Continental Warriors Yoo Ma

The number of French troops in Rouen was suddenly reduced to 1000.

Firman and Baron Thomas both knew that the opportunity had come!

Now, it depends on when the Duke of Bedford attacks.And when Sir Fastov's reinforcements will appear in the east.

……

On the outskirts of Paris, in the French barracks on the left bank of the Seine, in the most luxurious tent.

"Your Excellency, this morning, another twelve Hessian mercenaries mutinied and fled the barracks. Your personal guard cavalry went to chase them, but to no avail." Arthur de Richmond reported to the Duke of Orleans.

The Duke of Orleans waved his hand impatiently, letting the wine spill on his beard.He raised the gold wine glass inlaid with gemstones, drank the high-grade red wine in the glass, and then hiccupped and said, "Don't chase, save your energy. Those greedy war hounds, run away as soon as they run away." ..."

"However, my lord, the situation of mutiny and fleeing has intensified. If it is not stopped in time, the entire army may fall apart." Adjutant Marshal Richmond urged.

"Anyway, Ma Youfu has won Normandy, and the overall situation is settled. We just wait to enjoy the sweet fruits of victory. Even if this army disappears overnight, can Bedford turn defeat into victory?" Duke Orleans With a look of indifference, "Besides, it's not my fault that the mercenaries mutinied! You should ask my good cousin why the military salary hasn't been sent for a whole month!"

Chapter 250 The Third Lying Flat Duke

Whether it is based on the calculations of the Duke of Bedford or the data given by Jacques Cole, the treasurer of Charles VII, France's finances can continue to support for several months, and military expenditures should not be exhausted at this time.

However, the Duke of Orleans encountered a money problem.

On the day of Henry VI's coronation, the Duke of Orléans and the Count of Luxembourg were responsible for launching a feint to attract the attention of the defenders in Paris.

Even if they didn't attack with all their strength, after half a day, there were still many casualties, and several knights were killed in battle.As soon as the rewards and pensions were issued, the Duke of Orleans realized that he only had a few thousand livres of military pay on hand.

Fortunately, next month is coming, and the royal convoy from the south will bring bags of gold coins as usual, so the Duke of Orleans doesn't care.

He even gave each soldier an extra holiday bonus of 1 sou.

On the day of the festival, Britain and France had a tacit understanding to strike and rest.Soldiers with money on hand need to consume, and businessmen who smell business opportunities pour into the barracks one after another.

Even the prostitutes in Paris took advantage of the night to leave the city by boat to develop new markets in the French camp.

Food, drink, gambling, women...

The money in the soldiers' pockets was quickly drained.

For those city militias and noble levies who responded to the Valois royal family's participation in the war, there was not much problem.Even if there is no money in the pocket, His Royal Highness still has to take care of at least three meals a day.

But for mercenaries, it's a different situation.

In their eyes, war is a business. From weapons and equipment to clothes and luggage to three meals a day, everything must be self-financed.

If the salary is cut off, it will be hungry.

Originally, the mercenaries still had some savings in their pockets, but they squandered it during the festival, and many of them spent almost nothing on their military pay.

These daily-paid mercenaries, like the Sanhe masters of later generations, have extremely poor ability to resist risks. When the Duke of Orleans couldn't afford the payment, the morale and combat effectiveness dropped rapidly, the military discipline began to deteriorate, and even the entire army was about to fall apart. , are expected.

Faced with such a situation, the Duke of Orleans was still extremely anxious, and sent several urging letters to Charles VII of Bourges.

As a result, the other party gave a lot of reasons, but they just couldn't give an accurate promise of when the military salary would be delivered.

The day before yesterday, the newly collected taxes from the south were finally sent from Bourges, and as a result, the convoy encountered a sudden celestial sphere convergence on the way.

Hundreds of goblin bears rushed out from the space-time rift and ransacked the convoy.

Since the Duke of Orleans received this bad news, he has completely given up on himself, drinking and having fun all day long, and does not care about military affairs.

Of course, there was another factor that caused him to lie flat.That is, Ma Youfu concealed his plan to blitz Normandy very well, and did not disclose it to the Duke of Orleans until the day before the implementation.

After all, I am the number two figure in this army, and I don't even know such a big thing!

Aren't Ma Youfu, who drew up the plan, and Charles VII, who approved the plan, completely underestimating himself?How could the proud Duke endure such humiliation!

If it was normal, maybe the Duke of Orleans would cheer up, and even think that this is a good opportunity to show his skills and get some power back from Ma Youfu.But now, anyway, the Serisians have gone to Rouen.When he occupies Normandy, Paris without foreign aid is just a lonely city.There is no suspense in the battle situation, why bother?

