Continental Warriors Yoo Ma

"Is this true?" Ma Youfu looked at Vitale.

The St. Benezet Bridge, also known as the Avignon Bridge, which was later named a World Heritage Site, is the only way to go south to Marseille from Savoy and Burgundy in the north.Is the bishop of Avignon crazy to charge five sous a toll on this bridge?

"Master Marquis, the special tax set by the bishop is only for heretics and heretics. These sinful people who are not loyal and pure enough to walk on the bridge named after the saint, of course they should pay their blood and sweat to atone for their sins!" Vitale Said with a face of course.

"We Gnostics are not heretics," said the old man, coughing.

Vitale sneered: "That's because there are traitors in the College of Cardinals lobbying for you! The upright and wise Bishop of Avignon has already seen your true colors! You have to pay a fine of ten times the tax for tax evasion. If you dare to resist, you will be called a heretic... I don’t know the stake or the sword, which one do you want to experience?”

Since the Pope called for the Southern Crusade, believers from all over France have spontaneously organized to go to the southern coast and prepare to cross the sea.

This road going south must pass through Avignon.And among the civilian crusaders who were mixed with fish and dragons, there were also many unorthodox sects in a mess.

Therefore, the bishop of Avignon saw this "business opportunity" and charged a high "special tax" to the heretics passing by.Sometimes heresy is not enough, and it is not impossible to catch a few civilians with no background to pretend to be heretics, and then blackmail them.

Who knew that this time, he would meet a strong Wisdom sect disciple.Not only were they flying the banner with great fanfare, but when they were blocked from crossing the bridge, they dared to rush through the tax card with a large number of people, and then fled all the way south.

How can such a thing be tolerated?The bishop of Avignon immediately dispatched the domineering general Vitale, leading [-] mercenaries in pursuit.

"This is obviously an unreasonable tax, and it should be canceled immediately. I will report this matter to Rome." Donatello obviously didn't like these greedy and shameless colleagues who tarnished the reputation of the Holy See, and his expression suddenly turned cold.

The mercenary captain didn't care about the other party's threat: "Mr. Donatello, please don't forget that Avignon is the territory directly under the Holy See. Every income here must be paid half to the Holy See treasury. Do you think the Holy See His Majesty will punish the bishop of Avignon who has brought him a lot of money?"

"You don't have to talk about the Holy See." Ma Youfu stared at Vitale with a half-smile, "The Pope? How many legions does the Pope have?"

Chapter 330 Six Excommunication

As soon as Ma Youfu uttered the violent words of the imitation steel father, Vitale was immediately shocked.

On the contrary, Donatello did not show any particular emotion.

In fact, Ma Youfu can see from his contacts with Donatello during this period that this great artist and elder of the think tank is very dissatisfied with many practices of the Holy See today.

Otherwise, he would not have expressed sympathy for the civilian crusaders who contained a lot of heresy in previous conversations.Nor will he tell Ma Youfu the secret about the seven saints beheading the fallen ancient Greek gods.

Vitale recovered from the shock. He looked at the key pattern symbolizing the authority of the Holy See on the armor cover, and immediately gained confidence. He puffed up his chest and said, "Master Marquis, please pay attention to your remarks. If these words are heard Your Majesty heard it, do you know what the consequences will be? Huh, you are indeed a newly converted member of the Seven Saints, who does not know the etiquette of respect and inferiority. If you dare to publicly express dissatisfaction with His Majesty, be careful to be excommunicated !"

When encountering Ma Youfu's team before, Vitale was shocked by the military quality displayed by the opponent's army. Without knowing the details, he chose a cautious retreat strategy.

But now that he has basically figured out the details of the opponent, his confidence has not diminished but has increased.

There are no more than 100 people on the opposite side, while there are 300 people on your side.The opponent's combat power is strong, and the own side is also full of elite mercenaries.Moreover, the ambush or support that Vitale was most worried about did not exist.

In such a comparison, three hundred versus one hundred, the advantage lies with me.

As for the rabble of Wisdom heretics, Vitale didn't pay attention at all.

Ma Youfu looked at the arrogant Vitale, and couldn't help but reflect: Did he show the modesty and prudence of the Orientals too much, so that he didn't show the arbitrariness and majesty that is in line with the most powerful nobleman in France? A mere mercenary leader, They dare to rely on the support of the Pope to be arrogant and rude in front of themselves.

It seems that it is time to make an example to the monkeys and let His Excellency know that this is no longer the era when the authority of the church is greater than that of the king. Don't always like to dictate the affairs of other countries.

