s artillery positions. In addition, you also need to cover a thousand longbowmen to reinforce Pontoise.”

Chapter 210 Four: The War Is Fighting the Economy

"My lord, there are only about 1000 defenders in Paris. Isn't it too risky for you to send out a third of them at once?" Earl Hogil objected.

The Earl of Warwick sneered: "Earl Hogil, it is you who think that Talbot is not an opponent of the Witch of Orleans. Now that the Duke wants to support Pontoise, you have jumped out to oppose it. Are you here to make trouble? "

As a member of the Duke of Gloucester's faction, Earl Hogil did play a nasty role alongside the Duke of Bedford.

But he also has his reasons.

"The French army has assembled more than 3 people outside Paris. If a large number of troops are deployed to support Pontoise, what if the enemy launches a general offensive at this time?"

The Duke of Bedford knew he had to convince Earl Hogil.Because behind the opponent stood the Duke of Gloucester.This is related to whether he can successfully obtain support from England.

He said: "Although the French army is large in number, except for the [-] men under the command of the Marquis of La Manche, other troops have just assembled from all over the city under the city of Paris. They are loosely organized and slow to act. The duke is nothing to be afraid of, he is just a mediocre person with a false name."

The Duke of Bedford had met the Duke of Orleans several times in England.The other party gave him the impression that he was a typical French aristocrat who was born noble, loved luxury and flamboyance, and had indeed made great achievements in poetry and literature, but had no real talent in military and political affairs.

This kind of pragmatic and unrealistic person attended various banquets in peacetime, talked and laughed happily with many nobles, behaved gracefully, spoke elegantly and confidently, and was knowledgeable and knowledgeable. This appearance would indeed mislead many people.

The most talented nobleman in France, the real pillar of the Valois royal family... Such high hats are put on the head of the Duke of Orleans as if they don't need money.

So much so that the English aristocratic council really thought that the other party had a great talent, and it has been trying its best to prevent France from redeeming the Duke of Orleans.

But the Duke of Bedford knew the details of the other party, so he tried his best to facilitate the exchange of British and French prisoners since the beginning of spring, earning a large amount of military expenses.

Today, the situation is developing as he expected.

After the ambitious Duke of Orleans became one of the highest commanders of the French army, he immediately clashed with Ma Youfu.

In order to compete and establish leadership, the two sides actually came up with a game that was almost a joke like a siege competition.The chaos at the top of the French Army can be seen.

After scolding the Duke of Orleans, the Duke of Bedford said: "Although the number of the French army is three times that of ours, if we want to capture Paris, a city that has been heavily fortified, this force will definitely not work. The only one on the other side is The feasible way is to besiege, wait until we run out of food and lose the will to resist, and take the initiative to open the city and surrender.

Morale-wise, I'm not worried.As long as His Royal Highness completes the coronation ceremony, everyone from nobles like me to ordinary Parisians will understand why they are fighting, and they will no longer be confused.Besides, there was Elizabeth. "

Compared with the Lorraine village girl who led the army to attack the city for the second time, the daughter of the fish shop in London who started saving lives and healing the wounded as soon as she arrived is obviously more popular with the citizens of Paris and regards her as a real saint.

"This battle is destined to be a long, tortured, and painful protracted battle. Therefore, maintaining supplies has become the top priority. As long as we persist, we will win the final victory. Therefore, Pontoise must not lose !"

"Charles VII has the support of more than half of France, and the entire south, which is rich in food, will provide supplies for the French army. How can you guarantee that we can last longer than the French?" Earl Hogil continued to raise his own doubts.

"Let me do an economic calculation for you, Earl." The Duke of Bedford said confidently with a smile on his face.

Last winter, Charles VII was not tired of Agnès's pair of white and round all day long, and did not do business.With the prestige of Chalon's victory in the First World War, he convened the three-level national parliament with the help of Jacques Cole, the chief financial officer, and rebuilt the tax system of the entire France.

The originally paralyzed system resumed operation, and the salt tax, excise tax, and gold and silver tax began to gradually flow into the royal treasury.It is estimated that Charles VII's total income this year can reach 70 to 80 livres.

In another two or three years, this revenue will grow to more than 100 million livres.If Charles VII can take back Normandy, Gascogne, Guyenne, and even Brittany and Provence, it is very possible that France's annual income will soar to 200 million livres.

Well, that's all in the future.Now England has a huge sum of [-] pounds sponsored by Portugal to suppress Mayouf's monopoly on the sugar industry in Western Europe, plus the [-] pounds ransom from the Duke of Orleans, and the [-] pounds special real estate tax that the Parliament finally allowed to levy. The resources mobilized are actually more than that of Charles VII.

