Chapter 220: Waves Everywhere (I)
"The Earl is so interested! Hasn't the bathtub in the mansion washed away the noisy fleas on your body? Presumably, they still don't want to leave the gentle country where they have lived for generations. ”
The Duke of Normandy Richard didn't know when he appeared next to me, dressed in elaborate chain mail, the bright feathers of exotic birds on his helmet were dazzling, like a juggling clown at a carnival, and the most unbeatable thing was that he also put on a handsome and rich egg pain expression, and made a self-righteous joke unhurriedly, this kind of person **** is as annoying.
"It turned out to be the Duke, and my little action is just to add some entertainment to the boring journey."
I took my hand out from under my clothes, stealthily pulled the black mud from my nails, and squeezed out an embarrassed smile under the shocked gaze of Duke Richard, "I am about to fight the Saracens, I didn't expect that I would have the opportunity to see with my own eyes the most courageous knight in all of Europe, and the amazing battle against the enemy of Christ, it is really God's favor!" ”
Although I don't understand the purpose of the black duke's conversation with me, he will never apologize for his daughter's rudeness, and he can only say some painless scenes in public, and everyone will prevaricate in the past.
"I am here for this matter, Lord Count, I don't think you know, His Majesty Otto, out of tactical considerations, has agreed to advance the battle sequence in Nijmegen, and we will be on the same offensive level at that time, please feel free to hand over your right flank to the knights of Normandy to protect."
Duke Richard looked away from my face as ugly as a fly with great satisfaction, and changed back to a smug and unhurried tone: "You will have the opportunity to see with your own eyes this great battle that will surely go down in history, I promise......"
Very good! Retribution is coming so fast!
I silently scolded my mother in my heart, and instantly figured out the reason why His Majesty the Emperor no longer asked me to attend the combat meeting recently.
The march of the Apennines is a very pleasant thing, at least for me, who has a waist injury and is tired of riding on a horse for a long time, the Roman road that runs through the whole peninsula is simply a high-speed sightseeing highway in the Middle Ages, although it has been exposed to wind and sun and man-made destruction for hundreds of years, but compared to the whole European era, there is no road in this era, and the avenue with occasional deep ditches and puddles is still clean and flat, and there are no toll booths for the whole process, is it not worth our rejoicing?
The Italian cities along the way, as expected, were ready to surrender and worship early, cheering and welcoming the king into the city with high standards of hospitality, if it were not for the fact that they also provided a certain number of symbolic servant troops to help the army when the army left, I even thought that they were allies in the same league as the Saracens, using wine and women to kill the fighting enthusiasm of the German soldiers, but the leisurely journey and the fact that I could sleep in the dry and warm velvet beds almost every day, and enjoy the exotic food that tasted good, It really makes people look forward to the next journey, large and small cities, like girls dressed up in fancy **** half-hidden, leaning on the door and scratching handkerchiefs to greet guests, and the march has become a trip at public expense.
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On April 12, 999, after more than a month of stop-and-go marching, the main force of the German army finally appeared in the area controlled by the Saracens.
The first class horseshoe stepped on this land, which seemed to be not significantly different from the rest of Italy, the defense level of the whole army was raised by several levels, the number and frequency of scouts and reconnaissance were greatly increased, and the Magyar light cavalry of Carinthia was like a bird returning to the forest, and instantly spread out into a fan and disappeared from view, which made me irritable in the previous procrastinating march, and vaguely guessed the original intention of His Majesty the Emperor.
It was evident that the young emperor wanted to accomplish the battle, and he gave the Saracens a month to send troops from all over the country, to transport a large amount of war supplies across the sea, and only needed a decisive victory, and the gifts that these free porters had painstakingly sold, and His Majesty could all smile and eat to his heart's content.
However, His Majesty's appetite seems to have grown a little, and according to the intelligence gathered by the scouts from all sides, the Saracen army gathered in and around Reggio Calablia numbered at least 50,000 men, and many Libyan mercenaries and Grenada lords who had been summoned under the banner of jihad, were anxiously waiting for the ferry in the desolate port.
Although these heads seemed to the young emperor to be a little more blunt and required the squires to sharpen their swords a little longer, as the direct executor of his tactics, I had reservations about the optimism that permeated the entire army, and experience had taught me that underestimating the enemy was tantamount to self-defeating.
The army chose an open riverside flat land to camp in, and the Duke of Carinthia said worriedly that this kind of terrain was most likely to be copied by the Saracens, who were not good at ambushes, but His Majesty waved his hand to reject his proposal, and did not care to set up his camp in the most conspicuous position.