Ma Youfu has not met the current Pope Enjen IV.The two began to exchange letters because of the Crusades.In the beginning, the relationship between the two parties was quite good.Ma Youfu needs the religious leaders of the Seven Saints to cheer for him and strengthen the legitimacy and legitimacy of the Crusades.Enren IV, who only took office last year, also needs to rely on the success of the Crusades to strengthen his authority.

Both parties get what they need and cooperate happily.

But as the crusade preparation plan was implemented in every detail.The contradictions between the two sides began to gradually arise.

Enren IV was mediocre, and he became pope only because he was the nephew of the previous pope.The most clearly remembered thing about him by later generations in the official history world line is probably the historical game stalk that "the Pope firmly believed in the rumors that Osman was weak".

However, in terms of consolidating his own power and expanding the power of the Holy See, Enren IV is in the same line as the previous popes.

Enren IV hoped that Ma Youfu would establish a diocese directly under the Holy See in the newly conquered land in return for his strong support for the Crusaders.

But Ma Youfu simply rejected Enren IV.He didn't even agree to the request of the Archbishop of Lance, how could he accept the more excessive conditions of the Holy See?

In the state-building envisioned by Ma Youfu, the church cannot have hereditary land ownership, and those bishops should not just be feudal lords who have changed their skins to oppress the peasants and be as virtuous as the nobles wielding swords.

Due to historical limitations, Ma Youfu could not establish a more efficient modern civil government overnight on the basis of the gradually disintegrating remnants of the feudal system. Therefore, the church has an irreplaceable role in social governance.It's just that this effect will be gradually restricted and compressed, and finally dropped to its proper position.

Of course, because this is a world where gods really exist, it is impossible for people to only talk about the secular world without talking about beliefs, so even if it develops into the information age, I am afraid that religion will still occupy a very important position in life.

Because of differences in political ideas, the relationship between Ma Youfu and Enren IV also quickly turned cold.Although the two sides still maintain the relationship of "crusaders who work together for the cause of the Seven Saints" on the surface, the various calculations under the table have already begun.

Enren IV, formerly known as Gabriel Condulmo, was a Venetian.Under his lobbying, the Republic of Venice had announced earlier that its own fleet would serve exclusively for the Crusaders of Shinra and Italy, and no orders from other countries would be accepted.

The navy will be the key to the success of this crusade.This trick played by Enren IV added a lot of obstacles to the Central Crusaders with Burgundy and France as the main force.

If the Venetians cannot be hired, the only option for Faber and Bolivia is the Genoese.Without the right to choose, there is no bargaining power. Because of Enren IV's operation, Ma Youfu predicted that the cost of hiring the Genoa fleet will increase by [-]% compared to the original plan.

He wanted to form his own navy, but since Normandy was lost in the Hundred Years War, France has been in a state of defenseless sea.It is not easy to build a powerful navy capable of dominating the Mediterranean Sea from scratch.

He suffered a bad loss before, but now that he has bumped into the mercenary leader who worked for the Pope, Ma Youfu can just use him to warn Emperor Enren IV.

Ma Youfu didn't care about Vitale's threat of excommunication.Not to mention that he was just a superficial believer who converted halfway and could repent at any time in the future, even among those European monarchs who were born and grew up, there were not a few cases where nothing happened after being excommunicated.

Being excommunicated only means that the Holy See, headed by the Pope, regards you as an enemy, but it does not mean that you have been rejected by the Seven Saints.

Historically, even Enren IV himself was declared a heretic and excommunicated by the Basel Council controlled by the French King during the power struggle of the Holy See.

In this day and age, thanks to the Black Death and the ideological progress brought about by economic development, the authority of the church is disintegrating at an accelerated rate. Apart from the traditional filial son of France, few other secular kings will obey the Pope unconditionally Order.Even Emperor Shinra, who needs the coronation of the Pope to gain legitimacy, cannot be a licking dog who only listens to the words of the Pope's father.It is very different from the situation when the Emperor Shinra was excommunicated more than 300 years ago and could only go to the Pope to beg for forgiveness.

"You think I'm afraid of this threat?" Ma Youfu laughed.

Feeling the malice hidden behind the other party's smile, Vitale was startled, and a terrible thought emerged in his heart: "Could this Siris want to kill all three hundred Pope's mercenaries here? , he doesn’t have to worry about those unreasonable words reaching the Holy See’s ears.”

"Master Marquis, I hope you can stay rational. Although your army is elite, but the number is too small. My subordinates have also experienced Paris..." Vitale wanted to brag about the past achievements of his mercenary group to let Ma Youfu was jealous, who knew that halfway through the sentence, he realized that something was wrong, so he shut up quickly.