"About 9000 of the army under the command of the Duke of Orleans are the private armies of the nobles from various places, and 4000 are the militia sent by various cities. The rest are mercenaries. Of the 60 nobles' armed forces, only half promise to serve as vassals. Forty days of military duty, after which Charles VII had to pay for support. And the militias sent to fight in various cities were exchanged by Charles VII at the price of exempting a year of beer tax at the three-level meeting. This compromise made Charles VII The tax that the world can get this year is actually a [-]% discount, which is only about [-] livres."

After calculating the total income of France, the Duke of Bedford began to calculate the expenditure again: "A square flag knight who can serve as the commander of the squadron has a daily salary of 2 livres. A junior who has been trained as a knight since childhood and is brave in combat Knights, the daily salary is 1 livre. And following the knights to fight, the retinue who is also equipped with heavy armor and horses, the daily salary is half a livre. As for the infantry, long-term training, well-equipped and experienced crossbowmen, the daily salary 6 sous. And ordinary infantry, depending on the equipment, the daily salary ranges from 2 sou to 6 sou... After careful calculation, the dedicated and hardworking accountants under my command came to a conclusion: at most three to four months, Charles VII There will be no money to continue to maintain such a huge army. When the time comes, it will be our turning point!"

The Duke of Bedford did not expect Mayouf, who had the huge financial support of the Northern French Trading Company, to collapse without a fight, but it was predictable that the more than 2 people of the Duke of Orleans would fall apart due to lack of military pay and supplies.

Maybe those mercenaries who can't get paid by the army will turn into wool soldiers and go to harm the French countryside, which will greatly reduce the enemy's war potential in the coming year.

As long as Paris is held firmly, the enemy will collapse without a fight.At that time, Ma Youfu's more than 1 people will face a similar number of Paris defenders, and they will not be able to win anyway.And winter is coming again, and the opponent can only withdraw their troops.

The victory of the defense of Paris can severely damage the prestige of Charles VII, Mahouf, Marquis of La Manche, and the so-called Saint of Lorraine. In addition, the legitimacy bonus brought by the coronation of Henry VI to the King of France, the Duke of Bedford I believe that England's rule in Normandy will be completely stabilized.

"Ma Youfu said at the meeting of the Northern France Trading Company last month that wars are about the economy. I believe this deeply. Today, our financial situation is much better than that of the French. As long as the supply line in Paris is unobstructed, we will definitely Conquer the enemy with energy consumption! Pontoise is the key." The Duke of Bedford concluded at the end, "Earl Hogil, do you still have any objections?"

Chapter 210 The Function of Hot Air Balloons

In terms of leading the army and fighting, the nobles present may still have the confidence to compete with the Duke of Bedford.But when it comes to managing the territory and clarifying finances, the Earl of Hogil, who still grew up in the traditional medieval knight education, is far inferior to the Duke of Bedford.

But Earl Hogil still wanted to argue: "But..."

As soon as he opened his mouth, the Earl of Warwick's words completely left the upstart Earl speechless: "If Pontoise falls, how do you want His Royal Highness to return to England, by land?"

Losing the fast and safe waterway, the line of communication between Paris and Normandy would face harassment from the superior French cavalry at any time.

In case Henry VI returned to London with the two British and French crowns, he was robbed by the French halfway and became a prisoner, that would be a lot of fun.

"I understand, Lord Regent." After thinking deeply, Earl Hogil said to the Duke of Bedford solemnly, "Your wisdom and insight are admirable. I will fully cooperate with you and maintain close relations with London. We communicated smoothly with all parties and provided all necessary assistance for the defense of Paris."

After this military meeting, England reached a unified opinion, and the Duke of Bedford, who had dispersed his power due to the arrival of Henry VI, was no longer restrained.

The next morning, when the English scouts saw the iconic pure white battle flag of Joan of Arc leaving the French camp on the right bank of the Seine, they immediately notified the Duke of Bedford.

"Knights, follow me out of the city and let the French see who is the real number one cavalry in Europe!" Bernhard, the British commander, had already put on the classic Teutonic knight's ring-shaped feathered helmet , with a gorgeous peacock feather inserted on it, it is really eye-catching in the crowd.

Then, the [-] English cavalry that had already assembled, including [-] Teutonic Knights, and another [-] mobile longbowmen on horseback, drove out from the gate of St. Anthony on the east side of Paris.

In order to form this mobile force, the Duke of Bedford collected almost all the horses in Paris.Except for the scouts, the king's guard, nobles and their families, all the citizens of Paris today are horseless.

As a nation on horseback, the horses of the French army are much richer.

