Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 806 German Warriors Ambush Roman Army
Before the march, Princess Jeanne had planned the route and calculated the supply situation. After the various units arrived at the upper reaches of the Ems River, they dispersed into several teams and headed to several key locations in the Teutoburg Mountains.

If they were to pursue the Ming army southwards, they would need to cross the Weser River to the southwest. Along this stretch of river, the only major crossing point was a bend in the river. Sigismund's army, unlike the Ming army, lacked engineering capabilities, making it difficult for them to forge roads through mountains and build bridges across rivers. Therefore, they had no choice but to cross from this side.

Moreover, even the Ming army itself had traveled along this route.

Previously, Sigismund had issued orders to the territories and cities along the route, requiring them to hold strategic locations, especially controlling important facilities such as crossings and bridges. If they could not stop the advance, they were to tow away the ships and dismantle the bridges to hinder the Ming army's progress as much as possible.

However, the Holy Roman Emperor's words were often ignored. Therefore, to increase his persuasiveness, he convened a special meeting of a group of high-ranking nobles to reiterate that this was the obligation of all religious and secular lords within the empire.

Furthermore, the Church also strongly supported his cooperation in ending the chaos as quickly as possible. Several popes were still vying for power and largely ignored such "trivial matters," but decades of prolonged turmoil had thoroughly alienated bishops, abbots, and priests from all over the country. Therefore, they accepted Sigismund's mediation and convened a council.

At this critical juncture, they desperately hoped that Sigismund could quickly quell the rioters and then take the opportunity to resolve the church's problems. Therefore, they helped him spread the word everywhere and put pressure on the lords, demanding that they cooperate with Sigismund's actions.

However, Princess Jeanne scoffed at these words. After defeating the Brandenburg army and helping the locals march eastward for a while, she began to plan her westward journey. Although this march would almost traverse the entire Holy Roman Empire, passing through the territories of various nobles and crossing numerous rivers, woodlands, and hills, Princess Jeanne was not too worried about it.

At the meeting, she even explicitly told everyone that although she wasn't a core member of the royal family back then, she had still grown up in the court. She already understood the situation on the Holy Roman Empire's side and the thoughts of the high nobles. When marching, everyone just needed to keep moving forward and didn't need to worry about the potential impact of these seemingly grand orders.

At the Weser River crossing lies a city called Minden. After crossing the river, following the road along the west bank southwest, passing through a mountain pass, one enters the Teutoburg Forest. This terrain of crossing a river first and then entering a pass would likely be very familiar to people from the Central Plains of China. In Europe, it would certainly have been a strategically important location.

Logically, cutting off the bridge would make it difficult for the Ming army to cross the river quickly. If they couldn't cross from this side, they would have to advance along the steeper, less accessible east bank, significantly slowing their progress. If they were to organize raids from the mountains, it would certainly be even more troublesome. They could inflict losses on the Ming army even before Sigismund arrived.

However, along the way, neither the city council controlling the bridge nor the abbot controlling the nearby hilltop had any intention of taking such action. Everything was just as Princess Jeanne had said.

Many of the soldiers were commoners or minor nobles, with limited experience of the world. They admired her for making such an accurate judgment and were curious about the situation here and the logic behind the locals' actions. So, some curious people took advantage of their shopping and rest periods to visit the local business owners.

The locals told them that the ferry crossings and bridges here were the city's main source of income. Destroying them would indeed be a blow to the Ming army. But the war was only temporary; even if the Ming army was defeated, Sigismund would quickly leave. What would happen to the residents left behind? Would the "Emperor" and the "Imperial Diet" compensate them?
Similarly, although the local monastery had long controlled the nearby mountains, managing its forests and hunting grounds, the abbot had no incentive to mobilize his men to fight the Ming army in the forests. This area belonged to the Archdiocese of Cologne, but while the Archbishop of Cologne claimed to support the decisions of the Council and be irreconcilably opposed to the pagans, he secretly did business with the Ming people.