"Paris what?" Ma Youfu asked.

Vitale was racking his brains to find an excuse, but unexpectedly, the opponent had already spotted the gap and made a bold move.

With the spellcasting attainments of a level 11 artificer, coupled with the specialty of "fast casting", Ma Youfu almost raised his hand, and quickly cast a "human immobilization spell" at Vitale.

When the two adjutants saw that the general was attacked, they immediately touched their waists, but they didn't draw their swords in the end.At some point, several small white clay puppets climbed onto the two of them and wrapped their hands and feet.

This is Donatello's method.

The mercenaries of the Papal State in the distance noticed that the situation had changed and immediately fell into commotion.At this time, a voice amplified by spells came over: "I am the Marquis of La Manche. Your leader Vitale has been captured alive by me. He is a member of the woolen soldiers who committed a felony in France and will soon face justice. And a severe trial. If any of you have ever committed a felony with Vitale, it is best to surrender immediately. Those who are not guilty can get a new contract from me. If you are willing to report and expose the evil deeds of your companions , and additional rewards!"

Ma Youfu repeated the plan to deal with the wool soldiers in Paris, which immediately caused the entire mercenary group to be in a mess.He stood far away, watching with cold eyes, and only asked Bayard to tie up the three of Vitale, and he gave no other orders.

At the beginning of the negotiation, Ma Youfu felt familiar with the name "Corsican Guard" when he heard the other party's self-reported background.Later, Vitale slipped his mouth and blurted out the word "Paris", and he remembered that this Corsican guard also participated in the Battle of Paris, and then left the battlefield in the defeat of the Duke of Orleans and became a woolen soldier. .

The Corsican guards did not do much wrongdoing in the French countryside, but the mercenary captain was relatively clear-headed. From the news that Charles VII was about to hold an imperial meeting, he felt something was wrong.

So before Charles VII officially promulgated a decree to solve the problem of wool soldiers, he ran to Italy with a bucket to find new opportunities to make a fortune.When passing through Avignon, the bishop appreciated Vitale's military talent very much, so he signed a long-term contract with him, letting him be responsible for the defense of Avignon.

Mercenaries are a business similar to contracting.The employer pays the mercenary captain a commission, and the mercenary captain himself recruits soldiers and raises supplies, and everything is responsible for his own profits and losses.If the scale of the mercenary group is large, there will be a layer-by-layer subcontracting system of mercenary group leader-centurion-squad leader.

Relying on the generous commission paid by the Pope, Vitale aggressively expanded his team, turning the small mercenary group with only a few dozen people into a medium-sized mercenary group with 300 people today.

Now that Vitale, who had signed an employment contract with the Pope, was arrested, the mercenaries under his command naturally became unemployed with no income.

It would be fine if the mercenary group could elect a new leader as soon as possible and then renew the contract with the Pope.

However, under the fire of Ma Youfu, the Corsican Guard has completely fallen into chaos.I don't know who started it, the screams suddenly came from the mercenary formation, and then quickly turned into a bloody fire.

Chapter 330 VII Driving a Big Car

When he was almost done eating melons, Ma Youfu ordered his army to enter the field to suppress it, and quelled the fire.

Afterwards, after an inventory, it was found that 210 mercenaries survived.

After ordering Bayard to disarm and control these mercenaries, the priests under Donatello's command appeared on the stage.They continued to cast divine spells to detect the camp, dividing the mercenaries into two parts.

There are 31 people on one side, all of whom are Vitale's old subordinates and wool soldiers who have committed multiple crimes in France.Most of the remaining mercenaries are Vitale’s newly recruited subordinates in Avignon. Some are poor mountain people. It was too intense and couldn't get along with them, so the Lombard mercenaries who came to Provence to make a living.

After Ma Youfu promised to give these people a suitable job, he put them all under Bayar's management.

When he is free in two days, he can sign a formal contract with these mercenaries.However, Ma Youfu did not intend to follow the old practice of recruiting mercenaries, let the mercenaries elect a leader, and then sign a contract.He has to sign a contract with each mercenary individually.

In this way, the risk of the mercenary leader taking the lead in the war and then counterattacking the employer is avoided.

In the Italian city-state wars, too many similar things happened.The usurpation of the title of Duke of Milan by the Sforza family is probably the most famous example of this.

In addition, if this short-term contract is extended to 20 or even 30 years, isn't it a professional soldier?Isn't the standing army formed?

