Situation

In 1420, after suffering repeated defeats, King Charles VI of France was forced to sign the Treaty of Troyes, marrying his daughter to King Henry V of England and naming Henry V the heir to the French throne.

As a stakeholder, the Dauphin adamantly refused to acknowledge this, claiming his father was mentally incapacitated and that the Treaty of Troyes lacked legal validity. After Charles VI died of illness, the Dauphin led his remaining forces in the south of France to continue the resistance, struggling to hold on until now.

Entering the inner hall, the first thing that caught the eyes of Vitus was the Dauphin's exceptionally stern, even somewhat gloomy, expression. He was thinner than Vitus, with a long face and pale skin, as if he had long been deprived of sunlight. His hair was trimmed in the "tile" style, following the fashion of the French nobility at the time.

In public, the Dauphin wore a tight-fitting coat made of deep purple-red velvet; this color symbolized royal authority, but the style of the coat was not new, and the edges showed signs of wear.

"It seems the economic situation in Bourges is quite dire; the loan from Master Di Maggio will not be recovered anytime soon."

Vitus walked over, bowed, and handed over the personal letter from Di Maggio. The Dauphin read it briefly and asked in Latin, "Anthony Doukas, I have heard your name. It is said that you are skilled at using artillery for sieges. Is that true?"

Vitus: "Your Highness, the prerequisite for a siege is that the French army gains an advantage in field combat. If we cannot win in the field, we have no chance of laying siege at all."

The Dauphin was unable to refute the other's statement. He left his seat and paced back and forth on the carpet in his soft-soled pointed shoes. After an unknown amount of time, his gaze drifted to a small area in the lower-left corner of the map, and a bold idea sprouted in his mind.

Currently, there are three main factions in France:

England, which occupies northern France, including Paris.

The Burgundian Faction, led by Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy, whose stance leans toward England, with forces mainly distributed in eastern France.

The Bourges Faction, led by the Dauphin Charles VII, with forces mainly distributed in central and southern France.

In addition to these three, there are various nobles of all sizes across the regions who are currently in a wait-and-see state.

The Dauphin's idea was simple: the English army is concentrated in northern France, so why not avoid the enemy's main force and attack Bordeaux, located in the southwest of France? This English-occupied territory is isolated, making it the most suitable target for a surprise attack.

"Yes, that's it. Take Bordeaux, and use this fief to bribe..."

The Dauphin muttered to himself in excitement. He left the mercenary leader aside and instead summoned several confidants, discussing urgently in French for over ten minutes before finally making a decision.

"Ahem," he cleared his throat and appointed Arthur de Richemont as commander, aiming to capture Bordeaux before the English army could react.

The audience ended, and a disgruntled Piero walked out of the court. "That's it? He didn't even pay our wages, merely offering an empty promise for us to split the spoils of Bordeaux. If we fail to take Bordeaux, wouldn't we have made this trip for nothing!"

Thinking of this, Piero regretted choosing the wrong employer, but it was too late. He was forced to return to the manor on the outskirts of Sète to assemble his troops.

As of now, the number of men in the Rotten Herring Mercenary Group had recovered to eight hundred, while Vitus's Tuna Mercenary Group remained at four hundred. The two armies joined together and moved slowly along the country roads.

Along the way, if they passed through territories loyal to the Dauphin, they could enter villages to rest and obtain food, clean well water, and shelter. If they passed through the territories of nobles from the other two factions, they could not obtain supplies and had to bypass certain heavily guarded areas, significantly slowing their progress.

On April 20, Vitus arrived at the southern suburbs of Bordeaux. He rode his horse to a gentle slope to observe the terrain.

In the distance, the Garonne River flowed from south to north. Bordeaux sat on the west bank of the Garonne, and the walls flew the flag of the House of Plantagenet of England: a red field with three golden lions arranged vertically. A large number of French army camps were spread out south of the city, estimated to hold six or seven thousand soldiers.

Vitus rode a chestnut mare, holding the blue flag with golden fleurs-de-lis of the House of Valois of France in his right hand, slowly approaching the siege camp. It was the afternoon, and the warm sunlight poured onto the murky water of the Garonne River, reflecting shimmering golden light. The air was mixed with the pungent smell of soil and a faint scent of horse manure.

After verifying their identities, he and Piero entered the main tent and met the commander, Arthur de Richemont, as well as many unfamiliar faces.

"You finally arrived." Arthur had recently defected from the English camp to the Dauphin's side and was eager to earn merit. He ordered the Tuna Mercenary Group to bombard the walls, the faster the better.

"Understood."

Vitus had long since adapted to the role of "artillery commander." He took over the four cannons already possessed by the French army and, combined with the eight heavy siege cannons he had brought, began to construct an artillery position.

English longbowmen on the walls fired light arrows one after another, harassing the enemy two hundred meters outside the city. Left with no choice, Vitus ordered the gunners to put on their armor. At this distance, the arrows lacked armor-piercing capability. The gunners spent two hours completing their preparations and began bombarding the south wall of Bordeaux.

The city's defensive facilities were well-developed, featuring a moat, city walls, and towers. A towering castle was also built in the southeast corner of the city, serving as the residence for the governor and a military barracks.

The bombardment continued until dusk, and the walls remained largely intact. Vitus ordered his soldiers to move the cannons back to the camp. Suddenly, the cheers from inside the city grew louder. Vitus trotted to the high ground by the Garonne River and saw twenty merchant ships flying the English flag appearing on the river.

Soon, the ships docked at the Bordeaux wharf, and soldiers walked onto the gangplank one after another. They moved food and ordnance from the ship's holds into the city, then loaded barrels of wine onto the ships.

Vitus found the French commander, Arthur. "The English reinforcements arrived too quickly. Why?"

Looking at Arthur's embarrassed expression, Vitus suddenly realized.

Bourges was filled with fleeing nobles and civilians, among whom there were certainly English spies. Conversely, England occupied northern France and appointed some French nobles to maintain order; there were also the Dauphin's spies among them.

"Both sides have sent spies to each other; there is 'you in me, and me in you,' which means any military action is likely to be leaked. This is a huge problem."

Vitus left the tent with a gloomy face. The Garonne River was wide, and seagoing vessels could dock directly at the Bordeaux wharf, continuously transporting soldiers and food. The so-called siege was a joke.

Piero chased after him. "Can we set up cannons on the east bank of the Garonne River to bombard the enemy ships?"

"The river is over four hundred paces (600 meters) wide, exceeding the maximum effective range of the three-pounders and siege cannons. It is not feasible."