Rona Panoni stood in front of Alexander, who had come all the way from another hill, and he had not bothered to rest on the way, so that even the Balkan mountain people, who were strong enough to climb the mountains, were panting for breath because of the rush along the way, and seemed to have a red-hot coal-burning coal in their throats.

Alexandria was reading a report from Gompati when Panoni appeared, and in half a month Gompati had gathered about 700 local mountain people, although there could be more, but Gompati was very strict about the number of recruits and the quality of soldiers.

Viscount Herva was a man of great ambition, and his desire to avenge his father and regain his position as Duke of Zagreb was strong, but it was always a thought.

He hid in this jungle camp and felt sorry for his injustice all day long, but he didn't even think of stepping out of the camp to find help, although he knew that there were still people in Croatia who supported him, but the viscount made all kinds of excuses for himself to delay and ask for help because of his strong distrust.

Alexander's presence gave the viscount a sense of hope, but it was also because of that strong distrust and insecurity that he accepted the fact that he had formed an alliance with Montina, but when he really needed it, he was only willing to offer a certain level of help, such as ordering the people to be recruited according to orders.

Fortunately, he had received more or less information from the viscount about the frequent attacks on the Ottomans by the mountain people at that time, which allowed Alexander to judge that the Ottomans might have taken revenge on the locals, in fact, when Gompati led people to rescue the mountain people, there were several other Montina troops in the mountains under the guidance of the guides sent by the viscount, looking for other mountain people who might be planning to attack the Ottomans again, and they were ordered to wait until the Ottomans made a move.

Alexander admits that it may have been a bit insidious to do so, as it would have to wait for the sacrifice of the mountain people, but if he didn't, he believed that the mountain people would have fought against the Montina army before the Ottomans arrived.

The Balkans were huddled and xenophobic, as can be seen from the experience of entering Kagnola to Bosnia, but Alexander still looked favorably on these stubborn and stubborn Balkan mountain people.

As far as he knew, the Ottoman new army had always been able to maintain a strong fighting force, which was inseparable from the high-quality military resources obtained by the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans.

The stubbornness of the Balkans was more reliable than that of the old Italian mercenaries, who were often forced to retreat to Greece by the fierce local peasants who often broke down and fled because they had only a few more dead on the battlefield.

The Balkans were undoubtedly some of the best soldiers in Europe, provided that they could be trained well.

At least after recruiting such a group of soldiers, Alexander had learned from Gompati that it was as difficult to organize such a scattered group of peasants as it was to fight a fierce battle with a strong enemy.

Alexander put the report aside and looked at the company officer standing opposite.

According to the local environment and actual situation in Bosnia, Alexander did not form a unified large regiment of Balkans as he did in Italy, but slightly changed the situation and set up different companies under the regiment in the manner of the Ottomans, among which Pannoni is one of the officers of the three companies now.

The Ottomans were clearly very agile and adaptable, and soon after entering the Balkans, their army noticed that the large number of large groups was not suitable for this kind of mountain warfare, so they pioneered the establishment of the world's first permanent company-level combat units, and this army, commanded by a group of junior officers called Katub, became the prototype of the later powerful Ottoman Army's primary battle sequence.

Pannone was such a "katub", of course, Alexander did not let his army use the Ottoman name, but in private Pannoni's men called him that.

And the result of this designation is that each Katoub is not only an officer of the soldiers, but also a judge and executioner.

Katoub wielded a great deal of power over his men, punishing any soldier at will, from whipping to baton beatings to the harshest of death attacks, and the officers were no less cruel to their enemies than they were to their enemies.

Alexander was aware of this practice, but he did not wish to prevent it, as Gompati said in his report, the harsh means of training and punishment that could not be used against the Agri, Montina, Pisa, and Genoese were most useful to the Balkans.

"Pannoni, I need your help."

"Please tell the master!"

In the eyes of the Balkans, Alexander was not their commander, but the same lord as their landlord.

This pleased Alexander, who had told Gompati privately that he would really like to recruit a few thousand more of these soldiers, which cost little money, if it weren't for their unreliable logistical supplies.