This may be another trick to show weakness to the enemy, in terms of playing tactics, the young emperor has an endless stream of cleverness, although many old ministers are worried that the emperor's opportunistic tricks will bring ruin to the entire military operation, so that they will repeat their father's mistakes, they still want to return to their castle in the countryside, and live out their old age comfortably!
Experiencing two such failures in your life is not a record worth boasting about to future generations, and if you can't keep it, you will have to throw your life away in a foreign land.
The night in Italy seems to fall very early, but after changing into casual clothes in the tent, the sun has already set, and the round moon slowly appears in the sky, like a freshly cooked egg cake.
I walked around the camp with two attendants, full of soldiers who were busy preparing dinner, who only had a bite to eat when they set out in the morning, and today's rapid march had made everyone hungry at the moment, and the spears were stuck together in a mess, and they could not wait to receive supplies from the logisticians, and those delicious dried meat and precious mead offered by the Italians could be enjoyed at will.
His Majesty the Emperor announced the order for full ration as soon as he entered the war zone, so the morale of these soldiers was kept very high while they feasted and raised their glasses to praise the Emperor's favor.
On the way to the walk, you can often meet the nobles who are also enjoying the open-air fun outside the tent, everyone greets each other in a friendly manner, most of them are still undressed and ready at all times, like a clockwork machine, as if a button can be instantly turned into a combat state, which is a good habit cultivated by years of war immersion.
As a traverser, I really can't stand to bind my body in a small and impermeable iron lump for a long time, and I will definitely change into a comfortable flannel robe whenever I have the opportunity.
This is a high-end product made by Leonardo in Venice, and ordinary lords and nobles have no chance to consume it, and in fact its price is prohibitive enough.
After declining the invitations of several enthusiastic aristocrats to drink, I busily avoided this group of drunken strong men, whose habit of dancing with swords when drunk was really terrifying, and if you were not careful, I might help you do a free cranial cavity examination.
Walking a few steps away from the area where the tent gathers, the soldiers on the periphery are busy clearing the branches of the palm trees on the edge of the camp to prevent them from blocking the sentry's vision and the archers' range, and then laying the antlers and thistles in order, this kind of gadget that can be driven by foot, the main function is only to prevent wild beasts.
When I saw that the soldiers had stopped their work and saluted, I was not embarrassed to have a private visit.
When I came to a flat platform and stood still, I stretched my body comfortably,
The moon slowly rises in front of you, and behind you is the magnificent firelight lights, the scene of more than 100,000 people camping, absolutely no less than the crowd at the exit of the station during the Spring Festival every year, to say that the Saracens did not find the whereabouts of Germany, it is pure fart, maybe at this moment there are countless pairs of eagle-like sharp eyes, intently peeping into the situation in the camp, for the pagan impression is still stuck in the bloodthirsty ugly and other negative ideas of me, think about it and feel creepy.
Picked up a piece of dry and hard soil from the ground, held it in my hand and played with it for a while, I threw it into the distance, I wanted to use this to send the sorrow to the bright moon, pretending to be a sad face of the literary and artistic youth, but I didn't want the soil to draw a perfect parabola in the air, the graceful fall disappeared from sight, and then there was a terrible scream, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, I held my heart in my hand and made a frightened appearance:
"Grandma's, smashed someone?"
No wonder the teacher taught us not to litter things everywhere since we were young, and it is not good to hit flowers and plants, cats and dogs.
In fact, I think that the sentence that it is better to settle the dispute is not to be settled, there is no logical basis, but the narrow road of the enemy is more in line with the current situation, and the probability of occurrence is extremely high, especially when I saw the owner of the voice, Princess Gianna of Normandy, shouting like an exploding balloon, leading more than a dozen thugs to appear in front of me, I couldn't help but be stunned, and I felt annoyed and scolded my mother's heart.
"Princess Gianna, what kind of wind is blowing you, such a beautiful moonlight, I am not the only one who can't sleep......"
In line with the principle of preemptively seeing the wind and steering the rudder, I squeezed out a most ugly smile, and enthusiastically stepped forward to say hello, and my flattering appearance made me feel like a coquettish street girl, and even brought out the classic lines of Supreme Treasure.
"Do you have anything to do with me?"
After saying this, I regretted it, obviously there was a suspicion of not admitting myself, and the other party really stared at me suspiciously from head to toe with a weak heart, which further fueled her arrogance, and she began to be aggressive when she thought she was in power, and she didn't look like an eleven-year-old girl at all.
"Count Nijmegen, I didn't expect to meet here again, God still heard my prayers and delivered you into my hands."
The girl's young fair face had light-colored freckles, and the closer she got closer, the clearer it became under the moonlight, filled with indescribable youthful vitality.
"My father punished me for grounding me last time, and he didn't let me go out for so long in Rome, all because of you, annoying Earl!"
(End of chapter)