Chapter 163: Arriving at the Battlefield
From Targoviste, it passes through Transylvania into Serbia and then south to Kosovo.
The total distance was more than 800 kilometers, and the march, plus the time spent resting in Transylvania, took more than 40 days.
August is the height of summer, which is supposed to be the season when everything is flourishing, but in Kosovo, Tsepeš sees only bare tree stumps.
The Ottoman-Hungarian sides have been in a stalemate here for more than three months, cutting down a large number of trees, or reinforcing the defensive offensive, or manufacturing offensive equipment.
Over the past few months, there have been many skirmishes, but the final battle is still in the making.
Janos and Skanderbeg stood still, holding on to the two fortifications in front and behind.
Because the Ottoman fiefdom cavalry only fought for the Sultan from April to October, the two experienced generals wanted to waste this time.
When the time came, the Ottoman army weakened and the certainty of victory was greater.
Taking the southern part of Kosovo, Bingfeng pointed in the direction of Bulgaria and Macedonia to seek further achievements.
The second Kosovo campaign in history was fought in late October, without the participation of the fiefdom cavalry.
Of course, compared to history, the situation of the battle has changed very much because of the butterfly effect caused by Cepes.
Originally, the Serbian king Branković leaned towards the Ottoman side and obstructed Skanderbeg from leading the Albanian army into the war.
After being beaten by Skanderbeg, Brankovich changed his attitude, but only remained neutral and gave the Hungarian troops the right to cross.
As a result, Skanderbe, who had just clashed with Serbia, did not lead troops to join the coalition forces.
But now, the victory on the battlefield of Wallachia has made the puppet king realize that the Ottomans were not invincible.
So, instead of standing up for the Ottomans, as in history, he turned against the coalition and joined the coalition camp.
The Albanian army, which successfully arrived in Kosovo, three thousand Serbian soldiers, stood on the same front with them.
In terms of troops, because Hunyadi mobilized the forces of the little king Laszló V, the Hungarian side sent a total of 40,000 troops, which is twice as many as in history.
Skanderbeg's 3,000 elite soldiers, Serbia's 3,000 soldiers, and Wallachia's 10,000 soldiers, all in all, were 56,000 on the coalition side, 30,000 more than historical figures.
On the Ottoman side, the original number of participants was 50,000, and this was supposed to be the first war in history in which Mehmed II participated.
In the war, he won the war, laying a solid foundation for taking over the throne of Sultan in the future.
However, because of the appearance of Tepes, the Ottomans opened up the battlefield of Wallachia, and the unlucky Mehmed II could only go to Sofia to recuperate and think.
It was also for this reason that 40,000 defeated troops were transferred from Fort Niko to Kosovo, and the Ottoman army reached 90,000.
The number of participants on both sides has increased dramatically, and because of the change in the timing of the war, it has changed from an encounter to a positional battle.
Encounters, a few days to decide the outcome of the battle, a positional battle, will be protracted, which is exactly in line with Tepes's expectations.
The quagmire of the Kosovo war has allowed both sides to continue to consume, and Wallachia has a chance to come out.
The Prinsnay Mountain Fortress, which was expanded on its original foundation, was also the place where Janos Hunyadi was stationed, and he led 20,000 private troops to camp in the fortress.
A kilometer away at the forward fortress, Skanderbeg led his elite men and part of the Hungarian army to garrison.
In addition, on the two flanks, two forward positions were set up, with 3,000 Serbian soldiers, and the remaining Hungarian soldiers were stationed.
The Ottomans launched small-scale raids, mainly against the forward positions on both sides, and won the essence of 'persimmons should be picked up softly'.
And this is exactly what János Hunyadi is happy to see, while consuming the Ottomans, weakening the power of the little king Laszlo V and the Serbian king Branković.
If all goes well, after winning the war, the Hunyadi family will at least receive the title of Serbian king.
Whether he can be crowned king of Hungary depends on the actions of the Austrian Habsburgs.
If he got his wish, Janos Hunyadi's next target was Wallachia and Moldova, two places he already had.
Just when this heroic figure was conceiving a great blueprint for the family, a young man in a red robe hurriedly came to him.
"Your Excellency, the Wallachian troops have arrived, and they are only a kilometer away from the fortress, and I rushed over in advance to report the news."
The Count of Bathory followed Cepes, and arrived on a fast horse as he approached to deliver the news to Janos Hunyadi.
"Humph! The Swiss mercenaries didn't come, the knights didn't come, and even the standing army didn't come, only some conscripts came to fill the numbers. ”
Janos snorted coldly, and did not shy away from complaining, with his eyes, of course, he could see through Cepesh's little tricks.
Count Barthori's expression was embarrassed, but out of justice, he retorted in an explanatory tone:
"Your Majesty, Wallachia needs to guard against the second attack of the Ottomans, you ......"
"Shut up! The main forces of the Ottomans, almost all of them are in Kosovo, and that kid can see better than you. ”
Janos Hunyadi felt that Bathory was a fool, and if he hadn't fallen to his own side, he would have been sent to be cannon fodder a long time ago.
After scolding, Yanosh's expression calmed down, the people have come, and they can't be driven away anymore, just take this opportunity to try to put his son-in-law on the throne.
"Forget what I just said, go tell the young man and welcome him."
After sending Count Bathory away, Arnos commanded the attendants beside him:
"Tell me to go down and prepare a welcome banquet, and let the nobles go out with me to greet you."
Both because of his status and his exploits in the war against the Ottomans, he deserves this honor.
Orders were quickly communicated, including the forward forts and the two forward positions, which were also notified.
The nobles who could get out immediately rushed to the mountain fortress, and there was only a stubborn and stubborn old man, who snorted coldly and ignored it.
Skanderbeg's prejudice against Tsepes seems to have changed only on the day he dies in battle.
Two hundred meters outside the Princenai Mountain Fortress, nearly a hundred nobles rode on horseback, staring at the distant procession.
Tsepeš rode a brown horse, wore matt chain mail, and wore a black fur hat with ethnic characteristics, and his temples were stained with blackened sweat.
Compared with the previous image on the battlefield, Cepes at this moment is low-key and intriguing.
Stay by Janos Hunyadi's side, face tens of thousands of Ottoman troops, and keep a low profile to live longer.