"Your men don't seem to be very happy with the training, they always can't complete the orders given by the instructor, and some of them are even deliberately making trouble," Pressure Mountain glanced at the report beside him, which gave him a bit of a headache, and waved his hand when he saw Pannoni about to speak, "I'm not saying that your people are lazy or dishonest, but that they are sometimes aggressive and excessive, what I need is an army that obeys orders, not a bunch of mad dogs who will just rush up and bite wildly when they see the Ottomans, I want them to obey orders, you know?" ”

"My men are not afraid of death, sir," Panoni looked at little Cacho, who was standing by to translate for him, and said in a tone that made little Cacho sound difficult, "There are many orders you know that they don't understand, just like you said, they only know that when they see the Ottomans pounce on them, they bite them, but isn't that what is the case in battle, rushing up and stabbing them and cutting off their heads, what else is there besides these." ”

Looking at Pannoni, who seemed a little aggrieved and resentful as if someone had said something bad, Alexander rubbed his forehead a little helplessly.

The Balkans were brave, tenacious and loyal, but their faults were just as prominent, and when Alexander felt that he had not even known the minimum formation of the battle formation for nearly half a month, Alexander felt that he suddenly missed Nashan very much.

But Alexander also knew that some of Pannoni's words were not wrong.

The Balkans did not understand the orders given by the instructors.

Even Viscount Helva, if his father had not been converted to Catholicism at an early age and had deliberately studied since childhood, he might not have been so proficient in the current Latin, let alone the local farmers.

As for speaking French, it's still so popular these days.

"You must follow orders, there will be another officer to teach you in a while, but before that I want you to restrain your men, and soon we will have to act, and I don't want you to be a burden then."

"Don't worry, sir, my men are very obedient," Panoni said something that made Alexander's face even more ugly, "Of course I won't spare them if they dare to cause trouble, but there are many trees outside the camp, and you can hang several people by finding any one." ”

"Whatever you want, I just hope that someone will let him train when Nashan comes." Alexander nodded helplessly, knowing that there were several brutal lynchings prevalent among the Balkan companies, some of which had even been learned from the Ottomans.

"Master, is the instructor you are talking about called Nashan?" Seeing Alexander nod, Pannoni muttered in a low voice, "That sounds like a mountain man's name." ”

"Trust me, you're going to like him," Alexander smiled strangely at Pannoni's disapproving look, he was now eager to see how Nashan would train these Balkan farmers, "Now come with me to see the viscount." ”

Pannone grabbed the fur hat he had at hand and put it on his head, followed Alexander and walked out, and when he saw Busako, who had been waiting, he looked at the saber at Busako's waist with some envy.

Alexander noticed his look and couldn't help but smile: "Soon you will have such weapons too, but it may be slightly worse than that, unless you join the hunting guards." ”

"Sir, only Agri is qualified to be a huntsman," Busako reminded softly with a change on his face, "Huntsmen need more than bravery and loyalty. ”

"Aren't we loyal enough?" Pannoni's face changed.

"I'm just saying it's the right of the Agri," Busako said disapprehantly, "The huntsman is an honor for the Agri." ”

Alexander, who listened to the vague argument between the two people, did not speak, in fact, it was just a casual remark that made him suddenly have some other thoughts.

Both the Agri and the Balkans were fierce mountain people, and it would be a good idea to form a special army of these people, which may not be very numerous today, but as Alexander's army grows, this force can also be expanded in size, and then it can be used as a trump card in his hands at critical moments.

The idea lingered in Alexander's mind, and he felt the need to put it into practice as soon as possible, especially in this place, where the role of a specialized mountain force was difficult to estimate.

When Alexander arrived at Viscount Helva's camp, the Viscount was in a meeting with his men.

Speaking of which, Helva's move of holding meetings at every turn was somewhat familiar to Alexander, and the fact that most of the results of such meetings were often not implemented at all also made him feel a little inexplicably familiar.

Alexander's arrival interrupted the Viscount's pleasure in listening to the quarrel of his men, and he first ordered the meeting to be suspended, and then, after a little thought, ordered someone to call his niece.

During this time, Alosia found that her female companion suddenly cared more about her, even though Morco was gone, but her female companion still followed her every step of the way.

This made Aloxia very helpless, and sometimes she even felt that maybe only when she was with the Count of Montina could her side be cleaner.

"Be enthusiastic Alosia, be warm to the Count," Viscount Helva whispered as he led his niece to the door, and when he saw the pressure of standing in the clearing, the Viscount walked over with a little footsteps, "Count, it's a pleasure to see you again, tell me if you have brought me any good news." ”

"Yes, my lord, good news indeed," said Alexander, who accepted the Viscount's embrace, and after greeting Aloxia again, "I have come to hope that you will come with me to Zagreb." ”

The viscount's face showed a slight look of surprise, and his lips opened slightly as if to speak, but nothing came out except for an inaudible muffled "grunt" in his throat.

