Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 803: Constance also spawned the Red Turban Army.
"I heard that Poland has also declared war on us."

Outside the camp, Father Tomash said helplessly.

"The Crown Prince has many soldiers and generals; he will surely handle things properly," Sir Hans said confidently.

“You should write your apology properly first,” Father Tomash couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “At a time like this, you’re still meddling.”

“The archbishop told me that, not me,” Sir Hans explained, tossing his quill into the bottle. “He also told me to do good deeds so that he could bring me back later. So I’m only serving here temporarily, and I’ll definitely have to go back soon.”

“You rascal…” Father Tomash, along with several commanders and officers beside him, were somewhat dissatisfied with his glib tongue.

"No, no, Hans just speaks in a rather strange way, please don't mind him," Henry, the commander beside him, quickly smoothed things over. "He means that he wants to atone for his mistakes and prove himself, so that he can live up to the Archbishop's trust and His Majesty's approval, and strive to return to his original position. Please don't be too harsh on him..."

“This guy messed things up, lost his position, and now he wants to climb back up,” said Karl, the acting commander of the Rhine Right Guard. “I can understand wanting to be an official, but you have to make contributions commensurate with your position. You can’t just say things like that.”

“Oh dear, my brother’s official position is just accompanying the King of Wu and cooking for everyone. His rank isn’t high, and his salary isn’t much, so it can’t really be considered ‘climbing the ladder’ in a serious sense.” Henry had no choice but to try to persuade everyone again: “He certainly didn’t make many contributions, but we will definitely work hard.”

After hearing these words, everyone thought about it and decided not to say anything more.

Hans didn't hold a particularly high official position; he was just the head cook, not even a proper military commander at the moment. However, the situation was very dependent on him, because if he didn't accompany the King of Wu in cooking and playing, the King would have to deal with important military and state affairs...

Therefore, it was indeed difficult for people to criticize him. After all, according to military discipline, the matter of intercepting captured women was indeed very serious. However, in Europe, questions such as "what constitutes a prisoner of war," "whether civilians are considered prisoners of war," "whether women are considered prisoners of war," "whether these female entertainers are prisoners of war or spoils of war," and "how to classify the interception" could cause people to struggle for a long time.

Even in Seres, such a matter would likely require careful consideration. As for Europe, it's hard to say whether mainstream society truly considers stealing women immoral…

Many officers supported his punishment not primarily because of his lust for women, but because they believed he had violated the court's orders regarding the distribution of spoils of war. The court was the administrative body presided over by the King of Wu—at least nominally—and these court orders were issued and signed by the King, representing his will. Sir Hans's unauthorized retention of the female musicians constituted a violation of his lord's authority over the disposal of spoils of war. This was clearly wrong.

As for how to deal with it, it depends on how important the things he privately withheld were, and whether the lord pursued the matter. However, at present, the King of Wu does not seem to have any particular intention to blame him, and according to the understanding of most of the German officers in the army, the importance of those women's bands is not as great as a few swords.

As for the French, some do advocate that knights should respect women, but only if the "woman" is from a noble family. These musicians certainly don't qualify, so no one really cares.

Therefore, this matter could be considered either a big deal or a small deal. Henry's explanation made it clear to everyone, and they stopped asking further questions.

"Alright, let's wait until after the war for the 'head chef' to make the judgment," Tomash said, taking the initiative to end the conversation.

"Grand Master Chef" was their title for the King of Wu. This custom has a long history; for example, during the Han Dynasty, the emperor was sometimes addressed as "County Official" instead of "Your Majesty"; the Tang Dynasty preferred "Sage"; and the Song Dynasty used "Your Majesty." In Europe, while there weren't many titles for kings themselves, almost every king and high-ranking nobleman had a nickname. Therefore, they quickly adopted this custom as well.