Local merchants and priests also said that the large merchant guilds in Cologne openly transported grain and cloth to nearby towns and sold them to officials of the Wu King's court. Some of the bolder ones even dared to resell important military supplies.

While other nobles were still unaware of the Wu Prince's strategic plans, the identities of the regular Ming troops, and were completely clueless about their distribution and movements, these merchants had already begun taking orders and delivering goods. They transported goods to designated warehouses according to buyers' needs, making it convenient for passing Ming troops to pick them up directly. If Sigismund had even half their intelligence, the pursuit would likely have been much smoother.

Everyone in the diocese knew that many of these so-called "free merchants" were actually the archbishop's front men. If he himself was doing this, were his men really going to fight the Ming army to the death?
Therefore, the abbot followed suit. Instead of resisting, he gathered all the serfs and hired hunters belonging to the monastery and went hunting in the forest to make cured meat, smoked meat, and sausages.

His monks were puzzled, thinking that even if they were fleeing, they could simply hide in the mountains; there was no need to prepare so much food. The abbot explained that he had heard before that the Ming army always traveled light to increase their speed. All kinds of supplies were prepared in advance along the way. Even if the army did not pass through this area, for military reasons, preparations would be made in advance for the main force to use.

However, their nearest reliable supply point should be further southwest in the Southern Osnin Mountains, where rivers still allow for transport. North of the mountains, they would leave the Rhine and enter the Saxon region. Here, the Wu Prince's activities decreased significantly. Perhaps because it wasn't their primary focus, the density and scale of their supply depots were much lower.

Meanwhile, the monastery's forest rangers and hunters discovered some unfamiliar soldiers moving about. They were surveying the terrain and making drawings. The rangers approached them, questioning which lord's men they were and what their purpose was. The soldiers replied that they were acting on the orders of the King of Wu and ordered the rangers and hunters to mind their own business and leave immediately to avoid being caught in the crossfire. Puzzled and frightened, the rangers quickly reported this to the abbot.

Based on this, the dean judged that the Ming army was likely preparing to fight Sigismund in this place, which is why they came to scout the area and investigate the surrounding situation.

He also mentioned that he had previously perused ancient texts preserved by the church. One theory suggests that their location is the Teutoburg Forest, where the Germanic tribes defeated the Roman army, a place that even Augustus found awe-inspiring.

This claim wasn't unique. Several monasteries within the church claimed that their location was the actual Teutoburg—though the abbots insisted their location was the most suitable for an ambush, and therefore the true one. The others were likely fabricated by local monasteries to boost their own profile and gain attention. However, most people in society, even many nobles, were probably unaware of this war. Many might only know the name "Roman Empire," and would be completely clueless if asked about Germanic peoples, Romans, or Germans… Consequently, this tourism promotion wasn't very successful, and gradually, no one bothered to mention it anymore.

However, the Wu Prince's residence is said to be very cultured, so they would likely understand. The Dean even speculated that their choice of this location among several potential sites to intercept Sigismund was intentional.

Back then, it was a group of Germanic warriors who ambushed and defeated the Roman army, renowned for its superior strength, here. Now, the King of Wu has assembled a group of Germanic warriors to confront the imperial army led by Sigismund, the "King of the Roman People." It's quite possible that he deliberately chose this location for good luck.

If these speculations are correct, then the Ming army should remain and deploy here. Even if they leave temporarily, they will likely return later. Furthermore, based on other information, supplies here are probably somewhat insufficient. Therefore, if they hurry and produce some easily stored meat products, they will certainly be able to sell them for a good price.

When the main Ming army arrived, they indeed began sending people to purchase food. Especially durable and filling dried meat sold very well. The monastery made a fortune as a result, with even the monks and servants receiving a share. Therefore, everyone was very happy, and while selling their wares, they specifically boasted to the Ming soldiers that their abbot was not only cultured but also had excellent judgment—a very rare quality in those days.