Under the leadership of Joan of Arc, the troops attacking Pontoise, a total of 6000 people, are a luxurious full cavalry lineup.Except for those infantry who maneuvered on horseback, the cavalry who really fought on horseback were all equipped with two or even three horses.

Before the war, all the generals, including La Haile and Dunoy, believed that the vast fields within [-] to [-] kilometers between Paris and Pontoise would be filled with cavalry testing, entanglement, pulling, and fighting. battlefield.In order to ensure the long-lasting combat effectiveness of the cavalry, it was decided to formulate this top-level configuration with added materials.

There is no way, France, which has plenty of war horses, is so willful.

The English cavalry maneuvered along the walls of the right bank of Paris, while the French were two or three kilometers away. The two armies were almost parallel and marched towards Pontoise at the same time.

Tens of thousands of war horses galloped on the ground, and the thunderous hooves could even reach the walls of Paris.The dry dust in summer was trampled repeatedly, raising billows of smoke and dust, which greatly obstructed the sight of both sides.

For a while, Bernhard couldn't grasp the situation on the battlefield with his eyes, so he could only guess the French army's movements by relying on experience, the sound from a distance, and the changes in smoke and dust.

Although the situation is unclear, he still encouraged his subordinates: "In terms of horses and equipment, we are no less than the French. In terms of martial arts and will, we are Teutonic knights tempered in the harsh Northeast Europe. Are these luxurious and flashy French Humans, can they match? Those soft bastards who eat with knives and forks contemptuously call us barbarians. Today, let these civilized people taste the swords of barbarians!"

The German cavalry cheered and their morale was boosted.

Subsequently, Bernhard led his army to Saint-Denis.He estimated that the French would pass there and continue along the banks of the Seine.

He was right. The Teutonic Knights, a militarized order, were even more powerful than the French heavy cavalry.His judgment was also correct, the French army was indeed going to march towards Saint-Denis.

But the only thing Bernhard misjudged was the battlefield advantage that the French army had.

In addition to horses, spears, and full-body plate armor, the French knights rely on one thing today-hot air balloons.

Joan of Arc went to battle today, bringing almost all the generals with her—except for the artillery expert Jean Bro, who guarded the house, and Ma Youfu, who personally commanded the hot air balloon unit.

Although the hot air balloon is a cross-age aircraft that can provide troops with long-lasting and large-scale reconnaissance intelligence, it also has many shortcomings.Even Napoleon, who used soldiers like a god, disbanded the hot air balloon unit because it was too difficult to use after forming it.

Among other things, the extremely complicated take-off preparations alone are a big problem.

After several experiments, Ma Youfu realized that the hot air balloon troops could hardly follow the infantry to maneuver, so he narrowed its military application scope to siege warfare and situations where the two armies needed to face off for a long time.

Ma Youfu set up a hot air balloon camp in advance in the forest about ten kilometers northeast of Paris.With all the eyes of the enemy army on Joan of Arc, almost no one would notice this small army.

The scout on the hot air balloon is a one-ring mage equipped with more than ten eagle eye scrolls.He can observe the enemy's movement on the entire battlefield from a condescending height, and then notify the frontline combat troops through simple semaphore.

Of course, it is also because most of the commanders in this fantasy world are professionals with excellent perception.As long as you set up a pergola and look up at the sky, you can clearly see the colorful flags hanging on the hot air balloon several kilometers away.

Otherwise, Ma Youfu would have to think hard to establish an instant communication system between the hot air balloon and the troops.

After obtaining the route and speed of the British cavalry from the hot air balloon, Joan dispatched Zbysico's cavalry and a cavalry artillery unit to enter Saint-Denis first with a forced march, and set up an ambush within half an hour. position.

Although this small town has a population of just over a thousand, it is the most famous in France—at least it is a pilgrimage site as famous as Mont Saint-Michel.

Saint-Denis, the patron saint of France in the famous slogan "Montjoie, Saint-Denis", was martyred in this town.People built a St. Denis Church in the town to commemorate the saint.

Later, this church became the burial place of successive French kings, and its status is second only to Reims Cathedral in France.

It is precisely for this reason that the French army did not occupy this town before.

But today, the tranquility of this holy land is destined to be broken by artillery fire.

Chapter 210 The Sixth Cavalry Has Wings?

Bernhard led his army into Saint-Denis.

After the battle broke out, the residents of the small town hid in cellars or other solid stone buildings to avoid being affected by the flames of war.

After experiencing the nightmare of countless horse raids and wool soldiers rampaging in the Hundred Years' War, ordinary French people have long learned how to protect themselves.

England's iron cavalry went all the way to the square in front of St. Denis Cathedral, but they didn't see a single figure.