The King of Wu himself oversaw the cooking every day, preparing meals for everyone, and soon earned this nickname. Moreover, not only him, but even high-ranking officials in charge of military affairs had their own nicknames, all sounding like a giant kitchen…

When the imperial court learned of this, they were initially puzzled. However, Qi Tai, who was in charge of the Ministry of War, explained to the King of Wu that slaughtering, cooking, and dividing meat were important powers in the ancient Three Dynasties period. Therefore, the term "presiding over" or "managing" later came to mean "to preside over" or "to be in charge of." This nickname actually meant that the King of Wu was the presiding over the entire Wu kingdom, which was a fairly apt title.

In Europe, far removed from China, ritual and music were not widespread, resulting in a more naive and unsophisticated populace, far surpassing any level of refinement, leading to somewhat wild customs. However, this simplicity also has its advantages; their naturally arising thoughts are closer to those of the ancient Three Dynasties. Therefore, they sometimes appear not so far removed from antiquity, aligning with the ideas of the ancient sage-king era. Allowing this label is not problematic.

And so the name continued to spread.

Just as everyone was discussing, a messenger galloped in amidst the sound of hooves, shouting to everyone, "Assemble! Assemble! The Queen wants everyone to return to their positions; we're about to begin!"

Everyone stood up, put on their helmets, and ran off to their respective positions, no longer dwelling on the previous topic. "By the way, Captain Henry, Father Tomash, come with me," the messenger called out to them. "The court is holding an emergency meeting, and you two need to attend."

“Okay, okay,” Henry quickly replied, putting down the sword he was about to hang up.

"Bring your sword too," the messenger urged. "The Queen said to give a brief speech, and then go directly to your troops to prepare for battle—bring your helmets as well."

Henry hurriedly picked up the sword he had dropped, and Hans ran over to help him straighten his tangled belt and fasten his helmet. Then, he quickly followed Father Tomás and the messenger to the temporary camp.

The others looked on with envy. It turned out that Thomas and Henry had been ordered to split their forces and depart southwards, intending to rejoin the main army in the Rhine region, where Wu Fan had risen to power, after the main force returned. Their task was to draw the enemy's attention, buying time for the main force. And these two had done an excellent job.

After splitting south, they quickly began raising banners, feigning a main force, and rushed towards Constance, where a grand council was being held. Faced with the sudden arrival of the army, the city's clergy panicked and immediately sent an urgent message to Sigismund, urging him to come to their aid. Meanwhile, they urgently summoned local lords, large and small, who remained loyal to the Papacy, to come to their rescue. Through their efforts, Sigismund was momentarily thrown into disarray, and the local nobles' busy preparations for the rescue gave the other armies a valuable window of opportunity.

Furthermore, when faced with the enemy's relentless advance, Henry took it upon himself to lead his elite troops ahead of the main southern army to ambush the enemy's likely route, defeating several local nobles who were preparing to intercept them. Afterwards, while other nobles were still puzzled by the news, he and Thomas accelerated their march again, launching a surprise attack on the army of Duke Ludwig of Württemberg.

The Württemberg army was trying to determine their location and dared not continue marching, but they were overtaken by the enemy. Henry and his men launched a surprise attack just as dawn was breaking and the camp was being prepared. The enemy army was routed, and the Duke and his men fled all the way back to the castle, dozens of miles away, before stopping.

After the largest force was defeated, the various nobles, though still possessing an absolute advantage in total military strength, quickly began to shift blame to each other. They claimed to be making every effort to advance, but in reality, they merely built deep trenches and high walls, resolutely refusing to advance a single step towards Constance despite the bishops' urging.

During this period, Wu Fan's diplomacy was personally overseen by the monk Daoyan, who was known as the "Black Archbishop." With the support of officials, he not only took over the diplomatic affairs of the Wu royal court but also dispatched Zhu Wenkui, the deceased son of the acting minister Lebeg, to the army. They also reached an agreement on diplomatic statements. Therefore, Wu Fan has refrained from making any extreme statements recently, nor has he called for the killing of any church members.

On the contrary, Daoyan also established stable connections with some priests, and even with the church of the Purple Horde, proposing that the Ming Dynasty should cooperate with Rome to help everyone there achieve church unity. This was because the Ming Dynasty was also a universal empire, and a universal empire certainly desired a church organization with which it could engage in dialogue and effectively implement various reforms and policies. Under his persuasion, many people's perception of the Wu vassal state improved considerably.