This matter was later passed up the chain of command and reached their commander. The commander was startled and immediately went to Princess Jeanne to report the previous leak of their location by the scouts, suggesting that training for the scouts should be strengthened. However, nothing else happened afterward. Neither the local servants nor the headmaster himself seemed interested in making some money; they never considered the option of informing Sigismund and his group. Perhaps there really was no benefit in it…

In addition to the activities on King Wu's side, Princess Jeanne also used her status to negotiate with the surrounding nobles.

After she appeared in the Ming army, there were various suspicions that she was deliberately sent by the French to fulfill a mandate from the French court and serve French interests. However, after observing for a while, Princess Jeanne discovered that this rumor was actually a good thing. Some nobles believed it and were genuinely frightened.

Of course, strictly speaking, there is probably no longer any "Royal Court" in France. King Charles V has been in a state of madness for a long time and is completely incapable of ruling. However, his physical condition is also quite good, and he is unlikely to be called back by God anytime soon. Therefore, royal power has effectively disintegrated. The rule of the country has fallen into the hands of the powerful nobles.

However, these nobles were also constantly vying for power among themselves. The dukes formed factions and fought for supreme regency power, and their methods were extremely crude, disregarding the political consequences of their actions. They even assassinated political enemies in the street during negotiations.

These bloody methods, while seemingly eliminating the enemy, did nothing to reduce the number of factions or the chaos of internal strife. On the contrary, more people followed suit and began engaging in baseless infighting.

The French king is currently a puppet in reality. The Burgundian and Armagnac nobles are fighting amongst themselves, taking turns sitting on the regency throne. And whenever the person changes, the policies are likely to change drastically, leaving everyone bewildered.

If we had to find an advantage to this situation, it would be that Princess Jeanne could legitimately use the royal name to intimidate those wavering nobles.

Normally, no one would believe such a thing. While there are indeed stories of noblewomen leading armies in France, it seems rather strange to suddenly send a princess abroad to manage territory and fight against the empire without any clear indication, especially given that the royal family itself had previously stated it did not recognize the marriage. Normally, such an "abstract" decision wouldn't be made.

However, now everyone knows that the King of France has truly gone mad; the ruling nobles are constantly on edge, fighting amongst themselves, and their mental state is practically insane as well… Under these circumstances, it's understandable that the blood-related dukes who take turns ruling would "make use of" a princess who had been abandoned several times before, using her as a tool for political marriage and opportunism. After all, even though everyone calls Zhu Yunwen a "peasant king," he still has troops and strength. What if he really comes in handy during a civil war?

Similarly, in the past, if one didn't believe it, they could directly inquire with the royal family. But now, the royal family is fragmented, decrees originate from multiple sources, and the officials involved change frequently—the Duke of Burgundy's disapproval of the order doesn't mean the Duke of Berry didn't issue it before. To verify with the person who made the decision, one must first investigate which powerful noble group made the decision. Princess Jeanne deliberately didn't make her point clearly, so everyone genuinely doesn't know how to verify it…

Moreover, although France is currently in chaos, the nation and the monarchy still wield considerable influence. The decades-long tug-of-war with England has made everyone realize that, given France's size, even if it suffers repeated defeats and its king is incompetent, as long as it weathers this period and a capable leader takes over, it can turn the tide.

Charles V was a madman, but the Valois family still had heirs. As long as the king was of normal character, his sheer size alone could have pushed the English into the sea. Therefore, most nobles, especially the central lords situated at the border between France and the Holy Roman Empire, who had to appease both sides, absolutely did not want to offend them. If the princess was indeed real, and they had offended them, it would be a net loss.

Therefore, everyone almost universally accepted that she represented France and dared not use the same unscrupulous methods they had employed against the peasants. In this way, many neutral and wavering nobles were temporarily appeased by her.

(End of this chapter)