Alexander waited quietly, until the viscount seemed to understand the meaning of his words after a while, and asked, "Count, you mean that you want me to go to Zagreb with you?" ”

"Yes, our army should march on Zagreb at once, and your arrival will announce the return of the rightful heir of Zagreb."

"Wait a minute, Count, is this a bit of a rush, I mean we have some plan?" The viscount asked a little dryly, "You must know that my father and uncle have been killed by those Orthodox Christians, they have occupied Zagreb, and although they have not chosen an heir until now, it is obviously very bad for us, because we don't know who will help us, so shouldn't we be cautious?" ”

"Your Excellency, you have been cautious for many years," Alexander whispered in a low voice not far from Helva's ear, "Haven't you been preparing for the death of Muhammad Sultan until Bayezid is preparing to attack again, or you can always justify your timidity, but trust me, if you don't take this step, you may never have a chance." ”

Helva's face turned red instantly, no one ever said that he was cowardly to his face, some did not dare and some were unbearable, which allowed Herva to find all kinds of excuses for himself again and again.

But now a foreign earl finally said these words to him, which made the viscount, who had always boasted that he was observing the situation calmly and wisely, an illusion that he had been stripped of his clothes.

"You'll be the Duke of Zagreb, then the Grand Duke of Croatia, and then you might be King of Bosnia if God favors you," Alexander continued to whisper, seeing the blush on the Viscount's face deepen, but he knew it should be the result of excitement, "but it all requires you to get out of this camp instead of listening to your men discuss plans all day. ”

"Count, can you assure me?" The viscount asked a little nervously, "Can you guarantee that I will become a duke and archduke smoothly, and then ......"

"Not a good man, I can only guarantee that if you remain here and wait for you, you will only become a prisoner of the Ottomans in the future, and if you are lucky, maybe they will still support you as the Grand Duke, but I believe you must know very well what it will be like, as a puppet who obeys the orders of the Sultan and the Pasha, and is always worried that he may be punished for offending those people," Alexander's soft description made Viscount Helva's originally slightly excited face turn gray, Looking at him, Alexander paused slightly, and then whispered: "Viscount, what kind of mark you want to leave in your family history depends on whether you are a coward for life or a hero of the moment." ”

Viscount Helva's face turned a strange red, and he stared at Alexander for a long time before slowly looking away.

"Count tell me what you are going to do," the Viscount's voice trembled a little, and at the same time his hands trembled, "I know that you are sent by God to save me, so do you believe that I still have the courage?" ”

"I'm sure anyone has courage," Alexander bowed slightly to Helva, "I'm sorry for the offense I just had just offended, but I'd be glad it would have inspired you to have the courage to do so, believe me, this camp is so cozy, you've forgotten how to fight as a lion." ”

"You're right, Viscount, I have indeed forgotten how to fight," Herva said, turning her head to look at the house behind her, "I feel safe here, and I have forgotten my mission for a long time." ”

The viscount kept whispering to himself, and he spun in circles, sometimes stopping to clench his fists and waving them back and forth, until at last he stopped and looked at Alexander.

"Tell me what you're going to do, I really can't waste any more time here, but I need your help."

"That's what I'm here for."

Alexander bowed to Herva again, but when he saw the gaze of Alosia next to him, he saw something strange in it.

Hurva's sudden and surprising change was too strange to those who knew him well.

He convened the meeting again, but this time he unexpectedly invited Alexander, an outsider, and in addition to this, he had changed his previous habit of procrastination and announced that he was going to march on Zagreb, and when it was questioned that it was too risky, the viscount resolutely and even forcefully refuted this reason, which had been used as the best excuse before.

"There is nothing that is not risky, and if we are afraid of danger then we should never want to return to Zagreb," Helva cried to his men, "and do not forget that our ancestors are watching us, and that the souls of my father and brother are watching me in heaven, and I believe that they have given me courage and that they have sent them to help us." ”

The Viscount's eyes were on Alexander, and at the same time the eyes of the Croats were full of anger and suspicion.

When the meeting ended with Viscount Herva's strong announcement that he had to march on Zagreb, Alexander walked out of the Viscount's house.

Then, not surprised, he saw Miss Alosia, who had been waiting for her.

"What did you say to my uncle, Count?" Alosa asked with a skeptical look on her face.

"I'm just letting the courage in him burst out," Alexander smiled, "believe me, anyone has this kind of courage, and that includes you, Miss." ”

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