However, the defeated nobles claimed that the Southern Route Army was not even personally led by the King of Wu or the Black Cardinal, but rather by several Bohemians, and comprised of Bavarian, Bohemian, and local troops. With the defeat of several noble armies, the Southern Route Army's commander, Thomas, dispatched numerous soldiers from nearby regions to form small units and spread propaganda throughout the land. Large numbers of local peasants were inspired and took up arms to join the Southern Route Army. Suddenly, groups bearing banners proclaiming "King of the Great Ming" or "King of Wu" were active everywhere.

Some of these peasant soldiers operated only in their local areas; while the more elite members had already been absorbed into the Southern Route Army. Even though they continued to select and even eliminated many who were eager to join, the size of the Southern Route Army grew like an avalanche of snow in the Alps, with the snowfall increasing ever larger.

Some church officials in Constance, especially the high-ranking clergy who had profited immensely from the previous Catholic schism, were clearly well aware of their image among the peasants. This peasant army, in particular, was different. While German peasants had rebelled frequently in the past, most insurgents were confined to their local areas, finding it difficult to coordinate and collaborate with people in other territories.

But this time, this so-called southern army, having traveled from Bohemia to Württemberg, actually managed to replenish its ranks locally, which truly opened their eyes. So much so that now, whenever locals appear carrying the banner of the "Ming King" and wearing red ribbons, the bishops panic and are eager to send troops to suppress them. Constance is gripped by several alarms a day, and the atmosphere is extremely tense.

In this environment, some high-ranking priests voluntarily fled, some even disguising themselves as poor monks and hastily leaving Constance via side paths. Others, however, remained steadfast, unwilling to flee, and instead spent their remaining wealth hiring mercenaries, intending to fight the rebels to the death.

To make their actions more convincing, Thomas and Henry wrote a seemingly legitimate letter to the city urging them to surrender, lay down their weapons, and come to the camp to face trial by the Ming Dynasty. The priests were furious. To stabilize morale, they also wrote a letter to the southern army, denouncing them as heretics who worshipped the devil and undermined the Church, and who would surely be punished by the Father. Furthermore, they stated that the purpose of this ecumenical council was to restore the Church's authority, allowing all believers to once again feel the Father's light and accept the Church's protection; therefore, they could not surrender to the rebellious peasants. Otherwise, what was the point of establishing authority?
However, Tomash had also received a systematic theological education. He immediately made the letter public, along with his own critique. Finally, he deliberately sarcastically asked, "Are the church supposed to protect people like us peasants? If I'm not among these 'congregations,' why should I listen to your church instead of finding a true church that better understands the Brother God's mercy and love, and does a better job?"
The priests were furious, but they couldn't really lay out the evidence or clarify the key concerns of both sides; otherwise, the issue of indulgences alone would be embarrassing enough. They could only increase the bounty, attempting to defeat the Southern Army militarily and forcibly suppress the topic.

At this point, Henry, taking advantage of being an outsider and unknown to the locals, swaggered to the edge of the city with a group of reliable veterans, saying he wanted to be hired to attack the Southern Army.

In Europe at that time, mercenaries came from all walks of life, from all sorts of backgrounds. Such a mixed bag was very common, and almost no one bothered to investigate further, especially since the priests were desperately seeking any solution. As a result, Henry's "mercenary group" actually landed a job and even received a half-payment upfront—a remarkably generous sum in today's mercenary market.

After taking the money, they suddenly turned on them, causing a scene outside the city, and then ran away with the commission...

After this incident, even the die-hard clergy dared not say anything. Thomas and Henry, on the other hand, swaggered away from the area, escorted by a group of nobles, and headed to the banks of the Rhine.

Upon arriving at their destination, they learned that Sir Hans had actually committed a crime. Henry, whom Hans had recommended, was also affected. However, his past achievements left no room for criticism, so the matter had to be temporarily set aside—which is why, despite their dislike for Hans, everyone still had to listen to him.

(End of this chapter)