After arranging the military system reform experiment, Ma Youfu began to deal with the group of wool soldiers headed by Vitale who slipped through the net.

There was nothing to say, and the execution was executed on the spot.

Donatello didn't say anything, but the old man representing the Wisdom faction felt that it seemed a little inappropriate to do so.

"Ahem... Your Excellency the Marquis, are you not afraid of provoking the pope's anger by punishing the soldiers of the Pope in public?" The old man named Gaucher was an alchemist. Because of a mistake in an experiment, he inhaled Excessive poisonous gas, so the root cause of a chronic cough.

Although his body is not very good, but with his wisdom and experience, he still became the leader of this group of Wisdom sect believers.

"Mr. Gaucher, have you ever heard a proverb: A king who is not excommunicated is not a good king."

"What?" Gaucher didn't respond for a moment.But at least he could tell from Ma Youfu's attitude that the other party was not afraid of the Pope.

Ma Youfu patted the old man on the shoulder and said, "Just listen to the joke. But I also know what you are really worried about. Don't worry, I will provide you with shelter during this time in Provence."

Gaucher breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he also thanked Ma Youfu for getting rid of these greedy and cruel mercenaries of the Pope, but if the Marquis patted his ass and left later, would he be angered by the bishop of Avignon, and then usher in more cruel revenge?

Now with Ma Youfu's guarantee, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

In the distance by the Rhone River, the guards were chopping off the heads of the mercenaries—lead bullets and gunpowder were not cheap, so he would not use the "high-end" method of shooting to execute his execution.

Ma Youfu, on the other hand, was writing a letter on the small square table set up temporarily.The sound of each head rolling down, as if matching the ups and downs of the quill pen on the paper, is playing a weird piece of music, which makes Gaucher's eyelids twitch.

"Is this the Wisdom faction's refuge with the Marquis of La Manche? No, I am just a deacon and cannot represent the entire sect. Moreover, it is really hard to guess what purpose this decisive Serisian has..."

Ma Youfu didn't know the entanglement in Gaucher's heart. After he finished writing the letter, he put the letter paper and a check from the Medici Bank in an envelope, sealed it with wax, and handed it to the other party: "You and these believers continue to walk along the road to Rome. Go down the Ne River and when you arrive in Arles, go to Lord Jean II of Menelles Manor. He will be in charge of settling you."

Even though Rang II is incompetent, that kind of energy to pursue his career is still somewhat useful.Although he can't do big things, he can still help Ma Youfu with some simple things.His territory is actually quite large, extending to the mouth of the Rhone River, accounting for more than half of the Barony of Arles.

However, due to the perennial harassment of Barbary pirates, the 25 kilometers inland from the coastline is completely uninhabited, and large tracts of fertile land have been abandoned.When he was young, King Jean II also made up his mind to change this situation, but the Barbary pirates who came and went like the wind were too difficult to deal with, so in the end he had to lie down and retreat to his manor under the shelter of the city of Arles to live his own life. Every day, I pin all my hopes on my daughter.

However, because of the imminent launch of the massive Crusade, the Barbary pirates also temporarily stopped their efforts, secretly accumulating strength to deal with the real enemy: the fleets of Venice and Genoa.

The check attached to the letter by Ma Youfu can withdraw a thousand ducats from the bank run by the Medici family. Even if the second generation gets some wool, it is enough for the Wisdom sect to live peacefully for a period of time.

At that time, it will be decided whether to transfer these Gnostic believers to Normandy or emigrate to the Maghreb.

They are all high-quality people with certain skills, how could Ma Youfu let them go?

After solving the emergency, Ma Youfu went on the road again, and arrived at Tarascon Castle before nightfall.

René I and his wife Isabelle de Lorraine held a grand welcome banquet for Mayouf. The only regret is that the famous Joan of Arc did not accompany him, which made the expectations of the Duke and Duchess as if they were fans of stars fell through.

When Ma Youfu went south, Charles VII appointed him as the king's special envoy, with the power to inspect all parts of the south.However, Ma Youfu was only thinking of catching the son of the salt mist, and he was not in the mood to be an imperial envoy visiting incognito.

After arriving at the estuary of the Rhone River, they could not find the Son of Salt Mist. Ma Youfu and Donatello judged that the other party should still be hidden in some waters in the north—whether it was a river or a lake, no one could say. allow.

So the two formulated a strategy of waiting for the rabbit, guarding the Rhone River, the only place the Son of Salt Mist must pass to enter the Mediterranean Sea, so that they can slowly wait for the other party to fall into the trap.