The mercenaries ran and ran.It would be best for the newly hired mercenaries to also run together, so as to save a lot of money.

Richmond tried his best to persuade him, but it still didn't work.The Breton shook his head helplessly, turned and left the tent.

Not long after Richmond left, the half-drunk and half-awake Duke of Orleans suddenly felt a slight vibration from the ground.

He thought that there was an earthquake, but after careful consideration, he felt that something was wrong.

The Duke of Orleans came back to his senses when the shouts of "For St. George" were vaguely heard in the distance.

That was not an earthquake, but the vibration of the earth when thousands of cavalry charged!

The unexpected attack by the British army shocked the Duke of Orleans with a chill down his spine, and he suddenly sobered up.

"Servant, servant! Help me put on my armor!" The Duke of Orleans was also a military aristocrat, and his first reaction at this time was to organize an army to fight instead of fleeing.

It's a pity that the mellow wine produced in Burgundy made him go limp as soon as he stood up, and fell to the ground.

"It's over! If I'm caught again, where will I have the money to pay the ransom? Do I have to sell another fief?"

Just when the Duke of Orleans fell into despair, a hand with an iron glove helped him up steadily.

"Ah, Arthur, my dear friend!"

"My lord, don't waste time. Your personal guards are waiting for you by the river. Please evacuate as soon as possible and head towards Meaux. Jean Bro is stationed there, so it's safe. I'm the rear guard here."

Looking at the resolute Richmond, the Duke of Orleans was beyond words.After he gave the other party a sincere face-to-face kiss, he stumbled and fled the tent.

Richmond breathed a sigh of relief, and thought to himself: "Now, I have finally fulfilled the important task of His Royal Highness, and I can regain trust."

He quickly returned to his camp and gathered his subordinates together: "Prepare to retreat. After crossing the river, march north along the outskirts of Vincennes Forest and gather at Pontoise."

"My lord, where are those mercenaries?"

"We only take away the city militia and noble levies. As for the greedy war hounds, let them block the English. The Hessian mercenaries are located at the outermost edge of the camp, so they should buy more time. The Frisians The Lombards and the Lombards are cowards, but even if they run around, they can cause some trouble to the enemy. By the way, there is also the Jutland Free Corps. Those guys still have a bit of blood left over from their Viking ancestors, so they won’t be so Easily crumbles."

After the confession was made, all the nobles dispersed and returned to the camp to organize a retreat.

It must take a lot of effort for the British army to break through the camp of tens of thousands of people.As long as panic is not allowed to spread and cause a chain reaction, the loss is acceptable-at least Richmond can accept it.

In the evening, after the last formed French army entered Pontoise, Richmond made an inventory and found that his own losses were not too great except for the mercenaries, and he still had 7000 troops on hand.

Dunoir, who was stationed in Pontoise, showed extraordinary management ability, provided sufficient food and drinks for the soldiers who were still in shock, and quickly stabilized the morale of the army.

And Richmond, at this time, was writing a letter to Charles VII, telling his highness who was far away in Bourges what happened today.

Chapter 250 Four Charles VII in the Stratosphere ([-]rd watch)

"The Duke of Orleans ran all the way under the pursuit of Talbot, barely fled into the city of Meaux. After he escaped from danger, he was very emotional. It is said that he wailed on the back of his horse and even vomited all the wine he drank before. He came out in a panic like a goblin who escaped from ogre soup. The duke has completely lost his aristocratic dignity, and it is estimated that he will become the laughing stock of the court for a long time in the future. In addition, His Highness does not need to worry about the deterioration of the battle situation. The Marquis of La Manche is progressing well in Normandy, and the key fortresses around Paris, especially Meaux and Pontoise, are still firmly in our hands. The English army will be like a gelatinous monster dropped in the Syrian desert , a slow and irreversible death..."

In the palace of Bourges, Charles VII wore a light silk robe, while enjoying the chilled grapes peeled by his lover Agnès, while reading the latest news sent by Richmond through the messenger technique.

"Ha ha!"

Seeing the end, he couldn't help being happy and laughed out loud.

"Your Highness, congratulations. The reputation of the Duke of Orléans has been completely discredited. The nobles have also seen clearly that he is a worthless waste. From now on, no one will be able to threaten the throne of the Valois family." Agnès Jiao greasy smile.

Charles VII nodded triumphantly, a great sense of satisfaction surged in his heart, which made him feel comfortable all over.

If you want to say who is the person who makes Charles VII most restless in France, there may be many options, but there is only one answer.

The English who still occupy large swaths of France and even claim the French throne?

The Duke of Burgundy, who had a feud with Charles VII who killed his father, and who is now reconciled, is still on guard against each other, and whose strength has expanded extremely rapidly?

That Serisian who rose rapidly, had extraordinary abilities, and was supported by a saint?

These forces may cause Charles VII occasional headaches, but the real problem that he needs to solve as soon as possible is the Duke of Orleans.

After all, as a feudal monarch, securing the throne and ensuring that the throne can be passed on to his descendants is the top priority.

His Queen Mary had been pregnant three times.But because of early marriage and early childbirth, and the backwardness of medical care in the Middle Ages, even with the protection of magic, one of Charles VII's three children was miscarried and one died. Only Louis survived to this day.

It is precisely because of the loss of two children one after another that the husband and wife began to feel estranged from each other while they were sad.Charles VII even wondered if his wife's belly had been cursed, so he became more and more unwilling to make out with her.

Although he had several children with his mistresses, Louis is the only one who has the right to inherit so far.

But the only hope of the Valois family is not a healthy, lively, and strong child like a calf that Charles VII expected.

He has been weak since he was a child, and he doesn't like outdoor activities such as fencing and horse riding. Instead, he is very interested in books and often stays in the room all day.

If the second son had this kind of personality, there would be much less disputes about inheritance rights in the future, and Charles VII would definitely praise the Seven Saints happily.

But the problem is, the future king of France looks like a monk, how can he do it?

Thinking of Louis' pale little face, Charles VII worried that he would die early one day, leaving himself with difficult succession issues.

Therefore, Charles VII began to make two-handed preparations.

One is to select the right one among the illegitimate children, focus on training them, and pave the way for future regularization.Of course, it is very difficult for an illegitimate child to be recognized and obtain legal inheritance rights.Not only must the support of the nobles in the country be obtained, but the pope must also be nodded.

However, Charles VII believed that, relying on his status as King of France and the power of victory in the Hundred Years' War, this would not be difficult to achieve.

On the other hand, it is necessary to eliminate those who can threaten the inheritance of Valois.

And the Valois family is extinct, who is likely to inherit the throne?

There is no doubt that it is the Orleans family.

Therefore, Charles VII must eliminate this hidden danger. If the unfortunate event of Louis' early death really happens in the future, then the illegitimate child he chose can be successfully restored without a strong competitor and wear the French crown.

Charles VII would not have done such a thing as killing relatives.In order to make the Duke of Orleans completely lose his chance, even after his own death, he can't even become the regent, he must weaken the opponent as much as possible.

When preparing to launch the Battle of Paris, Charles VII was worrying about the candidate for the royal marshal.

In line with the most basic principle of checks and balances, Ma Youfu must be excluded.The prestige and strength of the Marquis of Lamanche cannot be improved too quickly.

The glory of regaining Paris, at least not for him alone.

At this time, quite a few nobles suggested to Charles VII that the Duke of Orleans should be the Marshal.After a little consideration, Charles VII agreed to this suggestion.

Then, through a series of operations, the army was deliberately delayed, causing the army of the Duke of Orléans to suffer a major defeat, ruining its reputation, and completely becoming the laughing stock of the French aristocratic circle.

It is estimated that in the future, the Duke of Orleans will only be able to stay at home and write poems to dawdle.

But it was one thing to trip up the Duke of Orleans, and quite another to win the Battle of Paris.

At any rate, he is also a monarch who has personally experienced wars many years ago, and he knows the truth that "a soldier is a major event for a country".In order to prevent the failure of the Duke of Orleans from turning into a major defeat of the entire French army, and then lose the entire battle, he specially sent Richmond, an experienced and capable veteran, as the deputy of the Duke of Orleans, to cooperate in completing this battle. plan.

In the past, Richmond was suspected by Charles VII because his brother, the Duke of Brittany, defected to England.Prime Minister George took the opportunity to offer slander and drove Richmond out of the court.

Richmond was not angry, so he simply did not do anything, launched a rebellion, and scared Charles VII very much.

Although under the advice of his mother-in-law Yolande, Charles VII reconciled with Richmond, and the latter entered the court again to play for France.But the grudge in his heart was not so easy to get rid of.

In order to regain the trust of Charles VII, Richmond had no choice but to spare no effort to complete the tasks he assigned.

It now appears that Charles VII chose a very good person, and the Bretons accomplished their mission brilliantly, as expected.